May 16, 2016  |  News & Events, Provost's Updates

Good Morning, Colleagues. Here are this week’s updates from Academic Affairs.

Kudos

– Experiments led by a team of physicists from UW-Milwaukee are featured in the paper, “Femtosecond structural dynamics drives the trans/cis isomerization in photoactive yellow protein,” reported May 5 in Science magazine. The experiments took place at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and were the result of a large collaboration of UWM researchers and 11 other research universities in the US and Europe, eight of which collaborate in the BioXFEL Science and Technology Center. Well done!

 Co-PIs Niloy Bose and Antu Murshid just received official notice that their project, “Identifying Household Wealth Effects,” has received funding from the NSF. The grant totals $98.5K, with $32.6K of indirect funding for the Department, College, and University. The grant comes through the NSF economics program. Congratulations, Antu and Niloy!

– Associate Professor Michael Zimmer, School of Information Studies, published an editorial in Wired on May 14 warning of the privacy perils of big-data science.

In the Media

http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/its-time-to-school-gov-scott-walker-b99725113z1-379470271.html

http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2016/may/13/scott-walker/scott-walker-way-saying-university-wisconsin-milwa/

The Week

Monday

I have my weekly meeting with VC Robin Van Harpen, I’ll attend the Academic Staff Committee meeting, and the Chancellor’s Cabinet meets. In the afternoon, I’ll attend a demonstration of Acrobatiq (an adaptive learning platform based on cognitive science and educational theory from Carnegie Mellon’s Open Learning Initiative) and there is a meeting to discuss advising. In the evening, we have the honors commencement ceremony.

Tuesday

I have my weekly meeting with the Chancellor. Later, I’ll attend the Biomedical Engineering Executive Committee meeting, the CEMAT bi-weekly check-in, and my weekly staff meeting.

Wednesday

I meet with a number of my direct reports. We also have the Lubar Center for Entrepreneurship Faculty Forum (see below).

Thursday

I’ll make opening remarks at the MWAIS annual conference (see below). In the afternoon, I have meetings with Secretary of the University Trudy Turner and Val Klump. Then I’ll make opening remarks at the Friends of the Library Retirement Celebration for Ewa Barczyk in the evening. 

Friday

It is bike to campus day (see details below)! I meet with Erika Mueller-Blass from Hessen, followed by a meeting with UC Chair John Reisel. In the afternoon, I have a budget planning meeting with the Chancellor and VC Robin Van Harpen and the Zilber School of Public Health graduation ceremony.

Saturday

A reception for our honorary doctoral degree recipients (Danni Gendelman and Scott Noegel) will take place on Saturday evening.

Sunday 

UWM celebrates its 114th commencement on Sunday, May 22 where we will award more than 3,000 degrees, including 2,182 bachelor’s degrees, 703 master’s degrees, 165 doctoral degrees, and nine flexible option degrees!

Announcements

Bike to Campus

Join your fellow Panthers for Bike to Campus Day on Friday, May 20! Groups will gather just before 7:30 a.m. at Martinizing Dry Cleaners (285 E Hampton) and the McKinley Marina parking lot (1750 N. Lincoln Memorial Drive) and ride the Oak Leaf Trail to campus, convening on Spaights Plaza at approximately 8 a.m. Even if you do not bike to work, please consider joining us for a brief program followed by light refreshments on the plaza from 8-9:30 a.m.

And don’t forget to register as a UWM employee for the National Bike Challenge to log your miles this summer and help UWM lead in the Town-Gown Showdown.

From the UWM Libraries

The Friends of the UWM Golda Meir Library Annual Program features local historian and award-winning author John Gurda discussing his recent book, “Milwaukee: City of Neighborhoods,” on Thursday, May 19 at 5 p.m. in the fourth floor Conference Center of the Golda Meir Library.

Lubar Center for Entrepreneurship Faculty Forum

Faculty are invited to participate in a forum on Wednesday, May 18 at 2:30 p.m. in KIRC 1150 to welcome the new Director of the Lubar Center for Entrepreneurship, learn about the vision for the Center, and discuss how they can become engaged with the Center. No RSVP necessary. Contact Brian Thompson (briant@uwmfdn.org) for more information.

University Challenge 2016

Register now for the 5th annual Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon University Challenge that takes place on Sunday, October 2. Remember to select the UWM team when registering. Students can request a link from Rachael Daniel (rdaniel@uwm.edu) to receive the discounted entry fee.

Midwest Association for Information Systems

UWM hosts the annual Midwest Association for Information Systems (MWAIS) conference on Thursday, May 19 and Friday, May 20, in the Union. The conference provides a venue for academics and practitioners to exchange ideas in information technology-related fields from the Midwest and beyond. Registration is required to attend.

Faculty and Staff Survey
At the request of Chancellor Mone, a group has been examining culture and climate issues. To help guide the group’s planning, please participate in a survey about professional development needs and employee recognition efforts. The survey will be open through May 27. Thank you for your participation.

Panthers@Work

UWM alumni employees are invited to a free tour of the School of Freshwater Sciences on Wednesday, June 1 from 4:30-6 p.m. The Panthers@Work tour will include light refreshments and a presentation on, “The Future Status of the Great Lakes and Lake Michigan,” by J. Val Klump at the School of Freshwater Sciences. Learn more and register.

Title IX Training

The Office of Equity/Diversity Services will be hosting UWM’s Title IX Training on Thursday, May 26 at 10 a.m. in Union Room 191. The purpose of the training is to familiarize the campus community with Title IX legislation, inform UWM employees of their reporting obligations, and promote awareness of prohibited behaviors. Please pre-register.

Other

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Newcastle United: 1-5!

 

Take care,

Johannes

Johannes Britz
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs