Virtual Town Hall

Just again a reminder: there will be a virtual town hall meeting for faculty and staff on Tuesday, March 9 from 9-10 a.m. Chancellor Mone will discuss planning for a fully operational fall ’21, share 2030 implementation updates, and more. Campus leaders will share related updates and will be available to answer questions.

Secretary of the University

Chancellor Mone seeks nominations and applications for the position of Secretary of the University, which is held by a UWM faculty member. This is a part-time, limited appointment. The Secretary of the University reports to the Chancellor and is a member of the Chancellor’s Expanded Cabinet. The Secretary of the University facilitates, supports, and assists the effective functioning of faculty, academic staff, and university staff’s roles in shared governance, and serves as the primary liaison between the faculty and campus leadership. To view the position description and application process, please see https://jobs.uwm.edu/postings/30466. The initial review of applications is set to begin on Monday, March 15.

Update to Guidelines for Courses Changing Modality

The Monitoring Core Team has developed additional guidance for instructors and departments considering changing a course’s modality. This supplement to the Changes in Modality document focuses on concerns arising from courses changing modality from synchronous online to asynchronous. In particular, the supplement asks instructors to provide advanced notice to students and support services prior to implementing any changes. Adequate notice will help our staff to accommodate students in your courses. The addendum does not replace the expectation that instructors wanting to change modality of their courses should submit their requests to Stephen Schmid (schmids@uwm.edu) for MCT review.

Biweekly Paydays

Important reminder: In July 2021, the UW System will move all 12-month employees who are currently paid monthly to a biweekly payroll schedule; nine-month employees without a summer appointment will follow in September. In addition, most benefits deductions will be divided evenly between the biweekly paychecks. A good resource to help with planning purposes is the single payroll website on our Department of Human Resources site.

Kudos

Mo Zell (Architecture) has been elected as Second Vice President of the Association of the Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) for a four-year term beginning July 1. She will serve as president in 2023-24. ACSA is an international association of architecture schools preparing future architects, designers, and change agents. ACSA members include all 145 accredited professional degree programs in the United States and Canada, as well as international schools and 2- and 4-year programs. Together, ACSA schools represent some 7,000 faculty educating more than 40,000 students. This is a wonderful recognition and congratulations, Mo!

Yomarie Castellano (Center for International Education) was selected for a Fulbright International Education Administrators award to attend a seminar in Taiwan in March 2022. The Fulbright Program aims to increase mutual understanding between people of the U.S. and people in other countries. Since its inception in 1946, more than 390,000 “Fulbrighters” have participated in this prestigious program. Congratulations, Yomarie!

Xiao Qin (Civil and Environmental Engineering) has co-authored a new textbook that addresses key elements of effective transportation engineering and policy decisions based on highway crash analysis. The book, “Highway Safety Analytics and Modeling,” published by Elsevier, is intended for transportation safety researchers, graduate students, engineers, analysts, and designers. Well done, Xiao!

Lisa Berger (Social Welfare) was selected as editor of the Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions. Professor Susan J. Rose and PhD student EJ Miecielica will contribute as special topics editor and editorial assistant. Congratulations, Lisa, Susan, and EJ!

Crystal D. Carter (Social Welfare) recently facilitated several training sessions and webinars on the subject of race and mental health, including “Being well now and beyond 2020,” “Trending women’s health topics,” “King’s Disease, the state of mental health in the Black Community,” and “Ethics and boundaries: Social work and race” for NASW-WI. Well done, Crystal!

Daniel Agterberg (Physics) is among the 151 Outstanding Referees of the Physical Review journals, as selected by the American Physical Society (APS) for 2021. Instituted in 2008, the Outstanding Referee program annually recognizes approximately 150 of the currently active referees for their invaluable work. Comparable to Fellowship in the APS and other organizations, this is a lifetime award. Congratulations, Dan!

In the News

The Moon Shot for Equity received cover page and feature story attention by University Business in their Spring 2021 edition.

Joan Prince (Vice-Chancellor Emeritus, Global Inclusion and Engagement) was featured on CBS 58’s Sunday Morning Spotlight.

Milwaukee Athletics

The Milwaukee women’s basketball team claimed a share of the Horizon League regular-season championship with Wright State and will enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed. Milwaukee finished the regular season 18-6 overall with a 15-5 mark in Horizon League play. Based on the League’s seeding formula, Wright Stated edged out Milwaukee for the top seed.

Senior Brandi Bisping of the Milwaukee women’s basketball team and sophomore C.J. Wilbourn of the men’s basketball team were named to this year’s Horizon League All-Academic team. To be eligible, student-athletes must participate in 50 percent of the team’s overall games, have completed one year at the school, and have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.20 on a 4.0 scale.

The Week

Monday

I start the week with the Coronavirus Management Team (CMT) Leadership meeting, followed by my weekly meeting with Robin Van Harpen, the Academic Staff Committee meeting, the Chancellor’s Executive Cabinet Deep Dive meeting, my weekly staff meeting, a Campus Space Planning meeting, and my weekly check-in with Dev Venugopalan and Laura Pedrick.

Tuesday

In the morning, I have my regular meeting with Dave Clark and Kay Eilers, my standing meeting with Val Klump and Tim Grundl, my one-on-one with Kathy Dolan, and my standing meeting with Brian Thompson. In the afternoon, I’ll attend the University Committee meeting, I have a 2030 discussion with Chancellor Mone, Sue Weslow, and Robin Van Harpen, and the Chancellor and I will meet with departing UWM Police Chief Joseph LeMire.

Wednesday

Today, I have my one-on-one with Tom Luljak, my bi-weekly meeting with Mark Harris, my monthly meeting with Nancy Frank, and the UW System Provost Council Pre-Board meeting.

Thursday

In the morning, I have another CMT Leadership meeting and the Board of Regents virtual meeting. In the afternoon, I’ll attend the UW System Executive Search RFP meeting and the Online Learning Committee meeting.

Friday

Today, I have a Letters and Science Multiyear Model Update meeting, a meeting with Purush Papatla and Jennifer Abele, and I’ll attend to administrative matters.

Announcements

Dr. Joan Prince Day

On Tuesday, March 2 at 9 a.m., newly retired Vice-Chancellor emeritus Joan Prince will be honored by the City of Milwaukee Common Council. It will also be Dr. Joan Prince Day in the City of Milwaukee. Feel free to tune in.

Sidewalk School

Felicia Rangel-Samponaro (founder and director) will discuss The Sidewalk School on Tuesday, March 2 at 4:30 p.m. Please register in advance.

Decarceration Discussion

Jane Hereth and Amy Watson (Social Welfare) will participate in “Advancing Smart Decarceration Through Research,” a virtual discussion hosted by the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration, on Wednesday, March 3 at noon. The event is free and open to the public.

Charles Causier Memorial Lecture

Dr. Destiny Thomas will give the Charles Causier Memorial Lecture, “Un-planning Cities: reparative design and atonement in the built environment,” virtually on Friday, March 5 at 2 p.m. Register.

2020-2021 LACUSL Speakers Series

Falina Enriquez (UW Madison) presents, “Living ‘A Part Apart’: Brazilian Migrants in Toronto, Canada,” on Monday, March 8 at 2 p.m.

Community-Engaged Scholars Network (CESN)

Join CESN for tea on Tuesday, March 9 at 2 p.m. to discuss community-based work aimed at the public good. At this virtual gathering, learn how CCBLLR has maintained our community partnerships and continued serving the Milwaukee community. We will also create a space for you to discuss community-based work, classes, and ideas with others based on issue area (youth, environment, the arts, poverty, etc.). Grab a cup of tea and join us for an hour of connection and discussion.

CLACS Virtual Talk

Author Reyna Grande will discuss her life and work on Wednesday, March 10 at 4:30 p.m. Please register in advance.

Indefinite Status Extension

Accommodation may be requested by academic staff with probationary-track appointments to extend the probationary period towards indefinite status due to factors related to the novel coronavirus pandemic. Probationary staff may submit a request prior to May 23. More information.

Other

The shortest test match since 1935 . . .

Take care,

Johannes