Jewish student center gets new location, new start
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 23
Under a crowded tent with standing room only, more than 100 people celebrated the groundbreaking of the new Hillel House Jewish student center Sunday…The University of Alabama has about 700 Jewish students —a 50 percent increase from only a few years ago, Bloom said…The Hillel House was across from Bryant-Denny Stadium on Wallace Wade Avenue for more 50 years until 2008, when the building was sold to UA at the university’s request. For the past two school years, the organization has met temporarily in another building near campus. The new Hillel, which will be about 4,200 square feet, will be built adjacent to the new Temple Emanu-El synagogue on Fourth Avenue and Ninth Street, on the UA campus. The building will house a student lounge, multipurpose room, kitchen, library and courtyard…
Crimson White – Aug. 23
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Aug. 22
Groundbreaking set for Jewish student center
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 21
A groundbreaking ceremony for the new Hillel House Jewish student center will be 4:30 p.m. Sunday. Rebecca Rothman, who is overseeing the design of the new Hillel House for her architectural company, WVS, said the University of Alabama’s Hillel House members haven’t had a meeting place of their own for the past two academic years. Star Bloom, treasurer on the board of trustees for the Hillel House, said the student center was on Wallace Wade Avenue from 1953 until 2008 when the building was sold to UA at the university’s request. Rothman said the brand-new Hillel House will be built on the UA campus at Fourth Avenue and Ninth Street, across the street from the Paul W. Bryant Museum and on the same block as the Temple Emanu-El synagogue. Attendance at the groundbreaking ceremony is by invitation only.
Team digs up 1850s historic Gorgas family home site (with slideshow)
Birmingham News – Aug. 23
Mother Nature may have taken the house in Brierfield, but she left just enough to prove it had been there. Just enough for Jack Bergstresser, an archaeologist who was determined to find evidence of the house that was home for a family that became globally important. After Josiah and Amelia Gorgas moved out of the long-gone house, Josiah became president of the University of Alabama and Amelia became the school’s librarian. Their son, William Crawford, saved the lives of many at risk for malaria. “We didn’t have high expectations about this site,” said Bergstresser, who holds a doctorate in archaeology. With the help of almost 15 anthropology students from UAB and the University of Alabama over several digs this summer, Bergstresser used early survey maps to “move dirt” and locate at least parts of the structure’s foundation…
Jefferson may axe financial software system
Birmingham News – Aug. 22
…Austin Reitenga, an associate professor of accountancy at the University of Alabama, said the SAP system poses a challenge because many organizations underestimate what has to be done to make the software work. “It is a complicated software,” Reitenga said. “It’s hard to find computer people that are experienced because they are in such high demand it’s hard to hold on to them.”..
Birmingham area jobless rate dips to 9%
Birmingham News – Aug. 21
…Ahmad Ijaz, an economic researcher at the University of Alabama, said the figures provide evidence that the labor market is snapping back after two tough years. The hard-hit manufacturing sector added 800 jobs in Alabama last month, while retailers and wholesalers across the state added 3,700 jobs, he said. “Although some sectors of the economy are still shedding workers, most private businesses have begun to add workers, albeit at a very modest pace,” Ijaz said. “We still need to be cautious about month to month fluctuations in jobs numbers, even though the economy is recovering from the severe downturn.”…
Alabama unemployment lowest since April 2009
Bloomberg Business Week (via Associated Press) – Aug. 20
… Sam Addy, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama, said the slow, steady change during the last three months reflects improvements in Alabama’s manufacturing business, particularly autos, the hiring of more temporary workers, and the impact of federal stimulus funds. He expects the trend of slow improvement to continue, with some bumps along the way…
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 21
UA Student Wins Bridgestone’s Safety Scholars Video Contest
FOX6 (Birmingham) – Aug. 20
A University of Alabama student takes home the top prize in a national contest. Henry Busby was chosen as one of the grand prize winners for Bridgestone’s safety scholars video contest. He’ll get $5,000 in scholarship money.
Get Creative Night displays student talent
Crimson White – Aug. 23
By 6 p.m. Tuesday night, Creative Campus headquarters Maxwell Hall will be completely transformed. For one night only, Maxwell Hall won’t just be an office and workspace for the Creative Campus interns. It will become an art gallery for all kinds of student and faculty artistic talent. Sponsored by Creative Campus as a part of Student Involvement Week, the second-annual Get Creative Night will showcase a wide range of local artistic talent. Those in attendance will have the opportunity to see submitted photography, paintings and ceramics, as well as dance, theatrical, musical and spoken-word performances…
New club offers gameday incentives
Crimson White – Aug. 23
The SGA passed a Resolution 17-10 approving the expenditure of funds to boost the start of the High Tide Club. For a $10 membership fee, participants will receive an express stadium entrance pass, a T-shirt, free food, scholarship opportunities and various discounts at local venues…The Club, which was founded in response to increased student enrollment at the University and a need to fill the upper deck of the new south end zone expansion, will allow more students to come to home games, Sens. Sophie Santos and Ryan Flamerich said in the legislation. Wait times will also be shortened. “The express gate offered to the Club members will give students the ability to get in the game more quickly and bypass long waits,” SGA Deputy Chief of Staff Peyton Falkenburg said…
UA sports hundreds of involvement opportunities
Crimson White – Aug. 23
With more than 350 student organizations on campus, it can be difficult deciding exactly which one works for you. At the beginning of each school year, the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership offers events such as Get on Board Day and Student Involvement Week in order to show students what’s out there…