We have a few spaces still open for any employees interested in the Embodying Your Faith series. The deadline to sign up is Monday, Feb. 6. For more information, read the previous post on LU Insider.
Snow removal safety: A friendly reminder
Stay safe while shoveling snow during the remainder of winter! Please see this PDF from the Office of Human Resources for snow removal safety tips.
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
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:
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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.
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The average dollar gap has decreased by 20 percent, making Lawrence more affordable.
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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.
Remembering Adam Clausen and Shannon O’Leary
Friends and colleagues of Shannon O’Leary and Adam Clausen:
On Dec. 26, we lost our dear friends in a car accident. Many of us have treasured memories of Adam and Shannon’s years in Appleton. Please join us for a remembrance and celebration of their lives Thursday, Jan. 26, at the Viking Room at 4:30 p.m. This will be a casual gathering where we can share stories, memories and photos. If you have photos you would like to share, please send them to Matty.
Yours,
Matt Stoneking, Dominica Chang, Matty Wegehaupt, Doug Martin and Jeff Collett
2016 President’s Award of Excellence winners
The President’s Award of Excellence Committee and President Burstein are pleased to announce the 2016 President’s Award of Excellence. We had a lot of great nominations again this year, and it was a hard decision. The awards are based on the following criteria: support, stewardship, innovation and teamwork. The winners this year excel in all areas. Please congratulate Cynthia Patterson from Mudd Library and Larry Darling from the Conservatory of Music!
Cindy is responsible for the circulation desk at the library. Cindy showcases all of the criteria for the award. She demonstrates support by going above and beyond. Her nomination reads, “Cindy will do anything she can to ensure students, faculty and staff can find the materials they need in the library.” She demonstrates a high level of care for university resources and drives innovation and leadership in the workplace through creative ideas that impact the university and community. “All of Cindy’s student employees love her, as do her colleagues,” her nomination adds. “She is meticulous in training her students. Several of her students have gone on to be librarians, and every year her students hold a ‘Cindy Appreciation Day.'” Congrats, Cindy, on this achievement!
Larry is responsible for recording every concert and event at Lawrence. Larry exemplifies all of the criteria listed for the award. Larry supports the university by doing all it takes to get the job done. According to Larry’s nomination, “He is here at the crack of dawn or into the wee hours of the night. He goes above and beyond to provide exceptional service no matter how challenging or inconvenient the situation.” Larry is an excellent steward of the university resources. “He is responsible for maintaining recording and video equipment worth hundreds of thousands of dollars,” his nomination continues. “Larry finds ways to prevent major expensive repairs through attentive care and vigilance.” Everyone enjoys working with Larry, and he does his job very well. Congratulations on this achievement, Larry!
Please take a minute to congratulate Cindy and Larry. The awards will be presented Feb. 9 at the Service Award Luncheon, and the winners will also be recognized during the next all-staff meetings. A big thank you to everyone who nominated a colleague. We appreciate the considerable effort that went into each nomination and look forward to reviewing the nominations again next year. Thank you!
—President Burstein & the President’s Award of Excellence Committee
Two employers with career opportunities are coming to Lawrence
Optum, a health services and innovation company, is recruiting upcoming graduates. Visit the info table on Jan. 27 from 11 a.m. to noon near Andrew Commons and/or attend the info session in the Kraemer Room (WCC) at noon. Visit LUworks for details and registration. 1:1 chats with Optum are also available.
Edward Jones Investments, a financial services firm with offices across the country, will be here Feb. 3. Alumni Nicholas Schubert ’14 and Mallory Carl ’08 will present an insider’s view into career opportunities at Edward Jones, including their Financial Advisor Career Development program developed for new college graduates. Visit their info session at noon in the Kraemer Room (WCC.)
Visit LUworks for details and registration. 1:1 chats with Edwards Jones are also available.
Reminder: First cultural competency lecture on Friday
Meghan Lally, accessibility services coordinator and academic skills specialist in Lawrence’s Center for Academic Success, will present Reframing Disability: Designing Inclusive Classrooms and Communities on Friday, Jan. 27 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Warch Campus Center’s Esch Hurvis Room.
Learn about campus resources and how to take part in the shared responsibility of creating usable, equitable and inclusive environments.
The Cultural Competency Lecture Series at Lawrence features our faculty, students and staff sharing their expertise related to the knowledge and skills necessary to take a culturally competent, equity-minded approach to the work and learning in which they are engaged at Lawrence. Bring your lunch and learn!
If joining us, please RSVP to michelle.l.lasecki-jahnke@lawrence.edu. See the Cultural Competency Lecture Series flier for more details and upcoming speakers. Hope to see you there!