Good morning Colleagues. Here is this week’s update:
Budget update
– There will be a Campus Budget Meeting and discussion tomorrow from 9-10 a.m. in the Student Union Wisconsin Room. I encourage you all to attend if possible. If you cannot make it for some reason, the meeting will be live streamed at http://www5.uwm.edu/news/2015/02/04/feb-10-campus-budget-meeting/#.VNQz4i7cgft. The meeting will include additional information on the formation of the task forces the Chancellor is creating to deal with the budget reductions and the strategy for communicating our story. Here are links to important websites that I encourage you to visit: https://uwm.edu/ucnews/ and https://uwm.edu/budget.
Thursday’s Board of Regents meeting was quite interesting and informative: http://ics.webcast.uwex.edu/Mediasite7/Play/d3d5763536464c0d821c7df12657d8f71d
See also the University Committee’s op-ed in the Journal Sentinel:
http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/a-reckless-proposal-to-gut-uw-from-gov-scott-walker-b99435417z1-290348341.html.
The Distinguished Professors also issued a statement on the proposed changes to the UW System and budget cuts. This statement will also be made available on the website.
Here are the links to the Chancellor’s appearances –
Wisconsin Public Television “Here and Now” Statewide Broadcast
http://video.wpt.org/video/2365415101/
Up Front with Mike Gousha – Statewide Television Interview
http://www.wisn.com/politics/upfront/chancellor-perilous-time-for-uwm/31026964
WUWM – UWM Today Interview with Chancellor
http://wuwm.com/post/uwms-chancellor-discusses-potential-impact-walkers-budget-cuts
WTMJ Report
http://www.jrn.com/tmj4/news/UWM-chancellor-to-talk-about-Gov-Walkers-cuts-to-UW-system-290046121.html
Kudos
– Carolyn Eichner, Women’s & Gender Studies and History, has been named a Member of the Institute for Advanced Study, (in Princeton, N.J.), in the School of Historical Studies, for the 2015-2016 academic year. (Member is the IAS term for what is usually called a Fellow.)
– UWM has received a $29,747 developmental education grant from UW System to implement a faster pathway to move students into credit-bearing math and English courses. Congratulations to Kyle Swanson, Math; David Clark, Letters and Science; and Phyllis King, Academic Affairs!
– Kate Nelson, Chief Sustainability Officer, and Joseph Brooks, UWM Development, who were both elected to the Board of the Urban Ecology Center, one of the finest, most impactful non-profits in Milwaukee.
– UWM’s Diversity Fair was held on Thursday, February 5, hosting over 100 employers and attended by over 350 students. Special thanks to the planning committee for their hard work!
Synopsis of the week
Monday
I have a regular monthly meeting with Stan Stojkovic, followed by the Chancellor’s Cabinet. The Chancellor’s Enrollment Management Action Team (CEMAT) meets at the end of the day. The agenda includes discussions on scholarships and advising.
Tuesday
We have the all-campus budget meeting from 9-10 in the Union Wisconsin Room. I also meet with Rodney Swain and Scott Emmons. The University Committee meets in the afternoon and I will attend part of the meeting.
Wednesday
I have several meetings with direct reports, plus meetings with Barb Daley, Paula Rhyner, and Joan Prince. I’m also attending the UWM Libraries Staff Award presentation in the afternoon.
Thursday
We have the A2S Beyond the First Year Summit in the Union Wisconsin Room. Registration has closed, but if you are interested in attending, please contact Phyllis King at pking@uwm.edu or x6175. We have the highest number of registrations ever!
Friday
I will be in Madison for a UW System Provosts meeting. Agenda items include the state budget, engineering programs in the UW System, instructional technology, common IT systems budget, developmental coursework, non-instructional workload, and other updates on UWS initiatives.
Announcements
Faculty Mentoring Program
– I also want to update you on the reorganized Faculty Mentoring Program, which is now coordinated from my Office. The program supports one-on-one mentoring, group mentoring, and peer group mentoring arrangements for Assistant Professors progressing towards tenure. Events sponsored by the program include orientation for new faculty, interactive workshop on tenure process, and other informational sessions. Please visit https://uwm.edu/faculty-mentor/ to request a mentor or to volunteer to be a mentor.
Women’s and Gender Studies Spring 2015 Brown Bag Series
– Dalia Gomaa, Women’s and Gender Studies Lecturer, presents, “The Non-national in Contemporary Narratives by American Women Writers,” on Tuesday, February 10 at noon in NWQ-B 7578. For more information, see http://uwm.edu/letsci/womensstudies/news-events/.
Exploring Majors Fair
– Please share with your students: The UWM Exploring Majors Fair will take place on Monday, February 23 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. in the Union Ballroom. More information is available at www.majorsfair.uwm.edu. Please direct questions to Lauren Lessac at lpeyton@uwm.edu.
From the Center for 21st Century Studies (C21)
– Janice Radway (Northwestern) will give a talk on, “Riot Grrrl History, Underground Itineraries and Girl Zine Networks: Unruly Subjects in the 1990s and Beyond,” on Friday, February 13 at 3:30 p.m. in Curtin 175.
From the Institute of World Affairs
– The Fireside Forum on Foreign Policy on Tuesday, February 10 at 7 p.m. in the UWM Union Fireside Lounge is, “Hungry Cities: Urban Food Insecurity in Milwaukee and around the Globe.” More information can be found at www.iwa.uwm.edu.
– Dr. Boris Kagarlitsky, author of over a dozen books, including the Issac Deutscher Prize winning The Thinking Reed, presents, “Russia, the West, and Ukrainian Crisis,” on Friday, February 20 at 2 p.m. in Garland 104. For more information, see https://www.flickr.com/photos/66798555@N03/sets/72157648389568443/ or contact Jeff Sommers at sommerjw@uwm.edu.
Service Learning Luncheon
– The Community Engaged Scholars Network (CESN) will be hosting a Lunch and Learn titled, “Service-Learning Reflection: Creating Assignments, Facilitating Discussion, and Grading it All,” this Friday from 12-1:30 p.m. in the Digital Humanities Lab, Golda Meir Library. The panel will include UWM faculty members Dr. Gregory Jay (English), Dr. Michael Freimark (Business), Dr. Robert Smith (History), and Renato Umali (Film), who are experienced service-learning instructors. The event is free and open to faculty and teaching staff. Complimentary lunch will be served from Beans and Barley. Please email lmarks@uwm.edu to RSVP for this event, space is limited.
Vice Provost for Research Search
– Nominations and applications are sought for the Vice Provost for Research position. Review of applications will begin March 15. See the announcement at http://uwm.edu/acad_aff/newsevents/vp-research/pva.pdf.
From the Libraries
– A data management workshop entitled, “Efficient Search and Replace with Regular Expressions,” will be held this Wednesday, February 11 at noon in the Digital Humanities Lab, second floor east wing of the Golda Meir Library. More information is available at https://uwm.edu/libraries/event/efficient-search-and-replace-with-regular-expressions-workshop/.
– Opal Tometi, Executive Director of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration and co-founder of #BlackLivesMatter, will give a talk, “The #BlackLivesMatter Tipping Point: The Praxis and Power of the Global Black Liberation Movement,” this Thursday, February 12 at 4 p.m. in the fourth floor Conference Center of the Golda Meir Library. For more information, see https://uwm.edu/libraries/wp-content/uploads/sites/59/2015/01/tometi-eflyer1.pdf.
From UITS
– For the latest official UWM budget information, visit https://uwm.edu/budget/. Updates are shared via Twitter @UWM, or you can use Really Simple Syndication (RSS) to receive information as soon as new content is added. You’ll find a variety of RSS training videos on Lynda.com. Log in using your ePanther ID and password, and search for “RSS.” Visit Learning Techniques’ on-demand training site to learn more: http://uwm.edu/learningtechniques/ondemand/index.cfm. Check out the Digital Trends RSS tutorial: http://www.digitaltrends.com/how-to/how-to-use-rss/.
– Office 365 Tip of the Week
Attention Outlook users! Did you know common email and calendar tasks can be automated using Quick Steps? Complete multiple steps with one click of your mouse. Learn about this and more in Learning TECHniques’ Outlook 2013 Power Users manual: http://uwm.edu/learningtechniques/ondemand/office365.cfm.
Other
– Ivory Coast won the African Cup of Nations by beating Ghana in the final with a penalty shoot out (9-8).
I wish you all a great week and take care,
Johannes
Johannes Britz
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs