Vice Chancellor Finalists Visit Campus

This week, the Secretary of the University will be hosting finalists for the position of Vice Chancellor for Marketing, Communications, and University Relations at UWM. Vince Kalt will be on campus Tuesday, April 5 and Chris Jenkins will be here on Wednesday, April 6. During their visits, each candidate will make a presentation at an open forum via MS Teams that will be open to all employees. Audience members may ask questions of the candidates. Presentations will be recorded for those not able to attend the live sessions. Contact secofunv@uwm.edu for access to the recordings. Details about the position, the candidates, and MS Teams links for presentations are available online.

Graduate School and Office of Research: Associate Dean 

The Graduate School will be hiring an Associate Dean to support graduate students and programs starting in summer 2022. A position announcement will be sent to faculty shortly with an application deadline of Friday, April 29. We especially welcome applications from faculty whose disciplines, backgrounds, and experiences will balance the other Associate Dean-level positions in the new leadership array of a unified Office of Research and Graduate School.

Kudos

Habib Rahman (Mechanical Engineering; Biomedical Engineering) received $50K from UWM’s Connected Systems Institute (CSI) to develop a Digital Twin for CSI’s Advanced Manufacturing Testbed. The aim of the project is to develop a framework for remote monitoring and data visualization of the testbed using PTC Kepware, Microsoft Azure IoT (Internet of Things) Hub, and an IIOT (Industrial Internet of Things) platform called PTC Thingworx. Congratulations, Habib!

Sandra McLellan (Freshwater Sciences) was one of only 14 members named to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine ad hoc committee for wastewater surveillance. Well done, Sandra!

Chris Yogerst’s (Arts and Humanities in CGS) essay, “Buster Keaton: A Timeless Comedian,” was featured in the Los Angeles Review of Books. Congratulations, Chris!

Maria Novotny’s (English) co-authored piece, “The Patient Decision Aid as a Pedagogical Tool: Exigencies between RHM and the Health Professions,” was recently published in the Journal of Rhetoric of Health and Medicine. The piece features a UWM student-created decision aid from an undergraduate English course. Well done, Maria!

UWM will receive $777,277 from the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin this year to enhance its water-related academic programs designed to help students interested in water-related fields at the 13 UW System schools. Congratulations to all involved!

Carolyn Eichner’s (History; Women’s Studies) book, “The Paris Commune: A Brief History,” has just been released by Rutgers University. Well done again, Carolyn!

In the News

Sandra McLellan (Freshwater Sciences) was a recent guest on Wisconsin Public Radio, where she discussed how her lab is monitoring coronavirus outbreaks through city sewage.

Milwaukee Athletics

Get ready to ROAR and cheer on your Panther baseball team as they host multiple home series during the next two weeks. They open the home stand with Concordia on Wednesday, March 30 with first pitch at 3 p.m. Northern Kentucky comes to town April 1-3, followed by a double-header with Valparaiso on April 5. Purdue Fort Wayne come to town April 8-10 and the home stand concludes battling Iowa from the Big 10 on April 12. All games are played at Franklin Field. Check here for updates. Admission is free for students with UWM ID.

The Black and Gold Network had the opportunity to sit down with new Milwaukee men’s basketball head coach Bart Lundy following his introductory press conference.

Due to conflicts with the Milwaukee Brewers home opener, the Milwaukee baseball team was forced to adjust its schedule at American Family Field. The Panthers will now play against MSOE at the major league park on April 27 rather than April 12.

The Week

Monday

I start the week with my standing meeting with Robin Van Harpen, followed by an International Student Enrollment discussion, my one-on-one with Jonathan Hanes, a Chancellor meeting, my monthly meeting with Mark Harris and Dietmar Wolfram, my bi-weekly meeting with Paul Klajbor, my weekly staff meeting, and my one-on-one with Scott Gronert.

Tuesday

In the morning, I have a Tech Ed Frontiers meeting, the quarterly Connected Systems Institute executive briefing, my weekly check-in with Dave Clark and Kay Eilers, a meeting with Vice Chancellor for Marketing, Communications, and University Relations finalist Vince Kalt, and my monthly meeting with Kim Litwack. In the afternoon, I have a meeting with the University Committee, a Campus Budget Planning meeting, my weekly meeting with Chancellor Mone, and my one-on-one with Tim Behrens.

Wednesday

Today, I have the Dean’s Morning Meeting, a meeting with Vice Chancellor for Marketing, Communications, and University Relations finalist Chris Jenkins, then I’ll drive to UW Stevens Point to attend the UW System Provosts Council Pre-Board meeting, followed by a UW System Presidential Transition discussion.

Thursday – Friday

I’ll be in Stevens Point for the Board of Regents meeting. When I return on Friday, I’ll attend the Alumni Awards Evening at the Pfister Hotel.

Announcements

Asian Universe

Explore our universe and Asian cultural perspectives on Friday, April 8 from 6:30-8 p.m. in the UWM Planetarium. There will be two planetarium shows featuring live, indoor stargazing and a storyteller. Between shows, students from South Division High School will perform traditional Indian, Korean, and Lao cultural dances. Light refreshments will be served. For questions about this event, email planetarium@uwm.edu.

UWM Data 101

The Data Governance Custodial Committee (DGCC) is presenting a virtual one-hour lightning talk titled, “UWM Data 101,” on Wednesday, April 13. Begin here for questions on how to find and interact with campus data. This event is open to all campus staff. Registration is required. Contact DGCC Chair Stephanie Warner (swarner@uwm.edu) with questions.

Reproductive Justice

The UWM Program in Public Rhetorics and Community Engagement is hosting a two-part virtual event with reproductive justice scholar, Dr. Kimberly Harper. On Friday, April 15 at 11 a.m., learn about Dr. Harper’s book, “The Ethos of Black Motherhood: Only White Women Get Pregnant,” and at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 18, attend a virtual workshop where participants will apply Dr. Harper’s Black Rhetorics of Health Communication framework to issues related to research and teaching. RSVP for both events.

Virtual Book Launch
The UWM German Program will host a virtual book launch and discussion of emerita professor Ruth Schwertfeger’s latest monograph, “A Nazi Camp Near Danzig: Perspectives on Shame and on the Holocaust from Stutthof,” (Bloomsbury Press). Winson Chu (History) will introduce the work and the author will give a reading. Join us Monday, April 18 from 4-5 p.m. on Zoom by pre-registering here.

Joanne Lazirko Award

Encourage deserving instructors to apply for the Joanne Lazirko Award for Innovative Use of Learning Technologies. The deadline to apply is Tuesday, April 19. Recipients will receive $1500 and be recognized at the Fall Awards Ceremony. More information.

Make a Difference Day

Sign-up for Make a Difference Day! Our spring 2022 Make a Difference Day sign up deadline is fast approaching, and we need your help! On Saturday, April 23, UWM students, faculty, and staff will help clean up neighborhoods and prepare the homes of local older adults for spring from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Sign up here; the deadline is April 15.

Biometric Screening

UWM will be hosting on-site biometric screenings for employees and their spouses who are enrolled in the State of Wisconsin Group Health Insurance Program on Monday, April 25 and Thursday, May 12. For questions, reach out to benefits@uwm.edu.

From UITS

Just deployed to UWM’s managed Macs, “Nudge” software will notify Mac users that security updates are available for their macOS devises. More information.

Other

Well done to the Australian women’s cricket team for winning the World Cup. They did not lose one single game during the tournament – truly one of the best teams ever. And my prediction is that UNC will win tonight: 83-81. The Oxford/Cambridge Boat Race returned this weekend to its rightful place on the River Thames for the first time since 2019.

Take care,

Johannes