On February 2, 2024, The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees approved the renaming of The University Fellows Experience at The University of Alabama in honor of its founder and former UA President Dr. Robert E. Witt following a gift from the family of UA alumna Reta Mudd.

Now named The Dr. Robert E. Witt University Fellows Program (WUFP), this Honors College program calls together a community of top scholars from diverse disciplines with a common goal: to directly apply their growing expertise towards the most pressing needs in our society. Young leaders with a passion for service work closely with one another and with masters of their fields to develop the mindsets and skillsets necessary to make a meaningful impact beyond the four walls of the classroom, sharing critical real-world experiences and coursework with tight-knit cohorts of mutual challenge and support.

Honors College Dean Tiffany Sippial spoke to the power and impact of this gift.

“The Mudd family’s transformative gift stands as a testament to their unwavering dedication to the advancement of higher education and the cultivation of intellectual excellence,” Sippial said. “This exceptionally generous endowment establishes an enduring legacy that will enrich a dynamic community devoted to fostering critical thinking, innovation and a lifelong love for learning.”

Dr. Dana Patton, director of the program, said the gift from the Mudd family will also support the Witt University Fellows Program in the following ways: expanding professional development services offered to fellows, providing scholarship support to fellows for summer internship experiences and presentations at academic conferences, establishing seed grants for significant Magnum Opus projects, creating immersion experiences focused on economic development, culture and ecology, supporting shadowing opportunities with professionals in the region, and procuring and maintaining an inventory of critical items to support the activities of Witt Fellows, such as work tools for the Black Belt Experience, software licenses and audiovisual equipment.

Following the classical purpose of education, the production of good citizens, the Witt University Fellows Program strives to prepare the most able and dedicated students at The University of Alabama for remarkable lives of leadership in and service to their community, state, nation and world.

Punctuated by signature experiences designed to challenge notions of scholarship, service, leadership and global citizenship, Witt Fellows navigate with their peers an adventure that spans the length of their college career. WUFP-specific coursework, community events, annual symposia and mentorship by top faculty and industry professionals are constants throughout a Witt Fellow’s time with the program. Each fellow will also discover new ideas about citizenship, servant-leadership, community development and paths for personal growth through signature domestic and international excursions that lift WUFP coursework off the page and into the complexity and ambiguity of the real world.

The 2023-2024 academic year marked the launch of the Achieve Scholars Program, a bold initiative that combined First Gen Scholars and Honors Scholars. With 56 ambitious students, the program introduced a fresh mission and a vibrant identity focused on academic excellence, leadership development and community engagement. The Achieve Scholars embraced this transformative new opportunity and exemplified resilience and enthusiasm.

Program Mission and Goals
The Achieve Scholars Program equips students with expertise in combining transdisciplinary analysis and research methodology, fostering imaginative and ethical scholarship and academic excellence. Students develop the skills necessary to thrive in graduate studies, professional careers, and beyond by learning the methods to integrate diverse disciplines. This approach enhances their major fields of study and positions them as innovative thinkers prepared to address complex, real-world challenges.

Building Community and Recruiting Excellence
The program’s first year saw the rapid development of a cohesive, student-led community. The Achieve Scholars Student Advisory Board spearheaded initiatives like social media campaigns, monthly newsletters, and event calendars, creating a culture of collaboration and leadership. Recruitment efforts exceeded expectations, with 200 applications in the first cycle and 23 outstanding students joining the Fall 2024 cohort, setting the stage for continued growth.

Forging Strategic Partnerships
New collaborations with Parsons School of Design and Claremont Graduate University brought exciting opportunities for Achieve Scholars to work with leading experts in transdisciplinary research. These partnerships provide students with transformative learning experiences and strengthen the program’s academic offerings, further distinguishing it as a leader in innovative education. 

A Vision for the Future
With ambitious goals such as designating the Achieve Scholars Program as an academic minor and having students work even more substantively with the community of transdisciplinary scholars worldwide, the Achieve Scholars Program is committed to shaping critical thinkers, empathetic citizens and inclusive leaders. By building a legacy of innovation and excellence, the program redefines what it means to succeed in an interconnected, transdisciplinary world—one scholar at a time.

The University of Alabama Honors College selected “When Two Feathers Fell from the Sky” by Margaret Verble for its 2023-2024 Common Book Experience.

“When Two Feathers Fell from the Sky” follows a death-defying young Cherokee horse-diver who, with her companions from the Glendale Park Zoo, must get to the bottom of a mystery that spans centuries. The book has received many positive reviews. For instance, Book Riot said, “A blend of historical fiction and magical realism makes this an unforgettable story.” 

Margaret Verble is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation and a member of a large Cherokee family that has, through generations, made many contributions to the tribe’s history and survival. Although many of her family have remained in Oklahoma to this day, and some still own and farm the land on which two of her books are set, Verble was raised in Nashville, Tennessee, and currently lives in Lexington, Kentucky.

“In Verble’s work of historical fiction, she introduces us to Two Feathers, a young Cherokee woman, her horse Ocher and a cast of characters in the Prohibition-Era American South,” said Dr. Anne Franklin Lamar, Honors Year One director. “As we read, ‘When Two Feathers Fell from the Sky’ together, we’ll explore their stories from multiple points of view and discuss how identity, place and history in this text help us better understand and analyze our shared histories and our own world.” 

The Honors Common Book is chosen by a campus-wide committee composed of faculty and staff. It is read by all first-year students in the Honors College, and is discussed by freshmen, faculty and mentors, both inside and outside of the classroom.

In February 2023, the University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the establishment of the James C. Kennemer Center for Innovation and Social Impact within the Honors College. The Kennemer Center was created to expand the BIG Ideas program and provide a year-round effort focused on furthering student awareness and engagement with innovative ideas with a focus on social impact. The Kennemer Center’s goal is to be a hub for innovation on the campus of The University of Alabama, to be a catalyst for innovation and social impact at institutions of higher education around the state, and to foster national, state, and local innovation efforts, aided by corporate, foundation, and government support. The Kennemer Center also aims to expose students to opportunities in Alabama to increase the likelihood that they will stay in or return to Alabama after graduation.

In coordination with state, regional and local entities, the Kennemer Center will develop and implement a Study in Alabama, Stay in Alabama student/graduate retention program. This program will include initiatives to assure that students have a broad appreciation for the attractive cost of living and the exceptional employment, residential, civic, social, arts, entertainment, sports and outdoor recreational opportunities available throughout the state.

The Kennemer Center received a $300,000 grant from Innovate Alabama to support and build out the BIG Ideas Contest and lay the foundations for expanding the contest to other colleges and universities in Alabama. In addition, the Kennemer Center will assist Innovate Alabama with its talent retention efforts.

The signature program of the Kennemer Center is the BIG Ideas Contest, a student innovation contest focused on developing ideas with social impact. BIG Ideas is, by design, an entry-level program that encourages students who have limited or no competition experience to develop their ideas, transform their thinking, and address societal problems through creativity and ingenuity. Advising, mentoring and assistance are integral parts of the program, along with funding and recognition. Beyond the contest itself, BIG Ideas will support every participant throughout the learning process, helping them to be better prepared for other in-class and on-campus idea competitions, as well as for the future real-world competition of ideas that follows. The grand prize winner for 2023-2024 was StudyBuddy, an educational tool that provides a personalized AI tutor for elementary students.