Whose Job Is It?
InsideHigherEd.com – June 16
…Stephen Katsinas, director of the University of Alabama’s Education Policy Center, says there’s a good reason Florida’s demand for degrees now so outweighs its ability to offer them. Universities simply haven’t been funded at the levels necessary to prepare for the long-anticipated population growth that’s taking place in the Sunshine State, he said.
“If Florida had made the investments they should have been making in the late ’70s, and especially in the ’80s and ’90s, they would not be in such dire straits,” said Katsinas, a professor of higher education and former Florida resident…
UA class research suggests wi-fi could benefit downtown
Tuscaloosa News – June 14
…Now, research by a group of University of Alabama students indicates Tuscaloosa’s downtown could benefit from actually becoming one. Students from UA business Professor Dung Chau’s management information systems class studied the availability of wireless Internet in Tuscaloosa and what it would take to set up a wi-fi pilot program downtown. ‘A partnership providing casual use hotspots is a viable concept for cities that would like to portray themselves as technologically astute,’ said George Hamner, project director for the office of the associate dean of research at UA’s business school…
Full-scholarship wheelchair athletes blaze unique trail
New Orleans Times-Picayune – June 15
…Seelenfreund slipped a crimson baseball cap on her head and signed a commemorative letter of intent to accept a full, four-year tuition scholarship to the University of Alabama — to play wheelchair basketball…Just three programs — Alabama, the University of Illinois and the University of Arizona — have women’s teams, each with about 10 players on scholarship per season…”There are a lot of stereotypes and preconceived notions about what an athlete is,” said Brent Hardin, Alabama’s director of Wheelchair Athletics. “A lot of times kids in a wheelchair don’t fit into that. But those can be changed pretty quickly.”…Seelenfreund is considering majoring in elementary education. In August, she’ll move into the honors college dorm in Tuscaloosa.
Second-home community set for Lake Martin
Birmingham News – June 14
…A recent survey indicates nearly one-third of all homes purchased last year were bought as either vacation or investment homes, said Grayson Glaze, executive director of the Alabama Center for Real Estate at the University of Alabama…
Boom time for burglars
Tuscaloosa News – June 15
…The reasons for the rise in burglaries vary, but David Forde, a professor of criminal justice and director of the graduate program at the University of Alabama, said the rise locally is consistent with national crime statistics. While he cautioned against extrapolating theories about crime levels without comparing a longer period of time, he said figures from the last two years do indicate a substantial increase…’As the economy changes, the people in these houses are changing their patterns and routine activities,’ Forde said…
Bank stocks slide: Major players are no exception
Montgomery Advertiser – June 15
…Robert Brooks, a banking professor at the University of Alabama, said trouble with bank stocks is a national issue that relates largely to the meltdown in mortgages and the housing market. “The vast majority of their exposure is not in the Montgomery area,” he said. That means that although Montgomery’s housing market has not been hit as hard as some, bank stock prices make it a local issue. “The No. 1 way banks make money is by managing credit risks,” he said. “People are defaulting on various types of loans.” An average banking customer, who doesn’t hold bank stocks, could feel the pinch in several ways, Brooks said…
Realtors host educational series
Tuscaloosa News – June 14
The next class in the Alabama Center for Real Estate’s Professional Development Series will be Tuesday from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the office of the Tuscaloosa Association of Realtors, 2007 Paul W. Bryant Drive. The class, 2008 Economic Conditions and Their Impact on the Alabama Real Estate Industry, will be led by economic analyst Ahmad Ijaz of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama…UA-based ACRE created the Professional Development Series to bring experts to cities throughout the state to teach classes on topics important to professionals and stakeholders in the industry.