Please plan to join the UAB community and others at the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center Jemison Concert Hall at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, for our third event in an ongoing series of forums dedicated to civil discourse hosted by the UAB Office of Access and Engagement.

The series was launched to provide an environment in which important interactions and productive discussions among those with differing viewpoints are conducted in an open forum. This week's event will focus on the Executive Order issued last week that suspended entry into the United States for non-U.S. citizens from seven countries. We know there is confusion and anxiety over the order among people in our community, and we have reached out to those people directly affected by this order to offer guidance and support.

Panelists will be International Student and Scholar Services Director Catherine Crowe, Vice President for Office of Access and Engagement Paulette Patterson Dilworth, Chief Human Resources Officer Alesia Jones, Vice President for Student Affairs John Jones and me. Audience members will submit questions, and Senior Vice Provost Suzanne Austin, who also serves as UAB's senior international officer, will moderate the discussion.

As a public and state-supported university, UAB does not take a partisan stand on political issues, rather we rely on the values and principles we have set forth to maintain a diverse and inclusive community, to protect academic freedom, to provide for the safety of our people and our campus, the maintenance of civil discourse and the rights of all on our campus to express their personal opinions openly and without fear of reprisal.

This event will allow for a productive and informative dialogue about an issue that is important to many on our campus and beyond.