 On behalf of the leadership team, faculty, staff, students and alumni at the University of Alabama, it is a distinct honor to present this special video to recognize the ongoing and impressive accomplishments of the members of our university community. In lieu of a traditional fall campus assembly, during a time that has been anything but conventional, we invite you to join us virtually as we recognize several faculty and staff who embody the spirit of the capstone. Through their collective efforts, as well as the combined activities of all of our faculty and staff, UA continues to educate and empower students to success. It may be an unprecedented year, but the university is thriving. Our influence and profile in both the state and nation continue to demonstrate our critical role as a flagship university. We will begin our program with an important message from the President of the University of Alabama, Dr. Stuart R. Bell. Faculty and staff, thank you for joining us today as we commemorate our award recipients and reflect on the many remarkable ways the University of Alabama is advancing and preparing students for a life and a career of influence. First, I want to share my gratitude for all you do every day to serve our students. This past spring through creative approaches and forward thinking practices, you helped us smoothly transition over 6,000 courses to a remote platform while continuing to challenge and encourage your students. You met with students virtually, probably from a home office while also caring for your families, safeguarding your health, and in many cases also educating your own children at home. I realized it was a challenging time for everyone. You found innovative ways to remain focused on your students, your research, and your projects again during the summer sessions while we were proactively planning for a safe return to campus. Zoom meetings, long hours at times, and probably some frustration as well, but you persisted. You stayed positive and productive and the university has prevailed because of your efforts. We have continued our mission of transforming the lives of those we serve. This fall, we're educating nearly 38,000 students who enrolled at the capstone to reap the benefits of all we offer as part of the Alabama experience. We saw an increase in the number of in-state undergraduate students and record-setting graduate school enrollment in the fall 2020 total student headcount. Back in the spring, the initial projections for universities nationwide were bleak, with some experts predicting an up to 20 percent decrease in student enrollment. We did not see that happen at Alabama and you play a key role in why our students wanted to be back home in Tuscaloosa. They arrived on campus with different goals in mind, but with one stated expectation. Here at UA, through your instruction and expertise, our students are determined to build their futures. They are futures that will impact all of us through their success as trailblazers in research, as advanced medical specialists, as ethical business leaders for our communities, and as highly skilled professionals who begin their journey right here on this campus under your guidance. In nine carefully socially distanced commencement ceremonies this summer, we celebrated more than 2,500 graduates as they received their degrees. Among our spring and summer graduates, nearly 1,000 were first-generation students. Through the education they received at our university, they have changed the course of their lives. They would not have succeeded in that endeavor without the support you provided. I have proudly witnessed how the challenges we have faced have not deterred your resolve or passion for the talented students you teach, advise, or support. The pandemic has not limited our opportunities to serve. Instead, we have seen our people rise up and respond to help others and to thrive through their impressive academic, scholarly, and service activities. COVID-19 and 2020 will always be connected, but 2020 should be viewed as a year to remember for many other reasons. Let me share a few triumphs from our United efforts. We welcomed our entering freshman class, which includes 221 national merit scholars. Currently, UA has more than 700 national merit scholars enrolled, which is more than all the other universities in Alabama combined and places us among top of all public institutions. We celebrate the 57th UA student to be selected for the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship. We applauded three UA students who joined the ranks of Hauling Scholarship recipients, bringing our total to 36 Hauling scholars for the university. We recruited Dr. James Dalton, who opened our video ceremony today. Dr. Dalton is a distinguished academic, researcher, and member of the National Academy of Medicine who joined our leadership team as executive vice president and provost. We called home three-time UA graduate Dr. Myron Pope to serve our students as vice president for student life. We recognized nearly 16,500 students on the deans or presidents list during the spring 2020 semester. These resilient scholars stayed the course during the unique challenging period of remote learning. We witnessed other important achievements, including UA's ranking as one of the top tier research institutions and doctoral granting degrees in the nation. In fact, the remarkable and unparalleled growth in our research enterprise ranks the university 17th in growth for all 650 public and private universities that engage in research. We commended two of our engineering students who were named among the nation's top 20 science, technology, engineering, math, or STEM students in their 20s. We were honored to receive recognition by Forbes magazine as one of America's best employers for diversity, and we were the only institution of higher education in the state to receive that distinction. And we took pride in the 4% increase in number of students enrolled at UA who are identified as African American, Hispanic, or Asian American. We remain committed to creating and sustaining a diverse, inclusive, and welcoming campus where every member of our community will thrive. Friends and colleagues, I want you to know our influence has not diminished and our responsibility is even greater than before to equip and empower the next generation of Alabama students. I sincerely appreciate everything you do, and I know this past year has not been easy. I recognize as well that we are still navigating challenges. Thank you for your continued efforts to educate, develop, and encourage our future legends. I consider it both a privilege and an honor to serve as your president, and I remain firmly committed to our people, our work, and the outcome of our combined efforts at the University of Alabama. Congratulations to all the award winners being recognized today. We are very proud of you, Roll Tide. From the spring semester, we are honoring three individuals through the following prestigious awards. First, we present the E. Roger Sayers Distinguished Award, which was created in 1996 by members of the President's Cabinet in honor of University President Roger Sayers, who led the University during a time of tremendous growth and accomplishment from 1988 to 1996. The 2020 E. Roger Sayers Distinguished Award is awarded to Dr. Kajindo Matua for performing in an exemplary manner to further the mission of the University. Thank you, Dr. Matua, for your service and commitment to the capstone. Next, we present the Dr. Minnie C. Miles Endowed Excellence Award, which was established in 1995 to honor exempt non-faculty administrative employees and name for Dr. Minnie C. Miles. Dr. Miles was a long-term business faculty member who faithfully served the University from 1942 to 1978. This year's recipient is Karen Carpenter, who has chosen for her role in fostering the mission of the University and for performing in an exemplary manner that exceeds the expectations set forth for her position. Thank you, Ms. Carpenter, for your dedicated service. Today we also recognize the 2020 SEC Faculty Achievement Award winner for the University of Alabama. There are approximately 14,000 full-time tenured faculty members in the SEC, and to be eligible for an achievement award, the individual must have achieved the rank of full professor, have a record of extraordinary teaching, and have a record of research that is recognized nationally and or internationally. The SEC Faculty Achievement Award is presented to Dr. Subha Chakraborty, Professor of Statistics and Moro Faculty Excellence Fellow, for his outstanding teaching accomplishments, scholarly contributions, and discoveries. During nearly 36 years at UA, Dr. Chakraborty has received numerous awards for his significant and influential contributions in a number of research areas. Thank you, Dr. Chakraborty, for your service, and congratulations to all our spring award recipients. We have asked our deans and directors to share more details about our honorees and their specific contributions through division and department emails in the coming weeks. For our fall awards, we are honoring several individuals who have not only demonstrated their commitment to education, but who have also had a profound impact on their students through the teaching and learning process. In 1976, the University of Alabama National Alumni Association began an innovative program designed to annually recognize four faculty members at the capstone who demonstrate outstanding commitment to teaching. This year, a number of highly qualified educators were nominated. Our 2020 recipients are as follows, Heather Elliott, School of Law, John Hines, Culverhouse College of Business, Dr. Lumarino, Culverhouse College of Business, and Charles Skip Snead, School of Music. Congratulations to our four honorees. We are grateful for your dedication to excellence in teaching and for the commitment you have to our students' success. Next, we want to honor several individuals who are receiving the outstanding commitment to advising awards. The Outstanding Advisor Award recognizes the importance of academic advising at the University of Alabama by celebrating outstanding academic advisors. For this past year, 424 advisors were nominated as candidates for the most outstanding faculty or professional advisor. Our two honorees are as follows, Dr. Colleen Geary, College of Education, Jeff Clark, Student Services. Congratulations to our award recipients for this recognition of your commitment to advising our students at the University of Alabama. Each fall, we also award the SAM SMA Commitment to Service Awards, named for a remarkable staff member from the Department of Chemistry who, in addition to his regular duties, volunteered many hours of his own time to tutor generations of students. The SAM SMA Award recognizes a department, team, or center that provides exceptional service through commitment, innovation, creativity, and continuous improvement in customer relations. Our 2020 honorees are as follows, from Academic Affairs, the Arts and Sciences Office of Student Services, the Instructional Technology and Academic Services, and the Center for Instructional Technology. From Finance and Operations, Transportation Services, Crimson Ride Team, and the Maintenance Team. From Student Life, the Blackburn Institute, and our campus-wide recipients, Collegiate Recovery and Intervention Services, the UA Counseling Center, the UA Student Health Center and Pharmacy, Health Promotion and Wellness, University Recreation, and the Women and Gender Resource Center. Congratulations to you all, and thank you for your service and commitment to the Capstone. One final award is being presented today to two enterprising employees, who, by action or idea, contribute to the University of Alabama's critical mission of teaching, research, and service. The Virgil Parks McKinley Senior Employee Award was established by John K. McKinley and the late Helen H. McKinley. The award honors Dr. Virgil Parks McKinley, a longtime professor at UA, who began his career in 1918 and retired in 1945 as head of the Trade and Industrial Development Department in our College of Education. Our 2020 honorees for the Virgil Parks McKinley Senior Employee Award are as follows. Kathy Yarbrough, Advancement, Daphne Wright, Finance and Operations. Kathy and Daphne, thank you for your service to the Capstone. Congratulations to all the award winners honored today, and thank you again for your commitment, dedication, and service. You represent the University well and make us proud. We celebrate with you and appreciate your important contributions. We've asked our deans and directors to share more details about our fall honorees and their specific contributions through emails in the coming weeks. It is now a pleasure to introduce the presidents of several organizations on our campus, including Faculty Senate, the Professional Staff Assembly, the Office Clerical and Technical Staff Assembly, and UA's Student Government Association. These dedicated leaders will be sharing important reports and updates for the fall semester. Since inaugurating the current Executive Council and Executive Cabinet in the spring, the Student Government Association has stayed true to its mission of students serving students, even while off campus and in virtual settings. On April 1st, SGA leveraged Zoom to virtually inaugurate the 25th class of SGA Senate, with representation from each of the university's colleges, the graduate school, and the school of law. SGA spent the spring and the summer promoting a number of important messages, including continued adherence to CDC and Alabama Public Health guidelines to slow the spread of COVID-19. SGA encouraged registration for the U.S. Census and provided academic resources and support for students who had moved to 100% remote instruction. Additionally, SGA supported two thank you campaigns for nurses and doctors at DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa and for essential workers across the United States. As the national conversations surrounding racial and social justice began in late May, SGA served as the leading student voice and resource for racial reconciliation, education, and action. On May 31st, I published an open letter to the student body detailing my experiences as a black man. I wanted to offer encouragement and called on each member of our student body to use their voices and become allies. In response to a student led petition to change the names of campus buildings with racist namesakes, SGA called upon the university to begin the renaming process. We are very proud of our campus's new Honors Hall and we are grateful for the university's systems swift efforts to rename the building. Last month, SGA launched an anti-biased speech campaign called One UA, with the slogan hate doesn't roll here. This campaign was among the first few initiatives that SGA conducted to promote racial reconciliation on our campus. It will be a consistent part of our campus engagement within the SGA this year. With these efforts, it is my hope that SGA will continue fostering and encouraging healthy dialogue about the differences that make us us, while encouraging all students to celebrate the diversity that makes our campus so strong. SGA has also partnered with transportation services and the safe center to create a safe center shuttle. This shuttle will confidentially transport students who have experienced sexual assault to Tuscaloosa's only 24-hour sexual abuse clinic. We are also pleased to announce that our DEI certification program has begun. This year, our Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion has created a new section of the program, which will allow individual students to gain an advanced certification. SGA recently held Academic Excellence Week, which featured special guest speakers such as our new Provost, Dr. James Dalton, and our new Honors College Dean, Dr. Tara Williams. This week was jam packed with important information on how students can remain successful while navigating classes virtually. Although our educational and student experience is different this year, rest assured that SGA will continue to serve as a voice and advocate for every student at the capstone. On behalf of our Executive Counsel and Cabinet, thank you for the privilege to serve as your voice. If SGA can be of assistance to you, please reach out on our website, sga.ua.edu. I'm honored both to be here today and represent the Professional Staff Assembly as our President. The Professional Staff Assembly, or PSA as commonly known, represents over 2,300 professional staff employees. PSA has three primary functions. Serves as an advisory and policy referral organization, promotes social responsibility, and facilitates and maintains open lines of communication with all stakeholders, administration, faculty, staff, students, and alumni. PSA serves as an advisory and policy referral organization. PSA has recently worked with transportation services to advocate for alternative parking plans to accommodate staff working remotely, working alternative schedules, and refunds during future limited business operations. The results of these meetings were an increased pay-as-you-go parking, and month-by-month or daily pass options. PSA continues to serve our stakeholders as we work with similar initiatives including health care coverage, child care possibilities, benefits tailoring, and more. PSA promotes social responsibility through community service and volunteer activities. PSA has been a long-time supporter of Habitat for Humanity, Brewer's Porch, and Alabama Reach. While UA staff participate in volunteer activities on varying levels, the efforts are not accurately documented. To address this issue, PSA has established a pilot initiative utilizing the Center for Service and Leadership's Tracking System, BAMAPOLS. The establishment of this pilot program provides a consistent method for UA staff to participate and document volunteer activities for organized community service, of which benefits include both staff morale and recruitment, which research has shown as a leading factor for millennials in consideration of an organization, increases awareness of UA and UA staff commitment to community service through local, regional, and state press releases. Documentation of data can be used in the SAC certification process, supports the mission of UA, teaching research and service, aligns with UA core values, and supports UA's strategic plan, and strengths in the case for increased higher education funding because of the impact of these contributions. The PSA in October will continue a decade of awarding the Mark G. Foster Endowed Scholarship to a deserving professional staff member. This scholarship honors our colleague and longtime member of the UA community, Mark G. Foster, who is active in the formation of the PSA and served the UA in many capacities. PSA is working with other organizations on campus on the renaming council for buildings on UA campus. We will continue to collaborate and support this initiative. PSA facilitates and maintains open lines of communication with all stakeholders. These goals are accomplished by inclusion on hiring for executive position, presidential advisory, human resources task force, and university standing committees. This includes PSA's work with the UA administration to expand the return to campus operations committee to involve more stakeholders in communication efforts. PSA recently accomplished a long-term goal to be inclusive of all professional staff by our use of Zoom and Facebook. Zoom allows us to interact real-time with staff unable to physically attend, record, and post our meetings to PSA's Facebook page to maintain transparency and accountability. Our recent two-year strategic initiative to promote the awareness of PSA includes posting more social media content. Whether you're a faculty, staff, student, or alumni, I would like to encourage you to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at Bama PSA, speaking at university organization, staff meetings, and community at large to engage stakeholders, and rebuilding our website to allow for better navigation and dissemination of PSA information. Again, let me encourage you to join PSA on social media at Bama PSA, and check out our website at PSA.ua.edu. We appreciate your input. Thank you, and roll time. Greetings. At our last campus assembly, I spoke to the programs and goals of the Office Clerical and Technical Staff Assembly and our one simple aim, to promote our presence on campus and advance the agency of our individual members and organization. Hourly employees reached new levels of involvement this year, and it's my pleasure to report that there are now more non-exempt staff serving on university-standing committees than at any point in our campus history. We continue to support the important work that these committees undertake and increase our efforts in guaranteeing that all staff have a voice in our university's shared governance. In addition to our ongoing work with the Alabama Reach Program, the Brewer's Port Children's Center and Adopt-a-Mile, the OCTSA is partnering with our fellow representative assemblies under the leadership of the Black Faculty and Staff Association in efforts to rename buildings whose namesakes portray the values of an increasingly diverse community of scholars. We continue our partnership with the Student Government Association in co-hosting the annual DEI Leaders Reception, and together with the Faculty Senate and Professional Staff Assembly, we will continue to support the formation of faculty and staff affinity groups to highlight that at the University of Alabama, representation matters. Every day, countless non-exempt staff from custodial and maintenance workers, mailroom clerks to program and administrative assistants go about quietly performing the essential tasks that enable our university to operate. You are the glue that holds together our greater UA family during these trying times. You have always been and will always be essential. Thank you for all you do. Stay safe, mask up, and roll tide. When it became apparent that the COVID-19 pandemic would prevent UA students and employees from returning to campus after spring break, the decision was made to pivot to online instruction to complete the spring 2020 semester. In one week, faculty transitioned more than 6,000 courses to an online format, a truly amazing accomplishment by any measure. For the remainder of the spring semester and throughout the summer, the Faculty Senate worked hand in hand with the UA administration to enable the spring 2020 semester to be brought to a successful conclusion and to make plans for reopening the university this fall. Faculty Senate recommendations adopted by the administration include a pass-fail grading option and extension of the drop deadline, an option for probationary faculty to extend their tenure clock, and modification of the fall 2020 academic calendar. Several faculty members served on the academic subcommittee of the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Return to Normal Operations and I joined the advisory committee this fall along with the presidents of the Professional Staff Assembly and Office Clerical and Technical Staff Assembly. I'm happy to report that shared governance is alive and well at the University of Alabama. Since the beginning of the fall 2020 semester, the Senate has been preoccupied by COVID-related concerns of the UA faculty. A resolution passed at the August 18 Faculty Senate meeting resulted in the UA system office establishing the COVID-19 dashboard. Subsequent communications with the system office have led to greater testing data transparency. President Bell and Provost Dalton addressed the Faculty Senate at the August meeting and answered faculty questions. The Faculty Senate also organized two town hall meetings in September to provide additional opportunities for faculty to meet with members of the UA administration and the system office. The Faculty Senate Facebook page was created and used to livestream the August and September Senate meetings and the two town hall events. Collectively these events were attended or viewed by hundreds of faculty members who were able to voice their concerns and have their questions answered. I am very grateful to UA administrators and system office staff who took time from their incredibly busy schedules to participate in these events. I know that everyone is looking forward to the time when we don't have to hold meetings, conferences and workshops via Zoom. However, as difficult as the last six months have been, many positive things have also resulted. The pandemic taught us several things. We can quickly adapt to new circumstances, overcome unforeseen challenges, be more resilient than we ever imagined and even old codgers like me can push through their technological envelopes. I would like to recognize and express my appreciation to UA faculty members who continue to go above and beyond for their students, both in and outside of the classroom. Special thanks to all those who presented an assembly report today and congratulations again to everyone who was honored with awards. The University of Alabama is a special place and you, our faculty and staff, play a critical role in the delivery of a world-class experience for our students. We are honored you shared in our celebration and we look forward to our next campus assembly in the spring. Roll Tide.