UA Preview

BEST BETS 

STATE ECONOMY TO GROW IN 2022; PANDEMIC PITFALLS REMAINAlabama’s economy could see stellar growth in 2022 as the state and country continue reopening commerce in the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic, according to researchers at The University of Alabama. Pitfalls remain with the unknown behavior of the virus and continued pandemic-related supply chain bottlenecks, labor shortages and rising prices. Still, low unemployment across Alabama coupled with increased output by the state’s manufacturing and service sectors should mean a rise in the value of goods and services produced in the state, according to the annual economic forecast from the Center for Business and Economic Research at UA. UA economists predict the state’s economy will grow 3.4% to reach $213.5 billion in Alabama’s gross domestic product. For more information, contact Adam Jones, UA Strategic Communications, at adam.jones@ua.edu. 

UA JUNIOR RECEIVES NATIONAL AEROSPACE FELLOWSHIP — Simran Dhoju, a junior majoring in aerospace engineering, was one of 51 students in the nation to earn a Brooke Owens Fellowship, a nationally acclaimed program that awards exceptional undergraduate women and gender minorities studying the field of aerospace. Dhoju, of Kathmandu, Nepal, will take part in the program that pairs each fellow with a summer internship at one of the leading aerospace companies, an executive-level mentor who are senior leaders in the aerospace industry and a peer-level mentor from the Brooke Owens Fellowship alumnae network. According to the organization, Dhoju will be part of the most diverse and competitive class to date. For more information, contact Bryant Welbourne, UA Strategic Communications, at bryant.welbourne@ua.edu. 

UA TO CONSTRUCT CUTTING-EDGE FACILITY FOR FASHION AND DESIGN — A new building coming to the UA campus will provide space to conserve and celebrate fashion history and groom fashion trendsetters of the future. The College of Human Environmental Sciences has announced plans to construct Drummond Lyon Hall to house its fashion retailing and apparel design concentrations. Through the support of alumni, the CHES Leadership Board and other friends of the college, an effort to secure $4 million in charitable gifts to support the construction of the state-of-the-art facility has begun. The building will be named in recognition of a commitment from 1986 alumna Terri Drummond Lyon. For more information, contact Bryant Welbourne, UA Strategic Communications, at bryant.welbourne@ua.edu. 

ALABAMA BUSINESS HALL OF FAME CALLS FOR NOMINEES The Board of Directors of the Alabama Business Hall of Fame housed at The University of Alabama Culverhouse College of Business is seeking nominees for its 2022 inductees. To be eligible for selection, an individual must have made a significant impact on the development of their community and state by promoting the free enterprise system and entrepreneurship. All candidates must have been deceased or in retirement for at least three years, except for those who are 65 years of age and older and still active in business. Nominations can be made on the Alabama Business Hall of Fame website. For more information, contact Zach Thomas, Culverhouse College of Business, at zthomas@culverhouse.ua.edu. 

CULVERHOUSE LIFT TO OFFER FREE JOB SKILLS TRAINING AND TUTORINGFree tutoring, job skills and financial literacy training sessions will soon be available to West Alabama residents, including veterans and teens, through The University of Alabama Culverhouse College of Business. Culverhouse LIFT, or Learning Initiative and Financial Training, will begin classes for its spring 2022 term in mid-February. Registration and specific course descriptions are available on the Culverhouse LIFT website. For more information, contact Lisa McKinney, LIFT program coordinator, at lift@culverhouse.ua.edu

A PIECE OF HISTORY: MLK LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL AT SPECIAL COLLECTIONS — Inside University Library Special Collections is a letter written by Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. from 1963. King wrote this 21-page letter from the Birmingham City Jail on the margins of newspapers before sending it out to clergymen in the state asking for moderate reform. University Special Collections is furthering its research into this letter. For more information, contact Caroline Gazzara-McKenzie, at caroline.mckenzie@ua.edu. 

EVENTS 

UA COLLECTING BOOK DONATIONS FOR SCHOOLS IN THE BLACK BELT — The UA Center for Economic Development, or UACED, has launched the 16th annual Books for the Alabama Black Belt campaign that encourages UA students, faculty, staff and residents to donate K-12 books for students in the region. UACED will accept donations of new or gently used classic and award-winning books frequently found on school reading lists for K-12 children until Feb. 25. For more information, contact Sally Brown, UACED, at sally.brown@ua.edu. 

UA FACULTY MEMBERS PRESENT ARTWORK UA studio art faculty will exhibit their ongoing research in art during the 2022 Faculty Biennial Exhibition. The exhibition is open to the public Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. in the Sarah Moody Gallery of Art at 700 Capstone Dr., on the UA campus. For more information, contact Bill Dooley, director of the Sarah Moody Gallery of Art, at wtdooley@ua.edu. 

CURRENT COMMENT 

MORE BRANDS LET CUSTOMERS OPT OUT OF VALENTINE’S DAY MARKETING EMAILS — Modern marketers understand that building relationships with consumers is key to enhancing their bottom line, according to Dr. Nancy Brinson, assistant professor of advertising and public relations, and that is why some are allowing customers to opt out of marketing emails for Valentine’s Day. “Allowing them to opt out of Valentine’s Day promotional emails is a way to authentically connect with those who find the holiday triggers feelings of anxiety or depression,” Brinson said. “Communicating this type of empathy builds long-term brand loyalty, which is far more valuable than the sales they might expect to generate from this target segment.” To schedule an interview, contact Brinson at brinson@apr.ua.edu. 

TREAT YOURSELF TO A HEALTHIER HEART — When it comes to eating for health and wellness, mixed messages abound. “Let’s be clear, dietary nitrates in vegetables provide the fuel for heart health and longevity,” said Dr. Kristi Crowe-White, associate professor and chair of the department of human nutrition and hospitality management at The University of Alabama. “These bioactive compounds are abundant in green leafy vegetables such as spinach and arugula, along with celery, beets, radishes and rhubarb. Vegetable sources of dietary nitrates promote optimum blood vessel dilation or expansion. As blood vessels become stiff with age, dietary nitrates combat both age- and lifestyle-associated changes in cardiovascular health.” For more information, contact Crowe-White at kcrowe@ches.ua.edu. 

THE GROWING USE OF THE HOLOCAUST AS A METAPHOR — As the U.S. continues to weather the COVID-19 pandemic, some politicians and members of the media are facing backlash after comparing vaccine and mask mandates to atrocities done by the Nazis during the Holocaust. Dr. Daniel J. Levine, associate professor and the Aaron Aronov Chair of Judaic Studies, said there are many reasons people use the Holocaust as a metaphor, but “probably most foundationally is the Holocaust is really peculiarly horrible; and it’s horrible in a way that sort of defies the imagination. So, the effect of this is that it’s very easy to ‘appropriate’ tendentious or ideologically motivated versions of it for particular political agendas.“ As we move further from the Holocaust in time, Levine said these metaphors will continue. “I really don’t think there is anything one can do here, except to educate the public on the ethics of not using the suffering of other people — millions of them — to score narrow political points.” To schedule an interview, contact Levine at daniel.j.levine@ua.edu

VARIOUS FACTORS CONTRIBUTE TO TEACHER SHORTAGE — “Teachers’ working conditions have been de-professionalized through mandated and/or scripted curricula, the narrowing of curriculum due to political gamesmanship, and alternative certification routes,” said Dr. Karen Spector, associate professor of English education and literacy at UA. “Secondly, the high-stakes testing environment of K-12 education since 2001 further narrows curriculum, limits teacher creativity, produces the achievement gap it is supposed to close, and contributes to poor teacher and student morale while not increasing student achievement. For those interested in becoming a teacher, the increasing cost of education and low starting pay contribute to decreasing education program enrollments and interest in the profession. There are no easy answers or quick fixes. If we want more great teachers, we need to make teaching more desirable by taking steps to re-professionalize this important workforce.” To schedule an interview, contact Spector at kspector@ua.edu. 

COVID THE X FACTOR IN FEDS’ SIGNAL TO COMBAT INFLATION — The Federal Reserve’s announcement of the intent to raise interest rates possibly four times this year and to end monetary stimulus is understandable to combat rising prices, but the pandemic is still the unknown in the economy, said Dr. Josh Pierce, a UA associate professor of finance and the Robert Hunt Cochrane/Alabama Banker’s Endowed Chair of Banking in the Culverhouse College of Business. “COVID still is the X factor with what the Fed plans to do,” said Pierce, who has served on an advisory committee with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. “COVID is still causing a degree of uncertainty. If demand is still greater than supply due to supply chain issues from COVID, then the impact the Fed can have, all else equal, will be less. Still, raising rates is better than doing nothing. The Fed is set up to do the proper things in order to get inflation under control.” To schedule an interview, contact Pierce at joshua.pierce@ua.edu. 

NEED A SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT ON TOPICS MAKING NEWS? – See our frequently updated experts directory here.

VISIT THE UA NEWS CENTER FOR STORY IDEAS. 

The University of Alabama strives to remain neutral on public policy issues. Strategic Communications may facilitate interviews or share opinions expressed by faculty, staff, students, or other individuals regarding policy matters. However, those opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the University or its leadership, and do not constitute a statement on behalf of the University unless explicitly designated.