Convocation

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Noted American pacifist asks “Is Peace Possible?” in university convocation

For the past 35 years, Colman McCarthy has “preached” the gospel of nonviolence as an award-winning journalist, author and educator.

McCarthy brings his pacifist message to Lawrence University Tuesday, Oct. 31 in the second address in the university’s 2017-18 convocation series. McCarthy presents “Is Peace Possible?” at 11:10 a.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel. A quesntion and answer session will follow immediately after McCarthy’s remarks.

The event is free and open to the public and will also be available via live webcast.

Colman McCarthy
Colman McCarthy presents “Is Peace Possible” Oct. 31 as part of Lawrence University’s 2017-18 convocation series.

During a teaching spanning decades, McCarthy often has been a critic of a system that traditionally features a curriculum long on wars and generals, but short on those who advocate nonviolent force to resolve conflict. He is fond of saying if we don’t teach children peace, others will teach them violence.

Since the mid-1990s, McCarthy has taught classes on peace literature throughout the Washington, D.C. area at various levels, including Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, the University of Maryland, American University and Georgetown University Law Center.

In addition to his teaching duties, McCarthy serves as the director of the Center for Teaching Peace in Washington, D.C., an organization he founded in 1985 to assist schools launch or expand peace studies programs.

A stuttering problem as a youth turned McCarthy’s interests to writing. A voracious reader, McCarthy began working as a columnist for the Washington Post in 1969. With instructions to become “a solution finder,” McCarthy wrote frequently about people engaged in the art of peacemaking, such as activist David Dellinger and singer Joan Baez. He was recognized for his nationally syndicated column with the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award. For the past 18 years, he has written biweekly columns for the National Catholic Reporter.

McCarthy also has written 14 books, including 2002’s “I’d Rather Teach Peace” in which he chronicles his experiences introducing the theory and practice of creative peacemaking to classrooms ranging from a suburban Washington, D.C. high school to a prison for juveniles to Georgetown University Law Center.

After graduating from Spring Hill College, a Jesuit institution in Alabama, in 1960, McCarthy spent five years at a Trappist monastery in Georgia as a lay brother. Assigned to the dairy crew, he tended to 150 head of cows, including shoveling manure, a task which has said,  was “a good preparation for journalism.”

In 2010, McCarthy was awarded the $30,000 El-Hibri Peace Education Prize, which honors an outstanding scholar, practitioner or policymaker in order to raise awareness of and to promote the expansion of the field of peace education.

McCarthy’s appearance is supported by the Class of 1968 Peace and Social Activism Fund. Established in 1993 by members of the Class of 1968 in honor of their 25th reunion, the fund supports individual or collaborative projects by students and faculty that address issues related to peace and social activism in a historical or contemporary context from a local, regional, national, or global perspective.

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 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.

President Burstein opens 2017-18 academic year, convocation series with annual matriculation address

President Mark Burstein officially opens Lawrence University’s 169th academic year and the university’s 2017-18 convocation series Thursday, Sept. 14 with his annual matriculation address.

President Mark Burstein
President Mark Burstein

At a time of national conflict and divisiveness, Burstein shares his thoughts on enduring values that could provide a community framework in the address “What Do We Stand For,” at 11:10 a.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel. The event is free and open to the public. It also will be available via a live webcast.

Now in his fifth year as Lawrence’s 16th president, Burstein has focused on creating learning communities in which all members can reach their full potential during a career in higher education spanning nearly 25 years.

Prior to Lawrence, he spent nine years as executive vice president at Princeton University and 10 years at Columbia University as a vice president working in human resources, student services and facilities management.

Joining Burstein as convocation series speakers will be:

Colman McCarthy
Colman McCarthy

• Oct. 31 Award-winning journalist, educator and long-time peace activist, Colman McCarthy presents “Is Peace Possible?” The director of the Center for Teaching Peace in Washington, D.C., which he founded in 1985, McCarthy spent nearly 30 years as a columnist for the Washington Post. Since 1999, he has written a weekly column for The National Catholic Reporter.

As an educator who believes if we don’t teach children peace, someone else will teach them violence, McCarthy has taught courses on nonviolence and peace literature for more than 30 years.

He is the author of 14 books, including 2002’s “I’d Rather Teach Peace” in which he chronicles his experiences introducing the theory and practice of creative peacemaking to classrooms ranging from a suburban Washington, D.C. high school to a prison for juveniles to Georgetown University Law Center.

Jad Abumrad
Jad Abumrad

• Feb. 1, 2018 Jad Abumrad, the creator and host of public radio’s popular “Radiolab” program, explores what it means to “innovate” and how it feels to create something new in the address “Gut Churn.”

Abumrad was named a MacArthur Fellow, an honor commonly known as a “genius grant,” in 2011 and “Radiolab” show has been recognized twice—2010 and 2015—with the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award.

In 2016, he premiered a spinoff of “Radiolab” entitled “More Perfect,” which explores untold stories about the Supreme Court.

Ainissa Ramirez
Ainissa Ramirez

• April 3, 2018.  Author and science “evangelist Ainissa Ramirez, who spreads her “gospel” through books, TED Talks, online videos and the podcast “Science Underground,” presents “Technology’s Unexpected Consequences.”

Named one of the world’s 100 Top Young Innovators by Technology Review for her contributions to transforming technology, Ramirez spent eight years teaching mechanical engineering & materials science at Yale University and also has been a visiting professor at MIT.

She has written or co-written three books, including 2013’s “Newton’s Football: The Science Behind America’s Game,” an entertaining and enlightening look at the big ideas underlying the science of football.

Kenneth Bozeman
Kenneth Bozeman

• May 22, 2018 Voice teacher Kenneth Bozeman, the Frank C. Shattuck Professor of Music at Lawrence, presents “Voice, the Muscle of the Soul: Finding Yourself Through Finding Your Voice” at Lawrence’s annual Honors Convocation.

A member of the conservatory of music faculty since 1977, Bozeman is the author of the 2017 book “Practical Vocal Acoustics: Pedagogic Applications for Teachers and Singers.” He is frequently invited to speak at seminars and master classes on acoustic pedagogy at universities and interdisciplinary conferences.

Bozeman is one of only 11 faculty members in the history of the university to be recognized with both Lawrence’s Young Teacher Award (1980) and Excellence in Teaching Award (1996). He also was honored by the Voice Foundation with its Van Lawrence Fellowship in 1994 for his interest in voice science and pedagogy.

Author Andrew Solomon explores differences that unite us in convocation

Award-winning author, lecturer and activist Andrew Solomon presents “Far from the Tree: How Difference Unites Us” Thursday, Feb. 2 at 11:10 a.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel as part of Lawrence University’s 2016-17 convocation series.

A photo of Award-winning author, lecturer and activist Andrew Solomon.Solomon will conduct a question-and-answer session immediately following his address. The event, free and open to the public, also will be available via a live webcast.

The presentation is based on Solomon’s best-selling book “Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity,” which won the 2012 National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction and the 2013 Anisfield-Wolf Prize for Nonfiction.

Based on interviews with more than 300 families and a decade of research, Solomon argues that individual human differences within families is a universal experience. He chronicles parents coping with children with a variety of challenges, from deafness, dwarfism and Down’s syndrome to schizophrenia, severe disabilities and autism, as well as children who are prodigies or transgender and the profound meaning they find in doing so.A photo of the cover of the book "Far from the Tree" by Andrew Solomon.

His previous book, The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression, won the 2001 National Book Award for Nonfiction and was a finalist for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize.

Splitting time between New York City and London, Solomon writes about politics, culture and psychology, covering topics as diverse as Libyan politics and deaf culture. He contributes to numerous publications, including Travel and Leisure, the New York Times and The New Yorker.

In addition to his writing, he holds appointments as professor of clinical psychology at Columbia University Medical Center and lecturer in psychiatry at Weill-Cornell Medical College in New York. In 2008, he was recognized with the Humanitarian Award of the Society of Biological Psychiatry for his contributions to the field of mental health.

Solomon earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Yale University, a master’s degree in English from Jesus College, Cambridge and a Ph.D. in psychology from Jesus College.

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 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 University Convocation Features Cartoonist, Author Alison Bechdel

Award-winning cartoonist and author Alison Bechdel discusses her life and career in the Lawrence University convocation “Drawing Lessons: The Comics of Everyday Life” Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 11:10 a.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel. She also will conduct a question-and-answer session at 2:30 p.m. in the Warch Campus Center cinema. Both events are free and open to the public.

Alison-Bechdel-web
Alison Bechdel

Bechdel’s work includes the groundbreaking comic “Dykes to Watch Out For” and the graphic novel memoirs “Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic“(2006) and “Are You My Mother: A Comic Drama” (2012).

Featuring a cast of quirky fictional characters navigating life’s daily struggles, “Dykes to Watch Out For,” is drawn from Bechdel’s own experiences as a politically active lesbian. It has enjoyed nearly three decades of syndication in more than 50 alternative newspapers and magazines. Ms. Magazine deemed it “one of the preeminent oeuvres in the comics genre, period.”

Bechdel’s national profile rose with the release of “Fun Home,” a book-length autobiographical work in which she explores her relationship with her closeted, bisexual father and his apparent suicide. It became the first graphic novel named Time magazine’s Best Book of the Year. It also was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, won the 2007 Eisner Award for Best Reality-Based Work and has been a required text for students in Lawrence’s Freshman Studies course since 2011.

Her most recent work, “Are You My Mother,” complements “Fun Home,” with reflections on her fraught, complex relationship with her mother.

Beyond her self-syndicated comics and memoirs, Bechdel has drawn for Slate, McSweeney’s, The New York Times Book Review and U.K. literary magazine Granta. She was awarded a 2012-13 Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts and edited “Best American Comics 2011.” Other honors include a seat on the Usage Panel of the American Heritage Dictionary in 2006, a fellowship at the University of Chicago and the Bill Whitehead Award for Lifetime Achievement, which honors LGBT writers.

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 2014 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

 

 

 

 

Entrepreneur Larry Robertson Discusses Importance of “Thought to Action” in Lawrence Convocation

Award-winning author and recognized expert in entrepreneurship and creative thought Larry Robertson approaches Lawrence University’s 2012-13 convocation series theme “From Thought to Action” from an intriguing and unusual vantage point with his presentation “Butch, Sundance and Australia: Making the Leap From Thought to Action.”

The address, Thursday, Oct. 11 at 11:10 a.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel, is free and open to the public.

Larry Robertson, founder and president, Lighthouse Consulting

For more than two decades, Robertson has resided in the world of entrepreneurs, serving as advisor, investor and roles in between. Drawing upon a background that includes positions with J.P. Morgan, the venture firm and investment bank Robertson, Stephens & Company and the Walt Disney Company, Robertson has establishing himself as a leading authority on entrepreneurship in public, private and academic forums.

In 1992, he founded Lighthouse Consulting, a firm that provides management guidance to new and innovative entrepreneurs as well as some of the best-known names in business and the nonprofit sector.

He earned multiple awards for his 2009 book “A Deliberate Pause: Entrepreneurship and its Moment in Human Progress” in which he argues the importance of being a watchful observer and attentive listener before taking action. From composer Igor Stravinsky to Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, he cites numerous examples of agents of change who took time to think seriously about what they wanted to accomplish before deciding how to do so.

“We must not only change the way we do things,” writes Robertson, “we must learn how to change in better ways — to think as changemakers do, entrepreneurially, even if we let others lead.”

A resident of Arlington, Va., Robertson earned bachelor and master’s degrees at Stanford University and  Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, respectively. He serves as an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business.

Oklahoma State University’s School of Entrepreneurship honored Robertson with its 2011 Igniting the Flame Award, which recognizes the person who best moves the entrepreneurial community forward.

Lawrence began its own program in innovation and entrepreneurship in the fall of 2008 with the course “Pursuit of Innovation.” The program has since expanded to include other courses and course modules in economics, government, physics, studio art, the conservatory of music and theatre. The I & E program has directly benefited more than 250 students from a wide range of majors since it was launched.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2013 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,450 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries. Follow Lawrence on Facebook.

Lawrence Welcomes Author and Cultural Critic William Deresiewicz for University Convocation

Provocative essayist, cultural critic and author William Deresiewicz presents “Through the Vale of Soul-Making: The Journey of the Liberal Arts” Thursday, April 19 at 11:10 a.m. in a Lawrence University convocation. The presentation, in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel, will be followed by a question-and-answer session at 2:30 p.m. in the Warch Campus Center cinema. Both events are free and open to the public.

William Deresiewicz

Focusing on higher education, social media and other culture issues, Deresiewicz is a contributing writer for The Nation and a contributing editor for The New Republic. His weekly “All Points” blog on culture and society appears in The American Scholar.

A three-time National Magazine Award nominee (2008, ’09, ’11), his essays include “Generation Sell” (the business plan as art form of our age), “The Disadvantages of an Elite Education” (what the Ivy League won’t teach you) and “Faux Friendship” (about Facebook).

“Solitude and Leadership,” an essay that encourages the practice of introspection, concentration and nonconformity he delivered as an address to the plebe class at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 2009, has been used as a teaching tool across the U.S. military, the corporate world, schools of business and at the Aspen Institute.

Deresiewicz spent 10 years (1998-2008) as an English professor at Yale University before embarking on a full-time writing career. He chronicled the chronicled the transformative effect literature has had on his life in the 2011 novel  “A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, and the Things That Really Matter.”

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges by Forbes, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,445 students from 44 states and 35 countries.  Follow us on Facebook.

Noted Primatologist Frans de Waal Examines Primate-Human Connections in Lawrence University Convocation

One of the world’s pre-eminent primatologists discusses his ground-breaking discoveries on the connections between primate and human behavior, from aggression to morality and culture, in a Lawrence University convocation.

Primatologist Frans de Waal

Frans de Waal, C. H. Candler Professor in the psychology department at Emory University, presents “Morality Before Religion: Empathy, Fairness and Prosocial Primates,” Thursday, Feb. 2 at 11:10 a.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel.  de Waal also will conduct a question-and-answer session at 1:30 p.m. in the Warch Campus Center cinema.  Both events are free and open to the public.

Born in the Netherlands, de Waal began observing primate behavior at the Arnhem Zoo while a student at the University of Utrecht. His observations of a colony of 25 chimpanzees over a six-year period provided the basis for his 2005 book “Our Inner Ape.”

de Waal, who directs the Living Links Center at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta, the oldest and largest primate research institute in the nation, is credited with introducing the term “Machiavellian” to the vocabulary of primatologists. In his first book, “Chimpanzee Politics,” he compared the schmoozing and scheming of chimpanzees involved in power struggles with that of human politicians. In 1994, then-Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich put “Chimpanzee Politics” on the recommended reading list for all freshmen Congressmen.

His research led to the discovery of reconciliation among primates and the founding of the field of animal conflict resolution. In 2007, Time Magazine named him one of the “100 World’s Most Influential People Today.”

de Waal came to the United States in 1981 and spent the first 10 years of his American career with the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center in Madison. He is the author of 13 books on primate behavior, among them 2009’s “The Age of Empathy: Nature’s Lessons for a Kinder Society,” “Primates and Philosophers: How Morality Evolved,” “Peacemaking Among Primates” and 1998’s “Bonobo: The Forgotten Ape,” the first book to combine and compare data from captivity and the field.

His research has earned him election to both the National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences.

About Lawrence University

Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,445 students from 44 states and 35 countries.

Author Alex Ross Talks Music at Lawrence University

Author and journalist Alex Ross, music critic for The New Yorker, spoke at Lawrence University Thursday, Nov. 3 about the continuities among various genres of music. He sat for a brief interview prior to his convocation.

Lawrence Welcomes Music Critic Alex Ross for University Convocation

Erudite author and music critic Alex Ross explores the historical connection shared by an evolving string of musicians — from 16th-century Spaniards to J.S. Bach to Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones — in a Lawrence University convocation.

Alex Ross

Ross presents “The Lamento Connection: Bass Lines of Music History,” Thursday, Nov. 3 at 11:10 a.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel. He also will conduct a question-and-answer session from 2:30-3:30 p.m. in the Warch Campus Center cinema. Both events are free and open to the public.

A Harvard University graduate, Ross began his career in the early 1990s writing music critiques for The New York Times. Since 1996, he has covered everything from the New York Metropolitan Opera to Radiohead as music critic of The New Yorker.

His first book, 2007’s “The Rest is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century,” chronicled the historical, biographical and social context of music from 1900-2000.  Among the observations he detailed are the porous borders shared by popular and modern classical music. “The Rest is Noise” earned a National Book Critics Circle award and was named finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

In 2010 he released a second book, “Listen to This,” a collection of revised essays from his New Yorker magazine columns. Ross was recognized with a $500,000 MacArthur Foundation “genius” Fellowship in 2008.

Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,445 students from 44 states and 35 countries.

Writer Rebecca Solnit Discusses “Hope, Disaster and Utopia” in Lawrence University Convocation

In collaboration with Green Roots’ Earth Week celebration, award-winning author and cultural historian Rebecca Solnit presents “Swimming Upstream in History: Hope, Disaster, Utopia” April 20 at 11:10 a.m. as part of Lawrence University’s 2009-10 convocation series.

Solnit’s address in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel, 520 E. College Ave., will be followed by a question-and-answer session at 2 p.m. in the Warch Campus Center cinema. Both events are free and open to the public.

Rebecca-Solnit_web
Rebecca Solnit

An activist for ecological and human rights issues, Solnit is the author of 12 books, among them “Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities,” “Wanderlust: A History of Walking” and 2004’s “River of Shadows: Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West,” a historical tour de force that has been hailed as one of the best books of the past decade.

In her most recent book, 2009’s “A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities that Arise in Disaster,” Solnit offers an investigation of human emotion in the face of catastrophe. She explore the common citizen responses of empathy, spontaneous altruism and mutual aid, which turn out to be more typical than the conventional perception of violence and selfishness, in the face of such disasters as the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the 9/11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina.

A contributing editor at Orion Magazine, the San Francisco-based Solnit has been recognized with two National Book Critics Circle Awards and the Lannan Literary Award for Nonfiction. She has been awarded grants from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Solnit serves as contributing editor to Harper’s magazine and writes for the “London Review of Books” and the political website Tomdispatch.com.