MONDAY, SEPT. 25 – SUNDAY, OCT. 1
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.
BEST BETS
MAJOR GIFT TO SUPPORT BUSINESS-DATA INTELLIGENCE, CYBERSECURITY – Marillyn A. Hewson, chairman, president and CEO of Lockheed Martin, will present a major gift to support teaching and research of business-data intelligence and cybersecurity in UA’s Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration. A ceremony and media availability will be held at 11 a.m. today (Sept. 25) in 250 Bidgood Hall. For more information, contact Zach Thomas at 205-348-8318 or zthomas@cba.ua.edu or watch for an upcoming news release with more details.
DOCTORAL STUDENT NAMED ONE OF WORLD’S BEST HORN PLAYERS – Titles like best of the best still don’t sit well with UA doctoral student Joshua Williams. But, the 25-year-old Tuscaloosa native will have to get used to them, because the French horn virtuoso recently won first place in the professional division of the International Horn Competition of America held in Fort Collins, Colorado. The UA music student’s achievement is among the most monumental in the 100-year history of UA’s music school, said Charles “Skip” Snead, director and professor in UA’s School of Music. Watch for a news release with more details or contact Williams at jpwilliams1@crimson.ua.edu or 205-246-8358, Snead at ssnead@ua.edu or 205-348-7110 or Jamon Smith in UA communications at jamon.smith@ua.edu or 205-348-4956.
NURSING HOLDS DISASTER SIMULATION WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY – The Capstone College of Nursing will hold a disaster simulation beginning at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 27, and Thursday, Sept. 28. Nursing students will respond to smaller-scale “disasters” throughout the day. The simulation will take place on the first floor of the nursing building. For more information, contact Kim Eaton, UA communications, 205-348-8325 or kim.eaton@ua.edu.
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
UA THEATRE AND DANCE – UA theatre offers “We Are Proud to Present …” from Sept. 25 through Oct. 1 at the Allen Bales Theatre on the UA campus. As six actors plan and rehearse a presentation chronicling the German genocide of the Namibian people, tensions flare over just how to tell the story. The play examines issues of race and agency in storytelling, while offering audiences an intimate glimpse at what it means to create art. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $10: contact the box office at 205-348-3400 or theatre.dance@ua.edu. For more details, contact Richard LeComte, communications, richard.lecomte@ua.edu or 205-348-3782.
AUTHOR EVENT — Christina Baker Kline, author of “Orphan Train,” the 2017 Honors College Common Book, will speak at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26, in Moody Concert Hall. The lecture is free and open to the public. “Orphan Train” depicts the relationship between a teenager in foster care and an elderly woman who rode the orphan trains in her youth, traveling from New York to the Midwest, where she was taken in by a series of families. The novel is based on the story of the early 20th- century orphan trains. For more details, contact Richard LeComte, communications, richard.lecomte@ua.edu, 205-348-3782.
LOOKING AHEAD
BEAT AUBURN, BEAT HUNGER – The annual food drive to benefit the West Alabama Food Bank begins Sunday, Oct. 1. A kick-off event outside the Ferguson Center will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, Oct. 2. For more details, contact Richard LeComte, communications, richard.lecomte@ua.edu or 205-348-3782 or go to the Facebook page here.
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 UA communications, 205-348-5320.
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 UA communications, 205-348-5320.