Lawrence University News

Lawrence Professors Lindemann, Shimon Named Wisconsin’s 2014 Artists of the Year

Photographers Julie Lindemann and John Shimon, associate professors of art, have been named Wisconsin’s Artists of the Year for 2014 by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel art critic Mary Louise Schumacher.

Shimon_Lindemann_newsblog
Photographers John Shimon and Julie Lindemann were named Wisconsin Artists of the Year for 2014 by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s art critic.

Among their contributions to the state art scene was their installation “We Go From Where We Know” at the John Michal Kohler Arts Center as part of it’s “Connecting Communities” program.

Centered around a 1949 Nash automobile filled with hand-cast concrete corncobs, the project explored the idiosyncrasies of Wisconsin as place.

Their work has been featured in more than 90 solo and group exhibitions in venues ranging from the Art Institute of Chicago to the Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego and their photographs are part of 15 permanent collections, including the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Wisconsin State Historical Society.

Lindemann and Shimon also have authored five books and catalogs of their work, the most successful of which is their artistic tribute to the aluminum Christmas tree, many of which were produced in their adopted hometown of Manitowoc.

The book, “Season’s Gleamings,” generated national attention when it was published in 2004, resulting in stories in the New York Times and USA Today and featured segments on CNN and “CBS Sunday Morning.”

They have collaborated professionally as artists for 30 years and have shared a classroom as teaching partners for 27 years. They first joined the Lawrence faculty in 2000 as visiting instructors and five years later were given a tenure-track appointment.

They were recognized at 2012’s commencement ceremonies with Lawrence’s faculty award for Excellence in Creative Activity.

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 Poet Melissa Range Awarded National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship

Lawrence University poet Melissa Range has been named one of 36 national recipients of a $25,000 National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship in Creative Writing. She was selected from among 1,634 applications.

Melissa-Range_newsblog_12-14
Melissa Range

The highly competitive fellowship is designed to allow published writers to set aside time for writing, research, travel and career advancement.

Range, who joined the Lawrence faculty in September as an assistant professor of English, plans to use her fellowship to complete research for the third poetry collection she is writing, which will focus on the abolitionist movement. Her work frequently employs metaphor and features a musical style with an emphasis on the way words sound.

“Professor Range is a creative young poet of remarkable talent,” said David Burrows, provost and dean of the faculty. “The quality of her work, both published and unpublished, is outstanding. We are extremely proud of her success in obtaining this most prestigious fellowship.”

She previously has been recognized for her writing with the 2010 Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Prize and was the recipient of the 2013 teaching award for creative writing at the University of Missouri, where she earned her Ph.D. in English and creative writing.

Range, who first began writing poetry as college junior, has conducted more than a dozen invited poetry readings and is the author of the book “Horse and Rider: Poems,” which centers on violence and power in religion and the natural world. Her collection “Scriptorium” uses sonnets to explore themes of belief and doubt inspired by medieval and religious art.

Since its founding in 1965 by Congress, the NEA has awarded more than $5 billion to support artistic excellence, creativity and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities.

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.

 

Community Service Lands Lawrence University on President’s National Honor Roll

For the eighth consecutive year, Lawrence University has been named to the 2014 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll.

President's-Honor-Roll_newsblog14
Helping build hoop houses at Riverview Gardens was among the student volunteer service hours that helped Lawrence earn its eighth straight spot on the President’s Higher Education National Community Service Honor Roll.

Lawrence is one of only two Wisconsin institutions to be cited every year by the Washington, D.C.-based Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) since it launched the honor roll program in 2006 in response to the thousands of college students who traveled across the country to support relief efforts along the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina.

Nine hundred Lawrence students contributed 17,777 hours to community volunteer and service-learning programs in collaboration with a wide variety of valued partnerships throughout the Fox Cities during this year’s reporting period, including 138 students who devoted 20 hours or more per term.

The President’s Honor Roll program recognizes higher education institutions that reflect the values of exemplary community service and achieve meaningful outcomes in their communities on a broad range of issues. Honorees are chosen on the scope and innovation of service projects, the extent to which service-learning is embedded in the curriculum, the school’s commitment to long-term campus-community partnerships and measurable community outcomes as a result of the service.

“Community service provides ways to better understand ourselves,” said President Mark Burstein, “and involvement in the wider community enhances our learning environment. I am proud of the work and dedication our students display and pleased they have once again been nationally recognized for their efforts. At Lawrence, service continues to be not only altruism, but also part of the transformative educational experience that we strive to provide for our students.”

Among the initiatives for which Lawrence was cited:

• Question, Persuade, Refer Suicide Prevention Training. The training program benefited not only the campus, but the greater community. Lawrence collectively trained one master trainer, 51 instructors and 510 gatekeepers. Instructors and gatekeepers reported intervening within days of learning QPR skills to connect distressed community members to immediate crisis intervention services.

• Self-Agency in Youth (SAY) Program. Using a two-pronged approach of support groups and a tutoring/mentoring initiative, the SAY Program helps teens gain ownership over their post-high school futures. Beautiful You African American Girls’ Group and Hmong Youth Pride and Empowerment (HYPE) are two branches of SAY and one of several collaborations between Lawrence and the Boys & Girls Club of the Fox Valley. With backgrounds and challenges similar to those faced by the teenagers, the Lawrence student volunteers turned their own experiences as a refugee or a first generation college student into a source of knowledge to help high school students in need of mentoring, reassurance and support.

President's-Honor-Roll-Newsblog_2
Student volunteers helped sort clothes at Appleton’s Bethesda Thrift Shop at Lawrence’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.

• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. Nearly 500 students participated in activities under the theme of  “learn, serve and celebrate.” Activities included a “Read and Reflect: A Lunch Discussion” event on the book “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting in the Cafeteria,” six student-led on-campus volunteer opportunities and the presentation of a specially developed curriculum on tolerance to more than 650 area youth at seven after-school sites of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Fox Valley. Members of the Lawrence community ended the day by joining Fox Cities leaders to listen to Rev. Wanda Washington speak on “How to Build a Just World” at the annual MLK celebration hosted by Lawrence.

“It is a source of pride for everyone at Lawrence who values the college’s contributions to the vitality of the greater Appleton and global communities, that we have been recognized, once again, by the Corporation for National and Community Service for our achievements in community service,” said Mark Jenike, Pieper Family Professor of Servant Leadership and director of the college’s Office for Engaged Learning. “At Lawrence, community engagement, enabled by strong partnerships, is one of the most important ways in which we pursue our mission of preparing students for lives of achievement, responsible and meaningful citizenship, lifelong learning and personal fulfillment.”

The CNCS compiles the President’s Community Service Honor Roll in collaboration with the Department of Education, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Campus Compact and the American Council on Education.

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 Physicist Receiving National Service Honor

David-Cook_newsblog
David Cook

David Cook, Philetus E. Sawyer Professor of Science and professor emeritus of physics, will be honored Jan. 3-5, 2015 during the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) national conference in San Diego, Calif.

The ATTP will recognize Cook with its Homer L. Dodge Citation for Distinguished Service. He has served as AAPT vice president (2008), president-elect (2009), president (2010) and past president (2011). He currently serves as chair of the AAPT’s meetings committee. He is the only Lawrence faculty member to serve as president of the AAPT, the country’s premier national organization and authority on physics and physical science education.

“I am both honored and humbled to be chosen for this recognition by the professional organization that has contributed substantially to my own growth since the beginning of my teaching career in the late 1960s,” Cook said of his distinguished service award.

Cook retired in 2008 after 43 years of teaching in the Lawrence physics department. He was elected a Fellow in the American Physical Society for his contributions to physics education in America in 2013, joining his long-time department colleague Professor Emeritus John Brandenberger as the only two physicists at Lawrence ever recognized as a Fellow by the APS.

“Professor Cook is a pioneer in developing an effective physics curriculum for liberal learning students,” said David Burrows, provost and dean of the faculty at Lawrence. “His methods have helped build an extremely strong physics program that has prepared many students for success in graduate programs and helped start them on distinguished careers. His work provides a wonderful model for colleagues at other institutions. We are extremely proud of his accomplishments.”

Cook’s AAPT service includes more than 40 years of meeting attendance and leadership on at least eight committees. While serving on the AAPT Executive Board, he generated detailed manuals for members of the presidential chain, and he took on the task of formatting and indexing the 250-page Executive Board Handbook compiled over several years by the Governance Review Committee.

One of his most important service legacies is PAC Tools. Cook was the impetus and leader of the advisory group that worked with staff to develop AAPT’s online program for planning meetings from abstract submission through the paper sort, to export into the final meeting program.

During his four-plus decade teaching career at Lawrence, Cook taught nearly every undergraduate physics course while leading the development and incorporation of computers into the physics curriculum. Beginning in 1985, he designed and built Lawrence’s computational physics laboratory with the support of more than $1 million in grants from the National Science Foundation, Research Corporation, the W. M. Keck Foundation and other sources.

He is the author of two textbooks, “The Theory of the Electromagnetic Field,” one of the first to introduce computer-based numerical approaches alongside traditional approaches and “Computation and Problem Solving in Undergraduate Physics.”

He was recognized with Lawrence’s Excellence in Teaching Award in 1990.

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.

Senior John Kasper Wins Concerto Competition

John-Kasper_newsblog
John Kasper ’15

Lawrence University senior John Kasper  earned first-place honors in the recent Green Bay Civic Symphony Orchestra Miroslav Pansky Memorial Concerto Competition  Kasper is the third Lawrence student since 2009 to win the Pansky competition.

A senior cello performance major from Neenah, Kasper received a $500 prize for his winning performance of Prokofiev’s “Symphony Concertante.” He will be a guest performer with the orchestra at its concert Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015 at the Meyer Theater. He is a student in the studio of Janet Anthony, professor of music and George and Marjorie Olsen Chandler Professor Music and Teacher of Cello.

The competition, which honors the memory of Pansky, long-time conductor of the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra and founder of its youth orchestras, is open to Northeast Wisconsin students through the age of 21.

Kasper began his musical career at the Lawrence Academy of Music, where he studied for six years (2004-2010). He performed with the Academy String Orchestra and the chamber music ensembles and also took lessons in the studio of Laura Kenney.

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.

 

 

 

Opera Director Copeland Woodruff Wins National “Best Production” Award

A preview of things to come?

While Copeland Woodruf, Lawrence University’s new director of opera studies, has yet to stage his first production here, he’s still garnering national recognition from his previous appointment as co-director of opera studies at the University of Memphis.

Copeland-Woodruff_newsblog
Copeland Woodruff

For the fifth time in the past eight years, Woodruff, who began his first year at Lawrence this fall, has earned first-place honors in the prestigious National Opera Association’s Best Opera Production Competition, Division V for 2013-14. He was recognized for his production of Mozart’s “Così fan tutte” with University of Memphis Opera.

“With this award, Copeland once again shows he is an opera director of the first order,” said Brian Pertl, dean of the conservatory of music. “We are so excited to have him at Lawrence. Although he is just finishing up his very first term, his creative talents, artistic vision, and passion for teaching are already making a big impact on our students.”

The NOA’s annual competition encourages and rewards creative, high-quality productions in small professional opera companies and opera training programs, including academic institutions and music conservatories.

Other recent competition winners in Division 5 include some of the country’s premier music programs, including the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Temple University, University of Houston and the University of North Texas.

Copeland, who had directed more than 90 opera productions in his career, spent six years at the University of Memphis, where he won three of his five best opera production awards. In addition to this year’s, he previously was honored for his Memphis productions of Engelbert Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel” (2008) and Mozart’s “Idomeneo” (2011).

He also was cited by the National Opera Association for his American collegiate premiere of Jacques Offenbach’s “Les contes d’Hoffmann” (2006) with Temple University Opera and the controversial American premiere of Obermueller & Gilbert’s “Dreimaldrei gleich unendlich” (2010) in the professional division with the Boston-based opera company Juventas New Music Ensemble.

Woodruff attended the University of South Carolina, where he earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in vocal performance. He also earned a master’s degree in stage directing for opera from Indiana University.

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.

 

Composer Asha Srinivasan Wins International Competition

Asha-Srinivasan_newsblog
Asha Srinivasan

Lawrence University Assistant Professor of Music Asha Srinivasan has been awarded first-place honors for her flute and cello composition “Dviraag” in the Flute New Music Consortium’s 2014 international composition competition.

“Dviraag” was selected the winner from more than 250 entries from composers in more than 20 countries. The work previously won the 2011 Thailand International Composition competition.

FNMC members will be invited to perform Srinivasan’s award-winning work at recitals and concerts throughout the coming year.

“From my perspective as a composer, the fact that many flutists, most of whom I will not have met, will have access and will be invited to perform my work means that my music will reach a wider audience,” said Srinivasan, who also received a $250 prize for winning the competition.

“Dviraag” is included on the CD “Millennial Masters Vol. 4” by Ablaze Records and also can be heard on SoundCloud.

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.

A “Wonderful, Personal Journey” Earns Senior Yifat Levenstein National Honor

Persistence has earned Lawrence University senior Yifat Levensten national recognition.

Yifat-Levenstein_newsblog
Yifat Levenstein ’15

Levenstein’s nearly year-long independent research on cross-cultural similarities and differences in predictors of disordered eating between American and Israeli women, was named the national winner of the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies’ 2014 student poster competition.

She will present her research findings Friday, Nov. 21 in Philadelphia as an invited guest at the ABCT’s four-day national conference, the country’s premier convention for clinical psychology. Levenstein also received a prize of $150.

“It certainly meant a lot to have my work recognized in such an important conference,” said Levenstein, a first generation college student from Israel. “The entire process has been a wonderful personal journey for me toward self realization.”

In her project, Levenstein examined whether the same sociocultural factors that put women at risk for eating disorders in the United States also apply to Israeli women despite the cultural differences. In surveying more than 200 subjects, primarily college students and young adults, she found the relationship between the environment and eating disorders among American women may also apply to Israeli women. Her results indicate how pervasive Western beauty ideology is to eating pathology among women in a non-traditional Western country.

“Yifat undertook a very ambitious independent research project involving recruiting participants from two countries,” said Lori Hilt, assistant professor of psychology who supervised Levenstein’s project. “Her materials had to be translated and back-translated to ensure their validity. She managed to design, coordinate and complete data collection on this project as an undergraduate which is remarkable. It’s no surprise she won this highly competitive undergraduate research award.”

Growing up in Israel, Levenstein, at 34, a non-traditional Lawrence student, struggled with school and could never imagine some day being recognized for her scholarship.

“I barely graduated from high school,” said Levenstein. “I did not think that I was smart enough to pursue higher education. When I came to America as an immigrant, I saw it as an opportunity to start over.”

At the age of 30, shortly after the birth of her daughter, Levenstein began classes for her high school equivalency diploma, studying for the first time in English. Upon completion, she enrolled at UW-La Crosse and was accepted into the McNair Scholars Program

“I did not think that I was smart enough to pursue higher education. When I
came to America as an immigrant, I saw it as an opportunity to start over.”
            — Yifat Levenstein ’15

Named after astronaut Ronald McNair, who was killed in the Challenger space shuttle tragedy, the federal program administered by the U.S. Department of Education supports undergraduate students for doctoral studies through involvement in research and other scholarly activities. McNair Scholars are either first-generation college students with financial need or members of a group that is traditionally underrepresented in graduate education and have demonstrated strong academic potential.

She first began formulating the idea for her research at UW-La Crosse, but when her husband had to relocate for work reasons, she was forced to withdraw from school and move, a development she described as “devastating.”

“I saw UW-La Crosse as my home and I was attached to all the wonderful mentors I had there,” said Levenstein. “Nevertheless, I was determined to continue my education and to finish my research study.”

After moving to Appleton, Levenstein enrolled at Lawrence and was accepted again to the McNair program, enabling her to continue her research study with Hilt as her mentor.

“Thanks to great opportunities, wonderful mentors, the McNair Scholars program and especially Professor Hilt, I was able to achieve this amazing accomplishment,” said Levenstein. “Having my poster win in the research competition affirmed to me that it is never too late to start over and to reinvent oneself.”

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.

LUPÉ Performs as Featured Artist at Percussive Arts Society International Convention

LUPE_group_newsblog

Percussion enthusiasts of all kinds attending this year’s Percussive Arts Society International Convention will be treated to a performance by the Lawrence University Percussion Ensemble (LUPÉ), which earned a special invitation by winning the organization’s 2014 International World Percussion Ensemble Competition earlier this year.

Twenty-three members of LUPÉ will share the spotlight when they take the stage Thursday, Nov. 20 in Indianapolis, Ind., as one of the three-day conference’s featured performers.This will be LUPÉ’s second appearance on the international stage under the direction of Professor of Music Dane Richeson. LUPÉ previously performed at the international conference in Phoenix, Ariz., after winning the 1995 PAS collegiate percussion ensemble competition.

“I am so proud of my students and am honored that LUPÉ has won an ensemble competition by the Percussive Arts Society for the second time,” said Richeson, who has directed Lawrence’s percussion studio since 1984. “This convention is the largest gathering of percussion artists, teachers, students, manufacturers and publishers in the world, so being invited to perform a showcase concert there is indeed an accomplishment in which we can take great pride.”

LUPÉ — featuring the Sambistas, a Brazilian drumming corps, Kinkaviwo, a Ghanaian drum and dance group and Tambotoke´, an Afro-Cuban group — was selected the winner of the PAS-sponsored World Percussion Competition from among submitted video tapes. The competition is open to high school and college/university ensembles performing non-Western percussion-based music. Lawrence’s submission was from its March 2014 concert in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel.

LUPE_newsblog2Richeson called the competition victory “a testament to the dedication and hard work our students put into learning these music traditions from Brazil, Ghana and Cuba.

“Many of the student directors of our ensembles have received grants to travel to these countries and study with master musicians similar to the ones I have had opportunities to study with during my sabbaticals there,” he added. “It fills me with pride to see our students embrace this music as if it was from their own culture.”

The Percussive Arts Society International Convention is the world’s largest percussion event, featuring more than 120 concerts, clinics, master classes, labs, workshops, panels and presentations. Ensembles from the University of Kentucky, Oklahoma State University and Yale University will join LUPÉ as performance winners from other PAS-sponsored competition categories.

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 Celebrates the Life of Jazz Studies Director and Professor of Music Fred Sturm Nov. 15

Fred-Sturm-Memorial_newsblog
Grammy Award winner Bobby McFerrin (left) was just one of the many jazz icons Fred Sturm collaborated with during his illustrious career.

A memorial service celebrating the life and honoring the career of Fred Sturm, Kimberly-Clark Professor of Music and Director of Jazz Studies and Improvisational Music at Lawrence University, will be held Saturday, Nov. 15  at 10 a.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel. A reception will be held in the Warch Campus Center following the service. Both events are open to the public.

The service also will be webcast via livestream.

Sturm died Aug. 24 at his home in De Pere at the age of 63 following a long and courageous battle with cancer.

A nationally recognized jazz educator and an award-winning composer, Sturm spent 26 years as a member of the Lawrence Conservatory of Music faculty spanning two different teaching stints (1977-91; 2002-14). In between, he taught at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., where he was the chair of the jazz studies and contemporary media department.

A 1973 Lawrence graduate, Sturm was a beloved mentor to hundreds, if not thousands, of aspiring musicians. The student ensembles he directed were recognized with nine Downbeat awards, widely considered among the highest music honors in the field of jazz education. Downbeat honored Sturm himself with its Jazz Education Achievement Award in 2010.

Read more about Prof. Sturm’s amazing career at Lawrence.

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.