MONDAY, OCT. 10 – SUNDAY, OCT. 16, 2016
BEST BETS
STUDY SUPPORTS VOLUNTARY WAITING PERIOD FOR GUN SALES TO REDUCE SUICIDE — Research authored by Fredrick Vars, professor of law, UA School of Law (along with Karen Cropsey and Richard Shelton of UAB and Cheryl McCullumsmith of Cincinnati), suggests many patients at risk for suicide would voluntarily place their names on a Do Not Sell list, prohibiting gun shops from immediately selling them a firearm. The study, published in Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, says nearly half of the 200 people surveyed would willingly place their names on such a list. “There is evidence that suicide, in particular suicide-by-gun, is often impulsive — that once an individual decides to take their own life they are, in many cases, able to quickly obtain a firearm and use it,” Vars and his coauthors write in their journal article. “The concept of a Do Not Sell list, similar to the national Do Not Call list, would be to eliminate such impulsive transactions. Restricting access to firearms, even temporarily, could save many lives.” For more information, contact Monique Fields, UA Law manager of communications, 205/348-5195 or mfields@law.ua.edu; or contact Vars directly at fvars@law.ua.edu.
UA to HOST ANALYTICS FORUM — The 2016 Business Analytics Symposium Oct. 13 and 14 will feature speakers including James Spann from ABC 33/40, Pete Keating from ESPN the Magazine and Filippo Passerini, former Procter & Gamble chief information officer. The Institute of Business Analytics in UA’s Culverhouse College of Commerce hosts the annual event that kicks off Thursday, Oct. 13 at 8 a.m. at the Bryant Conference Center. The symposium concludes at noon Friday, Oct. 14. Registration is $300. Registration and details on the conference are available at http://mycba.ua.edu/basymposium/. Media may contact Edith Parten, 205/348-8318, eparten@culverhouse.ua.edu.
EVENTS
AUTHERINE LUCY FOSTER AMONG EDUCATION HALL OF FAME CLASS – Autherine Lucy Foster, the first African-American to attend UA, is one of four career educators who will join the Educator Hall of Fame. A ceremony and dinner to celebrate their achievements will be held at 6 p.m., Oct. 15, at the NorthRiver Yacht Club in Tuscaloosa. The Educator Hall of Fame will induct three educators posthumously: former UA education professor Adolph Crew; former State Board of Education vice president Ethel Hall; and Judy Merritt, former Jefferson State Junior College President. Merritt was the first woman to serve as that role at any college of university in the state. For more information, contact David Miller, UA media relations, at 205/348-0825 or dcmiller2@ur.ua.edu.
BEAT AUBURN, BEAT HUNGER FUND-RAISERS: – Community events will benefit the annual food drive that pits UA and Auburn organizers against each other to collect nonperishable items for those who face food insecurity. Makers Market is a craft mall for locally made items located in downtown Tuscaloosa. From 5 to 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 10, Makers Market will host an after-hours event benefitting the Beat Auburn Beat Hunger food drive. Ten percent of proceeds made through this event will go straight to the West Alabama Food Bank. In addition, Chick Fil-A Percentage Night will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, at the Chick Fil-A across from University Mall. For more details, contact Richard LeComte, media relations, rllecomte@ur.ua.edu, 205/348-3782.
THREE TO BE INDUCTED INTO ALABAMA SOCIAL WORK HALL OF FAME – James Dupree, the former director of the Department of Youth Services, and Gayle Lees Sandlin, one of the leaders of Alabama’s trailblazing Children’s Health Insurance Program, are among the 2016 inductees to the Alabama Social Work Hall of Fame, which will hold its annual induction luncheon Friday, Oct. 14, at the Embassy Suites in Tuscaloosa. The luncheon begins at 11:30 a.m. Tickets are $25 per person and can be purchased at the door. Founded by the Social Work Society at UA’s School of Social Work, the Alabama Social Work Hall of Fame honors the accomplishments of some of the state’s most distinguished leaders in the field of social work. For more information, contact David Miller, UA media relations, at 205/348-0825 or dcmiller2@ur.ua.edu.
GOTTA SING, GOTTA LECTURE — Noted theatrical producer Jack Viertel, who has shepherded numerous shows to Broadway including “The Piano Lesson,” “Angels in America,” “City of Angels” and “M. Butterfly,” will speak about “The Secret Life of the American Musical” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14, at the Marian Gallaway Theatre on UA’s campus. The lecture is free and open to the public. During the lecture, musical theatre students will perform some of the songs that Viertel references. For more details, contact Courtney Corbridge, courtney.a.corbridge@ua.edu, 205/348-8539.
LGBTQA+ LECTURE — In honor of LGBTQA+ history month in October, UA’s College of Arts and Sciences is hosting an LGBTQA+ symposium with keynote lecturer Dr. Jeffrey McCune, an associate professor of women, gender, sexual studies and African and African American studies at Washington University in St. Louis. The symposium “Our Lives: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” begins Wednesday, Oct. 12 at 5:30 p.m. in Gorgas Library, room 205. McCune will speak in the same location Thursday, Oct. 13 at 4 p.m. The symposium and lecture are free and open to the public. For more details, contact Courtney Corbridge, courtney.a.corbridge@ua.edu, 205/348-8539.
LOOKING AHEAD
TITANIC DISCOVERER TO VISIT CAMPUS – On Wednesday, Oct. 19, Dr. Robert Ballard, a renowned oceanographer and explorer, speaks at UA about his deep-sea discoveries. His lecture, “Eternal Darkness,” begins at 7 p.m. in Sellers Auditorium at the Bryant Conference Center on campus. The event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required for admission. Tickets for the lecture can be reserved at ua.tix.com. Ballard is best known for his 1985 discovery of the Titanic.