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

Kudos

• Nigel Rothfels (History and Undergraduate Research) is co-PI, with Matthew Chrulew (Curtin University) and Nelly Mäekivi (University of Tartu), on an AU$200,000, three-year grant from the Australian Research Council for “Rethinking Zoo Biology: The Histories, Effects, and Futures of Captivity.” Congratulations, Nigel!
• Xiaoli Ma (Materials Science) received the prestigious Young Membrane Scientist Award from the North American Membrane Society. Well done, Xiaoli!
• A team of students from the BioRobotics Lab led by Professor Habib Rahman (Biomedical Engineering) has won the Eaton Tech Challenge. Congratulations!
• Ten CEAS students received Foundry Education Foundation and AFS Scholarships during the American Foundry Society (Wisconsin Chapter) Meeting in Milwaukee. Well done!
• A team from the CEAS was selected for a National I-Corps cohort to further commercialize miniature electromechanical sensors that can detect low levels of heavy metals, water acidity, and nutrients in a single drop of liquid. Kudos!
• Junjie Niu (Materials Science) and his group have developed a new 2D hybrid composite electrode that can provide a fast charge/discharge capability in lithium-ion batteries. Congratulations!

Helen Bader School of Social Welfare Dean Candidates on Campus this Week

• Tina Freiburger visits campus February 24-25. Her Open Forum presentation will be today at 11 a.m. in the Union Fireside Lounge.
• Wesley Church visits campus February 27-28. His Open Forum presentation will be Thursday, February 27 at 11 a.m. in the Union Wisconsin Room Lounge.

Candidate information and visit itineraries are posted online. To submit feedback for the finalist candidates, please use the feedback forms, also linked on the finalists page. There is a separate form for each candidate, and the deadline to submit feedback is Friday, March 6 at 5 p.m.

Final Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin Executive Director Candidate on Campus this Week

• Madeline Gotkowitz will visit campus Tuesday, February 25. Her Open Forum presentation will be Tuesday at 11 a.m. in Lubar S250.

Candidate CVs and visit itineraries, as well as details for the Open Forum live webcasts, are posted online. To submit feedback for the finalist candidates, please use the feedback forms, also linked on the finalists page.  There is a separate form for each candidate, and the deadline to submit feedback is Thursday, February 27 at midnight.

Connected Systems Institute Executive Director

Mary Bunzel has been appointed Executive Director of the Connected Systems Institute and begins her new position on March 1. She comes to UWM with more than 25 years of experience in business, technology, and IoT. Welcome, Mary!

Milwaukee Athletics

Congratulations to the Milwaukee baseball team, which knocked off one of the best teams in the country when the Panthers beat nationally ranked Wake Forest on the first weekend of the 2020 season! Wake Forest has been ranked as high as #17 in national polls.

Michelle Meyer, a junior on the Milwaukee women’s track and field team, not only excels on the track, but also in the classroom, and on a canvas. She is the ultimate triple threat.

In the News

UWM Aquatic Scientists Russell Cuhel and Carmen Aguilar were featured with the RV NEESKAY on Chef Andrew Zimmern’s MSNBC food series yesterday. “Overcooked,” Episode 2 of What’s Eating America, demonstrated how aspects of climate change affect Lake Michigan and hence, Midwestern eating habits.

Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Network have partnered with the UWM App Brewery to help brain cancer patients. The new NIMBLE (Network for the Integrated Management of Brain Metastasis Linking Experts) app provides real-time recommendations on treatment for complex and challenging cancers that spread to the brain.

The Week

Monday

I start the week with a breakfast interview with Helen Bader School of Social Welfare Dean Candidate Tina Freiburger, followed by my weekly meeting with Robin Van Harpen, a budget meeting, and I will join the Chancellor in meeting with the co-chairs of the 2030 Think Tank group. Then, I have a follow-up EAB meeting, the Chancellor’s Executive Cabinet meeting, a Crisis Management Team meeting regarding the Coronavirus (COVID-19), my one-on-one  meetings with direct reports, my weekly staff meeting, and I end the day with my weekly meeting with the Chancellor.

Tuesday

In the morning, I have a breakfast interview with Freshwater Collaborative Executive Director Candidate Madeline Gotkowitz, and a Connected Systems Institute Core Team meeting. I will then attend part of a “promotion to full professor” listening session with the associate professors, followed by my one-one-one with Pat Borger and my standing meeting with Simon Bronner. In the afternoon, I’ll attend the Enterprise Directions Council meeting and I have a wrap-up interview with HBSSW Dean Finalist Tina Freiburger.

Wednesday

Today, I have the Deans Morning Meeting, standing meetings with Brian Thompson and Mark Harris, the monthly Integrated Support Services Executive Steering Committee Update, my one-on-one with direct reports, and the monthly IT Advisory Council meeting.

Thursday

In the morning, I have a breakfast interview with Helen Bader School of Social Welfare Dean Candidate Wesley Church. I will then join the Chancellor in meeting with UWM AAUP, followed by a Campus Budget Planning meeting. In the afternoon, I have my monthly meeting with Alan Shoho and the Chancellor, and an L&S budget meeting.

Friday

Friday morning, I will provide opening remarks at the Milwaukee Engineering Research Conference and I have a wrap-up phone interview with HBSSW Dean Finalist Wesley Church. I will also meet with my direct reports.

Announcements

Center for 21^st Century Studies

Courtney Baker (UC Riverside) presents, “Framing Black Performance: Selma and the Poetics of Representation,” on Friday, February 28 at 3:30 p.m. in Curtin 175.

Student Association Election

The Student Association Independent Election Commission has chosen to extend the nomination deadline for the Spring 2020 Student Association Elections until Wednesday, February 26 at 9 a.m. The Student Association is UWM’s student government. All information can be found at SA’s website. All it takes is getting signatures and completing the nomination form. For any questions about elections or the Student Association, reach out to iec-list@uwm.edu or student-association@uwm.edu or come see us in Union WG10- across from the 8th Note by the elevators!

Hefter Center Event

Chris Fink (Author and UWM alum) will present a Fiction Reading and Author Q&A on March 26 at 7:30 p.m. at the Hefter Center.

Art History Event

Two new Graduate Student Exhibitions will open on February 27: “Claim, Consume, Curate” and “Ethiopian Art: Christian Narratives from the Kebra Nagast.” Both exhibitions will open with Gallery Talks by the curators at 5:30 p.m. in the Emile H. Mathis Art Gallery, Mitchell 170.

Teams Tip of the Week

Don’t have Microsoft Teams on your computer yet? Download today!

What’s Your Question?

UITS and the Office of Assessment and Institutional Research will co-host, “What’s Your Question? Resources and Revelations Regarding Campus Reporting,” on Thursday, March 5 at 10 a.m. in Vogel 170. Questions may be directed to Stephanie Warner (swarner@uwm.edu). Please register.

UWM Libraries

Michelle Caswell (UCLA) presents, “Urgent Archives: Communities, Representation, and the Fight Against (Symbolic) Annihilation,” on Thursday, March 5 at 3:30 p.m. in the Library 4^th floor Conference Center.

Wisconsin Women in Government Gala

Wisconsin Women in Government announces their 2020 Scholarship and Recognition Gala featuring Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik, authors of New York Times Bestseller, Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The annual gala will be held on April 15 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center on Lake Monona (1 John Nolen Drive in Madison). Register here. (Note there is a fee to register/attend).

Online Summer Courses

Are you teaching an online course in Summer 2020? Consider promoting your course on the Online Summer Courses website!

Powerful Ideas/Proven Results Tagline RETIRED

University Relations & Communications has retired the Powerful Ideas/Proven Results tagline used in previous UWM marketing campaigns. The university’s new marketing campaign, referred to internally as UWM First Choice, does not have a tagline. Instead, it highlights UWM’s unique points of pride – areas in which we lead the state or the nation and the features that make students pick UWM as their first-choice college. With this in mind, the Powerful Ideas/Proven Results logo should no longer be used on university marketing materials, presentations, or other documents. Instead, please use the UWM preferred logo. More information about logos and their correct use can be found on the university’s brand website.

Other

You can follow all the action of the women’s T20 World Cup cricket here. Australia is the favorite.

Take care,

Johannes