UA among 10 law schools that enrolled more students in 2011
U.S. News – March 27
For the 2011-2012 admissions cycle, law schools accepted and enrolled fewer students, in total, than the year before, according to school-reported data to U.S. News. Each year, U.S. News surveys law schools for myriad data points, including numbers of acceptances and enrolled students. With that data, U.S. News calculates a school’s yield: the percent of students who received an offer and then enrolled at a given institution. In 2010-2011, 190 ranked law schools reported to U.S. News that, in total, 180,479 offers of acceptance were sent to students for both full-time and part-time law programs, resulting in 49,054 enrollments. For the 2011-2012 admissions cycle, 188 ranked law schools sent out 175,085 offers of acceptance and subsequently enrolled 44,366 students. On average, school yield dropped 2 percent from 2010-2011 to 2011-2012, but, for some law schools, rates increased substantially.
Wall Street Journal – March 27
‘Sleep Out’ to put poverty in perspective
The Crimson White – March 28
In an effort to promote awareness for homelessness, the UA Community Service Center will host its annual Sleep Out on the Quad event this Wednesday from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. The event will feature a panel discussion with representatives from Habitat for Humanity, the Veterans Administration Hospital and the Tracy Dent Foundation. Volunteers will also have the opportunity to help make blankets for those in need. Participants are then scheduled to watch several videos including a documentary about TOMS Shoes and a film about the survival of an Iraqi veteran. Afterward, students may participate in the Walk Without Shoes before finally setting up their sleeping bags to spend the night on the Quad. “The Sleep Out on the Quad will be an invaluable learning experience and a life-time memory for students that participate,” said Charlotte Brown, director of Hunger and Homelessness with the Community Service Center and main organizer of the event. “I challenge the UA community to give one night to show that we are concerned about the issues of homelessness in our community and throughout the nation. This event gives students the opportunity to provide meaningful service and raise awareness regarding an important cause.”
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – March 27
Acton Lecture Series: Andrew Morriss on ‘The False Promise of Green Energy’
Acton Institute Power Blog — March 27
Join us for the next Acton Lecture Series on Thursday, April 26, when Andrew Morriss, the D. Paul Jones, Jr. & Charlene Angelich Jones Chairholder of Law at the University of Alabama, will speak on “The False Promise of Green Energy.” Here’s the lecture description: “Green energy advocates claim that transforming America to an economy based on wind, solar, and biofuels will produce jobs for Americans, benefits for the environment, and restore American industry. Prof. Andrew Morriss, co-author of The False Promise of Green Energy (Cato, 2011), shows that these claims are based on unrealistic assumptions, poorly thought out models, and bad data. Rather than leading us to an eco-utopia, he argues that current green energy programs are crony capitalism that impoverishes American consumers and destroys American jobs.”
Jack ‘The Face’ to try some standup tonight at UA’s Ferguson Center
Al.com – March 28
While worldwide sensation Jack Blankenship won’t lay his viral cardboard cutout of his own face to rest anytime soon, he will attempt to at least separate himself from it on a different stage. Blankenship will share the stage with other funny people at the University of Alabama Comedy Night at the Ferguson Center theater on campus, starting at 6 p.m. He says the event is focused on the stereotypes of campus and learning to get along as a student body.
Low turnout expected for Republican PSC runoff
The Associated Press – March 27
Two Republicans vying for the chance to unseat the last Democratic statewide officeholder have mounted ground campaigns around Alabama to attract voters for a late April runoff. With less than a third of Alabama’s 67 counties holding local runoff elections April 24 and no other statewide contests to drive voters to the polls, turnout is expected to be very light in an election that will cost taxpayers about $3 million … William Stewart, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Alabama, called the runoff election process an anachronism. He said it dates to a time when the Democratic Party had firm control of the state and the winner of that primary would inevitably be elected to office. He said the runoff was designed to ensure that the winner had a majority of votes.
Auto manufacturing jobs are coming to Oxford this year
The Anniston Star – March 27
A representative for auto supplier Bridgewater Interiors said during the Oxford City Council’s work session Tuesday that the Oxford company would expand its facility and create 87 jobs. The company announced in December that it might expand its facility but had not finalized the plan. “The project is moving forward,” said Farrah Woodley, plant controller for Bridgewater Interiors. “We’ve started the selection process for bids for the building construction” … James Cover, economist at the University of Alabama, agreed that improvement in a variety of industries would be needed to get the state’s economy healthy again. “Primarily we need growth a little bit everywhere,” Cover said. However, he disagreed that the service industry would do the trick, arguing that manufacturing overall would jumpstart the economy. He said manufacturing jobs tend to pay better than service jobs. “When people have low incomes, they are limited to the services they purchase,” Cover said. “But when these manufacturing jobs grow and their income is higher, they will purchase more durable goods, which will be more profitable for everyone.”
Date auction raises scholarship funds
The Crimson White – March 28
If you ask the 18 University of Alabama students who presented themselves as dates for auction to benefit scholarships Tuesday, money truly can buy you love. The Student Government Association and the UA chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers hosted the auction, which took place in the Bryant Conference Center at 7 p.m. The popular fundraiser was preceded by the first-ever UA Tastes, a taste-testing event to support small Tuscaloosa restaurants.