Monday Memo March 7, 2016

Message from the Dean

Dear Colleagues:

The Provost has asked that we all begin preparing for a budget cut. We are confident it is coming although the magnitude is not yet known. Regardless of the amount, it is very likely to be a permanent cut. Given the way cuts have been handled in the past, we are now to the point that Arts & Sciences has little excess; therefore, whatever percentage cut is required will be difficult. It is important that we be ready with a plan, so I have asked department chairs and directors of programs, centers, and institutes to develop three possible scenarios.

Additionally, it’s prudent that we begin to brainstorm new ways to generate revenue. Any and all thoughts, even those in their infancies, are welcome. Productive change almost always starts with a simple idea. Please forward your ideas to your chairs, directors or to me directly.

On a more upbeat note, the Provost has also indicated that the political climate in Frankfort is now more optimistic, with several higher education advocates having made inroads with some legislators. We must continue to put pressure on Frankfort. It is more important than ever to reach out to our elected officials. A committee of faculty volunteers drafted two versions of a letter (version A and version B) that you can use as a templates. Feel free to modify one of the letters as you deem appropriate and email it to your legislator. You can find your legislators’ email addresses here.

Of additional interest to you in your roles as advocates of higher education might be the “Why Arts and Sciences?” page on the College’s website. In the right-hand column, you will see a list of articles that emphasize the importance and value of a liberal arts education in today’s society and workforce.

Sincerely,

Kimberly Kempf-Leonard

Dean

Announcements

Summer School website LIVE!
As promised, the Summer School website has been finished and is live. Please share it with your students and encourage them to take courses! louisville.edu/artsandsciences/student/summer-2016

MAR. 10: A&S Celebration of excellence
Faculty & Staff: Honor and support your colleagues at the Annual Arts & Sciences Celebration of Excellence awards presentation and reception on March 10th at 3 pm in the George J. Howe Red Barn. Please RSVP.

A&S DISTINGUISHED FACULTY AWARDS

  • Mark Austin, Sociology (A&S Distinguished Faculty Award for Full-time Teaching)
  • Robert Buchanan, Chemistry (A&S Distinguished Faculty Award for Service to the University)
  • Cherie Dawson-Edwards, Criminal Justice (A&S Distinguished Faculty Award for Service to the Community)
  • Paul Griner, English (A&S Outstanding Scholarship, Research and Creative Activity Award in the Humanities)

A&S OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE AWARDS FOR STAFF

  • Tracy Heightchew, Commonwealth Center for Humanities & Society and A&S Dean’s Office (Outstanding Performance Award in the Professional/Administrative Category)
  • Alexandra O’Keefe, University Honors (Outstanding Performance Award in the Clerical/Secretarial Category)
  • Rick Taylor, A&S Dean’s Office (Outstanding Performance Award in the Technical/Paraprofessional Category)

A&S DIVERSITY CHAMPION AWARD

  • Derrick Brooms, Sociology (Diversity Champion Award for Faculty)

MAR. 10: Faculty Symposium on Engaged Scholarship
Interim Provost Neville Pinto and VP for Community Engagement Daniel Hall invite faculty to attend a Symposium on Interdisciplinary Engaged Scholarship March 10 from 10am – 1pm in SRB Rm. 139. The symposium will also serve as a spring board for further discussion(s) on steps the university will need to take to encourage and support faculty participation in interdisciplinary engaged scholarship. To attend, visit this link and register. The event is free and lunch will be provided.

DEADLINE MAR. 24: Nominations for Woodcock Medal
The A&S Honors Thesis Committee is seeking letters of nomination for the Woodcock Medal on the basis of a student's record and at the recommendation of members of the faculty. Students eligible for nomination include those who graduated in Dec. 2015 and those who will graduate in May 2016. Prof. Joy Hart (Director, Honors Program) will inform the student and ask her/him to submit a summary of accomplishments or résumé. Please send letters to Prof. Hart by campus mail (University Honors Program, Etscorn Honors Center) or email (joy.hart@louisville.edu) by Thurs., Mar. 24 to facilitate distribution of materials to the committee.

Inclusive Teaching Circle meeting
The theme of this Inclusive Teaching Circle is "How to Effectively Teach, Reach, and Connect with Minority Students." Share strategies to help fellow faculty members to be more inclusive in what we do. Please RSVP to reserve your space and lunch. The meeting will be Wednesday, Mar. 9 in SRB 228 from Noon – 1:30pm.

Awards and Grants

DEADLINE MAR. 11: Olorunsola Research Award for new professors
A&S is soliciting applications for the Victor Olorunsola Endowed Research Award for Full-time, Tenure-track Assistant Professors within their First Four Years in A&S. One award of $2,000 will be made this year. The deadline for applications is Mar. 11. Guidelines and additional information.

DEADLINE MAR. 11: A&S Research & Creative Activities Grant for Faculty
A&S announces funding opportunities to promote 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. Any tenured or tenure-track faculty member in the College of Arts and Sciences is eligible, excluding the A&S Associate Dean of Research. Deadline for submissions is Mar. 11. Guidelines and proposal template.

DEADLINE MAR. 25: Spring Internal Grants Program
The Office of the EVPRI is accepting applications for the Internal Grants Program. The Internal Grants Program (Research I, Research II and URG) aims to assist faculty in new highly productive research projects. All grant categories are open to full-time faculty. Application forms are available online.

DEADLINE MAR. 25: A&S Research & Creative Activities Grant for Graduate Students
A&S announces funding opportunities to promote 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. Any doctoral or Master’s student in good standing in the College of Arts and Sciences is eligible. Deadline for submissions is 4 pm on Mar. 25. Guidelines and proposal template.

Teaching, Research, Service & Creative Activity

Audiobook of Prof. Fosl’s Subversive Southerner released
On the 10th anniversary of the death of Louisville racial justice activist Anne Braden in March 2006, a new audiobook of her biography Subversive Southerner: The Struggle for Racial Justice in the Cold War South, authored by Anne Braden Institute director and Women’s & Gender Studies Prof. Cate Fosl, has just been released. The audiobook was narrated and produced by A&S alumna Sara Morsey (BS, Biology; MFA, Theatre Arts), a Louisville native and theater artist.  Check it out at Audible.com.

Prof. Carbone leads team publishing more than 50 essays on Kentucky architecture
Archipedia Kentucky is live online. Hite Art Institute Assistant Professor (term) Cristina Carbone and her team of scholars, including fellow A&S faculty members Benjamin Hufbauer (Fine Arts/Art History) and Daniel Vivian (History), have just published over 50 essays on the architecture of Kentucky for the Society of Architectural Historians Archipedia, the open-access encyclopedia of American architecture. This nation-wide project is sponsored by a National Endowment for the Humanities “We the People Grant” and the Graham Foundation for the Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. It is published by Rotunda: University of Virginia Press.

Prof. Beattie publishes Liber contra Antichristum
Prof. Pamela Beattie’s (Humanities) edition of Ramon Llull's Liber Contra Antichristum, has been published by Brepols: Raimundi Lulli Opera Latina 36, Corpus Christianorum Continuatio Mediaevalis 264.

Items of Note

Biology students tap maple trees around campus
Thirty-three non-science majors from a new Sustainable Community Engagement section of BIOL 104-15 – Laboratory for Introduction to Biological Systems, run by Professor Linda Fuselier and Graduate Research Assistant Missy Michael, will be sharing the results of their investigations during a hands-on maple tapping lab on campus for the EcoReps monthly Lunch & Learn workshop and pancake party Friday, April 15. For more information, visit Eco-Reps Lunch & Learn.

Writing Center hosts professional development workshop
The University Writing Center hosted fourteen writing center professionals from Indiana and Kentucky for “Directors’ Day Out.” The event, sponsored by the Southeastern Writing Center Association, brings together writing center directors and professionals from the region for workshops and discussion. Dr. Bronwyn Williams, Professor of English and Director of the University Writing Center, is the featured speaker. The theme for the day is “Creating ‘Feasible Utopias’ for Writing Centers.” For more information, visit the Writing Center.

Undergraduate Research and Community Engagement Symposium April 12
The Office of the EVPRI is sponsoring the annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. Students, faculty and the community can discuss cutting-edge research topics, examine the connection between research and education and explore the broad range of research at UofL. Deadline for abstract submission is April 7. Additional Information can be found online.

Presentation commemorating the Vietnam War Mar. 29
As part of the University’s Vietnam War Commemoration effort, UofL’s Vietnam War Commemoration Committee, the Department of History, the Liberal Studies Project, the McConnell Center, and the Offices of the President and Provost are organizing a presentation Tuesday, Mar. 29 at 6pm in the Chao Auditorium by Dr. Lien-Hang T. Nguyen, associate professor of history at the University of Kentucky and author of Hanoi's War: An International History of the War for Peace in Vietnam, winner of the Society for Military History's 2012 Edward M. Coffman Prize. For more information, visit “Spies, Allies, and Murder? The Ominous Origins of the Tet Offensive.”

In the News

UofL to lease, renovate Portland warehouse space for fine arts (Portland Anchor, Mar. 2016) – On the Fine Arts Department MFA program and the creation of new faculty and student studio space in Portland.

Republicans head to Ky. for Saturday Caucus (WHAS-11, 2/29/2016) and Kentucky Caucus in primary season spotlight (WLKY, 3/3/16) – Prof. Jason Gainous (Political Science) on the Kentucky caucus Presidential race.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist will discuss her book on black migration from the South in 1900s (Insider Louisville, 3/1/2016) – On a Mar. 2 lecture given by Isabel Wilkerson and sponsored by the Department of Pan-African Studies and the Center on Race and Inequality as well as the Louisville Urban League.

Author to speak on Tet Offensive at U of L (The Courier-Journal, 3/3/2016) – The Vietnam War Commemoration Committee at U of L organized the event with the McConnell Center, Liberal Studies Project, president’s and provost’s offices, and history department.

Let’s regenerate not demolish West Louisville (The Courier-Journal, 3/3/2016) – Prof. John Gilderbloom (Urban & Public Affairs) on revitalization and development efforts in West Louisville.

How Presidential Libraries Work (Parade, 3/4/2016) – Prof. Benjamin Hufbauer (Fine Arts), author of Presidential Temples (University Press of Kansas, 2005), on presidential libraries.

Did you know?

Two Honors students are semi-finalists for the Truman Scholarship


Hannah Wilson (majoring in Philosophy, Political Science, and Women’s and Gender Studies) and Kyle Schroader (majoring in History and Political Science) are semi-finalists for the Truman Scholarship. Hannah is a University Honors Scholar and a McConnell Scholar. Her areas of interest include LGBTQ rights and women’s equality in politics. Kyle is a University Honors Scholar, a Harlan Scholar, and a Cardinal Covenant Scholar.