Monday Memo April 15, 2019

Dean's Message

Dear Faculty and Staff,
 
Amid final class meetings, theses defenses, paper grading, and year-end budget reconciliations, I encourage you to enjoy a well-earned break by attending one of the final performances 4/18-20 of A Raisin in the Sun at the Playhouse. Our Theatre Arts department has done a wonderful job on this production and I know you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.
 
I also offer a special thanks for their many years of service to the college and university, which we will officially celebrate tomorrow night, to the following faculty:

• 50 years: John Kielkopf, Jr. (Physics & Astronomy);
• 40 years: David Howarth (Geography & Geosciences), Susan Matarese (Political Science);
• 35 years: Rhonda Buchanan (Classical & Modern Languages), Ying Kit Chan (Fine Arts), Christopher Davis (Physics & Astronomy), Al Futrell (Communication), Mark Noble (Chemistry), Michael Perlin (Biology);
• 30 years: James Beggan (Sociology), Chakram Jayanthi (Physics & Astronomy), Steven Seif (Mathematics);
• 25 years: James Alexander (Biology), Blake Beattie (History), Julie Bunck (Political Science), Dewey Clayton (Political Science), Karen Hadley (English), Zijiang He (Psychological & Brain Sciences), Manuel Medina (Classical & Modern Languages).

As the semester winds down, I hope you take time to appreciate the spring trees and flowers that have emerged on our beautiful campus. Also, please make sure the College's Celebration of Excellence is on your calendar for 4/23. We have much to celebrate.

Sincerely,

Kimberly Kempf-Leonard, Ph.D.
Dean

A&S Celebration of Excellence

Don’t forget about the 2019 A&S Celebration of Excellence scheduled for April 23rd at 2PM at the Red Barn. It is our opportunity to honor some recognize the expertise, talent, and commitment of some of our most outstanding individuals in A&S. 
 
There will be food, drink, and a drawing for some amazing prizes including free days off from Dean Leonard, UofL v. Virginia football tickets, Abbey Road on the River passes, a VIP booth at Play Louisville, FitBit prize pack from Get Healthy Now, passes from Louisville Bats, Actors Theatre, Uptown Art, and many more. (You must be present to win.) In addition, the first 150 people through the door will receive a free drink coupon to Heine Brothers Coffee.
 
So, please join us to congratulate these exceptional faculty and staff members. See you at the Red Barn!
 
Faculty Award Winners (in alphabetical order by last name)

• Swagato Banerjee (Physics & Astronomy)
  Victor A. Olorunsola Research Award for Young Scholars 
• Rhonda Buchanan (Classical & Modern Languages)
  Outstanding Scholarship, Research & Creative Activity in the Humanities 
• Karen Freberg (Communication)
  Teaching Innovation Award 
• Gerald B. Hammond (Chemistry)
  Outstanding Scholarship, Research & Creative Activity in Basic and Applied Sciences 
• Jason Gainous (Political Science)
  Outstanding Graduate Mentor 
• George Higgins (Criminal Justice)
  Outstanding Director of Graduate Studies
• Lenore Hoyt (Chemistry)
  Distinguished Faculty Award for Full-time Teaching
• Kelly Kinahan (Urban & Public Affairs)
  Community Engagement Award for Faculty
• Frederick Luzzio (Chemistry)
  Distinguished Faculty Award for Service to the Profession 
• Keith Lyle (Psychological & Brain Sciences)
  Diversity Champion Award
• Laura Moyer (Political Science)
  Outstanding Scholarship, Research & Creative Activity in Social Sciences
• Farshid Ramezanipour (Chemistry)
  Outstanding Faculty Supervisor
• Kaila Story (Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies / Pan-African Studies)
  Community Engagement Award for Faculty
• Xiang Zhang (Chemistry)
  Career Achievement in Outstanding Scholarship, Research & Creative Activity

Staff Award Winners (in alphabetical order by last name) 

• Amanda Cunningham (Psychological & Brain Sciences)
  Outstanding Performance Award
• Hung Nguyen (English)
  Outstanding Performance Award
• Chris Peveler (Urban & Public Affairs / A&S Dean's Office)
  Outstanding Performance Award
• Dwain Pruitt (A&S Dean's Office)
  Outstanding Performance Award
• Janna Tajibaeva (Liberal Studies / Commonwealth Center for the Humanities & Society)
  Outstanding Performance Award
• Karen Thompson (Criminal Justice)
  Community Engagement Award for Staff
• Taleia Willis (Classical & Modern Languages, Comparative Humanities, English, History, and Philosophy)
  Outstanding Performance Award

Great Place to Learn

Undergraduate Research and Community Engagement Spring Symposium

The Undergraduate Research and Community Engagement Spring Symposium will be held tomorrow. The symposium is a chance for undergraduates to share what they have learned through their research experiences with a larger audience. It provides a forum where students can showcase research projects that build on and enrich faculty work across the disciplines. It is an opportunity for students, faculty and the community to discuss cutting edge research topics, and to examine the connection between research and education. It is a place for students not yet involved in research to learn about the broad range of opportunities at UofL. Please share this opportunity with your students and come by and see what Arts & Sciences student researchers have been working on! More information

Actuarial student featured on business insurance advice website

Courtney Coomes (Mathemtatics) studying actuarial science was recently featured on Advisor Smith, a website dedicated to providing advice on business insurance. She did a Q&A for a student profile article which can be seen here!

Join us for the graphic design program's Portfolio Day!

Our 17 Graphic Design BFA candidates are on the home stretch. Come check out their work and congratulate them as they take that step from student designers to the professional world. The event will take place on April 19 from 8:30 to 11:30 AM at the Rowan Street MFA lobby at 1606 Rowan. RSVPs are not essential, but are appreciated!

Great Place to Work

Upcoming personal and professional development opportunities

Seeking personal and professional development opportunities? Join the Women's Center at the 2nd annual U of L Women's Network Roundtable on Thursday, April 18 at the CTR Building, Health Sciences Campus, 4 - 6 p.m. Subject matter experts will facilitate small group discussions on a variety of topics which include Work-life Integration, Bullying in the Workplace, Envisioning your Ideal Life, Handling Inequities; Navigating Negativity,  and Balancing 'Bossy' vs. 'Strong' Leader.  Food and refreshments will be served. RSVP at womenctr@louisville.edu if you plan to attend.

Diversity & Inclusion

Ph.D. candidate wins research grant

Please join us in congratulating PhD. candidate Ashanka Kumari, who has won a $450 research grant from the Council of Writing Program Administrators (CWPA) People of Color Caucus and Writing Program Administrators-Graduate Organization! The award goes to "a recipient whose project explores and/or advances the understanding of issues of race, civil rights, equity, and/or social justice in writing program administration.”

Kudos

Freelon doing summer fellowship in Hamburg, Germany

Prof. Byron Freelon (Physics & Astronomy) received the Stephenson Distinguished Visitor Program fellowship to spend this summer doing research at the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron facility in Hamburg, Germany. His research will be on the development of terahertz acceleration instrumentation for ultrafast electron diffraction.

Strickley's short story wins a top prize

Prof. Sarah Strickley (English) has won the Editor's Prize in Prose for her short story, "Dewey Dell: An American Ghost Story," which was published in the current issue of Copper Nickel. Please join us in congratulating her! To read the short story, please click here.

Vito wins Outstanding Service Award

Prof. Gennaro F. Vito (Criminal Justice) received the Outstanding Service Award from the Police Section of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. The award recognizes contributions to police education and practice.

In the News

I clenched my fists, fought back tears after watching LMPD's violent traffic stop video (Courier Journal, 4/11/19) - An opinion piece by Woodford Porter Scholar and MLK Scholar Quintez Brown (major: Political Science) about the footage of the police incident when Tae-Ahn Lea was pulled out of his car for allegedly taking a wide turn.