MyLU Insider

Craig Gagnon

Author: Craig Gagnon

Come to reunion – but please park off-campus

Reunion 2018 is here! Over the course of the next 4 days, over 1,000 alumni, friends and family will be back on 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 Reunion program, 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 14 and Friday, June 15.

Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

Reminisce. Renew. REUNION!

Matt Baumler

Staff and Faculty Thank You Picnic June 5

The time is approaching for our annual celebration of the role our entire community plays in providing a welcoming environment to our prospective students and their families.

Annual Admissions & Financial Aid Gratitude Cookout
Tuesday, June 5, 2018
Wriston Amphitheater (rain date Wed, June 6)

11:30am-1:00 pm

Our friends in Bon Appetit need a ballpark count by Wednesday, May 30 at noon. RSVP to Lynn Van Zeeland at ext. 6506 or lynn.vanzeeland@lawrence.edu We hope you can join us to celebrate our work together.
We are assembling another one of those nifty “by the numbers” sheets, so please send Lynn any fun facts that represent your area (e.g., # of calls to the Help Desk; # of Sriracha bottles downed in Andrew Commons, etc.).
Thank you for all you do,

Ken Anselment

Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid

Sign up for a new tool to showcase your achievements

The Office of Communications is providing students with a new tool designed to recognize and publicize student achievements. Merit Pages is an online platform that uses social, print and online media to record and recognize academic and extracurricular achievements from matriculation to graduation. Students who choose to “claim” their own Merit Page can personalize their page to showcase everything from Lawrence honors and accomplishments to summer internships.

Learn how to take advantage of this resource at Lawrence Merit Pages on the LU website.

Check your inbox for a welcome email from richard.peterson@lawrence.edu. This email contains your Merit username and password.

Emergency Preparations

At last week’s all-staff meeting, Chris Lee addressed recent questions regarding Lawrence’s preparations to handle emergencies on campus.

He noted that Lawrence maintains a 9-person Crisis Management Team to prepare for and respond to emergencies at Lawrence. That team consists of:

Catherine Kodat, Provost and Dean of the Faculty

Chris Card, Vice President for Student Life

Chris Lee, Vice President for Finance and Administration

Curt Lauderdale, Dean of Students

Steve Armstrong, Director of Information Technology Services

Lindsay Kehl, Interim Director of Human Resources

Dan Meyer, Director of Facilities Services

Craig Gagnon, Associate Vice President of Communications and

Jon Meyer, Director of Campus Services

He also listed and discussed several recent, current and ongoing initiatives to strengthen LU’s crisis response and to provide training for staff and faculty. These include:

  • Monthly training and testing once each term of the LU Alert System (RAVE), implemented in 2016
  • Active Shooter training offered in the summer and fall of 2017 by Chris Tarmann and Joe Peterson from University of Wisconsin/Oshkosh
  • Comprehensive updates in 2017 to the crisis management handbook which all members of the crisis management team use in response to campus emergencies
  • Updated emergency procedure signs and exit maps posted in all campus buildings in 2017 – typically on each floor by every exit
  • Discussions with the Appleton Police Department to provide campus-wide training in 2018
  • A comprehensive evaluation of LU’s emergency preparations conducted by Mark Bagby of Emergent Solutions the week of May 7 with recommendations to be provided next month.
  • Online resources available for the crisis management team including the FBI video “The Coming Storm” and FEMA online training courses IS-700.A and IS-100.HE.

Our goal through all these activities is to develop a response protocol for any type of emergency. Our most likely event would be weather-related but other types of emergencies are covered as well. And while much has been done, it is worth noting that preparation for emergencies is an issue that will remain an ongoing priority. It is an effort that will require diligence, practice and training on a continuing basis to assure that the Lawrence community is prepared for emergencies of all kinds and equipped to respond if/when they happen.

 

Tuition and fees for the 2018-19 academic year

March 1, 2018

Dear Students,

During its recently held winter meeting the Lawrence Board of Trustees set the comprehensive fee for the 2018-19 academic year. Full-time tuition will be $47,175. Together with room, board and fees, the total comprehensive fee will be $57,816 – a 3% increase over last year. Thanks to significant efforts by many to contain our operating costs, this is the fourth consecutive year that Lawrence has been able to hold the comprehensive fee increase to 3% or less.

You can see a more detailed breakdown of next year’s comprehensive fee at go.lawrence.edu/fees.

Lawrence remains committed to the value of off-campus and study abroad programs as important parts of a liberal arts education. Last year, we increased need-based financial aid for these programs.  We remain committed to keeping the increase of that aid at the same rate as Lawrence tuition. For next year, that increase will amount to a per-term maximum of $8550. Several recent gifts from the Lawrence community have also established new scholarships specifically for study abroad.  We expect to continue to restructure off-campus and study abroad costs to ensure increased access to these programs.

In addition, beginning this summer starting wages for student work on campus will increase to 3.5% beyond the Wisconsin minimum wage – with many positions earning considerably more depending on experience and job responsibilities.

While we strive to keep cost increases in check, we remain committed to investing in a Lawrence education.  Lawrence will continue to provide learning opportunities that help prepare its students for success in an ever-changing world, will maintain one of the lowest student-to-faculty ratios in the country, and will ensure a highly personalized college experience.

I wish you great success as you end winter term and head into a well-deserved spring break.

Sincerely,

Mark Burstein

President

 

The Squirrels are coming – Saturday, Jan 27

Lawrence students had a chance to work on a full-length Hollywood feature film shot on campus. That film, Bucky and the Squirrels, opens next week in 45 markets around the country – including Appleton.

Attend a free screening, including free popcorn, free refreshments and free transportation to the Valley Grand Theater, next week Saturday, Jan. 27. The show starts at 7:15. Watch for details coming your way soon and register before the seats are all taken.

Lawrence in the News

eClips is a bi-weekly email from the Office of Communications containing headlines and links to recent articles about Lawrence, articles about LU students/faculty/staff, and articles about major topics and trends in higher education. Originally developed for cabinet and trustees, faculty and staff have found it to be a valuable and interesting resource. If you would like to be added to the distribution list, send an email to Rick Peterson (richard.peterson@lawrence.edu).

LU Alert Test – TODAY

The Fall Term test of the LU Alert system is scheduled for today, Thursday, October 5 between 11:00 am and noon.   At that time you will receive telephone calls, email messages and, if you have provided a cell phone number, text messages confirming the test.

This system is one of several Lawrence will use to communicate in the event of an emergency.  It provides Lawrence with an enhanced ability to communicate quickly to large numbers of students, faculty, staff and emergency contacts using multiple communication channels — email, office phones, cell phones and text messaging.

  • Of the delivery options, email and text-messaging have been the quickest and most reliable methods.
  • The delivery of messages via cell phones is faster, but may also be limited by the capacity of some network providers. If you want to be notified of a campus emergency via cell phone, please verify that your cell number is listed on Voyager.

As members of the Lawrence community, we all have a responsibility to ensure effective communication in an emergency. Thank you for your support.

The Crisis Management Team

LU Alert Test – TODAY

The Fall Term test of the LU Alert system is scheduled for today, Thursday, Oct. 5 between 11 a.m. and noon. At that time, you will receive telephone calls, email messages and, if you have provided a cellphone number, text messages confirming the test. Please let your emergency contact know that they may receive a phone message if you shared one of your phone numbers (i.e. home).

This system is one of several Lawrence will use to communicate in the event of an emergency. It provides Lawrence with an enhanced ability to communicate quickly to large numbers of students, faculty, staff and emergency contacts using multiple communication channels: email, office phones, cellphones and text messages.

  • Of the delivery options, email and text messaging have been the quickest and most reliable methods.
  • The system’s ability to deliver messages to office phones is limited by the capabilities of our telephone system. While we have improved our ability to receive office phone calls, faculty and staff should not expect to receive an emergency message immediately via office phone.
  • The delivery of messages via cellphones is faster, but may also be limited by the capacity of some network providers. If you want to be notified of a campus emergency via cellphone, please verify that your cell number is listed on Voyager.
  • If you would like to be contacted via cellphone or text message, you may provide your cellphone number to Human Resources.

As members of the Lawrence community, we all have a responsibility to ensure effective communication in an emergency. Thank you for your support.

The Crisis Management Team