Steve Wood
Blazer Kitchen
One way UAB fights food insecurity on campus is by providing fresh, healthy food like this at two locations of Blazer Kitchen, an on-campus food pantry serving employees, students, patients and their families.
In this weekly online feature, we keep track of interesting people and events on campus.
Ten colleges in Alabama, including UAB, are working to combat food insecurity among their students.
UAB students have created two new murals to celebrate the university’s 50th anniversary.
And “Christmas at the Alys,” a holiday musical tradition, returns to the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center on Dec. 3.
Know people, places and programs on the UAB campus that deserve a mention? Email jchambers@starnespublishing.com.
Fighting hunger on campuses
Ten Alabama universities, including UAB, have received a $500,000 grant to help them ensure that all of the students on their campuses have access to healthy, affordable food, according to UAB Media Relations.
The 10-university initiative is called the Alabama Campus Coalition for Basic Needs and was established under the auspices of the Auburn University Hunger Solutions Institute.
The grant was awarded to the Hunger Solutions Institute by the nonprofit Educational Credit Management Corporation Foundation.
Each university will form or has formed its own campus coalition during the 2019-2020 academic year. The schools will assess the scope of food insecurity and available resources on each campus and use this data to develop a campus action plan that can be implemented starting in summer 2020.
Members of the coalition with UAB include Alabama A&M University, Alabama State University, Auburn University, Jacksonville State University, Troy University, Tuskegee University, University of Alabama, University of North Alabama and the University of South Alabama.
“At UAB, we have worked extensively to understand food insecurity on our campus,” said Amy Hutson Chatham, director in the Office of Service Learning and Undergraduate Research.
More than 30 percent of UAB students could not afford to eat healthy meals when data was gathered from 930 students in 2017 as part of a service learning-designated public health course, according to Chatham.
Healthy food is deemed necessary for students to meet their basic nutritional needs and be able to do well in school, officials say.
“With the creation of the UAB Coalition for Basic Needs, we hope to utilize the expertise of campus stakeholders to better understand the barriers our students face so that we can develop and implement intentional, high-impact strategies to promote student success,” said Jonathan Adams, director of Student Conduct and Outreach within the Division of Student Affairs.
Displaying green and gold
UAB art students recently created a green and gold flora-inspired mural inside the pedestrian bridge over University Boulevard at 13th Street South as part of the celebration of the university’s 50th anniversary, according to UAB Media Relations.
A second, portable mural of Blazer dragon wings is on view in the UAB Campus Visit Center.
UAB University Relations commissioned and paid for the murals.
Sara Wood, a student in the Department of Art and Art History designed the pedestrian bridge mural, which is called “Flourish.”
Her mural references the UAB ideals of prospering, growth and flowering while supporting conservation and the importance of the natural world, according to a UAB news release.
Wood and fellow students in the department’s Bloom Studio group painted the mural.
Graphic designer Rachel Hendrix from University Relations, who earned her degree in graphic design from UAB in 2018, designed the portable dragon wings mural.
Lots of voices raised
“Christmas at the Alys,” an annual event featuring traditional holiday songs and other choral standards sung by local choirs, will be back at the Alys Stephens Center on Tuesday, Dec. 3, at 7 p.m., according to UAB Media Relations.
The performances are led by the UAB Concert Choir and Chamber Singers, conducted by Brian Kittredge, and the UAB Trumpet Ensemble, conducted by James Zingara.
Begun in 2001, “Christmas at the Alys” has allowed thousands of young singers from schools in the Birmingham area to perform with UAB choirs.
The concert is an unforgettable experience for the choirs, said Cara Thomas, director of the Gardendale High School Chamber Choir.
“Listening to other choral programs is a highlight, but actually singing with all the schools is something that resonates with my students throughout the year,” Thomas said in a UAB news release. “They love it so much that they want to come back and sing every year."
Participating choirs include the John Carroll Catholic Singers and Mixed Ensemble, the Thompson High School Madrigals, the Hueytown High School Concert Choir and Chamber Choir, the Gardendale High School Chamber Choir, the Helena High School Chamber Choir and Spotlight, the Spain Park High School Chamber Choir and Voices of the South Men’s A Cappella Chorus.
The program includes the singing of traditional holiday carols, in which the audience is encouraged to participate.
Tickets are $8 general admission and $5 for all students. For tickets, call 205-975-2787 or go to alysstephens.org.
