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UA In the News — June 13, 2019

University of Alabama launches plan to double research awards within five years
Yellowhammer News – June 12
The University of Alabama Office for Research and Economic Development (ORED) has launched an ambitious five-year strategic plan to help facilitate the growth and impact of research enterprises on campus. UA made the announcement in a release, saying the new plan focuses on growing and developing faculty as well as significantly increasing the size and impact of research and scholarly activity.
Alabama News Center – June 12

Why We Shouldn’t Regulate Reputation Risk at Banks
Lex Blog – June 12
What do payday lenders, firearms retailers, porn stars, churches, coal mines, and condom companies have in common? All have complained that regulators pressured financial institutions to close their accounts over reputation-risk concerns. (This post comes to us from Julie Andersen Hill, the Alton C. and Cecile Cunningham Craig Professor of Law at the University of Alabama)

Pluripotency and the origin of animal multicellularity
Nature – June 12
A widely held—but rarely tested—hypothesis for the origin of animals is that they evolved from a unicellular ancestor, with an apical cilium surrounded by a microvillar collar, that structurally resembled modern sponge choanocytes and choanoflagellates … Affiliations: Department of Biological Sciences and Alabama Museum of Natural History, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL.

What I got for Father’s Day: Reflecting on parenthood, the law and justice
ABA Journal – June 12
It’s nearly Father’s Day as I write this. I have to say, I do kind of like Father’s Day. After all, there are 20 kids, more or less, who have called me “Dad” or some variation thereof. (William Horton is co-leader of the health care industry team at Jones Walker and head of the firm’s Birmingham, Alabama, office. He is a past chair of the ABA’s Health Law Section and currently serves in the ABA House of Delegates. In addition to his practice, Horton is an adjunct professor at the University of Alabama School of Law.)

Chemical castration isn’t necessary if the penalty is tough enough (editorial)
Dothan Eagle – June 12
Almost 20 years after then-Gov. Don Siegelman broached the idea of chemical castration for sex offenders who prey on children, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed a measure that would impose that on paroled offenders … During legislative debate over similar legislation in 2005, University of Alabama Criminal Justice Professor Robert Sigler told the Associated Press those who commit such acts are mentally ill, and that castration has not proven to be an effective way to stop sex offenders from repeating their crimes.