Gulf business help
CBS42.com – June 24
Members of the Alabama Small Business Development Center are headed down to lend a helping hand. Eight certified business counselors will be in Gulf Shores, Mobile, and Bayou la Batre, to help with a variety of issues. “The people we’re sending down have experience working with companies on financing options, that’s evaluating their current business situation, cash flow planning, trying to identify opportunities for them to recover from and get past the disaster,” says Michael Brooks, Assistant Director of the Alabama International Trade Center. The counselors, who are based on the University of Alabama campus, will be helping those in the restaurant, hospitality, and fishing industries, along with any others who need help.
UA Professors assist high schools, prepare students for college
Crimson White – June 24
University professors are partnering with local high school teachers to improve science education in Alabama, UA Professor Martin Bakker said. Virtual Integration of Science and Technology in Alabama (VISTA) has professionals on campus working on experiments that will help high school students be more prepared when entering into college science courses. “The idea is to build partnerships with our local school so that our teachers are better able to teach science, so when [their students] walk into my freshman chemistry class, they are more comfortable thinking for themselves,” Bakker said… “We feel that if we can improve the way that science is taught at the high schools and middle schools, the students coming into our classrooms will be better equipped, and the graduates who leave our university will be more prepared,” he said…
Ferg adds new student organization space
Crimson White – June 24
The Student Organization Resource Center for Extracurriculars, an organization that lends support to registered student organizations, now has an office in the Ferguson Center, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held August 24, Coordinator of Student Involvement and Leadership Alex Karagas said…The space will offer laptop rentals, copy and fax machines, printers and event supplies, as well as a conference space furnished with a flat screen TV…
SGA to host Republican debate
Crimson White – June 24
The University of Alabama and Auburn University Student Government Associations will partner with the Young Republican Federation of Alabama to host a debate between Rep. Robert Bentley and Sen. Bradley Byrne, the two Republican candidates participating in the July 13 run-off election. The debate will take place Friday in Birmingham’s Cahaba Grand Conference Center from 8:30 to 10 p.m. and will be moderated by Jon Paepcke of NBC 13…
Bama Bound sessions lend advice to incoming students
Crimson White – June 24
…Bama Bound, an initiative designed to aid new students in becoming acclimated with college life, began May 14 and will run through August 13…Several of the University’s incoming freshmen said the program is a resounding success. “I found it all very informative,” said Lauren Powell, who plans to major in communication studies. Lauren’s mother, Cathy Powell, agreed with her daughter: the process aides the sometimes tough transition from high school to college. “All of our questions were answered,” Cathy Powell said. “We can go to the website for anything else, and it’s really got a lot there.”…During students’ time at Bama Bound, they are led through the orientation process in Avanti groups. The Avanti team, whose name is derived from the Italian word for “forward” or “go ahead,” is an organization founded at the University in 1975 that continues to assist new students in their quest to advance their college careers…
Alabama home sales defy U.S. trend
Birmingham News – June 24
…Across the state, home sales edged up 6.5 percent from April and jumped 23 percent from May 2009, the Alabama Center for Real Estate at the University of Alabama said. The number includes new and existing homes. Consumer confidence is rising and unemployment is falling slightly, center executive director Grayson Glaze noted in his report…”… The data over the next several months will certainly be able to speak for itself as our analysis of the Gulf Coast will be expanding to closely monitor the impact,” he wrote…The center’s current baseline statewide forecast for 2010 projected a year-over-year sales increase in the range of 3.5 percent to 5 percent, but that will be revised on more data, especially when June and July sales are reported from the Gulf Coast, he said. High levels of inventory and increased sales of foreclosed homes, resulting in overall price declines, also continue to affect the statewide market, Glaze added.
Census: Tuscaloosa keeps growing
Tuscaloosa News – June 24
…Thanks to an adjustment by the Census Bureau, the latest estimate of Tuscaloosa city’s population was closer to the actual population, said Annette Watters, director of the State Data Center, housed at the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama. The Census Bureau added about 1,200 people to the 2008 estimate of the city that, in turn, affected the 2009 estimate. “They realized that their previous estimates were too low,” Watters said…Housing and apartment building permits, one part of the census’ estimate formula, had shot up in recent years, prompting census officials to recalculate the estimate, Watters said. The boom in apartments and condominiums in recent years has been driven by growth at the University of Alabama, which has added more than 9,000 students since 2003. It’s a source of growth hard to capture in a census, Watters said. “All college towns are traditionally undercounted,” she said. City officials hope the 2010 Census continues to show a more realistic population count. It all hinges on whether there will be an accurate count of college students, many of whom left town for the summer just as census workers began going door-to-door. “If most of them filled out their survey, Tuscaloosa could come in even bigger than this estimate,” Watters said…
Students travel to Cannes on scholarship
Crimson White – June 24
Twenty-two students from the University of Alabama were granted scholarships to be a part of the Cannes Film Festival in France this past May…Through the IIACI program, students interested in anything from filmmaking to business were given responsibilities and opportunities to learn about their field of interest. “It actually puts you right in the midst of the film industry and shows you how a lot of the business transactions happen, and how people work in general when it comes to buying, selling and viewing the films,” Burgin said. The students worked specifically for The American Pavilion, a private organization that, through membership, gives interns, stars and filmmakers a place to eat, drink and mingle…
Lloyd Hall to add Chick-fil-A, Pizza Hut to dining
Crimson White – June 24
This fall, Lloyd Hall will receive new dining options, adding to its recent openings of Boar’s Head Deli and Java City Coffee. The new additions will include Chick-fil-A and Pizza Hut, said Matthew Mackey, the marketing director for Bama Dining. The additions, which are collectively being named Stewart’s Corner, are located on the first floor of Lloyd, which is also home to the University’s New College…