Category: Collegian

Articles from the Collegian, the College’s magazine for alumni and donors


Fueling Creativity

Andy Zavadsky dancing.

From the Winter 2019 Collegian | Dance major Andy Zavadsky says that he can’t imagine dancing anywhere other than UA. For three years, he learned from some of the best instructors in the world while the recipient of the Tutwiler Scholar scholarship, which allowed him to come to Tuscaloosa from his home in Wisconsin. But when that scholarship ran out, Zavadsky faced a tough decision: find another scholarship, or make the trek home and lose the opportunity of a lifetime. […]

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Restoring a Legend

Dr. Jennifer Feltman

From the Winter 2019 Collegian | Since its Gothic construction in 1163, Notre Dame Cathedral has been a religious and cultural monument worldwide. Its magnificent towers and buttresses have stood through regime changes and revolutions, through wars and celebrations and times of mourning. The echo of its bells, perhaps Paris’s most famous sound, have become iconic in books and films. To admirers and critics alike, the cathedral has become a symbol of culture, religion, art, and French pride throughout the […]

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Listen Up: UA Faculty, Staff and Alumni Take On the Podcast Craze

Two people sharing headphones and laughing

From the Winter 2019 Collegian | In today’s digital landscape, long distance creative collaborations and friendships are only a phone call or Facetime away. Dr. William Justin Morgan, Robin Turner, and William “Boden” Robertson take advantage of the technology at their fingertips as much as they possibly can. Although they’re in different states, this trio carries on a conversation about linguistics and graduate school for over an hour. But when the conversation’s over, they don’t just hang up the phone. […]

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Taking Up Space

Josh Burford in orange, pink, and purple lighting.

From the Winter 2019 Collegian | Over the past year, Joshua Burford’s life has been a whirlwind. After being featured in newspapers and radio shows around the country, including The New York Times, he was selected as one of NBC’s “Pride50,” a group of 50 veteran and up-and-coming activists in the LGBTQ community in the United States. But for Burford, all of this pales in comparison to expanding his life’s work: saving and creating a space for Southern queer history. […]

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The Buzz

Dr. Jeffrey Lozier poses with a butterfly net.

From the Winter 2019 Collegian | Outside of Dr. Jeffrey Lozier’s tent in the mountains of Sequoia National Park, a fresh layer of snow awaits the group of scientists about to embark on their day’s journey. The below-freezing temperatures and few flakes still falling make it difficult to leave the minimal warmth of his polyester shelter, even in layers of heavy clothes. In this cold climate, it’s difficult to remember that it’s the middle of May. There’s nothing remotely resembling […]

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When Art Goes Public

Students interview a subject in their Black Belt Photography class.

From the Winter 2019 Collegian | At UA, art isn’t confined to the walls of studios; it bleeds out into the community. Two classes teach students not only how to advance their skillsets, but how to use art to become good stewards of their communities through photography and sculpture. Documenting the Greats UA art professor Christopher Jordan spent the spring and interim semesters with his photography students in Alabama’s Black Belt, where they met some of the region’s most beloved […]

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Mathematics Strives to Be a Leader in Diversity and Inclusion

Some of the math graduate students in front of a sculpture in Woods Quad.

From the Winter 2019 Collegian | Awa Traore had a few qualifications for institutions where she would pursue her PhD in mathematics: one that was close to her home in Birmingham, and one where she would be encouraged and pushed to be successful throughout her program. When she learned that two other black women were successfully working their way through UA’s program, she decided that she could see herself at UA. “When I came here, and I saw there were […]

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UA Physics Professor Receives $1.2 Million Grant from Department of Energy

From the October 2019 Desktop News | UA physics professor Dr. Andreas Piepke recently received a grant of $1.2 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to explore the fundamental questions that have baffled physicists for decades. Piepke and his team study neutrinos, a type of subatomic particle that’s unique for its lack of an electric charge. “All other fundamental constituents of matter carry an electrical charge, and their antimatter particle is the opposite charge,” Piepke said. “But neutrinos are […]

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Doctoral Student Selected for Prestigious Marine Policy Fellowship

Christine Bassett

From the September 2019 Desktop News | Geosciences Ph.D. candidate, Christine Bassett, was recently selected as a member of the 2020 class for the John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship program. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s highly-competitive Sea Grant fellowship links science with public policy, and pairs fellows with agencies and elected officials to conduct scientific research, develop policy, and guide decision-making in the nation’s capital. After an extensive application process and two attempts at applying, Basset was selected […]

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