Research Centers
The University of South Alabama established the Center for Archaeological Studies in 1992 to conduct archaeological research, teaching, and public service in the north-central Gulf Coast region. The Center promotes the archaeological study and appreciation of the region's prehistoric and historic past; disseminates to the public information about the region's archaeology; and preserves archaeological evidence of the region's past for future study, use, and enjoyment.
Mission
The mission of the Center for Generational Studies is to foster a “living-research
environment” for programs, research and education. The Center’s mission is compatible with the University’s mission of teaching, research,
public service, and application of knowledge to the community.
Goals/Objectives
Goal #1 – To position the University of South Alabama, in partnership with the community,
as a national leader in developing community based research on aging, the life course,
and intergenerational relationships.
Goal #2 – To secure external funding for development, implementation, and evaluation of educational and research programs, focusing on aging in life course perspective, intergenerational relationships in families and communities, and multi-generational solutions to issues related to healthy aging.
Goal #3 – To provide educational experiences for USA students and members of the communities in the USA service region to increase knowledge of multi-generational strategies that enhance quality of life throughout the life course.
CHILI Overview
The University of South Alabama (USA) Center for Hurricane Intensity and Landfall
Investigation (CHILI) performs research on hurricanes at landfall. This is done by
running computer models of past landfalling Tropical Cyclones of the north-central
Gulf Coast and by analyzing data from the University of South Alabama Mesonet.
The University of South Alabama Mesonet is a network of 24 weather stations that collect meteorological and soil measurements every minute of the day, every day of the year. Besides hurricane research, Mesonet data are used in the Meteorology curriculum at USA and for a wide variety of research projects of local weather phenomena including sea breezes, nocturnal cooling, and a local wind climatology. Forecasters at the Mobile office of the National Weather Service use USA Mesonet data to issue severe weather and flash flood warnings. The Mesonet has the potential to serve the wider Gulf Coast community in an even broader range of applications including agriculture, ecosystem monitoring, recreation, renewable energy, air quality, and climate change. The Mesonet is entirely funded through donations and grants.
Mission
CHILI hopes to improve forecasts of wind and flooding conditions during landfalling
hurricanes through numerical weather modeling and by using meteorological observations.
CHILI operates and maintains the University of South Alabama Mesonet.
The Center for Public Policy is a self-sustaining, nonprofit entity that seeks to provide training, research, and consulting services to organizations that engage in the pursuit of topics related to social, political and criminal justice issues. The Center is part of the Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice and works toward furtherance of the University of South Alabama’s teaching and research mission.
The mission of the Coastal Weather Research Center (CWRC) is to protect Gulf Coast residents and the business community from loss of life, injuries and financial disaster due to adverse weather. The CWRC, a self-supporting operation of the Department of Earth Sciences, began operation on January 1, 1988. Located in the Mitchell Center, the Weather Center consists of a meteorological laboratory, information center, and archive. The Weather Center's information service is a unique operation for a university. Utilizing the latest in radar and satellite data, the Weather Center provides forecasts and warnings to businesses and industries in nine states. The CWRC also supports the USA meteorology program and serves as a focal point of the young program by allowing students to utilize its many products and data systems.
The Stokes Center for Creative Writing advances the discipline of creative writing in fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, and screen-writing. With its sponsorship of readings, lectures, workshops, and interdisciplinary events the Center for Creative Writing in the Arts promotes a vital writers' network in the area, one committed to providing programs of appeal to a great variety of audiences. The beginning wordsmith and the established word master, the student and the professional alike will find in the Center a place from which to draw strength, encouragement and support in producing their work and in finding the opportunity to share it with others.
The USA Center for the Study of War and Memory studies how communities, institutions, and nations make sense of past military events through public monuments, remembrance rituals, re-enactments, works of literature, movies, popular history programming, and the internet. The Center is an interdisciplinary initiative with faculty from the English, history, communication, psychology, and sociology department involved and is the only center in the world to focus on military memorialization.
Mission
The Polling Group provides quality survey research services to University faculty
and administration, as well as a variety of outside clients. The mission of the Polling
Group complements the mission of the College of Arts and Sciences and the University
in three areas: (1) Teaching: the Polling Group is committed to providing students
with important curricular and co-curricular opportunities and experiences in the area
of survey research; (2)Research: the Polling Group serves as a resource for survey
research services for faculty from around the University; we are available to consult
directly with faculty members on all phases of the survey research process from grant
preparation to report writing; our institutional standing and reputation can be used
to enhance faculty efforts to obtain funding for research activities; the dissemination
of research findings contributes to the stature of the University as an important
regional research institution; and, (3) Service: keeping citizens, opinion leaders,
government officials, and policy-makers informed of the mass public's attitudes, perceptions,
and behavior is a critical ingredient for successful democracy; the Polling Group
makes a significant contribution in this area through public opinion polls and survey
research services for a variety of clients locally, statewide, and nationally.
Mission
The Native American Studies Program is a meeting ground for scholars, students, and
thinkers committed to broadening our understanding of Native peoples and providing
community for those with a like interest. We strive to foster meaningful engagement
with the economic, social, and political conditions of Native American life on campus
and beyond, as well as seek to build a vibrant community of inquiry and innovation
at the University of South Alabama..