University of Alabama trustees approve deal to buy 118 acres of Partlow grounds
Tuscaloosa News – Sept. 11
The executive committee of the University of Alabama board of trustees approved a deal Friday to buy roughly 118 acres of the former Partlow Developmental Center property in Tuscaloosa from the state Department of Mental Health for $32 million. “I think it is a win-win for the whole state,” said David Jackson, the mental health department’s chief operating officer. The agreement will give the university access to new buildings and property on the east side of McFarland Boulevard and help defray some of the department’s maintenance costs while maintaining the new Bryce Hospital, which opened this spring with a staff of about 500 and an operating budget of around $32 million. The trustees met Friday via conference call. Under the deal, which is still being finalized, the university will pay $3.2 million annually for 10 years. The first $3.2 million is due at closing, UA President Judy Bonner said. No closing date has been set, according to Jackson and university officials. “I am personally really excited about this. I think it is a good move for Mental Health and a way to support their programs, but from a long-term standpoint for the University of Alabama, I think it is an outstanding move,” board President Pro Tem Paul Bryant Jr. said. The agreement would allow UA to devote the “immediate core of our campus” for student-centered activity, Bonner said. The university may initially relocate auxiliary services such as grounds, fleet services, fuel services and garage services to the property, according to the agreement summary released by UA after the vote.
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – Sept. 11
Annual golf tournament in Tuscaloosa to benefit CrossingPoints
Tuscaloosa News – Sept. 11
The annual Betty Shirley Golf Tournament benefiting CrossingPoints is set for Sept. 25 at Ol’ Colony Golf Course in Tuscaloosa. The four-person scramble will feature the University of Alabama men’s golf coach Jay Seawell as an honorary chair. Seawell will play select holes with tournament participants. Entry fees are $600 per four-person team and include greens fees, cart, lunch and souvenirs. The individual entrance fee is $150. All proceeds benefit CrossingPoints, a collaboration between UA’s special education department and the Tuscaloosa city and county school systems. CrossingPoints provides services for students between 18 and 21 with disabilities. Proceeds from the tournament have helped fund student work stipends for the last 10 years. Students participating in CrossingPoints receive hands-on instruction in vocational/employment aspects of transition during their job placement in designed job sites at UA. Organizers are seeking business and individuals to sponsor holes for $150 per hole. The tournament is named for longtime Tuscaloosa mental health advocate Betty Shirley, whose grandson, Walt, was a CrossingPoints student and who has worked at the UA Supe store for 10 years.
University of Alabama graduate competing as Miss Maryland wins Miss America preliminary
Al.com – Sept. 11
Miss Alabama didn’t win her preliminary competition at the Miss America Pageant on Thursday night, but another University of Alabama graduate did. Jade Kenny, who graduated from UA with a degree in sports broadcasting, won the swimsuit preliminary competition competing as Miss Maryland. Miss Alabama Caitlin Brunell competed in the talent preliminary, which Miss Pennsylvania Amanda Smith won. Thursday’s competition was the final night of preliminaries leading into Sunday’s finals, which air live on ABC beginning at 8 p.m.