Teaching – College of Arts & Sciences

A History of Us

January 15, 2021

Students touch a stone memorial with names at EJI.

From the 2020 Collegian | On a January morning, 18 Central High School students sat around a circle of tables in their first period class. It’s silent, but it’s not tense—there’s an air of thoughtfulness, of students searching to find their answer to the question posed moments before. One by one, the students begin to raise their hands, looking at the professor leading the class. The question? “How does mass incarceration affect you personally?” Dr. John Giggie, a history professor […]

The Art of Adaptation

January 15, 2021

From the 2020 Collegian |This year has been one for the books. As COVID-19 changed major aspects of everyday life, faculty were faced with a unique challenge: how to adapt their classes to maximize safety and educational experience. “It was kind of an interesting intellectual challenge,” said Dr. William Keel, an astronomy professor at UA. “We had to think through the logistics: How do we do this? How do we preserve the core of the experience for students with all […]

New College Class Provides Online Arts Workshops

April 21, 2020

At the beginning of the semester, UA professor Marysia Galbraith had a plan for her community arts class. The New College class would visit Matthews Elementary biweekly, hosting interactive arts workshops for fifth graders. After observing and assisting for a few workshops, the college students would get the chance to lead their own workshops with lesson plans that they developed themselves. For Galbraith, who is a potter outside of her duties as a New College and anthropology professor, bringing arts […]

Semester Completion Plan Announced

March 18, 2020

All remaining classes this semester will be taught remotely. There will be no further person-to-person or on-site instruction. Honors week, athletic activities and other events are cancelled for the remainder of the semester.

Student Spring Break Extended Until March 30 as UA Transitions to Remote Learning

March 12, 2020

The University of Alabama is committed to slowing the spread of the coronavirus, while maintaining our mission of teaching, research, and service. Classes will be canceled until March 30 to allow additional time for UA to transition to an alternative mode of instruction.

Mapping New Mexico

January 27, 2020

Each summer, UA’s department of geological sciences sends a group of undergraduate students to New Mexico to practice field skills they’ll use in their future careers as geologists.

The Mother of Alabama Art Photography: Gay Burke’s Legacy Continues

February 25, 2019

From the February 2019 Desktop News | On any given evening in the last half of the 20th century, Gay Burke’s photography room in Woods Quad could be found full of students, watching and waiting to see her next move. Her students say she was known for giving constructive criticism in a way that wasn’t harsh, but helpful. She would stay late to help students master a new technique or model to give them a chance to teach one another. To her, […]

UA to Offer State’s First MFA in Dance Program

January 14, 2019

From the January 2019 Desktop News | The University of Alabama’s Department of Theatre and Dance will offer the state’s first Master of Fine Arts in dance program starting in fall 2020. The program, which will use the 2019-20 academic year to recruit and audition prospective students, will provide training in advanced studies in dance, prepare graduates for employment in the dance profession, and provide credentials needed for employment and teaching positions that require a graduate-level degree. The push for the program […]

Professor to Strengthen Digital Dynamics of Dance via NEH Grant

January 14, 2019

Rebecca Salzer, an assistant professor of dance and the interim director of the UA Collaborative Arts Research Initiative, recently received a Digital Humanities Advancement grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to lead an innovative effort, improving online access to digital dance resources for education and scholarship.

Professors Earn Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Awards

November 12, 2018

From the November 2018 Desktop News | Two College of Arts and Sciences faculty members received Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Awards from The University of Alabama National Alumni Association in 2018. This year’s honorees include Stacy Latham Alley, director of musical theatre and an associate professor of musical theatre and dance, and Nathan James Parker, an instructor in creative writing. Stacy Alley, who came to UA in 2010, is a professional director and choreographer whose recent teachings and artistic credits include work in Denmark, Tanzania, […]