Passion for education unites UA students
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 27
…Elizabeth Jones, a senior majoring in economics at the University of Alabama, and Alex Flachsbart, a first-year graduate student in economics at UA, are the only students from the university to be placed in Alabama by the competitive program…The couple met each other through a class at UA’s Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility…The two are also members of the UA Blackburn Institute, and Jones founded Speak Up Tuscaloosa, an outreach program that teaches area students the art of debate. “It’s about empowering and giving voices to people,” Jones said. “It was a great experience and led me to fall in love with education and become an advocate for people in Alabama.”… “There’s no better place to help make a difference in education reform than through Teach for America,” she said…Flachsbart came to Alabama from San Francisco. The USA Today All-Academic nominee and founder of the Bama Bike Initiative, a campus-wide bike rental program, said that while he doesn’t plan to teach forever, he’s looking forward to the experience and seeing where it will take him…Caitlin Looney, a UA senior and Teach for America campus coordinator, said that while Flachsbart and Jones are the only two UA students to be placed in Alabama, there are other UA students who will be placed in other areas. Looney, for instance, will be teaching in the greater New Orleans area. “I’ve always been interested in public education and quality,” she said. “I was really struck by the mission and the fact that it was really effective in making a substantial difference in the classroom.”…
UA professor part of team that created liquid aspirin
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 27
…Yet a University of Alabama professor and international colleagues believe they have a new form of aspirin that could improve and expand the old standard. The improvement comes from making aspirin a liquid that could be applied to the skin for quicker absorption into the body than a pill that dissolves in the stomach. “We can’t find any evidence that anybody has made a form of liquid aspirin,” said UA chemistry professor Robin Rogers…
Robert Witt, seven years on
Crimson White – March 1
…When Witt arrived in Tuscaloosa seven years ago, he brought a results-driven leadership style that he concedes is atypical. “Normally, when people talk about organizational structure, it’s the traditional pyramid. My perspective is you turn the pyramid upside down,” he said. The style, which Witt said has its origins in “professional experiences and an extensive amount of reading,” embraces the idea that the leader of an organization should empower employees to better fulfill their duties. He said he works for the people who make up the University: faculty, students, staff, alumni…Mal Moore, the athletic director, echoed Patterson. “He understands what he’s doing, and I think everybody who works for him draws strength from him,” he said…One of his interests is the University’s wheelchair basketball program. Without prompting, he recited the schedules and records of the men’s and women’s teams…Witt said the University’s recent acquisition of the Bryce Hospital property was an example of long-range planning. “The acquisition of Bryce Hospital is not something, in reality, that will be an integral part of my presidency,” he said. Witt predicted that the next two or three presidents will be involved in developing the property. He plans to remain part of the University community after his retirement. “I am always going to be actively involved in the life of this University,” he said.
Cason Award recognizes southern journalist
Crimson White – March 1
The College of Communication and Information Sciences will present this year’s Clarence Cason Award to nationally syndicated columnist and author Rheta Grimsley Johnson March 9 at a dinner held in her honor. Established in 1997, the Cason Award is presented annually to a person with a strong connection to the state of Alabama who exhibits excellence in nonfiction writing. Jennifer Greer, journalism department chairwoman in the College of Communication and Information Sciences, said Johnson will speak to several journalism classes and will receive a plaque in recognition for her work. “The Cason Award is named for the founding chairman of the department of journalism, and it honors those who carry on his tradition of bringing social issues to light through outstanding long-form non-fiction writing,” she said. Johnson, raised in Montgomery and a graduate of Auburn University, has gained nationwide recognition for her human interest reporting in the South as a columnist for the Memphis Commercial Appeal, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and other regional newspapers…
UA film documents veterans’ problems
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 28
As part of the University of Alabama’s Documenting Justice course, students Elizabeth Jones and Dick Powers produced the film “Searching for Normal,” which has gone on to receive recognition and praise from the U.S. military community… “It struck a chord in the military community regarding an issue that gets far less attention than it deserves,” said Stephen Black, director of the University of Alabama Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility. “The goal is to personalize issues that affect other human beings and affect them in ways that not everyone knows about. This is a huge challenge for tens of thousands of families of returning vets that doesn’t just go away.” The Documenting Justice course is the only interdisciplinary course in documentary filmmaking in Alabama that teaches students how to film and analyze an issue of justice. The idea for the film was inspired by Powers, an Iraq veteran. Powers, who served in Iraq from 2001 to 2006, signed up for the course in 2007 while enrolled in law school at UA…Powers, who received a Truman National Security Fellowship in January, spoke with the VA’s new media director, Brandon Freidman, at a conference in Washington, D.C., on the film. Freidman posted about the film on the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Facebook page, and the film then received positive response from veterans and their supporters…
Anthony L. Williams Jr. is a hit with “Project Runway” fans
Birmingham News – Feb. 28
Anthony L. Williams Jr., a Southern firecracker full of peppy one-liners and a flair for edgy dress design, has emerged as a fan favorite on the latest season of “Project Runway.”…When he wanted to enroll in the University of Alabama’s fashion program in 2004, his grades were not the best. The dean told him she’d take a chance on him and he’d better not let her down. He hasn’t. He graduated in 2007, he returned to the college this month to give two lectures on the reality of fashion design and for a “Project Runway” viewing party, and he spreads the news about the college’s fashion program. “It is truly an awesome program. I think that they are not only concerned with you growing and being cultivated as a designer …, but I think they work a little bit harder to teach you how to be more professional,” he said. Milla Boschung, dean of the College of Human Environmental Sciences at Alabama, said she’s been inundated with comments from alumni since Williams has been on the show. “My telephone rings for an hour after the show goes off. And I love it,” she said…
Little change seen in Tuscaloosa area home sales
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 27
The recession continues to affect home sales and home prices in the Tuscaloosa area. The latest figures, released Friday by the University of Alabama-based Alabama Center for Real Estate, show the number of sales and selling prices were relatively unchanged from a year ago. But the data, which cover sales from December and January, also show prices and sales remain down from their prerecession levels of just two years ago…
Huntsville Times – Feb. 27
Facebook group created ‘to minister to people and spread the word of God’
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 27
…“There’s a long history of relationships between religious organizations and technologies,” said Theodore Trost, chairman of the University of Alabama’s department of religious studies. “For example, rock ’n’ roll and also film, have been thought of in some groups, especially conservative groups, as dangerous,” he said. “So there is that strain that technology is dangerous, but even conservatives have embraced it often now. Radio would be an example like Earl Roberts who have used the radio to try and get the message that they’re trying to get across and later in the 20th century, evangelical television.” Trost said technology in the 21st century, especially the Internet, are hard things for religious communities to ignore. Many religious groups now have their holy books online, Web sites with virtual worship centers, e-mail newsletters, and daily prayer request or testimonies on message boards and social networking sites like Facebook. “National and local churches do this all the time,” Trost said. “Facebook is an interactive way to communicate a religious message.”…
Where have all the jobs gone?
Birmingham News – Feb. 28
…Worse, Ahmad Ijaz, an economics researcher at the University of Alabama, figures the area’s real unemployment rate is between 14 and 15 percent, counting the labor force dropouts…Economists at the University of Alabama don’t expect a jobs rebound in the state this year. Recessions, they say, have a long tail. The relatively mild nine-month recession in 2001 brought 36 months of job losses, they noted in a report. This much deeper recession has brought 19 months of employment declines in Alabama, suggesting there’s more pain ahead…
Latest credit card statements reflect changes in law and include information you shouldn’t ignore
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 28
… “Most of this legislation is very favorable to consumers,” said Caroline S. Fulmer, an assistant professor of consumer sciences at the University of Alabama’s College of Human Environmental Sciences. There is new information, and “what consumers really need to do is read what they get” with their credit card statements, said Fulmer, who is also a certified financial planner. Useful information will be on monthly billing statements. Credit card companies also have to advise their customers about changes they make in interest rates and fees at least 45 days in advance of the changes. That information might come separately from the monthly statement, Fulmer said…
Fraternity to get new house
Crimson White – March 1
Plans for a new house for Alpha Tau Omega are underway, and construction will begin pending the University’s Board of Trustees’ approval. Gentry McCreary, director of greek affairs, said the current ATO house was built in the 1960s for about 70 or 80 men, but the fraternity has since swollen to become one of the largest on campus with around 135 members. They need a new house because they have simply outgrown the current one, he said…
SGA campaigning kicks off with debate
Crimson White – March 1
The first SGA Executive Candidate Debate was held Sunday at the Bryant Conference Center. The debate featured nine contenders, five of whom are unopposed. Kelly Corr, running for executive secretary; Nicole Bohannon, running for Executive vice president; Grant Cochran, running for vice president of external affairs; Stephen Swinson, running for vice president of student affairs; and Edward Patton, running for vice president of financial affairs are all unopposed candidates…Aaron Zucker and Miriam Fry offered their platforms for vice president for academic affairs…James Fowler and Matthew Brown sparred over the problems they would tackle as SGA president. Fowler said he has the experience required to manage the complicated tasks the president must handle. He said he has served in the legislative and executive branches in the SGA and has the work ethic to handle the responsibility. Fowler said his biggest accomplishment so far has been the institution of Ideas to Action, which enables students to submit an idea to the SGA and have elected leaders provide the manpower and financial support needed. Brown said he has been on campus for three years and has developed a feel for what the pulse of the campus is. He said that he views the SGA as a body made to work with students and not in the place of students.
Chief Justice to speak at UA School of Law
WAKA (Montgomery) – Feb. 26
The chief justice of the United States Supreme Court will be speaking in Alabama. Chief justice John Roberts will give the Albritton Lecture at the University of Alabama School of Law. The lecture is free and open to the public, but seating will be limited. He will be speaking on March 9.