UA Alumni Association Names 2006 Teaching Award Winners

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama National Alumni Association has announced the four recipients of its 2006 Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award, the University’s highest honor for excellence in teaching.

This year’s winners are Dr. J. Brian Gray, professor of statistics in the Culverhouse College of Commerce; Dr. Rich Megraw, professor of American studies in the College of Arts and Sciences; Dr. Mark D. Nelson, associate professor of communication studies in the College of Communication and Information Sciences; and, Dr. Lucinda Lee Roff, professor of social work in the School of Social Work.

Presentation of the awards to this year’s winners will take place Thursday, Sept. 14 at a reception at NorthRiver Yacht Club; National Alumni Association President Robert W. Barr will present the awards. The recipients will also be recognized during the fall faculty-staff meeting held on campus in October.

Established in 1976, OCTA recognizes dedication to the teaching profession and the positive impact outstanding teachers have on their students.

The National Alumni Association, which gives the annual OCTA awards, is made up of more than 29,000 active alumni and friends of the University, organized into more than 100 local chapters nationwide. The association stimulates interest in and supports the betterment of the University and awards more than $2 million per year in academic scholarships.

Dr. J. Brian Gray joined the Culverhouse College of Commerce in 1990 after serving as a faculty member for seven years at Texas Christian University. During his tenure at UA, Gray has taught a variety of courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. His development and integration of cases into the undergraduate, MBA and Executive MBA business statistics courses have provided his students with realistic experiences in making decisions based on data analysis.

Gray has served on 60 dissertation committees, including

four for which he was the major adviser. He has also served several times as a faculty mentor in the C&BA Faculty Scholars Program and the UA Computer-Based Honors Program. He was named the James I. Harrison Family Teaching Excellence Faculty Fellow in 2004. Prior to that, he was the James D. Nabors Instructional Excellence Faculty Fellow. He has also served as interim associate dean for C&BA and director of the applied statistics program.

“Dr. Gray is a rare find; he possesses both a brilliant mind for research and a brilliant mind for the art of teaching,” wrote a student in support of the professor.

Dr. Rich Megraw, who joined the UA faculty in August 1990, has participated in developing and delivering the American Studies curriculum in many capacities.

A Distinguished Teaching Fellow in the College of Arts and Sciences, Megraw teaches across the curriculum and throughout the chronology. He contributes to the team-taught freshman surveys, “American Arts and Values,” and “America: World, Nation, Region.” His numerous courses offered to sophomores, juniors and seniors fall generally into one of three categories: some are about a specific period, 1919-1945, others explore a specific place, the American West, while others examine various forms of popular culture during the 19th and 20th centuries. He has also taught both halves of the senior-level undergraduate/entry-level graduate course, “The American Experience,” as well as the department’s graduate colloquium.

A student said of Megraw: “One of things I appreciated about Professor Megraw was the fact that he made time for his students. Dr. Megraw has taught, guided, advised and cultivated a great many graduates of The University of Alabama, and I am fortunate to be one of the many.”

Dr. Mark D. Nelson joined the College of Communication and Information Sciences in 1991, was appointed to the position of assistant dean for undergraduate studies, and currently serves as associate dean.

Committed to student enrichment, Nelson has developed leadership programs for students in C&IS. One of these programs is the C&IS Academic Honor Council, the only organization of its kind at UA. Students on the council serve as an appellate and deliberative body regarding issues of academic honesty and integrity.

Nelson has been named the Knox Hagood Outstanding Faculty Member C&IS. He has received the C&IS Board of Visitors Award for Excellence in Teaching and was twice recognized as the John Blackburn Outstanding University Adviser.

“As a whole, Dr. Nelson not only taught me communications skills — he taught skills for life. The guidance I have received from Dr. Nelson’s teaching, advising, mentoring, and friendship has had a positive influence on my life,” a student said in recognition of Nelson.

Dr. Lucinda Lee Roff has served on the faculty of the School of Social Work since 1974. Initially appointed as a lecturer to supervise student internships in the field of aging, she subsequently taught courses in aging, research methods, and community organization and began a productive research program in gerontology.

From 1987-2000 she served as dean of the School of Social Work. Throughout her deanship she taught the introductory undergraduate course in social work, advised students and assisted with student internships in community agencies. She was active nationally in accreditation activities of the Council on Social Work Education and helped secure numerous federal and state training grants and endowed scholarships to provide financial aid for students.

After returning to full-time faculty status in 2000, Roff helped establish the University’s Center for Mental Health and Aging. She directed a three-year curriculum development grant from the John A. Hartford Foundation to enhance education about older adults in the School of Social Work.

In support of Roff, a student stated: “I cannot speak highly enough of her teaching skills and style. Her knowledge of the course content was superb and she was able to transmit this knowledge to her students in a way which was easy for us to comprehend.”