BEST BETS
FIRST-GENERATION STUDENT CREATES LASTING LEGACY AMONG PEERS, MENTORS — Decatur native Aliayah Coleman is a first-generation UA student graduating Aug. 6 with a bachelor’s in accounting. She already has a job lined up at BNY Mellon in Everette, Massachusetts. She has numerous accolades including being on the president’s list, the dean’s list twice, many volunteer hours mentoring other first-generation students and has written a children’s book — all while maintaining a GPA over 3.5. She will also soon pursue her master’s in accounting from UA. For more information, watch for a news release. To schedule an interview, contact Coleman at ascoleman4@crimson.ua.edu.
LATINA US MILITARY VETERAN EARNS DOCTORATE TO HELP BRIDGE CULTURAL GAPS — Elizabeth Naranjo Hayes is receiving her doctorate Aug. 6 in Romance linguistics. She is a Latina, U.S. military veteran who once served as the sole interpreter in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia serving in deportation cases. She begins a tenure-track teaching position this fall at Truman State University in Kirkville, Missouri. Securing tenure-track positions right after graduate school is very rare. She will be teaching both Spanish and French and her methodology incorporates Hot Latin and French Francophone music. For more information, watch for a news release. To schedule an interview, contact Naranjo Hayes at enhayes@truman.edu.
ALABAMA BUSINESS HALL OF FAME TO INDUCT EIGHT FOR 2022 — The Alabama Business Hall of Fame, located in Hewson Hall on the UA campus, will induct eight new members in a ceremony Nov. 10 in Birmingham. The inductees are Walter Batson Jr. of Huntsville, F. Dixon Brooke Jr. of Birmingham, Ronald G. Bruno of Vestavia Hills, Grayson Hall of Birmingham, Alexis M. Herman of Washington, D.C., Michael Mouron of Birmingham, the late William S. Propst Sr. of Huntsville and C. Kemmon Wilson Jr. of Memphis, Tennessee. For more information, watch for a news release, or contact Zach Thomas, director of marketing and communications for the Alabama Business Hall of Fame, at zthomas@culverhouse.ua.edu.
UA TO TRAIN NEEDED WORKFORCE FOR WATER OPERATIONS AND FORECASTING — The University of Alabama has been awarded $3 million from the National Science Foundation to establish a unique hydrologic science research and training program for graduate students. The NSF Research Traineeship award, or NRT, will bring together master’s and doctoral students from a variety of water disciplines. UA’s new project, called Water-R2O, will start them on a career path that will meet the research-to-operations needs of hydrologic researchers, forecasters and decision-makers in government, private and academic sectors. For more information, contact Shane Dorrill, UA Strategic Communications, at shane.dorrill@ua.edu.
UA EARLY COLLEGE TO OFFER FIRST COURSE FOR FREE — High school students admitted to The University of Alabama Early College will be able to take their first college course for free beginning in the fall of 2022. After Aug. 1, all high school students who apply and are admitted into UA Early College will no longer pay to take UAEC 200, a five-week readiness course that ensures students are prepared for the rigors of college-level studies. For more information, contact Katie Neidhart, UA Early College, at katie.neidhart@ua.edu.
CURRENT COMMENT
INTEREST RATE HIKES BY FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD MEAN LIKELY RECESSION — To tame rising costs, the Federal Reserve Board is willing to risk a recession to check inflation and inflation expectation, said Ahmad Ijaz, economist and executive director of the UA Center for Business and Economic Research. Aggressive interest rate hikes are the only option left to the feds, he said. “It generally takes about a year for interest rates to affect the real economy, so if there is going to be a recession, it will be in 2023 and hopefully a mild one as some commodity prices have already begun to edge lower gradually,” Ijaz said. To schedule an interview, contact Ijaz at aijaz@cba.ua.edu.
EVENTS
OLLI HOSTS BETTER WITH AGE ART SERIES — The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, or OLLI, will host the Better With Age Art Series Tuesday, July 26, from 3 to 4:15 p.m. at the Bryant Conference Center. In this class, adults aged 50 and older will have the opportunity to learn how to create ceramics from instructor Amy Smoot. The class is free, but registration through the OLLI website or by calling 205-348-5000 is required. For more information, contact Ashley Chambers, director of OLLI, at ashley.chambers@ua.edu.
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The University of Alabama strives to remain neutral on public policy issues. Strategic Communications may facilitate interviews or share opinions expressed by faculty, staff, students, or other individuals regarding policy matters. However, those opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the University or its leadership, and do not constitute a statement on behalf of the University unless explicitly designated.