MONDAY, APRIL 14 – SUNDAY, APRIL 20, 2014
BEST BETS
HUNDREDS OF STUDENT RESEARCHERS TO DISPLAY, DISCUSS FINDINGS – Some 600 students from across campus will present research findings April 17, during UA’s annual Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Conference at the Bryant Conference Center. A record number of students registered this year for the event. It begins with poster presentations within the conference center’s Sellers Auditorium at 8 a.m. and ends about 6 p.m. Oral presentations will be made throughout the day in various rooms at the Bryant Conference Center. Students compete for cash prizes and earn experience presenting or defending their research projects before judges in both the poster and oral presentation categories. Throughout the research efforts leading up to the conference, students are paired with faculty mentors. Contact Chris Bryant. UA Media Relations, 205/348-8323, cbryant@ur.ua.edu.
FROM CROWDSOURCING TO MARKETING WITH SOCIAL MEDIA, INNOVATION DAY OFFERS INSIGHT– Business owners, managers, entrepreneurs and others looking for tips on crowdsourcing and using social media for marketing are invited to attend UA’s Innovation Day, Wednesday, April 16, in the Bryant Conference Center. The event, which begins at 9 a.m. in the conference center’s Rast Room and is hosted by UA’s Office for Technology Transfer, will also showcase multiple University of Alabama start-up companies. Featured speakers are Dr. Craig Armstrong and Susan Fant. Armstrong, a UA associate professor of management in UA’s Culverhouse College of Commerce with expertise in entrepreneurship, will present “How to Fund Your Idea Through Crowdfunding,” beginning at 11 a.m. Following lunch, Fant, president of Castle Sands LLC, a marketing firm for website and social media development, will present “Social Media Marketing for Your Business,” beginning at 1 p.m. Sandwiched around the speakers are guest panelist discussions and brief presentations by student and alumni entrepreneurs highlighting UA start-up companies and technologies. Contact Chris Bryant, UA Media Relations, 205/348-8323, cbryant@ur.ua.edu.
UA PROF DETAILS HOW CHEMICAL DUMPING AFFECTS ANNISTON – The Monsanto Co. held its cards close to the vest, refusing to publicly acknowledge the damage its PCB pollution was doing in Anniston, even though internal memos revealed the company knew about the dangers of its chemical dumping since the 1960s. Now a University of Alabama researcher has written a book that sheds new light on a pollution scandal that resulted in a $700 million legal settlement and—according to the EPA—still affects the bucolic southern city today. Dr. Ellen Griffith Spears’ new book, “Baptized in PCBs: Race, Pollution and Justice in an All-American Town,” looks at a more than 140-year period in Anniston, and it traces how a combination of chemicals, money and people transformed the city into “one of the most toxic towns in the United States,” according to a 2002 60 Minutes report. For more information, contact Bobby Mathews in media relations, 205/348-4956 or bwmathews1@ur.ua.edu.
UA EXPERT TIPS
UA MATTERS: BASIC GUIDELINES FOR RETIREMENT PLANNING – While calendar year 2013 is already behind us, the April 15 deadline to file personal income tax returns marks the final day to make qualifying 2013 contributions to an individual retirement account, or IRA. This can be a good time to consider your tax situation while planning for your future. The University of Alabama’s Dr. Shane Stinson, assistant professor of accounting in the Culverhouse School of Accountancy, offers some basic guidelines when considering two popular retirement planning options: traditional and Roth IRAs, http://uanews.ua.edu/2014/04/ua-matters-basic-guidelines-for-retirement-planning/. Contact: UA Media Relations, 205/348-5320
UA’S HEALTH CORNER PROVIDES PRACTICAL HEALTH TIPS – Dr. Kristie Graettinger discusses why it’s important for women to have a pregnancy that lasts at least 39 weeks in the latest video in UA’s Health Corner, https://vimeo.com/91460747. The video series addresses health topics and provides practical advice and guidance from UA’s expert sources and physicians in the College of Community Health Sciences. A new video topic posts every Wednesday morning. Contact: UA Media Relations, 205/348-5320
CURRENT COMMENT
RECENT LEGISLATION, PEW POLL INDICATES ATTITUDES TOWARD MARIJUANA CHANGING IN STATE – A recent poll from the Pew Research Center indicates a shifting of social attitudes regarding marijuana legalization and how the country now views drug addicts in general. Sixty-seven percent of those polled believe that the U.S. should focus on providing treatment for drug users, 52 percent of adults support legalizing small amounts of marijuana, and 77 percent believe marijuana does have legitimate medical use. “These nationwide trends indicate that the social attitudes may even be shifting in Alabama, a conservative state that has historically opposed any sort of marijuana-related legislation,” says Dr. Diana Dolliver, assistant professor of criminal justice at UA. “Last week, Gov. Robert Bentley signed into law the first steps toward legalizing medical marijuana in Alabama, indicating that conservative states are beginning to react to the changing social perceptions surrounding marijuana use. While general sentiment in Alabama may still be lagging behind national trends, the passing of Carly’s Law suggests that times are changing in the state, albeit slowly.” For more information, contact David Miller, UA Media Relations, at 205/348-0825 or dcmiller2@ur.ua.edu. Contact Dolliver directly at 205/348-2062 or DLDolliver@ua.edu.
EVENTS
UA TO HOST ALABAMA HIGH SCHOOL PERSONAL FINANCE CHALLENGE – The UA College of Human Environmental Sciences department of consumer sciences will host the Alabama High School Personal Finance Challenge April 15 at the Child Development Research Center. The competition will begin at 9:30 a.m. Sponsored by the Alabama Council on Economic Education, the challenge tests high school students on their knowledge of income and money management, spending and credit, and saving and investing. In all, 396 teams from 21 schools took part in a preliminary online competition. Only 26 teams were invited to the Alabama state championship. Those teams come from the following schools: Brookwood High, Hoover High, Eufaula High, Oak Mountain High, Pelham High, Calera High, Hatton High, Minor High, Priceville High, Robert E. Lee High and Spain Park High. The four-member student teams will complete three rounds of written tests. The two teams with the highest scores will then compete for the state championship in a fast-paced “Quiz Bowl” round. The winning team receives an expense-paid trip to compete in the National High School Personal Finance Challenge, which will be held May 2 in St. Louis. The state competition is endorsed by Young Boozer, state treasurer of Alabama. Boozer will attend the event and present the awards. Contacts: Cathy Andreen, UA Media Relations, 205/348-8322, candreen@ur.ua.edu; Jan Brakefield, assistant professor of consumer sciences, 205/348-8722, jbrakefi@ches.ua.edu; Johnnie Aycock, council@economicsouth.org
STUDENT GROUP TO HOST NOTED RIGHTS ACTIVIST – The Crimson Access Alliance, a university-wide, newly-formed support group for students with disabilities, will host writer, speaker, poet and activist Eli Clare for a lecture at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday in Room 313 of Graves Hall. Clare, author of Exile and Pride: Disability, Queerness and Liberation, has addressed the topic of disability, gender, race, class and sexuality in his work. He has cerebral palsy and identifies as genderqueer and as a trans man. Wednesday, Clare will deliver “Moving Beyond Pity & Inspiration: Disability as a Social Justice Issue”, a lecture aimed at arming people with tools to create more disability access in their workplaces and communities. Clare said college campuses and workplaces should strive for access, instead of accommodation for disabled people. “Accommodation strongly suggests creating individualized solutions for a disabled person as he or she encounters barriers,” he said. “These individualized accommodations may or may not be of use or even available for the next disabled person. Access on the other hand strives to remove barriers in ways that will create inclusive environments that will benefit many people.” At 4 p.m., Clare will deliver the lecture “Yearning for Carrie Buck” in which he’ll explore the 1927 Supreme Court case Buck v. Bell, which declared involuntary sterilization laws unconstitutional in 1927. For more information, contact David Miller, media relations, at 205/348-0825 or dcmiller2@ur.ua.edu.
ESPN VP FOR COLLEGE SPORTS TO SPEAK – The University of Alabama Program in Sports Communication will host Justin Connolly, vice president for college sports at ESPN, for a lecture at 9 a.m., Friday, April 18, in Reese Phifer room 216. Contact: Dr. Andrew Billings, 205/239-2337 or acbillings@ua.edu.
COLLEGE OF ED TO HOST EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR FROM NORTHWESTERN – The University of Alabama College of Education will host Dr. Firat Soylu, education professor at Northwestern University, for the sixth annual Educational Studies in Psychology, Research Methodology Graduate Student Symposium Friday, April 18 at Graves Hall. The College will host a brown bag lunch at 11 a.m. in Graves 102 before Soylu delivers “The Promises, Challenges, and Future of Educational Neuroscience at 1 p.m. in Graves 118. For more information, contact David Miller, media relations, at 205/348-0825 or dcmiller2@ur.ua.edu.
BFA JURIED ART EXHIBIIT— UA Department of Art and Art History presents its 2014 Annual BFA Juried Exhibition at the Harrison Galleries in downtown Tuscaloosa for one week only, April 15-19. The public is invited to a reception for the exhibitors on Thursday, April 17 from 5-8 p.m. All UA undergraduate art majors who passed the review for the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree were eligible to enter the competition, juried by a committee comprised of UA studio faculty. Contact: Bobby Mathews, UA Media Relations, 205/348-4956 or bwmathews1@ur.ua.edu.
LOOKING AHEAD
E.O. WILSON TO DISCUSS NEW BOOK, SYMPOSIUM APRIL 21 – Dr. E.O. Wilson, one of the world’s most highly decorated scientists, will discuss the April 22 international release of his latest book and the April 22-24 Edward O. Wilson Biodiversity Symposium at a media availability Monday, April 21 from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. at the University Gallery, Tuscaloosa Cultural Arts Center, 600 Greensboro Ave., Tuscaloosa. The symposium will feature presentations and forums on the state and future of biodiversity on our planet by scientists and authors at the forefront of biodiversity research. Media are requested to give advance notice of plans to attend the media availability. Please contact Rebecca Florence, rebecca.florence@ua.edu, 205/348-8663, Chris Bryant, cbryant@ur.ua.edu, 205/348-8323 or Shane Dorrill (broadcast media only) sdorrill@ur.ua.edu, 205/348-8319, with questions or to confirm your attendance.