Monday Memo February 8, 2016 — College of Arts & Sciences

Message from the Dean

Dear Colleagues,

In the past week we have learned of Governor Bevin’s proposal to cut our budget dramatically and to move Kentucky’s higher education to a performance-based funding model within three years. We hope his proposed cut does not become a reality. However, if it is implemented with criteria consistent with our current pursuit for excellence, a performance-based model could potentially serve the University well. It will be several weeks until a legislative decision on funding is reached. In the meantime, we should seize the opportunity to educate our new governor about what is necessary from higher education to help him reach his goal of an educated workforce.

Governor Bevin is correct to worry about the many unfilled jobs we have in Kentucky and our relatively unskilled workforce. Louisville’s 55,000 Degrees initiative is aimed precisely at helping to overcome obstacles and fill this need. UofL in general, and Arts & Sciences in particular, is a strong partner in educating our citizens. I am disappointed that Governor Bevin – whose problem-solving and communication skills along with his sense of civic duty might well have been honed by his own liberal arts education – is focusing on vocational training rather than a strong liberal arts education. There is both anecdotal and hard evidence that clearly shows degrees in the arts and sciences are the key to success in many careers.

Governor Bevin is not alone in failing to recognize the many ways in which undergraduate degrees in the arts and sciences are an effective way forward in a world that is rapidly changing. The onus is now on us to show how we “train” our students to approach problems in innovative ways and communicate their ideas effectively. Additionally, it is important that we convey that A&S also offers programs where students do indeed develop specific areas of professional expertise.

I know that we are making sure our students, and by extension our Commonwealth, are ready for the future. We need to make sure that our elected officials, especially Governor Bevin, understand that. In order to convey that message, I would like to put together an ad hoc committee to draft a letter. Please let me know if you are interested in joining this important committee.

Sincerely,

Kimberly Kempf-Leonard
Dean

Announcements

Faculty & Staff: Community Engagement tracking project
A&S is looking for faculty and staff who are involved in community engagement projects and are willing to help us pilot a new mobile app – MobileServe – that will allow us to easily track, aggregate, and report community engagement and its impact.

If you are involved in community engagement either as a volunteer or a researcher, or if you are teaching a course with a community-based learning component, please join us for one of two info/training sessions on how to most effectively use the app. The sessions will be in Ekstrom W102 and will last approximately one hour.

Monday, February 22, 9:00 am, or
Tuesday, February 23, 10:30 am

If you can attend, please bring a mobile device (tablet or smart phone) if you own one. If you are unable to attend either session, please indicate if you are interested and we will follow up with you individually.

Internship & Co-op Summit seeks coordinating faculty/staff by Feb. 12
A summit of internship and co-op directors from departments and programs around the University will be held Friday, Feb. 26, at Noon in Strickler Hall’s Cochran Auditorium. The Provost’s Office would like to use the occasion to begin a dialogue about how we can better coordinate, determine common problems for future discussion, and, of most immediate importance, how to collect data on student placements.

Please assist in identifying the primary faculty and/or staff member(s) in your department/program who is/are responsible for coordinating and managing internships or co-op positions. Submit that list of people and contact information by Friday, Feb. 12 to Trey Lewis, director of the Career Development Center.

With internship and co-op positions becoming increasingly a measurement of higher education institutional performance, it’s imperative that the University maximize our potential to offer these experiential learning opportunities to our students while also reporting our successes in this regard.

Undergrad Research Symposium applications due March 1
Transylvania University invites undergraduate students at UofL to submit their original research to the 2016 Research Symposium, which will take place at Transylvania on Sat., April 2, 2016. Research can be from any area of interest, and selected applicants will present orally for about fifteen minutes.

If you have students who might be interested in this one-day event, you’re encouraged to forward the application to them or to the faculty to pass on this information. The application is due by March 1, 2016. Further information regarding the schedule will be available after the application deadline. You can email Malory Thelen with questions.

Olorunsola Award deadline March 11
A&S is soliciting applications for the Victor Olorunsola Endowed Research Award for full-time, tenure-track assistant professors within their first four years. One award of $2,000 will be made this year. The deadline for applications is March 11. For more info, visit Guidelines.

Faculty Research & Creative Activities Grant due March 11
A&S announces funding opportunities to promote research and creative activities of tenured and tenure-track faculty members with the purpose of increasing the extramural research funding, and the number of scholarly publications, refereed exhibits, and artistic performances of the college. Any tenured or tenure-track faculty member in the College of Arts and Sciences is eligible, excluding the A&S Associate Dean of Research. Deadline for submissions is March 11. For more info, visit Guidelines.

Graduate Research and Creative Activities Grant due March 25
A&S announces funding opportunities to promote research and creative activities of graduate students with the purpose of increasing the extramural research funding, the number of scholarly publications, refereed exhibits, and artistic performances of the college. Any doctoral or Master’s student in good standing in the College of Arts and Sciences is eligible. Deadline for submissions is 4:00 p.m. on Friday, March 25. For more info, visit Guidelines.

Basketball ticket raffle
Dean Leonard is offering her seats for the Men's Basketball game on Wednesday, February 17 vs. Syracuse at 7 pm at the KFC YUM Center. If you would like your name placed into the drawing for 2 tickets, please email asdean@louisville.edu by 4 pm on Monday 2/15. The winner will be contacted via email by Tuesday, Feb. 16.

International, Diversity, & Engagement Programs

The College of Arts and Sciences is committed to building an exemplary educational community that offers an inclusive and equitable intellectual climate. This section of our Monday Memo is designed to increase awareness, understanding, and respect for the range of human diversity throughout the college.

February Holy Days
In accordance with the university’s policy on work-restricted religious holidays, we would like to reiterate the importance of allowing students, faculty, and staff who observe work-restricted religious holidays to do so without jeopardizing their academic standing or work-related activities.

This month the Chinese New Year (Confucian, Daoist, Buddhist) is Monday, Feb. 8, Ash Wednesday (Christian) is Wednesday, Feb. 10, and Nirvana Day (Buddhist, Jain) is Monday, Feb. 15. For additional information, please visit holy days calendar.

In the News

A University of Louisville professor has unearthed the stories behind objects still around from the Victorian Era (WHAS-11 ‘Great Day Live’, 2/2/2016) and Louisville Professor Explores Meaning In Literary Objects (WFPL, 2/2/2016) – Prof. Deborah Lutz on her latest book, The Brontë Cabinet: Three Lives in Nine Objects, and her talk for the ‘Meet the Professor’ series Wed., Feb. 4.

U of L’s French Film Fest offers free screenings all month long (Insider Louisville, 2/4/2016) – UofL’s French film festival runs from Feb. 4 through March 11.

Say Their Names: The Significance of Black History Month (The Voice-Tribune, 2/4/2016) – Prof. John Chenault (Pan-African Studies) will lead a series of talks at the Kentucky Center for African-American Heritage throughout February as part of events focused on Black History Month.

The411 with Sherlene Shanklin: It's "The Meeting" of the minds at the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage (WHAS-11, 2/4/2016) – On the play about a fictionalized meeting between Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, The Meeting, directed by Prof. Baron Kelly (Theatre Arts), and produced by the Kentucky Center African American Heritage in collaboration with the African American Theatre Program.

26 must-see art exhibits this week in Louisville (The Courier-Journal, 2/4/2016) – Events held at the Kentucky Center for African-American Heritage, the Ekstrom Library, and the Hite Art Institute.

26 things to do in Louisville this weekend (The Courier-Journal, 2/3/2016) – Events through University of Louisville’s International Film Series and the African American Theatre Program.

In Metro Council Races, Incumbency Offers Big Advantage (WFPL, 2/8/2016) – Profs. Jason Gainous, Julie Bunck, and Tim Weaver (Political Science) on city-level political races.

Business First, 2/2/2016 – Prof. Dewey Clayton (Political Science) gave a telephone interview to Business First reporter David Serchuk about the takeaways from Governor Matt Bevin's executive budget.

Kentucky Public Radio, 2/1/2016 & 2/3/2016 – Prof. Dewey Clayton (Political Science) gave an interview with Ryland Barton of Kentucky Public Radio on Senator Rand Paul’s decreasing poll numbers and chances to win the Republican nomination for President. He also spoke with Barton Feb. 3 on Senator Rand Paul’s suspension of his political campaign for President of the United States.