New synagogue on UA campus closer to reality
Tuscaloosa News – Sept. 19
A committee of University of Alabama trustees approved the appearance and size of a new synagogue Thursday that will be built next to a planned Jewish student center. University administrators invited members of Temple Emanu-El to move on campus after they sold their synagogue on Skyland Boulevard in early 2007. UA, with help from the larger Jewish communities in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham, have actively recruited Jewish students to campus for nearly two years in hopes of revitalizing a once strong Jewish presence on campus. Temple Emanu-El will sit next to the new Hillel House, the Jewish student center now at the corner of Wallace Wade Avenue and Eighth Street. A private developer now owns the Hillel site…
UA Has Record Enrollment
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – Sept. 18
The University announced a record 27,052 students enrolled this fall…
For Florida Community Colleges, Who Should Pay?
InsideHigherEd.com – Sept. 19
…Though it is finally being brought to a state-wide vote for the first time, the notion of local funding for community colleges in Florida is not new. It was at least talked about in the late 1980s, said Stephen G. Katsinas, director of the Education Policy Center at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa…Nationally, between 2000-2001 and 2005-2006, community college enrollments have grown by 30 percent, Katsinas said, adding that data are highest in selected fast-growth states like Florida…“Numerically, the growth is as great as any time during the baby boom of the 1960s,” Katsinas said. “State revenue models are not keeping pace. They are challenging the ability of states to keep the door open.”…
Cotter: ‘Surveys should be looked at with a critical eye’
Crimson White – Sept. 19
…Patrick Cotter, UA professor of public opinion, survey research and southern politics, said voters should not look at only one particular poll. “I would look at a number of different polls,” Cotter said. “Finding the average of these polls would help give you a more accurate percentage of where the candidates stand with the voters.”…
Experts say downturn helping boost college enrollments
Birmingham Business Journal (subscription required) – Sept. 19
…According to preliminary fall 2008 enrollment figures from Birmingham colleges and universities, enrollment is on the rise across the board as many people who have lost their jobs are looking for a career change…Jim McLean, dean of the College of Education at the University of Alabama, said many schools experience a jump in enrollment when the economy is hurting…
UA to Work with Tuscaloosa on Methane Gas Project
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Sept. 18
The city of Tuscaloosa is getting nearly $200,000 from an alternative energy grant from Gov. Bob Riley…the city will work with the University of Alabama on the project, which officials estimate will save $78,000 in energy costs annually.
Graduate School Preview Day informs students of opportunities
Crimson White – Sept. 19
The University’s 15th annual Graduate School Preview Day was held Thursday afternoon at the Ferguson Theater. About 500 students participated in the event, which included an informational seminar familiarizing students with the benefits of graduate education, small group information sessions with different graduate programs on campus and free Kaplan practice tests for the GRE, GMAT and LSAT. Graduate enrollment at the University is growing, with a record 4,050 students enrolled this year…
Integrity week promotes ethical behavior
Crimson White – Sept. 19
The University’s second annual Academic Integrity Week, sponsored by the Office of Student Affairs, begins Sunday. The program is a weeklong dedication to encouraging and maintaining ethical behavior in the classroom. To kick off the celebration on Sunday, author Barrett Seaman, writer of “Binge: What Your College Student Won’t Tell You,” will address students in the Ferguson Center Ballroom at 7 p.m…
Engineers Without Borders’ summer trip
Crimson White – Sept. 19
While some students were enjoying a relaxing summer vacation, a group of five students led by Pauline Johnson, professor of environmental engineering, and Philip Johnson, professor of civil engineering, embarked on a trip to Peru as part of the Engineers Without Borders Program. The group installed 18 solar panels in three Peruvian villages — Ayacucho, San Juan de Yanayacu and Nuevo Hunin — benefiting 85 families…The trip is part of a class, CE 491/591, and can count as a three-hour technical elective…
Education briefs
Birmingham News – Sept. 19
Ynhi Thai, a senior in the University of Alabama’s chemical engineering program, has been named a recipient of a William Orr Dingwall Foundation Asian Ancestry Grant. Thai will receive $18,000 for her undergraduate studies and research project. — The Manderson Graduate School of Business at the University of Alabama enrolled 78 students this fall, its largest full-time MBA class…