Monday Memo January 4, 2016

Announcements

Interested in joining the Chapter of the American Association of University Professors?
Prof. Mark Blum (History) is canvassing interest in the rejuvenation of the University of Louisville Chapter of the American Association of University Professors. It has been a decade since the Chapter was active at UofL, and as a past president of the chapter, Prof. Blum feels that it is a presence that can only help the voice of the faculty in issues of governance and other academic matters within the University. If you might be interested, please email Prof. Blum.

Summer Research Opportunity Program deadline March 1
The deadline for students to apply for the SROP, which provides UofL undergraduate students with a 10-week research-intensive experience in a department that offers graduate degrees, is March 1. 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.

Teaching, Research, Creative Activities & Service

Chemistry Prof. Luzzio receives gum disease patent
Prof. Frederick Luzzio (Chemistry) and Donald Demuth, Ph.D., associate dean for research and enterprise, UofL School of Dentistry, recently received a patent on a synthetic biochemical compound and its variants, moving science closer to a treatment for gum disease. Profs. Luzzio and Demuth developed and tested 40 different molecular compounds, and the three most potent compounds are being further developed.

Dean Leonard featured on Oxford Univ. Press “Global Authors Map”
A&S Dean Kimberly Kempf-Leonard is featured on the Oxford University Press Global Authors Map. The map is a visual, interactive representation of OUP authors and their academic achievements, and features the top 10 most popular articles by subject area. Dean Leonard’s article, “Social Control Theory,” is number one for Criminology.

Publications

Blazing the Neoliberal Trail: Urban Political Development in the United States and the United Kingdom (Univ. of Pennsylvania Press) – Prof. Timothy Weaver's (Political Science) book will be released January 11.

The Politics behind the Original "Star Wars" (Los Angeles Review of Books) – Prof. Benjamin Hufbauer (Art History) wrote an article regarding historical events in the course of George Lucas’ life that influenced the film “Star Wars.”

An Open Letter to Justice Scalia (Salon) – Prof. Kiki Petrosino (English) wrote a piece regarding comments Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia made during hearing for the affirmative action case Fisher v. University of Texas.

Survivors and downstream decision-making(The Blue Review) – Prof. Bradley Campbell (Criminal Justice) on police and victim credibility (based on his recent Journal of Criminal Justice publication about how sex crimes investigators evaluate victim credibility) for a special issue on victimization for the Boise State University’s Blue Review.

Learning from Experiences: An Analysis of Housing Challenges in Louisville Metro – Profs. Lauren Heberle (Sociology) and Cate Fosl (Women’s & Gender Studies), and Ph.D. candidate Telesphore Kagaba (Sociology). On December 18, Louisville Metro government released a new research report. The lead researchers and authors were assisted by community partner, the Metropolitan Housing Coalition. A grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development facilitated the research, which consisted of focus groups with local members of the protected classes under fair housing law and a community data profile based on their experiences.

Ofelia Rodríguez Acosta and the Quest for National Solidarity in Cuba (Hispania) – Prof. Brenda Ortiz-Loyola (Classical & Modern Languages) on the writings of Rodríguez Acosta as an example of the ways in which Cuban feminists engaged in the political dialogue of the 1920s and 1930s.

Kudos & Congratulations

Prof. Lutz’s book recognized by PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award
Prof. Deborah Lutz's (English) recent book, The Brontë Cabinet: Three Lives in Nine Objects, is on the Longlist for the PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography, for a distinguished biography published in 2015.

Ph.D. student awarded travel grant
Ph.D. student Jamila Kareem (Rhetoric & Composition) has been awarded the 2016 Scholars for the Dream Travel Award. The program was instituted to increase the participation of traditionally underrepresented groups –African Americans, American Indians, Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans and other Latino Americans, and Asian Americans. This award celebrates the scholarly contribution of first-time presenters at the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC).

In the News

Going above and beyond: Heartwarming moment a college professor took care of his student's young children so that the single mother-of-two could take her final exam (The Daily Mail, 12/14/2015), Photo of Professor Babysitting Student's Kids While She Takes Exam Goes Viral (ABC News, 12/11/2015), Picture of UofL professor with student's children goes viral (WLKY, 12/8/2015), and College Professor Babysits Single Mom's Kids So She Can Finish Her Exam (Huffington Post, 12/14/2015) – A story about Prof. Daniel Krebs (History) went viral after a photo of him taking care of a student’s two children while she completed an exam was put on social media.

Survey: Nuisances bigger concern than crime (The Courier-Journal, 12/22/2015) – Prof. Deborah Keeling (Criminal Justice) on a poll of neighborhood disorder, fear of crime and police services for a study, paid for by the Louisville Metro Police Department.

Five Reasons Rand Paul’s Struggling Presidential Campaign Marches On (WFPL, 12/21/2015) – Prof. Dewey Clayton (Political Science) on the presidential candidacy of Ky. Sen. Rand Paul.

Southington foundation announces creation of criminal justice scholarship (The Record-Journal, 12/11/2015) – Edward S. Pocock III, a retired police captain, announced a four-year, $40,000 scholarship to the University of Louisville to be awarded to students attending the Southern Police Institute, which is also where Pocock received his master’s degree in criminal justice. The scholarship is funded by the J. Allen Lamb and Edward S. Pocock Foundation.

Housing report shows pattern of segregation, poverty persists (WLKY, 12/9/2015), Louisville Residents Weigh In On Housing Discrimination, Desires (WFPL, 12/18/2015), and in The Courier-Journal – On the recently released Metro Housing Coalition's State of Housing Report completed by Profs. Lauren Heberle (Sociology/Director, Center for Environmental Policy and Management) and Cate Fosl (Women’s & Gender Studies/Director, Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research), and Ph.D. candidate Telesphore Kagaba (Sociology), with assistance from the Metropolitan Housing Commission.

For Family Members, Louisville’s Homicide Spike Leaves Lasting Heartache (WFPL, 12/28/2015) – Prof. Ryan Schroeder (Chair, Sociology) on ways to reduce violence.

Did You Know?

The Arts & Sciences’ Department of Fine Arts teamed up with the Speed School of Engineering to launch a new course, Special Topics Industrial Design, this semester. The cross-disciplinary course is an introduction, where the students will learn the basics of universal design principles, human factors, aesthetics, design thinking, and how Art and Engineering intersect to create Industrial Design. This course is a first for UofL and is the culmination of many months of work by a variety of local organizations including FirstBuild, the Hite Art Institute, the Speed School of Engineering as well as professionals who are dedicated to educating the next generation of designers.