BEST BETS
UA HONORS WEEK 2023 FEATURES TAPPING ON THE MOUND — The University of Alabama will celebrate the achievements of outstanding students and faculty during Honors Week, April 3-7, culminating in the Tapping on the Mound ceremony on Honors Day. The Tapping on the Mound ceremony will be at 1:30 p.m. Friday, April 7, on the historic Mound at the west side of the UA Quad. The rain location will be the English Building. The Tapping on the Mound ceremony has been a university tradition since the early 1900s. University honor groups Omicron Delta Kappa, Mortar Board, Blue Key National Honor Society and Anderson Society will induct members. For more information, contact Dr. Rosalind Moore-Miller, UA Division of Student Life, at rlmoore@ua.edu.
DEWAR NAMED UA’S SEC ACHIEVEMENT AWARD WINNER — Dr. Andrew Raffo Dewar, professor of interdisciplinary arts, was named the 2023 Southeastern Conference Faculty Achievement Award winner for The University of Alabama. The SEC Faculty Achievement Award recognizes the exceptional teaching accomplishments and scholarly contributions of faculty at the conference’s member institutions. Dewar is professor of interdisciplinary arts in UA’s New College, with a cross-appointment in the School of Music. He is a composer, soprano saxophonist, electronic musician, ethnomusicologist and arts organizer.
CURRENT COMMENT
NOTRE DAME RESTORATION CONTINUES FOR SCHEDULED COMPLETION NEXT YEAR — Dr. Jennifer Feltman, associate professor of medieval art and architecture, is part of an international research team that has worked to restore the Cathedral of Notre Dame following a devastating fire April 15, 2019. “Four years later, the reconstruction scheduled for completion in 2024 is well underway,” said Feltman. “Soon, the new wooden framework for the roof and spire, which is currently being constructed in a workshop east of Paris, will rise on the Parisian skyline. As we are beginning to see the resurrection of Notre Dame, researchers are also learning new things about its original design as the first Gothic building to use iron ties to make its soaring height possible. We are also learning about the brightly colored paints that once covered many of its exterior sculptures.” To schedule an interview, contact Feltman at jmfeltman@ua.edu or call 251-272-6402.
ILLEGAL PLANT TRADE THREATENS SEVERAL SPECIES — “While many people discovered the joys of caring for houseplants during the COVID-19 pandemic, many popular species of plants, ranging from highly desirable orchids to cacti and other succulents are also traded illegally on the international market,” said Dr. Jared Margulies, assistant professor with the department of geography. “Plants are often traded illegally without proper Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora permits, including on popular online marketplace platforms like Ebay, Etsy, Instagram or Facebook. Recent research published in the journal “Conservation Biology” suggests that within the U.S. and United Kingdom, 10-15% of cactus and succulent collectors, for instance, engage or have previously engaged in some form of illegal wildlife trade in plants.” To schedule an interview, contact Marguiles at jdmargulies@ua.edu.
EVENTS
UA JAZZ BAND PRESENTS POP, BROADWAY HITS — The UA Opera Jazz Band will perform jazz, pop and Broadway favorites April 4 at 7:30 p.m. at Bryant-Jordan Hall on the UA campus. Admission is free and open to the public.
PALEONTOLOGICAL TRACK MEET — The Alabama Museum of Natural History and Alabama Paleontological Society will host the Paleontological Track Meet April 8 at 11 a.m. Paleontologists will be bringing in fossil trackways, fossil invertebrates and fossil plants found in mines and other places from Alabama’s Coal Age for temporary display and photography on tables in the Grand Gallery of Smith Hall on the UA campus. For more information, contact Dr. Adiel Klompmaker, UA Museums, at aaklompmaker@ua.edu.
REMEMBERING THE HOLOCAUST — Bama Hillel and the UA Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will host a special program to honor the lives of those lost during the Holocaust April 10 at 6 p.m. in The University of Alabama Student Center Theater. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear from second-generation Holocaust survivor Esther Levy. She will share the detailed life experiences of her mother Tobi Kamornik Gerson and discuss ways to explore strategies for responding to acts of intolerance and hatred and develop a commitment to promoting social justice and human rights.
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