Provost's Update: Friday, March 20, 2026

Office of the Provost

Friday, March 20, 2026

Good afternoon, colleagues. Here is this week’s update from Academic Affairs.

I want to share some notes from a couple of student events I was able to attend recently.

First is Pizza with the Provost, which was held last week. The Student Association sponsors this event and allows the deans and me to set aside time to sit down and discuss students' concerns about their courses, programs, and the university in general. This semester, more than 40 students attended. The event was scheduled to run for an hour and fifteen minutes. Students were so passionate about their discussions that we stayed for more than two hours!

Students discussed the need for clearer plans of study, consistent general education requirements, and more proactive advising to prevent confusion and help them plan.
They want improved communication, especially through familiar channels like Canvas and social media and earlier access to syllabi to make informed registration decisions.
They mentioned that they wanted better‑prepared graduate teaching assistants and felt less equipped for subsequent courses when TAs weren’t well prepared.
They again raised concerns about the cost of course materials and not having that information before the start of their courses.

They also discussed the need for a sense of belonging on campus, including extended building hours for study, better event timing, accessible community spaces, and opportunities for UWM as a campus with a large commuter community.

The second event was Admitted Student Day (ASD), the Office of Undergraduate Admissions hosted four programs this Spring. ASD sets the foundation for new student enrollment success and serves as a critical touchpoint for Future Panthers. These days ensure prospective students and their guests can experience all that UWM has to offer through a pep rally, a student engagement fair, and a university housing showcase. Attendees visited academic departments, and students were entered into a scholarship drawing. Thank you to all the campus partners who participated in these programs! It is a great reminder of our mission to meet these future panthers and their guests and learn a little bit about their goals.

This year’s events welcomed over 2,150 students and over 4,500 total attendees, including the students’ guests. This resulted in more than 1,400 orientation registrations, which are traditionally very high-yield events! If you would like to be involved, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions invites you to the Summer 2026 Onboarding Update on Monday, April 13, from 2:30-4 p.m. This virtual session shares highlights from Admitted Student Days and program details for Summer Orientation and Transition. Join the list to receive the virtual meeting link.

Profs. Qian Liao and Hani Titi (Civil & Environmental Engineering) have received nearly $300,000 from Wisconsin DOT to study erosion around bridge foundations, known as "scour." The aim is to make bridges safer while saving money on bridge maintenance. Read more.

Professor Emerita Julia Snethen (Nursing) died March 6 after a brief illness. Dr. Snethen leaves a long legacy at UWM, having been on the faculty for over 23 years, most recently as PhD program director and EC Vice Chair. Through her role as PhD program director, she led initiatives in curriculum reform and made scholarship beyond dissertation a priority among PhD students. The depth of her care for students, especially international students, made a profound impact. She has a history of service at UWM, having served on several governance committees. Nationally, she was inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in recognition of her impact on families and pediatric health, both nationally and internationally. A celebration of life/memorial will be held in the School of Nursing in mid-April. Contact Dean Litwack if you would like to be notified of that event. See a full obituary.

Professor Emeritus, Yutze Chow (Physics and Astronomy) died on March 1, 2026. His research included electrical engineering, theoretical physics, and pure mathematics. Read the full obituary.

Associate Professor Emeritus, Tom O'Bryan (Mathematical Sciences) died on February 24, 2026. Tom served as chair of the department and associate dean during his career at UWM. See the full obituary.

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) has launched! All staff members are encouraged to increase survey awareness, particularly among undergraduate first-year students and Seniors expected to graduate in the Spring or Summer semester. Students can log into PAWS or check their email to see if they received an invitation. For more information on NSSE, visit here or email Vicky D'Anjou-Pomerleau at danjoup2@uwm.edu.
Applications for the summer Support for Undergraduate Research Fellows (SURF) program are due April 15 (extended from April 1). SURF is designed to foster faculty-student research collaborations by providing a salary for students to engage in progressively sophisticated work led by a research mentor. Please note: you do have to have a student identified in order to apply, as this is a joint application. Questions can be directed to Kyla Esguerra at kylam@uwm.edu.
Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute is now accepting applications for its Center of Excellence (COE) Summer 2026 Student Scholars Program, which seeks to engage students in data science and AI research, working in and across disciplines to give them hands-on experience. Faculty principal investigators can apply directly, and student applicants must have written approval from a faculty member willing to supervise the proposed project. Visit the Student Scholars page to learn more. Apply via the COE Student Scholars Application by Sunday, March 29. Award notifications are anticipated by mid-April.
UWM's annual Undergraduate Research Symposium will be held April 24 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the UWM Union Wisconsin Conference Center. Please plan to join us for this campus-wide celebration of faculty/student research collaborations! Faculty/staff and graduate students interested in judging can sign up here.
Baja cars built by UWM engineering students from an array of departments fueled a banner racing season in the Midwest. UWM's student chapter of the Society of Automotive Engineers raced two different vehicles designed for punishing four-hour endurance races. Each car took home a top-ranked finish in one of the two intercollegiate, multi-state competitions. See the photo slideshow.

The Faculty Pre-Retirement Workshop will be hosted by the HR Benefits team and virtually via Teams on April 8, 2026, from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Faculty can register to attend online. The session will also be recorded.
Scott Genung, associate vice chancellor for IT and CIO, and Purush Papatla, NMDSI marketing professor and co-director, NMDSI, are hosting a webinar on “Using AI for Research” from 2:30-4 p.m. on Thursday, April 2. All who are interested in using AI for research are invited to attend. The webinar will include an overview of AI tools currently available at UWM, additional tools that are being reviewed and considered to be launched at UWM, resources available and being planned for assistance in using AI for research and teaching, and an overview of additional similar future events. Join the webinar using this Teams link.

You are welcome to join the Helen Bader Office of Applied Gerontology on Friday, April 10, for Artistic Representations of Aging, an annual event highlighting resilience in the older adult community through photography, film, and music. Enjoy photography and refreshments accompanied by live harp music from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. View the Wisconsin premiere of "In Life" from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m., followed by a talkback with directors, film participants, and experts in the field of aging—more information and RSVP.
UWM’s Latin American Film Series (LAFS) returns this spring for its 47th year, featuring six contemporary feature-length films from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. This year's stories bring us teenage rebellion, historical reckoning, pioneering athletes, absurdist tales from middle age, and much more! Join us to explore society, history, and the human experience. Visit the Film Series website for film summaries, showtimes, and details on our post-film discussions and director Q&A! Presented by the UWM Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, in partnership with UWM Union Cinema and Student Involvement, the film series will run from March 31 to April 4.
On March 9, Interim Head of the American Geographical Society Library and Public Services Librarian Georgia Brown sat down with Sandy Maxx of 620 WTMJ to chat about March Mapness -- an annual bracket-style tournament highlighting the AGSL's unique collection. Developed by Brown in 2020, March Mapness engages library patrons and cartophiles alike through weekly voting on the AGSL's Instagram story to name that year's best map. Listen to the interview (interview starts at 9:49) The
The Center for Water Policy has released “AI-Data Centers: Legislative Model to Promote Transparency and Environmental Protections.” The model includes draft legislative language that can be customized by states and local governments to suit their needs.
The C21 Reproductive Justice Collaboratory and La Revo Books welcome Stacie McCormick (author of “We Are Pregnant with Freedom”) and Nessette Falu (author of “Unseen Flesh”) to a conversation around Black feminist resistance and the power of storytelling on Friday, April 17, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Kuumba Coffee, 275 E. Keefe Ave. Please RSVP at this webpage by April 1. Refreshments from Kuumba will be provided.