UA Preview

MONDAY, JUNE 24  – SUNDAY, JUNE 30, 2013

BEST BETS

RUBBING SHOULDERS WITH NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS — Two UA chemistry graduate students will depart later this week for a trip to Germany where they will congregate with the world’s top science minds at the 63rd Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting. More than 600 young researchers from nearly 80 countries will be part of this special convention. UA’s two College of Arts and Sciences’ students selected for attendance are Steven Kelley, a native of Olive Branch, Miss., and Michele Stover, a native of Moselle, Miss. For more information on the students, who are accessible by phone before Thursday, and the program, see this link. Contact the students directly: Steven Kelley, 662/418-7613, spkelley@crimson.ua.edu; Michele Stover, 205/348-4906, mstover1@crimson.ua.edu. For assistance, contact Chris Bryant, UA media relations, 205/348-8323, cbryant@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 at spanitch@ua.edu or 205/348-3845.

REACHING OUT – A select group of high-school students who are living in foster care, have been emancipated recently or are wards of the state will have the opportunity to participate in a pre-collegiate summer program at UA through the nsoro Foundation of Atlanta. More than 40 high school students will attend a series of college preparation workshops and other activities on campus through Friday, June 28. The program is a partnership of UA’s Foster Child Initiative, known as Alabama Reach. With support from the nsoro Foundation, UA faculty, staff members and volunteers, the high-school students will learn about the college experience and will receive personal, financial and educational support. Dr. Ronald L. Carter, president of Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, N.C., will be the keynote speaker during the program’s graduation ceremony at noon Friday, June 28, in Gorgas Library room 205. Carter has been a foster parent to four children. Contact: Richard LeComte, UA media relations, rllecomte@ur.ua.edu, 205/348-3782, or Jameka Hartley, Alabama Reach coordinator, jyhartley@aalan.ua.edu, 205/348-5819.

CURRENT COMMENT

UA CHILD-CARE EXPERT OFFERS KINDERGARTEN PREPARATION GUIDANCE – The first day of kindergarten can provoke feelings of anxiety and fear in both children and their parents, but there are numerous ways to help make the transition one of excitement and joy rather than trepidation. Children might feel anxious about moving on to kindergarten because they are worried they will not know anyone, they might not like their teacher, they might get lost in a new building or they will not know how to do the work. One University of Alabama child-care professional offers suggestions on how to ease that anxiety for both children and their parents. Contact: Kim Eaton, UA media relations, 205/348-8325 or kkeaton@ur.ua.edu, Robin Hollingsworth, director of the Child Development Research Center’s children’s program at UA, 205/348-0589, rhollingsworth@ches.ua.edu, or Kelly Avery, curriculum specialist with the Children’s Program, 205/348-8964, kavery@ches.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:

GIFTED STUDENTS TO TAKE PART IN UNIQUE WORKSHOPS – UA’s annual Summer Enrichment Workshop continues through June 28 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. “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.

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.

EVENTS

UA TO HOST LECTURE, BROWN BAG LUNCH — The UA School of Social Work will host an informational brown bag lunch with Dr. Harold Kudler, clinical lead of the Rural Health Program Mid-Atlantic Veterans Integrated Service Network,  at noon, Thursday, June 27 in room 104 of Little Hall on the UA campus. Kudler, who is also an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University School of Medicine, will talk about the mental health needs of rural veterans. For more information, contact David Miller at dcmiller2@ur.ua.edu.