May 2, 2005

• 2005-06 Faculty Senate Officers
• HES Class Delivers One-of-a-Kind Books to DCH
• New Registrar Named at UA
• African Diaspora Conference Held on UA Campus
• Top UA Graduate Students Honored

2005-06 Faculty Senate Officers

The 2005-06 UA Faculty Senate officers are, left to right, Dr. Mathew Winston, professor of English, president; Dr. John Vincent, professor of chemistry, vice president; and Dr. Karen Steckol, professor and chair, department of communicative disorders, secretary. Winston recently addressed the annual UA spring faculty and staff general meeting. He notes that the Senate will continue its work on issues of high interest to faculty, particularly as brought up from the working committees. For a roster, minutes, schedules and important documents, visit the website at www.facultysenate.ua.edu.

HES Class Delivers One-of-a-Kind Books to DCH

Every semester students in Dr. Jason Scofield's Human Development 101 class write children's books. This semester, for the first time, the students distributed their books to children in the pediatrics ward at DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa. Students pictured are (L-R) Mary Craig, Brittany Scott, Lindsey Laufersweiler, Heather Freeman, and Erin Edwards.

New Registrar Named at UA

A leader in the academic records field has been named UA's new registrar. W. Michael George, registrar at the University of Texas, Arlington, has been selected as UA's registrar, announced Dr. Roger J. Thompson, associate vice president for enrollment management effective immediately.

George previously served as assistant and then associate registrar at The Ohio State University, where he led new initiatives to enhance and improve services, including innovative approaches to degree and enrollment verification and other strategic on-line services. As registrar, George will oversee the UA offices responsible for maintaining academic records of students, registration, verifications, athletic certification, transcripts and many other areas. He holds a bachelor's degree from The Ohio State University and graduate degrees, including the education specialist degree, from Wright State University.

"Michael brings strong leadership and management skills to our campus as demonstrated by the outstanding team built at Ohio State, and his relationship building with academic divisions, faculty and departments," Thompson said.

"I am excited at the opportunity of being the University Registrar at this top-notch, Tier I flagship institution," George said. "It truly is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I am very honored at having been selected."

African Diaspora Conference Held on UA Campus

African Diaspora Conference held recently on the UA campus drew internationally known panelists. From left to right, Dr. Wilson Moses, professor of history at Penn State University; Dr. Ted Trost, conference organizer and UA professor of religious studies; and Dr. Eddie Glaude, professor of religion at Princeton University. More about the conference is available at the website at http://www.as.ua.edu/rel/africanconference.html.

Top UA Graduate Students Honored

Outstanding Graduate Students for 2004-2005: (Left to right) Songong Cao, Dr. Peter M. Letcher, Mustafizur Rahman, Jacquelyn S. Shaia

UA's Graduate School has announced the recipients of the 2004-2005 Outstanding Graduate Student Awards. The award categories are: Outstanding Dissertation, Outstanding Thesis, Outstanding Teaching by a Master's Student, Outstanding Teaching by a Doctoral Student, Outstanding Research by a Master's Student, and Outstanding Research by a Doctoral Student.

The Graduate Council's Committee on Teaching and Research Awards evaluated the nominations for the four awards for excellence in teaching and excellence in research. The committees have selected the following students as recipients of the 2004-2005 UA Graduate School awards:

• Outstanding Dissertation — Dr. Peter M. Letcher, A&S. Letcher's dissertation, titled "Systematic Analysis of Molecular and Ultrastructural Characters Among Two Clades of Zoosporic Fungi," pioneered research in its application of molecular techniques for gene sequence analysis and correlation with electron microscopic analysis of chytrid fungus zoospore characters. Five top-tier publications will result from the dissertation.
• Outstanding Thesis — Mustafizur Rahman, Engineering. Rahman's work included the investigation of ways that new ionic liquid chemicals can be applied to improve the properties and lifetime of flexible plastics. He authored a review paper on the plasticizer industry which was published in the journal Progress in Polymer Science, which is widely read in the polymer fields.
• Outstanding Teaching by a Master's Student — Nathan E. Shepley, A&S. According to a faculty representative, Shepley "approaches teaching with care of a master builder, erecting the scaffolding upon which his students can build writing competence." Shepley has demonstrated the ability to help students empower themselves in a world filled with competing ideas.
• Outstanding Teaching by a Doctoral Student — Jacquelyn S. Shaia, CC&IS. Shaia was described by a leading faculty member of the College of Communication and Information Sciences as "one of the truly exemplary gifted teachers to work in the department over the last 30 years." From student evaluations, it is quite obvious that she truly understands the strengths, weaknesses and concerns of her students, and cares for them personally and addresses them individually.
• Outstanding Research by a Master's Student — Christine N. Newkirk, A&S. Newkirk won the very first student paper competition of the Society for Anthropological Sciences, a new section of the American Anthropological Association devoted to the promotion and development of scientific research methods in anthropology.
• Outstanding Research by a Doctoral Student — Songsong Cao, A&S. Cao's efforts were primarily responsible for a breakthrough paper in understanding the biological function of a protein named torsin, which is associated with a human disease called torsion dystonia — a movement disorder consisting of involuntary twisting muscular contractions or abnormal postures. His article was the cover story in the top-ranked biomedical journal, "Human Molecular Genetics," as the first-ever report of the cellular function of the gene product that causes human torsion dystonia.

UA Home | Dialog Extra | UA News | Faculty/Staff Links | Legislative Updates

Copyright © 2005 The University of Alabama | Text Only | Disclaimer | Contact: webmaster@ur.ua.edu