UA’s $20 million nursing building gets groundbreaking ceremony
Tuscaloosa News – Oct. 11
For years, nursing students at the University of Alabama’s Capstone College of Nursing have attended classes all over campus with no centralized building for their studies. That will change in 2010 when a new $20 million building housing the nursing program is completed…Enrollment at the school has increased 213 percent since 2000, said Dean Sara Barger. There are 1,300 undergraduate and 150 graduate students enrolled in the program…she spoke to a group gathered for a ceremonial groundbreaking at the new building site across from DCH Regional Medical Center on Friday afternoon. Many of the people in attendance had contributed toward the $20 million cost of the Greek Revival-style building that will serve as a gateway to the campus from McFarland Boulevard…“This is a building that will enable one of the finest nursing [schools] in the country to better serve its students and to better serve the state of Alabama,” said UA president Robert Witt.
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Oct. 10
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Oct. 10
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – Oct. 10
Saban Shows His Value at Alabama
New York Times – Oct. 12 (Associated Press story)
…That is what the Crimson Tide got 20 months ago when it made Nick Saban college football’s first $4 million head coach. The deal initially was viewed as excessive by some critics, but now almost everyone, from business professors to former and current players to folks at the campus bookstore, seems to think Alabama is getting plenty of bang for its buck…The Crimson Tide is 6-0 and ranked No. 2 nationally, its highest standing in 15 years. “For some die-hard supporters of the University of Alabama, if they were to win a national championship, it wouldn’t have mattered what they’re paying,” said Louis Marino, an associate professor of entrepreneurship and strategic management in the university’s business school…The football program generated a little more than $43 million for 2006 (about the same as the previous year), including $14 million in outside contributions, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press under an open-records request. Last year, the program had revenue of more than $53 million, a jump of some 19 percent. The contributions rose even more drastically, up 28 percent to $19.5 million. And that was before the Tide really started winning. Then there is what Marino calls the “economy of hope.” “In addition to his proven track record, he brings the hope of returning to national prominence in football,” he said. “With the economy like it is today, hope is a very valuable commodity.”…Athletic Director Mal Moore, who decided to hire Saban for the attention-getting salary, surely feels good about the investment every time he sees a packed stadium even for nonconference games. After all, the Tide filled 92,000-seat Bryant-Denny Stadium for the spring game last year (tickets were free).
There is a waiting list of more than 10,000 fans wanting to buy season tickets, athletic department officials said. “The ticket sales have always been good here, but they’re stronger than ever,” Moore said. “There were a couple of games where I walked out of here on Friday and could not have helped a soul. I did not have a ticket. I’ve never been in that position…Than there is the effect on Tide merchandise. “Clearly, a winning season is good for the entire university,” said Noele Butler, the licensed products manager for the University Supply Store. “The excitement surrounding a national ranking results in more fans wanting more ’Bama merchandise to show their loyalty.”… Ozzie Newsome knows football from the business and on-field perspective as a former Alabama and N.F.L. star who is now the Baltimore Ravens’ general manager. It comes down to what the market demands, he said. “In sports today, collegiately and in the National Football League, coaches’ salaries have escalated, just like players’ salaries in the N.F.L. have escalated,” Newsome said. “It’s just like anything else, its supply and demand. In order to get a quality person, you’re going to have to pay a premium price. It’s just like buying a Mercedes over a Chevrolet.”…
UA Economics Professor Says Have Faith
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – Oct. 10
…economic professor at the University of Alabama…William Aldrige says as never before Americans will have to have faith in the market, leave investments where they are and ride the wave…
Opinion: Math, science teachers’ roles vital
Montgomery Advertiser – Oct. 13
…”Out of 200 graduates last year in education, 17 were in math and only two were in science,” James McLean, dean of the School of Education at the University of Alabama, said in an interview with the Birmingham News. “There are a lot of recruitment programs going on, but for at least the next few years we’ve got a major problem in those two areas.”…There is heavy competition for graduates in these fields, both from the private sector and from other education systems willing to provide financial incentives to attract the talented. “One of the problems we have in Alabama is that Florida and Georgia are paying huge signing bonuses for math and science teachers, so we lose our teachers to those states,” McLean said…
Waiver allows failing grades to be counted as passing for some grades in schools in Shelby and Jefferson counties
Birmingham News – Oct. 12
…”In a way it’s skewing the numbers, but the practice has become pretty common throughout the country,” said Jim McLean, dean of education for the University of Alabama. “In 2014, though, when everyone has to meet 100 percent proficiency, it will have no bearing. It changes the curve of getting there, but it doesn’t change the ultimate goal.”
Op-Ed: Columbus the visionary
Tuscaloosa News – Oct. 12
…Recently while preparing some lectures on Columbus for a course I teach on the exploration, discovery, conquest and settlement of the New World, I ran across a dimension of Columbus that has long been subordinated or ignored by those who dwell on him and his era. It seemed to be an embarrassing reminder that he was some sort of religious fanatic, given to mystical visions, a bit flighty really, thinking that the hand of soul… Larry Clayton is a professor of history at the University of Alabama.
Author shares details from Bay of Pigs mission
Tuscaloosa News – Oct. 12
Howard Jones’ 10th and newest book, ‘The Bay of Pigs,’ is published by Oxford University Press in its series on pivotal moments in American history…Jones, university research professor of history at the University of Alabama and the author of ‘Mutiny on the Amistad,’ tells this story not in a single page but in nearly hypnotic detail. He has researched the events with great care and thoroughness, using declassified records from the CIA, Senate committee hearings and a host of other sources…
UA and UWA Announce Dual-Degree Program
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Oct. 10 and 11
The University of West Alabama and the University of Alabama have announced a dual-degree program in math and engineering…
Homecoming Concert Tickets Go On Sale to General Public
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Oct. 10
Tickets are now on sale to the general public, for the October 31st UA homecoming concert at Coleman Coliseum…
Education briefs
Birmingham News – Oct. 12
The University of Alabama Women’s Resource Center and the Social Work Association for Cultural Awareness are sponsoring the second annual Breast Cancer Tree of Honor and Remembrance… — Jerry W. Stephens, librarian and director of the Mervyn H. Sterne Library at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, has been selected to receive the 2008 Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Alabama School of Library and Information Studies… — Crossing Points, the University of Alabama’s transition program for special needs students, recently received the “Best Practices” award from The Association of Persons in Supported Employment. — Elizabeth Wilson, co-department chair for curriculum and instruction at the University of Alabama, has been named the 2008-09 Paul W. Bryant Endowed Professor in the UA College of Education.
Rants and raves
Montgomery Advertiser – Oct. 11
RAVE: For Montgomery native Nimrod “Rod” Frazer, who was one of five people inducted into the Alabama Business Hall of Fame last night. The hall of fame is sponsored by the University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration…