TUSCALOOSA – A special awards program recognizing the best of engaged scholarship conducted by faculty, staff, student and community teams turns 10 years old on Friday, April 29. Activities begin with research poster presentations at 10 a.m., with the luncheon and program following at 11:30 in Sellers Auditorium of the Bryant Conference Center.
“The Excellence in Community Engagement Awards is one of the most important events on our calendar,” said Dr. Samory T. Pruitt, vice president for the Division of Community Affairs. “The ceremony brings campus and community together to give much-deserved recognition for the many examples of campus-community collaboration that take place each year.”
Special guests in attendance will be members of the newly created Community Affairs Board of Advisors, which is holding its first meeting on Thursday, April 28 at the Embassy Suites Hotel. Its purpose is to support campus-wide initiatives that encourage student success and retention, facilitate entrepreneurship, and support innovation and global leadership.
Among the awards to be presented are the following:
• Tera “CeeCee” Johnson, a junior in psychology, will receive the Zachary David Dodson Memorial Endowed Scholarship. This is the second year of the award named for the late CCBP work-study student.
• Dr. Beverly E. Thorn, professor of psychology, will receive the faculty Distinguished Community-Engaged Scholar award for her leadership, research and dedication to the people of Alabama.
• Calia Torres, doctoral student in clinical psychology, Dr. Thorn’s student, will receive the student Distinguished Community-Engaged Scholar award for her work with Whatley Health Services.
• Deborah Tucker will receive the community partner Distinguished Community-Engaged Scholar Award for her commitment to community service as CEO of Whatley Health Services.
Receiving Outstanding Faculty-Initiated Engagement Effort awards will be Thorn; Dr. Rebecca Allen, professor of psychology; Teri Henley, instructor of advertising and public relations; and Dr. Teresa Wise, associate provost for International Education and Global Outreach.
Fan Yang, doctoral student in social work, will receive an award for Outstanding Student-Initiated Engagement Effort. Two awards will be given for Outstanding Community Partner-Initiated Engagement Effort. Alberta McCrory, mayor of Hobson City, Alabama will receive one of the awards, and Buddy Kirk, Patti Presley-Fuller, and Rep. Alan Harper, all of Pickens County, will receive the other.
A highlight of the event each year is the presentation of research posters, which may be viewed before and after the awards program. This year a record 21 posters were accepted for presentation. Dr. Jen Nickelsen, associate professor of health science, oversees this activity and is also chair of the Travel Funds Committee. She will announce names of those receiving travel support for 2016-17.
Dr. Laurie Bonnici, chair of the Proposal and Seed Funding Committee, will announce names of the 2016-17 seed fund recipients. Dr. Rebecca Allen, who oversees the graduate fellowship awards, will announce names of those recipients. Calia Torres and “CeeCee” Johnson, co-chair the Student Involvement and Support Committee, will give a report on their committee’s activities during the past year. And Amanda Waller, chair of the Community Partnership Support Committee, will give the report for that committee.
Dr. David A. Francko, dean of the Graduate School, is chair of the CCBP Executive Committee responsible for the annual awards program. After Friday’s program, Francko will step down from his CCBP position. Dr. Peter Hlebowitsh, dean of the College of Education, will succeed Francko as Executive Committee chair.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The Division of Community Affairs of The University of Alabama has announced the creation of an alumni board of advisors made up of outstanding individuals with a commitment to community engagement and student success.
The board will support campus-wide initiatives that increase student success and retention and facilitate student involvement in entrepreneurship, innovation and development of thoughtful global and community leaders.
The board will also mentor current students and assist in recruiting outstanding future leaders.
“We are excited that these outstanding graduates are willing to come back and support their alma mater in such a meaningful way,” said UA President Stuart R. Bell. “It is clear that this group of former students represent the great future leadership of our country and the world.”
The executive committee of the Board of Advisors is made of Katie Boyd Britt, president; Joseph Bryant, vice president; Divya Patel, treasurer; Calvin Han, secretary; David Bailey, chair of the entrepreneurship and innovative initiatives committee; Victoria Javine, chair of the academic success and student retention committee; and Rashmee Sharif, chair of the global and community leadership development committee.
According to Dr. Samory T. Pruitt, vice president for community affairs, the executive committee of the board has begun pulling together outstanding talent from UA alumni for membership on the inaugural Board of Advisors.
“The caliber of individuals willing to serve has simply been amazing,” Britt said. “We are all so eager, excited and appreciative of this opportunity to serve our University in this manner, and we are looking forward to our first meeting on campus in April.”
The Division of Community Affairs was created in 2004 and is recognized nationally and internationally for its leadership in community engagement. The division provided the leadership for the recent reaffirmation of the University’s Carnegie curricular and community engagement classification. The division also publishes the Journal of Community Engaged Scholarship, one of the leading refereed journals in the field.
Recently, Pruitt was elected president of the board of directors of the Engaged Scholarship Consortium, a group of national and international higher education institutions committed to community-engaged scholarship. His leadership has been recognized with induction into the Academy of Community Engagement Scholarship.
“The recognition we have received for our work on campus and internationally is most gratifying, and I am looking forward to the contributions this outstanding group of servant leaders will make to our society now and in the future,” Pruitt said.
The board will hold its first meeting April 28 and 29 on campus.
The University of Alabama, a student-centered research university, is experiencing significant growth in both enrollment and academic quality. This growth, which is positively impacting the campus and the state’s economy, is in keeping with UA’s vision to be the university of choice for the best and brightest students. UA, the state’s flagship university, is an academic community united in its commitment to enhancing the quality of life for all Alabamians.
CONTACT: Richard LeComte, media relations, rllecomte@ur.ua.edu, 205/348-3782
SOURCE: Carol N. Agomo, Division of Community Affairs, 205/348-7405
UA Recognized as a Top Producing Institution in Student Fulbright Awards Competition
TUSCALOOSA – The University of Alabama has been recognized as a top producing institution for student Fulbright awards, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. Eleven of 30 UA applicants received the award during 2015–2016, one of the highest success ratios in the nation.
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers grants for independent study and research projects and for English teaching assistantships overseas. The highly competitive program makes approximately 1,500 awards each year.
“Our success in placing students in the Fulbright U.S. Student Program demonstrates the far-reaching international scope of our excellent academic programs and the high value of a University of Alabama education,” said Dr. Kevin Whitaker, UA interim provost. “We continue to take pride in the many excellent and promising young people who choose UA for their academic studies.”
Ten UA graduates won awards as teaching assistants and one UA graduate received a Fulbright research award for the 2015–2016 academic year.
“It is an honor for UA to be listed as a top producer in the U.S. Student Fulbright competition,” said Dr. Teresa Wise, associate provost for international education and global outreach. “The Fulbright Program provides life-changing opportunities and experiences for our students.”
University of Alabama graduates serving abroad on Fulbright Awards are Brianna Adams (Czech Republic), Lisa Bochey (Peru), Nichole Camille Corbett (Turkey), Kathryn Crenshaw (Brazil), Scott Leary (Spain), Conner Nix (Spain), Charles Henry Pratt (Brazil), Jenna Reynolds (Spain), Hailah Saeed (Malaysia), Erin Smith (Turkey) and Russell Willoughby (France).
The Capstone International Center and the Global Café Program in the Center for Community-Based Partnerships, an initiative of the Division of Community Affairs, are partners in the UA Fulbright advising initiative, and their work together has resulted in the increased number of UA students who have won Fulbrights, said Dr. Beverly Hawk, UA Fulbright program adviser.
Students interested in applying for next year’s Fulbright program can learn more atinternational.ua.edu/fulbright/ and us.fulbrightonline.org, or by sending an email tobeverly.hawk@ua.edu.
A Fulbright informational event will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 1, at Global Café in Capital Hall, 270 Kilgore Lane, on the former Bryce Hospital campus. The event is free and open to the public.
Other top producers this year include Harvard (31), Michigan (29), Northwestern and Yale (26), UNC-Chapel Hill (15), Texas-Austin and UVA (14), Duke and Ohio State (12), Florida State, Tufts, Maryland and Alabama (11). For the full list of top student Fulbright program producers, see http://chronicle.com/article/Top-Producers-of-US/235384?cid=rclink.
SOURCE: Dr. Beverly Hawk, Director of Program Services, bhawk@ua.edu, 205/348-7392
