The orange logo for the University's In the News column.

UA In the News — March 3-April 1

Alabama testing materials to create buildings that better withstand earthquakes
Tuscaloosa News – March 30
Researchers at the University of Alabama are testing whether tall, wood-framed buildings built with a hybrid technique that combines conventional construction materials and a newer material called cross-laminated timbers can better withstand earthquakes.
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – March 29
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – March 29
Apalachicola Times –  March 30

University of Alabama senior named PR Student of the Year
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – March 31
A senior at the University of Alabama has been named PRWeek Public Relations Student of the Year. According to an article from the University of Alabama, Doyle, along with fellow student Gabby DiCarlo, were on a short list of five students up for the award.

Home prices in Marshall County up 12 percent above last year
WAFF 48 (Huntsville) – March 29
Selling prices for homes are on the rise. In Marshall County, you will pocket around 10 percent more money selling your house than you would of 12 months ago … Existing home prices are on the rise. According to the University of Alabama’s Center For Real Estate median home prices in 2009 were $120,000.

Winners of Edward K Aldag, Jr. Business Competition announced
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – March 29
Tuesday, young adults from around Tuscaloosa pitched business ideas at the annual Edward K. Aldag, Jr. Business Competition, and the winners are in.

‘They know what they’re doing’: Why do some parents intentionally make their child sick?
Global News (Canada) – March 30
Gypsy Rose Blanchard murdered her mother in 2015. The 23-year-old Missouri woman had spent most of her life in a wheelchair, told by her mother, Dee Dee, that she had muscular dystrophy and was unable to walk … Dr. Marc Feldman, a psychiatrist at the University of Alabama and an internationally-recognized expert in forms of medical deception, previously told the Canadian Press that parents behind this kind of abuse are typically seeking emotional gratification, but at the cost of the child’s well-being.
Jump Radio (Canada) – March 30
Thet Canada – March 30

Three Scottsdale alumni present projects at Alabama
Scottsdale Independent (Arizona) – March 29
Nearly 500 students, including three from Scottsdale, at The University of Alabama highlighted their research and creative projects during the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Conference on March 27. Among those students, Scottsdale natives Alyson Giordano, Samuel Hallam and Aiyana Saferite all gave presentations, according to a press release.
Gloucester City News (New Jersey) – March 31
Cumberland Times-News (West Virginia) – March 31
MagicValley.com – March 31
Madison Courier (Kentucky) – March 30
Wicked Local Bolton (Massachusetts) – March 29

NEW $18 MILLION PROJECT TO IMPROVE TRAFFIC AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – March 31
Sen. Richard Shelby announced on March 28 the Department of Transportation has awarded the University of Alabama with $8 million for a traffic project. The university will be spending $16 million, half of which comes from their own funds and half of which was matched by the Alabama Department of Transportation Grant for traffic improvements. Something Shashi Nambishen says is an obvious need.
Travel Wire News – March 30
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – March 29
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – March 29
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – March 29
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – March 29
WAAY-ABC (Huntsville) – March 29

Three African American Scholars Honored With Notable Awards
Journal of Blacks in Higher Education – March 29
Steve D. Mobley Jr., an assistant professor of higher education at the University of Alabama, has received two awards from the American College of Personnel Association.

Read Bama Read donates books and money at Brookwood Elementary School
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – March 29
University of Alabama athletes encouraged a group of Tuscaloosa County school students to read and then gave them tools to do it. Members of the University of Alabama track team visited Brookwood Elementary School Friday. They promoted the Read Bama Read program.
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – March 29

Compare Credit Cards
WalletHub – March 31
Compare credit cards from all of the major issuers (some of which are WalletHub partners) and quickly find the best credit card for your needs. To use WalletHub’s powerful credit card comparison tool, start by applying filters from the left side of the page to narrow down your search. This will allow you to focus on comparing credit cards with high approval odds that actually offer the features you want. (Julie Andersen Hill, Alton C. and Cecile Cunningham Craig Professor of Law at The University of Alabama School of Law)

Seeking a crime dog: Mobile banks on PSAs to curb gun thefts in cars
Al.com – March 31
McGruff began taking a bite out of crime 40 years ago in 1979, and friends were reminded not to let their friends drive drunk in 1983 … Teri Henley, an instructor of public relations at the University of Alabama and adviser of the student-run firm, Capstone Agency, said her experience is that peer pressure in PSAs can be the most powerful approach. “They may listen to their friends and family before they listen to some authority figure like the police,” she said.

79-year-old Fresh Food worker makes dining better for UA students
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – March 31
A dining hall on campus is known not only for tasty fresh food and good company between classes, but also for a sweet lady everyone calls Ms. Bessie. Seventy-nine-year-old Bessie Ellis has worked at Fresh Foods for almost 11 years, and she still has as much energy as the day she started. Following her around fresh foods, I even had a hard time keeping up with her.

LEND A HAND: Plant sale fundraiser marks 40th year
Tuscaloosa News – March 31
On Saturday, the George Wood Chapter of the Alabama Wildflower Society will hold  its 40th annual plant sale from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., rain or shine, in the Kentuck Center courtyard in downtown Northport … The chapter also supports the Cahaba Lily Society and its annual Cahaba Lily Festival as well as local projects, including the Wildflower Garden and rhododendron collection of the University of Alabama Arboretum.

EXIM Export Import Bank of United States : Alabama International Trade Center is EXIM Regional Export Promotion Program Member of the Year
Market Screener – March 29
The Alabama International Trade Center (AITC) at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, has been named Member of the Year of the Regional Export Promotion Program (REPP) of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM).

Should media avoid naming the gunmen in mass shootings?
St. George News (Utah) – March 29
A few months after teen shooters killed 12 classmates and her father at Columbine High School, Coni Sanders was standing in line at a grocery store with her young daughter when they came face to face with a magazine cover … Adam Lankford, a criminologist at the University of Alabama, who has studied the influence of media coverage on future shooters, said it’s vitally important to avoid excessive coverage of gunmen.

Black Warrior Film Festival held at UA
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – March 31
The seventh annual Black Warrior Film Festival was held in multiple locations across the University of Alabama campus today. Aspiring filmmakers from all over the world were able to showcase their latest work. They also sat down with V.I.P. panelists as they discuss topics related to film such as representation and career location.

School boards have it wrong about eliminating scholarship program
Al.com – March 29
School boards asking for Alabama lawmakers to abandon a scholarship program that serves 3,500 underprivileged students also are asking the rest of us to ignore a chilling indifference … The academic results also continue to be encouraging. In the most recent independent report, released last September, University of Alabama researchers found that “scholarship recipients had a statistically significant higher proficiency rate than Alabama (public school) poverty students for both math and reading for the 2016-2017 academic year.”

SCHOOL NEWS: March 31, 2019
Tuscaloosa News – March 31
On Friday, March 1, the University of Alabama hosted the 24th German Day – their annual state wide German high school competition. Separate events for German Level 1, 2 or 3 and 4 as well as “Heritage, Near Native & Native” are offered for oral and written events.

Kappa Alpha Theta holds suicide awareness event
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – March 31
Suicide is an epidemic worldwide, and Kappa Alpha Theta sorority at the University of Alabama is taking charge and letting people know that they are not alone. Kappa Alpha Theta held its suicide awareness event Sunday evening at the Ferguson center on the UA campus. The event had tables for making stress balls, creating actions plans, and information of signs that someone may be suicidal.

“Not On My Campus” group holds sexual assault awareness event
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – March 31
Sunday the UA Not On My Campus chapter hosted the second annual SAFE Center banquet in Bryant-Denny stadium club. The event was an opportunity to spread awareness on sexual assault and raise money for the Tuscaloosa SAFE center. According to Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, every 92 seconds someone is sexually assaulted in the U.S. The Attorney General was the keynote speaker at the banquet.
 
Law school donation fulfilled ahead of schedule
Crimson White – March 29
The Hugh F. Culverhouse School of Law at the University of Alabama was recently ranked the eighth highest public law school in U.S. News & World Report’s list, and to celebrate, Hugh F. Culverhouse is fulfilling the last $5 million of his $25 million donation two years ahead of his original four-year schedule.