Monday Memo April 2, 2018
Dean's Message
Dear Colleagues,
Amidst the outrage of, and efforts to stop, sneaky attempts in Frankfort to mess with tenure and further undervalue K-12 teachers, there are some reasons to celebrate and next week we will! Please save some time in your schedule to participate.
First up, UofL hosts the Grawemeyer Award winners, and A&S will honor three scholars with among the highest award possible in their fields. The awards are given for “big ideas” and come with a $100,000 prize from the endowment created by Charles Grawemeyer. Unfortunately our Religion winner James Cone is gravely ill and a committee traveled to him to convey the award. A mentee of Cone will speak on his behalf at Louisville Seminary, Caldwell Chapel 7-9 p.m. on Tuesday. I hope that some of you will attend, and encourage your students, to hear their public presentations. Other Grawemeyer events include:
- Tuesday, 4/10 from 1-2:30 p.m. in Chao auditorium, we’ll enjoy the World Order address by Scott Straus. His research and big ideas on genocide will be of interest to all who care about developing countries, and I suspect some lessons can apply to the U.S. as well.
- Wednesday, 4/11 from 12-1 p.m. in Strickler 101 (Middleton), Robert Sternberg will present his concept of “successful intelligence,” which could help us all negotiate better our changing world.
The week concludes with us recognizing many of our faculty and staff who have made particularly noteworthy contributions to our mission in the past year. Some of are honorees are identified below, but others won’t be announced until our party. The A&S Celebration of Excellence is Friday, 4/13 from 2-4 p.m. in Bigelow Hall, MITC, Please be sure to preregister to double your chances to win one of our fabulous door prizes.
Throughout the week, also be on the lookout for special greeters from Theatre Arts throughout campus. This is in anticipation of the final production this season, The Long Christmas Ride Home, written by Paula Vogel, which open 4/13 and runs for two weekends. A lot has gone on in producing this play, co-directed by Geoff Nelson and Charles Nasby. Special thanks to some professors from the School of Music who will be contributing music.
Fortunately, the celebrations still provide for time to attend to our teaching, research, and service. The legislature has a break next week, so there’s time to organize a robust effort to derail these two attempts to diminish education in Kentucky.
Sincerely,
Kimberly Kempf-Leonard, Ph.D.
Dean
Announcements
A&S Award Winners
We are happy to announce this year's A&S award winners who will be recognized at the A&S Celebration of Excellence on 4/13 from 2-4 p.m. The Celebration of Excellence is the College's opportunity to recognize the expertise, talent, and commitment of some of our most outstanding individuals in the College.
Please note that the winners of A&S Distinguished Faculty Awards, the Outstanding Performance Awards for Staff, and the Outstanding Supervisor Awards for both 2016-17 and 2017-18 will be forwarded to the President's Office as our unit's nominations for the corresponding University-wide awards.
A&S Distinguished Faculty Awards
For Full-Time Teaching Stephen Hanson, Philosophy
For Service to the Community Chris Reitz, Fine Arts
For Service to the University John Gibson, Philosophy
Additional Faculty Awards
Innovative Teaching Award - Linda Fuselier, Biology
Outstanding Director of Graduate Studies - Perri Eason, Biology
Outstanding Graduate Mentor - Sandra Sephton, Psychological & Brain Sciences
Olorunsola Endowed Research Award for Young Scholars - Steven Brooke, Political Science
Outstanding Performance Awards for Staff
Lyshanna Cunningham, International, Diversity & Engagement Programs
Rea Diehlman, Physics & Astronomy
Anthony Hundley, Sociology/Anthropology/Geography & Geosciences/Political Science
Amanda LeDuke, Political Science
Additional Staff Awards
Enhanced Efficiencies Award - Holly Hogue, A&S Dean's Office
Staff Supervisor Award - Rebecca Ledford, A&S Advising
Teamwork Award - Katherine Taylor, Communication
Diversity & Engagement Awards
Community Service Award (faculty) - Bronwyn Williams, English
Community Service Award (staff) - Yolanda Demaree, A&S Dean's Office
Diversity Champion Award (faculty) - Aaron Rollins, Urban & Public Affairs
Diversity Champion Award (staff) - Lory King, A&S Advising
Preregister for Celebration by 4/6 to double your chance to win
Preregister for A&S Celebration of Excellence by Friday, April 6 and double your chance to win one of 15 wonderful door prizes. Attention staff: Prizes include five "Staff De-Stress" packages which each include a day off!
Research & Creative Activity
University-wide Undergraduate Research and Community Engagement Symposium
The Office of the Executive Vice President for Research and Innovation, the Office of the Vice President for Community Engagement, and the Office of the Provost are 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 and creative activity at UofL. Deadline for electronic abstract submission is April 2. The symposium will be held April 10, 12:30-4 p.m., Shumaker Research Building, Room 139. Additional information: visit the website or email Charlie Leonard.
Teaching
Course Hero-Woodrow Wilson Fellowship for Excellence in Teaching competition open
The 2018 competition has opened for the Course Hero-Woodrow Wilson Fellowship for Excellence in Teaching. This new fellowship, created by Course Hero, an online learning library, and administered by the Woodrow Wilson National Foundation, is an award for tenure-track faculty who exhibit balance between scholarly excellence and outstanding undergraduate teaching practice, creating a new level of engagement for students in and beyond the classroom.
Course Hero-WW Fellows will receive a one-year grant of $40,000—approximately $30,000 to support the engagement of a graduate assistant and the balance to be used for research and travel support. Fellows may work in any field in the arts and sciences, or in a business school. Exceptional candidates provide evidence of outstanding progress in developing a research dossier for tenure and of excellence in undergraduate teaching. More information
Kudos
Lights! Camera! Action! Congratulations to Prof. Smith
Prof. Remington Smith's (Communication) movie, Rubbertown, was released yesterday, April 1, on Amazon. It is free for Prime members. If not Prime, then $3 rental, $10 digital download. Add it to your watch list now!
Prof. Peteet in the South Atlantic Quarterly
Prof. Julie Peteet (Anthropology) published “Closure’s Temporality: The Cultural Politics of Time and Waiting,” South Atlantic Quarterly 117(1):43-64.
Prof. Schwartz gets Kentucky DOC grant
Prof. Kristin Schwartz (Criminal Justice) just received a nearly $600,000 grant from the Kentucky Department of Corrections. The grant project is titled "Examining the Effects of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction on Cortisol and CPR among Correctional Staff."
Items of Note
Vote for your favorite study abroad photo
Vote for your favorite photos in the 11th Annual A&S Study Abroad Photo Contest. Voting will last from March 24th through April 6th!
In the News
U of L interim president Greg Postel: I share faculty's 'anxiety' over tenure changes (Courier-Journal, 3/30/18) - Prof. Dawn Heinecken (Women's & Gender Studies), Prof. David Owen (Philosophy), Prof Ricky Jones (Pan-African Studies) and Prof. Michael Cunningham (Communication) voice concerns over language in the proposed state budget that would allow tenured professors to be fired.
After a CIA career in the shadows, Gina Haspel to face the spotlight of controversy (LA Times, 3/29/18) - About Gina Haspel's (A&S 1978 alumna, Communication) nomination to be director of the CIA.
Should Kentucky professors go on strike to stop tenure changes? Some think so (Courier-Journal, 3/29/18) - Prof. Tomarra Adams (Pan-African Studies), Prof. David Owen (Philosophy) and Prof. Ricky Jones (Pan-African Studies) weigh in on how best to respond to proposed changes to tenure in Kentucky state legislature.
Everyone is watching Gov. Matt Bevin gain fame in national politics but no one knows why (Courier-Journal, 3/29/18) - Prof. Dewey Clayton (Political Science) weighs in on what Bevin's increasing presence in national politics means.
Tenured Kentucky professors could be fired under a late addition to the state budget (Courier-Journal, 3/28/18) - Prof. Susan Jarosi (Women's & Gender Studies) and Prof. Ricky Jones (Pan-African Studies) respond to new language in proposed state budget that would allow university's to fire tenured professors.
What's it like to live near a toxic landfill in Louisville? Don't miss this film on Amazon (Courier-Journal, 3/28/18) - About Prof. Remington Smith's new film Rubbertown. Military history group offers passes for Louisville event (US News and World Report, 3/27/18) - The international group the Society of Military History is offering $39 passes to the conference "Landscapes of War and Peace" held
April 6-8 for residents of nine counties neighboring Louisville: Jefferson, Bullitt, Shelby, Henry, Trimble, Oldham and Spencer in Kentucky and Clark and Floyd in Indiana.
Staff Pick: Women’s History Month! (LEO Weekly, 3/25/18) - Prof. Kaila Story (Women's & Gender Studies & Pan-African Studies) is one of featured panelists at Yearlings Club "Women's History Month: Women's March in Review."
UofL trustees discuss presidential search, campus trust in town hall (Insider Louisville, 3/23/18) - The comments of Prof. Ricky Jones (Pan-African Studies) featured.
She graduated from the Florida school where 17 died. Now she has a message for Louisville. (Courier-Journal, 3/22/18) - Guest column by Prof. Judith Danovitch (Psychological & Brain Sciences) in which she, an alumna of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, asks that readers take action to stop gun violence
Staff Pick: Archaeology, Anthropology At UofL (LEO Weekly, 3/22/18)
Book review: 'Poverty is a Person' (Bowling Green Daily News, 3/18/18) - Book Review of Prof. Theresa Rajack-Talley's (Pan-African Studies) book.
