Many of our donors give to the College as a way of showing their appreciation for the people who inspired and guided them to academic and professional success. We asked a few of our supporters—including Charlie (M.P.A., 2015) and Elizabeth Scribner (M.S., 2011; Ph.D., 2017)—to share their stories of why they give and how investing in the College will ensure the success of our future students.

Arts & Sciences magazine: What do you do for a living?

Elizabeth Scribner: I'm an analyst in model risk management and validation at Regions Bank. Charles is executive director of Black Warrior Riverkeeper and president of Waterkeepers Alabama.

A&S: Did you benefit from scholarships when you were a student?

ES: Yes, I was the recipient of a year-long fellowship through the Department of Mathematics, as well as a two-time recipient of the James Ward Memorial Award for Research in Mathematical Biology.

A&S: What made you decide to make a gift to the College of Arts and Sciences?

Charles Scribner: UAB is a pivotal force in Birmingham’s renaissance, and the College of Arts and Sciences is the heart of UAB. In two very different CAS graduate school programs, the classes that Elizabeth and I took and the relationships we made have all been invaluable to our careers. I also have the pleasure of now working with College of Arts and Sciences staff in my role as president of the UAB MPA Alumni Society and see their incredible skill and passion for serving the College and the community.

A&S: Where do you see the College of Arts and Sciences in the next ten years? Fifty years?

CS: The College of Arts and Sciences does not simply cover an amazingly wide range of important fields, it also connects them through one impeccably organized institution and alumni network. As society is increasingly challenged by division and hostility, the networking and collaborative opportunities the College provides students, faculty, and alumni from many backgrounds and curricula will be crucial for UAB, Birmingham, and the world.

Donor support is invaluable in ensuring that our students receive the quality education that, regardless of their course of study, will set them on the path to success. For additional information regarding gifts to the College of Arts and Sciences, please contact Camille Epps at camilleepps@uab.edu or call (205) 996-2154.

Many of our donors give to the College as a way of showing their appreciation for the people who inspired and guided them to academic and professional success. We asked a few of our supporters—including Emeritus Associate Professor Robert Collins, Ph.D.—to share their stories of why they give and how investing in the College will ensure the success of our future students.

Arts & Sciences magazine: What do you do for a living?

Robert Collins: I have been retired from the Department of English for almost a decade. Before I retired, I taught American literature and writing, including creative writing, for thirty years in the English Department at UAB. While serving as an English professor, I co-founded Birmingham Poetry Review with Randy Blythe, Ph.D., and directed the creative writing program for almost ten years. Since retiring, I have published two volumes of poetry, Naming the Dead (FutureCycle Press, 2012) and Drinking with the Second Shift (Word Tech, 2017). I am currently working on another collection of poems.

A&S: Did you benefit from scholarships when you were a student?

RC: Yes, I did. I attended Xavier University in Cincinnati on a presidential scholarship.

A&S: What made you decide to make a gift to the College of Arts and Sciences?

RC: I had several reasons for making a gift (the Collins Family Scholarship in Creative Writing) to the College of Arts and Sciences at UAB. First, I wanted to honor a worthy student with the gift of time, so precious to any writer, and to raise the status of creative writing, which is as demanding a discipline as any other in the arts and sciences. Second, I wanted to express my gratitude for the position I held in the English Department at UAB, which gave me the opportunity “to pursue my talents in the direction of excellence” as John F. Kennedy, one of my heroes, observed when asked why he wanted to be president. Third, and most importantly, I wanted to honor and express my gratitude to my parents John and Veronica Collins for the way in which they stressed the importance of education, especially higher education, which they rightly believed to be the key to a better life.

A&S: Where do you see the College of Arts and Sciences in the next ten years? Fifty years?

RC: So many physical changes have taken place on campus in the ten years since I retired that I hesitate to say anything about what might happen in the next ten, let alone fifty. I can speak, however, to what I would like to see happen in the next decade. Primarily, I'd like to see UAB redirect its resources to assure that faculty are secure, prosperous, and not overworked. Since enrollment at UAB has increased so dramatically in the past decade, I’d like to see the university focus on hiring many more faculty members in tenure-track positions and compensating them commensurate with the heavy load they carry. The colleagues I worked with during my 30 years at UAB were the smartest and hardest working people I knew.

Donor support is invaluable in ensuring that our students receive the quality education that, regardless of their course of study, will set them on the path to success. For additional information regarding gifts to the College of Arts and Sciences, please contact Camille Epps at camilleepps@uab.edu or call (205) 996-2154.

In honor of the 16th-century French essayist Michel de Montaigne and the College of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Catherine Danielou, Senior Associate Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences and recipient of the UAB Frederick W. Conner Prize in the History of Ideas, has established the Michel de Montaigne Endowed Prize in the History of Ideas.

Eligibility

To be eligible, a person must currently hold a full-time faculty appointment at UAB, as defined by the UAB Faculty Handbook.

A nomination package should consist of an essay and the faculty member's curriculum vitae. Additional guidelines are below. This information should be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on January 15, 2020, to Veronica Speight (HHB 560, 4-5238, vspeight@uab.edu). Questions can be directed to thecollege@uab.edu.

Additional Guidelines

• The Montaigne Prize will be a cash prize and award, awarded for a scholarly essay in the history of ideas written by any member of the University’s faculty. The winning essay will make a unique contribution to the history of thought and culture. The term "history of ideas" is to be interpreted liberally, encompassing a broad range of interdisciplinary concerns, including those at the intersection of cultural and intellectual history.
• The Montaigne Prize will be awarded by the College of Arts and Sciences. An individual may receive the award only once in any three-year period.
• All submissions will be blind. Any unpublished essay may be submitted. Pending publication essays may be submitted but should appear in print the calendar year of submission. All entries should be submitted in a form that is suitable for publication and in English.
• Entries will be reviewed anonymously by a committee panel of judge-scholars, on which former winners may be asked to serve by the College. No panel judge is allowed to submit an entry the year they serve on the panel.
• The author's name should not appear anywhere in the essay, and each submission must be accompanied by a cover sheet identifying the author.
• The winner will be recognized by the College of Arts and Sciences and he/she may be asked to give a presentation, which will be open to the public. The College also may provide a plaque should funds be available from endowment earnings or other sources.
• The Prize will be awarded provided that three or more entries are received. If fewer than three entries are submitted, the Prize is to be awarded the following year.