Surman Named Sam Schuman Award Recipient
Dr. Darren Surman has been named the 2025 recipient of the Sam Schuman Award for Excellence at a Four-Year Institution by the National Collegiate Honors Council. The award recognizes Surman’s outstanding contributions to the honors community at a four-year institution.
Alabama Heritage Wins Awards
Alabama Heritage earned two Public Relations Council of Alabama Medallion Awards for its summer issue of the magazine and for its podcast, Coffee & History: A Conversation with Alabama Heritage. It also received two Awards of Excellence by the 32nd Annual Communicator Awards for the magazine and podcast. The Communicator Awards are presented by the Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts, one of the most esteemed and competitive programs honoring excellence in marketing, communication and creative work.
Alabama Productivity Center Gets Seal of Excellence
Alabama Productivity Center was awarded the Work-Based Learning Seal of Excellence Award presented by the Alabama Office of Apprenticeship & Alabama Department of Workforce. The award recognizes exceptional practices in the workforce and work-based learning implementation in the state of Alabama.
Albright Selected as One of Nation’s 250 Champions
Dr. David L. Albright has been selected as one of the nation’s 250 Champions by the National Academy of Public Administration and LocalGov250. The honor celebrates outstanding public servants across all 50 states. Albright was chosen for his contributions to advancing health policy and public service in Alabama, and he is among only four Alabamians named to the 2026 class.
Albright has also been appointed to serve on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on the Epidemiologic Study on the Health of Veterans Who Served at Fort McClellan, 1979–1999.
Bramlett Receives Judith S. Trent Award
Dr. Josh Bramlett has been named the recipient of the 2026 Judith S. Trent Award for Early Career Excellence in Political Communication. It honors individuals for outstanding records of research in political communication.
Boudreaux Wins Award, Completes Marathon
Dr. Benjamin D. Boudreaux received the Leading the Way Award by the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism by regularly advocating and raising awareness for individuals living with autism. Boudreaux also broke a personal record in the 2026 Boston Marathon by running the race in 3 hours and 26 minutes.
Brummond Awarded Inaugural Art Prize
Karen Brummund was one of 53 artists to win the inaugural State of the Art Prize from Creative Capital, a grant to extend the nonprofit’s “democratic, national, open call to serve more artists at the grassroots level and to foster creativity and innovation in a broad range of rural, regional and urban communities.” Representing the state of Alabama, Brummond will receive an unrestricted $10,000 grant to support her work.
Cherry, Topić-Rutherford Named Provost Faculty Fellows
Two faculty members have been named Provost Faculty Fellows. Dr. Julia Cherry will work on retention and guided and structured degree mapping, and Dr. Martina Topić-Rutherford will strengthen connections between academic programs and workforce development by creating a platform for employability communication and professional identity formation.
Cody Secures $3.4 Million Research Grant
Dr. Shameka L. Cody has secured a $3.4 million grant from the National Institute on Aging and the Office of AIDS Research to explore how insomnia treatment influences cognitive health in older adults living with HIV. The five-year, multi-site study will run from 2025 to 2030. Cody will lead the project and work alongside an interdisciplinary team of scientists from UA — Drs. Mary Lindsey Jacobs and Chuong Bui — and collaborators from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Counseling Center Re-Accredited
The Counseling Center has been re-accredited by the International Accreditation of Counseling Services, reaffirming its high standards in student mental healthcare. The center was evaluated by IACS and was found to offer a high standard of competent and reliable mental health professional services to its student community. This recognition highlights the Counseling Center’s commitment to providing competent, reliable counseling services and remaining a trusted resource for students and the campus community.
Jones, UA Featured in Fulbright Promotional Video
Dr. Steven Jones was included in a promotional video that is now featured on the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program page. In addition to his Fulbright experience in 2019, Jones served as a Fulbright Alumni Ambassador and now serves on the board of the Alabama Chapter of the Fulbright Association.
Khandelwal Elected Fellow of Royal Aeronautical Society
Dr. Bhupendra Khandelwal has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, an international learned society for the aerospace community and the world’s oldest aerospace professional society. Fellow is the highest grade of RAeS membership and is conferred only on individuals judged by their peers to have made a sustained, distinguished contribution to aerospace science, engineering or education.
Kumar Receives AAiPS Distinguished Scientist Award
Dr. M. N. V. Ravi Kumar has been awarded the Distinguished Scientist Award 2025 by the American Association of Indian Pharmaceutical Scientists. The award is the highest scientific honor conferred by AAiPS and recognizes exceptional contributions to pharmaceutical sciences, drug delivery and translational research. Kumar was selected for his pioneering work in rationally designed polyesters, nanomedicine and non‑competitive targeting strategies, as well as his sustained impact on advancing next‑generation therapeutics for complex diseases.
Paper Covered by 88 News Outlets
Drs. Soheil Radfar, Ehsan Foroumandi, Hamad Moftakhari, Hamid Moradkhani and two additional collaborators published a paper in Science Advances that has been covered by 88 news outlets. The paper studies the relationships between marine heat waves and the destructive power of tropical cyclones.
Sanford Appointed Chair of AACN Board of Directors
Dr. Julie Sanford has been appointed Chair of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Board of Directors. Sanford began her two-year term as chair in March. A catalyst for innovation, she has been a leading voice for the profession and an effective champion for programs and policies that serve national and local needs.
Strategic Communications, UA Museums Win ADDYs
The Division of Strategic Communications and UA Museums earned ADDY awards during American Advertising Federation’s District 7 awards competition.
The ADDYs are the advertising industry’s largest competition recognizing collegiate and professional projects on local, district and national levels.
Strategic Communications
Gold
- President’s Box Football Invitation
- President’s Cabinet Fall Invitation
- Where Legends Are Made Homepage
Silver
- Where Legends Are Made
- Stop Motion: Social Campaign
- Where Legends Are Made 10.0
Judge’s Choice
- President’s Cabinet Fall Invitation
Best of Show
- Where Legends Are Made Homepage
UA Museums
Silver
- UA Museums 2025: Year in Review — (Rebecca Johnson)
- “Showgirl” Artemis — (Madeline Burkhardt)
- Excavating Erasure — (Madeline Burkhardt)
Judge’s Choice
- “Showgirl” Artemis — Alabama Museum of Natural History
Mosaic ADDY Winner
- Excavating Erasure — Alabama Museum of Natural History (Madeline Burkhardt)
UA Teaching Academy Honors Faculty
The UA Teaching Academy held its second annual Faculty Recognition Ceremony to celebrate the continued growth of UATA and honor the stellar contributions of several UA faculty to teaching excellence during the 2025-26 academic year.
Those recognized were:
Outstanding Teaching Innovation
Dr. Steven McKinney
Outstanding Research on Teaching
Dr. Stephanie Loveland
Excellence in Experiential Learning
Naima Bary
Outstanding Use of Technology in Teaching
Dr. Kay Scott
Outstanding Growth in Teaching
Dr. Benjamin Boudreaux
Faculty Excellence in Professional Development Award
Dr. Virginia Rolling
GTA Excellence in Professional Development Award
- Sherman Tylawsky
- Tawanna Samuel
Outstanding Contributors to UATA
- Jessica Kidd
- Russell Gold
UMC Director of Imaging Gains MRI Safety Certification
Bobby Boler, University Medical Center’s director of imaging, received certification as a Magnetic Resonance Safety Officer, making UMC home to the only certified MRSO practicing in the Tuscaloosa area. The certification is awarded by the American Board of Magnetic Resonance Safety and recognizes advanced expertise in overseeing safety practices in MRI environments.
Watson Earns Obesity Medicine Certification
Dr. Tiffany Watson earned her certification in obesity medicine. The certification, awarded through the American Board of Obesity Medicine, recognizes physicians who have demonstrated advanced knowledge and competency in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of obesity and related health conditions.