Lawrence University News

All the world’s a stage: International Cabaret celebrates world culture

Cabaret-Japanese-Dancers_newsblogNearly 100 Lawrence University students representing more than 20 countries will provide a cross-cultural trip around the world in a pair of weekend shows for the college’s 39th annual International Cabaret.

With the theme “All the World’s a Stage,” students will showcase their native culture in performances Saturday, April 11 at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday, April 12 at 3 p.m. in Stansbury Theatre of the Music-Drama Center. A free reception in the Warch Campus Center will follow Sunday’s performance.

Tickets, at $10 for adults, $5 for students/children (under age four are free), are available through the Lawrence Box Office, 920-832-6749 or online at www.lawrence.edu/conservatory/box_office/tickets. The box office will be open one hour prior to Sunday’s performance.

This year’s Cabaret features singing and dancing performances as well as two fashion shows with students modeling traditional clothing from their native countries. For the first time, Cabaret will include Duo Acro Balance, a performance that incorporates circus arts to illustrate the complex relationship with oneself.  It features stylistic movements that showcase the blending of the artists’ training in traditional Mongolian contortion with modern Western theatrical movement.

Cabaret-Dancer_newsblog2This year’s  scheduled entertainment includes:

• a Vietnamese dance originating from the Central Highlands of Vietnam. The dance’s name translates to “Calling for the Rain,” and was used to communicate with God during a drought.

•  an Indian classical song from Northern India. Hindustani music dates back nearly 3,000 years.

• Viva Santa Cruz Dance, a dance from East Bolivia. Called Taquirari, this dance is typically performed for Carnival.

• a Korean history dance, an example of the dancing history of popular Korean culture, dating back to the 14th century.

• a traditional Hawaiian song and dance.

• a Japanese dance

• a Russian song

•  a Chinese dance

• A traditional Bengali song from Bangladesh.

•  a Ghanian Denkyem dance.

• fashion shows featuring clothing from Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, Pakistan, Russia, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

 

 

Lawrence strengthens athletics with full-time hockey coach and new department head

Lawrence University is set to begin a new chapter by hiring a full-time director of athletics, university administrators announced today.

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Mike Szkodzinski

Current Director of Athletics and Head Hockey Coach Mike Szkodzinski said he is ready to return his focus solely to leading the hockey program. Despite splitting time between the roles of administrator and coach, Szkodzinski has put together a record of significant achievements during his nearly six years as athletic director.

“It has been a pleasure working with Coach Szkodzinski during my tenure here. Even with Mike’s high energy and strategic approach to leading our athletic and hockey programs, it is evident that a full-time director of athletics is something Lawrence needs to reach our aspirations,” Lawrence President Mark Burstein said. “Traditionally, the model at the University has been to have one of the coaches also serve as the director of athletics but bearing that sort of workload has become simply too much even for Mike.”

Lawrence will conduct a national search for a new director of athletics, said Burstein, who praised the work done by Szkodzinski on a variety of fronts.

“Intercollegiate athletics are an integral component of our liberal arts mission and Mike has been a strong leader for our coaches and student-athletes,” Burstein said. “With our growing investment in the athletic program, we want to be certain we continue the positive momentum Mike has started in the department of athletics. Having a full-time director of athletics is a crucial part of that formula for success.”

Burstein added that Szkodzinski will remain at the head of the department of athletics, which consists of 20 full-time coaches and staff overseeing hundreds of student-athletes, until a successor is named.

“Mike has done outstanding work in leading our department of athletics, but I know, in his heart, he is first and foremost a hockey coach,” Provost Dave Burrows said. “I know he wants the hockey team to have greater success in the best conference in the nation. To do that, he needs to devote all his energies to that team.”

Szkodzinski was named the director of athletics in July 2009 and has coached the Lawrence hockey team for nine seasons. He has balanced that workload with family commitments to his wife, Tori, and three young children.

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Named head coach of the Vikings’ hockey team in 2006, Mike Szkodzinski has guided the team to the most wins in school history.

“This is something I’ve been thinking about for some time and the support of President Burstein and Provost Burrows made it possible for me to hand over the reins of the department of athletics with the confidence that we are moving in the right direction,” Szkodzinski said.

The department of athletics has seen a number of changes during Szkodzinski’s tenure. Szkodzinski worked to increase the number of full-time staff members and was responsible for the hiring of standout coaches like Jason Fast (men’s and women’s cross country, track), Lisa Sammons (women’s soccer), Steve Francour (men’s and women’s tennis), Ashley Wellman (women’s basketball) as well as Rob McCarthy, Lawrence’s new football coach.

In addition, Szkodzinski has played a leading role in the renovation of the Banta Bowl, which is underway. Szkodzinski’s leadership, in partnership with Lawrence’s development office, has spearheaded efforts to raise more than $4 million for the renovation of the venerable stadium. A renovated Banta Bowl will debut in fall 2015 to celebrate its 50th birthday and serve as the home of Lawrence football as well as men’s and women’s soccer.

Under Szkodzinski’s leadership, the Lawrence tennis courts were recently resurfaced and had lights installed. Other facilities upgrades include a new track surface for Whiting Field and improvements to Alexander Gymnasium as well as both the baseball and softball fields.

“I am so proud and pleased with what we have been able to accomplish over the past six years,” said Szkodzinski, who has won more hockey games than any coach in Lawrence history. “I believe we are positioned to succeed in the Midwest Conference and the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association. I’m excited about the prospect of returning my primary focus to our hockey team, but I’m ready to assist the new director of athletics as well.”

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Third Coast Percussion brings its eclectic repertoire to Lawrence Memorial Chapel April 11

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Third Coast Percussion — Robert Dillon, David Skimore, Sean Connors and Peter Martin — melds the energy of rock music with the precision and nuance of classical chamber works in its performances.

The four-member ensemble Third Coast Percussion showcases its eclectic repertoire in a Lawrence University Artist Series performance Saturday, April 11 at 8 p.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel.

Tickets, at $25-30 for adults, $20-25 for seniors and $18-20 for students, are available through the Lawrence Box Office, 920-832-6749.

Melding the energy of rock music with the precision and nuance of classical chamber works, Third Coast Percussion — Robert Dillon, David Skimore, Sean Connors and Peter Martin — has explored and expanded the extraordinary sonic possibilities of percussion music since its founding in 2005. The ensemble is known for often manically incorporating traditional gongs, bells and Tibetan singing bowls with a wide array of ordinary objects —everything from coffee cans and pasta strainers to amplified magic markers, — and turning them all into music-making instruments.

“Third Coast Percussion has established themselves as one of the top contemporary percussion groups on the scene today,” said Dane Richeson, professor of music and director of percussion studies at Lawrence “Their programing is innovative and they are exciting performers to see and hear. I’m excited to have them performing on our Artist Series.”

Described by the New York Times as “hard-grooving” musicians, Third Coast Percussion has established a reputation for ground-breaking collaborations across a wide range of disciplines.

They have had the honor of performing world premieres for many of today’s leading composers, among them Timothy Andres, Glenn Kotche, Marcos Balter and Ted Hearne. They also champion the music of noted composers John Cage, legendary Steve Reich and George Crumb, among others.

The ensemble currently enjoys an Ensemble-in-Residence at the University of Notre Dame.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

 

 

 

Robert Rosenberg 1926-2015: Chemistry professor mentored Lawrence’s Nobel Prize winner

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Chemistry Professor Robert Rosenberg spent 35 years on the Lawrence faculty.

One of Lawrence’s most distinguished teachers, Professor Emeritus of Chemistry and former Robert McMillen Professor of Chemistry Robert Rosenberg, died Friday, April 3 in Milwaukee. He was 89.

Rosenberg spent 35 years on the Lawrence faculty (1956-91), specializing in physical chemistry of proteins and chemical thermodynamics. His research was supported by grants from National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and Research Corporation.

He was the author of the book “Principles of Physical Chemistry,” which was published by Oxford University Press, and co-author of the third and subsequent editions of “Chemical Thermodynamics,” originally authored by one of his Ph.D program professors at Northwestern, Theodore Klotz. In retirement, he wrote “Why Ice Is Slippery” for Physics Today, which proved to be his most popular work, quoted in a New York Times article, and in the Weekly Reader, while the original article was translated into Italian and Japanese.

In conjunction with former physics professor Bruce Brackenridge, Rosenberg created the novel course “The Principles of Physics and Chemistry,” a mathematically rigorous, calculus-based introduction to both physics and chemistry, spread over all three terms, that they taught collaboratively. They also co-authored a textbook of the same title.

Rosenberg’s scholarly interests extended beyond the laboratory into the arenas of societal concerns through public seminars on nuclear disarmament and environmental issues.

Well known and highly respected for being unfailingly courteous, Rosenberg encouraged his students to learn chemistry by often designing their own experiments, gently leading and probing them to think creatively, frequently responding to their questions by asking questions in return to hone their analytical skills. His clear, patient explanations of equations describing complex physiochemical phenomena became legendary.

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2009 Nobel Prize winner Thomas Steitz (left) was a protege of long-time Lawrence chemistry professor Robert Rosenberg.

One of his students, Thomas Steitz, went on to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2009, a development Rosenberg said at the time had him “walking on air” with pride.

His commitment to his students often extended well past their graduation, remaining an active mentor during the careers of many chemistry alumni. He enjoyed reconnecting with former students during Reunion Weekend. During his last two years, many former students wrote or came to visit, crediting him as a foundational influence in a number of distinguished careers.

Rosenberg was recognized for his teaching prowess in 1987 with Lawrence’s Excellent Teacher Award. In 1991, the year of his retirement, he was honored by the Sears-Roebuck Foundation with its Teaching Excellence and Campus Leadership Award in recognition of his continued “concern for the individual student beyond the classroom, both as advisor and role model.”

Born in Hartford, Conn., Rosenberg earned his bachelor’s degree from Trinity College and his Ph.D. from Northwestern University. He spent time as a research associate at Catholic University of America and taught at Harvard University Medical School and Wesleyan University before joining the Lawrence faculty in 1956.

During his tenure at Lawrence, Rosenberg spent a year as an NSF Fellow at Oxford University and served as director of the ACM program at the Argonne National Laboratory for a year. After his retirement in 1991, he spent several years as an adjunct professor of chemistry at Northwestern University, where he organized a well received symposium in honor of Professor Klotz.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Virginia in 2013, and a son, James in 1994. He is survived by a son, Charles, Milwaukee, a daughter, Margaret (Eric) Wilde, Bronx, N.Y., and two grandchildren, Emma Wilde and Nathaniel Wilde.

A memorial service celebrating Rosenberg’s life will be held at Lawrence later this spring on a day and time to be determined. In lieu of flowers, the family has suggested memorial donations can be made in Rosenberg’s name to Lawrence University, Northwestern University or the Nature Conservancy.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Seven films, two director visits on tap for 4th annual Latin American and Spanish film festival

Seven films from the 2014-2015 international festival season, including appearances by two of the film’s directors, highlight Lawrence University’s fourth Latin American and Spanish Film Festival that begins Wednesday, April 8.

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The 2013 Venezuelan film “Bad Hair” opens Lawrence’s 2015 Latin American and Spanish Film Festival.

Each film, shown in Spanish with English subtitles in the Warch Campus Center cinema, is free and open to the public.

A pair of free receptions at 7 p.m. — April 8 to open the festival and April 11 to close it — also will be held in the Warch Campus Center.

“We’re back for our fourth year with some of the most critically-acclaimed films of the recent international season, including several regional premieres,” said Rosa Tapia, associate professor of Spanish and organizer of the festival. “The public also will have an opportunity to meet two award-winning international filmmakers who will join us to discuss their films.

“As one audience member told me last year, ‘Having this festival in town is like living in New York City for a week,’” added Tapia. “The festival had developed a big regional draw, with people coming from throughout the area and even as far away as Madison and Milwaukee.”

The festival schedule includes:

  • Wednesday, April 8, 8 p.m., “Bad Hair (Pelo Malo)” (Venezuela, 2013)
    Award-winning director Mariana Rondón uses the panic surrounding a nine-year-old boy’s obsession with straightening his hair to explore issues of racism and homophobia in Latin America.
  • Thursday, April 9, 5 p.m., “Dust on the Tongue (Tierra en la Lengua)” (Colombia, 2014)
    An elderly man takes a trip with his grandchildren in an attempt to persuade them to kill him so he won’t die of old age. Following the film, director Ruben Mendoza will discuss the film and participate in an audience Q & A.
  • Thursday, April 9, 8 p.m., “Two Shots Fired (Dos Disparos)” (Argentina, 2014)
    This absurdist comedy follows 17-year-old Mariano, who finds a gun in his home and – in a moment of impulse – shoots himself twice, but miraculously survives.
  • Friday, April 10, 5 p.m., “To Kill a Man (Matar a un Hombre)” (Chile, 2014)
    A downtrodden working class man takes matters into his own hands when the local government refuses to help quell a nearby gang of criminals.
  • Friday, April 10, 8 p.m., “Cantinflas” (Mexico, 2014)
    A biopic of Mexican comedy star Mario Fortino Alfonso Moreno Reyes, better known as “Cantinflas,” whom Charlie Chaplin once called the greatest comedian alive.

    The-Illiterate_newsblog
    Director Moises Sepulveda will be on hand to discuss his film “The Illiterate” following its screening on April 11.
  • Saturday, April 11, 5 p.m., “The Illiterate (Las Analfabetas)” (Chile, 2014)
    Based on a recent Chilean play, “The Illiterate” follows Ximena, a middle-aged woman struggling to learn how to read. Following the film, director Moises Sepulveda will discuss the film and participate in an audience Q & A.
  • Saturday, April 11, 8:30 p.m., “Living is Easy with Eyes Closed” (Spain, 2013)
    An English teacher picks up two hitchhikers on his trip through Spain to meet John Lennon.

The festival is sponsored by the Lawrence academic programs Film Studies, Foreign Language Coalition, Latin American Studies, Gender Studies, the student organizations VIVA, All Is One and GLOW and the Center of Latin American and Caribbean Studies at UW-Milwaukee.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Lawrence Sets Applications Record for Third Consecutive Year

Campus-Tour_newsblog
Taking a campus tour is one of the best ways for prospective students to get a true feel for what Lawrence is all about.

Interest in Lawrence University among prospective students has never been higher.

With more than a month to go before the May 1 National Candidates Reply Date, Lawrence already has attracted the largest and most competitive applicant pool in the college’s 168-year history. Running more than 10 percent ahead of last year’s numbers at this same time, Lawrence has received 2,969 applications to date, surpassing last year’s record of 2,748 applications.

Despite a shrinking number of college-bound students nationally, this marks the third consecutive year Lawrence has attracted a record number of applications.

Several factors have helped Lawrence attract applications in record numbers according to Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Ken Anselment.

“We are reaching more students around the world and doing so earlier in the process than we ever have before,” said  Anselment, “and they seem to be responding well to what Lawrence is offering in the way of a rigorous academic experience as preparation for success in a rapidly changing world.”

Anselment noted that, while application numbers are up in Wisconsin and Illinois, which together account for approximately 40 percent of each new class of Lawrentians, the admissions office is also seeing a significant uptick in applications from the western United States, especially California, as well as applications from outside the United States.

“Our international outreach has really, if you’ll pardon the pun, put Lawrence and Appleton on the map,” says Anselment. “We have received applications this year from 66 countries on every continent but Antarctica.”

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Lawrence music students win pair of piano competitions

Lawrence University music students dominated a pair of recent piano competitions, sweeping the top two honors in both.

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Cameron Pieper

Cameron Pieper, a senior from Fond du Lac, won the college piano division of the Schubert Club’s Carlson Student Scholarship Competition held March 21 in St. Paul, Minn., while Evan Newman, a sophomore from Plymouth, Minn., was awarded second-place honors.

Each finalist was required to perform four works, one each from four different style periods. Pieper performed J. S. Bach’s “Prelude and Fugue in G major Book 1,” Beethoven’s “Piano Sonata op. 110 in A-flat Major I, Moderato cantabile molto espressivo​” Chopin’s “Scherzo no. 1 in B minor op. 20” and Rzewski’s “Piano Piece no. 4.”

Pieper, a student in the studio of Professor Catherine Kautsky, and Newman, who studies in the piano studio of Associate Professor Anthony Padilla, received $2,000 and $1,500 scholarships, respectively.

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Ethan Valentin

Freshmen Ethan Valentin, Chicago, and Zoey Lin, Najing, China, placed first and second, respectively, at the Wisconsin Music Teachers Association Collegiate Piano Competition conducted March 21 at Lawrence. Students are required to play at least three pieces of contrasting styles. For his winning performance, Valentine played Bach’s “Prelude and Fugue in D Major, WTC I,” Haydn’s “Sonata in E-flat Major, Hob. XVI:52” and two works by Debussy, “La Cathedrale Engloutie from Preludes Book 1” and “Feux d’Artifice from Preludes Book 2.”

Valentin and Lin both study in the piano studio of Padilla.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

New Wriston Art Center exhibition honors former professor Alice King Case

A tribute to the late Alice King Case, who taught in the Lawrence University art department for 20 years, will be included in the new exhibition at Lawrence’s Wriston Art Center. The exhibition, which opens Friday, April 3 and runs through May 3, is free and open to the public.

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Untitled, acrylic on paper, by Alice King Case

The Leech Gallery presents “Through Alice’s Eyes: An Exhibition in Honor of Alice King Case.” The exhibition highlights the wide variety of paintings created during her artistic career. Case, who taught in the Lawrence art department from 1980 until her retirement in 2000, was an accomplished artist who specialized in abstract painting, drawing and collage. She was responsible for introducing computer-assisted art courses and directed Lawrence’s art education program, supervising the certification of nearly 50 future art teachers. She passed away in December, 2013.

A concurrent exhibition, “Go Ask Alice,” featuring artwork by Case’s former students, will be held in the Mudd Gallery on the third floor of the Seeley G. Mudd Library from April 3–14.

The Hoffmaster Gallery will feature Martin Brief’s “Amazon God
.” Brief’s interests focusing on language border on obsessive. He uses his artwork to explore the meaning of words until he has reached the very limits of expression. His series “Amazon God” is comprised of 28 drawings, each containing a list of handwritten book titles with the word “god” in the title that were collected from a search on Amazon.com. Each drawing, representing one of the categories used by Amazon to organize the search results, varies in length depending on the number of “god” book titles in each category. The lists become visual studies of how we classify our world.

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Ann McCoy’s hand-colored lithograph “Spotted Ray II” will be included in the “The Pursuit of Knowledge & Understanding: Recent Acquisitions in an Interdisciplinary Context
.”

The Kohler Gallery presents “The Pursuit of Knowledge & Understanding: Recent Acquisitions in an Interdisciplinary Context
.” The exhibition features recent additions to the Wriston’s permanent collection, set in relation to the liberal arts: science, humanities, arts and social sciences. The works include paintings, collages, drawings, prints and sculpture by artists Sam Gilliam, David Lynch, Carol Summers and Wolf Kahn, among others.

Wriston Art Center hours are Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday noon – 4 p.m; closed Mondays. For more information, call 920-832-6621.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Enhanced Curriculum: Lawrence participating in $335,000 project to develop hybrid courses

Lawrence University and five other liberal arts institutions are embarking on a project to collaboratively develop and teach new hybrid courses. The project, “Hybrid Liberal Arts Network: High Touch Learning for the 21st Century,” is supported by a $335,000 grant from the New York City-based Teagle Foundation.

Teagle-Grant_picket_newsblogWorking together as the Midwest Hybrid Learning Consortium — Lawrence, Albion College, DePauw University, Grinnell College, Hope College and Wabash College — the six-member alliance will combine the best of classroom teaching with digital technology to try new approaches involving online learning.

“We are very pleased to be part of this group working on hybrid courses,” said David Burrows, Lawrence provost and dean of the faculty. “One of the great challenges of the digital revolution is making use of the power of technology to enhance the goals of liberal education. We want our students to develop skills of analysis, problem solving, creativity and understanding ambiguity. These are abilities that require human interaction. If well-constructed, hybrid courses can combine the use of technology with the enrichment of human dialogue, leading to effective liberal learning.”

The project will see teams of faculty from across a wide range of disciplines from each of the institutions cooperatively developing hybridized courses over the rest of 2015, beginning with a workshop this summer. The new courses will be traditional face-to-face classroom offerings, not online courses, although they may incorporate some online components

The first new courses are scheduled to be offered in the spring semester of 2016 with additional new courses introduced in the fall of 2016 and spring of 2017.

David Berk, director of instructional technology at Lawrence said technology offers so many opportunities “to engage students in new ways.”

“This project will allow faculty to explore new instructional methods such as the flipped classroom to deliver content online and enrich the face-to-face experience with new forms of team-based learning,” said Berk, a member of the grant’s implementation leadership team.

“We already have faculty that are beginning to dabble in these areas. This grant will take those experiments to the next level by supporting a series of workshops for faculty to share course materials and activities and to develop a common set of best practices that are proven to work well within the residential liberal arts experience.”

Lawrence associate professors Adam Galamobos, economics, David Hall, chemistry, and Martyn Smith, religious studies, were involved in crafting the grant and likely will be involved in the development of the new courses.

Joining Berk on the grant’s implementation leadership team will be Barry Bandstra, director of academic computing and a professor of religion, Hope College; James Brown, professor of physics, Wabash College; David Lopatto, professor of psychology, Grinnell College; Donnie Sendelbach, director of instructional and learning services, DePauw University; and John Woell, associate provost and professor of religion, Albion College.

Founded in 1944, the Teagle Foundation works to support and strengthen liberal arts education though innovation in curriculum, pedagogy and assessment.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Hartmut Gerlach 1929-2015: Taught in the Lawrence German dept. for 28 years

Professor Emeritus of German Hartmut Gerlach, who spent 28 years on the Lawrence University faculty,  died at his Appleton home Wednesday, March 18. He was 85.

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Hartmut Gerlach spent 28 years teaching in the Lawrence German department.

Born in Dresden, Germany, Gerlach joined the Lawrence German department in 1966, teaching language,  literature — he was especially fond of Goethe’s “Faust” — history and culture until his retirement in 1994. He was well known for his innovative courses on the art of German cinema and his observations on the changing focus of German films after the collapse of the Berlin Wall.

During his tenure, he served as director of Lawrence’s study-abroad programs in Germany, first in Boennigheim in 1968 and later in Eningen and Munich. He was appreciated by a generation of Lawrentians for whom he served as a solicitous guide for students exploring a new culture.

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Professor Emeritus of German Hartmut Gerlach served as director of Lawrence’s study abroad programs in Eningen and later in Munich.

Growing up in Germany under the Nazi regime, Gerlach was forced to join the Hitler Youth Organization as a 10-year old, something he detested. At the age of 14, he was put in charge of 25 10-year olds, but rather than indoctrinate them in Nazi ideology, Gerlach taught them German folk songs during meetings as a way to subvert the Nazi regime. As a youth living through World War II, Gerlach wrote numerous poems and short stories that reflected a deep love of nature, country and family.

He studied psychology, psychiatry, pedagogy and philosophy at the universities of Zurich, Tuebingen and Goettingen and spent a year teaching at Trenton State College in New Jersey before completing his master’s and doctorate degrees in German at Indiana University.

He is survived by his wife, Diane, and four children: Bettina; Peter (Cady); Pamela (Bobbie); and Loren (Susan); and two grandchildren, Katelyn and Nicholas.

The family will hold a private service and have requested any donations in Professor Gerlach’s memory can be made to Lawrence University or any charity of the donor’s choice.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.