BEST BETS
UA STUDENTS SERVE THE COMMUNITY DURING ANNUAL RIPPLE EFFECT – Hundreds of University of Alabama students will take part in Ripple Effect, an annual day of community service event held before the start of each fall semester, Monday, Aug. 16 from 9 a.m.-noon. Students will serve at Temporary Emergency Services, the West Alabama Food Bank, and several other locations across Tuscaloosa County. For more information, contact Shane Dorrill, UA Strategic Communications, at shane.dorrill@ua.edu.
UA STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN WEEKS OF WELCOME EVENTS – University Programs is rolling out the crimson carpet to welcome first-year and incoming students through Weeks of Welcome, or WOW, a series of fun programs focused on helping incoming students transition to campus life. The WOW Big Event takes places Monday, Aug. 16, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. in the Northeast Commuter Parking Lot, and features a concert by Moon Taxi, food trucks and vendors. On Aug. 17, first-year students will hear from several special guests at 6 p.m. at Bryant-Denny Stadium before going on the field to make the iconic Script A. A complete list of WOW events can be found on University Program’s website.
UA CLASSES BEGIN AUG. 18 – Classes for Fall Semester 2021 at The University of Alabama begin Wednesday, Aug. 18.
UMC OPENS CARROLLTON LOCATION – University Medical Center recently opened a location in Carrollton, Alabama, to provide primary health care services to the rural Pickens County community. UMC-Carrollton is open Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The clinic, located at 289 Robert K. Wilson Drive, Suite C, will provide local health care to the community after the Pickens County Medical Center in Carrollton closed in January 2020. UMC is the largest multi-specialty medical practice in West Alabama with locations in Tuscaloosa, Northport, Demopolis, Fayette and now Carrollton, and more than 150,000 annual patient visits. For more information, contact Bryant Welbourne, UA Strategic Communications, at bryant.welbourne@ua.edu.
OLLI DAY TO BE HELD AUG. 20 – The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, or OLLI, will celebrate the second annual OLLI Day Friday, Aug. 20. The day will include proclamations from the mayors of Huntsville, Auburn and Tuscaloosa, as well as informative presentations. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. The event will be presented both in person at the Bryant Conference Center in Tuscaloosa and virtually. For more information, visit the OLLI website, email ccsolli@ua.edu or call 205-348-6482.
UA LEADING EFFORT TO INCREASE VACCINATIONS IN RURAL ALABAMA – In a partnership with community organizations, The University of Alabama is spearheading a project to get 70% of eligible people in the state’s Black Belt vaccinated against COVID-19 over the next year. A $1 million grant from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration to UA will assist with vaccine information and outreach programs and support remote and pop-up vaccination clinics throughout the 18 counties. For more information, contact Adam Jones, UA Strategic Communications, at adam.jones@ua.edu.
UMC OFFERING SATURDAY COVID-19 VACCINE CLINICS IN AUGUST – University Medical Center is offering a Saturday COVID-19 vaccine clinic Aug. 21, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for UA students, faculty, staff and UMC patients. UMC will be offering the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine during the clinics. Appointments are required. To schedule an appointment, call 205-348-1471, and leave your name, date of birth and a way for UMC to contact you. For more information, contact Bryant Welbourne, UA Strategic Communications, at bryant.welbourne@ua.edu.
STATE’S ECONOMIC RECOVERY BOOMING JUST BEFORE COVID-19 RESURGENCE – Two snapshots of the state’s economy earlier this summer show recovery from the pandemic recession of 2020 exceeding expectations, with business leaders confident things were getting even better, according to research from The University of Alabama. It’s unknown whether the rise of the Delta variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 will dampen the economy, but, if it does, nothing short of another lockdown could stunt the recovery, said Ahmad Ijaz, executive director of the UA Center for Business and Economic Research. For more information, contact Adam Jones, UA Strategic Communications, at adam.jones@ua.edu.
RAINFOREST DROUGHT INTENSIFIED DISEASE, DEATH IN A BRAZILIAN FROG – Human-caused changes to the environment that exasperate droughts in a Brazilian rainforest intensify seasonal infections of a deadly fungus afflicting frogs and toads, causing localized mass deaths, according to research involving The University of Alabama. The study is the first real-time report of chytridiomycosis in Brazil. The findings, reported in a recently published paper in the journal Biological Conservation, suggest human-caused climate change and deforestation may accelerate disease in drought-sensitive species to an extent that may shift disease dynamics toward localized but potentially lethal spikes in infection. For more information, contact Adam Jones, UA Strategic Communications, at adam.jones@ua.edu.
UA PROFESSOR WINS FULBRIGHT AWARDS – Dr. Andrew Raffo Dewar, professor of interdisciplinary arts with The University of Alabama’s New College and School of Music, was recently selected for two grants from the prestigious Fulbright program to teach and research abroad. Dewar received a Fulbright Specialist Award and was named the Fulbright Canada Research Chair at York University in Toronto. “I’m very thankful to have been awarded these two Fulbrights and for the support they signify for my current research,” said Dewar. “Receiving both awards within a one-week period was incredibly surprising and overwhelming, in the best way.” For more information, contact Dewar at adewar@ua.edu, or Bryant Welbourne, UA Strategic Communications, at bryant.welbourne@ua.edu.
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