Monday Memo January 7, 2019

Dean's Message

Dear Colleagues:

Happy New Year! Together, I hope that we can make 2019 our best yet! Please enjoy this computer desktop calendar featuring the beautiful owl who graced the limb outside my office window one day in December. Thank you to Tom Fougerousse for taking the photo and Jason Seitz for designing this calendar for us.

One of our first challenges in the new year will be faculty merit evaluations completed through the new UofL routing software, Interfolio. Associate Dean Keeling sent dates and times for several orientation sessions to help you become familiar with Interfolio. I encourage you to attend. Additionally, instructional materials will be posted on the Faculty Affairs webpage.

Lastly, please be thinking about who of your peers you would like to nominate for the A&S faculty and staff awards. Recognizing your colleagues for their outstanding work is one of the best ways you can contribute to a positive campus culture. Once we have received the revised timeline and criteria for the University-wide awards, which we hope to have by next week, we can proceed with our call for nominations for the A&S awards. (The winners of a number of the A&S awards will serve as the College’s nominations for the University-wide awards.)

Sincerely,

Kimberly Kempf-Leonard, Ph.D.
Dean

Time Sensitive Announcements

CCHS Faculty Fellowships 2019-20 Theme: Belonging/Exile/Place

Application Deadline: 1/18/19
The Commonwealth Center for Humanities and Society invites applications for up to six internal Faculty Fellows. 

  • Fellows are required to be in residence during the academic year, to present one lecture or one workshop on their research, and to participate regularly in the activities and organization of the Humanities Research Lab while completing their own research projects.
  • Fellows will play a role in shaping CCHS programming for the academic year, from inviting distinguished guest speakers to finding innovative ways to share scholarship with our arts and culture partners in the community. 
  • Fellows will receive one course release, and will receive a supplemental research/travel stipend estimated at $1,500.

Applications require a CV, a proposal of up to 1,000 words, and a brief letter of support from the faculty member’s department chair. Please email materials to CCHS Director, John Gibson. Fellows will be appointed by the Dean, as recommended by the CCHS Advisory Board, and will be named in January 2019. More information.

A&S Staff Morale Meeting

Register by: 1/23/19
Just a reminder that the next staff meeting will be on January 24, at 10AM in SRB 139. It will be focused on ideas and initiatives to improve morale. There will facilitated breakout groups, and then the breakout groups will give a brief overview of what they discussed to everyone in attendance. Brian Buford, the new Director of Organizational Development and Performance Management, will join us for that part so he can hear the staff needs that are rising to the top. Please register in advance and let us know which breakout group you would like to join.

Additionally, the Staff Morale Ad Hoc committee created a virtual suggestion/comment box. Please provide comments, suggestions, or questions for the committee. If you wish to have a direct response, please be sure to provide your email address. Also, note these comments will be read only by the members of the committee. They will not be shared with others without your express permission.

Graduate Student Regional Research Conference in February

Registration deadline: 1/25/19
The UofL Graduate Student Council (GSC) invites all graduate students to the 12th annual Graduate Student Regional Research Conference (GSRRC) on February 27-28, 2019. 
 
This conference features graduate student research and creative activities from across the region through oral talks, poster presentations, and the three-minute thesis competition. In addition, there are workshops for students to attend focused on leadership and leveraging their graduate degree to employers.
 
The call for abstracts is now open for presenters and the deadline is coming up on January 25, 2019 at 11:59 pm EST. Conference registration is also open for presenters and attendees. To ensure our conference remains accessible for all, there is no fee for anyone to attend or present. More details.

SIGs fellowships and scholarships available

Application deadline: 2/4/19
The School of Interdisciplinary and Graduate Studies (SIGS) is pleased to announce the competition University Fellowships and Diversity Scholarships for the 2019-2020 academic year.

The submission deadline for both University Fellowships and Diversity Scholarships is Monday, February 4, 2019. Please contact Jackie Fryer at 852-5882 or jackief@louisville.edufor questions.

Great Place to Learn

New grade authorization form

There is a new A&S grade authorization form to be used for both graduate and undergraduate students.  Former protocols will still be enforced: we will need the signature of both the instructor and the chair of the department issuing the change of grade, but those signatures can be electronic. 

Grade change and grade authorization forms for graduate students should be sent to Prof. David Brown at david.brown@louisville.edu; those for undergraduate students should be sent to Kate Russell at kmlawn01@louisville.edu.

Biology grad student Gora student speaker at December commencement

Evan Gora, who earned a doctoral degree in biology, was the student speaker at December's commencment. Gora spent years studying tropical rainforests and the impact of lightning on forests. His accolades and awards include a $138,000 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship grant.       

A Pennsylvania native, Gora chose UofL for his graduate work so he could study with Steve Yanoviak (Biology), the Tom Wallace Endowed Chair of Conservation.

Five Army officers commissioned

The University of Louisville’s Army ROTC has commissioned more than 400 officers during its 36-year history, and five more were added Dec. 13 during a ceremony a day ahead of winter commencement. See the full story.

Nominate Outstanding Students to be Peer Advisors! 

Arts & Sciences Advising is recruiting Peer Advisors for the 2019-2020 academic year. Do you know a student who would make a great mentor for incoming students?  Consider nominating theme for this important role. 

Great Place to Work

News from Psychological & Brain Sciences

Suzanne Meeks is leaving the chairship and Ben Mast is taking the helm. Please be sure to thank Suzanne for her service and congratulate Ben on his new appointment. Suzanne won’t have a ton of additional time to spare though as she has been named as the editor-in-chief of The Gerontologist, effective this month. The Gerontologist is published by Oxford Journals on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America — the nation’s largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to the field of aging.

A&S faculty success in EVPRI’s internal research grant competition

Special congratulations to our many IRIG recipients and best wishes for success with the research to Xuwen Khu (Mathematics), Maria Kondaurova (Psychological & Brain Sciences), Suzanne Meeks (Psychological & Brain Sciences), Mike Perlin (Biology), Farshid Ramezanipour (Chemistry), Rachel Singel (Fine Arts), Angela Story (Anthropology), and Jennifer Westerfeld (History).

Prof. Hale wins AIA award

At the 120th annual meeting of Archaeological Institute of America awards ceremony on January 4, Prof. John Hale (Anthropology) was given the Martha and Artemis Joukowsky Distinguished Service Award. 

Prof. Horner receive MLA's Shaugnessy Prize 

The Modern Language Association of America awarded its thirty-fifth Mina P. Shaughnessy Prize to Prof. Bruce Horner (English) and Laura Tetreault (University at Albany) for their book Crossing Divides: Exploring Translingual Writing Pedagogies and Programs, published by Utah State University Press. The prize is awarded for an outstanding work on language, culture, literature, or literacy with strong application to the teaching of English. Full press release here.

Prof. Maxwell publishes sixth book

Bright and Hurtless, the sixth book of poetry published by Prof. Kristi Maxwell (English), has just come out with Ahsahta Press. It is available for purchase.

New journal publication for Prof. Clayton

Prof. Dewey Clayton (Political Science) recently published “Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights Movement” in the Journal of Black Studies.

Great Place to Invest

Direct giving URLs for A&S programs

If your department or program needs a direct giving URL (a link that will take the user to a page where they can give directly to a specified gift account), please email Lindsey Ronay in the Dean's Office and she will obtain one for you. 

Promotional items

If you wish to order promotional items or apparel with your department's or program's name on it to give to donors, alumni, or other special constitutencies, please email Lindsey Ronay and she will help you place your order and remain in brand compliance.

Diversity & Inclusion

SIGS Diversity Scholarships available

The School of Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies (SIGS) is pleased to announce competition for Diversity Scholarships and Assistantships for the 2019-2020 academic year. SIGS supplies a limited number of diversity awards to assist UofL in matriculating and graduating a diverse graduate student population. All programs are encouraged to nominate outstanding graduate students from historically underrepresented groups for these awards. The submission deadline is February 4. More info.

MA student publishes in Gender and the Media

Anthropology MA student Amira Karaoud published a paper entitled  "War, Culture, and Agency Among Sahrawi Women Refugees: A Photo-Essay" in Gender and the Media: Women’s Places. October 2018: 15-27.

In the News

2019 predictions: Blacks may be forced to carry ID passes in public (Courier-Journal, 1/3/19) - Prof. Ricky Jones (Pan-African Studies) makes political predictions for 2019. 

Breaking down the government shutdown (WHAS, 1/2/19) - Prof. Jasmine Farrier (Political Science) lends her expertise regarding the federal government shutdown.

What do religious voters want? Definitely not piety (Boston Globe, 12/20/18) - Prof. David Buckley (Political Science) weighs in heavily on Duterte's attacks on the Catholic Church in the Philippines. 

UofL student finds passion in dual role as student, guardian (UofL Today, 12/13/18) - Features Amanda Lee, a sociology major, who graduated in December.

Rwandan refugee set to graduate from UofL Friday (UofL Today, 12/12/18) - Features Carine Basenge, a psychology major, who graduated in December. 

Removal of Prentice statue

Bevin vs. the courts: A rocky road, but will it matter to the voters? (Courier-Journal, 12/7/18) - Prof. Dewey Clayton (Political Science)

These 10 Kentucky gifts will excite the book worm in your life (Courier-Journal, 12/5/18) -  Prof. John Gilderbloom's Chromatic Homes: The Joy of Color in Historic Places featured in a book gift guide.

Articles on the 2019 Grawemeyer Awards:

Louisville Clean Energy Resolution Puts Environmental Groups, Utility At Odds (WFPL, 11/29/18) - Prof. Lisa Markowitz (Anthropology) weighs in on Louisville's clean energy resolution.

Dolce & Gabbana never met a controversy they didn’t like until now (The Daily Beast, 11/27/18) - Prof. Jianhua Zhao discussed how the Italian label’s founders have capitalized on controversy before. But being accused of anti-Chinese racism may be their gravest, most financially damaging transgression yet.

V is for Vaping: What you don’t know about your teens’ new habit (LEO, 11/28/18) - Professors Kandi Walker and Joy Hart (Communication) weigh in on the epidemic of teen vaping. 

Psychologist shares the best way to keep the peace at the Thanksgiving table (WDRB, 11/21/18) - Prof. Michael Cunningham (Communication) interviewed by Chris Stutter.