Category: News

Articles about news in the College, from student and faculty accomplishments to research advances, new academic programs, and the impact of giving.


Summer Reading List 2016

six spines of arts and sciences faculty

While you prepare for the fall semester, pick up these books written by A&S faculty on various topics: Enter Your Initials for Record Keeping, by Brian Oliu This nostalgic essay collection introduces a particular vision of basketball, courtesy of the classic arcade game NBA Jam. By using the personal experiences the authors had with both the video game and the sport, Enter Your Initials illuminates how the intensity of pushing big plastic buttons or shooting a ball can come to […]

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Ellen Spears Wins Buford Peace Award

From the June 2016 Desktop News | Dr. Ellen Griffith Spears, an associate professor in New College and the Department of American Studies, is the 2016 winner of the Buford Peace Award. Tony D. Walker, a UA School of Social Work alumnus, established the award in 2002 to honor Lahoma Adams Buford, and each year it is given to a faculty member who has been highly involved in mediating human disputes, helping overcome prejudice, promoting justice, and establishing peace. “The Buford […]

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UA Researchers Receive NSF Grant to Study Everglades’ Greenhouse Gases

From the June 2016 Desktop News | Drs. Gregory Starr and Christina Staudhammer, professors in the Department of Biological Sciences, along with collaborators from Florida International University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Forest Service recently received $834,000 from the National Science Foundation to continue their study of greenhouse gases in the Everglades. They will specifically look at how changes in fresh- and sea-water levels are affecting the balance of carbon-dioxide and methane emissions in the Everglades. “Historically, the Everglades were a […]

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English Professor Wins 2016 Mark Twain Award for Midwestern Literature

From the June 2016 Desktop News | Michael Martone, a professor of English and creative writing, was selected as the winner of the 2016 Mark Twain Award for Distinguished Contributions to Midwestern Literature. Martone, author of more than 25 books and anthologies, joins such past Mark Twain Award recipients as Gwendolyn Brooks, Ted Kooser, and Philip Levine. “I feel really good about the award,” he said. “It came out of the blue. I had no idea people were thinking about […]

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Students Receive Truman, Hollings, and Fulbright Awards

From the June 2016 Desktop News | Each year students from the College of Arts and Sciences prove themselves nationally, and with two Truman scholars, two Hollings Scholarships, and four Fulbright Awards, this year is no exception. Fulbright Awards The highly competitive Fulbright U.S. Student Program provides grants for individually-designed research projects or for English-teaching assistantships. More than 11,000 applicants compete for approximately 1,500 awards each year. The program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, is the largest U.S. […]

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Scholarships Matter: Staying at UA

From the June 2016 Desktop News | Scholarships Matter is a series of stories highlighting students in the College of Arts and Sciences who have received and been impacted by scholarships. The student featured in this story is the recipient of two College-wide scholarships, the Leopold and Stella H. Loeb Scholarship and the Walton Harris Hill Scholarship. Scholarships like these are made possible by generous support from our alumni and friends. Junior Kelsei Coleman wouldn’t have made it past her […]

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Professor Brings Cuban Art to Alabama

Aliosky García Sosa's woodcut print "Tu Propio Cielo" (Your Own Sky).

From the May 2016 Desktop News |When art and art history assistant professor and printmaker Sarah Marshall went to Cuba for the first time, she was there to make books. But when she saw the talent of the traditional printmakers there, she wanted to bring that influence back to the states—helping the Cuban printmakers build a name for themselves internationally while exposing the UA community to new artists and styles. The result of her efforts was the first-ever exhibit of […]

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Want to Avoid a Cold? Try a Tattoo or Twenty, says UA Researcher

From the May 2016 Desktop News |There’s no known cure for the common cold, but receiving multiple tattoos can strengthen your immunological responses, potentially making you heartier in fighting off common infections, according to research by a trio of University of Alabama scholars. However, receiving a single tattoo can, at least temporarily, lower your resistance, says Dr. Christopher Lynn, UA associate professor in the Department of Anthropology. The research was published online in the American Journal of Human Biology. Lynn […]

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Theatre Professor Selected as SEC Faculty Achievement Award Winner

Photo of Seth Panitch

From the May 2016 Desktop News |Southeastern Conference officials have chosen Seth Panitch, professor of theatre, as the 2016 SEC Faculty Achievement Award winner for The University of Alabama. Panitch, who also serves as director of MFA and Undergraduate Acting Programs at UA, said he is both supremely humbled and honored to receive the award and to represent the University. He is one of only 14 professors across the SEC to be selected for the honor. “As everything we do […]

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Scholarships Matter: Hudson Kelley Aids in Humanitarian Relief

Senior Hudson Kelley will be returning to UA in the fall to pursue a Master of Public Administration degree.

From the May 2016 Desktop News | Scholarships Matter is a series of stories highlighting students in the College of Arts and Sciences who have received and been impacted by scholarships. The student featured in this story is the recipient of two University-wide scholarships and five College-wide scholarships, the Louise and John Baker Scholarship, the Charles Grayson Summersell Memorial Scholarship, the MarLa Stephenson Sayers Endowment Scholarship, the Lee David and Florence Black History Scholarship, and a scholarship through the Endowed Collegiate […]

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