Events honoring civil rights leaders continue this week
Tuscaloosa News – March 11
Several events open this week as part of the University of Alabama’s ongoing Through the Doors commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Stand in the Schoolhouse Door, marking the desegregation of UA in June 1963. Retired Professor Archie Wade, who served 30 years in the kinesiology department, will be honored in a ceremony at Graves Hall from 4-5 p.m. Tuesday. Wade, a Tuscaloosa native, was one of UA’s first black faculty members. He also coached basketball and baseball at his alma mater Stillman College, played minor-league baseball for Sparky Anderson, earned his master’s at West Virginia University and his doctorate at UA, where he helped recruit black players for Coach Paul W. “Bear” Bryant. A plaque honoring his service will be placed in the conference room of Moore Hall, where Wade taught. An hour after that and also in Graves Hall, Joy Lawson Davis, director of the Center for Gifted Education at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, will deliver the 22nd James P. Curtis Lecture, in Graves’ Woods-McDonald Auditorium. The diversity symposium “Discerning Diverse Voices” begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday with a screening of the 1963 film “Crisis: Behind a Presidential Decision,” centered on President John F. Kennedy sending federal troops to UA to deal with former Alabama Gov. George Wallace and his segregationist stand. A discussion will follow.
Concrete canoe team to compete regionally in Miami
Crimson White – March 11
In the corner of a dusty workshop at Hardaway Hall is a child’s dream come true. “This is probably going to be some kid’s dollhouse eventually,” Josh Morrison says about the brick castle front, complete with a moat and “BAMA” in red letters. First, though, the student chapter of American Society of Civil Engineers is taking the display and its accompanying concrete canoe to the ASCE Southeast Student Conference, where Alabama hopes once again to be crowned in Miami. Morrison is a co-captain in the inter-disciplinary team of engineers who are competing in the “concrete canoe” event. “We built a concrete boat, and all these schools get together and we race them,” captain Steven Burroughs said. “It looks really good on a job application. It’s fun, and you learn a lot.” The canoe, made of a concrete mix unique to the team, will participate in five races and be presented and judged at the conference on Friday and Saturday. “We’re hoping to be in the top three, because if you place in the top three you win $1,500,” Morrison said. “If we get that, next year’s team will have more money.” Alabama has placed in the top 10 and five in the past, and this year saw an increase in efficiency, resources and members.
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – March 8
Astronomy, physics department to host public night March 15
Crimson White – March 11
William Keel has spent several years listening for the gasp – the sound a 6-year-old makes as he sees Saturn with his own wide eyes. When Keel hears this sound, he knows a young boy’s textbook-limited ideas about the cosmos have just transformed. “I think one thing that people may not realize is there is really nothing like seeing it with your own eyes, no matter how much you think that Saturn is a picture we have stuck inside of a telescope,” Keel, a UA astronomy professor, said. “I think it’s criminal that people don’t pay attention to most of the universe around them. We want to encourage that. It’s well worth doing.” The department’s public nights series was designed specifically for that endeavor. Once a month in the fall and spring semesters, the University’s department of physics and astronomy opens its telescopes to area enthusiasts who wish to get a closer view of the night sky. To escape the bright campus lighting, the astronomy department will move the location of the March 15 event from Gallalee Hall to Moundville Archaeological Park.
UA to host town hall on mental health on Tuesday
Tuscaloosa News – March 11
The University of Alabama will host a town hall on mental health next week. At 6 p.m. Tuesday in Room 227 at Gallalee Hall, the town hall on mental health will feature Jim Reddoch, commissioner of the Alabama Department of Mental Health, and Clayton Shealy, director of UA’s psychology clinic. The theme of the town hall is “Mentally Ill Patients: Who They Are; Where Did They Go: and Why Do I Care?” … The town halls, sponsored by UA’s Honors College, are free and open to the public.
Son to discuss world-famous ‘HeLa’ cells at free UA event
Tuscaloosa News – March 8
David “Sonny” Lacks, the son of the woman from whom the world-famous “HeLa” cells were drawn, will speak Tuesday at the University of Alabama. In 1951, researchers drew cancerous cells from then 30-year-old tobacco farmer Henrietta Lacks, and the cells became the first immortal human cells ever grown in a culture. The cells were later used to develop the polio vaccine, went up in space missions and have been used in cloning, in-vitro fertilization and gene mapping. But the source of the cells was kept quiet for almost 30 years, until the source became public in 1970. Henrietta Lacks and what happened with her cells became the subject of Rebecca Skloot’s best-seller, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.” David Lacks will discuss what it meant to find out — decades after the fact — that his mother’s cells are being used in laboratories around the world. The book also looks into the effect the cells’ fame has had on Lacks’ surviving family, including David Lacks. This semester, UA Honors College students and faculty are studying Skloot’s book as part of an Honors Exploration book club.
Southern lifestyle expert to speak at UA
Tuscaloosa News – March 9
Southern lifestyle expert Rebecca Gordon will speak at 7 p.m. March 19 at the Lloyd Hall auditorium on the University of Alabama campus. Gordon is a contributing editor at Southern Living magazine and is a former test kitchen director for the magazine. She has created her own “lifestyle brand,” focusing on tailgating. Her work has been featured in the books “The Half Hour Hostess” and “The Official SEC Tailgating Cookbook.” Gordon is a graduate of UA and Johnson and Wales University in Charleston, S.C. The public is invited to the free event, which is sponsored by UA’s Meeting Professional International Club.
Arts education expert will speak, lead roundtable
Tuscaloosa News – March 9
An internationally known expert on arts education will speak at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Tuscaloosa River Market, 1900 Jack Warner Parkway. Marc Bamuthi Joseph, the director of performing arts at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, will discuss the role of artists, patrons and audiences in sustaining American culture…The program will also feature a special step performance by the Lambda Zeta Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta. The event is sponsored by the Unversity of Alabama’s Creative Campus and is free and open to the public. Joseph will also lead a community roundtable on “The Creative Eco-System” at 4:30 p.m. Monday at the Allen Bales Theater on the University of Alabama campus.
WRC to host women in film series
Crimson White – March 11
The Women’s Resource Center will shed light on women in the film industry by sponsoring Lunafest, a national traveling film festival “by, for and about women” at Monday’s screening at 7 p.m. at the Bama Theatre. All proceeds from the event will go toward the WRC to continue free counseling and leadership classes for UA students, faculty and staff. “It’s really important for us to have events like Lunafest because we are a grant-funded organization,” Tiara Dees, public relations coordinator for the WRC, said. “We depend on grants to keep our services so we are able to provide counseling for victims of sexual assault and sexual violence.” The University of Alabama is the only site in Alabama to host Lunafest. “Lunafest started here in 2006, and it’s been a large fundraiser for the WRC,” Puneet Gill, film festival coordinator, said…The film festival will feature nine films, which are five to seven minutes long and are written and created for women and by women to highlight women-centered issues and bring together communities through fundraising.
World-renowned performer to speak on creativity
Crimson White – March 11
World-renowned artist Marc Bamuthi Joseph will bring creative discussion and inspiration to The University of Alabama Monday, March 11, and Tuesday, March 12. Joseph will be speaking at a number of events over the two days on creativity and collaboration in the Tuscaloosa community. “[Joseph] is a world-renowned performer,” said Rachel Raimist, assistant director of Creative Campus and assistant professor of media production. “He has been featured on TV, has won top awards for performers in the country and has performed at the White House. The fact that he is coming to speak in Tuscaloosa is an amazing opportunity for students.” Joseph is currently the director of performing arts at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, Calif., and has won numerous awards. He has also been named one of America’s Top Young Innovators in the Arts and Sciences and has appeared on the cover of Smithsonian Magazine. Events will begin Monday afternoon with a Community Roundtable at 4:30 p.m. in the Allen Bales Theatre and will continue through Tuesday evening. Tuesday’s events include a Writing Workshop with students at 9:30 a.m. and a pedagogy discussion at 3:30 p.m. Both events will be held in 300 Mortar Board Room in the Ferguson Center. In conclusion, Joseph will give a keynote presentation at 7 p.m. at the Tuscaloosa River Market, which will feature a step performance by Delta Sigma Theta.
Bama men win opening round game at Lakeshore’s National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament
Al.com – March 8
The second seeded University of Alabama men’s wheelchair basketball team started out strong in the National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament with a 59-31 win over Southwest Minnesota State Thursday afternoon…
Bob Davis: Illiteracy a drag on Alabama
Anniston Star – March 10
To je ono öto je ûelio pomo?i vaöe dijete u?initi doma?u zada?u ili pro?itali upute na lijek ako ste jedan od procijenjenih 1.000.000 Alabama odraslih koji je funkcionalno nepismeno. Allow me to repeat myself, this time in English instead of Croatian: This is what it’s like to help your kid do his homework or read the instructions on prescription medicine if you are one of the estimated 1 million Alabama adults who is functionally illiterate. (Hat tip to Google Translate.) This is a serious problem for Alabama, one that anti-illiteracy advocate Bruce K. Berger calls “obscene.” So, our leaders in Montgomery must be up nights pacing the floor, right? Well, not so much. It seems something always takes precedence over fighting this problem that has implications for our economic development, crime rates, employment picture and quality of life. It’s always something … well, something other than directly addressing a problem that affects between 1-in-4 and 1-in-6 Alabama residents who have problems reading. (By comparison, the number of illegal immigrants is estimated to be approximately 1-in-40 Alabama residents.) Dr. Berger, an advertising and public relations professor at the University of Alabama, is passionate about fighting illiteracy in the state. In his 2012 book In Our Dreams We Read, Berger wrote, “There’s room for you to work with another brother or sister, an adult or child, who wants to learn to read to unlock the mysteries and opportunities of words and to create a brighter and more fulfilling tomorrow.” He is at the forefront of a major effort in West Alabama to fight functional illiteracy. The Literacy Council of West Alabama links functionally illiterate adults with programs that teach them to read in Bibb, Fayette, Greene, Hale, Lamar, Perry, Pickens, Sumter and Tuscaloosa counties. Based on the Tuscaloosa campus, Literacy is the Edge, another project led by Berger, recruits UA students to volunteer time teaching someone to read.
GUEST COLUMNIST: Work is a hot topic that goes back to ancient times
Tuscaloosa News – March 8
Sunday might be a day of rest and worship for Christians, but the Sunday I’m referring to is a man not a day. His name is Domingo, which is Sunday in English. Domingo is a gardener who works for us on the weekends when not working for a gardening and yard company. Domingo likes to work. He usually arrives around 6 a.m. and works until 4 p.m. That’s 10 hours for the math challenged. He doesn’t take breaks, although I supply him with money and force him to go get breakfast and lunch, and give him hot coffee from my pot in my warm kitchen on cold mornings. Work for Domingo is a necessity and a privilege. So we get along pretty well because I feel the same way. Besides, we both speak Spanish and so communicate on that level as well. He goes to a small Spanish-speaking Pentecostal church on Saturday evenings, so we have that in common, too, although I go to a church on Sundays that is English-speaking. I also happen to be working on a book on what the Bible has to say about work and wealth, and while taking a look at this subject, Domingo popped into our lives. (Larry Clayton is a professor of history at the University of Alabama.)
Gadsden Times – March 10
Business Buzz
Tuscaloosa News – March 10
J.J. “Lonnie” Strickland III of Tuscaloosa has been elected a director of United Security Bancshares Inc. and its subsidiary, First United Security Bank. He will serve on the parent company’s audit committee and on the bank’s asset/liability committee. Strickland is a John R. Miller Professor of Strategic Management at the University of Alabama’s Graduate School of Business and has been a member of the UA faculty since 1969.
Boy’s disorder only case of its kind
The Tennessean – March 8
Hunt Hollis is a typical 3-year-old, aside from the fact that the curly-blond-haired, blue-eyed little boy who loves music and toy trains suffers from an extraordinary disease for which there is no cure. His family’s battle with his rare form of mitochondrial disease is the focus of a new documentary titled “Not a Statistic,” premiering at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Franklin Theatre. “If you saw Hunt, you wouldn’t know anything was wrong,” his mother, Ellen Hollis, said. “He’s small for his age, and his speech is delayed,” she said, but “he has a great spirit. He’s a super-sweet, playful, typical 3-year-old.” Hunt was diagnosed with mitochondrial disease when he was 16 months old. The disease is a genetic disorder that occurs when the mitochondria of the cell fails to produce enough energy for the cell to function … When Shelby Hadden of Franklin, a senior telecommunication and film student at the University of Alabama, received an assignment to do a treatment for a documentary, she knew immediately she wanted to tell the Hollises’ story. After pitching the idea to her professor, he urged Hadden to proceed with the documentary. She began filming last May and continued through June. She filmed 37 hours of the Brentwood family for the 36-minute documentary. She said she wanted the documentary to bring awareness to mitochondrial disease and show the struggles caregivers face on a daily basis.
Law Professor Takes Colleges’ Side in Facing Off Against NCAA
Chronicle of Higher Education – March 11
His cellphone buzzes, one of 11 calls he will field over the next few hours, as sportswriters around the country look to make sense of the latest NCAA fiasco. “Five-oh-two,” he says, staring at his phone screen. “Where’s 502?” If you aren’t in Gene Marsh’s address book, chances are you will be soon. The retired law professor at the University of Alabama, who spent much of the past three decades teaching the tedious details of contracts and transactions, has reinvented himself as a go-to resource for colleges and coaches accused of NCAA violations.Tamika Moore for The ChronicleMr. Marsh stands on the dock of his lakeside home. Since his retirement from the U. of Alabama, he has handled several high-profile NCAA cases from his home office.A former faculty athletics representative here, Mr. Marsh defended the university in two contentious NCAA disputes. He later served nine years on the NCAA’s Division I Committee on Infractions, helping to adjudicate some of college sports’ biggest messes. Four years ago he went into private practice, taking a seat on the other side of the table. Since then he and a colleague, William King, have helped establish one of the country’s fastest-growing college-sports practices, at Lightfoot, Franklin & White LLC, a Birmingham, Ala., firm.
Moundville Knap-in (gallery)
Tuscaloosa News – March 10
Makasha Matotoyela, 9, left, uses a atlatl to throw a dart as volunteer Randy Smith assists at the Moundville Archeological Park Friday, Mar. 8, 2013. The 13th Moundville Knap In was held Friday and today (Saturday) from 9am to 5pm with only admission to the park being collected. The Knap In features craftsmen demonstrating Native American techniques for chipping stone into tools as well as ancient arts and crafts making, hunting techniques and music.
UA Panhellenic Easter egg hunt (gallery)
Tuscaloosa News – March 10
Children and their parents wait in line to have photographs made with the Easter Bunny during the University of Alabama Panhellenic Association’s annual Easter Egg Hunt took place at the President’s Mansion on Sunday, Mar. 10, 2013.
UA students sponsor dance marathon to benefit children’s hospital
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – March 8
Today marks the second annual University of Alabama dance marathon, a fundraiser benefiting the Children’s Hospital network. More than 60 students registered to be a part of the eight hour dance-a-thon.