October 2018

Prof. Robert Yablon (Univeristy of Wisconsin Law School) will be at Lawrence University November 8 to discuss contemporary challenges to redistricting law, including Wisconsin’s own Gill v. Whitford.  In his talk, “Partisan Gerrymandering: What Next?,” he will discuss both legal and partisan issues with drawing the lines that group voters into districts–and what that means for democratic representation.  He is an expert in election law, federal courts, and campaign finance law.  Yablon was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University and has clerked for both Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor.  An engaging teacher, Prof. Yablon was honored with the Classroom Teacher of the Year award this year at University of Wisconsin Law School. 

Yablon’s visit is sponsored by the American Constitution Society and the Lawrence University Government Department.  “American democracy is uniquely about rules and institutions, and nowhere is this more evident than in American elections.  There is no roadmap in the Constitution for drawing the lines, but Prof. Yablon can show us the contours of where they might go,” said Prof. Arnold Shober, an associate professor of government.

Prof. Yablon talk will be in Wriston Auditorium at 4:30 p.m., November 8.  The event is free and open to the public; no tickets are required.

At a ceremony held at McCormick Place in Chicago on October 23, Lawrence University received The College Star of Transformation award from Chicago Scholars, an organization dedicated to helping “academically ambitious students from under-resourced communities complete college and become the next generation of leaders who will transform” Chicago’s neighborhoods and the city itself.

These students, named Chicago Scholars themselves, receive special training and mentorship from the organization to help them succeed in the college admission process and, more importantly, during their time in college. The organization boasts that its students graduate from college at a rate of 86%, which is nearly 40 percentage points higher than their peers, according to the University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research.

Chicago Scholars CEO, Dominique Jordan Turner, cited Lawrence University’s generosity of financial support for the Chicago Scholars it has enrolled, along with strong on-campus mentoring and advising. Earlier this year, Turner was named as a member of the inaugural class of Obama Foundation Fellows, a program that brings together 20 leaders from 11 countries who are creating solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems.

Ken Anselment, Lawrence University’s Vice President for Enrollment & Communication, accepted the award on behalf of the university.

“Our partnership with Chicago Scholars has helped Lawrence University meet, recruit, and enroll high-caliber students who are traditionally underserved by the college admission process,” says Anselment, who appreciates the close partnership with the organization, one of more than a dozen around the country with which Lawrence has developed a formal working relationship.

Shortly after leaving the stage, Anselment was called back up to introduce the organization’s Crystal Award winner, Tom Hurvis, a 1960 graduate of Lawrence University, whose support for the organization has transformed its ability to serve Chicago students.

According to Turner, “As a result of Tom’s investment, Chicago Scholars has scaled tremendously.” She notes that the number of students selected to participate in the program has increased from 250 Scholars a year to 1,000 this year—due largely to the supercharging effect of Hurvis’s support.

In his remarks about Hurvis, Anselment noted, “The world is filled with many people like Tom who have been incredibly successful. But there are far fewer people in the world who use their successes in the ways that Tom does, which is to take great joy in using the fruits of that success to create extraordinary opportunities that lift others to their own success.”

Bernard Lilly, a 2018 Lawrence graduate and Chicago-based musician, then took the stage to sing a special tribute to Hurvis, which brought the more than 300 attendees to their feet with a standing ovation for the gifted vocalist.

Hurvis is one of the founders and chairman of Old World Industries, the world’s leading supplier of antifreeze and diesel exhaust fluid, including PEAK antifreeze and coolant, and Blue DEF, respectively.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.”  Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

The Lawrence University community and the rest of the world learned of the sad news that Thomas A. Steitz, one of the giants of biochemistry whose research on the structure of ribosomes earned him the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, died on Tuesday, October 9, from pancreatic cancer.

A 1962 graduate of Lawrence University who earned a bachelor’s degree with a major in chemistry, Steitz also received an honorary doctorate of science degree from his alma mater in 1981, as well as the Lucia R. Briggs Distinguished Achievement Award in 2002.

The year after winning his Nobel Prize, Steitz returned to Lawrence as the featured speaker for the university’s 161^st commencement. As part of the celebration of Steitz’s achievements, Lawrence renamed its Science Building—home to the university’s chemistry and biology programs—to Thomas A. Steitz Hall of Science. From Lawrence’s press release at the time:

Steitz, who grew up in Milwaukee and graduated from Wauwatosa High School in 1958, was named one of three recipients of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in October and received his award in ceremonies last December in Stockholm, Sweden. He was honored for his decades-long research into the structure and function of ribosomes, which decode messenger RNA into proteins, a function central to life. An understanding of the structural basis of the function of ribosomes provides possibilities for the development of new antibiotics.

Since 1970, Steitz has taught at Yale University, where he is the Sterling Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry and professor of chemistry. He also is an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Typical of so many Lawrentians, Steitz was a multi-interested lifelong learner. Beyond his pursuits in science, Steitz was also an accomplished saxophonist. His ability to pursue his science and musical interests is one of the things that drew Steitz as a high schooler from Wauwatosa (Wis.) to Lawrence. In his autobiography for the Nobel committee, Steitz writes:

My four years at Lawrence College changed my life, my view of the world and my professional direction. Since Lawrence is a liberal arts school, I was required to take many humanities courses to supplement what turned out to be my major in chemistry. These courses began with what was called a Freshman Studies course which was a broad based reading, discussion and writing course on many classical books. We learned to ask as well as answer questions. Importantly, we were also required to take a philosophy course, a scholarly based (e.g., Niebuhr, etc.) religion course, and an anthropology course, as well as English, History and language courses. I entered Lawrence with a heavy religious background and left it with an entirely different understanding of the origins of religious beliefs, their veracity and their roles in cultures. Lawrence also has a music school so that I was able to continue my love of music by participating in the band, orchestra and choir.

Steitz often credited Lawrence’s Professor Robert Rosenberg as “the person who had by far the greatest influence in inspiring me to pursue a career in science, and in particular chemistry.”

According to the October 10, 2018 tribute in the New York Times, Steitz’s spouse, Dr. Joan Steitz, and their son, Jon, were at his side when he died at their home in Connecticut.

“The world knows Tom as a Nobel prize-winning biochemist,” says Lawrence University president, Mark Burstein. “To the Lawrence community he was a beloved classmate, smart and engaging alumnus, and all-around gentleman. We will miss his presence and leadership. And in his name we will carry on the values of learning and transformation his life’s story represents.”

On Tuesday evening, October 2, a multi-disciplinary panel of faculty and students will convene to discuss some of the most important global issues facing us today.

This free event, sponsored as part of the 2018 Povolny Lecture Series in International Studies, is open to the public and will be held in the campus cinema, located on the second floor of the Warch Campus Center. (Click here for a campus map with parking.)

Download a copy of tonight’s program here:
Povolny Lecture Series in International Studies 2018