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Taize worship services

Taize worship services are a partnership between Lawrence and All Saints Episcopal church. Taize worship services are ecumenical Christian services that follow a rhythm of simple chants, silence and scripture. These meditative services take place in the candle-lit sanctuary.

Lawrence student Gabi Makuc plans and coordinates the services, while other Lawrence students are also involved in leading the services. All services are open to the public.

The first Taize service is Sunday, Feb. 5 at 7:30 p.m.

Beware of the “Can you hear me?” scam

Recently, campus has been receiving fraudulent calls from scammers asking, “Can you hear me?” If you answer with “yes,” your answer is recorded and may be used by the scammer to authorize bogus charges on a credit card or a phone or utility bill.

Other variations of the scam are being reported as well. These include asking other yes/no type questions such as, “Are you the person responsible for paying the telephone bill?” and, “Are you the homeowner?”

If you receive a phone call from a number you do not recognize, use caution. Do not answer personal questions, try not to engage and, if you must respond, consider asking questions of your own such as “Who is calling?” Don’t be afraid to hang up if you believe the call is not legitimate. It is not impolite to hang up on a scammer. The longer that a scammer has you on the phone, the more likely it is that you will give them some information that they can use thus making you a victim.

For more information, read this story from CBS News.

LU staffers Wicker, Lucas among Future 15 nominees

Paris Wicker ’08, associate dean of students for campus programs, and Elyse Lucas ’10, lecturer of education, are two of 25 nominees for the 2017 edition of Future 15, an annual list of exceptional young professionals in the Fox Cities sponsored by the Appleton Post-Crescent and Pulse Young Professionals.

In addition to Wicker and Lucas, two other Lawrence graduates are nominees: Fanny Lau ’14 and Oliver Zornow ’10. Visit the Post-Crescent’s website to vote.

Voting runs through Feb. 2. The 15 honorees will be feted March 2 at the Hortonville Opera House.

Note: An earlier version of this post neglected to note that, in addition to being a Lawrence graduate, Elyse Lucas is also a current employee.

We fact-checked Internet news and you’ll never believe what happened next!!!

Join your friendly Lawrence University librarians for a brief session on critically interpreting news on Thursday, Feb. 9 at 1:30 p.m., on the first floor of the library. We’ll go over some tips used by fact-checkers to give you the tools to be able to determine what’s reliable and what’s not. Cookies will be provided, because research shows that cookies consumed while learning something new have a zero-calorie effect.

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.