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UA Retiree News and You If you are a retired faculty or staff member of The University of Alabama, this e-newsletter is for you. Each quarterly e-newsletter includes a greeting from a UA administrator, a profile of a retiree, and news and information that keep you connected to the University family. UA Retiree News will bring you updates on UA’s endowment efforts, as well as campus growth, enrollment and faculty/staff news. We welcome your comments and announcements. Please send information about professional awards, publishing efforts, conferences attended or papers presented by our retirees, to retireenews@ua.edu. Greetings from the Capstone Whether you’re a retiree, faculty, staff, student or alumnus, “back to school” in the fall is a special time for all of us who have dedicated our lives to the advancement of higher education. This fall, we again welcome a tremendously talented class of freshmen to the Capstone – the class of 2013. Thanks to your work in past years and the ongoing work of our faculty and staff today, we expect our enrollment to continue to grow as planned – in quality and quantity – as we celebrate record enrollment of 28,807 students! Fall also means football and we, of course, look forward to Saturdays and cheering on the Crimson Tide. Enjoy this issue of UA Retiree News, and have a fantastic 2009 “back to school/Roll Tide” season. Judy Bonner Retiree Profile: Dr. Chet Alexander After 37 years of service at the Capstone as a faculty member in the department of physics and astronomy and assistant vice president in the Office for Academic Affairs, Chester (Chet) Alexander has directed his attention to other creative activities. Just before retirement he enrolled as a student in the art department and has created a number of physics-related sculptures on display in the physics department and the Bevill Research Building: Sculptures of Einstein, Faraday, Newton, Galileo and Copernicus, and sculptures of a wave packet, a double helix, a spiral galaxy and string theory. As an officer and participant in the Tuscaloosa Crimson Pride Barbershop Harmony Chorus, he has traveled to Russia and cities in the southeastern United States for programs and competitions. He has been an officer and participant in the West Alabama Woodworkers Association (WAWA), and has taught classes and presented his work at the WAWA exhibition at the Kentuck Art Festival. He and his wife Suzanne have served as course coordinators, students and teachers in the Osher Lifelong Learning institute (OLLI) at UA. Through courses offered at OLLI, they have been trained as docents for the Westervelt-Warner Museum and have helped with school children visits to the Museum. They have enjoyed travel trips to Alaska, and several countries in Europe, some arranged through the OLLI program. They also enjoy time with their two daughters’ families and the five grandchildren living in Tuscaloosa. In his spare time Chet enjoys carving wooden creatures for his grandchildren, and biking with his family and the Druid City Bicycle Club. Osher Lifelong Learning Institute OLLI is more than academic courses and field trips. At the heart of the program are the members, people like you and me. OLLI has developed an interesting community of people who share a curiosity about places, people and ideas. Walking together in a garden full of plants that existed in Alabama in the 1800s, laughing at a line in an old movie, or arguing over the seven deadly sins forges interesting friendships. When you find those same people at an Alabama softball game or at a Theater Tuscaloosa play, your world has expanded exponentially. In short, we have fun, we like each other and we enjoy doing things together ... in class and out! OLLI offers a wonderful variety of programs both during the day and the evening. For more information, contact Lois Strachan at (205) 348-6482. UA Employee Health Fair Comes to Coleman Coliseum Oct. 14 “Be Wise! Eat & Exercise Healthy, and Live Well!” is the theme of the UA Employee Health Fair on Oct. 14, 2009, 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m. in the concourse area of Coleman Coliseum. This year, more than 75 health care providers, partners and companies are expected to be on hand. At least 1,000 doses of the “seasonal” flu vaccine (not the swine flu vaccine) will be available, given by nurses from the University Medical Center and by student nurses from the Capstone College of Nursing on a first-come, first-served basis to UA employees, their spouses and UA retirees. Wal-Mart Vision Center will conduct free vision screenings; free hearing tests will be done by UA’s Speech & Hearing Center on a first-come, first-served basis. UA retirees must show a Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Alabama health plan ID card or show an Alabama driver’s license or other photo ID to gain entry into the health fair. (Retirees are not eligible for WellBama health screenings.) Several UA coaches and Big Al will make a visit to the health fair between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. Refreshments such as bottled water and diet soft drinks, plus food samples from various food vendors, will be available. A grand door prize drawing will be held at 2 p.m. To be eligible for the grand door prize retirees must have at least two of the following health screenings done: flu shot, blood pressure check, eye screening or hearing test. Contact John Kasberg, UA Risk Analyst, at jkasberg@fa.ua.edu or see http://financialaffairs.ua.edu/fafiles/health-fair/ for more details on the health fair. No one under age 19 admitted. News and Activities Fall 2009 Enrollment Breaks Record – The 2009-2010 academic year started with great promise as a freshman class of unprecedented size and academic quality joined the UA family. UA Launches New Marketing Campaign – “Touching Lives (http://www.ua.edu/touchinglives/) ,” UA’s new marketing campaign, officially went nationwide recently with commercials (http://uanews.ua.edu/video/) televised during Alabama football games. Also as part of the campaign, UA refreshed its home page (http://www.ua.edu/) , which features two new videos, “Notes from Alabama (http://www.ua.edu/features/notesfromua/) ” and “I Work at UA (http://www.ua.edu/features/iworkatua/) .” University Club – The University Club honored retiring employees with a luncheon this summer. Dr. and Mrs. Robert Witt, Charles Hilburn, Tom Jones of the University Club Board and others were present to recognize the dedication of employees who had given between 13 and 50 years of service to the Club. The Club has engaged a new executive chef, David Dickensauge, and looks forward to sharing his talent with Creole/New Orleans style dishes with current and future members of the University Club. http://dialog.ua.edu/2009/08/new-university-club-chef-brings-fresh-approach-to-menu/ Student Recreation Center Welcomes Retirees – The membership rate for UA faculty/staff retirees is $120 per person per semester. The prorate date is Oct. 26; after that date a membership can be purchased for half price. The semester ends Jan. 6, 2010.
Lloyd Hall Now Home to New College – Lloyd Hall has been renovated as a general classroom building. In addition, it is the new home of New College, the Classroom Resource Center, the Writing Lab and the McNair Scholars Program. A computer lab and food court are expected to open later this year. Homecoming – Homecoming is Saturday, Oct. 17, and the Crimson Tide hosts the University of South Carolina. The Saturday morning parade begins at 9 a.m. and will be followed by tailgating on the Quad and the football game. This year’s theme is “A Return to Glory.” http://homecoming.ua.edu/ School of Music – The Celebrity Series 2009-2010 begins Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 7:30 p.m. Flautist Maxim Rubtsov and pianist Pamela Penick?open the season with dancers from the department of theatre and dance. On Friday, Nov. 13, at 7:30 p.m., the duo named Trout Fishing in America brings a family-friendly love of music to the stage; a perfect musical evening for grandparents and grandchildren to share! Hilaritas, the traditional holiday favorite since 1969, can be enjoyed on Friday, Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 6 at 3 p.m. The University of Alabama Opera Theatre 2009-2010 Season opens with “Masque: Music that Haunts” on Friday, Oct. 30, at 7:30 p.m. and?Sunday, Nov. 1, at 3 p.m. in the Choral/Opera Room of Moody Music Building. It’s an evening of scenes, songs and arias from opera and musical theatre, sung tales of witches, goblins and ghosts. Fun for the whole family. http://music.ua.edu/calendar-of-events/ Theatre and Dance – The 2009-2010 theatre and dance season offers performances ranging from “Hair” the rock musical that helped define the 1960s, to Shakespeare and eclectic dance choreography. Upcoming performances include: “The Time of Your Life” by William Saroyan, Sept. 29-Oct. 4, Tuesday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Saturday-Sunday, 2 p.m., Gallaway Theatre. Production contains adult situations, content and period language. Dance Alabama! Fall 2009 Concert, Oct. 13-16, Tuesday-Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 5:30 p.m., Morgan Auditorium “Hair”, Oct. 26-Nov. 1, Monday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday-Sunday at 2 p.m. Adult themes and situations, recommended for mature audiences only. Allen Bales Theatre “Picasso at the Lapin Agile” by Steve Martin, Nov. 10-15, Tuesday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday-Sunday, 2 p.m., Gallaway Theatre ARDT Fall 2009 Concert, Nov. 17-20, Tuesday-Thursday, 7:30 p.m. and Friday, 5:30 p.m. in Morgan Auditorium. http://www.as.ua.edu/theatre/calendar.html Public Sky Viewings – UA astronomers invite the community to public sky viewings. Dates for the fall semester include: Friday, Oct. 16, 7:30 p.m., Gallalee roof, viewing Jupiter and stellar objects, hosted by Dr. Dawn Williams, assistant professor (Homecoming Weekend) Friday, Oct. 23, 7:30 p.m., Gallalee roof, viewing Jupiter - Galilean Nights, hosted by Dr. Jimmy Irwin, assistant professor. (Galilean Nights are scheduled, internationally, over a three-day period to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s discovery of the large moons of Jupiter. It’s part of the International Year of Astronomy.) Friday, Nov. 20, 7-10 p.m., Moundville Archaeological Park (across from the museum), star clusters and nebulae, hosted by Drs. Bill Keel and Ron Buta, professors. Tuesday, Dec. 1, 7:30 p.m., 227 Gallalee, public talk 8 p.m., Gallalee roof, viewing the moon and Jupiter, hosted by Keel. All sky viewings are contingent upon the weather. Please give advance notice if you plan to bring a large group. For more information about scheduled events, call 348-5050 or go online to http://www.astr.ua.edu/Public.html. |
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