Lawrence University News

APPLETON, WIS. -- Award-winning novelist Jane Hamilton will read excerpts from her latest book "When Madeline Was Young" Thursday, January 11 at Lawrence University. The reading, at 7:30 p.m. in Harper Hall in the Lawrence Music-Drama Center, 420 E. College Ave., Appleton, is free and open to the public. Hamilton will conduct a book signing following the reading.

Published by Doubleday in September, 2006, "When Madeline Was Young," weaves a richly-textured story of a tragic accident and the profound effect human kindness has on two generations of a family. Hamilton's fifth novel, the Washington Post hailed it as her "most distinguished work so far, a story in which tragedy is balanced brilliantly against the consolations and pleasures of ordinary life."

Hamilton, 49, received the 1989 PEN/Hemingway Award for her first novel, "The Book of Ruth." Her second novel, "A Map of the World," published in 1994, was named a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times and was included on the top 10 books of the year by Entertainment Weekly, Publishers Weekly, the Miami Herald and People magazine.

Her third book, "The Short Story of a Prince," received the Chicago Tribune's 1998 Heartland Prize, an award that reinforces and perpetuates the values of heartland America and earned a Best Book citation from Publishers Weekly. In 2000, Hamilton released her fourth novel, "Disobedience," which joined "The Book of Ruth" and "A Map of the World" as a best-seller after all three were named to Oprah Winfrey's book club.

The daughter and granddaughter of writers, Hamilton was born in Oak Park, Ill., and today makes her home in Rochester, Wis. She earned a bachelor's degree in English from Carleton College and spent time after graduation working at an apple orchard in Wisconsin before pursuing a writing career in 1982.

Hamilton's appearance is sponsored by the Gordon R. Clapp Lectureship in American Studies.

APPLETON, WIS. -- Award-winning contemporary French cinema, including a 2005 Cannes Film Festival Golden Palm winner, will be featured in a month-long film festival at Lawrence University beginning January 11. Five films will each be shown three times as part of the 2007 Tournees Festival, which was made possible with the support of the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and the French Ministry of Culture.

The films, in French with English subtitles, will be shown in the Wriston Art Center auditorium on the Lawrence campus beginning at 7 p.m. Admission is free with a Lawrence University I.D. or $3 for the general public.

"Given that the Fox Cities doesn't have any regular venue for foreign films, this is a fabulous opportunity for the Lawrence French and Francophone Studies department to offer the community a glimpse of the breadth and variety of the French-speaking world and its cultures through contemporary films," said Eilene Hoft March, professor of French at Lawrence, who is coordinating the series.

"The Cultural Services of the French Embassy and the French Ministry of Culture has subsidized film festivals through competitive grants on campuses all over the United States in an effort to encourage cross-cultural understanding," Hoft-March added. "We're thrilled to be one of those campuses that received the grant this year. We hope to enhance the series through post-film discussions led by a member of the Lawrence faculty on Thursday evenings."

The films and dates are as follows.

Jan. 11, 12, 13 -- "No Rest for the Brave" (2003)
A refreshingly original combination of a coming-of-age story and French existentialism spiced with plenty of wit and vivid imagery, where grand ideas mesh with bizarre occurrences to create a fascinating, surreal journey of discovery, chance and mystery. The film follows the adventures of Basile, an angst-ridden French teenager who is convinced he will die if he falls asleep. The notion leads him on a road trip that becomes a hallucinatory odyssey as he encounters murder, sex and intrigue.

Jan. 18, 20, 21 -- "Moolade" ( 2004) Note: No showing on Friday. Jan. 19
Winner of the 2004 Cannes Best Film Award, "Moolade" tackles the explosive issue of female circumcision. Set in a small African village, four young girls face a ritual purification that involves genital mutilation. They flee to the house of Collé Ardo Gallo Sy, a strong-willed woman who invokes the time-honored custom of "mooladé" (sanctuary) to protect the fugitives, creating a conflict in the community and forcing every villager to take sides. The film explores heroism in daily life and the "underground struggle" of people which is often overlooked by their governments and the rest of world.

Jan. 25, 26, 27 -- "Little Jerusalem" (2004)
Recognized with a screenwriting award at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, "Little Jerusalem" is the nickname of a low-income housing neighborhood near Paris where a large number of Jewish immigrants live. The film focuses on sisters Laura and Mathilde, members of a Tunisian family of eight, who share a cramped apartment amid rising tensions between Muslim and Jewish communities. The film delicately depicts the intimate lives of two women while raising questions of religious interpretation, freedom, sexuality and family relationships.

Feb. 1, 2, 3 -- "The Child" (2005)
Winner of the 2005 Golden Palm Award, the highest prize given to a film at the Cannes Film Festival, "The Child" follows the transformation of Bruno, a dispossessed 20-year old who lives with his girlfriend, Sonia. Surviving on unemployment benefits, panhandling and petty thievery, Sonia gives birth to a son, Jimmy, for whom Bruno feels little attachment. Seeing Jimmy as little more than a potential source of wealth, Bruno sells Jimmy on the black market, which sends Sonia to the hospital. Realizing his mistake, Bruno sets out to get Jimmy back, robbing a store to do so. Overcome with a newly discovered sense of obligation to his son, Bruno steps forward and takes responsibility for the crime, which lands him in prison.

Feb. 8, 9, 10 -- "Far Side of the Moon" (2003)
The recipient of several honors, including the FIPRESCI Prize (International Film Critics Award) at the 2004 Berlin Film Festival, "Far Side of the Moon" is an engaging metaphor of mysterious dualities, juxtaposing sibling rivalry with the U.S.-Soviet space race. The film centers around two estranged brothers with little in common who relive childhood disputes while disposing of their deceased mother's belongings. Philippe is a 40ish doctoral student who has repeatedly failed to defend his dissertation on human narcissism and space exploration. His younger brother André is a television meteorologist. The film probes issues of competition and reconciliation while searching for meaning in the universe.

APPLETON, WIS. -- Justice Louis Butler, the first African-American to serve on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, will deliver the keynote address at the 16th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Monday, January 15 at 6:30 p.m. in the Lawrence University Memorial Chapel. The theme for this year's event is "For the Common Good -- Is King's Dream Still Relevant Today?"

The celebration, co-sponsored by Lawrence and the organization Toward Community: Unity in Diversity, is free and open to the public. A sign language interpreter will be present.

The event will be a homecoming for Butler, who graduated from Lawrence in 1973 with a bachelor's degree in government. During a stellar law career spanning more than 25 years, Butler has achieved several notable "firsts," including being the first public defender from Wisconsin to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court and the first African-American Wisconsin Supreme Court justice. He was appointed to the state's highest court by Governor Jim Doyle in August, 2004 to fill the position left vacant by Justice Diane Sykes' acceptance of a seat on the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

A native of Chicago's south side Park Manor neighborhood, Butler earned the J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School and served as an assistant Wisconsin State Public Defender in both the appellate and trial divisions.

He served as a Milwaukee Municipal Court judge from 1992-2002 and Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge from 2002 until his appointment to the state supreme court. A former adjunct assistant professor at Marquette University Law School, Butler is a permanent member of the faculty of the National Judicial College in Reno, Nev., where judges from across the nation pursue continuing education.

"We're thrilled to have a person of Justice Butler's stature headlining our annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration," said Erik Farley, assistant dean of students for multicultural affairs at Lawrence. "This is truly a community-enriching event, one that fosters new friendships and nurtures old ones as it gathers together Lawrentians and Fox Valley community members. It's gratifying to know that Dr. King's work lives on in our efforts to create and sustain a living and learning environment that respects all aspects of human difference.

"It is my hope that this celebration serves as a catalyst for future discussions that will challenge this community to think critically and to intellectually explore what might be unfamiliar territory," Farley added. "We all have a responsibility to inspire the courage to question and to stretch some comfort zones within a safe space for learning and discussion."

After moving to the Fox Cities in 1990, Rev. Roger Bertschausen of the Fox Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship and a founding member of Toward Community, was instrumental in organizing the community's first King holiday celebration.

"I am delighted that the Martin Luther King celebration has become an important annual event in the life of our community, calling us to celebrate the strides toward community and justice we have made and reminding us that we have further to travel," said Bertschausen.

In addition to Butler's address, acclaimed singers Tim and Ezra Dorsey will perform during the celebration and lead the audience in a rendition of the African-American national anthem "Lift Every Voice and Sing." Tim Dorsey, who has been singing professionally since the 1970s, is well known for his musical versatility and distinctive vocal styling.

Highlighting the event will be the presentation by Toward Community of the annual Jane LaChapelle McCarty Unity in Diversity Award to an area individual who has made great strides in bringing together different people in the community.

The celebration also will include the reading of winning essays written by area youth who have addressed the question, "Is Dr. King's message of equality and harmony among all people and all races still relevant today?"

A reception for all in attendance will follow the program.

APPLETON, WIS. -- Mezzo-soprano, Susan Graham, will grace the stage of the Lawrence Memorial Chapel at 8:00 p.m. January 16 as part of the 2006-07 "Performing Arts at Lawrence" Artist Series. Accompanying Graham is pianist Malcolm Martineau.

One of today's foremost international opera stars, Graham's repertoire spans the history of opera, from the Baroque to the classical and contemporary. She has always had a special affinity for French repertoire and devotes the entirety of her current recital program--like much of her extensive discography--to French song and opera. Graham has sung leading roles in many of the great opera houses of the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyrica Opera of Chicago, La Scala Milan, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and Vienna State Opera.

Last season, Graham created a leading role in her second Metropolitan Opera world premiere, Tobias Picker's An American Tragedy. Her first was in The Great Gatsby, by John Harbison, in 1999-2000. Graham has an extensive discography of solo recitals and complete opera recording. Her disc of Charles Ives songs with pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard won a Grammy Award. She received a Grammy Award nomination for her portrayal of Dido in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas. She also received the Maria Callas award from France's Académie du Disque Lyrique for the same role.

She was honored by the French government with its highest award for performers, the "Commandeur dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres." She was also named Musical America's 2004 Vocalist of the year. She won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the Schwabacher Award from San Francisco Opera's Merola Program, as well as a career grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation.

Martineau was born in Edinburgh, read music at St. Catharine's College in Cambridge, and studied at the Royal College of Music. He is recognized as one of the leading accompanists of his generation and has worked with many of the world's greatest singers including Sir Thomas Allen, Ina Bostridge, Della Jones, Amanda Roocroft, and many more.

He has presented his own series at St. Johns Smith Square, the Wigmore Hall, and at the Edinburgh Festival. He has appeared throughout Europe, North America, Australia, and at the Aix-en-Provence, Vienna, Edinburgh, Schubertiade, Munich, and Salzburg Festivals. He was given an honorary doctorate at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in 2004.

Tickets for this concert are $22 and $20 for adults, $19 and $17 for senior citizens, and $17 and $15 for students and are available through the Lawrence University Box Office, located in the Music-Drama Center, or by phone at 920-832-6749. Tickets, if available, will also be sold beginning one hour before the performance at the box office.

Other upcoming Artist Series concerts include cellist David Finkel and pianist Wu Han on March 3 and bassoonist Peter Kolkay '98 on April 21. For more information on the "Performing Arts at Lawrence" concert series, please visit www.lawrence.edu/news/performingartsseries.

APPLETON, WIS. -- An opening reception and lecture for the next exhibition at the Wriston Art Center galleries takes place at 6:00 p.m. January 19. Michelle Grabner, who will exhibit Mid-Career Retrospective in the Hoffmaster and Kohler galleries, will give the opening lecture. The Leech Gallery will feature recent acquisitions.

Grabner, an artist, professor, art critic, and curator, has had one-person exhibitions in London, Melbourne, Los Angeles, New York, Boston, and Chicago. This exhibition, organized by University Galleries, College of Fine Arts, Illinois State University, Normal, and supported in part by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, will represent her first large-scale solo museum survey.

The spare minimalism of Grabner's works is actually an ongoing and complex response to the material world of everyday life. Some of her early works were derived from some of the most common objects found in domestic interiors. The patterns on rugs, colanders, produce bags, and bedspreads were meticulously stenciled onto canvas and panel and then painted by hand with enamel or flocking. In later works, Grabner investigates the illusory and ever-changing refraction of light in rainbows and the natural diffraction of reflective surfaces. Through the last 10 years, all of Grabner's works have been precise and seemingly obsessive interpretations of common phenomena, filtered through a careful and subtly changing vision.

Included in the recent acquisitions exhibition at the Leech Gallery are two 20th century Japanese woodblock prints, a Thomas Dietrich watercolor painting, a painting by the American Surrealist Walter Quirt, executed in 1947, a sculpture by contemporary artist Ronald Gonzalez and a piece of Native American pottery from the southwest.

These exhibitions will be on display through March 11. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Friday, 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday, noon-4:00 p.m.

APPLETON, WIS. -- Love and courtship is a tangled, exhilarating mess as Lawrence University's dance company in residence, Wild Space Dance Company of Milwaukee, presents Various States of Undress at 8:00 p.m. January 19 in Stansbury Theatre. Tickets for this production are $10 for adults and $5 for senior citizens and students. Tickets are available at the Lawrence University Box Office, located in the Music-Drama Center, or by phone at 920-832-6749. If available, tickets will also be sold at the box office beginning one hour before the performance.

From uncertainty to intimacy and back again, Wild Space reveals these states through full-bodied dance, inventive choreography, and clever wordplay. In the title piece, "Various States of Undress," fictional characters John and Mary are in love; or at least that is what the writer thinks as he creates them in his imagination. But the course of true love does not run smooth in this text and dance work inspired by Diane Schoemperlen's "How to Write a Serious Novel About Love." There are infidelities and insecurities as John, Mary, and their creator wryly navigate the risks and rewards of love, romance, and the interior monologue. Played by Wild Space Dance Company members, Randy Talley and Laura Murphy, John and Mary take direction--and sometimes give it--to guest performer Scott Howland as the writer.

The performance also features "One Time at Lunch" by Artistic Director Debra Loewen, a light-hearted quartet set to the offbeat country songs of Terry Allen, and works by company members, Monica Rodero, Dan Schuchart, and Katie Sopoci. Guest artist, Sofi Askenazi, performs in Sopoci's choreographed, "The Existential Crisis of the American Youth" (or "I wish I was a cat").

Wild Space Dance Company has intrigued audiences for 20 years as one of Wisconsin's most dynamic and creative performing companies.

APPLETON, WIS. -- Beginning Jan. 10, Lawrence University's Seeley G. Mudd Library will host a national touring exhibition of the 2006 Paul Revere Awards from the Music Publishers' Association of the United States. The exhibition will be displayed in the cases just inside the library's main entrance through the end of January.

The collection features nearly 50 scores of works recognized as outstanding examples of graphic design. Approximately 10 scores will be exhibited at a time with changes made to the display on a weekly basis throughout the month. The Paul RevereAwards honor the publishers for their efforts in creating art for the music industry.

Lawrence is the fourth stop on the exhibition's national tour, which began at Florida State University last September and included previous stops at the University of Minnesota-Duluth and Columbia University in New York City. In February, the exhibition travels to Connecticut College.

APPLETON, WIS. -- A musical petting zoo, a play-a-thon, and a "Choose-Your-Cruise" raffle are just many of the activities taking place at the Lawrence Academy of Music tutti! scholarship benefit. Tutti!, which means "together" in Italian, will take place on January 27 from 1:00-5:00 p.m. at Appleton North High School, 5000 N. Ballard Road.

Many events and activities will be held throughout the day, including a silent auction, a bake sale, and a KidZone with musical games and crafts. Refreshments will also be available for purchase throughout the day. The drawing for the $2,500 "Choose-Your-Cruise" raffle takes place at 4:00 p.m. Tickets for the raffle are $10 each and are available at the Academy of Music or from any Academy student or teacher. A play-a-thon will feature Academy students, teachers, and ensembles.

All proceeds from this event go directly to the Academy's financial assistance fund, which provides financial aid to families who would not otherwise be able to afford music instruction for their children. Admission to this fun-filled day is free, however, donations will be accepted at the door.

For more information on this event, call the Academy at 920-832-6632 or visit www.lawrence.edu/dept/acad_music/events.shtml.

APPLETON, WIS. -- Robert Suettinger, a former U.S. intelligence officer and a scholar on East Asia, will spend seven weeks of Spring Term as Lawrence University's Stephen Edward Scarff Memorial Visiting Professor. He will be in residence in the government department from March 22 to April 19 and again from May 8-29.

A 1968 graduate of Lawrence, Suettinger will reunite with his former mentor, Professor Emeritus of Government Chong-do Hah, to team-teach the seminar "The United States and Rising Asian Powers."

Suettinger, currently an analytic director with Centra Technology, Inc., an Arlington, Va., consulting firm that provides national security research and analysis, among other services, brings an extensive background in East Asian affairs and policy making to Lawrence.

He spent three years as director for Asian affairs for the National Security Council in the mid-1990s, where he dealt regularly with NSC advisers Anthony Lake and Sandy Berger and occasionally briefed President Clinton. He also twice served on the National Intelligence Council for East Asia, first as a deputy national intelligence officer (1987-94) and later as a national intelligence officer for East Asia (1997-98).

Suettinger began his career with the Central Intelligence Agency in 1975, spending 12 years with the agency as a researcher, senior analyst and branch chief in the China division of the Office of East Asian Analysis. He joined the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research in 1987, where he spent two years as the director of the Office of Analysis for East Asia and the Pacific.

He has written extensively on U.S. and China foreign policy issues, including the 2003 book "Beyond Tiananmen: The Politics of U.S.-China Relations, 1989-2000," in which he argues that the Tiananmen Square "massacre" in June, 1989 produced an overnight shift of Chinese-American relations from "amity and strategic cooperation to hostility, distrust and misunderstanding." He contends the bloody confrontation in Beijing continues to undermine cordial relations between the two countries yet today.

A member of Phi Beta Kappa, Suettinger earned a bachelor's degree magna cum laude in political science from Lawrence in 1968, undertook Chinese language study at Princeton University and Middlebury College and earned a master's degree in comparative politics at Columbia University.

He joins a long list of distinguished scholars and notable public servants who have previously held the Scarff professorship, among them McGeorge Bundy, national security adviser to presidents Kennedy and Johnson, Karl Scheld, senior vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, William Sloane Coffin, Jr., former chaplain at Yale University, noted civil rights advocate and peace activist, Takakazu Kuriyama, former Japanese ambassador to the U.S. and George Meyer, long-time secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

The Scarff Memorial Visiting Professorship was established in 1989 by Edward and Nancy Scarff in memory of their son, Stephen, a member of the Lawrence class of 1975, who died in an automobile accident in 1984. It was designed to bring civic leaders and scholars to Lawrence to provide broad perspectives on the central issues of the day.

APPLETON, WIS. -- With its abundance of natural resources and a young, dynamic population, Africa long has been viewed as a land of great promise. But political instability and crippling economic challenges have often produced more turmoil than prosperity. The world's second largest continent in size and population will be the focus of Lawrence University's annual Povolny International Studies Lecture Series, "Africa Today: Problems and Solutions."

Noted Africanist M. Crawford Young, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, opens the five-part series Monday, Jan. 22, at 7 p.m. in the Wriston Art Center auditorium with the address "Beyond State Crisis in Post-Colonial Africa?" All lectures in the series are free and open to the public.

"It has been more than 25 years since most African countries became independent, yet Africa as a region remains the poorest in the world, troubled by persistent conflict, high levels of poverty, refugee flows and social problems brought by famine and disease," said Claudena Skran, Lawrence University associate professor of government and the series coordinator.

"This year's series looks to address both the historical and political roots of African problems as well as examine solutions to them, including conflict resolution, foreign aid, trade and different development strategies."

Young will share an historic review of the optimism widely held by nationalist leaders, academic observers and the policy community around 1960 when much of the continent gained independence and examine the factors that prevented reality from matching that optimism, among them underestimating the burden of the colonial legacy, economic vulnerabilities and the negative impact of Cold War rivalries.

Young also will discuss the reasons why soon after gaining independence, many of the new country's democratic institutions put in place by withdrawing colonizers gave way to single-party systems, including the use of military coups in the last half of the 1960s and the rise of "neopatrimonial autocracies" of the 1970s and '80s. According to Young, the present map of Africa "was entirely constructed by colonial cartography, thus bearing the original sin of alien origin and artificiality."

Regarded as one of the world's leading scholars on Africa, Young has written seven books on African politics, edited six others and has had more than 100 scholarly articles and book chapters published.

He gained academic prominence with the release of "The Politics of Cultural Pluralism" in 1976, which earned the Herskovits Prize from the African Studies Association.

His 1994 book, "The African Colonial State in Comparative Perspective," was awarded the Lubbert Prize from the American Political Science Association as the best book written that year in the field of comparative politics. Other books written by Young include "The Ideology and Development in Africa" and "The Rise and Decline of the Zairian State."

In addition to spending 38 years (1963-2001) on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Young served as the dean of the faculty of social science at the Universite Nationale du Zaire from 1973-75. During his career he also served as a visiting professor at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda and the Université Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar, Senegal.

A former president of the African Studies Association, Young was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1998 and named to the Library of Congress' Scholars Council in 2004. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and his Ph.D. from Harvard University.

Other scheduled speakers in the series include Joseph Sebarenzi, former head of the Rwanda parliament who was granted asylum in the United States (Feb. 20), Michael Fosdal, a specialist on British politics who teaches government at Lawrence's London Center (April 3), Jacqueline Klopp, assistant professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University (April 10) and John Roome, an operations director with the World Bank (TBA).

The "Africa Today: Problems and Solutions" lecture series is sponsored by the Mojmir Povolny Lectureship in International Studies. Named in honor of long-time Lawrence government professor Mojmir Povolny, the lectureship promotes interest and discussion on issues of moral significance and ethical dimensions.

APPLETON, WIS. -- The Lawrence Symphony Orchestra, conducted by David Becker, premieres La Serenissima, a composition by Joanne Metcalf, Lawrence University assistant professor of music, at 8:00 p.m. January 27 in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel. Metcalf will give a pre-concert lecture at 7:00 p.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel. Both the concert and lecture are free and open to the public.

The concert features solos by Lawrence Conservatory of Music faculty members Patrice Michaels, associate professor of music, Steven Paul Spears, assistant professor of music, and John Gates, visiting assistant professor of music.

La Serenissima was composed by Metcalf while on sabbatical last year as a composition fellow at the MacDowell Colony. The composition is an extended scene from the opera Orphans of the Heavenly City, an opera on the extraordinary phenomenon of the all-female professional orchestra and choir of the 18th century Venetian Ospedale della Pietá. The Pietá was one of four ospedali, or social welfare institutions, that functioned as places of refuge for the sick, the abandoned, the unwanted, and the socially undesirable. The Pietá's clientele consisted entirely of abandoned infants who, if they were female and musically gifted, would be given 10 years of musical training and might spend the entirety of their lives in the coro. These women would neither marry nor take formal religious vows, but acted as servants of liturgical music, performing in services and liturgical concerts daily.

In this scene, the soprano sings the role of La Serenissima, or Venice personified, who watches the foundlings as they are admitted to the Pietá through the scaffetta, a small opening discreetly place on the side of the building. She sings from the libro di scaffetta, an intake ledger that lists the barest facts of the infants' young lives including apparent age, state of health, clothing worn, and identifying tokens left by the mother. Her music resembles a gentle lullaby, but it is surrounded by fateful, dissonant, crashing chords that allude to the harsh destiny those children would have met on the streets of Venice. The men, each in his time a Doge of Venice (the Republic's highest leader) and member of the Board of Governors of the Pietá, sing the words of a papal bull of 1548 that are inscribed on a lapide, or stone tablet, that remains on the outer wall of the Pietá today.

Metcalf's compositions have been performed and broadcast in more than 25 countries worldwide and she has received commissions from the Hilliard Ensemble, the North Carolina Arts Council, the Scottish Arts Council, Cappella Nova, the Netherland-America Foundation, Ensemble Hex, English tenor John Potter, Norway's Trio Mediaeval, and many more. Her composition Il nome del bel fior has received over 85 performances worldwide and was featured in the 2002 German television documentary Wenn Engel singen: Das Hilliard Ensemble; its recording won the 2005 German Echo-klassik prize, the German equivalent of a Grammy, for Best Vocal Ensemble Performance. Metclaf's works are recorded on ECM New Series and Oehms Classics labels.

APPLETON, WIS. -- "Creators: Commercial Music Careers," an open forum for individuals interested in careers as composers and songwriters of pop, jazz, film, television, radio, and media music, takes place at 1:00 p.m. February 10 in Harper Hall, located in the Music-Drama Center on the Lawrence University campus.

Hosting this educational event is Fred Sturm, director of jazz and improvisational music at Lawrence University and a jazz, orchestral, and media music composer. "This forum will give interested composers and songwriters the opportunity to ask questions about what to study, how to prepare themselves, and what they need to know about commercial music as a potential career," said Sturm. "Our area high schools and universities effectively inform aspiring composers about the worlds of jazz and classical music. But commercial music careers frequently get short shrift, for institutions typically assume that music students will explore pop, film, TV, radio, and media music on their own."

The guest panel for the day includes Maury Laws, John Harmon, Lovell Ives, and Patty Darling. Laws, is the music director for "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," the renowned Rankin/Bass animated television specials and films, and arranger for Fred Astaire, Danny Kaye, Angela Lansbury, Burl Ives, Danny Thomas, Art Carney, Judy Collins, and Ethel Merman. Harmon is a composer of music for jazz, orchestral, choral, and chamber ensembles, a former composer and pianist with Matrix, he has music recorded on RCA, Warner Brothers, and Pablo Records, and was the featured artist on Marian McPartland's PianoJazz.

Ives is the retired director of the Green Bay Packers Band, the retired director of jazz studies at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, conductor of the annual Cerebral Palsy Telethon in Green Bay, instructor at the Institute of Advanced Musical Study in Crans, Switzerland, and renowned composer and arranger of jazz, pop, and commercial music. Darling is a composer and producer for numerous industrial, film, television, and radio commercial music productions, a staff composer for Saxe Productions in Appleton, and an outstanding jazz, classical, and media music composer.

"We're blessed to have some of the most respected and diversely experienced commercial music composers serving on our panel. They'll have meaningful answers to most the questions coming from their audience," said Sturm.

APPLETON, WIS. -- The theme for the sixth annual Celebration of Black Heritage at Lawrence University is "Legends in the Making...From Black Face to My Face." The event, which is sponsored by the Black Organization of Students, is set for 6:00 p.m. February 3 in the Buchanan Kiewit Recreation Center gymnasium.

This event replaces Lawrence's celebration of Kwanzaa. It commemorates African-American history and culture through a dinner and program. The program begins with a welcome by the current president of the Black Organization of Students who will explain what the organization is and what it stands for. The introduction will be followed by several acts including singing, poetry, theatrical duets, dancing, and more.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under. Tickets can be purchased at the Lawrence University Box Office, located in the Music-Drama Center, or by phone at 920-832-6749.

APPLETON, WIS. -- Former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr discusses the role of the Second Amendment as a core foundation of the Bill of Rights and the importance of self-reliance in preserving one's life and property against attack from criminals, foreign powers or even a malevolent government in an address at Lawrence University.

Barr presents "The Second Amendment is About More Than Just Guns" Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. in Science Hall, Room 102. The event is free and open to the public.

The address will examine the current relevance of the right to keep and bear arms as established by the framers of the Constitution and the importance of not turning this responsibility solely over to the government.

A member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 -2003, Barr was dubbed "Mr. Privacy" by New York Times columnist William Safire in recognition of his leadership in privacy matters. While in Congress, Barr served as a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee and as vice-chairman of the Government Reform Committee.

Since leaving Congress, Barr has occupied the 21st Century Liberties Chair for Freedom and Privacy at the Virginia-based American Conservative Union. He is a board member of the National Rifle Association and serves as the chairman of the organization Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances.

He also works with the Leadership Institute in Arlington, Va., and is a member of The Constitution Project's Initiative on Liberty and Security, based at Georgetown University's Public Policy Institute. From 2003-05, Barr served as a member of the Long Term Strategy Project for Preserving Security and Democratic Norms in the War on Terrorism at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

A former official with the CIA (1971-78), he was appointed U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia by President Reagan in 1986 and served as president of the Southeastern Legal Foundation from 1990-91.

Barr is a frequent guest on network and cable news programs and writes a column for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He is the author of the 2004 book "The Meaning of Is: The Squandered Impeachment and Wasted Legacy of William Jefferson Clinton," in which he offers a sharply contrasting perspective on the Clinton administration than the one touted in Clinton's own memoir.

His appearance is sponsored by the Lawrence University Sportsman's Club.

APPLETON, WIS. -- Ted Peters, an ordained minister, and Martinez Hewlett, a biochemist-turned-philosopher, examine the scientific and theological aspects of the question "Can You Believe in God and Evolution?" Thursday, Jan. 25 in an address at Lawrence University. The presentation, at 11:10 a.m. in Stansbury Theatre in Lawrence's Music-Drama Center, is free and open to the public.

Peters and Hewlett are the co-authors of two books on the subject: "Evolution from Creation to New Creation" in 2003 and "Can You Believe in God and Evolution? A Guide for the Perplexed," which was published in July, 2006.

The power-point presentation will examine the basic science of biological evolution, the social and philosophical "shrink wrapping" that was placed over the science more than 100 years ago as well as the societal responses to both the science and the overlay.

Peters and Hewlett contend that the science is not a challenge to belief. They support theistic evolution in which they take the science of evolution seriously but with an understanding their religious faith is enriched, not challenged, by the advances of science.

A pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Peters has taught systematic theology at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary since 1978 and served as PLTS' interim president from mid-2003 until early 2005. He is also a faculty member at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Calif., and is affiliated with the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences as a research scholar.

In addition to his collaborations with Hewlett, Peters also has addressed issues related to science and religion in several other books, including "Science, Theology and Ethics" and "Playing God? Genetic Determinism and Human Freedom."

Hewlett, a Roman Catholic, spent 27 years on the faculty at the University of Arizona as a molecular biologist. After retiring in 2003, he closed his research laboratory and turned his attention to teaching and creative writing, focusing on the philosophical aspects of science. He is the author of "Sangre de Cristo: A Novel of Science and Faith," which has been republished as "Divine Blood."

His interest in the spiritual aspects of existence led Hewlett to become a lay member of the Dominicans and he currently serves as an adjunct professor at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology at Berkeley's Graduate Theological Union.

Peters' and Hewlett's appearance is sponsored by the student organization Lawrence Christian Fellowship.

APPLETON, WIS. -- Wisconsin Reserve Judge Charles B. Schudson will spend part of Winter Term as a Scholar-in-Residence in Lawrence University's government department, leading a three-part lecture/seminar series and a two-part discussion series for students who are considering attending law school.

Schudson will present three separate lectures under the title "Law and Society -- Confrontations in America's Courts." The schedule for all three sessions is as follows: a reception at 5:30 p.m. in the Science Hall atrium, a lecture and question-and-answer session from 6:30-7:50 p.m. in Science Hall, Room 102 and a movie and post-film discussion led by Schudson in the Wriston Art Center auditorium beginning at 8 p.m.

The first seminar will be held Wednesday, Jan. 24 and will feature the 2001 movie "Bartleby the Scrivener," a modern adaptation of Herman Melville's short story of the same name. The discussion following the movie will focus on the topic "The Deviant and the Law: From Scriveners to Sex Predators -- Criminals Confront Civil Liberties in America's Courts."

Part two of the series on Wednesday, Jan. 31 will feature the film "Absence of Malice," the critically acclaimed legal drama about investigative reporting and libel. Schudson's discussion topic afterward will be "The Journalist and the Law: From Lincoln Steffens to Judith Miller -- the First Amendment Confronts National Security in America's Courts."

The seminar series concludes Wednesday, Feb. 7 with a showing of the 1980 Oscar-nominated short film "A Jury of Her Peers," which explores issues of women's victimization and justifiable homicide. Schudson's follow-up discussion is entitled "The Vulnerable and the Law: From Suffragists to Assault Victims -- Women and Children Confront the Good Ol' Boys in America's Courts."

Also during his residency, Schudson will conduct two discussion/luncheon sessions for students interested in attending law school. The first, "So You're Thinking about Law School: The Study and Practice of Law -- the Good, the Bad and the Ugly," will be held Thursday, Jan. 25 at 11 a.m. in Colman Hall. The second, "So You're Still Thinking about Law School -- Choosing and Applying," will be conducted Thursday, Feb. 1 at 11 a.m. in the Barber Room.

A Wisconsin native born in Milwaukee, Schudson spent seven years as a state and federal prosecutor (1975-82) before joining the state judiciary. He served as a Wisconsin Circuit Court judge from 1982-92 and the following 12 years as a judge for the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. He currently is senior counsel for the Wisconsin law firm von Briesen & Roper, s.c., and teaches trial advocacy as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Wisconsin Law School. He also has taught two Lawrence University Bjorklunden seminars.

An advocate for the rights of children, women and the elderly, Schudson is the author of the book "On Trial: America's Courts and Their Treatment of Sexually Abused Children." His work on the bench has been recognized with numerous honors, including the U.S. Justice Department's Award for Superior Performance for his precedent-setting prosecutions of nursing home patient abuses and Medicaid fraud, the Wisconsin Committee for Prevention of Child Abuse Certificate of Special Achievement, the 1998 National Human Rights Leadership Award and the 2000 Foundation for Improvement of Justice Award.

He has served as keynote speaker for conferences throughout the world and has provided expert testimony at congressional committee hearings on child sexual abuse, battered women and the impact of unemployment on children and families. He has been a featured guest on numerous radio and television shows, among them NPR's "All Things Considered," PBS's "The McNeil-Lehrer Report" and "Oprah."

Schudson earned a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College, graduating Phi Beta Kappa and a law degree from the UW Law School, where he was on Law Review.

APPLETON, WIS. -- Lawrence University has received a $1 million gift from the S & R Pieper Family Foundation in Mequon, Wis., to establish an endowed professorship that will foster and promote the concept of altruistic leadership at the college.

In conjunction with the gift, Lawrence President Jill Beck announced the appointment of Alan Parks, professor of mathematics, as the first holder of the Pieper Family Servant-Leader Professorship, effective July 1, 2007. Parks will have major responsibilities for enhancing Lawrence's involvement in courses that feature community-based learning.

In appointing Parks to the Pieper Professorship, Beck stated that "Professor Parks will bring energy, thoughtfulness, and wisdom to the important goal of helping our students develop as citizen-leaders. His experience as a respected member of Lawrence's faculty combined with his deep commitment to the ideals of community engagement makes him uniquely qualified for this position. He will help our students connect their learning in the classroom, laboratory, and studio with a commitment to use that learning effectively and responsibly in the contemporary world."

The Pieper gift also will provide funding for an extensive assessment plan, including the collection of baseline data, longitudinal assessment and comparison with peer institutions on measures of character, attitudes and behavior related to servant-leadership, altruism, and community service. Parks will coordinate the assessment in conjunction with Bill Skinner, Lawrence's director of research administration.

The principles behind servant-leadership were articulated by Robert K. Greenleaf (1904-90), a former AT&T executive, teacher, consultant, and essayist. Greenleaf endorsed a practical philosophy that encourages collaboration in decision making, promotes trust and ethical use of power and empowerment, and emphasizes a holistic approach to work and human relations.

In awarding the gift, Richard Pieper, founder and executive director of the foundation, cited Lawrence's student honor code, a system overseen entirely by students to ensure academic integrity, as a great building block in not only educating honorable individuals, but also for molding citizens capable of honorable conduct in broader society.

The goal of the new Pieper Family Servant-Leader Professorship will be to support and expand existing courses as well as aid in the development of new courses with an integrated academic and community approach to learning.

Parks has taught mathematics and computer science at Lawrence since 1985. He has written text material for three upper-level courses. A member of the American Mathematical Society, Parks' research interests in applied mathematics include dynamical systems, differential equations, and error correcting codes. He also is interested in the theory of computation and the analysis of computer algorithms.

Parks was recognized in 1987 with Lawrence's Outstanding Young Teacher award. He earned bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

APPLETON, WIS. -- Ungoogleable. That's not a verb, it's a goal.

Where some dream of fame and fortune, the student master minds behind Lawrence University's annual Great Midwest Trivia Contest aspire to writing questions to which even the smarty pants Internet can't provide answers.

That playful push-pull to the obscure and offbeat resumes Friday, Jan. 26 for the 42nd edition of the nation's longest-running trivia contest, a 50-hour mental marathon dedicated to the most difficult -- and least important -- questions imaginable.

"The term 'trivia contest' is, unfortunately, a hopelessly inadequate label for the kind of madness that emanates from Lawrence University every January," said James Hall, a senior from Omaha, Neb., who is entrusted with this year's esteemed title of Grand Trivia Master. "To call this event a trivia contest is like calling the Super Bowl a football game, or calling Elvis Presley a singer, or calling a 1961 Lafite-Rothschild a wine. While technically correct, that description captures none of the mystique, excitement or significance of the weekend."

Or perhaps more accurately, insignificance. Mix funky music with mountains of minutia, serious sleep deprivation and first-place prizes such as a bathroom scale covered in orange shag carpeting or a big o' bag of human hair and it becomes obvious the Lawrence trivia contest is anything but a dull weekend.

Beginning at its usual inconsequential start time of 10:00.37 p.m. Friday evening, the first of some 325 weird and wacky questions will be webcast via www.lawrence.edu/sorg/trivia to dozens of on-campus and off-campus teams near and far. Last year 11 on-campus and 62 off-campus teams squared off and hunkered down for the contest. Teams have three minutes to phone in answers worth varying degrees of point values to the WLFM studio phone bank.

Following trivia tradition, Lawrence President Jill Beck will start the insanity by asking the contest's first question, which, also by tradition, is always the final question of the previous year.

Since its debut in 1966, Lawrence's Great Midwest Trivia Contest has seen 12 presidents (eight in the White House, four at Lawrence). It has weathered the evolution from reference books and almanacs to the Internet world of information-at-a-computer-mouse click. And it even withstood the loss of its broadcast license (it was sold) when the campus radio station, from where the contest originates, was converted from an over-the-air medium to an all Web-based broadcast format in late 2005.

Despite the sweeping changes, the contest has remained true to its credo for more than four decades

APPLETON, WIS. -- The Bank of Kaukauna: This One Goes to 11 ran its winning streak to seven straight, easily winning the off-campus title over the weekend in Lawrence University's 42nd Great Midwest Trivia Contest. Bucky's Banastitudinal Brevity extended its on-campus dominance, capturing its fifth consecutive title.

The Bank of Kaukauna, which has won nine of the last 11 contests, racked up 1,380 points, finishing comfortably ahead of runner-up The InDeciders (1,295 points) and third-place finishing Six Feet Under (1,190 points). For its winning effort, The Bank was awarded a cardboard box filled with breakable items, which, by tradition, were then broken at the awards ceremony on the steps of the Lawrence Memorial Chapel.

Bucky's again dominated the on-campus competition, piling up 1,318 points, while Coalition of the Awexome for a Drug-free America was a distant second with 1,184 points and Brokeman O'Heitt, the Irish Mistress of the West Side finished third with 1,054. Bucky's received a can of Red Bull stuffed with artificial flowers each signed by one of the trivia masters.

A total of 366 questions were asked during the 50-hour contest that ended at midnight Sunday. Twelve on-campus and 66 off-campus teams participated during the weekend.

No team was able to answer this year's "Super Garruda," the contest's final question, which asked: "In The War of 1812 Museum's Jean and Lillian Hofmeister building, six caricatures are framed on the wall of the children's interactive learning room. What are their listed names?" The answer was Francis Scott Key, Mary Pickersgill, Major Armistead, Rebecca Young, Carolyn Pickersgill and Neighborhood Cat.

APPLETON, WIS. -- During times of crisis throughout America's history, in order to protect its citizens the government has had to weigh the benefits of national security against the potential harms to liberty, including the use of coercion in interrogation and extended detention. Since the global war on terror was launched following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, that "balancing debate" between security and freedom has taken on heightened importance.

Juliette Kayyem, an expert on national security strategy, will provide a historical and legal context to that debate and suggest ways to think about how American democracy might enhance both security and liberty in the years to come Tuesday, Feb. 6 in a Lawrence University convocation.

Kayyem presents "Preserving Liberty in an Age of Terror" at 11:10 p.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel. She also will conduct a question-and-answer session at 2 p.m. in Riverview Lounge of the Lawrence Memorial Union. Both events are free and open to the public.

The only Arab-American to hold a state-level homeland security position and one of the few women in the national security world, Kayyem was appointed Massachusetts' Undersecretary of Homeland Security Jan. 10 by Gov. Deval Patrick. She assumed her duties Jan. 22 in the newly created position, where she will be responsible for coordinating all aspects of Massachusetts' Statewide Homeland Security Strategy.

Prior to her state appointment, Kayyem had served as a resident scholar at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, where she taught courses on law, homeland security and national security.

A specialist in the intersection of democracy and counter-terrorism policies, Kayyem was the only woman to serve on the National Commission on Terrorism, a congressionally mandated review of how the government could better prepare for the growing terrorist threat. Chaired by L. Paul Bremer, the commission warned in 2000 that the terrorist threat was real and likely to succeed in America.

She is the co-author of the 2005 book, "Protecting Liberty in an Age of Terror," which examines some of the most difficult legal and ethical challenges posed by the fight against terrorism. In the book, Kayyem stresses the need for clear rules to be drawn so that government conduct both protects the innocent from unreasonable government intrusion and prevents government agents from being made scapegoats after the fact if things go wrong.

Kayyem also served as co-editor of the book "First to Arrive: State and Local Response to Terrorism," a 2003 collection of essays from first responders, political scientists and historians. The essays examine the operational needs of state and local governments in an age of terrorism and offer practical solutions to the challenges of local and state domestic preparedness.

A contributor to the pages of the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor and the Washington Post on issues of counterterrorism law and domestic preparedness, Kayyem has appeared as a national security expert for several major news organizations, including National Public Radio, CNN and MSNBC.

Before serving on the National Commission on Terrorism, Kayyem worked as a legal advisor to then Attorney General Janet Reno, assisting with a variety of national security and terrorism cases, including overseeing the government's review of its classification procedures regarding secret evidence.

She began her legal career as a civil rights trial attorney, litigating cases on behalf of the U.S. Justice Department and also worked on death penalty appeals cases on behalf of Alabama death row inmates. Before going to law school, Kayyem worked as a journalist in South Africa.

A 1995 graduate of Harvard Law School, Kayyem was named a "Hero for our Times" in 2002 by the Boston Phoenix.

APPLETON, WIS. -- Two Minnesota natives, freshman Sarah Lick of Hopkins and sophomore Leslie Sinak of Rochester return to their home state to perform as part of Lawrence University's Cantala during a tour of the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. The tour is part of Lawrence University's Focus On: Minneapolis/St. Paul 2007 events, which include a variety of activities throughout the year.

Cantala, Lawrence University's women's choir, is made up of 43 students along with a student accompanist. Founded in the fall of 2000, the choir performs a wide range of unique and challenging literature that includes traditional women's literature, world folk literature, and contemporary works under the direction of Phillip Swan, assistant professor of music at Lawrence University.

Cantala performs three times while in Minnesota including a performance at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, February 8 at Stillwater High School, 5701 Stillwater Blvd. North, Stillwater. This performance includes the Cantala with Fanfare Brass, a student brass ensemble, in conjunction with Stillwater High School ensembles.

Selections for the performance includes selections from "Ceremony of Carols," "Regnum Mundi" by Jacob Handl (Gallus), "Kadosh/Benedictius" by Lee R. Kesselman, "Sing a New Song to the Lord" by Paul Basler, "Tantum Ergo" by Corin Overland, and more. This concert features Lawrence students, Andrew Stoll and Ryan Olsen on trumpet, Anna Suechting, horn, Katie Daugherty, trombone, Beth Wiese, tuba, Melody Ng, piano, Nick Anderson, bass, and Kyle Traska, percussion.

On Saturday, February 10, Cantala, Fanfare Brass, and Kathrine Handford, Lawrence University organist perform a concert at 7:30 p.m. at Central Presbyterian Church, 500 Cedar St., St. Paul. The group also performs at the 10:30 a.m. worship service at Central Presbyterian Church on Sunday, February 11.

All concerts are free and open to the public. There are no tickets required.

In addition to the concerts, Cantala gives two private performances for students at Stillwater High School and holds music clinics at Edina High School and Armstrong High School while in Minnesota.

For more information on Focus On events, visit www.lawrence.edu/news/focus_on.

APPLETON, WIS. -- Lawrence University senior Amanda Gessler was named first alternate at the East Central Division of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Young Artists Piano Competition held Saturday, January 27 at Central Michigan University.

Gessler of Harshaw, was this year's Wisconsin state winner of the MTNA competition and therefore advanced to the recent East Central Division competition. As a first alternate, she will advance to the national finals if the winner is unable to participate.

Gessler is the sixth Lawrence pianist to win the Wisconsin state competition during the past eight years and she placed higher than any previous Wisconsin state representative in this event during the past 10 years. The East Central Division of the MTNA consists of graduate and undergraduate pianists who are state winners from Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois. This year's division winner was a graduate student from Indiana University.

The jury for this year's competition included professors Louis Nagle from the University of Michigan and David Abbott from Albion College.

APPLETON, WIS. -- George Bernard Shaw's An Unsocial Socialist comes to life when the Lawrence University Theatre Department stages Smash by Jeffrey Hatcher. Performances of this witty, cunning, and intelligent play are at 8:00 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, February 15-17 and at 3:00 p.m. Sunday, February 18 in Cloak Theatre, located in the Music-Drama Center. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for senior citizens and students. Tickets are available at the Lawrence University Box Office or by phone at 920-832-6749. If available, tickets will also be sold at the box office beginning one hour before each show.

Inspired by Shaw's novel, Smash, centers on the life of a very wealthy young man, Sidney Trefusis, who feels called to save England by bringing her to Socialism in 1910. He finds himself at an all-girls school, and his attempts to instill Socialism in various ways keeps blowing up in his face or "smashing." While Socialism was very politically charged at the time, this production is more about how we try to cause change and form allegiances now, said director Kathy Privatt, associate professor of Theatre Arts at Lawrence University.

Leading the cast is Asher Perlman '08 as Sidney Trefusis. Other cast members and their roles include Nora Taylor '09 as Henrietta Jansenius, Kate Kirkland '07 as Agatha Wylie, Octavia Driscoll '08 as Miss Wilson, Brianne Mueller '07 as Gertrude Lindsay, Cara Wantland '09 as Jane Carpenter, Nikko Benson '10 as Mr. Jansenius, Peter Welch '09 as Sir Charles Brandon, Michael Beaderstadt '07 as Chichester Erskine, and Tim Dunnell '09 as Lumpkin. Two Lawrence alumni, Emily Rohm-Gilmore and Aaron Sherkow, are back as costume designer and lighting designer, respectively.

APPLETON, WIS. -- The Lawrence University "Performing Arts at Lawrence" concert series continues on Saturday, February 24 with jazz trumpeter Terence Blanchard live in concert at 8:00 p.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel. Tickets are $22 and $20 for adults, $19 and $17 for senior citizens, and $17 and $15 for students. Tickets are available at the Lawrence University Box Office, or by phone at 920-832-6749. Tickets, if available, will also be sold at the box office beginning one hour before the show.

Born in 1962 in New Orleans, Blanchard started his trumpet career in elementary school while being coached at home by his opera-singing father. Blanchard came under the guidance of Ellis Marsalis during high school and after graduating, he attended Rutgers University. While at Rutgers Blanchard impressed one of his professors so much that he was brokered a touring gig with Lionel Hampton's band. In 1983, Wynton Marsalis recommended Blanchard as his replacement in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. Two years later, Blanchard and fellow Messenger Donald Harrison formed their own quintet. In 1990, Blanchard departed the quintet to pursue a solo career where the trumpeter/composer gained acclaim as a bandleader and scorer of movie and television soundtracks.

Blanchard won a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group in 2005 for McCoy Tyner's Illuminations with Gary Bartz, Blanchard, Christian McBride, and Lewis Nash. He was nominated for several other Grammy Awards in 2002, 2001, 1996, and 1990. Blanchard has also been nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Original Score for The 25th Hour in 2003, and for an Emmy in 1995 for Best Original Score for a Documentary for "The Promised Land." Blanchard won the Grand Prix du Disque, the French equivalent of the Grammy Award, for the album New York Second Line in 1984.

Blanchard's discography includes his newest release, Flow, which was release on Blue Note in 2005, McCoy Tyner's Illuminations, Bounce, Let's Get Lost, Wandering Moon, Jazz in Film, The Heart Speaks, and many more. Blanchard's soundtracks and scores including She Hate Me, People I Know, 25th Hour, and Original Sin, among many others.

The final Jazz Series concert of the 2006-07 "Performing Arts at Lawrence" concert series takes place on Friday, June 1 at 8:00 p.m. with Maria Schneider, composer and conductor, who will conduct her composition, performed by the Lawrence University Jazz Ensemble (LUJE). For more information on this and other upcoming "Performing Arts at Lawrence" concerts, visit www.lawrence.edu/news/performingartsseries.

APPLETON, WIS. -- V-Day Lawrence University is once again helping to stop violence against women and girls with its production of Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues. Performances of The Vagina Monologues take place at 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. Saturday, February 24 and at 8:00 p.m. Sunday, February 25 in Cloak Theatre. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and may be purchased at the Lawrence University Box Office, located in the Music-Drama Center, or by phone at 920-832-6749.

Directing V-Day Lawrence University's sixth production of The Vagina Monologues is David Hanzal '08. New for the 2007 performance at Lawrence is local folk/pop group, Love, Claire, who will be playing throughout each performance.

The Vagina Monologues has been performed in cities all across the nation and at hundreds of college campuses. It has inspired a dynamic grassroots movement--V-Day--to stop violence against women and girls. In 2007, over 2,000 V-Day benefits will take place in over 950 communities and on college campuses around the world. Money raised during show at Lawrence will be donated to local, national, and international charities.

Ensler's The Vagina Monologues has been translated into over 45 languages and is running in theatres all over the world, including sold-out runs at both Off-Broadway's Westside Theater and on London's West End. The Vagina Monologues is based on Ensler's interviews with more than 200 women, which with humor and grace celebrates women's sexuality and strength. For more information on V-Day and Ensler, visit www.vday.org.

APPLETON, WIS. -- The Lawrence University Jazz Ensemble (LUJE) and Jazz Band present "Miles Ahead: 50th Anniversary Celebration" at 8:00 p.m. Friday, March 2 in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel.

Under the direction of Fred Sturm, director of jazz and improvisational music at Lawrence, the Jazz Ensemble recreates the historic 1957 Miles Davis recording Miles Ahead: Miles + 19, regaled as one of the landmark large ensemble recordings of the 20th century. Lawrence trumpet professor John Daniel appears as guest soloist and performs the Davis solo role on the 10 selections from the album. Nick Keelan, associate professor of music at Lawrence, conducts the Jazz Band's opening set of six renowned Davis compositions.

"Jazz historians point to three great collaborations between jazz and popular music artists and arrangers: Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, Frank Sinatra and Nelson Riddle, and Miles Davis and Gil Evans," Sturm noted. "Between 1957 and 1960, trumpeter Davis and arranger Evans collaborated in the creation of three remarkable jazz recordings, and Miles Ahead is the finest."

"Evans was Davis' closest friend and musical mentor, and Davis was the ideal artistic interpreter of Evans' finest works," said Sturm. "Though Ellington had composed works to feature specific soloists, Miles Ahead was the first concept album developed around the sound and character of the soloist, not the composer."

"The colors in this music are extraordinary," Sturm explained. "In contrast to the five-saxophone front line of the swing era big band, Evans employed a mixture of flute, clarinet, and bass clarinet in the reed section. Two French horns and tuba were added to the brass section. The two-piece rhythm section of drums and bass eliminated piano and guitar from the arrangements. New York's finest jazz studio players were engaged to record the original sessions, providing us with great performance models."

"I've conducted Miles Ahead with pro bands in New York, Germany, and Denmark," said Sturm, "and every occasion has generated new discoveries in these magnificent scores. Miles Ahead represents the pinnacle in the art of jazz composition and arranging."

The two-set performance is free and open to the public.

APPLETON, WIS. -- Lawrence University's traditionally talented and diverse student body will grow even more so this September when the college welcomes its first "posse" to campus.

Ten "Posse Scholars" recently were selected for admission from an applicant pool of more than 2,000 students developed by the Posse Foundation. The scholars -- three men and seven women, all from New York City -- were chosen following an in-person visit by a six-member committee of Lawrence faculty and staff. Plans call to enroll 10 additional scholars each of the next three years for a total of 40 Posse students by the fall of 2010.

Founded in 1989, the New York-based Posse Foundation identifies, assesses and develops students who have demonstrated the strongest leadership skills in small group activities and those who are able to offer creative solutions to a variety of problems. Students selected as scholars form multicultural cohorts of 10 called "posses." These 10-member cohorts are then prepared, through an intensive eight-month pre-collegiate training program, for enrollment at top-tier universities nationwide to pursue their academics and to contribute to the enrichment of campus cultural perspectives.

Each posse acts as a traveling support system to ensure that each individual Posse Scholar succeeds and graduates. Posse Scholars receive four-year, full-tuition leadership scholarships from their posse-partner college or university.

Lawrence formed a partnership with the Posse Foundation in 2006, joining an elite group of 26 colleges and universities around the country associated with the program. Lawrence is the first private institution in Wisconsin to partner with the Posse Foundation. UW-Madison is also affiliated with it. Other notable partner institutions include Carleton, Dickinson, Grinnell, Hamilton, Middlebury and Pomona colleges.

"Although we enroll students from virtually every state, we typically have not had many from New York, where our first posse will come from, so in addition to adding to the ethnic and cultural diversity on campus, this program also will increase our geographical diversity," said Steve Syverson, dean of admission and financial aid at Lawrence.

Michael Kim, associate professor of music, was a member of the delegation that traveled to New York to meet with potential members of Lawrence's first posse. He called the experience "enlightening."

"I was immediately struck by the enormous dedication and commitment of the Posse staff to help these students succeed and realize their dreams of attending college," said Kim. "I was moved by the adversity and circumstances they had overcome in their lives. Their personal stories varied from having spent most of their life in different homeless shelters, to having family members overdose on heroin to working nights as a waitress to help pay their family's rent.

"They are all very driven, determined and hungry to succeed in their chosen academic environments," Kim added. "These students truly appreciated the opportunities that Posse and Lawrence offered them."

Once on campus, the posse students are expected not only to provide support for each other, but also engage the campus community and assume leadership roles individually in the classroom and in campus groups and organizations.

One aspect of the program Syverson finds particularly attractive is the Posse Plus Retreat, in which Posse Scholars plan a weekend retreat around a particular theme -- often focused on campus diversity issues -- that involves about 80 other members of the campus community. Lawrence will hold its retreat at Bjorklunden in Door County.

"Through the retreat process, the impact of the Posse students becomes far greater than simply having a multiethnic group of 10 students from New York City on campus," said Syverson.

"Our first Posse will bring a significant added dimension of racial and socioeconomic diversity to Lawrence," Kim added. "These are charismatic student leaders who will help facilitate increased interaction and exchange of ideas between the student and administrative bodies, especially with regard to complex social issues relevant to a multicultural society. And they will serve as a catalyst for increased individual and community engagement through the formation of student organizations and volunteer work."

In addition to New York City, the Posse Foundation maintains student programs in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Since its inception, the Posse Foundation has placed more than 1,500 students who have been awarded more than $142 million in scholarships from partner universities. Posse Scholars have a four-year graduation rate of 90 percent, which ranks well above the national average of 35% for all institutions and 50% for private colleges and universities.

Beyond participation in the Posse program, Lawrence will undertake a research study on the program's impact on the campus culture broadly.

APPLETON, WIS. -- A national touring exhibition of photographs documenting the devastation caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita as well as the cleanup and rebuilding efforts taking place along the Gulf Coast will make a two-week stop at Lawrence University beginning Friday, Feb. 16.

Members of Lawrence's student chapter of Habitat for Humanity will host a reception to open the exhibition, "Operation Home Delivery: Habitat for Humanity Responds to the Gulf Coast Hurricanes," at 7 p.m. on Feb. 16 in Science Hall atrium. The reception will include refreshments, a silent auction and brief remarks by senior Kristi Sandven, president of the Lawrence chapter of HFH, and Steve Syverson, president of the Great Fox Cities HFH affiliate. The event is free and open to the public.

The exhibition, featuring a series of large, color images shot by professional Habitat staff photographers, will be on display in the atrium until March 2.

"As other issues capture our attention, it is easy to forget that people affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita are still struggling to recover," said Syverson. "This exhibit is a vivid and compelling reminder, not only of the terrible loss, but of the amazing resilience of those affected and the incredible work of Habitat for Humanity volunteers to rebuild.

Lawrence is one of 10 stops at college and high school chapters of Habitat for Humanity on the exhibition's tour, which began last December and runs through May.

Lawrence's chapter of HFH will be sponsoring its annual volunteer mission during spring break (March 17-25) this year to New Orleans to assist with on-going reconstructive efforts.

APPLETON, WIS. -- Joseph Sebarenzi knows too well the horrors of genocide, having lost both parents, seven brothers and many members of his extended family during the violence that engulfed Rwanda in 1994, when Hutu extremists slaughtered more than 800,000 Tutsis.

The former speaker of the Rwanda parliament, who sought asylum in the United States, shares his dramatic story and discusses the role of forgiveness as a moral response to injustice in the second installment of Lawrence University's Povolny International Studies Lecture Series "Africa Today: Problems and Solutions."

Sebarenzi presents "A Message of Peace and Reconciliation" Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. in Lawrence's Wriston Art Center auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.

Growing up as a Tutsi in Rwanda, Sebarenzi witnessed glimpses of the tribal violence that later would plunge his country into chaos. He and his immediate family were safely out of the country when the Hutus went on their killing spree, which claimed the lives of many members of his extended family.

After returning to Rwanda, Sebarenzi entered politics and rose through the ranks of the parliament. In 1997, he became Speaker of the National Assembly, where he spoke out against government corruption and worked for legislative autonomy.
In December, 1999, Sebarenzi was poised to be elected president of Rwanda's Liberal Party, but the vote was postponed, preventing him from improving his status as a contender for the Rwanda presidency.

A month later, amid charges brought by the National Assembly majority members of misconduct and other offenses, including organizing the survivors of genocide against the government, Sebarenzi was forced to resign his post as parliament speaker. Fearing assassination, he fled to Uganda before finding exile in the United States.

A frequent guest on BBC and Voice of America broadcasts to Africa, Sebarenzi is one of 12 peacebuilding associates of the Karuna Center for Peacebuilding in Amherst, Mass., where he helps in the develop programs to address ethnic, religious and political conflicts around the world.

Sebarenzi also teaches conflict transformation at the School for International Training (SIT) in Vermont, where he earned master's degree in international and intercultural management in 2002. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the department of peace studies at the University of Bradford in England.

Remaining speakers in the series include:

• April 3, Michael Fosdal, a specialist on British politics, "Britain's Role in Aid and Development."


• April 10, Jacqueline Klopp, assistant professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University, "Violence, Land and Dispossession: The Problems of Internal Displacement in Africa."


• May 14, John Roome, operations director with the World Bank, "The World Bank's Role in Development."

The "Africa Today: Problems and Solutions" lecture series is sponsored by the Mojmir Povolny Lectureship in International Studies. Named in honor of long-time Lawrence government professor Mojmir Povolny, the lectureship promotes interest and discussion on issues of moral significance and ethical dimensions.

APPLETON, WIS. -- Eric Seidel, a 2003 Lawrence graduate and a former software engineer for Apple Computer, shares insights on how a liberal arts and science degree helped him launch his own web-based company in a Science Hall Colloquium.

Seidel presents "Entrepreneurship: The Calculus of Starting Your Own Company after Lawrence," Thursday, Feb. 15 at 4:15 p.m. in Science Hall, Room 202. The event is free and open to the public.

After earning his bachelor's degree cum laude in mathematics, Seidel spent three years working for Apple Computer before launching his own start-up company, Shoutfit.com, last May. The fashion-focused, Internet-based company allows users from around the world to discuss fashion and share fashion photographs.

In his address, Seidel will discuss the importance of problem-solving skills in starting a company, how software development differs for start-up companies, the challenges of raising necessary capital to start a new company and the process of delivering a product to the marketplace.

Shoutfit.com received venture capital funding from the Boston, Mass., firm Y-Combinator and is currently in the process of raising additional capital. The company opened to the public in January, 2007

APPLETON, WIS. -- Lawrence University has the distinct privilege and honor to host the United States Navy Band live in concert on Tuesday, March 6 at 7:30 p.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel. Free tickets are required and can be obtained beginning Monday, February 19 at the Lawrence University Box Office, located in the Music-Drama Center, or by phone at 920-832-6749.

The United States Navy Band has been the Navy's premier musical organization since 1925. Directed by Capt. Ralph M. Gambone, the band features some of the nation's top musicians performing a wide variety of music ranging from classical orchestral works to original arrangements of current popular favorites, as well as traditional marches and patriotic fare.

The band has played for a variety of events stateside, including in the Washington and New York parades honoring "Operation Desert Storm" troops in 1991 and at the arrival ceremonies honoring Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev in 1990. They performed in 1981 for the 52 American hostages returning to Andrews Air Force Base following captivity in Iran; during the State Funeral of President Ronald W. Reagan in 2004; and for the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia Memorial Service. Internationally they have performed at such events as the 300th Anniversary of the Russian Fleet in St. Petersburg and at the Baltic International Festival of the Fleets in Kaliningrad, Russia.

Gambone, the 11th officer to hold the position of director, has been leading the Navy Band since August 1998. A native of Annapolis, Md., Gambone, has served in the Navy since 1969. He received a bachelor's degree in music from Towson State College in Maryland and a master's degree in music from Catholic University in Washington, D.C. In April 2001, he was inducted into the prestigious American Bandmasters Association, the professional association of master conductors and musicians.