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Thomas Ziemer

Author: Thomas Ziemer

Full Speed to Full Need campaign hits another milestone

The Office of Development is delighted to announce that Lawrence has reached another milestone in the Full Speed to Full Need (FSFN) campaign: FSFN gifts and pledges now total $67.9 million!

By surpassing the $65 million mark by Dec. 14, we qualified for the final $2.5 million of the anonymous donor’s $30 million match!

These gifts are making a real difference in the lives of Lawrentians. Because of our donors’ generous investments in endowed scholarships:

  • This year, we were able to provide the full demonstrated need for 102 students who otherwise would have had to cover a gap in their financial aid package.

  • The average dollar gap has decreased by 20 percent, making Lawrence more affordable.

  • Persistence toward graduation has significantly increased due to this effort as well as improved mentoring and academic support. The one-year retention rate for all new first-time first-year students from the 2015 cohort is 91 percent—the highest it has been since 2001!

We are grateful to our supporters for helping our students and continuing the tradition of liberal arts excellence at Lawrence.

Next Thursday’s Convocation: Andrew Solomon

Andrew Solomon, a writer, lecturer and activist in psychology, LGBT rights and the arts, will speak at Lawrence’s next Convocation on Thursday, Feb. 2 at 11:10 a.m. in Memorial Chapel.

Solomon’s talk is titled Far From the Tree: How Difference Unites Us.

Solomon won the 2001 National Book Award for Nonfiction for The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression (2001), a book that received much acclaim and was also a finalist for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize. A second edition was published in 2015. More recently, Solomon’s Far From the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity (2012) was also an acclaimed best-seller, winning the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction. He has contributed to the New York Times Magazine and The New Yorker in the past.

His latest book, Far and Away: Reporting from the Brink of Change, came out last April and, per his website, includes “essays about places in dramatic transition.” View a trailer for Far and Away on Vimeo.

Solomon received a bachelor’s degree in English from Yale University and a master’s degree in English from Jesus College, Cambridge. He earned a Ph.D. degree in psychology from Jesus College, Cambridge. President of PEN American Center, he is currently a professor of clinical psychology at Columbia University Medical Center and a lecturer in psychiatry at Weill-Cornell Medical College.

Community Conversation on Safety: Part 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Join the Lawrence Office of Diversity and Inclusion and the Appleton Police Department for the second installment in a series of community conversations around safety and policing. Event details are below:

Feb. 9
8:30 a.m.–noon
Warch Campus Center, Nathan Marsh Pusey Room

  • Open to students, faculty, staff and alumni
  • Facilitated, small-group discussions, followed by large-group debriefing

Please join us by sending an RSVP to Michelle Lasecki-Jahnke by Feb. 3.

2016 W-2s now available

Your 2016 W-2s is now available. Paper W-2s will be mailed late next week; you should receive them at your home address (not your campus address). Please contact payroll at either 832-6723 or 832-6539 if you have any questions or concerns. 

If you consented to receive an electronic W-2, then you will not receive a paper W-2 and instead will be able to view it on Voyager. 

To receive your W-2 electronically in the future to save paper and postage, please complete the consent form in Voyager by selecting Employee Services > Tax Forms > Electronic W-2 and 1095-C Consent.

‘Open Doors’ for the inauguration

Several offices across campus will be participating in an “Open Doors” initiative as part of tomorrow’s U.S. presidential inauguration. These offices will have staff members available to talk with students on a walk-in basis for those who would like to reflect, share their excitement or voice concern.

Counselors will also be available for same-day referrals. Open Doors offices are listed below.

  • Accessibility Services: 136 Briggs Hall
  • Center for Academic Success: 117 Briggs Hall
  • Diversity Center: First floor Memorial Hall
  • International Student Services: 711 E. Boldt Way (International House)
  • Religious and Spiritual Life: First floor Raymond House
  • Wellness Center: Wellness Center building

Spiritual and religious life series: Embodying Your Faith

The Rev. Linda Morgan-Clement, the Julie Esch Hurvis Dean of Spiritual and Religious Life, invites all members of the campus community to sign up for a four-week series called “Embodying Your Faith” beginning Feb. 8.

Sessions will begin between 4:30 and 4:45 p.m. and end by 6 p.m.

Email Linda Morgan-Clement at linda.morgan-clement@lawrence.edu to indicate your interest or ask any questions, and see the image below for more details.

 

Guest bartend at the VR for senior nights

Consider signing up to serve as a guest bartender in the Viking Room. You can join the Class of 2017 nearly any Wednesday night of the academic year from 9 to 11 p.m. It’s late for some of us, but oh so fun, and students REALLY get into interacting with faculty and staff! You can sign up as individuals, pairs or as a department.

Complete a short registration form to sign up.

Contact Paris Wicker, associate dean of students for campus programs and senior class advisor, at paris.d.wicker@lawrence.edu or 920-832-7369 with any questions.

Voyager password change

As of Jan. 18, faculty, staff and students now use their Lawrence network/email username and password to log in to Voyager. This means you will no longer have two passwords to remember—just one that will allow you to log in to email, Voyager, campus computers and Lawrence Wi-Fi.

Please contact the Technology Services helpdesk at 920-832-6570 or helpdesk@lawrence.edu with any questions.