The UW-Madison Department of Chemistry is delighted to host the 2023 University of Wisconsin System Chemistry Faculties Meeting. Please plan to join us in Madison on November 3 and 4, 2023 for opportunities to engage and learn. Click on the Schedule tab to view the agenda for activities that we hope will stimulate wide-ranging conversation and action. Please reserve your hotel room now – detailed information is provided in the Accommodations tab. The Registration tab provides a link to use to register for the meeting. All events will take place in our new North Tower chemistry education building, highlighted with a tour on Friday night.
We have reserved a room block at the DoubleTree Downtown Hilton hotel and the rate is $176, which is higher than the state rate of $109. The Doubletree provides free parking and free shuttle service and is an 11-minute walk from the Department of Chemistry.
https://www.hilton.com/en/attend-my-event/msndtdt-uwc-111b52c4-6073-41ef-8be2-7d3660c9f3b8/
There are less expensive options for downtown hotels and farther from campus. We were not able to reserve blocks of rooms at the downtown hotels, but you may make individual reservations. We encourage you to log into Concur to search for hotels that have rooms at the state rate of $109. These rooms are likely to go quickly, so please book now!
Please see the list of hotels below that are within walking distance of the chemistry department. You can find others on Concur as well.
The Wisconsin Union Hotel (Union South) and Fluno Center are on-campus hotels that may have rooms at the state rate. (Union South is across the street from the Chemistry department and the Fluno Center is a 10-minute walk. $18.00 parking at Union South and $15.00 parking at the Fluno Center. No shuttle service for either).
Best Western Inntowner (free parking and shuttle service, 25-minute walk)
Hilton Garden Inn (11-minute walk, $20 parking, no shuttle service)
Hampton Inn and Suites (15-minute walk, $20 parking, no shuttle service)
Edgewater Hotel is a more upscale hotel with some state-rate rooms available. (25-minute walk, $24 self-parking, free shuttle service)
Friday, November 3rd
4 – 4:30 p.m.
Check in and setup
4:30 – 6 p.m.
Posters and vendors
6 p.m.
Dinner
6:35 – 6:45 p.m.
Greetings from the Organizing Committee, Gil Nathanson, Department of Chemistry, UW–Madison
6:45 – 7 p.m.
Welcome remarks by John W. Moore, Department of Chemistry, UW–Madison
7 – 8 p.m.
Three ideas that are (probably) more useful than science literacy: competent outsiders, epistemic networks, and appropriate respect presented by Noah Weeth Feinstein, Curriculum & Instruction and Community & Environmental Sociology, UW–Madison.
8 – 9 p.m.
Tour of North Tower and Daniels renovations
9 – 10 p.m.
Informal discussions
Saturday, November 4th
7 a.m.
Registration
7:30 – 8:30 a.m.
Breakfast (Department Chairs meet separately)
8:30 – 8:45 a.m.
Introduction to sessions and BCCE announcement
8:45 – 9:45 a.m.
The manufacture of hierarchies in STEM higher education: Why our fields’ forgotten histories matter today presented by Katie Kirchgasler, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, UW-Madison
10 – 11 a.m.
Session 1: How and why do we create differences between students via the structure of our courses?
A (sometimes tacit) goal of chemistry courses is to create differences between students in our class, some get A’s, B’s, etc. The differences we create act to open doors for some students and close doors for others. In this series of guided reflections, we will consider why we create differences, how structures in our course create differences, and what, if anything, we would like to change.
11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Session 2: How do we build the capacity to envision and create more equitable and relevant chemistry learning spaces?
We anticipate that all who attend this UW system chemistry faculties (UWCF) meeting aim for chemistry courses to be both equitable and relevant to learners’ later personal and professional goals. In this series of guided reflections, we will consider practical barriers to the changes we hope for (e.g., funding constraints, university policies, disciplinary norms), levers that might enable useful change (e.g., curriculum development working groups, funding possibilities, public engagement, outreach), and how we can keep conversations (like this one) going beyond this meeting.
12:15 – 12:30 p.m.
Buffet lunch
12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Session 3: Focused Interest Topics over lunch: topics to be determined from suggestions.
1:30 – 1:35 p.m.
Concluding remarks
1:35 – 2:30 p.m.
“Birds of a Feather” – focused discussions about topics of interest
Registration is $100 per person and covers all meals (Friday dinner, Saturday breakfast, and Saturday lunch).
If you will need to park a car, we encourage you to reserve a spot by clicking on the link below. Parking is $15.00 per day. The closest space is lot 80, the Union South Parking ramp. Lot 7 (Granger Hall) is also nearby. You may also try parking on the same day without reserving, but spots in these lots are not guaranteed. The link provides real-time updates of available parking. The Chemistry building is at the corner of Mills and University avenues. More information will be added soon.
The poster session is scheduled for Friday, November 3rd from 4:30 – 6 p.m. To participate, please submit your information here:
Looking for things to do while in Madison? Here are some great resources:
Please contact Gil Nathanson with questions/suggestions.
Please see “Poster Session Information” tab for submitting poster information for the Friday night poster session.
We are grateful to our sponsors for helping make this meeting possible, including:
