Clarke Rountree named Associate Dean of UAH's College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences

Clarke Rountree ('83, B.A. Political Science), Associate Dean for Outreach and Recruitment in CAHS will begin his new duties on Jan. 3.

Michael Mercier | UAH

Clarke Rountree ('83, B.A. Political Science), has been named Associate Dean for Outreach and Recruitment at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. He will begin his duties as Associate Dean on Jan. 3.

"We are fortunate to have someone of Dr. Rountree’s scholarly calibre, administrative inventiveness, and spirit of collaboration in our college -- let alone willing and able to lead and coordinate our recruitment and outreach efforts. Clarke comes to this position with a surplus of experience and success in growing the Department of Communication Arts and recruiting a diverse and successful faculty, and we are very excited to see him tackle this new challenge. We are grateful to President Robert Altenkirch and Provost Christine Curtis for their support of this initiative," said Dr. Mitch Berbrier, Professor of Sociology and Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. Rountree currently serves as Professor and Department Chair of Communication Arts.

"I am honored to have been selected to serve my college in this new capacity. I have enormous respect for my colleagues and for our programs in Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. I look forward to bringing our college to prospective students and bringing prospective students to our college," said Rountree.

Berbrier said the new Associate Dean for Outreach and Recruitment will lead the college's efforts in community engagement, marketing, and student recruitment. "Graduates in CAHS bring a variety of high-demand skills into the workplace, and because of that most of them are out in the workforce making a living at rewarding careers. But sometimes this seems to be "the best kept secret in town," Berbrier said. "We need to do a better job of communicating that to prospective students and their parents, to our community partners and employers in the region. Until now we have not had the resources to do that in any sustained manner."

Rountree has long been connected to scholars studying the work of the most important rhetorical theorist of the 20th century, Kenneth Burke. As a graduate student, Rountree oversaw 12 hours of videotaped interviews with Burke, and helped form the Kenneth Burke Society, co-created and co-edited the KB Journal (the official journal of the society), and served in several posts for the society, including President from 2011-2014.

Additionally, Rountree is creator and series editor of Rhetoric, Law, & the Humanities, a book series with The University of Alabama Press launched in 2014. He is currently working on a book, Immigration Rhetoric and the Syrian Refugee Crisis: A Cross-Cultural Study (with Dr. Jouni Tilli, of The University of Jyväskylä - Finland).

Rountree has published numerous books and articles on legal and political discourse, including The Chameleon President: The Curious Case of George W. Bush, Brown v. Board of Education at Fifty: A Rhetorical Retrospective , and Judging the Supreme Court: Constructions of Motives in Bush v. Gore, winner of the 2009 Kohrs-Campbell Prize in Rhetorical Criticism.

He earned a B.A. in Political Science from UAH, an M.A., and a PhD in Rhetorical Studies from The University of Iowa.