UAH honors 3 new Honors College Faculty Fellows
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The University of Alabama in Huntsville announced this week that three of its faculty members have been chosen as Faculty Fellows for the UAH Honors College.
Selecting Honors College Faculty Fellows was first initiated as an idea in the mind of UAH Honors Dean Dr. William Wilkerson five years ago. The inaugural class of Fellows were first selected in the 2018-19 academic year.Meet the new Fellows below!
Dr. Themis Chronis
Dr. Themis Chronis, a clinical assistant professor of physics and astronomy in the College of Science, has focused as a Principal Investigator and co-Investigator on a number of funded projects for NASA and the Marshall Space Flight Center, including:
- Lighting as an Indicator of Climate
- Using Scatter Measured Vector Winds to Study High-Impact Weather and Analysis
- Interpretation of Satellite and Field Program Datasets to Investigate Hurricane Structure and Intensification Events
The awards and fellowships Dr. Chronis has received include the Teaching Excellence Award, UAH College of Science, 2020, NASA-GOES-R Group Achievement Award, UAH, 2018 and Individual Investigator Distinguished Research, UAH, 2014.
Dr. Hamsa Mahafza
In her work in the College of Education, Dr. Hamsa Mahafza has emphasized conducting educational research with a focus on foreign/heritage language education.
Her research is especially directed toward exploring service-learning in teacher education, primarily in two interrelated areas: Heritage Language Education and School Choice. Her broader research interests include:
- Multicultural Education/Culturally Responsive Teaching
- Applied Linguistics to Foreign Language Teaching
- Learning and Curriculum Integration-Interdisciplinary Studies
She is the Faculty Advisor for the INCLUDE Club student organization and Perpetua, UAH’s Journal of Undergraduate Research.
Dr. Susan Friedman
Dr. Susan Friedman has taught multiple courses in the CAHS, including:
- American and British Literature
- Business Writing
- Honors Writing Seminar
- Literature and Culture
- Creative Writing
- Women’s and Gender Studies
She was also the judge for UAH’s Katherine Harris Writing Competition (2016-2019). Her publications include Physician Heal Thyself: Employing Patient-Doctor Communication Practices to Build Bridges in the Women’s and Gender Studies Classroom for CEA Critic and Using First-Person Narratives in the College Classroom to Foster Self-Study, Well-being and Empathy for the CEA Forum.
Her conference paper was awarded Best in Section at CEA in 2018, and she garnered the Rose Norman Award for Scholarship in Action (2017-2018).
What it means to be a Faculty Fellow
Faculty Fellows are appointed for one year and can be reappointed for a second year without having to reapply, and each candidate goes through a university process review to be selected.
“All the Fellows we have had have typically done their full two years. They just send me a letter saying they want to do it again. We are looking for an outstanding record, particularly in teaching, with some history of contributions for the Honors College. Sometimes it’s more about what can we build if we have this connection. The Honors Council that consists of some of the current Faculty Fellows assists with the applications, and I make the final decision.”
UAH Honors Dean, Dr. William Wilkerson
The Faculty Fellows will lead special Honors Seminars in areas related to their research and teaching, as well as teaching sections of Honors 101, which is a research methods course. The award comes with a stipend and can be paid in professional development, salary or some combination thereof.
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