Good morning, colleagues.  Welcome to the 2019-2020 academic year and here is this week’s update from Academic Affairs.

Welcome to New Colleagues in Academic Affairs

Please join me in welcoming new administrators in our schools and colleges: Deans Tim Behrens (College of Health Sciences), Kaushal Chari (Lubar School of Business), and Simon Bronner (College of General Studies), Interim Dean Nancy Frank (School of Architecture and Urban Planning), Associate Vice Provost for Research Kris O’Connor, Associate Dean Andrew Graettinger (College of Engineering and Applied Science), and Interim Associate Deans Layth Alwan (Lubar School of Business) and Hobey Davies (School of Information Studies).

Let us also welcome our new faculty and instructional academic staff to campus:

• College of Engineering and Applied Science: Priyatha Premnath (Biomedical Engineering) and Jacob Rammer (Biomedical Engineering)
• College of General Studies: Bill Brummond (Natural and Mathematical Sciences)
• College of Health Sciences: Emily Belter (Communication Sciences and Disorders), Adam Follmer (Communication Sciences and Disorders), Christine Grams (Biomedical Sciences), and Nathan Wojciechowski (Biomedical Sciences)
• College of Letters and Science: Susanna Antunes (Spanish and Portuguese), Jue Chen (Foreign Languages and Literature), Jeremiah Favara (Women’s and Gender Studies), Jonah Gaster (Mathematical Sciences), Camila Guarda (Journalism, Advertising, and Media Studies), Victoria McCoy (Geosciences), Maureen McKnight (English), Maria Novotny (English), Kim Omachinski (Communication), Charles Paradis (Geosciences), Kristopher Purzycki (English), Inyoung Shin (Communication), Rebecca Shumway (History), Sarah Vigeland (Physics), and Jarett Wilcoxen (Chemistry and Biochemistry)
• College of Nursing: Lisa Brennan, Kirsten Cull, Kelly Dominski, Mashandra Elam-Canty, Kate Gillespie, Ariane Grudzina, Nancy John, Danielle Krueger, Rebecca McAllister, Valerie Oliver, Ashley Servi, Therese Van Male, Chyanne Williams, and Barbara Zembles
• Helen Bader School of Social Welfare: Yura Lee (Social Work) and Alyssa Sheeran (Criminal Justice)
• Lubar School of Business: Tailan Chi (Management), Katherine Du (Marketing), Yao Li (Finance), Ting Yao (Management), and Pengcheng Zhu (Finance)
• Peck School of the Arts: Benjamin Balcom (Film), Angela Piehl (Art and Design), Phillip Sink (Music), and Brooke Thiele (Film)
• School of Architecture and Urban Planning: José Ibarra (Architecture), Michael Jefferson (Architecture), and Trudy Watt (Architecture)
• School of Education: Karla Giese (Teaching and Learning), Xu Li (Educational Psychology), Leah Rouse (Educational Psychology), and Dante Salto (Administrative Leadership)
• School of Freshwater Sciences: James Price
• School of Information Studies: Hyoung Joo Park and Min Sook Park

As we prepare to welcome students back to campus next week, the International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) office of CIE hosted its first of several international orientations for Fall 2019 on August 21 and welcomed 80 graduate students from the following countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Cuba, Egypt, Germany, Ghana, Greece, India, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Nepal, Nigeria, Peru, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turkey.

Kudos

Sonia Khatchadourian (English) and Aragorn Quinn (Foreign Languages and Literature) were named UWM’s 2019-20 Fellows/Scholars in the Wisconsin Teaching Fellows and Scholars Program. During the year, Aragorn and Sonia will complete intensive professional development and a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) project they will share at events, including the UW System’s Teaching and Learning Conference, April 16-17 in Stevens Point. Congratulations, Sonia and Aragorn!

Giselle Pu (Communication) was awarded the Emerging Scholar Research Award in the Mobile Interest Group of the International Communication Association. Well done, Giselle!

Robert Schneider (Urban Planning) received the 2019 Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals Research Professional of the Year award. Congratulations, Robert and thank you for all you do to keep Milwaukee’s streets safe and sharing that knowledge and inspiration with UWM students!

The Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute awarded $85,000 in scholarships to 20 UWM students for the 2019-2020 academic year. These students were nominated by faculty for their hard work, commitment to academic excellence, and intended pursuit of careers in data science.

Alberto Maldonado (Roberto Hernandez Center) was named one of Wisconsin’s Most Powerful Latinos by Madison365 in their 2019 Sí Se Puede listing. Congratulations, Alberto!

From the Division of Student Affairs

Applications are being accepted for the position of Executive Director of Student Life and Services (Director, Unspecified 10). The Executive Director of Student Life and Services provides direct leadership, management, and oversight of University Housing, Student Union, Retail Services, Children’s Learning Center, Human Resources, Finance, and Information Technology. Applicants must apply online. Interested parties may also contact Search and Screen Committee Chair Yvette Alicea-Reed (414-229-7219 or yta@uwm.edu).

Milwaukee Athletics

The Milwaukee Athletics Department has announced several staff changes in the areas of athletic communications and tickets.

The Milwaukee men’s soccer program welcomes all men’s soccer alumni, along with their friends and family, to the “Men’s Soccer Alumni Tailgate,” on Tuesday, September 17. Spend the evening celebrating the MKE men’s soccer program, starting with festivities prior to the “Milwaukee Cup” contest against Marquette, which is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

The Milwaukee men’s basketball non-conference schedule is here! Save the dates and check out where the Panthers are playing during the upcoming 2019-20 campaign.

The Panthers will have a new conference member, as Purdue University Fort Wayne announced last week that it will join the Horizon League and will begin competition during the 2020-21 academic year. The Horizon League Board of Directors approved the university’s application for membership and Purdue Fort Wayne will officially join the league on July 1, 2020.

In the News

UWM’s new online Jewish Studies program is the first for public universities nationwide!

UWM has been ranked among the top 2.6% of academic institutions worldwide by the Center for World University Rankings.

The Week

Monday

In the morning, I have my weekly meeting with Robin Van Harpen, followed by a McNair Scholars meeting with Marija Gajdardziska-Josifovska, and the Chancellor’s Executive and Expanded Cabinet meeting. In the afternoon, I’ll provide remarks at the New Graduate Student Orientation, followed by my monthly meeting with Trudy Turner, and my weekly staff meeting.

Tuesday

I start the day with a Connected Systems Institute Core Team meeting, followed by the monthly CEMAT meeting, the Deans and Associate Deans Academic Break-Away Session where the focus will be on setting priorities for the academic year, and my weekly meeting with Chancellor Mone.

Wednesday

In the morning, I have standing meetings with Alan Shoho, Tom Lipinski, and Mark Harris. In the afternoon, I have a Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute meeting with CEAS, Lubar, and SOIS deans, I have my standing meeting with Peter Sands, the Academic Leadership Council meets, and the Chancellor and I will make remarks at the New Faculty and Instructional Staff Orientation.

Thursday

The day begins with the Academic Planning and Budget Committee meeting, followed by a Campus Budget Planning meeting. Later, I meet with Val Klump and Peter McAvoy regarding the Center for Water Policy, followed by my monthly meeting with Val Klump and Tim Grundl, and a Budget Advisory Team briefing.

Friday

In the morning, I meet with a number of my direct reports. In the afternoon, I will participate in the 2019 Fall Welcome by facilitating a Common Read session.

Announcements

Start of Semester Memo

My Start of Semester Memo is available online.

Lynda.com Upgrades to Linkedin Learning

Today, August 26, Lynda.com is upgrading to Linkedin Learning. After the upgrade, you will have access to the same courses and videos, personal learning history and progress, and you will have the option to connect to your Linkedin profile. Lynda.com/Linkedin Learning will not be available today while your account is migrating to the new system.

Graduate Student Orientation

The UWM Graduate School will host New Graduate Student Orientation today from 10:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. in the Ballroom of the UWM Student Union. The agenda includes an information fair with tables from campus resources and organizations, breakout sessions, a panel discussion with current graduate students, and concurrent sessions on topics related to academic success.

Multimedia Classroom Orientation

Multimedia classroom orientation and training will be offered to instructors August 26-30.

Multicultural Student Centers

The Division of Global Inclusion and Engagement (GIE) is pleased to announce that the multicultural student centers (American Indian Student Center, Black Student Cultural Center, Roberto Hernandez Center, and Southeast Asian American Student Center) have moved from Academic Affairs to GIE. The centers will continue to work with campus and community partners to improve recruitment, retention, and graduation of students from multicultural backgrounds.

Family Weekend

The Panther Family Association is seeking events and lunch attendees for this year’s Family Weekend on Saturday, October 12 and is welcoming a variety of events to the schedule. Faculty and staff are also invited to join families during the Family Lunch (11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.) to interact with students and their families, and to provide information about your services. Contact Keri Duce at klduce@uwm.edu with any questions or RSVPs.

Citation Managers

The UWM Libraries are soliciting input from our users on their use of citation managers. Citation managers are online tools used to save, organize, and share your bibliographies. The survey should take about five minutes to complete. The results of this survey will help the library better understand your preferences and inform our decision about allocation of scarce resources.

Smoke- and Tobacco-Free Campus

As we approach the one-year anniversary of UWM’s expanded smoke- and tobacco-free policy, efforts to increase compliance continue. We can all help UWM be a healthier, safer, and cleaner place to learn, work, and visit by following the policy and educating others when we see them using any type of tobacco product, including e-cigarettes, indoors or outdoors. Information and support materials.

Nominations for Academy Fellow Awards

The Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters, a nearly 150-year-old statewide organization that promotes the Wisconsin Idea through programming that celebrates creativity and achievement across disciplines, is accepting nominations for its Academy of Fellows Awards, which recognize outstanding leadership and achievement in the sciences, arts, and letters. The nomination deadline is September 30.

Buy a Mac. Get Beats.

Purchase an eligible, Mac, iPad Pro, or iPad Air and get Beats wireless headphones! Apple’s back-to-school promotion is available for any UWM faculty, staff, or student making a personal purchase. Offer available now through September 26.

DNC Classroom Space

In order to facilitate increased demand for available space in the City of Milwaukee during the Democratic National Convention, the campus is committing 36 general assignment classrooms to external reservations prior to and during the convention. Classes will not be held in these classrooms from July 6-17, 2020. Classrooms were selected based on a projection of the classroom needs for Summer 2020 course offerings, using course offering data from summer terms in 2018 and 2019, along with the need to keep the DNC-related reserved classrooms near the Student Union for purposes of security and coordination. For more information, contact Kristene Surerus, Special Assistant to the Provost for Space Planning (surerus@uwm.edu).

Other

Today is National Dog Day, and be prepared for the world’s longest international flight.

Take care,

Johannes