Dear A&S Colleagues, 

Most of you have heard the bittersweet news that Joshua Boydstun is leaving UofL, but fortunately we'll have an opportunity to recognize what an amazing colleague he has been. Josh served terms as ULASSA president and ULASSA secretary; as UofL representative to the statewide executive board of United Campus Workers of Kentucky; and as a diversity advocate on hiring committees. He gave an illuminating presentation on Jewish culture at a Staff Heritage Luncheon and was a member of that planning committee. He served as a temporary Web Developer during the year when the College was without one in 2021-22. Josh's A&S Award for Outstanding Performance in 2023 was incredibly well deserved.

Comparative Humanities Department Chair Pam Beattie wants to give everyone a chance to say good-bye and express their appreciation for how much Josh has done for their department and the College and to wish him well as he begins a new chapter in the northeast. You are all invited to attend and create some final memories with Josh prior to his departure. Wednesday, March 6, 1:00-3:00 pm in Humanities 300. Light refreshments will be served.

The A&S Book Club is a small but mighty group who gather once a month at lunchtime to share in the joys of reading and good conversation. Launched in the summer of 2021, it is currently seeking new members. If you would like to learn more about how the book club is structured and the variety of titles read, and to meet current members, you are invited to Humanities 300 on Tuesday, March 19, 12 noon - 1:30 pm. See flyer below. 

Sincerely,

Julie Wrinn, Chief of Staff

Student Reseach Support

Biology professors Mikus Abolins-Abols, Cindy Corbett, and Rachel Neal have been awarded an NIH/NIEHS R25 summer research program grant. The funding runs for five years with a total award of $659,787 to enable the Kentucky Environmental Education Program (KEEP) to train 10 undergrads each summer with a 2-week bootcamp followed by 8 weeks in a research lab focusing on environmental health sciences. Preference will be given to students who are underrepresented minorities, disabled, or otherwise disadvantaged.

Kudos

Congratulations to Lauren Freeman, Professor Philosophy, and UofL philosophy alum Heather Stewart, now Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Oklahoma State University, on the publication of their book, Microaggressions in Medicine (Oxford University Press, February 27, 2024). Guided by diverse patient testimonies and case studies, the book focuses on the harms that such patients face when they are marginalized based on their race, gender, sexual orientation, body size, or disability. Microaggressions in medicine are not rare, but frequent in the healthcare experiences of marginalized patients. Recognizing this can help patients better understand and make sense of their experiences. As bioethicists Lauren Freeman and Heather Stewart argue, building such an awareness can also help current and future healthcare professionals recognize the serious and enduring consequences that microaggressions have on their patients. Freeman and Stewart offer practical strategies for healthcare professionals to reduce microaggressions in their practices. See book cover below. Also see book release party details under "A&S Events," below. 

Sherri Wallace, Ph.D., was mentioned as an inspiration and role model by recent graduate Carmen Ellison. In the January 19 edition of the Monday Memo we shared how Carmen is one of the youngest students ever to graduate from Jefferson County Public Schools when she earned her diploma from Seneca High School at age 15. Carmen went on to become one of UofL's youngest alums, graduating with a bachelor’s in political science in just two-and-a-half years, at age 18. View Spectrum News's profile of Carmen and the shout-out to Dr. Wallace!

Kudos to Li Zeng, Professor of Chinese and Department Chair, on the recent publication of his book, The Art of Allusion in Chinese Poetry: Analysing the Works of Li Shangyin (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, December 2023). Framed within Chinese traditional poetics about allusion, the book focuses on the rhetorical function of allusion in Li Shangyin’s (ca. 812-858) poems. The book draws attention to the non-allegorical similarity between the poet’s spiritual solitude and a lovelorn woman’s life in Li’s love poems, shedding light on conventional interpretations of gendered poetic images as allegory for the political relationship between the ruler and the official. Read more and see book cover below.

Community Service

A&S Food Drive for Cardinal Cupboard

Acting on a suggestion by Yolanda Demaree, A&S recently held a food drive for Cardinal Cupboard. We delivered items to SAC W312 on February 20, and several other departments delivered their donations in the days that followed. Monetary donations were also made as part of the drive. In response, the Cardinal Cupboard team wrote:

The Cardinal Cupboard would like to extend our gratitude to the College of Arts & Sciences for donating 387 total pounds of food and hygiene products. Thanks to the generosity of the College of Arts & Sciences, the Cardinal Cupboard is able to fulfill its mission to increase accessibility to food and health products to members of the Cardinal community in an effort to reduce their financial burden. Thank you again and should you ever want to donate in the future, please feel free to reach out to us at elsbccfp@louisville.edu or on our website. 

Well done, A&S colleagues! 

Calls for Applications & Nominations

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.

2024 Trustees Award: Call for Nominations

Nominations for the 2024 Trustees Award will be accepted until April 1, at 5 p.m. The UofL Board of Trustees established the Trustees Award to honor faculty who have had, currently or in the past, an extraordinary impact on students. The recipient will receive a commemorative plaque and a $5,000 award. The Trustees Award will be presented to the recipient at the Annual Faculty & Staff Excellence Awards Reception on April 18, 6-8 p.m., in the Student Activities Center ballroom. See the Trustees Award webpage for more information and to submit a nomination. For questions, email Jake Beamer or call 852-5795.

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. See flyer below.

Human Resources

New Health Advocate Digital Experience Is Live 

Health Advocate’s website has updated and features enhanced tools, resources, and curated content to help you find your path to well-being. Registration and log-in on Health Advocate’s website will stay the same, and instructions are located on the Get Healthy Now website. We encourage you to take advantage of all the benefits Health Advocate provides.

UofL Staff and Faculty Wellness Fest

Don’t miss Get Healthy Now’s (GHN) on-campus employee “Wellness Fest” April 16, 11 a.m.- 1 p.m., at the University Club. The Wellness Fest will showcase the university’s on-campus and external wellness partners and the services they provide our faculty and staff. Enjoy a light lunch, socialize with colleagues and visit our wellness partners to learn about how they can support your overall well-being. Get Healthy Now participants can earn 100 points toward their 2025 $40 GHN monthly incentive for attending. For more information and to register, visit the webpage.

A&S Events

Patricia Evangelista to Deliver Center for Asian Democracy's Annual Lecture

The Center for Asian Democracy’s Annual Lecture will feature Patricia Evangelista, an investigative reporter from the Philippines whose book, Some People Need Killing, (Penguin Random House) was named Time Magazine’s #1 Non-Fiction Book of 2023, a Top 5 Non-Fiction Book of 2023 by the New York Times, and called “a journalistic masterpiece” by David Remnick in The New Yorker. The book is based on Evangelista’s reporting on human rights during the “war on drugs” in the Philippines during the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte. The founder of her news outlet, Rappler, won the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize in large part because of Rappler’s reporting on human rights during the Duterte presidency. Tuesday, March 5, at 4:00 pm in the Speed Art Museum. A reception will follow. See flyer below.

Legislating Gender: A Conversation

Ahead of the annual Minx Auerbach lecture, its featured speaker, Dr. Paisley Currah, will be in conversation with Dr. Kaila Story, Audre Lorde Chair and Associate Professor of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies at University of Louisville. Thursday, March 7, 11:00 – 12:15 pm, Floyd Theatre in the Swain Student Activities Center. See flyer below.

Minx Auerbach Lecture in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

The 2024 Minx Auerbach Lecture in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies welcomes Dr. Paisley Currah, professor of Women’s and Gender Studies and Political Science at CUNY. From 2014–2019, he co-edited the leading journal in transgender studies, TSP: Transgender Studies Quarterly. He is the author of the award-winning book, Sex Is as Sex Does: Governing Transgender Identity. Thursday, March 7, 2024, 5:30 pm, Gheens Science Hall and Rauch Planetarium Auditorium. Streaming link. See flyer below.

Biology Seminar Series presents Howard Whiteman, amphibian conservation ecologist

The Biology Seminar Series will feature Howard Whiteman, Commonwealth Endowed Chair of environmental studies, professor of biological sciences and director of the Watershed Studies Institute at Murray State University. Whiteman leverages 35 years of data on tiger salamanders to reveal ecological and evolutionary changes over time. Whiteman’s work links the evolution of plasticity, response to climate change, predator-prey feedbacks, and amphibian conservation. The seminar is Friday, March 8, noon, Belknap Academic Building, room 128. For more information, visit the Whiteman Lab website or email Alycia Lackey.

14th Annual Watson Conference to Launch Collaborations & Rebuild Community in Rhetoric and Composition

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.

Rieger Speaker Series: Antar Tichavakunda

The Rieger Speaker Series' 2024 focus is on racial justice, equity, and inclusion in higher education, under the theme "Achieving and Fostering a Sense of Belonging in Higher Education in a Changing Political World." 

The first Rieger Speaker talk will be Antar Tichavakunda’s lecture, “Learning About Belonging Through Black Joy.” In this talk, Tichavakunda will draw from his research on Black student life to highlight lessons about a sense of belonging in an increasingly polarized and contentious higher education context. There will be a (modest) reception before the lecture.

Antar A. Tichavakunda received his Ph.D. in Urban Education Policy from the University of Southern California and is Assistant Professor of Race and Higher Education at the University of California Santa Barbara. Born and raised in Washington, DC, Tichavakunda is a product of the DC Public Schools and earned a BA in Education Studies from Brown University. Prior to his doctoral studies, Tichavakunda worked as an 11th grade English teacher in DC Public Schools. Using qualitative inquiry, Tichavakunda has engaged in research on college readiness, Black students’ experiences at predominantly White institutions, and more broadly the sociology of race and higher education. His published work can be found in Urban Education, Educational Policy, Race Ethnicity and Education, The Review of Higher Education, and Educational Studies. His first book, Black Campus Life: The World's Black Students Make at a Historically White Institution, is published with SUNY Press. For more information, contact: Michal Kofman, Ph.D. michal.kofman@louisville.edu. March 19, 2024, 6 PM, 139 Shumaker Research Building (SRB). See flyer below.

Sustainability Roundtables

The next Sustainability Roundtable will take place on Tuesday, March 19,  4:00pm to 4:50pm, and continue at the same time on alternate Tuesdays (4/2, 4/16). 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 Meeting or dial-in at 502-792-9582 (Conference ID: 266 387 272 198# Passcode: kxhTvM)

Dept. of Communication's Communication Showcase 

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.

Festival of Student Films: History in Movies

Mark your calendars: UofL student filmmakers' short films (10-minutes and under) on the theme of "The History in Movies" will be screened on Tuesday, April 2, 6:30 pm, at the Floyd Theatre. Submissions are due by March 6: see submission details above in section on "Calls for Applications and Nominations."

Microaggressions in Medicine book release party

Celebrate the upcoming publication of Microaggressions in Medicine (Oxford University Press, February 2024) by Lauren Freeman, Professor Philosophy, and UofL philosophy alum Heather Stewart. The celebration is being hosted by City Council Member Ben Reno-Weber at Douglass Community Center (2305 Douglass Blvd). At the event, Prof. Freeman will be in conversation with Dr. Eli Pendleton (Baptist Health), Dr. Jennifer Porter (Norton/UofL), and Oliver Hall (KY Health Justice Network), plus a Q+A with the audience and a book signing. Carmichael’s will be selling books, and refreshments will be provided. RSVP to the event here and see flyer below. 

UofL Events

Career & Internship Fair: Government, Public Administration, and Public Safety

Please spread the word to students that the spring Government, Public Administration, and Public Safety Career and Internship Fair is this Wednesday, March 6, 1-4 p.m. in the SAC Ballroom. It's a great opportunity for students to engage with employers about careers and/or internships in fields including advocacy, governmental relations, policy, city and county administration, urban planning, public affairs, community engagement, legal, corrections, and law enforcement. Students can view event details along with employers and programs that are registered in their Cardinal Careers account (cardinalcareers-csm.symplicity.com/students) or by visiting the Event Page or cardinalcareers-csm.symplicity.com/events/GPAPS2024.

Taste of Technology

UofL’s Digital Transformation Center is hosting their online Taste of Technology event on Thursday, March 28th from 9:30am - 2:30pm. The event kicks off at 9:45 am, featuring a different speaker every hour who will present free resources for students, faculty, and staff. Don’t miss the opportunity to learn more about the free resources that the University provides, while you can also engage with major tech companies!

• 9: 45 - 10:00 am - Introduction from the Digital Transformation Center
• 10:00 - 10:45 am - LinkedIn Learning
• 11:00 - 11:45 am - Adobe
• 12:00 - 1:00 pm - IBM Lecture
• 1:00 - 2:00 pm - Microsoft
• 2:00 - 2:30 pm - DTC Recap & Closing Insights – Unleashing Resources for Success

The event is free and open to all students, staff, and faculty. It’s okay log on just for the talks that interest you, but you have to register. See the announcement below for registration and event details. Upon registration, you'll receive a link to access the event at your convenience, enabling you to join and leave as you please. We look forward to your participation. Go to Registration. Go to the Event Page.

Upcoming Delphi Center Sessions on AI

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

New! Equity Champions Program

The Equity Champions Program brings educators together in supportive communities of transformation. Participants will apply easy-lift, high-impact practices shown to improve student success, gather student feedback, explore the larger contexts of this work, and empower efforts to support student success. Accepted and active participants will receive a $500 stipend. Instructors teaching at least one course during fall 2024 are eligible to apply. Learn more and apply here: https://louisville.edu/delphi/programs/equity-champions. Apply by April 1.

Grant writing workshops: Register now for the last remaining grant writing workshops taking place on 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.

It's a Wrap!

Above, left to right: Jerry Tolson and A. B. Spellman, photo by William Dickson.

Last month the Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture welcomed many of the world's most distinguished poets, writers, and theorists. With official registrations just shy of 350 attendees, the 2024 LCLC continued to satisfy with over 85 activities, including 8 virtual sessions followed by three days of in-person events. Under the directorship of Dr. Matthew Biberman (ENGLISH), LCLC51 offered its first ever joint event with the School of Music, a keynote conversation between UofL music professor Jerry Tolson and the Grammy award winning poet A. B. Spellman (pictured above).

Other events included a panel stream on the mixed media work of the celebrated artist John Yau, including a reading by Yau and his student Ronna Lobo, held at the Schneider Hall Gallery (organized by Tiffany Calvert, Professor of Art), as well as a panel on public mourning featuring sculptor and UofL alum Amanda Matthews, whose Frankfurt Covid memorial is the first such state memorial of its kind.

The most poignant moment of the conference came Saturday afternoon when the poetry world came together in a hastily arranged hybrid zoom session on our campus to mourn the loss of Lyn Hijinian, who had died that morning.  Alternating between Zoom and in-person speakers, the session brought many in the packed assembly to tears while listening to eulogies delivered from Russia to Paris, from Berkeley to Boston.

Thanks to CODRE funding, the LCLC was also able to host Gladys Tzul Tzul, a Maya K’iche’ activist, public intellectual, sociologist, and visual artist, who was one of the first to study indigenous communal politics and gender relationships in Guatemala.  Tzul Tzul's appearance capped the LCLC's Spanish offerings, highlighting the conference's commitment to supporting the practice, study and celebration of global art and culture. With its virtual programming, the LCLC is now attracting participants from all over the world, and Biberman expects to see international attendance to continue to grow.

The Black History Month program held on Thursday, February 22, 2024, featured guest speaker Dr. George C. Wright (above), a recipient of the Governor’s Award from the Kentucky Historical Society for his book, Racial Violence in Kentucky, 1865-1940: Lynchings, Mob Rule, and "Legal Lynchings." Dr. Wright also wrote Life Behind a Veil: Blacks in Louisville, Kentucky, 1865-1930 and co-authored A History of Blacks in Kentucky. Dr. Wright served as the seventh president of Prairie View A & M University in Texas, and as Senior Advisor to the University of Kentucky President and the Interim Vice President of Institutional Diversity. The national theme for Black History Month was “African Americans and the Arts.” Dr. Wright focused on the contributions of African Americans to the visual arts, music, humor, and film, mesmerizing the audience with his depth and breadth of unique and lesser-known Black historical facts sprinkled with humor. Stating that Black History Month is time for remembrance and reconciliation, Dr. Wright ended with the words of South African President Nelson Mandela, “When a deep injury is done to us, we never heal until we forgive.”

The program—created and coordinated by Clest Lanier with the help of Karen Thompson (Criminal Justice)—began with soft music performed by two graduate students, Samantha Lampkin and Reece Johns, from the Music School followed by the singing of the National Negro Anthem by Shona Tucker, Chair of the Department of Theatre. Stephan Johnson, UofL Alum and FOX News Reporter from WDRB-TV, served as the Master of Ceremonies. He introduced remarks by Dean Dayna Touron, President Kim Schatzel, and Vice President Douglas Craddock of the Office of Community Engagement, one of the program co-sponsors along with the Yearlings Club, Inc., Kentucky Center for African American Heritage, the Department of History, the Department of Comparative Humanities, and Dr. Ricky Jones, Baldwin-King Scholar, Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute. Dr. Wright was introduced by his niece, Angela Curry, UofL General Counsel and Vice President of Governance and Strategic Initiatives. Dr. Felecia Jamison facilitated the Q&A. For more highlights, please look at photo album or listen to the video. View the event photo albumand the video to Dr. Wright's presentation.