University of Alabama sees record student enrollment for 2012
Tuscaloosa News – Sept. 13
The University of Alabama continues its upward trend in enrollment with another record breaking year of 33,602 students this fall, a 5.8 percent increase over last year. The total is made up of 28,026 undergraduates and 5,576 graduate and first professional students, including 3,180 students who are enrolled only in online courses, according to a UA news release Wednesday. In the last decade, enrollment has surged from less than 20,000 to more than 33,000, a 71 percent increase. The Capstone also set a record for applications with 26,400 high school students applying this year, up more than 19 percent over 2011. “We are pleased that so many students are choosing the quality and value of an education at The University of Alabama,” UA President Guy Bailey said in a statement. The university is not only expanding in the number of students, but also the quality of students. There is a record 6,397 freshmen attending UA this fall and, according to the release, it is the best qualified freshman class in UA history. “This is a truly outstanding freshman class,” UA executive vice president and provost Dr. Judy Bonner said in a statement. “As our applicant pool has grown, we have become increasingly more selective. These students have exceptional academic credentials.”
Al.com – Sept. 13
Florence Times Daily – Sept. 13
CBS 5 (Mobile) – Sept. 12
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – Sept. 12
NBC 38 (Columbus, Ga.) – Sept. 12
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Sept. 13
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – Sept. 13
Crimson White – Sept. 13
White House to honor UA instructor
Tuscaloosa News – Sept. 13
J. Suzanne Horsley says she grew up in a home that believed in helping others. As she grew older, her interest in community service expanded and she delved into volunteer work with the Red Cross. She never imagined those efforts would stand out among others. The University of Alabama assistant professor of advertising and public relations is one of nine volunteers and employees being honored as a Champion of Change during a daylong program at the White House on Friday. “I am floored,” she said. “It is very exciting, but also incredibly humbling that someone at the White House thinks I did something good.” The Champions of Change program was created to recognize “ordinary Americans doing extraordinary things.” The people recognized will share their stories with Obama administration officials and others, as well as participate in a series of panel discussions. Horsley is being recognized not only for her volunteer work with the American Red Cross, but also her effort in involving her students in volunteerism.
Associated Press – Sept.13
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – Sept. 12
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Sept. 12
WAFF-NBC (Huntsville) – Sept. 12
Follow Saban’s example, and you will earn success, says UA business school dean
Birmingham News – Sept. 13
J. Michael Hardin, the dean of the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration at the University of Alabama, believes his students can learn a thing or two from Nick Saban. The football coach, whose coaching philosophy recently was dissected in a Sports Illustrated story, sweats the details. Dedicate yourself to doing the little things right, the philosophy says, and the big things will turn out the way you want. “That’s what I want us to demand of our students and ourselves,” Hardin said. “We should always be asking ourselves, ‘can we do the small things better?'”…Under Hardin’s leadership the business school has made changes intended to better prepare its graduates for an uncertain future. Instead of turning out drones that follow the traditional path — start in sales, work your way up — Hardin wants UA to turn out independent thinkers with an entrepreneurial spirit. The program has begun to emphasize communication skills, and it seeks out students in fields such as chemistry and engineering for its master’s program. “With all of the changes going on, we have to prepared students for jobs we’re not even aware of,” he said. “We’re teaching students to create their own jobs.”…if they follow Saban’s example, Hardin said, UA will stand out by graduating men and women of character and with a tremendous work ethic. “We need students who are aggressive and have a will to win,” he said. “I’d like for (executives with) the next company that skyrockets on Wall Street to be saying ‘Roll Tide.'”
UA’s Million Dollar Band celebrates 100 years
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – Sept. 12
The University of Alabama’s Million Dollar Band plans to mark a huge anniversary next weekend. The band will celebrate 100 years with a big concert, featuring directors from the past century. It will be held next Friday. The Alabama Wind Ensemble centennial concert will be followed by a centennial gala where members and alumni will receive commemorative rings. The band may have gotten its name from a former football team manager. As the story goes in a 1922 away game against Georgia Tech (‘Bama lost), an Atlanta sportswriter asked the team manager, “you don’t have much of a team, what do you have at Alabama?” The manager replied “A million-dollar band.”
WSFA-NBC (Montgomery) – Sept. 12
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Sept. 12
Pulitzer Prize winner E.O. Wilson speaks at UA
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Sept. 12
A very successful UA graduate has returned to the Capstone to speak to students and the public about his research. Dr. E.O. Wilson, who received his bachelor’s degree from the university in 1949, started his program with his lecture “The Social Conquest of Earth” on Tuesday night. Wilson returned today to lecture students in the Blount Undergraduate Initiative convocation. Dr. Wilson has published around 26 books and continues to do research.
Census report finds slight drop in Alabama poverty
Associated Press – Sept. 12
Alabama’s poverty rate went down slightly from 2010 to 2011, while the median income in the state went up, according to new U.S. Census data. The report released Wednesday showed Alabama 42nd among the 50 states in median household income. Alabama’s median household income was $42,590, compared to the national median household income of $50,054. The U.S. Census Bureau also reported the state was making progress in the fight on poverty, The report showed the poverty rate in Alabama was 15.49 percent, down from 17.2 percent in 2010. Kathleen Gabler, co-director of the Alabama Data Center at the University of Alabama, said the data shows Alabama’s median household income rising again after falling during the recession from its peak in 2008.
Florence Times Daily – Sept. 12
Montgomery Advertiser – Sept. 12
Moundville to host archeological event
Crimson White – Sept. 13
A few miles outside of Tuscaloosa sits the Moundville Archaeological Park, an ancient Native American site and a part of The University of Alabama Museums. For several years, the park has hosted events aimed at teaching the public about Southeastern Native American culture. One such event is called Saturday in the Park, where local experts come together to educate the community about Southeastern Native American arts and traditions. Tyler Fox, an Americorps VISTA at Moundville,…helped create the schedule of artists for this year’s events and will be giving a gardening class on Sept. 22. “At its height, Moundville was the largest city north of Mexico City,” Fox said. “Many people don’t realize the rich cultural significance that is right in our backyard.” Fox said programs like Saturday in the Park showcase what life was like for the Native Americans who once lived in the area. He said that on a typical Saturday, there are many activities for participants to choose from such as pottery, textiles, flute making and interpretations of native languages. Betsy Irwin, the education outreach coordinator for Moundville, oversees the educational programs for Saturday in the Park and often contributes her artistic skills to the events. Irwin said she has been making pots and ceramics for over 30 years, focusing on the techniques used by the Southeastern Native Americans.
Flagler College welcomes writer and humorist Michael Martone
Real Media – Sept. 12
Michael Martone is a busy man. The two-time NEA fellowship recipient and University of Alabama professor is one of the most widely-published fiction writers and essayists of the last two decades, with work anthologized in such prestigious collections as the “Pushcart Prize Stories,” “Best American Short Stories” and “Best American Essays.” Martone, known for his funny readings and biting wit, will visit Flagler College on Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. for a reading and discussion of his work. “I am looking forward to returning to St. Augustine,” Martone said. “I made a visit there during a very stormy spring break of 1995.” Many Flagler College students are well acquainted with Martone’s work through his co-editing of the renowned short fiction anthology “The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction,” a mainstay in several creative writing courses at the College. The visit offers the community a chance to experience Martone reading his own work, in his famously humorous style.
UA receives $110,000 grant from OSHA
WAFF-NBC (Huntsville) – Sept. 12
The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa is also getting a big grant, from OSHA. The U.S. Labor Department is giving out money to provide training and education on health and safety in the workplace. UA will get $110,000.
Weekend event geared to spark engineering interest in middle school girls
Crimson White – Sept. 13
The Society of Women Engineers will host an event for nearly 200 middle school girls Saturday, Sept. 15, providing them with hands-on experiences in an effort to spark an interest in engineering. The first WOW! That’s Engineering event will run from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Ferguson Center Student Union. “Studies show that young girls don’t have much opportunity to find out about engineering, so we are trying to be that catalyst,” Beth Todd, SWE faculty advisor and mechanical engineering professor, said. Rachel Mitchell, a senior majoring in chemical engineering, said she was first introduced to engineering through a similar SWE outreach event she attended in middle school. Now, as the president of SWE, she hopes to give the girls a similar experience to hers in a traditionally male-dominated field. “A lot of young girls don’t realize what engineering can do for them,” Mitchell said. Todd said that because of a lack of opportunity for young women to learn about engineering, they come into college unaware that it is something they can pursue. “There are many, many job opportunities to hire women in engineering,” Todd said. “Before [students] enter college, they may not know what’s out there.”
Language immersion practiced in some campus dorms
Crimson White – Sept. 13
University students often travel abroad to immerse themselves in another country’s language and culture for a year or a semester, but many are unaware that a similar environment exists right here at the Capstone. Culture-based, living-learning communities at the University, such as the French and German House, are designed for students seeking a way to study a country’s respective language and culture in an immersed environment. “Students who participate in living-learning communities connect their living environments to their academic interests, creating a more unified college experience,” Alicia Browne, director of UA housing administration, said. Founded in the fall semester 1978, the Hans and Sophie Scholl Haus or German House located on Bryce Lawn provides residence for 10 to 15 students each year, including native German speakers and American students studying the language. “We hope that they will have a pseudo-immersion experience, thus improving their language ability,” Elaine Martin, faculty liaison for the German House, said, “and that they will also make new international friends and learn more about German culture.” American students living in the house are able to take part in a two-credit conversation course only open to German House residents and taught by a native German speaker. Eva Schmeidl, student house director of the German house and German graduate student, is a German foreign exchange student who, through a scholarship from the Federation of German-American clubs, was chosen to live at the German House. As house director, she plans the weekly meetings for the students taking part in the course credit option while living in the house.
Non-profit mentoring program searches for applicants to work with professionals
Crimson White – Sept. 13
The second year of The University of Alabama’s Non-Profit Protégé Program is now underway, taking applications for students to participate in an eight-week mentoring program with non-profit professionals. A collaborative effort of the Community Service Center and the Career Center, the program started in 2011, pairing participants with an administrator or CEO of an Alabama non-profit organization. The members are expected to arrange weekly meetings with their mentor. Not to be confused with an internship, the experience grants a limited number of students the opportunity to attend board meetings, sit in on staff and committee meetings, visit with potential financial donors and witness the working world of a non-profit leader. Kimberly Montgomery, assistant director of the CSC, is heading this year’s program…“Our expectations are as it was last year: to have students make valuable connections and gain profitable insight into their career plans,” Montgomery said. Students of all majors are encouraged to apply. “The Non-Profit Protégé Program is an experience for someone who wants to make a positive change for themselves, their non-profit and the community,” said Haley Clemons, a student director of public relations, marketing and graphic design at the CSC.
UA show choir resembles ‘Glee’
Crimson White – Sept. 13
Resonance, the UA-run show choir, allows students to experience their own real-life version of the hit television show “Glee.” Catchy songs and intense dance numbers are just a little part of the package deal and is why director Garrett Lindsey said the University’s show choir is “Glee on steroids.” “We literally tell people who come up to us and ask that we are our own version of Glee,” Lindsey said. “We create really intense choreography and sing as a group; we’re nowhere near as solo-driven as the characters on the show.” A junior majoring in choral music education, Lindsey first joined the program as a freshman. Originally, Lindsey started out as the bass section leader, worked his way up to the musical director and currently acts as the director. “I lead all rehearsals, play a large role in choosing our show’s set lists, when and where we perform, and I occasionally help choreograph some of our performances,” Lindsey said…Anyone interested is welcome to audition; however, prior singing or performing experience is recommended.
Disability Services to host tech exposition to raise awareness
Crimson White – Sept. 13
The Office of Disability Services is hosting an event on Sept. 14 to assist students with and without disabilities to better understand certain technologies. The Accessible and Assistive Technology Expo of Alabama will feature presentations by several major computer hardware and software manufacturers, including Apple. The expo will be held in the third floor of the Ferguson Center from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free and open to all members of the UA community, as well as to the general public. According to ods.ua.edu/aatexalabama, the expo seeks to introduce attendees to technology they may not have seen before while demonstrating some accessibility features of technology that attendees may already be using. Marion Stevens, the Assistive Technology Specialist at ODS, said the event will be beneficial to anyone who comes. “Since the expo is open to everyone both on and off campus, anyone who might be interested in these topics is welcome to come,” Stevens said. “I think there are many people in the community who could benefit from learning about these technologies.”