Activist: We haven’t done enough to curb smoking
Tuscaloosa News – Jan. 9
A University of Alabama professor and anti-smoking activist is marking the 50th anniversary of a 1964 Surgeon General’s report on the hazards of smoking with a new documentary meant to celebrate the landmark report but also to serve as a sobering reminder of the country’s inability to overcome its greatest preventable public health challenge. “The fact is we could have done so much better,” said Dr. Alan Blum, the Gerald Leon Wallace MD Endowed Chair in Family Medicine at the College of Community Health Sciences and director of UA’s Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society. The Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society is home to Blum’s collection of thousands of items related to the tobacco industry and anti-smoking movement. “Blowing Smoke: The Lost Legacy of the Surgeon General’s Report,” co-produced by Blum, his son Samuel Blum and UA alumnus Jake Buettner, was posted online for public viewing on Wednesday.
Harbert and Manderson both among top for online graduate business programs
Birmingham Business Journal – Jan. 9
Two business schools in Alabama ranked in the top 20 in the nation for online graduate business programs. The Harbert College of Business at Auburn University and the Manderson Graduate School of Business at the University of Alabama are tied for No. 12 on U.S. News and World Report’s latest rankings. “These are the best online master’s in business degree programs, based on factors such as level of accreditation, reputation for excellence among peer institutions, and academic and career support services offered to students,” the reports says.
Al.com – Jan. 9
Heliotrope Arts’ first solo project ‘Tuscaloosa: Summer of 1914’ hungry for talent
Tuscaloosa News – Jan. 9
Heliotrope Arts, a company debuting soon in Tuscaloosa, plans to be new in more than just chronology. “So much of art nowadays is re-creation, rather than creation,” said founder Michael Gimenez. “I’m more interested in new things, things you simply cannot get anywhere else. “Like so many others involved in the art of theater and music, I’m not interested in doing ‘The Sound of Music’ or ‘West Side Story.’ They’re wonderful, they’re great shows, but I’m interested in doing new shows, writing something around the talent you have.” Gimenez, who works as pianist for Calvary Baptist Church and as accompanist for various artists and arts groups around town, is finishing his master’s in music composition at the University of Alabama. He’s also writing a musical, “Da Vinci,” that he hopes will be Heliotrope Arts’ first solo project. But to get things started, he’s co- creating a dinner theater performance as a fund-raiser. It’s titled “Tuscaloosa: Summer of 1914” with the Prentice Concert Chorale, to be performed March 14-16. Auditions will be held Saturday, 10 a.m.-noon and 5:30-7 p.m. Monday, in the choir room of First United Methodist Church, downtown Tuscaloosa.
LOCAL Q&A 1/10: Book artist and printer Jessica Peterson
Tuscaloosa News – Jan. 9
This week, meet book artist and printer Jessica Peterson, who introduces herself far better than I could … When I was younger, I decided to experience as much as possible, not knowing that this commitment was going to lead me down some unusual roads by the time I got to my late 30s. I’m a book artist, printer and citizen of the world. I operate The Southern Letterpress, a letterpress printshop in historic downtown Northport. I print artwork, books, invitations, announcements, stationery. I also teach printing and book arts at The University of Alabama. I got involved with typography because of deep interest in reading. Typography is a key component to reading: how letters and words look to the human eye. Letterpress printing, to me, is the highest form of typography.