The Year in Brief — May 2002
UA Student Showcases Dance at Kennedy Center — Christopher Dean Bottoms, a UA senior double-majoring in dance and pre-dental biology, showcases a dance he choreographed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
UA English Honor Society Students Win Scholarships at National Conference — Sixteen Sigma Tau Delta members recently participated in the 2002 Convention of the International English Honor Society in Boise, Idaho. Several UA students won awards and scholarships at the conference. Each of the 598 Sigma Tau Delta chapters could nominate one student for each category.
World Famous Rockettes Conduct Summer Intensive Classes at UA — New York's Radio City Entertainment offers a comprehensive summer training program, the Rockette Summer Intensive, in conjunction with UA. The program is the first of its kind and is designed to allow young dancers to connect with the professional dance world, as well as give students the opportunity to discover and develop their dance potential.
UA Professor Travels to Tibet and India on Fellowship — Tibetan scholar Dr. Kurtis Schaeffer will use a $75,000 Ryskamp Research Fellowship to study the relationships among religion, medicine, and textual scholarship in pre-modern Tibet as a basis for research for his second book.
UA's Phelps Named President of American Academy of Advertising — Dr. Joe Phelps, professor of advertising and public relations, is the 2003 president-elect of the American Academy of Advertising, the premier scholarly organization in advertising.
UA Philosophy Professor Awarded American Philosophical Society Fellowship — Dr. Torin Alter, associate professor of philosophy in UA's College of Arts and Sciences, has been awarded a prestigious Sabbatical Fellowship by the American Philosophical Society to complete his book, Consciousness, Materialism, and Intentionality.
UA Professor Second this Year to Receive Guggenheim Fellowship — Poet Mary Ruefle, author of six books of poetry and visiting associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, has been named a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow.
UA Engineering Professor Appointed to State Licensing Board — Dr. Charles Haynes, UA professor of civil and environmental engineering, was appointed to the Alabama State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. During his five-year term, he will oversee the practice of engineering and land surveying in the state and review candidates seeking Professional Engineer and Land Surveyor registration in Alabama.
UA Co-Sponsored Creative Writing Classes Provide Entertainment on Hot Summer Nights — Adult creative writing classes in both poetry and fiction writing are held in downtown Tuscaloosa as UA co-sponsors The Creative Writing Connection in conjunction with The Language Connection, a community-based program for professionals and community members who work 50 hours a week but still want to participate in a quality language class at a reasonable cost.
African-American Photographer's Legacy Examined on APT in UA-Produced Documentary — P. H. Polk's rich photographic record of African-American life in Alabama is examined in "Moments of Dignity," a UA-produced television documentary that airs on Alabama Public Television.
UA Horticulturist Receives Award from Alabama Environmental Council — Mary Jo Modica, horticulturist at the UA Arboretum since 1979, recently received the Blanche Dean Award, honoring Alabama's outstanding nature educator of the year, given by the Alabama Environmental Council.
