August 2017

Dear colleagues, As I launch into my third year at Marquette, I want to extend a warm welcome back to all of our returning faculty and an especially enthusiastic hello to the many new faculty who have joined us this year. I hope you all had a tremendous summer pursuing your scholarship, recharging your batteries by enjoying some family and vacation time; and having a refreshing change of pace. I am excited for this new year and all the potential it holds, some of which you can see in the entries that follow.

Of particular note, I am inaugurating what I hope will be an annual Provost’s address to the Faculty. The faculty, in many ways, is the primary constituency of a provost, and I think it will benefit us all to gather once a year to talk about where we have been in the past year and where we are going as a university. Although it is impossible to find a time when all can attend, we have examined the course schedule and selected the moment during the week when we have the greatest availability. We will gather on Tuesday, Oct. 10, at 4 p.m. in the Weasler Auditorium and I hope to see you all there.

In this fourth edition of the POST, we share information on this year’s Marquette Forum, “Health Equity,” as well as information on the Core implementation process.

We also highlight several important initiatives that will propel the university forward in the areas of community engagement, innovation and faculty development. We have a lot to be proud of, and I continue to be in awe of what you have accomplished since I arrived at Marquette. I am deeply grateful to be working with such a talented and committed faculty.

I hope you continue to find these “short takes” helpful and informative.

All my best wishes for the Fall Semester,

-Dan Myers, Provost

Provost Annual Address to the Faculty

Come meet with Provost Dan Myers on Tuesday, Oct. 10, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Weasler Auditorium. Dr. Myers will discuss a wide range of topics that are of interest to faculty. A question and answer session will follow the address.

Marquette Forum: Health Equity

During the upcoming academic year, Marquette University will engage in a yearlong series of events focusing on health equity. Building on last year’s theme “Freedom Dreams Now,” this year’s forum will explore health disparities, the social determinants of health, and opportunities for achieving greater equity locally and globally. Events will be posted on the website as they are finalized. Dr. David R. Williams of the Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health will offer a distinguished lecture on March 27, 2018. If you are interested in participating in any forum events, contact Dr. John Su, vice provost for academic affairs.

Core Implementation Underway – faculty encouraged to submit courses for revised core

The revised Core of Common Studies was approved by the Academic Senate and Board of Trustees in spring. The Core Curriculum Implementation Committee, appointed by Provost Dan Myers, is accepting course proposals for the Core. Department chairs received copies of all the calls for course proposals and details are available on the Core revision website.

Community Engagement in Research, Teaching and Service

The Office of Community Engagement is seeking an interdisciplinary team of faculty members to participate in the development of institutional definitions for community engagement in research, teaching, and service. Interested faculty members should contact Dr. Dan Bergen, executive director, Office of Community Engagement.

Marquette University Community Engaged Scholars Network

The Marquette University Community Engaged Scholars Network convenes once a semester to explore and address opportunities for and challenges to engagement in research and teaching. Participating faculty members will have the chance to network with and learn from one another regarding this important framework for scholarly activity. The fall meeting will be held Wednesday, Oct. 25, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in AMU, 227. Interested faculty members should contact Dr. Dan Bergen, executive director, Office of Community Engagement.

Provost initiatives

The Office of the Provost has announced funding for initiatives to support faculty mentoring, new community engaged research projects, and an initiative that will advance diversity, equity and inclusion.

Faculty Success Program, a 12-week intensive mentoring experience offered as an online program through the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity: application is available online

Community Engaged Research Partnership Development Grant, which will provide a stipend to a faculty member and community organization to forge a new community engaged research partnership that produces a research pilot project in response to a mutually identified community need: application is available online

Faculty Diversity Fellowship Program, an initiative designed to provide support for Marquette University faculty to explore their own ideas that might lead to new initiatives that will advance diversity, equity and inclusion at the university: application is available online

Women's Innovation Network

The Office of Research and Innovation has launched a Women's Innovation Network with seed funding from the Rolfs Family Foundation. WIN is charged with developing programming to promote inclusive innovation and networking among students, faculty, staff and alumni/ae. For more information, contact Sasha Parsons, WIN coordinator.

Women Colleagues Program

Another related endeavor being launched this year is the Women Colleagues Program, a unique corporate-university cohort that brings together emerging women leaders from Johnson Controls with women science and engineering faculty from Marquette. Johnson Controls is providing five years of funding. For more information contact Jori Hartwig, WCP coordinator.

Faculty Mentoring Program

The Faculty Mentoring Program is designed to facilitate the professional development of tenure-track assistant professors. It extends Marquette's principle of cura personalis or “care for the whole person,” to these faculty who are matched with a more senior faculty member for a confidential, interpersonally supportive relationship that is outside the scope of any formal performance review or evaluation. Faculty interested in requesting a mentor should contact Dr. Gary Meyer, senior vice provost for faculty affairs, or send a note to faculty.affairs@marquette.edu.

Marquette Faculty Exploring Leadership Opportunities

The FELOS leadership program has been designed to introduce faculty to the complexities, challenges, and joys of leadership with a specific emphasis on academic leadership at a Catholic and Jesuit university. The program unfolds over the course of a full academic year and is geared toward associate and full professors who aspire toward a greater leadership role on campus. The inaugural cohort is underway and applications are now being accepted for the 2018-19 cohort (Nov. 1 deadline). For more information or to obtain an application, contact Dr. Gary Meyer, senior vice provost for faculty affairs, or send a note to faculty.affairs@marquette.edu.

Student Success: new software to be implemented during the 2017-18 academic year

The university has partnered with Civitas Learning to implement a student success/retention software product this fall. The software uses pre-enrollment data as well as SIS (PeopleSoft) and LMS (D2L) data and activity to predict which students might need additional assistance to succeed at Marquette. This early alert based on predictive analytics will help us better reach students who might struggle earlier, when there is still time to intervene and offer assistance. Faculty and advisors will have access to the system next spring or fall 2018. More information will be made available this fall. Questions can be directed to Anne Deahl, associate vice provost for academic support programs and retention.

Race and Ethnic Studies Faculty Cluster Hire

The Office of the Provost, in collaboration with the Klingler College of Arts and Sciences, the Diederich College of Communication, and the College of Business Administration, announces a cluster hire supporting the development of Race and Ethnic Studies at Marquette University. These faculty will teach courses and conduct scholarship in support of a new academic program in Race and Ethnic Studies, which a faculty committee in the Klingler College is currently working to construct. The committee hopes to forward the new program for approval this year for students to start enrolling in 2018-2019. As it develops further, the faculty hiring initiative will include appointments in philosophy, social and cultural studies, history and foreign language, business, and communication that will regularly offer courses that can be cross-listed to the Race and Ethnic Studies program.