Lawrence in the News: Fall 2001 and Winter 2002

A sampling of media clippings about Lawrence University, its faculty, students, and alumni from Fall 2001 and Winter 2002. For more clippings, check out the Lawrence in the News index page.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
March 18, 2002
Headline: Old letters, new link to yesterday
Byline: Geeta Sharma-Jensen
Excerpt: Two years ago this month, Lawrence University archivist Carol Butts found an unmarked box filled with letters in French. Wondering what to do with them, she contacted Judith Sarnecki, an associate professor of French. The professor told her class about the letters - and soon five students were combing through the correspondence of a Parisian who had made Milwaukee her home early in the last century. Last year, the university published the result of the student translations in a 152-page softcover, "A Common Bond: Letters from Mlle Serafon." The simple volume, enlivened with a narrative introduction, gives a glimpse into the life of a Frenchwoman who came to America in the 1880s to teach French, and ended up staying until her death in 1958 at age 90. It also is another in a string of small efforts by Wisconsin college professors to publish student work. The Lawrence University effort kept the five undergraduates busy for three months. Three of them spent an additional year researching and editing. Their translations of 150 letters and postcards reveal a determined, self-sufficient Serafon, who enjoyed stylish clothes, often traveled alone, and led a life immersed in education. Serafon was professor of French at what was then the Milwaukee Downer College. The school, on the current University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee campus, merged with Lawrence College in 1964, and subsequently was moved to Appleton. All the letters - they cover a period from July 1916 to January 1958, about three months before Serafon died - were to Bessie J. Wolfner, a student who blossomed into a close friend. Wolfner became a high school French teacher and lived most of her life in St. Louis. She donated Serafon's letters to Lawrence University before she died in 1983. Serafon lived through, and wrote during, some of the pivotal events of the 20th century. During the height of the war, Serafon discusses her work as chairman of the local Fighting French Relief Committee, which sewed, knitted and collected clothing for the French. And in August 1941, she wrote: "The articles that speak highly of the interior reforms of the Vichy government disgust me: it is an unpardonable defamation of the French character."

Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia
March 14, 2002
Headline: Another world war looming? Experts say it started 9/11; others disagree
Byline: William Bunch
Excerpt: Six years ago, a New Jersey author named Jack Manuelian released a thin, paperback book through a small publisher - a tome that made a huge leap up Amazon.com's sales list right after the Sept. 11 attacks. Its title: "Nostradamus: Predictions of World War III." Now, six months later, the phase "World War III" - which seemed a relic from the era of bomb shelters and "the domino theory" - is being bandied more than any time since the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989. And it's not just followers of the long-dead French seer, but also serious foreign-policy experts, who are doing the talking. For some, it is the fear that daily escalations of bloodshed in Israel and its occupied territories - the very cradle of both civilization and Biblical visions of the Apocalypse - will draw other nations into the conflict. Other experts argue that World War III already started back on Sept. 11. With the United States and its global allies fighting a ground war in Afghanistan while dispatching troops to battle terrorists around the globe, from the Philippines to Georgia, the map of world conflict is already filling up. And now President Bush seems determined to take up arms against Saddam Hussein's Iraq. Are we headed for World War III? Or is it all just semantics? What does concern foreign-policy watchers is the outcome of Vice President Dick Cheney's current trip to the Middle East, seeking support for military moves against Iraq. Under a much-discussed scenario, an invasion of Iraq by U.S. troops or American-backed rebels would cause Hussein to launch Scud missiles against Israel, as he did in 1991. They say the possible twists this time are whether Hussein would put chemical or biological warheads on the Scuds, and whether the current hawkish government of Israel would respond with force. "The United States is caught in a classic 'lose-lose' situation," said Jerald Podair, a history professor at Lawrence University, in Appleton, Wis. "If it intervenes militarily in either Iraq or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it will spark a vicious regional conflict that could escalate into World War III." But he said virtually the same thing could happen in the troubled region without the U.S.

New York Times, New York
March 10, 2002
Headline: Bringing 'Hamlet' home
Byline: John Swansburg
Excerpt: Campbell Scott went to college hoping to become a history teacher. With his affable manner and intellectual intensity, you can almost picture him as one. He is in fact an actor and a director, but he is not of the typical Hollywood mold. Stephen Holden, reviewing Mr. Scott's film version of "Hamlet" last August in The New York Times, said that because of the frequent close-ups on Mr. Scott's Hamlet "even more than usual we see the events in a rotting Denmark through his aggrieved eyes." The independent film, which he also co-directed and produced, will be screened on Wednesday at the third annual Westchester Film Festival. Mr. Scott, who has appeared in movies as varied as "Singles," directed by Cameron Crowe, and David Mamet's "Spanish Prisoner," will be honored at the festival's opening ceremony tonight at the Performing Arts Center at Purchase College. He is the son of the actors George C. Scott and Colleen Dewhurst, and there is a reflection of his father in his looks and an echo of his mother in his voice. It wasn't until his junior year at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis., that it occurred to Mr. Scott that those nights spent at the theater [with his parents] might have had more of an effect than he had realized. "Neither my brother nor I were interested -- of course now we're both actors," he said. "Obviously through osmosis we developed a love for and a respect for the theater world and the theater profession." After realizing that he was not cut out for Hollywood vehicles, Mr. Scott began working on smaller, independent films, where he could have a hand in making decisions. In 1996, Mr. Scott collaborated with Stanley Tucci, an acquaintance and a fellow John Jay High School alumnus, to shoot "Big Night," which they co-directed. Mr. Scott co-directed "Hamlet" with Eric Simonson [Lawrence University Class of 1982], a longtime colleague. Like many of Mr. Scott's recent projects, it was shot locally, on Long Island. By Hollywood standards, "Hamlet" was shot at a breakneck speed and a bargain basement price -- 29 days and $4.5 million -- but the film belies its shoestring budget. "I've never seen a 'Hamlet' like that before," said Alan Rudolph, who directed Mr. Scott in "Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle." "He made Hamlet humorous and human."

New York Times, New York
March 10, 2002
Headline: Music of messages, hidden and overt
Byline: Derek Katz
Author note: Derek Katz teaches music history at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis.
Excerpt: Even with choruses of "U-S-A, U-S-A," still ringing in our ears after the Winter Olympics, it is unsettling to hear the letters chanted in German in the midst of a blues-tinged fox trot. This is the opening of the "Chaplin-Ford Trot," a chamber opera by Karl Amadeus Hartmann to a libretto by Erich Bormann. The larger piece, with speaking roles for Charlie Chaplin and Henry Ford, is one of five Hartmann chamber operas collectively known as "Wachsfigurenkabinett" ("Waxworks"). Although one of them was produced in 1930, these operas were neither published nor revived before the composer's death in 1963. They have just been recorded for the first time (Wergo WER 6640 2). Hartmann hailed from Munich, and these lively pieces -- filled with sassy dance music and parodies of popular songs, and bristling with didactic left-wing commentary -- could well have been a Bavarian answer to the Berlin collaborations of Brecht and Weill. But neither the frivolity of the music nor the prickly commentaries of the librettos are typical of Hartmann's later works, mostly serious, weighty instrumental music without obvious political content. Hartmann spent the war years in internal exile, refusing to allow his music to be published or performed in Nazi Germany, and it is easy to hear his later music as an expression of his firm and courageous personal principles. Neither the saucy music nor the cynical agitprop of the "Waxworks" operas sits comfortably with the later works. There was no reason for Hartmann to revisit these operas, whose style he had abandoned and whose political implications would be different in a divided Germany.

Madison Capital Times, Madison
March 8, 2002
Headline: Another don't-miss at the Wisconsin Film Festival here next month
Byline: Doug Moe
Excerpt: "No Sleep 'Til Madison," a road comedy that was filmed here in February 2000 and has all kinds of local connections. The movie was co-written by Madison natives Erik Moe (no relation to this columnist) and Peter Rudy, lifelong friends who played hockey together at Madison Edgewood and later at Lawrence University in Appleton. The plot revolves around one character's obsession with high school hockey in Wisconsin - something Moe and Rudy can relate to. Though both are now successful writers in California, they still subscribe to a Wisconsin high school hockey newsletter.

Indianapolis Star News, Indianapolis, Indiana
March 7, 2002
Headline: "Signature programs": Lawrence University physics initiative provides
Excerpt: Amid a backdrop of national enrollment declines in physics majors and the elimination of physics departments at some institutions, Lawrence University's "signature programs" in physics are earning recognition as a "road map" to counteracting that trend. In the mid-1980s, Lawrence launched a long-range, innovative initiative of development that impacted departmental curriculum, faculty research, infrastructure, undergraduate research and library holdings. The cornerstone of the initiative was the concept of the signature program. Under the direction of physicists John Brandenberger and David Cook, Lawrence constructed two high-tech laboratory facilities -- a laser "palace" and a computational physics laboratory -- equipped with more than $500,000 worth of research-grade hardware. The two signature programs focus on contemporary topics while generating specialty courses that emphasize student-faculty interaction and student learning. A decade and a half latter, the initiative has proven an unqualified success, earning Lawrence's physics program national recognition as well as substantial foundation support. A recent $400,000 grant from the Keck Foundation will fund the establishment of a third signature program as well as support Lawrence-led efforts to revitalize undergraduate physics education nationally. Under the direction of associate professor Jeffrey Collett, a specialist in condensed matter physics, Lawrence will develop a signature program focusing on the effects of surfaces or "boundaries" on the properties of various materials, including semiconductor interfaces, thin magnetic films and liquid crystals, among others. "Our goal is to develop a model program that other small physics departments around the country can emulate."

Wisconsin Public Television, Madison
March 1, 2002
Program: Weekend
Excerpt: Lawrence University Assistant Professor of History Jerald Podair discussed the legacy of Senator Joseph McCarthy, as part of a public television program examining the opening of an exhibit on McCarthy's life and times at the Outagamie County Historical Society Museum.

[The program was rebroadcast on the Wisconsin Public Television network on March 3, 2002]

Madison Capital Times, Madison
March 1, 2002
Headline: Photofest 2002. A month of inspiration
Byline: Jacob Stockinger
Excerpt: Today marks the official opening of Photofest 2002, which runs through March. More than 100 artists and more than 70 galleries, businesses and coffee houses in the Madison area are taking part in the biennial festival of photography that started in 2000 and is organized and sponsored by the Center for Photography at Madison. Here is a very small sampling of work to whet your appetite for both looking at other people's photographs and taking your own.
Caption: Portraitists John Shimon and Julie Lindemann, who work in Manitowoc and teach at Lawrence University in Appleton, use old-fashioned large-format cameras and outdated printing techniques to create a certain mood. "Sisters Drawn to the Mississippi" is part of their show at the Wendy Cooper Gallery, 824 E. Johnson St.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
February 27, 2002
Headline: Art Briefing. Faculty in spotlight at Neenah gallery
Byline: James Auer
Excerpt: Three adjunct faculty members from Wisconsin universities will show work March 8 through April 27 at the Allen/Thomas Gallery, 115 W. Wisconsin Ave., Neenah. Taking part are Kasarian Dane and Amy Hauber, visiting assistant professors of art at Lawrence University, Appleton, and Alison Gates, adjunct faculty and full-time lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Dane will display "sensuous yet minimal" paintings, arrayed as panels of color. Hauber's work bridges media disciplines, from digital culture to identity and aesthetics. Gates makes sculptures out of textiles.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
February 24, 2002
Headline: Lawrence to begin dorm construction
Excerpt: Construction on a $14.9 million residence hall at Lawrence University will start next month, officials say. The six-story dormitory will be built on the southwest end of campus into a hillside, overlooking the Fox River. It's the first residence hall the university has built since 1967. About $8 million for the project will come from an anonymous donor, while the rest will be financed through bonds, said Gregory Volk, vice president for development and external affairs. The 79,500-square-foot residence hall will offer 180 beds, and the rooms will be built suite-style. The building is expected to open in September 2003.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
February 22, 2002
Headline: 'Romeo and Juliet' still resonates. Compelling production respects its young audience
Byline: Damien Jaques, Journal Sentinel theater critic
Excerpt: The parallel is striking, the relevance undeniable. On the morning this newspaper published a front-page photo of two people grieving the death of a 16-year-old youth, killed after a high school basketball game, the Milwaukee Shakespeare Company opened a special student production of "Romeo and Juliet." Milwaukee Shakespeare had nothing to do with the tragic timing that makes its show so current, but it can take credit for a compelling production that gives students an engaging and accessible taste of "Romeo and Juliet." It's actually more than a taste, for although the romantic tragedy has been abridged to 75 minutes to fit two daily performances into school schedules, this "Romeo and Juliet" feels complete. All of the important elements of the play remain, Shakespeare's marvelous language is emphasized, and Milwaukee Shakes neither dumbs down nor glitzes up the classic. The play and the audience are trusted. Company co-founder and artistic director John Maclay [Lawrence University Class of 1994], assisted by associate artistic director Robert Quinlan and the production's director, Timothy X. Troy, [Lawrence University Assistant Professor of Theatre and Drama] are responsible for the intelligent and seamlessly trimmed text being used in this "Romeo and Juliet." Maclay has previously said they initiated the unenviable task of cutting this classic by first determining what had to be retained, rather than what should be deleted. That approach has served the play well. Troy displays an affecting visual sense in staging lyrical moments on John Starmer's attractive and functional two-level set, which is among the largest placed on Vogel Hall's limited stage. Romeo and Juliet's secret marriage, beautifully framed and conducted silently with other action in the foreground, is among those moments.

Wisconsin State Journal, Madison
February 21, 2002
Headline: New group will monitor 'green' votes. George Meyer, former Secretary of the DNR, is on the board of directors
Byline: Ron Seely
Excerpt: A new environmental organization, the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters, is promising to keep an eye on whether state legislators are casting their votes in the appropriate shade of green. And at least one member of the group's board of directors has lots of experience keeping track of how politicians vote on environmental matters. George Meyer, former secretary of the state Department of Natural Resources, said he knows from his years with the agency how important natural resource issues are to Wisconsin residents. He said Wednesday during the group's first news conference that the state Legislature often does not reflect the public's strong support of environmental programs. At a time, Meyer said, when budget cuts threaten many programs, somebody has to speak up for important conservation measures such as the Stewardship Program, which provides money to buy land. Meyer was removed from his post as DNR secretary last year by Gov. Scott McCallum and replaced by Darrell Bazzell. Though Meyer has stayed on as a special assistant to Bazzell, he will leave the agency in June to teach at Lawrence University in Appleton. Wednesday, Meyer joined several other Wisconsin environmentalists to announce formation of the organization and release the national environmental scorecard that is put out each year by the national League of Conservation Voters.

The Times, London
February 20, 2002
Headline: Michael P. Hammond. Eloquent American polymath whose talents ranged from music to neuroscience
Excerpt: Michael P. Hammond, scholar and chairman of the US National Endowment for the Arts, was born on June 13, 1932. He died on January 29, 2002, aged 69. At the time of his death, Michael Hammond had been chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington for only six days. It was his first job at national level. Had he lived, he would have made a significant mark on the cultural life of the United States. His professional life was mainly devoted to music, to teaching and to university administration. For 16 years (1986-2002) he was Dean of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston. He made it one of the leading conservatories in America. Before that he had been director of the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music in Milwaukee (1966-68) and the founding Dean of Music (1968-77) and later the first President of the College of Liberal and Performing Arts at the State University of New York at Purchase (1977-80). His own education was broadly based, and his powerful intellect was furnished by wide and deep reading. For his first degree at Lawrence University, Wisconsin, he majored in the classics and philosophy. He spent a year studying Indian philosophy and Indian music at Delhi University, and had sitar lessons with Ravi Shankar. In 1956 he went to Oxford as a Rhodes scholar, reading philosophy, psychology and physiology for his BA, and stayed on for two further years doing pre-clinical medical studies. At that stage he planned to go into medical research. On returning to America, he spent a year on the Menominee Indian reservation in Wisconsin, where he learnt the native language and wrote a novel (unpublished) about the clash of the indigenous and Western cultures. His first jobs were as a research assistant and lecturer in physiology, anatomy and neuroanatomy in two different medical schools and instructor in physiology and anatomy at the University of Wisconsin. Hammond had an unusual combination of gifts of which the most immediately obvious were his personal magnetism and a mesmerising eloquence. (At the age of 17 he won the annual national competition to be elected Boy President of the United States.) But he wore his great learning lightly, and conversation with him was usually full of laughter. His greatest joy, apart from the love of his family, was the unending search for knowledge.

China Daily, New York, New York
February 20, 2002
Headline: String quartet presents classics
Foreign title: Chung kuo jih pao
Byline: Chen Jie, China Daily staff
Excerpt: Chamber musicians from the Conservatory of Music at Lawrence University in Wisconsin will grace the Forbidden City Concert Hall in downtown Beijing on February 25 with a string quartet concert. The concert is the opening performance of the Imperial Garden Concert Series which runs through June. Initiated by Dan-Wen Wei, president and artistic director of the International Concert Alliance, a non-profit organization headquartered in New York City, the Imperial Garden Concert Series introduced top international musicians to Beijing concert-goers last year. The 2002 series, which offers a concert every month through June, will feature some young but established musicians who have their own novel interpretations of classics, Wei said. The opening concert stars the chamber musicians from the United States and who will play the string quartet works of Shostakovich and Ravel. They also will perform Anton Webern's quintet with the accompaniment of Chinese-American clarinetist Fan Lei. Among the American musicians, violinist Anton Miller, a graduate from the Julliard School, was invited to Beijing in 1995 to play Chinese composer Ye Xiaogang's violin concerto "The Last Paradise." A CD recording of the work was released the following year. Stephane Tran Ngoc, the Paris-born violinist, joined the Lawrence Conservatory faculty last autumn. He has performed as a soloist with many of the world's most prominent orchestras in more than 30 countries and has won prizes at numerous international competitions. Matthew Michelic, the viola player, has been praised by critics as "possessing an extraordinarily exquisite technique in viola." Cellist Janet Anthony has also performed in Europe, Australia and the United States.

Wisconsin State Journal, Madison
February 20, 2002
Headline: Child porn discovered in library. Police believe someone used a library computer to download the illegal internet files
Byline: Barry Adams
Excerpt: Child pornography found in a bathroom at the Sun Prairie Library led police to seize 26 library computers. An off-duty Madison police officer discovered three pages of sexually explicit photos of children last Wednesday in a garbage can. Sun Prairie police think someone used a library computer and printer to download the material off the Internet. Only computers with Internet access were seized, including some used to check material in and out of the library. "We try to watch, but obviously we can't see what everybody is doing all the time," librarian Kennedy said. "We're trying to walk a fine line of giving people information but preventing the illegal use of our machines." The library does not use software to block sensitive material, but a library policy prohibits illegal computer use, Kennedy said. Peter Gilbert, president-elect of the Wisconsin Library Association and a librarian at Mudd Library at Lawrence University in Appleton, said Internet issues for libraries are increasingly challenging policy-makers. "We're learning," Gilbert said. "When things like this happen, we learn some more."

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
February 18, 2002
Headline: Schools to get a bit of the Bard for free
Byline: Damien Jacques
Excerpt: There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but there is going to be free Shakespeare for more than 8,000 Milwaukee-area students. The Milwaukee Shakespeare Company is not charging admission to the 22 daytime school performances of its abridged version of "Romeo and Juliet" that opens Thursday in Vogel Hall at the Marcus Center, 929 N. Water St. "All of the school shows are underwritten," Milwaukee Shakes co-founder and artistic director John Maclay said. "A lot of stars aligned to allow us to do this for free. We view this as a gift to the community. We wanted to make it universally available to all schools and students." The Argosy Foundation and company co-founder Chris Abele provided the underwriting. Abele and Maclay, friends since their student days at Lawrence University, founded Milwaukee Shakes in 2000. "Romeo and Juliet" is the company's fourth production. Maclay and associate artistic director Robert Quinlan, who also is the troupe's education director, trimmed the script to 75 minutes of playing time. Director Timothy X. Troy [Lawrence University Assistant Professor of Theatre and Drama] consulted on the project. The student production is consistent with the reason he and Abele founded the Milwaukee Shakespeare Company, Maclay said. "There are two parts to our founding mission. We are a company that produces professional theater for the public, and we are a company that makes Shakespeare enjoyable and exciting for students." To prepare students for the show, Milwaukee Shakes sent a 15-page study guide to each teacher and parent of a home schooler, and cast members conducted 38 in-school workshops.

The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, California
February 17, 2002
Headline: On the move
Excerpt: Attorney Jeffrey Riester of the law firm Godfrey & Kahn has been elected chairman of the board of trustees at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisc. Riester is the son of Ethel Riester of Santa Rosa. Founded in 1847, Lawrence University is a liberal arts college with an associated conservatory of music. It has produced seven Rhodes Scholars.

Shepherd-Express-Metro, Milwaukee
February 14, 2002
Headline: Thwarted Love. Getting passionate about Romeo & Juliet
Byline: Richard Robert Jorge
Excerpt: I'm a sucker for this play. Every time. Absolutely." That's John Maclay speaking of Romeo & Juliet. "It's very accessible and it's about young people in love," he says, arguably the greatest love story of the past 400-plus years. There's no arguing with the man. As co-founder and co-producer with Christopher Abele of the Milwaukee Shakespeare Company, he speaks with as much passion for the playwright's work as the characters do for each other. "I think, as an artist, you always have to start with, 'What are you passionate about?' " In a word, Maclay is passionate about Shakespeare. Beginning next weekend, their company is bringing an abridged version of R&J to Vogel Hall. There will be only five performances for the general public, with an additional 13 matinees expressly for students. More than 8,000 students are already scheduled to attend. Maclay discovered his passion for works by the Bard of Avon at an early age. Born in Champaign, Ill., he had the good fortune of having a professor of theater at University of Illinois who also acted. He called her Mom. With a director/actress mother, Maclay's performing years began early, starting with the character of Billy Boy in The Petrified Man, an adaptation of a Eudora Welty story. "A no-neck monster" followed, Maclay remembers, referring to Maggie the Cat's description for her nieces and nephews in Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Maturing years limited him to roles as "just young town persons." Simultaneously, he developed his singing voice. And then it happened: A girl. A high school production of The Sound of Music. "We were Max and Elsa, and we were fabulous," he says with a self-deprecating smile. "We dated briefly," at ages 16 and 14 respectively, "not so far off from Romeo and Juliet," but "it was getting a little too serious," so unlike the famed lovers, they split. With the serious intention of becoming an opera singer (he has a tenor range), Maclay registered at Appleton's Lawrence College. The more serious his music studies became, the less serious he became about opera. "I decided the theater and the stage was where I really wanted to be. I'm thinking, 'Wow, that would be a great life.' " The beginning of that new life was marked when a young professor there, Timothy Troy (director of the current R&J), encouraged him to audition for his production of Shakespeare's Measure for Measure and continued in a typical zig-zag pattern to his current appearance as R&J's Mercutio. With his bachelor's degree in hand and now with a firm intent to pursue a theatrical career ("I've no regrets. I think it's a great life."), he pursued graduate work at University of Illinois.

Cleveland Plain-Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio
February 10, 2002
Headline: Is America's greatness real or imagined?
Byline: Tom Brazaitis
Excerpt: Anyone who wants to take the pulse of this nation would do well to tune in to C-SPAN, the TV cable public affairs net work, any morning between 7 and 10 a.m., to hear Amer ica talking. Only on C-SPAN would you hear a discussion like the one initiated recently by Brian Lamb, the network's founder, when he asked the viewing audience, "Is the United States the greatest nation on Earth?" In his relentlessly bipartisan way, Lamb showed a video clip of House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt declaring the United States "the greatest country that's ever existed," followed by one of President George W. Bush thanking people for "giving me the chance to be the president of the greatest nation on the face of the Earth." For good measure, Lamb read from a newspaper column by Al Neuharth, the founder of USA Today, unabashedly declaring the United States' standing as the world's greatest nation. Then Lamb asked the viewing audience, "What do you think? Is the United States the greatest nation on Earth?" The question intrigued me so much I put it out to history professors, public relations people and others over an Internet media service called ProfNet. Like Lamb, I got an assortment of responses. "I think that the United States is the greatest political and economic success story in world history," said Jerald Podair, an assistant professor of history at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. "No other nation has ever combined individual freedom, religious tolerance, democratic egalitarianism and broad-based prosperity as America has...."

[The article was distributed nationally as a commentary by Newhouse News Service, Washington, D.C., under the headline "Is This Country the Greatest?"]

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
February 8, 2002
Headline: Job action blocks honor society for students.
Teachers quit selection panel, abandoning program at Cedarburg High School
Byline: Dan Benson
Excerpt: Cedarburg High School students have been blocked from being selected for the National Honor Society as a result of teachers' decision to resign from the school's selection committee, Principal Jay Grieger said Thursday. The teachers resigned as part of a job action related to ongoing contract negotiations with the school district. Cedarburg teachers have been working without a contract since last summer. Without a selection committee, no students can become members of the society. NHS membership can lend prestige to a student's resume and is traditionally highlighted at graduation ceremonies and on college applications. Cedarburg teachers also have stopped writing letters of recommendation and limited their time at school, as have teachers in Grafton and Mequon who also are negotiating a new contract. Roger Chambers, executive director of the Wisconsin Association of School Councils in Madison, which oversees the NHS program in Wisconsin, said the action by Cedarburg teachers was a new one to him. "If they aren't able to find a committee to complete that process, it could have an adverse effect" on some students' ability to get into their first-choice college, he said. "It depends on the college." "It's looked at rather closely at some colleges, and some others it's not. It's a nice thing to have on your resume." Michael Thorp, director of admissions at Lawrence University in Appleton, said "membership in the National Honor Society in itself is not a big deal. Eighty percent of an admission decision is based on curriculum: What classes did the student take and what grades did he get." If the teachers' resignations prevent students from joining NHS, Thorp suggested they attach letters to their college applications explaining what happened. "No admission office will hold it against a student that a teacher dropped an activity," he said. Membership requirements in the National Honor Society, which was created in 1921, vary slightly from school to school but generally are based on grade-point average, community service, demonstration of leadership and overall character.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
February 5, 2002
Headline: Chamber group to perform in Beijing
Byline: Tom Strini
Excerpt: The Lawrence University Chamber Players will perform Feb. 24 in Beijing as part of the second season of the Imperial Garden Concert Series in the Forbidden City. The series is the only one of its kind in China. The 10 concerts involve artists from North America, Europe and Asia. The quartet will spend an additional two days in Beijing, teaching master classes at the Beijing Conservatory. Six Lawrence University conservatory students will accompany the musicians on this trip. They will not perform, but will observe and soak up Chinese culture. Their travel is being underwritten by a recent $1.5 million grant Lawrence received to strengthen perspectives on Asia by providing first-hand study opportunities in China and Japan for students and faculty. The quartet -- violinists Stephan Tran Ngoc and Anton Miller, cellist Janet Anthony and violist Matthew Michelic -- and guest artist and Lawrence colleague clarinetist Fan Lei will play music by Shostakovich, Weber, Ravel and Schubert in China.

More Lawrence music: Fred Sturm, who spent 14 years directing Lawrence's jazz studies program, is returning to his alma mater and the position he was instrumental in founding during his tenure from 1977 to 1991. Sturm, a trombonist and keyboard player, will return as director of jazz studies this fall. He succeeds Ken Schaphorst, who left Lawrence in August to become chair of the jazz department at the New England Conservatory. Sturm, 50, has served as director of the jazz ensemble and studio orchestra at the prestigious Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., between stints in Appleton. Sturm grew up in Wisconsin. He graduated from Oconomowoc High School and earned a bachelor of music degree at Lawrence in 1973. As part of a student-designed project in 1971, he conducted the first Lawrence University Jazz Ensemble, paving the way for the establishment of what would later become the Lawrence jazz studies department. In 1974, Sturm and pianist, composer and fellow Lawrence grad John Harmon co-founded the contemporary jazz nonet Matrix, which performed and recorded throughout the United States.

Taipei Times, Taipei, Taiwan
February 2, 2002
Headline: Newsmaker: AIT head has long history as supporter of the nation
Byline: Michael Fonte
Excerpt: When you enter American Institute in Taiwan Chairman Richard Bush's office, perched high above the Potomac River in Virginia, you are immediately struck by its sweeping view of Washington, laid out as neatly as a postcard before you. This is indeed a fitting setting for the head of the U.S.' unofficial "State Department for Taiwan." Born in Chicago on Nov. 21, 1947, Bush lived in the Philippines from 1950 to 1955 and in Hong Kong from 1960 to 1965, where his parents were missionaries. He received his undergraduate degree in political science from Lawrence University in 1969 and a doctorate in political science from Columbia University in 1978. During the tough martial law days of 1975, Bush spent 10 months collecting information on Taiwan for his doctoral dissertation. He followed the changing scene in Taiwan during his work from 1977 to 1983 on the staff of the Asia Society's China Council and became a dynamic part of the process when, from July 1983 to January 1993, he was Representative Stephen Solarz' chief aid covering Taiwan issues on the House Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs. During the mid-1980s, Solarz was one of the "Four Horsemen," along with Republican Representative Jim Leach, Democratic Senator Claiborne Pell and Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy, who led the congressional charge for democracy and human rights in Taiwan. From January 1993 to July 1995, Bush served as staff for the House International Relations Committee, working on Asia and Pacific issues. From July 1995 until his appointment as chairman of the board and managing director of AIT in September 1997, Bush was a member of the National Intelligence Council. All the while his focus on Taiwan's democratic progress never wavered. Having personally experienced and assisted in the dramatic changes that have taken place in Taiwan, Bush makes it a point to underscore the importance of Taiwan's move to democracy in his position as AIT chairman.

The Boston Globe, Boston
February 1, 2002
Headline: Jazz Notes; He mixes playing, teaching at NEC
Byline: Bob Blumenthal
Excerpt: Ken Schaphorst, the composer recently appointed chairman of jazz studies at the New England Conservatory of Music, has no qualms about balancing teaching and playing. Schaphorst's big band performs in Jordan Hall at 8 p.m. Monday, after old friends and side men John Medeski, Donny McCaslin, and Doug Yates conduct earlier master classes. Schaphorst found his writing voice while enrolled in NEC's graduate program in the late '80s. He was a cofounder of the Jazz Composers Alliance Orchestra and led a big band under his own name before moving to Appleton, Wis., in 1991 to direct the jazz program at Lawrence University. Appleton proved to be a surprisingly nurturing environment for Schaphorst the composer and educator. He brought famous friends such as Medeski and McCaslin into Appleton and found kindred spirits on the Lawrence faculty, including Bob Levy, who will be in the trumpet section at the Jordan Hall concert. Schaphorst also released three more albums, including the 1998 "Purple" (Naxos Jazz), which features many players from his old Boston band.

Chief Executive magazine, New York, New York
February 2002
Headline: Citizen Kraemer. How Baxter International's chief Harry Kraemer learned to stop worrying and love sustainability
Byline: Bill Birchard
Excerpt: An imprimatur from social investors and activists isn't something Kraemer has been seeking. But he's glad to have it. In his tenure as CEO since January 1999, he has vowed to make the world a better place at home, work and internationally. "Somebody has to do this," he says. "Why shouldn't it be the 45,000 people at Baxter?" Championing citizenship used to be an unusual activity for CEOs. To Kraemer, corporate citizenship is simply a sensible business strategy whose time has come. Kraemer, who graduated summa cum laude from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis., in mathematics and economics, loves the hard numbers of business. He received his Master's degree in finance and accounting from Northwestern's Kellogg School. But Kraemer has always had an eye on the big picture. After starting wih Baxter in 1982, he became in 1993 one of the few CFOs who saw value in environmental management. In 2001, Kraemer began the year with three big goals: to be the best team, the best partner and the best investment. But in February 2001, he attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, in the Swiss Alps. That year, the annual summit of business leaders drew record numbers of anti-globalization protesters--and unprecedented discussion about corporate responsibility. Kraemer was inspired. "If nobody provides the leadership, how's it going to happen? Kraemer asked himself afterward. "If we truly are going to be a leader, if we truly are going to set an example...then we should highlight this ['best citizen' role] as a fourth goal." Last November, Kraemer added "best citizen" to the company's three-part scorecard of performance measures, giving it the same emphasis as best team, best partner and best investment. On the scorecard, best citizen is defined by four objectives: Make Baxter a community leader. Stimulate active team member participation in communities. Increase global access to health care. And reduce waste and increase environmental productivity. The company's guiding concept for implementing citizenship is "sustainability"--defined as balancing the needs of all stakeholders while operating in a manner that sustains the business, local communities and the environment for future generations. Kraemer trumpets this message over and over. In August last year, more than 50 people died using Baxter dialyzers in Spain, Croatia, Taiwan and elsewhere. Baxter recalled the dialyzers immediately. Then, in November, Baxter announced it was closing the two plants that made the dialyzer models that caused the problem. Some people thought plant closure was overkill. After all, Baxter found the problem, a residue of unevaporated testing chemical. But Kraemer wouldn't hear of continuing production of the problem models. Though Kraemer emphasizes citizenship, he hasn't neglected the business. Baxter's market value has rocketed from $5 billion to $31 billion in the past five years. Kraemer's approach has not been to pay for citizenship with shareholder's money, but to integrate citizenship into all business practices to bring more money to the bottom line.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
January 30, 2002
Headline: Hammond just began NEA tenure
Byline: James Auer
Excerpt: Michael P. Hammond, the Wisconsin-born "Renaissance man" who was confirmed Dec. 20 as chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, died Tuesday in Washington, D.C. The cause of death was unknown. NEA spokesman Mark Weinberg told The Associated Press that Hammond was found Tuesday at a home in Washington where he had been staying. An Oxford University-trained Rhodes scholar whose interests encompassed many disciplines, from music to medicine, Hammond was dean of Rice University's Shepherd School of Music in Houston when he was tapped by President Bush to head the federal agency. A native of Kenosha, Hammond spent much of his boyhood in Appleton, where he attended Lawrence University, from which he graduated in 1954 with a bachelor of arts degree, cum laude, in philosophy. He received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Lawrence in 1975. "Mike Hammond was assuredly among Lawrence University's most distinguished and accomplished alumni," said Lawrence University President Richard Warch. "He was a Renaissance man of the first magnitude." As a youth, Hammond thought of becoming a doctor, but his interests broadened when he became intrigued with music. He studied philosophy, psychology and physiology at Oxford and Indian philosophy and music at Delhi University in India. Subsequently, he followed multiple career paths, teaching physiology and anatomy at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and serving, from 1966 to 1968, as executive director of the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. In 1968, Hammond left Wisconsin to become the founding dean of music at the State University of New York at Purchase. He later served as president of the school. He accepted the leadership of Rice's school of music in 1986. He did not give up his interest in medicine, however. He lectured annually at the Texas Medical Center on health care and the arts. In 1999, he gave the keynote address to the International Conference on the Neuroscience of Music in Japan. Hammond's association with symphonies and vocal companies around the world ran throughout his career. As a young man, he was an assistant to the legendary conductor Leopold Stokowski. Later, he served as founding rector of the Prague Mozart Academy in the Czech Republic, now the European Mozart Academy. Two years ago, he directed a production of Igor Stravinsky's opera, "The Rake's Progress." At the time of his death, the NEA's Weinberg said, Hammond was still charting a course for the National Endowment. Among his primary aims: getting children interested in the arts early in life and building a wider audience for the arts.

The Associated Press State & Local Wire
January 28, 2002
Headline: Piggy Bank teams wins 37th annual trivia contest
Excerpt: Dateline -- Appleton, Wis. Piggy Bank of Kaukauna defended its off-campus team title in the 37th annual Midwest Trivia Contest at Lawrence University. Piggy Bank narrowly won the 50-hour contest that ended late Sunday, defeating Lucky Guess Choking on a Pretzel at the Library 1,375 points to 1,345 to receive a ceramic figurine holding a lute. The Lord of the Iowans: Fellowship of the Corn finished third. In the on-campus division, a team called Yuais defeated defending champion Der Uberteam by just two points in one of the closest finishes in the contest's history, organizers said. The Ormsby/Colman/Brokaw halls team placed third. Fifty off-campus teams and five on-campus teams participated in the contest, which featured 393 questions broadcast on campus radio station WLFM from 10 p.m. Friday until midnight Sunday. The trivia questions were also available on the World Wide Web for the first time this year, drawing teams from other areas playing online. "We had somebody call Friday from Los Angeles," said trivia master Nick Siegel. Participants also included former Lawrence students and former Fox Valley residents.

[The AP story appeared in the Madison Capital on January 30 under the headline "Kaukauna team wins Midwest trivia title. Lawrence University hosted annual contest" and in the January 29 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel under the heading, "Piggy Bank team wins Midwest Trivia Contest."]

Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois
January 27, 2002
Headline: Baxter boss emerges as change architect
Byline: Bruce Japsen
Excerpt: The timing could not have been worse. As it vied for a $428 million smallpox vaccine contract from the Bush administration, Baxter International Inc. simultaneously faced allegations that its kidney dialysis filters were responsible for the deaths of more than 50 patients worldwide. Baxter Chief Executive Harry Jansen Kraemer Jr. could just imagine what was going through the minds of his customers--especially after seven countries opened investigations into the deaths. The 47-year-old executive moved fast, recalling filters and putting aside up to $150 million to close plants and compensate victims' families in November when it became clear that Deerfield-based Baxter's dialyzers were indeed to blame. Fears of losing the jumbo-size vaccine contract because of the dialyzer mess proved unfounded. Late last year, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson selected a joint bid from Baxter and a tiny British biotech firm above more established vaccine makers to increase the U.S. stockpile of smallpox vaccinations as a precaution against a bioterrorist attack. The long-shot victory in the face of adversity is giving new momentum to an executive determined to bring about big changes. Kraemer is aiming to transform a company better known for making rubber gloves and plastic bedpans into a leading player in the fast growing biotechnology industry, with interests ranging from blood-clotting drugs to vaccines for encephalitis. Kraemer, who spent 20 years at Baxter, most recently as chief financial officer, is hailed by investors and the board for bringing focus to a company that had disappointed Wall Street for much of the 1980s and early '90s. Now three years into the top job, Kraemer has not forgotten his roots, and associates describe his down-to-earth and approachable nature as one of his chief assets in transforming Baxter. He is a big fan of Dilbert, the dialy cartoon that pokes fun at the vagaries of management, and he opts for playing third base on a company softball team over the more typical executive pastime of golf.
Kraemer at a glance: Harry Kraemer has been CEO of Baxter International Inc. since January 1999. Two years ago, he was named chairman of Baxter's board of directors. Age: 47. Education: Bachelor's degree in mathematics and economics from Lawrence University in Wisconsin; also has a master's degree from Northwestern. Work history: Before joining Baxter in 1982, Kraemer worked for Bank of America and Northwest industries. At Baxter, he has held several positions, including senior vice president and chief financial officer.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
January 24, 2002
Headline: Quirky Q&A: Contest caters to callers
Byline: Vikki Ortiz
Excerpt: The hour is fast approaching when people from all parts of the country hurry to Appleton, settle into local basements and rec rooms and pound as much last-minute useless information as possible into their heads. At 10 p.m. Friday, they have to be ready, because that's when the 37th annual Midwest Trivia Contest at Lawrence University begins. The contest is a wacky competition in which nuns and nannies show off obscure baseball knowledge, and college students and senior citizens vie for prizes such as a 50-pound block of salt. "It certainly gets people back here," said Lola Dorsett, a 76-year-old grandmother who started baking oatmeal chocolate chip cookies Monday -- just one of several types of brain food she offers the 17 team members who crash at her home for trivia weekend. For 50 straight hours, an estimated 600 players tune in to Lawrence University's radio station, WLFM (91.1), for the contest. There's a new question every 10 minutes. Team members have 3 1/2 minutes to call in their answers to the WLFM studio, which awards teams five points for every correct answer. When the contest ends at 1 a.m. Monday, weary but satisfied team members from on and off campus parade to the radio station office to attend an awards ceremony for the highest-scoring teams. Lawrence University officials say the quirky competition brings back alumni from Seattle to San Francisco. Teams set up makeshift information headquarters filled with computers, file folders of facts and reference books. Many competitors stay up all night so as not to miss one of the nearly 400 questions. "It's zany, I guess," said Curtis Dye, a Lawrence University senior and Grandmaster Poobah of this year's contest. The contest began in 1966 when James B. DeRosset attempted to offer an alternative for students who didn't join Lawrence's traditional academic competitions. Since then, teams have picked off-the-wall or newsy names; after the 2000 election, "Electile Dysfunction" and "Re-Count Chocula" were among those competing. Questions are collected year-round by 12 grandmasters working for the college radio station. With the advent of the Internet, finding suitable questions has become a bit more difficult, but organizers still manage to find plenty of obscure trivia to challenge participants. The prizes are never the main motivation for the craziness, though. In the past, contest winners have been awarded mattresses, pink flamingos and 50-inch sausages. The real prize is continuing the tradition, Dye said. Dorsett began competing 20 years ago when one of her daughters was in high school. "It's sort of like when I try to watch 'Jeopardy!' and try and know the answers," Dorsett said. "It's sort of a rush."

Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles
January 24 2002
Headline: Town faces legacy of an infamous son. A museum exhibit reveals a community's quiet yet enduring sympathy for Joseph McCarthy
Byline: Joe Mathews
Excerpt: Appleton, Wis.--Although the early life of Joseph McCarthy was a politician's dream, he died in 1957 at age 48, felled by hepatitis and liquor and the certainty of history's harsh judgment. Brandishing a list of names, he seared himself into the national memory with his zealous investigations of communist penetration of the government. Those probes failed, and McCarthy lives on today as an epithet, a synonym for reckless attacks and dishonest smears. Here, in his hometown, even his name seemed forgotten, so rarely was it uttered. "People here hate controversy, so no one would bring him up," said Cliff Sanderfoot, a longtime member of the county board. Two years after his death, Outagamie County dedicated a 250-pound bronze bust of McCarthy, rendered at twice life size, in the lobby of its courthouse downtown. The bust was the first and last public monument to McCarthy. Six years ago, Lawrence University tried to put together a symposium on McCarthy but couldn't find a donor to sponsor it. The end of the Cold War sparked new scholarship regarding McCarthy. Declassified American intelligence cables and Soviet files made clear the degree to which communists had penetrated the U.S. government after World War II. Some scholars have argued that McCarthy might have been right about communist penetration, even if his specific charges were wrong and his tactics despicable. But this renewed interest in McCarthy drew little notice in his hometown. One by one, McCarthy's personal ties to Appleton eroded. Friends and contemporaries died. But this year, for the first time, the town is facing the legacy of its most infamous native son head-on. In the first comprehensive museum exhibit on his life anywhere, McCarthy, the last major American politician born in a log cabin, is being revived not just as a historical villain but as the star of a classic bootstraps-up tale. "Joseph McCarthy: A Modern Tragedy," which opened to the public Saturday at the Outagamie Museum in this town of 70,000, has attracted considerable attention. "It's really a coming-out party for McCarthy. Before this in Appleton, it was almost as if the guy never existed," said Jerald Podair, a historian at Lawrence University here. "In Appleton, it's one of the most relevant exhibits that's ever been put on. And you learn that if he had been just a regular senator, he'd be an American success story." In making that case, the exhibit is cautious. The overall presentation is so evenhanded it may upset those who see McCarthy as an irredeemably evil figure. A preview on Friday night attracted nearly 100 people, who sipped wine and snacked on hors d'oeuvres as they viewed the exhibit. The crowd included local politicians, historians and several people who, like County Supervisor Splitt, had met McCarthy. "It showed him in his complexity," said Podair, the Lawrence University scholar, approvingly. "And he obviously was a complex guy."

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
January 15, 2002
Headline: Wild Space sets 'Excursions' premiere
Excerpt: Milwaukee's Wild Space Dance Company will premiere "Excursions," by artistic director Debra Loewen, on Jan. 25 at Lawrence University, Appleton. Wild Space is dance company in residence at Lawrence, and the premiere is a close collaboration with the school. Timothy X. Troy, an assistant professor, wrote the libretto for the piece. Pianist Kathleen Murray, dean of the music conservatory, will play the Samuel Barber score chosen for the dance.

Chicago magazine, Chicago
January 2002
Headline: Chicagoans of the year 2001.
The new centurions: honoring eight remarkable men and women whose achievements have made our city a better place
Excerpt: Bruce Iglauer remembers vividly when he first got the blues. It was 1966 and he was a student at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. Born in Ann Arbor and raised in Cincinnati, he had musical tastes that tended toward performers like Judy Collins and the Chad Mitchell Trio. Then Iglauer caught a show by Mississippi Fred McDowell. "The blues slapped me across the face and said, Wake up!" recalls Iglauer. After college, Iglauer headed for Chicago, where he worked at Delmark Records and haunted the city's blues clubs. Then, in the spring of 1971, he recorded an album by the Chicago bluesman Hound Dog Taylor. Using a small inheritance, Iglauer put the album out under his own label--Alligator Records. In 30 years, Alligator has grown from a one-man operation to become the world's leading blues label. Album by album, Alligator slowly grew. In 1975, it signed Koko Taylor, who would earn the label its first Grammy nomination, and today it has nearly 200 titles in its library and 16 artists under contract.

Chicago Daily Herald, Chicago
December 27, 2001
Headline: Best & brightest
Excerpt: Peter Stevens, son of V. Arthur and Barbara Stevens of Libertyville, has been named a recipient of a $3,150 scholarship from the Atlanta-based UPS Foundation. Stevens, a junior at Lawrence University and 1999 Libertyville High School graduate, was selected as Lawrence's lone recipient of the scholarship on the basis of academic achievement, campus service and financial need. A two-year member of the dean's list, he serves on the Lawrence University Community Council, is active in the college's Outdoor Recreation Club and participates in a senior citizen companionship program. He is a former Libertyville Rotary Club honoree.

Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles
December 27, 2001
Headline: A changed America. Local governments pay the price for a nation's new vigilance. Terrorism fears force cities and counties into a costly role usually left to Washington
Byline: Joe Mathews
Excerpt: Appleton, Wis. -- The events of Sept. 11 have made Americans open to bigger government. President Bush, elected on a platform of reducing government, has declared that "government faces a new era" in which it "must do more." But Sept. 11 ultimately could leave most communities with less. This pressure falls most heavily not on Washington, D.C., but on America's 19,372 cities and 3,043 counties--even a place like Appleton, where residents pride themselves on living in a self-sufficient city, sheltered from change. People here still revere long-dead native sons (most notably Harry Houdini and Joseph R. McCarthy), root for the same football team that entertained their great grandparents (the Green Bay Packers) and work in paper mills, dairy farms and insurance companies that have survived for generations. A thousand miles from ground zero, Sept. 11 has shaken municipal government in ways small but fundamental. War, after all, has long been the job of the federal government. But local governments haven't had this much responsibility for the common defense since Indians roamed the frontier. Appleton averages one homicide every other year. Safety and peace breed growth, and this city has had a century and a half of it, interrupted only by war. In Appleton, as elsewhere, the peril of attack historically focused government resources on protection at the expense of development. It took years of war and failed treaties with Wisconsin's tribes before a village could begin to grow on the banks of the Fox River in the early 1850s. During the Civil War, tighter government control of the river stymied commerce; the area's central institution, Lawrence College, nearly went out of business. During World War II, local air raid systems and the emergency food and housing corps gobbled up local government dollars. Schools, bridges and a hospital were put on hold until money flowed again in the postwar years. "From where we sit, most of what the federal government is doing, when you get right down to it, falls under the heading of guidance and information," says Dr. John Toussaint, president of ThedaCare, which runs two local hospitals. "There's really no escaping the fact that in a situation like this, the new costs and burdens will fall to the local level." Localities can't expect direct help from states, either. Thirty-six states, including Wisconsin, face a combined shortfall of $40 billion, a figure that the National Governors Assn. predicts could reach $50 billion, or 10% of all state revenues, by early next year. That picture is far bleaker than during the 1990 recession. For the most part, northeast Wisconsin governments are trying to avoid draconian measures, though some think that's just postponing the inevitable.

Daily Herald, Arlington Heights, Illinois
December 24, 2001
Headline: How to beat a blue Christmas. Stress, separation from loved ones and Sept. 11 can make the holidays tough, but there are ways to cope
Byline: Lorilyn Rackl
Excerpt: The holidays are supposed to be a time of unadulterated joy and celebration. The reality is that many people find the holidays difficult -- even in the best of times. Throw in a faltering economy and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, and you have to wonder if our jangled nerves can handle jingle bells. After all, this is the time of year when many of us succumb to the "holiday blues," an umbrella term that can mean anything from feeling down-in-the-dumps and depressed to anxious and irritable. The blues can be brought on by stress, fatigue, unrealistic expectations, financial constraints, and separation from family and friends, among other things. Christmas and New Year's Eve also can be tough because they're a time for reflection. You might be mourning the loss of a loved one or coping with a recent divorce. You might be yearning for the past or doing just the opposite: dredging up unpleasant memories. And loneliness can feel especially intense at a time when we're supposed to be close and connected to others, particularly post- Sept. 11. "What the holidays do is highlight family and being connected to other people," said Gerald Metalsky, associate professor of psychology at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. "When the person is disconnected, doesn't have many family members, or has conflict with family, then it's very easy to feel alone. That feeling, combined with a country that's more connected than I've ever seen it, is going to contribute to a much worse situation for people experiencing holiday depression." You don't want to mistake the holiday blues for clinical depression, which is much more serious -- yet treatable. "If you have any concern, go see someone for an evaluation," Metalsky said. "If there isn't a problem, it's only a waste of an hour or so of one's time. It's much better to err on the side of safety."

New York Times, New York
December 22, 2001
Headline: A new chief steps in at a changed National Endowment for the Arts
Byline: Robin Pogrebin
Excerpt: The Senate confirmed a new chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts late Thursday and hardly anyone noticed. The confirmation of Michael Hammond, a composer and dean at Rice University in Houston, took place without the Senate holding a public hearing. This was a strong indication of how the endowment -- so recently red meat for Republican presidential administrations -- has been transformed from a lightning rod and punching bag into a benign institution, averse to controversy and with a significantly different mission than it had a decade ago. The transformation came with well-publicized budget cuts and heated confrontations in Congress in which the existence of the agency was called into question. But as so often happens, the overhaul was accomplished in far quieter ways, with the scalpel of Washington insiders executing a series of small-print rules changes. These have left Mr. Hammond, 69, in charge of an agency very much on the order of what its conservative critics had demanded. In a statement after his confirmation, Mr. Hammond, who has been dean of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice for the last 15 years, said: "I will advocate especially for policies and practices that enhance the experience of our young people, by giving them the insights and skills that lead to understanding and participation in the arts." Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, which handled the confirmation, said, "My sense is he's going to expose the arts to the widest possible group." A biography of Mr. Hammond, released by the endowment, says his special interests include the music of Southeast Asia, Western medieval and Renaissance music and the relationships between neuroscience and music. He has degrees from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis.; Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar; and Delhi University in India. From 1977 to 1980, he was president of the State University at Purchase, N.Y., where he began the Pepsico Summerfare festival. Mr. Hammond will find himself at the helm of an agency with little stomach for confrontation.

The Chronicle of Higher Education, Washington, D.C.
December 21, 2001
Headline: Journal analyzes the phenomenon of the 'Academostar' and the questions it raises
Byline: Scott McLemee
Excerpt: Next week, at the annual convention of the Modern Language Association, copies of the long-awaited "Academostars" issue of The Minnesota Review will at last be available. The theme issue on the phenomenon of celebrities in the humanities has been in the works longer than the journal's editor, Jeffrey J. Williams, would care to admit. The term refers to scholars who enjoy not only intellectual influence, but also material affluence: big salaries, light teaching loads, support for their research, and the loving attention of publishers. Anyone who picks up the Review for the vicarious thrill of reading about the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous may be in for a surprise. Most pieces are analytic, rather than descriptive. Contributors treat academostardom not as a perplexing new development within their profession but as a phenomenon that raises essential, defining questions about the university as an institution. The Review includes an article by Tim Spurgin, an associate professor of English at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis., who analyzes the coverage of "academic megastars" in the Sunday magazine of The New York Times. Mr. Spurgin also sketches a useful typology of the species, distinguishing "stars" (who are "known and highly esteemed by others in their subfields or specialties") from "superstars" (who tower above whole disciplines). "Superstars," in turn, pale before the awesome "megastars," known to a public far beyond the academy -- figures whose "faces and personal histories," writes Mr. Spurgin, "may be as well-known as their ideas." No academic has quite reached the Cher-like fame of being known by one name. However, conversational citation as "Cornel," "Eve," or "Skip" is one reliable index of megastardom. The effects of this system are not necessarily all bad, argues Mr. Williams. "It's certainly better than the old patrilineal system," he says, "whereby where you went to school and whose student you were determined everything." The notion of "stardom" has penetrated all levels of the institution: A famous professor in the Ivy League can be described as a star, but so might a brilliant graduate student, at least within his or her program. This has a democratizing effect, Mr. Williams contends: "It projects a vista of merit. The problem isn't the star system itself, so much as the winner-take-all economy." Another contributor to the special issue, Sharon O'Dair, doubts that the star system has any democratizing effect on the profession. An associate professor of English at the University of Alabama, Ms. O'Dair argues that the star system is one aspect of what she calls a " two-tier system of employment" resulting from "the expansion of higher education to the point of universality." With up to 70 percent of Americans attending college at some point in their lives, she writes, English departments find themselves required to produce "not just explanations of the subordinate clause but low-cost explanations of it." The result is a small, highly competitive, and richly rewarded number of extremely desirable positions coexisting with a broad market of untenured aspirants, their eyes on the prize, like the members of a bar band dreaming of the day they sign a contract with some major record label.

South Dakoka Public Radio
December 18, 2001
Show: South Dakota Forum
Host: Brian Bull
Excerpt: Joining us today is our guest Gerry Metalsky, an associate professor of psychology at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. Mr. Metalsky has studied Seasonal Affective Disorder and other depressive states.
Bull: Can you tell us a little bit about your current practice and how you have come to know a bit about SAD.
Metalsky: As far as my practice goes, I have a clinic, an anxiety, stress and depression center, in Appleton, Wis. We specialize in anxiety disorders and depressive disorders. In addition to that I teach at Lawrence University. I come at this in a three-pronged approach, through teaching in clinical psychology, as well as research on depression and anxiety disorders, and from treating folks who suffer from those kinds of problems. SAD symptoms, like an increase in appetite, a craving for carbs, and this sort of thing, are what we refer to as atypical symptoms of depression. In a typical episode of clinical depression there¹s a decrease in appetite and weight loss for people and insomnia, trouble falling asleep, or staying asleep, or waking up early and not being able to get back to sleep. One thing that¹s interesting about SAD is that instead of those more common symptoms of a major depressive episode, there are reverse symptoms, the atypical symptoms, such an increase in appetite or sleep.
Bull: South Dakota is a prime area for the disorder due to the existence of major seasonal change. Do geography and climate play a role in how much people are affected by it?
Metalsky: Geography plays a really critical role. If you look at some of the latitude and longitude data points, Fairbanks, Alaska, for example, is 65 degrees north on latitude; in the Appleton and Green Bay area I¹m at about 45 degrees north latitude. What happens is that as you get higher and higher in latitude, closer and closer to the north pole, you have periods where you have very little in the way of daylight, and it is during those periods that people are most susceptible to developing seasonal affective disorder. As far as climate, the research that I¹ve been looking at suggests that climate doesn¹t seem to have nearly as much of an impact as geography. Climate certainly has an impact on the day-to-day moods that we all experience--on average, people are going to be a bit more chipper if you get a spring day, especially this time of year--but when we¹re talking about critical disorders like SAD, climate has less of an impact of climate than the amount of daytime hours.
Bull: What are the treatments that are available?
Metalsky: There¹s quite a bit of research suggesting that photo therapy, using artificial light, is very effective in treating seasonal affective disorder. The research seems to suggest that certain levels of light intensity work better than others in terms of success rates in alleviating the depression and reducing recurrence of future episodes. The dawn simulation seems to be successful in suppressing the secretion of melotonin, which has been implicated in SAD, and seems to be working with greater success high intensity bright light, especially in terms of reducing relapse rate after finishing treatment. One of the big problems in the research literature, is that studies directly comparing treatment with medication and treatment with light have not yet been done.

The Grand Rapids Press, Grand Rapids, Michigan
December 6, 2001
Headline: Front-line workers start to pay price of eternal vigilance. Experts say a constant high alert holds peril
Byline: Nancy Benac
Excerpt: Nearly three months into the nation's fight against terrorism, the long workdays and calls for extra vigilance just keep coming for many public safety and government workers. Throughout the government, the demands are being felt, from overworked border patrol agents to FBI investigators and CIA analysts urgently hunting the critical clue that might avert the next terror attack. Capitol police officers who have worked 12-hour days and six-day weeks for months are finally getting reinforcement from National Guard troops: 12-hour shifts will continue, but at least some two-day weekends should become available. When the government this week issued its third nationwide alert in as many months for possible terror attacks, it was the latest sign that high anxiety is becoming something of the status quo for many workers. Many people who work in demanding jobs like the CIA or FBI or local police forces are thrill-seeking personality types who can cope best with high pressure. "We certainly seek people here who thrive on an intense working atmosphere to start with and rise to the occasion when the mission calls for it," CIA spokesman Bill Harlow said. "So a situation like this doesn't take much to motivate people to put in extra effort because the stakes are very clear." People with the right temperament can "really sustain for a very long period of time -- sort of like camels," said Gerald Metalsky, associate professor of psychology at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis.

[The Associated Press story also appeared in the Washington Post, Hartford Courant (Connecticut), online Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Fox Newswire, Fargo Forum (North Dakota), Palm Beach Post (Florida), State Journal (Frankfort, Kentucky), Yahoo News, August Daily Gazette (Kansas), Excite Canada, Excite.com (California), Midland Daily News and Midland Reporter-Telegram (Michigan), Elizabethton Star (Tennesee), Wapakoneta Daily News (Ohio), Daily Herald (Delphos, Ohio), Troy Daily News (Ohio), Carthage Press (Missouri), San Marcos Daily Record (Texas), Herald-Republican (Angola, Indiana), Daily Leader (Brookhaven, Mississippi), Parsons Sun (Kansas), Iola Register (Kansas), Hope Star (Arkansas), Noticias Del Mundo (New York, New York), Tribune (San Luis Obispo, Calif.), Sunday Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg, Virginia), and KJRH-TV website (Tulsa Oklahoma).]

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Little Rock, Arkansas
December 7, 2001
Headline: Patriotism aflame once more 60 years apart, attacks inspired zealous love of country
Byline: Bill Reiter
Excerpt: Sixty years ago today, Pearl Harbor became a rallying cry for America. A love of country already ingrained in the national psyche reached a fevered pitch. America's debate over joining the second world war had ended. Over the crest of history that connects that day to this one, the place and degree of patriotism in American life has shifted and splintered. But on Sept. 11, an enemy again attacked in secret, on American soil, and the nation rallied. This time, historians, veterans and civilians say, the ghost of Pearl Harbor had come thundering home. Patriotism "eroded in the Vietnam War with the protest and the anger and the upheaval of the 1960s," according to Allan Winkler, professor of history and American studies at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Many Americans who went to Vietnam considered themselves patriots. Memories of dead friends, lost years and horrific violence were the price they paid to serve their country. Those who stayed behind considered themselves patriots, too. Their price: protests, tear gas and arrests. "Vietnam brought in a new kind of patriotism, a questioning patriotism," in the view of Jerald Podair, assistant professor of history at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. Feelings regarding Vietnam grafted a new sense of nation on America. Anger swelled in those who opposed the war, and anger swelled in those who felt that opposition was a betrayal. Patriotism was bridged from one American to another when the towers fell and the Pentagon burned. College students watching television in the Midwest cried. Even some teen-agers talked boldly of volunteering to go abroad and fight the enemy. Adults long divided by Vietnam came together and said, yes, we must respond. The American psyche is at its most patriotic level since Pearl Harbor, several historians and psychologists say. America has been galvanized before -- to a state of patriotic zest and a sense of urgency and righteousness. But those emotions can fade, heartfelt feelings that burn themselves out and go cold: The Korean War. The Persian Gulf War. The Fourth of July. "This is a generation of Americans cloaked in materialism and prosperity," Lawrence University's Podair says. "This is an America that's never experienced defeat or privation or frustration. I wonder whether American patriotism is going to hold up in the American flag-waving, sign-wielding emotional sense we have today." Historians ponder the comparison to Pearl Harbor. "In 1941 you were supposed to declare war the old-fashioned way," Podair says. "It was seen as low and dastardly a deed you could do. In FDR's speech, his voice was shaking with rage. That is the kind of attack that 9/11 was."

The Associated Press State & Local Wire
December 6, 2001
Section: State and Regional
Headline: University gets $2.5 million gift
Excerpt: A Lawrence University graduate who worked for the CIA left her school more than $2.5 million when she died. The bequest is the largest single gift from one person the school's scholarship fund has received, the university said. "We've received a few other surprises of this sort, but nothing of this significant magnitude," Lawrence President Richard Warch said. The gift will establish a scholarship fund in the name of the donor, Marjorie M. Freund. Freund, a 1935 Lawrence graduate, lived most of her life in Washington, D.C., where she worked as a reference librarian for the CIA. She died in Dec. 30, 2000, at the age of 87. She never married and had no children. The fund will generate about $125,000 in scholarships annually for students at Lawrence, a private, liberal arts college in Appleton that enrolls 1,300 undergraduates.

The Chronicle of Higher Education, Washington, D.C.
December 3, 2001
Headline: Humanities Endowment awards more than $21-Million in grants
Byline: Tim Swartzendruber
Excerpt: The National Endowment for the Humanities announced Friday more than $21-million in grants that will support the research of over 170 scholars and provide funds for humanities programs at colleges, research centers, museums, and other nonprofit institutions. Nearly $14-million was awarded in 26 challenge grants to colleges and other nonprofit institutions. The grants must be matched by three or four to one by the institutions themselves or other nonfederal sources of money. Following are the recipients of the challenge grants, "Extending the Reach" grants, and research fellowships. Wisconsin challenge grants: Lawrence University, $500,000 NEH grant, $2-million nonfederal. University of Wisconsin at Madison, $378,900 NEH grant, $1.136-million nonfederal.

Florida Times Union, Jacksonville, Florida
December 1, 2001
Headline: Ex-Marine still one of few. Amelia Island: Man has call to serve
Byline: Beverly Miller
Excerpt: "Semper Fi" is seared into Calvin Atwood's soul. So, when terrorists attacked Sept. 11, the 77-year-old retired Marine rushed down to the Blount Island Marine Corps installation and offered his services. Just like the Marine slogan, which means "always faithful," the Fernandina Beach resident said he could fill in at the office so that an active-duty Marine could go to war. The Marines couldn't take him up on it, but they did appreciate the offer. When the Blount Island contingent celebrated the corps' 226th Birthday Ball on Nov. 9, they made Atwood their guest of honor. Atwood joined the Marines at an early age. World War II was under way when he dropped out of high school at age 17, enlisted in the Marine Corps for a four-year hitch, and served with the 5th Marine Division as a parachutist and machine-gunner. He saw his first action in the first wave of the battle for Iwo Jima. Severely wounded in that battle, Atwood was evacuated to Guam. He later went on to Hawaii and San Francisco for medical treatment. When he was discharged in 1946, Atwood came away with a Purple Heart and a Presidential Unit Citation. He returned home to Vermont to finish his high school education and graduated in 1948 as his school's "outstanding student." He later went on to a long career in academics, followed by the formation of an executive search firm. After attending Lawrence University in Wisconsin, again graduating as "outstanding student," he went to graduate school at Columbia University on a university presidential scholarship. Atwood later served as headmaster for Pembroke Country Day School in Kansas City, Mo. During his 34-year academic career, he also served as dean of an American school in Istanbul, Turkey; assistant dean and director of the MBA program at the University of North Carolina Business School; and assistant dean and administrator of executive education programs at Emory University in Atlanta.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
December 1, 2001
Headline: Almanac
Byline: Compiled by Alice Demetrius Stock
Excerpt: Today is Saturday, Dec. 1, 2001. One year ago (Friday, Dec. 1, 2000): The nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on a narrow question of Florida election law while the Florida Supreme Court and a circuit judge denied Al Gore's petitions for immediate recounts in the disputed presidential vote. Vicente Fox was sworn in as president of Mexico, ending 71 years of PRI party domination. Fifty years ago (Saturday, Dec. 1, 1951): In Phoenix, Winnie Ruth Judd, who was convicted in 1932 of murdering two women roommates and shipping their dismembered bodies to Los Angeles in a trunk, was back in her room at the Arizona Hospital for the Insane. The "tiger woman" was recaptured without a struggle as she walked just 16 blocks from the Phoenix asylum from which she had escaped 24 hours earlier by cutting through a screen. One hundred years ago (Sunday, Dec. 1, 1901): In Appleton, Wis., a mysterious illness had hit 10 young ladies who were attending Lawrence University. They were first thought to have the measles, but after a careful diagnosis, it was said the disease looked more like bubonic plague. All had recently handled Oriental rugs from Turkey.

Vim & Vigor magazine, Tupelo, Mississippi
Winter 2001
Headline: Body art: Rage or regret?
Sure, tattoos and piercings are trendy but few things in life are as permanent. Consider the facts before you go under the needle.
Byline: Stephanie West Kohnen
Excerpt: Judith Holland Sarnecki, Ph.D., has one. The associate professor at Lawrence University in Wisconsin has a tattoo across her back--a snake twisted into the shape of an eternity knot. But the tattoo is not a remnant of a rebellious youth. Sarnecki got it last year at age 56. Sarnecki, who teaches French and gender studies, began to research tattoos in 1997 as an academic exercise: Many of her students had tattoos and piercings and she wanted to find out why. After conducting interviews in Wisconsin, Washington and California, Sarnecki discovered that the reasons for getting a tattoo are as varied as the individuals. "[Tattoos] can celebrate an event, commemorate an event, revisit a traumatic experience, or make a declaration of personal empowerment," Sarnecki says. "People use it to heal or use it to rebel." Formerly the domain of bikers and sailors, tattoos have gained popularity among the general population. In particular, a growing number of women are getting tattoos.

[Vim & Vigor is a quarterly consumer health magazine that is distributed by 40 different hospitals nationwide and has a circulation of 1.2 million readers.]

The Associated Press State & Local Wire
November 30, 2001
Section: State and Regional
Headline: Former DNR secretary named Lawrence University visiting professor
Excerpt: George Meyer, former secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, was named a visiting professor at Lawrence University. Meyer led the DNR from 1993 until last February, when Gov. Scott McCallum appointed Darrell Bazzell. Meyer, who joined the DNR in 1972, has remained with the agency as a special assistant to Bazzell. Lawrence named Meyer environmental studies visiting professor for the next school year. Lawrence is a private, liberal arts college in Appleton that enrolls 1,300 undergraduates.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
November 30, 2001
Headline: Alligator Records singing blues for 30 years
Byline: James Reindl
Excerpt: Alligator Records owner Bruce Iglauer looks out on a grocery store across from his converted brick two-flat on the north side of Chicago. From here, Iglauer, 54, has made a living and a life doing what pleases him -- recording, producing and selling the blues. The label he started with a small inheritance in 1971 celebrated its 30th anniversary this year with a double CD sampling of studio and live recordings from three decades. Alligator Records started when rock 'n' roll was king in the United States, its blues roots having been overshadowed by rock's new beat and glamorous lifestyle. There were no exclusive blues labels then, said Howard Stovall, executive director of The Blues Foundation in Memphis. "Nobody made blues the centerpiece," Stovall said. "Bruce came into it with blues as the centerpiece, not as some peripheral to some core curriculum." It was Iglauer's desire to produce a record that led to Alligator's birth. The blues first took hold of the Cincinnati native while he was a student at Lawrence University in Wisconsin. When Iglauer moved to Chicago in 1970, he took a $30-a-week job with Delmark Records and continued his pastime of hanging out in South and West Side blues clubs. The raw sounds of slide guitar player Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers captured Iglauer's ear at Florence's Lounge. Delmark founder Bob Koester declined to record Taylor so Iglauer, then 23, decided to do it himself. A record label was born, the name coming from the way Iglauer clicks rhythm patterns with his teeth when he likes a song. Alligator certainly isn't the only blues label with longevity. Blind Pig Records celebrated its 25th anniversary this year. Alligator was first, however, and first to push blues back into the nation's rock 'n' roll consciousness. Artists such as Johnny Winter, Buddy Guy, Luther Allison, Koko Taylor and Lonnie Brooks help define the Alligator sound and give it its crossover appeal. The label has received 32 Grammy nominations and won twice. Alligator artists have won 64 Handy awards. Koko Taylor has won 21, more than any other blues artist.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
November 30, 2001
Headline: Former DNR chief to teach at Lawrence
Excerpt: Former Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Secretary George Meyer has been named a visiting professor at Lawrence University for the 2002-2003 academic year, the school announced Thursday. During his appointment as Stephen Edward Scarff Memorial Visiting Professor of Environmental Studies, which begins next September and runs through June 2003, Meyer will teach courses on law and the environment and a course on Wisconsin environmental issues. Meyer, who joined the DNR in 1972, served as the agency secretary from 1993 until February.

The Chronicle of Higher Education, Washington, D.C.
November 16, 2001
The Chronicle Review
Headline: Harry Potter, Stoic boy wonder
Byline: Edmund Kern
Edmund Kern is an associate professor of history at Lawrence University
Excerpt: Controversy over Harry Potter -- not only a literary phenomenon but a cultural one -- is sureto increase in the coming months. A movie is out this week, and the fifth volume in the series should appear next summer. Potter-related toys, games, and other merchandise have been in the stores for a while. Critics of the expanding Potter empire claim to have the best interests of children at heart. They believe that J.K. Rowling, the author of the Potter books, is promoting dangerous ideas that could lead young minds astray or (at best) writing clever books that contribute to a rampant culture of consumerism. But the attacks on the morality of the Potter series are misplaced. Focusing on the books themselves shows that Rowling develops an essentially Stoic moral philosophy through the ethical dilemmas in which she places Harry and his friends -- dilemmas requiring them to think in complex ways about right and wrong. Her version of Stoicism is admittedly an updated one, but nonetheless one whose chief virtue is old-fashioned constancy. Harry's resolution in the face of adversity is the result of conscious choice and attention to what is and is not within his control. Harry worries about who he is, but realizes that what he does matters most. And, I believe, so do the children reading the books. The frankness in the Potter books liberates children. Rather than smothering young readers, it presents an appealing ethic that they can both relate to and think through. Harry and his friends are not above giving into temptation, breaking the rules, or even acting contrary to explicit instruction. Yet their chief motives are empathy, compassion, and tolerance, virtues mostly absent, in contrast, from William J. Bennett's preachy The Children's Book of Virtues. Despite occasional misbehavior, the characters remain steadfast in an ongoing battle between good and evil. Harry Potter's morality is not unlike that on display in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, or most recently Philip Pullman, where Stoic constancy is valued. In fact, forms of Stoicism seem to be central to much modern children's literature. Perhaps that is not surprising. Our era has witnessed both extreme mass violence and the wearing away of objective epistemologies. An updated Stoicism provides guidance, without advancing a new orthodoxy, in the midst of so much uncertainty -- as Harry Potter's fans seem to recognize.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
November 16, 2001
Headline: Pusey led Lawrence, then headed Harvard
Byline: Amy Rabideau Silvers
Excerpt: Nathan Marsh Pusey was president of Lawrence University in Appleton when he became the first person from outside New England to be named president of Harvard University. That brought reporters from Time and Life running to Appleton to meet the young-looking new president of the country's oldest and richest university, but it was not the first or last time Pusey made headlines. He was a lightning rod for attacks by U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy, an Appleton native, and went on to lead Harvard through tremendous growth and liberalization only to be swept away in a storm over Vietnam-era protests. Pusey died Wednesday in Manhattan. He was 94. A classical scholar and Iowa-born Harvard graduate, he believed devoutly in the civilizing mission of a liberal arts education and the ideal of the independent university. Pusey took a strong stand against McCarthy's anti-communist crusade, defending academic freedom. McCarthy repeatedly charged that Pusey should be "exposed" as part of the educational system that harbored communists. "Harvard's loss is Wisconsin's gain," McCarthy said on hearing Pusey was moving to Harvard in 1953 after nine years at Lawrence. Nearly 50 years after leaving Lawrence, colleagues still recall his years there. "His influence was very, very strong, including introducing what we call Freshman Studies," said John McMahon, professor emeritus of German at Lawrence. Freshman Studies, a broad-based liberal arts program, is still taught at Lawrence. "The emphasis is on reading, understanding and discussion," McMahon said. Pusey remains "one of Lawrence's outstanding presidents in the 20th century," said Charles Breunig, a former history professor. "His concern for the individual student, for the life of the mind and for high standards helped make Lawrence what it is today," Breunig said. "And he was integrity personified."

Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois
November 14, 2001
Headline: Man, it's hard to get ahead. Ambitious women must have it all: 'Masculine' toughness and 'feminine' warmth
Byline: Cheryl SooHoo
Excerpt: To really succeed at work, must a woman be more like a man? Is "masculinity" the silver bullet for workplace success? It's not so simple. It turns out that in addition to excelling at the job, women must often exhibit a higher level of warmth and kindness than men: an expectation that comes from both sexes. When competent women, particularly those vying for high-status jobs,fail to demonstrate these stereotypic female traits, they may face a backlash effect that men do not, according to Peter Glick, a professor of psychology at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. Glick conducted a study, along with Laurie Rudman of Rutgers University, that exposed a potential double standard in hiring practices due to gender stereotypes. The research revealed that in a simulated situation a female job applicant displaying masculine traits appeared deficient in social skills when compared to an identically presented man. The rub came when the job also required feminine traits; the female applicant was then deemed even less suitable for employment. "The study uncovered an unexpected Catch-22. The feminization of management, in which interpersonal sensitivity and social skills are increasingly valued, may not be a boon to working women," said Glick. "The trick for women is to demonstrate competence while also coming off as sufficiently warm."

Wisconsin State Journal, Madison
November 14, 2001
Headline: Woman gives $2.5 million
Excerpt: A woman who died in August made a $2.5 million bequest to area nonprofit organizations. The gift from Joan Leech, who died Aug. 5 at age 76, is the third largest for the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region Inc. The gift includes $250,000 for the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center. Leech, the widow of Fred O. Leech, the first president of Neenah Paper Co., didn't want anyone to know about the gift while she was alive, said Bob Di Renzo, a friend and attorney. The Bergstrom-Mahler Museum, Lawrence University, Neenah-Menasha YMCA, Valley VNA Health System Inc. Foundation and the Wisconsin Chapter of the Nature Conservancy in Madison are among the groups that will benefit from the Leech Charitable Fund.

[The Associated Press-generated wire report was published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on November 21, 2001, with the headline "Woman leaves local charity $2.5 million"]

Christian Science Monitor, Boston, Massachusetts
November 14, 2001
Headline: This fall, wizards and hobbits rule the silver screen
Byline: Kim Campbell
Excerpt: America is off to see the wizard. And the hobbit. And the cyclops. After years of being labeled kiddie fare or languishing at the bottom of the rental bin, fantasy is now the movie genre du jour, and its timing couldn't be better. What started this summer with the successful ogre tale "Shrek" is continuing into the fall with a crop of highly anticipated movies that are proving a welcome distraction for many Americans. Helping them to escape are features like "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," opening on Friday, "The Fellowship of the Ring," arriving next month, and the current hit "Monsters, Inc." Unlike the real world, where uncertainty currently prevails, these stories offer everyman heroes taking on well-defined enemies, which is just what many people want right now. Good and evil are often at the heart of fantasy books and movies - where both the audience and authors can use an imagined place to grapple with life's big issues. The science fiction/fantasy section in bookstores is one of the two largest, along with mysteries, but fantasy movies have been hit-or-miss over the years, thanks in part to less-than-magical special effects. Ms. Rowling's books are heirs to the fantasy tradition, which grew into its own in the 20th century, thanks to pioneers like Tolkien. Scholars note that Tolkien, along with C.S. Lewis and writers such as T.H. White and Kurt Vonnegut, used fantasy to grapple with the trauma they experienced during the World Wars. By the time Tolkien was in his mid-20s, he had been wounded in World War I and had lost many of his close friends. "That led to a kind of questioning and doubt, which Tolkien sought to assuage through the vehicle of fantasy, particularly in order to contemplate the nature of good and evil in the world," notes Edmund Kern, a historian at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. Like the others, Tolkien wrote about that struggle allegorically, as when he laid out corrupting power of the ring in "The Lord of the Rings." That work was recently voted Book of the Century by British readers. Interest in the movie version is also running high: More than 3 million people downloaded the movie trailer on the Internet earlier this fall, temporarily crashing the movie studio's website.

Boston Herald, Boston, Massachusetts
November 4, 2001
Headline: War on terrorism. America is winning the war on fear, experts say
Byline: Tom Mashberg
Excerpt: Nearly two months since that grotesque dawn of infamy, a rich vein of vintage American self-confidence can be found just beneath the jittery surface of warnings and "high alerts" and urgent calls to arms. Polls show it, as do other social indicators. For example, a poll last week by the Pew Research Center found that 83 percent of Americans feel the war on terror is going well abroad, while 69 percent say they approve of the national homeland security measures taken to date. Another poll, by CBS-News and The New York Times, found that 71 percent of Americans "are not very concerned" about the prospect of biological or chemical terrorism attacks, despite the drumbeat of news about anthrax spores cropping up in the U.S. mail. "It may seem odd that Americans' confidence in government would rise sharply after a massive failure of government to do its job," said David Boaz, executive vice president of the Cato Institute in Washington, referring to the Sept. 11 airplane attacks, which exposed fatal fissures in the nation's domestic security. "It's a sort of prospective vote of confidence, not in what the government has done, but in what we hope it will do," he said. "If elected officials want confidence in government to stay at these high levels, they must show results in the fight against terror." Results are the tricky part, of course. Bush and his team have said clearly from the start that many U.S. "victories" against international terror might never be known to the public at large, and that progress in the visible war will often seem slow and fitful. And there is abashed consensus among public officials that the federal response to the anthrax maelstrom of the past month was marked early on by murkiness rather than straight information. Finally, amorphous warnings of coast-to-coast threats to American infrastructure have tended to sow near-panic at a time when the public yearned for substance rather than piecemeal befoggery. "Uncertainty concerning future terrorism breeds `anticipatory anxiety,'" warns Butterworth. "During uncertainty, it's what we don't know and fantasize about that can be more psychologically damaging than the reality that unfolds." Added Gerald Metalsky, associate professor of psychology at Lawrence University in Wisconsin: "There is a lot of fear out there. People are just waiting for the other shoe to fall. The good part is that people will be much more vigilant about keeping an eye on things that don't look right, and will slowly grow accustomed to this different way of living." Experts say it is certain that American life will be changed forever by the advent of mass terror on our shores, and by the inevitable generation of shadow enemies as the war effort proceeds abroad. But as with the British under the Nazi blitz, or the Irish amid the Ulster troubles, or the Beirutis in time of civil war or the Israelis amid Arab enemies, Americans will find fear a tiresome emotion, one unworthy of them as a people. They will replace it, experts say, with energetic cultural force.

Viewpoints, Chicago, Illinois
[Viewpoints is a nationally syndicated 30-minute radio program
produced by Media Tracks Communications and aired by 140 stations]
October 27, 2001
Lead: Our strangest holiday, Halloween. We¹ll find out about the folklore, traditions, and pop culture surrounding it.
Host: Chris Michael
Excerpt: Halloween is coming up in a few days, and already kids and adults are preparing costumes to wear at parties, parades, and neighborhoods where the trick-or-treat tradition is alive and well. It¹s a strange holiday, in that we try our best to scare each other to death, all in the name of fun and good cheer. Where did this unusual festival come from and how did we get from there to today¹s celebration? To find out, we asked Edmund Kern, associate professor of history at Lawrence University in Appleton Wis.
Kern: The Celtic festival of Samhuinn was the first day of winter and the first day of the New Year. It was believed that the boundaries between the spiritual and the human were particularly vulnerable at this time of the year, so that the ghosts of the dead, the spirits of the dead, could visit the living during these time periods. It was clearly a period of some fear, but it was also seen as a period of opportunity. It was a fire festival, a festival in which bonfires would be used in order to placate the supernatural powers. In addition, sacrifices might have been made to supernatural beings at this time in order to keep their malevolent powers at bay. As a period of opportunity, it was a time when the living could call upon the dead and make use of their superior knowledge and superior power.
Michael: The festival of Samhuinn can be traced back to the second or third centuries, and although the exact nature of the rituals isn¹t known, Kern says they probably included attempts to divine the future in some way. In the seventh and eight centuries, Christianity came to Ireland and the holiday took on a different meaning.
Kern: The term ³Halloween² itself is an abbreviated form of ³All Hallows Eve,² which is a reference to the Christian holiday of the vigil of All Saints. All Saints Day in the Christian calendar is the 1st of November, so the day before, the 31st of October, is All Hallows Eve or Halloween. There¹s no doubt that the feast of All Saints, in some respects, or at least the vigil of All Saints, was an attempt to overlay a Christian veneer upon these essentially pagan beliefs and practices. In other words, the Church or Church authorities tried to create a kind of diversion as a way of slowly bringing recently converted peoples around to more orthodox Christian practices.
Michael: Other cultural overlays appeared through the centuries which led to such practices as trick-or-treat, which we begin to hear about in England in the 18th century.
Kern: There were various groups that engaged in mumming. Many were probably groups of wandering actors who would perform for a price. They would dress up in costumes and rove around, and they would petition the populace for what were called ³sweet soul cakes,² a kind of bread or sweet which would be given to them in return for the performance that they were putting on.
Michael: Halloween with all its black cats, goblins, and other spooky characters, came to North America with the arrival of Irish immigrants in the 1840¹s.
Kern: For at least fifty to seventy years thereafter, Halloween remained a holiday that was practiced only within immigrant communities, particularly Irish communities. But then some time around 1900-1920, it began to spread to the populace at large, and it really didn¹t catch on as a nationwide secular holiday until the 1930¹s. One of the reasons for that is the advent of radio and other forms of mass communication, so that it spread throughout American culture.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
October 26, 2001
Headline: Walesa seeks global body. Borders, conflicts would fall away with unified government
Byline: Tom Held
Excerpt: Lech Walesa, who climbed to international fame atop a bulldozer and a campaign against communism, is rallying for a new cause: expanded globalization that will bring a unified world government. The former president of Poland shared his vision for the coming world with students, faculty and guests at Lawrence University. His remarks in Appleton showed Walesa, 58, has returned to his days as an idealist, pursuing the broad theme of expanded globalization as he did the expansion of workers' rights under communist rule. Once in power, as the first democratically elected president of Poland, he failed to succeed in the practical challenge of running the country and was voted out of office in 1995, amid economic struggles and scandals. His message to the audience in the Stansbury Theatre, though, was filled with the optimism and idealism he displayed throughout the rise of the Solidarity movement. At this moment, he sees the world at the cusp of a great change that would eliminate borders, regional conflicts, racism and terrorism. Those achievements can be realized through a dramatic overhaul of the United Nations from a body designed to prevent confrontation between superpowers into a body that functions as a world government, Walesa said.

The Associated Press State & Local Wire
October 26, 2001
Section: State and Regional
Headline: Walesa receives honorary degree from Lawrence
Excerpt: Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former Polish president Lech Walesa, who campaigned against communism, has a new cause. Walesa, 58, shared his vision for expanding globalization to bring a unified world government with students, faculty and others at Lawrence University Thursday. Walesa said he supports the United States' retaliation in Afghanistan against those suspected of carrying out the terrorists attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. He praised U.S. leaders for the measured response taken against suspected terrorists. "I know the power of the United States," Walesa said through an interpreter. "The United States is capable of burning all of Afghanistan down, leaving not even a fly flying around."

Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago
October 25, 2001
Headline: Depressive minds are in good company
Byline: Paige Smoron
Excerpt: In the first days after the terrorist attack, seven in 10 Americans said they felt depressed, nearly half reported having trouble concentrating and a third said they had had trouble sleeping. Now, after about a month and a half, most of these people should be feeling better. Experts say that anyone still experiencing symptoms of depression should contact a doctor at this point. But not me. I like it down here. And I'm in excellent company. Among the talented, if not brilliant, minds who have experienced bouts of depression include Winston Churchill, Truman Capote, Norman Rockwell, Sylvia Plath, Gen. George Patton, and Ed Wood. Besides, I think I'm onto something. Life isn't all it's cracked up to be. For one thing, it ends. Gerald Metalsky an associate professor of psychology at Lawrence University who specializes in depression, is on my side. "We live in what is a feel-good generation," he says. "People who are part of that movement are going to rush to try to feel better. And this is not a healthy thing." He talked with me about post-traumatic stress disorder. And then he told me about a theory called "depressive realism." "To paraphrase, people come to see the true nature of their character as being petty, egoistic, fragile and a lot of other negative things," Metalsky says. "They come very near to knowing their true selves." That's it. That's what I've got. While everyone else is desperately scrambling for their rose-colored glasses, I'm going to take a cold, hard look at the world as it really is.

Chicago Tribune, Chicago
October 23, 2001
Headline: Monster myths
Byline: Devin Rose
Excerpt: From Dracula to the werewolf, we love nasty, creepy creatures of the night. Do you know how these bad boys (or whatever) got their start? We've patched together a mishmash of monster history--and, no, there won't be a test afterward! Vampires are bloodsucking beasts who belong to an especially gruesome group of creatives called revenants, or the returning dead. According to folklore, these creatures usually led an unhappy life or died badly, so they can't find peace in death. Instead, they come back and travel the Earth rather grumpily. But the original vampires looked nothing like the sleek Hollywood characters who "vant to suck your blaaaahd." "The vampire of folklore would have looked more ghoulish, like a bloated corpse," say Edmund Kern, associate professor of history at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis., "and they weren't suave and debonair; they were nasty." In fact, they'd rip messily into their victims. "That's very different from the vampire of fiction that bites daintily into the neck," Kern says.

[The article was also picked by the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel and published on October 30.]

Wisconsin State Journal, Madison
October 21, 2001
Headline: Lawrence University plans improvements
Excerpt: Lawrence University can start making plans for $55 million in improvements, including new student housing and an activity center. The university's trustees agreed Friday to pursue the plans, deciding first to build housing for 200 students on the bluffs near the Fox River. The student housing will allow for a slight increase in enrollment, board chairman Harold Jordan said. Lawrence, founded in 1847, is a liberal arts university that enrolls 1,325 students. The university also will start developing a student activity center with a dining area, meeting rooms, offices and a mail center, Jordan said.

The New York Times, New York
October 20, 2001
Headline: For some students studying overseas, a reconsideration
Byline: Jacques Steinberg
Excerpt: The terrorist attacks in the United States and the reprisal bombings in Afghanistan have sent shudders through the more than 75,000 American college students who are studying abroad this fall, causing some to change their routines or eve reconsider their plans. A dozen students from five upstate New York colleges, including Skidmore and Hobart, were evacuated from India late last month because program organizers feared that the students would become targets of increasingly strident anti-American protesters. A dozen other American students, many of them prodded by anxious parents, have left American University in Cairo in recent weeks. And 21 students who received Fulbright grants have been barred by the State Department from entering Pakistan and Indonesia, where they were to have studied for the school year. While the majority of students abroad have elected to remain where they are, most have been instructed to adjust their daily habits. Kristin Santele, 21, who is studying music in Milan, no longer goes to restaurants with groups of Americans, or speaks English above a whisper in public. She has also stopped wearing her American-style tennis shoes and now hesitates to tell strangers that she is from Minneapolis or that she is a senior at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. "It's not that I'm not proud of my country," Ms. Santele said in a telephone interview. "But I just want to be safe."

The Associated Press State & Local Wire
October 20, 2001
Section: State and Regional
Headline: University plans $55 million in improvements
Excerpt: Lawrence University can start making plans for $55 million in improvements, including new student housing and an activity center. The university's trustees agreed Friday to pursue the plans, deciding first to build a 200-bed student housing complex on the bluffs overlooking the Fox River. The new student housing will allow for a slight increase in enrollment, board chairman Harold Jordan said. Lawrence, founded in 1847, is a liberal arts university that enrolls 1,325 students. The university also will start developing a student activity center with a dining area, meeting rooms, offices and a mail center, Jordan said. The university would raze two fraternity houses to make room for the center, which has prompted opposition from some fraternities.

Tampa Tribune, Tampa, Florida
October 11, 2001
Byline: Shirley Adema
Headline: NASA engineer evolves into prolific published poet
Excerpt: A young Raoul Derek Smith, hoping to escape the harsh life of farming during the Great Depression, prayed to become a poet. It wasn't until 1947 that his prayer was answered. Inspired by the famous "Hands" painting of Albrecht Durer, Smith wrote his first poem. He still can recite it from memory. Smith attended Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis., for two years before enlisting in the Army infantry. After his tour of duty, he received a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1947, majoring in electrical engineering. After graduation, he worked in commercial, aerospace, and government organizations, including a stint with NASA at what's now Kennedy Space Center. Fellow poets in the Brevard Poetry Club repeatedly acknowledged him for his poetry about space. The Centro di Cultura in Taranto, Italy, paid him tribute for his religious poetry. And NASA published his collection of space poems at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Poetry remains a significant part of his life. He has written more than 300 poems, with topics including patriotism, family, humor and space. He wrote a poem for every launch, and one to Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. Most of his work is under the pen name of Rowdy O'Smith because, he said, "Engineers could not be known as having a bent for such feminine things as poetry." In 1975, he published an anthology called "Believe in Christmas."

Wisconsin State Journal, Madison
October 11, 2001
Headline: Bands show jazz, world music's smooth fusion
Byline: Kevin Lynch
Excerpt: With the increasing wealth of jazz in Madison, don't stop looking on the near horizon for sure-bet concerts. For years, Lawrence University in Appleton has been doing some of the nation's finest college-level ensemble jazz under the direction of jazz program director Ken Schaphorst and, previously, John Harmon. In addition, Lawrence's performing arts season regularly includes world-class classical and jazz artists. This year's jazz series opened Tuesday with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Orchestra. The Lawrence series will continue with vocalist Bobby McFerrin at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9. Then comes one of the most celebrated and discussed musicians of the year, pianist Uri Caine, with the Lawrence University Jazz Ensemble at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10. The series closes after the holidays with the Bill Frisell Trio, led by the remarkably original and evocative guitar stylist, at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2. Vocal gymnast McFerrin hit it big with the multiplatinum album "Simple Pleasures" (and the hit "Don't Worry, Be Happy") but he has elevated his game since with extensive collaborations with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and many serious jazz musicians. His concert is sold out. Caine made his mark with his adaptations of classical material - first a fascinating album of music by Gustav Mahler and, this year, with his daring multi-ensemble recastings of J.S. Bach's immortal "Goldberg Variations." The recording had people buzzing throughout the jazz world and even raised classical highbrows. But, you wonder, could a college jazz orchestra do justice to so ambitious a musician as Caine? I wondered last season when I went up to Appleton to hear the gifted orchestra leader Maria Schneider conduct Schaphorst's students in compositions from her recent Grammy- nominated CD "Allegresse." This listener and Schneider herself were stunned. She ended one of her pieces shaking her head and saying to the audience, "That's some terribly difficult stuff to play. I am amazed at these young musicians." The way they handled Schneider's slippery rhythms and impressionistic sonorities bodes well for what Caine may throw at the group. The concerts are in the spacious, acoustically blessed Lawrence Memorial Chapel, 510 E. College Ave.

[The story also ran in The Capital Times, Madison, Wisconsin]

White House Weekly, Washington, D.C.
October 9, 2001
Headline: Uncle Collin needs you; If Uncle Sam has you
Byline: Barbra Murray
Excerpt: It is business as usual at the Department of State's Diplomatic Readiness Task Force as the group continues its foreign service recruiting--even among active military personnel. The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 did not effect the task force's goal of recruiting nearly 1,500 new career officers for the 2002 fiscal year from universities, professional organizations and military outfits. In fact, Diplomatic Readiness Task Force Director Niels Marquardt said the international political ramifications of the attacks highlight the need to fortify our foreign service forces. Other foreign policy experts share Marquardt¹s view. "The war on terrorism is an international war," said Lawrence University visiting professor and former senior foreign service officer Charles Ahlgren. "Even the [Osama] bin Laden network alone is said to be in about sixty different countries, so the solution to it is an international one and that means diplomacy is involved." Ahlgren added "diplomacy always goes on in wartime."

Corporate Board Member magazine
October-December 2001
Headline: 12 Superstars
Excerpt: Bestriding the legal world like Colossi, the attorneys portrayed on these pages dominate their chosen fields. So say their peers, law school deans, and company directors surveyed by Corporate Board Member. The question is simple: Who's the very best lawyer in each of a dozen key practices, ranging from class-action suits to theft of intellectual property?

Antitrust and Trade Regulation
William Baer
Arnold & Porter
Forget about O.J's legal dream team. A dream trial involving antitrust and trade regulation calls for a court appearance by just a single lawyer: Attorney for the prosecution, William Baer. Attorney for the defense, William Baer. As defense attorney, Baer pulled off a milestone acquittal for General Electric in a 1994 criminal case that accused the company of price-fixing in the global market for industrial diamonds. Two years later, as director of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Competition, he led the largest merger-block ever by U.S. authorities, quashing a $4 billion marriage b