October 21, 2019  |  News & Events, Provost's Updates

Good morning, colleagues. Here is this week’s update from Academic Affairs.

Kudos

Joshua Mersky (Social Work) and his co-PI Colleen Janczewski (also from Social Work) received a two-year, $500,000 grant from the Department of Health and Human services for their Institute for Child and Family Well-being’s research on home visiting programs. Wonderful news!

Peck School of the Arts senior student Leonela Alejandro won the Collegiate Division Competition at this weekend’s Louisville International Guitar Competition.  UWM alumni Gonzalo Arias, Samuel Hines and Evan Taucher placed First, Second and Third prizes respectively in the Open Division Category. Special mention to Simon Farintosh and Riley Smith, who did not place but represented UWM well. What a wonderful outcome, and congratulations to all!

UWM has renewed its Gold status as a Bicycle Friendly University with the League of American Bicyclists. The leadership of our students, faculty, and staff continues to push the envelope for access to biking with Bublr Bikes, safe and healthy streets leading to campus, and research related to biking in our UWM School of Architecture and Urban Planning (SARUP). Bike on, UWM!

In the News

UWM study links Milwaukee gun violence to high lead levels in early childhood.

Exciting News from WUWM

WUWM has been chosen to participate in NPR’s 2020 Election Collaboration project. Member station political reporters will provide local and regional on-the-ground perspective throughout the 2020 election cycle. Two Washington Desk editors will work with a team of approximately 20 station reporters to create multi-platform content representing a diverse set of perspectives to provide the fullest possible representation of the 2020 contest around the country.

WUWM’s managing editor, Michelle Maternowski, has been chosen to participate in the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Editorial Integrity & Leadership Initiative. Participants work in small cohorts and receive one week of intensive learning and discussions, followed by three months of one-on-one coaching from industry leaders.

Angelina Mosher Salazar has been selected to participate in the “Power of Diverse Voices: Minority Writers Workshop,” sponsored by the Poynter Institute November 7-10. Participants were selected by a committee, with an emphasis on ensuring diversity across race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, geography, religion, technology platforms, and organization size.

Milwaukee Athletics

Congratulations to former Milwaukee baseball player Daulton Varsho, who was named to the USA Baseball 28-man roster for the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12™. The WBSC Premier12™ is the first opportunity for Team USA to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and is set to begin on November 2 in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Accessibility Resource Center

John S. Meister joined UWM on October 15 as the Director of the Accessibility Resource Center. John was the Director of Disability Services at the University of Colorado Boulder from 2014-2019 and held several roles during his tenure starting in 2009. Prior to his work at UC Boulder, he was the Disability Resource Coordinator at Colorado State University-Pueblo and a Graduate Assistant at Texas Woman’s University. Additionally, he served as a consultant to several post-secondary institutions in matters related to students, disability, and equitable access. Welcome to campus, John!

The Week

Monday
I start the week with my standing meeting with Robin Van Harpen, followed by further discussion of the Freshwater Collaborative, the Academic Staff Committee meeting, and the UW presentation to the deans on Title and Total Compensation. Later, I have the Chancellor’s Executive Cabinet meeting, standing meetings with Michael Doylen and Mark Harris, my weekly staff meeting, and a strategic meeting with the CGS (College of General Studies).

Tuesday
Today, I have the Deans Morning Meeting, standing meetings with Katie Miota, Dave Clark, and Scott Gronert, the monthly Campus Space Planning meeting, and my one-on-one with Pat Borger.

Wednesday
In the morning, I have a meeting with Student Association leadership, a Panther Promise meeting, a campus 2030 strategic meeting, and a standing meeting with Joan Prince. In the afternoon, I have an AAUP meeting with the Chancellor, my one-on-one meeting with Joely Urdan, and my weekly meeting with the Chancellor. In the evening, I’ll provide welcome remarks at the Technology Initiatives Social (see Announcements).

Thursday
Today, APBC meets, I have a Design Solution Center (DeSC) meeting, a campus budget planning meeting, I’ll provide an update on the Dean Search at the SARUP All-Staff meeting, and the Chancellor and I will attend the Asian Faculty and Staff Association reception. Later, I’ll provide remarks at a charter school event.

Friday
In the morning, I have an Integrated Support Services Executive Sponsors meeting, followed by lunch with Kanti Prasad. In the afternoon, I have my monthly meeting with Stan Stojkovic and will be focused on administrative tasks.

Announcements

Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute (NMDSI)
The NMDSI is launching an Affiliate Faculty program. According to Co-Director Purush Papatla, some of the benefits of the program include:

  • Networking and collaboration with other NMDSI Affiliate Faculty
  • Inclusion in a published directory of NMDSI Affiliate Faculty members on the NMDSI website
  • Early access to NMDSI news and events
  • Promotion of research through the NMDSI website
  • Opportunity to help shape NMDSI initiatives

To request membership, please complete the member survey. You can also contact Purush (papatla@uwm.edu) with any questions about the program.

Multi-Factor Authentication Deadline
Reminder: UWM faculty & staff must enroll in Multi-Factor Authentication by October 31.

Getting Started with Open Textbooks Workshop
Faculty and instructors can learn about Open Educational Resources and Open Textbook adoption in this introductory workshop led by Amy Mangrich (CETL) and Kristin Woodward (UWM Libraries) on Wednesday, October 23 at 3 p.m. in the Digital Humanities Lab.

Technology Initiatives Social
You are cordially invited to the first-ever Technology Initiatives Social, hosted by the UWM Libraries Digital Humanities Lab, on Wednesday, October 23 at 5 p.m. in the Golda Meir Library’s Fourth Floor Conference Center. Enjoy hors d’oeuvres, a cash bar, and learn more about a range of innovative work underway at UWM.

Live-Streamed Director Talk
Film Director François Ozon will give a live-streamed talk on his latest film, Grâce à Dieu (2019) By the Grace of God, on Wednesday, October 23 at 6:30 p.m. in Curtin 175.

Opening Night @ Five-O-Eight
On Wednesday, October 23 at 7:30 p.m., the Peck School of the Arts Theatre Department opens its 2019-20 season at Kenilworth Five-O-Eight with “Fen,” a drama by famed English playwright Caryl Churchill. On opening night, American Sign Language interpreters will be in the house. Seats within sight of the interpreters are still available.

UWM TechStore Employee Appreciation Day
Thank you for 10 great years! To celebrate the UWM TechStore’s 10th Anniversary, we’re celebrating with sales November 4-7. Be sure to pre-order your Mac or iPad by October 25 at 4 p.m. to ensure availability for purchase at November 7 event. Talk to us in-store to insure the proper configuration. Purchases must be made on Thursday, November 7, 2019. Questions? Please contact us at https://uwm.edu/techstore/contact/.

Latin Day
The Classics program (FLL) and the Wisconsin Latin Teachers Association (with funding from Title VI National Resource Centers) are co-sponsoring Latin Day at UWM on Tuesday, October 22. Around 200 7-12th grade Wisconsin Latin students will attend talks focused on ancient Roman culture by faculty from area universities, including Associate Professor Elisabetta Cova (Classics-FLL), co-organizer of the event, and Professor Derek B. Counts (Art History).

AFSA Fall Reception and Student Awards Ceremony
The Asian Faculty and Staff Association (AFSA) invites the campus community to attend its annual Fall Reception and Student Awards Ceremony on Thursday, October 24 at 2 p.m. in the Regents Room (Chapman 211). A silent auction, refreshments, and canned goods collection are also included. Contact Karen Miyoshi (kmiyoshi@uwm.edu) for more information.

What the 2020 Democratic National Convention Means to Milwaukee and UWM
The UWMAA Master Chat takes place on Thursday, October 24 at 5:30 p.m. in the UWM Student Union Ballroom. Join Moderator Tom Luljak and representatives from the DNC, UWM’s Department of Political Science, and local community leaders as they discuss the importance of winning the host bid, the economic benefit for Milwaukee, how UWM will be impacted, and more. Free event. Please register today to attend in person or to watch the event live online.

Brazilian Media Studies
Please join the Center for 21st Century Studies on Friday, October 25 at 3:30 p.m. in Curtin 118 for a joint talk on Brazilian media studies by two visiting researchers. Fatima Regis Oliveira presents, “New Media Literacies: Developing Participatory and Playful Learning Methodologies in Digital Culture,” and Daniel Marques presents, “The Platformization of Everyday Life: Design, Privacy, and Dark Patterns.”

Dance Events
The Paris Centre National de la Danse comes to Milwaukee with two dancers from their CARAVANE project. Noé Soulié performs Movement on Movement on Tuesday, October 29 at 7:30 p.m. and Trajal Harrell performs The Return of La Argentina on Wednesday, October 30 at 7:30 p.m. Both performances will be presented in Mitchell 254.

Deadline Extended!
The deadline to submit proposals for the 5th Annual Teaching and Learning Symposium has been extended to November 1.

Other

Qantas Airways completed the world’s longest nonstop test flight from New York to Sydney in 19 hours and 16 minutes.

Take care,

Joha​nnes

Johannes Britz
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs