University of Alabama commencement
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 9
The University of Alabama awarded 1,200 degrees during summer commencement Saturday. Students listed as candidates to receive degrees include…
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Aug. 8
Former attorney, UA official noted for public service
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 9
…John Rufus Bealle Jr., a former attorney, veteran and longtime employee of the University of Alabama, died Thursday at LaRocca Nursing Home. He was 91. Born on May 6, 1918, in Tuscaloosa, Rufus Bealle graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in arts and sciences in 1940 and then from the UA School of Law in 1942…But his son said it was in 1953 that Rufus Bealle found his true calling. That year he became attorney, land commissioner and secretary of the University of Alabama System’s board of trustees…In 1966, Rufus Bealle was named a member of the board of directors of the UA Law School Foundation. He retired from the university in 1983, but he continued to serve his alma mater as the part-time coordinator of special gifts for the law school, a post he held for almost 20 years….Kellee Reinhart, spokeswoman for the UA System board of trustees, said Rufus Bealle’s wealth of knowledge was a valuable resource for the university. “A wise source of legal counsel during the UA System’s formative years, Rufus Bealle was also the historian of record for the board of trustees even long after his retirement,” she said. “There was never any doubt that he enjoyed gathering gems of information about the university’s storied past as much as we gratefully appreciated his sharing them. “When Rufus walked through the door, we instantly knew the conversation would be lively and unforgettable.”…For his major role in the early building of the School of Law endowment, he was given the Dean’s Award in 1973, the Outstanding Alumnus Award by the Student Farrah Law Society in 1992, and the Sam W. Pipes Distinguished Alumnus Award by the School of Law in 1996. He also received an honorary doctor of law degree from the university in 1983…
Triumph in the Trophies
Birmingham News – Aug. 10
Daniel Livingston, an art instructor at the University of Alabama, works on a trophy for the USA Triathlon Elite National Championship. Livingston, who teaches ceramics and drawing and is a regular demonstrating artist at The Kentuck Festival, was commissioned by the Kentuck Association to create the trophies for the competition, which will be held in Tuscaloosa on Aug. 22. Livingston created six trophies from clay dug on campus at UA, plus a few extras in case one is accidentally damaged. He used a red iron oxide wash to enhance the red color of the clay, he said.
School bus seat belt study in its last year
Huntsville Times – Aug. 8
…A pilot study evaluating the effectiveness of seat belts in a few buses is entering its third and final year. The study, conducted by the University of Alabama, will provide information about school buses with seat belts for possible adoption throughout the state. Twelve Alabama school buses, including one each in Madison and Decatur, are a part of the study. The study came in response to the November 2006 school bus crash that killed four Lee High School students and injured many others, including the driver…Each bus in the study is equipped with video cameras that allow researchers at UA’s University Transportation Center for Alabama to see how many students use the belts properly and whether the belts keep students away from the aisle.
WSFA (Montgomery) – Aug. 9
WAFF (Huntsville) – Aug. 7
UA Fan Day set for today
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 9
What: The University of Alabama football team’s annual Fan Day Open practice: 2:30-4:30 p.m. today at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Fans may enter the stadium at 1:30 p.m. via the northeast gates and sit in the lower bowl. Autograph session: Fans may line up at Gate 16 for a 45-minute autograph session on the field with players and coaches…
Doctors and nurses learn Spanish at UA School of Medicine
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Aug. 8
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – Aug. 7
…the class helps attendees learn Spanish vocabulary, conjugations, and basic conversational dialogue…
Enrichment program aims to link Wilcox County, UA
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 8
About a hundred students from Wilcox County made their first trip to Tuscaloosa on Friday as part of the BAMA Kids Inc. summer enrichment program…As part of a continuing effort to increase minority enrollment at the University of Alabama, accounting professor Gary Taylor invited the BAMA Kids Inc. organization to tour the campus and participate in college-related activities. The purpose of the tour is to expose students to new opportunities, Taylor said. “We want to create a link between Wilcox County and Alabama,” he said. Since 1993, the program has introduced students in impoverished Wilcox County to an array of positive recreational and educational activities. The trip is related to the organization’s commitment to improving kids’ overall physical, mental and emotional well-being, said Sheryl Threadgill-Matthews, the director and co-founder of BAMA Kids…
A middle school for the artist
Gainesville (Ga.) Times – Aug. 8
…New da Vinci Academy aims to connect students to arts, science — on a slim budget…The pilot program provides innovative learning opportunities for gifted students with a penchant for the arts and sciences. But that’s only half of the reason it’s making a splash with educators across the Southeast. The program also will operate at about 60 percent to 70 percent of the cost per student compared to a traditional middle school, Hall County school Superintendent Will Schofield said.…The da Vinci model will spend only $4,000 per student in personnel costs; a traditional middle school in Hall County spends about $6,900 per student in such costs, Schofield said. The University of Alabama awarded the program a $20,000 service-learning grant this summer that entices teachers at the school to promote the academy as a template for other schools in the region…
Carl Peterson’s Derrick Thomas Hall of Fame Speech
ArrowheadPride.com – Aug. 9
Carl Peterson gave a great speech last night at the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony honoring Derrick Thomas…The full transcript of Carl Peterson’s Hall of Fame speech…”Derrick has aspirations beyond the football field. He wanted to earn his degree from the University of Alabama. And coming to the Chiefs, I can tell you he was a long way from that. But in his 11 years, he spent time during the season and during the offseason, attending classes at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. A Lamonte Winston on our staff provided the needed assistance. And a few months after his passing, I, my wife, Lamonte and a number of Kansas City Chiefs people, traveled back to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to watch his mother, Edith Morgan, and his beloved grandmother, Annie, walk across the commencement stage at the University of Alabama to receive Derrick Thomas’ graduation diploma. It was a great day for everyone…”
Kathryn Stockett surprised by success of “The Help”
Birmingham News – Aug. 9
…”The Help” has earned praise from USA Today, the Associated Press, the “Today” show and The New York Times, among others. “It still hasn’t really hit me,” says the author, who grew up in Jackson, Miss., and earned a degree in English and creative writing from the University of Alabama. That was where she learned to write..Yesho Atil’s creative writing class gave her her start.
Langford, Arrington, Cooper play role in upcoming Birmingham city elections
Birmingham News – Aug. 10
…Large political machines are mostly a thing of the past, but endorsements from popular figures can still make a difference, said David Lanoue, chairman of political science at the University of Alabama. “When voters don’t know a lot about the candidates, they look for some kind of cue, some kind of indicator, to help direct their decision,” he said. “In council elections it’s not uncommon for candidates to say different versions of the same thing, so you need some basis to distinguish these people.”…
Home sales up, but so is unemployment
Florence Times-Daily – Aug. 9
…A total of 120 homes were sold in June in the Shoals’ Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Colbert and Lauderdale counties. That compares to 109 in May and 90 in April. The figures come from the Alabama Center for Real Estate at the University of Alabama. In June 2008, 125 homes sold. The average selling price for June was $140,992, which is the highest amount since July 2008, when homes sold at an average of just more than $152,000, according to the Center for Real Estate…
Bama Beat: For one day only: Alabama’s Jim McElwain and Kirby Smart meet the media
Mobile Press-Register – Aug. 9
Jim McElwain: …“This year, from a personal standpoint, it is one of those really exciting years because my oldest daughter is going to college. We fended off a lot of schools across the country, and she is going to be in the Honors Program here at the University of Alabama. We are excited as a family to be here in Tuscaloosa and be part of the Crimson Tide family.”…
Michael E. Palmer’s Almanac: Inspiration for structure’s shape dates back centuries
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 8
On the University of Alabama campus stands a structure called the “Little Round House.” The structure is famous for having escaped the flames of the Union army during the Civil War in 1865. The army invaded Tuscaloosa, bent on burning buildings and structures that were used to aid the Confederate cause. The targets included buildings on the UA campus, which was then a military school. The army failed to burn the Little Round House, the only structure on the campus that had any militaristic associations with the Confederacy. Despite its name, the structure is neither round nor a house. It is an octagonal Gothic Revival structure that was based on the design of a Gothic castle, said UA professor Robert Mellown. The structure was built around 1860 to house cadets on sentry duty in inclement weather. Each of the structure’s eight sides is filled with a large window. “The good thing about an octagonal building is that there wouldn’t be any blind spots for cadets on sentry duty,” Mellown said…In 1888, the Little Round House at UA was restored and became a storage facility. The structure later became known as the Jason’s Shrine…
Forbes ranks the University of Alabama 65th in the country for value
WDHN (Dothan) – Aug. 7
…The University of Alabama ranked 65th in the country for value…
University of Alabama president’s list
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 10
This list recognizes full-time UA undergraduates. President’s list (4.0 average)…
Business buzz
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 9
Attorney W. David Ryan of Tuscaloosa law firm Phelps, Jenkins, Gibson and Fowler LLP was re-elected to the board of directors of the Alabama Council of School Board Attorneys during its annual meeting in July…He has taught trial advocacy as an adjunct professor at the University of Alabama School of Law.