Faculty/Staff News

For the past few years Dr. Lucas Johnson has been a man on a mission. An assistant professor in the College of Natural Science and Mathematics at the University of West Alabama, Johnson is determined to go into every high school in the area that will invite him in.
On any given day, conversations with Dr. Thomas Ratkovich can feature topics so unrelated yet masterly that they’re hard to absorb. They could involve the first isomorphism theorem, the best law enforcement training for active-shooter drills, the work of heralded British mathematician Andrew Wiles, the finer points of driving forklifts and snowplows, how to protect crime-scene evidence, or the definitions of topological groups and closure axioms.
Sculpture created out of clay gummy bears

What happens when you combine thousands of pieces of clay shaped like a small, sweet and chewy gelatin-based candy? One of Jessica Smith’s unique ceramic sculptures of course.

Citing the University of West Alabama’s dedication to safety and emergency preparedness, the National Weather Service has renewed UWA’s status as a StormReady University. The status lasts through April 21, 2026.
When Birmingham’s weather warmed and school reached its hiatus, Dr. Tim Edwards spent his teenage summers toiling alongside his father, a brick mason with a meticulous attention to detail so prevalent among skilled artisans.
Dr. Amanda Pendergrass

Upon hearing that she’d won the University of West Alabama’s most prestigious faculty award, Dr. Amanda Pendergrass walked to the lectern and addressed the commencement crowd.

Dr. Richard Shellhammer

The hints inside Dr. Richard Schellhammer’s crowded campus office aren’t subtle. They reveal personal secrets: who he is, what he adores, how he fills his days. History books bloat his bookshelves. Framed trinkets of his academic expertise -- pre-World War I Germany -- hang near the desk.

As a published poet and admirer of rhythmic verse, Dr. Eleanor Boudreau pairs the recollection of her first poem with a faint chuckle of self-deprecation.
Kristen and Nick Woodruff

Young, recently married and rich only in aspirations, the Woodruffs once lived in Monticello, a college town about 40 miles west of the Mississippi River. Nick, a graduate assistant at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, had been promoted to assistant coach of the Boll Weevils’ men’s basketball team. Kristen had a job -- in Ohio -- but resigned to join her husband’s career dream.

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