Campus notes: Lawrence University announces faculty promotions

Lawrence faculty members promoted, granted tenure

Two members of the Lawrence University faculty have been promoted to full professor and four others were granted tenure appointments by the college’s Board of Trustees.

Andrew Mast and Lifongo Vetinde were promoted to full professor. Ian Bates, Lori Hilt, Erin Lesser and Mark Phelan were granted tenure and promoted to rank of associate professor.

“The two senior colleagues have fully developed programs that help keep Lawrence in the first rank of quality small universities,” said David Burrows, provost and dean of the faculty. “The newly tenured faculty add new ideas and approaches that help keep our programs vibrant. We look forward to many years of high-quality performance by each of these colleagues.”

Mast, the Kimberly-Clark Professor of Music and director of bands, joined the Lawrence Conservatory in 2004. He has served as associate dean of the conservatory since 2015. The conductor of the Lawrence Wind Ensemble, Mast also has directed Lawrence’s symphonic band and symphony orchestra.

A native of Cameroon, Vetinde came to the United States when he was 20 and joined the Lawrence French department in 1996. A scholar of Francophone African literature and cinema, he was awarded a U.S. Fulbright Teaching and Research Fellowship in 2012 that took him to the Université Gaston Berger in Senegal, where he taught courses on American literature by minority authors.

Bates, who teaches music theory, joined the Lawrence Conservatory in 2011 after teaching appointments at Yale University and the University of Western Ontario.

Hilt, a 1997 Lawrence graduate, returned to her alma mater’s psychology department in 2011. She also teaches in the neuroscience program and directs the Child and Adolescent Research in Emotion (CARE) laboratory, which focuses on issues related to adolescent depression, emotion regulation and suicide prevention.

Lesser, a flutist, joined the conservatory of music in 2011. An accomplished soloist and chamber musician, Lesser has performed throughout the United States, Canada, China, Brazil and Europe.

Phelan joined the philosophy department in 2011. His scholarship includes theory of mind, language and cognitive science, figurative language and linguistic pragmatics.

Community class registration for fall set at FVTC 

Open registration for fall semester community classes at Fox Valley Technical College is now underway. Class booklets are available at area convenience stores, gas stations and restaurants throughout FVTC’s five-county district.

This fall’s hot picks include Basic Small Engine Repair, Intro to Business, CDL Permit, First Aid for Pets, Healthy Cooking, Jewelry Making, and more. Each year, FVTC provides hundreds of personal enrichment courses throughout the region. 

The fall semester begins Aug. 24. For a full list of classes this fall semester, visit www.fvtc.edu/TakeAClass. 

FVTC to host motorcycle training courses

The transportation department at Fox Valley Technical College announced its annual summer lineup of basic rider motorcycle classes, beginning on July 14 and running through July 30 at the college’s J. J. Keller Transportation Center on the Appleton campus.

The three weekend offerings will be held July 14-16, July 21-23, and July 28-30. Times are 5:30-8:30 p.m. Friday; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Completion of the Wisconsin State required Motorcycle Safety Foundation e-Course is required prior to attending the FVTC training. The fee for the e-Course is $19.99. Trainees must present a copy of their e-Course completion certificate to the FVTC instructor on the first day of class. Completion of the e-Course must be done no earlier than 30 days before the start of the motorcycle rider class.

The FVTC weekend training session fee is $262.10.  For more information or to register for both classes, visit www.fvtc.edu/motorcycle.