New hotel site yields treasure trove of artifacts from Tuscaloosa’s past
Tuscaloosa News – June 27
The dirt at the corner of University Boulevard and Greensboro Avenue in Tuscaloosa has fascinating stories to tell. The former site of the Cityfest parking lot — soon to be an Embassy Suites hotel — was layered with artifacts from nearly 200 years of the city and state’s history, according to researchers from the Office of Archaeological Research at the University of Alabama who excavated the site in preparation for construction. The narratives laid out by the bits of broken crockery, petite medicine bottles, type from a printing press and other artifacts include the block’s role as a small outpost on the bluff overlooking the Black Warrior River, a commercial center in the 1820s near the state Capitol, and the site of a Civil War prison. Matt Gage, director of the Office of Archaeological Research, called the site “kind of a perfect storm of archeology.” The first structures on the city block bound by University Boulevard, Greensboro Avenue and Fourth Street were built on the site around 1816 and evolved over the course of the century.
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – June 26
University of Alabama names new nursing dean
Associated Press – June 26
The University of Alabama has named Suzanne S. Prevost as its new dean of the Capstone College of Nursing. The Tuscaloosa News reported Wednesday that (http://bit.ly/120fLo9 ) Prevost is slated to begin in her new role Aug. 16 and will replace Sara Barger, who is stepping down from the post. School officials say Barger will take a year off before returning to the university in a new role. Prevost serves as a nursing professor and associate dean for practice and community engagement at the University of Kentucky College of Nursing.
Louisville Morning Call – June 26
UA faculty members appointed to Arts and Sciences dean positions
AL.com – June 26
The University of Alabama College of Arts & Sciences has appointed two faculty members to associate dean positions. Lisa Lindquist-Dorr, associate professor in the department of history, will now manage the College’s social sciences division. She joined UA’s faculty in 2000 after earning degrees from the College of Wooster and University of Virginia. Roger Sidje, associate professor in the department of mathematics, will administer diversity and multicultural programs. Sidje came to UA in 2008 after receiving his doctorate from the University of Rennes in France. He has previously taught at the University of Queensland in Australia and the University of Minnesota.
Alcestis Ascending: UA world premiere goes to New York & Havana
Planet Weekly – June 26
Seth Panitch, associate professor of theatre at The University of Alabama, will take his play“Alcestis Ascending” on the road this summer to New York City, Havana and Alabama as part of his participation in creative research with the actors and dancers from UA and the Cuban El Instituto Superior de Arte. The exercise in creative research is part of UA’s College of Arts and Sciences Alabama-Cuba Initiative. Alcestis Ascending will be performed off-off Broadway at the Harold Clurman Theatre on Theatre Row in New York City from Tuesday, July 9, to Sunday, July 21. Thereafter, the play will run for two weeks in Havana for the grand opening of the Raquel Revuelta Theatre. In addition, the play will preview at 7:30 p.m. Monday, July 1, through Friday, July 5, at the Allen Bales Theatre on the UA campus.
22 students to receive scholarships from Madison County University of Alabama Alumni Association
AL.com – June 27
The Madison County Chapter of The University of Alabama Alumni Association will present twenty-two students with scholarships to attend The University during a reception Thursday night, June 27 at 5:30 p.m. at The Huntsville Museum of Art. The Alumni Association sponsors scholarships for Madison County students attending The University of Alabama as both incoming freshmen and transfer students with some scholarships being renewable for current University of Alabama attendees.
Tuscaloosa County focusing on aerospace industry
Tuscaloosa News – June 27
Last week, industry recruiters from across Alabama visited the Paris Air Show, making pitches to international aeronautics-related industries executives. This week, they’re back home figuring out how their areas fit into the state’s growing aeronautics industry. For Tuscaloosa County, that fit might be in research and information technology, according to the county’s top industry headhunter. “Everybody (in the Alabama delegation) was trying to read the tea leaves to see where we fit in,” said Dara Longgrear, the executive director of the Tuscaloosa County Industrial Development Authority. The University of Alabama is a major lure for attracting new business and industry to Tuscaloosa, he said. “I think our role in looking for an opportunity may be more in research and IT, maybe more so than in being a supplier” to an aeronautics assembly plant.
Samaritan’s Purse volunteers honored for tornado aid
Tuscaloosa News – June 27
The local community honored volunteers who have maintained a constant presence in Tuscaloosa since the April 27, 2011, tornado Wednesday night. Families whose homes were rebuilt or repaired by Samaritan’s Purse, an international nondenominational Christian volunteer organization based in Boone, N.C., were given the opportunity to thank and say goodbye to the volunteers…Among those in attendance were Alabama’s first lady, Dianne Bentley, University of Alabama President Judy Bonner and state Sen. Gerald Allen. Former University of Alabama football player Carson Tinker served as the guest speaker and music was provided by former Miss Alabama Shannon Camper.