Dr. Terry Alford has won the Faculty of the Year award.

Dr. Terry Alford has received Virginia’s prestigious Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. Just 12 faculty members out of 177 were chosen from Virginia’s public and private colleges for the state’s higher education award.

Alford routinely receives glowing teacher evaluations for his “enthusiasm, passion, energy and dynamic teaching style,” as Dr. William Kinsella, Assistant Dean of History noted. One student declared him the “best history teacher I have ever had,” while another applauded him for bringing “enthusiasm, wealth of knowledge and a fabulous sense of humor to his chosen subject.”

He has also received countless awards and recognitions from student groups such as the Student Government Association, Muslim Students Association and Phi Theta Kappa.

Alford started his teaching career by working with a group of students rebelling against traditional universities. Held in parks, bookstores and apartments, the so called College of Arts and Sciences in Foggy Bottom would pay its professors what it thought their lectures were worth. Some days compensation was in bananas, others it was in dollars. But as Alford recalls in his nomination letter, “One can’t pay rent with bananas.”

The college soon collapsed and Alford found himself teaching at Northern Virginia Community College.

Alford has been teaching history at NOVA’s Annandale campus for 37 years. He has taught courses from the standard Introduction to Western Civilization to more exotic historic surveys such as 19th Century American Theatre.

In his nearly four decades at NOVA Alford has taken history to new levels for his students. He frequently assigns students unique primary-source documents to read. One student was assigned the diary of a young Maurine Sherman.  The student discovered a vivid story of an American expatriate couple living in Shanghai shortly before the Japanese invasion. Further investigation lead to the discovery of scrapbooks and photos, which were published on the Internet along with the story.

In addition to his teaching career, Alford has written a book on race relations in the South, Prince Among Slaves. The award-winning book tells the story of Abdul Rahman, a prince from present-day Guinea who was enslaved in the American South in the 1700s.

Alford first discovered the story while attending Mississippi State University. This lead him on a lifelong journey that saw him wind up in Washington to further research the prince-turned-slave story. Alford discovered that Rahman was indeed the son of an African king. He went further and tracked down Rahman’s descendants.

Eventually he published Prince Among Slaves in 1977. It was recently rereleased by Oxford Press for a 30th anniversary edition. The book was also converted into a PBS documentary in 2008 and watched by over a million viewers.

Alford has also given back to NOVA in ways above and beyond what is required. He has taken time to mentor adjunct history professors and advise student groups. But perhaps one of the most memorable events of his service is driving a van full of faculty and students to Richmond during a snowstorm.

The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia grants the Outstanding Faculty Award to 12outstanding faculty members every year. Since its inception in 1986, this award has honored college faculty who contribute excellence in teaching, research and public service. On Feb. 18 the winners will receive both an engraved award and $5,000 underwritten by the Dominion Foundation.

By: Joshua Davis

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