Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to welcome you to the 16th Annual South Alabama Conference on Teaching and Learning. This year’s conference is full of memorable and meaningful presentations, beginning with the conference kick-off on Monday, May 11th, followed by two full days of activities on the 12th and 13th.

This year’s theme, Humans, Humanity, and the Humanities: Shaping Our Teaching and Learning Environments, invites us to focus on the unique role of human thought, creativity, and moral reasoning, as AI changes the higher education landscape. We look forward to presentations that explore how we are maintaining the integral social learning environment and centralizing the importance of critical thinking, self-reflection, as well as the ethical applications and implications of AI usage. This conference celebrates those innovations through more than 70 presentations in formats such as workshops, panels, research talks, and roundtables.

We are especially excited to welcome two excellent keynote speakers to this year’s conference. On May 12th, Dr. Kevin Yee, Special Assistant to the Provost for Artificial Intelligence, University of Central Florida, will speak on “Re-Defining Humanity in the Age of AI.” Dr. Brie Tripp, Associate Professor of Teaching of Neurobiology, Physiology & Behavior from the University of California, Davis, will present, “Reclaiming the Human Element in STEM Classrooms,” on May 13. Both keynote speakers support our theme of the role of humans in maintaining our social learning environments while advocating for digital literacy in the age of AI.

The conference plays a distinct role in elevating innovative and scholarly instructional practices of the University of South Alabama and our partner schools. We are fortunate to welcome back our regional partners: Bishop State, Coastal Alabama, Columbia Southern University, Mississippi Gulf Coast, the University of Mobile, Spring Hill College, and the United States Sports University. We appreciate your partnership and active participation in this year’s program.

We trust you will enjoy the next few days learning and sharing innovative practices with your colleagues.

Welcome to CoTL 2026!

Andrea (Andi) M. Kent, Ph.D.
Executive Vice President & Provost
University of South Alabama