GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Simon's Rock alum Michael Lawrence will address graduates at the 55th Commencement ceremony of Bard College at Simon's Rock on Saturday, May 18, at 11 a.m. The ceremony will be held in person and live-streamed for those unable to attend.
A self-proclaimed "word nerd" working at the intersection of language, design, and technology, Lawrence received his bachelor's degree summa cum laude from Simon's Rock in 2002, building a concentration that combined cultural studies, critical theory, linguistics, art history, and graphic design — ideal preparation for his current job in the relatively new fields of content design and UX writing, which did not exist at the time.
He has worked with product and brand design teams at Meta, Indeed, and eBay, and offered freelance naming and content strategy for a number of creative entrepreneurs. His work allows him to craft the language that appears in apps and web interfaces to make digital products more useful, usable, and inclusive. Success requires careful attention to the metaphors and narratives people use to make sense of new technology, as well as close partnership with software engineers, user researchers, visual designers, translators, marketers, and policy experts.
After beginning his career in academia, Lawrence transitioned into industry. He served on the support staff of the first Bard High School Early College before going on to earn a PhD in rhetorical theory and criticism from the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Iowa. His dissertation explored discourses of 9/11 memorialization and national identity by examining the neoliberal epideictic practice of publicly reciting and reprinting the long list of names of the dead. The project earned the top dissertation award from the National Communication Association's Critical Cultural Studies Division.
He served on the faculty of Columbia College Chicago as a full-time lecturer in liberal arts and sciences, and acting program director for the college's First-Year Seminar program. He has also taught numerous courses on contemporary media and culture, as well as foundational courses in communication and critical thinking skills.
He continues to work with college students, currently co-teaching an interdisciplinary seminar at the University of San Francisco on generative AI and the question of human creativity.
Simon's Rock looks forward to honoring this year's graduating students. Read more details about commencement here.
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Meeting on Potential Purchase of Housatonic Water Works
GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The town will set an October outreach meeting to gain residents' feedback on draft findings from an investigation into the feasibility of the town acquiring and operating Housatonic Water Works.
The decision over a town acquisition of HWW would ultimately be made by voters at a town meeting.
The outreach discussion will follow several years of legal and financial study into the town's possible acquisition of the water company, due to water quality issues for many HWW customers. The town hired DPC Engineering from Longmeadow and Harwich Port to evaluate the potential operation and acquisition of HWW.
Town Manager Mark Pruhenski said he also hopes to clarify the role of the town manager and Selectboard in the HWW matter.
"We are responsible for representing customers of Housatonic water in a pending rate case with the state Department of Public Utilities and for investigating the possibilities for a long-term solution to the ownership and operation of the company," said Pruhenski.
The town Board of Health is accepting and forwarding water quality complaints to the state Department of Environmental Protection.
"While the Selectboard is focused on questions of potential future ownership and operation of HWW, we urge town residents to contact the Board of Health and state DEP regarding water quality," said Pruhenski.
Artist Cheyenne Renee is working to paint a mural in a small town in all 50 states. As part of the project, there will also be a documentary that will incorporate interviews and footage from each town.
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Blake said Williams was the perfect person to have as the first speaker for the series because you cannot talk about democracy without talking about Georgia.
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The game-winning rally started when Pittsfield junior Jack Abel led off by crushing a 1-1 pitch to left-center and racing all the way to third base, sliding in just ahead of the tag to give the Generals a sterling scoring opportunity. click for more