Provost's Update: Friday, April 18, 2025

Office of the Provost

Friday, April 18 2025

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

This time in the semester is often a stressful time for faculty, staff and students alike. It has been an especially challenging time in higher education. Despite challenges, UWM continues to excel. I would like to highlight some achievements and opportunities for innovation.

UWM had 19 graduate programs ranked in the top 100 by U.S. News and World report. This achievement is a testament to the hard work by faculty, staff and students across campus. I appreciate the dedication to excellence and the ways departments continue to go above and beyond.
The recently opened Graduate Student Commons is the result of a multi-year effort across campus. This space in the Golda Meir Library opened earlier this month and is already well utilized for collaboration and study and is making an impact on the student experience at UWM.
The 2025 Undergraduate Research Symposium will be held April 25 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Union Wisconsin Room. This is the 17th year of the symposium. The event showcases outcomes from the year's undergraduate research collaborations via poster and oral presentations. I encourage you to stop by, support undergraduates, and learn about the remarkable research happening at UWM.
The President’s and Chancellor’s Challenge is a community engaged research initiative that brings together innovative thinkers to address local, Milwaukee challenges and make an impact. This is a partnership between three higher education institutions: Marquette University, Medical College of Wisconsin and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Funding supports both faculty and community partners to work in collaboration for 18-months. Project submissions should address poverty in Milwaukee. See more about this challenge, timeline for submissions, and opportunities. Questions can be directed to Vice Chancellor Chia Vang.

In the face of many headwinds, I am grateful for the resilience of the campus community at UWM and the ways in which we continue to excel in research, opportunity, scholarship, community and global engagement.

Prof. Kennan Ferguson (Political Science) has been awarded a Distinguished Fulbright Scholar award for spring 2026 at Charles University, the 10th oldest university in the world, in Prague (Czech Republic), the heart of art and culture in Central Europe. The Distinguished Fulbright Scholar award is among Fulbright’s most prestigious.

A recent report by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has recognized the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for its exceptional commitment to mathematics education in teacher preparation. UWM earned an A+ rating, distinguishing it as one of only three institutions in Wisconsin dedicating sufficient instructional time to essential math topics.

The American Geographical Society Library collection was recently featured in CBS 58 News “Hometowns” segment. Watch the video.

Associate Profs. Xiaoli Ma and Yin Wang (CEAS) have a new grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to investigate PFAS removal from water with a novel material. Read more about this grant.

Three UWM Chinese Program students won top honors at the 2025 Midwest Chinese Speech Contest, showcasing their language skills and cultural talent. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Genevieve, Hidayah, and Celinia for their outstanding accomplishments. Their success reflects not only their individual dedication and the strength of UWM’s Chinese language program, but also their role as inspiring ambassadors of cross-cultural engagement on campus.

Donald Sherman, professor emerit, civil and environmental engineering, passed on March 26, 2025, at the age of 89. Sherman had a distinguished career at UWM for just over 30 years and was a renowned structural engineering figure in the steel industry. Read the full remembrance.

Academic Affairs will be hosting a promotion to full professor panel discussion on May 13 from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. in the Golda Meir Library, 4th Floor Conference Center. Join a panel of full professors as they share insights, experiences, and advice on preparing for promotion. Register online. Direct questions to Vice Provost Canan Bilen-Green.
Please join the Records Officer and Digital Archivist for this virtual training opportunity to learn about staff records retention requirements and processes. In this virtual presentation, Derek Webb (UWM Records Officer) and Shiraz Bhathena (Digital Archivist) will walk campus employees through some fundamentals of records management. More information and registration.
Join your UWM colleagues as we celebrate the remarkable tenure of Chancellor Mark Mone and wish him well on his next ed-ventures! Enjoy light refreshments, camaraderie and a chance to share memories during this special gathering on Thursday, May 8 from 4:00 p.m. -6:00 p.m. in the UWM Union Ballroom. Please RSVP by Friday, April 25.

Matthew Desmond, author of “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City,” which won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 2017, will be speaking about his latest book, “Poverty, by America” on April 30, 6:30 p.m., at the UWM Student Union, Wisconsin Room. The event is free, registration is recommended. Registration.
Join the Center for 21st Century Studies on April 24 for a guest lecture featuring Kyle Whyte, George Willis Pack Professor of Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan, entitled "Kinship, Our Experience of Time, and Environmental Responsibility." Information and registration.
Due to the introduction of Workday, the Universities of Wisconsin System will be decommissioning the Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition (OBIEE) application. Since OBIEE’s go-live in March 2019, UWM authors have created a collection of shared dashboards with UWM data warehouse data to meet a wide variety of campus needs. Many of these dashboards will be recreated in other platforms. More information.
Help us recognize and celebrate the incredible impact of UWM alumni by submitting a nomination for the 2026 UWM Alumni Awards! These awards honor graduates who exemplify excellence in their professions, service to the community and support of UWM. Your insight into and connections with alumni doing amazing things make you a vital part of this process. Nomination forms and internal recommendations are open now and due by Aug. 29, 2025.