Campus celebrates Harper Lee
Crimson White – Sept. 20
The Honors College and School of Law will commemorate the 50th anniversary of Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” Tuesday with Attorney General Eric Holder as the keynote speaker, according to David Wilson, chairman of the celebration. The event is sponsored by the Honors College as part of the Anne Campbell Bloom Lecture Series and is free and open to the public, but seating will be limited, said David Wilson, chairman of the celebration…Wilson said Holder was chosen as keynote speaker because of his ties to the University. “We are very honored that Holder was attracted to the University and Honors College and cannot be more proud to have him as out keynote speaker,” Wilson said… “It also meaningful that he is our nation’s first African American attorney general and that through his sister-in-law Vivian Malone Jones, a pioneer in integrating the student body at UA, he has direct ties to our institution,” O’Neal said…During this occasion, Alabama Law School Dean Kenneth C. Randall will announce the launch of a new national book award titled “The Harper Lee Prize for Legal Literature.” The prize will be awarded annually to a work of fiction that best exemplifies the role of lawyers in society and their power to effect change, a press release stated…
NBC13 (Birmingham) – Sept. 20
An Entrepreneur Backs First-Generation College Students
Chronicle of Higher Education – Sept. 20
…The foundation focuses on public institutions, where a flat partial scholarship of $5,000 a year will go the furthest. The first two sites, the University of Kentucky and the University of Utah, have their initial classes of First Scholars this fall. Two more institutions, the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa and Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, are in the planning phase and will begin their programs next year.
Alabama school bus seat belt study hitting the home stretch
School Transportation News – Sept. 20
…Dr. Daniel Turner, an emeritus professor of civil engineering at the University of Alabama, has lead the team working on the report it was called by a seat belt study group formed by Gov. Riley not long after a school bus left a highway overpass in November 2006 and plunged some 60 feet to the ground below. Four high school girls were killed. Turner confirmed that the target date for releasing the report is Oct. 1. But first, the findings must be shared and reviewed with the Department of Education, the Governor’s Study Group on School Bus Seat Belts and Gov. Riley himself. Turner added that those dates for review are currently being set. Once the report is finalized, it was thought that it would be disseminated online.
Experts say indicators will precede rebound from economic malaise
Anniston Star – Sept. 19
… Samuel Addy is a bit more optimistic about the economy’s future. And, in a weird way that only an economist can be, he’s optimistic about the recent past as well. “I am confident the recovery has already begun,” said Addy, director of the University of Alabama’s Center for Business and Economic Research, which predicts trends in the state’s economy. Addy said obvious signs of recovery are out there, if you know where to look. He noted that the economy is shedding jobs at a slower and slower rate every month, if you control for other factors, such as the temporary jobs created by the 2010 census. “When I apply the brakes, it takes some time for the car to slow to a complete stop,” he said. “That’s where we are now. The brakes were applied some time ago, and the recovery is under way.” Addy concedes it may be hard to derive hope from the job numbers if you’re still looking for work — or if you’re worried about losing your job…Addy says you’ll know the recession is over when you’ve gotten a new job — and gotten a raise — and when your down-on-luck friend who has been jobless for a year gets a job, too. “When people who are ‘discouraged’ start looking again, and when they get hired, that’s a sign,” he said….
Alabama looks to 2010-2011 budget year
Gadsden Times – Sept. 18
… The Alabama Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama conducts quarterly surveys asking business leaders their expectations. The business confidence index for the third quarter showed Alabama began turning the corner midyear with a broad-based recovery, the CBER said. The positive confidence index followed 10 straight quarters of shrinkage. “It’s better than last year,” said Sam Addy, director of the CBER. “Alabama has been better because economic development momentum this decade has been in better shape than in many states.” Addy said last week in an interview that a new federal stimulus would help Alabama and especially state and local governments that deliver goods and services and jobs. The CBER survey said industry profits, hiring and capital expenditures will boost Alabama’s economy only modestly. But profits and hiring are expected to be positive…
Alabama unemployment rate falls, but joblessness climbs in Mobile and Baldwin counties
Mobile Press-Register – Sept. 18
… “I’m still not seeing any kind of trend,” University of Alabama economic analyst Ahmad Ijaz said of the payroll numbers, which are favored by some economists. “It goes up one month and down one month. I’m not seeing a clear signal that we’re on the path to recovery.”
Employers are turning to temporary workers
Tuscaloosa News – Sept. 19
… “That’s the trend, and when I saw that (Mercedes’ announcement), I said to myself, it is happening right here in Tuscaloosa,” said Trevor Bain, a retired University of Alabama management professor who continues to do research and work on labor-related issues. Bain said more employers are finding advantages in using temporary workers to meet their manpower needs… “It is not all that unusual,” Bain said of Mercedes’ action. “It is being done all over.” But hiring temporary workers can have a downside. “There could be an effect on productivity,” Bain said…
Local residents receive conservation awards
Tuscaloosa News – Sept. 19
Three West Alabama residents were honored with the prestigious Alabama Governor’s Conservation Achievement Awards, Aug. 6 at the 2010 Governor’s Conservation Achievement Awards Banquet at the Marriott Legends at Capitol Hill in Prattville…And Tuscaloosa’s Doug Phillips, host of the Discovering Alabama Television show, was named Conservation Communicator of the Year… For 25 years, Phillips has been providing audiences with a look at Alabama’s natural diversity through the Discovering Alabama TV Series. Phillips and The University of Alabama’s Museum of Natural History started Discovering Alabama with the idea of educating students holistically — academically, personally, and civically…
Returning students awarded scholarships
Crimson White – Sept. 20
The College of Continuing Studies awarded $50,000 to cover the cost of tuition for 20 students who have had a gap in the pursuit of receiving their college degrees. Each student received $2,500, provided by the Osher Reentry Scholarship, according to a UA news release. “Adult students face many challenges as they return to college: juggling full time jobs, family responsibilities and multiple demands on time and money,” said Carolyn Dahl, dean of the College of Continuing Studies. “The Osher Reentry Scholarship makes it possible for adult students to finance college, earn their degrees, and move forward in their careers.”… “The Osher Reentry Scholarship assists us in the College of Continuing Studies to do our job and fulfill our purpose, which is to assist adult students in completing higher education goals,” said Nina Smith, program manager in the College of Continuing Studies. “It’s a great benefit to provide financial support for the students.”…
Honors College’s Faculty-in-Residence Series presents Irish poet Joan McBreen
Crimson White – Sept. 20
Irish poet Joan McBreen will be kicking off the Faculty-in-Residence Series by the Honors College tonight at 6 p.m. in Gordon Palmer Hall, Room 208. The event, during which McBreen will read selections of her poetry, is free to attend. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet her at a catered reception after the reading…Jacqueline Morgan, associate dean of the Honors College, said these faculty members serve as informal and formal mentors to the students, so the students know they have someone to go to for support. The faculty brings in scholars in order to expose students to different things. Morgan said the Honors College is trying to have a comprehensive approach to the development of youth…
Tournament gives chess players a chance to sharpen skill
Tuscaloosa News – Sept. 19
For the first time this weekend, Tuscaloosa is hosting the Alabama State Chess Championship on the University of Alabama campus…The event was organized by Freedom Chess Academy, a local nonprofit organization that offers free chess classes for people of all ages…
Off-Broadway’s ‘Palestine’ comes to Ferg
Crimson White – Sept. 20
Award-winning actress, comedian and writer Najla Said will be performing her one-woman show “Palestine” tonight from 7-9 p.m. in the Heritage Room of the Ferguson Center…Mara Marouan of the department of African-American studies invited Said to the Unviersity after seeing her show in New York…
College News
Tuscaloosa News – Sept. 20
The Alabama Credit Union awarded Ayana M. Ames a $1,000 scholarship on Sept. 2. Ames is a freshman from Gainesville, Va., who plans to major in fashion design. At freshman orientation this summer, the credit union gave all UA and UA at Huntsville attendees a chance to win the annual $1,000 scholarship. More than 400 students entered the drawing — Kyohei Ando won first prize in the Leonard Falcone International Artist Division Solo Competition held Aug. 14-16 in White Hall, Mich. His victory marks the second time in three years a euphonium student from the University of Alabama captured first prize. Tony Carlson and Clayton Maddox were semi-finalists in Artist Euphonium and Artist Tuba respectively.
SGA offers ‘Ride with the Tide’
Crimson White – Sept. 20
If a resolution proposed Thursday afternoon passes, UA students and organizations will have the opportunity to hitch a ride with the Student Government Association to the LSU-Alabama football game on Nov. 6 with the “Ride With the Tide” program. “We’ve reserved six buses, so we’ll cap out at 330 students,” said Nicole Bohannon, the SGA executive vice president. “My hope was that it would do two things—one, provide a safe mode of transportation for those students who have tickets, and also encourage students who don’t have tickets to still go and enjoy the experience.”…The Parents’ Association, an organization of UA students’ parents, will fund $4,000 of the trip’s expenses, according to the resolution authored by Senator Drew Smyth…