Dialog, UA Faculty and Staff News

Mullins Names First Behringer Distinguished Professor
UA Library Piloting E-Reserve Project
Local Author to Sign Books at Hoole Special Collections Library

Mullins Names First Behringer Distinguished Professor

Dr. Ed. Mullins

Dr. Ed Mullins, professor and chair of the journalism department in the College of Communication and Information Sciences (C&IS) was recently named as the first Blair and Nan Behringer Endowed Distinguished Professor of Com-munication at UA. Before serving as journalism chairman, Mullins was associate dean and dean of the College for 19 years.

The Behringers, who now live in New Jersey, are former Tuscaloosa residents, where he was an orthopedic surgeon and she was a nurse and hospital administrator. Four of their six children received at least one degree from the University and both Blair and Nan Behringer have degrees from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

"Creating the professorship has been a dream of many, many years," said Blair Behringer, a former Strategic Air Command B-52 pilot and aircraft commander.

"Our kids did well in school. That sparked the idea of wanting to give something back to the institution that educated them. I wanted to do something that would outlast me, advance the reputation and prestige of the College and also reflect the great importance that education has played in the life of the Behringer family. Nan and I are very grateful for what our family received from the University. It feels even better to be on the giving end," he said.

Mullins joined the University faculty in 1977 and became C&IS dean in 1983. A 1958 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University, Mullins received the Kappa Tau Alpha (journalism honorary) award for excellence in teaching in 1999. He received his doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1974 and his master’s degree from Ohio State University in 1966.

Dr. Culpepper Clark, C&IS dean, congratulated Mullins on his selection as the inaugural holder of the Behringer Professorship. "Ed Mullins is my dean, and it was my privilege to nominate him for this honor," Clark said. As dean, Mullins had hired Clark as a department chair.

Clark said private gifts such as the one by the Behringers are especially valuable in helping the University recruit and maintain a strong faculty. Mullins said he would use earnings from the endowment to advance the College’s journalism program, especially its community journalism and outreach emphasis.

As C&IS dean, Mullins led multimillion-dollar campaigns to improve facilities and equipment and hired dozens of new faculty and department heads for the College.

Mullins is one of the most recognized figures in Alabama’s journalism community, having received the Distinguished Achievement in Education Award from both the Alabama Press Association and the Alabama Broadcasters Association, and the Silver Medal Award from the Tuscaloosa Advertising Federation.

UA Library Piloting E-Reserve Project

Gorgas Library has implemented a pilot project for making articles placed on reserve by professors available electronically for the current spring semester. Articles for one course are now available electronically through the Libraries Catalog. Additional professors have submitted lists of articles for this pilot project. Electronic reserve articles are available from any computer with Internet access and Adobe Acrobat Reader. To look at one of these articles, follow the instructions below:

Go to the University Libraries Website at www.lib.ua.edu.
Click on Catalog.
Click Course Reserve.
Scroll through the list of Instructors to Sorensen. All articles on reserve for Dr. Sorensen will be listed alphabetically by title.
Click on the appropriate title.
Click Article.

The article should appear and be ready to print.

Professors who have articles on reserve at Gorgas Library and are interested in participating in this pilot project should contact Janice Simpson at jsimpson@bama.ua.edu, or Lee Embry at llarkin@bama.ua.edu.

Local Author to Sign Books at Hoole Special Collections Library

Charles Adams will be signing copies of his book, "Blocton: The History of An Alabama Coal Mining Town," at the W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library, on the second floor of UA’s Mary Harmon Bryant Hall Thursday, Jan. 24, from 4-6 p.m. The book signing will be in the lobby of the Hoole Library and refreshments will be served. Books, containing 240 images, will be on sale at the event.

Blocton was established when two entrepreneurs created the Cahaba Coal Mining Co., pushed a railroad eight miles into the wilderness of northern Bibb County and built the town there. The community was made up of a rich tapestry of ethnic groups, including Italians, Eastern European Jews, Slavs, Welsh and British. Much of the research for the book was completed at the Hoole Special Collections Library.

Adams, a native of Blocton, worked for UA as a conference director in continuing education for 28 years. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees as well as a certificate in graduate history from the University.