March 6, 2006

November 2005 McKinley Award Winner Tim Ellison

Tim Ellison

Tim Ellison, a painter in the building maintenance department, is the recipient of the November 2005 McKinley Award. Ellison was nominated by Nancy H. Whittaker, associate vice president for administration, and Walter Powell, manager of building maintenance.

“Dedicated, energetic, enthusiastic, loyal and hard working… these are just a few words that describe Tim Ellison,” said Whittaker. “Tim is always ready and willing to do whatever is necessary to get the job done in a timely manner. He takes pride in his work, and it shows in every job that he performs.”

All of this describes Ellison performing his “day” job. He also has a special assignment – painting the end zones at Bryant Denny Stadium.

“He puts his heart and soul into painting the end zones for the home football games. Not only do the spectators at the football game see Tim’s work on the football field, but millions of people who watch the home games on television. His pride in being a part of the University of Alabama is evident in the red and white ALABAMA in the end zone. He may not get much recognition for a job well done, but if it were a job badly done, we would all be embarrassed.”

Ellison has been painting the UA end zone since 1999.

“We all expect to see the beauty of the red and white ALABAMA each Saturday,” said Powell, who is Ellison’s supervisor. “We do not think about the time, the cold or the sometimes miserable conditions Tim works in to assure the perfection we expect. Tim has had at times to stay late into the night during rain before Mother Nature allows him to finish. Tim is a dedicated employee and an avid football fan. He wants the perfection he applies to his job to carry over to the team and fans.”

The McKinley Award was established by Helen H. and John K. McKinley of Darien, Conn., and Tuscaloosa in honor of John McKinley’s father, Vergil Parks McKinley. The award recognizes enterprising employees who, by action or idea, contributed to the University’s mission of teaching, research and service. The monthly award carries a cash prize. Vergil Parks McKinley came to UA in 1918 and retired as head of the College of Education’s trade and industrial development department in 1945. If you would like to nominate an employee for future awards, contact Human Resources at 348-6690.

UA Journalism Professor to be Recognized with Alma Mater’s ‘Alumni of Distinction’

Dr. Matthew D. Bunker, Reese Phifer Professor of Journalism in the College of Communication and Information Sciences at UA, will be one of six University of Florida College of Journalism and Communication graduates to receive recognition as an “Alumni of Distinction.”

Bunker will be presented with the award Saturday, May 6. He is the first person who received a doctorate from the UF college to be recognized as an alumnus of distinction. Including this year’s six, the UF college will have recognized only 91 of its more than 21,000 graduates in this manner.

Bunker was a practicing lawyer and working journalist before he became a professor. He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in mass communication law and journalism at UA.

In 2003, Bunker received the Franklyn S. Haiman Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Freedom of Expression for his book, “Critiquing Free Speech: First Amendment Theory and the Challenge of Interdisciplinarity.”

He also is author of the book “Justice and the Media: Reconciling Fair Trials and a Free Press.” He has written many academic articles on communication law and the First Amendment, and he is widely regarded as one of the pre-eminent First Amendment scholars among mass communication academics.

Bucy Honored with Burnum Award

Pamela H. Bucy, Frank M. Bainbridge Professor of Law in the UA School of Law, has been selected as this year’s recipient of the Burnum Distinguished Faculty Award. She will give a lecture and be presented with the award March 8 at 4:30 p.m. in the Moot Court room of the Law School. Her lecture, titled “Cops and Stops,” will address issues of Constitutional law, the Fourth Amendment and search and seizure.

The Burnum Award is one of the highest honors the University bestows on its faculty. Established by Mrs. Celeste Burnum and the late Dr. John F. Burnum of Tuscaloosa, it is presented annually to a professor who is judged by a faculty selection committee to have demonstrated superior scholarly or artistic achievements and profound dedication to the art of teaching.

“Professor Bucy is a most distinguished and highly productive legal scholar,” UA Law Dean Ken Randall wrote in a nomination letter for the award. “(Her) work stretches the intellect; she is a great advocate, but objective and open-minded; and she is creative but has wise judgment. I know of no other faculty member anywhere who combines scholarly accomplishments with Professor Bucy’s energetic dedication to teaching and service.”

Bucy said she is “very humbled” to receive the award. “I’m very fortunate to spend every day doing what I love doing – teaching, talking with students, and research and writing,” she said. “I especially value the relationships I’ve developed with students and former students. It’s rewarding when my relationships with students evolve over the years into friendships.”

Bucy joined the UA law faculty as an assistant professor in 1987 after serving as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri for seven years. She was promoted to associate professor in 1989 and professor in 1992. She was named to the Bainbridge Professorship in 1993.

Bucy’s areas of research and expertise include criminal law, white collar crime and health care fraud. She has published numerous articles and three books, including a volume on white collar crime that has been adopted by professors at law schools nationwide.

Her current research projects include using the HealthSouth/Richard Scrushy cases to highlight trends in health care fraud.

Book Looks at the Secrets of Life and Death Through Literature

Death and language are intertwined, according to a book edited by a UA professor who specializes in modern French literature.

The book, titled “Death, Language, Thought,” examines life and literature from a philosophical standpoint. When humankind, millennia ago, gained a consciousness of unavoidable death, it developed art as a coping mechanism. That belief is put forth by French philosopher Gérard Bucher who analyzes the connection between death and poetry as a way to understand life.

Bucher places his highest hopes in literature and the way in which it can redefine death or thoughts on death. He believes the thinker, artist and writer role has been ignored in today’s “materialistic” society, although this role can help one to better understand the meaning of life, said Dr. Metka Zupancic, UA associate professor of French and modern languages in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Zupancic compiled, expanded and edited the presentation into its existing form. The book is a volume of essays initially based on the International Association for Philosophy and Literature conference in 2001 where papers were presented on Bucher’s work, L’imagination de l’origine.

Dr. Maurizio Godorecci, UA associate professor of Italian within the department of modern languages and classics, also contributes an essay, as well as the relief on the back cover of the book.

Zupancic said, “The superb model of collaboration and cooperation of scholars between UA and State University of New York at Buffalo, where Gérard Bucher is the Melodia E. Jones professor of French and comparative literature, enabled us to craft a volume that has never been created in English before. This is the first time commentary on Bucher’s in-depth and remarkable work has been presented in the English language in book form."

In addition to Zupancic and Godorecci, scholars from U.S. and international institutions have contributed to the 192- page book, produced by Summa Publications in Birmingham.

Professor Pens Geology Guidebook about Southeast Alaska

Dr. Harold Stowell, a UA professor of geology with more than 25 years of experience in the North, has written “Geology of Southeast Alaska,” a compact guidebook to the region.

Recently published by the University of Alaska Press, the book includes information on how the most powerful forces on earth shaped the landscape of southeast Alaska and the basics of glacial movement. The book contains color illustrations revealing millions of years of geological history and in-depth descriptions of Sitka, Juneau and Glacier Bay. Scientists and visitors from around the world trek north to experience the wild rivers, powerful glaciers and breathtaking mountain peaks of this region.

Stowell’s fieldwork has taken him to Alaska and Canada as well as to New Zealand, Antarctica and Svalbard. He is a fellow of the Geological Society of America. He received his doctorate from Princeton University in 1987.

Reddy Named Editor of International Journal

Dr. Ramana G. Reddy, ACIPCO professor and interim department head of metallurgical and materials engineering, has been named editor-in-chief of the International Journal for Manufacturing Science and Production, published by Freund Publishing House Ltd. in Tel Aviv, Israel.

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