Monday Memo 2019-08-26

Dean's Message

Dear Colleagues,

The first week of class is behind us and the semester is in full swing. Summer is almost a distant memory already, as faculty and staff are busy teaching and supporting our students in the myriad ways we do. 

Before we get too far into the semester though, I want to introduce you to the fourteen talented faculty who have recently joined the College. We are so pleased they have decided to make the University their professional home. Please make them feel welcome. 

Take a moment to shoot your new colleague(s) a welcome email and be sure to introduce yourself if you run into one of them on campus. 

Sincerely,

Kimberly Kempf-Leonard, Ph.D.
Dean

Special Note

Due to the beginning of the semester and the upcoming Labor Day holiday, a special edition of the Events Memo, which is normally scheduled for the last Monday of the month, will go out later this week. There will be no Monday Memo on Labor Day.

Great Place to Learn

UofL’s freshman class is large, diverse

Of the students who started last week, nearly 2,600 are freshmen. Here’s a snapshot of the first-time freshman class:

  • 56% have some college credits
  • 17% are African American or identify as mixed race
  • 6% are Hispanic/Latino 
  • 72% live on campus 
  • 17% are first-generation college students
  • 25.6 is the average ACT score, well above the 2018 Kentucky average of 20
  • 3.6 is the average high school grade-point average, based on a 4.0 scale
  • 22% are from outside Kentucky
  • 38 states represented

Great Place to Work

ATTN: Study abroad faculty

Are you a faculty member leading a credit bearing study abroad program for spring or summer 2020? If so, please note all new and continuing faculty-led study abroad programs must be approved by the faculty member’s department chair at least six months prior to the proposed start date. Faculty proposing a new program or continuing a program should request that their department chair send approval via email to LyShanna Cunningham, Manager of International Initiatives. More information: contact LyShanna Cunningham by email or phone (502)-852-7740.

Great Place to Invest

Gift Account URLs

Did you know your department or program gift account may have a direct giving URL? That way, your donors don't need to navigate through a complicated system to be able to give to your program. Find existing direct giving accounts here. If your gift account doesn't yet have a direct giving URL and you would like one for promotional purposes, please contact your development officer - Asma Addarat-Edwards for the Social Sciences; Dillon Miles for the Natural Sciences; and Jessica Marcum for the Humanities. 

Diversity & Inclusion

Scholarly work on diversity and inclusivity in higher ed

Prof. Melanie Gast (Sociology) co-authored an article on teaching about inequality and college admissions (or admissions/hiring decisions more broadly) and affirmative action. The article is titled “We Count What Matters”: Students’ Color-Blind “Merit-Based” Logic and the Reproduction of Inequality in a College Admissions Activity. Additionally, Prof. Carson Byrd (Sociology) co-edited a new volume of Intersectionality and Higher Education: Identity and Inequality on College Campuses. 

Prof. Hua honored by Chinese professors' association

Prof. Shiping Hua (Political Science/Asian Studies) was nominated for an “Excellent Academic Achievement” award by the Association of Chinese Professors in Social Sciences (USA) for his monograph “Chinese Legal Culture and Constitutional Order,” published by Routledge in Spring 2019. Hua will travel to Portland State University for the awards ceremony in September. Prof. Hua also received a publication contract for his next book project The Chinese Ideology from Routledge. This will be his 12th book published in English, single-authored or edited.

New Louisville Free Public Library short course examines the history of the US-Mexico borderlands

Prof. Katherine Massoth (History) will present a four-week Short Course at the Louisville Free Public Library titled A Social History of the U.S.- Mexico Border. It will explore the historical roots of the current daily reality shaping the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. The border has long been a site of economic trade, political conquest, cultural exchange, and conflict from the 16th century to the present day. At the same time, the border has had many different and contradictory national, economic, and cultural meanings. This course offers a broad overview of the many issues that have shaped the current political and social landscape along the border, and the policies that will affect the borderlands going forward. Short Course—a Lean Into Louisville event—is presented in collaboration with The Commonwealth Center for the Humanities & Society, and will take place at the Main Library (301 York Street) every Tuesday in September at 6:30 p.m. The class is free, but registration is requested; call (502) 574-1623.

Kudos

Prof. Pfeffer (Classical & Modern Languages) named as journal editor

Wendy Pfeffer, professor emerita of French, has been named as a Review Editor for Speculum, the journal of the Medieval Academy of America. Congratulations!

In the News

UofL Theatre Arts, African American Theatre Program collaborate for 'A Season of Black Plays' (UofL News, 8/19/2019) - highlights many of the notable works being put on soon by the Theatre Arts program

Maurice's Travel Story (Leaders of the Free World, 8/20/19) - examines the experiences of Maurice Rodgers, a senior studying Political Science and Pan-African Studies

Meet Bailey Mazik of the Louisville Slugger Museum (StyleBlueprint) - features Bailey Mazik, a graduate of the Curatorial Studies Master's Program.

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