Auburn and Alabama students join forces to build Habitat homes for tornado survivors
Birmingham News – July 20
Students from Auburn University and the University of Alabama join forces in storm relief through the House United Habitat Project. The students with help from Habitat for Humanity volunteers are building two homes on 5th Street NE in the Holt Community of Tuscaloosa for two families that lost their homes to the April 27th tornado. One of the homes is being rebuilt for the Teddy Rowe family and the other home is for a family that will be chosen this week. Sixty Alabama students and 30 Auburn students are helping build the two Habitat homes.
Opelika-Auburn News – July 20
Kent State players lend area a hand
Tuscaloosa News –July 20
…Kent State players Spencer Keith, Ishmaa’ily Kitchen, Lee Stalker and Jacquise Terry will arrive in Tuscaloosa on Thursday night on a two-day mission to volunteer aid for the city’s tornado recovery efforts. They will spend much of the day volunteering on a project for Habitat for Humanity…Habitat for Humanity is working with the Nick’s Kids Fund, founded by UA coach Nick Saban and his wife, Terry, on the project that will help a family in Holt that was displaced by the April 27 tornado. Students from both UA and Auburn, including some UA student-athletes, plan to help with the project as well. The foursome is also scheduled to meet with Saban, himself a KSU grad, on Friday afternoon…
Former Tuscaloosa judge donates $100,000 to UA nursing school
Al.com – July 20
Former Tuscaloosa municipal judge and 90-year-old lawyer Gordon Rosen donated $100,000 to the Capstone College of Nursing at the University of Alabama to create an endowed scholarship. Rosen, who retired as municipal judge in 1984, was said to be so impressed with the nurses who helped his ailing brother, he felt compelled make the donation. He and his wife Ann wanted to create the Gordon and Ann Rosen Endowed Nursing Scholarship to benefit incoming freshman nursing students who meet academic requirements and have financial need. Rosen attended the UA School of Law and received his juris doctorate in 1949 after serving as a lieutenant in World War II. He co-founded the Tuscaloosa law firm Rosen Harwood, P.A., in 1967.
UA alum receives doctoral hood after 32 years
Crimson White – July 20
After 32 years, Emma Jo Crain finally received her doctoral hood in special education administration from the University of Alabama on June 18. Crain, now 75, lives at St. Peters Manor Care Center in Missouri, where a hospice team from Nurses and Company learned that one of her regrets was not being able to attend her commencement ceremony of 1979. Vickie Boedecker, the hospice clinical supervisor, contacted UA in effort to create a symbolic hooding ceremony for Crain. She contacted David Francko, dean of the graduate school, who proposed creating a ceremony that would feel just like the one Crain missed out on. “I thought, why don’t I come up there and have an authentic hooding ceremony like it would have been in 1979,” Francko said. “We made sure her family could attend, and I brought a robe and a proper stole appropriate to her degree. I even found a copy of the commencement program of 1979.” Francko said the idea of creating a mock ceremony for a UA alum was something he did without hesitation. “We’re a student-centered university, which means going the extra mile for one of our own alums,” Francko said. “One of the most gratifying parts of being a dean is that we’re able to change the lives of so many individuals. For Dr. Crain, this meant giving her a ceremony which she had been longing for 32 years.”…
Study says officers help deter crime in schools
Tuscaloosa News – July 20
…“The research question was, ‘Are school resource officers effective?’ ” said Quanda Watson-Stevenson, an instructor in the University of Alabama’s criminal justice department, who conducted the study. The research showed that the answer is yes, Watson-Stevenson said, even though the number of reported crimes increased after officers were placed inside schools. Watson-Stevenson said that whenever law enforcement officers are added to an environment, there are typically more reports of crime. She said this doesn’t necessarily mean more crimes are being committed, just that officers are reporting offenses that might otherwise have gone unreported. The study also showed that harsher punishments were effective in reducing student behavioral issues…
Computer science students develop smartphone apps
Crimson White – July 20
Students in the Computer-Based Honors Program have been working to create and develop smartphone applications. The apps the students are working on are classified as beneficial because they will help those who have health issues or physical disabilities. They range from assisting those with diabetes to helping the visually impaired or blind…Kyle Redding, a senior majoring in computer science, has been working on the Diet Diary app for Android with Sasonov. The Diet Diary app will help users keep track of calories and food intake using sensors…Michael Robson, a senior majoring in computer science, has been working on an app for people with type 2 diabetes…Seniors Leah Boling, Melissa Bowman and Andrea Torske, alongside junior Elizabeth Williams, have worked on the “Digital Eyes” app. The smartphone app was designed to assist those who are visually impaired or blind to get around buildings…
Computer science program awarded grant
Crimson White – July 20
Earlier in July, the University’s computer science program was awarded a $15,000 grant from Google that will be used to fund a computer science program for high school teachers. “We are very excited about this grant, particularly as a chance to interact with a growing number of teachers who are aware of the opportunities that a career in computer science can provide to their students,” Jeff Gray, associate professor in the computer science department…The program will take place July 25-27. Gray said funds from the grant will assist teachers with travel support when they travel to Tuscaloosa for the program…Much of the material presented at the workshop will revolve around developing apps using Scratch and Google’s App Inventor. Shaundra Daily, a recent MIT Ph.D. graduate, will present on Scratch programming. Gray will be teaching alongside UA Ph.D. student Amber Krug about Google App Inventor…Teachers will have the opportunity to create their own app that can be used in their classrooms and present their findings for Google and others to see…