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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 Happy New Year! The beginning of a new semester always brings renewed energy to campus, and we are pleased to take this opportunity to share some of this excitement with you. Spring semester at UA also means that many of our students have temporarily left campus for study abroad, co-op and internship experiences. These opportunities will enrich their educational experience and the entire campus community, upon their return. UA AWAY is an exciting new initiative of the Division of Student Affairs to encourage and support our students’ efforts to study, work and volunteer away from campus. As the year goes on, please watch for more information about UA AWAY and other new initiatives for students to enhance their classroom and co-curricular experiences. You are a vital part of our community and we invite you to learn more about the outstanding programs in Student Affairs by contacting us directly or visiting our Web site at http://www.sa.ua.edu. I know that 2010 will be another tremendous year at the Capstone, and I wish you and your families a happy and healthy new year. Mark D. Nelson, Ph.D. Retiree Profile: Dianne Kerr Dianne began her 30-year career at UA’s College of Community Health Science’s University Medical Center (formerly Capstone Medical Center) in 1976. She was a charge nurse for 22 years and nursing supervisor for eight years. She tremendously enjoyed working with the administration, faculty, Family Medicine residents, medical students, nurses, staff and patients. Very shortly after Dianne’s retirement, she and a close friend, Elaine Globetti, attended the first public meeting to discuss what is now called Osher for Lifelong Learning (OLLI). “To have been involved in such an absolutely awesome program which a number of members credit with giving them a purpose in life, and for giving them a reason to get out of bed in the morning, has been a great blessing,” Dianne says. Since Dianne’s retirement she has loved to travel. Past trips include Quebec, Niagara Falls, and the Grand Canyon and other wonders of the American West. In 2008 she went on an adventure with OLLI, a 15-day trip to Germany coordinated by Chris Bell, who also coordinated the 2009 trip to France and Italy. “The great sights, new knowledge and terrific fun with many new friends were awesome,” Dianne says. Volunteering in the food pantry at St. Mark United Methodist is one of Dianne’s favorite missions. She also coordinates The University of Alabama Retirees’ Association project of retirees volunteering at the University Medical Center. That project also is supplying books for children and magazines for adults for the waiting rooms. She is always looking for more volunteers. And, she and her husband, Dudley, are devoted and enthusiastic fans of Crimson Tide sports! Retiree Accomplishments Dr. Eric Baklanoff presented a paper titled "A Bountiful Legacy: U.S. Investment and Economic Diversification in Cuba during the l950s" at the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy (ASCE) Annual Meeting, Miami, Fla., Aug. 27-29. The paper will be published in CUBA IN TRANSITION, Vol. 19 (Spring 2010). Richard Brown, professor emeritus of mathematics, published the book "Are Science and Mathematics Socially Constructed? A Mathematician Encounters Postmodern Interpretations of Science" in February 2009. (The publisher World Scientic's Web page wspc.com also allows downloading of a sample of the book.) He has published six mathematical papers since his retirement in 2002. One of the more recent was published in the proceedings of a conference held in Hungary in 2007; it also contains artistic illustrations by his wife Phyllis H. Brown (See "Inequalities and Applications," Birkhauser, 2009). He is now working on a second book concerning Leibniz and the 17th-century intellectual climate. Marilee Brown-Wells became a member of the Board of Directors of Easter Seals West Alabama early in 2009 and also received the 2009 Circle Award. Dr. Marilyn B. Emplaincourt, director emerita of the UA Japan Program, has recently been elected to replace Rainer Albright Jemison as the vice-chair of the Tuscaloosa Sister Cities Commission (SCC). A charter member of the SCC, Emplaincourt is a member of the SCC executive committee, chaired by Tuscaloosa City Councilman Robert Lundell. She is also an active member of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UA, serving on the newspaper, curriculum, membership and marketing committees. Osher Lifelong Learning Institute OLLI at UA will begin classes on Jan. 19. Course offerings can be found at www.olli.ua.edu; or, call and request a catalog. Tuscaloosa Spring Program Gadsden Spring Program OLLI at UA has two locations: Bryant Conference Center in Tuscaloosa and Gadsden Center in Gadsden. Tuscaloosa-area residents are invited on Jan. 12 to the Bryant Conference Center from 4 until 5 p.m. for an information session on the OLLI spring program. At 5 p.m. there will be a reception to meet OLLI members and faculty. For more information, call Lois Strachan in the OLLI Office at 348-6482 or e-mail lstrachan@ccs.ua.edu. UA Benefits and Retirees To learn more about the benefits available to you as a retired UA faculty or staff member, visit the retirees page of the UA Human Resources Web site at http://hr.ua.edu/retiredemployees.html. News and Activities Realizing the Dream Concert – The 21st annual Realizing the Dream concert, honoring the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., will be held on Saturday, Jan. 16, at 7:30 p.m. at Moody Music Building. The theme for this year’s concert is “Realizing the Dream: Then and Now.” Belinda George-Peoples and Dr. Aaron Dobynes are featured guests. Also, this evening’s program includes music by the Prentice Concert Chorale, Tuscaloosa’s first integrated choral group founded in 1966. http://www.realizingthedream.ua.edu Virtual Campus Tour – Have you wondered how campus has changed since you were a faculty or staff member here? Experience UA's beautiful campus for yourself through our new immersive and interactive 360° virtual campus tour, which allows you to explore campus as if you were actually here. http://tour.ua.edu/virtual/ UA Seeks Input on Foster Auditorium – The University is soliciting feedback from the community on the concept of a plaza at Foster Auditorium that will be designed to commemorate the events surrounding the “Stand in the Schoolhouse Door.” Feedback may be shared on the UA Web site any time until Jan. 15. To provide online comments, please visit http://www.ua.edu and click on “Foster Auditorium Plaza Renovation” under Quick Links. The Web site also offers an opportunity to share personal stories or memories of Foster Auditorium. Spring Break 2010 – The holiday begins at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 12, and ends at 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 21. Theatre and Dance – The Department of Theatre and Dance has several performances in February and March, including Shakespeare’s “The Winter Tale” and “Saint Joan” by George Bernard Shaw, as well as the “Dance Alabama!” Spring Concert and ARDT Spring Concert. For dates, times and locations, please visit http://web.as.ua.edu/theatre/. The School of Music – The Celebrity Series continues with the Triton Bass Quintet on Sunday, Jan. 31, at 2 p.m.; pianist Spencer Mayer on Sunday, March 28, at 2 p.m.; and Tonic Sol-fa on Sunday, April 11, at 2 p.m. A number of other performances, ranging from opera to jazz, will also be offered. For times, dates and ticket information, please visit http://music.ua.edu/calendar-of-events/. |
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