1. Former Governor Tommy Thompson to discuss upcoming campaign at Law School

On Thursday, Feb. 2, from 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m., Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tommy Thompson will speak at the Law School as part of the “On the Issues” series with Mike Gousha.

Thompson was elected Governor of Wisconsin four times and served as Health and Human Services Secretary in the George W. Bush administration. Now, after a stint in the private sector, Thompson is running for public office again. He will address what’s driving his decision to run and his opinions on the current political climate in Washington and Wisconsin.

Reserve a spot online.

2. Nominations due Feb. 3 for Teaching Excellence Awards

Full-time faculty members, as well as academic student organization presidents and the presidents of GSO and MUSG, may nominate up to three full-time faculty members from any college or program for the Teaching Excellence Award. This award honors full-time faculty members, “In recognition of demonstrated ability to inspire students to see the ideals of the university and to cause them to grow in knowledge and scholarship for the glory of God and the good of others.”

Nominations are due Friday, Feb. 3, 2012. More information on the award and the nominating ballot can be found online.

3. First Law School poll launches

The first Marquette Law School Poll was released yesterday and showed the state with divided opinions on Gov. Scott Walker, President Obama and key state policy issues from the last year.

Walker holds leads of six to ten percentage points over four potential Democratic opponents in hypothetical matchups for a possible gubernatorial recall election. President Obama holds a similar eight-point lead in the presidential race. Likewise, the state remains divided over a variety of policy issues including the voter ID law, which 66 percent support, and cuts to public school aid, which only 29 percent support.

The poll interviewed 701 registered Wisconsin voters by both landline and cell phone Jan. 19-22, 2012. The margin of error is +/- 3.8 percentage points for the full sample. Complete poll information, including the questions, demographic breakdowns and methodology details can be found online at law.marquette.edu/poll.

The poll is directed by Charles Franklin, visiting professor of law and public policy and a national expert in polling and voter opinion. Mike Gousha, Alan Borsuk and faculty from the Law School will also provide context as the yearlong project continues. Franklin met last fall with members of the Department of Political Science and the Diederich College of Communication to invite their participation in the project; the Law School encourages faculty throughout the university to participate in analyzing the results.

“This is the starting point in being able to assess attitudes of Wisconsin voters throughout 2012. While the project is of broad interest to the public, from citizens to media, we particularly hope that it will be a resource to our Marquette colleagues,” said Law School Dean Joseph D. Kearney.

4. English Dept. sponsoring book swap

Friends and Alumni of Marquette English (FAME) will host a book swap on the second floor of the AMU Sunday, Jan. 29, from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to bring gently used or new books to share and swap. Textbooks will not be part of the book swap. Participants can take home up to half of what they provide, up to five books. Remaining books will go to the Milwaukee Rescue Mission and Sojourner Truth Family House. For more information, contact the Department of English at 8-7179.

5. Scholarship awards available

Several Marquette alumni organizations are seeking faculty/staff nominations and assistance in communicating annual scholarship award opportunities to undergraduate students. Students receiving tuition remission or full-tuition scholarships are not eligible for these awards.

AMUW Ignatian Leadership Award — $1,000 award for a senior woman, graduating in 2012 and enrolled fulltime, who excels academically and demonstrates leadership and service to the Marquette and Milwaukee communities, or her hometown community, and strives to live out the Ignatian ideals. Faculty/staff nomination is required along with student application by Feb. 15, 2012.

The Association of Marquette University Women (AMUW) Scholarship — $2,500 for junior women beginning their senior year in fall 2012 who are enrolled fulltime with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.3 and demonstrate financial need. Application deadline is Feb. 15, 2012.

Ethnic Alumni Association Ralph H. Metcalfe, Sr., Scholarship — Three awards of up to $2,000 each for students of color who are enrolled fulltime with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 and demonstrate financial need. At least one award will go to an Educational Opportunity Program student and one to a non-EOP student. Application deadline is Feb. 15, 2012.

Pedro Arrupe Award — $2,500 for a junior in good standing and enrolled fulltime who emulates the values and ideals of Rev. Pedro Arrupe, S.J., and is involved in service in and beyond the Marquette community. Faculty/staff nomination is required along with student application and essay by March 23, 2012.

6. Workshop offered for faculty teaching capstone classes

The Center for Teaching and Learning will offer “Captivating Capstone Courses,” Wednesday, Feb. 1, from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Raynor Library 320H.

Faculty teaching capstone courses are responsible for helping students synthesize knowledge from a variety of different coursework and disciplines and transition into using their education as new professionals. This workshop will address the kinds of teaching strategies that can make capstones a culmination of students’ undergraduate education, the challenges in teaching capstone classes and the unique opportunity capstone courses provide for student learning assessment.

More information on the event and registration can be found online, or contact Mary Grant, Center for Teaching and Learning office assistant, at 8-0263 with additional questions.

7. Deadline for annual Faculty-Intercollegiate Athletics dinner tomorrow

The fourth annual complimentary Faculty-Intercollegiate Athletics Department dinner will take place Wednesday, Feb. 1, at 5 p.m. on the second floor of the Al McGuire Center in the Eagles’ Nest. Faculty family members are invited to attend the dinner and meet the Athletics Department staff. Tom Ford, associate athletics director, his staff and Dr. Phillip Naylor, faculty athletics representative, will serve as hosts.

The women’s basketball team will play against the University of Cincinnati afterward. Tip off is at 7 p.m. at the Al McGuire Center. Half-price tickets can be purchased at the Al McGuire Center ticket office anytime before the game.

Respond by Friday, Jan. 27 to Tom Ford.

8. Career Services Center and CIRCLES eMentor Network seeking alumni faculty mentors

The CIRCLES eMentor Network is a new program that the Marquette University Alumni Association has created on LinkedIn where faculty and alumni have the opportunity to connect with a student or young alumni to offer them career advice, industry information and address other concerns. Faculty and alumni can sign up online to learn more and be admitted to the LinkedIn group to receive a mentee.

Contact Jennilee Schlinsky, engagement officer, with questions.

9. Time changes for free group fitness classes Friday

The Department of Recreational Sports is offering free group fitness classes tomorrow, Jan. 27.

Classes are free to members. The cost is $2 for faculty and staff who are non-members:

• Spin at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. at the Rec Center
• Zumba at 1 p.m. at the Rec Center and at 3 p.m. at the Rec Plex
• Kickboxing at 1 p.m. at the Rec Plex
• Cardio Kickboxing at 4 p.m. at the Rec Center

For more information, call the group fitness office at 8-6979 or contact Shannon Bustillos, assistant director of recreational sports, at 8-7778.

10. Basketball tickets for staff offered at discounted rate

Tickets to Marquette’s men’s basketball games in the month of February are available to faculty and staff, plus friends and family members, at a special group rate of $5-off regular single-game prices. Games include:

Marquette vs. Cincinnati, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2 p.m. – “National Marquette Day”
Marquette vs. Rutgers, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 7 p.m.

To purchase tickets, staff should go online, select the game they would like to attend and, when prompted, enter the Special Offer Code: gomarquette.

11. Raynor Memorial Libraries offering RefWorks workshops

Raynor Memorial Libraries will be offering free RefWorks workshops for students and faculty. All sessions will be held in Raynor 227.

Sessions will be held:

• Wednesday, Feb. 1, noon to 1 p.m.
• Thursday, Feb. 2, 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Participants will learn how to set up an account, how to export and manage citations, and produce a bibliography using one of hundreds of citation outputs, including APA, MLA, Chicago and Turabian. Contact Rose Trupiano, librarian, at 8-5998.

12. Frybread fundraiser for Native American Student Association

The Marquette Native American Student Association (NASA), in partnership with the American Indian Task Force on Domestic Violence, will host their first frybread fundraiser Friday, Feb. 3, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Lalumiere Lobby. Frybread will be sold at $1 per piece, $5 per half-dozen and $10 per dozen. Indigenous Wojapi blueberry sauce will be $1.

Those who cannot make the event can arrange for campus delivery by contacting Noemy Sandoval, NASA president, or Jacqueline Schram, governmental and community affairs associate.

13. Interesting employee hobbies and activities wanted for story ideas

Story ideas about faculty, staff and administrators with interesting hobbies and activities in which they participate outside of Marquette are requested for Marquette Matters “On the Side” segments. Marquette Matters is the four-page, full-color monthly newsletter for Marquette employees.

Employees who would like to recommend a coworker or themselves as an “On the Side” story idea should e-mail their suggestions with plenty of details for consideration.

14. Follow Marquette updates online

Marquette community members can get information and stay up-to-date with Marquette happenings through multimedia and social networks. Connect with Marquette through:

• Marquette on Twitter – in 140 characters or less.
• Marquette’s Facebook page, as well as many Marquette departmental pages. There are more than 19,000 followers of Marquette’s Facebook page.
• Marquette on foursquare to discover tips about places on campus, including historical trivia and campus activities.
• Marquette News Center — RSS subscription available to receive university news announcements.
• Marquette’s YouTube channel, where viewers can watch, rate and comment on videos about Marquette.
• Videos of key thought leaders speaking on campus on the Difference Network.
• Marquette photos on Flickr.