Monday Memo, March 28, 2022

Dear Faculty, Staff, and Part-time Lecturers,

With this edition of the Monday Memo, the former design makes its return thanks to Bob Waters in ITS, who prepared updated and uploadable lists for the Campaign Monitor platform.

To the many faculty and staff who came out on March 26 for Admitted Students Day: thank you! We appreciate how many different A&S departments sent representatives over the weekend for the Resource Fair in an effort to recruit a robust, talented, and diverse class of 2026. My colleague Dana Stefaniak and I are seeking your feedback for how to make this event even more effective in the future: email either of us with your thoughts. Because successful recruitment and retention are such critical goals for all faculty and staff, I hope to begin designating sections on those topics in future editions of this message.

Speaking of feedback, the anonymous feedback mechanism has been restored to the A&S website, and those comments are now forwarded from a paid subscription service to a UofL service account that I monitor. Everyone in A&S is encouraged to share feedback for our leadership, whether signed or anonymous. If it’s appropriate to make the concern public, a response will be shared at a Staff Association meeting, especially if there is a remedy. In cases where more information is needed, we'll gather facts in order to guard against misinformation or one-sided criticism, and staff may need to come forward at that point.

We also invite feedback on the Provost’s A&S Strategic Planning Committee. You can stay informed about their work by visiting their website containing a committee roster, a fuller description of its charges, notes from each of its weekly meetings, and resources including how other universities have adapted. Your feedback is wanted throughout the course of the committee’s work, which will continue through December 2022.

Finally, a correction: the March 14th edition misstated Robert Eric Shoemaker’s job responsibilities at the Poetry Foundation. He will be in charge of the selection of poets and poems for the Foundation online platforms and will oversee the Poem of the Day and Audio Poem of the Day features of the website. Congrats again to Robert on this plum position.

Sincerely,

Julie Wrinn, Chief of Staff

Anti-Racism Agenda

Black-and-white photograph of Walnut Street in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1942, with text promoting

Uncovering Racial Logics Library website guide

This month an invaluable new website was unveiled: Uncovering Racial Logics: Louisville's History of Racial Oppression and Activism. Created by A&S and UofL Library faculty, staff and students as part of a Cooperative Consortium for Transdisciplinary Social Justice Research (CCTSJR) and Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research (ABI) research group, this Archives and Special Collections (ASC) for those interested in researching and learning about Louisville’s history of racial activism, segregation, and oppression, specifically in the areas of education, policing, and housing. This website is for educators, students, and community members interested in uncovering and understanding examples of racial oppression and activism during key moments of Louisville's history. As you move through the website, you will find scanned archival documents, information about each document and the larger library collection it belongs to, oral history collections, and other materials related to racism, racial activism, and community organizing in Louisville, especially during the middle of the 20th century.

Community of Care

All Are Welcome to the A&S Book Club

The A&S Book Club meets again on Thursday, April 7 at 12 noon in Stevenson 417. We are reading Edith Wharton’s “The House of Mirth” – everybody is welcome! Each month, a member recommends a book, and consensus rules. Lively discussion follows from a small but enthusiastic group of readers.

If you’re interested in joining, please email Janna Tajibaeva.

Reminders

Undergraduate Mentored Research and Creative Activity grant applications: Graduate students are encouraged to apply for a summer research grant as a mentor for a first- or second-year undergraduate in A&S. Mentors searching for a mentee should note that the submission deadline is April 20. Final team applications are due May 16. Undergraduates wishing to conduct research can find opportunities via Handshake. For more information, please contact Linda Fuselier, or visit the webpage.

Ascending Star Fellowships. The U of L Office of Research & Innovation (ORI) wants to support and nurture exceptional mid-career scholars. A&S nominations are due to Associate Dean Michael Menze (Michael.menze@louisville.edu) by April 4, to allow time for additional steps before the ORI’s deadline of April 15. Nomination packages must include the Chair’s appraisal of the candidate.

1. Aim: Support, Train, Advance, and Retain (STAR) exceptional mid-career scholars (tenured, associate professors). Year-long program. One course release to focus on scholarly productivity, supported by their academic department.

  • External mentor from outside the University, who receives a stipend for their efforts to coach the participant in areas such as scholarly productivity, national/international recognition, community engaged scholarship, career success, networking, supported by the Office of Research and Innovation;
  • Peer mentoring and coaching throughout the year, facilitated by team meetings and one-on-one meetings with the Program Director, supported by the Office of Research and Innovation
  • Access to a curated set of high-level guest speakers who provided insights about career success
  • An internal grant of up to $5,000 to support scholarly productivity, supported by the Office of Research and Innovation

2. STAR Expectations

  • Identify and work with (external) mentor to develop discipline appropriate metrics that will demonstrate national impact within the time period
  • Participate in monthly seminars with the Ascending Star Research Fellow cohort, led by the ORI
  • Raise the national reputation of the department, the College of Arts & Sciences, and the university by continuing to engage in scholarly activities that lead to publication of books, book chapters and journal articles/essays in prominent journals
  • Give presentations and invited talks at national and major universities (virtual or in person)
  • Perform important professional services to scholarly societies, journals, publishers and foundations that contribute to the development and dissemination of knowledge in one’s field
  • Seek external funding for scholarship project

Are you teaching a course this summer or fall and would be interested in integrating a UofL generated micro-credentials in a pilot program? For more information, please contact Ashley Triplett at ashley.triplett@louisville.edu.

Kudos

Congratulations to two Goldwater Scholars from the College of Arts & Sciences, Lori Porter and Afi Tagnedgji! For the first time ever at UofL, three recipients were announced for this prominent award, which recognizes U.S. sophomores and juniors pursuing research careers in math, science, and engineering. Lori Porter is a Physics and Astronomy major and a member of the Brown Fellows Program; her mentors are Dr. Blakesley Burkhart, Dr. Matt Orr, and Dr. Benne Holwerda. Afi Tagnedji is a Chemistry major and member of the Martin Luther King Scholars Program; her mentors are Dr. David Hein, Dr. Kyung U. Hong, Dr. Linda Fuselier, and Dr. Mark Running. The third winner, Chris Trombley, is a student in the Speed School of Engineering. This year’s 417 scholars were selected from an estimated pool of 5,000. UofL has had five Goldwater Scholars in the last decade. To read more about the Goldwater Scholarship and view a full list of this year’s recipients, visit goldwaterscholarship.gov.

Congratulations to Paul Griner, whose latest novel, The Book of Otto and Liam, is a finalist for the Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards (General - Adult Fiction), 2021: https://www.forewordreviews.com/awards/finalists/2021/general/.

Dr. Andrea Olinger was honored at the 2022 KY Council of Teachers of English (KCTE) Conference with the Gretchen Niva Service Award for extraordinary service to the ELA profession. This award is given each year in honor of Niva, who was one of KCTE’s founding mothers and past Executive Director of the organization. Dr. Olinger was nominated by Dr. Kristie Ennis, KCTE Conference Chair and Senior Lecturer in the Composition Program at U ofL. They were also joined by Dr. Hollye Wright, another colleague who teaches both dual-enrollment and composition at UofL, and serves KCTE as Newsletter Editor. Kristie and Hollye also presented sessions at the conference. Congrats to all!

Professor of Glass Ché Rhodes of Hite Institute of Art & Design is featured in this week's issue of LEO (Louisville Eccentric Observer). The article written by arts writer Elizabeth Kramer highlights Ché's motivations and the many contributions he has made as an educator and working both within and outside of the university. https://www.leoweekly.com/2022/03/che-rhodes-reflects-on-his-gleaming-career-as-a-respected-louisville-glass-artist-and-educator/.

Events

You are invited to the university’s inaugural Research and Scholarship Awards event on Tuesday, March 29, at 5 p.m. in the Swain Student Activities Center Ballroom. Congratulations to Arts & Sciences faculty Cheri Levinson, Brandon McCormack, and Kaila Story for their prestigious Ascending Star Fellowships for high-performing associate professors. All told, 17 A&S researchers and research administrators will be recognized. Please register to attend. Kudos to our outstanding faculty and staff!

A memorial tree planting in honor of longtime Hite Institute of Art and Design supporters Mike L. Power (1943-2015) and his son David Power (1971-2021) will take place April 1, 10:30 a.m. outside Schneider Hall. The planting is in partnership with UofL Sustainability Council’s Arbor Day activities. The occasion also marks the 75th anniversary of the Hite Institute, as well as Founder's Day for The Power Agency, a Louisville-based advertising agency founded by the Power family in 1976. For more information or questions, please contact Leslie Friesen.

30th Annual Neuroscience Day returns April 8. The 30th Annual Neuroscience Day will be held virtually on Gather. Neuroscience Day is an opportunity to showcase neuroscience research from around the region and features an exciting line-up of local and invited speakers. We are excited to host two outstanding scientists, Paule Joseph with the NIH and Gülin Öz, University of Minnesota, whose research investigates the impact of COVID-19 on the nervous system. Membership, abstract submission, and meeting registration are free. For more information, please visit the webpage.

Meet the Professor: Dr. Jianhua (Andrew) Zhao, Anthropology Department, will discuss “From Red Capitalists to Princelings: Macro and Micro Analyses of Family Businesses in China.” This talk will discuss the evolution of Chinese family businesses and explore how Chinese family businesses navigate state policies, the market, and an evolving sociocultural milieu in the twenty-first century. Wednesday, April 13, 5:00 PM. For more information, see the flyer below or contact Janna Tajibaeva at 852-2247 or janna@louisville.edu. REGISTRATION – https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_MiFsPBIdSTS0rLGAxUu35Q.