1. $3,500 grants available for urban course development

The Institute for Urban Life is offering grants to regular faculty who wish to develop a new course with content that has an urban focus. Up to three $3,500 awards will be awarded to faculty for their commitment to course development during the summer of 2009. This program is not designed to support revisions of existing classes but to develop entirely new approaches to various disciplines.

Each proposal, in the form of a letter, should include a description of the proposed course, including a rough syllabus, possible readings, supplementary materials, assignments, etc., along with a description of the course’s role within the department’s curriculum. A letter of support from the applicant’s department chair, dean or director must accompany the application. Applicants need to submit three copies of each proposal to the Institute for Urban Life, c/o Department of History, Coughlin Hall 307, by Jan. 26, 2009.

Awardees will be expected to complete the course preparation by the beginning of the fall 2009 term for the formal approval process during that semester.

For more information contact Dr. Thomas Jablonksy, professor of history and director of the Institute for Urban Life, at 8-5300.

2. Freshman experience task forces start work in January

Eight task force groups are being formed to review the results of the freshman experience survey in which employees and students recently participated. The Office of the Provost and the Division of Student Affairs are working with the Foundations of Excellence project of the Policy Center on the First Year of College, Asheville, N.C., to develop a plan of action for campus-wide improvement.

Marquette’s faculty/staff survey response rate was 64.4 percent and the response rate for students was 56.3 percent.

The task forces, which will begin their work in January 2009, and their chairs are:

All Students — Mary Janz, associate dean for residence life
Assessment — TBD
Faculty — Dr. Jim Marten, chair and professor of history
Diversity — Dr. Terry Miller, director of international education
Learning — Dr. Scott Reid, Wehr professor of chemistry
Organization — TBD
Roles and Purposes — Dr. Stephen Saunders, associate professor of psychology
Transitions — Dr. Kris Ropella, chair and professor of biomedical engineering

Marquette is one of 20 four-year institutions participating in a comprehensive, campus-wide self-assessment of the first-year college experience during the 2008-09 academic year.

Task force chairs will work together to identify a comprehensive first-year vision. Deans, directors and other supervisors have recommended task force members. Others interested in serving on a task force, including students, should contact Tina Rodriguez, office associate, Office of the Provost, at 8-8030.

3. Course grades due Dec. 15.

Grades for undergraduate sessions 1 and 4; graduate sessions 1, 2 and 4; dental sessions 1 and 3; and Health Sciences Professional sessions 1 and 3 are due at noon Monday, Dec. 15, 2008.

Instructions to scan exams are available online. For a quick turn-around, exams should be turned in to the IT Services Help Desk (Cudahy Hall, second floor) for scanning as soon as possible following the exam.

For more information about grading, contact the Office of the Registrar at 8-7034 Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or the Help Desk after hours at 8-7799. If needed, the Help Desk will contact the associate registrar on-call during grading weekend.

4. Half-priced tickets and dinner for women’s basketball game

The women’s basketball team will host Faculty and Staff Appreciation Night on Tuesday, Jan. 13, when it plays Notre Dame at the Al McGuire Center. All faculty and staff tickets can be purchased for half-price. Tip-off is 8 p.m. Call 288-GOMU for tickets.

Dr. Phillip Naylor, associate professor of history, and Tom Ford, associate athletics director, also welcome all faculty and staff to a pre-game complimentary dinner in the Eagles Nest Academic Center at the Al McGuire Center at 6 p.m. RSVP for the dinner at 8-5961 by Tuesday, Jan. 6.

5. Dental School’s faculty practice featured at “Grow” session

The School of Dentistry will host a Grow With Marquette session, “Faculty Practice, School of Dentistry,” about Marquette’s faculty practice dental clinic Thursday, Dec. 11, from noon to 1 p.m. at the School of Dentistry, room 004. The session will include a tour of the faculty practice dental clinic as well as information about how Delta Dental insurance can be best used in the faculty practice.

The faculty practice is a full-service dental facility within the School of Dentistry that provides high-quality care to the Marquette community.

6. Haggerty Museum to host Robert Rauschenberg print exhibition

The Patrick and Beatrice Haggerty Museum of Art will host an exhibition of prints, Whatever is There is a Truth: Robert Rauschenberg’s Prints, by postwar American artist Robert Rauschenberg from Friday, Dec. 12, through Oct. 4, 2009.

Rauschenberg was widely regarded as a principal bridge between abstract expressionism in the 1950s and pop art in the 1960s, working in a variety of disciplines and media including printmaking, painting, sculpture, photography, dance, technology and performance art. Rauschenberg revolutionized the art of printmaking by combining printmaking methods such as lithography and serigraphy within the same print, producing an effect of the spontaneous stroke in contrast to the precision of a photographic image.

7. Nominate students for Hunger Clean-Up planning committees

The Office of Student Development's Center for Community Service is seeking student leaders for the planning team for Hunger Clean-Up, Marquette’s largest one-day service project, Saturday, April 18, 2009. Faculty, staff and administrators can nominate students who demonstrate commitment to the Marquette community by e-mailing Laura Skaife, assistant dean for community service programs, or calling the Office of Student Development at 8-1412. Opportunities include publications, graphic design, fundraising, external communications, logistics and public relations.

Student applications are due Friday, Jan. 23, 2009.