UAH hosts sixth annual UA System Scholars Institute

Huntsville, Ala. (May 13, 2013) - The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) will host the Sixth Annual University of Alabama (UA) System Scholars Institute "Integrating Technology to Support Student Success, Research and Service," Tuesday and Wednesday, May 21 and 22.

The Scholars Institute 2013 is open to all UA System Employees. Registration is required, but free of charge. The deadline to register is Thursday, May 16. To register, please visit: http://www.uah.edu/si2013/registration. General conference sessions will begin at 8:30 a.m., each morning on the UAH campus in the University Center Exhibit Hall and concurrent sessions are located on the first and second floors of Wilson Hall. All meals will be served in the University Center Exhibit Hall. The UA System sponsors the annual event.

Keynote speakers include Curt Bonk, nationally recognized E-Learning professor at Indiana University, and Anya Kamenetz, popular author, and an emerging voice of young people today. Additional conference guests and panelists include Larry Raines, administrator for Alabama's ACCESS (Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators, and Students Statewide) Distance Learning Program, and Casey Wardynski, Superintendent for Huntsville City Schools. Steve Johnson, anchor and news reporter at WHNT News Channel 19 will serve as moderator for the panel discussion.

The Scholars Institute is hosted each year on a rotating basis by one of the UA System campuses. Scholars Institutes are open to faculty, staff, and administration attendance from all three campuses. The Scholars Institute supports collaboration among faculty and administration system-wide, and encourages a shared community of knowledge for implementing best practices into the use of technology in the teaching, learning, and research processes.

On Tuesday, May 21 at 9:30 a.m., Anya Kamenetz will give a keynote address entitled "DIY U: The Transformation of Higher Education." Kamenetz, speech is an adaptation of her best-selling book, which addresses the future of higher education in America.

Later, Tuesday afternoon from 3:30 p.m., to 5 p.m., a conference panel discussion "The Digital Continuum: Pre-K through PhD," features special guests: Curt Bonk, Larry Raines, Casey Wardynski and moderated by Steve Johnson. After the panel discussion a vendor fair will be held from 5 p.m., to 7 p.m., in the University Center.

On Wednesday, May 22, from 1 p.m., to 2 p.m., Curt Bonk will give the keynote address "Stretching the Edges of Technology-Enhanced Teaching: From Tinkering to Tottering to Totally Extreme Learning."

Invited educators from Huntsville and Madison County Schools (K-12), local colleges and universities including Calhoun Community College, Alabama A&M University, Oakwood University, University of North Alabama, Athens State University, and J. F. Drake State Technical College will also attend.

The 2013 Scholars Institute Planning Committee includes UAH Host University Sponsor: Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs - Vistasp Karbhari; committee members: Dee Childs, Karen Clanton, Sherri Restauri Carson, April Harris, Pam Tejes, and John Thygerson. The UA System Office, Charles Nash; UA committee members, Rick Dowling and Marilyn Staffo; and UAB committee members, Ronan O'Bierne and Tracee Synco.

To view the UA System Scholars Institute program agenda and speakers biographical sketches, please visit: http://www.uah.edu/si2013/program/agenda.

For more information contact:
Joyce Anderson-Maples
256.824.2101
maplesj@uah.edu

You may also be interested in:

• The UAH campus map
• Applying to UAH