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President Obama Nominates Lawrence Alumnus for Ambassador Post

Lawrence alumnus Christopher W. Murray ’75, was nominated yesterday by President Obama to serve as Ambassador to the Republic of the Congo, a position in the U.S. Department of State.

In announcing Murray’s and other nominations, Obama said, “It gives me great confidence that such dedicated and capable individuals have agreed to join my administration and serve the American people. I look forward to working with them in the coming months and years.”

Murray is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service. He currently serves as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Mission to the European Union in Brussels. He previously served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassies in Lebanon and in Algeria. His other overseas assignments include Syria, a prior posting in Brussels, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Jamaica. At the State Department in Washington he has served in the Bureaus of Nonproliferation, European Affairs, International Organizations, and African Affairs. Murray received a B.A in Government from Lawrence University and a J.D. from Cornell Law School.n the U.S. Department of State.

Campbell Scott, Class of 1983, to Screen “Company Retreat” at the Warch Cinema Friday and Saturday

“Company Retreat,” a film written and directed by Campbell Scott ’83 will be shown twice this week at the Warch Campus Center, with Scott taking questions from the audience after both screenings.

The film follows the development of a fictional game show which places white-collar workers on teams opposite their company’s blue-collar workers. The zany characters clash as the stakes rise in the isolation of New York’s Adirondack mountains.

“It’s ostensibly a mockumentary in the Christopher Guest vein about a reality TV show doomed from its inception. It’s about what happens to a bunch of people when they end up in the mountains with nothing to do,” Scott said.

Scott has had a long and successful career, starring in such movies as “Longtime Companion,” “Roger Dodger,” “Music and Lyrics” and “The Secret Lives of Dentists.” His directorial efforts include the movies “Big Night,” “Off the Map” and “Company Retreat.” Scott’s most recent acting performances include recurring roles on the television shows Damages and Royal Pains.

“Company Retreat” will be shown at the Warch Campus Center Cinema at 7:15 p.m. Friday, May 21 and at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, May 22. Audience members are invited to stay after the film for a brief question and answer session with Scott.

Scott will also be participating in the Lawrence Scholars in Business Entertainment Industry Summit May 22 from 4-6 p.m., where alumni will be discussing careers in entertainment with Lawrence students. Click here for more information about the summit.


Riverwalk Opened to the Public

The beautiful new Lawrence Riverwalk opened today, May 14, 2010. The quarter-mile-long trail is the innovative idea of 12 Lawrence students who participated in an environmental studies symposium with Associate Professor of Geology Andrew Knudsen.

The two-level trail loop, located just east of S. Lawe St. between the Warch Campus Center and the Fox River, features a crushed stone surface on its upper tract (designed to be bicycle and wheelchair accessible) and a natural wood-chip surface on the lower trail next to the riverbank.

The trail includes interpretive signs composed by Lawrence students on three subjects: the historic relationship between Lawrence and the Fox River; the early people who lived in the area; and the geological history of the Fox River. Professors Peter Peregrine, Carol and Ron Mason, Jeff Clark and Monica Rico in the anthropology, geology and history departments, respectively, assisted the students in developing the signs.

Highlighting the trail are two African sculptures created from serpentine stone by members of the Shona tribe of Zimbabwe. The two art works were part of a gift from Milwaukee art gallery owner David Barnett and his wife, Susan, a 1981 Lawrence graduate.

The trail also includes several large limestone benches for repose and reflection.

Crossing Lawe Street, the trail continues past the Sustainable Lawrence University Garden, visitors will notice several improvements including gated entrances to the garden, a new garden shed and arbor, and improved landscaping. Progress on the Gilboy Council Ring continues. A gift from Steven ’62 and Joan Gilboy P’90, it features a fire pit surrounded by a stone floor and limestone benches. When completed, the Gilboy Council Ring will add a picturesque meeting place to the Lawrence campus.

The Riverwalk adds a new dimension to the Lawrence campus. The proximity to the river and the restful quality of the trail, benches and art are welcome amenities to be enjoyed by members of the Lawrence and Fox Valley communities for years to come.



Anthropologist Carla Daughtry Awarded Fulbright Fellowship

Lawrence University cultural anthropologist Carla N. Daughtry has been named a recipient of a 2010 Fulbright Senior Scholar Award.

Daughtry will spend the 2010-11 academic year at the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud Center for American Studies and Research (CASAR) at American University in Cairo, Egypt.

During her nine-month fellowship appointment, which begins in mid-August, Daughtry will teach courses on American perspectives on race, ethnicity, diaspora and globalization. She also will support student and faculty research activities through CASAR.

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Carla Daughtry

“This is a wonderful opportunity to re-immerse myself in Cairo and Egyptian culture and enhance my own teaching and scholarship,” said Daughtry, who previously spent a year at American University in Cairo as an undergraduate student in the late 1980s. “My Fulbright year in Cairo will strengthen ties between Lawrence University and Egypt, where Lawrence students have enrolled for a term or year abroad at American University in Cairo. My experiences also should help deepen the richness of Arabic and Middle Eastern studies for students here at Lawrence.”

This is the second time Daughtry has been recognized by the Fulbright Scholars Program. While in graduate school at the University of Michigan, she was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship in 1992 that also took her to Egypt, where she studied Arabic at Cairo’s Center for Arabic Studies Abroad.

She also spent two years (1998-2000) in Cairo as a research fellow at American University working with displaced Sudanese refugees who fled Sudan’s civil war as part of her doctoral dissertation field work.

Daughtry , who joined the Lawrence faculty in 2000, focuses her scholarship on Middle East and North Africa cultures, transnational and urban refugee communities and ethnic and gender issues.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in international relations at Mount Holyoke College, Daughtry earned two master’s degrees — one in Middle East and North African Studies and one in cultural anthropology — and her doctorate in cultural anthropology at the University of Michigan.

Established in 1946 and sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Fulbright Scholar Program is the federal government’s flagship program in international educational exchange. It provides grants in a variety of disciplines for teaching and research positions in more than 120 countries.

Documentary “The Life Over There,” Director Dan Ollman Featured in Visiting Artist Lecture Series

The latest work of Milwaukee-based independent filmmaker Dan Ollman, “The Life Over There,” will be screened Monday, May 3 as part of the 2009-10 Lawrence University Visiting Artist Lecture Series. The film will be shown at 7 p.m. in the Warch Campus Center cinema followed by a question-and-answer session and reception with Ollman. The event is free and open to the public.

The 2009 film examines three different lives from the part of America’s inner cities known simply as “the hood.” Providing rare glimpses into the street life of “the black neighborhood,” Ollman’s movie offers images that are shocking, disheartening and yet still provide a collective hope for a better tomorrow. “The Life Over There” was one of six feature films showcased last fall at the Milwaukee Film Festival.

Ollman also has directed the 2004 documentary “The Yes Men,” which won the Audience Award at the Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival and 2006’s “Suffering and Smilling,” a documentary focused on the legendary African singer and activist Fela Kuti, his son Femi, and the impact of their politically charged music.

Ollman’s visit is sponsored by Lawrence University department of art and art history.

Visiting Scarff Professor Featured April 29 in Livestream Interview

George Wyeth, who is spending Term III as Lawrence University’s Stephen Edward Scarff Memorial Visiting Professor in the government department, will be the featured guest of The Post-Crescent’s weekly “Newsmaker” livestream interview Thursday, April 29 at 1 p.m. You can watch it here.

A 1973 Lawrence graduate, Wyeth is director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Policy and Program Change Division. He will be discussing his Scarff appointment as well as his work with the EPA, where he tests and promotes innovative approaches to environmental protection as the county transitions to a “green economy.”

Wyeth has played a lead role in overseeing the use of Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma strategies to achieve environmental improvement, streamlined EPA’s administrative processes and developed agency strategies to promote the use of sustainable products.

Pianist Simone Dinnerstein Brings her “Dreamy Lyricism” to Lawrence Memorial Chapel

Pianist Simone Dinnerstein, hailed as “a phenomenon in the world of classical music” by The Washington Post, performs Friday, April 30 at 8 p.m. in the Lawrence University Memorial Chapel as part of the college’s annual Artist Series.

The concert will include works by Bach, Copland, Lasser, Schubert and Webern. Tickets, at $20-22 for adults, $17-19 for seniors and $15-17 for students, are available through the Lawrence Box Office, 920-832-6749.

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Simone Dinnerstein

Best known for her intelligent but emotive performances of Bach, Dinnerstein jumped into the international spotlight with her acclaimed 2007 recording of Bach’s challenging “Goldberg Variations.”

Since a triumphant recital debut at Carnegie Hall in 2005, she has earned widespread acclaim, including consecutive Classical Recording Foundation Awards in 2006 and 2007 for her recording of Beethoven’s complete works for piano and cello with Zuill Bailey.  She recently signed an exclusive recording agreement with Sony Classical, which will release an all-Bach disc this fall.

Dinnerstein has performed solo and with symphonies at renowned concert halls and festivals across the U.S. and Europe.  The New Yorker described her as “the pianists’ pianist of Generation X.”

Pianist Catherine Kautsky, professor of music at Lawrence, says it is Dinnerstein’s individual voice that places her among the best pianists of her time.

“Simone has a dreamy lyricism that makes you feel she’s communing very personally and privately with her audience, whether she’s playing a slow movement of Bach, a Schubert Impromptu or a difficult 20th-century work,” said Kautsky.  “Her sound is unfailingly lush and beautiful.  She’s not afraid to take time to make a musical line, to establish her own space and make her own statements. She draws you in to her universe.”

A graduate of The Juilliard School, Dinnerstein performs regularly for the Piatigorsky Foundation, an organization that brings classical music to non-traditional venues such as nursing homes, schools, community centers and correctional institutions.

She also founded P.S. 321 Neighborhood Concerts, an evening concert series at the Brooklyn elementary school where her husband teaches. The concerts raise funds for the school’s Parent Teacher Association and features musicians Dinnerstein has admired and collaborated with during her career.

DownBeat Magazine Honors Fred Sturm, Student Band Fatbook with Music Awards

For more than 30 years, Fred Sturm has devoted his life to enthusiastically sharing his love of jazz with aspiring musicians.

That dedication was not lost on the editors of DownBeat magazine, who have named Sturm a recipient of its 2010 Jazz Education Achievement Award as part of its annual Student Music Awards.

And for the second straight year, the magazine also recognized the Lawrence student band Fatbook with its blues/pop/rock category as the nation’s best college band, sharing the honor with Compendium from Western Michigan University.

The awards were announced in DownBeat’s June edition, which hit newsstands April 27. Known as “DBs” and presented in 15 categories in four separate divisions (junior high, high school, performing high school and college) the DownBeat awards are considered among the highest music honors in the field of jazz education.

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Fred Sturm

As a 19-year-old student at Lawrence in the early 1970s, Sturm formed the conservatory’s first-ever jazz ensemble, which in turn became a catalyst for the creation of the jazz studies department at Lawrence. Four years after earning his degree from Lawrence, Sturm returned to Lawrence to direct the college’s jazz program, which he has done for 22 years (1977-91, 2002-10).

“The award certainly means a great deal to me,” said Sturm. “DownBeat is the jazz world’s bible and the mere fact that its editorial staff even knows who I am, let alone selected me for the award, is humbling.”

The Jazz Education Achievement Award honors jazz instructors who have made significant contributions toward the development of future jazz artists and positively impacted their school’s jazz programs through their commitment to jazz education. Winners are chosen by a panel of educators/artists.

Sturm shares the 2010 award with Bob Lark of DePaul University and Bob Sinicrope of the Milton Academy in Massachusetts.

DownBeat editor Ed Enright said Sturm was recognized as “the perfect example of a teacher who goes the extra mile” for his students and ensembles.

“Fred’s influence can be seen and heard throughout the jazz education community,” said Enright. “We recognize him for the many DownBeat Student Music Awards his students and ensembles have brought home over the years, the high quality of his compositions and arrangements, the effectiveness and popularity of his own published texts and teaching methods, his high-profile gigs as guest conductor for major jazz orchestras in Europe, and his tireless work as a clinician and ensemble coach at educational festivals throughout the United States.

“DownBeat is very proud of its long association with Fred and we encourage him to continue his tireless efforts,” Enright added. “The very future of jazz itself depends on the work of top educators like him.”

Sturm’s student jazz ensembles at Lawrence and the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., where he spent 11 years, have won nine Downbeat awards during his career.

“DownBeat has applauded our jazz efforts at Lawrence over the years with numerous awards for LUJE (jazz ensemble), Jazz Singers, combos, composers, arrangers and recording” said Sturm. “Receiving recognition as a teacher in DownBeat’s awards process has special significance for me.”

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Fatbook

Last year, Fatbook became a footnote in Lawrence history as the college’s first non-curricular ensemble to be recognized by DownBeat. This year they add to that footnote by becoming Lawrence’s first-ever back-to-back DB recipient.

“The musicians in Fatbook deserve major kudos,” said Sturm, a mentor to the band. “Consecutive DownBeat awards is not only unprecedented for Lawrence ensembles and individual students, but it’s a rarity for any university in the Student Music Awards.  The Fatbook performers and composers have demonstrated a uniquely creative collective voice as an ensemble. I’m extremely proud of them.”

Formed in 2007, the seven-member band was recognized for its CD “No Time to Lose,” an all-original 10-track disc of songs written by members of the band.

Senior Harjinder Bedi, the “instigator” behind the creation of Fatbook, said there was a moment of “slight disbelief” in hearing the news the band had won for the second year in a row.

“But then I felt a sense of validation,” said Bedi, who plays guitar and sings lead vocals. “The award tells me that what we have going on with this project is worth investing our efforts in.”

Bedi is one of three Appleton students in the band along with founding members senior saxophonist Jake Crowe and trumpet player Ted Toussaint, a 2009 Lawrence graduate. Other original band members include bassist Nick Anderson, drummer Kyle Traska and trombonist Evan Jacobson, all 2009 graduates, along with keyboardist Dario LaPoma, a senior from Eugene, Ore.

With several members no longer on campus, Bedi said the band has been able to experiment with other talented musicians.

“In having some time with a fluid line-up, we’ve had the opportunity to grow and play with a number of different musicians from Lawrence and the Chicago area.”

Last year’s DownBeat award was a springboard to club dates throughout the Fox Cities and Wisconsin, with future concerts in Madison, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Chicago in the works. Fatbook also has applied for the 2010 Jazz Aspen Snowmass Academy Summer Sessions June 23-July 4.

“If we got accepted, it would be a great, if not humbling, experience for us,” said Bedi, a music education and anthropology major at Lawrence. “We’d be doing workshops with some of the greatest jazz musicians in the United States.”

With graduation on the horizon and a student-teaching position in Chicago scheduled this fall, Bedi is hoping to establish a base for the band in the Windy City.

“When we started this group, I had no expectations of how well things would go, but I said as long as we’re doing it, I’m going to push it as hard as I can and learn as much as I can,” said Bedi. “Ideally it would be great to be able to make music full time, but we’re all still kids and I’m trying to keep things in perspective.”

Sturm’s and Fatbook’s awards push Lawrence’s DB total to 17 since the competition was launched in 1978, and the college’s seventh DB since 2005.

This year’s DownBeat competition drew a total of 856 ensemble and individual entries for all categories in all four divisions.

Visiting Artist Series Lecture Address Features Milwaukee Photographer Sonja Thomsen

Photographer Sonja Thomsen discusses her work, its evolution and her influences Wednesday, April 28 in the Lawrence University Visiting Artist Lecture Series address “Sonja Thomsen Exposed…”

The talk, at 4:30 p.m. in the Wriston Art Center auditorium, will be followed by a question-and-answer session and reception. The event is free and open to the public.

Using the flatness of photography to highlight the subtlety of perception, Thomsen’s work is experiential and evocative. Her photographs, focusing on natural elements such as the surfaces of water and oil, have been featured throughout the U.S., including exhibits in New York City, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Madison.

Mary Louise Schumacher of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel described Thomsen’s images as “acts of devotion.”

“They are evidence of a humane artist developing a new visual vocabulary,” wrote Schumacher. “Charged with quiet metaphor, they betray a set of treasured beliefs about youth and sensuality, about nature and wonder, about aging and loss.”

In 2006, Thomsen was one among more than 40 photographers who founded the Coalition of Photographic Arts, a non-profit Milwaukee group devoted to promoting the growth, appreciation and creation of contemporary photography. Thomsen teaches at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design.

Her visit is sponsored by Lawrence University department of art and art history and the Photography Club.

Vocalist Derrell Acon Wins Chicago’s Bel Canto Foundation Contest

Lawrence University senior Derrell Acon took top honors in the Student Division of Chicago’s recent Bel Canto Foundation contest.

He received a $2,500 prize for his winning performance for which he sang “Come dal ciel precipita” from Verdi’s “Macbeth” and “Serenata” by Enrico Toselli in the finals.

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Derrell Acon

Acon also shared the Grand Prize from the competition’s young artists’ division with soprano Seihee Lee. Acon and Lee each received $5,000 to support their education and operatic pursuits.

A student in the voice studio of Professor Patrice Micheals, Acon will spend the upcoming summer as a studio artist with Opera North in Lebanon, N.H.

Since 1973, the Bel Canto Foundation has promoted Italian repertoire through contests, seminars and concerts, providing young American singers with financial support, vocal training and performance opportunities.

The Bel Canto Foundation contest combines a passion for Italian opera and fine dining. Held as a series of three opera evenings, contestants perform for guests during a banquet dinner, competing for more than $50,000 in prizes.