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LaWRENCE TODAY FALL 2012 www.lawrence.edu “ IS A LAWRENCE EDUCATION STILL WORTH IT?” LAWRENCE: THE COLLEGE OF THE 21ST CENTURY President’s 2011–12 ANNUAL REPORT TO ALUMNI AND DONORS L U APPLETON, WISCONSIN L U APPLETON, WISCONSIN Lawrence Today CONTENTS From the PRESIDENT Fall 2012 Vol. 93, Number 1 1 From the President 2 The College of the 21st Century 3 Liberal Education in the 21st Century 6 The Only Life: Liberal Arts and the Life of the Mind at Lawrence Art DIREctor Liz Boutelle 8 Education in Tins ATSSOCIA E VICE PRESIDENT OF COMMUNicatioNS 10 Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Lawrence Craig Gagnon ’76 12 A VORPed View of Liberal Education Editor 14 Embracing the Residential College Marti Gillespie Dear Lawrentians, 16 Darn that Al Gore and his Infernal Interwebs GRAPHIC DESIGNER Tammy Wagner 18 Student-Athletes of the 21st Century For more than two thousand years, service partnerships that ask students to think like strategic leaders the liberal arts—literally, the studies rather than short-term volunteers, to new modes of experiential 20 The 21st Century Conservatory VICE PRESIDENT FOR ALUMNI, DEVELOPMENT of free people—have been the gold learning that turn alumni into guest teachers and turn class projects and COMMUNicatioNS 22 Working Toward Wellness standard for developing active, into internships or entrepreneurial ventures—Lawrence is bringing Cal Husmann engaged and informed citizens. the traditional rigor and breadth of a Lawrence education to bear 23 Practicing—to be Well against the challenges of the new century in distinctive, creative ways. Photography Life After Lawrence NOW! Lawrence has been a leading voice in Liz Boutelle, Rachel Crowl, Marti Gillespie, David E. 24 that proud tradition for 165 years, and The real magic of these new approaches is that, far from Jackson, Emma Moss ’14, Mathias Reed ’14, Thompson 26 Traversing Technology Photo Imagery, Joe Vanden Acker, John von Dorn, tens of thousands of Lawrence alumni have diminishing Lawrence’s historic commitment to the liberal Paul Wilke 28 The Library in the 21st-Century College regarded their education as a wise investment. arts, they intensify it. As it always has, Lawrence uses small classes and close interactions with faculty to challenge students A Commitment to Community WritErs 30 But the 21st-century landscape is very different. Today’s to build intellectual sophistication and autonomy. Its rich and Ken Anselment, John R. Brandenberger, 32 Reinventing “Town and Gown” Relationships for the 21st Century marketplace demands graduates who are more job-ready and multidisciplinary liberal education aims not to prepare students Dave Burrows, Ádám Galambos, David Gerard , technically literate than ever before. Accelerating change makes for a particular trade or profession, but to empower students Lawrence: A Favorite of White House Hopefuls Peter Gilbert, Marti Gillespie, Julie A. Haurykiewicz, 34 the standard of what a college graduate should know, and be able to educate themselves for the rest of their lives. Patty Leiker, David McGlynn, Mary Meany ’83, 36 Exceptional Educators to do, an ever-moving target. Higher education of every type is Brian Pertl ’86, Rick Peterson, Jerald Podair, Jeff Stannard, becoming more and more expensive, and is commonly viewed as Lawrence is innovating within the tradition of liberal learning Jenna Stone ’00, Mike Szkodzinski, Nancy Truesdell, Financial Report 46 an economic investment on which good (and quantifiable) returns to prepare students for lives of achievement, responsible and Joe Vanden Acker, J.R. Vanko ’13 47 Admissions Report are expected. meaningful citizenship, lifelong learning, and personal fulfillment FOR CHANGE OF ADDRESS in a world that does not yet exist, a future they will shape. 48 Development Report Office of Alumni and Constituency Engagement In this new context, parents, students and community leaders are 711 E Boldt Way SPC 18 49 2011–12 Roster of Donors rightly asking, “Is a Lawrence education still worth it?” But Lawrence cannot do it alone. The college’s success, current Appleton WI 54911-5699 49 Major Gifts for Endowment and Facilities and future, depends on the thousands of alumni, parents and 920-832-6549 The answer of the Lawrence community is, unequivocally, “Yes.” friends who give generously to support the work of students 50 Lawrence-Downer Legacy Circle [email protected] and faculty. This “President’s Report” issue of Lawrence Today 53 Estates and Trusts Indeed, we believe it is clear that a Lawrence education can be the recognizes the innovative, collaborative work being done to TO SUBMit IDEas 54 The Founders Club best possible preparation for success in a rapidly changing world, lead Lawrence as a college of the 21st century, and honors the Lawrence Today 58 The Boynton Society in which competitive advantage belongs to those with the ability generosity of the volunteers and donors who make it possible. Office of Communications 60 Lawrence Alumni to learn quickly, to adapt, to ask insightful questions and devise 711 E Boldt Way SPC 39 84 Milwaukee-Downer College creative solutions. Appleton WI 54911-5699 920-832-6593 87 Parents Lawrence is evolving. From reinventing the library for a digital world, Jill Beck, Ph.D. [email protected] 94 Friends to classroom technologies that enhance liberal learning; from President 97 Gifts in Honor and in Memory Opinions expressed in Lawrence Today do 100 Corporations and Foundations not necessarily represent university policy. 102 Trustees, Directors and Staff Lawrence Today (USPS 012-683) is published three times a year by the Lawrence University Office of Communications. Non-profit postage paid at Appleton, A RESPONSIBLE CHOICE Wis., and additional mailing offices. Being a good steward of the environment is the responsibility of all Lawrentians, including the Office of Communications. This issue of Lawrence POSTMASTER Today was printed on FSC™-certified paper. The Forest Stewardship Council™ Send address changes to: guarantees that the trees used to manufacture the paper were harvested from Lawrence Today responsibly managed forests. Our printing partner, Royle, Sun Prairie, Wis., is Lawrence University an FSC™-certified printer, adhering to the highest social and environmental 711 E Boldt Way SPC 18 standards in the market. You can do your part to help the environment, too, by Appleton, WI 54911-5699 recycling this magazine when you are through reading it. ON THE COVER: President Jill Beck The College of Liberal Education in the 21st Century the 21st Century By Dave Burrows, provost and dean of the faculty The demise of higher education has been a much-discussed topic of conversation in recent years. But just as Mark Twain once said about reports of his own death being greatly exaggerated, so too, it seems, are the “Heavier-than-air flying machines are characteristic of what we do. Whether a student is doing a new dire predictions about the future of liberal arts education—especially a Lawrence liberal arts education. impossible” —Lord Kelvin painting, performing in a symphony, generating a new theory of economic behavior, analyzing the results of a new experiment, or “I am a citizen, not of Athens or Greece, but In a 2012 article in Inside Higher Education, the authors claim America’s crisis in higher education is due to making a new interpretation of a body of literature, that person of the World” —Socrates is acting creatively. Lawrence’s Senior Experience program an academy that lacks “a serious culture of teaching and learning.” The skills they claim graduates lack— encourages students to go beyond current knowledge to construct critical thinking, an ability to speak and write cogently, and effective problem-solving—are all the core The world is a rapidly changing place. something that is new; even more, it is something new that is principals of a Lawrence education. Accepted truths disappear quickly—even those student defined. When a student has an idea for a project and uttered by eminent scientists—and we must be able works on that project, he or she is doing something that no one to understand and adapt to change. The world is also becoming else has ever done before, and the skill at doing that will foster Since its founding in 1847 Lawrence has fostered a unique model of learning that is innovative and highly a smaller place, where what happens in areas remote from our intellectual and creative tools that last a lifetime. adaptive to meet the needs of a constantly evolving workplace. Lawrence graduates are well equipped own environment can have profound effects on our lives. It is the task of liberal education to prepare persons for a world that is both THOUGHT INTO ACTION with the tools and the confidence to face today’s challenges. more interconnected and more fluid than ever. What does this The emphasis on ideas and intellectual skills does not mean that mean for the 21st-century curriculum? liberally educated persons exist in a vacuum, unable to translate In this issue, Lawrence Today invited a cross section of the Lawrence community to share their individual their ideas into action. On the contrary, American perspectives on Lawrence as a college of the 21st century. ADAPTATION TO CHANGE higher education has long emphasized the In all of our courses, Lawrence needs to importance of active engagement.