UA to hold combined commencements for spring, summer grads
Tuscaloosa News – June 25
The University of Alabama announced Friday that it will hold three commencement ceremonies Aug. 5-6 to award degrees to its spring and summer graduates, along with a candlelight vigil to honor the students who died in the April tornado…In addition to the commencement ceremonies, UA will hold a candlelight vigil in memory of the six students who lost their lives in the tornado. The vigil will be held at 8:30 p.m. Aug. 5, on the steps of the Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library. The next day, during the 9 a.m. commencement ceremony, the university will award posthumous degrees to the six students who died in the storm. These students will also be remembered at the 2 p.m. ceremony. “Our goal is to have a memorable commencement experience for all our students,” Judy Bonner, provost and executive vice president, said in a statement. “Having three ceremonies will allow us to appropriately honor this record number of graduates. The candlelight service will also give us all an opportunity to remember the students who died April 27 as well as others who were impacted by the storm.”…
Birmingham News – June 25
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – June 24 and June 26
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – June 25
WAFF (Huntsville) – June 24 and June 25
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – June 24
WSFA (Montgomery) – June 24
WDFX (Montgomery) – June 24
Cleanup, rebuilding could be biggest economic catalyst in years
Cullman Times – June 26
…Though economic indicators and unemployment took an initial hit — with the state unemployment rate increasing last month —the University of Alabama Center for Business and Economic Research report anticipates the gains should far outweigh the early losses. “The recovery activities will generate enough revenue to cover damage-induced losses to state finances, as well as the state spending for cleanup if assumptions on losses and spending hold,” author Samuel Addy, Ph.D. wrote. “While the tornadoes’ damages are largely localized, the economic impacts of the ensuing recovery activities will be more widespread.”…
Insurers study climate change to decide rate hikes in Alabama
Birmingham News – June 26
…Whatever calculations individual companies make about future risk, there will also be a countering force keeping rates in check, said William Rabel, a professor at the University of Alabama Culverhouse College of Commerce. The companies may want to raise rates but they are also keeping an eye on what competitors are doing, he said; raise them too much and a company loses customers. “Insurance companies want to recoup their losses but they also want to remain competitive,” he said…
Slump in real estate market giving a bump to rentals
Birmingham News – June 26
…Despite the current strength of the rental market, there are still plenty of advantages for homebuyers and owners, said Grayson Glaze, executive director of the Alabama Center for Real Estate at the University of Alabama. Studies show homeownership improves educational outcomes, fosters better health, reduces crime and provides a vehicle to wealth accumulation in the long run, he said. Glaze also cited a recent Fannie Mae survey that shows 74 percent of participants prefer homeownership. “At the end of the day, consumers in Alabama and the nation still believe in homeownership,” he said…
First Ever Student 3D Film Festival Announces Winners at Campus MovieFest
Sacramento (Calif.) Bee – June 27
Campus MovieFest (CMF), the world’s largest student film festival…completed the first CMF 3D Film Festival during the Campus MovieFest International Grand Finale events in Hollywood from June 23-26….Winner: “PICTURE OF THE STORM: TUSCALOOSA, AL” – Xavier Burgin, from The University of Alabama, said, “At first, I was going to do an actual narrative for CMF 3D. Unfortunately, the tornado (in Tuscaloosa, Alabama) hit, derailing my chances to begin the film I planned. Afterwards, I spoke with Aaron Azpiazu (CMF, Special Projects manager) about the storm and everything that happened. I knew the event was something that needed to be documented so this spurred me to let this be the subject of my 3D film.”… The International 3D Society awarded the winning film, “Portrait of the Storm: Tuscaloosa, AL” with a $5,000 scholarship…
Rare reptile bones, shark teeth found in Greene County dig
Tuscaloosa News – June 25
Clinton in Greene County may be only a short drive from Tuscaloosa, but some chalk outcroppings there took participants in the Alabama Museum of Natural History’s 33rd Annual Expedition into the distant past. “We had some exceptionally good finds, some for the first time in Alabama,” said Randy McCready, museum director. “We found some really nice first-time stuff.”…“This has multiple purposes,” McCready said. “For the museum, we’re getting kids interested in science and getting them outdoors. For the university, it’s a recruiting tool.” Expedition participants end up enrolling at the University of Alabama, where the Museum of Natural History is located, at a rate of 13 to 14 percent, McCready said. That’s an unusually high retention rate…
VIEWPOINTS: Supreme Court right to disallow Walmart class action
Birmingham News – June 26
The legal case, Walmart v. Dukes, offered the U.S. Supreme Court an opportunity to force dramatic changes in the hiring and personnel practices of large American employers. Fortunately, the court declined to do so…This is not to say that discrimination is not a serious impediment to the employment opportunities of women. It plainly is. Like most contemporary problems, however, battling discrimination involves balancing legitimate competing interests…James Leonard is the James M. Kidd Sr. Professor of Law at the University of Alabama School of Law. Email: jleonard@law.ua.edu.
College News
Tuscaloosa News – June 26
Lauren A. Mullenix, an accounting major from Gordo, was recognized as an Austin Scholar at Honors Day in April. She also was recognized as an honors graduate and received the Financial Executive International Student Award and the Delta Sigma Pi Scholarship Key at the Culverhouse School of Accountancy awards banquet in April… — A national conference on teaching undergraduate science courses convened at the University of Alabama’s Bryant Conference Center Monday and Tuesday. The conference, “Research Based Undergraduate Science Teaching: Investigating Reform in Classrooms” was sponsored by the National Study of Education in Undergraduate Science, a project funded by the National Science Foundation and UA’s Office of Research on Teaching in the Disciplines…
UA track athlete loses home and car, but escapes storm unharmed
Tuscaloosa News – June 26
Of all the University of Alabama student-athletes who required some type of assistance in the wake of the April 27 tornado, few, if any, lost as much property as Joel Lynch. And few were as lucky. The UA track athlete lived on the first floor of a two-story building near the UA campus that was completely destroyed…But aside from some scrapes and bruises, Lynch himself was spared…As UA athletic officials began reaching track athletes one by one, Lynch’s was the name nobody could yet cross off. “Joel was the last one we heard from,” said former UA track coach Harvey Glance. “He was hard to track down” Soon after the storm, UA’s athletic compliance office helped him move into Bryant Hall so he could not only finish the track season, but have a residence for summer school as well…Glance wasn’t expecting Lynch to continue competing for the balance of the season, but about two days after returning to Atlanta, Lynch called the coach and told him he wanted to do just that. Lynch called it a chance to return to normalcy, and Glance was more than happy to welcome him back not only to Tuscaloosa, but to the team as well…
Tornado relief continues, but for athletes, coaches, the focus is on rebuilding
Tuscaloosa News – June 26
…Both head coaches are participating in that rebuilding effort, and both recently took time to discuss what has been done and the long journey that remains ahead. “It’s going to take a couple of years, I think, to make this happen,” Saban said. “It’s not going to just come back to what it was. But I think the cooperation, the volunteers, all the federal and local organizations and governments who worked together, they’ve done a nice job of helping clean up Tuscaloosa…The Crimson Tide football team was directly affected when snapper Carson Tinker was injured and his girlfriend was killed…For Grant, recovery work began almost as soon as the storm had passed through town…By the next morning, Saban and Grant were back in their offices. Even though power had not been restored to the UA campus, director of athletics Mal Moore was meeting with all the school’s head coaches and top administrators to determine immediate needs and discuss long-range planning. By the end of the day, UA had received a green light from the NCAA to take whatever steps were necessary to address immediate needs of student-athletes…In the meantime, both coaches will continue to work with their own foundations for tornado relief. Saban, though the Nick’s Kids charity founded by him and his wife, Terry, has been an active supporter of the Team Up Foundation, which is reaching out statewide in its fund-raising and rebuilding efforts. Grant quickly established the Sweet Home fund, reaching out to members of the basketball community…
Committee prepares to divvy out $1.75 million Tuscaloosa Disaster Relief Fund
Tuscaloosa News – June 26
Donations to the Tuscaloosa Disaster Relief Fund have grown to $1.75 million, and a 10-member committee has been formed to review applications for the money. The fund’s tax-exempt donations are intended for local nonprofit organizations involved with long-term recovery from the April tornadoes, and only organizations with certified 501(c)3 status are eligible to apply for the money. The review committee will be chaired by former University of Alabama business school dean Barry Mason, who also once served as chairman of the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama…
WHNT (Huntsville) – June 26
WTVM (Columbus, Ga.) – June 26