Stepping Up to the Challenge
New York Times – April 19
…For a teenager struggling to stay organized, the unusual class schedules, hour-long lectures, late-night study sessions and disrupted sleep routines of college can be a nightmare. Studies suggest that college students with A.D.H.D. are at greater risk for academic and psychological difficulties, and have lower grade-point averages, than peers without the problem. “We have found that there are a lot of significant barriers these students face,” says Dr. Mark H. Thomas, a physician at the University of Alabama student health center, who is part of a campus wide effort to provide additional resources to students with the disorder, including a series of podcasts on how to cope. “When they come to college without the external supports of parents and teachers to keep them organized and on task, oftentimes they struggle mightily to get everything done that they need to get done,” Dr. Thomas says. “Even those kids who have done relatively well in high school still struggle.”…But in college, classes can start early and last until late in the evening, and studying and socializing may require taking medications on the weekend.
“One of the things we find is that these kids come in with a prescription that may have worked fairly well for them at home, but their schedules here are longer than what they had in high school,” says Dr. Thomas, who is presenting a paper on the topic at the American College Health Association meeting in May…
Ad Team places first at district competition
Crimson White – April 20
The Ad Team returned Saturday from a district competition held in Baton Rouge with the first place title and plans to go to national competition in Washington, D.C. in June…The UA Ad Team has consistently placed at competitions for the past several years, but because only the first place winner moves on to national competition, the team hasn’t had the opportunity to compete at the national level recently…
Celebrating the Earthday
Tuscaloosa News – April 20
…hundreds of Earthfest celebrants on the University of Alabama Quad on Sunday, luring them out with dry hours in early afternoon before the rainstorms hit, folding tents and ending the day…One new highlight was the Planet Lovin’ Putt-Putt course, with challenging holes designed and built by UA students using only recycled or found objects…Proceeds were to go to Crimson Clover Farms, an on-campus organic farming project, and it was organizers by UA Environmental Council, University Programs, the UA Community Service Center and the Creative Campus Initiative…
Crimson White – April 20
Construction projects continue as school year winds down
Crimson White – April 20
…Tim Leopard, assistant vice president of planning, design and construction, said the foundation pad for the new Capstone College of Nursing facility should be completed within the next month…The Capstone College of Nursing building is scheduled for completion in July 2010. With renovation at Lloyd Hall, the second and third floors, which were being accommodated to fit classrooms, have been completed. Work on the basement and first floor were not included in the contractor’s plans who completed the other floors, so work on those floors will continue into the summer, with plans to build office space on the first floor and a computer lab in the basement. The building will be complete by August…For Ridgecrest South, Leopard said most of the major work has been completed, with the rest of the work involving touchups and utility work…
Education briefs
Birmingham News – April 19
The Michael P. Cava Lecture at the University of Alabama will be given by Richard R. Schrock, 2005 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, and Frederick J. Keyes, professor of chemistry at MIT. Schrock will present “How Basic Research in Chemistry Led to a Nobel Prize” on April 29, 7-8:30 p.m., in 107 Shelby Hall… — Harris Schlesinger, professor of finance and Frank Park Samford Chair of Insurance at the University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce, is the author or co-author of three of the top 25 most-cited articles in the top three insurance journals 2000-04. – The University of Alabama College of Engineering honored three alumni by inducting them into its class of 2009 Distinguished Engineering Fellows: Robert M. Lightfoot Jr., John S. Richardson and Angela Summers. — The University of Alabama Graduate School now accepts the submission of electronic theses and dissertations and encourages students to submit electronically rather than on paper. After Aug. 14, electronic submission will be mandatory. — Charles Hilburn has been named assistant to the vice president for advancement at the University of Alabama. –Neely J. Portera has been named director of development for the College of Communication and Information Sciences at the University of Alabama…
College News
Tuscaloosa News – April 20
University of Alabama senior Daniel Cherry, a telecommunication and film and political science major, placed seventh in the radio news category in the William Randolph Hearst Foundation Journalism Awards Program for two of his pieces produced for Alabama Public Radio…