UA names new dean of College of Community Health Sciences
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – April 25
The University of Alabama has a new dean of its College of Community Health Sciences. Dr. Richard Streiffer now holds that title. It’s a position he said he never looked for, but he said he is familiar with the school’s mission and it fits well with where he is in his career now. Dr. Streiffer spent more than 25 years mentoring doctors for family and rural practice. He is a native of New Orleans and studied at Tulane University.
UA group sees increase in counseling requests a year after tornado
Tuscaloosa News – April 26
Although it saw a lull in contacts earlier this year, a University of Alabama group that offers counseling to students who wish to talk about the April 27 tornado has seen a rise in interest as the anniversary of the storm draws near. Project Rebound UA is part of the statewide Project Rebound effort, a crisis counselor program activated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency after natural disasters. Funded with a $536,000 grant, Project Rebound UA was established in November and offers students one-on-one, temporary counseling, said Melanie Tucker, Project Rebound UA director and assistant professor in the Institute for Rural Health Research and the College of Community Health Sciences’ department of community and rural medicine. According to a UA news release, 167 individual counseling encounters and 2,646 outreach encounters were recorded between Project Rebound UA’s launch in November and the end of January. Tucker said that in March, the group made about 300 different contacts.
Hand-made quilts to be presented to Baby TALK families’ babies
Al.com – April 24
Thirteen expectant families who have been working with Baby TALK, a University of Alabama-based community engagement program building parent-infant relationships, will be presented with a handmade quilt Wednesday, April 25, at 10 a.m. at Maude L. Whatley Health Center in Tuscaloosa. Carolyn Zeanah, a Capstone Village resident, spent months making 13 quilts to be donated to expectant mothers for their new babies, with the idea that the quilts will help mothers meet their children’s emotional and physical needs. Each quilt is designed with a theme so that the quilt can be used for swaddling a new baby while also providing an opportunity for talking with and interacting with the baby, according to a UA press release. The themes encourage learning about such things as colors, shapes and designs. There is also a place on each quilt for the child’s name to be recorded as well as the child’s birth date. Baby TALK, part of Child Development Resources in the UA College of Human Environmental Sciences, has been working with parents at Maude Whatley since March 2005, providing child development information and parenting support and resources, as well as free age-appropriate board books that encourage family reading.
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – April 25
Tuscaloosa News – April 26 (Print version only)
EDITORIAL: Clem Gryska a big part of University of Alabama football history
Tuscaloosa News – April 26
Clem Gryska…who died at age 84 on Monday, spent much of his career laboring in anonymity behind the scenes. His name was synonymous with loyalty around the University of Alabama athletics department. And he was associated with some of UA football’s most glorious moments. Injured and missing most of one hand, Gryska was an 4-F in World War II. So he joined UA coach Frank Thomas’ last great team, the 1945 Rose Bowl champions, sometimes referred to as the “War Babies.” In addition to working on Bryant’s staff, he served as an administrator in the athletics department and then a researcher at the Bryant Museum. He was an important link between different eras of Crimson Tide football and as much a treasure for researchers as any item cataloged in the museum…The University of Alabama has lost an important part of its football history with his passing. He will be missed.
Liberals, conservatives debate merits of Arizona immigration law now before Supreme Court
Homeland Security Today – April 25
Over the past several days, a Senate hearing and a think tank forum provided arguments against and in favor of a controversial Arizona immigration law as the Supreme Court prepares to hear a case on its constitutionality Wednesday… A study by the University of Alabama calculated that the Alabama economy has shrunk by $2.3 billion since the passage of its immigration enforcement law.