Arts and Sciences News

From L-R; Will Marriott, staff archaeologist, USA Center for Archaeological Studies, and Jeremy Pruitt, field technician, USA Center for Archaeological Studies sift through soil collected during a cultural resource survey in the Africatown community of Mobile.

Digging Into the Past
January 15, 2020

South and the City of Mobile partner on a cultural resource survey in the Africatown community prior to planned construction. ...

Drs. Joél Billingsley, Charlene Dadzie, Kern Jackson and Shenghua Zha were awarded Social Justice Initiative grant awards for research.

South Social Justice Awards Announced
January 8, 2021

Four members of USA's faculty were awarded the first Social Justice Initiative grant awards. ...

Seven members of the Jaguar Marching Band have been chosen by College Band Directors National Association to participate in a virtual halftime performance at the College Football National Championship game.

USA Band Members Participate In National Championship Performance
January 7, 2020

Seven members of the Jaguar Marching Band will join nearly 1,500 other performers for a virtual college marching band show. ...

Dr. Ronnie Baker, an assistant professor of marine science at the University of South Alabama, holds a grouper off San Cristobal Island in the Galapagos. When he returns for research, Baker plans aims to identify coastal nursery habitats for fisheries species.

South Dives Into Galapagos Research
January 5, 2021

The University of South Alabama's collaboration with partners in Ecuador and on the volcanic archipelago grows with a focus on research and globa ...

Temple James, left, and Yavaniy Garraway have been named winners of the "I Belong" essay contest hosted by the Department of English, Honors College, Student Academic Success, and Counseling and Testing Center.

This Is Where I Belong
December 30, 2020

Winners chosen in for the first, "I Belong" essay competition describing each students' journey that led them to South. ...

Dr. Mara Kozelsky, professor of history, is leading the effort to develop a digital history lab planned for a fall 2021 opening.

South Building Digital History Lab
December 17, 2020

A U.S. Department of Education grant provides $20,000 in seed money to develop and build an on-campus digital history lab. ...

Dr. Claire Cage, associate professor of history and gender studies is one of 13 USA Office of Community Engagement and Service Learning Program Faculty Fellows.

Faculty Fellows for Community Engagement Program Named
December 15, 2020

The inaugural class of 13 full-time assistant and associate professors from six colleges were chosen for the program. ...

A Life Well Lived
December 1, 2020

University of South Alabama Writer in Residence, Frye Gaillard's latest book is deeply personal memoir of his late wife Nancy. ...

The 3-year, $493,244 grant will provide support for USA and a campus interprofessional team to increase awareness and establish a campus-wide outreach program for Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners.

Empowering Sexual Assault Survivors
November 30, 2020

South receives a federal grant to develop highly skilled nurses to serve as a resource and support for sexual assault survivors. ...

Dr. Ronald Baker, assistant professor in the department of marine sciences co-authored a paper on salt marshes that was published in Science magazine's November 6, 2020 issue.

DISL Researcher's Work Published in Science Magazine
November 24, 2020

A November 2019 meeting at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab led to a report on salt marshes published in esteemed scientific journal. ...

$160.9 Million Raised in Upward & Onward
November 19, 2020

South exceeds fundraising goal with more than 23,000 donations to support academics, research, athletics and healthcare. ...

Dr. Kelly Dorgan, an associate professor of marine science at the University of South Alabama, studies worms and their impact on marine sediment.

The 'Important, Poorly Understood' Worm
November 18, 2020

Dr. Kelly Dorgan studies worms and marine sediment, creatively piecing together what she calls the 'puzzle of science.' ...

South Receives Renewal for Delta Fellows Program
November 17, 2020

The renewal comes from the Jean O'Connor-Snyder Internship Program at the David Mathews Center for Civic Life. ...

The University of South Alabama holds the easement to 60 acres adjacent to Historic Blakeley State Park along the Tensaw River. The property, in addition to more than 30,000 acres throughout rural Alabama and Mississippi, can be used by South faculty for research and teaching.

Land Newly Available for Research, Teaching
November 17, 2020

Faculty and students will have access to more than 30,000 acres, including land along the Tensaw River in the Mobile Delta. ...

University of South Alabama Assistant Professor Dr. Krista Mehari and Professor Dr. Phillip Smith were awarded a $1.8 million grant to research strategies to reduce gun-related suicides and homicides. The project will last three years and will focus on better understanding the perspective of people who possess and own guns to improve public health strategies.

Grant Seeks to Reduce Gun Deaths
November 17, 2020

Firearm safety measures often focus on access. Two South professors aim to take a different approach with buy-in from gun owners. ...

University of South Alabama Arts and Sciences faculty members were recognized for their achievements at the 39th Annual Dean’s Lecture and Faculty Awards Ceremony, including, clockwise from top left, Dr. Joseph Currier, Dr. Krista Mehari, Dr. Amy Sprinkle, Dr. Robert Holm, Joel Borden, Mischa Armstrong, Kristy Britt, Dr. David Durant and Dr. Alexandra Stenson.

College of Arts and Sciences Recognizes Outstanding Faculty
November 10, 2020

Nine faculty members are recognized for their achievements during the 39th Annual Dean's Lecture and Faculty Awards. ...

University of South Alabama Police Officer Roy Mendenhall, sitting in front of the Humanities Building where he once took classes, earned a degree in criminal justice in 2016. He's one of three officers at South who graduated from the University that same year.

Now in Boots, He Walked in Students' Shoes
November 9, 2020

Roy Mendenhall, like most officers in the USA Police Department, graduated from South. He found a career, and a wider world. ...

Dr. Thomas Shaw, associate professor of political science and director of the USA Polling Group, said public opinion surveys will remain a useful tool for gauging opinion. “I think what we will probably see is a continuation of traditional survey research that needs to adapt itself to the new landscape, and then augmented with other ways of trying to look at public opinion,” he said.

Polling 'Vital,' So Are Fixes
November 6, 2020

USA Polling Group Director Dr. Thomas Shaw reflects on General Election polling and why public opinion surveys still matter. ...

Dr. Kern Jackson, USA's African American Studies chair, is part of a documentary film examining the origins and evolution of blues music in Alabama's Black Belt region.

Alabama's Black Belt Blues
October 20, 2020

USA assistant professor Dr. Kern Jackson is featured in an Alabama Public Television documentary on Alabama's blues music history. ...

David K. Akridge, chief information officer for the Mobile County Public School System, said support from faculty, determination and a music scholarship led to his degree in computer and information sciences from the University of South Alabama.

An Eye for Coding, A Voice for a Scholarship
October 19, 2020

New technology in the 80s intrigued David Akridge, a chief of information officer who sang his way through college. ...

Freshman Thanh Haas said the Marx Library is her favorite location on campus at the University of South Alabama. “I like the view from the second floor. You can sit next to the big windows and look out over the lake,” she said.

Move Brings Adventure, New Direction
October 6, 2020

#FreshmanFocus: Thanh Haas was raised in Vietnam and has a German last name. Now she's getting a South education. ...

USA associate professor Dr. Brian Dzwonkowski and his team at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab explore how multiple severe weather events affect storm intensification near landfall.

Following Hurricanes, Gulf in Hot Water
October 5, 2020

A USA oceanographer says severe weather events can fuel marine heatwaves, impacting the intensity of subsequent tropical storms. ...

Jhalana Jones, who has performed in local theater, is studying music education at the University of South Alabama. "We have this teacher, Dr. Thomas Rowell, who is a hoot-and-a-half. He lets us know we're not just his students, we're his people."

Mobile Actress Takes Stage at South
September 21, 2020

#FreshmanFocus: Jhalana Jones, who has performed in local theater and moonlights as a princess, is studying music education. ...

2020 USA Faculty Excellence Award Winners. Top row, L-R: Dr. Christy West, Angela O'Neal. Bottom row, L-R: Dr. Natalie Gassman, Dr. Joseph Hair, Dr. Lesley Gregoricka.

USA National Alumni Association Recognizes Outstanding Faculty, Young Alumnus
September 11, 2020

Five USA faculty members were recognized for their achievements as well as one outstanding young alumnus honored for 2020. ...

Hurricane Florence as seen above the Atlantic Ocean from the International Space Station. Florence made landfall along the Atlantic Coast on Sept. 14 and is the wettest tropical cyclone on record in the Carolinas. While weather forecasting has improved dramatically in the last century, it is expected to improve even more using artificial Intelligence and machine learning.

South Wins AI Forecasting Grant
September 10, 2020

Artificial intelligence and machine learning could lead to improved weather forecasting and more targeted evacuations. ...