1. Father Pilarz encourages campus to review accreditation self-study draft

 

In a short video, President Scott R. Pilarz, S.J., encourages the campus community to review the self-study draft prepared for Marquette's reaffirmation of accreditation. The self-study is a critical step in the process and the feedback will be used to help ensure the final document accurately reflects the university.

Feedback will be collected between Monday, Jan. 28, and Friday, Feb. 22, and can be submitted online or by attending in-person feedback sessions, which will be held between Feb. 11 and 21. Each in-person session will focus on one of the five main criterion of the self-study.

The five criteria in the self-study are broken down into 21 core components and 71 subcomponents. Brief descriptions of these sections are available online, allowing campus members to identify areas of the self-study they might choose to review. Additional information and background about the reaffirmation of accreditation process is available online and in the February issue of Marquette Matters.

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2. College of Arts and Sciences deanship candidate visits continue this week

 

The search committee for the dean of the Helen Way Klingler College of Arts and Sciences has selected four finalists for the deanship. Each candidate will be making two-day visits to campus this month, with the final two candidate visits scheduled for this week.

While on campus, the candidates will have the opportunity to meet and interact with a broad array of Marquette faculty, students and staff. Each visit will conclude with a one-hour campus event to which all members of the university community are invited. The finalist will speak for approximately 20 minutes about the role of the arts and sciences at a Catholic, Jesuit university in the 21st century. The finalist's talk will be followed by an opportunity for questions and answers from those in attendance. The session will conclude with a reception from 5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., providing opportunities for informal conversation.

Dean candidate Dr. Erik Herron's visit will conclude with a one-hour campus event tomorrow, Tuesday, Jan. 29, at 4 p.m. in the AMU, Monaghan Ballroom B. This event is open to all faculty, staff and students.

Dean candidate Dr. Richard Holz's visit will conclude with a one-hour campus event Thursday, Jan. 31, at 4 p.m. in the AMU, Room 227. This event is open to all faculty, staff and students.

For additional information, visit the College of Arts and Sciences dean search website.

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3. Marquette, United Community Center receive $1.5 million federal grant for ongoing minority youth health project

Marquette and the United Community Center have received a $1.5 million grant to continue their work with minority youth who face disproportionately high health risks, a problem that persists across America. The work is part of 17 national Youth Empowerment Programs funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Minority Health.

Marquette partnered with the UCC and Bruce Guadalupe Community School, serving at-risk Latino youth through a program called Youth Empowered to Succeed. A short video highlighting the program's success can be found here.

Dr. Lawrence Pan and Dr. Paula Papanek, both of the Department of Physical Therapy in the College of Health Sciences, are the principal investigators of the UCC/Marquette partnership. Pan was also asked to summarize the data across the YEP program nationally. Marquette is receiving a second $875,000 grant over five years to continue to provide program evaluation and technical assistance to six additional grantees.

One of the more significant outcomes of the Marquette and UCC partnership was in the area of health and wellness. The program tested a trial lunch program at Bruce Guadalupe Community School. For six weeks, caloric intake at lunch was reduced from a pre-trial average of 922 calories to an average of 522 calories. These students lost an average weight of 3.5 pounds over the six weeks. At this rate, a controlled school lunch program could produce a 15-pound weight loss over an entire school year.

Data is also collected in areas such as sexual and reproductive health, violence prevention, health and wellness, and graduation rates. Researchers found that among youth in the YEP programs, high school graduation rates were 94 percent, compared to a 54-percent graduation rate among their peers.

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4. RSVP deadline extended for President's Strategic Planning Workshop

President Scott R. Pilarz, S.J., will forego the typical annual Presidential Address this year and use the date to invite the university to participate in a university-wide Strategic Planning Workshop. The President's Strategic Planning Workshop will be held Wednesday, Jan. 30, from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the AMU, Monaghan Ballroom. All faculty, staff and students are invited to attend and participate in the workshop, and should RSVP to University Special Events by Tuesday, Jan. 29, with their name, designation as faculty, staff or student, and department, office or college.

The event will begin promptly at 3 p.m. with introductory remarks by Father Pilarz, and will be followed by a 60-minute strategic planning workshop featuring guided discussions at each roundtable led by department chairs and director-level and assistant/associate vice president-level staff. The focus of the President's Strategic Planning Workshop is to ensure broad participation in a dynamic and collaborative cross-disciplinary process to identify possible strategic plan goals. Ideas generated at the workshop will be shared with the Marquette community for review and further input via the strategic planning website, and will be considered for inclusion in the final plan.

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5. Tickets available for Mission Week keynote event: The World is our Home

All Opus Prize guests will be interviewed together for the first time in a compelling public conversation among international leaders of faith and justice at the Mission Week keynote event, The World is our Home, Thursday Feb. 7, at 4 p.m. in the Varsity Theatre. Doors open at 3:30 p.m. Tickets are required and are available in the AMU, Brooks Lounge. One ticket per MUID will be issued.

Ambassador Mark Dybul, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, will facilitate. The fund has invested nearly $23 billion in support of large-scale prevention, treatment and care programs, and Dybul is widely recognized as a visionary leader on global health for his role in creating and implementing the President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief, the largest global health initiative undertaken to address a single disease.

After the keynote event, meet the Opus Prize recipients, who will be scattered among various "salons" for individual and small-group conversations, Thursday, Feb. 7, at 5:15 p.m. on the second floor of the AMU. Wander among the salons and talk personally with these amazing women and men of faith who have made the world and its people their home. All Opus Prize recipients and representatives will attend.

For additional information, contact University Special Events at 8-7431 or visit the Mission Week website.

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6. W-2 forms for 2012 will be postmarked by Jan. 31

Per IRS regulations, W-2 tax forms must be postmarked for employees by Jan. 31. Annual W-2 tax forms for employees will also be available online via MyJob. To view W-2s through MyJob, select "MU Employee Self Service," "Personal Actions," "Employee W-2" and "Start." Printing the W-2 from this webpage is an acceptable copy for attaching to annual tax returns. Use the printer icon below the words "Select Organization/Year," not the printer icon on your browsers, to print the form.

Traditional paper forms will be mailed to permanent home addresses.

New to the W-2 form this year, the Affordable Health Care Act requires employers to report the cost of coverage under employer-sponsored group health plans. The full employer and employee cost of medical insurance is reported in Box 12 of the Form W-2, with Code DD to identify the amount. This amount has no effect on employees' income or tax for the year. According to IRS regulations, the purpose of the reporting requirement is to provide employees with useful and comparable consumer information on the cost of their health care coverage.

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7. Submit feedback on new interface for Marquette website

The Office of Marketing and Communication has developed a new interface for the Marquette website, and a prototype is available for the university community to review. Faculty, staff and students are invited to review the prototype and share suggestions or recommendations via the feedback forms available on each page. The prototype will be open for review until mid-February, with the goal of beginning implementation of a new web interface this summer.

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8. Peacemaker in Residence to present screening of film, Fambul Tok

The Center for Peacemaking's 2013 Peacemaker in Residence Libby Hoffman will present, "Forgiving the Unforgivable: Fambul Tok and Community Healing," Thursday, Jan. 31, at 7 p.m. in the AMU, 252. Hoffman will show the epilogue to the documentary Fambul Tok and discuss the role of reconciliation, forgiveness, nonviolence and restorative justice in peacemaking.

Fambul Tok, Krio for "family talk," is an organization co-founded by Libby Hoffman that emerged in as a face-to-face community-owned program bringing together perpetrators and victims of the violence in Sierra Leone.

For additional information, contact the Center for Peacemaking at 8-8444.

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9. RSVP for Scholarly Communication Symposium by Feb. 4

Raynor Memorial Libraries will host a Scholarly Communication Symposium Monday, Feb. 11, in the Raynor Memorial Libraries' Beaumier Suites. All faculty, staff and graduate students are invited to attend. Coffee will be served at 9 a.m., with speakers beginning at 9:30 a.m. and end around 3 p.m. Lunch will be served at noon.

Sarah L. Shreeves, Joyce Ogburn, Dorothea Salo, Paul Royster and Dr. Jenn Fishman, assistant professor of English, will discuss issues related to open access publishing, research data management, institutional repositories, copyright, emerging technologies and other trends in scholarly communication. To RSVP or for more information, contact Emily Zegers, assistant librarian and coordinator of marketing and outreach, at 8-7068, by Monday, Feb. 4.

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10. Attend Retirewise seminar series on preparing for retirement

The Department of Human Resources will offer MetLife's Retirewise four-part seminar series beginning in February, with the same two classes offered each week, on two separate days over a four week time frame. This free Session A-Freshman Series is designed for employees who are starting to plan for their retirement or those who might need a refresher course in retirement planning. Session topics and dates include:

  • Building the Foundation – Tuesday, Feb. 5 and Wednesday, Feb. 6, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the AMU, 163

  • Creating and Protecting Wealth – Tuesday, Feb. 12 and Wednesday, Feb. 13, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the AMU, 254, and the AMU, 252, respectively

  • Establishing Your Retirement Income Stream – Tuesday, Feb. 19 and Wednesday, Feb. 20, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the AMU, 254, and the AMU, 252, respectively

  • Making the Most of What You Have – Tuesday, Feb. 26 and Wednesday, Feb. 27, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the AMU, 254, and the AMU, 252, respectively

Sessions are intended to build upon each other, and it is recommended that employees attend one class per week, although not mandatory. Registration information can be found online and should be completed by Friday, Feb. 1.

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11. Opus Prize recipients Rev. John Halligan, S.J., and Lyn Lusi will be honored during Mission Week 2013

The 10 Opus Prize recipients will be celebrated at events throughout Mission Week. Background on the achievements of two Opus Prize recipients can be found below, and additional information on all the recipients is available on the Mission Week website. News Briefs will continue to profile the Opus Prize recipients in each edition leading up to Mission Week.

2010 Opus Prize co-recipient Rev. John Halligan, S.J., has worked to develop a comprehensive approach to lifting families up and out of poverty in Quito, Ecuador. He recruited Sisters Miguel Conway and Cindy Sullivan to join in the ministry, which provides food, shelter, health care and social services to entire families living on site at the Working Boys' Center. Children attend school, and teenagers and adults are trained to become some of Quito's most competent welders, furniture makers, bakers, mechanics and beauticians. Every family is required to save toward the purchase of a plot of land and help other families build their homes. The center has helped 6,000 families become self-sufficient and hosts thousands of volunteers each year who share in a faith and service experience with Father Halligan and his staff.

2011 Opus Prize recipient Lyn Lusi and her husband, Dr. Jo Lusi, founded the HEAL Africa Hospital. The war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has claimed more than 6 million lives since 1996, and mass rape continues to be used as a strategy of war, often spreading HIV/AIDS to the survivors. HEAL Africa works from the principle that lasting change can't be imposed but comes from within communities themselves. Since 2003, HEAL Africa has performed more than 1,500 fistula repair surgeries, provided primary care and post-rape counseling to more than 30,000 women, established 31 safe houses, trained 90,000 community activists in HIV/AIDS prevention and care, and funded more than 1,500 microgrants for families. Lyn Lusi passed away from cancer in March 2012. Lyn's husband, Dr. Jo Lusi, and her daughter, Nadine, are present to represent HEAL Africa's work and honor her memory.

For additional information and a full schedule of events, visit the Mission Week website.

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12. Strategic Planning Coordinating Committee hosting office hours Thursday

The Strategic Planning Coordinating Committee co-chairs will host office hours Thursday, Jan. 31, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. in the AMU, 231. Other strategic planning office hours throughout the semester include:

  • Wednesday, Feb. 6, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. in the AMU, 448
  • Monday, Feb. 11, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the AMU, 231
  • Wednesday, Feb. 20, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. in the AMU, 233
  • Thursday, Feb. 28, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the AMU, 362
  • Thursday, March 7, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. in the AMU, 362
  • Monday, March 18, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the AMU, 231
  • Wednesday, March 27, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the AMU, 233

Those interested in attending any of the office hours should RSVP to Laura Hagan, office assistant in the Office of the University Architect, at 8-4439.

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13. Encourage students to attend Study Abroad Fair, Feb. 1

The spring Study Abroad Fair will be held Friday, Feb. 1, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the second floor of the AMU, and will highlight summer study abroad options. The Office of International Education will also hold region-specific information meetings Sunday, Feb. 3, through Monday, Feb. 11. Faculty and staff are requested to encourage interested students to attend. For more information, contact the Office of International Education at 8-7289.

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14. Child abuse identification and intervention training program offered

The Department of Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology Graduate Student Organization will host "Child Abuse Identification and Intervention Training," Friday, Feb. 8, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Schroeder Complex, 112.

This free event will focus on how to identify and intervene in suspected cases of the physical or sexual abuse of children. Scott Neubauer, retired police chief and child protection advocate, will discuss how to work with survivors, offenders, law enforcement and community partners utilizing both case studies and research.

Space is limited. RSVP to Audrey Cowling. For more information, contact Dakota Kaiser.

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15. College of Education hosting book drive for children in India

The College of Education will host a children's illustrated book drive to support the Reach Education Access Program, which has succeeded in leading thousands of children back to school or into vocational training programs. The REAP program was founded by Rev. Trevor Miranda, S.J., an Opus Prize recipient who will be on campus for Mission Week. Through a non-formal education program that takes literacy to the doorstep of the poor, REAP works tirelessly for the eradication of illiteracy throughout India. New and used children's books can be dropped off now through Friday, Feb. 8, at the following locations:

  • Residence hall front desks
  • Schroeder Complex, rooms 146 and 151
  • AMU Information Desk
  • Raynor Memorial Libraries' lobby

For additional information, contact University Special Events at 8-7431.

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16. New school choice movement display is part of The Freedom Project

Raynor Memorial Libraries will sponsor a school choice movement display beginning Monday, Jan. 28, through Saturday, May 11, on the second floor of Raynor Memorial Libraries as part of The Freedom Project.

The display focuses on the question: should parents be given public funds to send their children to private or parochial schools? Late 20th-century advocates of this controversial policy articulated their position with the language of freedom - the freedom of parents to choose what was best for their children. It describes the politically charged modern school choice movement, paying particular attention to Milwaukee, a key battleground in the school choice struggle.

For more information, contact Raynor Memorial Libraries at 8-7556.

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