MONDAY, SEPT. 18 – SUNDAY, SEPT. 24
RESEARCH
FRUIT FLIES MAY HELP UNDERSTAND HOW SOME SPECIES EAT POISON — Out of hundreds of species of fruit flies, a handful can eat toxic mushrooms, and understanding why and how they pull this off could answer broader questions about evolution and adaptation. For more information, contact Adam Jones, UA communications, 205-348-4328 or adam.jones@ua.edu.
THE FATE OF BUSINESSES — Twenty years after the largest number of initial public offerings in one year took place, a new study from UA’s business school explores what happened to these IPO companies in order to identify lessons from their successes and failures. Structural cohesion, which promotes internal strength, is the key to keeping a business with an IPO going over the long haul, said Dr. Theresa M. Welbourne, a researcher in UA’s Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration. The study examined 802 firms, and only 100 of those were “alive” as of Dec. 31, 2016. For details, contact Richard LeComte, UA communications, rllecomte@ur.ua.edu, 205/348-3782.
BEST BETS
INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT SIGNED BY GERMAN, ALABAMA UNIVERSITIES — Leaders from several German and Alabama universities recently met in Tuscaloosa to sign an International Memorandum of Understanding giving Alabama engineering students a chance to study in Germany. The memorandum, signed by the schools’ provosts, establishes an exchange program among the universities in the electrical and mechanical engineering departments. The Alabama universities participating in the partnership are UA, the University of Alabama in Huntsville, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Auburn University and the University of South Alabama. For more information, contact Alana Norris, engineering communications, 205-348-6444, anorris@eng.ua.edu
NEW PATH INTO SECONDARY MATHEMATICS TEACHER EDUCATION — UA has created a new pathway to get the best and brightest minds into secondary mathematics teacher education. The Alabama State Department of Education recently approved a new UA accelerated master’s program that will allow select undergraduate math and math education majors to complete master’s degree requirements and achieve teacher certification simultaneously. Program participants would then begin their math education careers at a salary of nearly $6,000 greater than those who begin teaching with a bachelor’s degree. For more information, contact David Miller, Strategic Communications, at 205-348-0825 or david.c.miller@ua.edu.
EVENTS
SELMA ICON AMONG INDUCTEES FOR ALABAMA SOCIAL WORK HALL OF FAME — Patricia Swift Blalock, who integrated Selma’s public library in the 1960s, will be posthumously inducted into the Alabama Social Work Hall of Fame Friday, Sept. 22. Blalock, along with four others in the 2017 class, will be honored during a ceremony at the NorthRiver Yacht Club in Tuscaloosa. The ceremony begins at 11:30 a.m. Upon retiring from social work in 1946, Blalock joined the Selma/Dallas County Public Library, where she spent 10 years as an assistant before becoming director and later leading the full, peaceful integration of the library in 1963, a year before the Civil Rights Act was signed into law. For more information, contact David Miller, Strategic Communications, at 205-348-0825 or david.c.miller@ua.edu.
LOOKING AHEAD
NURSING HALL OF FAME TO BE OCT. 5 — Five nursing professionals will be inducted into the 2017 Alabama Nursing Hall of Fame. The ceremony will take place Thursday, Oct. 5, at the Embassy Suites Hotel Ballroom in Tuscaloosa. Tickets may be purchased for $100 by phoning 205-348-7429. Deadline for tickets is Sept. 28. For more information, contact Kim Eaton, UA communications, 205-348-8325 or kim.eaton@ua.edu.
MOUNDVILLE FESTIVAL SLATED FOR OCT. 4-7 — The annual Moundville Native American Festival will be held Oct. 4-7 at Moundville Archaeological Park. Festival hours are 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. during the week and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. The cost is $10 for students; $10 for seniors; and $12 for adults. For more information, contact Kim Eaton, UA communications, 205-348-8325 or kim.eaton@ua.edu.