MyLU Insider

Ed Berthiaume

Author: Ed Berthiaume

Important Campus Construction Updates

Groundbreaking for the construction of the new Gateway Arch will begin next week!

The LU Trail along the river is being paved next week starting Monday, June 27th, and will be inaccessible for the duration of the week.

Colman Hall is looking sharp with some fresh paint on floors 1 & 2, the North wing and lofts, and new carpeting in the hallways on floors 2, 3 and 4! Next up – new ceiling tiles on floors 2, 3 & 4.

Work to replace the second floor terrazzo in Warch will begin next week.

As always – safety first! Do not enter construction areas! Please be mindful of your surroundings at all times as most construction and projects are really ramping up. Should you have questions or see anything concerning as you’re out and about, please contact Katherine in Facility Services at: Katherine.lehman@lawrence.edu or at ext. 6893

It’s Reunion 2022! Let’s all welcome our alumni back to campus

Reunion 2022 is here!  After a two-year hiatus, we are thrilled to be welcoming over 700 alumni, friends and family to campus for a celebration of all the people, places and programs that make us uniquely Lawrence. For a complete list of events, please check out the online schedule of events, and then join in the fun. Do you want to know who’s coming back? You can search that list online as well. We are asking for your help in rolling out the red (or should I say blue?) carpet for our guests. With so many alumni back on campus, parking will be limited. Please make an effort to use street or off-campus parking on Thursday, June 16 and Friday, June 17.  Your cooperation is greatly appreciated. 

Matthew K. Baumler
Associate Vice President of Alumni and Constituency Engagement

Lawrence among recipients of ‘Solar for Good’ grants

The Solar for Good grant program has awarded over $450,000 in grants and solar panel donations to Wisconsin nonprofit organizations. Thirty-five nonprofits will install over 2,200 kilowatts of solar electricity, leading to more than $6 million in renewable energy investments in Wisconsin.

Lawrence University’s Bjorklunden is part of that.

The following organizations have been offered Spring 2022 Solar for Good grants to install new solar energy systems: 

Agrace HospiceCare – health care, Janesville

Albany Lions Club – community services, Albany

Aldo Leopold Foundation – conservation, Baraboo

Antigo Public Library – community services, Antigo

City of Altoona – affordable housing, Altoona

Couleecap – community services, Westby  

Curative Connections – human services, Green Bay

Dane County Humane Society’s Wildlife Center – conservation, Madison

Edgerton Retirement Apartments – affordable housing, Edgerton

Emmanuel Community United Methodist Church – religious, Menomonee Falls

Homeless Assistance Leadership Organization (HALO) – human services, Racine

Hawthorn Hollow Nature Sanctuary and Arboretum – conservation, Kenosha

Hunger Task Force – meal distribution, West Milwaukee

Lawrence University – education, Baileys Harbor

Madison Area Cooperative Housing Alliance (MACHA) – affordable housing, Madison

McFarland Lutheran Church – religious, McFarland

Milwaukee Teachers Education Association (MTEA) – education, Milwaukee

Movin’ Out – affordable housing, Cottage Grove

Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church – religious, Trempealeau

Northwest Side Community Development Corp – community development, Milwaukee

Outreach Community Health Center – health care, Milwaukee

Racine County Food Bank – meal distribution, Racine

Rivers and Bluffs Animal Shelter – animal shelter, Prairie du Chien

Rooted – agriculture, Madison

Southwestern Wisconsin Community Action Program – community services, Dodgeville

St. Mary Parish – religious, Omro

St. Robert Parish – religious, Shorewood

Tina’s K9 Rescue – animal shelter, Sparta

Trinity Episcopal Church – religious, Baraboo

Union Congregational United Church of Christ – religious, Green Bay

Vernon Economic Development Association – community services, Viroqua

Westcare Wisconsin – human services, Milwaukee

Wisconsin Housing Preservation Corp – affordable housing, Madison

Woodland Dunes Nature Center and Preserve – conservation, Two Rivers

One organization has asked to remain anonymous at this time.

The grant recipients from the Spring 2022 round represent various sizes and types of nonprofits from across Wisconsin.

The 35 nonprofits are a part of Solar for Good’s 10th round of funding. The program has offered solar grants to 152 Wisconsin-based nonprofits since it began in 2017. Once projects are complete and energized, Solar for Good grant recipients will add over 7.3 megawatts of renewable energy to Wisconsin’s electric grid, providing enough electricity to power approximately 1,400 Wisconsin households.

Student-run Rabbit Gallery opens in downtown Appleton

The Rabbit Gallery is back after a two-year absence.

The week-long pop-up art gallery organized, curated, and run by Lawrence University students returned to downtown Appleton this week for the first time since 2019. It was on hold the past two years because of pandemic protocols.

The gallery, featuring artwork from more than 20 Lawrence students and three community artists opened Wednesday in a space inside City Center Plaza, 100 W. College Ave. It will remain open through Monday, June 6. Times are 3 to 8 p.m. June 3, noon to 7 p.m. June 4, 2 to 6 p.m. June 5, and 2 to 8 p.m. June 6.

The Rabbit Gallery is part of an entrepreneurship practicum led by Gary Vaughan, coordinator of Lawrence’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program and lecturer of economics. It gives students an opportunity to plan, coordinate, and execute a gallery on their own.

The gallery features photography, poetry, paintings, and sculpture.

Sophomore Izzy Allison, curator for the gallery and a member of the marketing team, said students in the entrepreneurship program divided into teams early in Spring Term to begin preparations for the pop-up gallery.

“In the first few weeks of Spring Term, we meet, discuss finding a location, figure out the teams: who is doing marketing, who is on financial, who is finding the space, who is doing curation,” she said. “Once we get a space, we get everything set up and send out a call for art.”

Allison, an art history major from Denver, played a lead role in choosing the art and hanging it.

“This has definitely been great for me as I want to end up going into museums,” she said. “This has been a great way to learn about curatorship and how to run a gallery basically without any help. The students involved are doing everything.”

The art on display is for sale.

The gallery includes a fund-raising aspect for KidsGive, a nonprofit program run by Lawrence students and alumni as part of the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Program. Its mission is to support education in Sierra Leone and promote education in the United States about African and Sierra Leonean life and culture.

Student reps sought for Reunion

Are you interested in connecting with alumni? Do you ever wonder about the experience of reconnecting to your alma mater after graduation? Reunion is a great way to help welcome Lawrentians back to campus and get a glimpse of the alumni experience—and it’s not too late to apply to be a Reunion Student Rep. This year, our Lawrence and Milwaukee-Downer alumni will be back on campus the week following commencement (June 14-19). If you want to join the team that hosts this special event, check out the Reunion Student Representative position on handshake or connect with Amy Hutchings, Associate Director of Donor Engagement at amy.s.hutchings@lawrence.edu or 920-832-6661.

Handshake Link: https://lawrence.joinhandshake.com/stu/jobs/6048289?ref=preview-header-click

This is a paid position open to all class years—including soon-to-be graduating seniors.

100% Free Thrift Store has opened in Hiett

Sophomore LJ Jensen has led an effort to create the new 100% Free Thrift Store on campus, located in Hiett Room 105! The grand opening took place this morning. The Thrift Store will have open hours every day from 9am to 9pm from now until June 8: feel free to stop by at your convenience.

Students can donate clothes or items to the bins in the resident hall lobbies. Quad houses can donate in Sage or Kohler. Every item within the thrift store is 100% free to take besides the bookshelves, coat racks, and hangers. There are electronic waivers to fill out when taking electronics (such as mini fridges) from the store. 

Follow LU Thrift Store on Instagram @luthriftstorelu or email luthriftstorelu@gmail.com with questions.

Thank you and happy thrifting!

Class of 2022 senior class gift

Class of 2022, it is time to let our light shine by contributing to the senior class gift!  Beginning May 23, we have 22 hours to raise $2,022 in honor of the class of 2022.  Every little bit helps make it possible for other students to get the most out of their LU experience.  To support the class gift, click here.  From there you can enter the amount you would like to give and choose and area of the university to support that is important to you.

Make sure to also stop by Warch Campus Center on May 23rd between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to get your FREE cookie from Manderfield’s Bakery (500 available) as a small way to say thank you for supporting the senior class gift.

Stefan Egerstrom ’11 earns music grant

Congratulations to Stefan Egerstrom ’11, who has been named a recipient of a 2022 Richard Tucker Career Grant.

The auditions for the award were held on May 2 at Kaufmann Hall at the 92nd Street Y in New York City.

The grant is worth $5,000. Recipients typically are in the transition from student to professional singer, and should have recently completed a graduate degree program or work in a young artist or apprentice program at a regional company.
 
About Stefan Egerstrom
Bass Stefan Egerstrom, 33, is currently in his third year as a San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow. He made his Company debut last fall as the Jailer in Tosca, and he also performed the role of Second Prisoner in a new production of Fidelio. He was a participant of the 2019 Merola Opera Program, performing in the Schwabacher Summer Concert and the Merola Grand Finale. He portrayed Hunding in Wagner’s Die Walküre with Queen City Opera in 2019. In 2018 he made his role debut as King René in Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta with Queen City Opera. Mr. Egerstrom was seen as Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, Siroco in L’Étoile, Carlino in Don Pasquale and soloist in Bach’s Johannes-Passion. As part of the Opera Fusion: New Works initiative between Cincinnati Opera and CCM, he performed in workshops of Ricky Ian Gordon’s Morning Star and Gregory Spears’ Fellow Travelers. Other operatic roles include Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Dr. Grenvil in La traviata and Kecal in The Bartered Bride. He received his bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from Lawrence University and his master’s degree in voice from The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

Björklunden looking for summer workers

We are still looking for summer workers here at Björklunden. We’re finally hosting our seminar program again and folks are thrilled to be able to come back and spend some time in this beautiful place! The big house in the woods on the Lake – you can’t beat it!

We have the usual summer positions open – from June 12-through Sept 2. And if you are a senior and applying to grad schools or waiting for a job to start – the seminars continue through the fall – so we look for a couple people to stay through October/early November. Or if you are taking a gap year or are not sure what your next move is – we always have one person stay through the winter and spring and then help train the new summer staff the following June.  Room and board included for all three options! Link to the job posting:https://app.joinhandshake.com/emp/jobs/5961309/

Or we also have a full/time year round position open – the Bjorklunden Staff Assistant. This person manages the weekend student program and also assists during the week as needed. Room and board are included as well as benefits for full-timers. 

Link to this job posting: https://lawrence.peopleadmin.com/postings/847