While we pride ourselves on our interdisciplinary programs and partnerships across campus, so much of what makes this College strong are the connections it has with the surrounding community. We’ve highlighted several of them in this issue of Arts & Sciences magazine.

Dr. Robert PalazzoFor example, in “Showcase,” you can read about how our visual and performing arts students engage with young children, high school and middle school students, and even corporate leaders. In “Budding Knowledge,” you can learn about the ways our Computer and Information Sciences, Chemistry and Physics departments mentor K-12 students in our area, as well as how the innovative UABTeach program is working closely with state school superintendents to educate future STEM teachers in Alabama’s classrooms. Even our back page essay, “Languages,” by Spanish professor Dr. John Maddox illuminates the ways that language education provides pathways for our students to be influenced by the wider world, and to influence it in return.

Every day, our people touch our local, state, national and even international communities in ways that are creative, innovative, and transformational. The faculty, staff and students of the College of Arts and Sciences mentor, coach, and encourage. They travel from UAB to small towns, urban classrooms and far-flung global destinations to make presentations, give performances and catalyze new ideas. They also host thousands of guests to campus each year, offering performances, lectures, readings and films—events that highlight the opportunities for potential students, too. The people of this College open up possibilities—they create pathways to success.

A university should be a dynamic place. It should be alive and ever changing, just like its people. The College of Arts and Sciences is teeming with activity, and we are making an impact down the street and across the world.

Go Blazers!
R.E. Palazzo, Dean