Press Releases

Category: Press Releases

National Survey Reaffirms Lawrence University’s Excellence in Undergraduate Education

Lawrence University ranks among the top schools in the nation when it comes to providing a high quality undergraduate educational experience according to a just-released national study of effective educational practices.

The 2003 Report of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), co-sponsored by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Pew Forum on Undergraduate Learning, details the results from a nation-wide survey of 185,000 first-year students and seniors at 649 four-year colleges and universities.

The student engagement survey was developed by education assessment experts as an alternative to the U.S. News & World Report “Best Colleges” rankings, which have been criticized for placing too much weight on institutional reputation and selectivity in admissions rather than on actual educational outcomes.

The survey annually provides comparative standards for determining how effectively colleges and universities are contributing to student learning based on five measured benchmarks: level of academic challenge; active and collaborative learning; student-faculty interaction; enriching educational experiences; and a supportive campus environment.

Lawrence scored high on all five benchmarks, regularly outscoring the composite mean for the national comparison group of all colleges and universities participating in the survey. Lawrence placed in the top 20 percent of all institutions in all but one instance and in the top 10 percent for the measures “level of academic challenge” and “enriching educational experiences.”

The NSSE benchmark measures assess the extent to which undergraduate students are involved in educational practices empirically linked to high levels of learning and development. Research over the past 30 years has shown that student engagement is critical to successful educational outcomes at the undergraduate level and that colleges and universities that encourage close student-faculty interaction, student involvement in collaborative learning and research, and active engagement in extra-curricular activities offer the most effective educational environment for student learning.

“A demanding and rigorous liberal education, fostered through individual engagement, close interaction between students and faculty members, and a supportive campus environment, is the essence of a Lawrence education,” said president Richard Warch. “Having Lawrence place among the top colleges and universities that participated in a national survey on effective educational practices, one that measures how students are actually learning, is a satisfying reaffirmation of what Lawrence does best.”

Among the NSSE’s specific findings were:

On the measure “enriching educational experiences,” Lawrence scored higher, for both first-year students and seniors, than 90 percent of the 649 four-year institutions participating in this year¹s study.

On the measure “level of academic challenge,” Lawrence’s score, for both first-year students and seniors, was better than 90 percent of the institutions participating in the study.

On the measure “student-faculty interaction,” Lawrence’s score was higher than that of 90 percent of the participating institutions for seniors, and higher than 80 percent for first-year students.

On the measure of a “supportive campus environment,” Lawrence’s score, for both first-year students and seniors, was greater than approximately 80 percent of the institutions participating in the study.

On the measure “active and collaborative learning,” Lawrence’s score for seniors was higher than 80 percent of the other institutions. The first-year student score was higher than approximately 60 percent of the comparison group.
Additional information on the National Survey of Student Engagement may be found on the NSSE Web site at www.iub.edu/~nsse.

Ross, Soler Share 2003 Lawrence Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition Title

Sophomore pianist Joseph Ross and junior violinist Vincent Soler were named co-winners of the 10th annual Lawrence University Symphony Orchestra concerto competition and will perform as soloists in upcoming concerts.

Ross, who studies in the studio of associate professor Michael Kim, will play Bach’s “Concerto no. 1 in D minor” during the Lawrence Symphony Orchestra’s Jan. 31, 2004 concert. Soler, a student of assistant professor Stephane Tran Ngoc, will be the featured soloist in the May 1, 2004 LSO concert, performing “Poeme for violin and orchestra” by Chausson.

Ross, a graduate of Appleton West High School, and Soler, a native of Montbonnet, France, were chosen as this year’s winners from a field of nine finalists. Lawrence conservatory faculty members serve as judges for the competition. Each finalists is required to memorize a full concerto and then play up to 15 minutes worth from memory any part or parts of the concerto chosen by the judges.

The Lawrence concerto competition was started in 1994 to give students the opportunity to perform a full-length work with the Lawrence Symphony Orchestra.

Lawrence University Students Earn Six Firsts at State Singing Competition

Lawrence University conservatory of music students earned first-place honors in six divisions, including both music theatre categories, at the 2003 Wisconsin chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) audition competition held Nov. 7-8 on the Lawrence campus.

Senior Jacob Allen, who finished second a year ago in this competition, and sophomore Jennifer Nummerdor won top honors in the upper college division and lower college music theatre categories, respectively.

Other winning performances included Julie Silver in the sophomore women division; Matthew Vitti in the sophomore men division, Pete Petersen in the junior men division and Patrick Ireland, a 2001 winner in the sophomore division, in the senior and continuing senior men division. Allen, Vitti, and Ireland are students in the voice studio of professor Ken Bozeman. Silver and Nummerdor study under voice professor Karen Leigh-Post and Petersen is a student of Joanne Bozeman.

In addition, Alisa Jordheim, a senior at Appleton North High School who studies with Lawrence voice professor Patrice Michaels, placed first in the high school music theatre division. First-place finishers were awarded $100 for their winning efforts.

A total of 49 Lawrence students and two Lawrence Academy of Music students participated in this year’s NATS competition, with 18 of them advancing to the finals. Second-place honors went to sophomore Brad Grimmer and seniors Ricardo Lesperance (graduate division), Matt Schafer and Rachel McNeill while Andria Helm and Elaine Moran earned third-place honors in the senior women and upper college music theatre divisions, respectively.

The 2003 NATS competition featured 425 singers from colleges and high schools throughout Wisconsin. Depending upon the category, competitors are required to sing two, three or four classical pieces from different time periods with at least one selection sung in a foreign language. Acclaimed mezzo-soprano Karen Brunssen, a voice professor at Northwestern University, served as guest judge for the competition.

Lawrence University Extends Smoke Free Policy to All Campus Facilities

Citing considerations for the health of students, faculty, staff and campus visitors, Lawrence University President Richard Warch announced Friday that the college would broaden its current non-smoking policy to include all Lawrence-owned facilities beginning July 1, 2004.

The new policy will extend a smoke-free designation to all student residences, college-owned guest houses, the Viking Room in the student union, Lawrence’s study center in London and college-leased vehicles.

Beginning in 1994 with Kohler Hall, a student residence, Lawrence has progressively increased the number of buildings designated as smoke free. Since 2000, smoking has been prohibited in all Lawrence academic buildings and administrative offices, as well as any new or renovated campus buildings.

“As we all know, smoking and second-hand smoke create significant health risks,” said Nancy Truesdell, dean of students at Lawrence. “As a residential institution, of higher education, we want to insure that we are providing a healthy environment for students, employees and those who visit Lawrence.”

When the new all-buildings policy goes into effect, Lawrence will join Cornell, Macalester and St. Olaf colleges as the only institutions among the 14 members of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest to have a ban on smoking in all campus buildings.

DNR Water Chief Discusses State Groundwater Problems, Solutions in Lawrence University Address

One of the biggest environmental battlegrounds facing Wisconsin’s future is actually underground. Groundwater supplies, one of the state’s most precious and valuable resources, are under siege.

Todd Ambs, the administrator of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Water Division discusses some of the current battle fronts in the address “Fixing Wisconsin’s Groundwater Problems” Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. at Lawrence University. The program, in Lawrence’s Science Hall, Room 102, is free and open to the public.

Ambs will outline several major new state policy initiatives designed to deal with a growing array of groundwater-related problems in Wisconsin, including Perrier’s quest to pump large quantities of spring water in Waushara and Adams counties for its international bottling operations, the rise in arsenic levels in private wells near Appleton and a precipitous drop in the groundwater table in the Milwaukee, Madison and Green Bay areas as a result of increased consumer demand.

The former executive director for the River Alliance of Wisconsin, a nonprofit organization designed to protect the health of Wisconsin’s streams, Ambs was appointed the DNR’s Water Division chief last year by Governor Doyle. Earlier this year, he was named a “River Hero” by River Network, one of the nation’s premier river conservation organizations.

Ambs¹ appearance is sponsored by Lawrence’s environmental studies program and the Spoerl Lectureship in Science in Society.

UW-Oshkosh Historian Discusses Russian Economic Transition in Lawrence University Address

Historian Karl Loewenstein shares his first-hand accounts of the changes taking place in Russia, from the twilight of the Soviet Union until the present, in an address at Lawrence University.

Loewenstein, assistant professor of history at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, presents “From Socialism to Capitalism: Russia in Transition 1990-2003” Wednesday, Oct. 29 at 8 p.m. In the Wriston Art Center auditorium. The program, sponsored by the Lawrence Russian and East European Club, is free and open to the public.

Loewenstein, who has made four trips to the former Soviet Union since 1990, including as recently as this past summer, will discuss the ways foreign influences and the development of new marketing strategies have affected the lives of ordinary Russian citizens. He believes capitalism has established moderate roots over the last 14 years, but it is capitalism with distinctly Russian characteristics and serious problems which have yet to be dealt with.

A specialist in modern Russia and East European history, Loewenstein joined the UW-Oshkosh faculty in 2002 after earning his Ph.D. in history at Duke University.

Lawrence University Pianist Claims State Competition Title

For the fourth consecutive year, a Lawrence piano performance major has won the Wisconsin state level Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Young Artist Piano Performance competition.

Michael Brody, a senior double-degree candidate, earned first-place honors at the state competition held Oct. 17 at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Erin Grier, a senior from Woodside, Del., received honorable mention recognition. Brody and Grier are both students in the studio of associate professor of music Anthony Padilla.

By winning the state competition, Brody advances to the six-state East Central Division competition on Jan. 16-18, 2004 at Oberlin College in Ohio. Winners at the division level will compete at the MNTA national competition in Kansas City, Mo., next March.

The Wisconsin MTNA competition requires students to play a complete concerto from memory, as well as three shorter contrasting works. Brody performed Beethoven’s “Waldstein” Sonata, Brahms’ Sonata No. 3 and the Bach Organ Chorale Prelude “Ich ruf, zu dir” transcribed by Ferruccio Busoni.

Lawrence University Historian Examines Role of Stoic Virtue in Harry Potter Books

Best-selling author J.K. Rowling’s magical world of whiz kid Harry Potter and his adventurous confrontations with ethical dilemmas will be the focus of a Lawrence University Main Hall Forum.

Lawrence historian Edmund Kern, presents “Imagination at Work: Harry Potter and Stoic Virtue,” Monday, Oct. 27 at 4:10 p.m. in Main Hall, Room 201. The event is free and open to the public.

Kern¹s address will examine how Rowling’s creative blending of imaginative wit with serious contemplation of virtue offers readers the promise of triumph over evil and provides guidance on the importance of thoughtful attention to right and wrong. Kern argues in Rowling’s updated version of Stoicism, Harry’s resolve in the face of adversity is the result of conscious choice and attention to what is and is not within his control.

Kern, a specialist on early modern European history as well as the history of witchcraft and religious culture, is the author of the recently published book, “The Wisdom of Harry Potter: What Our Favorite Hero Teaches Us About Moral Choices.”

Dedication Ceremonies Unveil Lawrence University’s $15 Million Residence Hall

Having already lived in Colman, Ormsby and Plantz halls, as well as Draheim, one of the college’s small residence houses, senior Carrie Ryan qualifies as an expert on campus housing at Lawrence University as nearly anyone. So when she raves about her current home in the new Hiett Hall, trust her.

“A lot of the other residence halls are great in their own way and each of them has its own individual strengths, but I think Hiett Hall is a pretty significant upgrade,” said Ryan, who is living in one of the building’s numerous four-person suites.

Hiett Hall, Lawrence’s new $15.3 million, 79,500-square-foot, attention-grabbing addition to student housing, receives its formal unveiling and dedication — complete with ribbon-cutting ceremonies — Thursday, Oct. 16 at 4 p.m.

Nearly 18 months in the making from ground-breaking to dedication, Hiett Hall is named in honor of Stanley and Clara Hiett, the parents of 1958 Lawrence graduate Kim Hiett Jordan, whose generous $8 million gift made the building’s construction possible.

“So much about this place is great,” Ryan said of Hiett Hall. “The rooms are incredible, the public spaces are unbelievably beautiful with great views of the Fox River. The kitchen areas are huge.”

When junior Jamie Marincic walked into Hiett for the first time this fall, she couldn’t help but think, “This is ridiculous.”

“I was convinced I had just entered an upscale hotel,” said Marincic, who previously lived in Sage and Ormsby halls. “The high ceilings make all the rooms seem huge and the amount of natural light throughout the building is incredible. If I don’t get back in here next year, I’ll have a hard time living anywhere else on campus.”

With 183 beds, Hiett Hall is the largest living space on the Lawrence campus. The L-shaped building’s 63 living quarters are divided among 10 single rooms (eight of which are occupied by residence life advisors), 33 four-person suites and 20 two-person suites, each with a shared bathroom and common living space.

“Hiett Hall is a wonderful, concrete example of Lawrence’s commitment to residential life and the importance of the student experience that extends beyond the classroom, lab or studio,” said Nancy Truesdell, Lawrence dean of students. “By all accounts, students have quickly settled in, made themselves comfortable and are enjoying the experience of sharing a suite with a small group of friends within a larger residence hall environment.”

Not only has the comfort level been raised considerably for those students lucky enough to own a Hiett Hall address, Truesdell says the building has helped non-Hiett residents by creating some much-needed breathing room in other halls.

“The additional beds Hiett provides enabled us to reclaim floor lounges in other residence halls and return them to their intended purposes,” Truesdell explained. “That’s been a benefit that all students are enjoying.”

In additional to all suite-style living quarters on the building’s two “wings,” three of Hiett’s four floors have a large central kitchen area, complete with refrigerator, stove, two microwave ovens, dishwasher and a sink. Each floor also boasts a large furnished lounge — the one on the fourth floor features a fire place — as well as a spacious room for quiet study.

As Ryan sees it, the privilege of being the first residents of Hiett Hall comes with a commensurate degree of obligation.

“This is like our house. We each can take a sense of ownership in being the first students to live here that you couldn’t necessarily take in the other halls where hundreds of students have lived before you. We’re the caretakers of Hiett Hall for the next group of residents and that is a big responsibility.

“We’ve all watched this building going up the past year,” Ryan added. “It’s very easy to be excited about going to Lawrence these days when you can live in a place as beautiful as Hiett Hall.”

The building was designed by VOA Associates, a Chicago architectural firm, and Oscar J. Boldt Construction of Appleton served as the project’s general contractor.

Humorist David Sedaris Shares his Witty Observations in Lawrence University Convocation

Award-winning humorist and National Public Radio commentator David Sedaris brings his collection of witty observances on life to Lawrence University Tuesday, Oct. 14 in the second installment of the college’s 2003 2004 convocation series. The program, “An Evening with David Sedaris” at 7:10 p.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel, is free and open to the public.

Sedaris, who claims his idea of fun is “sociological problems and medical mishaps,” launched his career as one of America’s funniest social commentators in 1992 on NPR’s “Morning Edition.” He shared stories from his book “SantaLand Diaries” about his strange-but-true experiences as one of Santa’s elves at Macy’s in New York.

He has since written four more books: “Naked,” “Barrel Fever,” “Holidays on Ice” and his most recent, “Me Talk Pretty One Day.” The largely autobiographical collections of essays chronicle his life growing up in North Carolina with “voluble” parents and five siblings, his collection of part-time jobs, including an office worker, moving company employee and an apartment cleaner in New York, and taking French classes as an expatriate in Paris, where he currently resides.

Collaborating with his sister, Amy Sedaris, under the name The Talent Family, Sedaris also has written several plays that have been produced in New York, including “One Woman Shoe,” which was honored with an Obie award.

A one-time writing instructor at the Art Institute of Chicago, where he had earned a degree in 1987, and frequent contributor to Esquire magazine, Sedaris was saluted as Time magazine’s “humorist of the year” in 2001. That same year he was named just the third recipient of the Thurber Prize for American Humor.

Following his address, Sedaris will conduct a book signing in Lawrence’s Shattuck Hall, Room 163.