UA Unveils New DVD for Future Students; DVD Features Original Music Produced by Major Artist

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama has produced a new DVD to give future Alabama students a unique view of the University. The DVD will be unveiled this weekend with copies included in all football programs for the Alabama-Kentucky game on Sept. 13.

The DVD is one of only a handful of university DVDs nationwide and the first university DVD with original music produced by a major artist producer. The song “Dream a Little” was produced by Deana Carter, Grammy-nominated country artist. Aspiring country singer and Alabama native Tonya Watts recorded the song, which has already been used on UA television spots and videos.

The DVD is a joint project of UA’s Undergraduate Admissions Office and the Office of University Relations. It includes information about UA ranging from student life to traditions and campus demographics, details about academics, campus involvement, living-learning communities, cultural opportunities and much more. A special DVD-ROM section, playable on computer CD drives, includes applications for admission, housing, and scholarships, the undergraduate and graduate catalogs, and links to helpful pages on the UA website.

The DVD also includes the “Dream A Little” song, video and television spots; MTV coverage of UA’s 2002 Homecoming and a video scrapbook of other UA students on the air.

Roger Thompson, UA assistant vice president for enrollment management, said the DVD is “an excellent way to use technology to capture the essence, traditions and history of the University.”

“We are a cutting edge University that offers great opportunities to prepare for the workplace of the 21st century. The DVD is a great new way to present the University using technology that is appropriate for today’s students,” Thompson said.

Thompson and Mary Spiegel, UA director of undergraduate admissions, have distributed the DVD to high school guidance counselors at meetings across the state over the last few days.

“Guidance counselors have been our first audience and they have been very excited about the DVD,” Thompson said. “Our goal now is to get the DVD into as many hands as possible. We’ll be distributing it very broadly to high school students, our alumni partners in recruitment and others. This is such a good overview of the University that we want everyone to see it.”

The “Dream a Little” song was co-written by Tom Stipe, UA director of broadcast marketing and media in the Office of University Relations.

For a copy of the DVD, call UA Admissions at 1-800-933-BAMA.