Monday Memo

A Newsletter for Faculty and Staff of the College of Arts & Sciences

November 14, 2022

Dear A&S Colleagues,

A friend of mine who works in higher education recently recounted to me how mortified she was to have used an incorrect pronoun with one of her new colleagues. I reassured her that mortification was not necessary and that a simple apology and self-correction should suffice. I felt confident in this advice, I told her, because that’s what I had just learned from UofL’s new video, “The Power of Pronouns.” My friend was relieved, and I promised to send her the video.

I appreciate “The Power of Pronouns” because it’s such a clear and friendly introduction to this issue that seeks to lower the temperature on pronouns and help us navigate different situations thoughtfully and graciously. That these are UofL students in the video makes it all the more special, and I am proud to be part of such a forward-thinking and inclusive community. You can watch "The Power of Pronouns," produced by UofL’s LGBT Center, at this link. Congrats to all who contributed to its production!

Sincerely,

Julie Wrinn, Chief of Staff (she/her)

Research Agenda

A Faustian bargain is when a person exchanges something of supreme moral value for a material benefit. The concept is based on the medieval legend of Faust, who traded his soul to the devil in return for knowledge and power.

Researchers Daniel DeCaro and Marci DeCaro (above) in the Department of Psychology and Brain Sciences, who explore how people learn and make decisions, have published new research finding that people are more likely to yield decisions to others when they believe the others are more qualified to make choices that will prevent severe losses and increase economic benefit.

“It’s a fundamental aspect of human nature and society that we give up a little bit of our freedom of choice and authority in exchange for things we need for survival,” said Daniel DeCaro. “When you’re trying to weigh options, those options differ in terms of levels of freedom of choice and economic outcomes and security. This study helps us understand the actual trade-offs that might be happening in people’s minds and the mindset they get into when they’re making this kind of Faustian bargain.” Read more.

The deadline for two Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU)  research fellowships is rapidly approaching—November 28. These fellowships are open to faculty, staff, post-docs, or graduate students from a CUMU member institution. And, each comes with an award of $5,000 to pursue the identified research questions. You can find quick details below or you can visit the CUMU research page for further details and to learn about previously funded fellowship.

Japanese Consulate-General Visit in Support of Japanese Program  

Left to right: Interim Dean David Owen, basketball student-athlete Norika Konno, and Consul-General Yoichi Matsumoto

On October 26, we welcomed some very special visitors to campus from the Consulate General of Japan in Nashville. Consul-General Yoichi Matsumoto and Consul Shoko Matsuoka traveled to Louisville to present a check from the Los Angeles-based Japan Foundation in support of expanding Japanese language instruction at UofL.

“On behalf of the University of Louisville, the College of Arts & Sciences, and the Department of Classical and Modern Languages, I am extremely grateful for this gift from the Japan Foundation,” remarked Dean Owen. “This grant has already allowed us to offer two more Japanese language courses each semester, and those courses are fully enrolled. Thanks to these additional courses, interest in Japanese language and culture among our students is expanding, and we are confident that the program will continue to grow and flourish.”

Consul-General Matsumoto and Consul Matsuoka, along with Coordinator Tye Ebel, were treated to a catered lunch in Bingham Humanities 300, joined by women’s basketball student-athlete Norika Konno, who is a Japanese citizen, and Devlin De Vries, a Japanese minor and Liberal Studies major at UofL. Representing CML at this luncheon were Regina Roebuck, Chair; Yoko Martin, instructor of Japanese; Izumi Agata, instructor of Japanese; Kendra Sheehan, instructor of Japanese Studies; and Li Zeng, Assoc. Professor of Chinese. Representing the College of Arts & Sciences were Interim Dean David Owen; Assistant Dean and Director of Advising Danielle Dolan; Chief of Staff Julie Wrinn; Asma Adarrat-Edwards, Senior Director of Corporate & Foundation Relations; and Denise Bohn, Senior Director of Development.

Following lunch, the group reconvened in Strickler 139, where they were joined by over two dozen students minoring in Japanese, who took turns sharing their motivation for learning Japanese and what the culture and language mean to them. These students then heard a presentation by Tye Ebel about the opportunities available in the JET Program, which provides competitive employment opportunities allowing young professionals to live and work in cities, towns, and villages throughout Japan.

Finally, the Japanese delegation enjoyed a tour of UofL’s tree-lined campus, followed by a meeting with Mariana Barzun, Co-Vice President of University of Advancement. All who participated in the day were hopeful that warm relations between the University of Louisville, the Japan Foundation, and the Consulate-General will continue to develop and prosper.

Alumni Spotlight

2019 Theatre Arts alum Brittany “BeeBee” Patillo (above) has already had a career filled with notable achievements. She was cast in the lead role of Viola in the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival's 2021 production of Shakespeare in Love, and she recently wrapped up playing Lucy Westenra in the Actor’s Theatre of Louisville’s production of Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy (directed by UofL Theatre professor Jen Pennington).

“Thankfully, I’ve been blessed to work with theater companies that are so passionate and committed to embracing change and wanting to learn and grow. Companies like Kentucky Shakespeare and Actors Theatre of Louisville ­— companies that want to see Black artists thrive," Patillo said in a recent profile by the Louisville multi-media company Today's Woman.

To be able to pursue acting as an actual career is a dream come true for BeeBee. As a child she dreamed of being famous and starring on TV, but a lack of access to learn the craft almost swayed her from pursuing her passion. “Being where I’m from, I didn’t have the resources or the outlet of being around acting classes. By the time I was older I thought to myself it’s too late to pursue acting. I have no training so I will find another outlet,’” she says.

But as destiny would have it, while she was a junior (with an undeclared major) a lady at BeeBee’s church introduced her to the chair of UofL's Theatre Department, who happened to be in middle of casting for a stage production she was directing. “I’d never been to an acting audition before, but I got the role I read for. After that, I became a theatre major.” Read more.

Hidden Talents

Brandon Harwood (he/him) is well known around campus for wearing many hats: Senior Lecturer in Asian Studies, Lecturer in Philosophy, Project Coordinator for the Commonwealth Center for the Humanities and Society, Conference Coordinator the Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture (which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year), and his active participation in the A&S Staff Association.

It should come as no surprise that Brandon's hours away from campus are just as varied, where he cultivates at least three hidden talents:

• "I am an avid gardener! I learned from my grandmother's on both sides of my family, each of whom comes from a long line of gardeners."
• "I've been practicing yoga for 25 years (I started in the 7th grade). My favorite poses are tree, headstand, and downward facing dog."
• "I can play the piano (and I played clarinet in High School), but I am mainly a singer. I sing with Voices of Kentuckiana, an LGBTQIA+ affirming chorus (and our conductor is UofL Music professor, KimCherie Lloyd!)."

Asked for a recommendation of a favorite book, movie, or video game, Brandon said,” I come from a family of gamers (my mom and grandma play World of Warcraft every morning before Mom goes to work), so I'm going to suggest a game that I think most people should play regardless of skill-level: Okami! You play a goddess in the form of a wolf running around a Japanese wood block painting (authentic looking, even!). She heals the land, helps people, and fights off paper demons that are manifestation of human suffering.”

Many thanks to Brandon for sharing these facets of his life. If you would like to reveal some of your extracurricular side in this newsletter, please get in touch with julie.wrinn@louisville.edu.

Kudos

Arabic language and debate skills reinforce each other in the new UofL Arabic Language Debate Team, coached by Khaldoun Almousily, professor of Arabic in the Classical and Modern Languages Department. Prof. Almousily's team recently traveled to compete in the 3rd-annual U.S. Universities Arabic Debating Championship at Stanford University. The competition, sponsored by QatarDebate Center, brought together 270 student debaters from 40 American universities to broaden cultural understandings and create a supportive environment for coexistence. UofL students are now meeting once a week in preparation for next year’s debate: if interested, email him at khaldoun.almousily@louisville.edu.

Kudos to Yolanda Demaree, Faculty Affairs Manager, on her election to the Langdon Place City Council on November 8. Langdon Place is a neighborhood in Louisville. As the Parliamentarian of the College of Arts & Sciences’s Staff Association, Yolanda is known for her expertise in Roberts’ Rules of Order, and members of the Staff Association have come to rely on her thoughtful and judicious contributions to those meetings. “I am grateful to have been elected to serve on the Langdon Place City Council,” Yolanda said. “Elections are the core of our democracy, and I look forward to serving the residents.”

Deborah Lutz, Morton Endowed Chair, English Department of the College of Arts and Sciences, has published a new book, Victorian Paper Art and Craft: Writers and Their Materials (Oxford University Press, 2022), which considers how authors use the materials of writing for inspiration, experimentation, and creative composition. In doing so, Lutz reshapes the sensory history of working on and with paper. The monograph, awarded an NEH Fellowship, celebrates disregarded artifacts made by women and tied to the domestic sphere, such as friendship albums and paper crafts.

Dr. Lisa Markowitz, Department of Anthropology, recently served as a judge for a National Honors Hackathon on Food Insecurity. Hosted by the Student Engagement Committee of the Council on Honors Education, an affiliate group of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (CoHE-APLU), the Hackathon challenged students from across the U.S. to collaborate on a systems approach to solving one of the grand challenges facing our world. This intense 30-hour initiative involved multidisciplinary teams comprised of students from different universities. Dr. Markowitz joined other distinguished experts in food, agriculture, and community development in evaluating student team solutions based on the following factors: affordability, accessibility, availability, and sustainability.

Two A&S undergraduate students recently presented research posters at the annual meeting of the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) in Dallas. Ruby Mason, a sophomore double major (neuroscience; individualized major—social justice in healthcare) and University Honors Scholar, presented "Developing Research Tools to Study the Role of PRL-3 in Cancers"; mentored by Dr. Shilpa Sampathi and Dr. Jessica Blackburn, UK summer research program. Afi H. Tagnedji, a senior biochemistry major in the University Honors Program, presented two papers: 1) "Upregulation of Cytidine Deaminase in NAT1 Knockout Breast Cancer Cells"; mentored by Dr. David W. Hein and Dr. Kyung U. Hong, and 2) "An Intersectional Analysis of Student Comments on Teaching Evaluations for Black Women in STEM Using Automated Content Analysis"; mentored by Dr. Linda Fuselier. Congrats to Afi and Ruby and thank you to their faculty mentors and Katherine Rucker, Academic Counselor, Sr., University Honors Program, for coordinating their NCHC travel and experience.

Benefits

Here is a reminder that can save you $480 annually: employees must complete the required 200-point Personal Health Profile (PHP) and the additional 280 points by November 30, 2022, to earn the 2023 $40 Get Healthy Now monthly incentive. Some point opportunities require daily log-ins to receive points, so we encourage you to complete all point opportunities in the next few weeks. Visit the Get Health Now webpage for more information. Trouble registering or logging in? Contact Health Advocate at 866-799-2731 for assistance with the registration process.

Upcoming Events

The Department of Theatre Arts Presents: Gloria by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. One moment can change everything as a workplace comedy turns unpredictably dark. Directed by Jennifer Pennington. Opened on November 13, with 3 more performances on November 16-18,7:30 pm. Thrust Theatre, 2314 South Floyd Street Louisville, KY 40292. See flyer above.

If you enjoy creative writing, then the University Writing Center’s Creative Writing Group is the place for you! In this group, we will work together to explore creative writing in a safe, open, and encouraging environment. During meetings, we will write, investigate issues of craft, read and respond to each other's work, and have fun. Any member of the UofL community is welcome – undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and staff.  We welcome any genre of writing and any level of creative writing experience—all you need is an interest in creative writing! Monday, November 14 at 5:30pm to 7:00pm, with more dates through December 5, 2022. Ekstrom Library, University Writing Center, Room 132, 2215 S. 3rd Street , Louisville, Kentucky 40208.

All are invited to a Medieval and Renaissance Workshop by Dr. Joseph Turner (Department of English), "Revising Plato in Chaucer's General Prologue." Tuesday, November 15 at 12:00pm to 1:00pm. Ekstrom Library, W 104, 2215 S. 3rd Street , Louisville, Kentucky 40208.

Join the Cultural Center for November’s Cultural Conexiones, celebrating Native American & Indigenous History Month. Learn the history of the Choctaw Academy, which was established in the town of Georgetown, Kentucky, and was the first federally controlled residential school for Native Americans in U.S. history. This event will discuss and explore the topic of educational access and inclusion for Native American/Indigenous People. Tuesday, November 15, 1:30-3:00 pm, at the Cultural and Equity Center. RSVP https://louisville.campuslabs.com/engage/event/8486162. See flyer below.

The Sustainability Roundtable series continues on November 15, with our special guest, Matt Dwyer, a UofL Masters in Sustainability student. Matt will discuss his thesis work exploring Sustainability in Higher Education and how it is assessed. Tuesday, November 15 at 4:00pm to 4:50pm. See the UofL Calendar for attendance options. We conclude the fall series November 29, with our special guest, Emmanuel Fields, a UofL Masters in Sustainability student and Stewardship Coordinator at Bluegrass Land Conservancy. See the UofL Calendar for attendance options.

Tuesday, November 15, is Faculty and Staff Appreciation Night at the Men's Basketball Game vs. Appalachian State, 6:00 pm. All faculty and staff can purchase discounted tickets for themselves and guests at: TICKET LINK: https://fevo.me/3UsrA8U. Note: purchasers must have an @louisville.edu email to obtain this discount.

The University of Louisville’s Center for Geographic Information Sciences invites you to join us for its annual GIS Day celebration on Wednesday, November 16 on UofL’s Belknap Campus in the Swain Student Activities Center Ballrooms, with the theme of "Inspiring Spatial Citizens." This theme speaks to the way that spatial data, geomedia, and space and place more generally help to inform, engage, and empower citizens to better understand and affect change in their communities. Please find the complete details on our website https://ulcgis.org/gisday/. See flyer below.

Fall Virtual Health Care Ethics Speaker Series: New Research in Health Care Ethics - "Understanding Reproductive Coercion in the Clinical Setting" by Lauren O'Dell, Philosophy, University of Kentucky. Wednesday, November 16 at 12:00pm to 1:00pm. Virtual Event: visit the UofL Calendar. 

What is Health Equity-Social Justice Research? Join us to consider how different kinds of research advance social and health equity in our community. Speakers will address how different disciplines, such as art, law, STEM, and education, are integral to health and social equity research. For those interested in Health Equity Innovation Hub funding, gain insights on how to craft a strong proposal for the upcoming 2023 funding cycle. Thursday, November 17, 12:15–1:45pm. Shumaker Research Building, Room 139. Free lunch will be provided! See flyer below.

The Hite Institute of Art & Design invites you to the opening reception of the 2022 Fall BFA Thesis Exhibition. Featuring the work of our eight graduating BFA Students, the exhibition is an opportunity for students to present their final thesis exhibitions to the community and celebrate the completion of their degrees. With work ranging in media from photography, printmaking, painting, and digital drawing, each of our students has created a unique and cohesive body of work that represents their individual artistic practices and theoretical interests. The completion of their thesis exhibitions is a testament to the dedication and hard work over the course of their undergraduate careers and a glimpse of their future art careers! This event is free and open to the public! Thursday, November 17 at 5:00pm to 7:00pm, Schneider Hall, Gallery, 2300 S. First Street Walk , Louisville, Kentucky, 40208.

As part of our efforts to raise awareness and address the issue of bird-strikes into windows on campus, Dr. Sarah Wanamaker, Indiana University-Bloomington, will be speaking about her research on bird-building collisions on college campuses. Sarah Wanamaker is a Research Associate in the Environmental Resilience Institute at Indiana University, where she leads a cross-departmental team of scientists studying bird window collisions. A goal of this study is to generate data that will be used to lobby for Indiana University to retrofit high-risk windows with mitigate avian fatalities by retrofitting high-risk windows with visible patterns that allow birds to see glass, thereby mitigating avian fatalities. See the UofL Calendar event for more info. Friday, November 18 at 12:00pm to 1:00pm, Shumaker 139.

Fall Virtual Health Care Ethics Speaker Series: New Research in Health Care Ethics - "Reducing Hospital Readmissions by Addressing the Social Determinants of Health" by Beth Munnich, Ph.D. Economics, UofL. Wednesday, December 7 at 12:00pm to 1:00pm. Virtual Event: see UofL Calendar.

More Monday Memo

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