THE LAWRENCE ADVANTAGE: AN INVESTMENT IN OUR STUDENTS

As part of our pledge to make a selective liberal arts education possible for students from all backgrounds, we are excited to introduce the Lawrence Advantage.

Born from the desire for families to know they have us as partners in investing in their student’s education and fueled by our generous alumni, the Lawrence Advantage will fully meet the demonstrated institutional need of students from Wisconsin and Illinois – our top two states represented among Lawrence’s incoming students.

As the No. 1 liberal arts college in Wisconsin in the U.S. News & World Report’s annual Best Colleges rankings, one of the best colleges in the nation by the Princeton Review, and one of the Colleges that Change Lives, Lawrence University through the Lawrence Advantage, beginning with students admitted for Fall 2023, wants to ensure a path to our College of Arts and Sciences and Conservatory of Music for all students in the WisconsinIllinois corridor.

The Lawrence Advantage, funded by donors who are driven to support the full financial need of Lawrence students and have contributed more than $95.1 million for new and endowed scholarships since January 2014, is the latest step in Lawrence

University’s path toward becoming a full-need institution. For a student from Wisconsin or Illinois, the Lawrence Advantage will meet any remaining need not covered by scholarships, grants, federal loans, and student employment through a supplemental Lawrence grant for all four years of their college experience (or five years for students in the BA/BMus double degree program). Covering this funding gap can be the difference for a student wanting to enroll at their preferred school and not wanting to take on additional debt. The average student debt for Lawrence graduates has already declined by more than $5,000 over the past half dozen years thanks to incredible donor support.

As President Laurie Carter stated, “This is a celebratory moment. Our generous donors have been so loyal, and this is the payoff.” Carter called the Lawrence Advantage a major step forward as more students with limited resources will be able to attend Wisconsins No. 1-rated liberal arts college.

“This is being funded by alumni and friends of the university who want to pay it forward,” Carter said. “They are our incredible alumni who have gone on to be innovators and leaders all over the world. They want to give the next generation those same opportunities, the same advantage that comes with a Lawrence education.”

NEW TENURE-TRACK FACULTY WELCOMED

Three new tenure-track faculty joined Lawrence for the 2022-23 academic year.

Sarah Gamalinda, French and francophone studies: Gamalinda earned a Ph.D. in African cultural studies and a master’s degree in French studies, both at the University of WisconsinMadison, and a bachelor’s degree in French language and literature at Amherst College. She was a 2021–22 Andrew Mellon Public Humanities Fellow and was awarded a 2019 Chancellors Pre-dissertator Fellowship at UW–Madison.

Van Nguyen, economics: Nguyen earned a Ph.D. in economics at the University of Kansas and recently did independent research at the University of Paris 1 after receiving the Carol Drever Pimental Award. Nguyen, who earned a master’s degree in economics from the University of Kansas, has research interests in monetary policy, open macroeconomics, inflation, and welfare.

Marcy Quiason, gender studies: Quiason comes to Lawrence from the University of Kansas after completing a Ph.D. in women, gender, and sexuality studies, with a concentration in political science (international relations and public policy). Quiason earned master’s degrees in both political science and women, gender, and sexuality studies at Kansas, and holds a bachelor’s degree from Kansas in women’s studies and political science.

Four New Trustees Join Lawrence Board

Lawrence University has welcomed four new members to the Board of Trustees. All are Lawrence alumni.

New trustees include Irene Strohbeen ’78, Chris Anzalone ’91, G. Evan Bravos ’10, and Breanna Skeets ’12. Strohbeen and Anzalone are term trustees serving three-year terms and eligible for re-election for four consecutive terms; Bravos and Skeets are recent graduate trustees serving three-year terms.

Irene Strohbeen ’78: She has owned and operated Irene Strohbeen and Associates since 2009, providing consulting services related to innovation, development of new businesses, and the management of new products. She spent much of her career with Kimberly-Clark Corp., holding a variety of leadership positions. She has been active with Lawrence on numerous levels, including serving a recent term as president of the Lawrence University Alumni Association (LUAA).

Chris Anzalone ’91: He is an entrepreneur and biotech executive, serving as CEO, president, and director of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, which is based in Pasadena, California, and has a research facility in Madison, Wisconsin. Arrowhead develops drug treatments for genetically based diseases where proteins are overproduced, including those that affect the liver, lungs, and cardiovascular system. A member of the football team while at Lawrence, Anzalone has stayed active with the university.

G. Evan Bravos ’10: An award-winning baritone, he earned a Best Choral Performance Grammy Award in 2020 as a member of a vocal group that recorded Kurt Sander’s The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. He has performed with the Milwaukee Symphony, the West Coast premiere of Cold Mountain at the Music Academy of the West, and Candide at the Ravinia Festival. He has mentored Conservatory students and currently serves on the Conservatory Innovation Collective.

Breanna Skeets ’12: A geology major while at Lawrence, she works as a Financial Center manager at Bank of America in the Denver area. She joined Bank of America in 2016 after previously working in various roles at Wells Fargo and is pursuing her MBA with Western Governors University. Born on the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico, she was the founder and president of Lawrence University Native Americans (LUNA) while a student.

McKENZIE RETURNS TO DOOR COUNTY TO LEAD BJÖRKLUNDEN

Tom McKenzie ’95 has returned to Door County to lead Björklunden into a greener and more connected future.

The new director of Lawrence University’s northern retreat spent the past 21 years in southern California, working most recently as the development manager for the collective impact initiative promoting access to arts education for all youth across Los Angeles County.

With family roots in the Midwest and deep connections to Door County, returning to Wisconsin was never far from his mind or heart. He performed with Peninsula Players Theatre as a youth. He spent six years after graduating from Lawrence founding and running the Peninsula Pulse newspaper with fellow Lawrentian David Eliot ’95. McKenzie and his wife, Jill, a Sturgeon Bay native, were married in 2004 at Björklunden, and they spent recent summers in Door County with their daughter.

McKenzie said he’s particularly excited about the sustainability work that’s happening with the Björklunden Net Zero project. It gives Björklunden the distinction of net-zero carbon emissions by first reducing and then balancing any carbon emissions with equivalent carbon savings on site, incorporating wind, solar, and geothermal energy sources.

He also wants to build and strengthen those connections, both with the Lawrence community and the broader region. That includes enhancing the experience for Lawrence students who are on site, but also learning about and addressing barriers that might be keeping some students away.

“I want to expand on the idea of Björklunden being an integral part of the Lawrence experience and a valuable piece of what makes a Lawrence education so special,” McKenzie said. “I want it to feel super accessible and open to every student.”