Witt names search committee for his successor at UA
Tuscaloosa News – April 6
University of Alabama System Chancellor Robert E. Witt announced this morning a 23-member advisory committee to assist him in the process of finding his successor as President of the University of Alabama…In a prepared statement Friday, Witt said he met with system board of trustees President pro tempore Paul W. Bryant Jr. in crafting the list. Witt said all 23 members named had agreed to sitting on the committee. “Representing faculty, staff, students and alumni as well as members of the Board of Trustees, they will play a vital role in helping select the 40th president of the university. We greatly appreciate their willingness to serve,” Witt said. Witt joins six trustees, including Bryant, on the committee, along with newly elected UA SGA President Matt Calderone, professor and UA Faculty Senate Chair-elect Steve Miller and several more UA deans and professors. Trustee Karen Brooks of Tuscaloosa was selected to chair the committee. Witt named four business leaders to the committee as well…In March, Witt left his position as president of the UA campus to become chancellor after being unanimously elected by trustees to replace Malcolm Portera, who was chancellor for 10 years before announcing his retirement in January. UA Provost and Executive Vice President Judith Bonner is currently serving as interim president of the university.
Crimson White – April 6
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – April 6
City to host April 27 memorial service
Tuscaloosa News – April 6
To commemorate the one-year mark since a devastating tornado struck the area, Tuscaloosa City Hall has organized a community memorial service for April 27. Planned for 5 p.m. at Coleman Coliseum on the University of Alabama campus, the event will feature presentations from Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox, Tuscaloosa County Probate Judge Hardy McCollum, Tuscaloosa County Sheriff Ted Sexton and University of Alabama interim President Judy Bonner. The doors will open at 4:30 p.m. Admission is free and the service is expected to last about an hour. Meredith Lynch, public affairs coordinator for the city’s Incident Command team, which has overseen City Hall’s response to the 2011 tornado, said the service will include a moment of reflection at 5:13 p.m., the minute the EF4 tornado crossed the city limit and began its 5.9-mile path across the city. The deaths of 53 people have been attributed to the tornado’s path of destruction that left 12 percent of the city in ruins.
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – April 5
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – April 5
Advocates and opponents respond to proposed revisions in Alabama immigration law
Birmingham News – April 5
Advocates and opponents of Alabama’s immigration law responded this afternoon to changes proposed in a bill to revise the law… Mary Bauer, legal director for the Southern Poverty Law Center…cited a University of Alabama Center for Business and Economic Development estimate that the state is losing as much as $1 million a day in state and local tax revenue as a result of the immigration law.
UA ROTC holds formal
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – April 5
The University of Alabama’s Army ROTC held their annual “dining out” formal. The guest speaker was Chaplain Jeff Strueker, a real life “Black Hawk Down” member.