Monday Memo October 26, 2015

Message from the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs

Dear A&S Colleagues,

As you all know, the Office of Faculty Affairs deals with a wide range of faculty personnel issues. These include tenure, promotion and pre-tenure reviews; annual work plans; annual performance evaluations; full time faculty recruitment and appointments; sabbaticals; certification of faculty credentials; letters of appointment and/or contracts for term faculty and part-time faculty; parental and medical leave; and Academic Analytics and various faculty certifications and verifications related to our accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).

Two of the most important decisions that occur within our College are processed by my office – recruitment/hiring of faculty and the decision to award tenure. My staff and I are all “new” to this work in the Dean’s Office. While we have made some operational improvements such as an electronic system of record keeping, we have also had some “bumps in the road” caused by inadequate communication on our part. I assure you that we are actively working on improving, making our processes more transparent and our communication around those processes clearer.

We will continue to support faculty and staff through briefings and sessions covering tenure and promotion review, Academic Analytics, new chair briefings, and new faculty orientation. In addition though, I would like to convene a work group to look at faculty personnel processes and consider the following questions:

• How can we better manage the extramural review process?
• How can we promote greater consistency across departments in application of our annual faculty review process?
• What measures could we take to decrease our utilization of a “paper trail” and so convert some of our processes to an electronic more “eco-friendly” format?
• What assistance could my office provide in promoting mentoring of our junior faculty?
• What services could my office provide to promote a greater understanding of the tenure and promotion processes for faculty?

I am pleased to be the first Dean’s Office administrator to be tasked with creating a work group so that we might discuss specific issues and formulate a way forward. If you are interested in joining this work group or would like to share your suggestions with me, please feel free to contact me at 852-2237 or by e-mail.

Sincerely,
Deborah Keeling
Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs

Announcements

Faculty Fellows applications due Nov. 19
Beginning next year, the Commonwealth Center for the Humanities and Society will be organized around an annual theme that provides the foundation for the academic year's scheduled events and for a Humanities Research Lab, involving a bimonthly colloquium. CCHS invites applications for up to six Internal Faculty Fellows around the selected theme for 2016-2017: “Mapping the Humanities.” Fellows will receive at least one course release as well as a modest supplemental research/travel stipend from CCHS. Applications are due November 19, 2015. For more information, visit Faculty Fellows.

Inclusive Teaching Circles: Sign-up by Nov. 15
Faculty interested in joining the Inclusive Teaching Circle in the spring semester need to sign up by November 15. Groups meet monthly over lunch to discuss readings or topic on inclusive education, share ideas and strategies to facilitate better teaching. For more information, email Thomas Wayne Edison.

Teaching, Research, Creative Activities & Service

Ph.D. student Max Adams mentors undergrads in Panama
Max Adams, a Ph.D. student in Biology, was featured in the latest issue of Tropicos Magazine for his work mentoring undergraduates from around the country at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama.

Prof. Vito publishes criminology text
Prof. Gennaro Vito (Criminal Justice) has published the fourth edition of Criminology: Theory, Research & Policy (co-authored with Jeffrey Maahs) from Jones & Bartlett publishers.

Kudos & Congratulations

Congratulations to the UofL Quiz Bowl
UofL’s Quiz Bowl team put in an outstanding performance this past weekend at the Penn Bowl tournament at Washington University in St. Louis. Competing in a tournament that featured some of the best teams in the Midwest and included four of the top eleven teams in the country, UofL finished 4th. The team went 6-5 for the tournament.

UofL Homecoming King and Queen both A&S majors
The Homecoming King and Queen this year are both A&S majors. Joey Schmidt, of the Fine Arts department, participated in the raiseRED Dance Marathon, is a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity, and is on the student orientation staff. Lauren Lewis is a peer advisor, a resident advisor, Latin American & Latino Studies Club-Vice President, and a Panama Scholar from the Communication department.

Debate team enjoys success at Vanderbilt tournament
Taking second place in the Novice division at the Vanderbilt University debate tournament this weekend, juniors Courtney Brown and Thomas Gordon III once again received speaking awards (4th and 2nd, respectively). Teammates Wes Tolbert and Arnav Wheat, both seniors, finished in second place in the Junior Varsity division; Tolbert and Wheat also picked up speaking awards (7th and 6th, respectively). The team’s next tournament will take them to UC Berkeley in January.

Items of Note

Volunteers needed for Day of the Dead Celebration Nov. 6 Volunteers are needed to oversee various children's activities, such as face painting, coloring, and sugar skull decorating for the 3rd Annual SoFo Day of the Dead Celebration Nov. 6. You do not have to stay the entire time. If you would like to help, email Kelcey Robinson, LALS Club President.

In the News

The John Batchelor Show: The Brontë Cabinet: Three Lives in Nine Objects by Deborah Lutz (The John Batchelor Show, 10/9/2015) – Prof. Deborah Lutz (English) was interviewed about her book The Brontë Cabinet for the John Batchelor radio show. The interview aired on Oct. 9, 2015 on the following radio stations: 770 WABC-AM in New York City, WBNW in Boston, 630 WMAL-AM in Washington, D.C., 63es.

Emory prof to discuss racism at UofL (The Courier-Journal, 10/19/2015) – Emory University historian and human rights advocate Carol Anderson will discuss “white rage” and U.S. racial relations at the Anne Braden Memorial Lecture Nov. 4.

America won’t listen to Sanders ... yet (The Courier-Journal, 10/19/2015) – Prof. Ricky Jones (Pan-African Studies) on presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.

Visually Speaking: this week’s art news and events (LEO Weekly, 10/19/2015) – On the upcoming conference, “Milton Rogovin and the Photography of Conscience,” Oct. 23 at the Hite Art Museum, in association with the Louisville Photo Biennial, and the exhibition “We the People: Social Documentary Photography by Milton Rogovin,” showing through Oct. 31.

Wages Play Key Role As Louisville Seeks To Boost Workforce (WFPL, 10/20/2015) – Prof. Janet Kelly (Urban & Public Affairs) on wages and employment in Louisville.

Summit: Human trafficking common, widespread (The Courier-Journal, 10/21/2015) – Prof. Theresa Hayden (Criminal Justice), and former student and co-chair of the Louisville Metro Human Trafficking Task Force Dianna Anderson on human trafficking in Louisville.

UofL Theatre Arts dives into the dark underworld with ‘Polaroid Stories’ (Insider Louisville, 10/21/2015) – On the first show of Theatre Arts’ 2015-2016 season, Polaroid Stories.

Elmer Allen's giving spirit garners prize (The Courier-Journal, 10/22/2015) – On UofL student, artist, and community activist Elmer Lucille Allen’s legacy.

Events Look At Impact of Fair Housing Ruling in Louisville (WGPL, 10/24/2015) – On the Fair Housing Forums featuring Prof. Lauren Heberle (Sociology), director of the Center for Environmental Policy and Management, and Prof. Matthew Ruther (Urban & Public Affairs), director of the Kentucky State Data Center.

Did You Know?

The STEM Undergraduate Teaching Assistant program, part of the PRIMES project headed up by the Chemistry Department, is facilitating the work of 98 undergraduate students as UTAs this semester in eight departments (Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics & Astronomy, Geography & Geosciences, Bioengineering, Civil Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Engineering Fundamentals).