Summer’s no snooze on campus

 

Campus is not dormant during the summer.

Though they may not quite match the hustle and bustle of the fall and spring semesters, the summer months are filled with activity at UW–Madison.

Here’s a rundown of some of the major developments this summer:

• The new Dejope Residence Hall, located on the campus’s west side near the Lake Mendota shore, opened its doors to students. “Dejope,” which means “four lakes” in the Ho-Chunk language, has been the term used by American Indians to refer to the Madison area for thousands of years. The residence hall will be home to up to 408 students.

• UW scientists played key roles in one of the science sensations of the summer —the discovery of a new particle in the search for the elusive Higgs boson.

• About seven weeks and more than a million prying eyes after it hatched — the last red-tailed hawk chick raised on a Weeks Hall window ledge threw caution to the wind and flapped away from home.

• The university created a “critical compensation fund” to offer targeted salary increases for critical faculty and staff to address the growing gap in compensation between UW–Madison and its peer institutions.

• Microsoft Office 365 was selected as the campus email and calendar software system in one of several recommendations from teams working on the Administrative Excellence project. Learn more about what else is happening with Administrative Excellence here.

• UW Libraries officially launched the new library catalog, replacing the nearly 15-year-old MadCat and featuring a sleek new interface that makes it easier to find the books, journals and other resources needed for learning, teaching and research.

• Renovation of the Memorial Union began in earnest in mid-June, with the erection of construction fences heralding the first phase of the project. The project will restore the historic building while adding modern technology and improving accessibility and infrastructure using the latest green standards promoting sustainability and energy efficiency. The official groundbreaking came this week.

• Federally mandated conflict of interest rules tightened considerably for faculty, staff and some students. Learn more here.

• Workers put the finishing touches on the new Gordon Dining & Event Center in the southeast area of campus.

• At the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, humanities scholars and scientists worked to find computational techniques for analyzing works of art, literature and music as part of their Hackathon series.

• HR Design project leaders met throughout the summer with campus governance groups, labor representatives and other stakeholders. The team is carefully considering feedback from these conversations, as well as that received during 38 engagement sessions this spring, to craft a plan to be released next month. Find updates about the HR Design project here.

• The Wisconsin State Fair went cardinal and white for a day on UW-Madison Day, with exploration stations, the band, the UW Spirit Squad and more.

• The former Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection in the School of Human Ecology was renamed the Center for Integrative Design in order to better reflect the activities it incorporates.

There are many personnel comings and goings of note:

• Mark D. Markel will become the third dean in the School of Veterinary Medicine’s 29-year history when he steps into the role vacated by outgoing Dean Daryl Buss on Sept. 1. Markel is a professor of medical sciences and associate dean for advancement at the school.

• Gary Sandefur, dean of the College of Letters & Science, announced he will step down at the end of the next academic year.

• William M. Elvey, director of facilities management at the University of Texas at Dallas, will take over as UW–Madison’s associate vice chancellor for facilities planning and management on Sept. 1.

• Soyeon Shim was selected as the School of Human Ecology’s new dean. Shim had been on the faculty of the University of Arizona in Tucson since 1990.

• School of Pharmacy Dean Jeanette Roberts announced she will step down effective Sept. 1, 2013.
• Paul Robbins began his duties as the new director of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies on Aug. 1.

• David Musolf, the secretary of the faculty who estimates he’s worked at 137 commencement ceremonies, announced his retirement in June.

• Miriam Simmons, longtime director of the popular Wisconsin Idea Seminar, retired as assistant dean for professional development and engagement in the Graduate School.

• Daniel Uhlrich, a professor of neuroscience in the School of Medicine and Public Health, was appointed associate vice chancellor for research policy.

• James Dahlberg, emeritus professor of biomolecular chemistry, was named interim executive director of the Morgridge Institute for Research by the board of trustees of the nonprofit biomedical research organization.

• Guido Podestá, associate dean of international studies and associate director of the International Institute, will serve as interim dean of the Division of International Studies and vice provost for globalization through the 2012-13 academic year.

• David Gamm, whose lab is internationally known for deriving retina cells and tissue-like structures from human stem cells, was selected as director of UW–Madison’s newly-renamed McPherson Eye Research Institute.

• The School of Music hired Johannes Wallmann as director of jazz studies.

Whew! And that was just a sampling. If all of those things happened in just a single summer, brace yourself for how much more 2012-13 has in store.