Univ. of South Alabama - Instructional Design & Development

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1446422533915111&id=100056421351227

Dr. Dempsey was a great colleague and was always at the forefront of innovation. As noted in the write up, he was a leader in developing the IDD programs at USA, and it was his vision that was responsible for the Innovation in Learning Center. We are saddened by his loss, but we celebrate all he brought to the IDD programs and South Alabama!

The University of South Alabama mourns the loss of former faculty member, Dr. John "Jack" Dempsey, who passed away on October 28, 2025.

Dr. Dempsey was a true pioneer during his 28-year career at USA. He was instrumental in establishing the Instructional Design and Development (IDD) graduate programs and, notably, was the first professor to teach fully online courses at the University starting in 1997. He also served as the inaugural director of the USA Innovations in Learning Center, after having spearheaded the creation of the IlC's predecessor unit - the USA Online Learning Lab. His legacy in educational technology is profound.

We extend our deepest condolences to his wife, Brenda, and his entire family.

To read Dr. Dempsey's full obituary and share your memories, please visit:
https://andersonfhsc.com/obituaries/john-dempsey-2025

Second Call for Proposals for the EdMedia + Innovate Learning 2025 conference just announced!
Second Call for Proposals: APRIL 4


May 19-23, 2025
Barcelona, Spain
Second Call for Proposals: APRIL 4

This annual conference offers a forum for the discussion and exchange of ideas on all topics related to Innovation and Education. EdMedia, an international conference since 1987, spans all disciplines and levels of education of professionals in the field from 40+ countries.
EdMedia is organized by the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). To find out more about EdMedia and the submission guidelines, go to the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education - AACE https://aace.org/

I hope to see you in Barcelona.
Thanks!

Gayle V. Davidson-Shivers, PhD
Professor Emeritus of Instructional Design and Development,
Dept. of Counseling and Instructional Science
University of South Alabama

5 PhD students hooded today! •Congratulations to these students, their mentors., and our MS grads.

https://tinyurl.com/4f4dwrec

The Department of Leadership & Teacher Education is looking for five new faculty members:

Reading Education
Special Education
Social Studies Education
Educational Leadership (Higher Education Leaders) and
Educational Leadership (PK-12 Leaders).

Application materials should be submitted by September 30, 2024.

Come join our team, where we are “Leading today. Impacting tomorrow.”

https://tinyurl.com/4f4dwrec

Congratulations to Shane Mitchell, David Woolverton and Holly Park on completing their IDD PhD Spring 2024! Looking forward to a bunch more graduating summer and fall !

We hooded 5 PhD students today! Congratulations to Jenifer Towne, Margaret Salter, Yolani Lagos Ortiz, Michelle Loo, & Allison Hill

We are looking for a new IDD Faculty Colleague. The link below will take you to the details.

www.southalabama.edu

Join us Monday, Nov. 28 at 11:00 a.m. to hear from Dr. Shenghua Zha, assistant professor in the Department of Counseling and Instructional Sciences. She is the principal investigator on a National Science Foundation grant titled "Preparing Elementary Pre-service Teachers to Integrate Computing across the Curriculum."

Dr. Zha's presentation will focus on her experiences developing a program of research and grant writing focused on the practice of teaching computational reasoning and computer coding to K-12 students.

Attend the meeting in person (College of Education and Professional Studies Room 3901) or via Zoom (link - qrco.de/CEPSZha and passcode - 134804).

Abritty Abdullah, a doctoral student in the instructional design and development program in the College of Education and Professional Studies, is the recipient of the 2021 Phi Kappa Phi Love of Learning Award. Learn more at southalabama.edu/departments/publicrelations/pressreleases/111121abdullah.html.