ANNOUNCEMENT
Due to the extraordinary need for social distancing, The University of Alabama is operating under limited business operations, which includes essential staffing and remote work assignments. Our goal is to promote social distancing and limit on campus work to the fullest extent possible.
While employees in the department of communications are working remotely, they are available to assist members of the media. Reporters are encouraged to contact the sources below or to use our expert directory to find contact information for other subject matter experts.
BEST BETS
UA HELPING FABRICATE PROTECTION FOR HEALTH CARE WORKERS – The University of Alabama community has come together to help provide 3D-printed personal protective equipment, or PPE, for health care workers locally and in the region. Two groups across three colleges on campus are producing face shields for health care professionals at University Medical Center, DCH Health System in Tuscaloosa and UAB Hospital. For more information, contact Adam Jones, UA Communications, adam.jones@ua.edu.
UA TO STUDY HOW EMOTIONS IMPACT BEHAVIOR TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC – A psychology researcher at The University of Alabama was awarded a federal grant to study how people’s emotions influence their response to the spread of the novel coronavirus. For more information, contact Dr. Philip Gable, associate professor of psychology, pgable@ua.edu.
STUDENT SHOPPING FOR ELDERLY SERVICE EXPANDS TO TUSCALOOSA, BIRMINGHAM – University of Alabama students are expanding a free grocery delivery service for seniors that was started by a UA student. Leave It To Us, a non-profit organization that helps senior citizens practice social distancing by using volunteers to grocery shop for them for free, now has Tuscaloosa and Birmingham branches. For more information, contact Lauren Shilling, lmshilling@crimson.ua.edu, 954-540-0856, or Ibukun Afon, itafon1@gmail.com, 770-329-8677.
UA PROGRAM HELPS SMALL BUSINESS IMPACTED BY COVID-19 – The Alabama Small Business Development Center Network, based at The University of Alabama’s Office for Research and Economic Development, is providing direct assistance to small businesses in Alabama in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information, contact Adam Jones, UA Communications, adam.jones@ua.edu.
UA MUSEUMS GOES ONLINE TO PROVIDE EDUCATIONAL CONTENT – University of Alabama Museums is livestreaming daily educational content. The videos will be on the Facebook pages of the Alabama Museum of Natural History, Gorgas House Museum, Mildred Westervelt Warner Transportation Museum and Moundville Archaeological Park. While UA museums are closed because of COVID-19, each museum will continue to provide educational outreach through daily programming featuring experts in various fields, offering Q&A time for those watching at home. For more information, contact Rebecca Johnson, UA Museums, at 404-790-6617 or rljohnson8@ua.edu.
UA GRADUATE SCHOOL WAIVES TEST SCORE REQUIREMENTS IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19 – To better accommodate applicants to UA’’s Graduate School in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, UA will temporarily waive admission and language tests score requirements for the summer and fall 2020 as well as spring 2021 semesters. As of March 24, most admission test scores, including the GRE, GMAT, MAT and MCAT, will be waived. The change is effective immediately and will affect all applicants, both on campus and online, whose scores have not been received as of March 15. In addition, international applicants required to submit a language test score have the option to take the Duolingo English test. For more information, contact Dr. Andrew Goodliffe at amg@ua.edu.
UA ACCESS SUPPORT CENTER OFFERS FREE ONLINE COURSES TO GRADES 7-12 – The UA ACCESS Support Center, in collaboration with the Alabama State Department of Education, is offering free online courses through its Franchise Model to all students in grades 7-12 in the state of Alabama. ACCESS, which stands for Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators and Students Statewide, is a cornerstone in providing equitable education to all Alabama public school students in a cost‐effective model regardless of where they live. UA’s ACCESS Support Center, part of the College of Continuing Studies, designs more than 120 courses for grades 7-12. For more information, contact Dr. Kevin D. Besnoy at kbesnoy@ccs.ua.edu.
CURRENT COMMENT
UA EXPERTS AVAILABLE TO DISCUSS ISSUES AROUND K-12 SCHOOL CLOSURE – Faculty at The University of Alabama are available to discuss aspects of continuing the academic year for primary and secondary schools remotely across the state. For assistance with reaching any of these sources or for topics not highlighted, please contact Shane Dorrill, assistant director of communications, at shane.dorrill@ua.edu.
UA ECONOMISTS OFFER ANALYSIS ON STATE, NATIONAL ECONOMY – Economists with the Center for Business And Economic Research in the Culverhouse College of Business published an analysis for the economic response and outlook to the novel coronavirus pandemic. “Optimistically, the state economy will be back on a normal path of recovery by the fourth quarter,” they write. “… The length of the downturn and the subsequent recovery will depend on how strong the policy responses (both monetary and fiscal) are and how these policies help businesses, state and local governments, and households weather the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic.” For more information, contact Dr. Sam Addy, associate dean for economic development outreach and senior research economist, saddy@cba.ua.edu and Dr. Ahmad Ijaz, CBER’s executive director and director of economic forecasting, aijaz@culverhouse.ua.edu.
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