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Lawrence University Lux Alumni Magazines Communications Fall 2019 Lawrence, Fall 2019 Lawrence University Follow this and additional works at: https://lux.lawrence.edu/alumni_magazines Part of the Liberal Studies Commons © Copyright is owned by the author of this document. Recommended Citation Lawrence University, "Lawrence, Fall 2019" (2019). Alumni Magazines. 115. https://lux.lawrence.edu/alumni_magazines/115 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Communications at Lux. It has been accepted for inclusion in Alumni Magazines by an authorized administrator of Lux. For more information, please contact colette.brautigam@lawrence.edu.
L AWR E NCE
FALL 2019
Wan·der·jahr: n. noun,
[vahn-duh r-yahr] /'van d r, ya r/ e
German.
1. A year or period of travel, especially
following one’s schooling and before
practicing a profession.
2. A life-changing year of exploration,
discovery, and independence
funded by the Thomas J. Watson
Foundation.
LAWRENCE
Not All
Greetings from Appleton!
Who Wander
They say in Wisconsin there are two seasons of the year: winter and EDITOR
construction. We are in the second season, which brings physical renewal Kelly B. Landiſ
of campus. It is also celebration season here at Lawrence, with two of ART DIRECTORS
my favorite moments of the year: Commencement, when we sent 350 Liz Boutelle, Matt Schmeltzer
graduates out to begin their lives after Lawrence, and Reunion, when ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT OF
Are Lost
we welcomed more than a thousand of them back to reconnect with the COMMUNICATIONS
Megan Scott
community we share. Over the course of those two weekends, we hosted
close to 1,000 people in the President’s House. It is always a pleasure to CONTRIBUTORS
Ed C. Berthiaume, Daniel Green ’20, Awa Badiane ’21 Isabella
have the Lawrence family “in the house.” Even the new member of Mariani ’21, Kelsey McCormick, Joseph Vanden Acker
David’s and my family, Homer, a three-month-old labradoodle, enjoyed
CLASS NOTES
the festivities. Kevin LeBeau By Kelly B. Landis
These celebrations are also moments to reflect on the extraordinary
PHOTOGAPHY
ways Lawrentians make their mark on the world, from setting out across
the globe in search of meaning and cultural knowledge like our many
Liz Boutelle, Ken Cobb, Mackenzie Huber, Garrett Katerzynske,
M. C. Kinney Photography, Thompson Photo Imagery, Paul Wilke
Wan·der·jahr: n. noun, [vahn-duh r-yahr] /'van d r, ya r/.German.
e
Watson Fellows to shaping the pop cultural landscape like this year’s FOR CHANGE OF ADDRESS 1. A year or period of travel, especially following one’s schooling and before practicing a profession.
Commencement speaker, Lee Shallat Chemel ’65. I hope you enjoy learning go.lawrence.edu/profile
920-832-6854 • alumni@lawrence.edu 2. A life-changing year of exploration, discovery, and independence funded by the Thomas J. Watson Foundation.
about some of these experiences in this issue.
We are now getting ready to welcome another talented class of more TO SUBMIT IDEAS
than 400 new students. The entering class is diverse in many respects, Lawrence University • Communications
711 E. Boldt Way
including 25% domestic students of color and 14% international students. Appleton, WI 54911-5690
Thanks to the success of the Be the Light! Campaign and its Full Speed to 920-832-7325 • communications@lawrence.edu
Full Need initiative, the incoming class of 2023 will be supported by more Opinions expressed in this magazine do not necessarily represent
full-need scholarships—which allows Lawrence to meet the need of more Lawrence University policy.
than 100 incoming students. Lawrence (USPS 012-683) is published by the Lawrence University
Just as we celebrate our students and alumni, we must also recognize Office of Communications. Nonprofit postage paid at Appleton,
Wis., and additional mailing offices.
the people of Lawrence who make all of this possible. The talented faculty
and staff who lead the University were joined by many new colleagues;
they brought their experience and energy to bear on our efforts to provide
a world class undergraduate education to 1,500 students every year. I know CONTENTS
you join me in welcoming them to Lawrence as we begin the 2019-2020
academic year.
Best,
3 NOT ALL WHO WANDER ARE LOST
50 Years of the Watson Fellowship
Mark Burstein, President
10 BREAKING SOUND BARRIERS
Operatic Innovations Take the Stage (and
Pool!)
13 RAISING THE BAR
The Viking Room Marks a Major Milestone
36 WHEN MARCH MADNESS CAME
TO LAWRENCE
A Look Back at a Historic NCAA
Tournament Run
16 Commencement
20 Reunion
22 Inside Lawrence
32 Be the Light! Campaign Update
40 Athletics
42 Class Notes Micha Jackson ’07 swims among the
residents of Jellyfish Lake, Palau. LAWRENCE 3
86 The Big Picture
What Is Your Watson? For many this is a difficult and beautiful question because no
one has ever asked it. The inner challenges to find your Watson
B rian Pertl ’86, Dean of the Conservatory of Music, Watson Fellow
and Lawrence Liaison for the Watson Program
and then create a concrete proposal that turns your dream into a
viable plan of action is as daunting as crossing the Gobi desert or
battling homesickness in Namibia. This process of discovery is
The whole premise seems impossible—a magical fellowship where the magic of the Watson resides. If done right, a student’s
that provides enough money for lucky recipients to chase around life will be changed long before the official Watson selections are
the globe for an entire year following their dreams. Oh, and it will announced. The world celebrates the chosen few who officially
most likely change the course of your life. No big deal. receive the fellowship. I celebrate every one of the hundreds
Actually, a very big deal. The Thomas J. Watson Fellowship of applicants who have dreamed big, opened themselves up to
is very real and has been changing lives for 50 years. Thirty- endless possibilities, and have found themselves forever changed
four years ago, it changed mine. My dream was to explore the by the experience.
Australian Aboriginal didjeridu and Tibetan Buddhist sacred So, dear reader, what is your Watson?
music. I would travel to Australia, China, Nepal and India as
I pursued this dream.
When I received the letter telling
me I was chosen to be a Watson Fellow,
“I ended up writing a guidebook to the roughly
70 museums that I visited over the course of 18
S teven Licata ’75 spent his Watson year
studying attitudes to competitive sport in
I was thrilled, but I had no idea what months…. The self-direction and organization that his project “The Ethos of Sport: People’s
challenges and rewards this year would I had to exercise and develop has been critical to Attitudes Towards Competition in a Socialist
present. I left thinking that this would my success in science.” Country” in East Germany, West Germany,
be a wonderful year of adventure before England and Italy. His time with the Watson
embarking on my career as an orchestral —CAROL ARNOSTI ’84 studied maritime traditions Foundation did not end there—he served a
trombonist. in Northern Europe, Scandinavia, France, the United two-year stint as director of the foundation
When I landed in Australia, I had Kingdom and Germany. She is now a professor in the from 1989–1991. He is an assistant district
still never heard a didjeridu, let alone attorney for Milwaukee County.
Department of Marine Sciences at the University of
played one, and my first exposure to Lawrence can be very proud that they
North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
Tibetan Buddhism was the day I walked have been in the Watson program from
into the Johkang Temple in Lhasa, its inception. The amazing thing about the Watson fellowship is
Tibet. This journey of discovery could fill a book, and it has that the foundation isn’t really funding the project; it’s funding the
somehow managed to fill a life—mine. My experiences working individual, asking the question, “Will this individual benefit from
with musicians from such vastly different music cultures and studying this particular topic at this moment in their life?”
my immersion in those traditions left me wanting to learn more This ethos came from Thomas Watson Jr. I was the last
Brian Pertl ’86 plays a didjeridu for community members as part of the Mile of Music Education Team. about music traditions from around the world. director who would go to his office at IBM headquarters and meet
Upon my return, dreams of playing trombone professionally with him. He wanted young Americans in all different fields to
faded. Instead, I pursued degrees in ethnomusicology, focusing
T his year marks the 50th anniversary “Watson’s mission is to work with our incredible
partner institutions to expand the vision and
The requirements are simple on their on Tibetan sacred music and Australian Aboriginal didjeridu
traditions. Here is where my Watson year turned into my Watson
have potential for leadership, and he felt that they would be much
better leaders if they had a different perspective on American life
gained from having lived for a very intense period of time for a
of the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, face: spend a year abroad—
develop the potential of our next generation of life. In 1990, Microsoft called asking me to record a didjeridu track full year outside the U.S.
“a one-year grant for purposeful, no return to the U.S. allowed—
for a CD-ROM (a new technology no one had ever seen). This
M
independent exploration outside the leaders,” says Executive Director of the Watson immersing yourself in other cultures
Foundation Chris Kasabach. “The Watson turned into a position as an audio editor, which led to a 16-year icha Jackson ’07 studied marine resources and conservation
United States.” and your passion project. But being set
Fellowship application provides students with the career at Microsoft. In 2007, after being asked to play a didjeridu across cultures and under different governmental systems during
The Watson emphasizes small loose in the world at 22 is a powerful recital at Lawrence, my mentor, Professor of Jazz Studies Fred
opportunity to build an international blueprint for a Watson year that took her to Oman, Australia and Palau. She
liberal arts colleges, and Lawrence has thing; it forces you to be independent, Sturm, asked me to apply for the Conservatory’s open dean
their deepest interests, biggest ideas, and best now lives in Australia and is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of
been a Watson partner college since the self-sufficient and self-directed. You position. Looking back, every major career opportunity was
selves—and go after it.” Queensland, Australia.
inception of the fellowship. Its roots with contend with who you are, with your inextricably tied to the didjeridu and the Watson. Assisting with marine fieldwork at Sultan Qaboos University
the program run deep: in those 50 years, understanding of self and metrics of For the last nine years, I have been the Lawrence liaison for in Oman, campaigning for stronger marine parks in Australia
Lawrence has produced 73 fellows who have visited more than 60 success and purpose. It is powerful and liberating, transformative the Watson; I have the singular opportunity to help others along and camping on remote islands with the Bureau of Marine
countries studying topics ranging from urban planning to refugee and challenging. the journey that had such a profound impact on me. It lets me Resources team in Palau all helped to cement in me a passion
policy to vocal performance and more. Two Lawrentians have Lawrence reached out to our Watson fellows. Many responded encourage students to dream big. It is amazing how few of us for field-based research and a love for coastal environments.
served as director of the program, Steven Licata ’75 and Beverly almost immediately with incredible stories and powerful give ourselves permission to dream big—really big. I give every The design of the Watson program also fueled my desire to
testimonials of how the Watson has shaped their lives far beyond prospective Watson the same thought experiment: if you could keep travelling to new places and experiencing diverse cultures.
Larson ’83, as did former Professor of Classics Daniel Arnaud..
wake up tomorrow with no obligations for the next year—no Following my Watson year, I moved to Australia and have called
Spend some time speaking with Watson Fellows, and certain the year they spent on their fellowship.
homework, no practicing, no job, no required reading—what
themes begin to emerge across topic, geography and generation.
would you do? Where would you go? What would you dive into?
4 FALL 2019 LAWRENCE 5
now the principal of the Youngblood Group, a consultancy that uses
anthropology and human-centered design to imagine new solutions
to our biggest challenges related to the environment, social justice and
human equality.
My plan was to spend the summer half of the year traveling
with nomadic camel herding people in the blazing hot Sahara
Desert in northern Sudan and the winter half of the year
above the Arctic Circle with native Greenlanders. I wanted to
explore firsthand how these societies had adapted for survival
in supremely unforgiving climates with very limited natural
resources for food and raw material. The year went mostly to plan
but, as with most Watsons, I encountered barriers and reality
checks that kept me continuously reinventing the project. For
instance, after a few months of false starts and mishaps in Sudan Mike Youngblood ’87 with his camel; he spent time with Bedouin people in the Sinai Peninsula.
(including a very near miss in a hotel bombing), I shifted to Egypt
occupational health and public health. I’ve really come full
for the remainder of my desert phase, where I bought a camel
Micha Jackson ’07 releases a critically endangered Hawksbill turtle. Jack Canfield ’14 playing a recording of BaAkan yodeling back to the performer, circle. I started my Watson looking at health promotion in the
Jenga, in Republic of Congo. and spent time among Bedouin people in the Sinai Peninsula.
workplace, albeit not from a legal standpoint. I went to law school
Over the course of the year, I came to view my host communities
focusing on health law. Now I’ve bound those interests in law and
it home ever since. For seven years, I was privileged to work with Watson provided me with experience of freedom, of what it means in a very different way. I went into the year romanticizing their
occupational health to create essentially a new practice area I call
Indigenous rangers across remote coastal northern Australia on to be wholly responsible not just for the shape of each day but for isolation but increasingly grew to understand how deeply their
wellness law. I speak nationally. I’ve written a book.
land management and conservation projects. Following this truly the arc of one’s life. cultures and livelihoods were disrupted by pressures from
amazing experience, I decided to undertake my Ph.D., researching
the conservation of coastal waterbirds and their wetland habitats. J ack Canfield’s ’14 Watson project, “Soul Songs: The World Sung
the wider world around them. This stuck with me and laid a
foundation for my Ph.D. dissertation work on social movements
D avid Worley ’88 turned his life-long passion for distance running
into a year-long study in Norway, Kenya and Finland looking at the
This has involved extended stays in China and Singapore and into Being,” saw him nearly circumnavigating the globe, traveling a few years later and my more recent book on a large social
cultural conditions of countries that had
attendance at meetings, conferences, forums and fieldwork all to Republic of Congo, Russia, Norway, Australia and Papua movement in India. This also continues “The year was not just about studying this subject
produced successful distance runners. He is
over the world. The confidence, passion and desire to pursue this New Guinea. This fall, he is starting a master’s of music in voice to influence my current consulting in great London libraries, or touring recently built now a medical doctor in family practice in
lifestyle was absolutely developed during my Watson year, which performance at Indiana University. work on issues such as community collections of buildings, parks and places of work. Duluth, Minn. and director of health services
planted the seeds for most of my future endeavors and changed What makes the fellowship special—and what I found development, criminal justice reform It was mainly about learning from and admiring at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
the course of my life in ways I could not valuable—is its focus on independence and homelessness. those planners who were driven to make life on a
“[In Paris,] I studied singing daily with the
B
have imagined on graduation day! and freedom. It’s a rare opportunity To this day, I think about my Watson
esteemed voice teacher, Pierre Bernac. It changed grand scale better for others.”
experience and the ways it still impacts
M when a person (at 22 or 23!) is given a arbara Zabawa ’93 studied health
everything for me.” my life. I have a continued desire to travel
ark A. R. Facknitz ’72 deferred mandate to follow their own whims (and care policy in the U.K., Sweden and —JEFF MARTIN ’74 examined how citizens
his Watson for a year after receiving a —ELISABETH VAN INGEN STEWARD ’75 only their own) to the ends of the earth Netherlands. She has continued her and learn about cultures other than my
participate in new town planning in England and
Fulbright-Hays award. His plans to explore explored the world of opera, traveling to some of the for one complete year. At times, it was passion for health care and is now own. I’d hardly been outside the Midwest
Scandinavia and the creation of “modern utopias.” before I embarked on my Watson, and it
Francophone literature in Africa changed overwhelming and very painful. But boy, Attorney President of the Center for
great opera houses in Europe and spent significant He is now a partner at the law firm of Hunton
over the course of his time in France due to was it liberating. I designed my project Health and Wellness Law and a clinical was so eye-opening to be immersed in
time in Paris studying vocal performance. She sang assistant professor at University of Andrews Kurth in Washington, D.C. a rich and unfamiliar cultural experience.
a drought in the Sahara and the twists and to expose my personal boundaries and
turns of fate. He is recently retired after 40 professionally and is now a senior consultant with the to give myself the opportunity to lean Wisconsin-Milwaukee. I think about how fortunate I was to be
years of teaching and is professor emeritus Heller Fundraising Group. right into them. The singing focus was I think back on my Watson year all the time. I remember the welcomed into the places I went. I’ve tried to adopt this in my own
of English at James Madison University. the road map, the vehicle and the goal. In whole year as being wonderful, but it was that moment when I life, hosting people looking for a place to stay for a week or two. I
I was a Watson recipient in 1972; that same year the draft striving to find—and integrate into—singing communities, I was opened the envelope standing in Kohler Hall and found out I got also learned how to be more assertive and be more independent—
lottery stopped four numbers short of sending me to sunny pushed up against my own limitations and brought face to face the fellowship that I find myself reflecting on. It was a surreal for me at that age was a big deal. You realize your own ability to
Vietnam. [I]n my dank basement room in Dijon I became addicted with my own voice and my own song. moment of “this is actually happening!” It was scary, it was handle more than you think you can.
to fat novels. Above all John Dos Passos. The African sun dimmed I remember being really wrung out after my time with exciting, it was truly awesome. I felt so alive in that moment. I remember my last day in Kenya. I spent the majority of
as I looked deep into the shadows of being American. As it the BaAka in the Congo. From that experience, I learned how I knew I wanted to work in health care while at Lawrence. my time at St. Patrick’s High School, which is the epicenter of
happened, family crisis took me to India for several months. Then far I was willing to go in order to reach a goal. I’m not sure My Watson reinforced my passion for preventive care and health running in Kenya. That last day, I had the opportunity to race
I spent time in Paris. Months. And there was some Switzerland, that everyone is given the opportunity to really experience promotion, but I was also able to widen my scope and look at 5K against many of the students who were part of my project
Germany and Austria in there. My wanderjahr was definitely a their absolute limit—and they may not need to. But I am occupational health. It was foundational and carries through to and who I was living with. We trained together and talked about
wandering, but not entirely aimless. I followed romance to San grateful that I was given that chance, and it was central to my what I do today. I spent time in the U.K. meeting with medical the mentality of being a distance runner. I had that shared race
Juan Téotihuacan in Mexico and climbed the Pyramid of the Sun, Watson experience. It has since framed my life with a different officers for major corporations like BP learning about company experience with these runners. It was amazing—and it had
and just off the courtyard where the fig tree was letting loose its perspective. health programs. In Sweden, I worked at the Public Health nothing to do with where I finished in that race. It turns out that
I ran against future Olympians, including Matthew Birir who won
M
fruits, plump and oozing, to plop onto the tiles, I spent fervent Institute and learned more about how the Swedish health care
weeks typing on yellow paper an ‘experimental’ novel … I tried ike Youngblood ’87 spent his Watson year in a comparative system values employees. In the Netherlands, I met with people a gold medal for the steeplechase in 1992. It’s a very special thing
to put behind me the notion that I had wasted my Watson. The study of cultural adaptation to extremely harsh environments. He is who were working with HIV positive sex workers. to know that I had that relationship with him, that I’d grown to
I had such a varied exposure to preventive health, know him and some of his family.
6 FALL 2019 LAWRENCE 7
be truly essential in my own life is the unique ability music has to
bring people together and to support and encourage challenging
discourse. The opportunity to see who I am in these different
contexts, many very uncomfortable, and to process my privilege in
such a powerful way are things that I am deeply grateful for.
E mily Copeland ’83 was awarded both a Fulbright and a Watson.
She traveled the globe from Washington, D.C. to Switzerland to Sudan,
studying refugee relief from both a policy and field perspective. She
earned her Ph.D. at the Fletcher School of Diplomacy and now teaches
political science and international relations at Bryant University.
The Watson did a lot of things, but professionally, it broke
that cycle of “how do I hire you with no experience?” and “how
do I get experience if you won’t hire me?” I was interested in
NGOs working with refugees and the connection between what
they were saying they did and what was really happening on the Valeria Rojas-Infantas ’08 at the Floreo Festival in Iquique, Chile. This year's Watson Fellow, Meghan Murphy ’19.
ground. I traveled overland from Egypt to Sudan, and at the time,
one of the big refugee flows in Africa was Ethiopians fleeing “bearded one”—I had grown this scraggly beard. That year of freedom
famine and civil war. There was a big emergency relief program changed me. I returned to attend grad school, but it no longer felt
going on with older refugee populations who had been there for
WATSON AND BEYOND
like it fit, so I decided not to continue on that path and spent years
years and the influx of newer populations of refugees. I worked sailing and delivering boats along the West Coast and Great Lakes. The Watson is far from the only prestigious fellowship
with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and also the United Nations I then spent some time as a professional paddling guide before earned by Lawrentians. Just this year, five students have
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). I was hired to head leaving the industry and working for the City of Madison. Now, after earned nationally competitive fellowships.
up a local survey team to establish malnutrition in the refugee the birth of my twin daughters five years ago, I am returning to the The national fellowships include another Watson fellow,
camps. It was life-altering—there’s no substitute for practical paddling life—just this year, I opened my own business and named it
Sam Genualdi ’17 and his teacher, Nharira, playing mbira in Chimoio, experience. I remember reading about one “model” organization, Meghan Murphy ’19. Right now, her plans will take her to
Umingmaq—my Watson experience is with me every day.
Mozambique. Note from Sam: “Nharira passed away this year of what was but when I got to Sudan, UNHCR and other aid folks were quite India, Norway, Azerbaijan, Ireland and Mexico to explore
likely malaria; he was not yet 40. Malaria is still the number one cause of
death in Mozambique and other developing nations.” frustrated because that organization hadn’t adapted to rapidly
changed conditions. I got real insight into the politics of aid.
V aleria Rojas-Infantas ’08 traveled in Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and
Ecuador for her project, “Ethnic Discrimination and Social Exclusion in
musical traditions that incorporate violins and violin-like
instruments.
S am Genualdi ’17 traveled to Scotland, Armenia, Peru, Brazil,
Mozambique, Japan and Indonesia studying the deep musical
M atthew Magolan ’97 spent his Watson year in the Canadian
Latin America.” She is now starting a new job in the Office of District
Planning for the Department of Education of New York City.
Lawrence also continues its success with the Fulbright
program. Milou (Emmylou) de Meij ’19 is the 58th
Arctic with his project “A Year on Hudson Bay: Kayaking and the I was born and raised in Peru, where there is a lot of
traditions in those countries and engaging in cross-cultural dialogue Discovery of Inuit Culture.” After 12 years working for the City of Lawrentian to receive Fulbright honors. She will work
discrimination. I’m mestizo and experienced discrimination in
through collaborative music-making. He is currently serving as long- Madison, he recently opened his own paddling shop and touring as an English teaching assistant in Latvia as part of the
various ways myself. I really wanted to understand the roots of it,
term resident musician in the center in Oxford, Wis. dig deep and understand why. I never imagined I’d go on a Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Lawrence also landed
wilderness community of Holden “My Watson year was one of the most fantastic and clearly life- My experience shaped the sabbatical year like the Watson—in Peru, the path is pretty clear: on a prestigious list of U.S. colleges and universities that
Village, Wash., and working on his changing experiences I could have had, and at the same time a arc of my entire life. I’d always go to university, get a master’s and get a job. produced the most Fulbright students in 2018–19.
second album. ridiculously implausible way for a 22-year-old (young!) man to been fascinated by stories of The Watson gave me the opportunity to really get to know Margot (Margaret) Wulfsberg ’19 was awarded a
Of the many lessons begin to form impressions of the way the working world really Norwegian explorers and their myself. There were moments when I would be doing something like Critical Language Scholarship to study Chinese in
learned throughout the year, works.” reliance on traditional methods herding goats that would have been unimaginable just a year before.
one that I treasure most deeply in their Arctic explorations. Changchun, China.
I never thought my journey would take me to so many places and
is having had the opportunity DAVID JONES ’71 spent his Watson year in England and Wales I decided to paddle up the Willa Dworschack ’20 is the recipient of the Barry
help me meet so many people, people who I’m still in touch with 10
to experience first-hand such immersing himself in Anglo-Welsh literature. After a career in Hudson Bay and live with years later. My Watson topic wasn’t light, but there was a beauty in Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education
varied lifestyles lived through journalism, he is now the managing editor of the journal, RHINO: local Inuit communities in it. I learned so many things. I learned about intercultural bilingual Foundation award in physics and astronomy. She is one of
music. There are as many ways The Poetry Forum. the Arctic. I remember my education [a language model designed to assert space for indigenous 496 undergraduates across the country being honored for
to live as a musician as there are family had to sign a waiver language and culture in education—ed.]. I ended up being part of a their studies in math and science fields.
musicians, and that, I think, has been immensely important in far above and beyond the usual because the foundation was so committee for a congress in Latin America and met so many leaders
aiding me to find my own path as a musician (and human being). concerned about the safety of my plan. A knee injury changed Hayoung Seo ’19 will be pursuing a master’s degree in
who opened up my mind.
Especially having grown up in the cultural context of the United my itinerary, so I flew north but did end up paddling back south China Studies with a focus on Confucianism with the help
Taking a year to do something like the Watson? Nobody I knew
States, with very specific metrics for “success,” it was profound, at the end of my year. I was naïve in a way—I had no idea how had done something like this. Now I try to find time for discovery of her Yenching Academy Fellowship, which covers a full year
for example, to study Tsugaru Shamisen in Aomori, Japan, from modernization was harming these communities. People I cared and getting outside of my comfort zone, which is not something of graduate study at Yenching Academy of Peking University
a master of the instrument, who also happens to be an apple about struggled with depression, suicide and addiction. But I would have even thought about if it weren’t for the Watson. ■ in China.
farmer. I was forced to contend with difficult questions on a daily my time there was also incredibly positive. I studied soapstone
basis about my own identity and aspirations. What I have found to carving with one of the masters. I fished and I hunted. I earned
the nickname “Umingmaq.” It means musk ox but translates as
8 FALL 2019 LAWRENCE 9
Photo credit: Paul Wilke
BREATHE: A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY WATER OPERA
There were opera singers and percussionists, trumpets, a cello, of really great musicianship available and people who are really
even a flute. There were dancers and a keyboardist and a bass excited to try something different, you find there is a curiosity
player. Tuxedos were worn. there,” Dempster said.
But there was a twist. There were more than 20 performers in the cast including
The stage? A fully functioning swimming pool. students from the college and conservatory, athletes—including
Welcome to Breathe: a multi-disciplinary water opera, staged a diver—and professional dancers from the community.
at Lawrence in March. “It very much has the effect of performance art,” says
The mastermind behind Breathe is Gabriel Forestieri, a Dempster. “We wear our tuxedos and get in the water. There are
Boston-based choreographer and director who teamed with always these different things happening. It evolves into a thing
Lawrence Conservatory instructor Loren Kiyoshi Dempster, the with singers and percussionists and trumpet players.”
composer and musical director for the production, two years ago Some instruments hit the pool, like a hydrophone and box
to stage the water opera at Middlebury College in Vermont. An cello, and others were played from the deck. There was even
invitation from Margaret Sunghe Paek, an instructor of dance in a kayak in one scene. Almost every cast member ended up in
the Lawrence Conservatory of Music and curator of the Lawrence the water at some point, and the entire pool was basked in
Dance Series, brought the magic to the Buchanan-Kiewit dramatic lighting.
Wellness Center. Breathe certainly made a splash—the production ended
“I saw the video of them in the water,” Paek said. “I said, up going viral. Local news coverage turned into hits on news
‘We need to bring that here to Lawrence. We need to bring some round-ups and social media shares around the world.
version of that here.’ With the Conservatory here and the wealth
Robert Schleifer (standing) and the cast of Mass.
BREAKING SOUND BARRIERS
Performers Gabriel Forestieri and Loren Kiyoshi Dempster (laying down with the cello) in the Wellness Center pool during Breathe.
INNOVATION AND OPERATICS By Ed Berthiaume Photo credit: Ken Cobb
Opera and innovations went hand-in-hand for Lawrence this year, from sign language to a watery stage to grappling with national issues. Take a
look at three productions that created groundbreaking art.
MASS That speaks to the addition of Schleifer’s Deaf character, a
statement on the difficulties we have in communicating when ideological
The much-anticipated production of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass by differences come between us, be it political, religious or otherwise.
Lawrence’s Opera Theatre Ensemble, led by award-winning Director of “It is rare—even at the national level—for a signed opera to be produced
Opera Studies and Associate Professor of Music Copeland Woodruff, and performed,” Woodruff said. “The majority of our area’s theatre-going
incorporated a Deaf character played by professional Deaf actor Robert public would not ordinarily experience this type of performance. Mass will
Schleifer and sign language performance. open dialogues about faith and inclusion to our community.”
“My inspiration was two-fold—the obvious metaphor of our current It was a chance to talk about our often jumbled and conflicting faith
society, where people have a difficult time listening to one another, and journeys and the barriers that keep us from communicating effectively.
the inclusion of community members who might not necessarily attend “It gives people a touchpoint around which to come together,” The Julie
an opera,” Woodruff said. Esch Hurvis Dean of Spiritual Life Linda Morgan-Clement said.
American Sign Language (ASL) and Pidgin Signed English (PSE) For Schleifer, the blending of opera with sign language is powerful
were used throughout the production. Twenty-one members of the student and moving.
ensemble spent weeks learning to communicate in sign language. “Bernstein’s Mass project has been both a challenging and awesome
“Distinctive productions like Mass provide students with a rich experience,” he said, “from the sound of the music itself and the abstract
educational opportunity to practice being a singer-actor, hone full-bodied concepts portrayed through tone and inflection, which I cannot hear,
communication skills, as well as develop appreciation and respect for relying on facial and body cues, figuring how to match American Sign
the experience of others,” Woodruff said. “We hope that students will Language with operatic language, to the awesome collaboration with
learn that the arts can be a powerful vehicle for personal and societal Copeland and Kris [Kristine Orkin, a local interpreter for the deaf], who
awareness and change.” helped me understand the complexities of poetic language, appreciate
the culture of opera, and together watch the beautiful magic unfold.”
10 FALL 2019 LAWRENCE 11
Derrell Acon ’10 (center) and his castmates in The Central Park Five sing in unison. Photo provided by Acon.
CENTRAL PARK FIVE
Derrell Acon ’10 stood shoulder to shoulder in June with Antron “I think a lot about the rehearsal process, tending to all
McCray, one of the five New York City teenagers—now men in of these emotions, letting them out, having a lot of beautiful
their 40s—wrongly convicted in the 1989 rape and beating of a discussions with my colleagues, especially the five of us in the
Central Park jogger. lead roles.”
The Lawrence alumnus was days away from performing Ten months ago, Acon relocated to southern California and
as McCray in The Central Park Five, an operatic retelling of the connected immediately with the Long Beach Opera. The casting
emotionally charged criminal case being performed in an opera for The Central Park Five was just getting started.
house in southern California. An ACLU luncheon brought Acon, “I sang for them and was invited to join the cast,” Acon said.
Raising the Bar
his castmates, and the five men they’d be portraying into the same He was working with people he didn’t know while immersing
room for the first time. himself in the West Coast arts scene. He jumped into the mix
“It gave me a little more weight in terms of the responsibility as the opera company’s manager of education and engagement,
I had to give an accurate picture to the audience and to be true to organizing and facilitating community conversations in the
how I explored and continue to explore that character,” Acon said months leading up to the opening of The Central Park Five.
of meeting McCray. “The key word is community,” Acon says. “The arts have
50 Years of the VR
The Central Park Five story is getting plenty of renewed this ability to create a community. You may not always agree
attention on the heels of the recent release of Ava DuVernay’s with the topic being put forth, but you are put in a position
Netflix mini-series, When They See Us, the intense retelling of the of contemplation, of consideration, and that is a communal By Ed Berthiaume
case that dominated headlines 30 years ago. While the Netflix experience. Having the community of the opera house and the
series is getting the bulk of the attention, the jazz-infused opera guidance of the voices and actors on stage may be enough to spark
The Viking Room, a cherished on-campus hangout for but it didn’t serve alcohol until the first beer was tapped on
production from composer Anthony Davis—more than three the conversation and the courage needed to really dig into some of
generations of students, is carved deeply into the history March 7, 1969.
years in the making and separate from the DuVernay series—has these topics.”
of Lawrence University. Mark Catron ’69 remembers it well. He was one of the
drawn its fair share of looks as well, including from The New York Acon, who serves on the Lawrence Board of Trustees as a
Literally. original student bartenders, pouring beers during his senior year
Times and The Los Angeles Times. Recent Graduate Trustee, earned multiple regional and national
The names of students past and present cover the tables while soaking in the night life as “Bad Moon Rising” and “Sugar,
“I wasn’t really anticipating any particular response,” Acon honors as a student and already has more than two dozen operatic
and booths, carved with affection, a metaphor of sorts for the Sugar” blasted from the speakers.
said after getting an enthusiastic welcome on opening night. roles on his resume.
deep bonds that alumni have with the place best known as the “The response was overwhelming. It was terrific,” said
“I was more aware of my own responses, understanding that it Ten months after landing in southern California, Acon said
VR. Tucked in the lower level of Memorial Hall, it has served as Catron, who visited the VR in early June while back on campus
would be a very emotional process for me. As a young black man he feels like he’s found his artistic groove. The work with Long
a gathering place for students of drinking age—and faculty and for his 50th class reunion. “People would come in after their
in America, you know, a lot of these topics are very close to my Beach Opera is just the start of some promising things.
staff—for five decades. afternoon classes and sit around and talk and have a beer or study.
own experience, and these struggles are very mirrored in my “I’m excited to see what comes next,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of
The VR, as it is affectionately known, is celebrating its “Fridays and Saturdays were very, very popular. There would
own life. opportunities, and they keep coming in. It’s very encouraging.”
50th year as a bar. It had long existed as an on-campus lounge, be dances and a lot of music.”
12 FALL 2019 LAWRENCE 13
ABOVE: Students gather in the Viking Room in the 1960s.
VR SIGNATURE DRINKS
In addition to a pretty darn good selection of drafts, the VR also
offers a couple of signature drinks. You can make a Lawrentian
or an Honor Code for your next cocktail party!
THE LAWRENTIAN
1 shot of coconut rum
1 shot of blue curacao
Sprite and sour mix
Serve on the rocks
with or without an
umbrella.
THE HONOR CODE
1 shot of gin
1 shot of lime vodka
Half grapefruit juice
Half Sprite
Top with grenadine
Serve on the rocks.
the VR implored faculty and staff to increase their use of the bar,
either as their own hangout or as an alternative classroom space.
“Keep in mind that the room is large, we play tapes upon
request, and that our stereo does have a volume control if the
music proves to be too loud,” the memo read. “Simply put, we
would enjoy seeing more faculty and administrators using the
VR on a regular basis, whether you choose to drink or not.”
ABOVE: Mark Catron ’69 and Jake Yingling ’20 step behind the Viking Room bar during Reunion 2019. Thirty years on, some faculty and staff continue to heed
Mark was one of the first bartenders at the VR; Jake is a current student bartender. those words. And some jump in as guest bartenders, a long
VR tradition.
THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’ a lot of change going on, a lot of people questioning the way bartender’s license, she said the workers there told her she was The VR has gone through numerous changes in its
things had always been.” the first woman in the city to be licensed as a bartender. management structure over the years. Presently, the bar is
When Lawrence successfully sought a city liquor license and
Introducing a bar on campus amid all that, well, that was “I kind of got a giggle out of that at the time,” she said. again managed by students, with oversight from Greg Griffin,
remade the VR into a bar, it was new territory. Not many college
either going to prove to be genius or crazy, Catron said. “It was fun to do because it was different and nobody else director of the Warch Campus Center.
campuses featured their own bar. The drinking age was 18 at the
“From the administration point, maybe it was a sort of was doing it. I was just me. I was just Susan. I was doing it Jake Yingling ’20 frequents the VR with friends and works
time, which meant most every student was a potential customer.
experiment to see if the students were capable of handling it in because it was fun.” bartending shifts as a student worker. While he understands
It arrived at a time when college campuses were hotbeds for
a responsible way,” he said. “I never had the impression there the crowds in the VR may be smaller now than in the ’70s and
social change and political demonstrations. There was no shortage
was ever any doubt about that. But I’m sure there had to be some A NEW DYNAMIC ’80s, there are still nights when the place is hopping. And he
of talking points in the spring of ’69 as students gathered in the
questions among the adults in the room. While the VR remains a big part of campus life 50 years later, appreciates it being on campus.
VR.
“This was the same time we were occupying the dean’s office. much has changed from its heyday in those early years. When “The busier nights are the better nights,” he said.
“The four years I was here, there were terrific changes in
Lots of challenges were going on from a social standpoint. . . . Wisconsin’s drinking age increased to 19 in 1984 and then 21 in “Now being 21, I can come here to do work, I can hang out
powers, dormitory living and arrangements,” Catron said. “And
The campus was different when we left from when we arrived, 1986, the dynamic in the VR changed, with much of the student with friends. It’s a good place to kind of hang out and relax.”
clearly, this was part of the liberalization of the campus. Between
and the bar was just part of that change.” body no longer old enough to legally drink. Five decades worth of alumni would raise a glass to that.
the time we came and the time we left, there was a lot of turmoil,
Susan Jasin ’69 was another of the original student The VR managers began to more actively market the bar
bartenders. When she went to Appleton City Hall to get her to faculty and staff. A 1988 memo from the then-managers of
14 FALL 2019 LAWRENCE 15
Commencement 2019 IN A TIME WHEN COMMUNITY IS SUCH A SCARCE COMMODITY AND PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT
BACKGROUNDS AND VIEWS ARE LIKELY TO ARGUE, COMPETE OR IGNORE EACH OTHER, YOU CAME
TOGETHER TO LEARN, TO CELEBRATE AND TO STRUGGLE, AS ONE COMMUNITY, WITH THE ISSUES
THAT FACE LAWRENCE, THIS COUNTRY AND THE WORLD.”—PRESIDENT MARK BURSTEIN
I’D BEEN PAINTING MYSELF INTO A CORNER OF SERIOUSNESS IN ORDER TO KEEP FAILURE AT BAY.
DON’T DO THAT. LET JOY AND SPONTANEITY EXIST SIDE BY SIDE. DON’T LET FEAR OF FAILURE
KILL YOUR JOY.”—HONORARY DEGREE RECIPIENT AND SPEAKER LEE CHEMEL ’65
For more on the ceremony, including photos and videos of the day’s speeches, visit go.lawrence.edu/grad19.
Faculty Marshal Kathy Privatt led
351 graduates across College Avenue
for the 170th Commencement, an
outdoor ceremony replete with pomp,
circumstance and tradition—along
with a colorful assortment of umbrellas
and rain gear. A light but steady rain
did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm
of what David Blowers ’82, chair of
the Board of Trustees, called the “high
point of the academic year.”
Provost Katie Kodat and President Mark Burstein
join this year’s faculty award winners.
FROM L TO R: Katie Kodat; Associate
Professor of Flute Erin Lesser (Excellence in
Teaching Award); Walter Schober Professor of
Environmental Studies and Professor of Geology
Marcia BjØrnerud (Excellence in Scholarship or
Creative Activity Award); Director of Jazz Studies
José Encarnación(Excellent Teaching by an
Early Career Faculty Member Award); and
Mark Burstein.
16 FALL 2019 LAWRENCE 17COMMENCEMENT COMMENCEMENT 2019
STAGE AND SCREEN: LEE SHALLAT CHEMEL ’65
DELIVERS 2019 COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS
Lee Shallat Chemel ’65 has forged an impressive career as a pressure at the time to start hiring women. You can see how far
director in theatre and television, working behind the scenes that got after 35 years.
on some of TV’s most iconic shows. She returned to Lawrence
as the 2019 Commencement speaker, ready to impart insight So, after almost 10 years [at South Coast Repertory], I just quit.
and wisdom drawn from a professional career that she says has I had no idea if this was going to take me anywhere or whether
everything to do with her liberal arts education. An excerpted I would succeed or not. I just moved up to L.A. and started
Q&A with Chemel appears below: observing on Family Ties…
ON HER EARLY MENTORS IN THEATRE AT LAWRENCE, I had the support of knowing that I was educated. And that
DAVID MAYER III AND TED CLOAK: sounds weird, but it was actually quite significant to me that I
“I really believe that because of David Mayer and Ted Cloak, I knew things. I knew I could analyze a script, I knew that I could
found that theater was more than I thought it was. I really loved understand things. I could communicate well, I understood tone,
it although I still didn’t buy the idea of it as a career at that point. I understood people. I was older than a lot of people who start. So,
But I became much closer to that idea. Lawrence opened my eyes I had lived some life, too. And these were the things that buoyed
completely to the richness of the arts, particularly the theater and me up during these very tough times.”
the film arts. It was remarkable what an influence it had on me.”
ON MURPHY BROWN:
ON MAKING THE TRANSITION FROM MILWAUKEE- “Murphy Brown was certainly a big jump up for me. That’s when
DOWNER TO LAWRENCE: my agent finally talked somebody into getting me onto what you’d
“I was only at Lawrence for one year. But it was a year that was call a real major show. And once I had Murphy Brown under my
packed with amazing things for me. Downer was a very good belt, that got me an Emmy nomination, and, all of a sudden,
school in that the professors there were kind of radical. . . . They I was kind of accepted. I was brought into the club, I guess you
were sharp people. They radicalized me politically. Got me could say.”
involved in the Civil Rights movement. Linus Pauling came to
talk with us, Upton Sinclair. It was amazingly rich for a tiny, tiny ON WHETHER LAST YEAR’S SERIES FINALE OF T H E
school. But Lawrence took that and just broadened it—everything MIDDLE MEANS THE END OF HER CAREER:
became broadened and deepened.” “I got to be full-time on that for nine years, and we all became
a family. That was a wonderful experience. I did the pilot for a
ON EMBRACING AND THRIVING AS A THEATRE spinoff from The Middle this fall, with the Sue character. It didn’t
DIRECTOR, EARNING FIVE L.A. DRAMA CRITICS AWARDS get picked up. I wrote a note to my agents and said, I’m not dead
ALONG THE WAY: yet. But I don’t know. I feel maybe it’s time to give back again and
“It all happened through my education in a way. If I hadn’t had do some other things. I’m at a crossroads, but I’ll see what comes
the background of this liberal arts education I wouldn’t have up next season.”
been able to make a living doing the teaching [acting] part while
I searched for what finally struck home for me—the directing.” ON RETURNING TO LAWRENCE WHILE NOT KNOWING
WHAT COMES NEXT:
ON TURNING TO TV DIRECTING IN THE MID-1980s: “I’m like the graduates in a way. What am I going to do now?
“That was another leap. I’d done some good directing, a lot of I just want to be open to stuff. I feel like I am in an interesting
directing, to the point where in L.A., I had a little bit of a name. place in my life.”
There weren’t a lot of women directing in theater then. [Producer
Joe Stern] said, Gary Goldberg has this new show called Family To read the full Q&A, including insights on Chemel’s working
Ties. He’s looking for a woman director because there was some relationships with television icons like Jason Bateman, Michael J.
Fox and Lauren Graham, visit go.lawrence.edu/chemel.
18 FALL 2019 LAWRENCE 19REUNION
REUNION 2019
Alumni Award winners from L to R: Chuck Merry ’57 (Presidential Award), Jaime Nodarse Barrera ’05 (The Marshall B. Hulbert ’26 Young Alumni Outstanding Service Award), Joseph F.
Patterson ’69 (The Gertrude Breithaupt Jupp M-D’18 Outstanding Service Award), Todd A. Mahr ’79 (The George B. Walter ’36 Service to Society Award), Zoe Ganos M-D’55 (Jupp Award)
and Elizabeth R. Benson ’69 (The Lucia Russell Briggs Distinguished Achievement Award). Not pictured: Momodu E. Maligi ’04 (Nathan M. Pusey Young Alumni Distinguished Achievement
Award). Know alumni deserving of recognition? Let us know by nominating them for an Alumni Award. Visit go.lawrence.edu/nominate.
REUNION
Cooler than expected temperatures and sporadic rains didn’t rain out the fun at Reunion 2019! Performances at Memorial Chapel, alumni
award presentations and plenty of social opportunities kept things festive.
REUNION FACTS AND FIGURES
1,054 alumni, family and friends
1949–2019
Classes from
44 states 2,752 meals
10 countries
$13M raised
104 volunteers
7 Alumni Awards
20 FALL 2019
91 unique events
’49
June Marinelle McCotter M-D led theLAWRENCE
parade of classes21SPRING BREAK SPRINGBOARDS I N S I D E L AW R E N C E
Lawrentians travelled the country over this
year’s spring break for rich and engaging
career and service opportunities.
VICTORIOUS
By Daniel Green ’20
As part of this year’s Presto tour, a group of Conservatory
students traveled to Houston for a week of musicmaking and
community engagement, culminating in a performance at
Houston’s MATCH arts center. One of the highlights of the
trip was time spent in the Beat Lab at Workshop Houston, a
SPRING BREAK: SILICON VALLEY
Lawrentians had the opportunity to get an insider’s look at Silicon
youth development agency and neighborhood resource that
Valley with the annual “Shadow Silicon Valley Trek” organized by uses a hands-on, arts-based educational philosophy. Daniel
the Center for Career, Life and Community Engagement. From Green ’20, one of the Presto students, shares his reflection on
this transformative experience. Daniel Green ’20 records Victorious during the Presto tour.
networking with alumni and meeting with recruiters to getting an Photo: Garrett Katerzynske
in-depth look at some of the top companies in tech, students had The vibe of our creative space in the Beat Lab at Workshop
a powerful career-focused spring break experience. Houston wasn’t unfamiliar to me, though it was my first LY R I C S T O “ V I C T O R I O U S ”
time being there. I usually spend most of my time in Sol We randomly picked three words each from a wordsearch puzzle
Studios, where other students in the Lawrence community and created lyrics together. I’d been listening to what the students I'm still a kid. I've been sitting in class for a minute,
T H E D E S T I N AT I O N S : and I meet to collaborate and produce music together. The had been saying as they wrote their verses, and I tried to create
moment we arrived at the Beat Lab, people were writing, something relatable and personal to complement the message In the back, I've been dreaming of making it big but
Cisco Systems
producing, engineering, recording, learning, teaching and they were conveying. I didn't realize how much I put into the somehow I'm stuck with this quiz and I ain't even study.
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative enjoying each other. On the first day, we did some powerful lyrics because it felt really natural for me to write the way I did.
Facebook team bonding exercises, forming a circle and using our bodies I felt immense support from my colleagues and teachers and I've been too depressed and my eyes been stuck on this
Stanford University and artistic imaginations to interact with each other. We could even the Workshop Houston students—though I didn't initially page of different equations.
Google see that the Workshop Houston students were not initially think much of my work.
Apple comfortable being vulnerable, but once they all participated What made this experience a stand-out is the attitude we I'm trying to take it all of my thoughts I put down and
LinkedIn and communicated more with us, they opened up and became brought with us. Something about the spirit of service particular erase I wish I could save them.
AirBnB more willing and eager to work with us each day. to this trip drew out many of the characteristics I didn't know
Salesforce As a large group, we got a lesson from Beat Shop still existed within me and within my colleagues and teachers— Well, every day feels like a day in hell but I fear no evil
Uber Coordinator Cory Jordan on how to use FL Studio, a digital characteristics like heart, attitude, grit, consciousness. my heart is so see-through.
Handshake
audio workstation tool. I had the opportunity to participate in I thoroughly enjoyed playing alongside them all and over the
learning something relevant and practical to what I wanted duration of the tour, I felt confidence rising up within me to Imagine an ocean emotions a sleeve in a bottle somehow
to do in the future alongside the students in the BeatLab. perform to the best of my abilities. Everyone worked really hard to that’s deep and so hollow.
I appreciated that we got to learn something new with the make the tour happen and, as a group and small community, we
BeatLab students because it helped to create an atmosphere made a huge impact with the various skills we all had to offer. Fragile and easily broken whatever you break me
BY THE NUMBERS
of mutual respect between us all. Everyone I was with saw I watched my colleagues get recorded and exchange their to pieces I show you my letters exposing a flow
6 students me and treated me like a member of the community—the
resulting music was a testament to how genuine we were
abilities and knowledge with the Worksop Houston students as I
also shared more of myself with both the students and the Presto
unforgettable might not be legible. I hope it still gets
to you.
11 Tech companies trying to be with each other.
On the very last day, right before we left, someone noticed
band. Through trial and error, we fused jazz and hip hop in a
unique way. This process sparked some ideas for how I decided To hear an excerpt from “Victorious” and see the Presto
3 Alumni receptions that I’d been writing. I was hoping to not be put on the spot,
and I almost slipped under the radar undetected. But I couldn't
to approach collaboration in the rest of my time at Lawrence—
I know this will have an invaluable and direct impact on my
experience, visit go.lawrence.edu/beatlab.
21 Alumni hosts leave the space without showing some appreciation. The words
I used on the resulting track, “Victorious,” were the product
future in music. I feel everyone who was there and played a
part in the experience could relate to that statement.
7 Recruiters of my experience with a younger Workshop Houston student.
22 FALL 2019 LAWRENCE 23You can also read
