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BEST BETS  

BAMA BLITZ TO BOOST UA PASSION PROJECTS; SET FOR APRIL 19-21 — Bama Blitz, The University of Alabama’s annual online fundraising event, will begin at noon April 19 and end at noon April 21. Alumni, faculty, staff, students and supporters of UA can help build tomorrow’s legends by giving to one of several unique and impactful passion projects. The 2021 campaign raised a record 2,131 gifts totaling more than $3.6 million. For more information, contact Deidre Stalnaker at deidre.stalnaker@ua.edu. 

STATE BUSINESS LEADERS SOUR ON NEAR-TERM U.S. ECONOMY Even with confidence in the state economy growing along with increasing industry profits and sales, state business leaders are decidedly negative in their outlook for the nation’s economy, according to the latest quarterly survey by The University of Alabama. The UA Center for Business and Economic Research’s latest Alabama Business Confidence Index, taken in early March, showed nearly 58% of business leaders forecast worse economic conditions for the United States in the second quarter of 2022. The Alabama Business Confidence Index was 54.6, meaning state business leaders have mostly positive economic expectations for their businesses and the state economy in the upcoming quarter; however, the latest survey continues the downward trend. The ABCI dropped 2.6 points from the last survey and is down from 67 in a survey taken in June 2021, just before a resurgence of the coronavirus through the Delta variant. For more information, contact Adam Jones, UA Strategic Communications, at adam.jones@ua.edu.

READY TO LAUNCH! UA ALUMNUS TO PILOT SPACE MISSION  If all goes according to plan, UA graduate and NASA astronaut Bob Hines will soon be in space. Hines will pilot the SpaceX Crew-4 mission, scheduled to launch April 23, to the International Space Station. He will be responsible for vehicle performance and systems on a new SpaceX Crew Dragon, named Freedom, which will launch atop the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Originally from Pennsylvania, Hines earned a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from UA in 2010. Check out NASA’s blog for the mission for details. For more informationcontact Adam Jones, UA Strategic Communications, at adam.jones@ua.edu.

UA AWARDED $360 MILLION TO LEAD NATIONAL WATER EFFORT — With transformative support of up to $360 million over the next five years from the federal government, The University of Alabama is poised to become a standard bearer in translating water research into operations that improve the nation’s ability to predict water-related hazards and effectively manage water resources. The award from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the largest external award in the University’s history, will be administered by the Alabama Water Institute and acknowledges UA’s commitment to make water a signature research and academic focus. For more information, contact Adam Jones, UA Strategic Communications, at adam.jones@ua.edu  

HENDERSON NAMED DEAN OF UA COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING — Dr. Clifford L. Henderson has been named the next dean of The University of Alabama College of Engineering and will begin his tenure Aug. 1. Henderson comes to UA from the University of South Florida after spending five years as a professor and chair of the department of chemical, biological and materials engineering. Henderson has published more than 200 papers related to his research, including more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, contributed to more than 400 abstracts and presentations at national and international conferences, and served as principal investigator on more than $10 million in funding from a variety of federal agencies, industrial sponsors and industry consortia including the National Science Foundation, Defense Advanced Research Projects agency, U.S. Air Force, National Institutes of Health, Intel Corporation, Semiconductor Research Corporation and SEMATECH. For more information, contact Bryant Welbourne, UA Strategic Communications, at bryant.welbourne@ua.edu.

EVENTS   

TREE CAMPUS USA SPRING CELEBRATION — The University of Alabama has been named “Tree Campus USA” for the seventh consecutive year. To celebrate the honor, as well as spring Arbor Day, the UA Grounds Department will hold a tree-planting ceremony on the Peter Bryce Campus at 2 p.m., Monday, April 18. The tree will be planted in UA’s tree farm located behind the Printing and Mail Services Facility, 325 Kirkbride Lane. For more information, contact Donna Hoggle at dkemccray@ua.edu. 

GOLF TOURNAMENT FUNDRAISER SUPPORTS UA RISE CENTER — The RISE Tournament of Champions benefiting the UA RISE Center will be held April 20-21 at NorthRiver Yacht Club in Tuscaloosa. The tournament is a four-person scramble, handicaps required, with morning or afternoon tee times both days. On April 21, the public is invited to attend Chip in for RISE, a silent auction and cocktail reception, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at NorthRiver Yacht Club. Tickets for the auction are $30 per person or $50 per couple. For more information, contact Bryant Welbourne, UA Strategic Communications, at bryant.welbourne@ua.edu. 

OHMIGOD, YOU GUYS! UA THEATRE TO PERFORM “LEGALLY BLONDE” — The University of Alabama Department of Theatre and Dance will perform “Legally Blonde” April 21-23 at 7:30 p.m., and April 24 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in the Marian Gallaway Theatre. Tickets are $25 for adults, $17 for faculty, staff and seniors, and $14 for students, and can be purchased at ua.universitytickets.com. For more information, contact Emilia Stuart, marketing manager for UA Theatre and Dance, at epstuart@crimson.ua.edu  

ANTISEMITISM RESEARCH CONFERENCE TO BE HELD IN MONTGOMERY — Students from The University of Alabama, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Troy University, the University of West Alabama and the University of South Alabama have spent the semester studying antisemitism through a virtual class which will culminate in the first Antisemitism in U.S. and Global History Student Conference April 19-20. The conference will be held at the Rosa Parks Library, 252 Montgomery St., Montgomery. For more information, contact Dr. Daniel J. Levine, associate professor and Aaron Aronov Chair of Judaic Studies, at daniel.j.levine@ua.edu.  

CURRENT COMMENT   

DISTRACTED DRIVING CAN BE DEADLY — April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and a previous study from The University of Alabama showed how dangerous it can be when a driver is distracted by a phone or other electronic devices. From 2016 to 2020, more than 13,500 crashes were caused by these two distractions, resulting in 71 deaths and nearly 600 serious injuries. “The more you talk while driving, the more of a habit it becomes,” said Dr. David Brown, who led the study for the UA Center for Advanced Public Safety. “Think about the consequences of killing, or even causing injury to yourself or a family member. Think of the guilt you would feel if the crash impacted someone else’s family.” To schedule an interview, contact Dr. Brown at brown@cs.ua.edu.  

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