Timely information to help build community within SMPH:
In Memory
- We share sad news of the passing of Steven Kornguth, PhD, who was a professor of neurology and biomolecular chemistry at the UW–Madison from 1962 to 1998.
Resources
- Corpus Callosum — Ebling Library’s arts journal featuring the art work of the staff, students, and faculty of the UW-Madison health sciences campus — is now accepting submissions for the Fall 2020 issue. Submissions will be open until November 6. Visit the Submissions page for more information and guidelines.
- Two chair searches have opened recently: the search for the Chair of the Department of Neuroscience, and the search for the Chair of the Department of Medical Physics. Please encourage interested candidates to apply.
- October marks CommUNITY Well-being Month, which is taking place in lieu of the Wellness Symposium. The month will provide 31 days of powerful virtual learning and discussion, including presentations, resources, and suggested activities. Daily events will focus on seven dimensions of well-being, including reflection, mindfulness, environment, health, safety, connection, and meaning.
- A recording of the October 1 All Staff Town Hall offered by the Committee on Academic Staff Issues and the University Staff Issues Committee is available. Presenters included Associate Dean for HR Hope Broadus, JD, Senior Associate Dean for Finance Ken Mount, Employment Relations Manager Anne Mekschun, Director of Talent Management Kristen Seguin, with additional moderation support from Executive Assistant Ko Lor.
- October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and this year’s theme is “Do your part. Be #cybersmart.” Resources are available from the federal Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency. IT professionals and others who are interested are welcome to register for Cybersecurity Forward virtual presentations.
- All faculty and staff are invited to submit questions for the October 12 SMPH Faculty/Staff Meeting town hall. The meeting, which will be conducted via Webex, begins at 4:30 pm.
Upcoming Events: Anti-Racism and/or Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
- The Building Community/Ebling Library Book & Film Club have two upcoming discussion sessions on the schedule (October 15 and October 23). The first session (October 15) will be a discussion of the award-winning documentary Human Zoos: America’s Forgotten History on Scientific Racism (available free on YouTube). This session will be led by Elizabeth Petty, MD, and Tracy Downs, MD, FACS. The October 23 discussion will focus on the book I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness. The author, Austin Channing Brown, is a keynote speaker at the upcoming UW-Madison Diversity Forum. This session will be led by Vera Tsenkova, PhD. As a pilot, the Book & Film Club is offering free Amazon Kindle versions of this book for the first 15 participants who request one. For more info or to register, see the Building Community/Ebling Library Book and Film Club website.
- The UW–Madison Division of Diversity, Equity and Educational Achievement is also offering Diversity Book Club Discussions on October 13 and 15 with discussions of “I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness” by Austin Channing Brown and “White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism” by Robin DiAngelo. Brown and DiAngelo are the keynote speakers for this year’s Diversity Forum.
- WISELI virtual workshops on Breaking the Bias Habit in October and November are available for faculty and staff and a workshop for SMPH members serving on faculty search committees on October 21.
- The Center for Community Engagement and Health Partnerships led by Gina Green Harris began this past summer an Addressing Systemic Racism series. The first event was held in June titled Addressing Systemic Racism: From Its Origins to Its Impact throughout Life. Additional series events have included Reforming our Health and Health Care Systems and How the Media Impact the Narrative of Black Americans. All three of these events were recorded and are available at the following website.