Variety show
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 15
…From the classical ‘Swan Lake,’ to director Cornelius Carter’s free-style urban street scenes, the variety of dance styles in the upcoming spring performance are like night and day…University of Alabama dance professor Rita Snyder has been with the program for 10 years. In her work with Carter and former director Edie Barnes, Snyder has watched the program evolve. ‘We have a diverse group of students. Some students have solid ballet backgrounds. Some come from situations where they didn’t have the opportunity to do as much ballet. Some students are coming with strong jazz backgrounds. There are students from wealthy families to students who are economically disadvantaged. There are different styles and empathies,’ Snyder said…UA dance graduates have also established a presence around the world. Emily Loftus and Andrea Browning are in the Rockettes national tour. Christopher Bottoms joined the Rockettes as one of the group’s youngest producers, helping run a summer intensive workshop and now doing choreography for Norwegian Cruise Lines. Daryl Foster, a 2000 graduate, went on to dance in several major contemporary ballet companies before taking his current position at Spelman College, a historically black liberal arts school in Atlanta…As the first dance professor to be awarded the distinguished National Outstanding Doctoral and Research Universities Professor of the Year award from the Carnegie Foundation, Carter is respected around the world. Carter doesn’t credit his success in dance to his technique. What sets him apart is curiosity and intuition. ‘In directing a program, one of the things that keeps me going is my curiosity. People have to be curious and very intuitive because you’re forever looking at how to take the program further and keep it going,’ Carter said.
Crimson White – Feb. 16
Moundville park could lead way for tourism boost
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 16
Moundville Archaeological Park in Hale County is world-renowned as one of the most significant prehistoric Native American settlements in the United States. The University of Alabama, in coordination with several local, state and federal agencies and organizations, has completed the first year of a three-year project to make the park part of a four-county “eco-tourism” attraction that would encompass the rivers, wetlands and other natural features of Hale, Bibb, Dallas and Perry counties…
UA Teams Up With City of Tuscaloosa to Help Produce Methane
NBC13 (Birmingham) – Feb. 15
…professors at the University of Alabama are drafting plans to turn Tuscaloosa’s waste water treatment plant into a methane making machine…
There are more
Birmingham News – Feb. 15
Stephen Black is everywhere – agitating for legislation on tax preparation here, raising money for childhood health screening there, demanding a share of the state’s economic growth for the have-nots. Black is the director of the University of Alabama’s Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility, an academic outpost in Tuscaloosa devoted to developing citizenship and stewardship among students. A lawyer by training, Black also is the director of Impact Alabama, a nonprofit organization that recently conducted an undercover sting on paid tax preparers…“We believe that the University of Alabama has a critical role to play in preparing students to serve as effective, engaged and ethical citizens. The center seeks to assist students in developing a distinctive definition of moral and civic maturity.”…
Students create sustainable garden
Crimson White – Feb. 16
…The sustainable garden, initiated by UA students, is located inside the Tuscaloosa Arboretum next to the “Children’s garden.”…Like many UA students, the group is looking to start a sustainable garden on campus that could be used for research and with its proximity, ensure more student participation. For now, the group would like to use the current garden as practice and experimentation for a larger one on campus…
16th Street bombing survivor to speak at UA
Crimson White – Feb. 16
…The University will be hosting Shirley Wesley King as a guest speaker for black history month today at 7 p.m. at 205 Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library. King was a survivor of the 16th Street bombing when she was 13 years old. Her sister, Cynthia Wesley, was one of the four victims who lost their lives on that day…
Education briefs
Birmingham News – Feb. 15
The University of Alabama’s Department of Theatre and Dance will present the Alabama Repertory Dance Theatre’s spring concert at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 5:30 p.m. Friday in Morgan Auditorium… — Dr. Charles S. Caver, distinguished professor of psychology at the University of Miami, will speak on “Two Layers of the Mind: Serotonergic Function, and What Impulsive Aggression and Depression Have in Common” at UA’s Harold Basowitz Lecture. The lecture, sponsored by the UA College of Arts and Sciences’ psychology department, will be at 6:30 p.m. Friday in Room 208 of Gordon Palmer Hall. — The University of Alabama will host a regional Science Olympiad competition for more than 500 middle and high school students Feb. 28 at 9 a.m… — Six higher education institutions in Alabama were recognized on the 2008 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for their service to the community. They are Birmingham-Southern College, Judson College, Shelton State Community College, Spring Hill College, the University of Alabama and the University of Alabama at Birmingham…