Lawrence University

Infobox University


image_size = 190px
name = Lawrence University
motto = Light More Light!
Veritas est lux
("Truth is Light")
established = 1847
type = Private
president = Jill Beck
city = Appleton
state = Wisconsin,
country = USA
students = 1,420 undergraduates
staff = 132 faculty
campus = Urban, 84 acres (340,000 m²) main campus, 425 acres (1.7 km²) Björklunden
mascot = Viking
free_label = Athletics
free = 23 varsity sports teams
endowment = $200.4 million
website = [http://www.lawrence.edu/ www.lawrence.edu]

Lawrence University is a private liberal arts college located in Appleton, Wisconsin. Founded in 1847, the first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second college in the United States to be founded coeducational.

Lawrence University has a convert|425|acre|km2|sing=on northern campus, Björklunden, in Door County, Wisconsin. Björklunden serves as a site for retreats, seminars, concerts, and theatrical performances. Donald and Winifred Boynton of Highland Park, Illinois, donated the property to Lawrence in 1963.

Lawrence University is known by many for the Great Midwest Trivia Contest broadcast every January over the college radio station WLFM.

History

Lawrence's first president, William Harkness Sampson founded the school with Henry R. Colman, using $10,000 provided by famed philanthropist Amos Adams Lawrence, and matched by the Methodist church. Both founders were ordained Methodist ministers, but Lawrence was Episcopalian. The school was originally named Lawrence Institute, documented in its 1847 charter from the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature.

Lawrence's first period of major growth came during the tenure of alumnus Samuel G. Plantz as president. From 1894 until 1924, Plantz presided over the school and led its student body to grow from 200 to 800.

From 1913 until 1964, the school was named Lawrence College, to emphasize its small size and liberal arts education focus. The name was changed to Lawrence University when it joined with Milwaukee-Downer College, symbolizing the two schools united as one. Initially, the university designated two entities: Lawrence College for Men and Downer College for Women. This separation has not lasted in any material form, though degrees are still conferred "on the recommendation of the Faculty of Lawrence and Downer Colleges" and the university by-laws still make the distinction.

The Lawrence Conservatory of Music, affectionately referred to as "the Con," was founded in 1894. The university confers a Bachelor of Music degree and also offers a five-year program leading to a Bachelor of Arts in addition to the music degree.

Lawrence University is distinguished by originating the idea of freshman studies. Freshman Studies at Lawrence is a mandatory two trimester class that panoptically exposes students to notable literature from many fields. President Nathan M. Pusey is credited with initiating the program in 1945, although Professor Waples chaired the Freshman Studies Committee and was responsible for actually getting the program off the ground. The program has continued to this day, despite being temporarily suspended in 1974, and has been adapted by many liberal arts colleges.

Milwaukee-Downer traditions

The traditions and heritage of Milwaukee-Downer are woven into the Appleton campus, from the grove of hawthorn trees (called Hawthornden) between Brokaw and Colman halls, to the sundial on the back of Main Hall, to the bestowing upon each class year a class color and banner. Milwaukee-Downer alumnae are generous both financially and spiritually to Lawrence University, attending yearly reunions and other events there, and contributing to the school's endowment. The State of Wisconsin purchased the Milwaukee-Downer property and buildings to expand the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. When the University had separate offices for a "Dean of Women" and a "Dean of Men", the officer overseeing women students was called the "Dean of Downer." That title is still borne by the senior woman on the faculty, but her only duty now is carrying the Downer mace in academic processions. For many years the women's choir was called the Downer Chorus. At one time the BA was conferred upon women in the name of "Downer College of Lawrence University" and upon men in the name of "Lawrence College of Lawrence University"; now all BA degrees are conferred in the name of "Lawrence & Downer Colleges of Lawrence University."

Ranking and reputation

Lawrence consistently ranks in the first tier of liberal arts colleges in the report released by "U.S. News & World Report".

Lawrence is also highlighted as a "Best Value" by the Princeton Review. The school has a strong financial aid program: it is one of the few colleges in America that has need-blind admissions, and the college awards both need and merit-based financial aid to over 93% of its students.

It is included in Loren Pope's, "Colleges That Change Lives"

Academics

Unlike most colleges, Lawrence University operates on a trimester calendar. A complete academic year runs from late September to mid-June.

The student/faculty ratio at Lawrence is 9:1, much lower than the national average. This allows for small class sizes and individual attention from professors.

Lawrence distributes Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Music degrees. A double degree is possible and double degree students are not uncommon. Lawrence offers a number of cooperative degree programs in areas such as engineering and environmental studies.

The college has major programs in most areas of the liberal arts. The school also offers the option of interdisciplinary majors and allows students to create their own majors. All students are required to take Freshman Studies, which introduces students to broad areas of study and provides a common academic experience for the college.

The school has an independent study option that allows students to design their own courses. This allows students to explore academic interests not covered by Lawrence’s classes or to explore topics more deeply. Over 90% of the students take advantage of the independent study program.

In 2005, Lawrence University began the [http://www.lawrence.edu/dept/fellows/ Lawrence Fellows Program] , initially selecting eight recent Ph.D.s to teach and research at Lawrence for a period of two to three years. The goal is to expand the program to twenty Ph.D.s.

Athletics

In 2005/06, the Lawrence University men's basketball team's record was 25-1, and was ranked number one in NCAA Division III for much of the season after starting the season unranked. The team was the only undefeated team in all divisions of college basketball for the last six weeks of the season. Star forward Chris Braier won the Josten's Award as the top player in the country, an award for both playing ability and community service. Coach John Tharp was named Division III Midwest Coach of the Year. Excitement among fans caused attendance to increase to capacity for home games, causing local fire officials to demand that Lawrence cap attendance for the NCAA tournament games that Lawrence would host. The university decided to issue passes to attendees.

tudent body

Lawrence enrolls about 1,400 students. The school's students hail from nearly every U.S. state, though the majority of them are from Wisconsin and other Midwestern states.

The school has a low number of American minority students: over 75% of the students identify as white. However, Lawrence has a significant number of international students : about 12%.

Distinguished alumni

* William Baird, vice-president of Weyerhaeuser
* Jennifer Baumgardner, feminist writer and activist
* Richard C. Bush, chairman and managing director of the American Institute in Taiwan
* Louis B. Butler, Jr., associate justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
* Tom Conley, Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures and Director of Graduate Studies in French at Harvard University
* Dale Duesing, baritone
* James D. Ericson, chairman Northwestern Mutual
* Edna Ferber, author
* Walter Samuel Goodland, governor of Wisconsin
* John Rankin Gamble, congressman from South Dakota
* Raymond Herzog, president and chairman of 3M
* Lorena Hickok, confidant of Eleanor Roosevelt
* James Merrell, Professor of History at Vassar College
* Win Jones, watercolor painter
* Scott Klug, former congressman from Wisconsin
* Harry M. Kraemer, Jr., chairman and CEO of Baxter International
* Bob Landis, Emmy-award winning cinematographer
* Barbara Lawton, Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor
* Fred Lerdahl, composer and music theorist
* John A. Luke, Jr., CEO of MeadWestvaco.
* Terry Moran, chief White House correspondent for ABC News
* David Mulford, U.S. ambassador to India
* Tom Neff, CEO and Founder of
* Justus Henry Nelson - Methodist missionary in the Amazon
* Adam Nickel - Marathon Runner
* Alice Peacock, singer-songwriter
* Eben Eugene Rexford, author of stories, poems, songs, and books on gardening
* Josh Sawyer, video game designer at Obsidian Entertainment
* Bob Schaupp, General Secretary of Beta Theta Pi
* Campbell Scott, actor
* Eric Simonson, Oscar-winning writer-director
* Janet Steiger, chairman of the Federal Trade Commission
* Mark Uhlemann, bass-baritone
* William Warner (Missouri), U.S. Senator from Missouri
* Erik Wielenberg, philosopher

University presidents

* 1849-1853 William Harkness Sampson, principal
* 1853-1859 Edward Cooke, president
* 1859-1865 Russell Zelotes Mason, president
* 1865-1879 George McKendree Steele, president
* 1879-1883 Elias DeWitt Huntley, president
* 1883-1889 Bradford Paul Raymond, president
* 1889-1893 Charles Wesley Gallagher, president
* 1893-1894 L. Wesley Underwood, acting president
* 1894-1924 Samuel G. Plantz, president
* 1924-1925 Wilson Samuel Naylor, acting president
* 1925-1937 Henry Merritt Wriston, president
* 1937-1943 Thomas Nichols Barrows, president
* 1943-1944 Ralph Jerome Watts, acting president
* 1944-1953 Nathan Marsh Pusey, president
* 1954-1963 Douglas Maitland Knight, president
* 1963-1969 Curtis William Tarr, president
* 1969-1979 Thomas S. Smith, president
* 1979-2004 Richard Warch, president
* 2004-present Jill Beck, president

ee also

* List of NCAA fencing schools

External links

* [http://www.lawrence.edu/ Lawrence University] official web site