MONDAY, FEB. 15 – SUNDAY, FEB. 21, 2016
BEST BETS
STUDENTS TO PITCH GROCERY DELIVERY SERVICE IN SECOND ROUND OF LAUNCHPAD COMPETITION — A team of four UA Culverhouse College of Commerce students will present their start-up business, dubbed Care Package, to a panel of judges in an eight-minute live pitch event at Evonik Industries in Birmingham Feb. 19. Unlike similar services in Birmingham and larger cities, Care Package is aimed exclusively at college students as opposed to working professionals. For more information, contact: Edith Parten, UA media relations, eparten@culverhouse.ua.edu, 205-348-8318.
ENGINEERING STUDENTS VOLUNTEER AT MOUNDVILLE PARK – UA’s Student Engineers in Action have spent the past several months researching and putting together a plan to replace the steps of Mound B, Alabama’s tallest mound, at Moundville Archaeological Park. The students will spend the next few weekends at the park rebuilding the steps. Reporters/photographers/videographers are welcome to come out to the site. For more information, contact Kim Eaton, UA media relations, 205/348-8325 or kkeaton@ur.ua.edu.
LIFT PROGRAM SEEKING PARTICIPANTS – UA’s Learning Initiative and Financial Training at the Culverhouse College of Commerce is seeking participants in the Tuscaloosa area for free computer and financial classes. LIFT helps the unemployed and underemployed build career-worthy skills. Any person in the Tuscaloosa area may register for dozens of free classes ranging from learning Microsoft programs, basic computer skills, budgeting or resume building. More than 22 classes at seven locations are taught by nearly 300 Culverhouse accountancy students who volunteer their time each week. The locations include the VA, Holt Community Center, The Edge – Center for Entrepreneurship in downtown Tuscaloosa, Holt High School and the Weaver-Bolden Library. Contact LIFT at 205/928-8258. For more details, contact Edith Parton with UA media relations, 205/348-8318 or eparten@culverhouse.ua.edu.
AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH – The UA observances continue with a series of tours and other events. The Slavery and the University Tour by Dr. Hilary Green, departments of gender and race studies and American studies, will meet at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17, at the Gorgas Library steps. The UA African American Heritage Tour, led by Dr. Jason Black, departments of communication studies and gender and race studies, will begin at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 19, at Reese Phifer Hall steps. The 60th Anniversary of Autherine Lucy at UA Tour, led by Dr. Meredith M. Bagley, department of communication studies, will meet at 11 a.m. Monday, Feb. 15, and 3 p.m. Monday, Feb. 22, at the Reese Phifer Hall steps. For more information on African American History Month, go to http://uanews.ua.edu/2016/02/ua-celebrates-african-american-history-month-with-tours-events/ or contact Richard LeComte, media relations, at rllecomte@ur.ua.edu or 205/347-3782.
UA’S RURAL HEALTH, MEDICAL SCHOLARS PROGRAMS ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS — UA’s Rural Health and Medical Scholars Programs are now accepting applications for its 2016 classes. Alabama desperately needs primary care doctors and many other health care professionals in rural areas. Since rural students are more likely to choose to live and work in rural areas, the Rural Health Leaders Pipeline and other health initiatives were developed at UA’s College of Community Health Sciences as part of a strategy to help rural students prepare for medical and health careers. For more information, contact: Cynthia Moore, program director, cmoore@ua.edu, or Kim Eaton, UA media relations, 205/348-8325 or kkeaton@ur.ua.edu.
ADAPTED ATHLETICS TO GET NEW ARENA, TRAINING FACILITY – The UA System Board of Trustees approved a $10 million budget Feb. 5 to construct a two-story, 27,036 square-feet facility that will include a game venue for wheelchair basketball, locker rooms, workout/training room, team meeting rooms and study halls for UA’s Adapted Athletics program. The facility will be along the south facade of the UA Rec Center, east of the main entrance. For more information, contact David Miller, UA media relations, at 205/348-0825 or dcmiller2@ur.ua.edu or Dr. Brent Hardin, director, UA Adapted Athletics, 205/348-5109 or bhardin@ua.edu.
GEOGRAPHY PROFESSORS IN NATURE: Research co-authored by two UA geography professors published Wednesday, Feb. 3, in an online edition of Nature, the world’s most highly cited interdisciplinary scientific journal. Dr. Angelica Almeyda Zambrano, UA adjunct professor of geography, said getting published in Nature was a well-earned victory for the whole team. The research paper, “Biomass Resilience of Neotropical Secondary Forests,” is about the natural rate of recovery of secondary forests in the neotropics of Latin America after deforestation. For more details, contact Jamon Smith, UA media relations 205/348-4956 or jamon.smith@ua.edu.
CURRENT COMMENT
PROFESSOR SAYS NEW DATA COULD IMPROVE THE USE OF FEDERAL CIVIL RIGHTS LITIGATION AGAINST LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENTS: Research authored by Stephen Rushin, assistant professor of law, UA School of Law, was published in the “Boston College Law Review.” After Congress passed the Death in Custody Reporting Act in 2014 and the FBI and the Bureau of Justice Statistics announced new efforts for tracking fatal police shootings, Rushin writes in his research paper, “Using Data to Reduce Police Violence,” the U.S. Attorney General could use the data to improve the use of federal civil rights litigation against local police departments. The U.S. Department of Justice could use the data to identify police departments engaged in a pattern or practice of misconduct, publicize the data in a way that stimulates proactive reform in local police departments and use the data to monitor police departments that have already undergone police reform. “For years, the United States has kept few statistics on local police behavior,” Rushin said. “The passage of the DCRA and the announcements of new databases on police killings by the FBI and BJS do not solve this glaring problem. But these events represent important steps in improving oversight of police conduct.” For more information, contact Monique Fields, UA Law manager of communications, 205/348-5195 or mfields@law.ua.edu; or Rushin, 205/348-5803, srushin@law.ua.edu.
UA EXPERT TIPS
UA MATTERS: WHAT’S NEW FOR THE 2015 TAX FILING SEASON — The 2015 tax filing season is upon us. UA’s Lisa McKinney provides some interesting facts to get you up to speed on individual and small business taxes in this week’s UA Matters. Contact: Kim Eaton, UA media relations, at 205/348-8325 or kkeaton@ur.ua.edu.
EVENTS
MINI MEDICAL SCHOOL CONTINUES WITH WEEKLY LECTURE SERIES – Dr. Anne Halli-Tierney, a practicing geriatrician at University Medical Center and assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the College of Community Health Sciences, will present “Delirium: I’ve lost my mind” at noon Thursday, Feb. 18, as part of a lecture series for UA’s OLLI program. Some memory loss can be expected in normal aging, but one should be aware of signs and symptoms that may signal abnormal memory loss or confusion. The discussion, which takes place in the Bryant Conference Center, will address changes associated with normal aging, discuss dementia state and diagnosis and discuss ways to detect and treat delirium. For more information, contact Kim Eaton, UA media relations, 205/348-8325 or kkeaton@ur.ua.edu.
VETERAN OF URBAN LEAGUE MOVEMENT TO SPEAK AT UA – Dr. Clint E. Dye, a social worker and former president of the Atlanta Urban League,” will deliver, “An Observation Of The Developmental Histories Of The National Urban League Movement And Social Work Practice” at the Dr. Ethel H. Hall African-American Heritage Celebration at noon, Friday, Feb. 19 in 223 Little Hall. For more information, contact David Miller, UA Media Relations, at 205/348-0825 or dcmiller2@ur.ua.edu.
OREGON PROFESSOR TO DISCUSS INTERVENTIONS FOR AT-RISK YOUTH – Dr. Beth Stormshak, a professor in the College of Education at the University of Oregon and the director of the Prevention Science Institute, will deliver, “Family-Centered Prevention Across Development to Reduce Later Risk,” a talk focused on targets of intervention for at-risk youth and outcomes at 2 p.m. Feb. 16 in room 1093 of Shelby Hall. Stormshak has trained hundreds of teachers and administrators and treated thousands of adolescent children in the last 10 years. She will discuss data from a study that tracked adolescents over a 10-year span to determine the effectiveness of interventions in junior high school. For more information, contact David Miller, UA media relations, 205/348-0825 or dcmiller2@ur.ua.edu.
LOOKING AHEAD
AFRICAN AMERICAN READ-IN – Students, faculty and staff may contact WRCGrade3@sa.ua.edu to volunteer to read a poem or passage during this event at 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 22, in Gorgas Library 205. The event, which is free and open to the public, will celebrate African American women’s contributions to literature. Sponsor: Women and Gender Resource Center, 205/348-5040. Details: Contact Richard LeComte, media relations, rllecomte@ur.ua.edu 205/348-3782.
WITT TO BE INDUCTED INTO NATIONAL WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME – Dr. Robert E. Witt, chancellor of the UA System and former president of UA, will be inducted into the National Collegiate Wheelchair Basketball Intercollegiate Division Hall of Fame at “A Night of Champions,” a celebration of the success of UA’s adapted athletics basketball teams. The event will be Feb. 26 during halftime of UA’s games, which begin at 6 p.m. in Foster Auditorium. Witt will be honored for his contributions to adapted sport at both UA and the University of Texas at Arlington. For more information, contact David Miller, UA Media Relations, 205/348-0825 or dcmiller2@ur.ua.edu.
UA’S NURSING LECTURESHIP FOCUSES ON ‘HEALTHY CAREGIVERS, HEALTHY PATIENTS’ — The UA Capstone College of Nursing will host the 2016 Donna Cox Bridger Endowed Lectureship in Nursing and Health Care Friday, March 4, at the college. “Healthy Caregivers, Healthy Patients” is the topic being explored this year. The Donna Cox Bridger Lectureship was established by Joseph C. Bridger to honor the memory of his wife and to promote awareness of current topics in the fields of nursing and health care from an interdisciplinary perspective. Lecture attendance is open to faculty, students, health care professionals and the community. The cost of admission is $50 (a discounted student rate of $25 is offered). The registration deadline is Feb. 19. For more information, contact Kim Eaton, UA media relations, 205/348-8325 or kkeaton@ur.ua.edu.