UAB Briefs: Homecoming activities to be held Oct. 13-19
In this weekly online feature, we keep track of interesting people and events on campus.
UAB is celebrating homecoming from Oct. 13-19 with lots of events and activities.
Theatre UAB will give audiences a vivid taste of the turbulent 1960s with their next production.
A UAB sociologist has been honored for her work.
And there’s time for parents to sign their kids up for two remaining UAB day camps this semester
Know people, places and programs on the UAB campus that deserve a mention? Email jchambers@starnespublishing.com.
50th anniversary
UAB will host its homecoming activities from Oct. 13-19 with the theme “Celebrating 50 Years,” referring to the university’s 50th anniversary as an independent state school.
Highlights include the annual Homecoming Comedy Show on Tuesday, Oct. 15; the famed Gurney Derby on Wednesday, Oct. 16; and the Homecoming Parade and a free, ticketed concert by Grammy Award-winning rock band Weezer on Friday, Oct. 18;
UAB Football plays Old Dominion University for the Homecoming Game on Saturday, Oct. 19, at Legion Field.
The Gurney Derby and Homecoming Parade will be livestreamed on the UAB Facebook page.
For details, including times and venues, go to uab.edu/homecoming.
Take a trip to the 60s
Theatre UAB will present “Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical,” a 1960s-era show with a message of love and peace, at the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center from Oct. 16-20.
“Hair” changed musical theater and helped make room on Broadway for more rock musicals and unconventional stories, and the show spawned several popular hit songs, according to a UAB news release.
And the play, which deals with such issues as identity, community and global responsibility, can still speak to contemporary audiences, according to Jenna Palmieri, the assistant director and a senior UAB Musical Theatre major.
“In the ’60s, cultural division emerged surrounding the Vietnam War, and today the country divides itself over white nationalism, gun violence, climate change and immigration,” Palmieri said in the release. “Fear of the ‘Other’ has prevailed in this country for decades, so ‘Hair’ and its message of love and inclusivity remain relevant today, just over 50 years later.”
There will be shows at the ASC each night at 7:30 p.m. from Oct. 16-19, and at a matinee on Sunday, Oct. 20, at 2 p.m.,
Tickets are $15 and $20, $6 for students, and $10 for UAB employees and senior citizens. Call 975-2787 or go to alysstephens.org for tickets.
The play contains strong adult language and situations.
Honoring her work
Verna Keith, the chair at the UAB Department of Sociology, focuses on social inequalities and health in her teaching and research and has sought to understand the relationship between social hierarchies and health outcomes.
And Keith recently received some prestigious recognition for this work.
She has been awarded the James R. Greenley Award for Distinguished Contributions to the Sociology of Mental Health, according to UAB Media Relations. The award comes from the Society for the Study of Social Problems, Society and Mental Health Division.
Keith was also elected as chair-elect for the Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities for the American Sociological Association.
“UAB provides a rich intellectual environment that allows my work to flourish in novel and unexpected ways,” Keith said in a UAB news release.
A break for kids and parents
Working parents seeking an option for child care while their kids are out of school for a break can take advantage of the day camps hosted this semester by UAB at the Campus Recreation Center.
Children can enjoy crafts, swimming, adventure sports or any of the other amenities that the Center offers,
There is a Veterans Day camp on Monday, Nov. 11, and a camp during the Thanksgiving break from Monday, Nov. 25, through Wednesday, Nov. 27.
There is also a camp on Oct. 14, but registration is required one week prior to a camp.
Camps run from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and are open to children 5-12 years of age. Snacks are provided, but campers should pack a lunch.
The cost per day for UAB affiliates is $40 per child, and $50 for non-UAB affiliates. To download a new camper form, click here. For a returning camper form, click here.
For more information, contact 996-5038 or recmember@uab.edu.