Excerpts from an unfinished manuscript by Gloria Naylor published for the first time
EurekAlert! – Dec. 16
Some of the most well-known literary works were left unfinished when the authors died, masterpieces like The Trial by Franz Kafka, Maria or The Wrongs of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft and The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. The unfinished manuscript of the opening chapter of what would have been the novel “Sapphira Wade” may be such a work for acclaimed contemporary American author Gloria Naylor who died in 2016 at the age of 66. The authors of a new paper about the manuscript included among Naylor’s collected papers have transcribed the handwritten document for the first time. There is evidence that Naylor hoped for “Sapphira Wade” to be a capstone of her literary career, report researchers Suzanne M. Edwards, Associate Professor of English at Lehigh University and Trudier Harris, University Distinguished Research Professor of English at The University of Alabama in an upcoming paper.
UA holds commencement ceremony
CBS 42 – Dec. 14
The University of Alabama and UAB also held graduation ceremonies this weekend.
The Tuscaloosa News
91-year-old grandmother graduates from the University of Alabama
NBC 13 – Dec. 15
One special lady got her college degree after a 73-year delay. Jaqueline Baird Tucker, 91, graduated from the University of Alabama today, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Environmental Sciences. Ms. Tucker had started her education in 1946, but she left school to raise her four children. During her life, Ms. Tucker always regretted not finishing her college education. And then last year, her granddaughter Elisabeth Tucker decided to help.
WVUA – Dec. 14
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UA to train first responders on preventing opioid overdose deaths
NBC 13 – Dec. 14
The University of Alabama received a $3 million grant to train first responders in 16 counties on preventing opioid overdose deaths.
UA unveils sculpture at the Park at Manderson Landing to celebrate Tuscaloosa’s Bicentennial
WVUA – Dec. 13
Tuscaloosa’s 200th birthday celebration has lasted all year. Today was highly anticipated because we got to see a very special sculpture that recognizes not only Tuscaloosa, but The University of Alabama. A sculpture of the Roman goddess Minerva was unveiled at the park.
NBC 13
Fox 6
CBS 42
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Miss America 2020: 51 women who’ll compete, including Alabama’s Tiara Pennington
Al.com – Dec. 16
Tiara Pennington of Helena is in Connecticut this week, vying for Miss America 2020. As Miss Alabama 2019, she’s one of 51 women who hope to earn the national title, along with scholarship money and a yearlong reign. Pennington, 21, is a political science major at the University of Alabama. She’s the second black woman to be named Miss Alabama, following in the footsteps of Kalyn Chapman James, Miss Alabama 1993. We’ll see how Pennington fares in the competition finals on Dec. 19, during a ceremony televised from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville. It airs live at 7 p.m. CT on NBC. In the meantime, let’s take a closer look at all 51 candidates for Miss America 2020.
Want to shed a few pounds? University of Alabama researchers test new technology to help
Alabama Newscenter – Dec. 15
Psst! Hey, are you overweight? Touchy subject, I know, but it’s OK to admit. More than two-thirds of adults are said to be clinically overweight or obese. The National Institutes of Health has awarded a consortium of university researchers, led by the University of Alabama, a $2.5 million grant to further evaluate a wearable device designed to change eating behaviors. Developed in a UA lab, the patent-pending system uses a tiny camera to photograph food and sensors that measure how quickly you eat it.
Lady who struggled through school bags Ph.D. from U.S. university
Legit (Nigeria) – Dec. 16
Nigerian women are becoming citadels of knowledge by pursuing and gaining high levels of education. Another beautiful lady, Promise Okolie Allan, recently bagged a PhD from the University of Alabama, USA and shared how her dreams came to reality with dedication and hard work. In a post shared on her Facebook page, Allan revealed that it was a lot of struggle trying to get her degree. It took all her time and energy but she never gave up and today, she’s grateful for pursuing her dreams and having the strength to see it through.
We Have Questions: How Did Humans Learn How to Speak
The National Interest – Dec. 15
Sound doesn’t fossilize. Language doesn’t either. Even when writing systems have developed, they’ve represented full-fledged and functional languages. Rather than preserving the first baby steps toward language, they’re fully formed, made up of words, sentences and grammar carried from one person to another by speech sounds, like any of the perhaps 6,000 languages spoken today.
The Conversation – Dec. 14