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

Kudos

Simone Ferro (Dance) was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to engage in fieldwork and dance research in Brazil. Her project is entitled, “Quilombo Women: Race, Gender, and Social Justice in Afro-Brazilian Rituals and Popular Culture.” She will also teach at the Universidade Federal do Maranhão (UFMA), as well as work with their Grupo de Pesquisa Religião e Cultura Popular. Congratulations, Simone!

Xiao Qin (Civil and Environmental Engineering) and his colleagues in the Institute for Physical Infrastructure and Transportation received two research awards from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to review and evaluate two programs that WisDOT carries out under state or federal rules. Well done, Xiao and team!

Tomas Lipinski (Information Studies) was reappointed as an Expert Advisor to the Copyright and Other Legal Matters Committee of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions through 2023. Congratulations, Tomas!

Kimberly Blaeser (English; American Indian Studies) edited a guest feature on Indigenous poetry for the Scottish journal “The Poets’ Republic,” introduced the feature in a short essay, “Honor Beats: Poetry of Tribal Survivance,” and participated in the January 23 issue launch. Besides Blaeser, among the included poets is UWM’s Margaret Noodin (English; American Indian Studies). Well done, Kim and Margaret!

In the News

David Pate (Social Welfare) and Deborah Blanks were featured in a story on WHYY (NPR’s Philadelphia affiliate) about a guaranteed income pilot program. Dr. Pate is the principal investigator for the project.

Milwaukee Athletics

The Milwaukee women’s basketball team is hosting its annual alumni celebration on February 19 at the Klotsche Center. Panther’s women’s basketball alumni and families from all eras are invited to a day-long celebration. This year’s alumni scrimmage is scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m. Alumni and families are then invited to a pregame social in the Hardwood Club during warmups and the celebration continues when the Panthers tip off against UIC at 2 p.m.

The Milwaukee Athletic Department invites parents of crawling infants to register for the chance to compete in the “Panther Baby Race” when the men’s basketball team hosts Purdue Fort Wayne at the UWM Panther Arena on Sunday, February 20.

The Week

Monday

I start the week with my standing meeting with Robin Van Harpen, followed by my monthly meeting with Mark Harris and Dietmar Wolfram, a Chancellor meeting, my weekly check-in with Dave Clark and Kay Eilers, my weekly staff meeting, and my bi-weekly meeting with Mark Harris.

Tuesday

In the morning, I have a Coronavirus Management Team (CMT) Leadership meeting, a Zilber School of Public Health accreditation meeting, an M³ update with the Chancellor, my standing meeting with Brian Thompson, and my one-on-one with Purush Papatla. In the afternoon, I have my monthly meeting with Brett Peters,  the University Committee meeting, my standing meeting with Michelle Johnson and Keri Duce, a Chancellor’s meeting, and I end the day with a research meeting.

Wednesday

Today, I have a Strategic Partnerships meeting, an AAUP Leadership meeting, my monthly meeting with Simon Bronner, and the monthly Campus Space Planning meeting.

Thursday

In the morning, I have my one-on-one with Kaushal Chari, another CMT Leadership meeting, and my standing meeting with Kim Litwack. In the afternoon, I have my one-on-one with Dave Clark, the quarterly Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute Core Team meeting, and I’ll attend the Faculty Senate meeting.

Friday

Today, I have a meeting with Tim Behrens and Amy Harley, the bi-monthly Provost Council meeting, and I’ll also meet with direct reports.

Announcements

Stars, Stories, and Rhythms of Africa

Celebrate Black History Month under the stars! Join us on Wednesday, February 16 from 6-8 p.m. at the UWM Planetarium for a night of live music, dancing, storytelling, and stargazing in different African cities. The event is free and open to all. For questions, please email planetarium@uwm.edu.

Non-Teaching Academic Staff Workshop

The Non-Teaching Academic Staff Review Committee will host its “Preparing Your File for Indefinite Status Workshop” on Thursday, February 17 at 10 a.m. via Microsoft Teams. All probationary non-teaching/non-research Academic Staff, as well as their supervisors and HR personnel representatives are encouraged to attend. More information.

Book Launch

The Center for 21^st Century Studies is pleased to host a book launch for Nigel Rothfels’ (History) new book, “Elephant Trails: A History of Animals and Cultures.” The Zoom event will take place on Wednesday, February 23 at 3 p.m. To register and receive a 30% discount code for the book, visit the C21 website.

Toward an Anti-racist Campus Symposium 

The Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Office of Research will host the virtual Toward an Anti-racist Campus Symposium on Friday, February 25. Outcomes of the action grants will be presented. More information and registration.

UWM MFA Alum Exhibition

UWM MFA alum and Milwaukee letterpress artist Adam Beadel will be exhibiting his newest broadside poems, relief prints, Wheel of Fortune, and other wonders. The exhibit is showing at the Grove Gallery through February 27.

DEI Professional Development 

The Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is excited to offer several Racial Justice and Equity professional development opportunities this spring, beginning in February. Space is limited, so register soon! Registration information.

Online Program Council

The OPC will meet this Friday, February 18 from 10:30 a.m.-noon in Teams. Agenda items include an update on the Student Course Evaluation System RFP, a presentation on achieving equity in online courses, a research update, and a report out on a UW System study on the student experience in the digital learning environment. If you have not previously attended an OPC meeting, please email Laura Pedrick (lpedrick@uwm.edu) to attend.

International Student Enrollment

UWM international student enrollment increased 10.9% from spring 2021. Sixteen percent of UWM graduate students and 2.1% of UWM undergraduate students are international, and international students comprise 5% of the university’s overall population. Please enjoy Instagram videos of our incoming international students traveling to campus from their home countries.

Student Association Nominations

UWM is made stronger through shared governance. Encourage your students to run for the Student Association, the shared governance body representing UWM students. Its mission is to enrich the student experience through representation, advocacy, and the funding of services and activities that improve student life. Please share this nomination form with students you think would represent their academic programs, special interests, and fellow students well. Nominations are open through Monday, February 21 at 9 a.m. Information on available positions and campaign guidelines are available on the Student Association website. Feel free to contact iec-list@uwm.edu with any questions.

Active Learning

Engaging students and fostering a classroom community has become even more critical during the pandemic; traditional lecturing, regardless of delivery mode (e.g., in-person, synchronous online, asynchronous online), is a passive experience that may not facilitate optimal student learning. Check out these resources for creating stronger classroom engagements.

Other

I hope you enjoyed the Super Bowl (if you watched), and I came across two interesting articles – one on chimpanzees and the other on portable pools from the Cape.

Take care,

Johannes