This week’s glimpse into The Saint John’s Bible is artist Donald Jackson’s re-imagining of the Valley of Dry Bones in the prophet Ezekiel’s vision. Notice the allusions to extermination of the planet (abandoned cars, oil spills) and its people (genocides in the Shoah and Rwanda). Musician Tyler Lawrence ’24, provides the haunting soundtrack.
03-01-2021
Rank and Tenure: 2021 Tenure, Promotions
The provost’s office has announced the following promotions and grants of tenure, effective July 1, 2021:
- SimonMary Aihiokhai, theology: Tenure, Promotion
- Nicole E. Auxier, nursing: Tenure, Promotion
- Louisa Egan Brad, psychology: Tenure, Promotion
- Lizhong Hao, accounting: Tenure, Promotion
- David Turnbloom, theology: Tenure, Promotion
- Joshua Swidzinski, English: Tenure, Promotion
- Cara J. Poor, civil engineering: Tenure, Promotion
- Rev. Daniel J. Parrish, C.S.C., business: Tenure, Promotion
- Patricia McShane, philosophy: Tenure, Promotion
- Rachel Hutcheson, chemistry: Tenure, Promotion
“How High Are Your Mountains?” lecture, March 4
The Pamplin School of Business’ Learning Labs Series presents “How High Are Your Mountains?” on March 4 at 3 p.m. Celeste Mergens, CEO/Founder of Days for Girls, will share the tools that have helped facilitate the organization’s global conversations in tough situations. You will be inspired while also learning these techniques that apply to connections for work, relationships and intentional design. Register here.
ReadUP: Register or submit questions for Dr. Kendi
ReadUP 2021 will conclude with the Schoenfeldt Distinguished Writers Series hosting Dr. Ibram X. Kendi as he engages the community in a dynamic conversation on Wednesday, March 31 at 5:15 p.m. via live Zoom webinar. Advance registration is required, though the event is free and open to all. Kendi will address questions submitted by UP community members in advance of the event. Book discussion groups across campus will harvest questions, and for those reading on their own, UP students, faculty and staff can supply questions on this form; sign in with your UP credentials. Questions will be generously curated by staff in the Office of International Education, Diversity and Inclusion, with the goal of hearing from as many people as possible. For more information on this year’s ReadUP events and resources: up.edu/readup or garaventa@up.edu.
ReadUP: Pick Up Your Reserved Book
If you reserved a copy of this year’s ReadUP book selection, How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi, head over to the Clark Library to pick it up. You can check the library’s open hours here.
Didn’t reserve a book? No worries. You can read one of the many digital copies available through the library.
Book discussions for staff and faculty start Friday, February 26. You can find out more about them and register here. Other resources, including a reading guide, are available on the ReadUP website.
And don’t forget to mark your calendar for the conversation with Dr. Kendi via Zoom on Wednesday, March 31, at 5:15 p.m. as part of the Schoenfeldt Distinguished Writers Series.
Clark Library: All Together Project
The library is still collecting creative works reflecting your experience of the events of 2020-2021 for the All Together project. Examples of creative works are photographs, videos, essays, poems, drawings, paintings, etc. Visit the site to see some submissions and consider adding yours!
Questions? Please contact José Velazco, Clark Library, at velazco@up.edu.
Get Ready for the Pilot Venture Challenge 2021
The 2021 Pilot Venture Challenge, UP’s premier invention, business and social venture competition hosted by the Franz Center for Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, is now accepting applications from students across all majors and disciplines. Pilot Venture Challenge will again be held virtually on Saturday, April 17 and Saturday, April 24.
To help students learn how to register, get help, prepare and participate there will be a virtual Informational Meeting on Tuesday, March 9 from 4 p.m. – 5 p.m. To learn more about the Informational Meeting and the Pilot Venture Challenge, watch the Pilot Venture Challenge promotion video, and visit the Pilot Venture Challenge webpage.
For questions, contact Kay Molkentin, business, at molkenti@up.edu.
Learning Commons: Group Work Lab is Open
The Group Work Lab, housed in UP’s Learning Commons, is open and ready to assist groups of students—whether for class projects or campus groups hoping to reorganize and refocus their work. Students can book an appointment for their group through the Bookings Scheduler to meet with a Group Work Lab consultant, both of whom have taken CST 332 (Collaborative Group Leadership) and have completed trainings around tutoring and facilitating group work.
Faculty, please consider encouraging your students to utilize the Group Work Lab’s services if you have any group work or group projects built into your syllabi. Our consultants are prepared to assist students during any stage of their project but are especially equipped to provide support during the early stages of planning and team building. Some professors in the past have required groups meet with a consultant, and others have offered extra credit to groups who visit the Lab.
If you are an advisor of a student group on campus, you can also consider recommending that members of the group make an appointment for the Group Work Lab, as our consultants can provide information about role definition, workload management, crafting a deliverable timeline, and how to effectively frame the issue at hand.
We are also in the final stages of updating our website to include useful information for groups to reference around virtual etiquette for remote meetings and work, role definition within groups, and Appreciative Inquiry, a model that promotes change within organization and groups through positive framing and focusing on the strengths of group members.
If you have any questions about the Group Work Lab or helpful models to utilize for group work, feel free to reach out to Dr. Natalie Nelson-Marsh (nelsonma@up.edu), communication studies, as she coordinates the GWL alongside Jeffrey White (white@up.edu). For a peer tutor’s perspective, feel free to reach out to Group Work Lab consultant Sophie Downing (downing21@up.edu) for any assistance around structuring group meetings/resources around your unique assigned projects or group work.
We hope to work with you and your students soon!
New Date: Why Theology Needs Schitt’s Creek, March 2
Take two for this event which has moved to March 2. Like a dash of humor with your theology? Join Karen Eifler, co-director of the Garaventa Center, for “Why Theology Needs Schitt’s Creek,” the next installment in the popular Beckman Humor Project “Why Theology Needs…” series. Eifler will highlight thematic elements of Schitt’s Creek – the series that swept the comedy category in the 2020 Primetime Emmy Awards – and propose what we can learn from this Canadian sitcom to deepen our understanding of Catholic faith. Free live Zoom webinar, Tuesday, March 2 at 5 p.m. at this link. Hosted by the Garaventa Center.
For more info: up.edu/beckmanhumor/events or garaventa@up.edu.
ShareUP Virtual Support Hours
The Division of Marketing & Communications hosts virtual support hours on Zoom, by appointment, every Wednesday afternoon at 1 p.m. to help faculty, staff, and students master all the offerings of the ShareUP brand portal. If you have questions or comments about ShareUP and would like to virtually chat please email Chris Long at longc@up.edu to set up a virtual appointment.