University of Alabama won’t cut jobs, but students to pay more
Tuscaloosa News – June 21
Unlike the other two campuses in the University of Alabama System, there will be no job cuts in Tuscaloosa to help balance the budget in the wake of cuts in state money…In a speech to trustees Friday, UA President Robert Witt said the increase is needed to improve education in the wake of an 11.6 percent cut in money from the state. ‘Maintaining our momentum is critically important to the University of Alabama at this point in its history,’ Witt said. Since Witt’s arrival in 2003, UA’s in-state tuition has increased 80 percent from $3,556 for a full year in the 2002-03 academic year…A $66 million bond approved by trustees will add $3.4 million to UA’s annual debt payment of $26.2 million, and the tuition increase means the university must increase scholarship payments by $2.5 million. Also, Witt said he intends to spend $2 million to hire more professors to meet the growing student body…Although professors won’t be getting a pay raise this year, Witt said he’s not worried about an exodus of talented faculty to better-paying jobs at other institutions or private business because their pay, overall, has increased nearly 37 percent since fall 2004. ‘I’m not aware of a university in the country with a better raise in that time,’ Witt said
Counting the dead
New York Times – June 22
Book Review: “Rising, Falling, Hoovering” by C. D. Wright…Joel Brouwer is the author of two books of poems, “Exactly What Happened” and “Centuries.” He teaches at the University of Alabama.
Rare Red Hills salamander gradually losing habitat
Associated Press State Wire – June 21
…Apodaca is a graduate student at the University of Alabama studying the genetics of the salamander under a state grant. He is one of the few scientists allowed to catch and handle them. Anyone else caught disturbing or killing the animals could be hit with a $100,000 fine…
Camp Cash
WVUA-Tuscaloosa – June 20
When you think of camp, you probably think of outdoors and campfires…Some middle schoolers are spending their summer vacation attending a different kind of camp…Cash Camp is going on right now on the University of Alabama campus…The camp teaches students the importance of money management and budgeting…Camp organizers say it’s geared toward middle school students because many big changes like driving and part-time jobs are around the corner and this is a good time to prepare them.
Ohio plunges in ranking for science and technology
Toledo (Ohio) Blade – June 22
…Like Ohio, Alabama relied on heavy industry, such as textile and auto manufacturing. But it has seen a resurgence with military and NASA investments, which have spurred a technology boom, according to Ahmad Ijaz, economist with the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama. Alabama rose from 36th to 29th in the rankings. “Every metro area is growing – Birmingham, Mobile, Montgomery,” Mr. Ijaz. “It’s definitely changed the perception of Alabama. For the last three or four years, we’ve had more people move in than move out.”…
State better positioned against SUV backlash
Mobile Register – June 22
…In 2007, total exports from Alabama totaled $14.2 billion — $5.9 billion of that transportation equipment, mostly cars, said Ahmad Ijaz, an economic analyst at the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama…Last year, U.S. sales of Mercedes hit an all-time record of 253,433, driven largely by the luxury SUV. The vehicles, though pricier and less fuel efficient than some of their counterparts, have regained a reputation for quality that has become a real selling point, James Cashman, a UA professor, has said. Ijaz said Honda and Hyundai in particular will be able to withstand SUV backlash since they produce relatively small vehicles that are fuel efficient when compared to others in the class…
Olympic Games in Birmingham? Mayor says, Why not?
Birmingham News – June 21
…”The primary obstacle is having the sufficient infrastructure to support the Olympic Games,” said Louis Marino, a University of Alabama business professor who studies business-government relationships and partnerships. “Could it happen? Yes. Is it likely to happen? No. But that shouldn’t stop one from dreaming.” Infrastructure including upgrades at the Birmingham International Airport, mass transportation improvements and additional hotels are all needed to support the games, he said. The costs are high and money is tight, Marino said. “Given the time frame that we’re shooting for, I don’t think it’s one that we could really achieve,” he said.
Alabama governor reveals who pays for inauguration
Associated Press State Wire – June 22
…The contributors represent most of Alabama’s corporate power players, said David Lanoue, chairman of the political science department at the University of Alabama. Most probably contribute to inaugurations for any political party because they see that as part of their civic responsibility, he added. “Of course, contributions in the political world are rarely entirely altruistic. As in the case of campaign contributions, corporations and lobbying organizations give money in part to generate good will with the political leadership,” he said.
Moore still making a difference
Mobile Register – June 22
…On Dec. 19, 2009, the University of Alabama’s athletic director will turn 70. He’ll have been in that role for more than a decade. He’ll also be under contract at UA through the following June, a deal that was sweetened last fall with a $25,000 raise that pushed his $425,000 salary to third in the SEC. “It is my goal over the next two years, if possible, to move him either to No. 1 in the SEC or very close to it,” said UA president Robert Witt, who added, “His performance over the last six years has been exceptional.”…items discussed include …an update of proposed expansion at Bryant-Denny Stadium, the future of baseball coach Jim Wells, the recent arrest of radio color analyst Kenny Stabler and the school’s textbook investigation…
Ol’ Colony provides UA teams with state-of-the-art facilities
Tuscaloosa News – June 22
…home to the University of Alabama men’s and women’s golf teams. ‘(The facility) means a great deal,’ Crimson Tide coach Jay Seawell said. ‘It’s one of the things over the last few years that have gotten us to be a national-caliber program.’ So far it’s hard to argue with the results, as the UA men’s team was ranked No. 1 for much of the past season and both squads competed in the NCAA Championships, where Alabama has suddenly become a regular fixture…
Alabama Voices: Jim Hayes stayed positive
Montgomery Advertiser – June 21
…He loved the University of Alabama and always responded when his alma mater sought him out. He was named Alumnus of the Year in 1994 and received an honorary doctorate in 2004…
Singer hopes video takes him to ballgame
Tuscaloosa News – June 21
…The sepia-toned clip features Huffman singing ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame,’…The video is one of nine finalists in a Baby Ruth contest, whose winner will lead a Yankee Stadium crowd in singing during the seventh-inning stretch of the July 15 Major League Baseball All-Star Game…Jeremy Butler, University of Alabama film professor and host of Alabama Public Radio’s ‘All Things Acoustic,’ said he first thought ‘Bob Dylan’ when he saw his old friend Huffman with a harmonica braced around his neck. And Butler enjoyed the sepia-toning, and park background, as an allusion to older photographs. ‘The mise en scene of his presentation echoes that early 20th century appearance,’ he said. ‘There are a couple of anachronisms with cars driving by in the background, but I like it as a period piece, an animation of an early 20th century photograph…
Volunteers’ labor makes Day of Action a success
Tuscaloosa News – June 22
United Way of West Alabama participates for the first time in the national event
…The volunteers who participated Saturday in Day of Action represented 12 local businesses and colleges…Strachan, a staff member at the University of Alabama’s College of Continuing Studies, said she normally doesn’t do the kind of ‘hard labor’ outdoor work that she did at The Arc, but she was glad for the chance to help.’I saw this as an opportunity to come out and give back to the community,’ Strachan said while taking a brief break from raking and pulling weeds…
UA’s Saban inducted into Hall of Honor
Tuscaloosa News – June 21
Nick Saban was inducted into the Independence Bowl Hall of Honor on Thursday night at a ceremony at the East Ridge Country Club in Shreveport. The honor comes six months after Saban’s University of Alabama football team defeated the Colorado Buffaloes 30-24 in the 2007 PetroSun Independence Bowl…
MY TURN: Septic tank shenanigans
Tuscaloosa News – June 22
…As previously noted, there is ample septic system information in both the Tuscaloosa Public Library and the Rodgers Science and Engineering Library at The University of Alabama. Both have excellent volumes addressing the numerous issues surrounding septic tank performance and maintenance…This is a synopsis of a two part article. It appears on The Tuscaloosa News Web site in its entirety. It is too long to publish in the newspaper. The author, Richard ‘Dick’ Bradt is an engineering graduate of MIT and RPI. He lives on Lake Tuscaloosa and is on the faculty of The College of Engineering of The University of Alabama.