Grant helps fund rural business
Crimson White – July 25
A University of Alabama program will receive a $75,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission to provide more resources to entrepreneurs in West Alabama, Gov. Robert Bentley announced last week. The Alabama Entrepreneurial Research Network is a UA program that provides assistance to entrepreneurs by opening AERN Centers in local communities, Mary Patterson, outreach coordinator for AERN, said. These centers allow entrepreneurs access to computers, business planning software and business resource books. AERN Centers also conduct business workshops, provide business owners with access to services at Bruno Business Library on the UA campus and train chamber directors and economic development directors on how to assist business owners…Bentley said he praises AERN for their efforts to help entrepreneurs grow their business. “I commend the University for partnering with local governments and chambers of commerce in West Alabama to help residents turn ideas into viable businesses,” he said. “Expanding business opportunities in low-income rural areas of Alabama is essential for creating jobs and improving the quality of life.”
Student excels in research, on UA crew team
Crimson White – July 25
John Canada has certainly wasted no time in his college career. In his two years at the University of Alabama, he has done more than many seniors as far as research and involvement go, and he has no plans to stop. “So far, I have put in a lot of work at Bama,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed every minute of my time at the University, and I’ll do it again in a heartbeat.” The rising junior is a member of a chemistry research team led by Professor Robin Rogers, a world-renowned researcher in ionic liquids and green chemistry. Through his involvement with the team, Canada has been able to present his research at two international conferences, one of which was the 17th United Nations Conference of Parties on climate change in Durban, South Africa. Canada was one of five undergraduates nationwide to represent the American Chemical Society. Canada was also part of the technology transfer team in an international youth organization to try to petition the UN for the transfers of certain patented technologies to developing countries. During this conference, he created a workshop to help Chinese and American youth delegates work together for this cause. However, his world peace plans had to be put on hold for the details of college life. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay for the workshop I set up because I had to come back to Bama for exam week,” he said. Canada is also an officer of the UA Crew men’s rowing team, which recently placed third in the largest regatta in the country, the Head of the Hooch, and placed second in a regional competition.
Students help analyze faculty discoveries for potential profits
Crimson White – July 25
University of Alabama students are getting first access to certain faculty discoveries and inventions as a way for the Office for Technology Transfer to evaluate the new patents’ potential applications and marketing. “A positive outcome of the OTT is that University investment in developing faculty member research provides faculty members the opportunity to benefit both the University and their students, as well as to personally augment their income, all within the University setting,” Clark Midkiff, one of the faculty representatives for OTT, said. These students are divided into groups of four to five called “triage teams,” which include an undergraduate Honors student, an MBA marketing student, a law student and a graduate student from the chemistry or engineering programs. Once the teams sign non-disclosure agreements, the groups are given three to four weeks to evaluate a given discovery as a part of their technology assignment. More than 20 teams have evaluated over 100 potential discoveries. According to OTT statistics, this evaluation has resulted in the “issuance of 68 patents, including 13 in the United States, and UA has 13 active licensing agreements with external entities.” These inventions range from categories such as biotechnology, consumer goods, diagnostics, energy, engineering, healthcare, ionic liquids, electronics and software.
UA grad competes in top 20 of ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ on Fox
Crimson White – July 25, 2012
Having made it to the top 20 in FOX’s hit show “So You Think You Can Dance,” Janelle Issis may think she can dance, but her advisors and peers say they know she can. Issis, a University of Alabama graduate, competes weekly in the ninth season of the show and has currently made it through the first round of eliminations in the top 20. Isis has performed twice as part of the top 20, first performing an African jazz choreographed piece, and in the next episode, a hip-hop dance, according to FOX’s website. “I think her strength is being able to adapt,” Cornelius Carter, director of the dance program at UA, said. “That’s the hardest thing that comes along with this field – when you have to be able to do ballet, modern, jazz, ballroom – and not everybody is able to adapt.” Carter worked with Issis for the four years she was at UA and said she was dedicated to the curriculum. “She came in with very little training,” Carter said. “She’s a perfect example of someone who came in and really took advantage of the dance curriculum that was offered to her. It was really challenging, but she stuck with it.” Carter said he knows what he asks of the students is quite demanding, but he wants the dance majors to be able to leave and be “on top of their game.” He said Issis did just that. “She was really willing to fight for her position,” he said. “She earned her space.” Carter said it is Issis’ drive that has gotten her this far. “What I look for in students, it’s not about who’s the best at that time, it’s about who comes in with that drive. Especially when you start to compete at that level. These are some of the best dancers in the country. You’re talking about thousands and thousands of people who audition.”
Campus, students continue to focus on health
Crimson White – July 25
The University of Alabama has seen an even stronger shift toward healthy choices on campus since its high ranking in Men’s Health magazine. In the November 2011 issue of Men’s Health, UA was ranked 10th in the Top 25 Most Fit Campuses. Since then, there has been an even stronger demand by students for more healthy food choices on campus, as well as more space in the University Recreation Center. Dave Crutchfield, marketing coordinator for the Rec, said the amount of students coming through the Rec every day hit record numbers in the spring. “We’re probably getting close to 5,000 people a day coming through here,” Crutchfield said. “We have over 100 fitness classes offered per semester, and a lot of those are nearing capacity.” Jason Casey, coordinator of fitness services for the Rec, said there has been a significant increase in the demand for personal training, particularly with the group training offered so that students are able to train with friends. “We’ve doubled the size of our personal training staff – we have around 32 or 33 personal trainers,” Casey said. “We have around 500 clients within our personal training department, which is one of the largest in the country in terms of campus recreation.”…Another on-campus outlet students look to for aid in their quest to live healthier is Bama Dining. Kelsey Faust, marketing manager for Bama Dining, said a survey called Dining Styles is conducted each semester to gain feedback from students and customers. “One of the categories of the survey is the ‘Availability of Healthy Options,’ and that score has improved tremendously year over year,” Faust said…“In the past, students have asked for more healthy options, such as grilled chicken, which we serve at Burke on the grill and offer at the other dining halls as a healthy option,” Faust said. “There were also requests for a larger variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, so we now offer fresh sautéed vegetables at each dining hall, and we have expanded our fruit options to include different seasonal fruit such as kiwi and strawberries.”
Los Angeles Water Users Escape Swap Thanks to Twist: Muni Credit
Bloomberg – July 23
The agency that supplies drinking water to almost 19 million Los Angeles-area residents paid $47.2 million to unwind interest-rate swaps with banks. Unlike many municipal issuers, ratepayers didn’t come away with a loss. Thanks to the Federal Reserve’s Operation Twist, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California got a chance to borrow last month at lower fixed-interest rates than variable, after more than four years of waiting. It sold $320 million of bonds to refinance debt, end some swaps, cut annual payments by $119,000 and generate $1.1 million of present-value savings…“Once you have a transaction that puts a swap in place, you have to have another to get out,” said Robert Brooks, a professor of finance at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, who studies derivatives. “And they will charge you plenty of money to get out of it.”
NBC hopes Olympics will help it medal with viewers, advertisers
Los Angeles Times – July 24
No one likes losing money. But to NBC, the $100 million of red ink it may spill on the Summer Olympics is more like an investment — and a lesson in TV Economics 101. Just about everyone agrees that the $1.3 billion NBC is shelling out for the Summer Olympics won’t be recouped by ad revenue. But the Summer Games will pay dividends to NBC that won’t show up directly on a balance sheet…While the Games are on, it will have valuable exclusive content for its critical and still highly profitable “Today”franchise. The Games also provide a chance to groom two of its newest personalities, Savannah Guthrie and Ryan Seacrest. Last but not least: It helps NBC build its sports division, including its newly renamed NBC Sports Network…Success is not assured. London is eight hours ahead of the West Coast, so viewers here will likely know the results of most big contests and would be watching events that have been recorded. That could crimp ratings. “Time difference is crucial,” said Andrew Billings, a sports media expert at the University of Alabama. “It changes everything…. Remember that the 2008 Games had swimming and gymnastics finals in the morning so it could be shown live in the U.S…. For London, the delay should not be too bad for the East Coast, but will be more of a factor for the West.”
Football film goes digital
Crimson White – July 25
In the Paul W. Bryant Museum on the University of Alabama campus, there sits a room with 32 rows of shelves that extend to the ceiling, containing athletic footage that dates back to the 1920s. Five years ago, the University decided it would start exploring ways to convert all of the old footage into a digital format. The switch includes the more than 100,000 photos UA athletics has amassed over the years. Ken Gaddy, director of the Bryant Museum, said as technology changes and advances, the museum must do the same. Although the desired outcome is clear, the way to get there still to be determined. “I guess you could say we are in the learning process and figuring out what can be done and what should be done,” Gaddy said. Another unknown variable is the amount of money it would take to convert decades worth of footage. “People always ask how much it is going to cost, but we really don’t have a good handle on that yet,” Gaddy said. “But I do know that it is going to require a major amount of money and a tremendous amount of time to transfer this stuff into the digital age.” Gaddy predicts that switch could take 10 to 20 years.