MONDAY, SEPT. 9 – SUNDAY, SEPT. 15, 2013
BEST BETS
UA, BRYANT MUSEUM TO COMMEMORATE 100TH BIRTHDAY OF LEGENDARY COACH– Legendary coach Paul W. “Bear” Bryant would have celebrated his 100th birthday on Sept. 11, 2013. The University of Alabama and the Bryant Museum will commemorate that historic date with a variety of activities and events. Plans include new additions to the Bryant Museum’s section on the coach and a new book and a new documentary about Bryant’s life. As part of the commemoration, the Bryant Museum will be open free of charge Sept. 11 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. for the public to see the new exhibits. Copies of the book and DVDs of the documentary will be available for sale. A media availability with Ken Gaddy, director of the Bryant Museum, is set for 11 a.m., Tuesday, Sept. 10, at the Bryant Museum to preview the commemoration of Coach Bryant’s 100th birthday. Broadcast media contact: Shane Dorrill, 205/348-8319, sdorrill@ur.ua.edu; Print/online media contact: Cathy Andreen, 205/348-8322, candreen@ur.ua.edu
OPENING THE GRADUATE DOOR – UA’s Graduate School will host a symposium titled “Opening the (Graduate) Schoolhouse Door at UA,” from 9:45 to 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 12, in the Ferguson Center Theatre. The panel discussion, which will focus on national leadership in African American graduate education in the 21st century, features two early African American graduate students, including the first to earn a doctorate at UA, along with current students and several faculty members. The symposium is part of “Through the Doors,” a year-long series of activities and events commemorating the 50th anniversary of the desegregation of UA in 1963. For more information, visit http://www.throughthedoors.ua.edu/index.html. Contact: Richard LeComte, media relations, 205/348-3782, rllecomte@ur.ua.edu.
RESEARCHER’S NEW BOOK DELVES INTO WORLD OF FANTASY SPORTS – Dr. Andrew Billings, Ronald Reagan Endowed Chair of Broadcasting in the department of telecommunication and film, today released a new book he believes to be the ‘first true survey’ of fantasy sport leagues. Among his findings are that a large percentage of fantasy players intend to play until they die and that, though the number of female players is smaller, their level of commitment is the same as male players. Contact: Misty Mathews, 205/348-6416, mmathews@ua.edu; Dr. Andrew Billings, 864/650-8900, acbillings@ua.edu.
RESEARCHERS TO GAIN ACCESS TO CANARY ISLAND TELESCOPE – UA faculty and student astronomers are gaining remote access to a telescope on one of the Canary Islands, off Africa’s coast. Starting in 2015, UA astronomers may access the remotely operated 1.0-m Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope on the Spanish Canary Island of La Palma, which is off the coast of Morocco. Having access to a nighttime sky during daylight hours in Tuscaloosa opens more teaching opportunities during traditional class times and, in combination with UA’s access to telescopes in other regions, can enable researchers to track a single star uninterrupted for up to 18 hours. UA will acquire access to the telescope through its participation in an 11-member consortium known as the Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy. For more information, see this news release or contact Dr. William Keel, professor of astronomy in UA’s College of Arts and Sciences, at wkeel@as.ua.edu. For assistance, contact Chris Bryant in media relations, 205/348-8323 or cjbryant@ur.ua.edu
UA THEATER & DANCE SET TO START SEASON – Dr. Cornelius Carter speaks the same language as Nick Saban. To hear The University of Alabama’s premier dance professor talk, recruiting for his major is just like recruiting for the gridiron: Find the right talent – no matter where it is – coach hard, and train that talent to an unyielding standard. It’s a process that has brought UA’s Department of Theater and Dance to new heights as they begin their performance season. For more information, contact Bobby Mathews, UA media relations, at bwmathews1@ur.ua.edu or 205/348-4956.
NEW BOOK EXAMINES IMPORTANCE OF UA’S WILLIAMS COLLECTION—Americans don’t look back. We’ve always been a forward-facing nation. But if our fate is in the future, an understanding of our direction is in the past. That’s why the A.S. Williams III Americana Collection at UA’s Gorgas Library is so vital, a new book explains. For more information, contact Bobby Mathews, UA media relations, at bwmathews1@ur.ua.edu or 205/348-4956.
UA STUDY WITH TROUBLED YOUTH USES TECHNOLOGY, POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT – Dr. Randy Salekin, UA psychology professor, is channeling the power of positivity to counsel boys in the Department of Youth Services system. Salekin and a team of UA graduate students have developed a system that combines science education, technology, positive psychology, and positive reinforcement that has been more effective at reaching troubled youth at the facility than typical methods, like empathy training or strict discipline. Salekin and his team have had the positive interventions with more than 70 boys, ages 12 to 18, since the spring. The boys typically have conduct disorder or oppositional defiance, along with criminal or serious behavioral issues, Salekin said. The interventions, though, are impacting behavior, according to DYS staff members. The positive aspect to the message is “there’s something I can do about this,” said Salekin. “It gives them a tremendous amount of confidence. Their eyes are wide open at that point.” Salekin said positive psychology interventions are typically used with emotionally troubled adults, making his study with oppositional defiant youth the first of its kind. For more information, contact David Miller, media relations, 205/348-0825 or dcmiller2@ur.ua.edu.
UA ENGINEERING PROFESSOR GRANTED PATENT FOR CARBON-CAPTURE PROCESS – An innovative method for stripping greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide from industrial emissions is potentially cheaper and more efficient than current methods, according to a United States patent based on research by Dr. Jason E. Bara, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering at The University of Alabama. For more information, contact Adam Jones, UA engineering media relations, at acjones12@eng.ua.edu or 205/348-6444.
CURRENT COMMENT
HOW WILL PRESIDENT OBAMA TRY TO SELL HIS IDEA OF LIMITED AIR STRIKES ON SYRIA TO CONGRESS AND THE AMERICAN PEOPLE? – “President Obama is likely to stress the long-standing international norm against the use of chemical weapons. These types of weapons are viewed as abhorrent because they are relatively indiscriminate in whom they injure (soldiers, civilians, women, children) and because of the suffering they cause. The President is likely to also stress that that U.S. is the only country capable of enforcing this norm. If we don’t react strongly to Assad’s use of chemical weapons, their use will become more common in the future.” –Dr. Joseph Smith, UA assistant professor of political science. Contact Smith directly at josmith@as.ua.edu, or for assistance contact Bobby Mathews, UA media relations, at bwmathews1@ur.ua.edu, 205/348-4956.
WHAT IF 9/11 HAPPENED TODAY? – As the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack approaches, Dr. Wilson Lowrey, journalism professor, says the aftermath may have been vastly different if this had happened in 2013 because of the rise in popularity of social media. While more information would have been available to the generally public more quickly, Lowrey said it would have taken longer to disseminate accurate information about the event. “TV news was the most heavily relied on media during the initial aftermath of 9/11, but it took some time for these journalists to get on top of the story and reach a coherent narrative,” Lowrey said. “In an age of social media, coverage of a disaster like 9/11 would be much less coherent for a longer period of time, and the rumor mill would likely hit its highest gear, particularly given the rapid spread of horrifying images and video. Coverage would likely be more fragmented and partisan as well. While the person-to-person spread of news was highly prevalent after 9/11, social media would move this kind of communication to the forefront, and this would drive the coverage more strongly.” Contact Lowrey directly at 205/348-8608 or wlowrey@ua.edu, or for assistance contact Misty Mathews, UA media relations, 205/348-6416, mmathews@ua.edu.
EVENTS
GRADUATE SCHOOL PREVIEW DAY – UA’s Graduate School will host Graduate School Preview Day at 3 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12, in the Ferguson Student Center on campus. Representatives from graduate programs offered at UA will answer questions about graduate study in their colleges. UA faculty will present an opening session, “The Benefits of Investing in a Graduate Education,” at 3 p.m. in the Ferguson Theatre. From 4:15 to 5 p.m,, students will meet assistant and associate deans and graduate program directors and discuss UA’s graduate degrees. Contact: Blake Bedsole, director of graduate recruitment, bbedsole@ua.edu or 205/348-7863.