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MONDAY, JUNE 10 – SUNDAY, JUNE 16, 2013

BEST BETS

PUBLIC EVENT PLANNED TO COMMEMORATE 50^TH ANNIVERSARY OF STAND IN THE SCHOOLHOUSE DOOR – Fifty years after the first two African-American students enrolled at The University of Alabama following then Gov. George Wallace’s unsuccessful “Stand in the Schoolhouse Door,” UA is commemorating that historic day and celebrating 50 years of progress. On Tuesday, June 11, UA will host “Through the Doors: Courage. Change. Progress.” The event will begin with a 5:30 p.m. reception in the Malone-Hood Plaza followed by the 6 p.m. program in Foster Auditorium. Designed to recognize and honor the courage and dedication of Vivian Malone and James Hood, the two African-American students who enrolled at UA on June 11, 1963 and recognize UA’s ongoing commitment to change over the past 50 years and its commitment to continued progress in the future, the program will include presentations by current UA students and alumni as well as musical performances. For more information, visit http://uanews.ua.edu/2013/05/ua-to-commemorate-50th-anniversary-of-the-stand-in-the-schoolhouse-door/. Print/online media contacts: Cathy Andreen, candreen@ur.ua.edu, 205/348-8322; Chris Bryant, cbryant@ur.ua.edu, 205/348-8323. Broadcast media contacts: Shane Dorrill, sdorrill@ur.ua.edu, 205/348-8319; Bill McDaniel, bmcdaniel@ur.ua.edu, 205/348-8327.

CIVIL RIGHTS PHOTOS ON DISPLAY AT BRYANT CONFERENCE CENTER – More than 20 photographs depicting the civil rights movement, including many never publicly viewed before, will be displayed through Friday, June 14, at UA’s Bryant Conference Center. The free exhibit, compiled from the archives of The Birmingham News, is sponsored by the UA College of Continuing Studies, The Birmingham News and AL.com. The exhibit will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Contact: Tiffany Blount, College of Continuing Studies, 205/348-8590 or tblount@ccs.ua.edu

BOYS STATE, GIRLS STATE CONTINUES — More than 1,000 Alabama high-school seniors will try their hands at politics and community service from Sunday, June 9, to Saturday, June 15, during the 2013 American Legion Alabama Boys State and American Legion Auxiliary Alabama Girls State conventions on the UA campus. Alabama Boys State and Girls State are leadership and government training programs. They are among the highest honors granted to high-school senior boys and girls. Students from around the state are chosen based on their demonstration of leadership, hard work, strong morals and motivation in school and community activities. In a partnership with the city of Tuscaloosa and the Tuscaloosa Parks and Recreation Authority, Boys State participants will work in shifts to build a splash pad at Palmore Park in Tuscaloosa. The work begins at 2:45 p.m. Monday, June 10, and continues through Thursday, June 13. For more details, contact Richard LeComte, UA media relations, 205/348-3782, rllecomte@ur.ua.edu.

‘ALCESTIS ASCENDING’ – Seth Panitch, associate professor of theatre at UA, will take his play “Alcestis Ascending” on the road this summer to New York City, Havana and Alabama as part of his participation in creative research with the actors and dancers from UA and the Cuban El Instituto Superior de Arte .The exercise in creative research is part of UA’s College of Arts and Sciences Alabama-Cuba Initiative. “Alcestis Ascending” will be performed at the Harold Clurman Theatre on Theatre Row in New York City from Tuesday, July 9, to Sunday, July 21. Thereafter, the play will run for two weeks in Havana for the grand opening of the Raquel Revuelta Theatre. In addition, the play will preview at 7:30 p.m. Monday, July 1, through Friday, July 5, at the Allen Bales Theatre on the UA campus. For more details, contact Panitch, spanitch@ua.edu, 205/348-3845.

UA RESEARCHERS AGAIN STUDYING TORNADO DAMAGE – UA is the lead on a research grant to study the damage left by the tornado that struck Moore, Okla., May 20. Hit by strong tornadoes before, the recent tragic tornado provides an important research opportunity to document any advancement in building practice of wood-frame homes in tornado-prone areas. Researchers from several different institutions traveled to Moore at the end of May to inspect the damage as part of the National Science Foundation Rapid Response Grant for Exploratory Research. For more information, contact Adam Jones, UA media relations, 205/348-6444 or acjones12@eng.ua.edu; or Dr. Andrew Graettinger, associate professor in civil, construction and environmental engineering, at 205/348-1707 or andrewg@eng.ua.edu.

CAMPS AND ACTIVITIES

School’s out for the summer, but camps and educational opportunities for children, teens and even their teachers are definitely in at UA:

MIDDLE SCHOOLERS LEARN IMPORTANCE OF MONEY AT CAMP CASH – Middle school students will see just how much money matters during UA’s Camp Cash June 10-14. Hosted by UA’s College of Human Environmental Sciences, the one-week camp explores a variety of topics, including financial goal setting, budgeting, credit use, investing, insurance, wealth accumulation and career planning. In addition to interactive activities and games, students will tour different areas of campus such as Bryant Denny Stadium, the Supe Store and RBC Bank. Contact: Kim Eaton, UA media relations, 205/348-8325 or kkeaton@ur.ua.edu, or Jan Brakefield, 205/348-8722 or jbrakefi@ches.ua.edu

UA TO HOST CREATIVE WRITING CAMP FOR HIGH SCHOOLERS – The University of Alabama will sponsor the summer 2013 Creative Writing Camp for local high school students – rising freshmen through graduating seniors – through June 14. The camp will meet from 1 to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday in 301 Morgan Hall on the UA campus. No previous creative writing experience is required. The instructors will be published writers who are graduate students in UA’s Master of Fine Arts program. They will lead a two-week exploration of creative writing under the direction of Robin Behn, professor of English. Students will experiment with different forms of writing, including fiction, nonfiction and poetry, give a public reading and create their own publication. Tuition is free and free parking is also available. To register, send an e-mail with the student’s name, address, phone number, e-mail address, school and grade level to Ashley Chambers, camp director, at uacreativewritingclub@gmail.com. For more information, visit www.bama.ua.edu/~cwc/ or contact Chambers.

RURAL HEALTH SCHOLARS PROGRAM ENCOURAGES HIGH SCHOOLERS – Twenty-five rising high school seniors from rural communities across the state are learning what it takes to be a physician in a rural area during the UA College of Community Health Sciences Rural Health Scholars Program. The five-week camp, which runs through June 27, features seminars, college courses, field trips to rural clinics and hospitals, tours of various facilities and more. The program’s goal is to inspire students with an interest in medical school to pursue that dream and then return to their communities to practice. Contact: Kim Eaton, UA media relations, 205/348-8325 or kkeaton@ur.ua.edu.

GIFTED STUDENTS TO TAKE PART IN UNIQUE WORKSHOPS – UA’s annual Summer Enrichment Workshop begins Monday, June 10 at Matthews Elementary with 160 children who’ve recently completed grades K-8 – mostly from Tuscaloosa and Tuscaloosa County – taking part in a wide array of classes aimed to enhance critical thinking and problem solving skills. Students will dissect insects, recreate the causes of the Titanic disaster, record and predict weather patterns, and take part in dozens of other classes for an hour and 45 minutes each day until June 28. “We teach the mechanics of critical thought,” said Dr. Kevin Besnoy, assistant director of SEW and assistant professor of gifted education. “The kids all have high intellectual capabilities, but we teach them how to be critical consumers of information. We prepare them for the future by teaching them to come up with novel solutions, then disseminate that info as to how they suggest solving those problems.” For more information, contact David Miller, UA media relations, at 205/348-0825 or dcmiller2@ur.ua.edu.

SUMMERTIDE THEATRE – SummerTide Theatre, the professional summer theatre of UA, will present “Jubilee – Songs of and about Alabama” from Friday, May 31, through Friday, June 28, at the George C. Meyer Performing Arts Center, 2022 W. Second Street in Gulf Shores. The production marks the 10th anniversary of the SummerTide theatre program. Paying homage to the musical heritage of Alabama, “Jubilee” compiles songs ranging from blues and country to rock and gospel. Performances are at 8 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Tickets are available at SummerTide.org or by calling the UA box office at 205/348-3400. Tickets prices are $20 for adults and $15 for children younger than 12.