The University of Alabama Program in Sports Communication will host its inaugural Academic Symposium Wednesday with ESPN SportsCenter anchor Mike Hill serving as the keynote speaker.
Sports communication researchers from the University’s College of Communication and Information Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Culverhouse College of Commerce and College of Education and Stillman College will present their findings throughout the day.
“We have had so many people, not just in our college but across the University, that are working on different aspects of sports,” said Lance Kinney, the symposium coordinator and associate professor of advertising and public relations. “We wanted to have a symposium to make sure everyone meets and has an opportunity to present their research, meet colleagues and form research contacts.”
He said it also gives students a chance to see the kind of work in sports that goes on at the University.
The researchers will cover a wide variety of sports-related topics, including new media, LGBTQ issues in sports, racial representation in sports, mobile apps and the history of different types of sports.
“I think people are going to be intrigued by not just the research, but the documentary we are showing,” said Andrew Billings, the Ronald Reagan Chair of Broadcasting and director of APSC.
The day’s events include a screening of “Amends with the Past,” a 17-minute student-produced film that was prepared under the supervision of Dwight Cammeron, an instructor in the department of telecommunication and film.
“It’s about an athlete who suffers an injury that takes him out of competition and how he has had to readjust his life and priorities to build a life for himself apart from his sporting participation,” Kinney said. “He has moved into sports writing and sports broadcasting.”
Kinney said all the day’s events cover almost every avenue of the University, and most students could easily find a link to their fields of study.
“If you are doing most anything around the University, we have such a range on that day that it will difficult for you to not see yourself somewhere,” Kinney said.
Opening remarks begin at 9 a.m., researchers will present until 4 p.m., the film will begin at 12:15 p.m. and Hill will speak at 1:15 p.m.
The symposium will be held in Room 205 of Gorgas Library. All events are free and open to the public.
If You Go…
What: Sports Communication’s Academic Symposium
When: Wednesday from 9 a.m to 2 p.m.
Where: Gorgas Library Room 205
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