NEW BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP MAJOR BUILT WITH LIBERAL ARTS FOCUS

By Ed Berthiaume

Lawrence University has introduced a new business and entrepreneurship major, built through the lens of the liberal arts with a focus on preparing future innovators who will bring social, global, and environmental context to business leadership.

The program, to be available beginning with the 2023–24 academic year, takes an interdisciplinary approach as it centers on global entrepreneurship and the broader impact of business on communities. Constructed within the existing Innovation & Entrepreneurship (I&E) program, the business and entrepreneurship (BUEN) major will open new doors for students attending one of the nation’s leading liberal arts institutions, with focused study across the business spectrum.

“We have taken a liberal arts mindset to building this major, emphasizing the importance of multiple perspectives and big-picture thinking,” said Adam Galambos, the Dwight and Marjorie Peterson Professor of Innovation and associate professor of economics. “Students will have an opportunity to learn the foundational skills in accounting, marketing, financial management, and entrepreneurship, and connect these to the broader roles of business in society.”

Galambos is one of seven faculty members from across multiple disciplines who have worked for the past year to forge a plan that would build on the strength of the I&E program, giving students who want a liberal arts path to a business major a place to land. The objective is to build a robust major with intellectual integrity that allows students to understand the role of business within society and develop depth within one of four focus areas—entrepreneurship, arts entrepreneurship, business analytics, and natural resources and energy management.

The academic path through the major will introduce students to foundational business skills through core courses. But where it will separate itself from other programs will be the emphasis on multiple perspectives, the connections across disciplines, and the exploration of critical thinking, said Claudena Skran, the Edwin & Ruth West Professor of Economics and Social Science and professor of government who chairs the I&E program.

“The BUEN major requires students to combine learning critical thinking and problem analysis, but also how to put this knowledge into practice through internships and practicums,” she said.

• The entrepreneurship focus area will appeal to students interested in start-ups and self-employment in business or social enterprises.

• The arts entrepreneurship focus area will appeal to students interested in the business side of music, theater, or studio art.

• The business analytics focus area will zero in on a more quantitative skill set, which ties into Lawrence’s data science curriculum.

• The natural resources and energy management focus area will bring together perspectives from economics, environmental science, politics, and other related fields to understand important contemporary environmental and energy issues, and the role that business can play in tackling them.

Lawrence’s I&E program was launched in 2014. It created an interdisciplinary concentration for students interested in exploring business ventures—both for-profit and non-profit—that would create positive change in the world. It was not intended to be a business program, but a growing number of students in the ensuing years have indicated an interest in an expanded business program designed through that same liberal arts lens.

That led to the formation last year of a working group that included faculty from Economics, I&E, Government, the Conservatory of Music, Psychology, Religious Studies, Global Studies, and Theatre Arts. With encouragement from President Laurie Carter, they set out to craft an interdisciplinary business major that would build on the gains already made through I&E.

The proposal was passed in a faculty vote on Nov. 4.

The architects of the major set out to build a program that would blend needed business knowledge and skills with an emphasis on working toward the greater good.

Introductory courses will include Business and Society, Introductory Economics, and Fundamentals of Accounting.

Intermediate courses will focus on perspective and skills with a wide breadth—accounting and finance, marketing, entrepreneurship, and business and the greater good.

Students will then be required to select one of the focus areas that brings a deeper level of engagement and understanding. The program will include a heavy emphasis on internships, practicums, study abroad, or international field experience.

Meet the new class

Lawrence welcomed incoming students—383 first-years and 18 transfers—during a Welcome Week that was packed with activities and filled with emotion.

Here’s a look at the incoming class by the numbers:

38: Number of states represented in the class.

31: Number of countries represented.

82: Number of first-year students from Wisconsin. Rounding out the top five are Illinois (62), Minnesota (32), California (24), and New York (19).

22.7%: Percentage of first-year students who are domestic students of color.

12.1%: Percentage of first-year students who are non-U.S. citizens.

3.53: Average high school GPA of first-year students.

60: Number of incoming students pursuing a music degree in the Conservatory.

32: Number of students pursuing degrees in both Conservatory and College of Arts and Sciences.

Lawrence University Professor of Physics Matthew Stoneking is the recipient of a six-figure grant from the National Science Foundation, funding that will allow him to expand his research on thermal equilibrium in non-neutral plasmas.

The three-year, $431,200 grant will support, among other things, a full-time post-doctoral research assistant for two years, internship support for Lawrence students, equipment and lab supplies to build a new experiment in Youngchild Hall, and travel support to work with collaborators at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Germany.

“Receiving the grant is really satisfying because it’s a competitive process, and it means my work has been positively reviewed by my peers in the field,” said Stoneking, an experimental plasma physicist who has been on the Lawrence faculty since 1997. “I have been part of the NSF proposal review process a few times and I know what it’s like and the kind of scrutiny a proposal receives and the limited funding that’s available to fund these projects. It’s gratifying that we can bring some money into Lawrence to give students research experiences and to allow me to continue to be an active contributor to my professional research field.”

Stoneking, who spent most of August at the Max Planck Institute in Germany, has devoted much of his recent professional life to studying the physics of non-neutral plasmas and how they thermally equilibrate.

Psychology professor Peter Glick, along with Susan Fiske of Princeton and Amy Cuddy of Harvard, co-authored a 2002 paper introducing the “stereotype content model” of prejudice. Two decades later, the paper was honored by the Society of Experimental Social Psychology (SESP) for its long-standing influence on the field of social psychology. SESP presented the authors with its 2022 Scientific Impact Award, one of the organization’s highest honors, awarded for a contribution that has “proven highly influential” over 20 or more years.

Peter Glick also was invited to be a keynote speaker at the national convention of the American Psychological Association. He spoke on how stereotypes of masculinity can hinder access to certain academic fields and why subtle adjustments in messaging can make a difference.

Jeff Clark, professor of geosciences, received a Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium grant for UAV research.

Danielle Joyner, associate professor of art history, was elected to a three-year term with the International Center for Medieval Arts Board of Directors.

Doug Martin, associate professor of physics, received a Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium grant to work on open source microscopy.

Peter Peregrine, professor of anthropology, published two books: Archaeological Research, A Brief Introduction, 3rd Edition and The Evolution of Agriculture in Humans and Insects

Megan Pickett, associate professor of physics, received a National Science Foundation grant with Purdue University for her collaborative work on inclusive physics education.

Relena Ribbons, assistant professor of geosciences, received a Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium grant for her research on DNA- and RNA-based Explorations of Microbial Communities of Leafy Greens Grown Hydroponically.

Monica Rico, Robert S. French Professor of American Studies and professor of history, was elected to the steering committee of the coalition for Western Women’s History of the Western Historical Association.

Arnold Shober, professor of government, received a grant to promote the study and discussion of civil liberties from the Menard Center for the Study of Institutions and Innovation. MCSII’s mission is to promote the study and discussion of civil liberties in governing, social, and religious institutions through scholarly inquiry, educational activities and community outreach.

Michael Clayville and the LU New Music Ensemble won The American Prize in Virtual Performance in the 2022 College/ University Division for their recording and video of Coming Together, recorded and edited remotely during the pandemic.

The Office of Communications won one award in the international 2022 CASE Circle of Excellence Awards and two awards in the CASE District V Awards from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Danny Damiani, photographer and multimedia specialist, was the recipient of a national honor for a photo he took of a women’s soccer celebration in fall 2021 (above). The photo also earned Damiani an award in the Photography/ Individual category of the District V Awards. In addition, Garrett Katerzynske earned a District V Award in the Videos: Student Audience category for his video on the unveiling of the Otāēciah sculpture in fall 2021.

Beth Zinsli, assistant professor of art history, curator of the Wriston Art Center Galleries and Museum Studies Interdisciplinary Area program director, was elected the Midwest region representative for the Association of Academic Museums and Galleries Board of Directors. She also received a Lang Fellowship Grant award from the Rare Book School.

Jesus Smith, assistant professor of ethnic studies, won the 2022 Excellence in Higher Education Shining Star Award from the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce and was named a 2021 Future 15 Young Professional by the Fox Cities Chamber.

Dane Richeson, professor of music, received the Percussive Arts Society’s 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award in Education. Nominees must have demonstrated the highest ideals and professional integrity in percussion education and pedagogy with a significant history of exceptional and/or innovative teaching practices.

Terra Winston-Sage, associate dean of religious and spiritual life, received a grant from the Spirituality Mind Body Institute to reimagine on-call student services.