February 5, 2024

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce that I have appointed Angela Storey, Associate Professor of Anthropology, as the new director of the Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research (ABI), succeeding Brandon McCormack, who stepped down to become Chair of the Department of Pan-African Studies. Dr. Storey is an accomplished cultural anthropologist and engaged scholar who researches community-based work for social justice in the context of urban inequality, including in South Africa and in Louisville. She is also a former faculty fellow and board member for the ABI co-directed Cooperative Consortium for Transdisciplinary Social Justice Research.

Dr. Storey will build on the legacy of Drs. Hudson, Fosl, and McCormack in honor of Anne Braden’s dedication to racial justice and radical solidarity. With 40+ affiliate faculty from 18 departments across four academic units, ABI has a robust set of engaged, justice-minded scholars invested in its success, and Dr. Storey has been one of those affiliates for nearly four years. ABI is part of the A&S Office of Diversity, Engagement, Culture, and Climate, reporting to the Associate Dean of DECC, Sherri L. Wallace, Ph.D.

As director of ABI, Dr. Storey’s focus will be on 1) growing the research mission by deepening existing ABI programs, including the community advisory board, digital resources, historical tours, and annual lecture, 2) expanding the involvement of faculty and students through faculty fellowships, research projects, and class collaboratives, and 3) developing work in critical areas of intersectional social justice, specifically environmental and climate justice.

Dr. Storey brings to the position considerable experience and skills in administration, community organizing, and community-engaged scholarship. Further, her scholarship is driven by the same goals that fueled her organizing, and she has conducted research alongside many kinds of community partners, from city governments to radical social movements, and community groups to NGOs.

Please join me in congratulating Angela and wishing her success at the helm of ABI.

Sincerely,

Dayna Touron, Dean, College of Arts & Sciences

Research Agenda

National Science Foundation Grant: Research Experiences for Teachers Sites in Biological Sciences (BIORETS)

Congratulations to the Department of Biology on its award of $591,052 from the National Science Foundation to host local high school teachers to conduct research in urban ecology and study environmental justice--and especially to Principal Investigator Linda Fuselier, Professor and Chair of Biology, and co-PI Justin McFadden, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Science Education in the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD). This BIORETS site award is a collaboration with colleagues in the Departments of English and Geography as well as CEHD and Nursing.

The grant will support the training of 24 teachers for six weeks during the summer and one week during the academic year. Starting in 2024, three cohorts of teachers will be recruited from Jefferson County Public Schools. Historically disenfranchised students in the district often come from neighborhoods that have been negatively impacted by urbanization, which has been further compounded by climate-mediated environmental degradation. Project success will be measured via the development and integration of NGSS-aligned instructional units that engage students in relevant, context-specific phenomenon focused on urban ecology and environmental justice.

High school teachers will work with experienced scientists from the Biology Department on lab and field-based urban ecology research addressing the following topics: a) impacts of human disturbance on songbird reproduction, b) ability of insects to respond to climate change; c) human – wildlife interactions and tick distributions; d) invasive plant – arthropod interactions in disturbed habitats, e) greenhouse gas emissions in urban and rural aquatic systems; and f) impacts of urban heat island effects and light pollution on cave salamander populations in local parks.

Teachers will participate in summer workshops highlighting research ethics, experimental design, and hypothesis testing. Recruitment of participating teachers will be led by an investigator in collaboration with district leadership. For more information about the program, contact linda.fuselier@louisville.edu or justin.mcfadden@louisville.edu.

Community Engagement

Left to right: Aaron Rollins, Linda Fuselier, Kaitlyn Damron (biology student), Dayna Touron, Glen Elmers, Cherie Elmers, Ameerah Palacios from HDR, Asma Addarrat-Edwards, Yeimy Pina Perez (INSPIRE director), and Emmanuel Collins

HDR Foundation’s Investment Expands UofL’s INSPIRE Program

The HDR Foundation has announced a significant investment of $50,000 to expand UofL's INSPIRE Program ("Increasing Student Preparedness and Interest in the Requests for Engineering"), a summer enrichment dedicated to introducing engineering to students from historically underserved populations across Louisville-area high schools.

The financial support from HDR Foundation, made possible thanks to a generous gift from Cherie and Glen Ellmers, will facilitate the inclusion of a new biology and sustainability curriculum within the INSPIRE Program. This expansion aims to enhance the experience for approximately 20 students who attend the week-long camp each summer, providing them with a broader understanding of STEM fields and fostering their interest in engineering, biology, and sustainability. Glen Ellmers recently retired as president of HDR’s global water program, a top five water business program comprising more than 1,600 employees.

"With HDR's generous investment, the INSPIRE Program will see significant enhancements, providing a holistic educational experience to our participants," said Dayna Touron, Ph.D., dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. "This investment not only supports the expansion of the curriculum but also enables us to offer a real-life, on-campus experience to the students during the INSPIRE Summer Camp."

The proposed enhancements include Biology and Sustainability Days, where participants will delve into disciplines such as drip irrigation, water research, composting, creating headphones, slime cell graphs, 3D printing, laser cutting, and biomedical engineering demonstrations using real organs. Read more.

Comm 301: Strategic Communication and Event Planning

Event planning requires a high-in-demand skill set that includes communications, logistics, project management, relationship building, design savvy, and much more. As part of Prof. Beth Mattingly Denham's Comm 301 course, she exposes students to event venues all over the city, where they meet with professionals who plan events at every level of execution. Students are intellectually engaging with the Louisville community, gaining professional experience, making theoretical connections in real-time, and having a great experience to boot!

Kudos

Kudos to DJ Biddle, Director of the Center for Geographic and Environmental Sciences, on his recent appointment by Governor Beshear to the Geographic Information Advisory Council for a four-year term. He will be representing the Kentucky Association of Mapping Professionals on this body, which advises the Commonwealth's Chief Information Officer on issues relating to geographic information and geographic information systems (GIS). “I’m very excited to have this opportunity to serve on this important body,” said Biddle. Read more about the Council here."

Congratulations to Calvin R. Coker, Assistant Professor of Communication, and Communication B.A. alum Abigail Faulstick on the publication of their article, “(Re)productive Dissent: Reproductive Justice in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization” published online in the 23 January 2024 edition of Women’s Studies in Communication. The article examines reproductive justice in the dissents of Dobbs v. Jackson, the case that overturned Roe and Casey. Read the article here.

Congratulations to Chuck Ziegler, Professor of Political Science and University Scholar, for book news on multiple fronts:

His latest work has just been published: Russia in the Pacific: The Quest for Great Power Status (Oxford University Press, January 2024--see book cover above) approaches the puzzle of why Russia, with much of its huge territory straddling Asia, has not had more success in establishing a position as a great power in the Asia Pacific. Structural factors constraining Russian regional aspirations include geography, demographic imbalances, and persistent low levels of economic development. Institutional factors--the hyper-centralized, secretive character of Russian foreign policy making, bureaucratic competition, and dominance of a single powerful executive--have also been constraints. Starting with Russian imperial expansion in the late 19th century, Ziegler considers the impact of the Russo-Japanese War on late tsarist Russian autocracy and assesses Soviet Asian initiatives under Stalin and his successors during the Cold War. He examines the diplomatic, economic and military dimensions of Vladimir Putin's pivot toward the Asia Pacific. Finally, he examines the diplomatic, economic, and military dimensions of Vladimir Putin's pivot toward the Asia Pacific.
Bloomsbury reissued his History of Russia: Second Edition (Greenwood, 2009) in paperback in January 2024. This work moves from the 10th-century founding of Kievan Rus to the czars to the Communist Era, with particular emphasis on the fall of the Soviet Union and the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, and Vladimir Putin.
Finally, the New York Public Library will issue his Environmental Policy in the USSR (University of Massachusetts Press, 1990) as a digital book for their collection.

In Memoriam

The Department of Classical and Modern Languages (CML) is sad to report the unexpected and untimely passing of their beloved colleague, Dr. Mary Makris. She will be sorely missed. Everyone who knew her appreciated her sense of humor and her polite collegial interaction. She went out of her way to help students, colleagues, friends, and strangers. Her absence will leave a void in many lives, but Mary will always be remembered for her kindness and good deeds.

She taught a wide range of courses in Spanish, from intermediate to advanced levels, including independent studies courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. She also taught graduate courses in the Department of Comparative Humanities. She served as major professor for many M.A. students in Spanish and was also a member of Ph.D. committees in English and the Humanities Division, including one as major advisor.

She collaborated with Phyllis Zatlin on the volume Writers to Remember: Memoirs of Friendships in Spain and France (Estreno Studies, 2014) and published numerous chapters in books and articles in journals and selected proceedings. Her focus was on the literature of Spain with special attention to poetry. She became a faculty member in 1991 and was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 1998. She received her B.A in Spanish from Indiana University-Purdue University-Ft. Wayne, her M.A. in Spanish from Kansas University in 1979, and her Ph.D. in Spanish poetry from Rutgers University in 1990.

Her obituary may be found in the Louisville Courier-Journal: https://www.courier-journal.com/obituaries/psbn0707407.

Calls for Applications & Nominations

KYNETIC Product Development Grants

Faculty, staff, trainees, and students are encouraged to apply for KYNETIC Product Development Grants (Kentucky Network for Innovation and Commercialization). Cycle 9 pre-application submissions are now open. Pre-applications will be due February 13th, 2024, by 5:00pm ET. Submission portal. If you have questions or need assistance with your pre-application, please contact us to share your product idea at kynetic@louisville.edu.

Funded by the NIH, KYNETIC offers entrepreneurial education and product development grants to accelerate the translation of academic innovations into biomedical products by investigators throughout the Commonwealth of Kentucky. KYNETIC is led by the University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, and Kentucky Commercialization Ventures (KCV).

UofL Presidential Excellence Awards

The Employee Success Center is now accepting nominations for the university-wide "presidential" awards through February 15, 2024. For more information and to submit nominations, visit their awards website.

Nominations for the Woodcock Medal

Nominations for the Woodcock Medal are now being accepted through March 6 by emailing joy.hart@louisville.edu. The Woodcock Medal is the most prestigious recognition of accomplishment by an A&S undergraduate and is awarded each year to “an outstanding senior whose personal characteristics and superior scholarship give promise of constructive leadership in society.” The A&S Honors Thesis Committee selects the nominee for the Woodcock Medal on the basis of a student’s record and faculty recommendation. Students completing summa projects are often strong candidates, but faculty members are also encouraged to nominate exceptional students who did not choose to engage in a summa project. Students eligible for nomination include those who graduated in December 2023 and those who will graduate in May 2024. The Committee will meet in March to consider candidates.

ABI Social Justice Awards Now Open

The Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research (ABI) is accepting submissions for the 17th-Annual Social Justice Research Paper and Multimedia Awards. All UofL undergraduate and graduate students are eligible to apply.

Multimedia Submissions due by Sunday, March 31, by 11:59pm
Paper Submissions due by Monday, April 22, by 11:59pm

View full guidelines and the application here. For questions, email uoflabi@louisville.edu.

Human Resources

W-2s available in Workday

Form W-2 is an Internal Revenue Service tax form used in the United States to report wages paid to employees and the taxes withheld from them. W-2s were placed in the mail to UofL employees Jan. 25. W-2s are also available in Workday. Log into Workday; go to Benefits and Pay; and select the "My Tax Documents" link under "Tasks and Reports" at the top of the page. For questions about the W-2, email Payroll Services. For questions about accessing your W-2, email Workday.

2023 Performance Evaluations

PE's will follow the same process as last year due to the performance evaluation configuration of Workday still undergoing testing to ensure that system quality and standards are met. Resources, including training, will be available on the Performance Evaluations webpage. The deadline for uploading performance evaluations to OnBase is March 15. For questions, email Employee Relations.

A&S Events

All are invited to join the Center for Asian Democracy for a lecture by Robert Hefner, of Boston University’s Pardee School of Global Studies, who to discuss Islam, Democracy, and Citizenship in Indonesia. Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim-majority country and a vibrant democracy. Its February 2024 elections will bring well over 100 million Indonesians to the polls. How does Islam impact democracy and citizenship in the country? And could new trends challenge established patterns of pluralism? February 5, 12 noon - 1 pm, Ford Hall 307. Register here and request an online link, if desired. See flyer above.

Louisville's Immigration Landscape: Achievements and Challenges

How is Louisville’s immigrant population changing? How do local and state policies affect immigrants in Louisville? How can the city and UofL further promote inclusivity and social justice? Join us for a panel discussion with Amos Izerimana, director of international and immigrant affairs, Louisville Metro Government, Melanie Gast, Department of Sociology and Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice, and Matthew Ruther, director, Urban Studies Institute and Kentucky State Data Center, Department of Urban & Public Affairs. Refreshments will be served. Wednesday, Feb. 7, 12-1:30 p.m., Belknap Academic Building, room 218. For more information, email janna@louisville.edu, visit the webpage, and see flyer below.

Martin Kippenberger: Everything Is Everywhere is the first scholarly monograph in English on West German artist Martin Kippenberger, one of the most prominent artists of the 1980s. In this book, Dr. Chris Reitz, director and Chair of the Hite Institute of Art + Design, where he also serves as Associate Professor of Critical and Curatorial Studies, shows that the condition of Kippenberger's art was an endless, enthusiastic searching, constrained by the impossibility of fulfillment.

Kippenberger founded a museum in Greece, invested in a fashion business and a restaurant, and even bought a gas station in Brazil. He made art in a dizzying range of genres, from paintings to poetry, from posters to stickers. He made art out of his appetites too, producing art on the theme of his alcoholism. Intensely entrepreneurial, Kippenberger carried out an artistic practice in which his diverse endeavors, and the people who joined him in them, were all connected in a sprawling network. Reitz deftly presents Kippenberger's career as an allegory of the neoliberal networks of capital, technology, and culture that spanned Europe and America in the 1980s.

16). The format is a 30-40 minute presentation from a variety of speakers throughout the year, followed by 15-20 minutes of open discussion.

Anyone with an interest in sustainability can give talks at the speaker series and participate in the audience, including faculty, staff, students, practitioners, teachers, government officials, and members of the public. If you would like to give a presentation, or would like to hear a particular speaker, please contact Tamara Sluss. Join Microsoft Teams Meetingor dial-in at 502-792-9582(Conference ID: 266 387 272 198# Passcode: kxhTvM)

Dan Waterman, editor-in-chief at the University of Alabama Press, will be on campus to give a presentation, “Navigating the University Press Ecosystem." You need not be looking at Alabama specifically as a potential press—Dan will be here to offer general advice and feedback on project proposals, project ideas, etc., from his perspective as a long-time academic editor. (He will also hold 10 one-on-one meetings with faculty, but all of those slots have been taken.) Friday, February 16, noon-1:30 pm, HUM 300.

Join us for the College of Arts & Sciences's Black History Month program on Thursday evening, February 22. Registration & Reception – 5:30p.m. 6:00p.m. Program. R.S.V.P. here. See flyer below.

The College will soon be hosting the 51^st annual Louisville conference on Literature and Culture with a full slate of activities, February 19-20 virtual, and February 22-24 in-person. The conference is free to UofL students, staff, and faculty. Register here.

Highlights include a keynote featuring UofL Professor of Jazz Studies Jerry Tolson in a conversation on jazz and poetry with A. B. Spellman, a leading poet of the Black Arts Movement, a pioneering critic of Bebop-era jazz, and--as of February 4, 2024--a Grammy Award winner! “Passion for Bach and Coltrane” won for Best Classical Compilation, on which Spellman orates his poetry that will appear in his next book, Between the Night and Its Music: New and Selected Poems (Fall 2024, Wesleyan University Press).

Other keynotes include the multi-talented writer Maxine Chernoff and the cultural critic Anna Kornbluh. With over 80 events in both English and Spanish as well as sessions on various aspects of world literature and culture, LCLC51 promises to be another milestone for a unique conference that happens only here at the University of Louisville.

All are invited to the Hispanic Heritage Lecture by Dr. Emmanuelle Sinardet, University of Paris Nanterre, “Representations of Indigenous People in Ecuador: ‘We are all equal . . . but some are more equal than others.'" The concept of "racism of alteration," coined by Claude-Olivier Doron, distinguishes itself from "racism of otherness." While the latter implies an almost insurmountable barrier, the former envisions a potential improvement for groups described as degenerate or degraded. This talk explores how the "racism of alteration," as articulated by Doron, characterized the discourses and practices of liberal governments in Ecuador during the period 1895-1925.

Organized by the Latin American and Latino Studies program with the support of the Visiting Scholars Program of Liberal Studies and Hispanic, Latinx, and Indigenous Initiatives. Wednesday, February 21, 1:00 - 2:00 pm, BAB 218. Public Welcome. Light refreshments served. For more information, contact Dr. Manuel F. Medina at manuel.medina@louisville.edu. See flyer below.

The Department of Theatre Arts presents Gem of the Ocean by August Wilson, February 23 - March 3. Opening night is Friday, February 23, curtain at 7:30 pm, preceded by a Director's Circle reception at 6:30 pm with director and Department Chair Shona Tucker sharing conversation and insights about the production. Wine and snacks provided. Belknap Playhouse, 1911 South 3rd Street, Louisville.

Set in 1904, August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean begins on the eve of Aunt Ester's 285th birthday. When Citizen Barlow comes to her Pittsburgh's Hill District home seeking asylum, she sets him off on a spiritual journey to find a city in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Gem of the Ocean is the ninth work in Wilson's ten-play cycle, which has recorded the American Black experience and helped to define generations. The Broadway run starred Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad as Aunt Ester and received five Tony Award nominations. Ben Brantley of the New York Times wrote, "A swelling battle hymn of transporting beauty. Theatergoers who have followed August Wilson's career will find in Gem a touchstone for everything else he has written." See flyer below.

The 2024 Watson Conference in Rhetoric and Composition will be on the theme of "CREATE, CONNECT, REFLECT: Launching Collaborations and (Re)building Community in Our Fields." The fourteenth Thomas R. Watson Conference in Rhetoric and Composition will offer a space for launching collaborative projects; by the end of the conference, each group will have presented a project deliverable at the showcase and will be free to continue their collaboration thereafter. February 28 – March 1 (virtual) and March 7-9 (in person).

The Watson Conference in Rhetoric and Composition is a biennial event hosted by the English Department and funded by the Thomas R. Watson Endowment. In 1995 Dr. Thomas R. Watson, a Louisville physician, banker, and entrepreneur, donated $1.2 million to endow a biennial International Conference in Rhetoric and Composition and a Visiting Distinguished Professorship. The gift is a mark not only of Dr. Watson's extraordinary generosity but also of his imaginative and far-sighted vision. He believed in the fundamental importance of a literate citizenry, and of the vital task faced by the liberal arts in educating students to become critical, active, and engaged readers and writers. More information.

All are invited to the Department of Communication's Communication Showcase, a time where we highlight interesting classes, innovative research, impactful community engagement, impressive international opportunities, and helpful resources. Wednesday, March 27, 10 am -12 noon in the lobby of Strickler. See flyer below.

UofL Events

Upcoming Delphi Center Sessions on AI

Artificial Intelligence: So, How Does it Work? During this foundational session on artificial intelligence (AI) in education, participants will discuss many of the fundamental principles underlying AI and explore its diverse applications across the educational landscape. We will also navigate some of the conversations relating to the ethical use of AI, discussing the limitations and considerations associated with this transformative technology. Participants will leave this session with a basic understanding of what AI is, what it may help us achieve and the ethical dimensions guiding its development. Friday, February 23, 2 - 3:30 p.m. in the TILL Classroom, 3rd Fl. of Ekstrom Library

Leveraging ChatGPT and Firefly to Increase Personal Productivity. Discover the untapped potential of generative AI to supercharge your productivity as an academic. This hands-on session introduces some practical applications of generative AI, empowering you to streamline many of your day-to-day workflows. You will leave this session with personalized strategies to integrate generative AI tools into your daily routines, unlocking new levels of efficiency and and productivity. Friday, March 22, 9 - 10:30 a.m. in the TILL Classroom, 3rd Fl. of Ekstrom Library

Using ChatGPT and Firefly to Support Student Learning. This session explores innovative ways to incorporate AI into the classroom, engaging students and enriching learning experiences across disciplines. You will learn how to navigate discussions on AI with students as well as gain practical insights and strategies for seamlessly integrating AI concepts into your courses. Friday, April 19, 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. in the TILL Classroom, 3rd Fl. of Ekstrom Library

Grant writing workshops: Register now for either of the two remaining grant writing workshops taking place on March 1 and May 14, 2024, 12 noon - 1:30 pm, from the Office of Community Engagement, Office of the Provost, and Office of Institutional Equity for faculty, staff, and graduate students. Workshops will introduce the basics of grant writing from the lenses of community engagement, present the foundation for developing a letter of inquiry and a full proposal, provide approaches to engage funders, and provide insights into the review process. Register at this link.

College of Arts & Sciences

Monday Memo, February 5, 2024