University Announcements

Tuesday, October 23, 2018
11:10 a.m.
“Listening Well in a World that Turns Away”
Katherine Cramer

Katherine Cramer is an American political scientist and a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is the author of “The Politics of Resentment: Rural Consciousness in Wisconsin and the Rise of Scott Walker,” the product of almost a decade of studying political attitudes in rural Wisconsin through ethnography.

Her work focuses on the way people in the United States make sense of politics. She is known for her innovative approach to the study of public opinion, in which she invites herself into the conversations of groups of people to listen to the way they understand public affairs.

Cramer was the recipient of the 2017 American Political Science Association’s Qualitative and Multi-Method Research section Giovanni Sartori Award for the best book developing or using qualitative methods published in 2016, as well as a finalist for the 2017 APSA Woodrow Wilson Foundation Award for the best book on government, politics or international affairs.

Dr. Adonia Lugo, bicycle advocate, activist, and anthropologist, will be on campus Thursday, October 11 for a speaking event that is free and open to the public.

Dr. Adonia Lugo collaborates with individuals and communities to develop sustainable transportation that addresses the needs and experiences of marginalized people. She is the author of the just-published book Bicycle/Race: Transportation, Culture, and Rsistance as well as numerous other publications.

When: Thursday, October 11 at 7:30pm
Where: Steitz Hall Room 102

Dear Lawrence Community,

Hello and welcome back to campus! To accompany the beginning of a new school year we are excited to highlight a new initiative for Lawrence: Sustainable Lawrence.

Lawrence’s identity is strongly tied to its geographic location in Appleton, WI. Situated along the banks of the Fox River, Lawrence has long worked to be a responsible steward of the natural environment. Last fall, Lawrence embarked on a project to establish sustainability as one of its core values along with a series of initiatives to further foster a sustainable campus. The Sustainability Steering Committee was established to ensure sustainability is reflected in all appropriate university policies and to coordinate campus sustainability initiatives. “Sustainable Lawrence” is a collection of initiatives set out to introduce, or further build upon, best practices in sustainability to help us reach this goal as a community. Be on the lookout for the green Sustainable Lawrence seal that will mark projects and programs that are working to advance this commitment.

We will have a great deal of help in promoting everyday sustainable choices from a group of students who have opted to be RLAs and peer mentors in sustainability. Starting this September, RLAs will be able to opt into one of five educational focus areas to add depth to these programming areas in the residence halls. Each housing community will have at least one RLA focused on sustainability and eco-initiatives. Be sure to seek them out and introduce yourself!

You will also notice the new trash and recycling stations located in the main lobby of each major residence hall and in the major academic and administrative buildings on campus. These new bins were installed as a part of an initiative to decrease our waste contamination rate by increasing our recycling rate and diverting as much waste as possible from the landfill. Students will also find that small recycling bins have been added to every residence hall room. If you need a refresh on which items can be recycled at Lawrence be sure to check out the recycling guidelines on the Sustainable Lawrence website.

Lawrence students help to fund directly many sustainability projects around campus via a sustainability fee of $5 per term. This year funding was leveraged to upgrade the lighting and add insulation to the Chapel as well as to help fund new lights and occupancy sensors in Ormsby Hall. Together these investments will save enough electricity to run ten households each year.

A few other ways to get involved right away include signing up for one of this year’s community reads or applying for a micro-grant from the Student Sustainability Fund. Students, faculty and staff can sign up (or enroll in a one-credit course) to read a common book and participate in joint discussions regarding relevant sustainability topics in literature. Additionally, students with their own ideas to make an impact on campus can apply to the Student Sustainability Fund for small grants averaging $2,500 for research or projects.

We look forward to providing additional updates and welcome new ideas on all aspects of sustainability. If you want to get further involved please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Jeff Clark
Kelsey McCormick

Now Accepting Applications for the Student Sustainability Fund!

Last year, student sustainability research led to the installation of new, uniform trash and recycle stations across campus. Help Lawrence achieve its sustainability goals!

The Student Sustainability Fund offers students competitive grants of up to $2,500 for sustainability focused projects that may consist of research, internships, volunteer or service projects, class projects, or student group initiatives. Any Lawrence student that will be enrolled during the term of their proposed project is eligible to apply.

Applications for Term I are due October 23, 2018 but will be considered at any time.

To learn more: http://www.lawrence.edu/admissions/about/sustainable-lawrence/apply-for-funding

Questions? Contact Kelsey McCormick. kelsey.m.mccormick@lawrence.edu or 920-832-7404

You may have noticed the addition of the new trash and recycling receptacles around campus. These bins were purchased as part of a sustainability initiative to create a uniform look for trash and recycling disposal on campus to reduce confusion and contamination. The results of a pilot program in Youngchild Hall from Term II of the 2017-18 school year informed us that installing these bins reduced the amount of recyclable material in the trash from 26% before the pilot to 7% after the pilot.

Since we will be replacing the many small bins in each building with these larger receptacles it may take some adjustment to find the correct bin locations in each building. Your patience is appreciated as we work to make this change on campus. If you have any questions or would like to make a location suggestion in a specific building or area, please reach out to Kelsey McCormick at kelsey.m.mccormick@lawrence.edu.

“Technology’s Unexpected Consequences” Ainissa Ramirez

Tuesday, April 3, 2018
11:10 a.m.

Getting people excited about science is the passion of Ainissa Ramirez, author and science “evangelist,” who spreads her “gospel” through books, TED Talks, online videos and the podcast “Science Underground.”

She was named one of the world’s 100 Top Young Innovators by Technology Review for her contributions to transforming technology and has been the recipient of the American Institute of Physics’ Andrew Gemant Award.

Ramirez spent eight years teaching mechanical engineering & materials science as an associate professor at Yale University and also has been a visiting professor at MIT. She is the author or coauthor of three books, including 2013’s “Newton’s Football: The Science Behind America’s Game,” an entertaining and enlightening look at the big ideas underlying the science of football.

She has served as a science advisor to the American Film Institute, WGBH/NOVA and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, among others.

Her appearance is supported by the Spoerl Lectureship in Science in Society.

This month, Lawrence will be releasing a request for proposals to developers for the former Northshore Bank property at 320 E. College Avenue. Acquired in 2014, the property has served as warehouse space, parking, and the location for Seth’s Coffee’s Appleton location. The City of Appleton created a Tax Increment Financing District that includes this site last fall which provides incentives for redevelopment.   The university seeks a developer who will redevelop at least the College Avenue-facing parcel into mixed use retail/residential and leaves open the possibility of redevelopment of the Washington Street-facing parcel so long as a parking arrangement is considered.

Lawrence will not be a tenant of any building development, nor will we make any financial investment in the project. Ultimately, ownership of some or all of the property will likely be transferred to the developer. Proceeds from the project will support creation of new warehouse space to relocate inventory currently stored in the bank building and generate funds for other campus capital renewal efforts.

Click here to access the Offering Memorandum. We will accept proposals through early April. The plan is to have a developer selected by summer 2018.

Please direct any questions about this project to Jake Woodford at x6850.

The City of Appleton recently considered a proposal to restrict on-street parking to two hours during business hours in the neighborhoods surrounding the Lawrence University campus. This proposal came out of a 2014 downtown parking study conducted by the City and a parking consultant. Following review of the proposal as well as a neighborhood meeting hosted by the City and Lawrence, the City of Appleton has decided not to proceed with the proposed restrictions at this time.

Instead, there will be minor changes in policy on streets on the southeast corner of the campus – near Trever Hall and also on Rankin Street between Alton Street and College Avenue. The total impact is expected to be fewer than 12 parking spaces.

In light of this new development, the University has decided not to proceed with further expansion of parking facilities north of Plantz Hall at this time. While parking continues to be limited for the campus as a whole, there are more critical areas of need for our constrained capital resources. Should available parking for the University significantly change in the future, plans for additional capacity will be revisited.  If you have any questions please contact Jon Meyer or Jake Woodford.

As always, please take note of any posted parking restrictions around the campus and remember that on-street parking is prohibited in the City of Appleton between the hours of 2:00 am and 5:00 am.