BEST BETS
COMBINING CONVENTIONAL MEDS WITH ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES TO HEALTH – Many people use a combination of conventional medicine and nonmainstream practices, like all-natural products or mind and body practices, for a whole person approach to their health care. The 17th annual Rural Health Conference, hosted by the Institute for Rural Health Research at UA’s College of Community Health Sciences, seeks to educate community members and health care providers in rural areas about how this works. This year’s conference, which is titled “Complementary and Integrative Medicine: A Whole Person Approach to Health Care,” will be held Wednesday, April 27, and Thursday, April 28, at the Bryant Conference Center. For more details, contact Leslie Zganjar, director of communications in the College of Community Health Sciences, 205/348-3079, lzganjar@ua.edu.
STUDENTS RECEIVE TRUMAN, HERTZ AWARDS – Three outstanding UA students have received prestigious honors for graduate study in the past week. Ciara Malaugh, of Huntsville, and Dana Sweeney, of Kingsland, Georgia, were named Truman Scholars for public service. Sarah McFann, of Arlington, Tennessee, was named a Hertz Fellow for graduate study in engineering. Their achievement demonstrates the continued academic success of UA students. In addition, three UA students recently were named Hollings Scholars, and two received Goldwater Scholar recognition. For more details, contact Richard LeComte, media relations, rllecomte@ur.ua.edu, 205/348-3782.
DOCUMENTING JUSTICE – UA’s Center for Ethics & Social Responsibility and the UA department of telecommunication & film will host the 10th Annual Documenting Justice film screening at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 26, at the Bama Theatre in downtown Tuscaloosa. The screening is free and open to the public. The event features five short documentaries. They show how students can document and analyze culture and social experience – and communicate about issues of justice and injustice in Alabama – through videography. For more details, contact Richard LeComte, media relations, rllecomte@ur.ua.edu, 205/348-3782.
UA EXPERT TIPS
UA MATTERS: VITAL INFORMATION ON FOOD — Label claims on food products can provide a wealth of information about the foods we eat but can sometimes be daunting to understand. Being aware of what these claims mean can enhance your shopping experience and allow you to choose foods based on your health needs. Find out more in this week’s UA Matters. For assistance, contact: Kim Eaton, UA media relations, at 808/640-5912 or kkeaton@ur.ua.edu.
UA MATTERS: TIPS FOR MOMS, DADS IN DEVELOPING INFANT ATTACHMENT BONDS – From learning to read your baby’s cues to reducing concerns of spoiling your infant, UA’s Dr. Mary Elizabeth Curtner-Smith provides some tips on how to develop this important attachment between parents and baby in UA Matters. Contact: Kim Eaton, UA media relations, at 808/640-5912 or kkeaton@ur.ua.edu.
EVENTS
‘CO/LAPSE’ TUSCALOOSA PREVIEW: Join the UA theatre and dance department for the Tuscaloosa preview of “co/lapse,” which will premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August. From a molecular level to social constructs, nature’s tendency toward disorder overrides our basic desire for systematic structure. The constant pressure to collapse into chaos is combatted by the will to rise. Succumbing to gravity and the momentum of one another, six choreographers and eight dancers investigate the curious nature of entropy and its necessity as they seek equilibrium within the deterioration that surrounds us. The preview is at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 26, in Morgan Auditorium. For more details, contact Richard LeComte, media relations, rllecomte@ur.ua.edu, 205/348-3782.
LOOKING AHEAD
CONFERENCE ON TRAILS — UA’s Center for Economic Development in partnership with the Alabama Trails Commission is sponsoring a leadership workshop on Alabama trails from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 14, in Tuscaloosa. The one-day workshop, which features trail tours, will be at the Mary Ann Phelps Activity Center, 2200 Rock Quarry Drive. The workshop will feature information on innovative public-private partnership case studies including the Back Country Horsemen Association, the West Alabama Mountain Bike Association, Tuscaloosa Parks and Recreation Authority and the Cheaha Trail Riders. For more details, contact Candace Johnson Skelton, with the UA Center for Economic Development, candace.skelton@ua.edu, 205/348-8338.