MONDAY, JAN. 29 – SUNDAY, FEB. 4
RESEARCH
SCHOLAR RECEIVES BOOK PRIZE – A book by Dr. Lucy Curzon, UA associate professor of art, has received the Historians of British Artist Book Award for Exemplary Scholarship on the Period after 1800. The book is “Mass-Observation and Visual Culture: Depicting Everyday Lives in Britain.” Curzon’s research focuses on identity politics as they concern the production of visual culture in 20th-century Britain. She has previously published work on LGBTQ+ portraiture as well as articles or chapters on the Ashington Group and Humphrey Spender’s photographs of Blackpool in the 1930s. To read more about Curzon and her book, go here. For more information, contact Curzon at 205/348-6458 or lcurzon@ua.edu. For assistance, contact Richard LeComte in UA communications, 205/348-3782 or richard.lecomte@ua.edu.
CURRENT COMMENT
BIRMINGHAM’S HOUSING MARKET COULD HELP ATTRACT FUTURE INDUSTRY – Although Birmingham didn’t make the cut of Amazon’s list of cities to build its second headquarters, the city, though smaller than the majority of the finalists, has a little-talked about advantage when competing for large firms — its housing market. Dr. Amanda Ross, assistant professor of economics, finance and legal studies, said an influx of workers can put pressure on already tight housing markets in large cities. “When local governments put together plans to attract companies like Amazon and Mercedes, so much of the emphasis is on the tax incentives and how this affects local government budgets,” Ross said. “The housing market is not discussed as commonly, but is an important piece to consider when deciding whether or not to bid for these firms and how to put together a competitive bid.” Ross is available to discuss Birmingham’s recruiting strengths this week. Contact Ross at 205/348-6313 or aross@culverhouse.ua.edu or David Miller, UA Strategic Communications, at 205/348-0825 or david.c.miller@ua.edu.
U.S. EMBASSY MOVE TO JERUALEM — Dr. Steven Jacobs, a Aaron Aronov Endowed Chair in Judaic studies in the religious studies department, is available to provide expert commentary on the recent announcement by Vice President Mike Pence that the United States will move its U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 2019. Contact Jacobs at sjacobs@ua.edu, or 205/348-0473.
BEST BETS
STUDENTS PROVIDE FREE TAX PREP SERVICES FOR AREA FAMILIES – Free tax preparation services for working families in the Tuscaloosa area are available at the McDonald Hughes Community Center and the Tuscaloosa Public Library (main branch), according to UA’s Center for Ethics & Social Responsibility. Services are available to working families making up to $54,000 a year with children in the home or $20,000 a year without children in the home. Tax services are provided by UA students. Alabama residents interested in scheduling a free tax preparation appointment should call 1-888-99-TAX-AL. For more information, contact, Megan Bailey, the center’s curriculum development director,at megan.bailey@ua.edu, 205/348-1691, or Lindsey Thomas, assistant director, lmthomas@ua.edu or 205/348-6491. For assistance, contact UA communications, 205/348-5320 or the center’s Jessica Lovett, research project coordinator, 205/348-6495.
GIVE A LIFT — UA’s Culverhouse Learning Initiative and Financial Training program is seeking student volunteers and community participants for its spring series of job and professional skill development programs. Culverhouse LIFT provides community members with free one-on-one job skill and financial literacy training with one of the more than 350 Culverhouse student volunteers. Included in those trainings are GED classes, professional development classes and beginner and intermediate Microsoft Excel and Word classes. To get involved, contact Lisa McKinney at lmckinne@culverhouse.ua.edu. The program also seeks speakers who can share business insights. For information on program support, contact Dr. Rich Houston at rhouston@cba.ua.edu. For additional assistance, contact Zach Thomas, director of marketing, communication for Culverhouse, at 205/48-8318 or zthomas@cba.ua.edu.
BOOK DRIVE — UA’s Center for Economic Development will offer the 2018 Books for the Alabama Black Belt campaign from Friday, Feb. 2, to Friday, Feb. 23. New or gently used classic and award-winning books found on school reading lists for K-12 children are accepted. A list of appropriate books is here: www.uced.ua.edu/books-for-the-black-belt.html. Donation boxes will be in Bidgood Hall, Gorgas Library, Nott Hall and Smith Hall. Books can also be dropped off at the center’s office at 621 Greensboro Ave. The 2017 campaign delivered more than 16,000 books to 53 school libraries within the Alabama Black Belt region. For more information, contact Sally Brown at 205/348-8344 or sally.brown@ua.edu. For assistance, contact Richard LeComte, 205/348-3782 or Richard.lecomte@ua.edu.
DANCE TOUR — For the second year, the student organization Dance Alabama! has joined forces with the Alabama State Council on the Arts as part of the Alabama Touring Artist Program. Starting at 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2,d at Pleasant Grove Elementary in Heflin, dancers will travel to schools across the state to perform and interact with K-12 students. A typical performance lasts around half an hour and is followed by a talkback. Students will learn dance technique and create a short dance of their own. The tour consists of five dates. For more information, including further tour dates, contact Richard LeComte, media relations, richard.lecomte@ua.edu, 205/348-3782.
UA VESSEL STICKERS AVAILABLE THROUGHOUT ALABAMA — The state of Alabama is offering UA collegiate vessel stickers to boat owners. Proceeds from the purchase will be used to fund scholarships at UA. For assistance, contact Bryant Welbourne, UA Strategic Communications, at 205/348-8325 or bryant.welbourne@ua.edu
EVENTS
CRIMINAL JUSTICE — The 29th Annual Dr. Ethel H. Hall African American Heritage Month Celebration colloquium will be from 11:30 a.m.to 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2, at the Hotel Capstone. Guest speaker is Anthony Ray Hinton, community educator at the Equal Justice Initiative. Hinton was falsely accused of committing two murders outside of Birmingham in 1985. He was wrongly convicted and spent nearly 30 years on Alabama’s death row before he was exonerated and freed in April 2015. His talk is titled “Surviving Criminal Justice in America.” The event is sponsored by the UA School of Social Work and held in honor of Dr. Ethel H. Hall. Hall was the first woman and African American to graduate from the University’s social work doctoral program. For more information, contact Liz Lary, School of Social Work, 205/348-5384, ealary@ua.edu.
ARTS AND CULTURE — The sixth annual Tuscaloosa Africana Film Festival, co-sponsored by The University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences and College of Arts and Sciences, will be held Saturday, Feb. 3, at the Bama Theatre in downtown Tuscaloosa. The event will be part of the Tuscaloosa Heritage Festival, a weekend of cultural activities hosted by the West Alabama Multicultural Alliance. As part of the Tuscaloosa Africana Film Festival, Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Tyrik Washington will lead a discussion on Thursday, Feb. 1, on the role of film and its influence on activism and social change. The workshop, titled “Arts in Activism,” and co-sponsored by UA’s College of Arts and Sciences and the UA African Students Association, will be held at Russell Hall, room 159, on the UA campus. For more information, contact Bill Foster at 334/322-0824 or Thad Ulzen at 205/552-6078.
LOOKING AHEAD
FREE BOOKS — In February 2018, the School of Library and Information Studies will award more than $12,000 in new children’s and UA books to at least five school libraries in the Black Belt region of the state and one school library in an economically deprived area of Alabama outside of the Black Belt Region through the SLIS Book Bonanza for the Black Belt (and Beyond) program. School librarians in the Black Belt counties of Alabama and other economically disadvantaged areas of the state are encouraged to apply for free books that will be awarded by Dr. Jamie C. Naidoo, professor at The University of Alabama School of Library and Information Studies. Interested school librarians can download and complete the application sheet and email it to jcnaidoo@slis.ua.edu with “Book Bonanza” in the subject line or fax it to 205/348-3746. Applications must be received no later than midnight Feb 23. Applications are available on the website: http://blackbeltbookbonanza.weebly.com/ By Feb. 28, at least six winning school libraries will be selected. For more information, go to the website http://blackbeltbookbonanza.weebly.com/ or contact Naidoo at jcnaidoo@slis.ua.edu.