UA graduate biologist says research generated dialogue
Tuscaloosa News – March 31
Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning biologist and University of Alabama graduate E.O. Wilson returned to the Capstone on Tuesday to participate in a morning colloquium on his often-controversial work and to deliver the 10th Annual Blount Undergraduate Initiative lecture…Wilson also spoke about biodiversity Tuesday night at Sellers Auditorium at the Bryant Conference Center. Wilson began by talking about the University of Alabama’s influence on his career. He said that there is a plaque inside the Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library in which he is quoted as saying, ‘The University of Alabama saved my life.’ In his lecture, Wilson drew several parallels to the state of Alabama and its role in preserving what he said is ‘the richest part of all of North America.’ ‘The 21st century will be known as the century of the environment,’ he said. ‘This is a time we will either settle down or wreck the planet.’ The Blount Undergraduate Initiative is part of UA’s College of Arts and Sciences, the university’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state.
Crimson White – March 31
University certified for weather preparation
Crimson White – March 31
Jim Stefkovich, a representative of the National Weather Service, visited campus Tuesday to officially recognize the University as a StormReady site. StormReady is a “national community preparedness program that helps communities develop plans to handle local severe weather and flooding threats.”…He presented the University with two official StormReady signs at a reception Tuesday morning in the Bryant Conference Center…Due to the unpredictable and severe weather the Tuscaloosa area experiences occasionally, the StormReady site status will be very useful in reaching the public. It will serve to bring “preparedness to the forefront” at the University and make the area better prepared for disaster, Stefkovich said.
FOX6 (Birmingham) – March 30
Attorney general candidates forum to be held Tuesday
Crimson White – March 31
Candidates competing for the office of Alabama attorney general will be on campus Thursday fielding questions from UA students and staff about their beliefs and campaigns. The Honors College Lecture Series and the UA School of Law organized the public debate, which will be Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Bryant Conference Center…
Universities team up to offer education doctoral degree
WAAY (Huntsville) – March 30
The University of North Alabama and the University of Alabama team up – starting this fall, education students can start the process of earning a doctoral degree in education at UNA…
Study measures Regions’ economic impact on Alabama
Birmingham News – March 31
…Regions commissioned a University of Alabama’s Center for Business and Economic Research study that shows that the bank had a $1.5 billion economic impact in Alabama in 2008. The study, released today, is the first of its kind for the Birmingham area’s largest private employer…
Former professor passes away
Crimson White – March 31
Ruth Wiggins Waldrop, one of the founders of the UA School of Library and Information Studies, passed away ten days shy of her 99th birthday last week. Waldrop was an alumna of the University and a lifelong advocate for libraries and the education of librarians. She was one of the main authors of a document titled, “A Proposal for Graduate Education in Librarianship: Crisis and Resolution” which was instrumental in establishing the current School of Library and Information Studies at the University.
SOURCE to be home to organizations
Crimson White – March 31
After 10 years of deliberation, Feb. 15 saw the start of construction on the SOURCE, a new home for all registered student organizations on campus. The new 2,835-square-foot space will be located between the Jones Center and the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership in the Ferguson Center, said Alex Karagas, coordinator of student involvement and leadership…The room will offer printing, faxing and copying, computers, meeting space with a flat screen TV for presentations, bulletin board supplies, event supplies, application pick up/drop off and other services for registered organizations. “Anyone involved with registered student organizations is invited to use the space,” Karagas said…Construction should be complete by June 1. The SOURCE ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held Aug. 24…
School Improvement Grant could fire teachers, principals
Crimson White – March 30
… “Removing effective principals and teachers will not improve student achievement,” said Joyce Stallworth, senior associate dean of education at UA. Stallworth said local schools need the flexibility to use the federal money to get parents, families and communities involved as education partners… “We must work toward solutions that recognize teachers’ expertise and simultaneously hold teachers, administrators, parents/families, and students to high expectations,” she said. Stallworth said that if the school system promotes the involvement of parents and families as educated partners it would provide the support necessary for teachers to do their jobs. Stallworth said people cannot continue to blame teachers singularly for poor student performance. “Students must come to school ready to learn and teachers must be supported as they facilitate students’ acquisition of the knowledge and skills necessary for success,” she said. “Parents, families and students themselves must be accountable.”
No quick answers on menthol’s effects
Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch – March 31
…But other tobacco-control advocates criticized the FDA’s approach on menthol. “It’s just an exercise in political correctness,” said tobacco-control advocate Alan Blum, director of the University of Alabama Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society. “There’s an elephant in the room and no one’s talking about it,” he said. “Congress said you can’t ban cigarettes; so now what are you gonna do?”…
UA students prepare community garden in Northport
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – March 30
A group of University of Alabama students are trying to help a neighborhood in Northport, by helping kids and creating a garden. Students built a vegetable garden in two days, during spring break. People in the neighborhood can reserve a plot of land to grow vegetables on.