Dr. Lilian Mina
In the heart of our southern urban city sprawls UAB, a stunningly diverse and vibrantly active community. It is just as beautiful on the inside as it is on the out (yes, we shamelessly gloat over every new gorgeous building). But inside these buildings, whether shiny-new or familiar with age, there are over 2,000 first time freshman, each of whom will walk through the doors of an English composition class.
Ensuring they are taught from the best curriculum, with access to the latest technology, by the most skilled instructors—well, that is the job of Dr. Lilian Mina.
This summer, Dr. Mina joined the Department of English as Associate Professor and Director of Freshman English. She is a multilingual specialist, a gifted communicator, experienced professor, and an administrative wizard. In other words, she is another reason our campus is beautiful.
Mina is an immigrant from Egypt and the first of her family to attend and graduate from a university. She did not start her teaching career with the intention of getting a PhD in Rhetoric and Composition and becoming a professor. But after earning the highest degree available at the American University in Cairo, an institution that was established in 1919, her professors and mentors pushed her to apply to PhD programs in America because they wanted her research to continue.
Mina earned her PhD in four years at Indiana University of Pennsylvania where she investigated writing teachers’ use of technology in freshman composition classes. Through her research and professional development, Mina unlocked a deep passion for administration.
“In administration work, you have to look at the big picture; it’s like looking at the trees and the forest at the same time which isn’t easy. You have to look the curriculum, policies, teachers and their professional development all so that students in 101 and 102 composition courses receive parallel instruction because that is fairness and equity.”
Using her administrative capacity and passion, Mina has been heavily involved with the Council of Writing Program Administrators (CWPA). Having served on the executive board, Mina was elected Vice President in 2021 and will succeed as President of the CWPA in 2023, becoming the first immigrant, multilingual, BIPOC to serve in these roles.
As president elect, she is in charge of their 2023 summer conference, the first in-person conference since 2019. The theme for the conference is “social justice on the ground.”
In her new role at UAB, Mina’s vision for freshman composition centers on relevancy, current technology, and social justice.
“Composition is a required course, but it is not an isolated course from what they are going to do for the rest of their academic work or their life outside of school,” explained Mina. “We can do multimodal work and write on topics that we are passionate about. I want them to develop a metacognition around writing that they can take to other contexts.”
The English department at UAB is a place of intense support and kindness, so the advocacy that Mina brings for instructors and students is a well-received and embraced effort.
“There is so much support in this department; I’ve never seen anything like it,” Mina said after describing her first four months at UAB. “Here, leadership means an extra mile walked.”
Starting in the spring, freshmen will experience composition classes that connect them with the city of Birmingham and with concepts related to social justice issues.
Full-time and part-time instructors will have opportunities for professional development because of the leadership Mina is providing.
Currently, Mina is under contract for a book that will have two focal points: professional development of writing faculty and teaching writing with technology.
When she is not researching and advocating for students, Mina can be found cooking up a storm in her kitchen. While she cooks Egyptian food regularly, she enjoys experimenting with a variety of cuisines like Indian, Italian, and Mexican.