Rose Gladney Lecture Part of American Studies, New College Anniversaries

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Dr. Cheryl Fish, an environmental justice scholar, will visit The University of Alabama Sept. 29 and deliver the Rose Gladney Lecture on Justice and Social Change.

The lecture will be at 7 p.m. in 205 Gorgas Library on the UA campus and is sponsored by UA’s department of American studies and New College, both part of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Fish is a New York-based author, poet and scholar and a member of the English faculty at Borough of Manhattan Community College. Her courses emphasize environmental justice issues in literature and film, and women’s and gender studies.

She was a Fulbright Lecturer and has lectured on topics ranging from Walt Whitman and Langston Hughes to travel writing, to contemporary literature and film.

The two programs co-sponsoring the lecture are celebrating milestone anniversaries this year, and the lecture is one of a series of events planned to commemorate the 50^th anniversary of American Studies and New College’s 40^th anniversary. The lecture series was founded in 2003 to honor Margaret Rose Gladney, a retired professor who taught in both New College and American Studies.

“The Rose Gladney Lecture for Justice and Social Change was founded to honor the work and commitments of Margaret Rose Gladney and to increase the connections between UA and the Tuscaloosa community,” said Dr. Lynne Adrian, chair of the department of American studies. “We are delighted to see the concerns of the Gladney Lecture continue to expand to issues of environmental justice.”

Gladney worked in New College when she first joined The University of Alabama faculty in 1975, and she also taught in American studies. She helped craft the master’s degree program in the department of women’s studies and was the recipient of the first Autherine Lucy Award for service, leadership and support for minority programming at UA in 1987.

“It’s exciting to have an opportunity to mark our 40^th anniversary at the same moment of American Studies 50^th anniversary and to acknowledge Rose’s important contribution to the growth of both units,” said Dr. James Hall, director of New College. “This year’s lecture speaks directly to questions of race and justice that were of utmost centrality to Rose’s teaching and scholarship.”

The College of Arts and Sciences is the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Its students have won national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships on the USA Today Academic All American Team.