News and Events
Wednesday Memo
October 14, 2009
University celebrates 113th Founders’ Day | Kelly Wacker named 2009 University Scholar |
Hollie Cost receives Faculty Service Award | Freddie Ford receives Alumnus Loyalty Award |
Ruth Truss receives Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award | Amanda Fox receives 2009 Outstanding Staff Service Award |
Ceremony held at Ebenezer Wetlands | Enthusiasts gather at observatory | Benton Tyler wins 12th Annual Life Raft Debate
University celebrates 113th Founders’ Day
Thursday, Oct. 8, marked the 113th Founders’ Day at the University of Montevallo. Activities took place throughout the week to mark this annual celebration, including the presentation of five awards at the annual Founders’ Day convocation.
Award recipients include Kelly Wacker, 2009 University Scholar; Hollie Cost, Faculty Service Award; Freddie Ford, Alumnus Loyalty Award; Ruth Truss, Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award; and Amanda Fox, Outstanding Staff Service Award. More information about each of these individuals appears on the features page in this issue of Wednesday Memo.
In addition to the presentation of awards, the convocation included the traditional robing of the seniors, as well as the Omicron Delta Kappa tapping.
Mary Louise Rice Dabbs, a member of the class of 1956, was the convocation speaker. The text of her speech can be viewed at www.montevallo.edu/news/DabbsConvocationSpeech.shtm.
The day continued with a reception for faculty, staff, seniors and alumni, followed by open houses at Peterson Hall, the new residence hall and Van Tuyll House.
Other activities for the afternoon included a gathering at the James Wylie Shepherd Observatory, where those in attendance had an opportunity to get a first glimpse at the new, state of-the-art telescope, a 20-inch PlaneWave with robotic mount and hydraulic pier. Potential stargazers also had the opportunity to enjoy the premiere performance of Dr. Jody Landers’ vocal and instrumental composition, “How Sweet the Moonlight,” written especially for the Shepherd Observatory.
A recognition and appreciation ceremony was held at the Ebenezer Wetlands. Visitors had an opportunity to stroll the 760' boardwalk through the wetlands to get an up-close and personal look at this priceless ecological preserve.
Capping off the activities for the day was the 12th Annual Life Raft Debate, won this year by Benton Tyler, a very prepared former Eagle Scout who is an assistant professor of mathematics at the University of Montevallo. Tyler’s win marked the only repeat departmental win in the history of the debate. Complete coverage appears on the features page in this issue of Wednesday Memo.
Kelly Wacker named 2009 University Scholar
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Each year on Founders’ Day, the University community designates an outstanding faculty member as “University Scholar.” The designation is in recognition of significant contributions to scholarship and creative endeavor—contributions clearly connected to the recipient’s teaching and service as well. The designation is coveted; the selection process is rigorous; the competition is keen; and the recipient is, indeed, deserving of recognition as a distinguished University citizen. Dr. Kelly Wacker is Montevallo’s 2009-2010 University Scholar. |
Dr. Wacker earned a B.A. in art history from Colorado State University, an M.A. in art history from Bowling Green State University and a Ph.D. in art history from the University of Louisville. Prior to joining the UM faculty in 2002, she served on the faculty of Ohio Northern University, the University of Louisville, Jefferson Community College and Indiana University Southeast. Now, as associate professor of art at UM, Dr. Wacker teaches art history courses in modern and contemporary art.
While her teaching expertise spans the period of the Baroque to the Contemporary, her special interest is in Land Art. Her research over the last seven years has examined the transformation of this modernist movement from its inception in the 1960s and 70s, typified by massive earthworks emphasizing the role of the individual, into the ecological and social-activist art that represents the current period. Her research involves travel to site-specific installations of art and correspondence with working artists, which lends immediacy to her research and actively engages her colleagues and students. Dr. Wacker describes her approach to the study of art history as “highly interdisciplinary in that art, the individuals who create art, and the societies which affect them are studied.” She further states, “I believe that it is crucial for students to come out of an art history course with an understanding of individual works of art and the cultures which produced them.”
Dr. Wacker’s publications, which have appeared in a variety of national, peer-reviewed venues, include journal articles, reviews, catalog essays, abstracts, monographs, encyclopedia entries and audio commentaries. She actively seeks and is awarded research grants, and she has made more than 19 presentations for conferences and professional events. An essay by Dr. Wacker was included in the anthology Women by Women: The Treatment of Female Characters by Women Writers of Fiction in Québec Since 1980, and she is the editor of and a contributor to another book, Baroque Tendencies in Contemporary Art, published last year. Among a variety of other research endeavors, Dr. Wacker also undertook a conservation and research project that involved the curation and exhibition of UM’s collection of WPA prints, which, as a result of Dr. Wacker’s work, have been added to the General Services Administrations’ database of WPA art, making UM a federal repository.
Dr. William Clow, dean of the College of Fine Arts at the University of Montevallo, noted during the presentation of the University Scholar award to Dr. Wacker that her scholarship exemplifies the role that original research plays in the teaching profession. He went on to note that it has a direct impact on our art curriculum, while enriching our campus through the visiting artist series and gallery schedule Dr. Wacker uses to extend her investigation of contemporary art. Through her research, Dr. Wacker not only contributes to her field but also illuminates that field for the broader community. The University of Montevallo and its students benefit from Dr. Wacker’s scholarship as she shares the knowledge and insights garnered from her work. “Dr. Wacker has made outstanding contributions to her discipline and the University of Montevallo community,” stated Clow. “Simply put, Dr. Wacker embodies all that is great about UM and all that a college education is supposed to be about.”
Hollie Cost receives Faculty Service Award
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Dr. Hollie Cost, associate professor of special education, is the recipient of the 2009–2010 Faculty Service Award, presented by the Faculty Senate. The purpose of this award is to recognize a professor’s dedication to the provision of service and his/her impact upon the University community. This person must have demonstrated exemplary service to the University at all levels. Cost was presented the award by Kristen Gilbert, president of the Faculty Senate, at the annual Founders’ Day Convocation, held Thursday, Oct. 8. Gilbert’s remarks follow. |
Dr. Cost has a record of service that clearly demonstrates her belief that her educational duties do not stop at the classroom door, in fact, it is clear that she believes her duties do not stop at the gates of campus, the city limits or even our nation’s border.
Hollie serves her students, the University and the community through several endeavors. First, she has built upon a legacy of the University of Montevallo by renewing our commitment to local schools through the Montevallo Connection, a group that is committed to identifying the needs at the University that can be met by Montevallo schools and the needs at Montevallo schools that can be met by the University. The Montevallo Connection encourages cultural, educational and professional exchanges that will enhance the educational experiences of students. On a practical level, this means that Dr. Cost, serving as the coordinator, is hands-on, for example organizing Future Falcon days that filled the campus with 5th-, 8th-, and 10th-graders. She teaches one of her courses in the elementary school and oversees tutoring programs that enhance the education of her students and elementary school students. The list of important contributions made by the Montevallo Connection goes on and on and Dr. Cost has had a hand in it all.
This belief in learning by lending a hand has extended into her efforts to formalize Service Learning as a pedagogical tool here at UM. Working with other faculty who utilize service learning in their teaching, she is the coordinator of the newly formed Office of Service Learning. Already, this inaugural semester, she has 19 students in 6 agencies across Shelby County working as Falcon Scholars in Action. Dr. Cost has toiled in bringing this about, her efforts ranging from spending her weekends lugging furniture into the new office all the way to visiting students at agencies to assist them in any way that she can and bragging on their efforts to anyone who will listen. Her aim is to establish an easier path for other faculty who want to use service learning in their classes and a way to formally recognize students who go the extra mile, giving to others as they learn.
Dr. Cost is a member of 12 committees or groups on campus and in the City of Montevallo, including Faculty Senate, chairing or serving in a leadership role on at least six of those.
While this is an award for service to the University, with Dr. Cost service, work as an educator, community and life and are all intertwined. Making it necessary, I believe, to mention that she is a two-term city council member and in this capacity she traveled, this past summer, with President Williams to our sister city of Echizen, Japan, representing the city, but undoubtedly representing the University as well. She serves as the chair of the Sister City Commission, again working with the middle schools to send students to Japan every other summer and to assist families hosting students from Japan during the opposing summers.
Clearly service is a way of life, a theme of life for Dr. Cost. She has woven it into her academic life, civic life and personal life. And by doing so, a part of her is intricately woven into the fabric of the University of Montevallo and we are the better for it.
So it is with great joy, as a representative of Faculty Senate, to present this plaque, which reads:
Faculty Service Award
presented to
Hollie C. Cost
for her dedication to the provision
of service to University students,
potential students, colleagues,
and citizens of Montevallo.
Freddie Ford receives Alumnus Loyalty Award
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Dr. Frederick Ford, traffic safety education specialist emeritus, received the 2009 Alumnus Loyalty Award. Ford earned the B.A. in history and political science from UM in 1972. Two years later he received the M.Ed. in traffic safety/educational administration, also from UM. In 1982, he earned the Ph.D. in traffic safety and health education from Southern Illinois University, where he served as a project coordinator/visiting assistant professor until 1985. |
He returned to the South, serving as a safety and first aid instructor for the University of Georgia before returning to Montevallo in 1989 as an assistant professor at the Alabama Traffic Safety Center. He later advanced to associate professor status and then became projects manager of the Center.
In addition to teaching, research, publications work and a host of other activities, Ford has served the University as a member of the College Night Committee, a chair of the SACS sub-committee for Student Development Services, a COE representative on the University Planning Committee and a member of the Annual Fund Campaign Committee.
Ford is a past president of the Shelby County chapter of the UM National Alumni Association and remains active in that chapter, playing a significant role in the planning of the Shelby County chapter’s annual fish fry and bingo benefit bash, both of which raise funds for student scholarships.
One nominator says of Ford, “Freddie’s love for UM has been shown through not only his many hours of work with the Shrimp Boil, but also through his work in other UM events such as Homecoming, Continuing Education, Elderhostel programs, UM Athletics Falcon Club and the United Way campaign.”
Another said, “When others complain that they don’t have the time to give for these events, Freddie takes it upon himself to do whatever is needed to get the job done. I have seen him involve his whole family to make our events successful.”
Ruth Truss receives
Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award
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Dr. Ruth Smith Truss, professor of history, received the Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award at the 113th Founders’ Day convocation. Truss earned the Bachelor of Science in mathematics and history from UM in 1982. She also holds an M.A. and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Alabama. She joined the UM faculty as an adjunct instructor in 1993. In 1998 she was named assistant professor and has since attained the rank of professor, teaching a range of courses from survey and honors to upper-division and graduate seminars. |
Truss has published or reviewed a number of scholarly articles. She is a member of the Organization of American Historians, the Southern Historical Association, Friends of the Alabama Archives, the Alabama Association of Historians, Phi Alpha Theta and Omicron Delta Kappa. She also has served the University on numerous committees, including the Teacher Education Committee, the Alumni Committee, the Concert and Lecture Series Committee, the NCATE and State Department of Education Review Committee and the search committee for social work faculty. She has also served on a variety of search committees and as a faculty senator.
Truss’s 13 letters of recommendation denote the respect and admiration she receives from fellow faculty members, University staff and students. One nominator said, “Ruth is devoted to her work and to the history profession, but, above all, she is passionate about her students. That passion translates directly to her students and to all those with whom she works.”
Another noted, “She wants and demands the best from each and every one of her students, even if they do not desire it for themselves. Yet, it is the authenticity and sincerity that she brings to her profession that demonstrates [sic] why she is truly a unique and rare gift, not only to teaching, but to the Montevallo community.”
Amanda Fox receives 2009
Outstanding Staff Service Award
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Amanda Fox, senior departmental secretary in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, is the recipient of the 2009 Outstanding Staff Service Award. Fox earned the B.S. in history with a minor in mathematics from the University of Montevallo in 2004. She went on to earn the M.A. in history from UAB in 2009. Fox began working for the department as a student worker and was selected to fill the departmental position when it became available in 2004. Since that time, she has proven her abilities and genuine love for Montevallo, its faculty and students, and continues to do so daily. |
Fox supports 16 faculty members in six disciplines, publishes four newsletters per year, supervises a half-dozen student workers and oversees two offices in separate buildings. She also assists the department chair in preparing the annual budget, processes book orders for all faculty members and insures the integration of adjunct faculty into department processes.
And by all accounts she accomplishes all of this efficiently, effectively and with a smile on her face. And just as important as the support she provides for the faculty is the support she shows every student who crosses her path.
Numerous students echoed support for Fox, noting in case after case how she has helped them, whether it was dealing with technology issues, class registration, or, in one case, watching a 3-year-old so that that child’s mother could meet with her advisor to devise a plan of action for degree completion that would also work around the schedule of a busy, working mother.
In addition to her office responsibilities, Fox is a mother, is active in her church and continues to take classes on a regular basis. She is a member of the Higher Education Partnership and has worked on the Alabama Poverty Project. She has been involved with Alabama Arise and is a member of the Alabama Association of Historians.
Faculty and students alike refer to Fox as the “go to” person when all other efforts have failed. Others noted her willingness to go the extra mile, day in and day out, to take care of her faculty and students. All noted the pleasant manner in which she accomplishes these many tasks.
Ceremony held at Ebenezer Wetlands
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Mike Hardig, left, associate professor of biology, speaks with Mildred Orr and John W. Stewart at the ceremony held Thursday, Oct. 8, at the Ebenezer Wetlands. |
The University of Montevallo held a special ceremony Thursday, Oct. 8, during its 113th Founders’ Day, to recognize those who have contributed to an idea born a decade ago to transform the Ebenezer Swamp into a premier environmental education facility.
It all began with a generous donation of land from the Bolton family: Mrs. Arthur P. Bolton Orr (Mildred) and her late son and daughter-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur P. Bolton III. Their generosity has created a legacy, the Bolton-Orr Ecological Preserve at Ebenezer Wetlands, that the University of Montevallo is proud to protect and perpetuate.
There have been bumps along the road to getting to where we are with this project today. The first serious threat came early, in the form of a proposed limestone quarry operation not two miles to the north of where Thursday’s ceremony took place. There was also, of course, the heavy lifting phase of the project — the development and construction of facilities including a trail and boardwalk, interpretive plaques, restrooms, a split-rail fence and the purchase of additional property with a structure suitable for a future visitors center. The swamp has been blessed with many champions, including The University of Montevallo Foundation, the Stewart Organization, Mr. Homer W. Richardson and Mr. Robert M. Frolich; the foundations of Alabama Power, Vulcan Materials Company and Hearin-Chandler; Legacy, Inc., Shelby County, Mr. Alex Dudchock and The Hon. Spencer Bachus III.
Mike Hardig, associate professor of biology at the University of Montevallo, thanked those who were present for their support of this endeavor. “With much help, we’ve come a long way,” stated Hardig. “But there is still much to be done — extension of the boardwalk, an outdoor classroom, and a visitor center with interpretive displays, to name just a few. So I invite everyone to enjoy the swamp today, while envisioning how much more there is to come.”
Enthusiasts gather at observatory
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Michael Patton, left, professor of philosophy, and Michael Sterner, associate professor of mathematics, converse with Sandi Falkenhagen, a member of the University of Montevallo’s Alumni Board. Shown in the foreground is the new, 20-inch PlaneWave telescope, which was installed during the summer, along with its robotic mount and hydraulic pier. |
Included in the Founders’ Day activities was a gathering at the James Wylie Shepherd Observatory, where those in attendance had an opportunity to get a first glimpse at the new, state of-the-art telescope, a 20-inch PlaneWave with robotic mount and hydraulic pier.
Potential stargazers also had the opportunity to enjoy the premiere performance of Dr. Jody Landers’ vocal and instrumental composition, “How Sweet the Moonlight,” written especially for the Shepherd Observatory.
Benton Tyler wins 12th Annual Life Raft Debate
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Michael Patton, left, professor of philosophy, presents the coveted oar to Benton Tyler, assistant professor of mathematics and winner of the 12th Annual Life Raft Debate. |
Capping off the activities for Founders’ Day was the 12th Annual Life Raft Debate, won this year by Benton Tyler, a very prepared former Eagle Scout who is an assistant professor of mathematics at the University of Montevallo.
An entertaining re-cap of the event, written by Michael Patton, follows.
And the oar goes to . . .
Benton Tyler! Yes, the winner of the 12th Annual Life Raft Debate is Benton Tyler (Mathematics)! Benton’s win makes math the first repeat discipline to win the Life Raft Debate. Dr. Tyler’s defense had something to do with him being a better teacher than all other math teachers, everything depending on math, having guns, knowing judo and having a roll of duct tape. Hey, I didn’t really understand it, but I one [sic] get one vote.
And that vote really mattered this year. Despite having the record number of votes cast (over 470), this year’s decision was by the slimmest margin ever. If we weren’t using scantron technology, I fear the recount would have been going on still.
As a witness to each of the 12 Life Raft Debates at UM, I must say that this one was, well, special. Not just because it was webcast live and tweeted about on UMLifeRaft, but because the participants threw themselves into the task with unparalleled zeal. Scott Turner (Political Science), bursting with pride over his humility, begged the audience to make history and make him the only two-time champion. Gary Packwood (Music) painted a bleak picture of life without music and even had a celestial chorus in the crowd to provide a demonstration. John Bawden (History) promised that he could be a trusted advisor to whomever became the despot in the new world, using all his knowledge of history to steer this tyrant in the direction of benevolence. And he had a PowerPoint show. Cedric Norman (Alum, Marketing, Comm. Studies) said that he would relaunch the advertising business in the new world, I think. He also said he’d get women to stop trying to talk to men during football games, much to 51 percent of the crowd’s chagrin. He pointed out all successful people need to market themselves and communicate, promised to listen to people and run like hell from mutant squids. In the end, he pleaded solidarity with the students in the audience and begged for the last seat on the boat. Billy Clow (Dean of Fine Arts, Theater) defended all of the arts, claiming that everything came from one art form or another. He certainly demonstrated a knowledge of theater history, as he performed a crowd-pleasing burlesque show, shedding his suit as he was pleading his case. Finally, Benton Tyler (Mathematics) gave an impassioned defense of the glories of math, without which it seems we wouldn’t have alarm clocks. He also convinced me that he was ready to go off the grid and be a survivalist, so he’s got that going for him. After a raucous give and take, Devil’s Advocate Steve Parker claimed the audience should let all the panelists drown, since each of them was simply trying to sow the seeds of self-doubt in the minds of the audience, who would do better to trust themselves.
After all the shouting, stripping, singing and threatened gunplay was over, the votes were cast, Dr. Tyler was pulled aboard the raft, given the coveted oar, and he and the audience set sail for New Jerusalem. The rest of the panel bickered among themselves until they slipped beneath the waves, to find eternal repose in the briny deep.
Thanks to everyone who participated, watched live or on the web or followed the debate on twitter. It couldn’t happen without all of you. And, as I said, it was special.