UAB Briefs: Plaudits for WBHM, human rights panel, Fulbright scholars
In this weekly online feature, we keep track of interesting people and events on the UAB campus.
We also provide updates regarding the university's efforts to cope with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
On May 18, the university released its plan for a gradual reopening of the campus beginning May 26.
To read the plan, or to find other COVID-19 updates and health information, visit uab.edu/coronavirus.
Award-winning journalism
WBHM 90.3 FM, the National Public Radio affiliate based on the UAB campus, has won recognition for the quality of its journalism.
The station won five regional Edward R. Murrow Awards, including one for Overall Excellence, in 2019.
“We’re incredibly proud of the local journalism our news team works hard every day to produce,” said Gigi Douban, WBHM news director.
The Murrow Awards are given by the Radio Television Digital News Association, which announced its list of winners on May 12.
In addition to being honored for Overall Excellence, the station won the following awards, according to the WBHM website:
- Feature Reporting, for “Drawing a More Diverse Crowd to the Outdoors” by Gigi Douban;
- Hard News, for “Remembering Slain Alabama Sheriff ‘Big John’ Williams” by Janae Pierre;
- Newscast, by Andrew Yeager;
- Sports Reporting, for “Talladega Superspeedway Turns 50” by Andrew Yeager,
Regional Murrow Award winners now advance to compete in the national competition, with those winners to be announced in June.
To see the full list of regional award winners go to rtdna.org.
Human rights issues
The Institute for Human Rights at UAB will host a community discussion about human rights during a global pandemic on Thursday, May 21, at 4 p.m. on its Facebook page
The panelists for “Human Rights in Times of COVID-19: Safety vs. Individual Liberty?” will discuss the implications for human rights and individual freedoms of emergency declarations made by governments to control the spread of the virus.
Featured panelists from the College of Arts and Sciences are as follows:
- Kathryn Morgan, director, African American Studies program.
- Robert Blanton, chair, Department of Political Science and Public Administration.
- Natasha Zaretsky, professor, Department of History
The event will take place on facebook.com/UABIHR and will be streamed live at youtube.com/thecollegeuab.
Community members will be able to submit questions for the panelists.
Winning a Fulbright
Eight UAB students and recent alumni have been selected to receive Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards, making the largest cohort of Fulbright recipients from UAB in a single year. There are also four alternates.
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program provides grants to study, teach and conduct research in more than 160 countries.
The program’s goal is to promote mutual understanding as American scholars work, live with and learn from the people in their host countries.
About 2,100 U.S citizens were selected for awards this year on the basis of academic and professional achievement, as well as service and leadership potential.
The winners from UAB come from a variety of academic programs, including medicine, engineering and public health.
“It’s exciting to see students from nearly every corner of campus pursuing international teaching, study and research opportunities” said Ashley Kuntz, director of National and International Fellowships and Scholarships at UAB.
The winners and their disciplines are as follows:
- Grace Kennedy (medicine): Fulbright-Fogarty Fellowship in public health, Ghana.
- Kenneth Davis (chemistry, mathematics): study/research scholarship, Germany.
- Garrett Sager (physics, neuroscience): study/research scholarship, Germany.
- John Stephen Hutchinson (international studies, individually designed major): English teaching assistantship, Germany.
- Martha Cati Pudner (international studies): English teaching assistantship, Russia.
- Riley Yager (physics, civil engineering): study/research scholarship, Poland.
- Ayla McCay (international studies): study/research scholarship, South Korea.
- Kerri Tang (public health): study/research scholarship, Germany.
Four alternatives:
- Andrew MacLean (foreign languages): English teaching assistantship, Peru.
- Tamara Montes (biology): English teaching assistantship, Peru.
- Sandra Cutts (civil engineering): study/research scholarship, Greece.
- Stephanie Diei (biomedical sciences): English teaching assistantship, Thailand.
The program was established in 1946 through legislation introduced by the late U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas and has provided support to more than 390,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists and professionals.
For more information, go to eca.state.gov/fulbright.