Dr. Kim Bissell, director of undergraduate research at UA, will receive a Southeastern Conference Academic Leadership Development Program Alumni Fellowship, which provides an opportunity for SEC ALDP alumni to visit other SEC universities to strengthen their administrative leadership skills while addressing an area of growth for their home institutions.
Bissell, who also serves as the associate dean for research in the College of Communication and Information Sciences, has been invited to spend time with administrators at the University of Florida, the University of Missouri and Vanderbilt University during the upcoming academic year. On those campuses she plans to conduct an in-depth evaluation of established offices of undergraduate research, including an analysis of office structures, personnel, resources and assessments of office operations.
A member of the 2013-2014 SEC ALDP cohort, Bissell directs Alabama’s Emerging Scholars Program, a research-intensive program for freshmen and sophomores and leads the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Conference, which gives undergraduates an avenue to present their research or creative work. Also, last fall she launched the Undergraduate Research Resource Center, which helps with the development of research projects, research design, presentations and research dissemination.
“Our president, Dr. Stuart Bell, has identified undergraduate research as one of his strategic initiatives and priorities, and as The University of Alabama continues to see tremendous growth in undergraduate enrollment, our opportunities, programming and resources need to align with that growth,” said Bissell. “For that reason, I am so excited about this fellowship. I am thrilled and honored to have been selected.”
Since its establishment in 2008, the SEC ALDP seeks to identify, prepare and advance academic leaders for roles within SEC universities and beyond.