Kindness & heroism: UA honors those who helped, remembers victims
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 29
…hundreds of students, faculty and staff at the University of Alabama gathered Sunday night to light luminaries, one by one, around Palmer Lake in a service that honored those who died in the storm as well as all those who sacrificed to help Tuscaloosa rebuild. “From the first hour after the tornado to this very day, literally thousands of University of Alabama students, faculty and staff have committed hundreds of thousands of service hours to help our community and our campus,” said UA President Robert Witt…Mark Nelson, vice president for student affairs, then read the names of the six UA students who died in the storm along with some of their interests and aspirations…UA men’s basketball coach Anthony Grant presented the first Capstone Heroes Awards to five individuals and groups from both the community and the university who displayed the “generosity and compassion typical of the UA spirit” and have “made a significant difference in the lives of others” in the wake of the storm…To close out the ceremony, UA head football coach Nick Saban spoke, encouraging those in attendance to not only learn from the lives of those who died in the storm, but also from the heroes who have given so much to help rebuild Tuscaloosa…
Al.com – Aug. 29
Crimson White – Aug. 29
University of Alabama, FEMA help build wind-resistant homes
Huntsville Times – Aug. 28
…Through this multi-university and industry collaboration, we can provide valuable research to help design safer homes,” said Dr. John van de Lindt, professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering at the University of Alabama, who was the team leader. “It is very difficult to investigate the load characteristics of buildings within a tornado path. Developing something we call a dual objective-based design method to better mitigate the effect of tornadoes will reduce damage and save lives.”…The group also visited Joplin, Mo., and saw “total devastation of houses” as in Tuscaloosa, said Dr. Andrew Graettinger, associate professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering at Alabama. “We saw damage, no damage … the same level of destruction (as Tuscaloosa),” he said…”Based on building damage observed during our study, 97 percent of the study area, which was a half-mile wide and six miles long through Tuscaloosa, experienced EF-3 level wind speeds or less,” he said. “Therefore, 3 percent of the area experienced higher-than EF-3 wind speeds…Graettinger said the team’s research – which also included studies of damage from Hurricane Katrina – is resulting in a new philosophy of designing buildings. “How do we hold roofs on buildings?” he said. “We saw so many buildings with their roofs taken off. Once the roof went, the walls had no support and they went. “We looked at hurricane clips and straps (on buildings that survived the winds of Katrina) – they’re less than a buck apiece.” He said buildings aren’t engineered for tornadoes “right now.” “It’s a small probability of hitting a building,” he said. “They’re very specific and you don’t know where they’re going to (have a direct impact.)” But, he said the university is now offering courses related to tornado engineering. “We’re very tuned in to it here more than other (places),” he said…
UA researchers study rocks for weather clues
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 27
…Led by Aharon, a University of Alabama geology professor, and funded by the National Science Foundation, the group, including Lambert, a geological research scientist at UA, and Sletten, a UA geology doctoral student, flew to Niue, 1,500 miles northeast of New Zealand. The team was on a search for a “prize stalagmite” they hope will provide a rainfall record dating to up to 10,000 years into the past and illustrate the alternation between the El Nino and La Nina weather patterns, known in the scientific community as El Nino/La Nina- Southern Oscillation (ENSO), during that time period…
UA real estate study finds cost to rebuild, repair storm-damaged homes could be at least $224M
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 28
A University of Alabama study estimates it will cost more than $224 million to rebuild and repair Tuscaloosa housing units destroyed or damaged by the April 27 tornado. The study released last week by UA’s Alabama Center for Real Estate looked at the impact the tornado had on the city’s housing market and housing sales in the second quarter. Grayson Glaze, ACRE’s executive director, said the estimated cost for rebuilding and repairing the city’s housing is a rough figure and many factors ultimately could affect the total…Home sales in the tornado-ravaged neighborhoods were most adversely affected. Some of the homes on the market were destroyed or heavily damaged, Glaze said. But even homes for sale in the tornado zone that escaped damage were impacted. Potential home buyers who might have been attracted to neighborhoods with tree- lined streets and scenic surroundings looked elsewhere after the tornado destroyed those surroundings…The report noted that Tuscaloosa area home sales improved in May and did even better in June and July…Glaze said the increased home sales this summer were due partly to some people who lost homes in the tornado buying replacement homes and to some stabilization in home prices. “The Achilles’ heel for the Tuscaloosa area’s home sales for the last few years was an overabundance of supply,” Glaze said. “If you look at Tuscaloosa’s housing supply now, it shows the (homes for sale) inventory is slowly realigning with demand.”…
Wells Fargo report: Alabama likely in recession
Business Week – Aug. 27
…Sam Addy, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama, said Alabama could be headed into recessionary territory if it has a couple of more bad months. “But we are not there yet,” he said…Addy said it’s important to remember that there were 24,000 more people working in Alabama in July than in January. He said that gives Alabama 1 percent growth in jobs, and it’s ahead of the 0.8 percent job growth that the UA center had forecast. He said another positive sign is that the state’s income tax collections from individuals are up…
Hit-making songwriter Dan Penn heads to the University of Alabama Thursday for concert
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 28
…Dan Penn…You can hear some of his songs, and some of the stories behind them, when Penn and pianist and fellow songwriter Bobby Emmons play at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the University of Alabama’s Morgan Auditorium. The connection between UA and Penn came through the songwriter’s friend and fan, Ed McNees, who had been trying to develop a work based on Penn’s music…in the style of a musical-theater revue such as “Smokey Joe’s Cafe”… UA musical theater director Raphae Crystal…“I found that because he wrote songs about people he knew, or about himself, it was possible to put together something that sounded like somebody’s life. It starts out in a small Alabama town, then goes to Memphis, into a love affair and so on, then the coming-home section…I found that a lot of his songs are sort of confessional or individual songs, that people sing in desperate situations, and because of that they’re very moving,” he said. “It’s like a lot of soul writers: the mixing of the religious and secular styles is there.” UA’s sophomore performance class worked on the musical all last year, and performed workshop versions of it in fall and spring. “I’m hoping that we will do a reunion performance, and then we’ll see what Dan wants us to do with it,” he said…Penn said, “It knocked us slap out. The kids were great, Raphe was great. I thought it was terrific, here these kids are getting an education and somebody thinks enough of my songs to do this; it was outstanding. Yeah, they were playing my songs, and that’s nice, but I would have enjoyed it if it was somebody else’s songs.”
Blessings and buildings: More than 100 volunteers repair homes for needy
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 28
More than 100 student and community volunteers spread out across Tuscaloosa on Saturday in an effort to repair homes for the less fortunate…Max McGill, a 23-year-old University of Alabama student who has worked with Project Blessings for a year and a half, said the organization spends a weekend each month performing minor repairs as well as installing flooring, roofing, siding and plumbing…The volunteers were composed of 30 UA master of business administration students, 22 University of Georgia MBA students and 50 volunteers from CVS pharmacies across the region. The teaming of the three groups began after talks UA MBA student Thomas Ganey had with CVS public relations personnel while he was interning with the company in Rhode Island this summer…The work became a project of the UA MBA Association, Ganey said. He serves as the group’s vice president…
UA Sorority Pledges
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 28
Earlier this month, the University of Alabama campus played host to the largest sorority rush in history, said UA Director of Greek Affairs Gentry McCreary. In all, 1,741 women participated in UA’s rush week, which gave 15 of UA’s National Panhellenic Conference-member sororities the opportunity to recruit new members. Three other Panehllenic-member sororities at UA did not participate in rush this year. Of that 1,741, about 1,300 women were accepted into houses, said Ashley Getwan, president of UA’s Panhellenic Association. Those pledging sororities include…
Community service center helps students get involved
Crimson White – Aug. 29
…The University’s Community Service Center, located in the Ferguson Center, organizes volunteer opportunities for students in addition to acting as a liaison between UA students and community partners. The CSC also utilizes a system called SLPro, which allows students to log volunteer hours and learn about potential volunteer project opportunities…Another on-campus volunteer opportunity can be found at the Women’s Resource Center. Elle Shaaban-Magaña, the WRC director, said the center is always looking for volunteers to accomplish a broad spectrum of goals…
UA’s Rise program to hold charity sale and silent auction this weekend
Al.com – Aug. 26
The University of Alabama’s Rise School will hold a charity sale and silent auction this weekend to benefit the Stallings Center, the home of the Rise program in Tuscaloosa…The Rise program, established in 1974 as an early intervention preschool program for young children with disabilities, has served more than 10,000 children in its mission to prepare them for public school classes.
Holy Spirit workshop helps immigrants plan for future
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 29
… The workshop was hosted by the Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice of Montgomery in partnership with the Department of Public Interest Law at the University of Alabama Law School, the UA Department of Community Affairs, UA Crossroads Community Center and Holy Spirit Catholic Church…
Donations help students affected by April 27 tornado
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 27
…As of Friday afternoon, six aisles of wooden shelves were overflowing with assorted school supplies, and still more boxes were waiting to be unloaded by Air Force ROTC members from the University of Alabama…
5 Easy Tips for Dorm Décor
Crimson White – Aug. 29
…Stephanie Sickler, assistant professor in the College of Human and Environmental Sciences, has been researching the topic of students’ personalization of college residence halls with her partner Beverly Roskos. Here are a few easy tips from Sickler to help make the most of your time in the residence hall, whether you’re living in Ridgecrest, Paty or Parham…
UA Press offers bargains at book sale
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 27
People seeking something new to read will likely find a potential trove of reading material at the University of Alabama Press’ book sale, which continues today in the former CityFest lot on Greensboro Avenue, directly across from the L&N Train Station. The book sale, which began Friday, will be from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. today…
College news
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 28
Rhonda Lyn Davie of Birmingham has been named to Sigma Alpha Lambda national honors organization at the University of Alabama…The board of advisors for UA’s Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations has elected a vice-chair, re-elected five members, and added three new advisors, bringing the group to 21…The Plank Center awarded $6,800 to support two research projects that enhance understanding of factors that contribute to effective and ethical leadership in public relations…
Business buzz
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 28
The American Tax Association has selected University of Alabama professor Ed Schnee as the recipient of its 2011 Outstanding Tax Educator Award. The award, presented in cooperation with the Ernst & Young Foundation, recognizes outstanding contributions by a faculty member teaching taxation at a recognized academic institution…Schnee is the Hugh Culverhouse Professor of Accounting at UA’s Culverhouse School of Accountancy and has been coordinator of the school’s Master of Tax Accounting Program for 26 years.He won the School of Accountancy’s Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award in 1990, and received the ATA’s Outstanding Service Award in 2004…