APPLETON, WIS. — Lawrence University has been awarded a $350,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in New York City to support the implementation of its new Senior Experience program.
Members of the freshmen class that arrived this fall will become the first Lawrence students required to complete a Senior Experience project prior to their graduation in 2012.
Designed as a “bookend” to Lawrence’s nationally recognized Freshman Studies program, the new Senior Experience program will engage every graduating senior in a project that demonstrates proficiency in the student’s field of study. Each individual project will reflect an integration of knowledge and skills gained at Lawrence as well as the development of scholarly or artistic independence.
“The Senior Experience is the latest campus-wide commitment to individualized learning, which is a vital and distinctive part of the Lawrence liberal education,” said university President Jill Beck in announcing the grant. “This program will provide a culminating educational experience that is both personalized to each student as well as universal to Lawrence students in all disciplines and departments.”
The program will be phased in over the next three years, allowing individual departments to develop criteria for qualifying projects that are well integrated with their curriculum and tailored to the needs of their students. When fully implemented, every Lawrence senior will be responsible for planning and successfully executing a significant project, such as a major research paper, a collaborative creative work, an advanced, academically based field experience, or an exhibition or recital, as a requirement to graduate.
The Mellon grant provides student project support for supplies and materials, and travel to specialized libraries or to conduct field research. It also will support faculty scholarship and professional development to enhance faculty effectiveness as role models, mentors, and collaborators for Senior Experience projects.
Thomas Ryckman, professor of philosophy, has been appointed Senior Experience director. He will facilitate the program’s implementation and assist academic departments in planning and testing Senior Experience models as well as encourage cross-fertilization among disciplines. He also will work with Lawrence’s office of research administration to assess the impact of the Senior Experience program on students and faculty.
Formed in 1969, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awards grants in six core program areas: higher education and scholarship; scholarly communications; research in information technology; museums and art conservation; performing arts; and conservation and the environment.
The foundation seeks to build, strengthen and sustain institutions and their core capacities, develop thoughtful, long-term collaborations with grant recipients and invest sufficient funds for an extended period to accomplish the purpose at hand and achieve meaningful results.
