University Medical Center opens a new Northport location
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 19
The University Medical Center has opened a new Northport location at the Fitness One building at 1325 McFarland Blvd. University Medical Center-Northport opened in July after the UMC-Warrior Family Medicine, which was in Fairfax Park in Tuscaloosa, closed in June. Patients and providers from UMC-Warrior Family Medicine moved to UMC-Northport. Like the main UMC on the University of Alabama campus, UMC-Northport provides a range of care to the community, including preventive care and wellness exams to treatment for acute illness, accidents or chronic conditions. The new location allows for more patients to be treated and for more resident physicians to practice, said Richard Streiffer, dean of the College of Community Health Sciences at the University of Alabama. “It’s a more convenient location but it’s also considerably larger than where we were before,” Streiffer said. “It’s a bigger facility and bigger capacity for care.”
Crimson White – Aug. 19
Dr. Bell says student enrollment is up
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Aug. 19
First-year UA President Dr. Stuart Bell says enrollment has increased.
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – Aug. 19
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Aug. 19
University of Alabama researcher Julia Cherry, scientists develop low-cost study of rising sea levels in marshlands
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 18
Getting reliable data on the effects of sea level rise in marshlands can be tricky. Field research on marshes has been predominantly done in bathtub-type models, according to University of Alabama associate professor Julia Cherry. Mesocosms and other traditional containers offer lots of control for experiments with transplanted materials but are typically small and, because they are contained, can exclude potentially important biological factors present in the natural settings. Cherry, a member of UA’s New College and the department of biological sciences, and her fellow researchers wanted to conduct experiments in the marsh at a larger scale that provided control over water levels but also left the experiment open to the influx of organisms and other biological factors in the marsh. To tackle the challenge, Cherry and her colleagues designed and built weirs, low-cost, three-sided enclosures placed along the marsh shoreline that allowed for the controlled simulation of the effect of rising sea level. The open end faces inland. “The power of this approach is it does allow you to get into the marsh,” Cherry said.
Choctaw Plain Dealer (Ackerman, Miss.) – Aug. 19
Researchers explore how imaginative play affects children’s memory
Crimson White – Aug. 19
UA professor received a $200,000 grant from the Imagination Institute to study the correlation between imaginative play and cognitive development in children. Dr. Ansley Gilpin, assistant professor of psychology and lead researcher at UA’s “Knowledge in Development Lab,” will lead the research along with Dr. Jason DeCaro, UA associate professor of biological anthropology, and a team of graduate students. Several interdisciplinary consultants have also contributed to the development of the study. “A major part of this project is the development and validation of approaches to measure imagination in preschool-age children,” DeCaro said. Gilpin’s grant is one of 16 out of nearly 250 applications considered and the only one concerning child development. This project is the first to use experimental investigations to examine the direct link between imaginative play and boosts in cognitive function. The study will include 750 Tuscaloosa-area children between the ages of three and five and will last around two to three years. “Although there has been much research on the developmental advantages of children’s imagination, few studies have actually used experimental designs to determine the cause and effect relationship between imaginative play and development,” said Rachel Thibodeau, Gilpin’s graduate student and assistant. “That’s essentially the overall goal of our study; we want to determine if engaging in imaginative behaviors actually causes developmental benefits in young children.”
Utah ranks worst in the nation for women’s equality
KUTV.com (Salt Lake City, Utah) – Aug. 19
Despite women’s advances in social equality since the passage of the 19th Amendment, they are still underrepresented in the United States, especially in the Beehive State. In honor of Women’s Equality Day on Aug. 26, WalletHub combed through the numbers to find out which states were the best and the worst in the union for gender equality among women. One expert says the gap has nothing to do with choices to raise a family, because the gap still exists for female professionals with and without children … Nichole Bauer, an assistant professor in the department of Political Science at University of Alabama says there is a false notion that women self-select out of a career because of their parental choices. “The biggest change that needs to occur is a shift in how we think about women, reproduction, parenting, and the workplace. The argument that women self-select out of career opportunities because they choose to have children sets up a false dichotomy between the parenting choices of women and men. Moreover, this argument implies that if women didn’t have kids there’d be no pay gap — but that gap exists for female professionals with and without children.”
Why Donald Trump is coming to Mobile
Al.com – Aug. 19
As Donald Trump might once have said, “Mobile, you’re hired.” But why is 2016 GOP presidential front-runner coming to the Port City? Trump is making a campaign stop into Mobile Friday for a 7 p.m. rally at the Mobile Civic Center that is expected to draw a crowd large enough to force organizers to scramble and search for a larger venue. “Politically, it’s an indication that Mobile matters,” said George Talbot, spokesman for Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson. “It’s exciting for our citizens to get direct access to a presidential candidate, whomever they choose to support.” … Richard Fording, professor and chair of the political science department at the University of Alabama, said the timing makes sense. Alabama’s primary is March 1, making it one of the earliest presidential primary elections in the country. The state previously held its primaries in June, when presidential races were all but decided. Gray agreed. “Alabama is a real player and it helps drive the momentum,” he said. “By getting here early and being a player in the process, it makes a difference in the campaigns.”
OPINION: New bamboo ordinance is a good idea
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 19
In our estimation, government’s role, for the most part, is to protect the liberty of its citizens and to prevent one citizen from trampling on the rights of another citizen. Rules and laws that get too deeply into the weeds of everyday life usually run contrary to this principle of limited government. So, at first blush, a law that tells people where they can grow bamboo and how high they can grow it sounds like government overkill. But when you look at what the city of Tuscaloosa is trying to address with its new bamboo ordinance, which imposes those restrictions, it fits the classic definition of what government ought to be doing — keeping one citizen from infringing on another citizen’s rights. Bamboo is not bad in and of itself. The United States imports about $2 billion worth of bamboo annually for various purposes. Researchers at the University of Alabama believe that it has the potential to be a cash crop in West Alabama. “No other place in the country has the potential to harvest this crop like the Black Belt,” Marcy Koontz, who teaches in UA’s College of Human Environmental Sciences, told The Tuscaloosa News in 2012. “Bamboo can become a game changer.”
Week of Welcome events to begin
Crimson White – Aug. 20
University of Alabama students are once again ringing in the new school year with a free week-long event extravaganza. The Division of Student Affairs is hosting Week of Welcome (WOW), a series of events set to welcome first-year students to The University of Alabama, this week until Thursday, August 27. WOW gives freshmen and transfer students the chance to connect with one another and get involved during their first week on campus. Welcome Back Breakfast/Thursday Aug. 20, 7 a.m./ Ferguson Plaza – The SGA will pass out free Dunkin’ Donuts breakfast beginning at 7 a.m. in the Ferguson Plaza. Students are invited to stop by the Ferguson Center on their way to class and grab a treat. Crimson Compass/Thursday Aug. 20, 7 a.m.- 3:30 p.m./ The Quad – Beginning today at 7 a.m., Crimson Compass volunteers will be stationed around campus to answer any questions new students may have about the geography of our large campus. If you need help finding your classes or have any questions about campus, look out for Crimson Compass volunteers on the quad for assistance.
UA Theatre student remembered by peers
Crimson White – Aug. 20
Friends, classmates and faculty agree Peyton Trueblood was, in one word, positive. “She was a ray of sunshine,” said Stacy Alley, assistant professor of musical theatre and dance. “Both as a person and a theatre practitioner, she was the kind of person you wanted to have around. It’s still surreal.” UA students, faculty and staff mourn the loss of Trueblood, a senior majoring in theatre. She was working as a stage manager on the show “Texas” at the Pioneer Amphitheatre in Canyon, Texas, and was taking inventory in a warehouse containing fireworks when an explosion occurred. She was a member of the Alpha Psi Omega national theatre honors society. “It was hard not to know Peyton once you met her,” said Sarah Kathryn Bonds, UA theatre and dance alumnus and member of Alpha Psi Omega. “She was very genuine and caring. She made time for everyone.” Friends remember her as someone they not only respected, but who respected everyone else as well. Luke Haynes, fellow stage manager and Alpha Psi Omega member, worked as her assistant stage manager and became very close to her.
Bama’s Lost Landmarks: Vintage photos of 5 hangouts we miss
Al.com – Aug. 19
In my Odd Travels, in both literal and virtual worlds, I have come across photos of places that were popular hangouts for students at the University of Alabama. Memories of The Corner Store and Vinyl Solution make UA graduates nostalgic. So I gathered photos to represent five Tuscaloosa landmarks lost to time. They are from different eras of the university’s history, although I could not find start and end dates for all of them. Add your memories of these places in the comments section or email kkazek@al.com, especially if you have photos or info to add. Or suggest other lost landmarks.