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BEST BETS 

UA TO HOST MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR DR. AUTHERINE LUCY FOSTER — The University of Alabama will host a memorial service for Dr. Autherine Lucy Foster Thursday, March 24, at 11 a.m. in Foster Auditorium. The service is open to all who want to honor the civil rights pioneer. 

UA SAFESTATE HEALTHY HOME GRANTS — The University of Alabama is hosting a meeting with community partners Wednesday to start its work as part of a recently awarded grant to remove environmental and safety hazards from some of Alabama’s vulnerable and underserved communities. The UA SafeState Program and the Alabama Life Research Institute are managing the $2 million Healthy Homes Production Grant, jointly awarded to the Alabama Department of Public Health from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. For more information, contact Adam Jones, UA Strategic Communications, at 205-348-4328 or adam.jones@ua.edu.

UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AMONG TOP TEN MILITARY-FRIENDLY SCHOOLSThe UA Office for Veteran and Military Affairs has been acknowledged by Military Friendly® Schools for its dedication to service and leadership during the 2022–23 academic year. More than 1,800 schools applied for the honor, with UA ranking in the top 10. For more information, contact Caroline Gazzara-McKenzie, UA Strategic Communications, at caroline.mckenzie@ua.edu. 

UA LEADING WORK ON NOVEL FUEL FOR HIGH-VELOCITY MISSILES — UA is receiving about $9 million from the U.S. Department of Defense as part of a four-year research project to further develop a novel hydrogen fuel. Early work on the fuel shows promise to allow missiles to maintain high speeds during flight, potentially neutralizing enemy missiles bound for the U.S. before they cross land. For more information, contact Adam Jones, UA Strategic Communications, at 205-348-4328 or adam.jones@ua.edu.   

UA STUDY SHOWS TRUST IN SCIENCE PREDICTS PANDEMIC COMPLIANCE — Whether it is pharmaceutical measures such as vaccines or non-pharmaceutical measures such as masking and distancing, trust in the community of mainstream scientific research is the best predictor of a person’s compliance with public health measures intended to prevent COIVD-19, according to a study from The University of Alabama. For more information, contact Adam Jones, UA Strategic Communications, at 205-348-4328 or adam.jones@ua.edu.   

UA TO HOST WOMEN IN BUSINESS CONFERENCE A series of events on The University of Alabama campus intend to connect — and inspire — accomplished women professionals, alumnae and female students of UA’s Culverhouse College of Business. Hosted by the Culverhouse College of Business Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the inaugural Women in Business Conference March 25-26 will feature topics and perspectives to benefit women at all career levels including sessions on how to answer personal questions in interviews, getting the most out of personality assessment tools, pioneering in unique career spaces, the art of networking and branding, entrepreneurship, and handling gender discrimination and harassment in the workplace. For more information, contact Cherie Moman, Culverhouse College of Business, at cmoman@culverhouse.ua.edu. 

ANNUAL 100 ALABAMA MILES CHALLENGE PARTNERS WITH STRAVA The 100 Alabama Miles Challenge, a free statewide public program designed to inspire all Alabamians to be active, go explore and connect with others by getting 100 miles of physical activity each year, will kick off March 26. While participants can walk, run, hike, bike, swim, paddle, ride or roll to their 100-mile goal anywhere, organizers encourage Alabamians to visit the state’s remarkable parks, nature preserves and rivers with their friends and family. This year, tracking miles will be even easier for participants thanks to a new partnership with Strava, a popular free digital service that enables users to automatically track their miles using a variety of wearable devices or with a mobile app. For more information, contact Brian Rushing, UA Center for Economic Development, at brian.rushing@ua.edu. 

EVENTS 

SAKURA FESTIVAL TO HIGHLIGHT IMPORTANCE OF CLIMATE — The 36th annual Sakura Festival will be held March 26 from 9 a.m.-noon at the Tuscaloosa River Market. This year’s theme is “hagukumu” or nourish and highlights the importance of climate change and its impact on water resources. The festival provides an opportunity to experience Japanese culture through lectures, exhibits, demonstrations, a haiku contest and performances by the UA Community Music School Suzuki Program, HallyUA Club and more. For more information, contact Mary Holliday at cic@ua.edu. 

UA ANNOUNCES SPRING COMMENCEMENT SCHEDULE — The University of Alabama will hold spring commencement ceremonies May 6-8 at Coleman Coliseum on the UA campus. More than 5,000 candidates are expected to be in attendance for the eight ceremonies. More information, including live webcasts details, interactive campus map and lodging details, can be found on UA’s commencement website. Commencement information can be heard on UA’s radio station, 92.5 FM. 

CURRENT COMMENT 

MORE POLITICS NEEDED TO FIGHT MISINFORMATION — From the COVID-19 pandemic to the ongoing war in Ukraine, the past several years have been awash in dubiously sourced and outright false claims, according to Dr. A.J. Bauer, assistant professor in the department of journalism and creative media. Social media only exacerbates a problem that has plagued modern democracies for a century — how to ensure the public is making prudent decisions based on accurate information. Bauer suggests the need for a more historical context. “History shows us that moments like these, where fears of public susceptibility to misinformation are heightened, are also often moments of great democratic opportunity,” Bauer said. “Rather than seek to foreclose the uncertainties of our present moment, what would it look like to embrace them? To realize that what it means to be ‘informed’ is itself subject of political disagreement? My work suggests that times like these call for more politics, not less. Folks concerned with misinformation ought to organize their neighborhoods and workplaces, to promote political visions designed to foster solidarity and collective responsibility in response to the empirical conditions that render all of us vulnerable — from pandemics, to wars, to global climate change.” For more information, contact Bauer at ajbauer2@ua.edu. 

IS INVASION OF ASIAN SPIDER IMMINENT? — The large, colorful Joro spider, which arrived from Asia around 2013, is spreading through the southeastern United States and up the eastern seaboard. However, Dr. John Abbott, chief curator and director of museum research and collections at the Alabama Museum of Natural History, said he’s not convinced they will be a huge problem. “Members of this genus are found throughout the warmer climates of the world, and we have a native species right in Alabama. It’s called the Golden Silk Orbweaver (Trichonephila clavioes),” Abbott said. And while Abbott doesn’t expect the Joro to do any harm, he said, “Accidentally introduced species like the Joro spider are never good as they can disrupt the natual balance of an ecosystem.” For more information, contact Abbott at jabbott1@ua.edu. 

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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.