New dorm to open soon
Crimson White – June 25
…The University began construction on Ridgecrest South in January 2008, and it is scheduled to open to incoming students on August 7. The building, which looms over Ridgecrest East and West, will hold 962 beds. It will be the second largest dormitory after Tutwiler Hall, which holds 966 beds. Tim Leopard, assistant vice president of construction, said that the rooms have a similar look to the other Ridgecrest dorms. The rooms are four-bedroom suites, with two residents sharing a bathroom. There is a kitchenette and a shared living room…Alicia Browne, spokeswoman for Housing and Residential Communities, said the building has two towers. The South Tower will be the home of the three new living-learning communities: the French House, the Arts on Campus Community and the Emerging Scholars Community. The North Tower includes both honors and non-honors housing. Currently, Ridgecrest South is fully booked, Browne said…
Mandersons give $12 million to UA
Crimson White – June 25
…The riverside park off Jack Warner Parkway – north of the campus – will also be renamed The Park at Manderson Landing. The UA System Board of Trustees approved the park’s new name at its meeting last week. “Obviously, a gift of this magnitude is transformative,” said Barry Mason, dean of the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration…Pam Parker, vice president for University Advancement, said UA officials are overwhelmed by the Mandersons’ gift and added that it is “an example for others.” The “Our Students. Our Future.” campaign, which began in 2002 and ends on Tuesday, had an original goal of $500 million, but so far has raised more than $595 million, according to a UA statement. UA officials have marked $250 million of the collections for scholarships. Other dollars collected in the campaign will pay for facilities, faculty support and other priority needs. More than 10,000 individual donations have been made to the campaign, with at least 112 being over $1 million.
Camp teaches students about finance
Crimson White – June 25
…These students are participants of Camp Cash, a ten-day camp that focuses on budgeting, checking and savings, debt, investments and many other financial topics that make the average in-debt college student’s toes curl. Jan Brakefield, coordinator for Camp Cash, said she hopes the pre-teens “learn how to be responsible stewards of their money, and they understand that every decision is one they can control.”…
Summer program aims to get families in shape
Crimson White – June 25
…Rebecca Kelly, director of health promotion and wellness at the University, said the Summer Family Makeover program is a free six-week program designed to help families of UA employees improve their overall health. Weekly prize drawings, counseling and connections to campus resources are among the help provided to families in working toward their goals. The program kicked off at the Student Recreation Center’s outdoor pool complex on Thursday. Kelly said the goal for the program was 30 families, but 38 are now enrolled with 150 total participants. “Over 20 signed up at the kickoff,” Kelly said…
Dealing with disability
Tuscaloosa News (online only) – June 25
…Teri Terry and Suzanne Dowling, whose son Sam, 17, was diagnosed with autism at age 2, remember the depression in particular…’If you had asked me 16 years ago, I would have told you my life is over,’ said Dowling, 50, of Tuscaloosa, a communications specialist at the University of Alabama. Leigh Pate is an early intervention service coordinator at Rise, a preschool program at UA that serves children with special needs. For the past 15 years, she has watched families grapple with diagnoses of cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, spina bifida and other disabilities. ‘More often than not, there is no knowledge [of a disability] prior to the birth,’ Pate said. ‘Some people absolutely go underground, and they don’t want to talk to anybody and they don’t want friends to see their baby, and there’s this total, what appears to be, denial.’…Kayla Terry, 20, remembers when she and her brother, Ian, who has Down syndrome, were bullied in middle school…. ‘We couldn’t ride the bus anymore because it got so bad,’ said Kayla, a junior at the University of Alabama…
Avanti guide the way to UA
Crimson White – June 25
…Avanti Team -students selected to help guide parents and prospective freshmen around campus and through orientation…During each Bama Bound session, the Avantis help facilitate placement testing, work with academic advisors in all of the colleges and aid students and their families as they ease toward the start of fall classes. Throughout the regular school year, Avantis help with University Day tours and conventions in the Ferguson Center. Avantis are tireless and committed to the University, said Robert Hayes, associate director of orientation and special programs in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. “Avantis provide the connection between recruitment and retention of new students,” Hayes said…
Literacy event brings together football authors
Tuscaloosa News — June 25
…Crimson Literacy will feature seven authors who have written books about UA athletics: Chip Cooper, “Crimson;” Ken Gaddy, “Twelve and Counting: The National Championships of Alabama Football;” Cecil Hurt, “Traditions;” Tommy Ford, “Alabama Football All Access Vault” (August 2009); Richard Scott, “Legends of Alabama Football;” Kirk McNair, “What It Means to be Crimson Tide;” Christopher Walsh, “100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die,” “Crimson Storm Surge” and “Who’s #1?: 100 Plus Years of Controversial National Champions in College Football.”…
New APR department chair named
Crimson White – June 25
The University named Joseph Phelps as department chairman for advertising and public relations on June 19, according to a UA news release. Phelps came to the university in 1990 as an assistant professor. He will replace Bruce Berger as department chairman, who will remain as a professor in the department…