University of Alabama, Pickens County explore health partnership
Tuscaloosa News – Jan. 11
The University of Alabama, Pickens County and its medical center are in the early stages of planning for a partnership meant to provide sustainable health care for the rural county and “real world” training for UA students from a variety of colleges. Students in medicine, nursing, social work, nutrition, psychology and health education — and potentially students from other colleges — would gain practical experience from internships and other learning opportunities in Pickens County, said Richard Streiffer, dean of UA’s College of Community and Health Sciences. The rural county would gain additional health care resources. “It would be really good for our county and the University of Alabama,” Buddy Kirk Jr. said. Kirk, a retired attorney, was appointed by the Pickens County Commission to a three-person committee to help the Pickens County Medical Center find sustainable solutions to its challenges.
At Large: News coverage of Legislature is dwindling
Tuscaloosa News – Jan. 11
The subject in the Honors College class in which I was participating recently on the University of Alabama campus was the state of journalism in general and political coverage in particular. Old friend Bob McCurley had me talk to his students on the assumption that, based on 40 years in the business, some 30 spent covering politics for The Tuscaloosa News, I might have some modest insights to share with his dozen or so students. I covered the Alabama Legislature for more than 15 years, making Tuesday-through-Thursday trips to Montgomery while the lawmakers were in session and reporting on the goings-on from the scene of the crime, as it were. … Tommy Stevenson is the retired associate editor of The Tuscaloosa News.
Alabama Firsts looks to be support system for students
Crimson White – Jan. 12
The University of Alabama celebrates tradition. In many families, football Saturdays and all-nighters in Gorgas are passed from one generation to the next, and some students know the ropes years before they enroll. However, other students do not have that example of a college experience to follow, or any example at all. First-generation college students Candace Cravey, a sophomore majoring in management and accounting, and Heather Hoke, a sophomore majoring in nursing, found themselves thrown into the deep end upon coming to campus in fall 2013. After attending an interest meeting last fall for what is now Alabama Firsts, Cravey and Hoke met with Kirk Walter, assistant director at the SOURCE, about what a support group for first-generation students might look like.
Pianist to perform in Moody Music Building
Crimson White – Jan. 12
The School of Music will host guest pianist Margery McDuffie Whatley for a concert this Tuesday. Whatley, a Georgia native, completed her master’s degree in music and doctorate in musical arts for piano performance at the University of Southern California and has performed in many cities across the U.S. She recently moved back to the South to a home in Birmingham with her husband and two daughters, and she became a part of the adjunct music faculty at Birmingham-Southern College last fall.
Dual degree students see more hours
Crimson White – Jan. 12 (Print only)
If you ask Alex Jones what year she is, she will likely tell you she’s a junior. However, on paper, Jones, a dual degree student, is a senior. Jones, a junior majoring in advertising and marketing, came to the University with 30 Advance Placement credit hours from high school. . . . . After getting her results, Jones went to her adviser, Daniel Maguire. Maguire, a registrar in the Culverhouse College of Commerce, introduced Jones to the idea of being a dual degree student. Maguire explained to Jones that graduating with a dual degree meant she would work toward and graduate with two degrees from separate colleges.
Former UA student living in Paris reacts to terrorist attacks
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Jan. 12
It has been an extremely stressful and terrifying week in France for those who live in and around Paris. One French citizen, who studied abroad at the University of Alabama, tells WIAT 42 News what living there has been like since the attacks. For one year, Lisa Delahais studied journalism at the University of Alabama. “It was a great experience,” Lisa Delahais said. She then returned to France and started her journalism career in Paris. Her apartment is a 10 minute walk from Charlie Hebdo’s offices where 11 people were shot and killed Wednesday. “You know it’s the kind of event where everybody knows exactly where they were when it happened,” Delahais said. Lisa Delahais says she wasn’t home; she was away at work when she heard about the terrorist attack. “Everybody was shocked and we were watching the news and thinking it can’t be true,” Delahais said.
E-books, textbooks duel for top spot in class
Crimson White – Jan. 12
In recent years, products like tablets, Kindles and iPads have changed the way people read books and the way students access information. Many publishers now offer both traditional hard-copy books and electronic books, known as e-books. “E-books have not grown as fast in the past years as most thought they would,” said Bernadette Chavira-Trull, senior associate director of books at the SUPe Store. “Most customers still prefer a printed book.” Amanda Riley, manager of Tuscaloosa’s Off Campus Bookstore, estimated sales of hard-copy books outnumber e-books three to one. She said professors like to offer students an option, but classes are using e-books more frequently. “I didn’t mind [e-books],” said Reagan Petty, a freshman majoring in art history. “But I prefer hard copies because I can navigate them better and flip pages.”