MONDAY, MAY 30 – SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2016
BEST BETS
INCOMING STUDENTS ARE INDEED ‘BAMA BOUND’ – Hundreds of students who will officially join campus for the first time in the fall are participating in new student orientations this week. The first of this summer’s multiple sessions, known as Bama Bound, begin today. Best opportunities for photography and videography are likely during the mornings of Monday and Tuesday in the Ferguson Center. The sessions, which are each expected to attract more than 400 students, enable incoming students to get to know their new classmates, learn more about campus and to meet with their advisers and enroll in their classes for their upcoming first terms. For more details, including schedules, see http://orientation.ua.edu/dates/. For assistance, contact Chris Bryant in media relations, 205/348-8323, cbryant@ur.ua.edu or, for broadcast media, Shane Dorrill, 205/348-8319 or sdorrill@ur.ua.edu.
ENGLISH PROFESSOR WINS 2016 MARK TWAIN AWARD – Michael Martone, a UA professor of English and creative writing, was selected by the Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature as the winner of the 2016 Mark Twain Award for Distinguished Contributions to Midwestern Literature. Martone, an author of more than 25 books and anthologies, joins past Mark Twain Award recipients such as Gwendolyn Brooks, Ted Kooser and Philip Levine. He will be formally presented the award June 3 at the society’s annual luncheon held at Michigan State University. For more details, contact Jamon Smith, media relations, jamon.smith@ua.edu, 205/348-4956.
STUDENT-DRIVEN UA SPECIAL OLYMPICS TEAMS LEAD UNIFIED SPORTS INITIATIVE — Add UA’s Unified Special Olympics team to its list of national champions. Special Olympics College at UA, a Unified Sports student club, won the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association Unified Basketball championship recently, edging Central Michigan 51-43 in Columbus, Ohio to capture the division’s first-ever title. The Unified division is a partnership between NIRSA and Special Olympics. Unified Sports is a burgeoning, inclusive sports initiative in which teams must have at least 50 percent young adults with intellectual disabilities and the offset from typical students enrolled at UA. For more information, contact David Miller, media relations, at 205/348-0825 or dcmiller2@ur.ua.edu.
ENGINEERING STUDENTS WIN NASA CONTEST – A team of engineering students from UA recently won the NASA Robotic Mining Competition for the second straight year. The team was tasked with building a robot capable of digging simulated Martian soil. For more information, contact Adam Jones, UA media relations, at 205/348-6444 or acjones12@eng.ua.edu.
EVENTS
ALABAMA BOYS STATE RETURNS — Some 600 Alabama high school seniors will try their hands at politics and community service from Sunday, May 29, to Saturday, June 4, during the 2016 American Legion Alabama Boys State convention on UA’s campus. During the week, students conduct mock elections and learn about civic processes as well as participate in community service projects. Students will work on service projects from 2 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 31, to Friday, June 3, at Central Elementary School, 1510 Dinah Washington Ave., and Northington Elementary School, 1300 21st St. For more details, contact Richard LeComte, media relations, rllecomte@ur.ua.edu, 205/348-3782.
LOOKING AHEAD
CREATIVE WRITING CLASSES – UA invites local high school students — incoming freshmen through graduating seniors — to register for the Summer 2016 Creative Writing Camp. The Creative Writing Camp will meet from 1 to 4 p.m. each weekday from Monday, June 6, to Friday, June 17, in 301 Morgan Hall on the UA campus. No previous creative writing experience is required. Tuition is free, and free parking can also be arranged. The instructors will be writers who are graduate students in UA’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program. For more details, contact Meghan Tear Plummer, uacreativewritingclub@gmail.com, 337/499-7648.