Students, faculty compete for $100K at University of Alabama startups competition
Birmingham Business Journal – April 9
Students and faculty at the University of Alabama will compete for a share of $100,000 in startup funding when they pitch their technologies, ideas and inventions to seven potential investors on Friday. Nineteen teams will be partaking in the competition, which is hosted by the Alabama Innovation and Mentoring of Entrepreneurs Center. The $100,000 in funding is being made available by way of a $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation Innovation-Corps, which was awarded to UA in February. The seven investor-judges will select whichever teams think have the best pitch to split the funding.. “Creating jobs and otherwise spurring economic development activity in our community, state and region is a driving force behind our campus’s innovation efforts,” said Dr. Carl A. Pinkert, UA vice president for research and economic development.
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – April 9
University of Alabama students to perform “42nd Street”
Tuscaloosa News – April 9
Sometimes stories are meant to be fun. Sometimes singing, dancing and having the audience whistling a tune days after seeing the show is the director’s goal. That is what the University of Alabama Department of Theatre and Dance is hoping to accomplish with its production of the “42nd Street.” “42nd Street” is set in 1933 and follows naive, starry-eyed Peggy Sawyer, whose dream is to make it on Broadway. Peggy lands a chorus part in the play within the play, “Pretty Lady,” then has to take on the lead when the star is injured. It’s based on a novel by Bradford Ropes, which became a classic 1933 film, with choreography by Busby Berkeley and music by Harry Warren with lyrics by Al Dubin. The 1980 musical, using Warren and Dubin’s score, became a long-running Broadway hit, leading up to the now-iconic line: “You’re going out there a youngster, but you’ve got to come back a star!”
Bill would repeal Common Core In Alabama
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – April 9
A new Senate Bill in the Alabama Legislature could effect the way students learn in public schools across the state. Senate Bill 101, sponsored by Sen. Rusty Glover, aims to repeal the use of Common Core standards in Alabama Public Schools. “I felt like it was the right thing to do. So many people in this state are anxious to see it go, that if we’re going to introduce 12, 15-hundred bill a year, it should be one people really want,” Glover added. Not everyone agrees with Glover though. Stefanie Livers, assistant professor at the University of Alabama, supports common core and says it is a critical part in keeping Alabama’s public education up to par. “For the state of Alabama, and the students of Alabama, it is critical for us to have rigorous standards. The number one readon is for equity. The old standards continued to keep math especially, as a gatekeeper. You either get it or you dont. Can you do this, can you not? Well, those people have a gift for math, you’re just never gonna get it. That’s not the way it should be. Our standards in Alabama prior to common core were superior. So says Fordham Institute, which is a promoter of common core, says that the Alabama standards we had prior to common core were better than what they have with common core. Not all states have quality standards like this,” said Livers.
TEDx Tuscaloosa 2015 speaker Mark Raines says talks bring ‘sense of wonder and excitement’
Al.com – April 9
You can find plenty of TED Talks on YouTube or another video service, but catching one live is an entirely different beast. Just ask those who deliver the talks, the very same folks who say they also can’t get enough of the live experience as audience members. The Druid City has such an opportunity with the inaugural TEDx Tuscaloosa scheduled for Saturday from 5-9 p.m. at the Tuscaloosa Cultural Arts Center, with eight speakers set to give folks their own TED memories they’ll soon brag about to friends. “It’s an atmosphere that you can’t find anywhere else,” said event organizer Andrew Richardson. “There’s no agenda, we’re not selling anything, and we’re not making money. Everyone’s there in the spirit of sharing ideas and engaging in conversations that you just don’t normally get.” … TEDxTuscaloosa’s line-up will include: Josh Sahib, an instructional designer at the University of Alabama and a software entrepreneur; Dr. Alan Blum, physician who is foremost authority on history of smoking/tobacco marketing.
Fitness fair will be held at UA in honor of late student, Dominic Desimone
Tuscaloosa News – April 9
Friends of the late Dominic Desimone say they were forever changed for the better just by knowing him. They want to keep his memory alive through the Hector Dominic Desimone Memorial Scholarship. Desimone, of West Blocton, was a law student at the University of Alabama when he died in a motorcycle accident last year. His friends say he loved fitness and being active. To help fund the scholarship, his friends have organized a community fitness fair, Dom Fit. The event is free, but organizers are seeking donations of $20 to go toward the scholarship fund. Dom Fit T-shirts will also be sold at the event to raise money. “He would love it if people were out moving around and not just sitting on the couch on a Saturday,” said Joe Heilman who is helping organize the event.
UA Law Professor discusses cell phone video used in criminal cases
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – April 9
WVUA also spoke with a former officer who is now a University of Alabama law professor, Yuri Linetsky. He told us secondary footage is pivotal to a criminal case and that it’s not always a bad thing. Linetsky also says it’s not against the law to videotape police officers as long as you’re not interfering.
Things to Do
Decatur Daily – April 9
Saturday – YEA Decatur! Listen to the notes and revel in the music as fifth-graders from Woodmeade Elementary perform at YEA Decatur! The students will join Decatur Youth Symphony’s 180 musicians for the free community concert Saturday at 1 p.m. at First Baptist Church in Decatur. The celebration of arts also includes free master classes with University of Alabama instructors. Visit decaturyouthsymphony.org for more information.