Good morning, colleagues. Here is this week’s update from Academic Affairs.
Once Again: Important Update
There are many health benefit changes for 2018. Here are a few of the more momentous changes and the deadline for changes is this coming Friday (Oct. 27):
- United Healthcare and Humana are no longer participating in the health insurance program and affected employees will need to select a new health plan. If you do not select a new plan you will lose health insurance coverage as of January 1, 2018.
- WEA Trust will no longer offer Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, Medical College of Wisconsin, Froedtert Hospital, SSM Dean Medical Group, or United Hospital System in their East Service Area Network in 2018. Employees who utilize services provided by these entities may want to consider changing to Network Health, the other insurance provider.
- Health coverage for domestic partners will end on December 31, 2017 (this is not applicable to people who are married). Partners should pursue health insurance with their own employers or through the Affordable Care Act.
- Co-pays and out-of-pocket limits will remain the same.
- The $150 Well Wisconsin Incentive will require employees to participate in a StayWell program in addition to submitting their health screening to StayWell and taking the online StayWell health assessment. Participation will determine employees’ health insurance rates for 2019. Those who complete the Incentive program will receive lower rates than those who do not.
- CVS and Target pharmacies will no longer be covered by the Navitus Pharmacy program.
Kudos
Colin Daly, Director of New Student Programs in the Student Success Center, was recently elected to the NODA (Association for Orientation, Transition, and Retention) Region Five Coordinator position. The Regional Coordinator oversees recruitment, leadership, conferences, and education for the region. Well done, Colin!
Neal Pease, History, has been invited by the US State Department’s Bureau of International Information Programs to speak in Warsaw and four other Polish cities on, “Regional Security: U.S. Polish Relations,” from November 4-11. Congratulations, Neal!
BFA Alumni Brandon Kempf (2016) was just awarded 3rd Prize at the Dyens International Arrangement Competition and the Audience Prize Award. There where submissions from over 60 countries at a very high level. Congratulations to our PSOA and the Classical Guitar Department for another remarkable win!
The Week
Monday
I travel early Monday morning to Madison for a UW-System Provost meeting. Once back (around 11:30), I’ll be attending the Chancellor’s Cabinet meeting, I have an ISS Executive Sponsors meeting, I’m charging the Search and Screen Committee for the College of Health Sciences Dean, I have a staff meeting, and end the day with my monthly meeting with Peter Sands from the Honors College.
Tuesday
There is a deans’ morning meeting (we meet informally every second Tuesday) and I have meetings with Scott Emmons, Ron Cisler, Bob Greenstreet, and Marija Gajdardziska-Josifovska. I have an accreditation site visit meeting for the College of Health Sciences, a meeting on undergraduate recruitment in the School of Education, and will attend a School of Information Studies hacking demo (should be interesting).
Wednesday-Thursday
I will be in DC attending an EAB Provost Roundtable.
Friday
I meet with Brian Thompson and a number of my direct reports. I also meet with the CON accreditation team and have lunch with a delegation from the Hessen Ministry of Culture (Germany).
Announcements
Today is the UWM Exploring Majors Fair from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. in the Union Ballroom. The fair provides students a one-stop opportunity to speak with faculty and staff representing our majors, minors, and certificates. This event only happens once a year so please spread the word.
The Department of English seeks to gather information about UWM faculty perceptions and experiences with undergraduate student writing in an effort to revise the First Year Composition curriculum and develop better connections to upper-level (OWC-B) writing courses. The survey has been reviewed and approved by the IRB. It should only take about 10 minutes to complete, and your responses will be kept confidential. Thank you for your help!
The Milwaukee men’s soccer team will take on in-state rival Wisconsin this Tuesday. Kick-off is set for 7 p.m. at Engelmann Stadium. Please come and support the team!
UWM Students and Panther Basketball fans turned out for “Panthers on the Plaza.” See the highlight video from the on-campus season kickoff!
Security Awareness Training needs to be completed by November 17, 2017.
The UWM Graduate School is hosting its 4th Annual Graduate School Open House on November 1from 5-7:30 p.m. in the UWM Union. This is an opportunity for prospective graduate students to engage directly with faculty and staff from their program of interest and gain insight on what a graduate education at UWM could do for them. Bonus: The $56 application fee will be waived for all applicants who begin their application on or after the November 1 Open House. Please get the word out to any prospective graduate students and encourage then to register.
Join Alumni Relations for a free Lunch and Learn, brought to you by the Panthers@Work at UWM Professional Development Committee, featuring Dr. Anne Dressel of the College of Nursing on “Collaborating for Change: Lessons in Coalition Building from the Westlawn Partnership for a Healthier Environment,” on Thursday, November 9 from 11:45 a.m. – 1 p.m. in Zelazo 250. Free box lunches provided. Please register.
Seminar at the School of Freshwater Sciences: Dr. Dave Karl, University of Hawai’i, will present, “Ocean Station ALOHA: A proving ground for microbial oceanography,” on Wednesday, October 25 at 5:30 p.m.
October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month – stop by one of our events to learn about becoming more cyber secure!
Wall Paper, an exhibition by Art & Design Associate Professor Jessica Meuninck-Ganger and Professor Emerita Marna Goldstein Brauner is on display in the Ploch Art Gallery, Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts from October 3-November 11.
Center for Religious Studies Fall Event – UWM Alum shares relationship between his art and religion in a talk and a live sand painting performance on November 8 at 5:30 p.m. in Bolton Hall 150.
UWM Libraries will celebrate International Open Access Week, October 23-29, with two workshops: “Can I share my article” and “Leveraging ORCID in your research workflow.”
The Distinguished Lecture Series, “An Evening with Raoul Peck,” will be held on Thursday, October 26 from 7- 9 p.m. in the Wisconsin Room, Student Union. This is a ticketed event. Students may pick up free tickets at the Student Union Information Desk.
“When Words and Images Matter: Challenges to our Time – A Conversation with Christiane Taubira and Raoul Peck,” takes place on Friday, October 27 from 4- 6 p.m. in Curtin Hall 175. A reception and book signing will follow. Free and open to the public.
The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, along with the LGBT Resource Center and the Center for Inclusive Excellence, is offering an LGBTQ+ inclusivity workshop series beginning October 27. Information and registration.
UWM hosts Pulitzer Prize winning author and historian Heather Ann Thompson to discuss issues of mass incarceration at “Lunchtime for Activists” on November 6 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Reservations.
You are all invited to the Asian Faculty and Staff Association Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, November 8, from 3-4:30 p.m. in the Library 4th Floor Conference Center. Please RSVP to Christine Leung (leungc@uwm.edu) by Wednesday, November 1.
The Office of Assessment and Institutional Research (OAIR) will host its third workshop of 2017, “Access and Utilization of Available In-house Survey Data,” on Friday, November 10 from 12:30 – 2 p.m. in Mitchell Hall 191. Surveys will be the focus including those that measure student engagement, satisfaction, and the newly implemented grit survey. Open to all, this workshop will be of particular interest to academic advisors and student success professionals. Review the agenda and RSVP.
Wayne Larrivee, the long-time voice of the Green Bay Packers, has joined the broadcast team of the Milwaukee Panthers.
Please help the Student Association fight food insecurity on our campus, and participate in their October food drive.
Other
Lewis Hamilton is on the verge of winning the Formula 1 title!
Take care,
Johannes
Johannes Britz
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs