ADVANCING THE FLAGSHIP
2016-2017
CONTENTS
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A Message from the President
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2016-2017 Timeline
10
New Leadership
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Strategic Plan
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Where Legends Are Made
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Pillar 1: Outstanding Teaching and Scholarship
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Pillar 2: Research, Innovation and Creativity
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Pillar 3: Inclusion and Diversity
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Pillar 4: Work-Life Balance
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Campus Growth and Improvements
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Student Life Through the Year
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Athletics
A Message from
THE PRESIDENT Greetings! We’ve had another tremendous year at The University of Alabama, and I’m pleased to report on our progress. As you’ll see in this Year in Review, the quality of our student body continues to grow, and our exceptional faculty and staff are helping them reach great achievements during their time on our campus and beyond. Last fall, we unveiled our new strategic plan, Advancing the Flagship, which lays out our institutional aspirations and outlines the goals we have established to reach them. As we encourage creative expression and perform innovative research, we make discoveries with the potential to change lives. As we develop and train tomorrow’s leaders, allowing them to flourish in a collaborative campus environment, we produce legends-in-the-making who will continue to have a widespread impact on our world, while also bringing national and international acclaim to our University. We are excited about all we have accomplished this academic year, yet these markers of success are merely the beginning. While the outstanding individuals, teams, programs and awards reported here are certainly a measure of where we are, they are only a forecast of what is still to come. There has never been a better time to be at The University of Alabama. I’m delighted to share this review of the 2016-17 academic year with you, and I hope you join me in anticipation of the exciting days that lie ahead for all of us. Roll Tide!
President
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President's Mansion
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Spring blooms in front of the
The University of Alabama |
Stuart R. Bell
TIMELINE
August September November December January February
Advancing the Flagship strategic plan unveiled
Nov.
1,537 degrees awarded at commencement
Feb.
Record enrollment: 37,665 students Where Legends Are Made launched
Performing Arts Academic Center plans announced UA signs Space Act agreement with NASA
2,270 degrees awarded at commencement
Dec.
SEC football championship and Peach Bowl
Aug.
Sep.
Greg Byrne named new Athletics Director
Students raise $340,000 for Children’s of Birmingham with UA Dance Marathon
Mar.
April
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May
Fulbright, Goldwater, Boren Scholars named
5,311 degrees awarded at commencement
Apr.
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Astrobotics team wins third straight NASA competition
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May
Jan.
The University of Alabama |
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March
Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team wins fifth national championship
Fall Semester 2016
ACHIEVEMENTS
9TH
THE SCHOOL OF LAW RANKS NATIONALLY AMONG PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES
RECORD-BREAKING ENROLLMENT OF
37,665
TOP 5 PUBLIC RELATIONS PROGRAM IN THE NATION
14TH FOR ONLINE MBA PROGRAMS, ACCOUNTANCY UNDERGRADUATE AND MASTER’S PROGRAMS 8TH AND DOCTORAL PROGRAM 9TH
• • • • • •
4,455
IN-STATE STUDENTS GRADUATED 2015-2016
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ENROLLED
Freshman Class • 7,559
AN INCREASE OF 4.8% OVER LAST
• AMONG FIRST 5 COLLEGES IN THE NATION TO OFFER ENGINEERING COURSES • THE M.F.A. PROGRAM IN BOOK ARTS, WITH SPECIALIZATIONS IN PRINTING AND BINDING, IS ONE OF ONLY THREE IN THE COUNTRY • ONLY MAJOR UNIVERSITY TO HAVE AN ELEPHANT FOR A MASCOT
Student Achievements
YEAR’S CLASS
• 14,670 UNDERGRADUATES
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• 2,014 GRADUATES
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31% 40%
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•
151
• 341 ADVANCED PROFESSIONALS
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500+ NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARS
• FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND ADAPTED ATHLETICS FACILITY IN THE NATION
WITH 4.0+ HIGH SCHOOL GPA
OF THE CLASS REPORTS AN ACT SCORE OF 30 OR HIGHER NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARS
4 GOLDWATER SCHOLARS 5 BOREN SCHOLARS
The University of Alabama |
IN-STATE STUDENTS ENROLLED IN FALL SEMESTER 2016 :
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Angelo Bruno Business Library
FOUNDATION CAREER AWARDS
3,411 BACHELOR’S 836 MASTER’S 35 EDUCATIONAL SPECIALISTS 89 DOCTORAL 84 PROFESSIONAL 17,025
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30 FACULTY WITH NATIONAL SCIENCE
What makes us DIFFERENT
NEW LEADERSHIP
From July 2016 to June 2017 the Capstone saw a long-time UA administrator made provost and welcomed two new deans and a new athletics director. Their rich variety of talent and depth of experience as academic leaders will be vital as we work to advance our flagship university.
DR. KEVIN WHITAKER On Jan. 1, 2017, Dr. Kevin Whitaker began his tenure as executive vice president and provost of The University of Alabama. A veteran UA administrator and faculty member, Whitaker had served as interim provost since June 2015, following the retirement of Dr. Joe Benson. Whitaker joined UA in 1987 as an assistant professor of aerospace engineering. He was later promoted to associate professor of aerospace engineering and mechanics and was named associate dean for academic programs in UA’s College of Engineering in 2000. During his time as interim provost, he also chaired the 15-member Strategic Planning Council, charged with taking the lead in developing the University’s strategic plan. The Council invited broad input to this important process by asking approximately 100,000 members of various UA groups, and met regularly for months to assess the findings. Whitaker brought to the Council his analytical thinking skills, deep knowledge of the University and collaborative approach to decision making.
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Whitaker received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from General Motors Institute in 1980, and his master’s and doctoral degrees from Texas A&M University in 1982 and 1986, respectively.
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UA’s newest athletics director is Greg Byrne, who in March succeeded retiring AD Bill Battle. A native of Pocatello, Idaho, Byrne became vice president for athletics at the University of Arizona in 2010. Through principled and strategic leadership he brought Arizona Athletics to prominence nationally and in the Pac-12 Conference. Prior to arriving at Arizona, Byrne was director of athletics at Mississippi State University, where he was the youngest athletic director in the Southeastern Conference and the youngest to lead an athletic program at the NCAA Division I-A level. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Arizona State University in 1994 and his master’s degree from Mississippi State in 2009.
DR. KAY M. PALAN Dr. Kay M. Palan, dean of Haworth College of Business at Western Michigan University, came to UA this year as the dean of Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration. Palan had been dean and professor of marketing at the Haworth College of Business since 2010. She began her academic career as a teaching/research assistant at Texas Tech University, where she earned her doctorate in business in 1994. UA’s undergraduate program in business launched in 1919. The College now offers programs at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels, with a separate accreditation in accounting, the innovative STEM Path to the MBA and CREATE Path to the MBA. Palan is the College’s ninth dean, succeeding Dr. Michael Hardin.
DR. SUSAN CARVALHO With more than 5,000 graduate students in 150 master’s and doctoral programs, and a strategic plan emphasis on world-class graduate education, UA’s Graduate School required a dean who would continue to provide strong, visionary leadership. Dr. Susan Carvalho was chosen to follow retiring dean Dr. David Francko. Formerly the associate provost for internationalization and interim associate provost and dean of the Graduate School at the University of Kentucky, Carvalho’s crosscampus work spanned the professional schools, sciences, humanities and social sciences. She had a sustained focus on diversity and a record of sound and productive fiscal management. Carvalho is an alumna of the University of Notre Dame and the University of Virginia.
The University of Alabama |
Among his awards are the Outstanding Aerospace Engineering Faculty Member and the 2007 T. Morris Hackney Endowed Faculty Leadership Award. He has been awarded numerous externally funded research grants and has many reviewed publications.
GREG BYRNE
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Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library
THE UA STRATEGIC PLAN: ADVANCING THE FLAGSHIP
OUR MISSION The University of Alabama will advance the intellectual and social condition of the people of the state, the nation and the world through the creation, translation and dissemination of knowledge with an emphasis on quality programs in the areas of teaching, research and service.
OUR VISION The University of Alabama will be known as the university of choice for the best and brightest students in Alabama, and all students who seek exceptional educational opportunities. The University of Alabama will be a student-centered research university and an academic community united in its commitment to enhance the quality of life for all Alabamians and the citizens of the nation and the world.
OUR CORE VALUES
On Aug. 17, 2016, the University unveiled the strategic plan that will guide us as we continue to advance as the state’s flagship university. Building upon nearly 200 years as the Capstone of education in Alabama, the plan was created with the input of thousands of stakeholders who shared their dreams, hopes and aspirations for The University of Alabama. After months of conducting listening sessions, meetings and surveys, the 15-member Strategic Planning Council and its three subcommittees met again and again to distill the contributions into a working plan that would be true to UA’s traditions and character while also taking the University to new heights.
OUR GOALS These goals were created with critical success factors in mind so the plan: • Embraces the dreams of our campus. • Is high-level and consistent with a dynamic university committed to accelerating its accomplishments. • Ensures the vitality inherent in attracting the best and brightest scholars. • Reflects a focus on moving our research, creative activities and performance achievements forward in a substantial way. • Prepares our students for the globally connected world they will be a part of as they graduate and effect change in the world. • Provides an unmatched teaching and learning experience for all students. • Instills a comprehensive view of equity, inclusion and diversity for our campus.
The University of Alabama is committed to: • Undergraduate education that produces socially conscious, ethical and well-rounded leaders who are grounded in their subject matter and capable of controlling their own destinies. • Graduate education that is deeply vested in subject matter knowledge, professional content, research skills and creative activity.
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• Campus life that embodies collaboration, collegiality, respect and a culture of inclusivity.
– Stuart R. Bell President
The University of Alabama |
• Public outreach and service that is held in the highest regard and fosters impactful public engagement to enhance the quality of life for the citizens of Alabama, the nation and the world.
This is a long-term, living plan. The goal is that five years or 10 years from now, we will arrive at a place that would not have been possible had we not envisioned it and dared to dream big.
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PILLAR #1
PILLAR #3
Provide a premier undergraduate and graduate education that offers a global perspective and is characterized by outstanding teaching, high-quality scholarship and distinctive curricular and cocurricular programs.
Enrich our learning and work environment by providing an accepting, inclusive community that attracts and supports a diverse faculty, staff and student body.
Objectives:
Objectives:
• Develop a comprehensive enrollment management plan that serves as a foundation for quality undergraduate education.
• Establish a position for an equity, inclusion and diversity officer that is responsible for the organizational oversight and assessment of plans, programs and activities that enhance equity, inclusion and diversity.
• Increase the quality and number of graduate students to develop the next generation of scholars and to support the University’s research, scholarship and creative activity. • Provide support services that ensure a premier academic experience for all our students. • Expand transformational education experiences through community service, global outreach and innovative study-abroad opportunities. • Enhance co-curricular activities that encourage collaboration among students, faculty, staff and the community. • Promote an educational environment that values contributions from all levels of teaching faculty.
PILLAR #2
• Strengthen the recruitment, matriculation, retention and graduation of diverse students. • Expand diversity and inclusiveness education and training. • Provide structural resources, policies, practices and oversight that foster transparency in all campus groups and ensure diverse and inclusive participation.
Increase the University’s productivity and innovation in research, scholarship and creative activities that impact economic and societal development.
PILLAR #4
Objectives:
Provide opportunities and resources that facilitate work-life balance and enhance the recruitment and retention of outstanding faculty and staff.
• Leverage the University’s unique, emerging strengths to create a strong culture and opportunities for cross-disciplinary research, scholarship, innovation and creative activities that have economic and societal impact, and which contribute to the University’s teaching and service mission. • Invest in infrastructure that promotes a thriving research and economic development enterprise. • Develop a multi-level, continuous improvement process that facilitates research, scholarship and creative accomplishments. • Establish a regular dialog among the administration, faculty, staff and students that creates a climate of shared understanding and addresses opportunities for and barriers to productivity, scholarship and creative activity. • Cultivate, support, sponsor and conduct community-engaged research that enriches our teaching, research and service missions and enhances the University’s designation by Carnegie as a community-engaged institution.
Objectives: • Establish a Work-Life Center that encourages a family-friendly workplace by supporting a healthy work-life balance. • Implement employment initiatives that keep UA nationally competitive while ensuring consistency, equity and inclusion.
The University of Alabama |
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• Enhance the recruitment, hiring and retention of diverse faculty, staff and administrators.
• Establish clear channels of communication for all University employees that encourage cross-departmental collaboration and consistency.
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Autherine Lucy Clock Tower
WHERE LEGENDS ARE MADE
New branding campaign is first of its kind for UA
Long before the first commercial aired during the Crimson Tide’s season opener, work on the Where Legends Are Made campaign began. Linda Bonnin, vice president for strategic communications, was the creator of the tagline and mastermind behind the award-winning campaign. Where Legends Are Made differs from previous branding and marketing efforts. It is long-term and comprehensive, weaving the narratives of individual
“Very few universities can truthfully say, ‘This is where legends are made.’
But we can here at Alabama.” – Stuart R. Bell President
legendary alumni, faculty and students into the greater story of what makes the Capstone unique.
Where Legends Are Made won five gold awards for print advertising, photography and national integrated campaign from American Advertising Federation chapters in Tuscaloosa and Mobile. It also received three silver awards for its national television commercial and the campaign’s website, ua.edu/legends.
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won Best of Show in Tuscaloosa for Cross
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Platform National Integrated Advertising. The campaign’s television commercial also won a special merit award from the Higher Education Association.
The University of Alabama |
In its biggest win, Where Legends Are Made
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Pillar 1 OUTSTANDING
TEACHING & SCHOLARSHIP
Appointments, Elections and Fellowships
DR. IAN BROWN, professor and chair of the department of anthropology, was elected to The Society of Antiquaries of London — the oldest and most prestigious association for antiquarian studies in the world. Though there are approximately 3,000 fellows in the society, only 5 percent are from the United States, and this year Brown was the only American nominee on the ballot.
DR. MICHAEL BRUCE, associate professor of journalism and creative media, has been elected president for the Broadcast Education Association. Bruce is the third BEA president from UA; no other institution has had more than one BEA president among its faculty. DR. JAMIE CAMPBELL NAIDOO, associate and Foster-EBSCO Endowed Professor at the School of Library and Information Studies, has received the first Arne Nixon Center Research Fellowship in Children’s Literature from California State University, Fresno, for his research project “More Rainbow Families in Children’s Literature.” He has also been elected vice president/presidentelect of the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association.
distinguished University Research Professor, was elected to the Fellows of Materials Research Society. The maximum number of new fellow appointments each year is limited to 0.2 percent of the Society’s nearly 14,000 members.
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DR. ANDREW HUEBNER, associate
professor of history, were appointed distinguished lecturers of the Organization of American Historians. Founded in 1907, the OAH is the largest professional association dedicated to American history scholarship. The organization boasts more than 7,800 members, and Huebner and InnisJiménez are two of only 31 lecturers from around the country to join its Distinguished Lectureship Program this year.
ROBERT MCKINNEY, assistant professor of social work in the department of psychiatry and behavioral medicine at the College of Community Health Sciences, was among 16 faculty nationwide chosen for the 2018 class of the Society of Teachers in Family Medicine’s Behavioral Science/Family Systems Educator Fellowship.
DR. GARY MOYNIHAN, professor of construction and civil engineering, received the Fellow Award from the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers. This award recognizes outstanding leaders of the profession who have made significant, nationally recognized contributions to industrial and systems engineering. A fellow is the highest classification of IISE membership.
physics and astronomy, was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society for his work in defining the nature of neutrinos, neutral subatomic particles and fundamental constituents of matter. Each year, only 0.5 percent of the 53,000 members of APS, roughly 265 people, can potentially be elected a fellow.
DR. PATRICIA SOBECKY, associate provost for academic affairs and professor of biological sciences, was one of 391 people in 2016 elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Awardees are chosen because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.
DR. PATRICIA SOBECKY
The University of Alabama |
DR. ARUNAVA GUPTA
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associate professor of American studies, and
DR. ANDREAS PIEPKE, professor of
DR. ARUNAVA GUPTA,
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DR. MICHAEL INNIS-JIMÉNEZ,
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Awards, Medals and Prizes
DR. FORREST SCOGIN, professor of
DR. KENON BROWN, assistant professor of
DR. BERRY H. “NICK” TEW,
psychology, received the American Psychological Association Committee on Aging’s Award for the Advancement of Psychology and Aging.
state geologist of Alabama and director of UA’s Center for Sedimentary Basin Studies, received the AGI Medal in Memory of Ian Campbell for Superlative Service to the Geosciences. It is the highest award given by the American Geosciences Institute.
advertising and public relations, won the Early Career Research Award from the International Communication Association. The honor, given by the ICA’s Sports Communication Interest Group, is for a scholar in the first six years of his or her career who has made a significant impact in the field of sports communication.
DRS. JIM AND JUDITH KNIGHT
DR. CHANDRA CLARK, assistant professor in the College of Communication and Information Sciences, finished third in the first National Association of Broadcasters PILOT Innovation Challenge. Her concept, The News Call, is a DVR-type phone service that calls users at a preset time with customizable news they want to hear.
RICHARD L. MARTENS, manager of the Central Analytical Facility, received the 2017 Chuck Fiori Award from the Microscopy Society of America.
DR. GRAHAM MCDOUGALL JR., professor of nursing, received the Hartford Foundation Geriatric Research Award from the Southern Nursing Research Society. The award recognizes the contributions of an individual whose program of research has enhanced the science and practice of geriatric nursing in the Southern region.
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DR. GREGORY B. THOMPSON, professor of metallurgical and materials engineering, is the 2017 Brimacombe Medalist, an award bestowed by The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society on mid-career TMS members who have sustained excellence and achievement in business, technology, education, public policy or science related to materials science and engineering with a record of service to the profession.
DR. ERIC WEISBARD, associate professor of American studies, has been awarded the 2015 Woody Guthrie Award for outstanding book on popular music for his book “Top 40 Democracy: The Rival Mainstreams of American Music.”
DR. ERIC WEISBARD
DR. STEVEN D. MOBLEY JR., assistant professor of higher education, earned the 2016 Dissertation of the Year by the Southern Association for College Student Affairs. Mobley’s study also won the American Association of Blacks in Higher Education’s Dissertation of the Year Award and the 2016 Outstanding Dissertation Award from the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education.
DR. RAMANA REDDY, ACIPCO Endowed Professor of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, was selected for the 2017 Educator Award by The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society. The Educator Award recognizes an individual who has made outstanding contributions to education in metallurgical engineering or materials science and engineering.
The University of Alabama |
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RICHARD L. MARTENS
DR. GREGORY B. THOMPSON
were each awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Southeastern Archaeological Conference for their decades of groundbreaking work in the field of archaeology in the South. Jim Knight is professor emeritus of anthropology and Judith Knight is an editor at UA Press.
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STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS INTERNSHIPS, FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS
WINNING TEAMS
Megan Hathcock accepted admittance to the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program. Hathcock, who studied mechanical engineering, is one of 2,000 NSF Graduate Research Fellows selected from more than 13,000 applicants to receive financial support for graduate studies. Sommer Hallquist earned a highly competitive summer internship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Cloisters in New York City.
Astrobotics Three-Peat - For the third consecutive year, a student team at The University of Alabama placed first at a NASA robotics contest. Alabama Astrobotics took the top prize at the NASA Robotic Mining Competition, besting student teams from 45 other institutions in the challenge to build a robot capable of navigating and excavating simulated Martian soil, or regolith.
Another Championship - The Alabama Forensics Council captured its 21st overall speech and debate national championship at the Novice National Championship Tournament.
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Top Student-Run Agency - The Public Relations Student Society of America recognized the Capstone Agency as the Society’s top studentrun agency. Advertising and public relations students were also recognized by PRSSA for their national first-place finish in the Bateman Case Study Competition.
Mock Trial Triumph – The Law School Mock Trial Team beat out 50 teams from 31 universities to win the Mid-South Invitational, with seven team members winning individual awards. UA has three practice teams of 10 students each; the teams are named Paul, Bear and Bryant.
The National Board for Certified Counselors Minority Fellowship Program’s Foundation selected Kenya G. Bledsoe, doctoral student in the counselor education and supervision program, for its Minority Fellowship Program. Bledsoe will receive $20,000 and training to support her education and facilitate her service to underserved minority populations. Electrical engineering students Nagaraj Hegde and Matthew Bries placed third for their wireless shoe insole that monitors activity users can track on a mobile phone app at the TI Innovation Challenge Design Contest in North America, in partnership with Mouser Electronics.
Alexandra McKee was among 20 students chosen for the 2017 American Advertising Federation’s Vance and Betty Lee Stickell Student Internship Program, which provides internships at media organizations, advertising agencies, and client and supplier companies around the country.
Samuel Stanley, senior microbiology major, was one of only 12 students to receive a summer fellowship from the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation and American Parkinson Disease Association. Stanley investigates potential causes for contributors of dopamine neuron degeneration, a characteristic of Parkinson’s disease. The PDF award is part of a $60,000 joint fellowship program with the APDA for early career researchers across the world. Stanley is one of 12 undergraduate or graduate researchers to receive the fellowship.
The University of Alabama |
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Pacemaker Award - The Alice magazine staff earned a 2016 Magazine Pacemaker Award — the college equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize — from the Associated Collegiate Press.
The Bronze Pencil – UA won its first Pencil in the One Club’s Young Ones College Competition award. The competition awards Gold, Silver or Bronze Pencils to highlight great student work from around the world in advertising, design and interactive.
Alison Farrar and Sam Spector were part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, or NIST-SURF. Fellows in the competitive program are awarded grants to spend 11 weeks in Gaithersburg, Maryland, to conduct research alongside a NIST scientist or engineer.
Ashley Paulmeno and Kennedy Studdard are two of the 50 students nationwide in the American Advertising Federation’s Most Promising Multicultural Student class of 2017.
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OUR STUDENTS ARE DETERMINED TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE We take great pride in our students’ passion to make the world a better place through what they learn at the Capstone. These are just two of the many stories we can tell about UA students who do good while also doing well.
THE PRINTED HAND What began as simply tinkering with a 3-D printer the summer before Valerie Levine’s junior year at UA ended with children receiving prosthetic hands before the year’s end.
– Valerie Levine
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The idea started in the lab of Dr. Jason Bara, associate professor of chemical and biological engineering. There, Levine began to use a desktop 3-D printer to learn more about the technology. With an interest in biomedical applications of plastics and materials, Levine said she quickly took to printing prosthetics, a growing use of 3-D printing. The advantages can be greater for children, who can outgrow expensive
The car Justin drove began on the shelf of a toy store where the students bought it. In the end, the students essentially kept the plastic body and tires, replacing everything else. Modifications included: • A control panel with a joystick and buttons that replaces the original drive mechanisms such as the steering wheel and pedal. The panel rests closer to where Justin will sit in the vehicle.
VALERIE LEVINE, A JUNIOR IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, BEGAN A PROJECT TO MAKE PROSTHETICS THROUGH 3-D PRINTING FOR CHILDREN WITHOUT HANDS, DELIVERING THEM TO FOUR CHILDREN.
“We feel blessed, full of joy – a heart of gratitude – that they took time for our son because it’s making a difference in his life and ours as well,” said Justin’s mom Shirley. “It’s something we’ll cherish forever and never forget it.”
conventional prosthetics. The prosthetics Levine made cost less than $50 to create and are easier to assemble and repair, she said. She worked with prosthetic specialists, physical therapists and orthopedic surgeons at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Children’s of Alabama in Birmingham to fine-tune the design. Hospital staff helped her identify good candidates, and in February she delivered three to children at The Hand and Upper Extremity Treatment Center of Georgia in Atlanta and sent a fourth to a child measured that day. Early on, Levine recruited the help of two other CBHP members. Amanda Flamerich helped with marketing and promotion and Sam Sheriff photographed and documented the experience. The three plan to continue the project next year and possibly beyond graduation, seeking to expand it beyond the founding individuals.
• More power through replacing the standard battery with two larger batteries, increasing battery life from roughly 15-20 minutes to possibly more than an hour, depending on use. • An internal computer with wireless internet, which provides the ability to control the car through a custom-built website so his parents or teachers can operate the vehicle on a smartphone. Each student brought something to the table, relying on what they learned in the classroom and as part of Alabama Astrobotics.
Four students from the team took it on as a senior engineering project. “The goal of the senior project is to bring a culmination of what you’ve learned in your degree, so it means a lot to us to use what we’ve learned to help someone,” said Joseph Kabalin, a senior in mechanical engineering. They delivered the car to Justin at the RISE Center as classmates and teachers watched. Within a few minutes of strapping into the driver’s seat, Justin was driving around the playground, relishing his new freedom.
THE TEAM OF SENIOR ENGINEERING STUDENTS WHO ADAPTED THE TOY CAR FOR JUSTIN CARTER INCLUDED, FROM LEFT,
JOSHUA YARBROUGH, JOSEPH KABALIN, TYLER GESTER AND REBECCA DIETZ.
The University of Alabama |
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Levine established the Alabama Prosthetic Project with funding and assistance from the UA Honors College and a 3-D printer in the Computer-Based Honors Program to design and create inexpensive prosthetics for children. Levine is a CBHP student researcher.
Justin, the son of Shirley and Charles Carter, was born with a condition that shortens his limbs, limiting his mobility and independence. His teachers at the RISE Center on campus wanted him to be able to play outside with the other children without relying on someone to carry him or move him, so they approached Alabama Astrobotics to modify a battery-powered car for Justin.
• A second motor to give the car more power to travel over soft terrain such as on a playground or wet grass.
“It became more than just a fun thing to do and became something where I could actually help children,” she said.
“Other people like video games in their spare time. I like building prosthetics.”
JUSTIN’S SWEET RIDE
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LEARNING IN ACTION
HONORS COLLEGE
Learning in Action is a five-year initiative to improve UA students’ problem-solving skills through experiential learning. This Quality Enhancement Plan was developed as a component of UA’s decennial SACSCOC reaffirmation process. The first round of Learning in Action faculty and staff fellowships in the fall of 2016 fostered the creation of innovative experiential learning opportunities (ELOs) for over 160 students. LIA fellows spend one semester designing an ELO before implementing it the following semester. Fellows are supported by workshops on course design and problemsolving, as well as through professional learning communities, which are facilitated by campus leaders in experiential learning.
In fall 2016, the Honors College welcomed students from 48 states in its most academically talented freshman class, with a mean ACT score in the 97th percentile nationally.
the peer-reviewed, student-run LIA blog was established to give students a chance to produce published work for internal and external audiences, while highlighting their involvement in experiential learning in the areas of service-learning, internships, study abroad, research and co-curricular leadership.
Honors College students claimed four Goldwater Scholarships, 12 Fulbrights, the second-ever Gates Cambridge Scholarship, a Critical Language Scholarship and five Boren Scholarships, which puts UA in the top seven universities in the country for Boren Scholarships. Forty-two percent of Honors graduates planned to attend graduate or professional school. Forty percent of students attending professional school were accepted into medical school and 36 percent are going to law school, including some of the nation’s top-rated medical and law schools.
LEARNING IN
ACTION BY THE NUMBERS
“…I had real projects to work on that made an interactive connection to the principles and theories I’ve studied in class.”
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Students, too, acknowledge the impact of ELOs on their professional development. One student remarked, “…I had real projects to work on that made an interactive connection to the principles and theories I’ve studied in class.” Students described experiential learning as beneficial to career success and noted that ELOs strengthened their ability to work and communicate with others, see things from multiple perspectives, and consider multiple solutions to complex problems. LIA also embeds undergraduate experiential learning within the implementation of the program. This is exemplified by a continued partnership with the Capstone Agency, UA’s student-run PR firm. In the spring of 2017,
83%
OF STUDENTS ARE INTERESTED IN TAKING AN EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING COURSE
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LEARNING IN ACTION FACULTY/STAFF FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS
GRADUATE SCHOOL
WiSE SYMPOSIUM
The Graduate School offers more than 150 graduate-level programs, and more than 40 degrees can be earned through Bama by Distance. Our online graduate programs ranked fifth for veterans and military personnel according to U.S. News & World Report. Rankings of our outstanding programs with their respective colleges can be found throughout Year in Review. Recent job placements for UA graduate students include Disney, Intel, Apple and more.
SUPPORT
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STUDENTS COMPLETED ELOs
Providing support services that ensure a premier academic experience for all our students is a key objective of the first pillar of the strategic plan. The UA Graduate School supplies our students with a rich selection of programs and initiatives to make their time as UA graduate students academically satisfying and personally fulfilling.
• • • • • •
Tide Together Mentoring Program Graduate Ambassadors Graduate Parent Support Sitters for Service WiSE (Women in STEM) Three Minute Thesis
The University of Alabama |
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-ELO student
SPRING 2017 RESULTS SHOW INCREASES IN STUDENTS’ APPLICATION OF KNOWLEDGE TO REAL-WORLD CONTEXTS
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COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS Our colleges, schools and interdisciplinary academic units are the basis of our academic excellence. Their individual success stories are road signs pointing the way to our collective future.
COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES
Alumni Gift for Both Art and Science Two prominent alumni, Dr. E. Gaylon and Mrs. Susan N. McCollough, gifted the College of Arts and Sciences with its largest academic endowment in more than two decades – for the purpose of creating two unprecedented initiatives: The Dr. E. Gaylon McCollough Institute for Pre-Medical Scholars and the Susan N. McCollough Art Biennale. The McCollough Institute for Pre-Medical Scholars will offer innovative interdisciplinary pre-medical training. The Susan N. McCollough Art Biennale, a contemporary art exhibition showcasing the art of leading professionals alongside emerging and alumni artists, is expected to attract students who view art as a passion and career.
CAPSTONE COLLEGE OF NURSING
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While its undergraduate population expanded, so did the Capstone College of Nursing’s graduate options. The college has been adding programs for the past decade, implementing a doctor of nursing practice; nurse practitioner programs with concentrations in family and psychiatric mental health including a dual FNP/MHNP; an MSN concentration in nurse administrator; and post-graduate certificate programs for family nurse practitioners, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners and case managers.
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
CCHS expanded its Family Medicine Residency, now second largest in the U.S., and created a medical school track for students headed toward primary care careers and interested in prevention, lifestyle medicine, population health and chronic disease management. Delivery of direct, patientcentered care grew through additional practice sites of the College’s University Medical Center. And, College clinicians worked to sustain and enhance access to care by supporting prenatal care in poorly served rural communities, and providing asthma education to school children and mental health services via telemedicine.
Crossing Points launched an expansion program called Summer Bridge, which is a college pipeline program for students with intellectual disabilities ages 18 and older who are interested in pursuing postsecondary education. Students attend college classes and develop skills for independence by living in residence halls as well as participating in all aspects of campus life.
Crossing Points – With a $2.5 million grant,
Adapted Athletics – Adapted Athletics, housed in the department of kinesiology, broke ground on their $10 million facility, which is located along the south façade of the Student Recreation Center. The facility will include an NCAA-regulation game venue for wheelchair basketball, locker rooms, workout/training room, team meeting rooms and study halls.
COLLEGE OF CONTINUING STUDIES ACCESS – The goal of ACCESS is to create equity across Alabama by delivering digital distance educational opportunities to public high school students. This year ACCESS received a $3.9 million grant to deliver 122 high school classes to Alabama students. Approximately 25,000 students statewide enrolled in an ACCESS class during the 2016-17 school year. Recently, AdvancED, the largest global educational accrediting agency, recommended ACCESS for accreditation.
COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION SCIENCES Faculty Leadership – This was a banner year for the College in electing faculty to leadership positions in national and international organizations. Eight faculty members were elected to serve as president or vice president of major communication and information organizations, proving that the world’s best leaders in communication and information hold careers at UA. Departments Merge – Setting the pace of increasingly diverse industry demands, the departments of telecommunication and film, and journalism merged into the department of journalism and creative media, offering two revised majors in creative media and news media, and equipping students with a broader skillset to shape the future of their industries.
Leading the Way – As hosts of the United Way campaign the College of Continuing Studies led the rest of campus to a record-breaking $431,715, shattering the goal of $365,000.
The University of Alabama |
| 8 | Year in Review
Situated prominently off the McFarland Boulevard gateway to campus, the Capstone College of Nursing Building gave the college new visibility, and with that higher visibility came unprecedented growth. When the building opened for classes in 2010, student enrollment was 1,714. By 2016, it had soared to 2,351.
COLLEGE OF COMMUNITY HEALTH SCIENCES
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CULVERHOUSE COLLEGE OF COMMERCE AND BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
The School of Social Work and the Alabama Department of Mental Health have partnered on an $8 million project to expand a substance abuse and mental health program to underserved areas of West Alabama.
The new Vulcan Value Partners Research Library and Trading Room is the result of a $3 million gift by Culverhouse alumnus C.T. Fitzpatrick and his wife, Kelley. The area features a live stock ticker as well as an extensive array of financial research tools, including Bloomberg terminals and meeting areas for students to confer on their stock picks.
The program will incorporate alcohol and drug screenings, brief interventions and referral to treatment into primary care settings to address the need for integrated substance use disorder prevention. The program, known as AL-SBIRT, will span five years and is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that has helped implement similar programs in other states.
The Fitzpatricks’ donation created the Vulcan Value Partners Research Library and Trading Room as well as an endowed chair in value investing and an endowed teaching professorship in value investing. The space serves as a home to the Culverhouse Investment Management Group and the value investing specialization.
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The College of Engineering at The University of Alabama is the new home for the Alabama Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation program. The National Science Foundation awarded $5 million to UA to lead the statewide effort to increase the number of STEM — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — degrees awarded to students from underrepresented minority groups. ALSAMP will provide outreach activities that promote STEM fields to middle school students, funding to help minority high school and college students participate in research activities during the summer and offer a bridge program for students transferring from community colleges to four-year institutions.
COLLEGE OF HUMAN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES Grant – Child Development Resources was one of five Tuscaloosa organizations to receive a combined $465,000 to help fund community programs committed to the prevention of child maltreatment. The Parenting Assistance Line has reached over 35,000. Alumni Employment – A survey of recent HES graduates (2010-2016) found that 96 percent are employed full time and nearly 90 percent of those were employed within six months of graduation. Improving child care centers – The department of human development and family studies is part of the national systematic approach to assess, improve and communicate the level of quality in early care and education. This includes the evaluation component and the enhancement for child care centers.
SCHOOL OF LAW
The median LSAT score for the class of 2017 was 163, and its median undergraduate gradepoint average was 3.77. Some 57 percent were members of one of the Law School’s four legal journals, while 64 percent participated in at least one of six clinics, training and serving as student lawyers. Thirty-five graduates won individual or team awards for performance in regional or national moot court competitions or were members of a team that advanced to elimination rounds.
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COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK
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Pillar 2 RESEARCH ,
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THROUGH SERVICE LEARNING
INNOVATION & CREATIVITY
CENTER FOR ETHICS AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
157 UA SERVICELEARNING COURSES PARTNERED WITH
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8,688
381
542
STUDENTS
SERVICE-LEARNING
VOLUNTEER
PROJECTS
PROJECTS
COMMUNITY AGENCIES
At The University of Alabama, we are working to increase and expand our research and discovery base and encourage a culture for high expectations in these fields. The research we perform today affects tomorrow’s quality of life, and we want to be on the leading edge of that. – President Stuart R. Bell
Dr. Sagy Cohen, an assistant professor of geography who specializes in global hydrology, created an augmented reality sandbox. Through a National Science Foundation grant, Cohen built an educational tool that allows kids and adults to interactively create topographic features and generate “virtual” rain that flows downstream, teaching them about topographic mapping and hydrological processes.
UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES
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E-resources: University Libraries electronic resources had 4,290,703 searches and 2,415,671 downloads — 401,296 book section downloads, 1,995,303 full-text journal downloads and 19,072 Streaming Audio Visual downloads. UA librarians and staff work to make hundreds of electronic resources available through a seamless user experience. “Library instruction has been a valuable window into the larger world of research practices for my students, illustrating the importance of sound and ethical research in applied ways relevant to their own interests,” said Dr. Nicholas Helms, instructor in the English department.
Instruction: University Libraries offered 986 classes with 21,391 participants. UA librarians lead the SEC in the number of information and digital literacies instructional workshops to support student research, critical thinking and analysis of information.
“Library instruction has been a valuable window into the larger world of research practices for my students, illustrating the importance of sound and ethical research in applied ways relevant to their own interests,” said Dr. Nicholas Helms, instructor in the English department.
The University of Alabama |
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Gate Counts: University Libraries received 1,652,660 visits from June 16, 2016, to May 2017. University Libraries’ physical spaces provide access to collaborative technology-based student learning, advanced research software, project design, 3-D technologies and digital humanities. “The University Libraries have made my overall undergraduate learning experience smoother, convenient and by far more successful,” said Amanda White, a management information systems major.
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LEADER IN TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH JOINS UA Dr. Shashi Nambisan, a civil engineer and leading expert in transportation and infrastructure systems, has been selected to lead transportation research efforts at The University of Alabama. Nambisan brings more than 27 years of experience, including roughly two decades leading the development and growth of research enterprises at several higher education institutions, to his new role at UA. He has led more than 165 projects on a broad range of multidisciplinary topics related to data-enabled decision support for transportation and infrastructure systems management, safety, and education and workforce development.
Dr. Shashi Nambisan
In the department of civil, construction and environmental engineering, Nambisan will work closely with a nationally recognized team of research and development professionals seeking innovative solutions to the challenges of building and maintaining a transportation system that protects lives, creates economic growth, and saves time and energy resources.
FACULTY RESEARCH DAY
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION GRANTS
NASA
Drs. Gregory Starr and Christina Staudhammer, professors in the department of biological sciences, along with collaborators from Florida International University and the U.S. Department of AgricultureForest Service received $834,000 from the National Science Foundation to continue their study of greenhouse gases in the Everglades. They will specifically look at how changes in fresh-and sea-water levels are affecting the balance of carbondioxide and methane emissions in the Everglades. Once the data is analyzed, Starr says the readings will have major implications for policies and current conservation efforts. The data will allow them to understand not only what is creating the greatest increase in greenhouse gases, but it will also show them how well current conservation efforts are working and whether they are repairing or further damaging the environment.
Our students will work with NASA to enhance understanding of propulsion systems for small satellites – CubeSats — that orbit the Earth, participating in a research project that will help further scientific discovery. This new venture is one of many times UA has partnered with the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.
PARTNERSHIPS IN INNOVATION AND EDUCATION
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BOOST STEM TEACHERS Our researchers hope to place as many as 15 STEM — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — teachers in area schools through a $1.95 million grant that will provide tuition assistance, enhanced teacher training and robust salary supplements.
I-Corps South is one of eight NSF I-Corps Nodes in the nation and will introduce the labs, colleges and universities through the Southeast to entrepreneurial education, ultimately increasing commercialization outcomes in each of the participating states. AIME will contribute recruiting and training STEM faculty and students and also training instructors around the Southeast to deliver entrepreneurial education.
The University of Alabama and Airbus are partners in an effort to enhance engineering education and research. Airbus, with headquarters in Toulouse, France, and a manufacturing facility in Mobile, will assist UA in purchasing equipment in the areas of additive manufacturing and aerodynamic velocity measurements as well as a variety of student engagement activities.
TDK Two UA graduate students will receive annual financial support from the expansion of a research agreement between UA and the Japanese electronics company TDK Corp. TDK committed $50,000 annually to the program in support of two students. The scholarship support is potentially renewable for up to three years.
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UA was recently awarded a Developing Leaders in Science Teaching grant from the National Science Foundation to recruit college graduates from STEM disciplines to pursue master’s degrees and earn secondary teacher certifications at UA.
Recently AIME was asked to partner in a hub known as the I-Corps South, headquartered at Georgia Tech and also composed of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Tennessee.
Airbus
The University of Alabama |
| 8 | Year in Review
Honorees at the 2017 Faculty Research Day included, from left, Rebecca Salzer, Dr. Brian Jordon, Dr. Paul Allison, Dr. Benjamin Kozuch, Dr. Andrew Lemmon, Dr. Aaron Kuntz, Paul Horwitz, Dr. Andrew Billings, Dr. Kimberly Genareau, Dr. Michael Picone, Dr. Jingping Sun and Dr. Gregory Starr. Honorees not pictured include Dr. Jason Bara, Dr. Adam Knowlden, Dr. Stephen Rushin and Dr. Lesley Jo Weaver. The annual event aims to increase awareness and generate enthusiasm for scholarship among faculty at UA as the University moves to advance its research enterprise.
The University of Alabama’s role in fostering entrepreneurship and innovation is strengthened through a new $3.45 million National Science Foundation grant awarded to the regional hub to which UA and three other universities belong. The funds, part of the NSF’s Innovation Corps program, known as I-Corps, provide education and research infrastructure to help scientific discoveries reach the marketplace more quickly.
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OUR CORE RESEARCH INSTITUTES UA is establishing world-class research institutes to address the most vital issues of the 21st century and beyond: water and the environment, transportation, cybersecurity and lifespan.
ALABAMA WATER INSTITUTE
ALABAMA LIFE RESEARCH INSTITUTE
This initiative leverages UA’s existing strengths in water, severe weather and disaster management research.
ALRI is being established as a focal point for interdisciplinary biopsychosocial research that seeks to investigate the human condition from the molecular to the environmental levels, from the effects of genetic anomalies to the impact of governmental policy, from drug discovery to prosthetic design and from education to behavior change, all in an effort to improve life, whether through the reduction of morbidity and mortality, eliminating health inequity, or improving the quality of life.
Recently, UA has gained expertise in remotesensing technologies that will advance knowledge in monitoring thickness of snow and melt onset to form hydrological models that form the basis of water resource management. Remote-sensing technologies will be a priority, targeting scientific investigations over soil moisture, ice and snow. These efforts will be one of the building blocks of UA’s transdisciplinary efforts related to water that will provide critical mass as we develop the Alabama Water Institute, then a federally funded National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Cooperative Institute to partner across UA and the state of Alabama, as well as nationally through direct interaction with federal players working through the National Water Center.
ALABAMA TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE
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ATI focuses on research in surface transportation, with an initial emphasis on automotive traffic safety. This path reflects UA’s considerable successes and maximizes the potential to identify new interdisciplinary contributions. The commitment to a broad, interdisciplinary focus for the initiative distinguishes ATI from most other transportation centers, thereby opening up unique funding opportunities as well as leveraging ATI’s ability to provide value-added collaboration with its peers.
Undergraduate Research Conference Adds Creative Showcase The Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Conference, a premier annual event at UA for 14 years, provides undergraduates an opportunity to highlight their research or creative activity. This year it added a Creative Showcase to provide students the venue to present their work in the fine and the performing arts, and communications.
FREEDOM? SELECTIONS FROM THE PAUL R. JONES COLLECTION The Black Faculty and Staff Association joined with Brooklyn-based curator Dalila Scruggs to create “Freedom? Selections from the Paul R. Jones Collection,” which showcased approximately 30 works by African American printmakers, photographers and painters in order to explore the ways Black liberation has and has not been achieved within the United States. Interdisciplinary reflections were written by more than 15 UA faculty members.
Our faculty’s creative genius and technical skill are on display in foundry, art gallery and stage.
HAMLET ON JAZZ Professor Seth Panitch, collaborating with local jazz musician Nick Boyd, set the age-old Shakespearean tale to modern jazz. A giant projection screen was used as a visual window into Hamlet’s mind and the setting, which placed the play in the 1950s in a location that’s a cross between Greenwich Village and Shakespeare’s England.
It will bring together experienced researchers at UA to capitalize on the synergy of interdisciplinary collaboration. In an effort to improve life for the people of Alabama, the ALRI will facilitate collaboration across the entire University as well as with peer institutions, biotechnology, healthcare, other corporations, governmental agencies and community-based organizations.
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA CYBER INSTITUTE UACI maintains contact with a number of federal entities in the U.S. military, DOD, and the intelligence community. UACI is currently working to develop collaborative relationships with the Army Cyber Institute at West Point, New York; the US Naval Cyber Academic program at Annapolis, Maryland; and Army Cyber at Ft. Gordon, Georgia. Further, as an NSA/DHS Center for Academic Excellence for Research, the University is developing its relationship with the NSA. Finally, UACI has a partnership with the NCFI, the National Criminal Forensics Institute in Hoover, Alabama. The NCFI is the premier Secret Service lab on digital forensics.
Craig Wedderspoon and others withdraw a pot of molten bronze from a furnace at UA’s foundry as they cast a life-sized bronze statue of National Baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays.
FREEDOM AND FIRE AT THE OPERA When Opera Theatre Director Paul Houghtaling first heard of how Louisa Garland, wife of the University president, saved the President’s Mansion from the flames of the Civil War he was fascinated, so much so that he turned the story into an original opera, “Freedom and Fire!: A Civil War Story.” Houghtaling was the opera’s director, Dr. Robin Behn, professor of English, was librettist and Dr. Amir Zaheri, director of contemporary ensemble and assistant professor of composition, was the composer.
The University of Alabama |
| 8 | Year in Review
Researchers from across the University are leading the way in how we think about the future of transportation in our state and nation. Professors and students in this area want the University to be a catalyst in transforming transportation and infrastructure research into actionable knowledge.
CREATIVITY ON DISPLAY
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Pillar 3 INCLUSION
NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS
THE FULBRIGHTS
Boren - Meredith Cazalas, Maria Huryn, Amica Rapadas, Samuel Watson and Matthew Zeliff are UA’s newest Boren Scholars. Boren Scholarships, an initiative of the National Security Education Program, provide funding opportunities for U.S. undergraduate students to study less commonly taught languages across the globe.
UA had a record-setting 14 Fulbright Award winners this year. The highly competitive Fulbright U.S. Student Program provides grants for individually designed study and research projects or for English-teaching assistantships. More than 11,000 applicants compete for approximately 1,500 awards each year.
Critical Language Scholar – Erin Behland brings the number of UA Critical Language Scholars to 15. The Honors College member is minoring in Chinese, one of the 14 critical languages identified by the United States government.
The nine students receiving awards to teach English overseas and their destinations are Ruth Bishop, Colombia; Erica Boden, Bulgaria; Benjamin “Benjie” Canady, South Korea; Kelsey Daugherty, Germany; Brittany Groves, Germany; Jackson Knappen, Spain; Julia Quan, Macedonia.; Ann Varnedoe, Spain; and Sarah Dylan Walker, Macau.
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Tillman - U.S. Army veteran Dan Walters, a graduate student pursuing an MBA and a Juris Doctor degree, is one of 60 students nationwide selected as a 2016 Tillman Scholar. The Pat Tillman Foundation provides scholarships to service members, veterans and military spouses who, according to the foundation’s website, “show extraordinary academic and leadership potential, a true sense of vocation, and a deep commitment to create positive change through their work in the fields of medicine, law, business, education and the arts.”
Five received Fulbrights for research and study during the 2017–2018 academic year. • Kathryn “Katie” Cater will conduct research on bacteriophage therapy for treatment of antibiotic-resistant infections in Poland. • Jonathan Joyner will conduct a study in Sri Lanka on its recent civil war. • Alexandra LeViness will conduct research at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Greifswald, Germany. • Charlotte Sheridan will conduct research in environmental studies in Jordan. • Kevin Ryan Williams will travel to the United Kingdom to pursue a master’s in classical acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art as recipient of the John Wood LAMDA Award in Classical Acting.
Dr. G. Christine Taylor was named to this position and will join UA before Fall Semester 2017. Taylor will provide leadership for the University to build on its core principles of inclusiveness in learning environments, programs, workforce and strategic partnerships. She will have a dual reporting role to Executive Vice President and Provost Kevin Whitaker and UA President Stuart R. Bell. “Dr. Taylor brings considerable administrative experience and professional expertise to this new position at The University of Alabama,” Whitaker said. “This role is critical to supporting the University’s strategic goal for an inclusive and diverse community. We believe Dr. Taylor will provide the leadership, vision and oversight necessary to enhance our already strong commitment to diversity, equity and inclusiveness.”
The University of Alabama |
| 8 | Year in Review
Goldwater - The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program has named Sean Devey, Alison Farrar, Melissa Mathews and Melissa Uehling as Goldwater Scholars for 2017-2018. From 2007 to 2017, UA is No. 1 in the United States for Goldwater Scholars with 31. UA is one of only four institutions — along with Stanford, Princeton and Iowa State — to have as many as four nominees selected this year. In addition, 2017 is the third time in the past seven years that UA has had all four nominees selected for this award.
& DIVERSITY
The University we are creating is one in which people of diverse backgrounds and identities work and grow collaboratively as we build a better world for all. To make this happen, we set as one objective for this pillar of the Strategic Plan the hiring of a vice president and associate provost for diversity, equity and inclusion.
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CAPSTONE INTERNATIONAL CENTER
DESEGREGATION SYMPOSIUM
The Capstone International Center is the hub for the University’s international efforts, both in helping UA students study and travel abroad and in welcoming international students to our campus.
Carl Clark was a high school chemistry teacher in Chicago in the mid-1960s when Dr. Howard Miller, a psychology professor at UA, recruited him to pursue graduate school at UA. Miller eventually persuaded Clark, an Arkansas native, to enroll at UA, where he became the university’s first black doctoral student.
Education Abroad – Groups, exchange programs, internships or individual travel – our Education Abroad department assists UA students with becoming citizens of the world.
International Services — The mission of
International Coffee Hour allows international students to meet new people and to learn more about American culture. The friendships forged over coffee, tea and snacks have also done wonders for opening the world to domestic students.
International Services is to provide essential services and innovative programs for UA’s international members and to foster diversity and strengthen intercultural relationships throughout the UA campus and community. Coffee hour, a spouse’s group and a partnership with Tuscaloosa International Friends are part of our programming.
English Language Institute — The UA English Language Institute, established in 1982, offers a year-round, 6-level Intensive English Program for students from around the world.
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Dr. Mae Jemison, NASA astronaut and the first woman of color to go into space, was the keynote speaker for the 2017 WiSE (Women in STEM Experience) Symposium. This annual event is an opportunity for researchers, academics, and industry members from the Southeast region to learn and share how to build leadership and career development skills for college women in STEM, and to discuss how we can further expand women in STEM initiatives. Also this past year UA hosted a workshop aimed to help administrators, staff and professors share and discover ways to engage students, particularly minority women, interested in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, fields.
“I learned so many things here that I could not learn in Arkansas, that I had no opportunity to learn,” Clark said. “I learned, art, literature, I learned about black history. I learned who I was, and I learned more and more the sanctity of human life, and the absolute wonder and miracle of thinking."
– Dr. Carl Clark
Dr. Carl Clark, the first African-American doctoral student at UA, and Dr. Howard Miller, former psychology professor, speak about their roles in helping desegregate the University at the department of psychology’s Desegregation Symposium.
STEM PATH TO THE MBA GOES THROUGH INDIA The STEM Workshop and Forum, held March 31, is part of UA’s efforts within the National Academic STEM Collaborative, of which UA is a founding member.
Students in UA’s STEM Path to the MBA program visited India for the second year in a row. Their mission: provide business solutions to communities in the developing country … and have a little fun along the way. Rachel Ramey, one of the founding students of the STEM-MBA India program, returned for her second year. She made the trip along with 10 other students and Dr. Rob Morgan, director of the STEM Path to the MBA program. Ramey began working on a project to provide access to clean water during her trip to India last year.
STEM workshop
The projects developed in India cover several needs, but access to clean water is a priority in several of the communities the students visited. Ramey, a chemical engineering major, is
dedicated to eradicating the water concern. She, along with fellow students Josh Smith and Will Sansoucie, are working to develop a solution. “[We] focused on the lack of clean drinking water that seemed to contribute to a theme of sickness and hardship present in a lot of our interviews,” Smith said. “We had an idea for a water filter that could be installed in a village, service 200-250 families per day, and provide clean drinking water in areas that currently do not have it.” The trip wasn’t all work though. This year, the students also visited an elephant rescue center, Elefriends 101. The center houses three elephants that were rescued from Hindu temples where they were often chained to posts.
The University of Alabama |
| 8 | Year in Review
WOMEN IN STEM
Clark and Miller shared their experiences at UA during the University’s civil rights transition at the department of psychology’s desegregation symposium. Clark and Miller were part of a fourperson panel that included fellow trailblazer and retired UA psychology professor Stan Brodsky, and Dr. Martha Crowther, professor of psychology at UA.
“One of the things I came to know is that you cannot learn from people who hate you. And you cannot teach without love in your heart. You cannot teach people you do not respect, and you can’t learn from people who do not respect you.”
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MILITARY –
ADAPTED ATHLETICS
A GROWING POPULATION
The UA Adapted Athletics Program began in 2003 with women’s wheelchair basketball. The program has since grown to include 30 student-athletes in women’s basketball, men’s basketball, wheelchair tennis, pararowing and adapted golf. UA is home to six national championships in men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball (2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017). Wheelchair tennis has won two national championships (2013, 2015).
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Additionally, more than 100 students participate in the program’s noncompetitive sports options.
CVA MEMBERS
DEPENDENTS
255 TEXTBOOKS RENTED
1,275 GI BILL CERTIFICATIONS PROCESSED IN 2016-2017
More than 20 UA student-athletes and coaches participated in the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio. With the help of four former UA players and coaches, both the United States’ men’s and women’s teams won gold medals in wheelchair basketball at Rio. One former player and a current player, Babsi Gross, helped lead Germany to a silver medal in women’s wheelchair basketball.
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ACTIVE
$8,000 IN EMERGENCY LOANS TO VETS IN 2016-2017
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RESERVES
417 GRADUATES WITH AN AVERAGE GPA OF 3.3
553
OFFICE OF DISABILITY SERVICES
VETERANS GROWTH OF TOTAL MILITARY POPULATION
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1,757
2,288
1,316
7,164
STUDENTS REGISTERED WITH ODS
POTENTIAL ODS STUDENTS
STUDENTS USED ACCOMMODATIONS
TESTS TAKEN AT ODS TESTING CENTER
1,117 UNDERGRADUATE 199 GRADUATE
VETERANS AMONG FACULTY/STAFF
2012-2013 (OPENING) WAS 2,479, IN 2016-2017
3,324
Ranked among the top ten military-friendly universities in the nation
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BRIEFS PUT IT ON THE WALL — A student-led committee of graduate social work majors created two “unity/inspiration” walls in the Ferguson Center where students and faculty could express their fears and hopes on adhesive notes and put them on two 4-by-4 boards. The idea was to create dialog amongst members of the UA community and foster positive energy in response to police-related shootings and the Orlando nightclub attack. Roughly 400 students participated in the four-day event.
Alyssa Taylor, freshman public relations major (right) from Orlando, Florida, writes a “hope” note while Caitlin Bauer, freshman biology major from Tampa, Florida, looks on.
GERMAN ENGINEERING
— During spring semester 13 engineering students learned automotive engineering through a class taught entirely in German. This is most likely the first German-taught engineering course for American students in the Southeast, said Dr. Bharat Balasubramanian, professor in mechanical engineering and electrical and computer engineering who taught the class. The students, who come to UA from around the United States, speak English as their first language but learned German as part of an innovative program, Two Steps Ahead, offered through the UA College of Engineering.
ALSAMP —
The University of Alabama was awarded a $5 million grant, about $1 million annually for five years, from the National Science Foundation to head the Alabama Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation, or ALSAMP. UA will be the lead institution in the state in a national effort to increase the number of students from underrepresented minority groups in the science, technology, engineering and math fields.
KINDNESS COUNTS — The Student Government Association and Crimson Kindness student group recently partnered to introduce a new program called Kindness Counts. The initiative seeks to foster a culture of kindness on campus by rewarding a small group of kind students every other week based on nominations.
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DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION WORKSHOPS — To help welcome students to “the biggest small town they will ever call home” Crossroads Community Center, with support from the Office for Academic Affairs, offered teaching workshops on intercultural competency each month during spring semester.
Dr. Darrin Griffin and Erin Powell led a workshop for local law enforcement officers to learn how to interact with the deaf community. The workshop provided context to misunderstandings that happen and an overview of civil rights as they relate to people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Officers also learned 10 basic signs that could be applied during future interactions.
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WORKSHOP ON DEAF AND LEOS —
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Pillar 4 WORK-LIFE BALANCE
Part of being a world-class university means recruiting and retaining world-class employees. A culture of wellness, resources to grow professionally, and a commitment to recognizing excellence makes UA attractive to the best and brightest faculty and staff.
FACULTY GROWTH From 2009 to 2016, UA added more than 200 full-time faculty members. We will continue to add high-quality faculty members of diverse backgrounds to provide the undergraduate and graduate instruction and research needed to make our Strategic Plan a reality. Staff Service Recognition: 646 staff members recognized for employment anniversaries • 5 years..........................................................................275 • 10 years ........................................................................180 • 15 years ..........................................................................86
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION
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EMPLOYEES RECEIVED 137 UA DEGREES
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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SERIES GRADUATES
79
CAREER LADDER PROMOTIONS
• 20 years..........................................................................45 • 25 years...........................................................................31 • 30 years ..........................................................................19 • 35 years.............................................................................4 • 40 years............................................................................3 • 45 years ...........................................................................3
786,937
HOURS OF INSTRUCTOR-LED TRAINING
5,520
ONLINE COURSES AND RESOURCES ACCESSED
The Office of Health Promotion and Wellness promotes a culture of health. Screenings, information sessions, 5K runs and fun on the Quad are all part of keeping employees healthy and happy.
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This year we improved communication between the University and our faculty and staff through the launch of the UA online news center, which includes a dedicated channel for faculty/staff news, and a weekly e-newsletter, Inside UA for Faculty and Staff.
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NEW COMMUNICATION VEHICLES
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UAPD OFFICER OF THE YEAR. PREMIER AWARDS. HACKNEY AWARD. The University of Alabama recognizes talent and dedication in its faculty and staff with awards not only for teaching, research and career skills, but also for dedication to our students and community; for commitment to excellence; for loyalty; for being inspirations to the best and brightest of future generations by being the best and brightest themselves. These are just a sample of our awardwinning faculty and staff.
T. MORRIS HACKNEY ENDOWED
ALGERNON SYDNEY
FACULTY LEADERSHIP AWARD
SULLIVAN AWARD
DR. W. EDWARD BACK
DR. J. NORMAN BALDWIN
MORRIS L. MAYER AWARD
OCTA AWARD WINNER
RODNEY LUCIO
DR. KATRINA RAMONELL
DR. MARK T. RICHARDSON
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50 UA PRESIDENT DR. BELL SPEAKS AT THE PREMIER AWARDS
The University of Alabama |
| Year in Review
UAPD OFFICER OF THE YEAR
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CAMPUS GROWTH & IMPROVEMENTS
The plan for improving and maintaining the UA campus supports the pillars of the strategic plan. The historic Bryce campus continues to be integrated into the campus master plan. Green spaces with multiple access points invite students, faculty, staff and visitors to enjoy one of the most beautiful campuses in the nation. Buildings with the best in academic technology and accessibility also boast world-class research facilities.
ADAPTED ATHLETICS FACILITY The $10 million, two-story adapted athletics facility will include an NCAA-regulation game venue for wheelchair basketball, locker rooms, workout/training room, strength and conditioning room, team meeting rooms and study halls. Construction is scheduled to finish in late fall 2017. UA officially broke ground on the first-of-its-kind facility in February.
INVESTMENT IN PHYSICAL CAMPUS FROM 2003 TO PRESENT
BRYCE CAMPUS UPDATE Renovations are underway on the third floor of Cyber Hall. Capital Hall and Northeast Medical Building are also being renovated for adapted re-use.
$2,614,700,540 ...AND ANOTHER
$600,000,000 CURRENTLY IN DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
577 ADDED ACRES FOR A TOTAL OF 1,374 ACRES 99 NEW BUILDINGS / TOTALING 6,282,496 SQ. FT. 69 MAJOR RENOVATIONS / ADDING 1,210,124 SQ. FT. | Year in Review |
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$126 MILLION IN DEFERRED
MAINTENANCE PROJECTS COMPLETED AND
$170 MILLION IN CAMPUS INFRASTRUCTURE
96 BUILDINGS HAVE BEEN RAZED ELIMINATING OVER $80,717,156
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OF DEFERRED MAINTENANCE
The University of Alabama |
OVER
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PERFORMING ARTS CENTER PLANS The stage is set for a new home for the arts at The University of Alabama.
Recognizing the caliber of the performing arts at UA, the University is writing a new script and reimagining the role of Bryce Main. This 21st-century renaissance will reenergize this historic facility and connect it to a world-class performance venue that will showcase the exceptional talents of our students.
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The new $60 million Performing Arts Academic Center, which will connect to the restored Bryce Main, will be the grand centerpiece of this vibrant new nucleus of campus and ensure that our patrons will experience the highest level of performance in a setting of unparalleled beauty.
The University of Alabama |
| Year in Review
The main hospital building is being renovated to include the University welcome center, a cultural center, reception venue and associated office and administrative space. The building will also house faculty offices and rehearsal space for theatre and dance, as well as museums dedicated to both University history and the history of mental health in Alabama.
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UNIVERSITY BOULEVARD IMPROVEMENTS
NEW FRESHMAN RESIDENCE HALL BOT Approved Budget – $53,243,501
An important gateway to the heart of campus, University Boulevard improvements include new pavement and medians, bike and transit lanes, landscaping and improved lighting. This is the second phase of a longterm plan to repave and improve University Boulevard from the McFarland exit to downtown Tuscaloosa.
Expected Completion – Open for Fall Semester 2018 494 Beds in double occupancy configuration with private bathrooms in the room
MOODY MUSIC BUILDING WING ADDITION
MAIN CAMPUS RENOVATIONS H.M. Comer Hall, part of the College of Engineering, and Little Hall, home to the School of Social Work, are under renovation.
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TUTWILER PARKING DECK With 528,721 square feet, the new parking deck will be adjacent to the new Tutwiler Hall planned for 2020. Both will be built on the surface parking lot of the current Tutwiler Hall.
In addition to the administrative offices, H.M. Comer Hall houses seven departments along with the Capstone Engineering Society, Engineering Student Services, classrooms and a large lecture hall. Besides improving existing space and wayfinding, renovations also address deferred maintenance issues such as new mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, life safety systems, elevator, technology enhancements and compliance with current code standards. The classical profile of the building will be preserved. The updated exterior, reflecting the architecture of the Shelby Quad and current campus standards, will include a new roof and windows.
The University of Alabama |
| 8 | Year in Review
The completion of the 25,000 square foot addition to Moody Music Building was celebrated with a ribbon cutting in September. The new wing includes practice rooms, a lobby, two new band halls and locker-room space.
The Little Hall renovation includes a comprehensive renovation to the first and second floors, comprising 22,082 square feet, and the addition of an 8,720 square foot third floor. The additional space will provide for additional faculty and support staff offices, seminar rooms, support spaces, and a large room that can serve as a multipurpose/flex space.
These projects will allow College faculty and staff to work for our students more efficiently and effectively with enhanced safety and modernized technology, give our students much needed space, and maintain the traditional beauty of our campus.
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October
STUDENT LIFE THROUGH THE YEAR
HALLOWEEN If there is one holiday our students know how to celebrate, it’s Halloween.
August
WEEK OF WELCOME
November UA WINS SPECIAL OLYMPICS ‘IRON BOWL’ Members of the color guard, Capstone Men and Women, and Big Al cheered on UA Olympics College Unified football team as they beat Auburn 38-13. Unified Sports is an inclusive sports initiative in which teams must have at least 50 percent young adults with intellectual disabilities (athletes) and the offset from typical students (partners) enrolled at UA.
KENTE ROBING CEREMONY The Black Faculty Staff Association held a robing ceremony prior to commencement.
September
VETERANS DAY The steps of Bryant-Denny Stadium became a giant American flag when students from our military community placed luminaries there in honor of Veterans Day.
FIRST HOME GAME
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CAREER FAIR It’s never too early to start networking with future employers.
ALTERNATIVE BREAK More than than 60 UA students, as well as leaders, spent a week on Beyond Bama: Alternative Break.
The University of Alabama |
SEC CHAMPIONSHIP AND PEACH BOWL
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January
April
REALIZING THE DREAM Legendary gospel artist Kirk Franklin headlined the 2017 Realizing the Dream Concert, part of annual Realizing the Dream event series celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
FASHION ROCKS AND SO DOES MY BODY FASHION SHOW Students of all
A-DAY
ages, sizes and body types were invited to model during a fashion show celebrating Body Appreciation Week.
February UA DANCE MARATHON Students danced their way through the end of winter and raised $340,000 for Children’s of Birmingham while doing it.
HONORS WEEK CEREMONY Honors Week culminates in the Tapping on the Mound, a ceremony dating back to the early 1900s.
May COMMENCEMENT Spring commencement now spans three days in order to accommodate the thousands of graduates walking across the stage at Coleman Coliseum.
March
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DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION WEEK The Student Government Association partnered with more than a dozen other campus groups for a week dedicated to awareness, education and celebration of the rich variety of backgrounds and perspectives on our campus.
UA GRADUATES TAKE A LOOK BACK As the class of 2017 prepared to graduate, some members shared advice with incoming members of the class of 2021, bringing their time at UA full circle.
The University of Alabama |
| 8 | Year in Review
BAMA CREED WEEK
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ATHLETICS
FOOTBALL
GOLF
On the way to a league-best 26th Southeastern
In his 15th season as Alabama’s head coach, Jay Seawell saw his men’s golf team advance to the semifinal round of match play at the Southeastern Conference Championships and post a 17th-place finish at the NCAA Championships. It was the Crimson Tide’s 27th NCAA postseason appearance and its 19th time advancing to the NCAA Championships. Junior Jonathan Hardee produced the Tide’s top individual finish at the NCAA championships, taking 19th.
Conference championship, Alabama football reached the 10-win milestone for a school-record ninth year in a row and 36th time overall, finishing the season at 14-1 overall. Alabama also advanced to the College Football Playoff for the third time in a row, remaining the only school to earn a place in the playoff in each of its first three years, beating Washington in the Peach Bowl to advance to a rematch with Clemson in the title game where the Crimson Tide fell in the final seconds of the game, 35-31. The 2016 season also marked the 20th time the Tide has won at least 11 games in a season and the eighth time under head coach Nick Saban. The Crimson Tide produced the nation’s consensus defensive player of the year in Jonathan Allen, who earned the Chuck Bednarik Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Ted Hendricks Award and Lombardi Award. Senior Reuben Foster became the fourth Tide linebacker to receive the Dick Butkus Award (top linebacker) and junior offensive lineman Cam Robinson became the fourth Alabama lineman to win the Outland Trophy (nation’s best
In his 12th season as the Crimson Tide’s head coach, Mic Potter led the women’s golf team to a runnerup finish at the 2017 SEC Championships and a 14th place finish at the NCAA Championships, extending Alabama’s streak of top-15 NCAA finishes to a decade after winning the NCAA Athens Regional Championship and advancing to the NCAA championships for the 12th year in a row. Cheyenne Knight and Lauren Stephenson and Kristen Gillman each earned All-America honors for the season. In addition, Knight was the 2017 SEC Player of the Year while Gillman was the SEC Freshman of the Year. Knight produced the Tide’s top individual finish at the NCAA championships, taking 10th.
interior lineman). Following the season, football brought in its fifth consecutive No.1-ranked recruiting class and saw an Alabama-best 10 players taken in the NFL draft. PHOTO CREDIT FOR ATHLETICS PHOTOGRAPHY: CRIMSON TIDE PHOTOS/ UA ATHLETICS
GYMNASTICS In her third season as the Crimson Tide head coach,
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ROWING
NCAA Championship berth in 2017. The Crimson
Larry Davis, in his 11th season as the Crimson Tide’s
Six Team final and finished the season ranked sixth,
head coach, led Alabama rowing to a program-best
making Alabama the only program in the nation
fourth place conference finish in 2017. The Crimson
to finish in the top six nationally for the past 10
Tide took fourth at the 2017 Big 12 Championships
years in a row. The Tide finished third at the SEC
with all five crews competing in Grand Final races.
Championships, marking its 19th consecutive top-
The Crimson Tide earned a trio of medals at the
three finish. Individually, senior Katie Bailey won the
2017 Big 12 Championships, taking silver in the
SEC and NCAA uneven bars titles. It was her second-
First Varsity 4+ and Third Varsity 8+ and bronze in
consecutive NCAA title after winning the vault as a
the Second Varsity 4+. Alabama also led all NCAA
junior. Junior Kiana Winston won the SEC balance
Division-I programs with 14 student-athletes on
beam title while senior Aja Sims won the NCAA
the 2017 Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association
Morgantown Regional floor exercise championship.
(CRCA) Scholar-Athlete list on the way to a
Senior Keely McNeer and junior Mackenzie Brannan
program-best 3.54 team grade point average.
were both named CoSIDA Academic All-Americans.
Tide also advanced to an NCAA-record 23rd Super
The University of Alabama |
| Year in Review
Dana Duckworth led Alabama to its 35th consecutive
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SOCCER
TENNIS
Under second-year head coach Wes Hart, the 2016
Under fifth-year head coach George Husack, the
Alabama soccer team improved to 9-8-2 overall and
Alabama men’s tennis team saw sophomore Mazen
4-5-2 in Southeastern Conference play. The Crimson
Osama qualify in the singles bracket of the NCAA
Tide earned a place in the 2016 SEC Tournament,
Championships as well as the doubles draw with
marking its first appearance in the postseason since
partner Spencer Richey. Osama and freshman Thibault
the 2014 season. Juniors Kat Stratton and Lacey
Cancel earned All-SEC honors. Osama earned first-
Clarida were named to the 2016 NSCAA NCAA
team honors while Cancel was second team and was
Division I Women’s All-South Region team.
named to the SEC All-Freshman team. Osama was
BASEBALL Alabama finished the 2017 season with a 19-34-1 record overall and a 5-24-1 record in Southeastern Conference play. The Crimson Tide’s season was highlighted by a series sweep of instate and Southeastern Conference rival Auburn on the Plains. After being named SEC All-Freshman in 2016, sophomore Chandler Taylor was named Second Team All-SEC in 2017. Following the season, Alabama
named the ITA Southern Region Player to Watch while Cancel was named the ITA Southern Region Rookie of the Year.
PHOTO CREDIT FOR ATHLETICS PHOTOGRAPHY: CRIMSON TIDE PHOTOS/ UA ATHLETICS
named Brad Bohannon as the Crimson Tide’s 32nd head baseball coach.
SOFTBALL
The women’s tennis team, under 20th-year head coach
In his 19th season as head coach, Patrick Murphy
Jenny Mainz, finished off the 2017 season with Erin
led Alabama softball to its 19th consecutive NCAA
Routliffe and Maddie Pothoff advancing to the finals
tournament berth and Alabama’s 13th-straight
of the NCAA Championships doubles draw. It marked
appearance in the NCAA super regional round.
the third time in four years that two-time NCAA
The Crimson Tide is the only program to play in the
doubles champion Routliffe advanced to the finals.
super regional round every year since its inception
The duo earned All-America honors and were ranked
Under the direction of second-year head coach Avery
in 2005. Alabama went 46-18-0 overall and 13-11-0 in
second in the final doubles list. Routliffe earned All-
Johnson, the men’s basketball team advanced to the
Southeastern Conference play on the way to winning
SEC honors for the fourth year in a row while Danielle
National Invitation Tournament for the third year in a
the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional and advancing
Spielman was named the 2017 SEC Women’s Tennis
row and for the 15th time in program history. Alabama
to the final game of the NCAA Gainesville Super
Scholar-Athlete of the Year and the Southern Region
finished the 2016-17 season with a record of 19-15
Regional. Junior Alexis Osorio was named an NFCA
ITA/Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award
overall and 10-8 in Southeastern Conference play.
All-American while seniors Sydney Littlejohn and
winner, leading Alabama to a program-best 3.9 team
Alabama’s fifth-place finish in the SEC was a five-spot
Chandler Dare were named CoSIDA Academic
grade point average in the fall.
improvement from ending league play in 10th place
All-Americans.
BASKETBALL
last season. The five-spot jump in the standings was second only to Florida’s six-spot improvement from last season. The Crimson Tide women’s basketball team, under third-year head coach Kristy Curry, advanced to the quarterfinals of both the Southeastern Conference tournament and the Women’s National Invitation Tournament. The Tide finished the 2016-17 season with a 22-14 mark, its highest win total since the 1997-98 campaign. Alabama also notched a pair of
| Year in Review |
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the Tide three victories over the Vols in the past two seasons. Alabama finished the spring semester with a 3.285 team grade point average, the highest for the program in recorded history.
The University of Alabama |
wins over perennial powerhouse Tennessee, giving
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VOLLEYBALL Under sixth-year head coach Ed Allen, the Crimson
TRACK AND FIELD/CROSS COUNTRY
Tide volleyball team finished the 2016 season with a
Under sixth-year head coach Dan Waters, the track
20-11 record overall with a 9-9 mark in Southeastern
and field/cross country program had a stellar year,
Conference play, marking the third time in the last
including the women’s third-place NCAA finish at
four seasons the Tide has finished with 20 or more
the indoor championships, spearheaded by Lakan
wins, the first such stretch in program history.
Taylor’s national pole vault championship. The Tide
Senior Krystal Rivers became the first player in
men finished eighth indoors and 10th outdoors at
league history to earn SEC Player of the Year and
the NCAA championships. During the cross country
SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors in the same
season, both the men and women finished fourth
season. She was also Alabama’s nominee for the
at the NCAA South Regional Championships.
SEC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year and earned
The women scored a program-best 37 points
All-America honors for the fourth year in a row
at the indoor national championships while the
and CoSIDA Academic All-America honors for the
men posted their first outdoor top-10 finish since
second time in her career.
2001. In addition to Taylor, Quanesha Burks led the Tide women with an NCAA runner-up finish in the long jump at the indoor championships and as part of UA’s 4x100-meter relay at the outdoor championships. On the men’s side, Jereem Richards posted an NCAA runner-up finish in the 200 meters at the indoor championships and a third-place finish
SWIMMING & DIVING
at the outdoor nationals. Ruebin Foster posted an NCAA runner-up finish in the 110-meter hurdles at
Under fifth-year head coach Dennis Pursley, both
the outdoor championships.
the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams continued to improve on the national stage. With their 10th place national finish in 2017, the Tide men earned back-to-back-to-back top-10 NCAA finishes for the first time since 1981-83. The women’s team
PHOTO CREDIT FOR ATHLETICS PHOTOGRAPHY: CRIMSON TIDE PHOTOS/ UA ATHLETICS
took 43rd at the 2017 NCAA Championships. A total of 10 Crimson Tide swimmers earned 22 AllAmerica honors in 2017 while four earned CoSIDA Academic All-America honors, including Anton McKee, who was named the Men’s At-Large Team Academic All-American for the second year in a row.
| 8 | Year in Review
Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The Tide’s Academic
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All-American total marks the first time in the award’s history that one school has placed four men on the at-large team.
The University of Alabama |
McKee was also named the H. Boyd McWhorter Male
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CHAMPIONS IN THE CLASSROOM All 21 University of Alabama varsity athletics teams continue to score well above the national cutoff standard in the latest Academic Progress Rate. Figures released cover the four-year period extending from the 2012-13 through 2015-16 school years. Overall, 16 Crimson Tide teams posted scores above the national average in their respective sports, including eight that bettered the national average in their sport by 10 points or more. Alabama football scored a 980, which bettered the national average for Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams by 14 points. The Crimson Tide men’s basketball team posted a 979 APR, bettering the national average by 13 points. Baseball, with a 990 APR, bettered the national average by 17 points. Alabama was one of four Southeastern Conference schools to have more than four teams receive public recognition from the NCAA for their APR scores figuring in the top-10 percentile nationally among teams in those sports. Those include the gymnastics, women’s golf, women’s swimming and diving, women’s tennis and men’s cross country teams.
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SCORE
BASEBALL
990
BASKETBALL
979
CROSS COUNTRY
1,000
FOOTBALL
980
SWIMMING & DIVING
984
TENNIS
989
INDOOR TRACK
962
OUTDOOR TRACK
962
WOMEN'S TEAM
SCORE
BASKETBALL
968
The men’s cross country, women’s golf, gymnastics, women’s swimming and diving and women’s tennis teams all scored a perfect 1,000 for their four-year score. Those five teams were joined by the softball (997), women’s cross country (991) and baseball (990) teams among the eight UA programs with scores of 990 or better.
CROSS COUNTRY
991
GOLF
1,000
GYMNASTICS
1,000
ROWING
989
SOCCER
987
The Alabama football (980), men’s tennis (986), men’s golf (984), rowing (989), men’s swimming and diving (989) and the women’s indoor and outdoor track and field teams (982) were among the teams that posted scores of 980 or better. A total of 16 Alabama teams either matched or exceeded their APR from the year before.
SOFTBALL
997
SWIMMING & DIVING
1,000
TENNIS
1,000
INDOOR TRACK
983
OUTDOOR TRACK
983
VOLLEYBALL
986
The University of Alabama |
| 8 | Year in Review
In addition to national recognition, nine Crimson Tide teams ranked among the top two in their respective sports in the SEC, with gymnastics, women’s golf, men’s cross country, women’s tennis and women’s swimming and diving all ranked No. 1 in the league. Football, baseball, men’s swimming and diving and softball all ranked second in the SEC among their respective sports.
MEN'S TEAM
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Denny Chimes, constructed in 1929 to honor UA President George H. Denny