Physical Address:

Mailing Address:

Heritage Hall Building, Room 544

1401 University Blvd.

Birmingham, AL 35294

HHB 544

1720 2nd Avenue South

Birmingham, AL 35294-1152

Staff

The Global and Community Leadership Honors Program staff is composed of Dr. Bradley R. Newcomer, Interim Director, and Kristin Boggs, Associate Director.
 

 
Bradley R. Newcomer, Ph.D

Dr. Bradley R. Newcomer has been a faculty member at UAB for over 14 years and is a Tenured Full Professor in the School of Health Professions.  Dr. Newcomer received his Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from Juniata College, a small liberal arts college.  This undergraduate education gave Dr. Newcomer the opportunity to immerse himself in the liberal arts while pursuing a strong math and science curriculum.  Interestingly, at Juniata College there were no set majors and students designed their own academic curriculum through a mentored process; which is very similar to UAB’s individually designed majors.  Dr. Newcomer went on to get his Master of Science degree in Physics and his Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from Wright State University where he focused on interdisciplinary studies crossing numerous disciplines.  Dr. Newcomer attributes his success in graduate school to his love of critical thinking, problem solving and “out of the box” thinking that were developed during his undergraduate liberal arts education.

Since coming to UAB, Dr. Newcomer has been an active faculty member with a research program that produced over 50 published articles and book chapters.  Dr. Newcomer has also mentored over 30 undergraduate, masters, doctoral, and MD/PhD students with many going on to graduate and professional schools as well as some successfully entering academic medicine and research careers.

During the past 6 years, Dr. Newcomer has also been actively involved in departmental, school and university-level honors education at UAB.  Dr. Newcomer was the founding director of the School of Health Professions school-level honors program in 2005 and was also the founding director of the Experiential Learning Scholars Program (ELSP) in 2009.  Currently, Dr. Newcomer is directing two of the university-wide undergraduate honors programs at UAB (the Experiential Learning Scholars Program (ELSP) and the Global and Community Leadership (GCL) Honors Program) and has recently accepted the newly created position of Associate Dean of Honors in the College of Arts and Sciences at UAB.

Overall, Dr. Newcomer brings a unique set of skills and experiences to the programs he directs and his passion for the liberal arts, leadership training, and his experience with individually designed curricula are an extremely valuable asset.  Furthermore, Dr. Newcomer brings his extensive research experience and passion for mentoring all types of students to these programs and is very excited about helping shape honors education at UAB for the 21^st century.
 

Kristin R. Boggs, MSW

Kristin joined the GCL Honors Program staff as Program Manager in July 2007.  She came to GCL from a previous job at the Center for Ethics & Social Responsibility at The University of Alabama, where she served as a founding employee.  There, she helped coordinate courses and events geared towards both ethical development and civic engagement, as well as serving as advisor to a student organization focused on education and advocacy of international issues.  

Kristin graduated summa cum laude from The University of Alabama with both a Bachelor of Social Work in 2004 and a Masters in Social Work in 2005.  Her educational experiences included two internships.  At the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program (ADAP), a state-wide Protection and Advocacy organization, she focused on educational and children’s rights issues.  Later, at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) in Washington, D.C., she worked with both the Psychiatry Consultation Liaison Service and the Outpatient Psychiatry departments, serving the mental health needs of servicemen and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.   

Kristin serves on the Poverty and Justice Ministry Team at Dawson Memorial Baptist Church.  She is married to Brandon Boggs and has a daughter, Harper.