SHERIDAN ROAD  |  What's New at Lake Forest College

 

A Place of Their Own

imageStudents asked for more space to socialize and they got it – the Mohr Student Center opened on April 21.

At the opening day celebration, hundreds of students, faculty, staff, and donors checked out the new 14,000 square-foot building, which features large-screen TV’s, lounges, games and billiard tables, deli/snack bar, stage and performance space, and an outdoor terrace with seating.

The facility, named for long-time trustee Jean T. Mohr ’52 and her husband Frank T. Mohr Jr. ’52, was designed by architect Stephen Wright with input from students. Not only did students help with the planning, the Class of 2006 raised about $10,000 and created an endowed fund called the MoneyTree Fund for its class gift.

The money will go toward the upkeep of the gaming equipment and recreational supplies as well as to purchase future items for the student center. This is the largest class gift ever given by a senior class, who raised the money through fundraisers, direct solicitation, and by working with local restaurants and bars to donate a percentage of profits. (Photo by Suzanne Tennant)

Mohr Student Center


Dandelion Decision

After a year-long moratorium on using herbicides to control dandelions on the lawns of Lake Forest College as reported in the fall Spectrum, President Stephen D. Schutt decided to resume limited spraying on grass that borders city streets and receives little foot traffic. However, no spraying will occur on internal lawns and Campus Circle residences, where the College will work to build stronger, dandelion-resistant turf or create prairie or savannah spaces.

His decision came in response to recommendations proposed by the Environmental Issues and Concerns Advisory Committee, which took up the issue after several faculty, staff, and students protested safety concerns associated with the use of herbicides last April.

According to the committee’s report, the group examined what 18 other schools were doing about herbicide use, reviewed scientific studies about the chemicals used in herbicides, and considered the cost and effectiveness of herbicide-free lawn care before recommending that the College not use 2, 4-D, MCPP, Dicamba, or Clopyralid, which are chemicals found in herbicides. The committee also recommended that the College work to improve the turf to make it resistant to dandelions and convert some areas to prairies or savannahs.

President Schutt cited several reasons to explain his decision. He adopted some of the recommendations on campus property that is less visible to the general public, but will resume spraying in other areas since additional scientific research on herbicide safety wasn’t considered, other institutions use herbicides judiciously as part of an overall lawn maintenance program, and the costs of implementing an herbicide-free program were unknown.


Student Symposium a Success

Where else would you find a report on the political situation in Chechnya, an aikido demonstration in a cafeteria, a College president throwing a dart while playing balloon poetry, and a student-choreographed dance performance to a musical adaptation of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest but the 9th Annual Student Symposium, held at the College on April 10–11?

More than 350 students showcased their work to more than 1,400 attendees through presentations, exhibits, debates, performances, and demonstrations. Several programs, student organizations, and all academic departments were also involved. For the first time, the Symposium kicked off a day earlier in the Durand Art Institute among student art exhibits and gallery talks before concluding with a music performance in honor of Mozart’s 250th birthday.

The high levels of participation and diverse intellectual interests indicate Lake Forest College's strong emphasis on scholarship and collaboration. “Students and faculty value student scholarship as a way and means to receiving and providing a strong liberal arts education,” says Assistant Professor of Biology Shubhik DebBurman, Symposium committee chair. “This is a real tribute to the depth of faculty and student collaborative research and a measure of widespread teaching innovations by our faculty.”

Visit learn.lakeforest.edu/symposium/ for more information.


Artist-in-Residence

imageAt left, Chicago-based percussionist and composer Kahil El’Zabar makes an instrument with Molly Merrick ’06.

El’Zabar, a former Lake Forest College student who went on to study in Ghana and become an internationally renowned jazz musician, brought his Ethnic Heritage Ensemble and their global sound to campus for a week in February as part of the Artist-in-Residence program.

The group, which combines contemporary African American musical styles with traditional African instruments and rhythms, visited classes, worked with students, and gave two concerts at the Lily Reid Holt Memorial Chapel, including one show that featured students who participated in the instrument-making workshop pictured. (Photo by Joel Lerner)


Environmental Studies Class Proposes Energy Savers

The cost of energy is soaring and Lake Forest College is not immune. While energy consumption has remained steady at the College, expenses have risen from about $1.1 million in 2004 to $1.4 million in 2005 as prices increased for natural gas, gasoline, and diesel fuels.

Despite ongoing efforts to conserve on campus, more can be done to reduce energy usage and costs, says Assistant Professor of Chemistry Lori del Negro and the students who took her class The Scientific, Economic, and Institutional Challenges of Alternative Energy.

After performing an energy audit, they came up with the following recommendations, which will be submitted to Facilities Management, Environmental Issues and Concerns Advisory Committee, College Council, Vice President for Business, President, and Trustees of the College for consideration over the next year.

1. Implement easy, inexpensive solutions with long-term benefits.
Some “no brainers” include adjusting the sleep time on computers from 30 to 15 minutes ($400 savings per year) and installing vending machine misers, which automatically shut off a machine until it is reoccupied or the temperature needs regulating ($200 per machine). 

2. Invest 1% of the annual energy budget in energy-saving strategies each year.
Energy costs will only increase, creating a bigger strain on the budget each year, the class contends. Investing a small percentage of the budget ($14,000 this year) in energy-efficient solutions will save the College money in the long run.

3. Educate students to increase energy awareness.
Send a pamphlet and holding a mandatory seminar for incoming students that encourages students to reduce consumption in their everyday life, like remembering to turn of the lights or buying energy-efficient small appliances for their dorm room.

4. Investigate and hire a firm for performance contracting.
An outside firm can help upgrade campus facilities through energy-saving improvements and then recommend how the College can best spend money set aside for energy-saving strategies.

5. Adopt an energy policy for the College.
A policy would encourage energy efficiency, set guidelines for energy use, increase awareness, and create a sense of personal accountability about day-to-day energy use.


Rallying for Rights

“I wanted people to go because I knew it would be an historic moment,” says Elsi Rodriguez ’07 on why she organized about 60 immigrants from Highwood to take a rented bus down to Chicago for the historic March 10 immigration rally that protested a proposed congressional bill that would tighten borders and criminalize undocumented immigrants.

The Highwood native—whose parents were granted amnesty under the Immigration and Reform Control Act in 1986—has been an activist since she was a student at Highland Park High School when she joined an organization called Latino Leadership and became the youngest member to serve on the board. She has lobbied for a health center that would serve low-income and underserved residents in Lake County that is slated to open in June and is fighting the condominium conversion of a low-rent apartment building that houses many immigrants. She also supervises a tutoring program for junior high students.

Rodriguez, a Latin American studies and international relations major who also works for State Senator Susan Garrett ’93 (D-Lake Forest), is debating whether to go into politics or become an organizer. “One thing I know is that I want to make a difference in the community,” she says.


Speakers Sound Off

How to keep a technology company innovative and competitive in a global economy was the subject of a talk delivered by EDWARD J. ZANDER, chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Motorola, Inc. “The hardest job we have as executives is to get big companies to understand how to innovate,” said Zander, who delivered the annual A. B. Dick Lecture on Entrepreneurship on April 19.

After taking over the company in 2004, he increased spending into research and development to between $3 to $4 billion, and found that focusing on the consumer, understanding the competition, creating a culture that values innovation, and investing in new technology were vital to the success of Motorola, which has sold millions of Razr cell phones since it was introduced the same year. But the company that gets too comfortable with its success and fails to stay on the cutting edge of rapidly changing technology will get “whacked,” he added.

As educational systems improve around the world, a technology company also has to be aggressive in attracting a talented workforce. With increasing competition on the job front, Zander advised students in the audience to work hard, get real-world experience, and seek out good bosses and role models. “Apply yourself, get out of your comfort zone, take some risks,” he said.

When asked by an audience member if he ever turned his own phone off, he paused for a moment before saying, “A job is a means to an end but friends and family are more important. You have to balance your life.”

Among the dozens of other speakers on campus this semester:

STEVE BOGIRA, author of Courtroom 302, spoke about the year he spent chronicling the criminal justice system in Chicago's Cook County Criminal Courthouse, the busiest felony courthouse in the country on March 23.

MICHAEL CLEMENS, author of Nature in Fragments: The Legacy of Sprawl, delivered a talk on the negative impacts of urban sprawl and the process for creating more sustainable human environments on February 7.

WILLIAM H. GASS, two-time National Book Critics’ Circle Award winner, delivered the keynote address to open the second annual Lake Forest Literary Festival, held April 5-7.

LILLIAN GROAG ’67, Chicago Opera Theater director, joined her colleagues on a panel that discussed what it takes to create an opera production on February 2.

DR. WOLFGANG KETTERLE, winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in physics, delivered the annual Volwiler Distinguished Scientist Lecture on why physicists freeze matter at extremely low temperatures on March 6.

SCOTT RITTER, a former UN weapons inspector in Iraq and author of Iraq Confidential: The Untold Story of Intelligence Conspiracy to Undermine the UN and Overthrow Saddam Hussein, discussed the current situation in Iraq and Iran on March 30. 

GLENNETTE TILLEY TURNER ’55, educator, historical researcher, and author of The Underground Railroad in Illinois, delivered a speech that commemorated the life of Martin Luther King Jr. on January 16.


By the Numbers


$10,000          
Dollars raised by Delta Kappa Epsilon for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts

2,134              
Appointments set at the Writing Center, an all-time record

164                 
Abstracts submitted by students for the 9th Annual Student Symposium

111                 
Writers and artists who participated in the second annual &Now/Lake Forest Literary Festival from April 5-7

28                   
National titles won by the Lake Forest Handball Team since 1968

25                   
Years of Playwrights-in-Progress, in which student playwrights develop their scripts with artists from Chicago’s Victory Gardens Theater

2                     
Published editions of Eukaryon, the undergraduate science research journal

1                     
Fulbright Scholar*

* After winning a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship, Katie Lupo ’06 will head to Germany in August to continue her thesis work on the convergence of the German labor markets after unification. “I would like to determine how cultural and institutional factors help achieve or hinder equality between the eastern and western labor forces,” Lupo, an economics and sociology major, told the Stentor, the College’s weekly newspaper. About one in five applicants receive the coveted grants, which are funded by the U.S. Department of State and require an extensive application process. 


Laundry meets the 21st century

imageLake Forest students no longer have to set their watches, run up and down stairs, or even leave their dorm room to check on laundry. All they have to do is log on to a new Web site that provides machine availability, indicates how much time is left on a load, sends e-mail notifications when machines are free, and makes it easy to report maintenance problems.

The site, www.laundryview.com, also compiles a bi-weekly usage chart so students can avoid peak laundry times. The new service caught the attention of WTTW Channel 11’s public affairs show “Chicago Tonight,” which featured interviews with Chelsea Wade ’08, Alexander King ’07, and Director of Residence Life Todd Harris for a segment that aired May 8.

The upgrade came as the Office of Residence Life signed a new 10-year contract with Mac-Gray. “It’s a good opportunity for students to save time,” says Harris.

The department also installed new front load washers and dryers that accept laundry cards so students no longer have to hunt for quarters. Harris says the new machines are more energy efficient and will save the College an estimated $11,000 a year. The office spent about $4,000 to wire all of the laundry rooms for the service, which sends e-mail notifications via computer, cell phone, or PDA when a load of laundry is finished.


In the News

The December 2005 issue of University Business featured the collaboration between Lake Forest College and Kalamazoo College, which have reduced operating costs by sharing hardware and software for their e-mail and help desk systems.  

Professor of Sociology and Anthropology AHMAD SADRI and his translation of Mahmoud Saeed’s novel Saddam City was featured on the WTTW Channel 11 television show “Arts Across Illinois” on February 10 and 19.

President STEPHEN D. SCHUTT saw his op-ed “The ABCs of Choosing a College” published in the Chicago Tribune on March 29. “My advice to high school seniors is, don’t settle for the ones everyone else wants to get into,” he wrote. “Find the college you’ll succeed in—whether or not your friends have heard of it—and set your sights on going there. It will be a wise choice.” 

WILL PITTINOS ’06, editor in chief of the Stentor, contributed a weekly column about college life to the Lake Forester, the local community newspaper published by the Pioneer Press.

Attorney JED STONE ’71, lecturer in politics, was quoted in a November 29 New York Times article about an asbestos-related lawsuit.

Professor of Mathematics DAVID YUEN, world champion of the arcade game Wizard of Wor, was interviewed by FOX Chicago about a video game exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry on February 26.

The Chronicle of Higher Education featured Professor of Politics PAUL FISCHER's class Race and Housing in the May 19 issue. The course examines the relationship between housing policy and race as students conduct field research in Chicago’s public housing projects.

Diver KENDALL SWETT ’08 was featured in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd” on April 24 for her performance at the 2006 Women’s Swimming & Diving NCAA Division III National Championships.


Close Connections
By Meghan Grosse ’08 and Nick Rennis ‘08

imageLast September, we saw The Firebird Band at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, New Jersey. The band was one of dozens who performed in over 50 venues for the 10,000 college radio executives during the annual College Music Journal music festival in New York City. When we spoke to them after the set, they thanked us for playing music like theirs on college radio airwaves. Six months later, The Firebird Band performed on campus in front of nearly 200 fans in the Lily Reid Holt Memorial Chapel.

To play these artists on the radio is one thing. To meet them in person reminds us of the close connection between college radio and independent music—a notion we explored during a four-day conference that introduced us workable ideas for music programming by day and great music at night.

With no funds to buy music, our radio station relies on the work of the College Music Journal, which compiles play lists from college radio stations and categorizes the music into genres like pop, country, metal, and electronic. In turn, record labels see what college stations are spinning and determine what upcoming releases they will ship out to them. 

At the conference, we not only met the promotional directors who send us the music, we had the opportunity to get together with all CMJ-reporting stations and talk about college radio. We attended panels on music programming and direction, learned techniques for troubleshooting and recruiting, and met bands who we booked to play on campus.

We made lasting connections and found useful resources that will help us on our quest to become one of the premier college radio stations on the airwaves today.

Meghan Grosse ’08 is the music director and Nick Rennis ’08 is the booking director for WMXM 88.9.


Q&A with Wheel Winner Matthew Kelley

imageWheel watchers will recognize Assistant Professor of Psychology Matthew Kelley, who cleaned up on Wheel of Fortune (show aired March 15). After solving five puzzles, including the bonus round, Kelley walked away with $69,070 in cash and prizes, including a Saab convertible and a trip to Spain. Spectrum asked Kelley about his experience on the show.

What were Pat and Vanna like?

I was struck by Pat’s quick wit throughout the show. He sensed we were very nervous and gave us a quick pep talk early in the game. After the show, Pat mentioned that he is a Chicago native and he suggested that I take the new convertible for a spin down Lake Shore Drive. I also learned that Vanna was hurt during our taping, as she had to fit her recently broken toe into some shoes that looked ridiculously uncomfortable.

What was it like to spin the wheel?

Heavy! This may sound silly, but all contestants are trained on the proper spin technique prior to the show. You have to grasp the top half of the furthest spoke that you can reach without falling onto the wheel, pull it towards you, then push the wheel away from you. You don’t want to get your fingers caught.

You had so little to go on for the last puzzle that after you solved it, Pat Sajak said, “I don’t get this show sometimes.” How did you do it? (What he got: _ _ _ I N _  T _ E  _ _ _)

You might have seen my eyes darting back and forth between the puzzle and the available letter board off camera. Even as Pat was talking, I was plugging each available letter into the first position of the first word. When I arrived at ‘p,’ I thought to myself “p…pa…pay…paving…paving the way.”  It felt like my 10 seconds were just about up so I decided to blurt it out. It was right! 

In addition to almost $70,000 in cash and prizes, what will you take away from this experience?

According to my wife, my 15 minutes of fame became official when a little old lady recognized me at the grocery store. Seriously, though, I will always remember the outpouring of support from family, friends, students, and colleagues.