Monday Memo June 13, 2016

Kudos & Congratulations

Biology grad student receives fellowship
Biology graduate student William Beckerson was awarded a 2016-2017 STEM Chateaubriand Fellowship for summer research in France.

Items of Note

A&S students speaks at Ali’s funeral
Sophomore Natasha Mundkur (Political Science and Women’s & Gender Studies), a McConnell Scholar who also serves on the Muhammad Ali Center Council of Students, joined a distinguished group of speakers, including former president Bill Clinton, King Abdullah of Jordan and actor Billy Crystal, in honoring the life and legacy of Muhammad Ali at the public memorial service June 10, in Louisville.

A&S faculty, staff exhibit work in Open Walls
The Sixth Annual Open Walls participants from the College of Arts & Sciences include: Sarah Carter (director of the Bridwell Art Library and assistant professor), Lora D. Haynes (associate professor, Psychological and Brain Sciences), Tracy Heightchew (coordinator, Commonwealth Center for the Humanities and Society), Kimberly Kempf-Leonard (Dean), Keith Mountain (professor and chair, Geography and Geosciences), and Selene Phillips (professor, Communication). Celebrate the work of your colleagues by visiting the exhibit June 13 to 30, in the Photographic Archives Gallery, Ekstrom Library, East Wing, Lower Level.

In the News

UofL Fulbright Scholar finds self in travels (The Courier-Journal, 6/3/16) – Recent UofL graduate Shacoya Kidwell (English) received a 2016 Fulbright Award to study in Trinidad & Tobago.

Kentucky-Based Artist Wins International Art Prize (WFPL 89.3, 6/2/16) – Prof. Chris Reitz (Fine Arts) served on a panel of expert judges for the ArtPrize international art competition.

Family of black police officers stretches back generations – (The Daily Herald, 6/3/16) – Leon Bates, a graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Pan-African Studies, discusses the Indianapolis Police Department’s history of hiring black officers.

Bridging the gap: New Albany counselor one of 30 nationally to attend New York conference – (The News & Tribune, 6/3/16) – Academic Counselor Eddie Bobbitt on the influence of his high school academic advisor.

How Trump’s Favorite Movie Explains Him: The GOP nominee-presumptive is an American archetype out of Citizen Kane. If only he understood the film’s point better (Politico, 6/6/16) – Prof. Benjamin Hufbauer (Fine Arts) writes about Republican Presidential Nominee Donald Trump and his relationship to the film Citizen Kane.

Crestview Hills Native, UofL Student Awarded Gilman Scholarship (The River City News, 6/8/16) – Students Sahadat Mohammad Wali, Megan Wurth and Brigid Connelly earned Benjamin Gilman Scholarships to study abroad.

Life as a Muslim in Muhammad Ali's hometown (BBC News, 6/9/16) – Biology student Yomna Amer on being a Muslim in Muhammad Ali’s hometown.

Ali’s gravesite: Boxer will share cemetery with Col. Sanders (The Seattle Times, 6/8/16) – Prof. Phil DiBlasi (Anthropology) on Muhammad Ali’s burial in Cave Hill Cemetery.

Black Freedom, White Allies, Red Scare digital exhibit (FORsooth, June 2016) – Dionne C. Griffiths (Program Coordinator for the Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research) gives the historical background of the civil rights movement, housing segregation, and the digital exhibit.

Muhammad Ali and the Complexity of Black Identity: The Champ who changed the rules (The Undefeated, 6/9/16) – Prof. Dewey Clayton on Muhammad Ali’s legacy and black identity.

First-ever MFA hooding at 2016 Spring Commencement

MFA students at graduation hooding

Dean Leonard skydives with Golden Knights

Dean Leonard with Army Golden Knight member

A&S Dean Kimberly Kempf-Leonard, along with more than a dozen UofL administrators and staff, participated in a tandem jump with the Army’s elite Golden Knights skydiving team Thursday, June 9.