UA’s new president looks to the future on first day
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – Sept. 4
New University of Alabama president, Dr. Guy Bailey, said Tuesday he’s happy to be home. He received his Bachelors and Masters degrees from the university. On his first day on the job, Bailey spent some time talking about the future and some goals he hopes the university can achieve. He said he would like to see faculty research opportunities expanded. “As your research expenditures increase, your external funding for research increases. I think the prestige of the university will continue to increase, and it will provide opportunities for students,” he said. Bailey is the 37th president at UA. He replaced Dr. Robert Witt, who was named chancellor of the UA system earlier this year. Four the past four years, Bailey was president at Texas Tech
University Business – Sept. 4
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Sept. 4
NBC 12 (Montgomery) – Sept. 4
Associated Press – Sept. 4
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Sept. 4
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Sept. 4
Students get hands-on court experience in Mock Trial
Crimson White – Sept. 4
Students interested in getting hands-on experience in the courtroom have the opportunity to do so, as either attorney or witness, in real courtrooms with real judges through the University of Alabama Mock Trial team. Mock Trial is a national program that aims to build the legal and public speaking ability of undergraduate students interested in law, debate, theatrics and argumentation. The Departments of Criminal Justice and Political Science, as well as the Honors College, sponsor the UA team. The current president of the UA team, Elizabeth Kiernan, a junior majoring in political science and English, said the students meet with their team, other teams and the coach between two and three hours a week for training. The students then practice further outside of scheduled times to work the case individually and in small groups. Kiernan said preparation for competition includes basic training concerning civil and criminal law, team practice and scrimmages against other colleges. The team then competes at the regional competition against other colleges for a chance to compete at nationals. In the February competition this year, the Crimson team tied for eighth place out of 25 teams, successfully earning a spot in the national Opening Round Championship in Greeneville, S.C.
Art student’s work inspired by movement, transforms an entire room
Crimson White – Sept. 5
For one University of Alabama MFA student studying art, a traditional canvas was not enough. Instead, Aynslee Moon transformed an entire room into one piece expressional piece and is presenting an installation of that work, “Painted Space,” in the Sella-Granata Art Gallery located in 109 Woods Hall. Originally a journalism student at the University of Mississippi, Moon decided to return to her first love of art and painting by changing her major. “I guess, deep down, thats what I’ve always wanted to do,” Moon said. “That’s what I enjoy doing the most.” After graduating from Ole Miss with a BFA in painting, Moon sought to further her career by pursuing higher education. After applying to six universities, Moon decided on the University of Alabama because of the faculty, ample studio space and opportunity to teach. Moon said the inspiration for “Painted Space” came from her original plan for the gallery, to make individual pieces by tearing and sewing painted pieces of paper. From there, she decided to expand the idea onto an entire wall, and finally, whole entire room. “It’s like you’re standing inside a painting,” Moon said. When you walk around, instead of looking at individual pieces, the space is the painting. The painting creates the space.”
Students work to uncover facts about legendary civil rights trial
Crimson White – Sept. 4
A group of UA students are delving into a legendary trial that helped set the tone for the civil rights movement. New College and graduate students in William Bomar’s Museum Studies class made their first visit to Scottsboro, Ala., in March 2011. Scottsboro is the first site of the infamous Scottsboro trials of the 1930s, in which nine young African American males were falsely accused of rape during a train ride to Huntsville after a brawl broke out aboard their train. It was later uncovered that the two alleged victims, Victoria Price and Ruby Bates, fabricated the rape story in an effort to avoid charges of vagrancy and prostitution. Shelia Washington, founder and director of the Scottsboro Boys Museum and Cultural Center in Scottsboro, has been working to receive exonerations for the remaining Scottsboro defendants. Though charges against some of the defendants were dismissed during the case, and one defendant eventually received a full pardon, the remaining defendants were never legally acknowledged as innocent by the state of Alabama. “I want the history told, and I want the history told right,” Washington said in a museum open house. “I call it the train ride to tragedy – to know that they [the Scottsboro boys] left Tennessee, on their way to Huntsville to find work, midway stopped, and their lives were changed forever in one day.” After seventeen years of attempting to establish the Scottsboro Boys museum, Washington was finally able to raise donations to purchase Joyce Chapel United Methodist Church in 2010 after its congregation dwindled and the United Methodist Church elected to sell the property.
Youth Mentorship Program growing in size and scope
Crimson White – Sept. 5
Al’s Pals, a UA mentorship program for at-risk youths, has seen great growth since its launch over two years ago. Rachel Guiles, the student director for Al’s Pals, said the group offers a rewarding experience for both the children and the mentors. “The children absolutely love us coming to their school and mentoring them,” Guiles said. “Many of the students we mentor don’t always have adult figures that they can count on being there for them, so we become that role model that they can look up to and strive to be like.” Al’s Pals mentors are paired one-on-one with students in grades K-5 at either Tuscaloosa’s McKenzie Court Community Center or Oakdale Elementary on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 2:45 p.m. to 5 p.m. Al’s Pals is an opportunity offered to all UA students with a GPA of 2.5 or higher who are willing to commit to mentoring weekly for at least one semester.
Dunkin’ Donuts opens in Lakeside
Crimson White – Sept. 5
Bama Dining kicked off the fall semester with numerous additions to on-campus dining hotspots, most notably adding a Dunkin’ Donuts to Lakeside Dining Hall. Students, faculty and staff were invited to come celebrate the grand opening of the first-ever Tuscaloosa Dunkin’ Donuts restaurant on UA’s campus by enjoying free Munchkins beginning at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday…Dunkin’ Donuts isn’t the only new location for those who are craving something sweet. The Bistro, the newly renovated coffee and dessert shop in the Bidgood-Alston business complex, offers Sweet Street Desserts brand items…Among other new features and locations coming this fall are two express-order kiosks at the Subway in Alston Hall, as well as an official reopening of Topio’s in the Ferguson Center Food Court, complete with new pasta and gelato menu items.
WVUA (Tuscaloosa)– Sept. 4