Senior Experience

Tag: Senior Experience

Theatre Arts Department Presents “The Sweetest Swing in Baseball”

Four performances of Lawrence University’s production of “The Sweetest Swing in Baseball” by Rebecca Gilman will be staged Oct. 31-Nov. 2 in Stansbury Theatre of the Music-Drama Center.

Performances are at 8 p.m. each night with an additional 3 p.m. matinee on Saturday, Nov. 2. Tickets, at $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors, are available through the Lawrence Box Office, 920-832-6749.

Sweetest-Swing-_newsblogThe play follows Dana, a struggling artist recovering in the hospital from a mental breakdown. When insurance won’t cover hospital bills for more than ten days for a mere depression diagnosis, she devises a plan to extend her stay by pretending to be Major League Baseball player Darryl Strawberry. The other patients in Dana’s ward—an attempted murderer and a good-natured recovering alcoholic—assist her in fooling the hospital staff.

Adopting Strawberry’s persona, Dana discovers similarities between the tragic slugger’s life and her own, fueling confidence in her unique artistic voice. In the play, Gilman, whom Chicago Tribune theatre critic Chris Jones deemed “one of America’s most talked-about and sought-after playwrights,” uses a comedic lens to address serious issues ranging from health care and mental illness to the intersection of art and commerce.

The play was chosen for production in part because of the way it fit into the theatre arts department’s interdisciplinary vision according to Professor Timothy X. Troy.

“We’ve been teaching Gilman’s plays in our department’s curriculum for many years, so we were eager to find a play we could do well in support of that curricular objective,” said Troy, who directs the production.

Madeline Bunke, a senior from Brookfield, portrays Dana, a role that also serves as her Senior Experience  for her theatre arts major.

“Madeline first read the play in class a couple years ago, so she grew with the character long before she even knew she had the chance to portray Dana,” said Troy. “The role is difficult and challenging. We’re lucky that Madeline brings her steely focus, her keen insight and her wide-ranging talents to the role.”

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.

David Cordie Senior Experience Exhibited at UW-Fox’s Valley’s Weis Earth Science Museum

Mazon Creek fossilized fern frond.

As part of his Senior Experience, Lawrence University senior biology major David Cordie is curating an exhibition of fossils detailing climate change that will be featured at UW-Fox’s Valley’s Weis Earth Science Museum beginning Wednesday, May 8.

The exhibition features a dozen plant fossils from the Mazon Creek fossil bed in northern Illinois. Cordie also created several posters to accompany the fossils, explaining what they reveal about the region’s climate approximately 350 million years ago. It will be on display until mid-July. Cordie began the project last summer as part of an internship with Weis Museum director Joanne Kluessendorf.

“As director of the Weis Earth Science Museum, I want to take every opportunity to underscore the importance of the museum and its staff as a community resource,” said Kluessendorf.  “So, it was particularly enjoyable to share my expertise in paleontology as well as the museum fossil collections with a Lawrence student. David proved to be an excellent intern and I know that museum visitors will find his exhibit informative. I was also gratified that David chose to pursue a graduate degree in paleontology after this internship and has been accepted into the graduate program at the University of Iowa.”

The Weis Earth Science Museum is open Monday-Thursday, 12-4 p.m.; Friday 12-7 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday 1-5 p.m.

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 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 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries. Follow Lawrence on Facebook.

Keynesian Scholar Featured in Senior Experience/Economics Colloquium

Nationally-known Keynesian scholar Bradley Bateman examines the prospects of creating a morally acceptable form of capitalism Thursday, May 17 in a Lawrence University Senior Experience/Economics Colloquium.

Economist Bradley Bateman

Bateman’s presentation, “Keynes and the Crisis of the Welfare State” at 4:30 p.m. in the Wriston Art Center auditorium, is free and open to the public.

Provost and professor of economics at Ohio’s Denison University, Bateman is one of the country’s leading scholars on the British theorist John Maynard Keynes.  He is the co-author of the 2011 book “Capitalist Revolutionary: John Maynard Keynes.”

Bateman is also the author of recent guest commentaries in the New York Times and The Guardian.

 

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.

 

 

 

Lawrence University Awarded $552,000 NSF Grant for Advanced Research Instrumentation

The largest instrumentation grant in Lawrence University’s history — $552,666 from the National Science Foundation — will fund the purchase of a confocal microscope system to support biological research and strengthen hands-on research training.

Confocal microscopy is a cutting edge technique that provides the best available resolution of microscopic images and allows the reconstruction of three-dimensional structures from images obtained through the microscope. Seven teams of faculty mentors and student researchers — six from Lawrence and one from the University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley — will use the microscope to advance understanding in developmental biology, cell biology, physiology and biochemistry.

Current research projects the microscope will aid include age-related synaptic decline found in Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, the role a particular protein may play in ALS and some kinds of
tumors and how protein signals in a developing embryo help properly position various parts of the body.

The instrument also will provide Lawrence students opportunities to gain valuable experience through summer research with faculty members as well as upper-level lab courses and Senior Experience projects.  As many as 32 students a year are expected to assist with research involving the confocal microscope.

“It’s incredibly exciting to have a sophisticated instrument like this. We have recognized for several years the critical need for this particular type of microscope if we want to continue providing our students and ourselves with the tools needed for modern biological research,” said Nancy Wall, associate professor of biology. “We’ll finally be able to undertake research projects we have wanted and needed to undertake but couldn’t without a confocal microscope. This is a major boost for faculty research programs and an essential tool for undergraduate training. Professor Beth De Stasio’s hard work and leadership were instrumental in securing the grant funding for this microscope.”

In recommending the grant, NSF reviewers said Lawrence should be considered “a leader and model for undergraduate engagement in research. They have invested significant efforts to move toward inquiry-based learning approaches in their curriculum, with early experiences that feed different but similarly intensive and research based experiences in the summers or during senior years.”

Another reviewer praised the Lawrence faculty for “an impressive track record in successful research collaborations with undergraduate students” while a third mentioned “a culture of “engaging undergraduates in meaningful ways with active research.”

Lawrence faculty researchers incorporating the confocal microscope into their research include Wall; Beth De Stasio, professor of biology and Raymond H. Herzog Professor of Science; Kimberly Dickson, assistant professor of biology; Judith Humphries, assistant professor of biology; Nicholas Maravolo, professor of biology; and Brian Piasecki, postdoctoral fellow in biology.

Strengthening an existing partnership with UW-Fox Valley, the microscope also will be used for research training by Dubear Kroenig, associate professor of biological sciences at the two-year college.

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 1,520 students from 44 states and 56 countries.