Cost of Alabama immigration law disputed
MSNBC – Feb. 2
A study finding Alabama’s crackdown on illegal immigrants will cost the state up to $11 billion is under fire from the law’s supporters. The cost-benefit analysis by University of Alabama economist Samuel Addy estimated up to 80,000 jobs were vacated by illegal immigrants fleeing after Alabama’s tough law passed in June 2011, costing Alabama’s economy up to $10.8 billion. The lost jobs also cost Alabama up to $264.5 million in lost state sales and income taxes, and as much as $93.1 million in lost city and county sales taxes, it said.
Reuters – Feb. 1
Politico – Feb. 1
Montgomery Advertiser – Feb. 1
Dallas Morning News (commentary) – Feb. 2
Mobile Press-Register (editorial) – Feb. 2
Huffington Post – Feb. 1
Fox News Latino – Feb. 1
Latin American Herald Tribune – Feb. 2
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Feb. 1
Prensa Latina – Feb. 1
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – Feb. 1
WGNO-ABC (New Orleans) – Feb. 1
WKRG-CBS (Mobile) – Feb. 1
WPMI-NBC (Mobile) – Feb. 1
WHNT-CBS (Huntsville) – Feb. 1
WTVC-ABC (Chattanooga, Tenn.) – Feb. 1
WAKA-CBS (Montgomery) – Feb. 1
WNCF-ABC (Montgomery) – Feb. 1
WSFA-NBC (Montgomery) – Feb. 1
WLTZ-NBC (Columbus, Ga.) – Feb. 1
What’s the real deal with law schools?
Thomson Reuters – Feb. 2
In these roiling waters of legal education, a new anchor, perhaps, emerges: a new legal blog about “trends, facts and ideas on law and legal education.” Dubbed The Legal Whiteboard, the blog will be written by University of Indiana Law Professor William Henderson, who studies the economics of the legal profession as a professor at Indiana University School of Law, and University of Alabama Law Professor Andrew Morriss, who does scholarly research in labor and employment law. The blog will explore whether the sky is really falling in legal education, says Henderson, and kicked off in late January with some introductory posts looking at the ways that the marketplace for legal education is changing.
UA PR students to kick off childhood obesity awareness campaign
AL.com – Feb. 1
University of Alabama public relations students will kick off the “It’s Your Move!” childhood obesity awareness campaign at the Tuscaloosa YMCA on Feb. 8 from 3-5 p.m. The Public Relations Competition Team’s campaign is meant to encourage children to make healthier choices each day between the hours of 3-5 p.m.
UA offers 34 programs in African-American History month celebration
AL.com – Feb. 1
The University of Alabama is celebrating African-American History Month with 34 programs including exhibits, discussions and performances. UA’s Crossroads Community Center is inviting students, faculty, staff and the community to share their stories and experiences by participating in the month’s events. Historical items from the A.S.Williams III Americana Collection will be on display in Room 301 and in the second floor lobby of Gorgas Library throughout the month, and “Sounds Like Alabama: Alabama’s Contributions to American Popular Music” will be open on the second floor of Mary Harmon Bryant Hall during the week.
Tournament allows high school physics students to put learning into practice
Tuscaloosa News – Jan. 28
Science is meant to be done, not just studied. That’s the theory behind the a high school physics tournament hosted Friday by the University of Alabama. Nearly 300 students from 19 schools competed, with the top two individual scorers rewarded with full in-state tuition scholarships for four years at UA. Two contests defined a team’s ranking in the tournament. The first used a multiple question exam to test the students’ knowledge of physics principles ranging from Newton’s laws of motion to electricity and magnetism.
UA professor’s film selected for San Franscisco Dance Film Festival
AL,com – Feb. 1
University of Alabama associate professor of dance Sarah M. Barry will take her film to the 2012 San Francisco Dance Film Festival. Her film “There, Again” is based on a live dance of the same name that was first performed at the Alabama Repertory Dance Theatre’s fall 2010 concert. It was produced in collaboration with UA graduate Christian Coleman who shot and edited the film.
Transportation researchers, students honored at 15th Annual CUTC Awards
Better Roads – Feb. 2
The Council of University Transportation Centers (CUTC) honored six individuals for their outstanding achievements in the fields of transportation research and education Jan. 21 during the 15th Annual CUTC Awards Banquet in Washington, D.C. . . The award for “Distinguished Contribution to University Transportation and Research,” given annually to individuals who have had a long history of significant and outstanding contribution to university-level transportation education and research: Dr. Daniel Turner, University of Alabama.
Not the ‘sitcom’ the Dowlings expected
Crimson White – Feb. 2
When Suzanne and Rick Dowling imagined their life with kids, they pictured sitcoms. Everybody Loves Raymond, the Cosby Show, Happy Days – worlds where dinner was always cooked, the house was always clean, any problems could be solved in 30 minutes or less and the children were picture perfect. But when their “sitcom-perfect child” Sam was diagnosed with autism at the age of two, the Dowlings realized life wouldn’t be like television. Now, the Dowlings, faculty-in-residence at the University of Alabama, often joke about how their life didn’t exactly meet their “Brady Bunch” expectations.
Students remember former TCF chair
Crimson White – Feb. 2
“His class, filled with dusty old movies, taught me to see the possible and reminded me that an average radio broadcaster from a small Alabama town can make it in this industry.” So read University of Alabama student Kyle David Pierce’s Facebook status when he learned of the death of Gary Copeland, a retired department chair and professor in the department of telecommunication and film. Copeland, who died over the weekend, retired in the summer of 2011 following a career of 30 years at the University. According to the College of Communication and Information Sciences, he wanted to spend more time with his grandchildren, his “first love.”
Al.com – Feb. 2
UA lab links obesity to genes
Crimson White – Feb. 2
Researchers in the University of Alabama Department of Biological Sciences have discovered that specific genes may be to blame for a number of weight- and metabolism-related illnesses. Dr. Laura Reed, assistant professor of biological sciences at UA, has been testing this hypothesis for more than four years and has reached a groundbreaking conclusion. “The most important finding is that the greatest factor in whether or not a person becomes obese is their genes, and how their genes interact with their diets,” Reed said.
Marr’s Spring important to University since 1827
Crimson White – Feb. 2
It may be tucked away at the base of a hill behind the Ferguson Center, keeping ten Hoor Hall company along the outer fringe of campus, but Marr’s Spring was central to the original planning and construction of the University of Alabama. According to James B. Sellers in “History of the University of Alabama, Vol. 1,” the original Board of Trustees voted in December of 1827 to decide which Alabama city was best suited to be the home of the new University. After 19 ballots, “Tuskaloosa” beat runner-up Montevallo, 47 votes to 18. The Marr’s Spring property played a major role in the decision. The founders decided to build the University on Marr’s Spring and Marr’s Field primarily because of the convenient water source the spring provided. The land, named after William M. Marr, a wealthy plantation owner who leased the property until the University chose to use it in 1827, had been made available to the University through a government grant in 1819.
Entrepreneurship group hosts business pitch contest
Crimson White – Feb. 2
The University of Alabama Entrepreneurship Institute will host its first annual Capstone Concept Pitch Competition, and the winning participants will be awarded cash prizes. On Feb. 20, the competition, sponsored by UA Movement, Creative Campus and Alabama CEO, will be held during the University’s Entrepreneurship Week Celebration in Room 112 in the AIME building.
Kami-Con back at UA this weekend
Crimson White – Feb. 2
The anime convention Kami-Con, created to celebrate anime and allow guests to interact and enjoy their hobbies, will be held for the fourth year at the University of Alabama in the Ferguson Center on Friday. This year, the three-day event will cost attendees $30 for the entire weekend and $20 for those wanting to pre-register. The convention will feature different events and activities throughout the weekend. “I am looking forward to a lot of fun and action for the guests,” said Raymond Lenzner, creator of the University of Alabama Kami-Con. “And there will be a lot of voice actors and big named guests coming to the convention.”
Winning national championships has helped UA and Auburn recruit new students
WAKA-CBS (Montgomery) – Feb. 1
The University of Alabama has claimed two national titles in just the last three years. Interest there is through the roof. In 2003, the university received more than 8,000 applications and in 2011, 22,000. They don’t believe it’s all about football, but for others, it just adds to the whole package. “I wouldn’t say that’s why I came, but that wasn’t holding me back.”