Rising Cost of Gas Pinches Rural Community Colleges
Chronicle of Higher Education – June 11 (Subscription only)
…And although students in rural areas may be more accustomed to dealing with significant transportation costs than their urban or suburban peers, the price of gas now “is a bad problem made much worse,” said Stephen G. Katsinas, director of the Education Policy Center and a professor at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa who studies rural community colleges. And in rural areas, there simply are few, if any, alternatives to driving, he said. “We don’t have mass transit in rural America,” he said. “So the notion that you can be a residential student and commute to your nearby campus—that doesn’t exist.” Access to the kind of technology that would support an online course load can also be spotty in rural areas. “The digital divide is most real in rural America, and the more sparsely populated the area, the greater the digital divide is,” Mr. Katsinas said…
Birmingham-area gas prices pause at $3.99 and nine-tenths
Birmingham News – June 11
…Peter Clark, an associate professor of chemical engineering at the University of Alabama, is not surprised to see so many gasoline stations set prices just below the $4-per-gallon threshold. “That’s a psychological barrier for many people,” he said…
UA class designs wireless and fiber optic technology plan for Tuscaloosa
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – June 10
The city of Tuscaloosa and the University of Alabama are once again looking at teaming up to help bring more business to Tuscaloosa. A University class has designed a wireless and fiber optic technology plan…downtown Tuscaloosa…
Canadian women’s wheelchair team works out at UA
Tuscaloosa News – June 11
…One member of the team that will represent Canada in the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China, is already a UA student. Two more members of the Canadian team, and possibly a third, will enroll at Alabama this fall…The Canadian team will wrap up a three-day training camp at the UA Student Recreation Center today…The Canadians won’t be the only players from the UA program competing in the Paralympic Games. Three players from the Alabama program who will compete for the U.S. — Stephanie Wheeler, Alana Nichols and Mary Alison Milford — are wrapping up a training camp in Birmingham in preparation for the upcoming pre-Paralympic tournament…
Tide’s Michael Thompson named to inaugural All-Nicklaus Team
Tuscaloosa News – June 11
University of Alabama golfer Michael Thompson was named to the inaugural All-Nicklaus Team on Tuesday. The Golf Coaches’ Association of America announced the 20 honorees, drawing the team from golfers who played collegiately on NCAA Division I, II, II and the NAIA this past season…He was a senior on the Alabama team in 2007-08 and graduated from the University in May with a degree in accounting. After competing for the U.S. Team at the Palmer Cup June 26-27 in Scotland, Thompson plans to turn professional.
Hoover grads pull big scholarship bucks
Birmingham News – June 11
…this year’s graduating class drew $34.7 million in college scholarship offers at Hoover High and another $14.1 million at Spain Park High…83 will head to the University of Alabama, and 61 will head to Auburn University. Another 29 will go to the University of Alabama at Birmingham…
Obesity conference to be held Thursday and Friday
Tuscaloosa News – June 11
The Alabama Governor’s Conference on Obesity will be held Thursday and Friday at the Bryant Conference Center on the University of Alabama campus…To register, go to www.obesity.ua.edu, or the College of Continuing Studies Web site…