University of Alabama unveils new Digital Media Center
Tuscaloosa News – March 13
The grand opening of the University of Alabama’s Digital Media Center on Thursday was simultaneously a celebration of the new $14.6 million, 46,594-square-foot facility in Bryant-Denny Stadium and a discussion of the challenges and opportunities new professionals will face once they leave. UA President Judy Bonner spoke briefly ahead of a panel of UA alumni, including recent graduates and former senior correspondent for ABC News John Cochran, who discussed the history, present and future of digital media. Bonner said the new facility would help prepare students to fill jobs and tackle problems of the constantly evolving medium. “We are so pleased with what has come into reality with our digital media center,” Bonner said. The center houses the College of Communication and Information Sciences’ professional media operations, including the Center for Public Television and Radio, WVUA-TV and Alabama Public Radio, according to UA. The center will also be home to UA Athletics’ Crimson Tide Productions, the department’s multimedia component.
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – March 13
UA students to take part in Hovercraft competition
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – March 13
A group of Alabama students are heading to Auburn Saturday to compete in a unique competition. Students from the University of Alabama aerospace engineering program are taking part in a hovercraft competition. The hovercraft was built entirely by students in the engineering department. The hovercraft has two motors; one which provides the air which the hovercraft rides on and the second one provides the power. When going full speed, the hovercraft is capable of getting up to speeds around 60 miles per hour. WVUA caught up with one of the team members who talked about what it means for the college. “Publicity for the engineering program showing that we, as ten busy college seniors, can build something from nothing, that we have the capacity to do something and get something off the ground – a large vehicle that can carry a person that you can actually drive. The race is set to take place in Auburn on Saturday morning.”
NPR host to speak to University of Alabama student leadership group
Al.com – March 13
NPR journalist and former “All Things Considered” host Michele Norris will give the 2014 Frank A. Nix lecture at the University of Alabama next month in an event free and open to to the public. The Blackburn Institute, a leadership organization consisting of fellows from the UA student body, hosts the annual Frank A. Nix lecture in honor of the late prominent business leader and member of the Alabama Commission of Higher Education. Norris, who stepped down from co-host of “All Things Considered” in 2012, is currently working on in-depth segments in addition to two projects she developed on NPR, “The Race Card Project” and “Backseat Book Club”. In her 2010 book debut, Norris wrote about the American conversation on race in the wake of President Barack Obama’s election. Norris’s lecture is scheduled for Wednesday, April 2, in Morgan Auditorium.
University of Alabama to host SEC MBA competition
Al.com – March 13
Business students from around the South will converge in Tuscaloosa next month to attend the Southeastern Conference MBA Case Study Convention at the University of Alabama. All 14 SEC universities will participate in the competition, sending teams of 4 MBA students. “This is a live, strategic competition where the students have less than 24 hours to solve a business problem and develop a plan,” said Brian Gray, associate dean, UA Manderson Graduate School of Business, in a UA release. “We want to keep it as real as possible for the students and in line with what they will actually experience in their careers.” The competition, sponsored by Regions Bank, will begin Friday, April 4, when the 14 teams will be divided into four divisions. Divisional competition rounds begin Saturday, April 5, with winners of each advancing to the final round that afternoon.
Ohio Psychological Association Announces Winners of the 2014 Michael Sullivan Diversity Scholarship
Review Seeker – March 14
The Michael Sullivan Diversity Scholarship Fund committee has selected two winners for 2014. They are Calia A. Torres of the University of Alabama and Jeremy J. Eggleston of Fordham University. The Michael Sullivan Diversity Scholarship Fund supports research, training and community projects in the area of diversity. Dr. Michael Sullivan served as the Assistant Executive Director for State Advocacy at the American Psychological Association (APA). The scholarship was created by the Ohio Psychological Association (OPA) in honor of his work with APA, state, provincial and territorial psychological associations, and his commitment to diversity and inclusion. Calia Torres research is focused on furthering the understanding of the pain experience and pain management strategies used by Hispanic patients with chronic pain, who are served at the Federally Qualified Health Center in Central Alabama. Her qualitative approach evaluates cultural influences to determine their relationship to pain management disparities among Hispanic patients and seeks to identify potential cultural determinants in the way Hispanics report and manage pain. Torres received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Florida and is currently a first year PhD student in clinical health psychology at The University of Alabama. I am honored to be a recipient of this award, I am also grateful for giving me the opportunity to continue researching an important cause that will better the care of minority patients, said Torres.
Alabama eighth graders ranked dead last in national math scores as common core fight fades (chart)
Al.com – March 13
If anyone ever joked “thank God for Mississippi” when it comes to Alabama’s public schools, they better check their facts — at least when it comes to eighth grade math. For the past two years, Mississippi has surpassed Alabama in eighth-grade math on the National Assessment of Education Progress, the largest and longest running assessment of U.S. education performance. In fact, says Jeremy Zelkowski, a University of Alabama mathematics professor who trains middle and high school math teachers, Alabama is the lowest achieving state in the nation when it comes to eighth-grade math. “We don’t even have that funny joke that we hear from teachers: ‘Thank God for Mississippi, because they’re always below us,'” he said. “Well, that’s not true for eighth grade mathematics anymore.” A supporter of the controversial Common Core State Standards Initiative, Zelkowski blames the low scores on low standards implemented in 2003, during the No Child Left Behind era. He also thinks the national math and English standards known as the common core could lift Alabama’s math scores out of the doldrums. “The 2013 standards expect student know more than basic skills and facts. That’s the big difference,” he said this week.
Alabama bill proposes increase in minimum wage
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – March 13
A bill in the Alabama House of Representatives, if passed, would raise the minimum wage in the state. The bill would propose a constitutional amendment to create a state minimum wage and set it at $9.80 per hour by 2016. HB 279 states the process to set that rate would be in three phases. Many of the small businesses in Tuscaloosa offer their employees above the $7.25 federal minimum wage currently in place. Dr. Sam Addy, director of economic research in the Culverhouse College of Commerce at the University of Alabama said the bill would affect a small portion of people.
UA PR students create healthy living campaign
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – March 13
A Tuscaloosa elementary school is really changing up the way they do things. The faculty and students are taking some bold moves to become healthier. Fox6 news reporter Kelvin Reynolds shows us what they’re doing. Put down junk food and pick up something nutritious. Administrators at Arcadia Elementary School want kids to eat healthier. And this monkey helps get that point across. “It’s really hard to explain to them what a wellness plan is.” That’s where Benji Ladrillono and a team of University of Alabama PR students come in. They created a healthy living campaign for youngsters to follow using “Tag” the monkey. “So what we did is made it a little cool and fun and have Tag the monkey kind of explain the benefits of healthy living.”
Around Town: 3/14
Tuscaloosa News – March 14
… Saturday: Saturday In the Park: University of Alabama’s Moundville Archaeological Park south of Tuscaloosa off Alabama Highway 69. Park admission $8 for adults, $7 for seniors 55 years and older and $6 for students. Children 5 years of age and younger and residents of Moundville are admitted free. Artist Dan Townsend on hand March 15.