Tuesday, October 26, 2021

Monday, November 1,  at 12:00 p.m.
Monday Memoir in celebration of Veterans Day

In November we celebrate Veterans Day, which is the focus of our second Monday Memoir of this academic year.  One of our storytellers is veteran Dave Deyak, Assistant Dean, Program and Student Experience, Graduate Management Programs. Our other two storytellers are Anthony Reynolds, MBA student and Army National Guard Officer and Joshua Hjelmaas, JD and MSBA student and USAF ROTC Cadet. 

Please mark your calendars and join us on Monday, November 1, via Zoom.

Thursday, November 4,  at 12:00 p.m.: Women in Business webinar
Why we chose a PhD and a career in academia

Join Tippie College of Business Dean Amy Kristof-Brown and dynamic women professors from all six academic departments to learn more about a career in academia. They will share why a PhD was the right choice for their careers. The webinar covers all the ins and outs of an academic career, advice on balancing work and family life, and how you can get started on your path to a PhD.

Wednesday, November 17, at 12:00 p.m.: Inclusive Teaching Circle

Join Professor Michele Williams in a presentation and discussion of the new Inclusive Teaching Guide she created, to help faculty have easy access to resources that they need or want to explore. This will be our first inclusive teaching circle of the semester. The inclusive teaching circle, founded by Ken Brown and Amy Colbert, facilitates conversations about practices that create an inclusive classroom environment in which every student feels respected and valued. Join us on Zoom.

Friday, November 19, at 9:30 a.m.: Tippie DEI Event Fall 2021
"Mindset, Metacognition, and Memory: Three Ms to Support Inclusive Student Learning"

Our main Tippie DEI Event of this Fall semester on Inclusive Teaching and Learning features Professor Shaun Vecera from the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences as our guest speaker.  Trained as a cognitive psychologist, Professor Vecera’s research centers on visual attention and perception. He received several teaching awards, including the President and Provost Teaching Award for Teaching Excellence and the Honors Program Teaching Award. He also received the Award for Outstanding First-Generation Student Advocacy in 2019. One of his most recent classes is Learning About Learning, which uses principles from cognitive science to help students learn how to learn effectively. 

Please mark your calendars and join us either in person in S401 PBB or on Zoom. A separate announcement of this event will be sent out with an RSVP for either one of the attendance options. 

Tippie and UI Community events 

Day of the Dead Community Ofrenda event (November 1-2) 

A Dia de los Muertos art installation and performance will take place in Weatherby Park, Iowa City. 48 hrs, in tribute to those who died during the Covid-19 pandemic. Performance presentations on Monday, November 1, 6-8 p.m. and on Tuesday, November 2, 6-8 p.m. The public will be able to visit the installation in person during the 48 hrs installation, or via the internet during the special events.

Tippie Senate will also host a Day of the Dead event within Tippie. More details on this will be shared during this week. 

2021 National First-Generation College Celebration (November 8-12)
The official National First-Generation College Celebration day falls on November 8 and at UI the celebration spans an entire week.

Friday, November 12 at 12:15 p.m. is the day of the First-Generation Celebration Week Group Photo on the West Portico Steps at the Old Capitol Museum. Everyone is invited to wear their first-gen or first-gen advocate t-shirts and stop by the Old Capitol Museum to participate in a group photo. If you cannot participate in the group photo, you can still wear your t-shirt that week to celebrate being a first-gen student or first-gen advocate.

November is National Native American/American Indian Heritage Month. This is a time to celebrate rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and histories and to acknowledge the important contributions of Native people. This is also an opportune time to learn about tribes, to raise a general awareness about the unique challenges Native people have faced both historically and in the present, and the ways in which tribal citizens have worked to conquer these challenges.

Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead (November 1-2) 

Dia de los Muertos is a celebration of Life and Death. The holiday originated in Mexico, but is now celebrated all across Latin America with colorful calaveras (skulls) and calacas (skeletons). Honoring the deceased during this celebration includes building ofrendas (home altars) with the favorite food and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these offerings.

All Saints Day and All Souls Day (November 1-2) 

All Saints Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, or Hallowmas, is a Christian celebration in honor of all the saints from Christian history. In Western Christianity, it is observed on November 1st by the Roman Catholic Church, the Methodist Church, the Lutheran Church, and other Protestant denominations. The Eastern Orthodox Church and associated Eastern Catholic churches observe All Saints Day on the first Sunday following Pentecost. 

All Souls Day is a holy day set aside for honoring the dead. The day is primarily celebrated in the Catholic Church, but it is also celebrated in the Eastern Orthodox Church and a few other denominations of Christianity. The Anglican church is the largest protestant church to celebrate this holy day.

Diwali, Festival of Lights (November 4)  

Diwali is celebrated by the Hindu, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs during a five-day festival of lights. The festival is centered on new beginnings and symbolizes the spiritual victory of light over darkness, of good over evil and knowledge over ignorance. During Diwali, people wear their best clothes, illuminate the interior and exterior of their homes with diyas (oil lamps) and rangoli (colorful art circles), perform worship ceremonies of Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity and wealth, light fireworks, and partake in family feasts.

Festivals of the Twin Birthdays (November 6-7) 

The Festivals of the Twin Birthdays or the Twin Holy Birthdays refers to two successive holy days in the Baháʼí calendar that celebrate the births of two central figures of the Baháʼí Faith. The two holy days are the birth of the Báb on the first day of Muharram in the Islamic calendar (20 October 1819) and the birth of Baháʼu’lláh on the second day of Muharram (two years prior, on 12 November 1817).

Veterans Day (November 11) 

World War I (“The Great War” ) officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”

In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…" In 1954, Armistice Day became Veterans Day, a day to honor American veterans of all wars.

International Day for Tolerance (November 16)  

For its fiftieth anniversary on 16 November 1995, UNESCO's Member States adopted a Declaration of Principles on Tolerance. Among other things, the Declaration affirms that tolerance is respect and appreciation of the rich variety of our world's cultures, our forms of expression and ways of being human. Tolerance recognizes the universal human rights and fundamental freedoms of others. People are naturally diverse; only tolerance can ensure the survival of mixed communities in every region of the globe.

Dutch-American Heritage Day (November 16)  

On November 16, the Netherlands and America celebrate Dutch-American Heritage Day to commemorate the longstanding relationship between the United States and the Netherlands. The Netherlands was one of the first countries to recognize the United States as a sovereign state, and since then, the countries have established a strong relationship with one another. It is estimated that there is a total of 4.5 million Americans of total or partial Dutch heritage. 

International Men’s Day (November 19)  

International Men’s Day recognizes and celebrates the cultural, political, and socioeconomic achievements of men. It emphasizes the important issues affecting males, including health issues that affect males, improving the relations between genders, highlighting the importance of male role models and promoting gender equality. This holiday is celebrated in over 70 countries.

Transgender Day of Remembrance (November 20)  

The Transgender Day of Remembrance was established in 1998 to memorialize those who have been killed as a result of transphobia and to raise awareness of the continued violence endured by the transgender community.

Thanksgiving (November 25)  

In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Native Americans shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn’t until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.

Native American Heritage Day (November 26)  

Native American Heritage Day is held annually the Friday after Thanksgiving, encouraging Americans of all backgrounds to observe and honor Native Americans through appropriate ceremonies and activities. The day was signed into law by George W. Bush in 2008.

Hanukkah (November 28-December 6) 

Hanukkah or Chanukah is a Jewish holiday that is celebrated around the world for eight days and nights.  It commemorates the rededication during the second century B.C. of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. There, according to legend, Jews had risen up against their Greek-Syrian oppressors in the Maccabean Revolt. Hanukkah, which means “dedication” in Hebrew, begins on the 25th of Kislev on the Hebrew calendar and usually falls in November or December. Often called the Festival of Lights, the holiday is celebrated with the lighting of the menorah, traditional foods, games and gifts.

Advent (November 28-December 24) 

Advent, (from Latin adventus, “coming”), in the Christian church calendar, represents the period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas, and of preparation for the Second Coming of Christ.The four Sundays preceding Christmas, which is when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, are recognized for four virtues. The candles on the Advent wreath symbolize hope, love, joy and peace. The candles are lit in that order, beginning on November 28. 

In Eastern Christianity, the equivalent of Advent is the Nativity Fast, which starts on November 28 and ends on January 6, 2022. The Nativity Fast is one of the four Canonical Fasting Seasons in the Church year, and it is a less strict fast in anticipation of the Nativity of Christ.