UA is the top college destination for Alabama high school grads
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – July 25
A new survey shows the top college destinations for Alabama’ high school grads, for the second year in a row, The University of Alabama topped Auburn. They took the top two spots, UAB came in at number three, the University of Florida followed, and the top five is rounded out by Troy University. Alabama State, the University of South Alabama, and West Alabama also made the top ten.
UA’s RISE graduation to be held July 26
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – July 25
The University of Alabama’s RISE Program will hold its annual commencement ceremony Thursday, July 26 at 6 p.m. at the Stallings Center on the UA campus. The graduating class includes six-year-old Emma Collins, who will walk across the stage to get her diploma in spite of having cerebral palsy and being told she would never walk. According to Dr. Martha Cook, RISE director, the program has helped prepare more than 10,000 children, both disabled and non-disabled, for public school classes over the past 30 years. In 1999, RISE received accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children, a prestigious recognition achieved by only 7 percent of early childhood programs nationwide. The RISE program, located in the Stallings Center and named for the family of former UA Head Football Coach Gene Stallings, looks like any other day care center, except provisions have been made to address the children’s specific disabilities. Classrooms, from infant to preschool, have been set up with age-appropriate toys, and each is staffed with a master’s level teacher and their aides. RISE also serves as a hands-on training facility for UA students majoring in early childhood education, communicative disorders, nursing and social work.
UA students win parking scholarships
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – July 25
Obey the rules and win a little extra cash towards your college costs. All you have to do is park in the right spot. Students at the University of Alabama who park in their designated parking lots could get scholarship money. Every semester, five students at random are awarded “parking incentive” scholarships, simply for not getting a citation. The scholarships are for $100.
UA’s Center for Advanced Public Safety releases crash data about distracted driving
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – July 25
The University of Alabama Center for Public Safety says more than 100 people have died on Alabama roads because of distracted driving. Researchers with the University’s Center for Advanced Public Safety have been studying crash data for months. They’re releasing it now because a new state law that bans texting while driving is set to begin in less than a week. Texting while driving can not only lead to accidents, it may also result in death. There are at least 125 fatalities a year that are caused by distracted driving. Dr. David Brown of the University of Alabama says it’s one of several stats he uncovered while looking at crash data accumulated by the Alabama Department of Public Safety. He believes a third of all crashes nationwide are due to people driving while using an electronic device.
NBC 12 (Montgomery)– July 25
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – July 25
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – July 25
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – July 25
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – July 25
Graduate first, transfer later
Inside Higher Education – July 26
Western Governors University is a favorite of the college completion crowd, with a competency-based approach that offers an attractive path to a degree for adult students. But now WGU is nudging its students toward graduation even before they enroll. For example, WGU Texas is offering a 5 percent tuition discount and other perks to students who transfer in from the state’s two-year colleges, but only if they complete their associate degrees first…Western Governors is hardly the first university to encourage associate degree completion by transfer students, said Stephen G. Katsinas, director of the University of Alabama’s Education Policy Center. In Kansas, for example, public institutions are required to accept at least 60 credits for associate degrees earned at other in-state institutions. But Katsinas said financial incentives for students are becoming more common in transfer agreements. And given the deep budget cuts in many states, public universities are struggling to meet student demand. That helps open the door for Western Governors.
OPINION: AIDS — the South’s shame
Los Angeles Times – July 25
More than 30 years into the AIDS epidemic, a combination of safe-sex education and a new generation of pharmaceuticals has left many Americans convinced that HIV/AIDS is a problem that has been, if not solved, at least addressed. But that’s certainly not true in the American South, which accounts for nearly 50% of all new HIV infections in the United States. The South has the highest rate of AIDS deaths of any U.S. region. It also has the largest numbers of adolescents and adults living with HIV and the fewest resources to fight the epidemic. The disease there is concentrated largely in poor minority communities. Diagnoses tend to be late and often only after the infection has progressed to AIDS. Treatment is less effective at that stage, and that’s assuming it is even available. Thousands of those living with the human immunodeficiency virus are unable to get the medications they need, waiting in limbo for slots to open up in state AIDS drug assistance programs… Bronwen Lichtenstein, a professor at the University of Alabama who has closely examined the epidemic in her state, sees the dire situation as inextricably linked to the region’s history. “It’s much deeper than poverty,” she said. “The Southeast was a colony with slaves, and the region can’t get over its racial history. Things haven’t changed, they’ve just gone underground because the social structure is the same.”
Mayoral campaign finance reports show who’s giving to whom
Anniston Star – July 25
William Stewart, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Alabama, said many municipal incumbents are being challenged in the state … “People are dissatisfied in local government and taking that out on mayors and candidates,” Stewart said. However, the opposition to municipal incumbents is not tied to the recent opposition to incumbents on the state and federal level, Stewart said. “It’s not tied to that because municipal elections are non-partisan,” Stewart said. “People just don’t like wasted money and don’t like higher taxes and the local level is where people think they have the biggest say in changing things.”
Escambia students attend UA event
Brewton Standard (Fla.) – July 25
Two Escambia County students were among a select group of students from across the state were recently on campus for the Rural Health Scholars and Rural Minority Health Scholars programs in The University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences. Scarlett Martin and Bria Willis enjoyed the event held on the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa as part of a group honored by the university. These two programs introduce students from rural areas to college life and give them an orientation to the need for health and medical professionals in communities like their own. The Rural Health Scholars are rising high school seniors and the Rural Minority Health Scholars are recent high school graduates who will be attending college. These students, chosen based on their academic achievements and interest in rural health care, come to UA during the summer and take courses for college credit and to attend seminars. Cynthia Moore and Dr. John Wheat of CCHS direct the programs. After some 20 years and $6 million in support from the state, UA’s Rural Health Programs have benefited the state by encouraging high school and college students to follow careers in rural medicine, Wheat notes. Among the programs that have benefited Alabamians, 523 rising high school seniors from 66 Alabama counties have participated in the Rural Health Scholars program and 120 high school graduates from 33 counties have participated as Rural Minority Health Scholars.
UA grad appears on Fox show “So You Think You Can Dance”
WZDX-Fox (Huntsville) – July 25
So You Think You Can Dance, the hit Fox show you see each Wednesday night right here on Fox 54 …did you know one of the contestants is from Alabama? Janelle has been dancing since she was four years old, and is extensively trained in belly dancing, jazz and tap. She also studied at the University of Alabama. Right now, the show is preparing for a big weekend. Saturday is the third annual national dance day, created by the show’s producer Nigel Lythgoe.
Birmingham News – July 26