January 17, 2017 Monday Update

Good morning, colleagues. Wishing a warm welcome to faculty returning to campus after the winter break and looking forward to the start of the spring semester next week. Here is this week’s update:

Kudos

– Abbas Ourmazd, Physics, has been appointed to the Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Board Committee of the Department of Energy. More details will follow. This is an honor, Abbas – congratulations!

– CETL’s second campus-wide Teaching and Learning Symposium last Thursday, drew more than 200 registrants from 72 campus units, with 54 campus presenters. In the inaugural symposium last year, there were 36 presenters so the symposium grew by 50%. Congratulations to CETL staff for organizing this important event!

– Chris Cornelius, Architecture, is a recipient of the 2017 Exhibit Columbus J. Irwin & Xenia S. Miller Prize. His entry, “Wiikiaami” is a contemporary interpretation of the dwelling of the people that are indigenous to Columbus. Well done, Chris!

– Kennan Ferguson, Political Science, published an essay, “Why Does Political Science Hate American Indians?” that was featured on the cover of Perspectives on Politics, a journal of the American Political Science Association. The symposium also included six reflection pieces by other scholars, followed by Kennan’s response. Congrats, Ken!

– Kaylee Yelk, a freshman searching for pulsars with members of the astrophysics faculty, was interviewed by WUWM Education Reporter Rachel Morello for a story on undergraduate research at UWM entitled, “How Does University Research Happen? It’s Not All Lab Coats and Test Tubes.” Kaylee’s experience showcases the unique opportunities for students due to our R1 status.

– Kudos to the UWM alumni and community members who participated in yesterday’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service at Rufus King International Middle School.

The Week

Tuesday
This week I start meetings with schools and colleges on their academic and budget planning. Robin Van Harpen and Hobey Davies (Chair of the APBC) will join me and the Chancellor will also attend based on his availability. We plan to have meetings with 6 schools/colleges this week. Today, we start off with the College of Engineering and Applied Science and the Zilber School of Public Health. I will also attend the deans’ morning meeting, make opening remarks at the Office of Research workshop on developing collaborative teams for research, and attend part of the L&S Dean Search and Screen Committee meeting.

Wednesday
In the morning, we have the academic/budget planning meeting with the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare. Later in the day, I meet with Joely Urdan and with Marija Gajdardziska-Josifovska.

Thursday
There are College of Nursing and School of Architecture and Urban Planning academic/budget meetings and I’m having lunch with Dr. Mohammed Dakwar, Provost and Vice President of MATC. We will use this opportunity to discuss areas of mutual interest and to strengthen our collaboration.

Friday
I’m attending a meeting of the UWM Continuing Education Council. This council has been established as an outcome of the CCOET report and focuses on the coordination of all our continuing education programs on campus. Later in the day I meet with Jim Hill and Scott Emmons, and there is a Peck School of the Arts academic/budget meeting.