April 2019
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Dear colleagues,
Spring is finally here! As we race to the end of another school year, it’s a fitting time to pause and take stock of all that we have accomplished this year, all we have to be grateful for and all we have to celebrate.
As we move toward Commencement, we are also reminded of this important milestone in the lives of our graduating students and how transformational our work at Marquette truly is.
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In this ninth edition of the POST, we share information on ways to participate in the search for the permanent provost, opportunities to take part in important campus conversations about diversity and inclusion, and news about the Marquette Core Curriculum.
We also highlight several opportunities to get involved, celebrate, learn and grow. As I strive every day to make Marquette a better place, I am humbled by the examples I see in ways big and small of faculty doing just that.
I hope you continue to find these “short takes” helpful and informative. Please be in touch if there is anything else you'd like to see in this newsletter.
May you have a productive end to the academic year and a wonderful summer ahead.
Thank you,
-Kimo Ah Yun, acting provost
Provost search listening sessions
Listening sessions in the search for Marquette’s next permanent provost are at the following times:
- Monday, April 8, at 4:30 p.m. – Faculty (session 2 of 2)
- Monday, April 8, at 5 p.m. – Students
All sessions are in Zilber 025.
The goal of the listening sessions is for the search committee and search firm Isaacson, Miller to gain a more thorough understanding of the important issues that will face the next permanent provost. In preparing for a listening session, consider the questions:
- If Marquette hires a successful permanent provost, what will change between now, two and five years from now?
- What are key opportunities and challenges the provost will face?
- What attributes should the provost possess?
- What questions are particularly important for the search committee to ask candidates during the initial phases of the search process?
If you are unable to attend a listening session, please consider providing your insights to search committee chair Dr. Lisa Edwards through the online input form, or contact her via email or at 414-288-1433. Find updates on the search through the Provost search website.
Marquette Forum: "Democracy in Troubled Times"
The Marquette Forum will conclude its yearlong series of conversations focusing on the theme of “Democracy in Troubled Times” with several events that explore social and economic justice at home and abroad.
Spring 2019 highlights include:
- Dr. Barbara Ransby, historian, activist and Metcalfe Chair, will present on “Black Women and the Long Struggle for Racial, Gender and Economic Justice, 1969–2019,” April 4. Register by April 3.
- Turkish journalist Mahir Zeynalov and professor Sophia Pandya will present on “The Human Face of Turkey’s Tragedy,” April 11.
- Dr. Vesla Weaver, political scientist, will join the Milwaukee region's most engaged youth to hear their thoughts on the vexing issues challenging democracy today and their advice on the best strategies to improve democracy moving forward. These ideas will be gathered and shared using dynamic digital media, created by some of the city's leading artists. Dinner will be provided. The event is April 24. Register here.
For upcoming events, see the forum website.
EOP 50th Anniversary/Marquette Forum look ahead
During academic year 2019-20, Marquette will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Educational Opportunity Program. Founded in 1969 by Dr. Arnold Mitchem, Marquette’s EOP was among the first in the nation and has earned a reputation as one of the most respected federal TRIO programs.
Marquette will mark this important milestone by commemorating the past, celebrating the present and imagining the future. Events will highlight EOP’s distinguished past and the work that the program does today and invite discussion of educational access and what might happen in the future. Information on events and activities will be updated on the 50th anniversary website.
If you would be interested in learning more or participating in the anniversary celebrations, contact committee chairs William Welburn, Rana Altenburg or John Su.
In 2019-20 the Marquette Forum will focus on the 50th anniversary of EOP. The theme for the forum will be “Access and Educational Equity,” and the forum steering committee can offer $500 matching grants to departments, offices or other units developing affiliated events. If you are interested in participating or developing events related to the EOP’s 50th anniversary, please contact John Su, vice provost for academic affairs.
Symposium on Diversity, Inclusion and Social Justice
On April 12, the University Committee on Equity and Inclusion will host the inaugural Symposium on Diversity, Inclusion and Social Justice. This forum will serve as an “institutional examen” — a time to look inwardly at who we are and who we are called to be, particularly around social justice and issues of discrimination at the intersections of race, gender and sexuality. The event will take place in the Alumni Memorial Union Monahan Ballroom, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will include lunch. We invite all administrators, faculty, staff, students, alumni and other campus stakeholders to take part in the conversation. Register here.
Provost Office Fellows Program
Acting Provost Ah Yun will provide funding during the 2019-20 academic year (mid-August to mid-May) to support up to three Provost Office Fellows to work on an important university initiative.
The Office of the Provost will provide funding for a related workshop/conference (up to $2,500) as well as a $2,500 stipend for the year. Provost Office Fellows will roughly work three to four hours per week over the academic year on an initiative related to Adult Student Program Development, Community Engaged Faculty Mentorship Curriculum Development, or Inclusive Teaching and Pedagogy. Provost Office Fellows will also have the opportunity to attend a workshop or conference related to their projects and agreed upon with his/her project supervisor, meet on a regular basis with a member of the provost's staff whose area is connected to or oversees the initiative, pursue select leadership development opportunities, and interact with the Academic Deans Council/Provost's Cabinet. Provost Office Fellows may be faculty or staff and should gain permission to pursue an initiative prior to application.
To apply
Interested faculty/staff should provide a statement of interest (no more than two pages) that includes relevant experience in relation to the initiative as well as a clear explanation of how the skills acquired through this program support the candidate's professional interests and goals. Information should be sent to Jenny Watson, vice provost for academic affairs. Deadline is April 15.
Faculty Forum
The Faculty Council will host the 2019 Faculty Forum on April 16, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Weasler Auditorium. All faculty are encouraged to attend this important conversation with President Michael R. Lovell about issues that are important to Marquette faculty. Refreshments will be provided. Registration is appreciated but not required.
Denim Day
Acting Provost Ah Yun and other campus leaders encourage faculty to show their support for survivors of sexual assault and call for an end to myths surrounding sexual violence by wearing jeans on Denim Day, Wednesday, April 24. Participate in the full range of Denim Day programming and the series of events Marquette is hosting in observance of Sexual Violence Awareness Month. Learn more here.
Père Marquette Dinner
Invitations have gone out for the 61st annual Père Marquette Dinner on May 2. All full-time faculty are invited to join us as we honor the winners of the Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Faculty Award and the Teaching Excellence Awards. Register by April 25.
Marquette Core Curriculum news
The class of 2022 has nearly finished its first year in the Marquette Core Curriculum. There were more than 8,200 seats offered in the Foundations Level courses — Rhetoric, Theology, Philosophy, Engaging Social Systems and Values, and Methods of Inquiry — and the vast majority of first year students have completed Rhetoric, Theology and Philosophy. In addition to the pilot MOI courses offered in 2018-2019 — Quality of Work Life, Water Quality, Be Rational, and Health and Well-Being — several other MOIs will be offered in 2019-20: Those are:
- Rock-and-Roll and the U.S.: Its Histories, Its Technologies, Its Traumas
- Creativity: Breaking Rules, Unlocking Discovery
- Race, Representation and Resistance
- Civic Education
- Constructing Disability
- Modernization
- Energy and Human-induced Climate Change
The Honors program has organized its own two-semester version of the MOI. Nearly 40 faculty from more than two dozen departments and six colleges will teach in MOIs next year.
2019-20 will also see students begin to explore the Discovery Tier. The MCC Committee recently approved a fifth theme: Expanding our Horizons: Creativity, Technology and the Future. A full description of the new theme and the four other themes in the Discovery Tier can be read here. Nearly 300 courses have been approved for the Discovery Tier and for the second ESSV and writing intensive courses; the MCC will issue a call for additional courses for the MCC in the fall.
A full list of the requirements and courses currently in the MCC appears on the core website. James Marten, acting director of the core, seeks nominations for faculty members to fill two three-year terms on the Marquette Core Curriculum Committee beginning in fall 2019. Nominations to the MCC Committee and any other questions regarding the core can be addressed to him at james.marten@marquette.edu.
Lunch with the Provost
Acting Provost Kimo Ah Yun is hosting monthly lunches with faculty during the 2018-19 academic year. If you are interested in joining one of the lunches, please complete the form on the Office of the Provost website. In order to have representation of various departments, length of service, etc., we are keeping an ongoing list of those interested. Invitations will be extended as openings are available.
Save the date: Faculty Picnic, Aug. 20
Please mark your calendar for the 4th Annual Faculty Picnic set for Aug. 20, at noon in Westowne Square. This fun event provides a great opportunity to reconnect with faculty from all over campus, some of whom you may not have seen since spring Commencement. New this year, we will introduce the inaugural winner of the Fr. Pedro Arrupe, S.J. Faculty Colleague Award. Additional information about the award and how to nominate a worthy faculty colleague will be shared soon.
