UAB Briefs: Commencement, gift to Cancer Center, 'A Very Electric Christmas'
Welcome to another installment of UAB Briefs.
In this weekly online feature, we keep track of interesting people and events on campus.
Know people, places and programs on the UAB campus that deserve a mention? Email jchambers@starnespublishing.com.
LET’S COMMENCE
Bartow Arena on the UAB campus will be the scene of two commencement exercises over the weekend — one for graduate students and one for undergraduates.
A doctoral hooding and commencement ceremony for nearly all graduate programs will be held in Bartow on Friday, Dec. 14, at 6 p.m. Students receiving master’s degrees now receive their diplomas with the doctoral candidates.
The UAB Graduate School will confer the university’s highest degrees on 73 students from 16 states and 10 countries in 22 disciplines for fall 2018, according to a news release from the university. Approximately 55 students will participate in the ceremony.
Yogesh K. Vohra, a professor and university scholar in the Department of Physics, will carry the mace. The student speaker will be Monica S. Aswani, who is graduating with a Doctor of Public Health degree with a concentration in health care organization and policy.
Undergraduates will receive their diplomas in a ceremony in Bartow Arena on Saturday, Dec. 15, at 9:30 a.m., the news release states.
Michael Sloane, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology, will carry the mace. Sloane is the 2018 recipient of the Ellen Gregg Ingalls/UAB National Alumni Society Award for Lifetime Achievement in Teaching.
Ashley Boggs, who is graduating with a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering, will serve as student speaker for the Dec. 15 ceremony.
Tickets are not required; but seating is first come, first served. Bartow Arena doors will open one hour prior to each ceremony.
For details, go to uab.edu/commencement.
BIGGEST GIFT EVER
O’Neal Industries, a large, family-owned metals business in Birmingham, has made the largest single gift in UAB history — $30 million to the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center —according to a UAB news release.
The gift, announced on Dec. 4, will boost patient care and help triple the number of patients enrolled in clinical trials conducted at UAB, the release states.
The facility will be renamed as the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The gift will have a positive impact on the Center in several different ways, according to Dr. Michael J. Birrer, the facility’s director.
“It strengthens our clinical operation, expands our cancer research efforts, helps translate discoveries into clinical trials, and further establishes the center as a leader in cancer research and care in the nation,” Birrer said in the release.
The gift and naming will be considered for acceptance by the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees in February.
LIGHT SHOW
The innovative entertainers at Lightwire Theater will present their holiday story, “A Very Electric Christmas,” at the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center at UAB on Tuesday, Dec. 18, at 6:30 p.m.
Lightwire Theater, a semifinalist on NBC-TV’s hit show “America’s Got Talent,” uses electroluminescent artistry — a combination of theater and technology — to tell stories in total darkness.
In “A Very Electric Christmas,” Santa’s helpers are putting the final touches on presents when a young bird named Max, who’s heading south for the winter with his family, gets blown off course by a snowstorm and ends up alone and lost at the North Pole.
This tale of family and friendship is set to the sounds of classic holiday songs.
Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children. Call 975-2787 or go to alysstephens.org.
A VIP family dinner with holiday crafts and photos with Santa is available before the show at 4:30 p.m. The dinner is free for ASC members and $16 for adults. This includes free admission for two children under the age of 12. A family four-pack with the dinner and performance tickets is $60. For details, call 975-4012.