C&IS to induct 4 new members into Hall of Fame Thursday
Crimson White – Oct. 11
The College of Communication and Information Sciences will induct Dolph Tillotson, Joe Rumore, Sue Medina and Robert E. Luckie III into the Communications Hall of Fame Thursday, Oct. 11. This year’s inductees represent four different disciplines in the college: advertising, library and information studies, broadcasting and print journalism. Previous inductees into the hall of fame include Martin Luther King Jr., Helen Keller and Pulitzer Prize winning author Harper Lee… Loy Singleton, dean of the College of Communication and Information Sciences, said the advisory board within the college chooses between three and five inductees each year who exemplify the qualities every student should strive to have. “It is a recognition by the college and the University that you have led a career that we would hold up as an example to our students,” Singleton said. “You have helped shine a positive light on the state of Alabama and media professionals who work here and have chosen to make their careers here.”
UA professor named to U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s board
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Oct. 9
A University of Alabama professor has been named to the US Anti-Doping Agency’s board. USADA is the non-governmental group responsible for the testing of US Olympic athletes. Dr. Ken Wright is the director of sport management programs at the University of Alabama. He has worked with the anti-doping movement since 1990. Wright has gone to three Olympic Games as a doping control officer. He is also one of 10 people from across the United States selected for the board. Wright: “We have to be in a society that winning at all costs is not the only thing we have to do, we have to protect the athlete and protect the integrity of the sport.” Wright will spend four to eight years on the board. He will be involved in the winter Olympic Games in Russia and the summer games in Brazil.
Beat Auburn Beat Hunger food drive aims to raise 250,000 pounds
Tuscaloosa News – Oct. 11
The competition is heating up, and the competitors are going for the gold. From taking a pie in the face to gorging on ice cream and wings, they will do almost anything to win. While there may not be medals or trophies waiting at the end of their six-week competition, the reward is much greater — knowing they provided food to thousands in need. The 19th annual Beat Auburn Beat Hunger food drive kicked off Monday. With more than 20 events and fundraisers planned, student food drive director Andres Mendieta hopes the campus will meet its goal of 250,000 pounds. Partnering with the West Alabama Food Bank, UA’s Community Service Center started the annual food drive in 1994 as a way to unite students, faculty, staff and community members in the fight against hunger. Adding a touch of competitiveness, a challenge was issued to Auburn University and the East Alabama Food Bank to see which campus and community could collect the most nonperishable items. Last year, Alabama won with 237,000 pounds compared to Auburn’s 134,000.
Crimson White – Oct. 11
Operation Educate the Educators addresses unique needs of military-connected students
Al.com – Oct. 11
The unique challenges faced by students from military families can make school a difficult experience. A new federal initiative to help alleviate some of those challenges is under way and it starts in the classrooms where the nation’s future teachers are being trained. Five Alabama universities are among the more than 100 nationwide taking part in Operation Educate the Educators. The program is designed to train perspective teachers on how to better serve students from military families. Auburn University, Stillman College, Troy State University, University of Alabama and University of West Alabama are part of Operation Educate the Educators. The initiative, co-sponsored by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education and the Military Child Education Coalition, aims to help colleges and universities better train education students on the unique challenges faced by military families.
Ghosts of the Black Belt brings tourism to Alabama
Crimson White – Oct. 11
As Halloween draws near, many people are in search of spooky events for the season. If a ghost story sounds appealing, Ghosts of the Black Belt will be offering those and many other haunted attractions for students and community members to enjoy throughout October. Sponsored by the UA Center for Economic Development, Ghosts of the Black Belt offers tourists a night of ghost stories and tours, while enhancing the rural economies of towns in the Black Belt region. Nisa Miranda, director of the UA Center for Economic Development, said the UACED has been working with rural areas for the past 25 years. “Many of these places have a lot of interesting stories as well as history, culture and natural resources,” Miranda said. “There’s a lot of folklore and story telling about ghosts in the Black Belt. As a result, we thought it was a very interesting topic to concentrate on.” Ghosts of the Black Belt is in its second year. Many of the events, like the Katherine Tucker Windham ghost walk in Thomasville, have grown to be so large that they are now festivals. Linda Vice, the tourism director for rural Southwest Alabama, said the UA Honors College played a role in creating some events. “Communities have to realize what their strengths and weaknesses are and pick out those strengths and play to them,” Vice said. “And what we’ve found to be the strength in working with The University of Alabama is our stories and our traditions.” Vice said she worked with the Honors College to produce a YouTube series called “Alabama Ghost Trail.” The series featured 22 first-person accounts of ghost stories and experiences. Miranda said doing fun events like the Ghosts of the Black Belt allows communities in the 11 Black Belt counties to benefit from the influx of tourists. Both women believe the economic development of the Black Belt region is an incremental one involving a lot of planning and imagination.
Jefferson County’s differences with Alabama governor, others could hurt chances for fiscal fix
Al.com – Oct. 11
Jefferson County’s differences with the governor, some state lawmakers and city officials could harm efforts to find a solution to the county’s fiscal woes and stymie any chances for regional cooperation, say several political experts. Over the past two weeks the commission has taken on Gov. Robert Bentley over his offer to help with problems at Cooper Green Mercy Hospital; Birmingham Mayor William Bell over chairs and tables and state lawmakers over county’s decision to close the inpatient care unit at Cooper Green … William Stewart, retired professor of political scientist at the University of Alabama, said commissioners aren’t helping themselves with the multiple conflicts. “It’s counterproductive to alienate those who might be helpful in this very difficult time for Jefferson County,” Stewart said.
UA engineers welcome future students at E-Day
Crimson White – Oct. 11
The College of Engineering will host an open house for any school groups, current high school students or junior college students Thursday, Oct. 11, in an effort to inform newcomers about The University of Alabama’s growing engineering program. Attendees will be provided information about housing, financial aid and available scholarships and can register in front of H.M. Comer Hall from 8 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Lunch will be served on the Quad in front of the engineering and science buildings after the open house at 11:30 a.m. The day will start off with departmental tours, programs spanning from aerospace engineering to computer science. “This day will help current students decide which concentration of engineering they want to pursue, as well as help future students get to know the program,” Rachel Mitchell, a senior majoring in mechanical engineering, said. Attendees will tour lab spaces and have the opportunity to speak with faculty members.
UA Opera combines genre traditions with new direction
Crimson White – Oct. 11
The University of Alabama Opera Theatre’s fall scenes program, “Something Old, Something New: The New and Old of Opera,” creates a marriage between Baroque and contemporary opera to bring audiences one thrilling operatic experience. The show is comprised of different scenes, arias and songs from Baroque and modern opera as well as musical theatre. Under the direction of Paul Houghtaling, student members of UAOT range from freshmen to doctoral students. Each is involved in multiple scenes. The graduate students and seniors are also given the additional responsibility of directing individual scenes…“Something Old, Something New” will feature three new compositions, two from the first Opera Composition Competition. Composers from the University were encouraged to write short one-act operas to be performed by the Opera Theatre last fall. The winner and runner-up of this competition will have their works performed Friday and Sunday.
UA’s Slash Pine Press to host poetry festival Friday, Saturday
Al.com – Oct. 11
The University of Alabama’s fourth annual Slash Pine Writers Festival will feature more than 30 regional and UA poets on Friday and Saturday in venues on campus and in downtown Tuscaloosa. Poets Ethan Saul Bull, William Burke, Cindy St. John, Mark Yakich and Carol Lynne Knight will be among the poets featured in the festival’s readings. Faculty poets and 25 undergraduate writers from UA, University of Alabama-Birmingham, University of Montevallo, Stillman College and University of New Orleans will also read. “The festival mirrors most closely what we do at our press and in our internship program: foster and promote the work of rising writers at all levels, from those who are engaged in undergraduate creative writing programs to those published by nationally significant presses,” said Dr. Patti White, director of Slash Pine Press, according to a news release. “We want to invite everyone in the community to join us as we celebrate the way words bind us together, not only intellectually but in deep and lasting ways that alter the way we see the world.”
UA organizations work together to spread cultural awareness
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Oct. 10
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, several organizations at the University of Alabama have joined forces to spread cultural awareness. The groups are using health fairs, sporting events and documentaries to reach the community … the goal is to clear up misconceptions about the Hispanic culture. Event organizer Alvaro Baquero-Pecino says one of the most important goals for today’s Hispanic community is a sense of acceptance in the country, and especially here in Alabama.
UA holds employee health fair
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Oct. 10
The University of Alabama held their health fair for employees today, and with the election coming up, this year’s theme was “elect to be healthy!” This was the 17th annual health fair at the university. Participants were able to receive free health screenings and flu shots. Vendors set up around the concourse giving out information on dieting, exercising, nutrition, health coaching, and much more. Even Big Al made an appearance to help get employees excited about a healthier lifestyle.
Event for diabetic kids to be held at UA
Tuscaloosa News – Oct. 10
A family fun event for children with diabetes will be held from 6-8 p.m. Oct. 19 at the University of Alabama Soccer Complex. The event will be hosted by the Southeastern Diabetes Education Services West Alabama… The children will also take to the soccer field for some games during halftime of the UA vs. University of Florida soccer game.
Book arts professor co-owns Northport letterpress
Crimson White – Oct. 11
Some professors leave their work in the office after class ends, but Jessica Peterson, an adjunct professor with the Book Arts MFA program, practices the craft she teaches when she leaves campus and heads to her own Northport letterpress business. Peterson co-owns The Southern Letterpress, which provides letterpress artwork, products and printing to the Southeastern United States. Peterson said she has been interested in art her entire life, beginning with making books from photocopies and LaserJet printers in high school. She pursued a career as a graphic designer after college to support her book-making habit, working with advertising agencies like GAP and Warner Bros. in New York. After working in New York, Peterson headed to Alabama to get her MFA in the Book Arts Program. At the University, she was introduced to letterpress printing, the oldest form of printing, where raised portions of a metal or hard plastic polymer printing plate is doused in ink and then pressed on paper, leaving letters or images. “It was a historical message, and that really interested me,” Peterson said. “It was compelling how text and image has been made and distributed for the last 500 years. I have been making art for most of my life, and it’s something I need to do.” She opened her first shop in 2011 in Columbus, Miss., and co-owner Bridget Elmer joined her in 2012. On Sept. 6, 2012, Peterson opened The Southern Letterpress shop in Northport, Ala. “We feel like the Southeast doesn’t really have as many print shops as much as it should, so we try hard to provide services to the Southeast,” Peterson said. Ashley Gorham, a second-year student in the MFA Book Arts Program, volunteers at The Southern Letterpress.