Lawrence University/Conservatory ???

[ValRN]

Does anyone know anything about Lawrence University/Conservatory?

 

DS wen to their regional audition in DC this morning and the young lady there from the admissions department could not have been more than 24-25 years of age (she just graduated from there in 2011). The person there from the conservatory was also young. Both were dressed inappropriately (very sheer leggings and long but short sweaters) to represent university faculty.

 

I know that they just hired a new president. His credentials look good, however, I do not agree with his "personal life". His personal life will not break the deal for DS, though. On a side note, I feel that if the university hired someone with his personal history, then they are a little to left-sided for me. But for son, he doesn't care. Also, the young lady from the conservatory is functioning as the 'interim' director of admissions for the conservatory. To top that off, the young man who interviewed DS at an earlier date is the associate director of admissions.

 

All of these ultra young people and new administration is making me wonder if something happened at the university that created a mass exodus of admin/faculty?

 

Does anyone have a DC who has applied or is attending this school? Anyone visited?

 

Val

[JennW in SoCal]

We visited Lawrence in the summer of 2011, and I really liked it. It is a beautiful campus in a nice small town, and the music conservatory is separate yet nicely integrated with the liberal arts college. My ds was not looking at the conservatory, btw, though because I am a musician we toured the conservatory. I liked what I saw, and they are very homeschool friendly. Ds decided not to apply there, for no particular reason other than it didn't "feel" right. The school never struck me as being too, shall we say, alternative. On the contrary, it felt more traditional than most of the other LACs we visited, especially since we visited after seeing Grinnell and Macalester!

 

I found during our college search that a majority of the admissions officers you meet ARE young -- recent grads of the school. For these recent grads, it is a nice first job after graduating, and for the school the young representatives probably seem like a smart way for the school to connect with potential applicants. You can only get a good sense of what the school is really like by visiting while school is in session, and sitting in classes and eating in the dining hall. But I wouldn't dismiss it by the age and dress of the 2 admissions counselors you've met.

[Beth in OH]

I found during our college search that a majority of the admissions officers you meet ARE young -- recent grads of the school. For these recent grads, it is a nice first job after graduating, and for the school the young representatives probably seem like a smart way for the school to connect with potential applicants. ........ But I wouldn't dismiss it by the age and dress of the 2 admissions counselors you've met.

 

 

I completely agree. Particularly for a regional audition--it's the young ones who are willing to travel :001_cool:

 

As for dress, I can't speak to what these particular individuals were wearing, but I know that my view of "appropriate" has loosened up a lot since we began the college process five years ago. Even my view of "office professional" has evolved since re-joining the workforce. The range of acceptable women's dress clothes are is much broader, and generally less conservative than it was when I practiced law 25 years ago.

[ValRN]

We visited Lawrence in the summer of 2011, and I really liked it. It is a beautiful campus in a nice small town, and the music conservatory is separate yet nicely integrated with the liberal arts college. My ds was not looking at the conservatory, btw, though because I am a musician we toured the conservatory. I liked what I saw, and they are very homeschool friendly. Ds decided not to apply there, for no particular reason other than it didn't "feel" right. The school never struck me as being too, shall we say, alternative. On the contrary, it felt more traditional than most of the other LACs we visited, especially since we visited after seeing Grinnell and Macalester! I found during our college search that a majority of the admissions officers you meet ARE young -- recent grads of the school. For these recent grads, it is a nice first job after graduating, and for the school the young representatives probably seem like a smart way for the school to connect with potential applicants. You can only get a good sense of what the school is really like by visiting while school is in session, and sitting in classes and eating in the dining hall. But I wouldn't dismiss it by the age and dress of the 2 admissions counselors you've met.

I completely agree. Particularly for a regional audition--it's the young ones who are willing to travel :001_cool: As for dress, I can't speak to what these particular individuals were wearing, but I know that my view of "appropriate" has loosened up a lot since we began the college process five years ago. Even my view of "office professional" has evolved since re-joining the workforce. The range of acceptable women's dress clothes are is much broader, and generally less conservative than it was when I practiced law 25 years ago.

 

 

Thank you for your respsonses. Young people working in admin seems to be the norm from all of the responses that I am getting. This process is new to me and DS, so we have no reference point.

 

Although the young ladies were certainly dressed appropriately for people their age, I still feel that more professional attire would be better suited for the occassion. BUT....this is coming from a mom whose 18y/o son wears button-up, collared shirts; ties (mostly bow ties); and dress shoes every single day (even when he has nowhere to go). And no, this is not my doing. I encourage him to be less formal when we are home or going to less formal places. However, he insists upon his shirts, ties, and dress shoes. :blink:

 

The other thing I was wondering in my original post was that if we should be concerned about the recent change in president and other admin? I'm not concerned about WHO they are or their qualifications, but the fact that there have been so many (through the eyes of an inexperienced parent) changes. For instance, this year they hired a new Dean of Students, Director of Admissions, and the once associate director of conservatory admissions is now the interim director of conservatory admissions. I don't know if this should raise a red flag for me, so I was trying to see what others thought.

[FaithManor]

Thank you for your respsonses. Young people working in admin seems to be the norm from all of the responses that I am getting. This process is new to me and DS, so we have no reference point.

 

Although the young ladies were certainly dressed appropriately for people their age, I still feel that more professional attire would be better suited for the occassion. BUT....this is coming from a mom whose 18y/o son wears button-up, collared shirts; ties (mostly bow ties); and dress shoes every single day (even when he has nowhere to go). And no, this is not my doing. I encourage him to be less formal when we are home or going to less formal places. However, he insists upon his shirts, ties, and dress shoes. :blink:

 

The other thing I was wondering in my original post was that if we should be concerned about the recent change in president and other admin? I'm not concerned about WHO they are or their qualifications, but the fact that there have been so many (through the eyes of an inexperienced parent) changes. For instance, this year they hired a new Dean of Students, Director of Admissions, and the once associate director of conservatory admissions is now the interim director of conservatory admissions. I don't know if this should raise a red flag for me, so I was trying to see what others thought.

 

 

 

Dh's brother is the VP of a college and says this is normal. Generally, when a college president moves on or retires, the process kind of mimics the same change over as the President of the U.S. in it's own mini way. The new president brings with him his "cabinet" which means new VP's, new deans, and sometimes even new department chairs. That's pretty common. If the new president and his "cabinet" have a lot of experience working in higher education, they can usually make these big changes without disrupting the function of the institution. Sometimes a president radically changes the direction an institution is moving, but generally, they make their changes slowly and steadily. So, probably this school will not be much different in September of 2013 than it was one year prior.

 

Faith

[Beth in OH]

On the change in administration issue, see if the Board hired the President after a national search (even if the new President was an internal candidate). I recently went through this process as a trustee of a public university, and it was very reassuring. In a typical search, there will be many people who weigh in on the process, and our result was excellent. I even represented a school without a great deal of economic buying power ;)

 

Also read the President's bio. He or she will have built a network of professional colleagues from which (s)he may choose the cabinet. Also, it isn't necessarily better that a President has held that position previously. Sometimes experienced, but new blood, is the best fit. Mostly, I wouldn't worry about it. As others have said, it's very common to have a lot of change after a presidential leaves.