Good morning Colleagues. It is again Monday, it is March, still cold, and Spring break is around the corner. Here is this week’s update:
Budget update – in the Fireside Lounge
– Just a reminder that there will be a Campus Budget Meeting and discussion tomorrow from 2:30-3:30 p.m. in the Student Union Fireside Lounge. The meeting will again be live streamed at https://uwm.edu/streamingvideo/universityrelations/. Unfortunately, the Chancellor will not be able to attend the meeting since he has a long standing commitment to meet with donors and alumni in Arizona. I will chair the meeting.
There are also some other key meetings this week that I want to bring to your attention:
– The Joint Finance Committee Budget Briefing on UW System at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Room 412 East, Wisconsin State Capitol will be live streamed at http://www.wiseye.org/Home/AirVideoStream.aspx.
– Board of Regents meeting on Thursday, March 5, with Biennial Budget Update and Discussion of Potential Effects, on the agenda for 12:15 p.m. See https://www.wisconsin.edu/regents/event/board-of-regents-meeting-4/ for information on live streaming when it becomes available.
For information on the budget and related issues see also: https://uwm.edu/ucnews/ and https://uwm.edu/budget.
Honoring of UWM Staff and Faculty
– The Libraries and the Graduate School are co-sponsoring a celebration honoring UWM faculty and staff whose published monographs and recordings have been added to the UWM Authors Collection during the two years since the previous ceremony in 2013. Faculty and staff who have written, edited, translated, or illustrated a book; composed music for a published score or recording; or had a primary role in creating a commercially distributed film or video since the last event should contact Special Collections by phone at (414) 229-4345 or via e-mail at libspecial@uwm.edu to be included in the March 11 ceremony.
Kudos
– Melinda Kavanaugh, Social Work, had the lead opinion piece in last Sunday’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. These kinds of pieces – those in which we publicly contribute our knowledge – are increasingly important:
http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/youth-caregivers-need-more-of-our-support-b99444702z1-292965041.html.
– The UWM Mock Trial Team 1305 qualified for the Opening Round Championship Series, the second step toward the National Championship. Our teams competed in Topeka, Kansas February 20-22. The 1305 team made the cut that eliminated more than two-thirds of the nation’s college mock trial teams. Well done!
– UWM stands out in the Higher Education Marketing Awards: University Relations received a “Gold” in the category of Video Viewbook, and a “Silver” in television spots. Congratulations on quality production of these fine enrollment marketing materials. Here’s the recruitment video: http://uwm.edu/visit/.
Synopsis of the week
Monday
I have a regular meeting with Robin Van Harpen. The Chancellor’s Cabinet meets, followed by a lunch meeting with Chancellor Mark Mone and Michael Laliberte to finalize the CEMAT (Chancellor’s Enrollment Management Action Team) agenda for the following week. I also join the Chancellor who has a meeting with a donor in the afternoon.
Tuesday
I will be at the Campus Budget Meeting and discussion from 2:30-3:30 p.m. in the Student Union Fireside Lounge. There is a site visit meeting on the American Chemical Society Examinations Institute with L & S Dean Rodney Swain. I will also attend part of the regularly scheduled faculty and staff meeting of the Zilber School of Public Health.
Wednesday
The Budget Planning Task Force, which is co-chaired by Robin van Harpen and me, meets in the morning. I’m also doing a panel presentation on, “Education for a Sustainable Future,” with leaders of Marquette, MATC, Western Technical College, and experts on sustainability at the Sustainability Summit. For more information, see http://www.sustainabilitysummit.us/Home.aspx. I also have meetings with a number of direct reports.
Thursday
I’m attending the Sustainability Summit in the morning. I’m also attending the UWM Research Foundation Board of Directors meeting and the Foundation’s annual Partners Reception at Johnson Controls corporate headquarters. Dev Venugopalan is attending the Board of Regents meeting in my stead. In addition to the budget discussion, there will be a morning session on instructional technology, and Diane Reddy, Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, is a presenter.
Friday
I meet with several direct reports, plus Vice Chancellor Michael Laliberte. I am also attending the College of Health Sciences faculty and staff meeting and will attend the First Friday gathering (see below). Then the weekend starts.
Announcements
First Friday
– “Get Your Irish On” with the College of Health Sciences and the Lubar School of Business on Friday, March 6 from 4-6 p.m. in the Third Floor Atrium of Lubar Hall. Every guest will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a pair of Irish Fest tickets. Be there and be green. As they told me: Together we can look for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Call for Nominations – Joanne Lazirko Award for Innovative Use of Learning Technologies
– This annual award, in memory of Joanne Lazirko, Lecturer in the Lubar School of Business, has been established to celebrate her passion for teaching and successful use of learning technologies. Information on the award criteria and nomination process is available here: https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/groups/uwm/CIPD/public/lazirko-award-2015.pdf. Please send nominations to Diane Reddy (reddy@uwm.edu), Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL), by March 24.
College Of Health Sciences-Sponsored Career Fair
– Please let your students know about the 4th annual career fair hosted by CHS Alumni Chapter and CHS on Tuesday, March 3 from 12-3 p.m. in the UWM Union Ballroom. For more information, go to http://uwm.edu/chs/career-fair/.
Call for Educational Technology Fund Proposals
– The Advisory Committee on Educational Technology invites proposals from the campus for one-time funds in 2015-16 supporting projects in line with the intent of the Educational Technology fees. To learn more about the RFP, see http://uwm.edu/acad_aff/policy/edtechfee.cfm. The deadline for proposals is March 6.
From the Ombuds Council
– The Ombuds Council is designed to help UWM faculty and staff with informal conflict resolution. The Ombuds Council is a neutral, impartial, independent, and confidential resource for employees. Ombuds Council members can assist with helping employees consider a variety of options and help resolve conflicts. UWM employees can learn more about the Ombuds Council at https://uwm.edu/ombuds/. They can submit a request for contact at the website, or call 229-4902.
From the Center for 21st Century Studies (C21)
– Kavita Philip (UC-Irvine) will give a talk on, “Pirate Copying, Jugaad Economics: Postcolonial Technologies and Developmental Leapfrogging,” on Friday, March 6 at 3:30 p.m. in Curtin 175. For further information, see http://uwm.edu/c21/pages/events/abstracts/15spring/philip.html.
Poetry Reading
– Conversation and poetry reading with Haitian Quebec Poet and Publisher Rodney St. Eloi, “What is Francophonie? Haitian and Quebec Perspectives in Conversation and Poetry,” on Tuesday, March 10 from 5-7 p.m. at the UWM Hefter Center (Lake & Hartford).
An Afternoon with Thai American Composer and Author S.P. Somtow
– Please join (for free) the Asian Faculty and Staff Association as we welcome award winning novelist and opera composer S.P. Somtow to UWM this Wednesday, 3- 4:30 p.m. in the Zelazo Center, Room 250. You can stay for refreshments and a sneak preview performance from Somtow’s brand new opera, The Snow Dragon, which will be premiering at the Skylight Music Theatre from March 13 – March 29.
From WUWM
– WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio concluded its winter on-air fund drive last week and raised $160,000.
– Two journalists from WUWM have been following the right to work issue for NPR. Erin Toner’s story was the lead item on NPR’s Morning Edition on Thursday (http://www.npr.org/2015/02/26/389005148/gov-scott-walker-goes-head-to-head-with-labor-over-right-to-work), while Ann-Elise Henzl updated the story for NPR’s Here and Now (http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2015/02/26/wisconsin-right-to-work).
Feminist Lecture Series 2015
– As part of the Year of the Humanities 2014-15 Celebration, the Feminist Lecture Series presents a lecture by the renowned feminist philosopher, Alison Jaggar, on Thursday, at 3:30 p.m. in the UWM Libraries 4th Floor Library Conference Center. Alison Jagger, Event Poster
Sponsors are William F Vilas Trust Fund, Year of the Humanities, College of Letters and Science, and UWM Department of Philosophy, and UWM Women’s and Gender Studies.
From UITS
– You can set reminders for specific calendar events you create, but did you know you can also change your default calendar reminder? In your Options, set a new default reminder time or turn reminders off altogether. For more information, see the UWM Knowledge Base: https://kb.uwm.edu/search.php?q=reminders.
Other
– AB De Villiers hit the fastest 150 in One Day cricket last week when he scored an astonishing 162 not out from 66 balls in the South Africa vs. West Indies World Cup game.
I wish you all a great week and take care,
Johannes
Johannes Britz
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs