7 / 64
spring 2015 / 5
COMMUNITY NEWS
Cottrill appointed
to distinguished
professorship
Dr. Amy Cottrill
has been named the
Denson N. Franklin
Associate Professor
of Religion at
Birmingham-
Southern, one of a
number of efforts
that underscore
the exceptional
teaching that takes
place in BSC’s classrooms.
The distinguished chair of religion
honors Dr. Denson N. Franklin ’36, the
late United Methodist pastor and leader,
who also served as a Birmingham-
Southern trustee. The author of three
books and numerous articles on
Christianity, he was known for his broad
commitments to both church and civic
organizations and was the recipient
of many honors during his lifetime in
recognition of his contributions.
The new professorship, Cottrill
said, will help her retain the close
connection between the campus and the
United Methodist Church in Alabama
and West Florida as well as provide
assistance to BSC’s Office of Church
Relations and Campus Ministries
program.
“It is an honor to be connected with
the legacy of Denson Franklin,” she
added. “I’m aware of the tremendous
support that he and his family have
offered BSC and I am so appreciative of
their generosity. Gifts like these sustain
the educational mission of the college
and make such a difference in the lives
of students.”
Cottrill earned her Ph.D. from Emory
University and has been a member of
the college’s faculty since 2007. Her
primary area of research is the book of
Psalms in the Hebrew Bible, particularly
the individual laments.
New blended-learning classroom open
Birmingham-Southern’s second blended-learning classroom opened in
February in the college library with a demonstration and open house.
The digital classroom links BSC to Locust Fork High School in an effort to
improve graduation rates in rural Alabama. It is being used for college and
career prep, classroom exercises, online interaction with faculty and staff
from the two schools, and live broadcasting of the college’s speakers. The
classroom is modeled after Olin 205, the high-tech digital classroom that
BSC installed in 2013.
The college received a $120,000 grant from the Community Foundation
of Greater Birmingham last year to design and build two blended-learning
classrooms, one on campus and one at the high school in Blount County.
The classroom at Locust Fork launched in October.
Fulbright award
Rachel Buchan, a senior Harrison
Honors Scholar who is double-majoring
in religion and psychology, has been
awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to spend
a year teaching in Turkey.
“I look forward with gratitude to
learning from those I encounter in Turkey,
and hope to carry on the profound
commitment to academia that has been
modeled for me at Birmingham-Southern:
one of fearless inquiry, selfless service,
and abiding love for one another,”
said Buchan, whose grandparents are
George Jones ‘53 and Sue Poe Jones ‘58
of Birmingham and Don Brown ‘58 of
Tuscaloosa.
Before heading to Turkey, she hopes to complete a summer internship
at a law firm; after her Fulbright year, she plans to return to the U.S. and
continue in academia.
Senior earns