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University Announcements

Category: University Announcements

All-Way Stop Installed at Meade and E. Boldt Way/John Street

In our continued efforts to improve pedestrian safety around the campus, the City of Appleton is installing an all-way stop at the intersection of Meade and E. Boldt Way/John Street. Before installation of the new stop signs, only northbound traffic on Meade Street was required to stop creating a hazardous condition for pedestrians and vehicles at this intersection. Please contact Jake Woodford (jacob.a.woodford@lawrence.edu) in the President’s Office with any comments or questions.

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

 

Submit your application for the Student Sustainability Fund

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. Examples include: developing educational tools and programs for conservation efforts, researching the feasibility of a campus bike-share program, removal of invasive species on campus, funding for travel to and from an internship, a stipend for internships or service projects.

Any Lawrence student that will be enrolled during the term of their proposed project is eligible to apply.

To learn more: http://www.lawrence.edu/info/green_roots/student-sustainability-fund

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

Convocation Series: “Gut Churn,” Jad Abumrad, host and creator of Public Radio’s Radiolab

Jad Abumrad
Thursday, February 1, 2018
11:10 a.m.
“Gut Churn”

Jad Abumrad, who studied creative writing and music composition in college, is the creator and host of “Radiolab,” one of public radio’s most popular programs. Broadcast on more than 520 stations nationally and downloaded more than nine million times a month as a podcast, “Radiolab” combines dialogue, music, interviews and sound effects to create documentaries that explore potentially intimidating topics ranging from the evolution of altruism to the legal foundation for the war on terror.

“Radiolab” has been recognized twice—2010 and 2015—with the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award. In 2011, Abumrad was named a MacArthur Fellow, an honor commonly known as a “genius grant.” In 2016, he premiered “More Perfect,” a spinoff of “Radiolab” which explores untold stories about the Supreme Court. Abumrad also produced and hosted “The Ring & I,” a look at the enduring power of Wagner’s “Ring Cycle.” It earned 10 awards, including 2005’s National Headliner Grand Award in Radio.

Open meeting on capital planning and campus projects

Come learn about capital projects happening on campus!

The Physical Planning Committee invites you to a capital planning and campus project poster walk-through on May 2 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the Warch Campus Center Gallery. Please stop by this open meeting to ask questions and become informed on upcoming projects relating to campus housing, facilities and parking. Students, faculty and staff are all invited to attend—please drop by when you are able, there is no formal program.

2017–18 tuition information

Dear students,

Each winter the Lawrence University Board of Trustees determines the cost of attending Lawrence for the next year. Earlier this week, the board approved a comprehensive fee of $56,133 for the 2017–18 academic year, a 3 percent increase over the 2016–17 academic year. Major components of the fee include tuition at $45,801, room at $4,989 and board at $5,043. To see a more detailed breakdown of the comprehensive fee, please visit our tuition fees & fees web page. This is the third consecutive year that Lawrence has held fee increases to 3 percent or less, a rate significantly under our peer institutions.

As part of next year’s comprehensive fee, starting fall of 2017, we will cover several specific fees that may have prevented students from participating fully in opportunities at Lawrence. For example, student ticket prices to Artist and Jazz Series concerts will be eliminated to assure all undergraduates can take full advantage of these world-class performances. We will eliminate the $250 study abroad fee to make it easier for students to take advantage of the many transformative international study opportunities. The $30 Residence Hall Activity Fee charged to all students in residence will be discontinued. Several other administrative fees and course fees will also be eliminated.

Lawrence will increase financial aid for study abroad programs next year. Presently a student can receive up to $8,100 per term in need-based aid for Lawrence-affiliated study abroad programs. That upper limit will increase to $8,330 per term for the next academic year to mirror the increase in tuition. In the future, this upper limit will increase at the same rate as Lawrence’s tuition.

I am aware of the financial challenges that face students and families to fund a Lawrence education. That is why, in addition to managing our expenses and keeping tuition increases as low as possible, scholarships continue to be our core fundraising priority. Thanks to extraordinary support of the Lawrence community we continue to make progress toward our goal of meeting the full demonstrated need of every student.

Lawrence strives to provide a rigorous academic experience in a supportive residential community as efficiently as possible. We are committed to maintain one of the lowest student-faculty ratios in the country and to provide engaged learning opportunities that will prepare our students for post-graduation success in a rapidly changing world. We will use all means at our disposal, from cutting operational costs to building our endowment for scholarship support to eliminating fees in order to make a Lawrence education affordable.

Sincerely,

 

 

Mark Burstein
President

Welcome back from President Burstein

Dear faculty, students, and staff, 

Welcome back to campus!  It is a pleasure to have you return; you enliven what becomes a very quiet place during the break.  I hope all of you have come back refreshed and ready to learn.  We begin this year steadfast in our commitment to provide insight into the pressing issues that face the world and to create opportunities for learning how to foster communities that include people of different backgrounds and different perspectives.  As societies around the world become more polarized, we must rededicate our efforts to come together and learn as one community.  Here at Lawrence, even as we have made positive progress, there remains work to be done.

To those ends, Kimberly Barrett, Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion and Associate Dean of the Faculty has already sent a message, and Linda Morgan-Clement, the Julie Esch Hurvis Dean of Spiritual and Religious Life, will be in contact very soon with schedules of events planned for this winter and spring.  These events will provide opportunities for us to learn new skills in order to discuss the issues that face our communities and others around the globe.  You can also find a schedule of events on the Diversity and Inclusion page and on a new page for Spiritual and Religious Life at Lawrence.

At the end of fall term many of you asked about our policies and procedures regarding Lawrentians who are not citizens of the United States.  Our policy has been, and will continue to be, to create a welcoming and supportive community for all, without regard for citizenship status. 

For many years our policy and practice have been to protect the information of all members of our community to the fullest extent the law allows, and to establish mechanisms to attract the most talented students, faculty, and staff from around the globe.  We take seriously our obligation to uphold the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which sets forth strict conditions for releasing student information to any party, including government authorities.  While faculty and staff information is not governed by FERPA, we also respect and protect the privacy of our employees to the extent permitted by law.  We will not release any non-directory information, including citizenship or immigration status information, about any member of the Lawrence community without that person’s consent unless we are required to do so by lawful subpoena or other legal directive.

As a learning institution, two of our most central and enduring values are to support all community members and to foster an environment in which all can thrive.  We value a learning environment that includes difference in all forms.  We remain committed to considering any applicant for admission, regardless of their immigration or citizenship status.  We will also continue to consider institutional financial aid for students who may not hold a U.S. passport.  We will continue to recruit faculty and staff from around the world and to provide support and resources to non-U.S. citizens.  Support and resources can be found here.

During the coming weeks, we will continue to review our policies and procedures that relate to citizenship and immigration to identify opportunities for improvement.  All employees will also receive a refresher on FERPA and information security.  Please do not hesitate to contact me, Kimberly Barrett, or Julia Messitte our general counsel, if you have specific questions.

I look forward to seeing each of you on campus.  Again, welcome back.

Yours,

Mark Burstein
President, Lawrence University

Our next provost and dean of the faculty

A message to faculty and staff from President Mark Burstein:

Dear Lawrence faculty and staff,

I am very pleased to announce that Catherine Gunther Kodat will be joining Lawrence as our next provost and dean of the faculty. Katie will also join the English department as a full professor with tenure.  

Katie comes to Lawrence from Lewis & Clark, where she is dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. She began her academic career at Hamilton College, where over 17 years she rose from assistant to full professor, chaired the English and creative writing department, and directed American studies. She won the Class of 1963 Excellence in Teaching Award at Hamilton in 2008. Between Hamilton and Lewis & Clark, Katie served as acting provost and dean of the Division of Liberal Arts at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia.   

Katie’s academic background, accomplishments, and interests are a perfect fit with Lawrence. She started her undergraduate career at the Peabody Institute as a piano performance major. She completed her bachelor of arts degree summa cum laude at the University of Baltimore and her doctorate in English from Boston University. Katie has received many honors, including a Fulbright Lecturer Grant to Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem (ELTE) in Budapest, a research fellowship at the Rothermere American Institute at the University of Oxford, and the Millicent C. McIntosh Flexible Fellowship from the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. Her recent book, Don’t Act, Just Dance: The Metapolitics of Cold War Culture, has received significant acclaim. Between college and graduate school, Katie was a reporter for the Baltimore City Paper and then the Baltimore Sun, where she was a metro desk reporter and the paper’s chief dance critic. 

Katie’s interest in Lawrence drew early attention from the search committee. Our interactions with her only increased our interest. Among the many references we received, one colleague told us: “She is super smart. She is very organized. Katie is capable in all of her work. She is highly responsible and firm when firmness is needed. She is a good listener, open to ideas of others. She has a clear sense of priority and focus for what matters. Her approach is certainly open to revisions. She is not in any way loose in her thinking or assertive of her own view, but she is firm as well.” Others commented on her high standard of transparency and ethical leadership and her sense of adventure and interest in having fun.

In terms of her ability to represent the faculty within the administrative structure, another colleague said: “She is a passionate advocate for her faculty. I see all the passion of her breadth of knowledge articulated there. I know her academic background, but if I just saw her operating, I would not be able to identify her particular discipline. She has been at a liberal arts school and has been at a conservatory. She knows the terrain very well.”

Katie will formally join us in July, but she and her husband, Alex, will be on campus for a welcome reception on January 17 immediately following the faculty meeting. We will be in contact with more information about this reception in a few weeks.

I want to thank Tim Spurgin, who chaired the search, and the members of the search committee for this wonderful outcome. Search committee members included: Ameya Balsekar, Dominica Chang, Scott Corry, Samantha George, Pete Gilbert, Mark Jenike, Cathy Kautsky, Jenna Stone and Nancy Wall. They invested a significant amount of time and energy in the process. Also, thank you to the many members of our community who interviewed finalists this fall and to the Tenure, Promotion, Reappointment and Equal Employment Opportunity Committee, which met last week to consider Katie for a tenured position.

From the beginning, it was clearly a difficult task to find someone who had the temperament, experience, and love of the liberal arts to carry forward the very successful tenure of Dave Burrrows. I think we have found such a person and I am thankful to everyone involved. I am particularly grateful that Dave will remain at Lawrence as a professor of psychology after he steps down from the provost position.

I know you will all join me in welcoming Katie to Lawrence. I hope all of you are enjoying the break and that everyone has a wonderful holiday season. 

Yours,
Mark