Congratulations to Dr. Nicole Prewitt on being selected for UA’s Leadership U 2023­–2024 cohort!

Dr. Nicole Prewitt, director of Programs and Partnerships for Community Engagement, and James Renshaw, program coordinator for Programs and Partnerships for Community Engagement, presented at the annual International Town and Gown Association Conference on June 7–9 at Colorado State University.

In June, Dr. Lane McLelland, executive director of Crossroads Civic Engagement Center, and Dr. Jackson Harris, director of Community and Civic Engagement, presented research at the Civic Leadership and Democratic Engagement conference in Boston, Massachusetts. Additionally, the summer months provided the Crossroads team an opportunity to make progress on research projects in the areas of dialogue-based learning experiences, as well as civic education theory.

The ongoing “Crossroads on the Road” initiative continued with visits to the Energizers Club in Headland (Henry County), the Rotary Club in Demopolis (Marengo County), and the National Alumni Association Chapter in Barbour County. These visits to community organizations are a chance for Crossroads representatives to share the story of civic education and engagement efforts at UA, while also learning about the evolving civic challenges and successes across Alabama communities.

Join us in welcoming Tara Jimerson, who joined Community Affairs as the Administrative Assistant. In this role, she will provide high-level and confidential administrative support; will manage our office in Rose 250; and will serve as our office liaison to other UA administrative offices, faculty, staff, students, parents, alumni, donors, community partners and key stakeholders.

Join us in welcoming Paige Rentfro, who joined the Community Affairs team as a program coordinator for Community Education. In this role, she will support the Vision Days Program, our K–12 summer programs and other existing and emerging Community Education programs.

Jessica Sanders Walker partnered with SEA for Aviation Day in July 2023. It looked like a scene out of “Top Gun” with Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone” playing in the background as STEM Entrepreneurship Academy students donned their aviator sunglasses and posed for pictures outside the hangar of Sanders Aviation and Sanders Flight Training Center in Jasper, Alabama, during a special aviation day of camp on Wednesday, July 12.

Dr. Elliot Knight, BOA member and executive director of the Alabama State Council on the Arts, presented an Art Talk on Thursday, August 24, at the Mobile Museum of Art. Participants toured one of the museum’s newest installations, Contemporary Alabama, and discussed the arts scene in the Deep South.

Congratulations to BOA member Brodie Croyle and his father, John, who were honored with the President’s Award at the 51st annual Alabama Sports Writers Association convention June 11.

Congratulations to journalist, author and inaugural BOA member Victor Luckerson, who recently published “Built From the Fire: The Epic Story of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, America’s Black Wall Street.” Luckerson, who served as editor-in-chief of The Crimson White when he was a UA student, moved from Montgomery, Alabama, to Tulsa, Oklahoma in 2019 and immersed himself in the community in order to tell the stories of the survivors who rebuilt Greenwood and the challenges their descendants still face today. The book is widely available at booksellers both large and small.

As BOA members are also UA graduates, we know how invaluable your experience as UA alumni has been. If you have not already done so, please consider joining the National Alumni Association.