UA Preview

MONDAY, NOV. 11 – SUNDAY, NOV. 17, 2013

BEST BETS

UA PRESIDENT TO SPEAK TO FACULTY AND STAFF NOV. 13 – UA President Judy Bonner will give her Fall 2013 State of the University address at the University’s fall faculty/staff meeting Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 1:30 p.m. in the Rast Room of the Bryant Conference Center. Recipients of the Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award, the Outstanding Commitment to Advising Award and the Sam S. May Award will also be recognized during the meeting. Contact: Cathy Andreen, director of media relations, 205/348-8322, candreen@ur.ua.edu

VETERANS DAY EVENTS – UA will present a Veteran’s Day ceremony from 11 a.m. to noon Monday, Nov. 11, on the Quad in front of Gorgas Library. Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Duane Lamb, UA assistant vice president, facilities and grounds, will be the keynote speaker. A Walk of Champions featuring luminarias is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 11, on the north side of Bryant-Denny Stadium. More events are posted at http://vets.ua.edu/. Contact: Richard LeComte, media relations, rllecomte@ur.ua.edu or 205/348-3782.

RESEARCH OFFICE HOSTS INNOVATION DAY – From a student-run company offering small-loans to fellow entrepreneurs to a faculty member’s approach to lowering replacement costs for electric vehicle batteries, a variety of innovative approaches will be outlined during UA’s first Innovation Day set for Friday, Nov. 15. The event, held in the Rast Room of the Bryant Conference Center, begins at 9 a.m. and concludes about 3:15 p.m. An outside panel of business start-up experts from across the Southeast will discuss such topics as what’s needed to launch a successful business and what it’s like to run a start-up company. Mixed in throughout the day will be presentations by a dozen campus and local start-up businesses and innovators with an entrepreneurial spirit. Contact Chris Bryant in UA media relations, 205/348-8323, cjbryant@ur.ua.edu

PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR RECEIVES MENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH GRANT – Dr. Kim Giyeon, assistant professor of psychology at UA, will study geographic factors and racial disparities in mental healthcare across the country after securing a five-year, $573,000 grant from the National Institute of Aging. In previous research, Giyeon found that blacks in the South are less likely to use mental health services than whites, citing lack of trust in healthcare systems and differing socioeconomic statuses. The variables at the national level will be greater and more diverse, Giyeon said, making public data sets from the Centers for Disease Control and Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System important to examining the effects of location at local and regional levels.  “… the eventual goal is to have cutting-edge research in the intersection of aging, mental health and geography to find certain ways to eliminate or reduce the disparities,” said Giyeon. For more information, contact David Miller, media relations, 205/348-0825, 662/648-8595 or dcmiller2@ur.ua.edu.

UA PROFESSOR’S BOOK WINS AWARD – Dr. Joshua Rothman’s book, “Flush Times and Fever Dreams: A Story of Capitalism and Slavery in the Age of Jackson,” has won two major awards. Rothman’s book won the Gulf South Historical Association’s Michael V.R. Thomason Book Award for the best book on the history of the Gulf South earlier this year, and won the Frank L. and Harriet C. Owsley Award, given in recognition of a distinguished book in southern history, awarded by the Southern Historical Association, on Nov. 1.  Rothman is a UA history professor. Contact: Bobby Mathews, UA media relations, 205/348-4956 or bwmathews1@ur.ua.edu

STUDENTS, PROFESSORS WRITE BOOK CHAPTER ON AUTISM – Three UA students along with two professors will publish a book chapter detailing their research in developing a smart phone application for children with autism. The app is designed to boost the interpersonal communication skills of children with autism. Watch UA News (www.uanews.ua.edu) for more information or contact Adam Jones, UA engineering media relations, at 205/348-6444 or acjones12@eng.ua.edu.

UA EXPERT TIPS

UA MATTERS: TIPS FOR BUYING HEALTHY FOOD ON A BUDGET – Healthy eating is something many strive to achieve, but sometimes the grocery bill gets in the way. UA’s Sheena Quizon Gregg offers suggestions on how you can buy nutritious food, but stay within your budget. Quizon Gregg is a registered dietitian and assistant director of health education and prevention at UA. To see her tips, visit http://uanews.ua.edu/2013/11/ua-matters-tips-for-buying-healthy-food-on-a-budget/. Contact: UA media relations, 205/348-5320

UA MATTERS: HOLIDAY FOOD SAFETY – UA’s Diane Bridgewater offers suggestions on how to ensure your food is safely stored and prepared during the upcoming holidays so you and your guests can enjoy each bite. Bridegwater is an instructor in human nutrition and hospitality management in UA’s College of Human Environmental Science. For details, visit http://uanews.ua.edu/2013/11/ua-matters-food-safety-during-the-holidays/. Contact: UA media relations, 205/348-5320.

UA’S HEALTH CORNER PROVIDES PRACTICAL HEALTH TIPS – Dr. Richard Streiffer provides guidance on ways to keep a healthy heart in the latest video in UA’s Health Corner, http://uanews.ua.edu/videos/ua-health-corner-a-healthy-heart/. The video series addresses health topics and provides practical advice and guidance from UA’s expert sources and physicians in the College of Community Health Sciences. A new video topic posts every Wednesday morning. Contact: UA media relations, 205/348-5320.

EVENTS

ACCLAIMED PSYCHOLOGIST TO LECTURE, OFFER ADVICE ABOUT EVALUATING “EXTRAORDINARY CLAIMS” – Dr. Scott O. Lilienfeld, professor of psychology at Emory University, will deliver the Michael Dinoff Memorial Lecture at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15, in room 208 of Gordon Palmer Hall. Lilienfeld, whose work has been published in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Time and USA Today, will speak about how people can better navigate the confusing world of extraordinary claims, like psychics, Bigfoot, alternative medicine and extrasensory perception. “There won’t be answers, but there will be skills for everyone to avoid errors in thinking that we’re all prone to, and that can sometimes lead us to see patterns or meaning when it’s not really there,” Lilienfeld said. “With the advent of the web, there’s been an information explosion, but also a misinformation explosion. The problem is, without skills to evaluate the web, people don’t know how to sort wheat from the chaff.” Contact: David Miller, UA media relations, at 205/348-0825, 662/648-8595 or dcmiller2@ur.ua.edu.

SENIORS SHOWCASE DESIGN COLLECTIONS IN FASHION FOR LIFE – Fourteen University of Alabama apparel design students will showcase their senior collections in the fifth annual Fashion For Life. The design showcase will take place at 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 17, at the Ferguson Center ballroom. Tickets are $5 per person; all proceeds will benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Contact: Kim Eaton, media relations, 808/640-5912 or kkeaton@ur.ua.edu, or Brian Taylor, instructor and fashion show coordinator, 205/242-7000.

WOMEN IN THE SCIENCES – The UA Women in STEM Experience initiative will host its second Pathways to Success conference from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16, in Shelby Hall on campus. The conference will offer support, encouragement and education to women who are juniors, seniors and graduate students majoring in science, technology, engineering and math-related fields. Keynote speaker will be Dr. Mary Lou Soffa, the Owens R. Cheatham Professor of Computer Sciences at the University of Virginia. She will join several presenters from UA who will cover topics on career, education and lifestyle issues for women in STEM fields and careers. Contact Richard LeComte, UA media relations, 205/348-3782 or rllecomte@ur.ua.;edu.

INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION WEEK – UA’s Capstone International Center is sponsoring International Education Week from Monday, Nov. 11, to Tuesday, Nov. 19. Events include movies, workshops on resume writing and information about UA’s study-abroad programs as well as films, a science comedian and a look at the role of women in Afghanistan. Details may be found at the program’s website. The Capstone International Center initiates, promotes and supports UA’s international efforts on campus, throughout the state and around the world. For more details, contact Richard LeComte, UA media relations, rllecomte@ur.ua.edu or 205/348-3782.

SHAKESPEARE AND AMERICAN INTEGRATION: A SYMPOSIUM — A weekend-long event examining the English language and its effects on The University of Alabama and the South through the period of integration through the present day will be held at the Bryant Conference Center and the Moody Music Hall, Friday, Nov. 15-Sat. Nov. 16. The program is sponsored by  UA’s Hudson Strode Program in Renaissance Studies, College of Arts and Sciences, School of Music, department of American studies and New College. Contact:  Bobby Mathews, UA media relations, bwmathews1@ur.ua.edu or 205/348-4956.

BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON – Performances of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” a modernized take on the seventh president of the United States by UA’s department of theatre & dance will run Nov. 11-17 at 7:30 p.m. nightly at the Allen Bales Theater. Contact Bobby Mathews, UA media relations, bwmathews1@ur.ua.edu or 205/348-4956.

LOOKING AHEAD

TOWN HALL – The next UA Town Hall discussion, hosted by the Honors College, is “Where We Were and Where We Are: The University and Tuscaloosa, Always Moving Forward.” The event will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 18, in the Ferguson Center Forum. The event is free and open to the public. Participants are UA President Judy Bonner and Walt Maddox, mayor of Tuscaloosa. Contact: Richard LeComte, media relations, rllecomte@ur.ua.edu, 205/348-3782.

YUENGLING SISTERS HONORED – Jennifer Yuengling, plant coordinator for D.G. Yuengling & Son Inc., America’s Oldest Brewery, will give the Shila Bowron Leadership Lecture from 10 to 10:50 a.m. and from 1 to 1:50 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21, at UA’s Child Development Research Center. UA’s restaurant, hospitality and meetings management program in the College of Human Environmental Sciences is the sponsor of the event. In addition to the talk, faculty will induct Jennifer Yuengling and her sister, Sheryl Yuengling, into UA’s Hospitality Hall of Fame. The event is free and open to the public. Contact: Richard LeComte, UA media relations, rllecomte@ur.ua.edu, 205/348-3782.