New director of Student Ethics and Education looks forward to meeting UAH community

Jimmy Hubbard has joined UAH as director of Student Ethics and Education.

Michael Mercier | UAH

Meeting as many faculty, staff and students as possible and revising the Code of Student Conduct are the goals of Jimmy Hubbard, who has joined The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) as director of Student Ethics and Education.

"My responsibilities are to oversee and ensure the integrity of the Code of Student Conduct, and to help develop students and the community to do the same," Hubbard says. "I am in the process of reviewing and revising the Code, as well as adding some pieces that should be in place as common practice on most campuses."

A member of the Association of Student Conduct Administrators (ASCA) and past member of the Southeast Association of Housing Officers, Hubbard also will be training University Conduct Board members and individuals on best practices and procedures for being a conduct reviewer, also known as a hearing officer.

"One initiative I've been charged with, and I embrace, is to ensure that the conduct process at UAH is one that reflects education and not one that reflects punitive action," he says. "There will be other responsibilities that I take on as I settle more into the position and familiarize myself with UAH and the Huntsville community."

Hubbard comes to UAH from The University of Alabama (UA), where for 10 years he worked for Housing and Residential Communities as a community director over Mary Burke and Martha Parham Halls, including six years as the student conduct coordinator for the department.

"I learned so much in my time with UA," he says. "Being a part of a large organization gives you opportunities to develop your knowledge that you wouldn't always have at a smaller institution, but I was ready for a change of responsibility, I was ready to transition out of housing after 20 years for a new challenge, and finally, I was ready to be back at a smaller institution."

Prior to UA, Hubbard worked at Bethel (College) University in McKenzie, Tenn., and the University of Tennessee at Martin. He has extended family and close friends in western Tennessee, where his roots are, as well as friends "who are family" in Nashville, North Carolina and in Tuscaloosa.

In Tuscaloosa, he was very involved with his church and a community Concert Series it sponsored.

"I served as co-chair of the Concert Series before moving to Huntsville," he says. "I sing. My bachelors degree is in church music with a concentration in voice."

He has served full-time and also part-time as a choir director, working with choirs of all ages as well as hand bells.

"Music and singing is my stress release," Hubbard says. "I also enjoy exploring estate sales and antique malls."

He wants the campus community to know the door to the Dean of Students Office is always open.

"Please feel free to come by the Dean of Students Office," Hubbard says. "We are always glad to have UAH community members stop by just to say hi, and feel free to ask us what we do to help students each day."