Wisconsin

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Africa-based Missionary Featured in Lawrence University Social Justice Series Presentation

Peter Brokopp, a missionary in Burkina Faso, presents “[Encounter: West Africa] Dry Tears. Malnutrition. AIDs.” in the second installment of Lawrence University’s 2009-10 Social Justice Series Thursday, Nov. 5 at 6:30 p.m. in the Warch Campus Center cinema. The event is free and open to the public.

The presentation will examine the reality of poverty and the life-and-death importance of clean water in the land-locked sub-Saharan country to grow crops, curb malnutrition and prevent fatal diseases through water-borne illnesses. Brokopp’s work focuses on developing people rather than programs through both formal education and community health education, including proper water care and AIDS education.

Brokoff grew up in Gabon, Africa, where his parents were missionaries. He worked in the United States as a youth pastor for six years before moving to Burkina Faso in 1998 to work with youth development. Assisted by volunteers who come for 10-day stays, Brokopp’s efforts center on establishing wells and building youth centers and schools.

The Social Justice Lecture Series is sponsored by the Lawrence University Volunteer and Community Center and brings guest speakers to campus to discuss contemporary social justice issues such as Wisconsin’s school funding crisis and asylum for battered women of the world.

Energy Expert Discusses Economic Downside of New Wisconsin Nuclear Reactors

A nuclear energy expert discusses the economic challenges of new nuclear reactors and their negative effect on Wisconsin jobs in an address at Lawrence University. The event is free and open to the public.

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Peter Bradford, vice-chair of the board of the Union of Concerned Scientists and a member of the Policy Advisory Committee of the China Sustainable Energy Program, presents “Can Wisconsin Afford New Nuclear Reactors?” Thursday, Nov. 5 at 12 noon in the Warch Campus Center Kraemer Room.

An advisor on utility regulation, restructuring, nuclear power and energy policy in the United States and abroad, Bradford will examine some of the myths supporting nuclear energy, explain why nuclear energy is more expensive than alternative ways of combating climate change and discuss why the same concerns that regulated previous nuclear energy use are still applicable today.

Bradford served as a member of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission from 1977-82, during which time the Three Mile Island accident occurred, resulting in major revisions of the NRC’s regulatory and enforcement processes. He has taught classes on energy policy and environmental protection at Yale University and nuclear power and public policy at Vermont Law School.

A former chair of the New York and Maine public utility commissions, Bradford is the author of the book “Fragile Structures: A Story of Oil Refineries, National Security and the Coast of Maine.”

His appearance is sponsored by Greenfire, the campus environmental student organization.

Lawrence Counseling Director Discusses Suicide Prevention Grant on WHBY Radio

Kathleen Fuchs, Lawrence University’s director of counseling services, will be a guest this morning (10/30) on WHBY radio 1150 AM, to discuss a recent $300,000 grant the college received from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to implement a comprehensive approach to preventing suicide. The Lawrence University Campus Suicide Prevention Project is an initiative designed to lower suicide risk factors and enhance protective factors, including life skills and social networking, among Lawrence students. Fuchs will discuss the project with host Jeff Jirschele beginning at 10:10 a.m.

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Two Lawrence University Pianists Earn First-Place Honors in State Music Competition

Two Lawrence University students earned first-place honors at the Wisconsin Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Piano Competition held Saturday, Oct. 24 at Maranatha Baptist Bible College in Watertown.

Michael Smith, a senior piano-performance major from Davis, Calif., won the Young Artists division (19-26 years of age), while Jonathan Gmeinder, a freshman from Hartland, won the Senior Performance division (16-18 years of age). Both are students in the piano studio of Professor of Music Catherine Kautsky.

With their winning performances, Smith and Gmeinder both advance to the MTNA’s five-state East Central Division regional competition January 15-17 at University of Wisconsin Stevens Point. Winners of the regional competitions advance to the WTNA’s national competition in Albuquerque, N.M., next March.

Smith performed works by Bach, Rachmaninoff, Schulhoff and Schumann, while Gmeinder played works by Bach, Beethoven and Chopin. This is the second state music competition title for Smith, who shared first-place honors in the 2008 state Neale Silva competition sponsored by Wisconsin Public Radio.

Lawrence sophomore Marshall Cuffe also participated in the MTNA state competition, earning honorable mention recognition.

Smith became the 10th Lawrence piano student in the past 12 years to win the Wisconsin MTNA competition’s Young Artist division.

New Lawrence University Wriston Art Center Exhibition Opens Oct. 30

Milwaukee artist Michael Davidson delivers the opening lecture Friday, Oct. 30 at 6 p.m. for the latest exhibition at Lawrence University’s Wriston Art Center galleries. A reception with the artist follows the address. The exhibition runs through Nov. 25.

Davidson-image_web.jpgDavidson’s exhibit, “Michael Davidson: Territories,” features abstract sketches and paintings that challenge viewers to become engaged with the physical process of painting. Using both gestural strokes and wide swaths of color, Davidson evokes both atmospheric landscapes and the dance-like movements of an artist obsessively engaged in the act of painting. Davidson’s exhibit will be shown in the Kohler gallery.

Virginia-based photographer Paul Thulin presents “Recent Work,” an exhibit featuring various darkroom and digital processes. Shown in the Hoffmaster gallery, “Recent Work” presents surreal landscapes and haunted dreams that play between reality and hallucination. Thulin is the director of graduate studies in the department of photography and film at Virginia Commonwealth University. He has won numerous awards and honors for his work, including a 2000-2001 Fellowship from the Virginia Commission for the Arts.

“Exhibitionism,” featuring works from the Wriston’s own permanent collection, will be on display in the Leech gallery. The exhibit presents art in a variety of unconventional ways, provoking thoughts about how the usual ways of hanging work in art museums can both clarify and complicate the meaning and historical context of the art.

Wriston Art Center hours are Tuesday-Friday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Saturday-Sunday from noon – 4 p.m. The gallery is closed on Mondays. For more information, call 920-832-6621.

Lawrence University Brings Modern Touch to Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”

The Shakespeare classic “Romeo and Juliet” receives a modern makeover — the New Jersey shore in 1980 — in Lawrence University’s production of the timeless love story.

The play will be performed at 8 p.m. Thursday (10/29), Friday (10/30) and Sunday (11/1) with a 3 p.m. matinee on Saturday (10/31) in Lawrence’s Cloak Theatre in the Music-Drama Center, 420 E. College Ave., Appleton. Tickets, at $10 for adults and $5 for senior citizens and students, are available at the Lawrence Box Office, 920-832-6749.

Transporting the young, star-crossed lovers to 1980, the 80-minute production exchanges balconies for wrought-iron fire escapes, rapiers for golf clubs and crow bars and classical music for Top 40 hits, including Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Elvis Costello and more.

Originally created for school audiences and performed by the Milwaukee Shakespeare Company in 2002, this version is the combined work of Timothy X. Troy, Lawrence professor of theatre arts John Maclay, a 1994 Lawrence graduate.

“The idea for the production design began many years ago in discussions between myself and (technical director) Dave Owens about our mutual love of Springsteen music and the working class culture of that time and place. Eventually, we decided that the idea was just crazy enough to work,” explained Troy, who will direct the play. “We looked at photos of the Jersey Shore and used them as a visual landscape for the play, including weathered lifeguard stands, graffiti, neon signs and over-grown pylons on the water’s edge.”

The production’s sound design by Troy evokes the popular music of the time that matches the major themes of the play.

“At the party scene where Romeo and Juliet meet, they’re dancing to Earth, Wind & Fire,” said Troy.

A set designed by Troy and Owens and costumes designed by Emily Rohm-Gilmore, a 2001 Lawrence graduate, adds to the modern effect created by the 1980 setting of the Elizabethan play.

The production features seniors Conner Lewis and Caroline Mandler in the title roles as Romeo and Juliet, respectively. Mercutio is played by junior Samuel Flood, Tybalt by junior Andi Rudd and Lord Capulet by junior Kyle Brauer.

In addition to the four performances for the community, the cast will offer three matinees specifically for students from Appleton East, North and West high schools, The Academy charter school and Marian College.

Rwandan Orphanage Director Opens Lawrence University Social Justice Lecture Series

Floriane Robins-Brown, executive director and CEO of a Rwandan orphanage project opens Lawrence University 2009-10 Social Justice Series Tuesday, Oct. 27 at 5 p.m. in the Warch Campus Center Hurvis Room with the presentation “Nibakure Children’s Village – Hope for Orphans in Rwanda.” The event is free and open to the public.

Floriane-Robins-Brown2_web.jpgA Rwandan native who moved to the United States in 1988, Robins-Brown began organizing a team of people for the NCV project in 2004. Now a registered non-profit organization both in Rwanda and the United States, the NVC received 23 acres of land from the Rwandan government and has begun construction on a village of family-style homes to house 150 children.

During the 1990s, Rwanda experienced severe ethnic violence between the Hutus majority and the Tutsi minority. In a span of 100 days in the spring of 1994, an estimated 800,000 Rwandans were killed — approximately 10% of the population — leaving thousands of children orphaned.

The NCV has joined the Rwandan government, non-governmental organizations and several individuals in the process of rebuilding and providing support for orphans.

The Social Justice Lecture Series is sponsored by the Lawrence University Volunteer and Community Center and brings guest speakers to campus to discuss contemporary social justice issues such as Wisconsin’s school funding crisis and asylum for battered women of the world.

Work of Photographer Anne Brigman Examined in Lawrence University Visiting Arts Series Address

Madison art critic James Rhem discusses the life and work of early 20th-century painter-turned photographer Anne Brigman in the opening address of Lawrence University’s 2009-10 Visiting Artist Series.

JamesRhem2_web.jpgRhem presents “Anne Brigman: Freedom, Art & Womanhood” Monday, Oct. 26 at 4:30 p.m. in the Wriston Art Center auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.

Trained as a painter, Brigman embarked on a photography career at the age of 32. Among her favorite subjects were “slim, hearty, unaffected women of early maturity,” whom she often photographed in the nude in the natural settings of the Sierra Nevada mountains of Northern California.

In a time when women were frequently repressed and photography was largely still considered a documentary form, Brigman tried to create art that showed what she felt women needed most — an absence of fear. After taking a photograph, she often manipulated the film by using paints and etching tools.

Brigman was one of two original California members of the Photo-Secession, an art photography group founded by Alfred Stieglitz to promote photography as a fine art and later was named a Fellow of the group.

Rhem, an independent scholar and critic, frequently lectures on and writes about photography. He is the author of four books, including “Ralph Eugene Meatyard: The Family Album of Lucybelle Crater and Other Figurative Photographs,” a book featuring the artwork of the 20th century American photographer famous for his photographs of people wearing masks. His current research focuses on the work of Brigman.

Rhem’s appearance is sponsored by the Lawrence University Department of Art and Art History and the Photography Club.

Lawrence University Author Receives Best Fiction Award

David McGlynn, assistant professor of English at Lawrence University, was one of five authors recognized Oct. 21 by the Utah Center for the Book during ceremonies at the Salt Lake City Library.

David_McGlynn_Weblog.jpgMcGlynn was awarded the best fiction title for his 2008 book “The End of the Straight and Narrow,” a collection of nine short stories that examines the inner lives, passions and desires of the zealous and the ways religious faith is both the compass for navigating daily life and the force that makes ordinary life impossible.

In addition to fiction, authors were honored in the categories of nonfiction, poetry, children’s literature and young-adult novel as part of the 10th annual Utah Humanities Council Book Festival. The awards recognize excellence in writing that carries a Utah setting or theme. Winners are announced each fall for books published the previous year.

At its June 2009 commencement ceremonies, Lawrence honored McGlynn with its Award for Excellence in Creative Activity, which recognizes outstanding creative work. A member of the Lawrence faculty since 2006, McGlynn earned his Ph.D. in English literature and creative writing from the University of Utah.

Convocation Series Video: Geomimicry

In her October 20th convocation, Marcia Bjornerud, professor of geology and the Walter Schober Professor in Environmental Studies at Lawrence, theorized that all of us would be better off if we followed five geological guiding principles. She says the Earth can inspire us to rethink social, economic and agricultural policies.

Watch a video of Bjornerud’s presentation.

A structural geologist who joined the Lawrence faculty in 1995, Bjornerud was appointed the first holder of the endowed Schober professorship in 2007. She has been the recipient of two Fulbright Senior Scholar Fellowships, including one earlier this year that supported four months of research on ancient seismic events in New Zealand along the South Island’s Alpine Fault.

She is the author of “The Blue Planet,” a science textbook and “Reading the Rocks: The Autobiography of the Earth,” in which she provides a tour of “deep time,” chronicles the planet’s changes and examines the toll human activity is exacting on Earth.