Harry M. Jansen Kraemer ’77 will not miss Downer now that the Warch Campus Center has replaced it. “I will forget Downer in the blink of an eye!” he said.
Perhaps closing Downer was not Jansen Kraemer and his wife Julie’s (’80) only intention in donating to the campus center’s construction. In fact, the couple dedicated a room in the building to the people who instigated their now extensive legacy — Harry’s parents, who encouraged Harry to attend Lawrence.
For more than thirty years now, the Kraemers have been vital parts of Lawrence. Harry, a math and economics major who played Broadway show tunes on his WLFM radio show, is now the president of the Lawrence board of trustees.
His wife Julie graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics and English in 1980, and, in 2010, their daughter Suzie will graduate with a degree in economics and Spanish. This fall, their son Andrew joined the class of 2013.
Not that Lawrence has not been good to the Kraemers, as well. Harry met Julie when he was a senior on her first day of freshman year. Additionally, Lawrence taught the Kraemers the value of liberal arts thinking, which has lasted them throughout their lives and professional careers.
“I remember the president explaining to our entering class in the fall of 1973 that the true value of a strong liberal arts education was to gain a ‘global Renaissance perspective’ and the ability to educate ourselves for the rest of our lives,” Kraemer said, “which is exactly what happened!
Warch Center Donors Profile: Harry and Julie Kraemer
