MyLU Insider

Megan Scott

Author: Megan Scott

Professional Communications Opportunity for Graduating Senior: Web Communications Fellow

Are you graduating from Lawrence and interested in a career in digital communications and looking to build new skills in writing and editing, project management, and web work? If the answer is yes, the Office of Communications may have a job for you!

We are seeking a creative, collaborative, and detail-oriented individual to serve in the newly created Web Communications Fellow position. Working with members of the Communications and Web Development teams, as well as university-wide web stakeholders, this one-year position will be integral to the successful launch of the redesigned Lawrence University website. 

Candidates should be strong writers, passionate about digital media, willing to grow and develop new skills, confident in their project management abilities, and committed to Lawrence’s values of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Learn more about the Web Communications Fellow–or even apply–here.

If you have any questions, please email us at communications@lawrence.edu.

Save the Date: Writing for the Web Workshop | May 20

Writing for the Web Workshop
Hosted by Laura Pochodylo, freelance web designer and writer
Sponsored by the Office of Communications
Thursday, May 20, 2021
11:00 a.m.

If you regularly update web pages on the Lawrence website, write e-newsletters, or simply want to help bolster your digital communications skills, please join us for this Writing for the Web Workshop on Thursday, May 20, at 11:00 a.m. Sign up to attend!

Our writing practices have always adapted to our communications technology. A newspaper broadsheet only holds so many words; brevity is worth money when sending a telegram; and you cannot put a paragraph of text on a billboard if you want to get your point across. We are used to limitations, so what happens when there are no limits? The endless ways the world wide web allows us to communicate present a new type of challenge for us. 

Discover how to write effectively for the web using concepts of user-centered design. We will review the basics of user interaction practices, explore how well-written web content assists with digital accessibility, and share simple practices you can use in your work to deliver your message digitally. 

If you plan to attend the workshop, please let us know. We will share the Zoom details the day before the workshop on May 19.

About Our Host
Laura Pochodylo is a freelance web designer and writer based in Nashville, Tennessee. Laura is currently assisting the Lawrence University Office of Communications with written content for the website redesign and has loved learning more about Lawrentians and their world. No stranger to the Associated Colleges of the Midwest, Laura graduated from Knox College as a double major in English Literature and American Studies  in 2014. Before freelancing, Laura worked in digital marketing and public relations for brands like the Grand Ole Opry, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Highlights for Children, and Moosejaw Mountaineering. Laura primarily focuses on eCommerce site builds, website data analysis, and web content strategy. Beyond work, Laura hosts a weekly all-vinyl radio show with her husband Casey. If she is not found reading a book with her cat Rosalita by her side, she is likely playing pinball or out hiking.

Honoring President Burstein

The entire Lawrence University community is invited to celebrate President Mark Burstein on Saturday, May 15, from 2-5 p.m on the Main Hall Green. 

The day will start with the LU community cheering on Mark as he makes his LAST LAP around campus. The lap will end at the library plaza and be followed by good food and music. Social distancing protocols will be observed during the parade, food, and music event!

Those who cannot physically make it to the event, do have an option to purchase a cardboard cutout of yourself place along the route.

More information on the event can be found on the LUCC Facebook page.

The Lawrentian and LUCC are also looking to reprise the Ariel yearbook for a special 2013-2021 edition to celebrate President Burstein’s time on campus. We are seeking photos from the LU community for this unique gift.  f you have photos to contribute, please share them by emailing them to Lawrentian@lawrence.edu and LUCC@lawrence.edu.

Website Redesign Preview & Update Presentation

Thank you to the 70+ faculty and staff who joined us at this week’s update on and preview of the website redesign project. We greatly appreciate the time you spent with us, as well as your enthusiasm and questions.

For those faculty and staff who were not able to join us, a recording of the hour-long session is now available.

If you have any questions about the website redesign or the presentation, please email communications@lawrence.edu.

Please also save-the-date for Web Writing Workshop on Thursday, May 20 at 11:00 a.m. If you regularly update web pages or compose email or other digital communications, please join us to learn more about best practices for digital copy writing.

Website Redesign Preview & Update | Tuesday, April 27, 2:00 p.m.

Please join the Office of Communications and Web Development Team for a preview of and update on the www.lawrence.edu website redesign project.  In fall 2019, we began work on a full redesign of the main Lawrence University website, including overall navigation, site organization, and content review and development, to compete digitally with other schools, better represent the on-campus educational experience, and meet the needs of the internal community. The goals of the new website are to:

  • Encourage prospective students to apply and enroll. 
  • Encourage alumni, parents, and friends to support Lawrence.  
  • Make daily operations for faculty, staff and current students easier.  
  • Inform community about operations and events.
  • Inform and delight prospective employees.

Please join us via Zoom on Tuesday, April 27, at 2:00 p.m. to learn about the project’s progress to date, see a preview of the new design, and learn
about next steps as we prepare for a launch of the new website in January 2022.  

Join at: https://lawrence.zoom.us/j/99250115425?pwd=VnBMTzk1amdPbzByK1RhN25lclFqdz09

Meeting ID: 992 5011 5425
Passcode: 033861

We will share a recording of the presentation in the LU Insider so that those community members who are not able to join us will be able to follow our progress. If you have any questions, please reach out to communications@lawrenc.edu.

Questions for President Burstein & President-Elect Carter

The Office of Communications is recording a conversation with 16th President Mark Burstein and incoming 17th President Laurie A. Carter next week, and they want to answer some questions from the Lawrence community!

If you have a question for either President Burstein or President Carter, please submit it to communications@lawrence.edu by noon on Wednesday, April 21.

We will do our best to answer as many questions as time allows.

New Class Schedule Starting Fall 2021

One of the recommendations from the Task Force on Emotional Wellbeing, a group of students, faculty, and staff united to investigate the factors negatively impacting emotional well-being on campus, was to create common unscheduled time for faculty and students in the middle of the day. After considering several options, the faculty voted to adopt a new daily schedule.  

See the new schedule (PDF). 

The new schedule will begin in Fall 2021. We encourage students, faculty, and staff to make note of the updated schedule and how it might impact your schedule or classroom availability. 

The Registrar’s office is working with departments to update the 2021-22 course catalog accordingly, and the course schedule for academic year 2021-22 will be available in spring term with updated class periods. If students have any questions regarding their schedule, please reach out to your advisor or individual faculty members. 

Winter Weather Advisory

The Crisis Management Team is keeping a close watch on the current winter storm system that is expected to last through tomorrow and will bring several inches of snow, high winds, and dangerously cold temperatures. The cold temperatures are currently forecasted to remain over the weekend and into next week. In preparation for this onset of extreme winter weather, we want to remind the campus community of important winter protocols and safety measures.

As the majority of classes are being taught online this term and on-campus events are limited due to the pandemic, much of campus life will proceed as normal during inclement weather:

  • Remote classes will continue to meet as normal; in-person classes may pivot to remote instruction if necessary. Please contact your professor if you have any questions about your class.  
  • Personnel in Facilities, Campus Services, and Bon Appetit will continue to work and report as scheduled, unless otherwise informed by your manager. Please utilize your best judgment regarding travel decisions when reporting and communicate with your supervisor concerning any schedule changes you may have. 
  • All other staff should continue to work remotely or shift to remote work if you are unable to make it to campus due to inclement weather. If you are unable to work remotely due to technology challenges or personal circumstances, please contact your supervisor or Human Resources.  
  • If any in-person curricular and co-curricular gatherings or events, including the College, Athletics, Conservatory, and Community Music School, need to shift to remote gatherings or be canceled, we ask that all event hosts share updates with the community via the campus event calendar, social media, or other appropriate channels. 
  • Off-campus shuttle services may be limited.

For those students living in campus, please note the following:

  • Information on dining hours can be found on the Lawrence Bon Appetit Facebook page.
  • Regular services provided by the Warch Campus Center, Mudd Library, or the Wellness Center, may be limited. Please visit their web or social media pages for information. 
  • Please also keep all windows shut to avoid freezing pipes. 
  • Continue to Honor the Pledge by wearing a mask, maintaining physical distance, and following other health and safety protocols. 

Regardless of where you live, please remain indoors as much as possible in such extreme conditions. If you do venture outside, please ensure that you are dressed appropriately, including loose layers, winter coats, hats, scarves and gloves, as frostbite can occur at extreme temperatures in fewer than five minutes. 

We will continue to evaluate weather conditions over the next few days, and we ask that you please keep a close watch on email, the Lawrence website, social media, and other means of communication in case of additional developments.

Thank you for your patience during these extreme weather conditions. 

Stay warm, Lawrentians!
Crisis Management Team 

MWC Fall/Winter Athletics Update

Dear Lawrentians, 

It is with continued sadness that I write to share the news that the Midwest Conference Presidents’ Council and the Midwest Conference COVID-19 working group have announced today that it would not sponsor league competition, including championships, for all fall and winter sports during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Sports impacted by this decision include men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, football, men’s and women’s swimming & diving, men’s and women’s indoor track & field, and volleyball. Conference-wide decisions for men’s and women’s hockey and fencing are still pending, but the sense is that these sports will move in a similar direction.   

You can read more about the decision on the Lawrence University Athletics website.

There is no question that our disappointment continues. Just as we did in the fall, this decision is a result of a thoughtful and thorough process to evaluate whether or not competition would be feasible in our current climate, with the health and safety of our students, faculty, and staff always at the forefront of our thinking and decision-making process. Unfortunately, the current trends in public health do not support a safe return to play and are actually in a more tenuous place than they were when this decision was made in the fall. The landscape of the recommendations from the NCAA regarding resocialization of sport continue to evolve and the testing protocol for high-risk sports provide many challenges.  

While it’s very apparent that sport is an integral part of who our student-athletes are and not just something in which they participate, the next phase of our work for our fall and winter sports will focus on ways in which we can provide a meaningful experience for our fall/winter athletes during the winter term.  The good news, you ask?  As a department, we had a relatively safe fall athletic experience.  It is our intention to find ways to continue to move forward.  While we will continue to follow CDC guidelines, Midwest Conference protocol as well as the NCAA resocialization of sport document, we intend to pursue opportunities that allow us to practice in some of the more traditional ways that we are accustomed to.  In doing so, if our internal behaviors continue to be positive and the external environment progresses in a positive direction from a health and safety perspective, we may even find opportunities to participate in scrimmages against others, minding the diligence all involved would need to pay to our Pledge and all other parameters. 

We intend to remain very hopeful for our spring sports (baseball, softball, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s outdoor track & field).  In most cases, the NCAA categorizes our spring sports as more moderately risky than higher risk.  The next phase of work for our spring sports will begin to focus on the ways in which we can do sport in the spring safely.  This is another space where we can focus on the positive with the hopes of moving forward in a meaningful way. 

I know we were all hoping for more opportunities in January of 2021, but with the health and safety of Vikings and all Lawrentians as our top priority, we believe this was the best decision. Even though our teams won’t be competing this winter, we will move forward in safe ways to practice sport in the manner that it was intended. While this time in our history has certainly provided its own set of challenges, much can be learned by facing such adversity.

Be well,  
Kim Tatro
Director of Athletics