Dialog, UA Faculty and Staff News

Meet UA's Deans

College of Arts and Sciences -- Dr. Robert F. Olin
Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration -- Dr. Walter S. Misiolek
College of Communication and Information Sciences -- Dr. E. Culpepper Clark
College of Community Health Sciences -- Dr. William A. Curry
College of Continuing Studies -- Dr. Carolyn C. Dahl
College of Education -- Dr. John P. Dolly
College of Engineering -- Dr. Timothy J. Greene
Graduate School -- Dr. Ronald W. Rogers
College of Human Environmental Sciences -- Dr. Judy Bonner
School of Law -- Kenneth C. Randall
Capstone College of Nursing -- Dr. Sara E. Barger
School of Social Work -- Dr. James Princeton "Ike" Adams Jr.
University of Alabama Libraries -- Dr. Louis Pitschmann
Office of the Dean of Students -- Dr. Tom Strong

College of Arts and Sciences -- Dr. Robert F. Olin

Dr. Olin

Named dean of the College in 2000, Olin has overseen a 9.1 percent increase in College contract and grant awards in the last year and the construction of the $50 million, state-of-the-art Shelby Hall Interdisciplinary Sciences Building. Under his deanship, the College has opened the Mathematics Technology Learning Center, a 240-computer math learning community based in Tutwiler Hall, which received a Special Award of the Merit from the Alabama Quality Council. Olin is chair of UA's finance committee, one of several committees established by President Mason for University oversight. Previously, Olin was professor and head of the department of mathematics at Virginia Tech where he founded the Mathematics Emporium, which has received national recognition for its self-paced, computer-assisted program of mathematics instruction. Olin holds his doctorate from Indiana University.

Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration -- Dr. Walter S. Misiolek

Dr. Misiolek

Misiolek was named interim dean of the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration, replacing Dr. J. Barry Mason who has been named interim president. Misiolek, senior associate dean and director of graduate programs until his appointment as interim dean, has been a member of the UA faculty since 1975. As senior associate dean, Misiolek was responsible for academic programs, financial affairs, and day-to-day operation of the College, faculty development programs, and strategic planning. He received the Burlington Northern Foundation Faculty Achievement Award for Scholarship in 1988. After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry from Miami University (Ohio) in 1968, he completed his Master of Arts degree in economics from Miami University in 1972, and his Ph.D. in economics from Cornell University in 1976. His primary scholarly interests are in environmental economics and public finance.

College of Communication and Information Sciences -- Dr. E. Culpepper Clark

Dr. Clark

Before being named dean of the college, Clark served for six years as executive assistant to UA President E. Roger Sayers. Under Clark's leadership, the College has grown in scope and mission by merging in 1997 with the School of Library and Information Sciences. One of the nation's premiere programs for communication research, the Institute for Communication Research, based in the College, is a $3.5 million research facility dedicated to both academic research projects for students and faculty, and applied research projects for numerous commercial clients, including AT&T, GTE, Nickelodeon/MTV Networks, and Apple Computers. The author of several books, Clark received his doctorate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

College of Community Health Sciences -- Dr. William A. Curry

Dr. Curry

Curry, a physician and medical educator for more than 20 years, was named dean of the college in 1998. CCHS, a clinical branch campus of the UA School of Medicine, whose central campus is located in Birmingham, emphasizes family practice and other primary care disciplines, as well as providing education for third- and fourth-year medical students. The College also trains family physicians in a three-year residency program. Its research and outreach efforts emphasize rural issues and medical education. Curry received his bachelor's degree from UA and his doctor of medicine degree from Vanderbilt University.

College of Continuing Studies -- Dr. Carolyn C. Dahl

Dr. Dahl

Dahl joined the University in 2001 as dean of the College of Continuing Studies. CCS provides opportunities for adult and non-traditional students to pursue educational goals. For nearly a century, the College has extended the resources of the University to the people of Alabama and beyond. Each year the College serves over 30,000 individuals through more than 2,000 learning activities. Types of opportunities offered through the College include off-campus degree programs, evening and weekend classes, distance learning, professional development, technical assistance and expert consultation, plus a wide variety of seminars and conferences. Dahl earned a doctorate from the University of Georgia and a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern Mississippi.

College of Education -- Dr. John P. Dolly

Dr. Dolly

Dean of the college since 1995, Dolly successfully guided the College through its 1996 reaccreditation site visit by National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and the Alabama State Department of Education. Other significant accomplishments during his tenure as dean have included the College's transition to an upper division school in 1998 and the establishment of the Alabama Consortium for Educational Renewal (ACER) in 1997. Dolly received his Ed.D. in educational psychology from the University of Georgia.

College of Engineering -- Dr. Timothy J. Greene

Dr. Greene

Greene joined the UA faculty as dean of the College of Engineering in the fall of 1999. In the last three years, the College has seen remarkable growth in several areas. Graduate enrollment has increased to an all-time high of 352 students, with Ph.D. enrollment growing to 115 students pursuing doctorates in seven different disciplines. The College's externally funded research continues to grow, with awards exceeding $17 million last year. The College received a gift from the Alton Scott Estate in excess of $8 million, with the expressed purpose of investing in the College's research infrastructure. With the support of that gift, and other similar ones, the College will have 13 named professorships and chaired professor positions. Greene received all three of his engineering degrees from Purdue University, including a doctorate in industrial engineering. Prior to coming to UA, he spent 11 years at Virginia Tech, the last five as assistant department head of industrial and systems engineering.

Graduate School -- Dr. Ronald W. Rogers

Dr. Rogers

Dean of the school and assistant vice president for academic affairs since 1991, Rogers has been a faculty member in the department of psychology since 1976. He earned his master's and doctoral degrees from Vanderbilt University. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and has over 100 journal articles, book chapters, conference presentations, and edited books. His honors include the "Outstanding Book on Human Rights" in 1992 and the "Research Classic in Social Psychology" for 1990. He appoints members of the Graduate Faculty, chairs the Graduate Council, administers the academic policies of the Graduate School, and manages the graduate fellowship, minority, and tuition programs.

College of Human Environmental Sciences -- Dr. Judy Bonner

Dr. Bonner

Dean of the college since 1989, Bonner has overseen a 130 percent growth in student enrollment and a 198 percent increase in student credit hour production making HES the fastest growing academic division at UA. While HES takes pride in being a student-centered division, the College has seen an equally dramatic increase in contract and grant activity increasing from a few thousand dollars in 1989 to $6.5 million last year. HES's professional programs are ranked in the top 20 by the Gourman Report, a rating of undergraduate programs in American and international universities. Bonner received her doctorate from Ohio State University.

School of Law -- Kenneth C. Randall

Randall

Dean of the school and the Thomas E. McMillan Professor of Law, Randall has led the school to exceed its fund-raising goals, to enhance its core curriculum, to establish two annual lecture series, to recruit highly qualified chair holders and both new and visiting faculty members, to support diversity, to garner approval of an international exchange program, and to improve its marketing and public and external relations at the state and national levels. Randall holds four law degrees including doctoral and master's degrees from Columbia University, a master's from Yale University and a juris doctor degree from Hofstra University.

Capstone College of Nursing -- Dr. Sara E. Barger

Dr. Barger

Dean of the college since 1995, Barger successfully guided the college through its 2001 re-accreditation of its baccalaureate program and initial accreditation of its new and innovative Master's in Nursing Case Management Program. Under her leadership, the college developed partnerships with Alabama's community colleges to develop BSN and MSN educational mobility options for nurses with associate degrees. The college also opened a primary care clinic in rural Alabama to provide care for rural patients and rural learning experiences for students. Currently a fellow with the prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellows Program, Barger received her doctorate in public administration from the University of Georgia.

School of Social Work -- Dr. James Princeton "Ike" Adams Jr.

Dr. Adams

Recently named dean of the school, Adams served as executive assistant to the provost for two years. In that position he had the responsibility of heading the provost's initiatives in the areas of student relations, academic planning, space for academic programs, coordination of the faculty handbook, and serving as liaison with University committees. He has been a member of the UA School of Social Work since 1979 and has held every academic rank. In addition he served as assistant to the president from 1992-1997 and director of the UA Office of Economic and Community Affairs from 1993-1997. In 1997, he served for five months as a Presidential Fellow at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va. He earned a master's degree in social work at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and a Ph.D. in social work at the University of Minnesota.

University of Alabama Libraries -- Dr. Louis Pitschmann

Dr. Pitschmann

Pitschmann joined UA as dean of University Libraries in July 2001. Prior to coming to UA, he served the University of Wisconsin-Madison for 15 years as associate director of libraries for collection development and management, overseeing collections and preservation services. He earned his doctoral and master's degrees from the University of Chicago. Since arriving at UA, Pitschmann has worked to improve the libraries' collections of books and journals. He has also placed equal emphasis on assuring expanded access to information in digital formats that will directly support and enhance the University's teaching and research goals. The libraries continue to promote onsite and outreach services in the form of electronic access to course reserves, circulating laptop computers, and introducing online "chat reference" service.

Office of the Dean of Students -- Dr. Tom Strong

Dr. Strong

Strong was appointed to this new position three years ago. He currently is responsible for those areas in Student Affairs that enhance student life including University Programs, Greek affairs, student organizations, parent orientation and issues of diversity. During his 34 years at UA, Strong has served in several key administrative positions including director of student services, director of housing, director of recreation, and associate dean of students. Strong earned his master's and doctoral degrees from UA.