Annual Awards Ceremony

WELCOME TO THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

School of Social Work Annual Awards and Buford Peace Award Ceremony Monday, May 3, 2021 1:00 - 2:30 P.M.

Program Welcome and Introductions Dr. Lesley Reid, Interim Dean School of Social Work

Buford Peace Award video History of Buford Peace Award Dr. David Albright

Buford Peace Award

Recipient: Dr. Utz McKnight Presenter: Dr. David Albright

outstanding commitment to field education Recipient: Dr. Jameka Hartley Presenter: Ms. Allison Curington

Washington D.C. Program Outstanding Commitment to Field Education Recipient: Ms. Mesgana Tesfahun Presenter: Ms. Carroll Phelps

Outstanding Adjunct of the Year

Recipient: Dr. Michelle Thomas Rhue Presenter: Dr. Karen Thompson-Jackson

staff excellence award

Recipient: Ms. Gwen Montgomery Presenter: Dr. Laura Hopson & Dr. Brenda Smith

Program Faculty Retirement award

Recipient: Dr. Carol Drolen, Associate Professor 1987-2020

faculty promotion award Recipient: Dr. Nicole Ruggiano Presenter: Dr. Lesley Reid Recipient: Dr. Brenda Smith Presenter: Dr. Lesley Reid Recipient: Ms. Allison Curington Presenter: Dr. Lesley Reid Recipient: Ms. Nancy Payne Presenter: Dr. Lesley Reid Recipient: Ms. Carroll Phelps Presenter: Dr. Lesley Reid Recipient: Ms. Kathleen Welker Presenter: Dr. Lesley Reid

Closing remarks

Dr. Lesley Reid, Interim Dean School of Social Work

The Lahoma Adams Buford Endowed Support Fund The Lahoma Adams Buford Endowed Support Fund, also known as the Buford Peace Award, was established in 2002 by Tony D. Walker to honor Lahoma Adams Buford of Montgomery, Alabama. In creating this award, Mr. Walker also desired to honor Mrs. Buford’s family and the many other seemingly ordinary individuals who have helped build a better, more just and more peaceful world while serving without any desire for recognition. This award is given annually to a faculty member at The University of Alabama who in their teaching, research, professional practice and personal life has demonstrated exceptional levels of involvement in mediating human disputes, helping overcome prejudice, promoting justice and establishing peace.

Buford Peace Award Previous Recipients 2004 Dr. Cassandra Simon, School of Social Work 2005 Dr. Amilcar Shabazz, College of Arts & Sciences 2006 Dr. John R. Oneal, College of Arts & Sciences 2007 Dr. Bryan K. Fair, School of Law 2008 Dr. Patricia A. Bauch, College of Education 2009 Dr. Rhoda E. Johnson, College of Arts & Sciences 2010 Dr. J. Norman Baldwin, College of Arts & Sciences 2011 Ms. Joanne Terrell, School of Social Work 2012 Dr. Bronwen Lichtenstein, College of Arts & Sciences 2013 Mr. Steven Black, JD, Honors College 2014 Dr. Josephine “Jo” Pryce, School of Social Work 2015 Dr. Mary Meares, College of Communication & Information Sciences 2016 Dr. Ellen Spears, New College & Department of American Studies 2017 Ms. Frannie James, Capstone International Center 2018 Dr. Lea Yerby, College of Community Health Sciences 2019 Dr. John Lochman, College of Arts & Sciences 2020 Dr. Stephen Katsinas, College of Education

Buford Peace Award Recipient Dr. Utz McKnight University of Alabama political science professor Dr. Utz McKnight has been named the recipient of the 2021 Buford Peace Award. Dr. McKnight joined the UA faculty in 2003 and has served as chair for the department of gender and race studies since 2013. His research has focused primarily on the intersection of race and politics, including five books.

Dr. McKnight is lauded for his contributions to teaching and his role in leading and advocating for faculty and staff on campus. Dr. McKnight served as Black Faculty and Staff Association president from 2014 to 2016 and is the recipient of the Autherine Lucy Award, NAACP Student Award and Last Lecture Award, among others. Through the social and political turbulence of the last several years, Dr. McKnight says his work to promote equality and equity and redefine progress has received greater attention and a rightful platform in the current “morass for change,” as college campuses are “the heart of the narratives” about race, gender and class.

Reflecting on his work ahead, Dr. McKnight says the broader social and cultural chasms aren’t surprising, given the history of change in the United States, the resistance to it, and how each generation re-defines progress. He says UA, like many American institutions, is “in a test” to define equality and equity, determine how much of each is needed, and accurately measure growth. Dr. Cassandra Simon, associate professor of social work at UA and the first recipient of the Buford Peace Award, came to the Capstone in 2000 and has admired Dr. McKnight’s service and advocacy on campus through the years. Dr. Simon, a Last Lecture award recipient and noted social justice advocate, said Dr. McKnight is “long overdue” to receive the Buford Peace Award. “[McKnight] has often served on social work student committees and most recently served on the School of Social Work’s Dean Search Committee,” Dr. Simon said. “He is always willing to partner with the School on bringing diversity related programming to the School. More concretely, he is always looking for ways to bring people together for the common good.”

Previous Award Recipients Outstanding commitment to field education 2015 Diane Daffron 2016 Deb Rubenstein 2017 Karen Thompson-Jackson 2018 Audrey Ellis 2019 Jeff Bowman 2020 Beth Okantey

Washington D.C. Outstanding commitment to field education 2018 Brandi Best 2019 Kathleen Baxley 2020 Shaquita Ogletree

outstanding adjunct of the year 2017 Karen Thompson-Jackson 2018 Pamela Green 2019 Sheila Blackshear 2020 Jade Scales

Howard B. Gundy award 1988 Jennie S. Flowers 1989 Susan G. Barfoot 1991 Eulene Hawkins 1996 Gerald Eure 1997 Katherine Skelton 1998 Robert Teare 1999 Richard Crow 2000 Lucinda Lee Roff 2003 Raymond O. Sumrall 2004 Phillip Crunk 2007 Ginny T. Raymond

2008 Tony D. Walker 2009 Ginny T. Raymond 2010 James P. "Ike" Adams, Jr. 2011 Allan V. Kaufman 2012 Madeleine Hill 2013 Vickie Whitfield 2014 Margaret Odom 2015 Kathy Bolland 2016 Sandra "Sandy" Wilson 2017 Jean B. Rayfield 2018 Gordon MacNeil 2020 Carol Drolen & Shelley Rawlings

Previous Award Recipients staff excellence award 2017 Liz Lary 2018 Angelia Gaddis 2019 Mallory Porch 2020 Mary Sella

dean's faculty award for research, teaching and service 2006-2007 Dr. Ellen Csikai 2007-2008 Dr. Cassandra Simon 2008-2009 Dr. David Polio 2009-2010 Dr. Debra Nelson-Gardell 2010-2011 Dr. Tyrone Cheng 2011-2012 Dr. Josephine Pryce 2013-2014 Dr. Avani Shah 2014-2015 Dr. Laura Hopson 2015-2016 Dr. David Albright 2017-2018 Dr. Nicole Ruggiano 2019-2020 Dr. Nicole Ruggiano

Honorable Mentions School of Social Work The University of Alabama Faculty & Staff Years of Service Tania Alameda-Lawson, 5 years David Albright, 5 years Daniel Bennett, 5 years Wendi Hogue, 5 years Carrie Turner, 5 years

Barry Durand, 10 years Karen Hannah, 15 years Martha Jason, 20 years Carroll Phelps. 20 years Amy Traylor, 30 years

Undergraduate Social Work Organization Jean B. Rayfield Award Dr. Laura Hopson

Doctorate in Social Work Leadership Award Ms. Sherron Wilkes

Doctoral Student Organization Appreciation Award Dr. Leah Cheatham

Distinguished Research Professor Appointment by UA Board of Trustees Dr. David Albright

American Academy of Social Work & Social Welfare Fellow Dr. David Albright

2021 President's Faculty Research Award Mid-Career, Social and Behavioral Sciences Dr. Nicole Ruggiano

Armed Forces and Society Fellow Dr. David Albright

Journal of Gerontological Social Work, Runner-up for Rose Dobrof Award Dr. Nicole Ruggiano

Council on Community-Based Partnership, Doctoral Fellowship for smart student health clinics Dr. Laura Hopson Dr. ShaRhonda Green Dr. Cady Carlson

These are only some of our faculty and staff accomplishments in 2020-2021.