May 2021 | Volume 11 | Issue 12
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DATA HERO Homewood resident and UAB doctor nominated for award for information efforts By INGRID SCHNADER
A
local doctor living in Homewood has faced two battles since March 2020: Not only does she battle the COVID-19 pandemic at work as an infectious diseases doctor at UAB, but she also fights against coronavirus-related misinformation on Facebook when she gets home. Her Facebook page, called Dr. Ellen Eaton Coronavirus Updates, has gained more than 13,000 followers since Eaton began posting updates at the beginning of 2020. Then in February 2021, she was nominated for a COVID-19 Data Hero award, which is presented by The Data Access, Transparency and Advocacy (DATA) Group at dataheroawards. org.
‘MORAL OBLIGATION’
Eaton doesn’t like social media. In fact, she said she dreams of the day she can delete the Facebook page. “I’m not an influencer, I’m not a blogger, and this is not really fun to me,” she said. “I just feel a moral obligation to do it.” Looking back at the spring of 2020, she said she remembers there being so much uncertainty. She remembers people not
See EATON | page A22 Dr. Ellen Eaton, a Homewood resident and an infectious diseases physician at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, stands in the foyer at Bevill Biomedical Research Building on UAB’s campus. Eaton has been nominated as a COVID-19 Data Hero through the Data Access, Transparency and Advocacy (DATA) Group. Photo by Erin Nelson.
INSIDE
Sponsors............... A4 News....................... A6
Business................ A9 Life........................ A17
Opinion.................A19 Community.........A20
Beck A. Taylor stands along Centennial Walk with the Harwell G. Davis University Library in the background on Samford University’s campus. Photo courtesy of Samford University.
Beck A. Taylor takes helm as 19th president of Samford By INGRID SCHNADER After serving as dean and professor of economics for Samford University’s Brock School of Business from 2005 to 2010, Beck A. Taylor never imagined he’d have an opportunity to return to the university. But when former president Andrew Westmoreland announced his retirement March 10, Taylor saw an opportunity to return to the university he loved. During a special meeting of the Samford University board of trustees in March, the 51-year-old Taylor was recommended to the board by a 23-member presidential search committee following a six-month national search involving more than 80 nominations and applicants. Taylor is the university’s 19th president. Taylor grew up across the South and Southwest and received an undergraduate
Sports.................... B4 Schoolhouse......... B8
See SAMFORD | page A21 Events................... B12 Calendar............... B14 facebook.com/thehomewoodstar
Charting Paths
City Celebration
Homewood nonprofit College Choice Foundation helps students with their higher education decisions.
We Love Homewood Day returns May 1 after being canceled last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
See page B8
Call Vulcan Termite for all your Summer pest control needs! (205) 663-4200 vulcantermite.com
See page B13