‘Sincerely, South’ Podcast Series Launches in the College of Education and Professional Studies
Posted on November 2, 2021 by Amber Day
The University of South Alabama College of Education and Professional Studies is excited to announce the launch of a new podcast titled "Sincerely, South." The mission of the podcast is to have meaningful conversations with students, alumni, community partners and faculty that center around the core values of the college, such as professional excellence, lifelong learning and civil discourse.
“The mission of the College of Education and Professional Studies is to transform our community through research and outreach that produces excellence in education and human services,” said Dr. Tres Stefurak, the college’s associate dean who oversees external relations and research activity. “‘Sincerely, South’ is a new way to live out this mission. We hope to feature stories about innovative practices, scientific discovery and efforts to create a more equitable community that reflect the work done across the various professions represented in the college. From hospitality industry leadership in a post-COVID world to performance nutrition, from international perspectives on education to men’s mental health, or from evidence-based literacy intervention to intervening with community violence; ‘Sincerely, South’ will have stories to tell.”
Dr. Joe Gaston, assistant professor of educational media and technology, has led the effort to establish the “Sincerely, South” podcast. He will serve as a permanent co-host and will invite various college faculty and staff to serve as co-hosts for related episodes.
“I’m excited to have the opportunity to work on this project for the college,” Gaston said. “Our faculty, students, alumni and community partners have some amazing stories to tell, and I look forward to capturing these stories and sharing them with the members of our Jag family, both current and future.”
Gaston worked in collaboration with the Information Technology Department from the Mobile County Public School System to create the “Next in Ed'' podcast series. As schools began shutting down in March 2020 as result of the, COVID-19 pandemic, the decision was made to launch the series early in order to document the impact this unprecedented event was having in the field of education and those connected to it. The podcast was launched on April 21, 2020 with Gaston and Julie Neidhardt, science curriculum specialist for Mobile County Public Schools, as co-hosts. The two have produced 65 episodes to date.
The first “Sincerely, South” podcast episode features Chasity Collier (front left)
and Rachel Broadhead (back left), assistant director and director of the Alabama Math,
Science, and Technology Initiative at the University of South Alabama. Dr. Susan Ferguson
(far right), Department of Leadership and Teacher Education secondary program coordinator
and programs advisor who serves as the Noyce project director, joined Gaston (back,
right) as a co-host for this recording.
Episodes are available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and all major podcast platforms. The first episode recently posted, link above. Announcements for each episode will be posted to the college's social media pages on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @usaceps. If you would like to submit ideas for future “Sincerely, South'' podcast episodes, please email sincerelysouth@southalabama.edu.