Events Archives - �鶹ӰԺ University

Lawrentians Show Up in a Big Way for Giving Day

Communications — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 22:44:00 +0000

Each year, Giving Day showcases the generosity of the Lawrentian community, and this year’s effort was no exception. Supporters once again demonstrated their commitment to �鶹ӰԺ University and its students, helping ensure that future generations can benefit from a �鶹ӰԺ educations.

As the physical campus has evolved and grown over the years, �鶹ӰԺ’s mission has remained steadfast: to provide students with a liberal arts education that prepares them not only to face challenges but to conquer them and light more light in the world. Giving Day served as a powerful reminder that support for that mission extends far beyond campus and continues to be championed by Lawrentians across the globe—as Lawrentians everywhere help carry its mission forward.

A Little �鶹ӰԺ Love Goes a Long Way

Giving Day donations arrived from 45 states, demonstrating the broad reach and enduring strength of the �鶹ӰԺ community and showing that meaningful support extends far beyond campus. The Lawrentian community stretched well beyond U.S. borders, with gifts arriving from Canada, the United Kingdom, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and Ghana.

Whether located in Appleton or halfway around the world, Lawrentians continued to demonstrate their connection to �鶹ӰԺ, its mission, and one another. Each gift reflected a shared commitment to supporting students and strengthening the community. Every contribution highlighting that the �鶹ӰԺ experience extends beyond campus and unites generations of Lawrentians through a shared sense of purpose.

Class Spirit on Full Display

Giving Day also provided an opportunity for Lawrentians to celebrate their class pride, and several class years answered the call in impressive fashion.

The Class of 1978 led the way with 40 donors, followed by the Class of 1972 with 38 and the Class of 1973 with 36 donors, a testament to the lasting bond many alumni maintain with �鶹ӰԺ.

Generosity took many forms throughout the day. The Class of 1970 delivered one of the most notable efforts, with 33 donors contributing a combined $44,225. The results underscored the impact a dedicated group of Lawrentians can have when rallying behind a common cause.

Together, alumni from across generations demonstrated the enduring spirit and commitment that continues to define the �鶹ӰԺ community.

Students Brought the Energy

Giving Day was not limited to online giving. Throughout the day, students participated in activities and challenges designed to unlock additional support while celebrating the �鶹ӰԺ experience.

The festivities began with Plinko Trivia, which drew enthusiastic participation and helped set an energetic tone for the day.

Candy Grams outside Andrew Commons proved especially popular as students wrote messages of encouragement and appreciation to fellow students as well as faculty and staff members. The activity served as a reminder that generosity can be expressed in many ways, including simple acts of kindness.

Students also embraced the opportunity to record video thank-you messages, sharing reflections on the campus resources, programs, and experiences made possible in part through donor generosity. Their voices provide a meaningful reminder of the lasting impact philanthropy has on the student experience.

Video length: 1 minute, 30 seconds

Together, the activities brought Giving Day to life on campus, connecting donor support with the everyday experiences that make �鶹ӰԺ distinctive.

Spreading the Word, Sharing the Spirit

Giving Day advocates played an important role in extending the celebration, generating 181 clicks and 28 gifts through their outreach efforts. every shared post, conversation, and personal invitation helped expand awareness and encourage participation.

The success of Giving Day also reflected the efforts of numerous volunteers and supporters who dedicated their time and energy throughout the day. From assisting with campus activities to encouraging participation and sharing enthusiasm for �鶹ӰԺ, their contributions helped create a memorable experience for the entire community.

Thank You, Lawrentians

Lawrentians came together in remarkable fashion for the university’s 13th annual Giving Day. Together, 1,719 donors raised $2,037,556 for the �鶹ӰԺ Fund, surpassing our $2 million goal.

From students energizing campus activities to alumni sharing �鶹ӰԺ memories and vintage memorabilia, Giving Day highlighted the many ways the �鶹ӰԺ community remains connected through a shared commitment to the university and its students.

While Giving Day lasts just 24 hours, its impact extends far beyond a single day. Every gift, every shared memory, every kind message, and every act of volunteerism strengthens the people, programs, and experiences that define �鶹ӰԺ University and make it incredibly special.

The generosity of alumni, parents, students, friends, faculty, staff, advocates, and volunteers made this year’s Giving Day success possible. Their support helps ensure that future generations of Lawrentians can discover new passions, tackle significant challenges, and go on to light more light in the world.

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�鶹ӰԺ Celebrates Indigenous Peoples’ Day

Communications — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:13:32 +0000

The 11th annual Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebration brought students, faculty, staff, and community members together in �鶹ӰԺ University’s Warch Campus Center on Oct. 12 to honor Indigenous cultures, histories, and contributions.

The celebration reflected a collaborative effort across campus. Carter Robinson, �鶹ӰԺ’s director of community values, engagement and sustainability, helped organize the event alongside students involved in Earth Fest as part of a collaborative effort to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

The event featured a keynote address by Jud Gauthier, Indigenous Studies Scholar in Residence; a powwow dance performance by dancers from the Oneida Nation; pizza; and cultural displays that encouraged attendees to engage with Indigenous traditions and perspectives.

Video length: 20 seconds

Gauthier spoke about the deep historical and cultural connections between Wisconsin and the Indigenous nations that have called the region home for generations. Reflecting on the significance of recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ Day, he emphasized the enduring presence and influence of Native communities throughout the state.

“The history of the region here is so tied into Menominee culture and Oneida and Stockbridge, Ho-Chunk, and all the other nations that are around,” Gauthier said.

The annual celebration serves as an opportunity for the �鶹ӰԺ community to learn about and recognize Indigenous cultures while reflecting on the university’s connection to the lands on which its campuses are located. Through education, storytelling, and community gathering, the event highlights the importance of honoring both the history and continuing contributions of Indigenous peoples.

In recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ Day, �鶹ӰԺ also reaffirmed its land acknowledgment:

�鶹ӰԺ University’s Appleton and Door County campuses are located on the ancestral homelands of the Menominee and Ho-Chunk peoples. Today, 11 federally recognized Native American sovereign nations are located in Wisconsin. We acknowledge these Indigenous communities, who have stewarded this land throughout generations, and pay respect to their elders, past and present.

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Community and the work of belonging shared at Matriculation Convocation

Communications — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 02:40:00 +0000

�鶹ӰԺ University President Laurie A. Carter challenged students, faculty, staff, and Fox Cities community members to embrace community as both a responsibility and a shared purpose as she welcomed the campus community to the 2026-27 academic year during Matriculation Convocation.

President Laurie A. Carter welcomes students to �鶹ӰԺ University and the start of a new academic year during Matriculation Convocation.

This year, �鶹ӰԺ welcomed 391 incoming students, 346 first-year, 29 transfer, and 16 international students to campus. The new students are from more than 37 states and 10 countries.

Carter framed the annual ceremony as an opportunity to reflect on a fundamental question: “Who are we, together?”

Throughout the address, she returned repeatedly to the idea that community is not defined by geography or circumstances, but by the choices people make to support, learn from, and care for one another.

“Community is neither simple nor automatic,” Carter said. “Community is something deeper: it is a commitment. It is a relationship. It is a responsibility.”

Drawing on the work of philosopher and educator John Dewey, Carter said community is created through interaction and communication. She pointed to both moments of loss and moments of celebration over the past year as examples of how the �鶹ӰԺ community has demonstrated its strength.

She referenced the deaths of Professors Garth Bond and Danielle Joyner and alumnus Alex Stanger ’25, noting that community is revealed not only in grief but in the ways people honor and extend the impact of those who have been lost.

“Community transforms loss into purpose, remembrance into action, and individual lives into lasting legacies that continue to shape those who follow,” Carter said.

As one example, she highlighted the recent creation of the Art History Travel Fund by Dale Schuh ’70 and his wife, Annette, in honor of Joyner. The fund will support student learning opportunities while preserving Joyner’s legacy.

Carter also pointed to milestones that reflect �鶹ӰԺ’s future, including the naming of Hall Commons in honor of Susan Long Hall ’76 and her family, and plans for The Hub, the university’s new wellness, recreation, and creative arts facility in downtown Appleton.

“Communities are built only through shared purpose, mutual care, and collective effort,” she said.

President Laurie A. Carter shares a personal story about how communities evolve during Matriculation Convocation.

Lessons from Beyond Campus
Carter shared a personal story about helping organize a family reunion in her hometown, an experience that reinforced for her the evolving nature of community.

The reunion was originally scheduled to begin at an American Legion Post established in 1947 by Calvin J. Spann, one of the original Tuskegee Airmen. The post was created at a time when many Black veterans lacked welcoming places to gather and find support.

Weeks before the event, however, an SUV crashed into the building, causing significant damage and forcing her family to find another location.

A neighboring American Legion Post immediately agreed to host the gathering.

For Carter and her family, the gesture carried special significance because the welcoming post represented a place that decades earlier would not have accepted African American veterans.

“We were reminded that communities are not fixed. They evolve,” Carter said. “Walls that once divided people can come down.”

She added that a strong community grows when more people can see themselves within it.

“A community is strongest when more people can say, ‘This place belongs to me, too,’” Carter said.

Community Revealed in Times of Challenge
A second lesson in community emerged closer to home when a tornado struck the Fox Cities region this summer.

While �鶹ӰԺ’s campus avoided the most severe damage, neighboring communities, including Menasha and Doty Island, experienced significant destruction.

Carter praised the response that followed, including volunteers who assisted community members, those who helped displaced colleagues, and efforts to support Menasha High School after the storm.

“Across the Fox Cities, neighbors helped neighbors,” she said. “Strangers became partners. Communities became stronger by refusing to leave anyone behind.”

She also thanked Joe King, associate vice president for facilities, and his team for their work restoring the �鶹ӰԺ campus following the storm.

Among the losses was a beloved tree on Main Hall Green that suffered irreparable damage. Carter said the university has worked to preserve portions of the tree for future educational and campus uses, including potential teaching and research projects.

Its legacy, she said, serves as a reminder that community is connected not only to people, but also to the places and traditions that help define an institution.

“Community is not measured during moments of comfort,” Carter said. “Community reveals itself during moments of challenge.”

The Liberal Arts and Responsibility to Others
Carter connected the theme of community to �鶹ӰԺ’s educational mission, describing the liberal arts as more than a collection of academic disciplines.

“The liberal arts are not simply a collection of disciplines,” she said. “They are a way of understanding human relationships and human possibility.”

While higher education is often discussed in terms of careers and professional outcomes, Carter encouraged students to consider a broader question.

“What obligations do I have to others?” she asked.

That question, she said, lies at the heart of both a liberal arts education and civic engagement.

The liberal arts prepare students not only for employment but also for citizenship, leadership, and participation in communities. Universities, she said, play an important role in helping people build connections across differences and learn to engage productively with perspectives unlike their own.

“A healthy community does not eliminate differences,” Carter said. “It creates the conditions for differences to coexist productively.”

Celebrating Achievement
Carter also highlighted accomplishments from across the �鶹ӰԺ community, including faculty, staff, students, and alumni.

Among those recognized were Erin Lesser, who was named the Kimberly-Clark Professor of Music; Graham Sazama, who received a National Science Foundation Research in Undergraduate Institutions grant; and Emma Snyder, managing director of the Business & Entrepreneurship Center, who was honored as a Future 15 recipient by the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce.

She also pointed to the accomplishments of students and recent alumni, including Yenching Fellow Cao Le Quynh Anh ’26, Fulbright recipients Kaitlin Buelow ’26 and Jude Lawler ’26, and bluegrass musicians Tashi Litch ’24, Evan Snoey ’23, and Ben Lewis ’25, who took first place in the Telluride Bluegrass Band Contest.

Members of the �鶹ӰԺ and Fox Cities communities applaud faculty, staff, and students recognized for their exceptional achievements.

While the achievements reflected individual excellence, Carter emphasized that none occurred in isolation.

She said those accomplishments reflected the support of faculty, staff, mentors, classmates, family members, and friends who helped make them possible.

“Achievement may be recognized individually,” she said. “But it is almost always nurtured collectively.”

Looking ahead
As �鶹ӰԺ approaches its 180th anniversary in 2027, Carter called on students, faculty, and staff to view themselves as stewards of an institution built and sustained across generations.

She pointed to several initiatives that will help shape �鶹ӰԺ’s future, including the opening of The Hub, the completion of the Memorial Chapel façade restoration, implementation of the new Liberal Arts Requirements, and the launch of �鶹ӰԺ Compass, a student-success ecosystem that will unify advising, academic support, and career development resources.

The Hub and Memorial Chapel, Carter said, represent complementary aspects of the university’s future.

“Memorial Chapel reminds us that community requires continuity,” she said. “The Hub reminds us that community requires innovation.”

Looking to the year ahead, Carter encouraged students to seek experiences and relationships beyond their comfort zones.

“Follow your curiosity into spaces and experiences that feel unfamiliar,” she said. “Take a class that challenges your assumptions. Strike up a conversation with someone whose experiences differ from your own.”

She closed the address by reminding the �鶹ӰԺ community that belonging is not something that simply exists. It is something that must be built and renewed through everyday actions.

“Community is not something we inherit fully formed,” Carter said. “It is something we create together.”

Quoting theologian Howard Thurman, Carter urged the audience to remain open to new people and perspectives, saying communities flourish when they welcome others into their midst.

Video length: 55 minute, 46 seconds

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Art Auction Returns to Björklunden

Communications — Sat, 13 Jun 2026 16:30:57 +0000

Visitors to Björklunden can stop by the lodge to view paintings created by artists from all areas of Wisconsin. Currently hung in the reception area just outside of Vail Hall, this show features the works of an accomplished group of artists who retreat together at Björklunden multiple times per year.��The collection includes donated works featuring Door County and Björklunden-inspired images, and includes watercolor, oils, acrylics, pastel and mixed media��ranging in size.��The pieces in this show are not just being displayed, but are also being auctioned off as part of the Boynton Festival on Saturday, Aug. 22. From now until the start of the festival, viewers can place bids on their desired choices in the art auction binder that is available in the Björklunden lobby. Funds from the auction go toward the Chapel restoration project and other enhancements on the property.��Most recently, this biennial auction raised $5,000 to support the efforts to replace the Chapel roof in 2024.��Led by Green Lake artist, Pat Dobrinska, this group of artists have all donated their works to this cause. Many of the participating artists regularly sell their work, receive awards in juried shows, and come together as a studio community from all parts of Wisconsin.

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Peter Thomas: Bjorklunden’s Russian Aficionado

Communications — Sat, 13 Jun 2026 14:52:29 +0000

Peter Thomas received both his BA degree in comparative literature and PhD in Russian from Northwestern University. He studied at the Moscow State University for over a year where he received training in how to teach Russian to non-native speakers. Then after a few years of practicing his newly honed skills on students at St. Olaf and Beloit, in 2006 he was hired by �鶹ӰԺ to be its professor of Russian Studies. During his twenty-year tenure, he has been dedicated to assuring that his students succeed, and clearly they have greatly benefitted from his nurturing and supportive style of teaching. And so too have the many lifelong learners at Bjorklunden! Peter has led summer seminars over the past 16 years sharing his wide knowledge and deep love of Russia and its culture.

How easy was it for you to connect with seminar participants during the first few summer sessions?

From the very beginning it has been easy to connect with seminar participants.�� They are warm, curious, and enthusiastic about learning.�� For me, the real challenge was figuring out how much we can really do in one week.�� My first seminar was on Dostoevsky.�� I called our session��The Idiot, for the novel we were reading.�� We all had name tags.�� Mine read “Peter Thomas,��The Idiot.”�� That was fitting because I assigned a 600-page novel of material that is not��exactly beach reading.�� I’ve since learned to better gauge the reading I ask participants to do before our session and during the week.��

I think my sessions have a reputation for being rather hard-core; people show up having read everything I asked or even suggested. Our seminars are very much discussion-based, so anyone who wants to spend a week talking about Russian culture is welcome. We do a lot of reading aloud during the week.�� That has been an evolving part of my seminars.�� I’m really excited about how much fun it is and how much more we get out of the texts.

How would you compare older lifelong learners with your on-campus students?

University students have reasonable concerns about grades and their prospects for the future.�� In many cases, I have to teach them basic study and time-management skills that have nothing to do with the materials, but if I don’t teach them those things, they will learn much less. These students have relatively little experience in life, and for the most part their experiences are similar to each other’s. A big part of what I have to teach them is that: life and the world are much, much bigger and more complicated than they suspect.�� That is enjoyable, so long as the student (and family) are on board. With summer participants, I am the inexperienced one in the room.�� I am fairly certain that I learn as much each summer as they do. Participants bring such a wide range of skills, talents, and experiences to our sessions that my job is to just facilitate a conversation around whatever we are working on at the time.�� When I have done my job in choosing a good topic, the course takes on a life of its own. And I don’t have to grade anything or anyone.

Was it challenging to get us to refrain from discussing current political events all the time?

Russian politics is always a part of the discussion, and that is to be expected. Conversations about politics in the US tend to be a part of conversations over meals, but not always.�� The materials we work on have a lot to say about how people treat each other and the world we share.�� I am careful not to let the conversation derail for political reasons. That is much easier to do with seminar participants than with university students.��

Do you cover political history? Why or why not?

I have taught two seminars on political history in Russia. I would certainly do so again.�� Speaking honestly, for many years now I have left the topic of the next year’s seminar to the participants in the current one.�� I trust them to choose topics that will attract new participants.��

Do you wish participants had better geographical background?

No. Figuring out how to capture the topography, flora, fauna, and meteorology of whatever region we are working on is a part of the fun. I do wish that I had a strong geographical background.�� Some of my regular participants are incredibly well-travelled and have been to places I have only seen online.

What seminar topic have you enjoyed presenting the most?

I have never had a seminar that didn’t feel like my favorite while I was teaching it. I love teaching “The Russian Short Story.” I’ve taught Pushkin’s��Eugene Onegin and Tolstoy’s��Anna Karenina��twice, and each time was a revelation for me. The sessions on Gogol, Bulgakov, Nabokov, Aleksievich, and Putin were challenging and invigorating.�� Last summer’s class on film and literature was so much fun that it felt like I was a student, not the teacher. This summer, in response to a story and film from last summer, we are reading Chekhov, one of my favorite authors.�� I cannot wait to prepare that class.

Plans are being created to do a “Great Books” program during the 2027 summer featuring three Freshman Studies books taught over the years and you have been asked to participate. Can you share some of the preliminary plans?��

This is a team-taught course called “The Long Novel” that Professor Dominica Chang of French, Professor Tim Spurgin of English, and I have taught at �鶹ӰԺ four times now.�� The central problem of the class is thinking about how the different traditions in European literature of the nineteenth century represent the challenges of modernity. The first three times we taught the course, we read Charles Dickens’��David Copperfield, Gustave Flaubert’s��Sentimental Education, and Fyodor Dostoevsky’s��The Brothers Karamazov. We are just completing our first run through a new version that features Flaubert’s��Madame Bovary, Lev Tolstoy’s��Anna Karenina, and Thomas Hardy’s��Tess of the D’Urbervilles. The key to this class is that all three of us are at every discussion, and we each take one session as lead instructor for the books that are outside of our own field. The other key is that these are��long and complicated novels. We are talking about how we would create a two-week class with the same or similar authors and the same topics, but with fewer than 1700 pages of reading. A challenge!

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Choosing Joy: Student speaker Megan Eisenstein’s journey of self-discovery

Communications — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 20:31:20 +0000

Megan Eisenstein has been selected as the 2026 �鶹ӰԺ University student commencement speaker. A student known for her curiosity, creativity, and commitment to bringing people into civic life, Megan’s academic path was not always clear.��

“I didn’t really know where I was going academically,” Eisenstein said. “I just wanted to try everything.”��

That openness to discovery ultimately led Eisenstein to a major in Government, where she found her passion, while also exploring dance, data science, and statistics along the way, shaping her studies into a blend of logic and creativity.��

“Throughout my time in college I’ve really started to think of my relationship with myself and my surroundings rather than how I relate to other people or what other people think of me,” she said. “Focusing on my own experience actually opened me up to other people further because I really started thinking about my own self.”��

Of course, Eisenstein was not on the journey alone. She had a community of Lawrentians cheering her on. She deeply valued her professors and the opportunities they presented to students, she said, as well as the broader community that has been pivotal in shaping her experience.��

“Being humble and supportive for other people is not only amazing because you’re helping others, but it also helps you be your best self,” she said. “I’ve found that in every space I’ve been,” adding that just being surrounded by authentic, expressive peers has had a lasting impact on her. “I want to take that with me wherever I go because the world needs more of that.”��

Choosing Joy��

Eisenstein’s choir director, Dr. Philip Swan, also made a lasting impact when he told the group that ‘joy is a choice.’��

Eisenstein initially found that proclamation confusing … how could you choose joy? Upon further reflection, however, the statement began to resonate with her.��

“If you notice joy around you and you think about what you’re grateful for, you’re going to be joyous even when circumstances are difficult,” she said.��

If there is one message Eisenstein wants her audience to take away from her remarks at commencement, it is that joy is powerful and can fuel us as we move through our ever-changing world.��

“You just notice it around you, and you find things that make you happy,” she said. “Realizing that helps carry you through difficult things.”��

As Eisenstein reflects on her time at �鶹ӰԺ, she sees more than an academic experience, but a personal journey shaped by community, curiosity, and small moments of joy … lessons she will share from the commencement stage and take with her into her life after �鶹ӰԺ.��

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Acclaimed performer Audra McDonald to appear on-campus in April

Communications — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 20:21:45 +0000

�鶹ӰԺ University welcomes celebrated singer and actor Audra McDonald for a special campus event, “The Art of Leadership: A Conversation with Audra McDonald,” on Friday, April 10. Following the discussion moderated by university president Laurie A. Carter, audience members have the opportunity participate in a live Q&A session.

“At �鶹ӰԺ, we strive to enrich the academic experiences of students by bringing a broad range of creators – musicians, artists, scientists, and more – to campus to participate in events that spark creativity and inspiration within our campus as well as the broader community,” said �鶹ӰԺ University president Laurie A. Carter. “As a community, we are excited to learn more about Audra’s perspective on the value of mentorship and personal/professional development at every stage of one’s journey.”

The Art of Leadership: A Conversation with Audra McDonald Friday, April 10 |6 – 7 p.m.

�鶹ӰԺ Memorial Chapel 510 E. College Avenue, Appleton, WI

Tickets: $75-Section A; $50-Section B

Tickets go on sale February 15. Purchase online at the �鶹ӰԺ .

Audra McDonald is unparalleled in the breadth and versatility of her artistry, as both a singer and actor. The winner of a record-breaking six Tony Awards, two Grammy Awards, and an Emmy Award, she was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2015 and received a 2015 National Medal of Arts—America’s highest honor for achievement in the arts—from President Barack Obama.

Blessed with a luminous soprano and an incomparable gift for dramatic truth-telling, she is as much at home on Broadway and opera stages as she is in film and television roles. In addition to her theatrical work, she maintains a major career as a concert and recording artist, regularly appearing on the great stages of the world.

Learn more about career highlights, videos, news and more on .

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�鶹ӰԺ welcomes new incoming class

Communications — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 16:26:05 +0000

�鶹ӰԺ University’s Welcome Week is in full swing as the campus fills with first-year, exchange, and transfer students. The seven-day-long event includes move-in, activities, and gatherings designed to welcome the Class of 2029 and help make them feel at home by connecting with faculty, staff, alumni, and returning students.��

The remainder of �鶹ӰԺ students will move into residence halls and other residential spaces over the weekend of Sept. 13-14. Welcome Week leads directly into the start of the fall trimester, with classes beginning on Monday, Sept. 15.��

Welcome Week, first-year students (Photo by Danny Damiani)

This year’s incoming students include 309 first-year students and 39 transfer students, who come from across the United States and around the world to study at �鶹ӰԺ University. The top home states are Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, California, Colorado, and New York. International students are represented by 16 different countries around the globe, with a strong presence from Japan, Canada, and South Korea. �鶹ӰԺ isn’t just a campus in Wisconsin; it’s a community with roots around the globe. ��

“My move-in experience was really good,” said Kylie Hatch, an incoming freshman and neuroscience and psychology major. “My roommate was actually already here for international move-in, so she helped me. It was super easy and everyone was super helpful.”

Welcome Week marks the beginning of a new chapter for students as they embark on their journey of higher education and find their place in a community of critical thinkers.��

“I moved into Colman, and it was really nice because everybody was very friendly,” said first-year student and psychology major, Vivianne Affatato. “Everybody was really excited and supportive. It was like, friends immediately.”

Angela Vanden Elzen, associate professor and reference and learning technology librarian, emphasized the joy of Welcome Week and the energy that incoming freshmen bring to campus.��

��“Welcome Week is always so fun; seeing all the students excited about starting something new really brings a lot of energy back to campus.”��

(Photo by Danny Damiani)

New students to �鶹ӰԺ University lined the sidewalk between the newly opened West Campus building and Main Hall Green for the traditional walk through the Welcome Arch. Faculty, staff, alumni, and students all cheered and welcomed the incoming Class of 2029 to campus. The �鶹ӰԺ school spirit rang loudly and highlighted its tight-knit community.��

Natalie Reathaford, a first-year student and neuroscience and biology major, relished taking part in one of �鶹ӰԺ’s favorite traditions of welcoming students to campus through the Welcome Arch.��

“Walking through the arch, it was exciting to see our upperclassmen come and cheer us on and support everyone coming to �鶹ӰԺ. It was a great experience.”��

Reathaford said she selected �鶹ӰԺ because of its small but vibrant community. She wanted a tight-knit community but didn’t want to be left in the middle of nowhere. The city of Appleton and the surrounding Fox Cities offer students a unique environment because it has a small-town feel with metropolitan-style benefits.��

“I was looking for a place that was small but also not just cornfields, so I think having this as a small campus, having a tight-knit, close community of professors and students, as well as a great soccer team that I wanted to be on, it was just perfect. And then the thing that really sealed the deal was the placement of where �鶹ӰԺ was and how close everything was. There’s an airport nearby, there’s tons of food, there’s coffee shops—just everything nearby that I could ever want.”

George Taylor, a first-year tuba major from Hayward, Wisconsin, said he chose �鶹ӰԺ because of its renowned Conservatory of Music. Taylor has been playing tuba for over eight years. In addition to his studies, he looks forward to playing linebacker for the Vikings football team.��

“The activities at �鶹ӰԺ really involve you. They make it easy to meet a lot of new people and make friends.”��

After hearing President Laurie Carter’s annual address to new students, Taylor said, “It just made me feel like I really belong here.”��

Matriculation Convocation is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 19, at 12:30 p.m. in �鶹ӰԺ’s Memorial Chapel. President Laurie A. Carter will welcome all students and make remarks to start the new academic year.��

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�鶹ӰԺ Tuned In: Celebrating 12 Years of Mile of Music in Appleton

Communications — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 19:06:59 +0000

The streets of downtown Appleton were filled with people from all over the Fox Cities and beyond, some traveling hundreds of miles for the live original music.��

From July 31 to August 3, downtown Appleton’s streets were filled with sound during the annual Mile of Music festival. Now in its 12th year, the free festival stayed true to its core mission of celebrating original music, featuring 700 shows from 200 independent artists and bands.��

This year’s event saw a 5-10% increase in attendance, , and introduced new elements like pop-up performances that took place between scheduled shows. As in previous years, �鶹ӰԺ University took part in the music-making.

Photos from 2025 Mile of Music

Music Education Team (MET) members and participants celebrate another successful workshop in the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center. (Photo by Jacob Hanekamp ’25)

The �鶹ӰԺ Chamber Music Festival performs with Natural Satellite in the Business & Entrepreneurial space at Fox Commons. (Photo by Juan Marin ’20)

Michael Murphy ’23 performs at Spats at the 2025 Mile of Music Festival. (Photo by Juan Marin ’20)

Kate Stenson ’24 performs at the 2025 Mile of Music Festival. (Photo by Juan Marin ’20)

The Music Education Team (MET)—including �鶹ӰԺ Conservatory faculty, students, and alumni—presented 40 hands-on music-making workshops during the festival for people of all ages. Participants were able to experience everything��from bachata dance to Irish fiddle music, the blues harmonica to the didjeridu.

The �鶹ӰԺ Chamber Music Festival returned this year, allowing advanced instrumentalists the opportunity to collaborate and perform alongside Mile of Music artists. This year, there were 43 students from 20 U.S. state, plus international students, working with �鶹ӰԺ faculty and several guest artists. The four Mile of Music collaborators—BODHI, Natural Satellite, PEGASIS, and Whitney Mongé—represented several musical genres and geographic regions.

�鶹ӰԺ venues drew thousands of festival-goers to campus for performances on the �鶹ӰԺ Lawn Main Stage—located in front of Ormsby Hall—Memorial Chapel, and Harper Hall.��

�鶹ӰԺ alumni Michael Murphy ‘23 and Kate Stenson ‘24 were among the festival performers. Murphy played two sets, accompanied by �鶹ӰԺ alumnus Ryan Erdmann ‘22. Stenson performed two sets alongside Jennifer Harlee, a member of her band Wine on Fridays (W.O.F.).��

�鶹ӰԺ photographers captured the music-making in action. See a sampling above and . More photos will be added soon!��

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Patricia Smith speaks to power of poetry in Convocation address: ‘It had me hooked’

Communications — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 15:47:35 +0000

Patricia Smith celebrated the beauty and power of poetry as she delivered �鶹ӰԺ University’s annual University Convocation in Memorial Chapel on Jan. 24.

Smith shared how she fell hard for poetry nearly four decades ago when she happened upon a literary group in Chicago—a gathering of performance poets, academics, and other writers. She felt the power of their words, the way their use of language could make you feel and think. She said she was mesmerized by a performance of a persona poem in the voice of a man cutting the hair of people about to go to the gas chamber during the Holocaust. He knew where they were going but they did not.

“It was the most riveting, life-changing thing,” Smith said of hearing that poem, feeling its grace and power. “And then at the end there was this white hot moment of silence. No one knew what to do. And I said, ‘I don’t know much about poetry … but I’ve never seen an audience captivated in that way.’ … It had me hooked.”

Smith would go on to win the National Poetry Slam four times. She is the author of multiple acclaimed books of poetry, among them. Unshuttered (2023), Incendiary Art (2017), Shoulda Been Jimi Savannah��(2012), and Blood Dazzler��(2008). Students in �鶹ӰԺ’s First-Year Studies course have been studying Blood Dazzler, among the selected works tied to the course’s “water” theme. The book chronicles the human, physical, and emotional toll of Hurricane Katrina.��

Smith told the gathering in Memorial Chapel that she finds inspiration in her curiosity, from big and bold events such as Katrina—the center of Blood Dazzler—and street violence, to cultural asides such as the cartoons of Tom and Jerry and Popeye, to the travails of family dysfunction.

“Every family is a dysfunctional family,” she said. “Everyone here has something they would not say out loud in this room.”

Poetry, Smith said, can give voice to the pain, joy, bemusement, and discomfort in ways that make us feel connected, vulnerable.

“The best thing I can do as a poet is tell you I am just like you,” she said.

A professor in the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University, Smith is a Guggenheim fellow, a National Endowment for the Arts grant recipient, a two-time winner of the Pushcart Prize, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, and��a finalist for the Neustadt Prize.

Her Convocation address drew huge applause from the students, faculty, staff, and community members gathered in the Chapel. Smith returned the love, saying her two days at �鶹ӰԺ had been a special experience. She said he was humbled and honored that �鶹ӰԺ students were studying her works so closely, including in the First-Year Studies course.

“I’ve never really encountered faculty so driven, so engaged, so excited about the possibilities,” Smith said. “They’re funny and they’re charming and they’re brilliant. And the students are even more so. I can’t get over that you have read my work so closely, and with such curiosity.”

The Winter Term convocation, known as University Convocation, is the second of three convocations held each academic year at �鶹ӰԺ. It annually features an invited guest speaker to share ideas and insight on contemporary issues. The first convocation of the year, the Matriculation Convocation, held in September, features a welcoming address from the university president to kick off a new academic year. And the Spring Term convocation, known as the Honors Convocation, celebrates student and faculty achievements and includes an address from a selected member of the faculty. It will be held at 12:30 p.m. May 30 in Memorial Chapel, with Allison Fleshman, associate professor of chemistry, delivering the address.

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