MONDAY, AUG. 11 – SUNDAY, AUG. 17, 2014
BEST BETS
FRESHMEN IN ACTION – More than 250 University of Alabama Honors College freshmen and upper-class leaders will begin the fall semester with community service projects through Alabama Action, Outdoor Action and Black Belt Action. The programs will run through Friday, Aug. 15, in the West Alabama community. Students in the Honors College’s Alabama Action will be working at local elementary schools, while the Honor College’s Outdoor Action students will be working on rivers and creeks. Black Belt Action students will be working at a head-start center in Marion, Alabama. A media day for Alabama Action is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 14, at Matthews Elementary School, 1225 Rice Mine Road in Northport . Students will work outdoors and indoors on service projects. For details, contact Susan Alley at 205/348-5500, 334/332-8422 or susan.alley@ua.edu. The media day for Outdoor Action will be from 8:30 a.m. to noon Thursday, Aug. 14, at Hurricane Creek. For information on covering Outdoor Action and directions, contact Randy Mecredy at 205/348-2136 or rmecredy@bama.ua.edu. For information on Black Belt Action, contact Henry Downes, Black Belt Action student director, at 860/305-5327 or hmdownes@crimson.ua.edu. For assistance from media relations, contact Richard LeComte at 205/348-3782 or rllecomte@ur.ua.edu.
GRADUATE STUDENT ORIENTATION – Incoming graduate students to UA will participate in an orientation event from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, at the River Market in Tuscaloosa. The event will feature a band, resource tables for both university and community participants and a sampling of food from local restaurants. The event is open to graduate students, but media are invited to cover the event. Contact: Andrew M. Goodliffe, assistant dean of the Graduate School, 205/ 348-7167, amg@ua.edu
ADMINISTRATOR ELECTED CHAIR OF FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP – Members of a national initiative designed to reduce administrative burdens associated with federal research grants and contracts elected a UA administrator as its chair in results announced last week. The Federal Demonstration Partnership, a cooperative initiative among 10 federal agencies and 119 institutional recipients of federal research funding, elected Cindy Hope, UA assistant vice president for research and director of the Office for Sponsored Programs, as its chair for the initial three years of its next emphasis, known as Phase VI. The number of institutional members will increase to 155 in this new phase. Contact Chris Bryant, UA Media Relations, 205/348-8323, cbryant@ur.ua.edu for more information.
UA EXPERT TIPS
BACK TO SCHOOL – Want to help your k-12 student excel in literacy courses this year? The University of Alabama’s Dr. Shannon Henderson, assistant professor of literacy education, can provide tips for parents to help their children comprehend texts and accelerate their progress. Henderson has led professional development sessions for reading teachers and successful service projects in area schools, such as a k-2 tutoring program at Holt Elementary School in the spring. Henderson is available Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. Contact: David Miller, UA Media Relations, 205/348-0825 or dcmiller2@ur.ua.edu
RE-ESTABLISHING A ROUTINE – Amy Walker, a parent resource specialist within UA’s Child Development Resources, can answer questions related to preparing your child for the back-to-school routine. Contact Walker directly at 205/348-0181 or awalker@ches.ua.edu. For assistance, contact Chris Bryant in UA Media Relations, 205/348-8323 or cbryant@ur.ua.edu.
UA MATTERS: CHOOSING CHILD CARE – Finding child care is one of the most critical decisions facing parents during their children’s early years. As a parent, it is important to learn what quality child care looks like so that you can make the best possible decision for your child and your family. In the first of two UA Matters posts, representatives from UA’s Child Development Resources, a part of the College of Human Environmental Sciences, offer some key points parents need to consider. Contact UA Media Relations at 205/348-5320 for details on reaching a source.
CURRENT COMMENT
NEW SEC NETWORK RAISES QUESTIONS – Dr. Andrew Billings, Ronald Reagan Chair of Broadcasting in UA’s department of telecommunication and film, said the SEC Network is set to make a big impact in college sports. “In just its first year, the SEC Network has now assured a large footprint in the cable and satellite world,” Billings said. “With this week’s agreement with DirecTV, the SEC Network already stands to be earning at least the fourth-highest sports channel income with even more possibilities. Now questions will move to issues such as: what are the ramifications for watching games on Saturday? How will the SEC Network potentially alter game attendance?” Contact: Dr. Andrew Billings, 205-239-2337, acbillings@ua.edu
LOOKING AHEAD
MSNBC ANCHOR TO SPEAK AT 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF BLACKBURN INSTITUTE – Former U.S. Rep. Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and UA alumnus, will speak at 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 22, in the Moody Music Building Concert Hall. The event, which is free and open to the public, will highlight the 20th anniversary symposium of UA’s Blackburn Institute. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. The symposium will run from Friday, Aug. 22, to Saturday, Aug. 23. In addition to Scarborough’s talk, the institute will include a symposium on Alabama literature led by Rick Bragg, professor of writing at UA, at 11:45 a.m. Saturday at the Hotel Capstone as well as other panels about Alabama culture and the media. Scarborough, who graduated from UA in 1985, co-hosts “Morning Joe” with Mika Brzezinski. In 2011, he was named to the Time 100 list of the world’s most influential people. Contact: Richard LeComte, UA Media Relations, at 205/348-3782 or rllecomte@ur.ua.edu.