Summer 2012 | Beautiful to Behold

An understanding of loveliness St. Augustine saw beauty as a life-saving force in our lives, “a plank amid the waves of the sea.” It is his rule – the Rule of Augustine – that St. Norbert adopted for his order, so it seems especially fitting to reflect upon his words as we explore, in this issue, the nature of the beautiful. On the cover: Faithful stewardship is a cornerstone of Norbertine practice and it’s a responsibility that the college community has taken very much to its communal heart. One of the many blessings that we reap is our collective ownership of a beautiful campus – the very campus that the little sparrow on our cover surveys from his perch atop the rotunda of the Welcome Center.  Download a PDF version (20.5 MB) of the current St. Norbert College Magazine.

Major conference on sport and society in America hits a home run in its second outing
In only its second outing, this significant conference on the role of sport in America offered a slate of speakers that will be hard to beat. Major League Baseball’s Bud Selig was the keynote speaker. >>MORE

Rich opportunities profit student editor
In her four years at St. Norbert, Gretchen Panzer ’12 amassed a depth of editing experience rare even in graduate school. Projects that benefited from her hand included an academic journal, an international student journal and four book-length manuscripts. >>MORE

Beautiful to me
We put a single question to members of our extended community. We wanted to know, “What is it, here at St. Norbert College, that is beautiful to you?” Their varied answers build up a layered and lovely composite, an image of a unique place. >>MORE

Did college kill the beautiful?
Joel Mann (Philosophy) asks why, on campuses today, professors shy away from awakening their students to the beautiful. >>MORE

Behind the Seams
Mariann Verheyen ’72 looks to the grace in life to inform the elegance of her art – an art that has taken her from circus to theater, from advertising to academia. >>MORE

The making and keeping of a beautiful campus
The physical beauty of the St. Norbert College campus testifies to more than a century’s communal effort to bring about and enhance a pleasant environment for all who spend time here. >>MORE

The image of perfection
The consumerism that pervades contemporary Western society penetrates even our notions of personal beauty. But such behavior is opposed to the Christian narrative, says Bridget Burke Ravizza (Religious Studies). We do not have to earn love from others, or try to become something other than ourselves. >>MORE

Magnificent in theory
The physics of art and music are opening students’ eyes to the science behind the studies they enjoy in other disciplines. >>MORE

New lab models fluid phenomena
A new lab on campus is contributing to scholarly understanding of the interplay between lake ecosystems and climate change. >>MORE

Photographer connects with a master of light
In his bid to understand more about the Baroque, Leivur Djurhuus ’12 has created a series of dramatic photographs that have drawn recognition on and off campus. >>MORE

From the heart
Through a foundation born of her family’s own tragic loss, Mary Beth (Gilling) Schewitz ’74 strives to spare other parents the worst grief imaginable. >>MORE 

One year, three national titles
It was a great year to be a Green Knight. St. Norbert garnered two national titles in track to add to hockey’s 2012 Division III championship banner, won in March. >>MORE