Tom Zoellner ’91 has at least one high-profile fan of his latest book “Uranium”: former President Bill Clinton. Zoellner’s book, “a global yarn that is equal parts travelogue, history and adventure story, as well as a nonfiction portrait of the most powerful substance in the earth’s crust, one that will help define the shape of the world in the 21st century,” turned up in a letter Clinton sent to Carolyn Kellogg of the Los Angeles Times, who writes the blog, “Jacket Copy.” In a list of books Clinton indicated he was currently reading, Zoellner’s “Uranium” was listed second.
Tag: Lawrence University
Forbes Names Lawrence University Wisconsin’s Top College
APPLETON, WIS. — Defining a good college as “one that meets student needs,” Forbes.com ranks Lawrence University the best undergraduate institution in Wisconsin and 41st nationally in its second annual report on America’s top colleges.
Compiled with the assistance of researchers at the Washington, D.C.-based non-profit think tank Center for College Affordability and Productivity, the magazine’s just-released 2009 “America’s Best Colleges” report ranks 600 of the country’s 1,600 four-year undergraduate institutions based on the quality of the education they provide, the experience of the students and how much they achieve. Schools were ranked without regard for size.
Lawrence, which jumped 27 spots nationally from last year’s 68th ranking, was one of only two state institutions to crack the business publication’s top 100 (Ripon was 100th).
First published in 2008 as an alternative to the annual rankings done by U.S. News & World Report, Forbes’ rankings focus less on institutional reputation and more on aspects that directly concern students: Will courses be interesting and rewarding? How likely is the student to graduate in four years? Will the student get a good job after graduation? How much debt will the student incur in pursuit of a degree?
Data used in the rankings were drawn from numerous sources, including the opinions of four million student evaluations of courses and instructors recorded on the Web site RateMyProfessors.com and post-graduate success determined by enrollment-adjusted entries in “Who’s Who in America” and average salaries of graduates reported by Payscale.com.
Other ranking factors included an estimated average student debt after four years, four-year college graduation rates, and the number of students and faculty, adjusted for enrollment, who have won nationally competitive awards such as Rhodes Scholarships and Nobel Prizes.
“Forbes has once again gone beyond the usual metrics to assess quality in colleges and of course we’re happy that they’ve recognized us for being particularly good at providing a meaningful and powerful experience for our students,” said Ken Anselment, Lawrence’s director of admissions.
In addition to finishing top-ranked among 10 Wisconsin institutions included in Forbes.com’s list, Lawrence also was ranked higher than such traditional educational heavyweights as the University of California-Berkeley (73), Duke University (104) and Ivy League members Brown University (72), Dartmouth College (98) and Cornell University (207).
The U. S. Military Academy at West Point earned Forbes.com’s no. 1 ranking, supplanting last year’s no. 1 Princeton University, which was ranked second this year. California Institute of Technology, no. 2 in 2008, Williams College and Harvard University rounded out the top five.
Liberal arts colleges like Lawrence accounted for six of the top 15 ranked institutions nationally while many of the large state universities landed well down Forbes’ list, including UW-Madison (415), the University of Iowa (430) and the University of Nebraska (463).
Lawrence University Cited by The Princeton Review in its Latest “Best Colleges” Book
APPLETON, WIS. — Lawrence University provides one of the nation’s best undergraduate educational experiences according to the 2010 edition of The Princeton Review’s annual book “The Best 371 Colleges” released today (7/28).
The book profiles 371 colleges — less than 15% of America’s 2,500 four-year colleges — along with rating scores in eight categories. The book also includes ranking lists of top 20 schools in more than 60 categories ranging from most politically active to best athletic facilities. Those rankings are based on more than 122,000 surveys, in which students were asked to rate their schools on dozens of topics and report on their campus experiences.
Lawrence ranked in the top 10 nationally in two of the student-survey categories: sixth in most accessible professors and 10th in best college theatre program, up from 12th in the same category last year. A college’s appearance on a ranking list is the result of a high consensus among its surveyed students about a topic compared with that of students at other schools answering the same survey question(s) on the ranking topic.
Using a scale of 60-99, with 99 the best, Lawrence earned rating scores of 96 in academics, up from 90 a year ago, a 95 in financial aid, 94 in admissions, 92 in campus life, which measures students’ satisfaction with their lives outside the classroom, including the location of the campus, the comfort of residence halls and the quality of food, among other factors. Lawrence also received an 83 in the “green” category, a rating based on a schools’ environmental commitments. The Princeton Review does not rank the colleges in the book 1 to 371 in any single category.
“Our faculty do an extraordinary job of making themselves accessible to our students and in providing opportunities for individualized learning experiences. It’s great to have The Princeton Review affirm that level of faculty engagement,” said Steve Syverson, vice president for enrollment and dean of admission. “While the outstanding ratings for our academics and financial aid were not surprising, we are delighted at the improved rating of the ‘greenness’ of our campus community and expect it to rise even more next year. Many faculty and students have made significant commitments to enhancing our institutional commitment to environmental stewardship.”
In its profile of the college, The Princeton Review defined the Lawrence experience as “intense academics extreme, involvement in extracurricular activities, and a near-obsession with music.” Quoting students who were surveyed, the book describes Lawrence as a place where “professors are really willing to work one-on-one with students.” The student body is seen as having a wide variety of interests, producing “an intellectually stimulating– not academically cutthroat–environment” that fosters both academic and personal growth.
“Each of our ‘best’ colleges offers great academics,” says book author Robert Franek, vice president of publishing at The Princeton Review. “However, we don’t rank schools academically because our goal is to help students find and get into the best school for them. We tally ranking lists based how students at these schools rated their campus experiences, plus ratings based on institutional data we collect on issues important to applicants. It’s all about the fit.”
The book’s entire ranking lists can be found at www.PrincetonReview.com.
Parrish Rings NASDAQ’s Opening Bell
Lawrence trustee and alumnus O.B. Parrish ’55 recently presided over the opening bell to celebrate his company’s recent switch to NASDAQ. (Click here for video.) Female Health Co. (FHC), where Parrish was a founder, manufactures, markets and sells female condoms (FC1 and FC2) — the only products approved by FDA and cleared by the World Health Organization for purchase by UN agencies — that provide dual protection against unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (“STI’s”), including HIV/AIDS.
The company was also recognized by Fortune magazine, which ranked FHC eighth among the top 100 fastest-growing publicly traded small companies in America.
“We’re thrilled that Fortune has recognized the core strengths and growth potential of Female Health Company’s business model,” said Parrish. “We believe that we have built a strong private company dedicated to achieving an essential social mission – providing women with access to the female condom, the only safe and effective method of HIV prevention that women can initiate and control.”
Lawrence University Awarded Luce Grant to Study Water Resource Management in China
APPLETON, Wis. — Ten students and two faculty members from Lawrence University will travel to China in December 2009 to study water resource management with support from the Henry Luce Foundation, New York, N.Y.
A $30,000 Luce Foundation grant will enable students to see first-hand examples of the tremendous opportunities and challenges facing China as they visit the Pearl and Yangtze Rivers, the latter being the third longest river in the world.
The study trip is a natural extension of an innovative multidisciplinary symposium titled “Water Wars: Local and Global” which brings environmental, economics, and public policy issues into focus as students seek to understand the increasing scarcity of clean, fresh water and the need for a more efficient and equitable allocation of fresh water.
The trip will also serve to develop relationships that began in July 2008 when Lawrence co-hosted the China-U.S. Water Symposium, which attracted Chinese engineers and policy advisors as well as Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources officials, members of the NEW North economic development consortium, community leaders, legislators, policy experts and academic experts.
“We are extremely grateful to the Luce Foundation for this grant,” said David Burrows, Lawrence provost and dean of the faculty. “The Luce grant will provide a wonderful opportunity for our students to learn first-hand about important issues in our global environment and develop effective leadership skills.”
The Henry Luce Foundation was established in 1936 by the late Henry R. Luce, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Time Inc. The foundation today includes grant-making that supports higher education, American art, public policy and the environment, theology, women in science and engineering, and increased understanding between the United States and Asia. In 2005, the Foundation announced two new multi-year commitments: the Henry R. Luce Initiative in Religion and International Affairs, and the Luce Initiative on East and Southeast Asian Archaeology and Early History.
Lawrence University Students Awarded Scholarships for Study-Abroad Programs
APPLETON, WIS. — Four Lawrence University students have been awarded $5,000 scholarships by the Washington, D.C.-based Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program for off-campus study during the 2009-10 academic year.
Senior Dario LaPoma, Eugene, Ore., will participate in the International Studies Abroad program at the University of El Salvador in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Junior Roy Wimer, Delavan, will study at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan. Senior Jennifer Grogan, Pepper Pike, Ohio, and junior Drift Martinez, South Richmond Hill, N.Y., will study at the American University in Cairo, Egypt.
Grogan also was awarded an additional $3,000 scholarship through the Gilman program’s Critical Need Language funds to support Arabic language study at American University. The funding comes through the U.S. Department of State for students studying languages deemed important to U.S. diplomacy.
LaPoma and Grogan will spend the fall semester abroad, while Wimer and Martinez will participate in programs covering the full academic year.
“Given the amount of the awards and the reputation of the Gilman program, Lawrence is justifiably proud of these students,” said Laura Zuege, off-campus programs coordinator. “Being awarded a Gilman scholarship is a testament to the academic preparations and study-abroad ambitions of these students who represent a variety of backgrounds, majors and interests.”
The Gilman Scholarship Program seeks to diversify the kinds of students who study abroad and the countries and regions where they go by supporting undergraduates who otherwise might not participate due to financial constraints. It is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Lawrence University Organist Wins Regional Competition
APPLETON, WIS. — Lawrence University’s Daniel O’Connor ’11 got his summer recess off to an exciting start, earning first-place honors June 28 at the Regional Competition for Young Organists at the First Presbyterian Church in Albuquerque, N.M.
Sponsored by the American Guild of Organists, the RYOC is considered the country’s most prestigious competition for emerging organists. Conducted every other year, the RCOY is open to participants under the age of 23.
For his winning performance, O’Connor, 19, earned AGO’s “Rising Star” designation, a $1,000 first-place prize and an invitation to perform at the AGO’s 2010 national convention next July in Washington, D.C., as one of nine regional winners in the country. He advanced to the regional competition after winning a chapter division competition in Texas on March 28.
His 30-minute program in the regional competition included J.S. Bach’s “Prelude and Fugue in A minor,” “Clair de Lune” by Louis Vierne, “Blithely Breezing Along” by Stephen Paulus and the German hymn “Lasst uns erfreuen.” He will reprise his winning performance in a public concert Wednesday, July 1 in Albuquerque.
O’Connor, a student of university organist Kathrine Handford, began playing the organ five years ago. While in high school, he studied with 1974 Lawrence graduate Thomas Froehlich.
Founded in 1896, the American Guild of Organists is the national professional association serving the organ and choral music fields. The Guild serves approximately 20,000 members in 330 chapters throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia.
Lawrence University Appoints Two Faculty Members to Endowed Professorships
APPLETON, WIS. — Two Lawrence University faculty members have been appointed to endowed professorships.
Professor of French Eilene Hoft-March has been named to the Milwaukee-Downer College and College Endowment Association Professorship and Associate Professor of Government William Hixon has been named to the Gordon R. Clapp Chair in American Studies.
Appointments to endowed professorships recognize academic distinction through teaching excellence and/or scholarly achievement.
A member of the Lawrence faculty since 1988, Hoft-March is a scholar of 20th-century French literature and autobiographies. Her scholarship also includes literature about children and the Holocaust. She teaches French language and French literature, as well as Freshman Studies and courses in the gender studies program. She also has served as director of Lawrence’s Francophone Seminar in Dakar, Senegal and is a faculty advisor to students in the Posse Program, an initiative that brings high-achieving high school students with exceptional leadership skills from New York City public high schools to Lawrence.
Hoft-March was recognized with Lawrence’s Outstanding Young Teacher Award in 1991 and received the college’s Freshman Studies Teaching Award in 1997. She earned a bachelor’s degree in French and English at Carroll College and her Ph.D. in French from the University of California-Berkeley.
“Eilene Hoft-March is an excellent scholar, caring, effective teacher, and wonderful colleague who is devoted to Lawrence University and its students,” said Provost David Burrows. “Her work on French literature has gained national and international acclaim.”
The College Endowment Association was founded in 1890 in Milwaukee by women with a common interest in Milwaukee-Downer College. Originally dedicated to showcasing the expertise of Milwaukee-Downer faculty through lecture programs, today the association attracts speakers from across the country. The CEA has a long history of providing scholarship aid to students at Milwaukee-Downer and Lawrence following the consolidation of the two institutions in 1964.
Hixon first joined the Lawrence government department in 2000 as a visiting assistant professor and returned to the college in 2003 with a tenure-track appointment as an assistant professor. He was promoted to associate professor in 2008.
A political scientist specializing in game theory and social choice theory, his scholarship interests include Congressional politics, especially leadership and coalition building, political institutions and environmental public policy. In addition to Freshman Studies, Hixon has taught courses on interest groups and public policy, the American presidency and environmental politics.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science and political economy at Washington University and his Ph.D. in political science at the University of Rochester.
“Bill Hixon is a scholar of the legislative process whose work focuses on major contemporary issues in United States politics” said Burrows. “He is a dedicated teacher who is extremely well liked by his students and his peers.”
Established in 1963, the Clapp professorship honors 1927 Lawrence graduate Gordon R. Clapp, who enjoyed a distinguished career, including serving as chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority from 1946-54. He also served as New York City’s deputy city administrator and ended his career as president of Development and Resources Corporation of New York, a private engineering consulting firm that dealt with foreign aid programs.
In 1949, Clapp was appointed to lead an Economic Survey Mission of U.S., British, French and Turkish officials to the Middle East under the auspices of the United Nations to foster economic development and aid refugees following the establishment of the state of Israel.
Early in his career, he served as assistant dean and director of admissions at Lawrence and later served on the Lawrence Board of Trustees (1948-51). Lawrence awarded him an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree in 1947 and recognized him with an Alumni Distinguished Service award in 1960.
Career Achievement, Service Earn Recognition for Eight Lawrence University Alumni
APPLETON, WIS. — David Mulford has returned to Lawrence University numerous times since graduating with a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1959. He was back in 1984 to accept an honorary Doctorate of Laws degree at commencement and returned in 2000 for his induction into Lawrence’s athletic Hall of Fame. And he came back twice to deliver convocations (1992, 2007), one of only three speakers who have given more than one address since the present convocation series began in 1978.
His latest visit again will be as an honored guest, this time as a recipient of one of Lawrence’s distinguished alumni awards during the college’s annual Reunion Weekend Celebration June 19-21. More than 900 alumni and guests from 35 states and six countries, including China, Italy and Romania, are expected to participate in the weekend-long festivities.
Mulford
Mulford, the U.S. Ambassador to India from 2004-09, is one of eight Lawrence alumni who will be recognized Saturday, June 20 for career achievements, contributions to the betterment of society or volunteer service to Lawrence. All eight will be recognized during the Reunion Convocation at 10:30 a.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel.
Mulford, Dr. Michael Lepawsky, the former medical director of the hyperbaric unit at Vancouver General Hospital in British Columbia, and Robert Mac West, founder and president of Informal Learning Experiences, Inc. in Washington, D.C., each will receive the Lucia R. Briggs Distinguished Achievement Award.
Named in honor of the second president of Milwaukee-Downer College, the Briggs award recognizes alumni of more than 15 years for outstanding contributions to, and achievements in, a career field.
Mulford was appointed ambassador to India in 2004 by President George W. Bush and served until February of this year. His previous public service includes an appointment as Under Secretary and Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury for International Affairs, serving as the senior international economic policy official at the Department of the Treasury.
Before his ambassadorship, Mulford served as chairman-international of London-based Credit Suisse First Boston, where he led the company’s worldwide, large-scale privatization business and other corporate and government advisory assignments.
He also spent nine years (1973-83) as senior investment advisor to the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, where he managed the investment of Saudi oil revenues and developed a comprehensive investment program for SAMA.
Mulford has been the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from Boston University, where he earned a master’s degree in political science and also has been recognized with the Legion d’Honneur from the President of France (1990), the Alexander Hamilton Award, the highest award bestowed by the Secretary of the Treasury for extraordinary service (1992), the Order of May for Merit from the President of Argentina (1993) and The Officer’s Cross of the Medal of Merit from the President of Poland (1995). He currently resides in London.
Lepawsky, a 1959 Lawrence graduate, pioneered the use of hyperbaric therapy to treat victims of diving accidents, burn victims, carbon monoxide poisoning and crush injuries. While at Vancouver General Hospital, he helped develop a state-of-the-art hyperbaric chamber for patients needing hyperbaric oxygen therapy, setting the benchmark for hyperbaric medicine in North America.
For more than 30 years, Lepawsky worked with the diving community to improve safety, creating a guide that established standards and protocol for those training for underwater diving. His efforts were recognized in 2004 with the Third Ocean Pioneer Award from the Underwater Council of British Columbia.
A respected scholar, he has published more than 150 articles in publications ranging from Diver Magazine to the American Journal of Surgery.
Lepawsky, who earned his medical degree from the University of Chicago, was awarded a life membership in 2007 to the College of Family Physicians of Canada and was honored by the Canadian Red Cross in 1988 with its Distinguished Citizen and Humanitarian Award. He retired as a highly respected family practitioner in 2007 and still lives in Vancouver.
West, who graduated from Lawrence in 1963, founded Informal Learning Experiences, Inc. in 1992. The company promotes science learning through traveling exhibitions. It also offers consulting services to organizations and agencies involved in informal and recreational learning, ranging from the National Geographic Society and the Gettysburg National Battlefield Museum Foundation to the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Energy.
West
West also has spent more than 30 years working for and consulting with museums around the country. He is the former director of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh and the Cranbrook Institute of Science in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., and served as curator of geology at the Milwaukee Public Museum. He was recognized with the National Geographic Society’s Arnold Guyot Prize for his paleontologic research in the Canadian Arctic and was honored in 1986 as Pittsburgh’s “Man of the Year in Science.”
During his career he has written widely on paleontology museum science and has taught at the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Adelphi University. He serves on the board of the National Center for Science Education and is a charter member of The Museum Group.
Following his degree in geology from Lawrence, West earned a master’s degree in geophysical sciences and a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Chicago. He is a resident of Washington, D.C.
Elizabeth Cole, Nehalem, Ore., will receive the George B. Walter Service to Society Award. Named in honor of Walter, a 1936 graduate, beloved former faculty member and dean of men at Lawrence, who believed strongly that every individual can and should make a positive difference in the world. The award recognizes alumni who best exemplify the ideals of a liberal education through socially useful service in their community, the nation or the world.
Cole
Cole, senior class president and 1963 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Lawrence, has enjoyed a near 40-year career as a professional actor. Using the stage name Megan Cole, she has performed everything from classical roles in repertory theatre to guest appearances on numerous television series, including “Seinfeld,” “ER,” and “Las Vegas.”
A hallmark of her career has been her passion for using her talents and training as an actor to “give back” to her audiences. One of her most noteworthy roles came as the lead character in the first production of the Pulitzer-prize winning play “Wit” in Southern California, for which she earned a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award. She later reprized the role for productions in Seattle, Houston and Austin.
Cole’s compelling performances as a dying cancer patient in “Wit” helped educate medical professionals on the importance of compassionate communication with their patients. The role inspired her to develop a course for medical students called “The Craft of Empathy,” which she has taught for nearly 10 years at the University of Texas-Houston. She also has taken the course on the road, giving presentations on the personal aspects of cancer care to medical and health professionals at conferences and conventions around the country.
In addition to a degree in English and music from Lawrence, Cole earned a master’s degree in drama at Tufts University.
Callaghan
Kathleen Callaghan, Madison, is the recipient of this year’s Marshall B. Hulbert Young Alumni Service Award, which recognizes a Lawrence alumnus or alumna of 15 years or less, who has provided significant service to the college. The award honors Hulbert, a 1926 Lawrence graduate known as “Mr. Lawrence,” who served the university in many significant capacities for 54 years.
A 1999 graduate, Callaghan was elected class agent during her senior year, a role she has willingly filled ever since. Following graduation she spent nine years as a member of the Viking Gift Committee and also served five years on the Lawrence University Alumni Association Board of Directors, working with the Development and Program Committees. As a regional event coordinator, she has helped organize the annual Madison-area student “Send-Off Picnic” each fall. For her 5- and 10-year class reunions, she served as on the Steering Committee.
Bonnie Laird, Bloomington, Minn., and Susan Voss Pappas, Highland Park, Ill., are the 2009 recipients of the Gertrude B. Jupp Outstanding Service Award. The award honors Jupp, a 1918 graduate of Milwaukee-Downer College, who was named M-D Alumna of the Year in 1964 for her long volunteer service to the college. It recognizes Lawrence and Milwaukee-Downer alumni of more than 15 years who have provided outstanding service to the college.
Laird
Laird, a 1964 graduate whose mother also graduated from Lawrence (’34), has advanced the college through a number of leadership roles on the LUAA Board of Directors. She has served on the LUAA Executive Committee, as chair of the Communications Committee, as the first chair of the “More Light!” Capital Campaign Liaison Group and as co-chair of More Light! Alumni Advisory Committees. She also has served as a leader of the Class of 1964’s 40th Reunion Gift Committee and as a member of the Steering Committee for her 45th reunion in 2009. For the past nine years, she has stayed connected with her classmates as class agent.
Pappas, a 1969 graduate, is the third member of her family to receive the Jupp Award, joining her mother Clarmarie Voss M-D ’35 and her sister Jane Holryoud ’61, who received the award in 1982 and 2001, respectively.
Pappas
She has spent the past 20 years serving as class secretary and also served four years (2002-05) on the LUAA Board of Directors, serving on the Executive Committee and as chair of the Student Relations Committee. As committee chair, Pappas led efforts to foster increased diversity at Lawrence and introduce new ways to facilitate meaningful interactions between students and alumni. She has served as a member of the Cluster Reunion Steering Committee, the 25th Reunion Steering Committee and this year’s 40th Reunion Steering Committee.
Swift
As part of the awards convocation, J. Gilbert Swift, who served as Lawrence’s director of alumni relations from 1976-1995, will be recognized with a special Presidential Award. During his tenure, Swift revolutionized the Lawrence alumni relations program by creating the first June Reunion Weekends, establishing regional alumni programs, re-energizing the LUAA Board of Directors and launching the Senior Class program, initiatives that continue to flourish today. Swift, who is retired, lives in Nisswa, Minn.
Four Lawrence University Faculty Honored at 160th Commencement
APPLETON, WIS. — Lawrence University recognized four members of its faculty Sunday, June 14 for teaching excellence, scholarship and creative activity during the college’s 160th commencement.
Michael Orr, professor of art history, received Lawrence’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, which recognizes outstanding performance in the teaching process, including the quest to ensure students reach their full development as individuals, human beings and future leaders of society. 
A specialist in medieval art and illuminated manuscripts, Orr joined the Lawrence faculty in 1989. He previously received Lawrence’s Young Teacher Award (1992) and the Freshman Studies Teaching Prize (2006). He is one of only eight faculty members presented both the Excellence in Teaching and Young Teacher awards in the program’s 34-year history.
Orr has served as an exhibition consultant for the J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu, Calif., and been awarded research grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the British Academy. Earlier this year, he was named one of 42 American Council on Education Fellows nationally. The program prepares promising senior faculty for responsible positions in college and university administration. Orr will spend the 2009-10 academic year working with the president and senior officers at Macalester College.
President Jill Beck cited Orr’s excellence as a lecturer in presenting his award.
“Students describe your class presentations as ‘amazing, funny, interesting, efficient, and fantastic,'” said Beck “You are thought of as a person with high standards for both student work and your own performance. Your willingness to help each student and your powerful devotion to teaching are sources of great respect.”
Orr earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of London and master and doctorate degrees at Cornell University.
Bruce Pourciau, professor of mathematics, received the Award for Excellence in Scholarship, which honors a faculty member who has demonstrated sustained scholarly excellence for a number of years and whose work exemplifies the ideals of the teacher-scholar. In 2000, he was presented Lawrence’s Excellence in Teaching Award.
A member of the faculty for 33 years, Pourciau has distinguished himself as a scholar with interests spanning the areas of pure mathematics, the history of science and the philosophy of mathematics. He has earned national and international recognition for his analyses of Sir Isaac Newton’s seminal work “The Principia.”
In presenting the award, Provost David Burrows praised Pourciau as person “whose precise and sophisticated thinking brings clarity to the most complex problems and situations.
“Your thoughtful and stimulating scholarly contributions have been an important part of the intellectual life of Lawrence,” said Burrows. “Your concern for the accurate use of language is a hallmark of your scholarship, as well as a source of frank commentary on the writings of others. The breadth and depth of your work are outstanding and establish you as a person of great intellectual achievement.”
Pourciau graduated from Brown University with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and earned his Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego.
David McGlynn, assistant professor of English, received the Award for Excellence in Creative Activity. Established in 2006, the award recognizes outstanding creative work for advancing Lawrence’s mission. 
McGlynn is the author of the 2008 book “The End of the Straight and Narrow,” a collection of nine short stories that examines the inner lives, passions and desires of the zealous and the ways religious faith is both the compass for navigating daily life and the force that makes ordinary life impossible. His fiction and creative nonfiction works also have appeared in numerous literary journals, including Alaska Quarterly Review, Image, and Shenandoah.
In May, the Council for Wisconsin Writers recognized McGlynn with its annual Kay W. Levin Short Nonfiction Award for his essay “Hydrophobia,” which appeared in the Missouri Review.
His scholarship includes the literary analysis of ideas of other authors, George Eliot and Frank Norris among them, the context in which they express their ideas and the connections between their writings and those of others.
“Your outstanding accomplishments in the areas of fiction, non-fiction creative writing and scholarship mark you as a person of exceptional ability,” Beck said of McGlynn. “Your imagination, sense of empathy and mastery of the craft of writing enrich the lives of all who read your work. You are not only a wonderful creative writer but are also an excellent literary scholar.”
McGlynn joined the Lawrence faculty in 2006 after earning a bachelor’s degree in English and philosophy from the University of California, Irvine. He also earned master and doctorate degrees from the University of Utah.
Andrew Mast, assistant professor of music and director of bands, received Lawrence’s Young Teacher Award in recognition of demonstrated excellence in the classroom and the promise of continued growth.
In addition to conducting the Lawrence Wind Ensemble and the Symphonic Band, Mast teaches courses in band history, conducting, music education and the Freshman Studies program. Under this direction, the Wind Ensemble was recognized this spring by DownBeat magazine in its annual student music awards competition as the nation’s best in the classical group division, which encompasses chamber ensembles, bands and orchestras from around the country.
He is a frequent guest conductor and has led honor bands and festivals throughout the Midwest, as well as the Pilzen Conservatory in the Czech Republic. He co-founded and serves as president of the Vincent Persichetti Society, an organization dedicated to the work of the prolific 20th-century American composer.
“Your passion, enthusiasm and friendly approach have made you a very successful teacher and a valued member of the Lawrence community,” Burrows said in presenting Mast his award. “Your students hold you in high regard both as a teacher and conductor. Many students in your ensembles describe their experience as transformative, both musically and personally.”
Mast joined the conservatory faculty in 2004. He earned bachelor and doctorate degrees from the University of Iowa and also holds a master’s degree from the University of Minnesota.
