UA students, volunteers build a Nest for tornado-damaged community (photos)
AL.com – Feb. 25
University of Alabama students and community members gathered at Rosedale Park Saturday afternoon to put the finishing touches on The Nest, an art project built to commemorate the April 27 tornado and Tuscaloosa’s recovery. UA juniors Emma Fick and Naomi Thompson pitched the project to Creative Campus after being inspired by initiatives like Beauty Amid Destruction that used art and creativity as a way to help people emotionally heal from the storm. The installation, a 6-feet tall nest made of branches collected from storm debris in Tuscaloosa, sits at the end of the park just southwest of Rosedale Court, a public housing development devastated by the tornado.
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 26
Crimson White – Feb. 27
Alabama economic development plan gets first burst of ‘accelerators’
Birmingham News – Feb. 26
A collaboration among the University of Alabama, the state’s two-year college system, AIDT and Mercedes-Benz could be the first tangible action from a new statewide economic development strategic plan. Members of the Alabama Economic Development Alliance met, in private, for the first time last week since the Accelerate Alabama plan was unveiled in Birmingham in late January. The goal now is to begin implementing elements of the plan to ensure it doesn’t become just another document collecting dust on a shelf. The 76-page Accelerate Alabama plan includes 33 pages of what are called “accelerators” — actions that need to be accomplished if the plan is to be fully realized.
Opelika-Auburn News – Feb. 26
UA costumers rushing to get ready for ‘Straw Hat’
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 27
Even with nine costume shop graduate students, more undergraduates and a handful of professional staff on hand, the University of Alabama costume shop has been sewing, cutting and fitting from late fall to the last minute for the French musical farce “An Italian Straw Hat,” which opens tonight in the Marian Gallaway Theatre. By mid-afternoon Friday, with the shop closing at 5 and a dress rehearsal that night, there was a full house on the bottom floor of Rowand-Johnson Hall: every desk and table covered, hands busy with yards of fabric, hats and shoes, down to the finest tiny glued-on diamonds of filigree as workers considered how they might reflect the stage lights.
Performance at University of Alabama honors Perry County author
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 25
On the surface, there’s nothing remarkable about the sources of inspiration for Mary Ward Brown’s short stories. The stories are about people or things in a typical place at a forgettable moment. But close listening will reveal that people are full of remarkable stories waiting to be told, the 94-year-old author said Friday afternoon. She said people are as “dramatically alive” as the ruby-red namesake of her story, “The Amaryllis,” “All people are interesting,” she said. “I’ve never met a person that wasn’t.” Brown gave a rare filmed interview to Honors College students at the Allen Bales Theatre on the University of Alabama campus Friday afternoon. The students are part of a class called “Lights, Camera, Alabama,” in which they film documentaries about periods and figures in Alabama history.
Crimson White – Feb. 27
UA public relations program is finalist for national award
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 25
The University of Alabama Department of Advertising and Public Relations is one of five finalists for top honors as the PR Education Program of the Year. The winner of the award, which will be presented by PR Week Magazine, will be announced Thursday night at an annual awards banquet in New York City. The banquet will recognize top people and organizations in the public relations industry in New York City.
UA student to take his short film to Cannes Film Festival
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Feb. 24
One University of Alabama student is bringing international spotlight to Tuscaloosa, and he’s doing it by taking his short film, “Here and Now,” to the world-famous Cannes Film Festival in France. Alex Beatty, 19, was first invited to Hollywood after his film won best drama at the campus movie fest earlier this month. But days after the honor, he was given an even more prestigious one.
Asians and Latinos Question Scott Brown’s Irish Immigration Bill
Huffington Post – Feb. 24
Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) recently announced that an immigration bill he filed last year was “about to pop.” The measure, dubbed the Irish immigration bill, would qualify Ireland for the E-3 visa program which currently applies exclusively to Australian nationals. The bill would increase the number of work visas allocated to the Irish by 10,500 per year. Brown’s measure has been added to a broader bill introduced by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) that would make it easier for high-skilled foreign workers to obtain work visas in the U.S. Schumer’s bill is a version of the Fairness for Highly Skilled Immigrants Act of 2011 (H.R. 3012) — which passed the House with broad bipartisan support in November. . . . Michael Innis-Jiménez, a University of Alabama professor and expert on Latino and Labor issues said focusing on just one ethnic group won’t fill the high and low-skilled gaps in the American work force. “Although I admire Scott’s advocacy for an extremely vibrant and influential ethnic and national group within his constituency of Massachusetts, the underlying problem is that the immigration system needs a complete overhaul,” Innis- Jiménez said.
Alabama in financial distress due to sluggish payrolls according to UA professor
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Feb. 24
Credibility, an Atlanta-based nonprofit credit counseling and education agency, tracks the financial condition of the average U.S. household by measuring five categories: employment, housing, credit, how families manage household budget and net worth. A score of 70 indicates a state of financial distress. Ahmad Ijaz, director of economic forecasting at the University of Alabama’s Center for Business and Economic Research, said the state’s financial distress is mainly due to sluggish growth in payrolls. He said even though the pace of layoffs has somewhat stabilized and some sectors of the economy have begun to hire workers, there is still a challenge of getting those who were previously laid off back to work.
UA professor says using physical force on your children is never a good thing
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Feb. 24
Valerie Thorington, assistant director of child development at the University of Alabama, says using physical force of any kind on your children is never a good thing. And it usually means the parent is stressed.. .
Author discusses post-slavery presence
Crimson White – Feb. 27
Discussing the South’s history can be tricky, especially while in the South, but Pulitzer Prize winner Douglas Blackmon spoke to a full room Thursday night in Gorgas 205 about the history of the post-civil war South and his prize-winning book. Blackmon’s book, “Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II,” focuses on the treatment of African-Americans after the abolishment of slavery in the South and how the system of slavery again manifested itself.
Program honors Tuscaloosa’s role in civil rights
Crimson White – Feb. 27
“In this very room, there’s quite enough love for all of us,” the Stillman College Singers crooned as they closed the second annual “A Day Without Civil Rights is Like a Day Without Sunshine” program Thursday night. The room was the First African Baptist Church sanctuary, and the copious amount of love was matched only by the generous supply of history. The event, organized by Latrice Dudley, a New College senior majoring in Afro-women’s studies, and co-sponsored by New College and the College of Arts and Science’s dean’s office, focused on the action and impact of the civil rights movement in Tuscaloosa, specifically June 8, 1964’s “Bloody Tuesday.”
Navistar coming to UA to provide student work, internship opportunities
Crimson White – Feb. 27
Those interested in job opportunities in the fields of vehicular manufacture, marketing, business and sales are in luck. Navistar International, a $10 billion company that produces commercial and military trucks, is coming to campus Feb. 28 for Navistar Day. “Navistar Day is one of the biggest events of the spring semester for the business school, and I’m really excited that we have the opportunity to connect talented students of all majors here at the University of Alabama with this great company,” said Brandon Poley, a sales ambassador.
UA freshman gets national recognition for ‘the face’
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – Feb. 24
Ever heard the expression a picture’s worth a thousand words? How about a face worth a million views? That’s the case for one Tuscaloosa native who’s receiving national attention for what’s being called “the face.” Jack Blankenship is a freshman at the University of Alabama. As an avid basketball fan he decided to put his face on a sign to distract the opposing team. “I figured it would be funny if I just print out a picture of my own face doing “the face” and just my friends would get a kick out of it and nothing more would come of it,” Blankenship said.
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Feb. 24