UAXR

Lane Busby McLelland is the director of the Crossroads Civic Engagement Center in the Division of Community Affairs at The University of Alabama (UA). She has worked for over 30 years, both inside and outside of higher education, to foster and develop individual and community capacity for working across social, religious, and political differences. Before joining Crossroads in 2013, McLelland served as the assistant director in UA’s New College, where she taught courses in ethics and principles of deliberative democracy. While there, she also coordinated New College’s Civic Engagement and Leadership Minor and designed its community-based research internship program in rural Walker County, Alabama. Before returning to work in academia in 1999, she served as a United Methodist minister in the North Alabama Conference.

McLelland holds a PhD in Social and Cultural Studies from The University of Alabama. Additionally, she received an MA in Ethics and a Master of Divinity degree from Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California, and a BA in International Studies and Conflict Management from UA’s Interdisciplinary Studies Program in New College. Her classes and research currently focus on moral development and issues of free speech in higher education, as well as the design and implementation of campus and community models for civic learning and democratic engagement.

Newlin serves as the Director of Faculty and Community Engagement for the Crossroads Civic Engagement Center. She provides campus and community leadership in supporting existing and emerging community and civic engagement learning opportunities for faculty, staff, students and community partners. She comes to Crossroads with six years of experience building and facilitating education, leadership, and communications curriculum for youth and adults in a variety of industries. Her professional background includes a wealth of workshop facilitation experience through the National FFA Organization and other leadership programs both in the United States and internationally. Newlin’s existing publications and skillsets in qualitative research help to turn research outcomes into sustainable action and augment the Crossroads team’s capacity to contribute to the field of civic dialogue and democratic engagement through higher education. Newlin holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Agricultural Leadership from Oklahoma State University, where she studied the perspectives of Gen Z students and graduates toward engaging in controversial conversations in social, professional and online settings. She is pursuing her PhD in Communication and Information Sciences at The University of Alabama.