On the Road Again
Family Weekend Starts Friday
By Jennie Caldwell '98
The trees are turning those fabulous fall colors that the North Country is famous for, a sure
sign that it's time for families to visit their students and see, hands-on, what St. Lawrence
is all about. According to Peg Cornwell, career planning, who co-chairs Family Weekend with
Michele James, residence life, the goal of the weekend is not only for family members to have
a good time and enjoy a taste of college life, but also to inform them about the educational
and extracurricular opportunities available to students today.
Along with long-standing events such as the Laurentian Singers concerts and various
athletic contests, a demonstration of the World Wide Web and a discussion about outdoor education at SLU are on the schedule. New this year are a nine-hole golf tournament and two opportunities to meet President Daniel and Ann Sullivan. Families can even get flu shots in Winning Health Center this year.
Writers and More Writers
Fourteen noted writers will bring their creative energy to campus this academic year, through
two separate series, one hosted by the English department and one by North Country Public
Radio.
The English department's St. Lawrence Writers Series, according to director Peter
Bailey, will see visiting writers, such as Jay McInerney and Colette Inez, not only read
from their works but also participate in writing classes and conduct workshops. The series,
says Bailey, is meant to bring the writing community closer to the North Country. "The series
has added to the prestige of St. Lawrence University both on and off campus," he adds.
North Country Public Radio's series, "Readers and Writers On The Air," broadcasts interviews
with the visiting writers and was developed this year in conjunction with area high school
English teachers, some of whom, with their students, will be guest hosts for the interviews.
The first writer to visit campus through the English department's series is Ishmael
Reed, who will present a reading in Sykes Common Room at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, October 29.
Following him will be Jay McInerney on November 12, Russell Banks on December 3, Colette Inez
on March 26 and Sandra Cisneros on April 9.
North Country Public Radio's series airs on the first Thursday of each month except
January at 7 p.m. It shares one writer in common with the English department's series: Russell
Banks, on December 4. Others are Kaye Gibbons, October 2; Joe Duemer and Jim Simmerman,
November 6; Larry Watson, February 5; Bill McKibben, March 5; Manny Drukier, April 2; Frank
McCourt, May 7; and Karen Cushman, June 4. January's event, on the 8th, is a call-in during
which listeners can recommend their favorite books.
Noted Civil Rights Lawyer to Give O'Loughlin Lecture
By Amy White '98
Morris Dees, a civil rights attorney who is perhaps most well-known for his successful lawsuit
against the Ku Klux Klan in 1981, will present this year's O'Loughlin Leadership Series Lecture
on Tuesday, October 7, at 8 p.m. in Gulick Theatre.
Though Dees has been an activist for civil rights for many years, his new focus has
been the surge of extreme militia movements in the United States. His expose, "Gathering
Storm: America's Militia Threat," explores the harm that these groups can inflict. His
lecture, "A Passion for Justice: the Radical Militia Movement" will explore this issue.
As stated in his published biography, Dees co-founded the Southern Poverty Law Center
in 1971. The center aided in a historic lawsuit against the KKK for lynching an
African-American man in Alabama in 1981. The suit set a precedent, provoking a series of
successful lawsuits against the Klan throughout the 1980s, eventually causing the hate group
to go bankrupt. The Center also formed "Klanwatch" in 1980 to put a stop to organized racist
activity. Dees also pushed for the creation of the Civil Rights Memorial, which bears the
names of individuals who lost their lives in the civil rights movement, in Montgomery, Alabama.
The O'Loughlin Leadership Series Lecture is a series of lectures established in
memory of John F. O'Loughlin by family members who attended and have remained active in the
St. Lawrence community.
Shakespeare Returns
Campus favorites the Shenandoah Shakespeare Express will once again give a series of
performances open to the community. Their schedule is as follows:
Sunday, October 26, A Midsummer Night's Dream, 1:30 p.m. (special children's matinee; no
one over age 18 admitted unless accompanied by someone younger than that age)
All performances take place in Sykes Common Room. Tickets are $2 each; contact the
U.C. desk, x5757, for information.
Based in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, Shenandoah Shakespeare Express is a company
of young actors who perform the playwright's works under the conditions for which they were originally designed - on a bare stage surrounded by an audience on three sides sharing the same light with the actors, each of whom plays several roles. They have performed annually at St. Lawrence for several years.
University Advancement: New Name, New Responsibilities
Over the summer, several changes were made in the area of the University responsible for
fund-raising and alumni relations. The resulting new names and responsibilities are outlined
here:
The division, which includes alumni and parent programs, communications, development and
North Country Public Radio, is now called University advancement. Linda Pettit is vice
president for University advancement.
Effective July 1, Peter Beekman became associate vice president for development. His
former title was director of development. Lisa Cania became associate vice president for
University relations, having responsibility for communications and alumni and parent programs.
She had been director of communications.
The offices of alumni relations and annual giving have been combined into the single
office of alumni and parent programs. Under the new configuration, staff will be responsible
for volunteer recruitment and support for University programs; support of on- and off-campus
programs linked to constituent interests; Alumni Reunion Weekend, Homecoming and related
activities and events; and the St. Lawrence Fund. According to Pettit, the reorganization
will allow the staff to be "much more effective and efficient working together, with
significantly more staff focused on the whole picture."
All staff in the division now have their offices in Vilas Hall. Brush Alumni House
will continue to be used as a gathering place for alumni on campus, and for other appropriate
events.
John McMillian, former assistant director of annual giving at Trinity College in Hartford,
serves this year as interim director of alumni and parent programs. A national search will be
conducted for a permanent director.
James R. Koch '74 has been appointed assistant director of alumni and parent
programs. Formerly a deputy for training management with the National Guard bureau of the
Pentagon, Koch began at St. Lawrence September 15. Two additional assistant director
positions will be filled after searches are complete in the next weeks.
Michael Archibald, former director of annual and special gifts, has been promoted to
director of major gifts. Carol Martin, former assistant director of annual giving, has been
named associate director of alumni and parent programs. Ken Alger is now associate director
of communications, and Tracy L. Robertson is assistant director of communications.
Addressing the changes within the division, Pettit said, "We are excited about these
changes because we feel that the end result will be better support for all of our
constituents, resulting in stronger support in all ways for the University."
Outdoor Program Has New Leadership
Upon meeting Phil Royce, one can tell that even though he feels at home by his desk, with his
golden retriever, Buck, dozing beneath it, he'd rather be outside enjoying fall in the North
Country. As the new director of the Outdoor Program, Royce has plenty of opportunities to get
out. It is his mission, he says, to take St. Lawrence students beyond the classroom and into
the natural environment. "The more we can incorporate the outdoors into students' lives, the
happier they will be," claims Royce, noting the need to take as much advantage as possible
of St. Lawrence's proximity to the Adirondacks.
Thanks to Royce, the Outdoor Program is on its way to becoming an even more integral
part of campus life than it was before. This year, the program offers more support for faculty
and the First-Year Program, but students can get involved even if their professors don't, by
participating in trips and clinics that are run by fellow students who are certified guides.
Many of these are set in the Adirondacks, but Royce says he likes to plan trips that explore
other parts of the country over breaks in order to give students a chance to experience the
great diversity that nature has to offer.
The guides program, one of Royce's priorities, gives between 10 and 15 students per
year the opportunity to become certified guides. Royce and about 35 previously certified
guides train these students, giving them the tools they need to be safe and competent in the
wilderness. Royce stresses what he calls "hard" and "soft" skills in the guides' training:
hard skills include the technical aspects of activities, while soft skills include teaching
and interpersonal methods. What makes the entire Outdoor Program work, he says, is that he
expects the guides to give a little back by planning and guiding trips as well as teaching
clinics.
Royce sees the Outdoor Program expanding over the next 10 years with the addition of
short courses that will include two class days of instruction followed by a weekend excursion,
such as white-water canoeing on the Petawawa River in Ontario. He hopes that eventually these
short courses can be offered for non-academic credit. He says he would also like to see a
separate facility and even an Adirondack semester off-campus, as well as interdisciplinary
courses with philosophy and biology.
Phil Royce brings to the Outdoor Program not only experience as a trained outdoor professional
but also enthusiasm for sharing the outdoors with students by teaching them to enjoy the
environment safely. "The Outdoor Program has a foundation laid by past directors and Phil
Royce is putting up the walls and nailing down the roof," says Josh Lane '99, a trained guide
and FYP pre-trip coordinator. "He has the support and respect of administrators, faculty and
the student guides."
Up Close and Personal: Jeff Miller, Astronomer and Computer
Technician
By Amy White '98
Jeff Miller seems to fit right into the niche that he has found at St. Lawrence. Although
he's perhaps more visible on campus as a computer troubleshooter, as the physics lab
coordinator, Miller can bring his dog, Thor, to his office in Bewkes and allow him to roam
the halls of the physics department. "You have to have a dog if you're going to work here,"
Miller says, explaining that four of the other professors in the department bring their dogs
to work as well.
Hailing from Connecticut, Miller and his wife, Cheryl, came to the North Country eight
years ago after receiving their master's degrees from Wesleyan University. He notes that
one of his first impressions of the region was of the skies at night. "I was driving from
Burlington under large aurora displays. I drove the whole time with my head out the window,"
Miller claims.
"Astronomy was something that always interested me when I was younger," Miller
explains. He has tried to awaken a love of astronomy among Laurentians and residents of the
community as well by organizing "star parties" for observing comets, eclipses and visible
planets. "We get a good reception not only from science majors and St. Lawrence people, but
people from town as well," Miller says.
Miller has had the opportunity to teach some courses in astronomy and physics, as
well as computer programming. "Teaching is definitely something that I would like to do
more of in the future," he says.
During his time away from St. Lawrence, Miller enjoys photography, a hobby that
his love for the skies creeps into. "I have a picture on display in the hallway between
Madill and Brown of the solar eclipse in 1994," he says. But his newest project, he says,
is home maintenance. "My wife received tenure from SUNY Potsdam two years ago, and we
bought a house this year," he explains. "It has great views of the sky."
Miller intends to stay in the North Country, where the skies are clear, the
computers need fixing and Thor can commune with his canine colleagues in the physics
department.
Mark Your Calendar
October 29
Writers Series: Ishmael Reed, Sykes Common Room, 8 p.m.
On the Road Again
With the University's eight admissions counselors fanning out across the nation (see
accompanying list), Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Terry Cowdrey reported the
following in mid-September:
-Inquiries from seniors stood at 23,810, over 5,000 more than were received in all of
last year. "We're reaching these people earlier in the recruitment cycle, which is a big
advantage," she noted.
-Over 400 people, including 159 prospective students, attended Open House on September 20.
-Some 3,000 prospects have been invited to off-campus interviews in major cities.
-Mailings are planned to up to 6,000 high schools.
-In the works for next year are a new family of recruitment literature, a more user-friendly
application, an on-line inquiry card and new ways of reaching high school juniors.
The Admissions Territories, and Their Counselors-in-Charge:
1: Colorado, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Utah: Tonki Reidy
2: Alaska, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, North and South Dakota, Vermont, Wyoming and
Canada: Troy Creurer
3: Arkansas, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Tennessee,
Westchester County (NY), Wisconsin: Ellen Petraglia
4: Arizona, California, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New York City,
Oklahoma, Oregon, Washington: Kristin Hokanson
5: Capital District and Hudson Valley (NY), Maryland, North and South Carolina, Virginia,
District of Columbia: Fitz Totten
6: Central and Northern New York, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi,
military addresses: Sara Austin
7: Delaware, Eastern Pennsylvania, Long Island, New Jersey, Texas: Beth Larrabee
8: Hawaii, Ohio, West Virginia, Western New York, Western Pennsylvania, all international
addresses excluding Canada: Matt Lavine.
© St. Lawrence University, 4/1/97
Maintained by Neal Burdick
For more information, call 315-379-5585 or e-mail nbur@music.stlawu.edu
Last Revision Date: October 6, 1997
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