Monday Memo, August 21, 2023

A Message from Dean Dayna Touron

Dear A&S Colleagues,

My first day of classes as your new dean has finally arrived, and I am thrilled to be experiencing it with all of you. I know how much effort and collaboration have gone into preparations for the start of the new academic year, and I’m grateful for your commitment to our students and their academic journey.

At the A&S Open House last Friday, I welcomed students and challenged them to be bold explorers of knowledge in A&S and not be afraid to ask their professors, advisors, and campus services for help. It is our privilege to be their teachers and mentors in these explorations, during some of the most formative years of their lives. While the final numbers haven’t been tallied yet, I’m told there were about triple the number of students in attendance compared to last year. A huge congratulations to Sr. Program Coordinator Nuriya Raimberdieva for executing such a successful recruiting event. The wonderful turnout is also a clear sign of the enduring attraction for young people of a liberal arts education. While some tables had longer lines than others, I know that every unit present had terrific opportunities to spark students’ interest in their discipline. Props to SGA for bringing buttons that said, “Let's Kick Some A&S!” Some creative student came up with a slogan that truly expresses both the sense of accomplishment and the sense of fun that students can expect from their experience in our college.

As some of you know, one of the students at the Open House was my son, who plans to major in Art, and so this day also brings me all the emotions of my firstborn child’s first day of college. I couldn’t be prouder that he is a Cardinal!

Sincerely,

Dayna Touron, Dean

A&S Recruitment

Dean Touron with two students, sisters, who were among eight winners of a raffle for A&S water bottles.

At this year's A&S Open House hundreds of students with interests in the liberal arts and sciences mingled in the BAB lobby among roughly 25 tables representing departments, programs, and other units like Advising and SGA. Part of the university-wide Welcome Week, A&S Open House is an invaluable recruitment opportunity for showcasing curricular and co-curricular activities and engaging with new students.

Below: lines at every table at the A&S Open House

Accolade 2023 is an exclusive, on-campus event for academically talented prospective students, who will have the opportunity to tour campus, meet with faculty and academic advisors, learn about the Honors Program, admissions, and scholarship programs, and more. Students can one of two sessions on Saturday, August 26:

• Session 1: 11:00 am - 11:30 am  
• Session 2: 11:40 am - 12:10 pm  

Faculty interested in participating can sign up at this link.

Research Agenda

The UofL research-backed startup DesiCorp Inc. has received nearly $300,000 for a technology aimed at saving and improving lives. The Phase 1 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institutes of Health, along with matching funds from the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, supports work to develop and commercialize a UofL-born method of freeze-drying blood to extend its shelf-life, which could have many applications, including in the military operations, humanitarian aid or even space travel. The company is led by UofL alum Brett Janis, and based on technology he developed with researchers Michael Menze, Associate Dean for Research in A&S and Professor of Biology, and Jonathan Kopechek of the Speed School of Engineering.

"Camp Cricket": Last month Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Biology Michael Menze (below, standing 3^rd from left) traveled to the Sedgwick Nature Reserve in the Santa Ynez Valley, California, for a research project on cricket ecology and physiology, a collaboration with faculty and students from UC Berkeley, including Principal Investigator Caroline Williams.

Alumni Spotlight

Global brand leader Jim Holthouser (above) credits UofL with his "exposure to the world."

From operating casinos and marketing hotels to now running some of America’s most beloved food brands, UofL alumnus Jim Holthouser (’81 B.A. Humanities-German; ’83 B.A. Political Science; ’85 M.A. Political Science) is a transformative leader with a successful record of building brand loyalty and staying at the forefront of innovation. Holthouser earned three UofL degrees and credits his time at UofL for helping shape him into the person he is today. He likened his university experience to a kaleidoscope, with individual encounters, lessons learned and lots of memories that added up.

“I’ve always had this love of all things international. By the time I left Louisville, I had studied German and French and had my master’s in political science. Louisville became my springboard to the international school,” Holthouser said.

Holthouser is responsible for a global portfolio of well-recognized food service and restaurant brands. He leads the parent company of favorites including Auntie Anne’s, Carvel, Cinnabon, Jamba, Moe’s Southwest Grill, McAlister’s Deli, Schlotzsky’s and Seattle’s Best Coffee. Holthouser’s energy and vision set the tone for the culture of Focus Brands’ 6,000 locations worldwide. He creates innovative and customer-focused solutions to grow and reinvigorate brands, improve loyalty, create cost savings and drive revenue and unit growth.

“The beauty of this job is there’s never one day like the next, and I love that diversity,” Holthouser said.

Though his Atlanta-based work keeps him quite busy, Holthouser does find time to relax with a good book. A modern-day Renaissance man, Holthouser loves to travel and is fluent in German and conversant in French. He also is a trained pianist with several recordings to his credit.

“[College] is the one time in your life where you really get to explore and play,” he said. “That’s the other thing that Louisville gave me — it gave this little Kentucky boy a lot of exposure to the world.”

For more information on Holthouser, check out the summer 2023 issue of UofL Magazine  or view this video.

A&S Advising

As we move into the start of the semester, A&S Advising has gathered the following resources and prepared a flyer (below) to emphasis what we, as a college, can do to help find ways to support students’ basic needs.

Cardinal Cupboard – Provides access to food and basic hygiene products.

UofL Concern Center – Provides student information about services to address different types of concerns (Academic, Emotional, Financial, Physical, Sex & Relationship, Social, and Spiritual).

Student Success Coordinators  - Primarily help with financial hold resolutions, budgeting, and housing issues. Some of their work is in additional support to what we do in Advising.

REACH Academic Coaching and Academic Success Seminars – Can be especially helpful for students not quite ready to be here. Covers topics such as Time Management, Goal Setting, Note-taking, etc.

Counseling Center

Student Care Team in the Dean of Students Office – Great for reporting students in crisis or who are displaying troublesome behavior.

MyKYinfo.com – This is a free web-based app that connects people to free resources in the community based on need.

Kudos

Congratulations to psychology professor Ben Mast for receiving the American Psychological Association (APA) Committee on Aging’s 2023 Award for the Advancement of Psychology and Aging. Prof. Mast was the committee’s unanimous choice for this prestigious award. As stated in the APA’s award letter, “Thank you for your immense contributions to the field of aging in psychology.” Prof. Mast attended the APA Convention in Washington, D.C. earlier this month to receive his award.

This summer six A&S faculty members completed the Community-Based Learning (CBL) Institute, a three-day training designed to assist faculty in developing a new community-based learning course or modify an existing course to include a service-learning component:

• Mary Z. Ashlock, Communications
• Jessica Eggleston, Urban and Public Affairs
• Patrick C. Exmeyer, Urban and Public Affairs
• Michael Losavio, Criminal Justice
• Mary Mudd, Communications
• Samiyyah Sledge, Biology

Henry R. Cunningham, faculty and Director of Community Engagement co-facilitated with Lora Haynes, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, while Angela Story, department of Anthropology, and Shelby Pumphrey, Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, served as resources for the training and shared about their experience teaching CBL courses. Kudos to both Institute leaders and participants for strengthening the College’s community engagement practices.

Human Resources

Vaccinations: Any member of the UofL community can schedule a COVID, Flu, or Monkeypox vaccine or booster for themselves at the patient portal:  https://louisvilleportal.pointnclick.com/.  Click here for instructions. For more information, visit the Campus Health homepage.

Remote Work: The Fall Remote Work Policy, which allows up to one remote day per week, began on August 14 and will end on December 15. Staff should display their complete work schedule physically and electronically, including approved remote work. Approved and completed Remote Work Agreements should be submitted to ashumres@louisville.edu.

Bi-weekly Timesheet Approval: We’re sending an important reminder to all bi-weekly employees and their supervisors to be sure to submit, review and approve timesheets every two weeks before the timesheet lockout. The payroll office reminds us that the University is now using positive pay which means employees must submit their timesheet and supervisors must approve them before the deadline for employees to get paid.  It’s a good idea to pull the 2023 Biweekly Payroll Processing Calendar Payroll Processing Calendars — Finance and Administration (louisville.edu) and add the payroll lockout deadlines to your Outlook calendar. Timesheets lock at Noon on the Monday after a pay period. Employees will not be able to enter missing hours until timesheets reopen on Thursday.  Biweekly and monthly employees all request time off via their Workday Absence Calendar.

The Correct Time on Behalf of Employee Quick Reference Guide provides step-by-step instructions on viewing, correcting and submitting an employee’s time for a specific pay period. The Supervisor Timesheet Approval Quick Reference Guide provides step-by-step instructions on approving an employee’s time for a specific pay period.  If the timesheet approver will be on vacation, they can delegate the task of reviewing time by following the steps on the “Set Up Delegation” and other tips by visiting Quick Reference Guides on the Workday website, including requesting time off.

Incogneato: The College of Arts & Sciences has an anonymous feedback system called Incogneato. The A&S Staff Association is another option if you have concerns. Email asgrievance@lousiville.edu. 

Workday: In conjunction with our UofL HR Outreach Partners, we will be hosting Workday overview sessions. Whether you are a Workday novice or use the software every day, these sessions will be an opportunity to receive an overview of some of the new processes that have replaced PeopleSoft, including time entry, recruiting, search committees and more.  One-hour sessions will be held Tuesday, August 29 from 20 – 11am on TEAMs, followed by a hybrid, in-person session on Wednesday, August 30 from 2 – 3pm in BAB218. The sessions are the same so you need only sign up for one.  Please be sure to respond to the email invitation. 

Staff Heritage Luncheon

Above: Clest Lanier, Lisa Schonburg, Dr. Charles Pooser, and Ramonia Brents

By Ramonia Brents, Coordinator

The DECC office designated July as French American Heritage Month and sponsored a luncheon celebration that did not disappoint. A wonderful presentation by our guest speaker, Dr. Charles Pooser, focused on the three population groups who define the Francophone-American heritage. We learned that “francophone” are people with a French heritage and language background. In the 16^th century, the first major French population migrated to the United States. They were called Huguenots. They were French Protestants seeking to escape religious persecution by the Catholic church. Notable celebrities with Huguenot ancestry are the late Betty Davis, the late Marlon Brando and George Clooney. The second largest group of Francophone people migrated from the Acadian area in Canada (Nova Scotia). They called themselves Acadians rather than French. A large group settled in the state of Louisiana during the 17th and 18th centuries to become plantation farmers (and slaveholders) and fishers in the shrimp industry. They were ancestors of Louisiana Cajun people. The third largest group came from Haiti during the 19th century because of the Haitian revolution. This group is of mixed cultural heritage, predominately African and Caribbean. They are also descendants of free and formerly colonized and enslaved people. Other than the French language and Catholicism, we learned that these three francophone groups share little culture but have their own distinct cultural practices and traditions in America.

Dr. Pooser is an Associate Professor of French and International Studies at Indiana University Southeast. His scholarly activity focuses on historical linguistics, French language pedagogy and Francophone cultural studies, with a particular emphasis on francophone film, music, and literature; Creole language and culture; and the integration of francophone culture and language history into the classroom.

We were delighted to welcome our new A&S Dean, Dr. Dayna Touron. “Merci beaucoup ” to you and all who joined us this month.  Also, “Merci à tous”  to our amazing volunteers who serve on the heritage luncheon committee—Jason Boydstun, Ramonia Brents, Yolanda Demaree, Clest Lanier, Lisa Schonburg, and Dr. Jason Sievers—for your dedication each month in planning and organizing these luncheons. “Merci pour votre aide” to Rae Stillwell, our honorary member, for the beautiful promotional flyers. 

We enjoyed French cuisine from The Wiltshire Pantry, which featured Quiche, mixed green salad, classic Éclair with pastry cream and chocolate Ganache, also known as Parisian cream. Look for us in September when we celebrate Latinx/Hispanic Heritage Month!

Upcoming Events

A beloved professor emeritus in the Hite Art Institute who passed away earlier this year is the subject of a new exhibit at the Speed Art Museum, entitled, "Louisville’s Black Avant-Garde: Robert L. Douglas." Robert L. Douglas (1934–2023) was a prolific visual artist and longtime resident of Louisville’s West End, a former community organizer, and a teacher and mentor to generations of artists and thinkers. Featuring more than 30 paintings, drawings, prints, and sculptures, the exhibit presents rarely seen work from throughout Douglas’s career, demonstrating the breadth of his practices and the continued relevance of his work in examining and reflecting the Black community in Louisville. The exhibit runs June 30 - Oct. 1, 2023, 2nd floor, Chellgren Gallery. Read more on the Speed Museum's website and in this review by Forbes magazine.

As part of the "1st Thursdays" series of community events at Speed, David Anderson, Associate Professor of English, and Brandon McCormack, Chair of Pan African Studies, will hold a “Talk Back” conversation at 6:00-7:00 pm, Thursday, September 7, 2023. Read more. 

Sara Noori, Program Coordinator Senior in the Hite Institute of Art & Design, and Louisville artist Braylyn Resko Stewart created a first-of-its kind, site-specific mural in the Speed Art Museum’s gallery surrounding Amy Sherald’s portrait of Breonna Taylor. Sherald’s portrait of Breonna Taylor, “In the Garden,” runs through November 26 at the Speed Art Museum. The exhibit is comprised of a collection of artworks partially inspired by “Breonna’s Garden,” a virtual reality experience co-created by Ju’Niyah Palmer, Breonna Taylor’s younger sister. For more information, please visit the website.

The Delphi Center for Teaching and Learning offers these upcoming trainings:

Reading Circles,  aka Inclusive Teaching Circles

The goals of this certificate program are to formally acknowledge efforts to promote inclusivity in the classroom and to encourage faculty to share their learning with colleagues in the College. If you are interested in earning the A&S certificate for your engagement and professional development in this Circle, all you need to do is:

1. Engage in the Reading Circle/Inclusive Teaching Circle (ITC) according to the Delphi Center for Teaching and Learning guidelines & expectations. This includes providing feedback on your experience.
2. Share your learning with peers in A&S before the end of the Spring 2024 semester.

Register by August 25, 2023 at: https://louisville.edu/delphi/programs/reading-circles

Teaching Onboarding

New to teaching at UofL? Kickstart the semester by connecting with a series of resources, tools and strategies aligned with the cadence of the academic semester. Instructors can choose to take advantage of easily accessible resources online or engage with peers while earning a certificate by enrolling in the semester-long online cohort course. Learn more and register at uofl.me/teaching-onboarding

 Teach in the TILL

Located in Ekstrom Library, the Teaching Innovation Learning Lab (TILL) is a collaborative learning space featuring rich technology resources and flexible furniture arrangements designed to increase student engagement and promote active learning. Learn more and sign up to teach in the TILL at uofl.me/Teach-TILL.

Join Microsoft Teams Meeting or dial-in at 502-792-9582 (Conference ID: 266 387 272 198# Passcode: kxhTvM)

The Departments of Chemistry and Physics & Astronomy are delighted to host a public lecture by Prof. Brett A. McGuire (pictured below) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) entitled, “A Century of Interstellar Molecular Discovery,” open to UofL faculty, staff, students, and the general public. A reception will commence at 2 PM, with light drinks and refreshments available. The lecture will run from 2:30-3:30 PM at UofL’s Gheens Science Hall & Rauch Planetarium (106 W Brandeis Ave) on Thursday, September 7.

On Friday, September 8, Prof. Brett McGuire (pictured below) will present a scientific lecture entitled “The PAH Revolution: Cold, Dark Carbon at the Earliest Stages of Star Formation,” in the Belknap Academic Building (BAB) 130 from 4 to 5 PM.

Brett McGuire earned his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2009 and his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the California Institute of Technology in 2014. He was a National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) Jansky Fellow and later a NASA Hubble Fellow from 2014-20, working with both the NRAO and the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. In 2020 he embarked on a faculty position at MIT and currently holds the title of the Class of 1943 Career Development Assistant Professor of Chemistry. The McGuire Group’s research employs physical chemistry, molecular spectroscopy, and observational astrophysics to explore the chemical precursors to life and their role in the formation of stars and planets. For any inquiries or to arrange a meeting with Prof. McGuire, please contact Prof. Jinjun Liu at j.liu@louisville.edu.

All are invited to the 10^th anniversary of former A&S Dean Blaine Hudson’s passing at the University Club on Saturday, Sept. 9, from 1-4pm. Attendees are asked to make a $50+ donation to the Hudson Legacy Scholarship (G2720) at http://give.louisville.edu/BlaineHudsonScholar, which will serve as their RSVP to the event. 

30th Anniversary of the UofL African American Theatre Program: Black Light Awards Gala, “Changing the World One Performance at a Time." We will produce a dynamic large-scale event to highlight the African American Theatre Program alumni who have built lifelong careers in the theatre and film industry and have made a significant impact both locally, nationally, and internationally. The gala is a black-tie affair and will feature a keynote speaker anticipated to be a celebrity and/or nationally recognized theatre artist. Our vision is to host an evening full of powerful celebration and honor for the three decades of groundbreaking accomplishments which have led to this special 30th anniversary. In so doing, this gala presents an invaluable opportunity to serve as a fundraiser to continue fortifying this legacy and ensuring the expansive growth of the program. Saturday, September 30, 2023, 6:00–10:00pm, Louisville Central Community Center, 1300 W. Muhammad Ali Blvd, Louisville, KY 40203. For more information contact LaShondra Hood at aatpta@louisville.edu. RSVP by August 31. Tickets