Monday Memo, May 3, 2021
COMMUNITY OF CARE
Global Advising Weeks starts today
Today marks the first day of Global Advising Week. During the first week in May every year, the advisors, tutors, personal tutors, counselors and coaches who advise students around the world are celebrated. This is a global celebration, and in the College of Arts & Sciences, we want to take this time to honor academic advising in its many impactful forms. Effective advising is at the core of student success and the College's advisors are deeply committed to supporting students in a multitude of ways. From celebrating wins to navigating setbacks, advisors are truly "the guides on the ride" for our students. This week and every week, it is important that we recognize the hard work of our advisors and how essential they are in helping our students meet their academic, personal, and professional goals. Please take a minute to share your appreciation for an advisor who has positively impacted you and/or the UofL Community.
Give a shout out to an advisor by clicking on the button below.
University-wide awards: Call for nominations
The University has two new awards for 2021 – the Cardinal Principles Champions and the COVID-19 Hero Awards. Both are accepting nominations through May 15. Winners will receive a cash award of $1,000 (distributed equally amongst members for teams). Contact recognition@louisville.edu with questions.
NOTE: Please note that the College's recently announced winners of the Outstanding Performance Awards, Distinguished Faculty Awards, and Outstanding Supervisor Awards (listed below) will will be forwarded on to the Employee Success Center as the College’s nominees for the University-wide award of the same name.
A&S Celebration of Excellence on Thursday, 5/6 at 1 PM
Join us online at uofl.me/as-coe2021 on Thursday, May 6, to honor these outstanding faculty and staff:
Distinguished Faculty Awards
Mary Ashlock
Associate Professor, Communication
Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching in the Social Sciences
Richard Baldwin
Professor, Chemistry
Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching in the Natural Sciences
Pamela Beattie
Associate Professor, Comparative Humanities
Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching in the Humanities
Matthew Biberman
Professor, English
Distinguished Faculty Award for Research & Creative Activity in the Humanities
Pawel Kozlowski
Professor, Chemistry
Distinguished Faculty Award for Research & Creative Activity - Career Achievement
Rodger Payne
Professor, Political Science
Distinguished Faculty Award for Service - Career Achievement
Outstanding Performance Awards
Linda Baldwin
Administrative Specialist, English
Outstanding Performance Award
Yolanda Demaree
Faculty Affairs Manager, A&S Dean’s Office
Outstanding Performance Award
Kim Hendricks
Coordinator, Criminal Justice
Outstanding Performance Award
Jenny Jokinen
Lab Manager, Chemistry
Outstanding Performance Award
Diversity & Community Engagement
Joy Hart
Professor, Communication
Community Engagement Award (Co-recipient)
Aleeta Powe
Associate Professor, Chemistry
Diversity Champion Award
Jason Seitz
Web Developer Senior, A&S Dean’s Office
Community Engagement Award
Siobhan Smith-Jones
Associate Professor, Communication
Diversity Champion Award
Kandi Walker
Professor, Communication
Community Engagement Award (Co-recipient)
Outstanding Supervisor Awards
Benne Holwerda
Associate Professor, Physics & Astronomy
Outstanding Supervisor Award
Jason Sievers
Coordinator, Chemistry
Outstanding Supervisor Award
Innovative Teaching Awards
Serban Smadici
Associate Professor, Physics & Astronomy
Innovative Teaching Award in the Natural Sciences
Angela Storey
Assistant Professor, Anthropology
Innovative Teaching Award in the Social Sciences
Graduate Faculty Awards
Lindsay Della
Associate Professor, Communication
Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award
Sarah Emery
Professor, Biology
Outstanding Director of Graduate Studies
ANTI-RACISM AGENDA
Art and Activism
The Speed Art Museum is hosting the "Promise, Witness, Remembrance" exhibition, in honor of Breonna Taylor this summer. In parallel with this exhibition, students in Prof. Reitz's Art and Activism seminar were invited to produce research and wall text for a special installation of Aron Conaway's portrait of Breonna Taylor, which served as a rallying point for demonstrations for Black Lives last year. The students provided a short history of activist art since the 1970s, situating Conaway's work within a rich tradition between "political art" and the art of activist movements. The show is up now through the end of June. The students from Prof. Reitz's class are:
- Abigail Briney
- Ashley Bittner
- Cathy Shannon
- Allie Blankenship
- Flora K. Schildknecht
- Hannah DeWitt
- Nicole Clay
- Olivia Beutel
- Rasheed Adedoyin Ismaila
- Shachaf Polakow
Proactive Microresistance in a Microaggressive World | Faculty Focus
How can we use proactive forms of microresistance to increase our capacity for response and foster a kinder, less microaggressive world? Prof. Cynthia Ganote (Sociology) and two colleagues from other institutions (Floyd Cheung and Tasha Souza) continue to tackle this important anti-racist practice.
KUDOS
Gainous wins UofL Trustees Award
Jason Gainous (Political Science) is the recipient of the 2021 Trustees Award.
The award, in its 32nd year, is UofL’s most prestigious faculty award, recognizing faculty members who have made significant contributions to student life. The UofL Board of Trustees made the announcement at its meeting April 22.
Send an email of congratulations to Prof. Gainous.
Philosophy professors tackle climate injustice
Avery Kolers (Philosophy) co-organized the Individual Responsibility and Climate Injustice Conference with support from the Society for Applied Philosophy. D.A. Masolo (Philosophy) was among the plenary speakers. The conference, which took place during Earth Day 2021, was a “rolling” 36-hour online event, continuing across all time zones and bringing together speakers from all inhabited continents.
Ndiaye receives Postdoc Fellowship at Cornell
Bamba Ndiaye, lecturer in the Departments of Pan-African Studies and Classical & Modern Languages, received a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship at Cornell University. During the two-year appointment, Ndiaye will be affiliated with Cornell's Society for the Humanities and Music Department. Ndiaye received his PhD in Comparative Humanities ('20) under the mentorship of Professors Dismas Masolo (Philosophy), Tyler Fleming (Pan-African Studies; History), and Mawuena Logan (Pan-African Studies).
The Botanist Who Defied Stalin
His dream of feeding the world died in prison. His dream of a seed bank lives on.
Prof. Lee Dugatkin (Biology) recently penned an article about one the individuals in his "pantheon of intellectual heroes," Russian biologist Nikolai Vavilov.
Math professor coauthors 2021 Article of the Year
Dan Han (Mathematics) is coauthor of the article "Progression of COVID-19 from Urban to Rural Areas in the United States: A Spatiotemporal Analysis of Prevalence Rates," which has been selected by The Journal of Rural Health as the 2021 Article of the Year. The article was recognized for its analysis of social determinants of health on the rapid spread of COVID-19 across rural and urban areas. Professor Han and her co-authors will be recognized at the National Rural Health Association's annual meeting in May.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
Two new forms for A&S communication
A&S News & Info form: uofl.me/as-newsandinfo-form - Use this form to report anything you find newsworthy - either for internal or external audiences. Submit ALL your news and info regarding faculty, staff, student, alumni, departments, centers, institutes, and programs. This form will replace the Monday Memo form, but we may find other ways to promote the information you share as well!
A&S Web & Design form: uofl.me/as-webanddesign-form - Use this form if you require assistance with web and/or design projects.
Healthcare/Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Reminder
Employees with any unused amounts in their 2020 health and/or dependent FSAs will have the unused 2020 amount rolled into a 2021 health and/or dependent FSA account. Wex/Discovery manages this program and 2020 rollover funds will be available for qualifying expenses and/or reimbursements at the end of April. For questions regarding your account, you must contact Wex/Discovery Benefits at 1-866-451-3399. HR does not have access to this data.