Category Archives: Action

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CAS Curriculum committee call

Renee Baernstein is looking for one more social science member on CAS curriculum committee, and there are currently no members from PSY; she writes:

I would like your help with nominations from your department/program for one person to serve on the CAS Curriculum Committee to complete the remaining 2 years of a 3-year term. The appointment will begin this fall. We already have two reps for social science (from SPA and GEO, respectively) and are seeking a third from another Social Science department. All continuing faculty (tenure-line and lecturers/clinical) are eligible.

The person would need to be able to make the following 1-hour meeting times:

Tuesday – August 28, 1:30

Monday – September 10 3:00

Tuesday – September 25 1:30

Monday – October 8 3:00

Tuesday – October 23 1:30

Monday – November 5 3:00

Tuesday – November 27 1:30

Please contact her directly and also let me know if you would be willing to fulfill this important service.

Student travel grants

The Council on Undergraduate Research sponsors travel grants for students who will be presenting research, and as an institutional member we are eligible to nominate students for these awards:

  • For the Psychology Division travel grant, there are two funding cycles annually but note that the deadline is February 15 for the current cycle (presentation at a spring conference, such as MPA).
  • For the Social Science Division travel grant, exclusively for those in social psychology, awards are made on a first-come, first-served basis. Note that we will be able to provide the matching funds required for this award through either Miami’s UPA or the department.

Visitors to your classes?

College visitation season is upon us, and many prospective students desire to visit classes while they are on campus. The Office of Admission has asked us to provide a list of spring semester courses that prospective students can visit. If you are willing to allow visitors to any of your courses this semester, please add them directly to this Google Sheet. Please make sure that it is on the CAS tab (the one with AAA 201 as the example). Note that you are able to include comments, constraints, unavailable dates, etc. in addition to the course information.

Reminder: University teaching awards

The dean has asked me to remind you all of the call for nominations for the Distinguished Educator and Graduate Student Teaching Awards:

The Distinguished Educator Award will honor two faculty members for excellence in teaching and related professional activities and the Graduate Student Teaching Award will recognize superior teaching by graduate assistants and teaching fellows.

There must be at least three nominations in order to present this award to anyone.

For additional information, you may contact me or Nancy Burnside (9-1234). These nominations must be sent electronically to Nancy by March 1.

Please help to Make It Miami!

Once again, it will soon be time for the Make It Miami recruitment events for prospective students. Ted Peters in the dean’s office is asking for faculty volunteers from each department for academic exploration sessions to be held in Armstrong, 11:30 – 12:15, on several Mondays and Fridays through April. If you are willing and able to contribute, please enter your name directly on this spreadsheet as soon as possible.

Three-minute thesis (3MT) competition

The Graduate School has announced this year’s 3MT competition, for which the top presenters get some significant prize money, and the winner goes on to a regional competition! From Lou Haines:

I am happy to announce that the Graduate School’s 5th annual 3MT will be held on Wednesday, March 7, 2018. We have a 3MT workshop scheduled for Friday, February 9th and preliminary rounds on four dates in February. Students may register at this Qualtrics link, and when they do, I will add them to the 3MT Canvas site where they will find a wealth of information on preparing for the competition.

This is a fantastic way for students to hone their presentation skills as well as learn how to explain their research to a diverse group.

Faculty award for graduate mentoring and instruction

Nominations are now open for this award to acknowledge excellent and sustained contributions to graduate education, for which several of our faculty are eligible and undoubtedly deserving. From Rose Marie Ward:

Full-time faculty members from academic units with graduate and/or professional instructional responsibilities are eligible for the Distinguished Teaching Award for Excellence in Graduate Instruction and Mentoring. The award includes a $1,000 professional expense account for use by the recipient. Up to two recipients will be selected to receive this award annually.

Eligible faculty must have seven years at Miami, but anyone is able to submit nominations directly to me. If you are considering someone for this award, please let me know and/or ask any questions as soon as possible since the application requires some preparation and it is due March 1.

Career day in quantitative skills for women

John Bailer, chair in Statistics, sends word of this program focused at educating and encouraging young women in fields requiring technical and quantitative skills. I think many of our female faculty would contribute well to this event if it interested any of you. He writes:

​​The CIQS Day is an annual event exclusively for female high school students designed to attract and motivate the study of a career involving quantitative skills. For this event, we invite such students from high schools in Southwestern Ohio (including downtown Cincinnati) to come to campus, participate in activities with faculty and current students, listen to faculty and student presentations, and converse with women who are working in STEM fields and in fields where good quantitative skills are needed. It is our hope that by introducing the students to these fields early, and by exposing them to exciting aspects of our fields of study, they will become intrigued and motivated to study a STEM discipline or to continue to study quantitative methods regardless of future majors.

Those that are interested can contact me (or John) for more information, program, or publicity materials.

Self-nominations for 2018-19 CAS committees

The call for nominations to CAS committees has been released, and I would encourage you all to consider these, as relevant. It can be valuable for our department to be well represented, and college-level committees are an important service contribution to be recognized in annual reviews and promotion consideration. From Renee Baernstein, via Nancy Burnside:

I write to invite you to volunteer for service on for the various standing committees of the College of Arts and Science. The committees listed below have expected vacancies for 2018-19. Before the Committee on Committees makes recommendations to fill the vacancies, you are invited to indicate your interest. You must have continuing faculty status to be eligible. Please email Nancy Burnside by Monday, November 27 if you are interested in serving on any of the committees listed below, and specify which committee(s) you are interested in.

Committee of Advisors: 4 year term. Reviews petitions from undergraduate students regarding exceptions to academic requirements of the CAS and University. Meets every other week, until the 9th week of the term when it becomes weekly; occasional (but not required) meetings during the summer and winter terms. Advising experience such as being CDA is helpful but not required. Eligibility: all continuing faculty.

Curriculum Committee: 3 year term. Reviews all new or changed courses and programs (majors, minors etc) in the CAS. Meets every two weeks during the fall and spring semester. Eligibility: all continuing faculty.

Governance Committee: 2 year term. Meets as needed to discuss revisions to the CAS Manual of Operations and other governance docs. Has not met in recent years. Eligibility: all continuing faculty.

Personnel Committee: 2 year term. Advises the Dean on recommendations for tenure and promotion of tenure-line faculty. Meets several times in the fall semester, including one long meeting. Eligibility: full professors.

Pre-health Advisory Committee AND Ecology Research Center Policy Committee. These two committees generally comprise faculty whose professional interests lie in these areas. Coordinate and set goals and policy for these programs. Eligibility: all continuing faculty.

From time to time there are also vacancies in the advisory committees for interdisciplinary programs. If you have a professional interest in any of these areas and would be interested in serving on the committee should a vacancy occur, please check below where appropriate. We will inform the appropriate chair(s) of your interest.

East Asian Studies Program Committee
European Area Studies Program
Medieval Studies Program Committee
Middle East and Islamic Studies