After a career dedicated to public service at The University of Alabama, Dr. Samory Pruitt, vice president for the Division of Community Affairs, plans to retire effective June 1, 2026.
At the time of his retirement, Pruitt will have served the University for 40 years and led the Division of Community Affairs since its creation in 2004. Then-president Dr. Robert E. Witt gave him the charge to create an administrative unit that would help UA fulfill its mission of working to improve the lives of those in Alabama and beyond through innovative efforts that integrated teaching, research and service.
“It is time to wind down this chapter of my life, and while I look forward to this next chapter with family and friends, my service to others and the community will continue,” Pruitt said. “It has been an honor to serve alongside so many individuals in helping weave the University’s mission into the fabric of our community.”
Under his leadership, the division has grown to include the administrative offices, the Center for Community-Based Partnerships and the Crossroads Civic Engagement Center, which collectively operate nearly two dozen programs and initiatives. Providing opportunities for students to engage in this work is important to its mission, so the division supports 10 graduate assistants, several undergraduates, multiple work-study students and a host of student volunteers who work closely with the staff.
“I am thankful and grateful for the opportunities I have had to work with such amazing colleagues in the Division of Community Affairs. They are the best people and are the best at what they do. I am very proud of what we have accomplished together. We are all excited and believe that this upcoming year will be one of our best,” said Pruitt, who, along with two retired deans and others, will complete a methods book this fall based on the four “R’s” of community-engaged scholarship: relevance, reciprocity, research and resilience.
Pruitt’s innovative approaches, service leadership mindset and caring spirit have made him a respected figure in the field of engaged scholarship on an international stage. His vision led to the creation of the Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship, a leading, peer-reviewed journal in the field of community-engaged scholarship. He continues to serve as publisher, and the publication is produced and printed at UA.
“Over his decades of service, Dr. Pruitt has left a truly lasting mark on the University and the broader community through his tireless dedication to public service and community engagement,” said President Stuart R. Bell. “His contributions have positively influenced countless lives.”
Pruitt’s and the division’s outreach and public service have had a tremendous impact throughout the broader Tuscaloosa community, the Black Belt region and across the state.
The division was recently recognized for this accomplishment and many others in resolutions by the Alabama Senate and House of Representatives, marking the 20th anniversary of the division in 2024. Notable among them are:
- The creation, in 2006, of the Crossroads Community Engagement Center, now the Crossroads Civic Engagement Center, to help teach skills for improved, sustained dialogue, as well as civic and community leadership efforts that help prepare the next generation to become informed, productive citizens.
- The creation, in 2007, of the Center for Community-Based Partnerships and its Council on Community-Based Partnerships.
- The Center houses a variety of programs focused on community education, partnerships for community engagement, global and community engagement and community engagement research and publications. All provide UA with opportunities to support K-12 education and community-identified efforts, as well as learning opportunities for UA students and teaching and research opportunities for faculty and staff.
- Some of the programs and initiatives include:
- the Parent Teacher Leadership Academy, involving six Alabama school districts;summer enrichment programs such as the BLAST Academy, Swim to the Top and the STEM Entrepreneurship Academy;the Vision Days student recruitment program;the SCOPE (Scholars for Community Outreach, Partnership, and Engagement) student organization; andthe New Faculty Community Engagement Tour, established in 2017, as well as the Undergraduate Student Community Engagement Tour, begun in fall 2024.
- Some of the programs and initiatives include:
- The Council is comprised of faculty, staff, students and community partners. It provides recognition and funding support for exemplary community-engaged scholarship efforts, including the provision of seed funds, graduate assistantships, travel funds and award recognition funds.
- The Center houses a variety of programs focused on community education, partnerships for community engagement, global and community engagement and community engagement research and publications. All provide UA with opportunities to support K-12 education and community-identified efforts, as well as learning opportunities for UA students and teaching and research opportunities for faculty and staff.
- Leading the efforts, in 2008, for UA to be invited to become the sixth U.S. higher education and first non-land-grant institution to become a member of the Engagement Scholarship Consortium, which now includes 57 institutions throughout the U.S. Its annual international conference in 2012 was hosted in Tuscaloosa by UA, drawing 619 attendees and making it the largest scholarly conference held on the UA campus.
- The creation of the Global Café and Language Partners program, which offered UA students opportunities to pursue study abroad through the Fulbright program and which led to UA becoming a Top Student Fulbright Producing Institution for the first time in 2016. UA has achieved this distinction eight times in the last 10 years as of February 2025.
- The creation of the Winning Grants and Sustaining Communities Program in 2016 with renowned grant trainer Dave Bauer. The program is designed to help faculty, staff, community partners and students acquire the skills to successfully write and submit grants in support of efforts to improve the quality of life for those in Alabama and beyond. To date, it has led to the acquisition of grants totaling more than $100 million in support of community-university partnerships.
- Established, in 2016, the Community Affairs Board of Advisors, which is comprised of outstanding UA alumni who were student servant leaders as undergraduates and who have become leaders in their respective professions and communities. The membership chose as its motto, “Coming Back, Giving Back,” and supports the University through its time, through the mentoring and recruitment of students, and through its endowment of scholarships and committee support funds to support students both present and future.
In 2019, after reviewing some of the division’s accomplishments, President Emeritus Witt wrote, “You have been on a remarkable 15-year journey, my friend. Your leadership and dedicated efforts have made the Community Affairs Division an invaluable asset to our university, our community, our state, and the country.”
During his career at UA, Pruitt has also had opportunities to lead and support efforts that helped bring together UA alumni and community partners to share and celebrate UA’s rich history.
In 2003, he led the successful Opening Doors program that marked the 40-year anniversary of the “Stand in the Schoolhouse Door.” In a thank you letter from the late Vivian Malone Jones to Pruitt in 2004, she wrote, “Please accept my sincere and heartfelt appreciation for your dedicated efforts in making a dream come true for me and my family and the thousands of Americans of all races and nationalities as we celebrated the 40th anniversary of the opening of higher education to African Americans who had been denied admission to our great University for so many years.”
Pruitt was also involved in the visioning and planning for the Autherine Lucy Clock Tower and the Malone-Hood Plaza, and the historical marker for Autherine Lucy Foster in 2017. He has led the UA United Way Campaign, as well as the Realizing the Dream initiative involving UA, Stillman College, Shelton State Community College and the Tuscaloosa SCLC for more than 25 years.
Pruitt earned all three of his academic degrees from UA, including a doctorate in higher education. He began working at UA in 1986 in increasingly responsible positions in management and administration, including roles in the divisions of Financial Affairs and University Advancement, as well as in the President’s Office, before his current appointment.
In 2002, the University presented him with the award for Outstanding Commitment to Public Service. In 2014, he received The Frances S. Summersell Award, which recognizes an individual or individuals who have aided the educational mission of the University and improved the quality of life in the state, and in 2016 he was honored with the E. Roger Sayers Distinguished Service Award.
Pruitt’s deep engagement in the community has included service on the boards of more than 10 community organizations, including the West Alabama Chamber of Commerce, the Tuscaloosa Library Board, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Youth Emergency Services, The Literacy Council of West Alabama and the Tuscaloosa County Economic Development Authority. He is an active member of the Tuscaloosa Rotary Club.
In a profile of Pruitt written by UA freshman Isiah Shareef in 2025, Shareef wrote, “At the core of Dr. Pruitt’s leadership is a simple but powerful tactic: serve first. That mindset has created every move that he makes, especially in his role as vice president for Community Affairs. His vision for the future is bold but grounded, a university where every student experiences real-world engagement, where research starts with relevance, and where communities aren’t subjects but are partners.”
In 2022, Pruitt was inducted into the Tuscaloosa County Civic Hall of Fame and was recognized as a Living Legend by the Tuscaloosa Chapter of the NAACP in 2024. His commitment to service is further exemplified by his roles on the Stillman College Board of Trustees and the Board of the Academy of Community-Engaged Scholars.
He was inducted into the Academy of Community-Engaged Scholars in 2015 and served as board president for the Engagement Scholarship Consortium from 2015 to 2021, during which time he led the implementation of “ESC 2020: Vision, Focus, Impact” that helped establish the foundation for ESC’s extensive growth in recent years.
“Over the next year, I look forward to helping our campus achieve even greater success while saying thank you to the amazing people both on and off campus who have helped to make the impact of our work on the lives of others possible,” Pruitt said.