New College: Building More than Majors College of Arts and Sciences 2015-2016 Annual Report (Abbreviated Version) : New College Annual Retreat, Camp McDowell, February 26-28 Begun in 1971, New College is an interdisciplinary and integrative program of liberal arts instruction, research, and university and community service. First and foremost, we provide highly motivated undergraduate students with the opportunity to shape an individualized program of study within the broader context of intensive faculty advising and an interdisciplinary core educational experience. Secondly, we promote, encourage, and produce interdisciplinary scholarship. We also further UA’s historical mandate to shape discussion about civic engagement and scholarship responsible and responsive to the well-being of Alabama citizens. Distinct in the southeastern United States public higher education market, New College provides an important and vital educational alternative within the University. New College’s success in helping students develop their own individualized programs of study is made possible through the hard work of our ten tenured/tenure-track faculty, one clinical faculty, six FTTI’s, five staff, one LifeTrack program manager, and three advisors (LifeTrack).
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New College: Building More than Majors
College of Arts and Sciences
2015-2016 Annual Report (Abbreviated Version)
:
New College Annual Retreat, Camp McDowell, February 26-28
Begun in 1971, New College is an interdisciplinary and integrative program of liberal artsinstruction, research, anduniversity and community service. First and foremost,weprovidehighly motivated undergraduate students with the opportunity to shape an individualizedprogram of study within the broader context of intensive faculty advising and aninterdisciplinarycoreeducationalexperience.Secondly,wepromote,encourage,andproduceinterdisciplinaryscholarship.WealsofurtherUA’shistoricalmandatetoshapediscussionaboutcivic engagement and scholarship responsible and responsive to the well-being of Alabamacitizens. Distinct in the southeastern United States public higher education market, NewCollege provides an important and vital educational alternative within the University. NewCollege’s success in helping students develop their own individualized programs of study ismade possible through the hard work of our ten tenured/tenure-track faculty, one clinicalfaculty,sixFTTI’s,fivestaff,oneLifeTrackprogrammanager,andthreeadvisors(LifeTrack).
Dr.BarbaraBrickmanhadanarticleacceptedforpublication,twoarticlesrevisedandre-submitted,andisworkingonthebookGrease:Gender,Nostalgia,andYouthConsumptionintheBlockbusterEra(undercontract with Routledge). She applied for external funding from the American Council of LearnedSocietiesandtheAmericanAssociationofUniversityWomenforhernextbookproject:Attackofthe50FootLesbian:SexualityandExploitationintheAgeofConformity.
Dr.AdrienneCallanderjoinedNewCollegethisyearasanAssistantProfessorinArtsEntrepreneurship.Shepublishedoneessay,hadthreejuriedexhibits,twonon-juriedexhibits,andinJunewillparticipateina10-dayresidency in Icelandat theGullikstanCenter forCreativity.ThereshewillbecollaboratingwithMelanieO’Brien (Director of Galleries, Simon Frasier University, Vancouver) on several projects.Professor Callander helped a group of New College students launch Game Lab 142, an open access,collaborative,and interdisciplinary creative spacededicated to thedesignanddevelopmentofanaloganddigitalgames.
ProfessorKimColburncompletedherfirstyearasaninstructorinLifeTrack.Sheintroducedseveralnewcoursesandrevisedthe IntroductiontoSocialSciencescourse.ShetaughtNEW237:CooperationandConflict for the residentialNewCollegeprogram.ProfessorColburndesigned anew courseonPublicMemorywhichwillbeheldoffcampusinthefallinWashingtonDC.
Dr.AndrewDewarwasonsabbaticalthisyear.Dr.Dewarperformedatanumberofregional,national,and international venues, including an 8-hour performance with Anthony Braxton at the Torino JazzFestival in the famed EgyptianMuseum. This performancewas covered by international press, print,radio,andtelevision.Hepublishedabookchapterandtwoessaysandhadanotherchapteracceptedforpublication.Hehadfourmusicalrecordingspublishedwithseveralothersaccepted.Healsocoordinatedthe “Work in Progress” exhibit, a five day interdisciplinary arts performance and installation thattransformedtheFergusonCenterGallery intoa livingandbreathingart laboratory, showcasing“rapidprototyping”acrossartisticmedia.
Dr.AmandaEspy-BrownwastherecipientoftheFacultyFellowsServiceLearningEnhancementgrantand the Learning in Action Grant. She, alongwith Dr. Julia Cherry, also received a College of Arts &Sciencesteachinggrant.Sheintroducedanewseminaron“GlobalHealth,”taughtthehonor’ssectionofCooperationandConflict,andcontinuestobeoneofourleadinstructorsforNEW243:InterdisciplinarySciences. She also presented at the American Water Resources Association conference and theSoutheastEnvironmentalEducationAllianceConference.
SonicFrontiersisaconcertseriesofinnovativeandexperimentalmusicthatenrichestheculturallifeofWest Alabama and invitescreative exchange between world-class performers of adventurous music,students, and the greater community through publicperformances and lively post-concertdiscussions.All SonicFrontierseventsare freeandopen to thepublicandarepresented inaccessiblevenues.SonicFrontiersisdirectedbyDr.AndrewDewar.WhileDr.Dewarwasonsabbaticalthisyear,ProfessorHollandHopsonmanagedtheconcertseries.
Walker County Interns Emily Pickert, Stephanie Ray, Aundrea Bevis, Mary Caroline May, and Jeff Rogers
TheWalkerCountyInternshipProgramisaneight-weekcommunity-embeddedservice-learninginternship fostered by a partnership between the University of Alabama’s New College, the DavidMathewsCenterforCivicLife, andtheWalkerAreaCommunityFoundation(Jasper,AL).In2015,fourinterns(EmilyPickert,StephanieRay,JeffRogers,andAundreaBevis)andanon-sitecoordinator(MaryCarolineMay)spentthesummerinWalkerCountyvolunteeringwithvariouscommunityagencies.
Priortothesummerinternship,theinternsparticipatedinasemester-longpreparationprogramled by the Director of the DavidMathews Center for Civic Life, Cristin Foster. Students studied suchtopicsasdemocracyandcitizenship,democraticpracticesasoutlinedthroughtheKetteringFoundation,and civic engagement models used to address issues related to health and wellness, education,community outreach, and support for nonprofits – four topics that the Walker Area CommunityFoundationspecificallyaddressedintheirstrategicplanninginitiative.Studentsalsoconductedaneedsassessment of Walker County and received training on how to conduct deliberative forums in
communities.Thecourseworkisdesignedtopreparetheinternstobecollaborativepartnerswithlocalnonprofits and to cultivate the skills to promote civic engagement. The interns have the uniqueopportunitytoplugintoanexemplarynetworkofnonprofitsthatstriveto improveWalkerCountyforitsresidentsonavarietyof fronts. In2015,the internsworkedwithseveralnon-profitsorganizations,including the JasperCitySchools, theHealthActionPartnership,and theWalkerCountyArtsAlliance.Thegoalofthesepartnershipsistodevelopsustainableprogramming.
DruidCityGardenProject
In2010theDruidCityGardenProjectbrokegroundona2,500ftorganicschoolgardenand,withseedandplantdonations,over250ElementaryandUniversityofAlabamastudentsgatheredtoplantthefirstgarden. The garden, located on the back porch of University Place Elementary School, teaches anintegratedscience-andmath-curriculumthatmeetsAlabamaCourseofStudystandards.Usingtheproducethatthestudentshelptogrow,the“BuddingEntrepreneursProgram”teachesbasicbusinessskillswhenstudentssetupanon-siteFarmStandthatsellsproducebacktotheirfamilies.Here,elementarystudents,mentoredbyUAstudents,runamini-businesswhileunderstandingthatfoodhasvalue.Staff fromtheDruidCityGardenProjectteachaNewCollegecourseentitled“OrganicFarming.” HereNewCollegestudentsexplorethebasicsoforganicfarminginahands-on,practicalclass.NewCollegestudents also volunteer at the Garden, and they regularly complete internships and summerIndependentStudiesthere.
New College plays a significant role in the College and the University – a role that can be easilydismissed in a culture of rapid growth such has been experienced at UA. New College is oftenreferredtoasthe“placewherethelostsoulsendup.”Whilethisisaninaccuraterepresentationofthe diversity of students in New College, we do believe strongly that our hands-on approach toteaching and learning, coupled with the small community-feel we cultivate, continues to have asignificantimpactonstudentretentionintheCollegeandUniversity.NewCollegefacultyandstaffarecommittedtoneverlosingsightoftheparticularityoftheneedsofeachandeverystudent.Weare appreciative of the support of our President, Provost, Dean, and university allies and theircontinuedacknowledgementofthevitalroleNewCollegeplays intherecruitment,retention,andgraduationofstudents.