Completion Conundrum
Inside Higher Education – Dec. 8
The state funding outlook for community colleges is too bleak for the completion agenda to succeed, according to a national survey of statewide leaders of two-year institutions. For example, respondents from just four states said a “long-term plan exists to finance the operating budgets needed to increase the number of adults with college degrees and certificates.” Facilities budgets are even worse, with only three respondents calling state capital funding adequate. Optimism is hard to spot in the survey results released Wednesday by the University of Alabama’s Education Policy Center. The research is part of the center’s annual survey of state community college directors, who manage and coordinate two-year colleges in their states. Directors from all 50 states responded to this year’s survey, which was conducted over the summer, including two representatives from Georgia, which has separate community and technical college systems. No response was included for the District of Columbia, which has only one, relatively new community college.
Chronicle of Higher Education – Dec. 8
Late teacher remembered for caring for students
Tuscaloosa News – Dec. 8
Professor James F. Cashman was more than a teacher, a colleague said. He was also a mentor to thousands of business students who took his management courses at the University of Alabama during a career spanning 36 years. “He had a magical way when it came to teaching,” said professor Lonnie Strickland, a colleague and friend of Cashman, who died Dec. 2 of cancer at 66. “Jim was the definition of what a great professor is. He had a great love for teaching and he cared about his students,” said Strickland, a professor of management, like Cashman.
Tuscaloosa holds tree giveaway to replenish destroyed greenery
Tuscaloosa News – Dec. 8
University of Alabama Arboretum caretaker Ken Robinson looks over about 300 trees waiting at the University of Alabama Arboretum for the upcoming giveaway. The Tuscaloosa Tree Commission is giving away trees beginning at 8:30 Saturday morning at the Cherry Shelter at Snow Hinton Park…
A View from Israel: Stay the Course
Jerusalem Post – Dec. 8
Why is Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East and America’s strongest ally in the region, being attacked by senior US government officials? The Obama administration appears to have a case of “groupthink.” Last week, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta blamed Israel for its own “growing isolation” and insisted it must “get to the damn table” as if Israel is the one reluctant to pull up a chair. . . Karl DeRouen, a well-known political scientist, professor and director of the International Studies Program at the University of Alabama, has shown through research that military force abroad diverts public attention away from a weak economy. While this may be true to a certain extent, the American public is tired of war and wants its troops back home, so military force abroad is not really the best option for Obama…
ICE Publishing releases ahead-of-print articles from journal series
Knowledgespeak.com – Dec. 8
Nanomaterials and Energy will be the first journal to be launched in the ICE Science collection, in January 2012. Led by editor-in-chief Prof. Nitin Chopra, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, USA, the journal will bring together research from scientists and engineers working at the juncture of nanomaterials and energy, helping identify new and ever more efficient energy sources with a cost-benefit focus. The first 10 ‘Nanomaterials and Energy’ AOP articles are available online athttp://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/content/serial/nme/fasttrack
Tuscaloosa Community Dancers’ ‘Nutcracker’ opens Thursday at Bama Theatre
AL.com – Dec. 8
The Tuscaloosa Community Dancers will present five performances of “The Nutcracker” beginning Thursday night at the Bama Theatre. The Crimson White reports that this year’s “Nutcracker” will be the last for the Community Dancers’ artistic director Rebecca Tingle, who has directed 23 productions of the ballet.
UA’s historic mound steeped in symbolism
Crimson White — Dec. 8
Alabama loves mounds. While ours isn’t the most important mound in the state, it’s close. It’s protected by an iron fence thing, adorned with luxurious shrubbery and marked by not one, but two plaques crediting three different societies. Apparently, everyone wants their name on the most historic pile of dirt on campus. The Mound is the ruin of Franklin Hall, an antebellum dormitory burned by Union troops in 1865; at least, that’s what the sign says. According to art history professor Robert Mellown, the University used to be peppered with similar sites where they piled up the remains of the torched buildings in 1887. The campus was positively moundy.
Student art featured at Ferguson Center
Crimson White – Dec. 8
There is still time before the semester ends to visit The Capstone Expo, a senior art showcase, in the Ferguson Center Art Gallery. The Gallery is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday. The art gallery provides UA students, faculty, staff and the surrounding artistic community an outlet to showcase their work. This month UA students Katherine Jaeger, Jacob Davidson, Tristan Watts, Amber Jones, Ashton Minto and Lauren Ruel have displayed their work in the art gallery. Collectively, they represented a wide range of styles in the gallery.
APO performs first musical
Crimson White – Dec. 8
Alpha Psi Omega, the theatre department’s fraternity and honor society, puts on a show once each semester, and this week on Dec. 8and 9 they are running the show “See Rock City & Other Destinations,” book and lyrics by Adam Mathias and music by Brad Alexander. Director Barrett Guyton, a senior majoring in theatre and health care management, chose the musical in September and the cast has been working on it for the past four and a half weeks.
Delta Gamma, TOMS to fight blindness
Crimson White – Dec. 8
Delta Gamma, whose philanthropic focus is sight, has partnered with TOMS in The Great Fight for Sight, a competition between DG chapters to sell eyewear to benefit visually impaired children across the globe. The TOMS Eyewear line, launched this year, offers the same one-for-one donation as its footwear. For every pair of glasses sold, a child in need will receive prescription eyeglasses, medical treatment, or sight-saving surgery. TOMS mission fits hand in hand with DG, which established its own foundation, Service for Sight, to work to both raise awareness and assist the visually impaired.
UA student chosen for UN climate conference
Crimson White – Dec. 8
University of Alabama student John Canada was recently chosen as one of five students nationwide to attend the United Nation Climate Change Convention in Durban, South Africa. “I feel very honored that I was given the opportunity to represent [the American Chemical Society], the University and my country at a United Nations Conference,” said Canada, a chemistry major and member of the American Chemical Society. The annual conference was established to discuss climate change and other related topics. Many of the scientific organizations support the consensus view on climate change and thus have had an impact on negotiations.
The finals countdown: Adequate rest, healthy diet essential for success during exam week
Crimson White – Dec. 8
Delynne Wilcox, assistant director of Health Planning and Prevention at the Student Health Center, said it is important to stay focused and have a plan when studying. “Do not let panic and crisis made take over,” Wilcox said. “. . . Psychology professor Stan Brodsky said it is important for students to remember basic health maintenance during exam time. “Students should do the obvious things,” Brodsky said. “They should exercise regularly, eat well and attend to their sleep needs. They should take regular breaks and stretch.”