Lawrence University

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$435,000 NSF Grant Will Support Cooperative Research Between Lawrence University, UWFox

APPLETON, WIS. — A $435,000 grant from the National Science Foundation’s Major Research Instrumentation program will support a wide range of research by Lawrence University and University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley scientists and students.

The grant will fund the purchase of a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer, which will be housed in the Lawrence chemistry department.

Similar to a hospital MRI machine, a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer is used by chemists and biochemists to determine the molecular structures of a wide variety of compounds, ranging from proteins to drugs. The NMR spectrometer will assist Lawrence faculty and student research across a broad range of interests as well as other scientists throughout northeast Wisconsin, particularly UWFox Associate Professor of Chemistry Martin Rudd and his undergraduate students.

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Stefan Debbert

“It’s gratifying that the National Science Foundation values research training at Lawrence so highly,” said Stefan Debbert, assistant professor of chemistry and the principal investigator on the grant proposal. “This grant will enable us to further cement our commitment to hands-on, student-driven research in chemistry and biochemistry.”

In awarding the grant, NSF reviewers noted the proposal was “an extraordinary example of a public two-year college and private four-year university in a mutually beneficial partnership. The proposal to share scientific equipment between both institutions is an excellent use of resources.”

“This collaboration between Lawrence University and UWFox is a wonderful example of how an outcome can be more than the sum of its parts,” said Jim Perry, UWFox campus executive officer and dean. “The National Science Foundation sees value of two very different types of institutions working together for the common good of their students. As a consequence, both Lawrence and Fox students have a state-of-the-art piece of equipment to use. Hopefully, this will foster even more joint work between our two campuses.”

Debbert, a specialist in organic chemistry, expects the machine will receive a nearly round-the-clock workload from students and faculty across the physical and biological sciences. An autosampler will allow large batches of samples – for example from a whole class of organic chemistry students – to run overnight, and students can download and analyze their data from computer labs on the Lawrence and UWFox campuses.

“My research students and I will use it to identify and characterize the many new compounds we make in the lab as part of our ongoing efforts to develop new treatments for cancer, inflammation and septic shock,” said Debbert. “Several of my colleagues in the chemistry and biology departments, as well as Professor Rudd, will take full advantage of it in their own research programs, in projects studying viral peptides, bacterial metabolites and novel inorganic and organometallic materials.

“This new NMR will bring people from Lawrence and UWFox together to build new relationships, share ideas and develop fruitful collaborations,” Debbert added.

The National Science Foundation is an independent federal agency dedicated to advancing scientific discovery and training future researchers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Through competitive, peer-review grant programs, the NSF underwrites approximately 20 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted at America’s colleges and universities.

Lawrence Grad Discusses Latest Book on NPR’s “All Things Considered”

APPLETON, WIS. — Lawrence alumnus and author Harry MacLean ’64 will be a featured guest on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered” Saturday, Oct. 3 to discuss his latest book “The Past is Never Dead.” The book details the 2007 trial of James Ford Seale for his role in the kidnapping and murder of two young black men in 1964.

In writing the book, MacLean sought to not only cover the past crime, but to discover the truth about Mississippi. In addition to recounting the Seale trial, Maclean interweaves the story of Mississippi and its struggle for redemption from its troubled past.

MacLean also is the author of “In Broad Daylight,” which earned the 1989 Edgar Award for “best true crime” and 1993’s “Once Upon A Time.” His interview on “All Things Considered” can be heard locally on WPNE, 89.3 FM from 4-5 p.m.

“Recipe for America” Author Discusses National “Food Crisis” in Lawrence University Address

APPLETON, WIS. — Author and food activist Jill Richardson discusses the impact of agribusiness and corporate farms on America’s food system and the importance of sustainable agriculture in the Lawrence University presentation “The Global Food Crisis.”

The address, Thursday, Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. in the Wriston Art Center auditorium, is free and open to the public.

Richardson is the author of the 2009 book “Recipe for America: Why Our Food System is Broken and What We Can Do to Fix It.” In her book, Richardson highlights conditions at America’s “factory farms” and argues that sustainable agriculture — where local farms raise food that is healthy for consumers and animals with minimal environment impact — offers the only solution to America’s food crisis. She also discusses the rising grassroots food movement, which is creating an agricultural system that allows people to eat sustainably, locally and seasonally.

A member of the advisory board of the Organic Consumers Association, Richardson is the founder of the blog La Vida Locavore and also writes about food issues for the Web site Daily Kos.

Richardson’s appearance is supported by Green Roots, a two-year long environmental initiative to “green” the Lawrence campus and cultivate ecological habits of mind and disposition, and 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.

One of the Real “Best Colleges” – Lawrence University

Lawrence University, called a “liberal arts jewel” by CBS MoneyWatch.com, fared very well in a report this week about popular college ranking systems.

MoneyWatch.com examined the methodology behind the college ranking systems of Forbes, Kiplinger’s, U.S. News and World Report and others, and gave the Forbes ranking system its highest rating. According to MoneyWatch.com, “Forbes actually attempts to measure the quality of education students receive.” The report went on to cite Lawrence as an example of a lesser-known school that scored well with Forbes. Lawrence ranked 41st out of 600 colleges in Forbes‘ second annual report published in August, moving up from 68th place a year ago.

Although no college ranking system is perfect, according to MoneyWatch.com, “We can only recommend one: Forbes’ America’s Best Colleges. Despite its limitations, it comes closest to actually measuring the quality of the education at the nation’s best schools.”

Lawrence University’s New Campus Center Receives “Grand Style” Launch

APPLETON, WIS. — A gala three-day celebration commemorating the official grand opening of Lawrence University’s Richard and Margot Warch Campus Center culminated with an open house on Sunday that drew more than 1,000 visitors from the community for tours of the building and entertainment by Lawrence students.

“The opening of the campus center is a monumental occasion for Lawrence and will serve to deepen our historic relationship with the surrounding community,” said President Jill Beck. “We invite residents of the Fox Cities and beyond to visit Lawrence often; to celebrate achievements, to engage one another in communication and to enjoy the arts and other activities on campus. As a residential liberal arts college, interaction outside the classroom — with other students, faculty and the local and global community — is central to the achievement of our educational mission.”

The weekend festivities began late Friday afternoon with a welcoming ceremony. Addressing a crowd of more than 100 faculty, staff, alumni and friends of the college were Board of Trustee members Jeff Riester ’70 and Don Koskinen ’50, Lawrence President Jill Beck and the building’s namesakes, President Emeritus Richard Warch and his wife, Margot.

As part of Friday’s ceremony, an official portrait of President Warch was unveiled. The portrait will hang in the $35 million, 107,000-square-foot campus center.

The weekend celebration showcased artwork of young Lawrence alumni, screenings of student-produced videos on Lawrence’s sustainability efforts, an activities fair highlighting the campus and community efforts of numerous student organizations and live performances of several student groups, including the Sambistas, a Brazilian percussion ensemble, the folk band Liam O’Brien’s Faithless Followers, the Melee Dance Troupe, the student pep band and a demonstration of the art of Japanese self-defense by the student organization Ninjitsu.

The campus center cinema showed three movies over the weekend that included Lawrence connections. The restored version of the 1923 silent movie “The White Sister” featured a musical score composed and recorded last year by Garth Neustadter ’09 for Turner Classic Movies. The 1926 film “The Black Pirate” featured an original piece of music written by David Werfelmann ’06 as part of his senior experience project. And the documentary “Mary and Bill” told the story of two remarkable and inspiring athletes, Mary Stroebe, a 1940 Lawrence graduate who began competing in triathlons in her mid 80s, and Bill Wambach, a 1946 Lawrence graduate, who competed as a high jumper at the age of 83.

“We were absolutely delighted with the response for the entire weekend, especially the outpouring from the Fox Valley community which expressed such interest and curiosity about the building,” said Lynn Hagee, the campus center project coordinator. “We certainly feel we launched the building in grand style.”

Madison Sculptor Opens New Exhibition in Lawrence University’s Wriston Art Center Galleries

APPLETON, WIS. – Madison sculptor Aristotle Georgiades, who specializes in human-scale size works, delivers the opening lecture for the latest exhibition at Lawrence University’s Wriston Art Center galleries Friday, Sept. 25 at 6 p.m. A reception with the artist follows the address. The exhibition runs through Oct. 20.

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Georgiades’ exhibition, “Accidentally on Purpose,” features salvaged materials as well as existing objects that have been repurposed into expressive sculptural forms. Made from common materials, his sculptures reference people’s continuous desire to move through life with purpose.

“I see these repurposed objects as a metaphor for our human need to adapt and change directions when confronted with obstacles or failures,” said Georgiades, a professor of sculpture in the art department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His work will be shown in the Kohler gallery.

Sama Alshaibi, a native Palestinian-Iraqi woman who moved to the United States as a young girl, reveals her conflicting heritage in the Hoffmaster gallery exhibition “SUMOUD,” which translates to “steadfastness.”

A photographer and assistant professor of art at the University of Arizona, Alshiabi uses photography and film to explore notions of exile, war, forced migration and female identity in trying to identify with a history she feels disconnected with as well as honor and continue a legacy she has been denied.

The Leech gallery features “Portraits from the Permanent Collection,” a selection of works from the Wriston galleries’ holdings, including three Paul Strand photogravures of Mexican peasants from the 1930s. Representing a variety of media, the exhibition looks at the ways portraits can be both a visual and psychological representation of a sitter’s character.

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

Sustainable Lawrence Student Video Competition Produces Two Winners

APPLETON, WIS. — In the end, it was a split decision.

The tightly contested Lawrence University Sustainable Lawrence Student Video Competition produced two winners, with “Sustainable Lawrence A” video, produced by Kaushal Malde ’11, Nate Grady ’11, and Kevin Gabrielsen ’11 earning the judges’ panel vote, while “Sustainable Lawrence B,” produced by Stephen Anunson ’10, Katie Langenfeld ’10, Carolyn Armstrong ’10, Molly Preston ’10, and Oren Jakobson ’11 was the winner of the online popular vote.

Producers of “Sustainable Lawrence A” received the grand prize of $3,000 and will have their video shown on the Documentary Channel. The team that shot “Sustainable Lawrence B” was awarded $500 for winning the popular vote.

The contest’s third finalist, “Lawrence Growing Green,” produced by Tom Coben ’12 and Rosie Graber ’12, finished a close second in both the popular vote and the judges’ vote.

Serving as guest judges for the competition were: President Emeritus Rik Warch, Elizabeth Benson ’69, Joseph Brooks ’03, Tom Boldt, Mary Burns ’62, Julie Fricke, Marti Gillespie, Cal Husmann, Julie Lindemann, Brent Peterson, John Shimon, and Theodore Steck ’60.

Watch the winning videos here.

Lawrence University Officially Opens $35 Million Campus Center with Weekend Celebration

APPLETON, WIS. — After nearly 20 years of discussions, planning and revisions, the most ambitious building project in Lawrence University history and one of the most environmentally friendly higher education buildings in all of Wisconsin will bask in the spotlight of a grand opening ceremony.

Lawrence will commemorate the completion of the Richard and Margot Warch Campus Center with a weekend celebration beginning Sept. 18-20, culminating in a community open house on Sunday, Sept. 20 from 1-4 p.m.

A ceremony beginning at 5 p.m. Friday (9/18) featuring Lawrence President Jill Beck and the Warches will officially open the $35 million, 107,000-square-foot campus center.

The building honors Lawrence’s 14th president, who led the college from 1979 until his retirement in 2004, and his wife. His 25-year tenure is second only to that of Samuel Plantz (1894-1924) in the college’s 162-year history.

In addition to tours of the building, the community open house on Sunday will feature student music and dance performances, an alumni art exhibition and a screening of the documentary film “Mary and Bill,” which tells the inspiring story of two remarkable athletes: Mary Stroebe, a 1940 Lawrence graduate who began competing in triathlons in her mid 80s, and Bill Wambach, a 1946 Lawrence graduate, who competed as a high jumper at the age of 83. Rik and Margot Warch will be on hand to greet visitors from 2-3 p.m.

Lawrence will provide free shuttle bus service to the campus center for Sunday’s open house from the Soldier’s Square and City Center parking ramps in downtown Appleton. Signage will be posted at each ramp’s main entrance.

Warch-Campus-Center_blog.jpgA complete weekend schedule can be found here.

According to Beck, the building has surpassed expectations.

“The design of the campus center is so clever,” said Beck. “From the front, it blends magnificently with other campus buildings. From the back it almost blends seamlessly with nearby Sage Hall, and that’s helped with the sense of coherence. We’ve linked both sides of the campus together. We’ve got the academic hub and the social hub on each side of Lawe St. and the designs make it all seem very harmonious and attractive.”

With striking vistas of the Fox River and vast, light-filled spaces, the four-story building showcases the scenic beauty of its location. Among its amenities are:

• a 134-seat cinema, featuring state-of-the-art lighting, projection and sound

• a logo merchandise store

• a campus post office

• a convenience store and cafe

• dining services and catering facilities run by Bon Appétit Management Company

• meeting space for students and student groups

• 12 reservable venues to accommodate up to 500 guests

In planning the building, a goal of earning LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) “Silver” certification was originally sought, but now college officials are hoping the campus center will receive “Gold” certification, the second highest designation on the green building four-level certification system. A review by the U.S. Green Building Council is currently underway and certification results are not expected for several more weeks.

If the Warch Campus Center is LEED certified Gold, it would become the first higher education facility in Wisconsin to achieve that level of certification and one of less than 25 buildings of any kind in the state to be certified Gold according to the Green Building Certification Institute, which administers project certification for commercial and institutional buildings.

LEED certification provides third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving energy savings and water efficiency, reducing CO2 emissions, improving indoor environmental quality and stewardship of resources.

Among the Warch Campus Center’s environmentally friendly features are:

• a partially vegetated roof system of soil and green plants to absorb rainfall and decrease storm water runoff.

• low-flow plumbing fixtures to reduce water consumption by more than 30 percent by standards mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency.

• heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems designed to be 21 percent more energy efficient than industry standards require.

• wood certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council that has been harvested with environmentally and socially responsible forest management practices.

• more than 20 percent of all materials used in the building were extracted regionally (within a 500-mile radius)

• adoption of a Green Cleaning program which involves the use of LEED-certified cleaning products and recyclable paper products

• formaldehyde-free interior building materials to ensure healthful indoor air quality.

In addition, more than 96 percent of construction waste for the building — seven million pounds worth — was recycled and saved from being deposited in a landfill.

Construction of the Richard and Margot Warch Campus Center is a key component of Lawrence’s current $150 million “More Light” capital campaign. It was made possible by a $16 million leadership gift from an anonymous donor in August, 2006. Work on the center began in June, 2007.

KSS Architects of Princeton, N.J. was the design architect of the campus center and Uihlein-Wilson Architects, Inc., of Milwaukee was the architect of record. The Boldt Company of Appleton served as the project’s general contractor.

Lawrence University Grad Discusses 50th Anniversary of the Laser

APPLETON, WIS. — Thomas Baer, a 1974 Lawrence graduate and one of the nation’s pioneers in the development of laser applications, returns to campus to deliver the address “LaserFest! The 50thYear Anniversary of the Laser” Friday, Sept. 18, at 3 p.m. in Youngchild Hall Room 115. The physics colloquium is free and open to the public.

Tom-Baer_blog.jpgBaer, the executive director of the Stanford Photonics Research Center at Stanford University and president of the Optical Society of America, will discuss the 50-year history and impact of the laser since its first demonstration in 1960.

Credited as an inventor on more than 60 patents, Baer has been active in numerous scientific areas employing optics, among them atomic and molecular spectroscopy, ultra-fast lasers, solid-state lasers, and laser scanning fluorometry of blood cells.

He has enjoyed a successful career spanning both academia and industry beginning with Spectra-Physics, Inc., where he spent 11 years in various positions, including vice-president of research. He co-founded a new company in 1989, Spectra-Physics Laser Diode Systems, which used his research to commercialize diode and solid-state laser instruments.

As vice president of research at Biometric Imaging, Baer was instrumental in developing laser applications in the areas of AIDS monitoring, bone marrow transplant therapy and blood supply quality control.

In 1996, he founded Arcturus Bioscience, Inc., which pioneered the field of microgenomics — the precise molecular analysis of microscopic tissue samples. He served as the company’s chairman and CEO until 2005, leaving for his present position at Stanford.

In addition to a bachelor’s degree in physics from Lawrence, Baer earned a master’s degree and a doctorate degree in atomic physics from the University of Chicago.

Sustainable Lawrence Student Video Competition Winner Announced Tonight

APPLETON, WIS. — The votes are in and the winner of the Lawrence University “Sustainable Lawrence Student Video Competition” will be announced Thursday evening (9/17) in a special awards ceremony at 7 p.m. in the Warch Campus Center. The event will include a public screening of the video.

Three videos were selected as finalists for the competition, which was designed to highlight the unique and innovative ways that Lawrence is working toward environmental sustainability. The winning video was selected in an online vote by

students, faculty, staff and alumni.

The winning student video team will receive a first-place prize of $3,000 and the opportunity to see their video featured on the Documentary Channel.