This Panel is an independent team of humanities scholars and public practitioners of the humanities; it reviews applications for Media Grants and Major Grants submitted to the Alabama Humanities Alliance. The Panel consists of five reviewers who bring a diversity of perspectives, geography, and expertise to AHA’s grant review process. Meet our 2024 panelists below! Note: Final award decisions are determined by members of AHA’s Board of Directors after considering Panel evaluations and eligibility criteria.
Learn About AHA GrantsMatthew L. Downs, Ph.D., is professor of history and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Mobile. He received his B.A. from Birmingham-Southern College and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Alabama. He has published two books: Transforming the South (LSU Press, 2014), which won the James F. Sulzby Book Award from the Alabama Historical Association, and a co-edited collection, The American South and the Great War (LSU Press, 2018). In addition, Dr. Downs has published several articles and given presentations on a variety of topics focused on the modernization of the American South during the middle of the twentieth century. He currently serves as editor of the Alabama Review, the scholarly journal of the Alabama Historical Association. He lives in Daphne, Alabama, with his wife and two children.
Benjamin Isaak Gross, Ph.D., is associate professor of political science at Jacksonville State University. He earned his B.S. and M.A. from Northern Illinois University and his Ph.D. from the University of North Texas. Dr. Gross has contributed book chapters on the thought of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, as his research focuses on modern political theory, science, and happiness. In addition, Dr. Gross is director of the Tocqueville Lecture Series and co-editor of Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas. He lives in Jacksonville with his wife and three children. In addition, he serves as a local Cub Scout den leader, enjoys outdoor activities, and is a spectator of sports.
Tina Naremore Jones, Ph.D., is provost and professor of English at the University of West Alabama. Previously, she served as vice president for the Division of Economic & Workforce Development. Dr. Jones was the founding director of the Center for the Study of the Black Belt, which serves as the management entity for the Alabama Black Belt National Heritage Area. She has written for the Encyclopedia of Alabama, Alabama Heritage, Alabama Review, and Tributaries. She is co-editor of Belles Letters: Contemporary Stories by Alabama Women, contributing author to Alabama Women: Their Lives and Times, and editor of Bridging Time: 175 Years at the University of West Alabama. Dr. Jones serves on the boards of the Alabama State Council on the Arts, Alabama Folklife Association, Alabama Main Street, and Black Belt Treasures. She and her husband Britt live in Livingston; they have one daughter, Jordan.
Charlotte C. Teague, Ph.D., is associate professor and chairperson of English & Foreign Languages at Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (AAMU) where she specializes in professional writing, Black women writers, and protest literature. Her recent scholarship centers Margaret Walker and Alice Walker, and she is currently working on a Civil Rights Literature project titled: “Subversive Narratives: Toni Morrison and Claudia Rankin Raising Objections, Raising the Dead, and Raising Hell,” forthcoming in 2024. Dr. Teague earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at AAMU, an additional masters from the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and her PhD in English from Morgan State University. She has taught English at Alabama A&M University for more than 20 years.