Monday Memo April 16, 2018

Dean's Message

Dear Colleagues,
 
Thank you to everyone who participated in our Celebration of Excellence on Friday, and especially to my staff who organized the event to make sure we had great fun. The accomplishments of our many award winners are indeed impressive, and they represent only a fraction of all the good work our faculty and staff do. In the next few weeks we will celebrate our students’ achievements in many ways, and we are so fortunate to have such good students at the University of Louisville. Happy times!
 
I also am pleased to announce our new Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education will be Professor Linda Fuselier. Beginning July 1, Dr. Fuselier will bring her considerable expertise in teaching pedagogy, her data-driven decision-making, and her student-centered approach to the office. She’ll have big shoes to fill as Professor Julia Dietrich has served the College well in her 20 years in the position. We had several outstanding applicants for the position, and the decision was difficult because each would’ve brought something special to the position. It is a good problem to have—many accomplished teacher-scholars dedicated to student success, yet another reason we can be very proud our college.
 
Finally, I enjoyed a hard-hat tour of the new Belknap Academic Classroom Building. The BACB still needs a better name, but otherwise it is glorious. Those faculty who will be teaching there next fall are truly in for a treat. The work will continue most of the summer, but enough is finished that soon an invitation to tour will be given to those faculty with Fall 2018 BACB classes. Delivery of the furnishings will be a logistical feat; the first truckloads arrive June 20. We will all have a chance to tour at an open house planned for before the start of classes.
 
Enjoy the final days of spring semester. I recognize that the difficulties Frankfort is causing us pose yet additional challenges, but I have confidence that our ingenuity will enable us to overcame those obstacles.
 
Sincerely,
Kimberly Leonard
Kimberly Kempf-Leonard, Ph.D.
Dean

Announcements

A&S Staff meeting on 5/8

Please mark your calendar for an A&S Staff meeting with Dean Kimberly Leonard on May 8 @ 2pm in Chao Auditorium. This will be your opportunity to get an update on the state of the College and ask questions. If you would like to submit your question in advance or in absentia, please submit via this form. 

Research & Creative Activity

Prof. Peteet gave keynote in Turkey

Prof Julie Peteet (Anthropology) gave a keynote address entitled "Framing Displacement  in Time and Space"  at the conference Breaking Barriers: Joining Efforts at Middle East Technical University. Ankara, Turkey. April 15, 2018.

Prof. Lutz invited keynote speaker in Ontario

Deborah Lutz (English) has been invited to give the keynote for the annual conference of the Victorian Studies Association of Ontario in Toronto, on April 28, 2018. Her talk is entitled “The Portrait of the Writer as a Young Woman, by Emily and Charlotte Brontë” and will draw on her extensive research in archives in the UK and the US.

Diversity & Engagement

EGO Book Sale benefits Family Scholar House

The English Department Graduate Organization hosts a book sale in the first floor foyer of Bingham, from Monday, April 16 - Thursday, April 19, from 9am - 4pm. Just about all books will be $2.00 and under. The book sale is the only source of the English Graduate Organization's funding each year and 10% of all proceeds will be donated to the Family Scholar House.

Kudos

Honorable Mention goes to eight staff

There were many qualified nominations for the staff awards that were given at the A&S Celebration of Excellence this past Friday. In addition to the winners, the Dean gives Honorable Mention to 

  • Katie Adamchick, A&S Advising
  • Melissa Benningfield, A&S Advising
  • Ginger Brown, Criminal Justice
  • Kamla Grant, Criminal Justice
  • Kourtney Hall, A&S Advising
  • Bret Hirsch, A&S Advising 
  • Kim Hosburgh, A&S Advising 
  • Lisa Schonburg, Comparative Humanities

Each Honorable Mention received a certificate and a gift from the College.

Items of Note

Special A&S invitation: Thunder over Louisville at Cressman

All A&S faculty & staff get a special "Fire & Art" invitation from the Hite Art Institute. Those who make reservation, get access to the Cressman Center for Visual Arts located at 100 E. Main St. on Saturday, April 21 from 2-11pm for Thunder Over Louisville. Bring a picnic basket and a prepared dish for the pot luck. Fireworks viewing is not available from the roof, but the Cressman is just a short distance to the waterfront. Spouses, significant others, and children are welcome but children must be accompanied by A&S faculty or staff. Admission is FREE, however, seating is limited to the first 50 responses! Please email Linda Rowley if you are interested in attending.

Students from A&S and Business launch Arbor Day to Earth Day campaign to fund Student Sustainability Fund

In order to create a Student Sustainability Fund at UofL, students from the A&S Social Change program and the College of Business are asking for your help. Give and spread the word! Please consider making a donation of any size to their "Arbor Day to Earth Day" crowdfunding campaign. Additionally, they ask that you please personalize the following message and share it with all of your friends and contacts in the broader UofL Community and beyond!
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HELP US UNLOCK A MATCH: When we raise $5,000 for the Student Sustainability Fund, Just Money Advisors, a Louisville-based company, will give $5,000 towards the fund!  Gifts of all sizes will help unlock this matching gift! Give to elevate.louisville.edu/project/10063.
 
By supporting the Student Sustainability Fund you are investing in high-value, hands-on education for 21st century social responsibility. The SSF is a unique fund, separate from the rest of the endowment, which uses the fund itself as a pedagogical tool.
 
First, Finance students in the College of Business do some real-world socially responsible investing by selecting funds, investing real dollars, managing the fund, and voting their proxies. All investments and proxy votes will be researched and selected by students, subject to the university’s sustainable investments policy. 
 
Then, Social Change students in the College of Arts & Sciences will use the proceeds to fund local nonprofit or philanthropic projects either on or off campus. They research local nonprofits and allocate funds in a way that builds capacity or enhances sustainability.
 
Thus the Student Sustainability Fund puts donors’ resources directly to work for educational enrichment and social change. Please pledge your support today at: elevate.louisville.edu/project/10063.

In the News

Kentucky teachers promise they won't stop until they change the political landscape (Courier-Journal, 4/13/18) - Prof. Dewey Clayton (Political Science) weighs in on impact of teacher demonstrations. 

Designing woman: Jessi Eichberger (Greensburg Daily News, 4/3/18) - Daily News columnist Pat Smith features her niece Jessi Eichberger, who is a UofL alum featured on the summer 2017 cover of the University of Louisville alumni magazine.