Kudos

Chris Cantwell (History) published a new anthology of essays on digital research methods for the study of religion titled, “Digital Humanities and Research Methods in Religious Studies,” (DeGruyter, 2021). He also published an essay in the digital magazine Religion Dispatches on the study of evangelicalism in the wake of the Capitol insurrection. Well done, Chris!

Karyn Frick (Psychology) and her grad student, Lisa Taxier, were profiled by the Alzheimer’s Association of Wisconsin for International Women’s Day. Congratulations, Karyn and Lisa!

Susan Rose (Social Welfare) received the Darrell Whistler Special Service Recognition Award for her years of loyal and distinguished service to the City of Elmhurst, IL. This award is typically given by the mayor to a volunteer who has displayed exceptional service to the city. Well done, Susan!

Simon Bronner (Dean of the College of General Studies and Distinguished Professor) introduced and edited the second edition of The Meaning of Folklore: The Analytical Essays of Alan Dundes, issued by the University Press of Colorado and Utah State University Press. Named an Outstanding Academic Title by the American Library Association, the new paperback edition features a foreword covering the impact of Alan Dundes’s anthropological and folkloristic scholarship since 2008. Congratulations, Simon!

UW-Milwaukee was named among the Top 49 Military-Friendly Colleges for 2021, as recently announced by Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning. Congratulations to Military and Veterans Resource Center (MAVRC) Director Yolanda Medina and all involved in this impressive achievement!

In the News

Tanya Joosten (Academic Affairs) was featured in an article in K-12 Dive on how learning science can improve K-12 distance education models.

Milwaukee Athletics

After not only bringing home an individual league title, but also helping lead the Panther team to a Horizon League team title, Meg Swietlik of the Milwaukee women’s cross country team has been officially announced as part of the 2020 NCAA Cross Country Championships field. This year’s championships—postponed from the usual fall season to the spring of 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic—will be hosted by Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, OK today.

The Week

Monday

I start the week with the Coronavirus Management Team Leadership meeting, followed by the Academic Staff Committee meeting, the Chancellor’s Cabinet meeting, my one-on-one with Melissa Scanlan (Melissa is the director of the Center for Water Policy), an Online Growth Initiative meeting, my weekly staff meeting, and my weekly check-in with Dev Venugopalan and Laura Pedrick.

Tuesday

I start the day with an M³ meeting, then I have my standing meeting with Phyllis King, a College of General Studies meeting, and my one-on-one with Kim Litwack. In the afternoon, I’ll attend the University Committee meeting, followed by a Director of Campus Planning interview, my weekly meeting with Chancellor Mone, and my one-on-one with Pat Borger.

Wednesday

On St. Patrick’s Day, I have a UWM Foundation meeting, a meeting with Chancellor Mone, Jennifer Abele, and Sue Weslow, my one-on-one with Jonathan Hanes, my bi-weekly meeting with Mark Harris, and my monthly meeting with Dave Clark and Kay Eilers. I’ll also attend the Department Chairs meeting, followed by a Moon Shot for Equity check-in, my one-on-one with Scott Gronert, and a GER Implementation meeting.

Thursday

In the morning, I have my quarterly Global Inclusion and Engagement meeting, my one-on-one with Michael Doylen, and an Online Learning Committee meeting. In the afternoon, I have a Director of Campus Planning interview, the Northwestern Mutual Data Science Core Team meeting, a Safe Campus meeting, and I’ll attend the Faculty Senate meeting.

Friday

Today, I have another Director of Campus Planning interview, a Letters and Science meeting, and I end Friday attending a UW-System meeting on technology planning.

Announcements

C21 Lecture Series

The Long 2020 continues on Friday, March 19 at 3:30 p.m. with a virtual talk by political theorists Elisabeth Anker (GW), William Connolly (Johns Hopkins), and Bonnie Honig (Brown). The moderator will be Keenan Ferguson (Political Science).

Asian Celebrations: Iran

Join Ahmad Hosseinizadeh (Physics) for a celebration of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, on Friday, March 19 at 7 p.m.

The Public Health Significance of Racism 

Thomas LaVeist (Tulane) will show his new documentary, “The Skin You Are In,” speak, and take questions on Tuesday, April 6 at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom. Information and registration.

Marden Lecture in Mathematics

This annual lecture event will be hosted on Zoom on Thursday, April 8 at 4 p.m. L. Ridgway Scott (University of Chicago) will present, “A Modern Approach to Simulating Flight.”

Support for Undergraduate Research Fellows (SURF) 

The next Support for Undergraduate Research Fellows (SURF) deadline is April 15. Through this program, UWM faculty and academic staff can request hourly salary support for undergraduates to work as research assistants on a collaborative project over the summer.

UW System Symposium

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater will host the 19^th annual UW System Symposium for Undergraduate Research, Scholarly and Creative Activity on Wednesday, April 28. This virtual event will showcase undergraduate research, creativity, achievement, service-learning, and community-based research from all over the state of Wisconsin in all areas of study. Students interested in participating may submit an abstract. UWM’s Office of Undergraduate Research will coordinate and cover registration costs for UWM student presenters.

COVID-19 Survey

Dimitri Topitzes (Social Welfare), Adam Jussel (Dean of Students), Nadya Fouad (Educational Psychology), and Joshua Mersky (Social Welfare) are leading a survey study of all campus employees about experiences related to COVID-19. The survey takes about 15-25 minutes to complete.

Other

The discovery of an extraordinary fossilized nest.

Take care,

Johannes