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

Kudos

– All of our graduates (3,059) who received their degrees yesterday. Congratulations and best wishes!

– Brian Thompson was appointed Director of the Lubar Center for Entrepreneurship. Congratulations, Brian.

– Associate Professor Tasha Oren, English and Film Studies, whose co-edited collection, “Global Asian American Popular Cultures,” is just out from New York University Press. Congratulations, Tasha!

– Assistant Professor of Architecture Filip Tejchman has received the prestigious Graham Foundation Grant for Research and Carolyn Esswein (also SARUP) was interviewed by Riverviews. Well done, Flip and Carolyn.

– Associate Professor Chris Cornelius, Studio; Indigenous, is one of ten architects invited to participate in the inaugural J. Irwin Miller and Xenia S. Miller Prize Competition, as part of “Exhibit Columbus” in Columbus, IN this fall. The final five designers and design teams will design, build, and install temporary projects in response to one of five sites, each of which is a Columbus icon. Congratulations and good luck, Chris!

– Assistant Professor Shana Ponelis, Information Studies, was elected President of the Midwest Association for Information Systems for 2016-17. Well done, Shana.

– The 2016 CTSI Pilot and Mobility Grants have been announced. Of the 13 pilot grants awarded, a UWM Investigator is a Principle or Co-Principle Investigator on five grants: Michelle Polfuss (Nursing); Jean Erickson (Nursing), Wendy Huddleston (Kinesiology), Han Joo Lee (Psychology), and Jinsung Wang (Kinesiology). Two UWM Researchers, Adam Greenberg (Psychology) and Christine Larson (Psychology), are Co-Investigators. Congratulations to all!

Graduation Fun

University Communications and Media Relations created a fun parody of Justin Timberlake’s Can’t Stop the Feeling featuring 20 graduating students and the Chancellor. A brief teaser was aired at graduation yesterday. The entire video is now available.

Alumni News

– James K. Nelsen, whose book, Educating Milwaukee: How One City’s History of Segregation and Struggle Shaped Its Schools (Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society Press), won the Midwest Independent Publishing Association’s award for the best book published in 2015 in the Education/Learning category of the 2015 Midwest Book Awards. Nelsen holds three degrees from UWM, including the PhD, and teaches Social Studies at MPS’s Golda Meir School.

– Phyllis Santacroce, PhD from UWM in Urban Studies, teaches Social Studies at Nicolet High School. Her mentee, Adelie Content, impressed judges at the regional and state National History Day competitions, and is now advancing to the national contest in Washington, D.C. next month.

The Week

Monday

I have my weekly meeting with VC Robin Van Harpen and monthly meetings with Dean Ron Cisler and Brian Thompson. The CEMAT Sponsor Group meets, as does the Chancellor’s Expanded Cabinet. In the afternoon, the Chancellor and I meet with representatives from the Medical College of Wisconsin and I have my weekly staff meeting.

Tuesday

I have a busy morning filled with meetings, including direct reports, Dean Tomas Lipinski, and VC Tom Luljak. In the afternoon, I meet with Library Director Ewa Barczyk and Interim Director Michael Doylen and tour the Global Water Center with the Chancellor.

Wednesday

I start the day with a UWM Foundation Board of Director’s meeting, followed by meetings with VC Patricia Borger, Dean Alan Shoho, and direct reports. More meetings with direct reports, followed by a meeting with Dean Marija Gajdardziska-Josifovska, and a campus budget planning meeting with the Chancellor and VC Robin Van Harpen round out the day.

Thursday

I will attend the Common System Review Group meeting in Madison in the morning, followed by a Student Success meeting here on campus in the afternoon.

Friday

I have several meetings in the morning, including Director of Legal Affairs Joely Urdan.

Announcements

Data Hub

The Data Hub, launched in spring 2016, is a single, catalogued, searchable repository that collects and consolidates information for easy access to critical information in a more timely and efficient manner – a one-stop shop where campus personnel can find data reports from various offices. By connecting data silos across campus, the Data Hub aims to:

1.     Collect available data reports from various university units

2.     Describe data reports with a customized metadata schema for institutional data

3.     Provide a search interface so that users can easily browse and retrieve resources

4.     Assist users to request ad-hoc or customized reports

Please visit the Data Hub at https://uwm.edu/datahub/.

Technology Workshops for UWM Building Support Staff
In the spirit of shared services and sharing knowledge, the School of Information Studies is pleased to host a series ofworkshops and customized technology training sessions for UWM Building Support Staff. The second of these workshops will be held on Wednesday, May 25 at 10 a.m. and will cover MS Outlook E-mail and Calendar Functions as well as other Office 365 features. Additional training topics and dates will be announced over the summer. For more information, please email: Cedric Humphrey (humphrec@uwm.edu) or Jim Schultz (schul253@uwm.edu).

PAWD Committee

The Committee is looking for volunteers to facilitate sessions for Panther Academic Welcome Day (PAWD) 2016 on Friday, September 2. To best meet the needs of this campus-wide program, we have combined facilitator recruitment efforts allowing for volunteers to sign up for either Mission Possible or Common Read. Please take some time to consider facilitating Mission Possible or Common Read this year. More information and sign-up.

Fall Welcome

Show your Panther Pride and volunteer for Fall Welcome 2016. The success of Fall Welcome events and University Housing Move-In greatly relies on staff and faculty volunteers. We encourage you to sign up for one move-in shift and one Fall Welcome event shift.

Wisconsin Science Festival

UWM is “taking over” the Wisconsin Science Festival in Milwaukee this year during the weekend of October 20-23 and we invite faculty participation. If you have an idea for a STEAM-themed show designed to entertain a general public adult audience, please submit a brief proposal. The deadline is June 1.

University Challenge 2016

Register now for the 5^th 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.

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. Learn more and register.

Take care,

Johannes