Online survey gathering feedback for campus master plan
Crimson White – March 7
The University’s Office of Financial Affairs is giving students and other members of the UA community an opportunity to provide insight and suggestions on how to make campus more effective and student friendly. Students, faculty and others who wish to participate are invited to contribute through an online survey to the 2012 Master Plan, a blueprint for the construction and improvement of every physical aspect of campus from dormitories and bicycle lanes to parking lots and shrubbery. “The UA Board of Trustees requires a new master plan, or an update of the current plan, every five years,” University Planner and Designer Dan Wolfe said.
Teach your child to handle anger
CNN.com – March 7
The way kids express anger evolves much as they do, from uncivilized to articulate. And although it’s one of the most unsettling emotions a parent can deal with, childhood wrath is as natural (and useful) an emotion as love. “Anger can serve an important function — it’s energizing. When we’re mad about something, it can help us solve a problem. It’s the same for kids,” says John Lochman, Ph.D., professor of clinical psychology at the University of Alabama and a specialist in youth aggression.
More Than Money
Inside Higher Education – March 7
Within higher education, a significant difference does exist in the wages of unionized and non-unionized faculty — at two-year institutions, where teaching loads tend to be heavier. Stephen G. Katsinas, professor, and David E. Hardy, associate professor of higher education at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, worked with Jose Frank Maldonado of Tarrant County College to study salaries at more than 1,000 community colleges. When comparing faculty salaries of unionized faculty to those of non-unionized ones, the differences could be stark. At small, rural community colleges where faculty members were allowed to collectively bargain, salaries were 11 percent higher than at similar types of colleges where the faculty could not. The difference increased to 48 percent at suburban campuses. Across regions, Katsinas, Hardy and Maldonado found that unionized faculty at community colleges earned, on average, over $13,000 each year, or 32 percent, more than those who worked on campuses that did not collectively bargain.
Springtime for home buyers
Tuscaloosa News – March 6
Spring typically marks the height of the season for buying and selling homes. For some this year that will bring opportunities; for others, challenges, according to local real estate experts. The biggest winners will be home buyers. “They are definitely in the catbird seat right now,” said Leonard Zumpano, a University of Alabama finance professor who specializes in real estate. “Right now, the buyers have all the leverage.”
Spike at pumps may hurt economy
Decatur Daily – March 5
Spikes in gas prices could harm the fragile, yet somewhat recovering U.S. economy, an economist predicts. A $10 increase in the price of a barrel of oil translates into a 25-cent-per-gallon increase in gasoline prices, said Ahmad Ijaz, an economist with the University of Alabama Center for Business and Economic Research. “That raises the inflation rate by approximately 0.5 percent,” Ijaz said. “A higher inflation rate has a direct impact on consumer spending, which, in turn, slows down the economy.”
GOP’s agenda moves swiftly
Tuscaloosa News – March 6
Republicans aren’t wasting any time getting to the heart of their legislative agenda now that their party is in control of the House and Senate. The bills in the GOP’s 2010 political agenda, the “Handshake with Alabama,” helped them take control of the Legislature last fall. The GOP is in control in both houses for the first time in 136 years. . . . “It’s part of our democracy that the winners make the policies,” said retired University of Alabama political science professor William Stewart.
Business Buzz
Tuscaloosa News – March 6
Elva Bradley, director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of Alabama since 1999, has been promoted to assistant to the vice provost for academic affairs, effective March 1. In her new role, Bradley will assist Mark Nelson, vice provost for academic affairs and vice president for student affairs…Lucinda Lee Roff, interim dean of the University of Alabama School of Social Work, received the 2011 Outstanding Service Award from the Alabama Conference of Social Work during its annual training event in Orange Beach on Feb. 24.
Carving images from ice: Art graces Sunday lunch at Capstone Village
Tuscaloosa News – March 7
The impending warm weather means only one thing to Tom Hadden: Work faster. Hadden is the dining director and executive chef at Capstone Village, a retirement community on the University of Alabama campus. He devotes some time each week to creating ice sculptures for the complex’s Sunday lunches. “After I saw my first ice sculpture, a swan, I knew it was something that I wanted to do,” Hadden said. “Years later, while I was working at the Waverly Hotel in Atlanta, a Japanese chef and master ice carver came to work there. I was lucky in that I was able to learn a lot of what I know now from him. It’s a great science to get into.”
German group meets in Mobile
Mobile Press-Register, March 5
Germany met Mardi Gras Thursday night, as members of the AlabamaGermany Partnership gathered at the Battle House to salute the European country’s investments in the state. The non-profit group promotes cultural and business relations between Alabama and Germany, with individual and corporate members. . . . The group also honored the late Barbara Fischer, a University of Alabama German professor and founding board member of the partnership. She died in a car wreck in May.
School dropout forum set for Tuesday
DeKalb News-Journal – March 5
An open forum to discuss reducing high school dropout rates will be Tuesday in Fort Payne. The forum is part of the Alabama Issues Forum, a project of the David Mathews Center for Civic Life, in cooperation with New College at the University of Alabama. The forum, open to the public, will give the chance for citizens to learn about and speak on Alabama’s dropout rates.
Local restaurants provide space for artists to display work
Tuscaloosa News – March 5
Next time you dine out in Tuscaloosa, you might find yourself with a feast for your eyes as well as a feast for your palate. The once bare walls of several restaurants in Tuscaloosa have been transformed into art galleries displaying the work of local artists…Chase Langefeld, whose whimsical art hangs in Little Italy Pizzeria on University Boulevard, said she believes the art scene in Tuscaloosa is lacking, mainly because many locals aren’t interested in visiting galleries. Langefeld, a senior political science major at the University of Alabama who paints on wood, canvas and scrap material, incorporates mixed medias, acrylic and occasionally the unexpected permanent marker.
Middle school students run a health fair after receiving grant from UA
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) — March 5
How to live a healthier life took center stage at Collins River Middle School today. Students ran a health fair, with many booths. The school received a grant from The University of Alabama called Learn and Serve America. As part of the grant, students learned about obesity, diabetes and hypertension throughout the year. The school chose those issues because Tuscaloosa County and Alabama in general have higher obesity and diabetes rates than the national average.
Darlington students win full scholarships in physics competition
Rome (Ga.) News-Tribune – March 5
A four-person team from Darlington School placed first in the private school category and second overall in the recent Alabama High School Physics Contest, sponsored by the University of Alabama.
Metro Birmingham high school students place high in University of Alabama physics competition
Birmingham News – March 5
A number of high school students from metro Birmingham schools won honors at the 35th University of Alabama High School Physics contest. The students faced a series of tests and competition sponsored by the university’s physics and astronomy department, according to the university. The top student was Jesse Baker of the Darlington School from Rome, Ga.
Former ag commissioner still working in rural Ala
Anniston Star – March 5
The election has long since passed, but Ron Sparks is still canvassing the state, making contacts and talking about the future of Alabama. Only this time, he’s working for Robert Bentley – the man who defeated him in the governor’s race last year. “We’ve hit the ground running,” said Sparks, head of the state’s new Rural Development Agency. “We’re working with the University of Alabama to try to retain doctors in rural Alabama, we’re working on poverty and development in the Black Belt. There’s a lot to be done.”
Students give up coffee for charity
Crimson White – March 7
Each morning, a crowd of sleep-deprived students line up at Starbucks in the Ferguson Center to get their morning “cup of joe.” The long line of customers that seems to persist throughout the day reveals something about the UA student body: They love their coffee. The Mocha Club is a community of people who have pledged to give up two mochas each month, a savings of about $7, and donate the money instead to human aid programs in Africa, the Mocha Club website states. Mocha Club is a national non-profit organization that was started to give students a way to make an impact among impoverished people in Africa.
Professors torn on Facebook use for education
Crimson White – March 7
With so many students using the social networking website Facebook, it should come as no surprise that the website has begun to be used in the education field. Educators are using it in new and innovative ways to connect with and educate students. English Professor Jennifer Drouin uses students’ affinity for the website in a creative way: creating mock Facebook profiles about key characters in the Shakespearean play “Measure for Measure.” “Students study each character’s perspective on the events of the play in a careful scene-by-scene analysis,” Drouin said, “but they get to write in the contemporary language in the style of status updates.” The assignment, Drouin said, has been successful.