University of Alabama Opera opens new Bryant-Jordan Hall with production of ‘The Consul’
Tuscaloosa News – March 6
Housewarmings typically involve beverages and food, conversation and tours of the new joint. Friday’s opening of Bryant-Jordan Hall will feature political dissidents on the run from the secret police of a faceless totalitarian government, with a magical break in the middle. Of course, Gian Carlo Menotti’s music will be lovely, and the evening will include more typical housewarming features, including a reception, following the University of Alabama Opera Theatre’s performance of the dark and challenging “The Consul,” recipient of the 1950 Pulitzer Prize for Music. The former chapel, built on the old Bryce Hospital grounds in 1969, has been refurbished and re-imagined as a performance space, home to UA Opera Theatre and the pride of its director, Paul Houghtaling. “It is an enormous sign of faith in me and my program, and an extraordinary step forward for my students,” he said.
Crimson White – March 6
Investment group to compete in Denver
Crimson White – March 6
The University of Alabama’s Culverhouse Investment Management Group will travel to Denver, Colo., to compete in the American regional CFA Institute Research Challenge after its first-place victory in the Southern Classic competition in Atlanta, Ga., on Feb. 22. Five members of CIMG, a student-run investment group, worked as research analysts of the real-world stock of Mohawk Industries, a flooring manufacturer based in Calhoun, Ga. They were judged based on their abilities in financial analysis and, to demonstrate their proficiency, the team prepared a written report on its assigned company and gave a presentation reporting the results of the research and defending the thesis.
UA names outstanding graduate student awards for 2014
Big News Network – March 6
The University of Alabama Graduate School has announced the recipients of the 2014 Outstanding Graduate Student awards. The awards will be presented during UA Honors Week, scheduled for Monday, March 31, to Friday, April 4. Three faculty committees selected the seven most outstanding graduate students from a list of honorees in their individual departments and colleges, said Dr. John F. Schmitt, associate graduate dean and assistant to the provost. –
Why a woman drank poison, starved herself
ABC News – March 5
Andrea Avigal hit rock bottom in 2005, lying in a hospital intensive care unit dying of sepsis. The former nurse and mother of two young daughters had intentionally injected herself with bacteria, subconsciously seeking attention. Avigal, not her real name, had since childhood suffered from Munchausen’s syndrome, a psychiatric disorder that is rarely curable, drinking poison, starving herself and taking excessive laxatives — once 90 of them. … The American Psychiatric Association’s new DMS-V estimates that 1 percent of all hospital visits are by patients with Munchausen’s syndrome, according to Dr. Marc D. Feldman, a leading expert in factitious disorders and a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Alabama. “That statistic may be overstated, on the other hand, this is a disorder that is bathed in deceit and I think doctors miss most cases,” said Feldman, who endorsed Hall and Avigal’s book. “The patient presents symptoms that appear credible and the doctor doesn’t have the time to review old records or collateral sources. It’s easier to write a prescription or do a procedure than tell if the patient is telling the truth.”
UA political science professor says U.S. citizens should stay informed about Ukraine
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – March 5
The crisis in Ukraine continues and this has some people in the U.S. concerned. A local political expert says there is no need for concern regarding safety in the United States right now, but University of Alabama political science professor Dr. Barbara Anne Chotiner says people do need to stay informed on the situation. She says the problems between Russia and Ukraine are behind the uncertainty in the global market, including the stock market, and it continues to be felt around the world. “The president and Secretary Kerry have been very clear that this is destabilizing for the European, and therefore for the international, order.” Chotiner says many of America s NATO allies who were neutral are now worried about international security, stability and democratization in Ukraine.
Report: Anniston trailing rest of Alabama in job recovery since recession
Anniston Star – March 5
Compared to all other metro areas in Alabama, Calhoun County has recovered fewer jobs since the Great Recession hit, but recent signs suggest increased local economic gains are ahead. A report presented Wednesday at the annual Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce Economic Forum shows county employment at the end of 2013 was down around 10 percent from six years before, just before the recession hit — the poorest performance among the state’s 11 metro areas. . . . Ahmad Ijaz, director of economic forecasting at the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama, agreed that cuts in defense spending have hurt the area in terms of not just jobs but also the housing market. “Defense cutbacks in general have impacts on home construction,” Ijaz said. “When you have a chance of losing your job, you’re not going to be buying a house.”
University of Alabama President Emeritus Joab Thomas memorial service Thursday
Tuscaloosa News – March 6
A memorial service for University of Alabama President Emeritus Joab Thomas will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at Christ Episcopal Church in Tuscaloosa. The Revs. David Meginniss, Catherine Collier and James Lee Winter will officiate the ceremony at the church on North Lurleen B. Wallace Boulevard in downtown Tuscaloosa. Visitation and a reception will follow the service in Randall Hall. The 81-year-old Holt native, who died Monday, served as president of UA and Penn State University and chancellor of North Carolina State University. Thomas served as the Capstone’s president from 1981 until 1988.
UA to host joint doctor of nursing intensive
Crimson White – March 6
Any field of study or profession has its experts and its highest tier of professionals. For nursing, the doctor of nursing practice designation represents the highest level of education in nursing. In the University of Alabama System, this degree can be achieved online. The Doctor of Nursing Practice program is offered at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing, the University of Alabama in Huntsville College of Nursing and the University of Alabama Capstone College of Nursing, and because the degree is completed online, students across the nation can earn degrees from afar.
University of Alabama to screen documentaries in memory of late film professor
AL.com – March 5
University of Alabama community members can celebrate film and the life of a late colleague and mentor next week at “The Look of Things: The Will Nolan Documentary Film Series.” 39-year-old Will Nolan was beginning his third year as an associate professor at UA when he died on Sept. 27, 2012. His sudden death rocked the Honors College community where Nolan taught classes on film and was well-liked by students.
UA’s Circle K club organizes fund raiser for Jason McNeil
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – March 5
Imagine if you stopped working in July and hadn’t been back to work, what impact that would have on you and your family. That s why members of the University of Alabama s Circle K club are holding a fundraiser next Wednesday at the Super Skate to help out Jason McNeil and his family. “The donations have dwindled and we’re trying to rekindle that fire and bring Jason McNeil back in the light of the public s eye.” . . . The Circle K skate night is next Wednesday from 6 to 9. There is a $5 entry fee at the door, and all proceeds go to Jason McNeil and his family. .
Big News Network – March 6
Alabama Student Recreation Center steadily upgrades fitness technology as personal heath trends evolve
Tuscaloosa News – March 6
The University of Alabama’s Student Recreation Center has been steadily upgrading its fitness technology over the last 10 years to keep up with increasingly data-driven fitness trends and a more practical attitude toward personal health. “We’ve now got some pretty advanced technology housed here at the Rec Center,” said John Jackson, assistant director of fitness and research for university recreation. Jackson said the center has several updated treadmills, fully integrated with social media, MP3 player hookups and Google Maps, in the second-floor cardio area. The center’s fitness lab also has a device called the Bod Pod that measures body composition. He said the Bod Pod is simple to use. After stripping down to compression shorts and a swim cap, the user climbs into the device, which is closed and locked. Then, the user sits still while the Bod Pod calculates body composition by measuring the volume of air displaced by the user’s body in the chamber.
Student spends final semester hiking
Crimson White – March 6
Most seniors are trying to pass their classes, enjoy their last semester of college and just get by until graduation, but not William Wells. He is spending his final semester as a student at The University of Alabama away from campus, classes and friends. Friday, he stood outside of an Ingles grocery store in Hiawassee, Ga. He hitched a ride into town from the Blueberry Patch Hostel, where he stayed that night. … Linking each of Wells’ stops is the Appalachian Trail, commonly referred to as the AT. … Wells will be one of the thousands attempting to thru-hike the AT, and he will spend his final semester as a student at the University doing it. “It’s pretty cool because I am a full-time student at Alabama, but I am actually not going to any classes,” Wells said. Instead of sitting in a classroom, Wells will be outdoors taking in the sites of the Appalachian Mountains. … Wells’ depth study is wildlife and land management through New College. He was able to save all of his independent study hours for this trip. His hours come from the time he spent creating a detailed plan for the trip, more than 40 pages long, and for the actual hike itself, which he is estimating will take him about four months. … At the beginning of his junior year, Wells began talking with his advisor and creativity teacher, John Miller. Miller helped Wells turn his final project for his creativity class into credit for independent study hours.
ASCE preps for national competition
Crimson White – March 6
Members of the University of Alabama chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers insist that engineers do, in fact, have fun, recounting times they raced concrete canoes and visited the largest construction site in the history of Alabama. Every year the student chapter at Alabama attends the ASCE Southeast Student Conference. There, they show off their year-long projects, such as a concrete canoe and steel bridge, built by students. “It was cool to be able to meet everybody that was in the ASCE and drive down there and have a fun time doing engineering things,” Preston Jutte, vice president of operations at ASCE, said. “I guess that sounds nerdy, but it was really fun.”