A Message from the President – October 22, 2020
- October 27th, 2020
- in Messages from the President
Dear Faculty, Staff, Students and Parents,
Teaching, research and service are thriving at The University of Alabama. It was announced this week that we have experienced record-breaking external funding for research and other sponsored activities, the seventh consecutive year we have achieved an increase in sponsored awards for our research enterprise. For the third consecutive year, external grants and contracts also reached record levels. It is remarkable and unprecedented growth as we continue our ascent as a Very High Research Doctoral University.
Our dedicated faculty are earning national awards and recognition for their remarkable contributions. Congratulations to criminology and criminal justice instructor Douglas Klutz for being named the No. 1 college professor in the United States by Forbes for the second time in his career. Special recognition is also fitting for the four UA professors who have received national recognition early in their careers. The National Science Foundation selected Dr. Janna Fierst, Dr. Qiang Huang and Dr. Evan Wujcik for a CAREER Award, one of the nation’s most prestigious recognitions of top-performing young educators, scientists and academic role models. Dr. Alain Plattner was also awarded the Planetary Science Early Career Award from NASA, which supports outstanding early-career planetary scientists.
We are pleased to announce fall commencement details, including the ceremony times for the four exercises scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 12, in Coleman Coliseum. Our December ceremonies will follow the same model that worked well for our nine safe and successful commencement exercises in July/August.
As we reach the third full week of October, I am happy to report many of our fall traditions are alive and well. Like you, I always look forward to our annual gridiron match-up with Tennessee. Last weekend’s thrilling victory over Georgia beamed another bright light on our University and I was proud of the way our student-athletes competed and our students and fans conducted themselves.
Please continue to do your part to protect our campus community. Our united efforts are working and we must remain vigilant to finish the semester strong and Tide Together.
Roll Tide!
Stuart R. Bell
President