Monday Memo March 19, 2018
Dean's Message
Dear Colleagues:
It isn’t going to feel much like spring this week, but some flowers are heralding its arrival. Although the weather may not be cooperating, I never the less feel encouraged. This semester has only five more weeks, and summer and fall registration begin next week. The new Belknap Classroom Building and renovated SAC are both progressing on schedule, our Grow West initiative is gaining momentum with increased philanthropy, and the women’s basketball team is making us very proud. Prof. Zhanna Goldentul’s (Theatre Arts) wonderful costumes made the recent Louisville Ballet and Orchestra performances even more impressive. Our Theatre Art’s production of Miss Ida B. Wells garnered three awards at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival competition for distinguished performance by an actress for both student leads (Sidney Edwards & Mutiyal Ade-Salu) and director, Nefertiti Burton. We also had several students in Communication and Criminal Justice participate in service learning courses in Belize over Spring Break. I know several other noteworthy research activities took place over Spring Break, and I look forward to hearing about them as well.
In the coming weeks, several decisions will be made about next year. We have some faculty searches underway, although not as many as we’d like. This will impact our teaching schedule, and we'll need to make some decisions about how to best our allocate our faculty resources. The FY19 university budget proposal is in process. When I have an opportunity to weigh in, I will advocate for merit increases, additional faculty and staff, and reasonable tuition. I think it would be very helpful for many of our graduate programs to enroll the most competitive students if our out-of-state graduate tuition was closer to in-state rates. I’m also eager to hear recommendations from the committee studying the prospects of tenurable-teaching lines. This seems like a viable way to sustain our Research I status, reduce our reliance on non-tenure-track faculty, and also meet the needs of growing enrollment. I’m still interested in any other ideas you might that will help us accomplish these goals.
Welcome back to classes! I know it is a busy time. I appreciate your efforts to advance our research and educate our students. Despite obstacles, A&S remains on track. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Kimberly Kempf-Leonard, Ph.D.
Dean
Announcements
A&S Celebration of Excellence
Just a reminder that the College's Celebration of Excellence (awards event for A&S faculty and staff) is scheduled for Friday, April 13 at 2pm in Bigelow Hall of MITC.
New director of UofL Career Development Center announced
Mr. William “Bill” Fletcher has been selected to serve as the director of the Career Development Center (CDC). He will begin his role on April 2, 2018. A bit about Mr. Fletcher:
- He has 25 years of progressive experience in career services, including 17 years as a director. He has a strong passion for integrating career development into the educational experience, with a focus on students’ overall success.
- Most recently, Mr. Fletcher was director at Middle Tennessee State University, the second-largest university in Tennessee, with 22,000 students. During his tenure, he transformed MTSU’s career center into a comprehensive career development model and developed a new structure for delivering student-centered services to their diverse student population.
- Prior to MTSU, Mr. Fletcher was associate director of employer relations at Vanderbilt University where he developed a robust campus-recruiting program with Fortune 500 companies. This provided him with a valuable understanding of the culture of a highly selective liberal arts and sciences university, while increasing the campus-recruiting program.
Research & Creative Activity
University-wide Undergraduate Research and Community Engagement Symposium
The Office of the Executive Vice President for Research and Innovation, the Office of the Vice President for Community Engagement, and the Office of the Provost are sponsoring the annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. Students, faculty and the community can discuss cutting-edge research topics, examine the connection between research and education and explore the broad range of research and creative activity here at UofL. The symposium will take place April 10th, 12:30 - 4:00 p.m., Shumaker Research Building, Room 139. Deadline for electronic abstract submission is April 2. For more information, visit the website or email Dr. Charlie Leonard.
Dissertation writing retreat
PhD students from all disciplines are invited to apply for the 2018 Dissertation Writing Retreat. The retreat, which will take place in the University Writing Center in Ekstrom Library May 14-18, includes writing consultations, workshops, time to write, and lunch. There is no fee. The University Writing Center organizes the Dissertation Writing Retreat with support from the School of Interdisciplinary and Graduate Studies. Visit the UWC website for more details and application information.
Teaching
Delphi U to be held May 7-11
As the number of online programs at UofL continues to grow, Delphi U provides online faculty the opportunity to refine their courses and fortify their online instruction. During this intensive, five-day workshop to be held May 7-11, faculty will discover ways of developing, delivering, and assessing online classes. Participants will gain experience in creating or redesigning an online course. Faculty will explore:
- Learning objectives, backwards design and online instruction
- Accessibility, academic integrity, syllabus design/development, and technology
- Copyright, digital media, Wikis and blogs, and discussion boards
- Measuring student learning, Blackboard assignments and sssessment
- And more!
Questions about Delphi U? Contact deb.hatfield@louisville.edu. To participate, sign up here by March 23.
Diversity & Engagement
Sustainability students build Habitat for Humanity house
UofL Sustainability students constructed 44 walls for a Habitat for Humanity house for a refugee family from Somalia in the month of February. Students will put together the walls for the house during their March Habitat session.
Kudos
Omer-Sherman judging Schnitzer Book Awards
Prof. Ranen Omer-Sherman (Comparative Humanities) has been appointed as one of three judges for the 2018 Jordan Schnitzer Book Awards awarded annually by the Association for Jewish Studies.
Ridley invited to be NEH Public Scholar peer review panelist
Prof. Glynis Ridley (English) has been invited to become a peer review panelist for the NEH Public Scholar Program. She will be reviewing applicants and making recommendations in the field of Biography.
Peteet gives invited lecture in Turkey
On February 28, Fulbright Senior Research Scholar Prof. Julie Peteet (Anthropology) gave a lecture titled "Conceptualizing Mobility and Producing Place in Palestine" at the French Institute for Anatolian Studies and the Migration Studies Association in Istanbul.
Ziegler preps soldiers for deployment
Prof. Charles Ziegler (Political Science) recently presented an all-day briefing on Russia and Eastern Europe to officers and soldiers of the 86th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, Fort Bliss, Texas, in preparation for their deployment to Poland and the Baltic States.
Pfeffer in Lavaur, France
On March 13, 2018, Prof. Wendy Pfeffer (Classical & Modern Languages) was interviewed by Radio d'Autan (Gaillac, Tarn, France) about her research on medieval food and culinary habits. Pfeffer was in the Tarn department at the invitation of the Société archéologique de Lavaur and the Friends of the Museum of Lavaur, to give a public presentation on Occitan food practices in the Middle Ages, The presentation, on March 14, at the Médiathèque de Lavaur, was very well received. Radio d'Autan promises to broadcast its recording of the talk in the coming months.
Congrats to UPA grad student Chad Frederick
Kudos to Urban & Public Affairs graduate student Chad Frederick whose three peer reviewed articles and book based on his dissertation led to a tenure track job Grand Valley State University in Michigan.
In the News
Method behind the madness: Why fans love filling out NCAA brackets (WDRB.com, 3/18/18) - Prof. Michael Cunningham (Communication) weighs in on the appeal of March Madness.
Across Louisville, students join national day of action protesting gun violence(WFPL, 3/18/18) - Prof. Cate Fosl (Women's & Gender Studies) weighs in on role of student activism.
Democrats need brave, tough politicians to turn the tide against Trump and Republicans (Courier-Journal, 3/14/18) - Opinion piece by Prof. Ricky Jones (Pan-African Studies)
New Louisville company wants to expand the shelf life of blood — here's how(Louisville Business First, 3/13/18) - Prof. Michael Menze (Biology) is the president of DesiCorp which seeks to increase the shelf life of stored blood from days to years. Through researching sea monkeys, the hope is that blood could be dried and stored and made ready for transfusion by adding sterile water.
50 years after My Lai, atrocity amnesia enables us to answer the next bugle call to war (Lexington Herald, 3/9/18) - An op-ed by Prof. Russ Vandenbroucke (Theatre Arts). The piece is also being distributed nationally through PeaceVoice, run by the Oregon Peace Institute.
UofL student talks travel with the UofL International Service Learning Program (UofL News, 3/7/18)
At monument meeting, slight progress made despite crowd’s focus on Castleman (WFPL.com, 3/7/18) - Prof. Chris Reitz (Fine Arts) quoted extensively in his role on city public art committee.
First artist-run super PAC opens campaign headquarters In Louisville (WFPL, 3/6/18) - Prof. Chris Reitz (Fine Arts) quoted about For Freedoms exhibit at the Cressman Center for Visual Arts.
Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs to hit home in Kentucky (WDRB, 3/5/18) - Prof. Janet Kelly (Urban & Public Affairs) weighs in on the possible economic impact of tariffs imposed on imported steel and aluminum.
The elite network making up SCALA is the problem, not the solution, for JCPS(Courier-Journal, 2/23/18) - An op-ed by Prof. John Gilderboom (Urban & Public Affairs) and his colleague from Tennessee State University.
