January 24, 2005

• UA Professor Receives Prestigious Award from American Geological Institute
• OCTA Winners to Highlight "Exploring Excellence in Teaching Week"
• McNair Scholars Program Announces Faculty Fellows
• Rogers Named UA Distinguished Research Professor

UA Professor Receives Prestigious Award from American Geological Institute

Dr. Ernest A. Mancini

Dr. Ernest A. Mancini, UA professor of geological sciences and director of the Center for Sedimentary Basin Studies, recently received the 2004 Ian Campbell Medal, the American Geological Institute's most distinguished award. Mancini received the award in recognition of his contributions to academia, industry and government, both as a leader and a public servant.

Mancini will also serve as president-elect on the AGI Executive Committee. He has made significant contributions to many of AGI's member societies such as the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and the Geological Society of America. His career has centered around three decades of commitment and dedication to the geological profession. More information about AGI can be found at http://www.agiweb.org/.

Mancini views this recognition as the pinnacle of his career. "To receive the AGI Medal in Memory of Ian Campbell is indeed a high honor and the highlight of my career as a geoscientist," he said.

After receiving his Ph.D. from Texas A&M University in 1974, Mancini worked in the oil industry for two years. He came to UA in 1976 as an assistant professor of geology. In 1982, he was named State Geologist for Alabama, and served in that capacity until 1996. Mancini also served as director of the Geological Survey of Alabama and the State Oil and Gas Board, and as president of the Association of American State Geologists from 1990-1991.

Founded in 1948, the American Geological Institute is a nonprofit federation of 43 scientific and professional associations that represent more than 120,000 geologists, geophysicists, and other earth scientists.

OCTA Winners to Highlight 'Exploring Excellence in Teaching Week'

A number of faculty members who have received the National Alumni Association's Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award will make presentations during UA's Spring 2005 "Exploring Excellence in Teaching Week" Feb. 28-March 3. The program will include 10 presentations for faculty on effective teaching practices, evaluation of learning outcomes, use of electronic student portfolios, and the University's Active and Collaborative Grants Program (see related information in this issue).

The annual Exploring Excellence in Teaching Week supports concepts contained in the University's Quality Enhancement Plan, a part of the SACS Reaffirmation process. Based on data collected from a variety of sources, the QEP focuses on active and collaborative learning in freshman courses.

Presentations will include faculty from Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, and Nursing. All sessions will be in the Ferguson Forum (Room 360). The schedule is posted on the University's teaching web sight, www.teaching.ua.edu, hosted by the Faculty Resource Center, and will be printed in the Feb. 7 issue of Dialog.

For more information, contact John Dew, director of the Office of Continuous Quality Improvement, at 348-9831.

McNair Scholars Program Announces Faculty Fellows

Dr. Natalie Adams

Dr. Jerome Rosenberg

The UA McNair Scholars Program has announced a new faculty component to its prestigious program. The program, entering its second round of federal funding, has worked closely with its advisory board in an effort to create the McNair Faculty Fellows position. The position, which will revolve each semester, is designed to assist students in developing their summer research topics, and recipients are chosen on a competitive basis through an application process. The faculty component will allow for supporting seminars throughout the year.

Dr. Jerome Rosenberg, associate professor of psychology, and Dr. Natalie Adams, associate professor of educational leadership, policy and technology studies, have been chosen as the first McNair Faculty Fellows. During the spring semester, Rosenberg will instruct the 2005 McNair Scholars in inquiry and research design, as the scholars develop individual research proposals.

Adams' fellowship will span two terms. She will teach a module on qualitative research design and analysis as part of the spring seminar and serve as a resource during the summer research internship for McNair Scholars conducting qualitative research.

Each year, 20 UA McNair Scholars are chosen from a large pool of deserving applicants. Each student develops a topic of research related to his or her field of study, partners with a faculty member for mentorship and fully implements a research study project during his or her research internship. Students then make formal presentations of their research findings and submit papers summarizing their research, which are then published in the McNair Journal.

Rogers Named UA Distinguished Research Professor

The University of Alabama Board of Trustees has conferred the highest honor it gives to a faculty member on Dr. Robin Rogers, professor of chemistry in UA's College of Arts and Sciences — University of Alabama Distinguished Research Professor. "Designation as a Distinguished Research Professor signifies national and international recognition in the holder's field and scholarly or research productivity of the highest order at The University of Alabama," said Dr. Judy Bonner, UA provost and vice president for academic affairs. "Dr. Rogers is one of the University's top researchers as well as a top teacher and mentor of undergraduate and graduate students. His work has brought distinction to the University and has greatly strengthened our teaching, research and service mission."

Rogers is one of only nine faculty members at UA to hold Distinguished Professor status. Rogers' research focuses on environmentally friendly ways to reduce or remove volatile solvents from production processes in the chemical industry. He is a pioneer in the area, known as ionic liquid systems and played an influential role in the expansion of research and industrial interest in this field.

Rogers has published more than 520 papers on these topics and is one of the most frequently cited researchers in the world. He holds three patents, has edited seven books, and has given more than 500 presentations at regional, national and international conferences.

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