USA Happenings

USA celebrates 60th anniversary

The University celebrated its 60th anniversary May 5 at the USA Student Center, kicking off a year of events that will commemorate the University’s May 3, 1963 founding, while looking ahead to the future and some significant projects on the horizon, including a new home for the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine and a new performing arts center. Additional information regarding anniversary events will be announced as they are finalized.

Apply for online MSN program

The USA College of Nursing Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree program helps students prepare for opportunities for specialization in a variety of fields. Nurses build on their academic and practical credentials, using this knowledge to identify and solve patient care issues, leading to better health outcomes for individual patients and for society as a whole. Leadership, administrative, and quality improvement skills are incorporated throughout the program.

All MSN degree coursework is offered online. Students may continue to work while completing degree requirements. As with all South online programs, faculty members are available to support students via phone, email or other forms of technology. Visit southalabama.edu/con for more information and to apply.

School of Marine and Environmental Sciences named for Stokes

With a passion for both the environmental beauty of our region and the University of South Alabama, Steven Stokes, Ph.D., and his wife, Angelia, recently gave $2 million to the USA School of Marine and Environmental Sciences. In total, the Stokes have contributed over $6.8 million to the University.

The announcement was made after the most recent USA Board of Trustees quarterly meeting, where it passed a resolution naming the school the Angelia and Steven Stokes School of Marine and Environmental Sciences.

“We are confident this will be the premier environmental center on the Gulf Coast. With financial support, Dr. Sean Powers and the outstanding faculty, grad students and undergraduates will continue their vital work,” Stokes said.

Powers is director of the school and the Angelia and Steven Stokes Endowed Professor in Environmental Resilience. The school, part of the College of Arts and Sciences, opened in fall 2022. In total, the Stokes have contributed over $6.8 million to the University.

South Alabama football season tickets on sale now

Join us for the Jaguars 2023 football season by purchasing your season tickets today! Call 251-461-1USA (1872) or visit usajaguars.com for more information.

‘Descendant’ film receives honors

“Descendant,” co-written by Kern Jackson, Ph.D., director of African American studies at USA, earned spots on the shortlist for both an Oscar nomination and an NAACP Image Award after winning the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award: Creative Vision at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.

The film tells of the last known ship to carry enslaved Africans to the United States, the Clotilda, and follows the personal stories of its descendants and the history of the Africatown community north of downtown Mobile. The remains of the ship were discovered in 2019.

Jackson, a folklorist and assistant professor of English, co-wrote and co-produced “Descendant.” Mobile native Margaret Brown directed and co-wrote the film.

Jackson, Brown and descendants who participated in the film recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with members of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. They also participated in a panel discussion and a film screening of the documentary at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History. Netflix purchased its worldwide rights; Higher Ground, President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s production company, is presenting the film alongside Netflix.

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