Gospel choir at UA marks 38th year
Tuscaloosa News – April 27
After 38 years, the Afro-American Gospel Choir’s mission to spread a ministry through music remains the same. The University of Alabama’s student gospel choir celebrated its history during an anniversary performance at St. Paul Baptist Church on April 19…
McKnight to give hypothetical ‘Last Lecture’
Crimson White – April 27
…this year’s speech for the Last Lecture Series, Utz McKnight, a political science professor, admitted to initially feeling a fair amount of trepidation, having to conceive and deliver a lecture in two weeks, but he maintained that it is an honor to be chosen for this year’s award. “It’s going to be fun. I really enjoy working with students like this,” he said…Natalie Adams, assistant dean of the graduate school and professor of instructional leadership, said the student selection committee chose McKnight due to his popularity among the student population on campus. “The primary criterion that the students use to select the Last Lecture winner is broad appeal to a wide student audience. Dr. McKnight was chosen because he has quite a student following across the university,” Adams said. “He has an excellent rapport with students, and the selection committee felt that his lecture would be as relevant to biology majors as it would be to political science majors.”…The lecture will begin at 6:30 p.m. and be held in 30 Alston Hall. The event is free to the public.
Derby Days’ money helps children
Crimson White – April 27
…Derby Days’ main goal is to raise money to donate to the Birmingham branch of Children’s Miracle Network, which funds and raises awareness to improve healthcare facilities for children, according to the Web site, www.cmnwi.org. Cowart said Sigma Chi sold advertisements to local businesses to fund Derby Days and raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network, and last year they raised around $23,000, more than any other school in the SEC. This year, Cowart said they hope the final count will be around $30,000…
Barnes & Noble to close
Trading Markets – April 25
…Kristy Reynolds, a professor of marketing and management at the University of Alabama, said the formula that led to Barnes & Noble’s decision is common throughout the United States. It is absolutely critical,” she said of a retail business wanting to be near other successful stores. “Part of the draw of a mall is the effect of all stores that are out there,” she said…The location of a shopping center also can impact stores, she said. If the shopping district is in an undesirable part of town, it is difficult to recruit new stores. “The location itself can hurt if it is dated,” she said…Reynolds said closing locations was to be expected. “Companies are really looking closely at every location,” she said. Stores with low or declining sales usually go out of business…
Education briefs
Birmingham News
Dr. Ramana G. Reddy, ACIPCO Professor of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at the University of Alabama, was recently named the recipient of two awards from The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society for his outstanding accomplishments. He received the Extraction and Processing Distinguished Service Award and the Extraction and Processing Science Award. — Four University of Alabama students who have a passion for books have been named winners in the UA Libraries’ 3rd annual Book Collecting Contest. This year’s contest winners are Courtney Barbour, James Hudnall, Friedrich Kerksieck, and Rob Heflin. –University of Alabama senior Daniel Cherry, a telecommunication and film and political science major, placed seventh in the radio news category in the William Randolph Hearst Foundation Journalism Awards Program for two of his pieces produced for Alabama Public Radio. — Dr. Glenda Williams, associate professor of telecommunication and film in the College of Communication and Information Sciences at The University of Alabama, was elected president of the Broadcast Education Association. — Dr. Pauline Johnson, associate professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering at The University of Alabama, was recently selected to attend the Women’s International Research Engineering Summit, June 2-4, in Barcelona, Spain.
Festival celebrates state authors and culture
Tuscaloosa News
The two-day Book and Culture Fest wraps up today with an emphasis on celebrating black culture and honoring Alabama authors. “The theme for this festival is how and why I became an author,” said Cynia Duggins, a supervisor at the University Medical Center and director of the festival. “We wanted to bridge the gap between literature and culture. So many of UA’s professors and students are involved in writing, and other people in the community need to know,” she said…Participating authors include Pamela Foster, Brian Fair, Angela Benson, DoVeanna Fulton, Courtney Howard, Cry Pryor and Jessie Crawford…The event is sponsored by the Black Faculty and Staff Association of UA.