Monday Memo September 28, 2015

Message from the Dean

Dear Colleagues:

First off, I want to reassure you that we are all doing our level best every day for the College. I realize that statement may ring hollow for some of you who feel frustrated or underappreciated, but it is simply the truth.

I am aware that morale is a problem, but that was true when I arrived. When I spoke last summer to a meeting of deans, vice provosts, and the Interim Provost, I identified low morale as one of the biggest challenges in A&S. Some of this discontent is shared by the other units too, which is not surprising due to the tight fiscal climate and many changes to policy and procedure across the University. However, my message to deans and provosts this past summer, and to the Commission on the Status of Women last Friday, was that morale in A&S is particularly low due to the following:

  • Non-competitive faculty and staff salaries across many A&S departments
  • Uneven workload expectations that undervalue undergraduate teaching
  • A perceived lack of appreciation on campus for research and creative activity that doesn’t have external funding
  • Uneven distribution of resources across departments
  • Inadequate resources to support new initiatives or even existing programs

Let me assure you that addressing these concerns is a priority for me.

Also, I have to come to understand that some feel as if they have been left in the dark regarding the business of the College. I aim to change that because, as I said in my State of the College Address, we need to work together if the College is to be successful.

Starting in next week’s Monday Memo, our Associate Deans for Undergraduate Education (Julia Dietrich), Graduate Education (Wendy Pfeffer), Research (Bob Buchanan), Faculty Affairs (Deborah Keeling), and International, Diversity and Engagement Programs (Theresa Rajack-Talley), and our Lead Fiscal Officer (Bridget Burke), will lay out the specific challenges that the College faces in each of their respective areas. Also, I hope you’ll please feel free to reach out to them with ideas. I will then task each of them to create a workgroup to look into these problems and produce concrete proposals for addressing the issues that face us.

If you wish to serve on any of these workgroups, please let the Associate Dean and/or the LFO know. Any and all who wish to help the College continue on a viable path forward are welcome.

Sincerely,

Kimberly Kempf-Leonard

Dean, College of Arts & Sciences

Announcements

Flyer templates available for events
Need a flyer for your event? We have created a form to streamline the creation of flyers. If you would like to get an event flyer made, visit the Flyer Request Form. To include images, email A&S Advance with Flyer Request in the subject line. For more help with events and publicity, visit the college’s Advancement page.

HERS Nominations Open
Pres. Ramsey and the Commission on the Status of Women will sponsor an attendee to one of the 2016 Higher Education Resource Services (HERS) Institutes. Outstanding women faculty and/or administrators with a solid record of professional growth/responsibility, and a strong interest in campus administration are encouraged to review the institutes and apply for one that best fits individual circumstances. For application info, visit UofL HERS. Submit nominations to Georgette L. Moore.

Teaching, Research, Creative Activities & Service

Prof. Peteet presents at conference on Palestine
Prof. Julie Peteet (Anthropology) presented a paper on “The Cultural Politics of Time and Waiting” at a University of London and University of Exeter conference on Palestine and Self-determination beyond National Frames in Athens, Greece.

Prof. Buckley’s research on Pope Francis widely featured
Prof. David Buckley's (Political Science) research on the political impact of Pope Francis on US Catholics was launched at a press conference at the National Press Club on Sept. 16. Prof. Buckley wrote about the research for the Washington Post's award winning 'Monkey Cage' blog. His research has been featured in a number of media stories about Pope Francis' visit to the US, including in the USA Today, Wall Street Journal, the Guardian and the Daily Beast.

Prof. Lutz lectures at New York Public Library
Prof. Deborah Lutz (English) gave a lecture on Emily Brontë's poetry manuscripts Sept. 18 at the research branch of the New York Public Library. It was sponsored by The New York Romanticists' Friendly Society, along with the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature of the New York Public Library.

Publications

Prof. Petrosino’s collection featured in Boston Review
Prof. Kiki Petrosino’s (English) latest collection of poetry Hymn for the Black Terrific, published by Sarabande Books, was featured in the Boston Review and on PBS Newshour this month. To learn more about how Prof. Petrosino’s work “examines the ruptures and collisions of blackness and whiteness in art and history in poems about China, food, foremothers, and hunger, and most importantly, the body as a curiosity,” read the review “Writing the Black Terrific” and read and listen to “Poet Kiki Petrosino asks: Can people change?”

Prof. Griffin edits The Europeans in Cambridge’s Complete Henry James series
Prof. Susan Griffin (English), editor of the Henry James Review, edited the latest edition of The Europeans, the first of 35 books in the new series,The Cambridge Edition of the Complete Fiction of Henry James. Prof. Griffin’s edition, based on the work's first book appearance (Macmillan, 1878), reconstructs the novel's literary, cultural and historical contexts, provides extensive annotation, and gives a detailed textual history of the work, drawing on newly available James letters.

Prof. Stewart’s Contemporary Morphologies to be released in December
Prof. Thomas Stewart’s (Humanities) book Contemporary Morphological Theories: A User’s Guidewill be published by Edinburgh University Press in December.

Prof. Kelly’s An Actor’s Task published by Hackett
Prof. Baron Kelly (Theatre Arts) has just had his book An Actor's Task: Engaging the Senses published by Hackett Publishing.

Kudos and Congratulations

Prof. Li receives grant from NSF
Prof. Bingtuan Li (Mathematics) received a $225,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. The title of the project is "Persistence and Spreading Speeds in Multi-Species Models with A Shifting Habitat Edge," and its goal is to develop mathematical models that describe how climate change affects biological invasion processes. The project also contributes to training and skill development of graduate students.

Prof. Story to be honored as “Champion of Fairness”
Prof. Kaila Story will be honored as a “Champion of Fairness” at the Fairness Campaign’s annual event Fairness Over Louisville. In addition, Prof. Story’s radio show "Strange Fruit" was featured in the #MyPrideIs Louisville LGBTQ history timeline at the inaugural Louisville Pride Festival and is also currently being featured in the Lexington Kentucky public library exhibit of notable LGBTQ Black Kentuckians.

UofL Quiz Bowl team at VCU Novice Tournament
The UofL Quiz Bowl A-team went 8-1 and finished second in the VCU Novice Tournament at UK, losing a tie breaker to eventual champions Ohio State. The UofL B-team went 4-5 to tie for 6th place. UofL had five players finish in the top 16 in individual scoring: Thomas Rosbottom (6th), Elizabeth Pogue (10th), Jacob Wollam (11th), Eric Hahnert (12th), and Mohammed Hindi (16th).

Item of Note

Discussion series celebrates 30th anniversary of Grawemeyer Award
Discussion topics planned for the UofL’s 30th anniversary celebration of the Grawemeyer Awards include race, corruption, peace, and human intelligence. The series of talks, many with former Grawemeyer Award winners, will take place from Tues., Sept. 29 through mid-November. The discussions are free and open to the public. For more information, visit the Grawemeyer Awards.

Help your community by donating blood this Wednesday
Faculty, staff and students can help those affected by sickle cell anemia by donating blood at the blood drive this Wed., Sept. 30. Sponsored by the Department of Pan-African Studies, the American Red Cross, and the National Association of Black Journalists, the drive will be held at the Red Barn from 10am to 3pm. Music and food will be provided. For more information, visit the Red Cross and enter the code UOFLPAS.

In the News

11 markers for Civil Rights demonstrators, City to mark historic locations with 'Civil Rights Trail' (WHAS-11, 9/21/2015), Civil-rights sit-in marker restored to its home(The Courier-Journal, 9/22/2015), and Civil Rights Trail marks history in downtown Louisville (WAVE-3, 9/22/2015) – On the dedication of 11 Civil Rights markers that make up the Louisville Downtown Civil Rights Trail, vision of the late A&S dean, Dr. J. Blaine Hudson.

Western Kentucky's growth in population to trail state's(WLKY, 9/22/2015), Census shows county population increasing (Richmond Register, 9/23/2015), and Area's growth in population to trail state's(The Paducah Sun, 9/22/2015)– On Prof. Matt Ruther (Urban and Public Affairs) and the Kentucky State Data Center’s projections on population in Kentucky.

BG avoids dip in median income (Bowling Green Daily News, 9/23/2015) – Prof. Matt Ruther, director of the Kentucky State Data Center, discusses wage fluctuations in Kentucky.

Fairness Campaign lists 2015 honorees(The Courier-Journal, 9/25/2015) – Prof. Kaila Story (Women’s and Gender Studies) will be honored at the Fairness Campaign’s annual event “Fairness Over Louisville.”

Did You Know?

The A&S chapter of the Society for Physics Students (SPS) won the Outstanding Chapter Award for the 17th consecutive time in the 2014.