 Well it is my pleasure to welcome you all today to our fall campus assembly. It is a wonderful time to get together to see so many individuals coming out and joining us this afternoon. We have a full agenda so let me go ahead and begin with that. But first of all I'd like to introduce a couple of special guests that are with us here from our Alumni Association. So if you all would please stand when I introduce you. First of all we have Ms. Linda Thomas who is president of our National Alumni Association Linda. We also have Calvin Brown who's director of our alumni affairs who's with us today also. We appreciate all that the Alumni Association does for us and for joining us today and with that let me welcome Linda Thomas to the stage and she is going to present our outstanding commitment to teaching awards. Thank you Linda. Thank you Dr. Bell. On behalf of the two of nearly 200,000 alumni and friends of the University of Alabama please join me today in recognizing, thanking and congratulating our 2018 Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award recipients. These awards are presented each year by the University of Alabama National Alumni Association based on faculty members commitment to teaching and the impact they have on their students. This year a number of highly qualified educators were nominated. These finalists were selected not only for their commitment to teaching but also their hard work, dedication and overall interest in the success of their students. Each recipient will be presented with a commemorative plaque and a stipend. Today I'm proud to present our 2018 recipients of the Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award. Our first recipient is Stacey Alley from the College of Arts and Sciences. Stacey Alley earned her bachelor's degree in theater from the University of Southern California and her master's in acting from the University of Alabama. She also became a certified movement analyst after studying at the Labin Barton Institute of Movement Studies in New York. As a graduate student at the University of Alabama she assisted in teaching various theater classes. In 2003 she served as an associate professor at Arkansas State University and in 2010 she returned to the capstone as an associate professor. Currently she serves as a university's director of musical theater. Congratulations Stacey. Second recipient is Dr. Rich Houston, Culver House School of Accountancy. Dr. Rich Houston earned his bachelor's degree in business administration and accounting from Washington and Lee University. His master's degree in business administration and finance from Indiana University and his PhD in accounting from Indiana University. Houston joined the University of Alabama in 1995 as an assistant professor of accounting and in 2001 he became an associate professor of accounting. In 2006 he was named professor of accounting at the capstone and has continued to serve students in that role. He has served on various committees and currently serves as the program director for the Culver House School of Accountancy. Dr. Houston. recipient is Dr. Mary M. Mears College of Communication and Information Sciences. Dr. Mary M. Mears earned her bachelor's degree in education, her master's of education in higher education from American University. Her graduate certificate in teaching English as a second language, her master's in English linguistics from George Mason University. She went on to obtain her PhD in communication from the University of New Mexico. Mears joined the University of Alabama in 2008 as an assistant professor and in 2012 she became an associate professor. From 2009 to 2014 she served as the department of communication studies graduate program director and director of graduate internships. She teaches numerous upper level and graduate courses that focus on intercultural communication, organizational communication and leadership. Mears served as an advisor for the Serbia Fellowship Experience. Congratulations Dr. Mears. recipient is Nathan Parker College of Arts and Sciences. Nathan Parker received his bachelor's degree in elementary education from John Brown University and his master's in creative writing from the University of Alabama. After graduating from the university he began working as an instructor in the English department. Parker's classes include creative writing, African American Literature, American Literature 1 and 2, English Literature 2 and composition. He is also the faculty director for UA in New Zealand Adventure and Literature which is a study abroad program held in May. Congratulations. Congratulations the 2018 Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award recipients. Thank you, Elinda. I would now like to welcome to the stage Kiera Somerville. She is assistant director for retention programming and transfer students in the office of first year experience in retention, for our student initiatives. She also serves as Secretary and Treasurer of the University of Alabama Academic Advisors Association. And Kira will present the outstanding commitment to advising awards. Kira? Thank you, Dr. Bill. Good afternoon, all. As many of you know, the role of an academic advisor on campus is not simply just a glorified schedule builder. Advisors are mentors. They're confidants. They're friends. And they are support systems for our students. This role can be challenging in that as an advisor, but there's a delicate balance between accountability and support. Students, peers, and young alumni submitted nominations for the Outstanding Commitment to Advising Award. And based on those nominations, a committee within UA AAA, the UA Academic Advisors Association, chose one professional advisor and one faculty advisor who exemplify this role of academic advisor on our campus. So our winner for the Professional Advisor Award goes to Mrs. Latandra Smith. Mrs. Smith is a health promotions or health professions, excuse me, advisor in the College of Arts and Sciences. The advisor award goes to Dr. David Albright. I'll give him a hand. Albright is an associate professor in the School of Social Work. He is unable to be with us today, but wanted me to share that he is honored to receive this award and he regrets that he cannot be here. He is currently in our nation's capital serving on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Committee for the Well-Being of Military Families. So we are very proud of him. Thank you all. I think we turned that off. Well, thank you, Kieran. Congratulations to David and Latandra. We appreciate all that you all do for us. It's now my pleasure to welcome Provost Kevin Whitaker, who will present the SAM SMA Commitment to Service Awards. Good afternoon. It's good to see everyone. It's my pleasure to be with you this afternoon to present these very, very important awards. Name for a remarkable staff member from the Department of Chemistry who, in addition to his regular duties, volunteered many hours of his own time tutoring generations of students. The SAM SMA Award recognizes a department, office, team, or center that provides exceptional service through commitment, innovation, creativity, and continuous improvement in customer relations. We have six awards to present today. And recipients, when I announce you, if you will please stand so we can recognize you. Action Card in Apple Wallet Implementation Team, including Action Card, Access Control, and Enterprise Development Application Support. If that team will please stand. Active Card holders. And these card holders generate $22 million in debit account sales annually. This campus-wide technology benefits not only students, but also faculty, staff, departments, and our community. With well-planned implementation, the team ensured a seamless transition to the new Near Field Communications Card and delivered the highest quality of customer service, working many tireless days, nights, and weekends. Since this past May, the Access Control Department has replaced and updated 2,200 Access Control readers across campus and provided the latest technology and access control. And behind the scenes, working diligently, was the Enterprise Development Application Support with the Office of Information Technology. They were the critical third partner supporting the Action Card project, and without them, the successful launch would not have been possible. So congratulations to all of you. Our next recipient is the staff of the Office of the University Registrar. Members of this office play a vital role as visionary problem solvers and are central to all of the academic record-keeping activities which are very, very vital to the university. These individuals are devoted to the academic goals of the institution, and they perform their duties with creativity, commitment, and vision. Though their to-do list is lengthy and challenging, they faithfully serve the undergraduate and graduate student populations. Each of the individual colleges, upper administration, athletics, admissions, and the Capstone International Center, just to name a few. So congratulations to the team on receiving this award. Also receiving the Award in Academic Affairs is the College of Human Environmental Sciences Student Services Department. This department maintains students as the first and foremost priority. They are committed to the success of all human environmental sciences students, assisting them on their path to a successful and rewarding college experience. They advise students and spend one-on-one time helping them with course selection. They also help students identify appropriate extracurricular involvement, employment, and internship opportunities. The HES Student Services team meet and interact with freshmen and transfer students during Bama Bound, and their academic advisors are consistently rated among the top on campus. So team, congratulations to you on receiving this award. The fourth recipient of the award for this year is the Office of Advancement Services. This team has 32 employees, and it takes that many dedicated people to accomplish everything they are tasked with completing. Each year, 90,000 gift transactions must be processed. More than 800,000 updates to the data are made, and more than 5,000 pieces of personalized correspondence are mailed. I couldn't possibly list all of their accomplishments, but I'll share two very quickly. They completed a critical and multi-year project to implement a brand new alumni and prospect database known as Denny. And they supported the creation and launch of the university's first ever crowdfunding platform and day of giving event, Bama Blitz, which generated $1.8 million in gifts from 1,800 donors this past spring. Through their efforts, they consistently demonstrate an ongoing commitment to the university. So congratulations to each of you. Our next recipient of the SAM SMA Award is the Building Maintenance Masonry Team for Financial Affairs. This team serves the campus community through continued commitment to delivering high-quality work efficiently and effectively. Each of the following projects, and I'll just name a few, was completed by the craftsmen on this team and displayed their extraordinary skills and commitment. The Bryce Main Stabilization, Clark Garland and Manly Landscape, the Bryant Denny Stadium Walk of Champions Pavers, the President's Mansion Steps Restoration, and the Capstone Village Landscape and Hardscape Improvements. So again, to your team, thank you very much. And congratulations. The final recipient of the SAM SMA Award is Student Life Housing and Residential Communities. The entire staff works diligently year round. And in the summer months, they prepare to move in about 7,000 college students and train new staff. Once all the move-in efforts have been completed, they spend the next 10 months doing everything they can to provide a safe, comfortable home for our students. In May, they prepare to start that work all over again. It is safe to say that when parents leave their children on campus for the very, very first time, they are leaving them in very capable hands with housing and residential communities. So thank you and congratulations. So again, congratulations to everyone that received the SAM SMA Commitment to Service Award today. Your dedication to our students is unsurpassed, and we are pleased to celebrate with you and recognize your contributions. Next, I would like to move on to our second set of awards. The next award I will be presenting is the Virgil Parks McKinley Senior Employee Award. John K. McKinley and the late Helen H. McKinley established this award to recognize enterprising employees who, by action or idea, contribute to the University of Alabama's mission of teaching, research, and service. The award honors Dr. Virgil Parks McKinley, a longtime professor at the University of Alabama, who began his career in 1918 and retired in 1945 as head of the Trade and Industrial Development Department in the College of Education. The honorees today are as follows. If you'll come forward to receive your award. Melinda Fields, Melinda's a fall recipient. She's a senior office associate in the English Department, the first year writing program. Second, we have Robin Elmore, who is our spring recipient, and she is the assistant to the director and web developer in Alumni Affairs. And then we have Vanessa Williams, our summer recipient, a program assistant in the College of Education and the Education Leadership Policy and Technology Studies Department. So congratulations to all of our honorees today. We're very, very proud of the contributions that everyone makes to the university. And that concludes the awards presentation of our assembly today. Now we will hear from the presidents of various organizations on our campus. First, I'd like to introduce from the faculty senate, Dr. Rana Donahoe. Dr. Donahoe has worked at the University of Alabama since 1984, and she has been active in the faculty senate for more than 25 years. Prior to becoming president of the faculty senate, she served as vice president and secretary. She is a professor of environmental geochemistry. Dr. Donahoe? In July, the faculty senate professional staff assembly and the office clerical and technical staff assembly were happy to obtain a second grant from TIAA to support our joint service activities. With this additional support, we were able to hold the first time ever teacher, staff, appreciation day event for the Brewerport Children's Center. Besides the luncheon, we were also able to provide almost single-handedly Daphne Wright of the PSA put together teachers, classroom, wish list, gift boxes full of all sorts of goodies that the teachers were just thrilled to obtain. We will continue to cooperate as faculty senate with the PSA and OXA on projects that will benefit both the Alabama Reach program, which benefits our own students, as well as the Brewerport students, Brewerport Center students, during the holidays and beyond. The updated faculty handbook is currently under review by the faculty senate and the council of deans. The Academic Affairs Committee is spearheading a very detailed review of the handbook for the faculty senate. We anticipate that the revised document will be brought to the faculty senate for approval in January and then forwarded to the president provost and the board of trustees. The faculty senate's research and service committee is conducting a research survey of all faculty who have at least a 0.5 FTE assignment to teaching research and service or comparable professional activities. The survey, I believe, is launching today, tomorrow at the very latest, and will consist of 28 questions, including opportunities to give written comments on each question. The survey data will be analyzed by the research and service committee, and the results will be shared with the new vice president for research and economic development, the provost, and the president bell. I cannot stress enough how important it is that all faculty participate in this survey. We hope that the results of this survey will find ways that the administration can facilitate faculty research, scholarship, and creative activities in order to raise the research profile of the University of Alabama. So it's critical that everyone participate. The deadline for submission of survey responses will be 5 PM on October the 26th. So there's more than two weeks to accomplish that. We still need nominations for outstanding faculty to serve as commencement marshals for the upcoming winter and May and then following summer commencement exercises. This is an excellent way to recognize and honor senior faculty who have contributed so much to this institution. So please respond to the call for nominations and send us your recommendations. I encourage everyone to participate in the workshops that are being offered by the benefits office staff that provide very important information about changes to the PPO health care plan as well as introduce the new high deductible health plan and health spending accounts that are options for next year. You must this year actively select your health care plan as well as any dental and vision coverage that you elect during this open enrollment period between November 1st and 15th. If you do not, if you fail to meet those deadlines, you will not be covered during 2019. As you hopefully know, the Chime Inn Climate Survey results will be presented by Modern Things Richard Boyer at 12.30 PM on Monday, October 8th. Faculty Senate Standing Committees will assist the Chime Inn Steering Committee in analyzing faculty survey responses and make recommendations to the University Administration for new policies, procedures, and facilities that will improve work-life balance here at UA. Of course, the Faculty Senate is working on many other projects, and time doesn't permit me to describe all of them. However, I will continue to communicate monthly to the faculty listserv by sending summaries of Faculty Senate meeting minutes to everyone. So please do not hesitate to contact either me or your elected senator with any matters that you would like the Faculty Senate to take up. Thank you. Thank you, Rana. Now from the Professional Staff Assembly, please welcome President Kamisha Adams. Kamisha has worked as a web developer, a web designer, and systems administrator in the Office of Financial Affairs since October of 2007. She's been a member of the PSA since 2015. So, Kamisha. Thank you, Dr. Whitaker. Good afternoon. The Professional Staff Assembly is composed of employees of the University holding full-time regular positions, non-faculty, that are eligible for full benefits, and classified as EO 3 or 5. Working with human resources in those departments at the university, the PSA addresses such important employee issues as health care changes, parking arrangements, child care possibilities, benefits, and other issues affecting professional staff. The PSA has seven internal standing committees. The steering committee includes the chairs and co-chairs of these standing committees, in addition to the PSA officers. The PSA has representatives on 17 UA standing committees. In April of this year, Toni Johnson, senior executive director of logistics and support services, talked to the assembly about the recycling efforts at the university. The department is working hard to reduce the university's carbon footprint. He refuted the myths of recycling such as recycling as a money pet. Recycling can't offset cost. Recycling is only a feel-good effort. To challenge his first myth, he reported that the recycling revenue for UA in 2016-2017 was $171,996. This was up 19% over the previous year's revenue. During this time period, UA saved over 6,500 trees, 175,000 gallons of oil, and 2.6 gallons of water. UA recycles pallets, cardboard, plastic bottles, car batteries, motor oil, office products, electrical equipment, and other items collected from dining halls, sporting events, residence halls, the Greek houses, academic and administrative buildings, university freedom and arboretum. If you would like to tour the recycling facility, please visit recycling.ua.edu to schedule a tour and to view a complete list of the items that UA recycles. In May of this year, the Outstanding Professional Award was presented to Craig Graves and Allison Jarnigan. This year marked the 10th year of the award. More than 30 professional staff were nominated for this award. Julie Shelton, Associate Vice President for Finance, presented the award to the two recipients. Over the summer months, the PSA Steering Committee met to discuss upcoming health care changes, parking, proposed PSA bylaw updates, and to plan programming for the coming year. This committee meets once a month throughout the year. In August, Jay Haley, hiring Steele, Erica Shimei, they provide information to the assembly on the upcoming health care changes. This meeting was recorded and live tweeted on our PSA Twitter feed. Shane Dorrell, the Chair of the Communications and Public Relations Chair, he recorded and he did the live tweeting for this event. Our Community Outreach Committee, chaired by Daphne Wright, worked this summer to purchase teacher wishlist items for Brewer porch. The funds were provided by a TIAA grant. TIAA also provided a digital $2,500 to host a luncheon for the first teacher and staff appreciation day at Brewer porch in August. The teacher wishlist items were distributed after the luncheon. Jim Kelly from TIAA was present at this event. The committee plans to use the remaining grant funds to build a community garden at the facility to be planted by the students and for a Christmas project. To volunteer for the Community Outreach Committee, please contact Daphne Wright. Last year, Darrell Hargraves, our historian and a former PSA president, elicited the help of the General Assembly on a Habitat for Humanity build. Another bill that's planned for November of this year, please contact Darrell Hargraves for more information if you would like to volunteer to participate in this build. Darrell is also working to build a history of the PSA and provide us to the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment for the UA Factbook. In our September meeting, Robert Hayes presented the 2018 Marquis Foster Scholarship to Daniel Sanford of the University Police. Several members of the Foster family attended the ceremony. Dr. Hayes shared with the assembly stories of his special friendship with Mark Foster. Daniel Sanford was awarded $1,000, $500 for the fall semester, and $500 for the spring semester to continue his studies towards the Master's Degree in Higher Education Administration. The proposed PSA bylaws were distributed to the assembly following our September meeting, and will be discussed and hopefully voted on during our October meeting. Our Staff Life Committee, chaired by James Nickrum and Jennifer Anderson, continues to work on employee issues related to professional staff. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Last year, the staff assembly and the Staff Life Committee created and proposed a resolution acknowledging the PSA's support of this important issue. The approved resolution is available on the PSA website. Last month, a new ad hoc committee was created for the PSA. Members of the general assembly will have monthly meetings with Dr. Christine Taylor, Vice President for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion to discuss employee relations on campus. Our technology and web committee, chaired by Kelly Wolf and Daniel McGuire, maintains our web presence and is planning to hold a forum of university technology leaders to provide information on new technologies and innovations. Our professional staff committee, chaired by Carlene Johnson and Stephanie Lowe, plan to hold a lunch and learn this fall, utilizing career development opportunities available on campus. This committee also plans ceremonies for the Outstanding Professional Award and the Mark G. Foster Scholarship. Our nominations in the Elections Committee with co-chairs Holly Groff and Joe Kelly functioned throughout the year to work with the Assembly Operations Committee to fill seats of members who may have departed the university. In January, the assembly will open nominations for membership to fill the seats of professional staff members whose term will end on March 31st. The PSA continues to support the advancement of the strategic goals of the university. Thank you for this opportunity to provide an update for the professional staff assembly, and we'll tie it. Thank you, Kamisha, and thanks to the professional staff assembly for all the great work that you're doing. I see some folks standing in the back. We actually have some tide-pride seating up front. You're certainly welcome to take advantage. We don't collect for at least seven days. Next, we're gonna hear from the office clerical and technical staff assembly and their president, Todd Hester. Todd is a UA graduate with a degree in geography and is a museum naturalist at the Alabama Museum of Natural History. He's been with the museum since 2009. So, Todd, naturalist. You never ask a second grader what a naturalist does because you're gonna get some very interesting answers. Dr. Donahoe, Kamisha, you guys did a great job. I'm not gonna talk as long as you guys did. I'm gonna keep it short and sweet. I like the KISS method, the Keep It Simple Stupid. And plus, we all know why we're here because at the bottom, it says refreshments to be served afterwards. So, thank you, Dr. Whitaker. Thank you, Dr. Bell. Thank you, all the colleagues here today for the opportunity to share the exciting things that are happening with the OCT staff assembly. The OCTSA or OXA, as we're sometimes referred to, represents the office clerical and technical staff of the university. What does that mean? That means we are the grease to the cogs without us. You guys don't do your job as well, so you're welcome. Don't encourage me. Don't encourage me. We function as an advisory and policy referral organization to the administration and staff employees of the university. We're a resource for, I'll get it right in a minute. We're a resource for proposals, suggestions and concerns of the OCT staff on campus. We also serve as a source of education and information for our members that allow them to return to their prospective areas and share that information with their coworkers. We're looking forward to working with the president and all across the campus in the continued implementation of the strategic plan that helps us push the university forward into the future. As part of that strategic plan, we're pleased to be working with our colleagues across campus as part of the modern think survey steering committee. We have some great data and we're all working hard to come up with possibilities to help ensure our campus is the best and brightest for all who work and study here. And as Dr. Donahoe said, Dr. or Mr. Boyer is gonna be presenting the initial data to us Monday, so be there. It's really important that we're all committed to that process. We're also very proud to work together with our staff and faculty colleagues of the PSA and the faculty senate and the fact that we have teamed up for the very first time to conjoin joint service projects across the campus. The teachers insurance and annuity association of America, better known as TIA, helped us support those projects, bruised porch and for the OCTSA specifically, it helped us provide support for Alabama reach. And we are proud as OCTSA to continue our work to raise funds for the students of the Alabama reach program, which serves to support former foster youth orphans, emancipated minors, wards of the state and homeless youth that are here at the capstone of students. We've raised over $3,000 in assistance for these students in the past year and we hope to contribute even more in the future. We look forward to this year, having speakers from the HR benefits office, transportation and parking services, UA wellness, the office of institutional research and assessment and a host of others that help provide timely and informational material to our assembly and its members. This coming May, we'll celebrate our seventh annual presentation of our office clerical and technical outstanding staff awards. We've currently been working on possible proposals to assess and change the education benefit to better fit the needs of our employees. We also have many employees that are concerned about retirement options and we're also moving forward to research better options for our staff members when it comes time for them to leave the university and take the time that they've worked so hard and they deserve. We continue to work with the transportation and parking committee and transportation services to work on bringing more affordable options to our employees when it comes to paying for parking. We're very grateful for the patience and understanding that the transportation services department has given us. Chris Desposito, if you're in the audience, you'll be hearing from me soon. We'll be starting that conversation up again. We're looking very forward to another productive year where our focus will continue to be to advocate for the non-exempt employees, as well as servicing commitment for the greater University of Alabama family and the University of Alabama system. Again, thank you everybody for the time to speak on behalf of the office clerical and technical staff stimuli. And as always, Roll Tide. Thank you, Todd. And now from our Student Government Association, please welcome President Price McGifford. Price is a Tuscaloosa native and is a senior this year majoring in civil engineering. Price? Good afternoon. First and most importantly, I wanna thank all of y'all for being here and all the things that y'all do to make this university such a special place. My name is Price McGifford and I'm humbled and ecstatic to be here standing as your 107th Student Government Association President. But the Student Government Association and the University of Alabama have a long and rich history and I'm enjoying being a part of it. And my goal is to leave a meaningful impact on this university. One main legacy that I'm trying to leave is by creating an endowment fund for the Student Government Association. We'll be presenting this endowment fund to all the Student Government, past Student Government Association presidents that will be coming back to campus next Friday. And if you were involved in SGA when you were at the University of Alabama, you'll have a chance to actually put your name on the benefactors wall right outside of the Student Government Association office. I've also been working on implementing the plans and initiatives I have preached about over the last few months. It's time for my goals to set forth in my agenda to take center stage as we continue to work for our voice, our interests, and the betterment of the University of Alabama. I have an impeccable executive council and collectively we're working together to make each individual student's experience the best it can possibly be. We've already made great strides towards accomplishing our goals. And I'm excited to update you on our progress. We have pretty much established a safe ride program with Lyft, we're gonna have this finalized within the next few weeks. But as of now, it's looking to be 15% off for all of our students, 24 sevens, seven days a week, except for on home football games. Our goal is actually to get that up to 50%. If it does start out really good, then we're hoping to get that up to 50%. And that's our plan there. It's part of my platform, I've worked directly with the Safe Center. The Safe Banquet was the perfect way to kick off my turn Tuscaloosa teal last April. We raised over $20,000 at the Safe Center Banquet. And our next goal is actually to get the University of Alabama Student Government Association, the panel and IFC up to $100,000 of donations before they actually opened. We just secured $25,000 from IFC. We're looking to get the same donation from panel. We should know within the next week about that donation and the Safe Center is set to open on October 15th. Next, I'd like to update you on our Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. I've written a constitutional amendment to create this position. The constitutional amendment has passed the Senate unanimously and we'll go before the student body in the homecoming election next Tuesday. So hopefully a week from today, we will have an application out and then within the next month and a half, we will have somebody in that position. So that is really exciting news and we'll hopefully have that position filled in about a month and a half. Next, we worked with the Action Card and everybody in the Action Cards here when we were redoing the Action Card, we worked to make sure that we would add the Counseling Center's number on the back and then also the area codes, so we would have that on the back of the Action Cards. We also have worked a lot with Athletics, Mr. Karabin Brad Ledford and our Director of Athletics, Greg Byrne, to implement stadium vendors in the student section. We never had vendors in the student section so we did actually have vendors on the very first football game and we have had vendors throughout all the games. I was actually one of the first vendors selling waters. I sold 127 water bottles on the first game in 39 minutes. So they're doing pretty well in the student section, I would say. We actually did have, first time we had Chick-fil-A in the student section was the vendors that we had this game and now we're working with Chick-fil-A for next year and we should be able to have the actual Chick-fil-A sandwiches in certain concession stands as well. So we'll have Chick-fil-A throughout the stadium and hopefully we'll have all that finalized by next football season. So with that being said, finally we have implemented TurboVote, which is a voter 101 guide and it will help you register to vote online and it can even send you text updates in your polling location and the date of the election. This app works for everyone, not just college students, anybody involved, the University of Alabama, you can register through TurboVote. So you can register to vote, get your absentee ballot, it will also help you send your absentee ballot in and then it will send you text updates if you would like or email updates and it will tell you what time the poll's open and then also where you will be polling and if you have to send in your absentee ballot by a certain date, it will let you know that as well. As you can see, my plan is to enact initiatives that will benefit our students and the capstone and continue to move our university forward in a progressive and inclusive way. These initiatives are meant to embody those needs of our students and they will make UA a safer and more accessible place to be. I truly believe that they are ambitious but accomplishable. I'm happy to say that I'm on track to complete all my initiatives by the end of my presidency. Big thank you to Dr. Bell, Dr. Grady and Mr. Fajak and the UA administration for all their support of my initiatives. Without their assistance, none of this would have been possible so let's continue to make legends. Thank you and roll tide. Thank you, Price. I hope you are like me and really humbled by all the great work and activities that are taking place on our campus. This is truly a great place to be and it's really because of everybody in this room. Now it's my pleasure to turn over the rest of the program to our president, Dr. Stuart Bell. Well thank you, Kevin. Congratulations to everyone who has recognized today. I certainly thank you all for the service to the capstone and to our faculty, staff and student leaders. Thank you all for what you do for serving our campus every day and some days are long, I realize that. But good afternoon to everyone. Whether you're joining us as a new faculty or staff member on our campus or you've had a great relationship with the university of Alabama for a long time, I'm certainly glad that you all are here. As president, I am asked to speak often into very many different type of audiences throughout the year and sometimes those are at it recruiting great students certainly to our campus, which is our aim. It may also be talking with alumni, it may be talking to prospective donors who love this institution so much. And in the last few weeks, just to give you a flavor that I have spoken to many, many different high school student groups, to counselors, to parents in Nashville, Memphis, Huntsville, Mobile, Dothan, Gadsden, Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, Montgomery, Florence and last week I was in Fairfield, Connecticut. And then with supporters, alumni and civic organizations in Orlando, we had something going on there. Selma, Memphis, Mobile, Montgomery, Birmingham and many other places. But I do want you to know that there is no place that I feel more comfortable and I feel more welcome than right here with our campus community because it is us that all pull in the same direction. So thank you for being here today. You know, from time to time, people will ask me about how is it that the University of Alabama is accomplishing so much that we have so many achievements. They see the impact that UA is having on young people and on the community, the accolades that our faculty and staff, all the accomplishments not telling that the reason is simple. First we reflect on our rich history that we have at the university as the state's first public college. From the past we can see the path that's carved out to the current status as the state's flagship university and as a national leader. And of course we look ahead and we can visualize the future already. UA is enhancing the quality of life for the communities around us and across the nation. Our sphere of influence is broadened to include all people. So what is the reason for our success? Well the reason is in this room and that is our people. It is us, it's on the campus, it's our faculty, it's our staff, it's our students who give this university its life and who are living out the mission of the University of Alabama every day. From the food service worker at Lakeside dining that I got to visit with as we opened up that new facility, that person's providing nutritious meal for our students and some really great meals too I might add. To the 91 University of Alabama police officers who serve around our campus each day. It's you, it's I and it's our people. We are the key to success and I'm certainly proud to partner with you each of you in that role. It's really hard for me to believe that this past July I marked the beginning of my fourth year of Susan and I returning to the university as president. I certainly remain so faithful to the university but also just so privileged to be working along your side. It's a great job, it's the best job. The old adage is correct is that time certainly does fly when you're having fun but I think each one of us know that being at the University of Alabama it's more than having fun, right? It's a mission, it's hard work. It's serving those around us every day. We do have fun too though. And embodying university's core values it requires a deep commitment from all of us. It takes dedication, it takes perseverance, it takes a heart for helping people that are around us for pushing new discoveries through our research, through our scholarship, through our creative activities. Again, I couldn't imagine a better job or a better place to carry that out. In fact, the university and the surrounding community have always been warm, a welcoming place for Susan. We've always felt at home here and I wanna thank each one of you for making that possible, thank you. Also as president I love talking with perspective students. As I was driving over here I was texting someone, hey I just got a note from a student, they wanna have a VIP tour, let's get it set up so that I can visit with them. I need to save them for making any other decision that wouldn't be good for them. But when I go to all the different locations of these student admission receptions I'm always aware of the pressure that the students are feeling as they're sitting in those chairs, they're trying to make the decision. It's important, it's a big decision for them. It's a big decision for their families. And of course we all know that higher education is very competitive now. And we do work very hard at the University of Alabama to bring in great young people. Great young people who wanna impact their world or impact a corner of the world in a way that allows them to bring their talents to bear. So at those admission receptions students will also sometimes share with me their uncertainty of what they wanna major in of how to get involved. I remind them that there may be some parents in that room who aren't quite sure what they're gonna do either. But all of the students want to find a place where they feel like they belong. They wanna know that they're making the correct decision when they're applying to University of Alabama and certainly when they're making that decision. So I emphasize to them in what makes you such an important part of what we do at the University of Alabama is that at the University of Alabama our faculty, our staff and other students work alongside new students to help them find their home here. I tell them that they are committed that you are committed to their success. And I know that's true because I see it every day and the evenings when I walk I see lights on all across campus. When I go in early in the mornings I see lights on on campus. I see you interacting with our students. Our low student to faculty ratio. I can assure students that at the capstone they'll receive individualized attention. While they pursue superior education I also tell them that they'll be able to find a warm welcoming home. I also reinforce to them that at UA students will be able to have personal interactions with their faculty. I tell them about you, the dedicated faculty who are experts in the field but will also be mentors for them during their four years or if they're into graduate work it may be two, three or four years in that work. And I share with them on our campus students will have the opportunity to try on new things. Maybe that's through joining one of our 600 campus organizations. I do tell them not to join all 600. But they have the freedom to investigate study abroad programs, to be involved with internships, to connect with what's important to them. You and I know that at UA students are developing into the leaders that we want them to be so that they will have a global mind, a global perspective when they leave here. So I wanna personally thank you all. Job well done. Because of you, the University of Alabama is thriving today and will be thriving tomorrow. Our campus reflects a diverse population. We have representation from each and every county in Alabama, from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 78 countries. We take pride in being a university that is inclusive and is supportive of backgrounds and experiences. And I think our students know that we have a creative nurturing campus that is here to serve them. The season of fall will soon be arriving at least from a temperature standpoint. We're keeping our fingers crossed for that. During the fall semester I especially enjoy walking around our gorgeous campus and I know you join me in thanking our grounds folks who make our campus one of the most beautiful in the South. You can clap, that's good. And when I walk across the quad or when I'm in the Ferg Center grabbing something to eat, I will chat with our students. They will tell me about their class schedule. They'll tell me about the labs that they're involved in. They'll tell me about the essay that's due next week and sometimes they'll share with me they forgot to start on it. They'll tell me about the upcoming football game. And they'll also tell me though about staff. They'll also tell me about faculty. They'll share how they're being challenged in their courses. They'll discuss a way that they're being shaped, how they're being prepared for the future. They'll talk about having pride and the opportunities to help other people. And several of those students are already beginning to have that influence while they're still on our campus or even when they're having their freshman year. Two weeks ago, I had an invitation to Children's Hospital in Birmingham. I wasn't for sure why they invited me to come over but it was myself and a group of students. And it seems that seven years ago we had a group of about 15 students who wanted to make an impact. And so these 15 students got together and they formed a group called Dance Marathon. And so it's the UA Dance Marathon team. Fast forward seven years to last two weeks ago. Children's Hospital was recognizing our students for raising over $1 million over the last seven years to support those young children who otherwise wouldn't be able to go to that hospital. And you know, it's great mission that children's has. But what was impressive to me is it took University of Alabama students a way to figure out how they can have an impact and they made it happen. Last year they were the third largest supporter of Children's Hospital through Children's Miracle Network behind two corporate sponsors. They named a pillar and so our students have now their name written across a pillar, Children's Hospital. Makes us all proud to see that. UA students volunteered last year with over a million hours of student service year in and year out. This year we have a new freshman, Sarah Lane who's a business major. She's from Tuscaloosa. And she was recently awarded the Congressional Award Bronze Medal for providing service 200 hours of volunteer service while she was in high school. So you can imagine she was excited to go to get on board day. I hope she didn't join 600. But I know that she was able to get plugged in. She was able to find ways that she can continue to serve while she's here at the University of Alabama. It's something that draws our students to the universities. These students are the students that you teach, that you influence every day on our campus. They amaze us with their ideas. They amaze us with how passionate they are in playing a role in the university community. And make no mistake about it, they are watching you. They're watching me every day to see how we can be leaders for them so they can emulate that. Now every year I'm astounded by the talent that the new semester brings to our campus through those young people. It's impressive data that I share this time of year with you all and I will do that again today. This fall we enrolled 187 new national merit scholars up from 134 last year to now over 600 on our campus. We have one of the largest national merit populations in the United States. On our campus, the average high school GPA for incoming freshman class was 3.71 with over a third of those incoming students having a 4.0 or higher. And almost 40% of our incoming freshmen this year had a 30 or higher on the ACT, which places them in the top 5% of all young people in the United States who finished high school last year. Over the last 12 years we have been ranked in the top three terms of producing Goldwater Scholars along with Stanford and Harvard. Our university has also produced 15 road scholars, 16 Truman scholars, 33 Hauling scholars, 13 Bourne scholars, all very competitive programs. And this year 15 of our UA graduates and current students receive full bright awards to teach, study and conduct research award again among the most in the nation of public universities. I took time to read this long list because I realized that sometimes it can feel like we lose our focus, we're part of a large campus. Do I really have an impact on that? We recognize that we all have a little different impact, a little different area of specialty, but I want to assure each one of you, it is you that makes this university what it is that impacts these students from when they show up while they're here, even as they graduate. I just spent about half an hour over our career fair. We have over 200 companies today and 200 companies tomorrow on campus interviewing our young people. So we follow them certainly while they're here, but also as they leave. So those distinctions I shared just a minute ago are a result of you, of what our young men and what our young women can do on this campus. I read the same list when I was at president's cabinet meeting recently because I wanted our biggest supporters to know what you all are doing, what impact that you have. You are the constant component for success at the University of Alabama. So it's also no surprise that our campus continues to be strong. We have a solid plan to further enhance our campus. One focus I'll share with you today is our focus on continuing to reach in-state students for our campus. We remain firmly committed to educating, to graduating students from around the world, but especially from Alabama because it's a state flagship university that's a vital part of our mission. To underscore that commitment to students who reside from Alabama, UA is offering more competitive scholarships for in-state students this year, spread the news. And unlike all other in-state public universities, University of Alabama did not raise in-state tuition for students this fall. We continue to enroll all qualified students from the University of Alabama to the University of Alabama. We want these students certainly on our campus. We're also increasing focus on transfer students and graduate students. And those numbers grew again this year at the university. So then we must continue to invest, to support future growth. You don't have to look very far from your building to see new investments that we're making, whether it's in buildings or whether it's in roads. All of those are purposeful projects that we're completing that help serve our research, help serve our student body, help serve us to make us more productive. I'm sure you heard of the announcement a week before last of a $26.5 million gift from new F. Culverhouse Jr. and his wife, Eliza. This is the largest gift in the history of the University of Alabama. Hugh was quoted as saying, I have an obligation on myself to make sure that this money produces something and that he wants to see the university among the best of all law schools. Because the faculty members in the Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr. School of Law recognize the importance of shaping the next generation of leaders. We know that that goal will certainly be realized. And then last week, one of our own graduates, Marilyn Houston, whose impressive career as chairman, president, CEO of Lockheed Martin Corporation and designation of the 2018 CEO of the year with two degrees from the University of Alabama. And then last week, she was named number one on Fortune magazine's list of the most powerful women for 2018. And then just a few days ago, we announced plans for construction of our newest Culverhouse College of Business building, Houston Hall. It will broaden the impact that Culverhouse has on the College of Business. But because of Marilyn and Jane Houston's philanthropy, our business students will continue to reap the benefits and make even more contributions in their future professions. And these are just two examples of individuals who embody the heart of the university. And truly, anyone in this room understands the value of a degree from the University of Alabama. And of course, we're grateful that some have the means to give back, to say thank you for what they learned on our campus. Their lasting legacies will impact future generations of students. But I also wanna repeat what I said earlier. Our success is due to you. What you do every day matters. Donors like you and Marilyn and Jane's give to the University of Alabama because they believe in it. They believe in our mission. They believe in us. They believe in you. It's very personal with these donors. They believe in what you're doing. And to keep the bar raised to our standard of excellence, the university will continue to add faculty and staff to the ranks who will engage with, who will challenge, who will prepare our students for future success. As a university, we also continue to focus on the four pillars of our strategic plan. Those pillars include providing premier educational experience, increasing their productivity and innovation research, scholarship and creative activities, providing and accepting inclusive environment, recruiting and retaining the best faculty. Don't those pillars seem strikingly similar to the things that I've just been talking about. Those are the things that we're doing at the University of Alabama. Clearly the strategic plan not only embraces our dreams for the campus, but also aligns with what we're currently doing and where we're being successful. We are on the correct path and we will continue to be successful. We will tune our plans. We will make adjustments where we need to and we'll share that impact and those outcomes with you. But let me close again by thanking you for what you do for our students and your fields of expertise and by challenging you to remember that while we have had great accomplishments, there's also still much to do. But we all work as one team and we have got a national championship team right here in this room. As I look around, I'm reminded of our campaign where legends are made. It is about the past, it's about the present, but it's also about the future. And each one of you here plays an important role in that. Because in a way, I guess I would say you are also the legend makers. You're the designers. You're the impressive individuals who make that final product, who walk across our stage three times a year at graduation. And that's a legacy that goes on as these students go out, find jobs, have careers, impact the world, change areas that we don't even dream of today. These young people are being made legends about each of you here. Thank you all for what you do every day. Thank you what you do every week. Again, I know days are sometimes long. We celebrate in between those great successes through hard work. Thank you all and Roll Tide.