December 2, 2022  |  News & Events, Provost's Updates, Timely Announcements

Good morning, colleagues. Here is this week’s update from Academic Affairs.

2030 Feature of the Week – Becoming Student Centric and Moon Shot for Equity
As part of the student success framework’s commitment to students’ personal growth and financial security, and in collaboration with the Moon Shot for Equity initiative, the Division of Enrollment Management and Student Success Center have aligned their processes to better identify students eligible for retention grants. Retention grants strategically award small funds to students to stay enrolled and make progress to graduation. Awards to support students’ continuation to Spring 2023 will be awarded in December 2022. Since May of 2021, UWM has awarded $1.2M in retention grants to nearly 1600 students.

Kudos
Brittnie Peck (UW-Superior and UWM alum) and Erin Parcell’s (Communication) article, “Talking about mental health: Dilemmas U.S. military service members and spouses experience post deployment,” was selected by the Family Communication Division of the National Communication Association as the winner of the 2021 Journal of Family Communication Outstanding Article Award. They were recognized at the annual convention last month. The article was also named a finalist (top 5 out of 488 articles reviewed) for the 2022 Barbara Thompson Award for Excellence in Research on Military and Veteran Families, given by the Military Family Research Insitute at Purdue University in partnership with Military REACH at Auburn University. They will be recognized for this prestigious honor at a ceremony later this month. Congratulations, Erin and Brittnie!

Maria Novotny (English) published an article, “Social Justice Conference Planning for Writing Studies: Frameworks, Triumphs, and Challenges,” with three other colleagues who work in writing studies across the U.S. and Canada. Well done, Maria!

The UWM Alumni Association has announced its 2023 honorees, an accomplished group of 13 individuals, and one organization, who will be officially recognized during a ceremony at Milwaukee’s Pfister Hotel on Friday, February 24. The alumni award recipients, and the corporate partner, were chosen based on their outstanding professional achievements, civic involvement, and partnerships with the university. Congratulations to all!

Stephen White (Theatre) opened Silent Sky at Burning Coal Theatre in Raleigh, NC on December 1. Stephen was the lighting designer for this production. Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson is based on the true story of 19th century astronomer Henrietta Leavitt and the other women “computers” who worked at Harvard Observatory at the turn of the last century. The production runs through December 18. Well done, Stephen!

Congratulations to the Master of Healthcare Administration program, led by program co-directors Jennifer Fink and Barbara Zabawa. The program made the list for the Top 25 Healthcare Management Programs in the November 7 edition of Modern Healthcare.

In the News
Doc|UWM Program Director Sean Kafer and his students are working with the Brady Street Business Improvement District on a documentary about one of Milwaukee’s most historic streets and neighborhoods. Work on the film, which is shooting for a 2023 release is garnering attention from various news outlets, including Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WISN, OnMilwaukee, and Milwaukee Record.

Karyn Frick (Psychology) was featured on the podcast, “Beyond the Paper Gown,” where she discussed menopause and the work her company, Estrigenix, and her UWM lab are doing to develop treatments for symptoms of menopause.

Milwaukee Athletics
Tickets for the 2023 Horizon League Basketball Championships taking place in Indianapolis on March 6-7 at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum are now on sale. Tickets for the men’s and women’s semifinals and championship games are available for purchase at HorizonLeague.com/Indy, Ticketmaster, or by heading to the Indiana Farmers Coliseum Box Office at 1202 E. 38th St., Indianapolis, IN 46205.

The Week in Retrospect
First of all, I hope that everyone had an enjoyable and restful time over the fall break. During the short week before the break, I had a chance to provide updates to the Academic Staff Committee (ASC), the ASC leads, Mike Priem and Kathleen Koch, and the University Committee Chair, Mark Schwartz. I started this week with another system provosts meeting on academic program approval. On Tuesday, I had a Chancellor’s Enrollment Management Action Team meeting that focused on current and potential student success and pre-college efforts. On Wednesday, I had a deans meeting, attended a UWM event aligned with international recognition of the plight of students in Iran, and met with the campus distinguished professors. Thursday was highlighted by the campus Holiday celebration. I end the week with multiple meetings with Academic Affairs team members.

Announcements

  • UWM Student Caregivers in Higher Education Survey
    Attention UWM Students! In addition to your role as a student, do you also care for the basic needs of another person (e.g., child, sibling, grandparent, etc.)? If so, please take part in a campus-wide survey on your experience as a student caregiver on campus. Information and survey.
  • Student Financial Service Center Update
    The Student Financial Service Center (SFSC) is open! The SFSC was created to serve as the go-to place for students and parents to find answers about scholarships, financial aid, and billing. The newly remodeled space is located in Mellencamp 162.
  • Call for Proposals
    The Center for International Education and Global Studies invites proposals for the Global Studies Research Fellows Program. Faculty of all ranks across the university whose research is global in nature are invited to submit a 3–5-page proposal describing their research plans on topics related to globalization, including its cultural, political, social, economic, and environmental dimensions. Proposals are due Friday, December 23. More information.
  • Libraries Sign Second Transformative Agreement to Facilitate Open Access Publishing
    Beginning in January 2023, UWM authors will be able to publish in all five Company of Biologists journals without paying any article processing charges. More information.
  • Tech Tip
    Microsoft’s Clutter feature will be retired on December 9. After its retirement, those who had this feature enabled will still have the Clutter folder and its contents; however, all incoming emails will land in their main inbox. For more information about this change, please see the IT News article. For issues regarding Clutter, please contact the UWM Help Desk at (414) 229-4040.

Campus Events

  • Indigenous Time Management Webinar
    As part of our campus National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD) Webinar Discussions, the Faculty Mentoring Program, in collaboration with the Multicultural Scholars Collaborative and Mosaic Network, are offering opportunities for structured discussion related to webinars available through the NCFDD over the course of this academic year. A discussion on the webinar, “Indigenous Time Management,” will be held on Tuesday, December 6 at 2 p.m. in Bolton 196 and via Zoom. More information.
  • C21 Conversations
    The Center for 21st Century Studies will host an in-person grant workshop on Wednesday, December 7 from 12-1:30 p.m. (Zoom attendance available) in Curtin 939. The workshop will address the current funding landscape for humanities-based projects and explore tools that can help us prepare for multi-dimensional, proactive research grants. Information and registration.
  • Toy Drive
    Donate toys to Capuchin Community Services, as the assist more than 1,000 central city households by allowing parents to “shop” for toys in a store-like atmosphere at their House of Peace site. You can drop off toys at the CCBLLR office in Union E153 until Thursday, December 8. See the toy registry and learn more.
  • SET Community-Based Learning (CBL) Workshop
    UWM’s Student Experience and Talent (SET) Office will facilitate a workshop entitled, “Reflection 101,” on Friday, December 9 from 2-3:30 p.m. in Vogel Hall. The workshop will offer practical tools for faculty and staff as they develop work related to community-based learning. Information and registration.

Something Different
Back in the air after a 100 year absence.

Take care,

Scott

Scott Gronert
Interim Provost