KU News Release

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More Information

• Department of Design

LAWRENCE — The Arbor Day Foundation has selected a University of Kansas senior’s artwork for a national contest called “Root for Your Home Team.” The college with the most students pledging to be tree planters wins a prize of $2,500 in trees to plant next spring.

Lauren Schroer, a graphic design major from Overland Park, originally envisioned the promotional poster for a visual communication class taught in fall 2009 by Patrick Dooley, professor of graphic design. The class, “Designer as Author,” is a research-based examination of nontraditional and expressive uses of typography.

When Dooley assigned the students to address a social or environmental cause, Schroer selected the Arbor Day Foundation after researching its history and marketing. She designed a poster to help promote Tree Campus USA, a new effort by the foundation to encourage sustainable campus forestry and engage students in planting and caring for trees on college campuses. Once the assignment was completed, Dooley encouraged his students to submit their ideas to the organizations they had researched.

Schroer sent her work to the foundation offices in Lincoln, Neb. This fall, she learned that the Tree Campus USA program would use her poster.

“We were very impressed with Lauren’s ideas and artwork, and happy that we had an opportunity to use both,” said Mary Widhelm, program coordinator for the foundation. “The contest results have been great. So far, nearly 1,000 students, alumni and others in campus communities have pledged to become tree planters on their college campuses.”

Students who pledge to become tree planters will be informed of future tree-planting opportunities on their campuses, receive monthly updates and be eligible to participate in other contests and win prizes.

The contest is only open to the 74 colleges and universities registered as 2009 Tree Campus USA Schools. Now in its third year, Tree Campus USA wants to enlist more college participation. No colleges in Kansas have applied for Tree Campus USA School recognition.

At KU, Schroer is a graphic designer for the Department of Student Housing. Some of her design works includes resident assistant recruitment materials, posters for the department’s annual Halloween in the Halls event, photo displays and other essential marketing materials.

“Lauren is a talented graphic designer who takes initiative and ownership of a project,” said Jan Morris Nitcher, graphic designer for the Department of Student Housing. “She thinks about the whole project, such as the audience, the message, the purpose and how to communicate the message visually. She adds a creative spark with her hand lettering and drawing that sets her designs apart from those that just use standard typefaces. Her designs look spontaneous and joyful.”

Schroer is the daughter of Randall and Joni Schroer, Overland Park, and a graduate of Blue Valley High School.

For more information about the Tree Campus USA program and current contests, go to www.arbordaynow.org or call (888) 448-7337.