July Issue Now Available

Welcome to the second edition of Letters & Science News & Notes! 

As you can see, we've changed things up quite a bit. We've moved over to a new blog format and our navigation menu has changed.

To read this month's stories, see our July Issue. 

Please be sure to check out our upcoming Publishing Deadlines and Tips for Submitting Notes. If you would like to sign up for our monthly e-mail update please Sign Up Here.

The next submission deadline is Friday, July 17th.  Thank you to everyone for your notes - we hope your summer is off to a great start.

Category: Announcements
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Dean's News: 41 new faculty come on board in 2009-10

I’m proud to say that we have recruited 41 new faculty to the College of Letters & Science in 2009-2010. 

I look forward to meeting and working with our new professors.  They represent a strong commitment our core values of undergraduate teaching and learning in the College. 

- Gary Sandefur
Dean of the College of Letters & Science

Category: College Updates
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Dean's News: Paul DeLuca, Jr. named new provost

Chancellor Martin named Paul DeLuca Jr. the university's provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs on June 11, 2009.

Paul hails from the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) where he served as vice dean and associate dean for research and graduate studies.  Although he has been in the SMPH for many years, he has a strong liberal arts background leading to a Ph.D. in Physics. 

I worked with Paul on a number of campus-wide initiatives and issues over the years and have found him to be very knowledgeable about the challenges and opportunities facing the university.

- Gary Sandefur
Dean of the College of Letters & Science 

Category: College Updates
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Lecturer's topic stirs students, brings story of UW student killed in WWII relocation camp to light

A big round of applause goes to Victor Jew, lecturer in the Asian American Studies Program.

Jew organized "Reclaiming Our Past: The Untold Stories of Asian America: A Three-Day Series of Arts, Academic Scholarship, and Commemoration."

Through his course on "Asian Americans in the Midwest", Jew introduced students to James Wakasa. Wakasa was a student at UW-Madison in 1916 who was later killed in a Japanese American relocation camp during World War II. 

Category: Humanities & the Arts
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Cochrane will head to Colombia to research a moutainous flowering plant

The genus Podandrogyne, a flowering plant in the mountainous regions from Guatemala to Bolivia

Dr. Theodore Cochrane, Senior Academic Curator in the Wisconsin State Herbarium, has received a professional development grant to undertake field research in Colombia later this year.

His goal is ultimately to publish a taxonomic revision of the flowering plant genus Podandrogyne. These fascinating plants are in the family Cleomaceae and live in mountainous regions from Guatemala to Bolivia.

Cochrane's work will involve identifying unidentified and misidentified collections in two major Columbia herbaria, photography and field collecting.

Category: Biological & Physical Sciences
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L&S instructors share teaching ideas with LessonShare

A growing number of instructional communities in L&S are using LessonShare, a web-based tool that allows people to share, organize, and improve their collections of teaching materials.

In Spring 2009, the BioCore Outreach Ambassadors and English 100 launched LessonShare projects.

Next semester, English Literature and Russian Literature are both planning to build and launch their LessonShare sites. Want to get started in your department?  For more information.

Category: College Updates
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Poli Sci professors share expertise at WMC summit

Three Political Science professors were the main speakers at the June 2009 Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce Foundation's Business Leadership Summit, titled "Navigating International Waters."

Acting on the Wisconsin Idea, Professor Melanie Manion, Associate Professor Scott Gehlbach, and Assistant Professor Nils Ringe, brought their expertise to bear on the challenges and opportunities of doing business in China, Russia, and the European Union, respectively.

Jim Haney, WMC president, received a BA in Political Science from UW-Madison.

Category: Social Sciences
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