Desktop News August 2016 – College of Arts & Sciences

Scholarships Matter: For the Love of Music

August 11, 2016

From the August 2016 Desktop News |Scholarships Matter is a series of stories highlighting students in the College of Arts and Sciences who have received and been impacted by scholarships. The student featured in this story is the recipient of one College-wide scholarship, The Camilla and Steve Johnson Endowed Support Fund for The Huxford Symphony Orchestra. Scholarships like these are made possible by generous support from our alumni and friends. Lindsey South was homeschooled her whole life. “I never had […]

Broadway Breakthroughs: Alumnus Plays Lead Role in Hamilton

August 11, 2016

Michael Luwoye starred in Othello at UA in 2013.

From the August 2016 Desktop News | UA alum Michael Luwoye hasn’t just made it to Broadway; he’s playing the lead role in Hamilton—the new musical sensation that The New York Times says “is on track to become one of the biggest critical and commercial hits in Broadway history.” Hamilton—an unlikely pairing of hip hop and history—tells the story of founding father Alexander Hamilton and his transformation from an impoverished orphan in the Caribbean to the first U.S. Secretary of Treasury. […]

Resisting Tuberculosis Testing

August 11, 2016

From the August 2016 Desktop News | When the rate of tuberculosis in Marion, Alabama, spiked in 2014 and 2015, killing four people and infecting more than 150 others, public health officials offered free testing and treatment to stop the outbreak—but few were willing to participate until monetary compensation was offered as an incentive. The resistance perplexed Dr. Bronwen Lichtenstein, a professor in the Department of Criminal Justice, and when she learned that junior psychology major Towanda Pettway, a first-generation college student […]

Student Receives Google Policy Fellowship

August 11, 2016

From the August 2016 Desktop News | With the help of a prestigious $7,500 Google Policy Fellowship, given to university students who have an interest and aptitude for internet and technology policy, UA doctoral student Jessica Mendoza spent her summer interning with the Internet Keep Safe Coalition, called iKeep Safe, in order to help youth, their parents, and educators better understand how to use digital media safely and responsibly. “Everything is impacted by the way we use technology,” Mendoza said. “And one […]

Professor Emeritus Receives Legendary Geoscientist Medal

August 11, 2016

From the August 2016 Desktop News | Dr. Ernest A. Mancini, a professor emeritus of geological sciences, received the 2016 Marcus Milling Legendary Geoscientist Medal from the American Geosciences Institute. The medal recognizes a senior scientist who has a record of achievements and service in earth sciences and who has been acknowledged for accomplishments in fields of expertise by professional societies, universities, or other organizations. Mancini’s career in the geosciences includes having served as a distinguished research professor at UA as well […]

American Studies Professor Wins Award for Best Book on Popular Music

August 9, 2016

From the August 2016 Desktop News | Dr. Eric Weisbard, an associate professor in the Department of American Studies, has been awarded the 2015 Woody Guthrie Award for the most outstanding book on popular music for his book Top 40 Democracy: The Rival Mainstreams of American Music. The prize is given annually to the best English language monograph on popular music, said Dr. Elizabeth Lindau, chair of the 2015 Woody Guthrie Award committee for the U.S. branch of the International Association for […]