Student Affairs Hall of Fame Honors Three UA Leaders

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Three noted campus leaders were honored recently for their service to The University of Alabama as 2012 inductees into the Student Affairs Hall of Fame.

Selection into the UA Student Affairs Hall of Fame recognizes outstanding contributions to student life and culture at the Capstone.

The 2012 inductees are Dr. Jerry C. Oldshue, former chief officer and associate vice president of student affairs, Dr. Joan M. Comas, the first director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, and the late Dr. Albert S. Miles, former vice president of student affairs.

Dr. Jerry C. Oldshue has been associated with UA for more than half a century, having served in every department within student affairs. He was always a student favorite, even while serving as a student-discipline officer. As associate vice president of student affairs, he was responsible for bringing the Phi Kappa Phi national honor society to the University and returning the Blue Key honor society to campus. Oldshue was awarded tenure through the University Libraries in 1993 and ultimately served as the University archivist and historian. Oldshue was also an eminent scholar and noted author of Southern history and archaeology who presented at history conferences nationwide.  He was the first director of Interim term and he established the pilot program for Weekend College. He is active in the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UA as a member and instructor.

Dr. Joan M. Comas has long been recognized for her calm and capable assistance of students in need of counseling or enhanced learning skills. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, she served in a variety of counseling roles and was the first coordinator of Women’s Career Services, eventually being named its director. In 1990, Comas became the first director of the Center for Teaching and Learning. In this role, she launched a number of groundbreaking initiatives, including interactive software developments and other multimedia teaching resources that are still in use today. She taught in behavioral studies and supervised many external-degree contracts. She was also a noted academic and published author in the areas of career education and student development. She is a member of numerous scholastic honoraries and in 1990, UA recognized her as a recipient of the Vergil Parks McKinley Sr. Employee Award.

Dr. Albert S. Miles is remembered as a true student advocate, a prominent professor of higher education, and a noted author in the area of disability services. He came to UA as vice president of student affairs in 1976 and was rewarded for his leadership of the division by receiving the Algernon Sydney Sullivan award in 1980. He then graduated from the UA School of Law and became a professor of higher education. He served as chair for the administration of higher education program for 10 years and was a nationally recognized scholar. He was best known for his ability to empower students as partners, and during his tenure as vice president, the University developed new avenues for the sharing of student opinion, resulting in greatly enhanced student services. During his tenure, the Learning Skills Center was created, the Student Recreation Center was constructed, and the Ferguson Center began programming designed to improve faculty and student interaction.

For more information on the UA Student Affairs Hall of Fame, contact Paige Lancaster at 205/348-6118 or go to sa.ua.edu.