Good morning, colleagues. Here is this week’s update from Academic Affairs.
Kudos
Cassandra Phillips (Arts and Humanities) and co-author Holly Hassel (UWSP at Wausau) recently published their book, “Materiality and Writing Studies: Aligning Labor, Scholarship, and Teaching,” with the National Council of Teachers of English. Congratulations, Cassandra and Holly!
Nick Fleisher (Linguistics) served as co-chair of an AAUP Special Committee on Governance, Academic Freedom, and Institutional Racism in the University of North Carolina System. The release of the committee’s report was covered in the Chronicle of Higher Education, the New York Times, and many other outlets. Well done, Nick!
Colleen Galambos (Social Welfare) received the Editor’s Choice Best Article (Runner-up) Award for her article titled, “Advance directives in the nursing home setting: An initiative to increase completion and reduce potentially avoidable hospitalizations,” which was published in the Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life & Palliative Care. Colleen was recognized for this achievement at the 2022 Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care Network Annual Assembly. Congratulations, Colleen!
Michael Doylen (UWM Libraries) has been elected as incoming chair for 2022-23 and chair for 2023-24 of the Council of University of Wisconsin Libraries. Well done, Michael!
Kim Omachinski (Communication) was named a UW System 2022-2023 Wisconsin Teaching Fellow and Scholar. The program provides a unique opportunity to collaborate with other exceptional teachers from across the UW System and various disciplines. Congratulations, Kim!
Amanda Rahfaldt (Lubar School of Business undergraduate) received a $1,500 prize for taking second place at the 2022 Wisconsin Big Idea Tournament for her idea, “All About Workout,” which is making athletic clothing more sustainable through resale. Well done, Amanda!
Gregg Jamison (Social Sciences and Business) recently co-authored a paper in the Journal of South Asian Studies entitled, “Mixed Methodologies: Collaborative Approaches to Indus Tiger Seals.” Congratulations, Gregg!
Jeffrey Sommers (African and African Diaspora Studies) has a US State Department Fulbright Specialist award for Romania in May through mid-June. He will guest lecture and work on research projects with faculty in the Political Science Department at Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca and at the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration in Bucharest. Well done, Jeff!
Thomas Haigh (History and Computer Science) has worked closely with the team at Lost Women of Science, a podcast created in collaboration with PRX and Scientific American, to tell the story of computer programming pioneer Klara von Neumann. Haigh is featured prominently in episodes three and four. The podcast was launched with a live event at the Computer History Museum, where he discussed Klara’s work with its host Katie Hafner of the New York Times in a conversation moderated by Harvey Mudd college president Maria Klawe. Congratulations, Tom!
Kudos to Peck School of the Arts’ Department of Film, Video, Animation, and New Genres. Their outstanding program, regularly listed among the world’s top film schools, was recently featured in Variety’s 2022 Top Film Schools.
Congratulations to the 24 undergraduate students recognized with Outstanding Presentation awards at the Undergraduate Research Symposium. See a full list of the awardees. Congratulations as well to Nathaniel Stern (Art and Design; Mechanical Engineering), whose impactful mentorship was recognized with the Undergraduate Research Mentor of the Year award.
DEI Call for Nominations
UW System is asking campuses to nominate our colleagues for the 2022 Outstanding Women of Color in Education Award and the P.B. Poorman Award for Outstanding Achievement on Behalf of LGBTQ+ People. More information. UWM can only submit one nominee for each award, so we have an internal process. To nominate a colleague, please provide a 250-300-word biographical statement that outlines the honoree’s contributions as defined by the criteria specific to each award and email it to Vice Chancellor Chia Vang (vangcy@uwm.edu) by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, May 20.
Milwaukee Athletics
The Milwaukee baseball team is excited to welcome fans and alumni to Franklin for a day full of activities at the team’s regular season finale on Saturday, May 21. The finale will feature Senior Day, a student-athlete alumni celebration, and the official change in home ballparks to wrap up the regular season. Gates will open at 1 p.m. and the Senior Day celebration will begin just prior to the first pitch, which is scheduled for 2 p.m. Throughout the game, alumni from all eras and their families will be recognized.
For the first time in program history, the Milwaukee tennis team earned a runner-up finish in the 2022 Horizon League Tennis Championships. Milwaukee nearly pulled off another upset and battled throughout the entire duel, but the No. 2 Youngstown State Penguins came out on top 4-3 to claim the league title.
The Week
Monday
I start the week with my standing meeting with Robin Van Harpen, followed by a Chancellor meeting, my regular check-in with Dave Clark and Kay Eilers, and my weekly staff meeting.
Tuesday
In the morning, I have the biweekly CEMAT Leads meeting, and my one-on-ones with Kaushal Chari, Nancy Nelson, and Brett Peters. In the afternoon, I have my biweekly meeting with Mark Harris, my standing meeting with Keri Duce and Michelle Johnson, I’ll provide an Academic Affairs update to the Academic Staff Senate, I have my weekly meeting with Chancellor Mone, and a UW System meeting.
Wednesday
Today, I have a Strategic Partnerships meeting, my one-on-ones with Nicole Oswald and Simon Bronner, my monthly meeting with Amy Harley, my standing meeting with Tim Behrens, my one-on-one with Dave Clark, my monthly meeting with Mark Harris and Dietmar Wolfram, and my standing meeting with Joely Urdan.
Thursday
In the morning, I attend the APBC meeting and another UW System meeting. In the afternoon, I’ll attend the Faculty Senate meeting.
Friday
Today, I have the Enterprise Directions Council meeting, the bimonthly UW System Provosts Council meeting, I’ll meet with direct reports, and attend to administrative matters.
Saturday
I’ll provide remarks and hand out certificates and stoles for the Honors College Graduation Ceremony.
Announcements
National Pan-Hellenic Council
Celebrate the 92nd NPH Founders’ Day with three events on Tuesday, May 10:
- Multicultural Blood Drive from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. in the Union Fireside Lounge.
- Lifelong Exhibit: The Ultimate Bond art exhibit features inspiring personal testimonies of organ and tissue donation by Milwaukee Divine Nine members at noon in the Union Concourse.
- Black Greek Letter Organizations of UWM Reception at 12:30 p.m. in the UWM Martin Luther King, Jr. Atrium
African/African American Graduation Celebration
The 2022 Spring and Summer African/African American Graduation Celebration will be held Thursday, May 12 from 5-7 p.m. in the Union Ballroom. Please RSVP.
Project Clean and Green
The City of Milwaukee will collect up to six (6) cubic yards per property of unwanted furniture, mattresses, and household items, as well as garden/yard debris in paper yard waste bags. Pick-up in the UWM area will take place from May 17-21.
PantherCycle Free Store
Donate and pick out FREE small items at UWM’s official PantherCycle Free Store, located in Spaights Plaza! Stop by May 17-19 between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Students with large items should schedule a pick-up with the City of Milwaukee, post in the PantherCycle Facebook group, or utilize the City’s Clean and Green program.
WWHEL Social
Wisconsin Women in Higher Education Leadership (WWHEL) invites you to attend the spring after-work social on Thursday, May 19 starting at 4 p.m. at the Hubbard Park Beer Garden. We’ll welcome new staff and give away a prize at 5 p.m. More details. Please register.
Constellations of the Zodiac: Gemini
Join us on Friday, May 20 at 7 p.m. in the UWM Planetarium as we delve into the astronomy and mythology behind the zodiac and learn how to find your zodiac constellation in the night sky. In this live, interactive show, we will explore the stories and science of the zodiac constellations, with a focus on what makes this month’s constellation, Gemini, unique.
Union Renovation
The Union Renovation Project has been in full swing throughout the current school year and is progressing on time. To continue this work, the UWM Student Union and Union Parking Garage will be closed to the public beginning Monday, May 23. The Renovation Project timeline provides us confidence that the Union will reopen by Fall Semester 2022.
Retirement Party
Please join the Career Planning and Resource Center to celebrate the retirement of Jean Salzer and her 25+ years of dedication to UWM. Stop by Mellencamp 128 between 1-3 p.m. on Tuesday, May 24 to wish her well on her next adventure.
Door Knocking for the Census
Neighborhood Housing Staff will be out in the neighborhoods near campus for the remainder of May knocking on doors of houses that have yet to complete the census.
College Pride Day at Summerfest
Get free admission to Summerfest when you wear your UWM branded gear on Friday, July 8. You must arrive at the Mid Gate Promotions Booth between noon and 3 p.m. to receive free admission. Make sure to stop at UWM’s booth near the fountains to say hello, enter to win front-row wrist bands for the free stages, grab some great UWM swag, and show your Panther Pride.
Contribute to UNITE!
As you wrap up your 2022 promo item ordering, please place UNITE on your calendars (Thursday, September 1), and consider contributing to the bags! Please let Carmen (housing@uwm.edu) know what your contribution plan will be by June 1 so we can plan ahead and make sure we aren’t doubling up on similar items.
Family Weekend
Family Weekend is scheduled for Saturday, October 8, and we are hoping to significantly increase the activities and programmatic offerings for families this year. If your area would like to participate, please email ambc@uwm.edu with your area’s point of contact by May 15.
Other
Alarm raised over “stray lion” sighting.
Take care,
Johannes