UA offers curriculum for land management
Tuscaloosa News – June 13
Students once had to go to a land grant college like Auburn or Mississippi State universities to take courses on natural resources management. Not anymore. The University of Alabama’s natural resources management minor now gives UA students that opportunity, and they have a new facility to aid in field research for that curriculum. On June 7, university officials dedicated the new $500,000 Outdoor Learning Pavilion and Support Facility at the J. Nicholene Bishop Biological Station near Akron in Hale County. UA received donations and help from organizations like the Alabama chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Alabama Wildlife Federation. “These facilities represent learning in service to an important need in our state, and we look forward to it benefitting landowners throughout Alabama,” John Olin, dean of UA’s College of Arts and Sciences, said during remarks at the dedication ceremony. “They are the result of an enjoyable and productive partnership between the university and our land and wildlife conservation friends. We trust that this is just the beginning of a long relationship aimed at nurturing and sustaining Alabama’s beautiful natural treasures.”…The property will be used to educate students in the colleges of Arts and Sciences and Commerce and Business Administration to get hands-on training in forestry, wildlife, recreation and aesthetics management. The facility includes an indoor classroom and a covered outdoor meeting space revolving around a large stone fireplace……The curriculum includes courses in wildlife and land management, private sector forestry, basic biology, dendrology (the study of trees), ecology courses, geography courses and the Discovering Alabama course taught by Doug Phillips, host of the television show of the same name…
Hardin to head UA school of business
Tuscaloosa News – June 11
The University of Alabama has named J. Michael Hardin the dean of the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration, completing a four-month search to fill the position. Hardin replaces Barry Mason, who stepped down from the position to return to teaching in February after serving as dean since 1988. Hardin will assume the dean’s responsibilities beginning Aug. 16…Judy Bonner, UA provost and executive vice president, said Hardin has an “intimate working knowledge of the college.” “This understanding, together with his commitment to both rigor and relevance, will enable him to provide effective leadership immediately. President (Robert E.) Witt and I are strongly committed to working with Dr. Hardin as he assumes these new responsibilities.”…
April 27 tornadoes slammed Alabama economy, study finds
Huntsville Times – June 13
…The storms also had a strong hit on the state’s economy, according to a preliminary study by the University of Alabama’s Center for Business and Economic Research. The state’s Gross Domestic Product was reduced between $835 million and $1.3 million (0.5 to 0.7 percent) and between 5,600 and 13,200 jobs were lost – a reduction of 0.2 to 0.5 percent, the study said…”We basically used the data that’s available right now,” said Dr. Samuel Addy, CBER’s director and research economist. “It doesn’t have the specificity because it is preliminary. We expect it to be updated early next year.” While the study points out the costs, Addy said recovery activities will create an economic impact that exceeds the tornado damage…Addy said he and Ahmad Ijaz, the center’s director of economic forecasting, started their research in early May and it took roughly a month to complete…Addy expects the catastrophe will be a boost to one of the state’s most hard-hit industries – construction. “We are optimistic that insurance claims will come in faster than people expect,” he said. “People have been receiving letters from assessors – that’s a good sign. “But we have to be careful. This is a one-time injection (of money).” And Addy said he hopes there will be a positive outcome for the state from such a negative event. “To us, this is the most important,” he said. “To make something meaningful out of this, it will require going beyond rebuilding to reinventing and reinvesting … with better ideas.”
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – June 10
WKRG (Mobile) – June 10
Project Rebound counsels tornado victims
Tuscaloosa News – June 12
…The University of Alabama is also working with Project Rebound to assist students who were affected by the storm. Because many students who may have been impacted or witnessed the storm and its aftermath firsthand left Tuscaloosa immediately after classes were dismissed, they could see a delayed reaction in dealing with the storm, something that might not emerge until they return to Tuscaloosa in the fall. “Many students had friends who were injured or rushed out to help after the storm,” Powers said. “That’s a darn frightening experience and people can be traumatized by that.” UA is working to help students who have gone home for the summer to make sure that the trauma doesn’t impact their education after they come back to campus. “We have been calling students to see if they are OK and see if they have questions about housing when they come back,” said Cynthia Tyler, an assistant professor and director of social work at UA. “But we are also very concerned about what students might experience once they come back to Tuscaloosa. Luckily, we have a couple of months before students are back.”
Battleship USS Alabama will host SummerTide Theatre musical ‘Dames at Sea’
Mobile Press-Register – June 10
SummerTide Theatre, the professional summer theater of the University of Alabama, will perform numbers from its eighth annual production, “Dames at Sea,” at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 12, at Battleship Memorial Park aboard the famed World War II Battleship USS Alabama…“Dames at Sea” is directed by Edmond Williams, professor of theater and founding chairman of the University of Alabama Department of Theater and Dance…Since 2004, the University of Alabama’s College of Arts and Sciences Department of Theater and Dance has presented professional theater in Gulf Shores, Ala. Productions are designed and directed by UA professors and feature students from the musical theater program…
Alpharetta College Student Continues Tornado Relief Work
Alpharetta (Ga.) Patch – June 13
Seven weeks ago James O’Dwyer, his friends and parents collected a truckoad of supplies for tornado relief, but that wasn’t enough for the University of Alabama college sophomore from Alpharetta. Since then, they’ve sent out three 18-wheeler, four 26-foot box rucks and five SUV/minivan loads of supplies to different areas in Georgia and Alabama, including Ringgold and Trenton. “I also co-founded a non-profit organization called Magnolia Disaster Relief with the goal of helping small towns that haven’t received a lot of help yet, even seven weeks after the storm,” O’Dwyer said…
UA student from Jacksonville, Fla. organizes relief efforts after surviving Tuscaloosa tornado
WTEV (Jacksonville, Fla.) – June 12
…University of Alabama alumni and students have been strolling in and out all day doing what they can to support those left in ruins by the tornadoes. That includes 22-year-old Episcopal High graduate, Lizzie Danner, who not only came home to Jacksonville to organize relief efforts…
UA alum helps storm survivors with new clothes
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – June 10
A generous donation from University of Alabama alumni is helping west Alabama women dress for success…Alfred Dunner Inc. has donated 32,000 garments at a retail value of over $1 million to Tuscaloosa relief efforts.
Mark Ingram to return to Tuscaloosa to help FEMA with tornado-devastated areas
Al.com – June 10
Former Alabama running back and current New Orleans Saints rookie Mark Ingram will return to Tuscaloosa on Saturday to visit areas affected by the April 27 tornado, including Holt and Alberta City, according to Pro Player Insiders. The Heisman winner’s visit is part of the “FEMA for a Day” initiative, which falls in conjunction with the NFL Players Association, the report says. FEMA and Ingram will film a public service announcement at the University of Alabama, followed by visits to parts of town damaged by the storm that claimed more than 40 lives. Ingram will also visit a local church.
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – June 11
Composer, UA instructor, fine arts columnist dies at 83
Tuscaloosa News – June 11
Frederic Goossen…A veteran of decades at the University of Alabama School of Music and fine arts columnist for The TuscaloosaNews for nearly 40 years, Goossen died Friday in Tuscaloosa. after a short illness. He was 83…
“When Winning Was Everything”…A Report on UA Alumni Who Fought In World War II
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – June 11 and 12
WTVM (Columbus, Ga.) – June 10
WXTX (Columbus, Ga.) – June 10
Tough individuals who grew up during the Depression and knew how to make do with what they had and do what they had to do to survive and win the war. The man who’s name is on the sign once wrote “Winning isn’t everything but it beats anything that comes in second.” But there was a time when winning was everything and a lot of the men and women who made winning possible happened to be absolutely Alabama. At the Bryant museum on the campus of the University of Alabama…