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YMCA of the Fox Cities Presented 2011 Lawrence University Collaboration in Action Award

The YMCA of the Fox Cities was presented the 2011 Lawrence University Collaboration in Action Award this morning (10/4) during the college’s third annual “Report to the Community.” Nearly 150 community leaders attended the event, in which Lawrence President Jill Beck discussed the college-community relationship.

Oscar Boldt, chairman of The Boldt Group, served as emcee of the event, while Joyce Bytof, CEO of Coldwell Banker The Real Estate Group, Inc., was the program’s featured speaker.

The Lawrence University Collaboration in Action Award honors an individual or organization, who, in partnership with Lawrence, has provided exemplary service to the Fox Cities community through strategic vision, leadership influence, long-standing commitment and enthusiasm, financial contributions and/or volunteerism.

Lawrence University and YMCA of the Fox Cities leadership and supporters celebrate the Lawrence University Collaboration in Action Award. From left: Erin Buenzli, director of wellness and recreation at Lawrence; Danielle Englebert, YMCA of the Fox Cities district executive director; Cal Husmann, vice president for alumni, development and communications at Lawrence and YMCA of the Fox Cities corporate board member; Bill Breider, president/CEO of the YMCA of the Fox Cities; Chuck Merry ’57, Lawrence alumni board member and YMCA of the Fox Cities board of directors member; and Bonnie Buchanan ’62, former president of the YMCA of the Fox Cities board of directors and former Lawrence alumni board member.

“The YMCA of the Fox Cities has been an outstanding neighbor and partner for many years,” said Beck. “Their commitment to collaboration and resource sharing have helped make the Fox Cities a ‘well city’ and make Lawrence a ‘well campus.’  We’re thrilled to recognize the YMCA of the Fox Cities with the 2011 Lawrence University Collaboration in Action Award.”

A community force for more than a century, the YMCA of the Fox Cities boasts more than 160,000 community members who participate in a YMCA program or activity on an annual basis. It collaborates with more than 350 local organizations, including Lawrence University.

Collaborations between the YMCA and Lawrence date back many years.  In 2005, a formal partnership was established with Lawrence students offered free memberships to the Appleton YMCA. In 2010, 725 Lawrence students visited the YMCA 12,541 times.

The YMCA also offers a membership discount to Lawrence faculty and staff, has provided free passes when Lawrence’s Buchanan Kiewit Wellness Center has been closed during academic recesses and has provided wellness programming on Lawrence’s campus, with plans for more in the current academic year.

“The YMCA has been a leader in wellness initiatives. I look forward to collaborating with the YMCA for on-site wellness programming to offer opportunities for our staff, faculty and students to strive to enrich their spirits, minds and body,” said Erin Buenzli, Lawrence’s director of wellness and recreation.

Lawrence and the Appleton YMCA have shared a number of resources over the years. Through a work-study program funded by both organizations, Lawrence students offer one-on-one tutoring at the YMCA to elementary and high school students. They provided more than 200 hours of tutoring in 2010.

The YMCA uses Lawrence facilities for programming at no cost: Lawrence is home to the YMCA Summer Tennis Camp and the YMCA uses Lawrence’s aquatic facilities to increase participation in its swim team program. The Warch Campus Center also has hosted several events for the YMCA, including the Strong Kid’s Victory Celebrations.

Cal Husmann, Lawrence’s vice president of alumni, development and communications, serves on the YMCA of the Fox Cities Corporate Board and chairs the Development Committee, helping to raise funds that support and enhance YMCA programs, services and facilities.

“We are very proud and honored to have formed this wonderful relationship with Lawrence University,” said Bill Breider, president/CEO of the YMCA of the Fox Cities. “Our partnership has provided thousands of students and community members with wellness and enrichment opportunities that would not have been available without the collaborative spirit from both the YMCA and Lawrence. Lawrence University is a wonderful neighbor, partner and pillar of our community.”

Whether transforming an empty College Ave. storefront into a temporary “pop-up” gallery for local artists to showcase their talents, counting and monitoring bats at Menasha’s Heckrodt Wetland Reserve or conducting research aimed at assisting local health care providers improve delivery of their services, Lawrence collaborations and partnerships exemplify the college’s commitment to fostering a caring Fox Cities community.

Including their involvement with the YMCA, 605 Lawrence students volunteered more than 6,800 hours of service, including 2,800 hours at 47 different Fox Cities charities and schools during the 2010-11 academic year while Lawrence faculty and staff members served on the boards and committees of nearly 40 area nonprofit organizations.

The integration of civic service into the curriculum and culture at Lawrence resulted in the college being named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for the fifth consecutive year in 2011. Lawrence is one of only two Wisconsin institutions to receive this honor every year since the Honor Roll was established in 2006.

Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,520 students from 44 states and 56 countries.

Amnesty International Leader Opens Special Month-Long Series Focused on Human Rights Issues

Larry Cox, the executive director of Amnesty International USA, headlines Lawrence University’s special month-long series of events focused on human rights issues around the world.

The program — “Engaging Human Rights” — will feature speakers and award-winning films, including the Wisconsin premiere of the documentary “Granito.” All events are free and open to the public.

“Our Scarff Visiting Professorship has a distinguished 20-year history dealing with international issues of the day, but the ‘Engaging Human Rights’ series is a new direction for us,” said Provost David Burrows. “We hope it will highlight many different facets of the worldwide challenge of human rights across disciplinary boundaries on the campus and reach those beyond it in the Fox Valley community. In conjunction with the Povolny Lecture Series, which will feature several presentations on human rights, this should be a great opportunity for further learning about this important and critical issue.”

Larry Cox

Cox, who has led Amnesty International USA since 2006, opens the series Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. in the Wriston Art Center auditorium with the address, “Making ‘Hope and History Rhyme’: Moving Forward in the Global Fight for Freedom and Dignity.”

His talk will examine how the unexpected and powerful mass uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, among others, not only removed some of the world’s most entrenched and repressive dictators, but also issued challenges to the conventional wisdom, particularly in the West, on the nature of the global fight for human rights and how it is best advanced. According to Cox, human rights advocates in the United States need to move beyond merely seeking to assist those fighting for freedom and dignity in the Arab world and begin to apply the lessons learned from them to human rights work both at home and abroad.

Cox has spent his career advocating for human rights. In addition to Amnesty International, he has served as executive director of the international organization Rainforest Foundation, which works to protect the rights of indigenous peoples in the Brazilian Amazon and spent 11 years as senior program officer for the Ford Foundation’s Human Rights unit, where he focused on the promotion of international justice and the advancement of domestic human rights.

Other scheduled events in the series include:

•  Oct. 11 — “The Churches and Human Rights in Latin America.” Alexander Wilde, distinguished visiting Scarff professor and senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., examines the role of and contributions by churches in the fight for improved human rights in Latin America. Wilde, a 1962 Lawrence graduate, spent six years as the director of the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), a nongovernmental organization concerned with human rights and U.S. foreign policy. He co-edited the 1989 book “The Progressive Church in Latin America.” 7 p.m., Wriston Art Center auditorium.

• Oct. 23 — “State of Fear:  The Truth About Terrorism.”  Documentary film about the violence had engulfed Peru during the 1980s and ‘90s during the regime of President Alberto Fujimori. 12 noon, Warch Campus Center cinema.

• Oct. 23 — “Granito: How to Nail a Dictator.” Part political thriller, part memoir, this 2011 documentary spans four decades in search of  details that can be used to hold accountable those responsible for the genocide of more than 200,000 people at the hands of Guatemalan military and paramilitary soldiers. , 7 p.m., Warch Campus Center cinema.

• Oct. 24 — “Granito: How to Nail a Dictator.” The film’s director, Pamela Yates, and producer, Paco de Onis, will be on hand to conduct a question-and-answer session following a screening of the film. 7 p.m., Warch Campus Center cinema.

• Oct. 25 — “The Reckoning:  The Battle for the International Criminal Court.” An epic account of the new International Criminal Court’s struggle to prosecute perpetrators — however powerful or concealed they may be — of crimes against humanity, including indicting Sudan President Omar al-Bashir, issuing arrest warrants for Lord’s Resistance Army leaders in Uganda and putting an infamous Congolese warlord on trial. The film’s director Pamela Yates and producer Paco de Onis will lead a discussion following the screening. 7 p.m., Warch Campus Center cinema.

• Oct. 30 — “Blood Diamond.” Set against the backdrop of Sierra Leone’s civil war in the 1990’s, the story follows an ex mercenary from Zimbabwe and a Mende fisherman joined in a common quest to recover a rare pink diamond that can transform their lives. 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Warch Campus Center cinema.

Greg Campbell

• Nov. 1— “Lessons Learned from Conflict Diamonds in Sierra Leone, or Missed Opportunities.”  Greg Campbell, award-winning journalist and author of the book “Blood Diamonds: Tracing the Deadly Path of the World’s Most Precious Stones (which inspired the 2006 Oscar-nominated film “Blood Diamond”) discusses his recent return to Sierra Leone to assess the country’s progress 10 years after the end of a brutal civil war waged for control of its vast reserves of diamonds. How has Sierra Leone fared since it could finally put its natural resources to use for its citizens? Have its leaders learned from the past? Have its diamonds become a blessing or do they remain a curse? 7 p.m., Wriston Art Center auditorium.

• Nov. 8 — “One for the Road.” A performance of Nobel Award-winning playwright Harold Pinter’s story of an unnamed dictatorship during the late years of the Cold War performed by invited professional and student actors and directed by Timothy X. Troy, J. Thomas and Julie Esch Hurvis Professor of Theater and Drama at Lawrence.  Pinter wrote the play to support a human rights campaign of PEN International. An open discussion will follow the performance. 8 p.m., Cloak Theatre, Music-Drama Center.

Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,520 students from 44 states and 56 countries.

$1.5 Million Gift Establishes Endowed Professorship in Biological Sciences

An abiding belief in the value of education and the importance of the biological sciences in the liberal arts curriculum has led a former Lawrence University biology major and her husband — Charlot and Dennis Singleton of Atherton, Calif. — to establish a new endowed professorship at the college with a $1.5 million gift.

Bart De Stasio '82

Professor of Biology Bart De Stasio has been named the first holder of the Singleton Professorship in the Biological Sciences. Appointments to endowed professorships are made in recognition of academic and artistic distinction through teaching excellence and/or scholarly achievement.

“Bart’s outstanding research record and his exemplary work in teaching and mentoring students represent the qualities that the donors of the chair wish to support through their wonderful gift,” said Lawrence President Jill Beck in announcing the appointment.

The Singleton Professorship is the fourth endowed professorship established during Lawrence’s six-year, $150 million “More Light” campaign, which concludes in October.

“I’m very honored to be the named to the Singleton Professorship in the Biological Sciences,” said De Stasio, a 1982 Lawrence graduate who returned to his alma mater as a faculty member in 1992. “This generous gift will allow us to continue to provide excellent learning and research opportunities for our students. I look forward to sharing the successes and achievements of our students with the Singletons.”

The gift includes an annual allowance to pursue innovative initiatives and activities related to teaching or research.

Charlot Singleton, a native of Duluth, Minn., graduated from Lawrence in 1967 with a major in biology and completed graduate work at California State University-San Jose.

Charlot '67 and Dennis Singleton

A life-long advocate of education, both as a teacher and through her own tutoring business, she has served on the boards of many civic and charitable organizations in the greater San Francisco area that focus on children’s education and health, including board chair of a public school education foundation. She also has a long record of volunteer service to Packard Children’s Hospital in Stanford, Calif., including serving on its board of directors for 12 years. She was appointed to Lawrence’s Board of Trustees in 2006.

Dennis Singleton, who graduated from Lehigh University and earned an MBA from Harvard University, enjoyed a highly successful career in commercial real estate investment. He was appointed to the Lehigh University Board of Trustees in 2000 and was named vice chairman in 2008.

In addition to the professorship, the Singletons established the Dennis and Charlot Nelson Singleton Scholarship, which was awarded for the first time this year.

De Stasio earned his Ph.D. in ecology and evolution from Cornell University and his scholarship interests include aquatic biology and predator-prey interactions. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, De Stasio co-directs the Lawrence University Marine Biology Program, during which students and faculty spend two weeks studying coral reef biodiversity on Grand Cayman Island in the Caribbean Sea. He also conducts research with students on the impacts of invasive species such as zebra mussels on the ecology of Lake Winnebago and Green Bay.

He has been the recipient of more than $279,000 in research grants, including awards from the U.S. Dept. of Energy, the National Science Foundation and the Wisconsin Sea Grant program for his studies of the potential effects of climate change on lakes.

His research on topics ranging from dormancy in aquatic organisms and its impact on the ecology and evolution of lake communities to temperature and climatic change as a driving factor in lake ecology and water temperatures needed to kill invasive species that might be attached to boats crossing locks in the Fox River has been published in a variety of scholarly publications, including the Encyclopedia of Inland Waters as well as chapters of books.

Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,520 students from 44 states and 56 countries.

Harry Jansen Kraemer Jr. ’77 On Leadership – Listen Now

Harry M. Jansen Kraemer Jr. — author, professor, and executive partner of the Chicago-based private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners — delivered a lesson on leadership at Lawrence University’s opening convocation of the 2011-12 academic year.  Sharing the insights revealed in his book “From Values to Action: The Four Principles of Values-Based Leadership”, Kraemer encouraged students to take the leadership reins “ASAP”.

Watch the speech.

A 1977 Lawrence University graduate, Kraemer is also the former chief executive officer of the multibillion-dollar global health care company Baxter International. He generously donated 500 copies of his book for distribution to Lawrence students.

Stanford Scientist Tom Baer ’74 Discusses Photonics’ Role in Combating Global Warming

Thomas Baer, a 1974 Lawrence graduate and executive director of the Stanford Photonics Research Center at Stanford University discusses the role photonics technologies are playing in the implementation of strategies designed to lessen the possibility of radical climate changes due to global warming in a Lawrence University Science Hall Colloquium.

Thomas Baer

Baer presents “The Global Impact of Photonics: Renewable Resources, Climate Change and Energy Conservation” Monday, Sept. 26 at 4:30 p.m. in Thomas Steitz Hall of Science, Room 102.

Photonics, one of the world’s fastest growing high-tech industries, is expected to be a critical factor in multi-faceted strategies designed mitigate the impact of rising atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide, including the development of alternative non-carbon energy sources and the replacement of existing infrastructure with more energy efficient technologies.

Recognized in 1994 with Lawrence’s Lucia Russell Briggs Distinguished Achievement Award, Baer has been awarded more than 60 patents. He is a Fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science and The Optical Society of America, an organization he served as president of in 2009.

Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,520 students from 44 states and 56 countries.

Asha Srinivasan Wins International Composition Competition

Assistant Professor of Music Asha Srinivasan received the first-place Ruam Samai Award at the 2011 Thailand International Composition Festival for her original composition “Dviraag.”

Asha Srinivasan

Srinivasan’s composition was one of four works selected as a finalist from nearly 100 entries submitted for the competition, which was held at Payap University in Chiang Mai, Thailand. “Dviraag,” an eight-minute work written for flute and cello, was named the winning composition by a judging panel of four composers from China, Thailand and the United States. A vote by the audience for their favorite among the four finalists was factored into the final decision. Srinivasan received a first-place prize of $1,500.

The work incorporates a Carnatic vocal exercise, a classical style popular in South India. Srinivasan wrote the piece in 2009 as a commission by the Flute/Cello Commissioning Circle.

Listen to a recording of “Dviraag.”

Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,520 students from 44 states and 56 countries.

Lawrence University Freshmen Head “Into the Streets”

Members of Lawrence University’s class of 2015 will become better acquainted with their new hometown Saturday, September 10, when they head into the streets of Appleton for an afternoon of volunteering.

The 363 first-year students arrived in Appleton this week from 26 different states and 21 different countries. The Into the Streets program is designed to help them understand the needs of the community they will call home for the next four years.

“The program is a great introduction to the community,” said Kristi Hill, director of volunteer and community service programs. “Participating in a group service project allows students a comfortable approach to becoming involved in the community and may motivate future interests in career and volunteer options, expand social connections, and to learn more about community needs.”

The Lawrence students will volunteer at the following organizations:

Lawrence students will help with cleaning, unloading, taking inventory, planting, harvesting, landscaping, bowling with senior citizens and constructing a greenhouse alongside homeless shelter residents.

Lawrence University’s mission emphasizes preparing students for “responsible and meaningful citizenship” and the Into the Streets Program is one of dozens of community service events that Lawrence University students participate in annually.

Lawrence Welcomes 363 New Students from Record-Setting Applicant Pool

Huma Hakimzada is confident she can handle anything Lawrence University throws at her having already survived fleeing her native Afghanistan to escape the fundamentalist rule of the Taliban.

The 24-year-old from Monterey, Calif., isn’t your typical Lawrence freshman, but Hakimzada is just as excited as any of her classmates to begin her Lawrence career.

“I’ve done a lot of different things in my life, but nothing gave me the comfort of getting that phone call offering me admission,” said Hakimzada, who has worked as a personal banker for Wells Fargo the past three years while taking some night classes at a community college. “A whole new book opened for me with that call. I can’t wait to fill in the pages of that book with the new adventures Lawrence promises for me.”

Peter Thurlow will arrive on campus from Madison with a penchant for recreating ancient objects. The gastraphetes he constructed — a type of ancient Greek crossbow — won first prize at the 2010 Junior Classical League National Convention’s models competition, while the wax writing tablets he made earned second-place honors at this year’s competition.

While taking very different routes to Lawrence, Hakimzada and Thurlow are among 363 new students —330 freshmen and 33 transfers — admitted from a record-setting applicant pool college officials welcome Tuesday, Sept. 6 for a week of orientation activities. Classes for the 2011-12 academic year, Lawrence’s 163rd, begin Monday, Sept. 12.

Hakimzada, the first female Afghan student to attend Lawrence, is following in the footsteps of her older brother, Zubair, who graduated from Lawrence in 2006 and now works for the U.S. Department of Defense.

When the Sunni Muslim Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 1996, Hakimzada and her family hastily fled their hometown of Kabul and relocated in Islamabad, Pakistan. After five years of seeking refugee status, the family’s application was finally approved on Sept. 9, 2001. Two days later, terrorists struck America, changing everything. It would take another 13 months before the family finally would reach the United States, eventually settling in California.

The daughter of two former college professors in Kabul, both of whom now teach Dari, a native Afghan language, at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, Hakimzada says school was her favorite outlet.

“Life took me on a different route for a long time, but going to school was always my priority. When the opportunity arose, I didn’t want to wait another second. Zubair doesn’t love any place half as much as he loves Lawrence, so he obviously was an influence on my decision. I always wanted to go to the same school as Zubair, so Lawrence was an easy choice.”

Thurlow’s list of creations include a working hydraulus, considered the world’s first keyboard instrument and a forerunner of the modern church organ, that used water power to move air rather than a bellows. He constructed his version based on drawings and pictures of Roman and Greek mosaics. He also has built a Greek lyre.

“I enjoy figuring out how an ancient weapon or instrument would work,” said Thurlow, who is considering a major in art history or history. “A deep part of me likes to preserve cultural and historic items and actually build reproductions.  That’s a really good way of showing what these items were and preserving the knowledge of them.”

A school record 2,667 students applied for admission to Lawrence in 2011, surpassing the previous high-water mark of 2,625 established last year.  But because of an unexpectedly large freshman class in 2010, Lawrence needed to be even more selective than usual to meet its target goal of 330 freshmen.  Only 52 percent of this year’s applicants were offered admission, the lowest figure in recent history

“Last year’s class of 452 freshmen — 100 more than we expected — was unprecedented in its size,” said Ken Anselment, dean of admissions and financial aid. “That had a ripple effect this year. To ensure the best academic and residential experience for our students, we need to limit our overall enrollment, which meant admitting far fewer freshmen this year.
“And despite popular belief, admissions folks don’t always take pleasure from saying no to really good students,” he added. “Ours don’t.”

This year’s freshman class profile upholds Lawrence’s long tradition of academic excellence:

• 13 freshmen were valedictorians of their graduating class

• Average high school GPA of 3.66

• Average ACT score 29 (among those submitting scores; Lawrence is a test-optional institution)

• Average SAT score 1,916 (among submitters)

• 31 percent graduated in the top five percent of their class

• 81 percent of freshmen graduated in the top quarter of their class

“Although numbers may be an easy way to assess the ‘quality’ of a class,” Anselment said, “it’s the stuff beyond the numbers that’s more important. What matters most to us is who these students are as people with unique talents, interests, perspectives and experiences. That’s what really gets us going here.”

While members of the freshmen class hail from 26 states and 21 countries, nearby Neenah High School accounted for the most freshmen (6), while Appleton North and Deerfield (Ill.) high schools were second with four students each.

Ninety-two percent of incoming freshmen received need- or merit-based financial aid with need-based financial aid packages averaging $29,500.

Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,520 students from 44 states and 56 countries.

Only Two Weeks Remain in Lawrence Photo Contest; Congrats to Chris Dorn ’10 Week No. 7 Winner

Photo contest image no. 8. Good luck! (click to enlarge.)

Only two weeks remain in our summer “Here’s Looking at LU Photo Contest.” If you think you know what/where this week’s mystery photo is, send us your guess. A correct answer qualifies you for a random drawing for a weekly prize. It also qualifies you for the $50 grand prize prize package from KK’s Apparel and Gifts at the end of the contest.

Congratulations to Chris Dorn ’10, who knew last week’s photo was the sculpture “Vecino II” by Christopher Davis-Benavides in the lobby of the Wriston Art Center. Chris was randomly selected from among five correct answers this week and will receive a Lawrence University spirit tumbler for his winning entry.

How the contest works:

Each Monday from now through the end of August, we’ll post a photo on the Lawrence website news page, and the headline “Here’s Looking at LU! Contest” on the website home page.

Study the photo carefully and, if you can identify the item or location pictured, send an email to communications@lawrence.edu (see link below), telling us what is in the photograph! Be sure to include your name and mailing address. (Limit one entry per week per email address.)

Win this LU Spirit Tumbler!

A prize each week:

Each week, all entrants with correct answers will be entered in a random drawing for a cool blue, 16 oz. Lawrence University “spirit tumbler.” The correct answer and the weekly prize winner will be announced the following Monday. (If no one correctly identifies the photo, two winners will be chosen the following week.)

On September 6, 2011, at the conclusion of the contest, one entry from among all correct contest entries will be chosen as the “Here’s Looking at LU!” grand prize winner. The grand prize winner will receive a $50 prize package from KK’s in the Warch Campus Center. The more weeks you enter, the better your chance of winning!

Official Contest Rules:

One photo will be posted on Lawrence’s website each Monday for the eight-week duration of the contest. Following the posting of each photo, entries may be submitted to communications@lawrence.edu until 12 midnight CDT (Central Daylight Time) the following Sunday. A weekly winner will be randomly selected by Lawrence University from among each week’s correct entries and all correct entries will be eligible for the grand prize drawing on August 29. By entering, you agree to have your name published on Lawrence University’s website and in other university communications. Lawrence University is not responsible for lost or misdirected entries.

New AmeriCorps VISTA Position to Address Local Poverty Issues

Lawrence University, in partnership with the Housing Partnership of the Fox Cities, will begin combining resources and talent to help combat poverty issues in the Fox Valley community under the direction of a new full-time AmeriCorps VISTA position.

Chuck Demler '11

Chuck Demler, a 2011 Lawrence graduate with a major in government, will serve as an AmeriCorps VISTA until Aug. 1, 2012 through Lawrence’s Volunteer and Community Service Center. The position is funded by a grant from Wisconsin Campus Compact. Demler spent two years with the VCSC as a student, including serving as student organization liaison as a senior. He also volunteered with the local Habitat for Humanity chapter and Amnesty International.

“Working with Lisa Schneider, the executive director of Housing Partnership, we will co-mentor Chuck and help him identify valuable community resources that can contribute to community-engaged learning at Lawrence,” said Monica Rico, Pieper Family Chair of Servant Leadership, director of engaged learning and associate professor of history.  “Chuck, in turn, will help raise awareness on the Lawrence campus about issues related to housing affordability in the Appleton area.”

AmeriCorps VISTA is a national service program designed specifically to fight poverty. Founded in 1965 as Volunteers in Service to America, the program has been on the front lines in the fight against poverty in America with VISTA members serving full-time for a year at a nonprofit organization or local government agency, working to fight illiteracy, improve health services, create businesses and strengthen community groups.

Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. Ranked among America’s best colleges, it was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,520 students from 44 states and 56 countries.