Rival students work together to rebuild
Crimson White – July 27
… More than 60 University of Alabama students and 30 Auburn University students worked on the Habitat for Humanity’s House United building project … Kiara Summerville, a junior majoring in public relations, saw this as an opportunity to give back, despite the rivalry. “Our communities were able to come together and put aside our rivalry,” Summerville said. “It’s proof that despite what we may believe in during football season, we can come together to give back to people who lost everything.”… Wahnee Sherman, director of UA’s Community Service Center, said the goal is to ultimately have the two universities come together each year to give back to the Alabama community. “We are looking forward to this being an annual event where the two institutions can come together to help benefit other areas of the state,” Sherman said. Habitat has set the target date for finishing the first homes to be Sept. 1.
Ericka Russell, UA teammates collect school supplies
Tuscaloosa News – July 27
Ericka Russell and the University of Alabama women’s basketball team will host a school supply drive Saturday to collect items for tornado victims. The event is being held in conjunction with Russell Relief, an effort started by Russell, a Northridge High School graduate who has already earned her undergraduate degree in business management at UA. Russell’s connection to tornado relief is personal. “I lost a cousin (in the storm),” said Russell, who will be a senior on the UA women’s basketball team in the 2011-12 season. “I only met him once, but knowing it was a family member, it affected us.” The drive will be held at Foster Auditorium on the UA campus from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Items needed are glue, rulers, calculators, scissors, binders, book bags, paper, pencils, folders, crayons and note pads …
Coral Springs fashion designer Amanda Perna on Project Runway season nine
Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) Sun-Sentinel – July 26
Like all really good vices, Amanda Perna discovered fashion design in college. The result was a career path that has led her to season nine of Project Runway, which debuts Thursday, July 28 at 9 p.m. on Lifetime…After spending one year at Florida Atlantic University as a Theatre major, Perna transferred to the University of Alabama where she quickly discovered the Department of Clothing and Textiles. Internships at Oscar de la Renta and Calvin Klein followed and she hasn’t looked back since. “I think I graduated on a Saturday and started a job Monday. I’m an assistant designer for Calvin Klein dresses now.”…
Coupe boosts Mercedes’ Vance plant
Tuscaloosa News – July 27
… James Cashman, a management professor at the University of Alabama, said anytime an automaker can add a new vehicle to its lineup, it has the potential to attract new buyers and more buyers …
UA Engineer Says Bakeware Can Be Dangerous
FOX6 (Birmingham) – July 26
… Dr. Richard Bradt is a University of Alabama engineer who studies shards of glass. He says the bakeware is made out of what is called a soda lime silica glass, which doesn’t hold up to changes in temperature. “These dishes when removed from the oven from hot to cold spontaneously explode due to the thermal shock problems just moving the dish from the oven to the kitchen counter can be dangerous.”