New Masking Guidance

Last week, UWM announced a change to its mask mandate starting March 19—mask-wearing indoors at UWM facilities will be strongly recommended but not required. We are currently working with department chairs, associate deans, and shared governance to develop recommendations and guidelines for addressing instructor, staff, and student needs after spring break. We anticipate that guidance will be available later this week. Until spring break, masks are required while indoors at UWM facilities.

Spring Town Hall

There will be a virtual town hall meeting for faculty and staff on Tuesday, March 15 at 9 a.m. Chancellor Mone and several UWM leaders will discuss:

• Health, wellbeing, and safety
• Overview of challenges/issues nationwide
• Faculty and staff morale
• UWM culture and climate

Questions can be shared in advance or asked online during the live town hall by sending to uwm-townhall@uwm.edu. When submitting your question, please indicate whether you would prefer to remain anonymous.

Please join the town hall meeting here. The same link can be used to view the meeting later if you’re unable to watch it live. Here are the steps to view a Microsoft Teams event.

Kudos

Fred Binkowski (Freshwater Sciences) is coordinating a resource for fish farmers, a series of Aquaculture Technical Briefs published by UW Sea Grant Institute. The ATBs, authored by Ryan Newton and Dong Feng (Freshwater Sciences) and Pat Wilborn (PortFish, Ltd.), provide a clear picture of the function of bacteria—one of the most important components of a health and productive aquaponics system. They are available for download. Well done, Fred, Ryan, Dong, and Pat!

In the News

Maria Novotny (English) was interviewed by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about the barriers Wisconsin infertility patients face when trying to build their families.

Anna Mansson McGinty (Geography), Caroline Seymour-Jorn (French, Italian, and Comparative Literature), and Kristin Sziarto (Geography) were featured in a recent edition of the Wisconsin Muslim Journal regarding their project on the Milwaukee Muslim community and the C21 Collaborative grant activities.

Milwaukee Athletics

The Milwaukee men’s and women’s basketball teams open play in the Horizon League Tournament on Tuesday, March 1. Head to the MKE Athletics website for ticket information as the Panthers look to advance to the semifinals and finals set for Indiana Farmers Coliseum March 7 and 8.

The Milwaukee men’s and women’s swim and dive teams wrapped up the 2022 Horizon League Championships, with the women earning a second-place finish and the men coming in seventh. Head coach Kyle Clements was named Coach of the Year on the women’s side.

The Week

Monday

I start the week with my standing meeting with Robin Van Harpen, followed by a budget meeting, then a Chancellor meeting, my weekly check-in with Dave Clark and Kay Eilers, and my weekly staff meeting.

Tuesday

In the morning, I have a Coronavirus Management Team (CMT) Leadership meeting. Following this meeting, I will attend a management training session, my monthly meeting with Kim Litwack, and my standing meeting with Phyllis King. In the afternoon, I have a UC meeting and my standing meeting with Chia Vang.

Wednesday

Today, I have a Strategic Partnerships meeting, my one-on-one with Kevin Hartman, my monthly meeting with Tina Freiburger and Hope Longwell-Grice, my monthly meeting with Nancy Frank, Mo Zell, and Ivy Hu, a meeting with Vice Chancellor for Development and Alumni Relations Joan Nesbitt, my monthly meeting with Tim Behrens, and another management training session.

Thursday

In the morning, I have another CMT Leadership meeting and my monthly meeting with Joely Urdan. In the afternoon, I have my one-on-one with Nigel Rothfels, and I plan to meet with department chairs to discuss Scenario Planning Work Group recommendations and post-spring break guidance.

Friday

Today, I have my standing meeting with Jennifer Abele, there is a bimonthly Provosts Council meeting, and I’ll attend to administrative matters. I will then head up North in support of gymnastics.

Announcements

Student Campus Climate Survey

The campus community is invited to hear the most recent campus climate survey data results on Monday, February 28 (today) at 5 p.m. During this virtual session, results and next steps will be shared, and participants will have the opportunity to provide additional feedback regarding campus climate. Click here for the February 28 meeting.

UWM Manfred Olson Planetarium

• March 2: The Care and Feeding of Galaxies (Virtual)
  Learn how observations from the newest instruments on the largest telescopes reveal how galaxies interact with their environments as part of a dynamic ecosystem in outer space. Don’t miss this special talk from UWM Physics professor and galaxy expert, Dr. Dawn Erb. The event will take place on Zoom. Registration.
• March 4: Space Night
  Enjoy a night that is out of this world! Don your favorite space attire for a night of free, space-themed fun at the planetarium with indoor stargazing, space trivia, and yummy treats. Stargazing shows are at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. Trivia starts at 7:30 p.m. More information.

Asia in Conversation:

Aragorn Quinn (Foreign Languages and Literature) will be in conversation with Bruce Baird (University of Massachusetts, Amherst) and Kirk Kanesaka (George Mason University). They will discuss, “Japanese Performance: Past, Present, and Future,” on Thursday, March 3 at noon. The talk is open to the public. Please register.

Ukraine

The Institute of World Affairs will host a faculty roundtable on the situation in Ukraine. The discussion will be held on Thursday, March 3 at 3:30 p.m. in the American Geographical Society Library, UWM Golda Meir Library Third Floor East Wing. The event is free and open to the public.

Dialogue Across Difference

We invite you to the Spring 2022 Dialogue Across Difference: Bridging Understanding about Free Speech and Hate Speech on Tuesday, March 29 at 5 p.m. This dialogue is collaboratively planned and facilitated with UWM students. Student panelists will join Angela Lang for a constructive dialogue about free speech and the impact of hate speech on college campuses. This will be a space where different ideas and perspectives can be shared and heard. We encourage all members of the UWM community to attend either in person or virtually. Registration.

Exploring Unpaid Internships

Join the growing national conversation on dealing with the unpaid internship problem by attending “Exploring Unpaid Internships: Issues of Access, Equity, and Learning,” on Thursday, April 7. This free, virtual symposium will examine how higher education, employers, and policymakers can ensure equitable access to high-quality, paid work-based learning experiences while in college. Contact Christine Wolf (cawolf@uwm.edu) with questions.

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.

IT News

UW System is relaunching its system-wide phishing awareness program.

Other

I hope South Africa can save the Test series against New Zealand and Tuesday is the start of Women’s History Month.

Take care,

Johannes