TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The Names Project Foundation AIDS Memorial Quilt will be on display at the Ferguson Center on The University of Alabama campus from Nov. 17- Dec. 5. It will be hung for viewing in the stairwell behind the information desk from 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 10 a.m.-9 p.m. on Sunday.

The AIDS Memorial Quilt is a powerful visual reminder of the AIDS pandemic. More than 42,000 individual 3-by-6-foot memorial panels -- each one commemorating the life of someone who has died of complications related to AIDS -- have been sewn together by friends, loved ones and family members.

The AIDS Memorial Quilt display is hosted by the Ferguson Center, Russell Student Health Center, Eta Sigma Gamma (health education honorary), Queer-Straight Alliance and West Alabama AIDS Outreach in observance of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1. Through the display, the host organizations endeavor to provide a creative means for remembrance and healing, to honor the lives of individuals lost to AIDS, to illustrate the enormity of the pandemic, to increase public awareness of HIV/AIDS and educate the community about HIV prevention.

Established in 1987, The Names Project Foundation Inc. is the international sponsor of the AIDS Memorial Quilt and coordinates displays of portions of the Quilt worldwide.

For more information on the Quilt display at the Ferguson Center, contact Kelli Knox-Hall at the Ferguson Center, 205/348-3250 or kknox-hall@sa.ua.edu. For additional information on The NAMES Project and the AIDS Memorial Quilt, you can visit www.aidsquilt.org.