UA has another record enrollment year
WVUA 23 (Tuscaloosa) – Sept. 18
The University of Alabama says it’s been another year for record-breaking enrollment numbers, not to mention this year’s freshman class is the most academically talented in the school’s history. More than 31% of UA’s freshman class earned a 4.0 in high school, and in all the University enrolled 37,665 students this Fall, and that’s up from 37,100 last Fall.
WNHT-CBS 19 (Huntsville) – Sept. 18
Tuscaloosa News – Sept. 16
Public Hears First Details About New VI Historic Preservation Plan
St. John Tradewind – Sept. 13
Members of the public and the St. John Historical Society recently learned more about the government’s plans to preserve the timeless treasures of the Virgin Islands. Information about a draft five-year historic preservation plan was presented at a town meeting held Sept. 13 in the Cruz Bay Legislative Conference Room … Krigger was joined at the Sept. 13 town meeting by Virgin Islands State Archaeologist David Brewer and two researchers from the University of Alabama, Dr. Brooke Persons and Dr. Matt Gage.
ARTIFACT DAY & BYO (BRING YOUR OWN) BIKE TOUR
Tim Lennox Online – Sept. 17
The Alabama Historical Commission and The University of Alabama’s Office of Archaeological Research have partnered to host Artifact Day at Old Cahawba on Saturday, October 1 from 10:00am-4:00pm. Excavations of Alabama’s first State House were conducted after ground penetrating-radar (GPR) was used to explore the park. In July, with assistance from the public, these agencies were able to expose the north wall of Alabama’s first State House. During Artifact Day volunteers will have the opportunity to work side by side with archaeologists in the processing and analysis of the State House period artifacts discovered during the July excavations. These artifacts include ceramics, pipes, buttons, handmade bottles, and architectural pieces. Participants will learn how these artifacts help archaeologists and historians to interpret a portion of Alabama’s early history.
UA earns grant for minority program
WVUA 23 (Tuscaloosa) – Sept. 15
The University of Alabama says it is getting more minority students working in the science, technology, engineering and math fields. This is thanks to a $5 million five year grant from the National Science Foundation. The money goes to a program that will offer outreach activities for middle, high school and college students.
Engineering Student from India Recognized for Co-developing ‘Smart’ Wireless Shoe Insole to Track Activity
India West – Sept. 14
Nagaraj Hegde and fellow University of Alabama electrical engineering student Matthew Bries were recognized recently for designing and crafting a wireless shoe insole that monitors activity users on a mobile phone app. Hegde and Bries placed third for their device at the TI Innovation Challenge Design Contest in North America, in partnership with Mouser Electronics. The contest challenged future engineers to use technology from Texas Instruments to create solutions tackling challenges facing society.
Clown fear no laughing matter for professional jokesters
Al.com – Sept. 17
Wearing a blue wig, her face painted white, Irma Boutwell walked into Morrison’s Cafeteria in Mobile Thursday for her weekly evening appearance making balloon characters for children as “Sunshine the Clown.” … Matthew Jarrett, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Alabama, said it’s “certainly possible” that hysteria could be playing a role in the ongoing clown alarm. He said the media reports about malicious clown sightings are leading to a “spike in fear” by the general public. “They are more vigilant for that kind of thing and have more anxiety due to the vigilance,” Jarrett said.
UA professor questions culture of Wells Fargo
Crimson White – Sept. 19
Wells Fargo Bank was caught up in a whirlwind of bad press a little over a week ago, when news of their fraudulent sales tactics broke. The financial institution had been involved in sandbagging schemes whereby employees, who were incentivized to sell, used existing customer information to open new accounts without customers’ knowledge or consent. “We know that over two million fraudulent acts were done by a large number of people.” said Todd DeZoort, a University of Alabama accounting professor, certified auditor and fraud examiner. “That raises questions about [the bank’s] incentive structure and atmosphere if that kind of fraudulent behavior was normalized.”
A new service created by UA grad students delivers groceries on campus
Crimson White – Sept. 19
With jobs and college courses, getting to the grocery store can often be a struggle for college students, but a team of five University of Alabama students is looking to fix this problem with a service known as FoodDrop. FoodDrop is a grocery delivery service for UA students that reaches to Tuscaloosa and Northport. The company is run by Ethan Mergen, a graduate student studying marketing and Ryan Malden, a graduate student studying in chemical engineering. Three other students are involved in running the company.
UA Alumn starts foundation to help college students who have had cancerWVUA 23 (Tuscaloosa) – Sept. 18
Fair Hope Foundation, a new non-profit organization in Northport, is helping to provide funding for some unique college students. In July 2014, St. Marks pastor Byron Fair received life-changing news. Doctors diagnosed Fair with an uncommon type of lymphoma, while he was finishing his Master’s at The University of Alabama. That’s when Fair Hope Foundation was born. The foundation chose it’s first scholarship recipient earlier this year. Cancer survivor Kelsi Hunnicut says the scholarship is the reason she’s able to finish her degree at Shelton State.
UADM raises over $50,000 for Children’s of Alabama
Crimson White – Sept. 19
University of Alabama Dance Marathon hosted their second annual $100 day on Wednesday, and raised a total of $50,160.58, surpassing their goal by over $30,000. They set a goal to raise $30,000 in 24 hours by
challenging their staff and miracle makers to raise $100 each. All money raised is donated to the Children’s Miracle Network, and more specifically Children’s of Alabama. UADM hosts $100 day in September each year as part of
childhood cancer awareness month. UADM hosted several events to raise awareness and money throughout the day, and assistant vice president of Student Affairs, Adam Sterritt even joined the cause.
Local author hopes to inspire kids with her book about Aubie, Big Al mascots
Dothan Eagle – Sept. 16
Retha Mancil gave Highlands Elementary School students an important lesson in getting along Friday, showing them that even the deepest of divides can be bridged with friendship. Mancil is the author of “How Aubie and Big Al Became Mascots,” a children’s book about the mascots of Auburn University and the University of Alabama. In the book, the two mascots are friends and tell the stories of how each came to represent its school.
Author Michael Martone to give reading at CCU
Public Now – Sept. 15
Michael Martone, author of more than a dozen fiction and nonfiction books and professor at the Program in Creative Writing at the University of Alabama, will give a reading on Thursday, Sept. 22, at 5:30 p.m. in the James J. Johnson Auditorium at Coastal Carolina University. This event is part of the ‘Words to Say It’ series and is free and open to the public. A reception and book signing will follow the reading.
Fatal Accidents in Alabama on the Increase
90.7 WVAS (Montgomery) – Sept. 15
Fatalities have increased at an alarming rate on Alabama’s highways so far this year. Officials with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency believe the reduced presence of state troopers on the roadways could be a major factor … A University of Alabama study determined that a state of this size needs around 11-hundred troopers on the highways.
ALEA: Traffic fatalities up considerably from 2015, budget cuts could be to blame
NBC 12 (Montgomery) – Sept. 14
Fatal traffic accidents appear to be on the rise in Alabama and budget cuts may be behind the increase. Experts say cuts to the General Fund Budget and fewer state troopers on the roads, could be to blame. The number of traffic deaths had been trending down in recent years but 2016 is a different, deadly story. To further highlight the need and the effects of the shortfall, ALEA points to a University of Alabama Study. The study found that Alabama needed some 1100 troopers to adequately patrol a state of our size; Jarrett says we’re down to about 260.
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Sept. 14
ABC 9 (Columbus, Ga.) – Sept. 14
Best Artist: Joyce J. Scott
City Paper – Sept. 13
We gave Joyce J. Scott this award three years ago, but there’s no denying that once again, she has left her mark on a year full of notable artists. The Baltimore-born and -raised artist not only continues to push boundaries and buttons as she approaches 70, she’s having a banner year: The inimitable Scott—known best for her storytelling and her challenging, meticulous glass and beaded artwork—was awarded the Baker Artist Awards’ inaugural $50,000 Mary Sawyers Imboden Prize. Her “Truths and Visions” solo show traveled from the Museum of the Contemporary Art Cleveland to the University of Alabama’s Sarah Moody Gallery of Art last fall.
Private school marks below standards
Florence Times Daily – Sept. 13
The first report on students attending private schools through Alabama Accountability Act scholarships was limited by a lack of test data, but concludes students collectively performed below national standards … The 20-page report, required by the act, was done by the Institute for Social Science Research at the University of Alabama.
UA Theatre Department to produce “Doubt” / UA to hold High School Theatre Festival
WVUA 23 (Tuscaloosa) – Sept. 14
The curtain goes up next week on UA’s first big theatrical production of the season. The cast and crew and sure you will enjoy “Doubt”. The play won a Tony on Broadway, and the screen adaptation earned the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman an academy award nomination. “Doubt” is the story of a nun who is investigating a priest and many of the controversies the Roman Catholic Church has endured over the past decade. UA’s Department of Theatre and Dance has something special for the kids, too.
To catch a smuggler
Modern Metals – Sept. 14
The term “smugglers” conjures images of piracy in the 17th century; the dangerous Colombian cocaine cartels of the 1970s and 1980s; or even to a galaxy far, far away where Han Solo and Chewbacca smuggled goods through hyperspace in the Millennium Falcon. In the 21st century, smuggling will sometimes take the form of falsely classified or trans-shipped steel, aluminum, graphite or other goods from countries the U.S. Department of Commerce has determined are dumping products at unfair prices. Such smuggling of dumped goods often goes undetected. But that’s beginning to change. (Jim Barger is a nationally recognized False Claims Act trial attorney who has recovered over $200 million for the United States and his clients. He is the founder of Frohsin & Barger, a nationwide whistleblower firm that has pioneered the relatively new area of antidumping qui tam actions. Barger teaches at the University of Alabama School of Law and is frequently cited by national media as an expert on whistleblower litigation and international trade law.)
Distinguished author, scholar to lecture on ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’
Lebanon Democrat (Tenn.) – Sept. 15
The event will be Sept. 19, at 2 p.m. in the Bill and June Heydel Auditorium at the Fine Arts Building. Flynt regularly visited Lee, who was a friend for more than 35 years. At her death, he delivered her eulogy at her request. Flynt has actively devoted his life to bringing the issues of history and poverty and their social impact to the forefront of the public’s consciousness … He was inducted into the University of Alabama’s Communication Hall of Fame, which honors communication personalities who have brought lasting fame to the state. He is editor-in-chief of the new online Encyclopedia of Alabama.