Monday Memo February 6, 2017

Message from the Dean

Dear Colleagues,

As many of you have no doubt noticed, construction of the new academic building is moving quickly. Especially good news is that the project is coming in under budget, which means the fourth floor will be finished out ahead of schedule and will be ready to go when the building opens in Fall 2018.

Between the new building, a revised and reinvigorated general education curriculum, and a planned Teaching Academy, Fall 2018 will be an especially exciting time for us to demonstrate our commitment to teaching and student success. I'm sure that many Arts & Sciences faculty are eager to teach in the beautiful new classrooms. The plan is that most or all of the classrooms will be equipped with the latest technology, including Smart Boards, individual white boards, and mobile seating pods for group work. More and more, students are expecting technology and collaborative in-class projects, so this building will enable UofL better to meet these expectations. The goal is to populate the building with instructors and courses that use the building’s active-learning environment. General education courses using active-learning pedagogy will get scheduling priority.

Several A&S faculty already use active-learning, integrative pedagogy in courses; other faculty may be willing to learn the pedagogy between now and Fall 2018. I am eager to support faculty in getting ready so that A&S will have a strong presence in the new building. I especially encourage those interested to tryout the Delphi Center’s Teaching Innovation Learning Lab (TILL).  There, you can meet with your class at least 3 times and add some great active'-learning strategies to your teaching repertoire.

The campus is going to begin creating the priority use list for the new classrooms in June 2017, so now is the perfect time for faculty to make sure their department chairpersons know of their interest in teaching in the new building. They should also let them know the course name and number, as well as their equipment requirements.

With the new building, our campus will also have a beautiful new quad area, complete with outdoor seating and more restaurant options. I’m not eager to rush 2017, but I am excited about Fall 2018 and it will be here before we know it.

Sincerely,

Kimberly Kempf-Leonard

Dean

Announcements

Design Basics Courses Registration Deadline Feb. 7
The College of Arts & Sciences is offering a series of three “Design Basics” classes from 4-5pm on Wed., February 8, 15, and 22. They will be taught by Prof. Leslie Friesen (Fine Arts) in the Digital Humanities Lab (HUM 204). Space for each session is limited to 21 people and priority registration is given to A&S staff and faculty who create and distribute promotional material as part of their job duties. If space permits, we will open registration beyond that group. Additionally, there will be a wait list so don’t hesitate to sign up even if the class is full. For more information and to register: attend.com/designbasics.

Content Creation Courses for A&S Staff and Faculty
Two training sessions for A&S staff who are interested in creating written and photo content in order to promote your department, center, institute or program will be held in March. From print and e-newsletters to stories and profiles for your department website, we will discuss easy, effective, and inexpensive ways to develop content on faculty, student, and alumni research, creative activities, engagement, and service. The sessions on Wednesday, 3/8 and Thursday, 3/9 are the same, so pick the one that best suits your schedule. For more information and to register: attend.com/contentcreation. Location: Shumaker Research Bldg. RM 139

Awards

A&S Award Opportunities
These award winners, along with others, will be honored at the A&S Celebration of Excellence on April 25.

Olorunsola Award for full-time, tenure-track assistant professors in A&S
Deadline: March 10
A&S is soliciting applications for the Victor Olorunsola Endowed Research Award, which is awarded to faculty in their first four years of teaching. One award of $2,000 will be made this year. Guidelines and additional information

A&S Research and Creative Activity Grant for Tenured/Tenure-track Faculty
Deadline: March 10
A&S announces funding opportunities to promote the research and creative activities of faculty members with the purpose of increasing the extramural research funding, and the number of scholarly publications, refereed exhibits, and artistic performances of the college. Guidelines and proposal template

A&S Research and Creative Activity Grant for Graduate Students 
Deadline: March 23 - 4PM
A&S announces funding opportunities to promote the research and creative activities of graduate students with the purpose of increasing the extramural research funding, the number of scholarly publications, refereed exhibits, and artistic performances of the college. Guidelines and proposal template

Teaching, Service, Creative Activity, & Research

Prof. DeDcaro receives five-year NSF grant
Prof. Daniel DeCaro (Urban & Public Affairs/Psychological & Brain Sciences) received a 5-year $690,551 research grant from the National Science Foundation's Decision, Risk, & Management Sciences Program. The grant will fund research examining the psychological processes involved in societal cooperation and management of valuable, but limited, natural resources, such as water, oil, and forests. This project continues the work Dr. DeCaro began with Nobelist Dr. Elinor Ostrom at Indiana University (Bloomington), investigating the psychological processes involved in self-governance (democratic, citizen-lead governance). In addition to providing research support, the grant will fund an interdisciplinary PhD student and develop a podcast series to share the results and societal implications with the general public. This research is being conducted with collaborators Dr. Marco Janssen and Allen Lee (Arizona State University), and Sara Clark (Indiana University - Bloomington). Dr. DeCaro directs the Social Decision Making and Sustainability Lab.

Prof. Pfeffer awarded Fulbright Research grant
Prof. Wendy Pfeffer (Classical & Modern Languages) has received a Fulbright research award to conduct six months of research in Tours, France.

Prof. Peteet publishes book on Middle East
Prof. Julie Peteet's (Anthropology) new book, “Space and Mobility in Palestine,” has been published by Indiana University Press.

Prof. Dugatkin publishes book on domesticated fox
Prof. Lee Dugatkin’s (Biology) latest book, “How to Tame a Fox (And Build a Dog): Visionary Scientists and a Siberian Tale of Jump-Started Evolution,” published by the University of Chicago Press is available for pre-order. For the last 58 years, Russian scientist Lyudmila Trut and her colleagues have been building the perfect dog. Except it’s not a dog, it is a cute and cuddly fox, the end product of the famous silver fox domestication experiment in Siberia. For many years now, Lyudmila and Prof. Dugatkin have been writing the first ever book telling the remarkable story. The book tells the story from the inside: the science, adventure, politics, and heartwarming fox-human bond behind it all. To pre-order visit Amazon.

Kudos

English alumnus receives CCCC award
Iswari Pandey ’06 (PhD, Department of English Rhetoric and Composition) won the 2017 Advancement of Knowledge Award from CCCC (the main academic organization in writing studies) for his book, “South Asian in the Mid-South: Migrations of Literacies,” (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2015). The book was based in part on the dissertation work he did here at UofL.

Items of Note

UofL's fourth annual raiseRED dance marathon
UofL's fourth annual raiseRED dance marathon is quickly approaching and looking for campus support. raiseRED focuses year-round efforts to raise awareness and funding for the children, families, and doctors fighting pediatric cancer and blood disease at UofL. Last year, more than 1,000 students raised over $330,000. One hundred percent of the donations to RaiseRED directly benefit the work of Dr. Ashok B. Raj, Chair of the Department of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology at UofL. In years past, RaiseRED funding has created a position for a much-needed social worker in the clinic, helped support Dr. Raj’s research initiatives, and directly benefited patient needs. With the help and support of faculty and staff, we are hoping to spread awareness of this organization outside campus and into the community. If you could encourage students to sign up for the marathon or anyone in the community to donate to our tireless efforts, the raiseRED team would be so grateful in your help to reach the $450,000 goal this year. To find out more, to donate, or to sign up for the marathon please visit the website www.raisered.org.

Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP)
Faculty with students interested in research and continuing their education should encourage them to apply for the SROP, which provides undergrads who would like to know more about graduate-level education at the university, with a 10-week research-intensive experience in a department that offers graduate degrees. Mentors will provide students with individualized research projects. All UofL departments with graduate programs will be supported. Students should be, preferably, in their sophomore or junior year of study. The deadline is March 1, 2017. For more information, visit SROP.

In the News

Series of upcoming discussions will examine education and black women's history (WLKY, 1/21/17) – The Yearlings Club schedule of talks.

UofL students call for unity and Unity rally at U of L echoes calls for change, inclusion (WHAS, 1/23/17) – Prof. Dewey Clayton (Political Sciences) on UofL march for unity.

Kentucky Has Tested Just Over A Third Of Rape Kit Backlog (Associated Press, 1/23/17) – Prof. Bradley Campbell (Criminal Justice) will study Kentucky rape kits that were tested versus those that were not in an attempt to find out why.

Offensive tweets: #ExpectBetterFromUofL (LEO Weekly, 1/25/17) – Prof. Dewey Clayton (Political Science) on offensive tweets posted by UofL cheerleader Brynn Baker on election night.

UofL teams up with Speed Art Museum for the French Film Festival (Insider Louisville, 1/31/17) and French Film Fest adds Speed Cinema showings to Floyd Theater lineup (UofL News, 1/31/17) – French Film series teams up with Speed Cinema.

‘Nobody is gonna feel comfortable’ promises director of UofL production ‘Baltimore’ (Insider Louisville, 1/31/17) Theatre Arts explores race on college campuses with new play ‘Baltimore’ (UofL News, 2/1/17) – On the Theatre Arts Department’s production of “Baltimore,” about college students struggling with their identities and ideals in the wake of an on-campus racial incident, directed by department chair Prof. Nefertiti Burton.

Let’s Be Clear: This is a Muslim Ban (The London School of Economics blog) – Political Science and Philosophy alumna Alexandra Funk on Donald Trump’s executive order banning immigrants and refugees from select countries.

Literary series invites authors to give free readings, teach master classes (UofL News, 1/31/17) – Schedule for the English department’s creative writing program’s Anne and William Axton Reading Series, which features public readings and master classes by distinguished writers for the free, public events.

Attorney launches website highlighting LMPD use of force incidents (WHAS, 1/31/17) – Prof. Justin Nix (Criminal Justice) on police use of force by members of the LMPD.

Bill strikes at Louisville merger, tax base (Courier-Journal, 2/1/17) – Prof. Steven Koven (Urban & Public Affairs) on a bill proposing to allow the incorporation of small cities within Louisville Metro.

Black history celebrated in books | Waldrop (The Courier-Journal, 2/1/17) – On events featured in the Kentucky Women's Book Festival and Axton reading series.