NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Online Education at UM

UM’s online and hybrid course enrollments continue to increase. The Distance Education Advisory Committee is interested in hearing from students, staff and faculty who have questions, needs or insights related to distance education and its expansion at UM. What issues would you like the Distance Education Advisory Committee to address as we pursue how to best support quality distance education and the student experience at UM? Please follow this link to respond.

Social Media Student Showcase

University Marketing & Communications is using social media to highlight current UM students who are doing amazing things in and out of the classroom. The goal is to show prospective students, alumni and other University stakeholders how extraordinary our students are. MarComm strives to always provide equal promotional representation of all colleges and departments across campus, so we are asking for your help in identifying students for our showcase pool. Please nominate students here. 

Applications Open for Enrollment in Child Study Center Pre-K

UM’s Child Study Center Pre-K program is now accepting applications for pre-registration for the 2020-2021 school year. The random drawing for acceptance will be held on March 20.

A copy of the child’s birth certificate and a recent utility bill must be uploaded or provided prior to the lottery drawing. Fees (tuition) for this program will be paid monthly during the school year and are based off a sliding income scale. We do not receive the sliding income scale until mid-summer.

For full details, visit this link. Even more detailed instructions in English or Spanish can be provided by request. If you need assistance or more detailed instructions, please call the FCS Office at 205-665-6385 or email Amanda Grauel.

EVENTS

Building Administrator Training

Thursday, Feb. 27, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., Farmer Hall Meeting Room

If you are a campus building administrator, please make plans to attend this training. We will review the role and responsibilities of a building administrator.

Department of Theatre Presents: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Feb. 27-29, at 7:30 p.m.
March 1, at 2 and 7:30 p.m.
Chichester Black Box Theatre
Tickets may be purchased online or at the door as available.
$12 for UM faculty and staff, $10 for UM students.

By William Shakespeare, Directed by Michael Walker
“The course of true love never did run smooth.” — Midsummer Night’s Dream

One of Shakespeare’s most beloved classics comes to life in this fast-paced, zany and comical production. Set on the rooftop bar of The Globe restaurant in modern-day NYC, misplaced affections mix with mischievous spells as four young lovers and an unsuspecting troupe of aspirational actors cross paths with the fairy king and queen. ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ dives in headfirst, creating a playful piece filled with music, dance and a contemporary twist. Twelve actors take on multiple roles as the lines between worlds, characters, reality and audience begin to blur.

March Professional Photo Days

Tuesday, March 3 and Wednesday, March 4, from 8 to 11 a.m., Peterson House

University Marketing & Communications is pleased to offer Professional Photo Days. Each month, the digital marketing manager will have two designated mornings available for professional headshots. Anyone on campus is welcome to participate (faculty, staff or student). There is no charge. This month’s Professional Photo Days are Tuesday, March 3, and Wednesday, March 4, from 8 to 11 a.m. Please contact Alyssa Green to reserve a time slot.

Homegrown Heroines

Wednesday, March 4, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., Wills 200

In celebration of International Women’s Day, four amazing local women will share insights about their experiences as leaders and role models, and will answer questions from attendees. Speakers: Dr. Hollie Cost, Stacia Brady, Jackie Chappell and Julia Davis.

Spring Preview Day 

Saturday, March 7, at 8:30 a.m., McChesney Student Activity Center

The University of Montevallo invites prospective students and their families to attend Spring Preview Day on Saturday, March 7. Activities for the day begin at the McChesney Student Activity Center at 8:30 a.m. and conclude at 1 p.m. Preview Day gives high school and transfer students a close-up look at the Montevallo experience. More information can be found online.

ACT Prep Course

Saturday, March 14, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Wills Hall

The University of Montevallo will host a single-day ACT prep course for local high school sophomores, juniors and seniors. The $110 single-day course covers all ACT test subjects with in-class practice testing and includes lunch and a snack. Each participant will also receive a copy of the official ACT prep book, a math review card and other resources. Children of UM employees and students receiving free and reduced lunch get a 20 percent discount. Register online now or contact Sarah Hendren, director of partnerships and outreach, at 205-665-6077.

Faculty/Staff Highlights

Dr. Mathew B. Vansant, assistant professor in the Department of Communication Science and Disorders, and colleagues from Louisiana State University and Louisiana State University-Health Science Center recently published an article, “Predicting Swallowing Outcomes from Objective Videofluoroscopic Timing and Displacement Measures in Head and Neck Cancer Patients,” in the journal Dysphagia.

Michael Walker, assistant professor in the Department of Theatre, was nominated for a St. Louis Theatre Circle award for his play “Canfield Drive.” The play was produced in January 2019 by The Black Rep and was met with rave reviews and sold-out audiences over its three-week run as part of the company’s 42nd season. The St. Louis Theater Circle honors the best of local professional theater in St. Louis and is voted on by local critics. The awards will be announced at a gala ceremony March 30. In addition, Feb. 13 was opening night for Bristol Community College’s production of “Canfield Drive.” This is the second professional production of the play which was presented as part of Bristol Community College’s Black History Month celebration. “Canfield Drive” blends hundreds of interviews and first-hand accounts of those directly impacted by the death of Michael Brown, a young black teenager shot in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014. The play strives to provide a depth of understanding of the historical framework of the region that created the simmering pot of racial tension, systemic racism and subsequent frustration that boiled over on Aug. 9, 2014.

Student Highlights

Kendall Criswell, a senior political science major, has been awarded the 2020 Siegler Fellowship from the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center. Criswell currently studies the Holocaust with Dr. Clark Hultquist, professor of history. The Siegler Fellowship was created in 2017 in honor of Holocaust survivor Ruth Siegler’s 90th birthday. Her children and grandchildren worked with the BHEC to create this paid summer research fellowship opportunity for a graduate or post-graduate student to ensure that the stories of Holocaust survivors would be preserved for future generations. Read more about Ruth Siegler, the recent subject of a People magazine article commemorating the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.