Monday Memo August 21, 2017 Eclipse Edition

Dean's Message

Dear Colleagues:

Last week was filled with planning meetings, and it was wonderful to see so many happy, energetic faculty welcoming the fall semester. This week we welcome our students, who hopefully attend classes with a similar eagerness and will carry that attentiveness throughout the semester. 

As faculty and students come together for the first time in this new academic year, it is an ideal time for us to make sure they understand that the university is a safe space for sharing ideas. The university is nonpartisan and a place where open discussion of all perspectives is encouraged. We don’t want our students to be shy or afraid to share their views in class; rather, we want them to encounter new perspectives and learn about experiences other than their own so that they can grow. Given recent situations of incivility and growing fear in some parts of our country, it is vital that universities preserve this safe haven for intellectual discourse. We encourage diversity here; let’s make sure our students know it. 

Don't forget about "A&S Oktoberfest in August." Don your lederhosen, grab your alpenhorn, and gather with your A&S colleagues on Monday, August 28 at 3PM in the Red Barn. We'll kick off the Fall semester with some good beer and soft pretzels. No agenda. Just cold libations, salty snacks, and fantastic company. Supervisors, please try to make arrangements so that your staff can attend for at least part of the time. 

Lastly, don’t forget to practice safe eclipse watching this afternoon. Be sure to wear your ISO 12312-2 glasses as you hum along to this eclipse mix on Spotify. And yes, it includes Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and Pink Floyd's “Eclipse." Have a wonderful week!

Sincerely,
Kimberly Leonard
Kimberly Kempf-Leonard, Ph.D.

Announcements

Prasanna K. Sahoo Memorial on 8/25
Please join the Department of Mathematics  for the Prasanna K. Sahoo Memorial in honor of Professor Sahoo who sadly passed away in June 2017. We will celebrate Prof. Sahoo’s work and legacy on Friday August 25, 2017 with a reception in the President’s Room at the University Club at 3 PM. Remarks on Dr. Sahoo’s contribution will begin at 3:30 PM. Prior to the reception (1:30pm), there will be a Mathematics Colloquium in Natural Sciences 212C with Professor Henrik Stetkær of Aarhus University, Denmark. Prof. Stetkær will speak on an area of research to which Prof. Sahoo made significant contributions. 

UofL warns against use of some eclipse glasses sold by student group
UofL students, faculty and staff who purchased eclipse viewing glasses from the Society of Physics Students should be aware that UofL cannot guarantee some of the glasses sold meet ISO safety standards. Additionally, the company supplying them is not on the list of companies cited by the American Astronomical Society. The glasses in question (shown left) are printed with an American flag pattern (red and white stripes on the front of the glasses) and have a three-line disclaimer written on the inside of one of the arms. In an abundance of caution, the university warns that these glasses may not be effective in protecting your eyes. Call the Society of Physics Students at (502) 296-2378 for information on obtaining a refund. For more information on eclipse viewing safety

GRE strategy session
A Kaplan-conducted GRE strategy session, lunch, and practice exam will be held on Saturday, September 23, 2017 9:30AM–3:00PM in Davidson Hall 101, Belknap Campus, all for $20. Registration is open to ANYONE interested in attending graduate school (students, faculty, family and friends). Pre-registration and payment due: Monday, September 18th. Forward check/money order (payable to Psi Chi) or cash to Psi Chi, Life Sciences, Room 317. Please include “GRE Session,” your name and email, along with your sandwich selection for lunch: ham, roast beef, turkey, or vegetarian. Once payment is received, you will receive an email with additional registration details. Email Madison Smith, Psi Chi Fundraising Chair, or Prof. Leonard, Faculty Advisor for additional details. Sponsored by Psi Chi: International Honor Society in Psychology.

Sending secure university email
Information Technology is expanding their use of ProofPoint to increase the security of the University’s email system. On Wednesday, August 16, IT will initiate ProofPoint’s Encryption Secure Send to replace the old Cisco secure email solution. Users should recognize ProofPoint as our anti-malware and spam/phishing filter but need to be aware of the new procedure for sending and receiving secure, encrypted emails. Please check the IT website for new information.

A&S faculty and staff: mark your calendars for 8/28!
"A&S Oktoberfest in August"
 - Gather with your A&S colleagues on Monday, August 28 at 3pm in the Red Barn to kick off the Fall semester. Supervisors, please try to make arrangements so that your staff can attend for at least part of the time. 

Research & Creative Activity

Research!Louisville 2017: Judges Needed
Faculty and post-docs are needed to judge posters at Research!Louisville, September 11-15, Kosair Charities Clinical & Translational Research Building, Health Sciences Center. Sign up for judging online. Additional Information: Email, 852-779

Research!Louisville 2017: Call for Abstracts
Faculty, post-docs, research associates, residents, clinical fellows, research staff, PharmDs, graduate and professional students are invited to submit an abstract on their life science research for a poster presentation at Research!Louisville. Abstract submissions are open August 1-31. Research!Louisville will be September 11-15 at the Kosair Charities Clinical and Translational Research Building, Health Sciences Center. Submit an abstract online. Additional Information: Email, 852-7794

Conflict of interest policy reminder: research & sponsored projects
Adding participants to sponsored projects? Remember their disclosure requirement. Any individual receiving any portion of their compensation through an externally funded project and any individual participating in research under the auspices of UofL, regardless of compensation, must complete their annual Attestation and Disclosure Form (ADF). This includes UofL students, faculty, and staff, and also visiting students and visiting scholars. Verify ADF completion. Additional Information: email and website.

Teaching

Junior Faculty: Seminar on Teaching for New Faculty applications due
Applications are due for the 2017-18 Seminar on Teaching for New Faculty on Friday, August 25. This yearlong cohort program is designed to jump-start junior faculty members’ teaching careers by providing a rich foundation in evidence-based teaching strategies and research-based principles to foster student learning. Additional information: Website

Diversity, Engagement, and Service

Recovering lost African American literary canons
David Anderson (English), featured on this week'sEthics Forward podcasthosted by Avery Kolers (Philosophy), speaks about centuries of African American literature has been lost, hidden, erased. 

How do we know who we are if our literature has been erased? How do we know our history if we don't read works by the people who lived it? Centuries of African American literature have been lost, hidden, erased. But how can we responsibly reconstitute the literary canon, when doing so inevitably requires selection and exclusion of some works?

Prof. Anderson discusses the recovery of lost African American literary canons including centuries of writing about the sea as well as the work of the erased writer George Marion McClellan.

Budding partnership with Louisville company Brown-Forman
Members of the History Department and UofL Archives & Special Collections held a 5-hour workshop in August for the Brown-Forman Corporation on archival studies, historical research, and oral history. Prof. Daniel Krebs (History) coordinated the training for Brown-Forman associates who were engaged in researching and preserving their company’s long and storied history. A variety of topics were covered, including the following: Heather Fox (University Libraries, Oral History and Manuscript Collections) presented on collecting and working with oral histories; Carrie Daniels (University Libraries, Archives & Special Collections) talked about archives management and exhibit design; and Daniel Krebs (History) discussed historical research and the value of corporate histories. Brown-Forman is preparing to celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2020.

Kudos

Hite alumna named Grunberg Resident Fellow
Elizabeth Driscoll Smith (MA in Art History, 2016; Advisor: Dr. Jongwoo Jeremy Kim) has been named the 2017-2018 Zvi Grunberg Resident Fellow at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut. During her fellowship, she will work with Kenneth Silver, the museum's Adjunct Curator and Professor of Fine Arts at New York University, to assist in the planning and creation of exhibitions and manage the development and implementation of adult public programs.

Prof. Yingling named Brown Collaborative Fellow
Prof. Charleton Yingling (History) was named a John Carter Brown Collaborative Fellow at Brown University for Summer 2018.

Prof. Yingling co-editor for special issue of Atlantic Studies
This week Atlantic Studies published an eight article special issue that Prof. Charlton Yingling (History) co-edited with colleague Robert Taber of Fayetteville State University. It opens with our co-authored article "Networks, Tastes, and Labor in Free Communities of Color: Transforming the Revolutionary Caribbean."  

Prof. Smith Jones awarded OSCLG Feminist Teacher-Mentor Award
Prof. Siobhan Smith-Jones (Communication) was just awarded the Organization for the Study of Communication, Language and Gender Feminist Teacher-Mentor Award. She will be recognized at a conference dinner in October.

Item of Note

Solar eclipse viewing safety
Looking directly at the sun is unsafe. The only way to safely watch the solar eclipse is through special-purpose solar filters, such as “eclipse glasses” or hand-held solar viewers. WARNING: Homemade filters and ordinary dark sunglasses are not safe for looking at the sun. If your solar filter is scratched or damaged, discard it. Follow any directions included with the filter.

Never look at the sun through an unfiltered camera, telescope, binoculars, or other optical device (with or without your eclipse glasses—the concentrated solar rays will damage the filter and enter your eye(s) causing serious injury. Seek expert advice from an astronomer before using a solar filter with a camera or any other optical device. More info: eclipse2017.nasa.gov

To learn more from UofL physicians about how the sun can damage the eyelids, ocular surface and internal structures of the eye and solar retinopathy (for which there is no treatment available), go to UofL News

The Solar Eclipse will begin at 12:59 p.m. and end at 3:51 p.m. in Louisville, KY.

Source: Total Solar Eclipse. (n.d.). Retrieved August 4, 2017, from https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/

In the News

On boredom (Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation, 8/17) – Andreas Elpidorou (Philosophy) was interviewed on Greek national public radio on the nature of boredom.

'I write about race because...We are not your slaves!' (Courier-Journal, 8/16/17)- Ricky Jones (Pan-African Studies) on why writing on race continues to be necessary.