Four professors earn awards
Crimson White – Oct. 9
Each year, the National Alumni Association presents the Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award to four professors to recognize their excellence in teaching. This year, the association’s selection committee gave the OCTA to Viola L. Acoff, head of the department of metallurgical and materials engineering, Robert Brooks, professor of finance and Wallace D. Malone, Jr. endowed chair of financial management, Kathryn S. Oths, professor of anthropology and James Hall, former professor and director in New College. Robin Elmore, from the Alumni Office, said the nine-member selection committee is made up of two alumni, two faculty and three students. The committee selects faculty members based on their commitment to teaching and the impact they have on students through the teaching and learning process. The National Alumni Association has been presenting the award since 1976 and it is open to all full-time faculty members.
SGA funds student research
Crimson White – Oct. 9
Students who are interested in starting an undergraduate research project and receiving funding to support their research will have a chance to do so through the Student Government Association. SGA is planning to award $2,000 worth of grants this month to help fund students’ undergraduate research projects. “The Student Government Association Undergraduate Research Grant intends to provide these students with the money necessary to buy materials, attend conferences and pay for other expenses,” Laura Gregory, vice president of academic affairs, said in an SGA press release. The grants are not limited to any particular field of research for undergraduate students. “Your research does not have to be in a lab; it can be any project that seeks to form new knowledge in your area of interest,” Gregory said.
California woman planning to end her life causes right to die debate to heat up
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Oct. 8
A 29 year-old plans to end her life next month after being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. The question is do people have the right to die? In this case, yes, because she moved to a state where lawmakers have enacted laws that allow people to die with dignity. Oregon is one of five states that have passed death with dignity laws, making it legal for people to take a pill prescribed a physician to take their life. Robin Wilson is a law professor who recently taught at The University of Alabama. Wilson says this case has the right to die debate heating up across the country.
Dance Alabama to host dance jam for amateurs
Crimson White – Oct. 9
Dance Alabama! is calling all dancers for their monthly dance jam Sunday. Dance jams are a time where dancers can come together for a couple of hours each month and learn choreography. The jam is specifically for non-majors that want to keep their technique and dance majors that want to see what else is out there. This month, Hannah King, a University of Alabama alumnae, will lead the jam. King graduated from the University in 2013 with a degree in dance and political science. She is now part of Project 7 Contemporary Dance Company.
Alabama State Bar to host ‘Wills for Heroes’ Clinic
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Oct. 8
The Alabama State Bar is looking to help first responders in the surrounding areas. ASB will host a Wills for Heroes clinic for first responders in Tuscaloosa, Hale, Pickens and Bibb counties. The Wills for Heroes project is managed by the Bar’s volunteer lawyers program. It offers first responders free, basic estate planning services with experienced attorneys and legal professionals. The clinic will start tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the University of Alabama School of Law.
Moundville Native American Festival starts
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Oct. 8
It’s a fun-filled annual event that everyone around town knows about – the Moundville Native American Festival. The four-day festival kicked off today. There, people will have the chance to immerse themselves in Native American Culture and History. The festival features music and dance, food, arts and crafts, storytelling and demonstrations.
Literary Death Match adds fun to Southern Festival of Books
The Tennessean – Oct. 9
It’s a scholarly throw down. A fight of metaphoric proportions. It’s the Literary Death Match, and on Saturday the affair will bring a fun and funky new element to the Southern Festival of Books. Adding new meaning to the phrase “bury yourself in a book,” four nationally recognized authors will compete at Nashville’s Third Man Records by reading their most electric work for seven minutes or less. … Abraham Smith hails from Ladysmith, Wis. He has authored four full-length poetry collections, including “Only Jesus Could Icefish in Summer” (Action Books, 2014). Currently, he is writing his “hick poetics,” a book-length poem that draws on his ongoing summertime experiences as a farmhand at his family’s sheep dairy farm. He is instructor of English at University of Alabama.
Trustees approve funding for Phase III oil spill projects
Lagniappe – Oct. 8
The Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) Trustees approved the third and largest phase of BP’s early restoration funds Oct. 3, making nearly $627 million available for 44 projects across the Gulf Coast. However, some environmental groups, including the Ocean Conservancy, are upset that 85 percent of early restoration money coming to Alabama is already earmarked for Gulf State Park Enhancement Project. … Gov. Robert Bentley has already contracted with the University of Alabama to manage the project. The university has been collecting requests for proposals, which are due by Oct. 17. A research and education center for k-12 students is also included in the project, as is an interpretive center, which would create indoor and outdoor exhibits “dedicated to promoting the value of Alabama’s natural resources,” according to the project’s description.
Colleges outlawing smoking on campus
Daily Toreador (Lubbock, Texas) – Oct. 8
As of Oct. 1, there are at least 1,478 completely smoke-free campuses across the United States, according to the Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights website. Of these, 976 are tobacco-free and 292 prohibit the use of e-cigarettes anywhere on campus. … According to a study done at the University of Alabama, 10 percent of college freshmen begin smoking in college.