Group Gallery Show
College News: Tuscaloosa News – April 7
University of Alabama senior Jonathan Lanier of Tuscaloosa is one of four BFA candidates to participate in a group gallery show. The quartet will display their work April 16-23 in the Sella-Granata Art Gallery on UA campus. A reception for the artists will be 5-7 p.m. Thursday, April 18, in the gallery. . . . A new partnership was formed as Morning Pointe of Tuscaloosa received a visit from The University of Alabama Department of Theatre and Dance. Under the direction of associate professor Stacy Alley, four UA students performed for the residents of the assisted living and Alzheimer’s memory care community, singing songs from musicals like “Singin’ in the Rain” and “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” old-fashioned hymns and more. . . .
Bama Blitz
Lend a Hand: UA gears up for fundraising Bama Blitz: Tuscaloosa News – April 7
Bama Blitz, an online fundraising event, will begin at noon Wednesday and end at 8:31 p.m. Thursday, lasting one day, eight hours and 31 minutes in honor of The University of Alabama’s founding year. Alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends are invited to support UA by using social media and crowdfunding to support a series of passion projects including: • Hear Here Alabama, a mobile audiology clinic that travels to underserved communities in west central and south Alabama. This College of Arts and Sciences’ project provides vital hearing healthcare services including evaluations and counseling for those with hearing loss. Funds for personnel, fuel and maintenance are needed to continue and expand this crucial resource for underserved communities.
Autherine Lucy Foster Award
Autherine Lucy Foster award honors African American scholarship: Crimson White – April 8
The Black Student Union (BSU) and Black Faculty and Staff Association awarded the 2019 Autherine Lucy Foster Award to Imani Williams, a student at The University of Alabama majoring in public health with a concentration in education promotion, and Hilary Green, associate professor of history in the Department of Gender and Race Studies, on March 24.
Citizens Police Academy
Citizens police academy graduation: Fox 6 (Birmingham) – April 9
Graduates listened to guest speaker Dr. Joshua Wakeham, assistant professor at The University of Alabama. Chief Steven Anderson also spoke to the graduating class.
World Parliament of Religions
Hindu guest chaplain, at your service – but does he speak for all Hindus?: Religion News Service – April 10
As with Islam and Buddhism, Hinduism’s decentralized structure often means that the loudest voices are often taken to be authoritative. One of Americans’ first visions of Hinduism came when Swami Vivekananda, a Hindu monk, spoke at the World Parliament of Religions in 1893. Vivekananda was one of several swamis — Paramhansa Yogananda, Swami Satchidananda and Srila Prabhupada are others — who traveled to the West to spread their spirituality in the early 20th century. Vivekananda’s sermons were also primarily aimed at fundraising for social welfare programs back in India, said Michael J. Altman, an assistant professor of religious studies at The University of Alabama who has written about the history of Hinduism in the U.S.
Long Beach
Long Beach named one of the most diverse cities in the U.S.: Long Beach Post – April 10
While falling back from the days when USA Today proclaimed Long Beach to be the most diverse city in the nation, a new list ranking the diversity of cities across the U.S. has ranked it No. 10. . . . “America is undergoing an extreme makeover, thanks to rapid demographic diversification,” wrote Hilary Green, one of the study’s authors as well as Assistant Professor of History in the Department of Gender and Race Studies at The University of Alabama. “By 2050, many shifts will happen. For example, while non-Hispanic whites are expected to remain the largest ethnic group, they will no longer make up a majority of the population. But America’s transformation is more than skin-deep—it’s economic, too. Not only have waves of immigration changed the face of the nation, they’ve also brought in fresh perspectives, skills and technologies to help the U.S. develop a strong adaptability to change.”
Portland Tribune – April 10
Alabama Student Association for Poetry
BWW Interview: Poet Jhaman Ariel Hill breaks down what it means to be black enough at Theatre Downtown: Broadway World – April 12
The weekend Theatre Downtown is host to the Southeast premiere of a new show, fresh from a successful off-Broadway workshop … Jhaman Ariel Hill is a bright and driven poet with a teaching spirit. He is the Outreach Coordinator for the Alabama Student Association for Poetry and is active on the college lecture circuit teaching poetry.
‘Gnit’
Review: ‘Gnit’ a long journey of a self-obsessed character: Tuscaloosa News – April 13
Theater companies often run both mainstage and second-stage seasons. Splashy chestnuts typically claim the larger space, often old-school proscenium presentation, typically crowd-pleasers, more likely to sell 300 or 400 seats per night. The smaller venue, maybe a black box or 120-ish seat thrust, can be more experimental. At The University of Alabama Department of Theatre and Dance that’s roughly true, from its main Marian Gallaway Theatre, off the main lobby of Rowand-Johnson Hall, and its thrust Allen Bales Theatre, off the east side of RoJo.