UA honors scholarship recipients
Tuscaloosa News – March 12
The University of Alabama honored 12 freshmen who received Coca-Cola’s First Generation Scholarships at a luncheon Wednesday. The scholarship gives $5,000 each year for four years to students in need of financial aid who are the first in their families to attend college…Kim Gentry, director of corporate and foundation relations in Alabama’s advancement department, said the 12 freshmen were the third class of recipients since the program started in spring 2006. She said the ceremony was meant to welcome the freshmen to Alabama, and so are the support systems Alabama sets up for them. “We have academic advising, mentoring, and a lot of one-on-one counseling available,” Gentry said. “The programming is largely to help with the transition to college.”…
UA students create drug-free treatment for depression
Tuscaloosa News – March 12
Two University of Alabama doctorate candidates in psychology, Martin Morthland and Avani Shah, have devised a method of treatment for people with mild depression without medication. Their Good Life Program, a self-help intervention for depression with a focus on technology, targets adults ages 55 and older…
New University of Alabama car tag for 2009
MSNBC.com – March 12
University of Alabama’s collegiate license tag will be sporting a new look this month with the issue of a new design for 2009. Funds raised through the statewide program are used for scholarships for graduate and undergraduate students. More than 1,200 UA undergraduate students received scholarships through the license tag program this year, and 21 graduate students received fellowships. UA’s National Alumni Association raised a total of some $3 million through the car tag program in the 2007-2008 fiscal year – the most of any university in the state…
Alabama’s Jan. jobless rate highest since 1987
Associated Press – March 11
…Ahmad Ijaz, an economic researcher at the University of Alabama, predicts Alabama hasn’t seen the worst in unemployment. “I think it will get even higher in the second quarter of the year,” he said Tuesday. His prediction for the possible peak: 8.5 percent…Ijaz, who works for Alabama’s Center for Business and Economic Research, said the state’s unemployment figures don’t count people employed by businesses that have cut workers from full-time to part-time or people who would like full-time work but can only find part-time jobs. If those were counted, Alabama’s rate would be 12 percent to 13 percent, Ijaz said. Ijaz said improvement in the unemployment rate will come after the economy starts recovering because employers usually don’t start hiring until they feel confident about the economy. He predicts that could happen in the second half of the year…
Montgomery Advertiser – March 12
Anniston Star – March 12
Forbes.com – March 12
MSN.com – March 12
Birmingham News – March 12
Reinventing your career in a tough economy
MSNBC.com – March 12
…One of the perks there was tuition assistance, which allowed her to take online courses from the University of Alabama. Because of her already extensive educational background, she was able to complete her four-year degree in one and a half years…