UWA’s faculty colloquium will focus on serving students

Dr. Haab will deliver the keynote presentation

Story: Phillip Tutor

The upcoming 2022 Spring Faculty Colloquium at the University of West Alabama will focus on a vital theme: how faculty, administration and staff can better serve the student population in Livingston.

Sponsored by the UWA chapter of the Phi Kappa Phi national honor society, the colloquium will feature Dr. Melissa Haab, vice president for student affairs and enrollment management. Her presentation is expected to offer motivations and insights on how to better assist UWA’s students.

The free event will be held virtually at www.uwa.edu/live on April 4 at 3 p.m. No registration is required. All students, faculty and staff are invited to attend.

“It’s an opportunity to let other people on our campus that haven’t gotten a chance yet to meet (Haab) and hear about her vision,” said Dr. Celeste Wheat, associate professor of student affairs and higher education administration. “But also we wanted, of course, a current topic. And what’s more important than knowing how can we help our students and serve them with more excellence during these challenging times that we’re facing?”

Dr. Mark Davis, dean of UWA’s College of Liberal Arts, will co-host the colloquium and moderate its discussion period, Wheat said.

The spring colloquium is a traditional spring event for UWA’s Phi Kappa Phi chapter. Past colloquiums, held in person on campus, often featured scholarly topics and highlighted research areas, Wheat said. The Covid-19 pandemic canceled the 2020 event and forced last year’s to be held virtually. It featured Dr. Mary Hanks, chair of UWA’s Ira D. Pruitt Division of Nursing, whose presentation focused on the challenges nurses and nursing educators have faced during the pandemic.

Wheat believes UWA students in leadership roles and those interested in careers in higher education and student affairs will benefit from attending the colloquium.

“We’re hoping because it involves Dr. Haab, and so many people are interested in having the opportunity to hear from her, that we’ll have a large number of people attending,” Wheat said. “We really won’t know until the day of the event, but I would love to have 60 or more people in attendance.”