Chancellor’s Town Hall Meeting 

There will be a virtual town hall meeting on Thursday, May 20 at 9 a.m. for UWM faculty and staff. Chancellor Mone and I, along with other campus leaders, will focus on planning for a fully operational fall semester, and will be available to answer your questions. We will discuss the most recent state, city, and UW System COVID-19 updates as well as a report from our Emergency Operations Center team. Send questions to uwm-townhall@uwm.edu.

2030 Plan Implementation – applications: deadline today  

In his April 6 town hall, Chancellor Mone announced available opportunities to participate in the 2030 Plan Implementation. Please share the below openings with anyone at UWM who may be interested. The deadline to apply for either opportunity is today, May 3 at 11:59 p.m.

• Chancellor’s Designee for 2030 Action Team
• Special Assistant to the Chancellor and Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer for 2030 DEI Issues

Kudos

Niyokwizera Anna (College of Nursing student) is receiving the Wisconsin Nurses Association (WNA) Future Nursing Leader Award. Twice a year, the WNA Awards Committee selects five graduates of schools and colleges of nursing in Wisconsin to receive the award, which will be presented at the May 15 Virtual Nursing Convocation and Pinning Ceremony. Congratulations, Niyokwizera!

Milwaukee women’s basketball Coach Kyle Rechlicz was selected as the Division I women’s coach of the year by the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. Well done, Kyle!

Camila Guarda Velasco’s (Journalism, Advertising, and Media Studies) documentary, “The Women and the Sea,” won Best International Latino Short Film at NYC’s Latin Film Market and the Latino Short Documentary Award at Texas’ Festival de Cine Latinoamericano and has now been chosen for screening at the Milwaukee Film Festival this month. Congratulations, Camila!

Kimberly Blaeser’s (English and American Indian Studies) poem, “About Standing (In Kinship),” was published in Poetry Magazine. “Tonsorium” was published in, “Sheltering with Poems: Community and Connection during COVID,” and the lyric essay, “Body Language,” was published in Notre Dame Magazine. She also presented a feature reading as a part of Denison University’s Beck Series and presented, “Native Arts & Indigenous Flourishing,” as part of an NEA Big Read event at Eastern Illinois. Well done, Kim!

Min Gyu Kim (Physics) was selected to receive one of two 2021 Outstanding Young Research Awards (the AKPA OYRA) from the Association of Korean Physicists in America. The award presentation will be held during the Association of Korean Physicists in America/Korean Physical Society joint symposium in May. Congratulations, Min Gyu!

Simon Bronner (College of General Studies Dean and Distinguished Professor) published a new book, Jewish Cultural Studies (Wayne State University Press, 2021). A book launch sponsored by UWM’s Sam and Helen Stahl Center for Jewish Studies will be held via Zoom on Thursday, May 20 at 7 p.m. The event is free but registration is required. Well done again, Simon!

In the News

Chia Vang (Interim Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer) spoke with WTMJ4 about the importance of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month as well as the barriers Asian Americans face here in southeast Wisconsin.

First ever Titan Arum bloomed at the UWM Biological Sciences Greenhouse.

Nancy Bird-Soto (Spanish and Portuguese) discussed the CLACS Latin American Film Series on Madison’s WORT 89.9 FM’s A Public Affair, hosted by Esty Dinur (navigate to April 23, Noon, A Public Affair. The interview starts at 7:47).

Peter Blewett (English) worked with students from his Multicultural America course in the 2021 Adopt-a-River Earth Day Clean-up sponsored by the Center for Community-based Learning, Leadership, and Research and the Urban Ecology Center.

Milwaukee Athletics

The Milwaukee Athletic Department promotes a culture in which diversity and inclusion are integral components of staff professional development and the student athlete educational and athletic experience. The Athlete’s Ally recently announced that the department has scored a 90 on the Athletic Equality Index (AEI), a powerful testament to its institutional commitment to LGBTQ+ inclusion. The score reflects highly on Milwaukee’s policies protecting LGBTQ+ athletes and cross-campus collaborations and initiatives.

Following the sweep of the Horizon League Tournament titles by both the Milwaukee women’s and men’s soccer teams, fans can now purchase championship merchandise. Commemorate either title achievement with championship shirts, hats, and more.

Milwaukee remains in first place in the race for the 2020-21 McCafferty Trophy, given to the all-sports champion of the Horizon League, heading into the spring championships bolstered by claiming two tournament titles. The Panthers have 39 total points as the calendar moves towards the final eight championships, a two-point lead ahead of Oakland.

The Week

Monday

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

Tuesday

In the morning, I have a TechEd Frontiers Executive briefing, my monthly meeting with Dave Clark and Kay Eilers, a June Board of Regents Planning meeting, my monthly meeting with Brett Peters, and my monthly meeting with Val Klump and Tim Grundl. In the afternoon, I’ll attend the University Committee meeting, I have a 2030 Implementation Planning School/College meeting with School of Information Studies, and my weekly meeting with Chancellor Mone.

Wednesday

Today, I have the Deans Morning Meeting, my monthly meeting with Tina Freiburger, one-on-ones with Mark Harris and Joely Urdan, a 2030 meeting with the Chancellor, I have my one-on-one with Simon Bronner, an Academic Staff Voting Rights meeting, a meeting with UW System Associate Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs Carleen Vande Zande and Dave Clark regarding Dual Enrollment, and a 2030 Implementation Planning School/College meeting with L&S Natural Sciences.

Thursday

In the morning, I attend the APBC meeting, I have my one-on-one with Tom Luljak, and a meeting regarding internal communications. In the afternoon, I have my standing meeting with Peter Sands, a meeting with the Faculty Senate Executive Committee, a Campus Budget Planning meeting, and a discussion regarding 2030 and the Humanities.

Friday

Today, I have my standing meeting with Chia Vang, the bimonthly UW System Provosts Council meeting, a 2030 Implementation Planning meeting with Student Success, Enrollment Management, and the UWM Libraries, and meetings with my direct reports.

Announcements

World Day of the Portuguese Language

Join Portuguese students, students from the Azorean Connection Group (Azores, Portugal), and community to celebrate the World Day of the Portuguese Language on Thursday, May 6 at 10 a.m. Zoom link.

Literary Salon

Please join the Sam and Helen Stahl Center for Jewish Studies for a Virtual Literary Salon: Contemporary Jewish Writers in Conversation on Thursday, May 6 at 7 p.m. Free but registration is required.

UWM Health Research Symposium

UWM’s Health Research Symposium website went live yesterday, showcasing graduate and undergraduate student work representing a range of programs across our health-related schools and colleges. This year, for the first time, The UWM Health Research Symposium will be conducted virtually. Instead of the traditional poster format, the symposium is adopting an exciting brief video presentation format. We invite UWM faculty and staff to visit the website, review the presentations, and leave a comment for our students. The awards ceremony will be conducted via Zoom on Friday, May 7 at 9:30 a.m.

Working with Military and Veteran Students

A day-long professional development workshop will be held on Friday, May 14. Part One (9 a.m.-Noon) is entitled, “15 Things Military and Veteran Students Want You to Know.” Part Two, “Ethical, Cultural, and Clinical Considerations of Short-term, Evidence-based Trauma Treatment,” takes place from 1-4 p.m. Registration.

Antiracist Teaching

Instructors across UWM are invited to participate in a virtual workshop series on Antiracist Teaching Practices for Writing across Disciplines this summer (June 15, 17, 22, and 24). This program is supported by a UWM Antiracist Campus Action Grant sponsored by the UWM Division of Global Inclusion and Engagement and the Office of Research. The deadline for applications is May 15.

BOR University Staff Excellence Awards 

UWM is accepting nominations for the new Board of Regents University Staff Excellence Awards to recognize the dedicated work, vital services, initiative, and outstanding contributions of the UW System’s university staff. UWM’s internal deadline is Monday, May 31 at 4:30 p.m. Please send completed nominations to Joe Rodriguez (joerod@uwm.edu), Special Assistant to the Chancellor and Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer for Cultural Change. Review award guideline and search criteria.

Video Recording of Michael Fenlon Event  

A video recording of “A Conversation with Michael Fenlon,” UWM Alumnus and Chief People Officer at PwC is available on the Chancellor’s website. Mike joined us virtually for a conversation about digital upskilling and the workforce of the future, inclusive leadership, talent acquisition and diversity, and innovation in higher education.

Other

The Delhi Capitals are still standing strong.

Take care,

Johannes

Johannes Britz