July 25, 2018

Alabama’s Bissell second recipient of SEC ALDP Alumni Fellowship

Dr. Kim Bissell is Director of Undergraduate Research and Associate Dean for Research at the University of Alabama.

By: SEC Staff
SECU (Twitter: @TheSECU)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Dr. Kim Bissell, Director of Undergraduate Research at the University of Alabama, will receive an SEC Academic Leadership Development Program (SEC ALDP) Alumni Fellowship, the Conference staff announced Wednesday. The fellowship is an opportunity for SEC ALDP alumni to visit other SEC universities to strengthen their administrative leadership skills while addressing an area of growth for their home institutions.

Dr. Bissell, who also serves as the Associate Dean for Research in the College of Communication and Information Sciences, has been invited to spend time with administrators at the University of Florida, the University of Missouri and Vanderbilt University during the upcoming academic year. On those campuses she plans to conduct an in-depth evaluation of established offices of undergraduate research, including an analysis of office structures, personnel, resources and assessments of office operations.

“Research, including research conducted by our undergraduate students, is an essential part of every Southeastern Conference university,” said Dr. Torie Johnson, SEC Associate Commissioner. “Dr. Bissell has spent many years exploring ways to enhance the research experiences of students at the University of Alabama, and being able to support her efforts in this area is extremely important to the SEC.”

A member of the 2013-2014 SEC ALDP cohort, Dr. Bissell directs Alabama’s Emerging Scholars Program, a research-intensive program for freshmen and sophomores; leads the undergraduate research and creative activity conference, which gives undergraduates an avenue to present their research or creative work; and she launched the undergraduate research resource room, which helps with the development of research projects, research design, presentations and research dissemination.

“Our President, Dr. Stuart Bell, has identified undergraduate research as one of his strategic initiatives and priorities, and as the University of Alabama continues to see tremendous growth in undergraduate enrollment, our opportunities, programming and resources need to align with that growth,” said Dr. Bissell. “For that reason, I am so excited about this fellowship. I am thrilled and honored to have been selected.”

Since its establishment in 2008, the SEC ALDP seeks to identify, prepare and advance academic leaders for roles within SEC universities and beyond. It includes a university-level development program designed by each institution for its own participants and two SEC-wide, three-day workshops held on specified campuses for all program participants.

The SEC ALDP Alumni Fellowship is in its second year and two former participants may receive the award annually. In addition to Dr. Bissell, Dr. Jeffrey Fairbrother from the University of Tennessee will also receive a fellowship in 2018-2019. The overarching SEC ALDP is an academic initiative of the Southeastern Conference, which promotes the endeavors and achievements of the students and faculty at its 14 member universities.