University of Alabama named ‘Purple Heart University’ at Veterans Day ceremony (photos)
Al.com – Nov. 11
The University of Alabama has been named a Purple Heart University for its commitment and service to student-veterans, one of two colleges in the nation to receive the designation. “This is a big deal, and a great honor for our campus,” retired U.S. Air Force Col. Duane Lamb, who is also an UA assistant vice president, told a crowd gathered for a Veterans Day ceremony. Purple Heart Communities — named after the honor given to soldiers injured or killed in combat — are typically entire towns or cities, not colleges, but Lamb said he considers UA a “wonderful community.” The University’s Quad stilled as attendees observed a moment of silence while a lone trumpeter played Taps. A student color guard presented a memorial wreath next to flags from each armed forces branch.
Veterans memorial honors US soldiers at Walk of Champions
Crimson White – Nov. 12
Soldiers who have put their lives on the line for their country are honored each year on Veterans Day as civilians take time to recognize and remember their sacrifice and service. Monday night, the Student Government Association, Campus Veterans Association and Delta Kappa Epsilon hosted a Veterans Day memorial service for the men and women of the nation’s military at the Walk of Champions. Army Staff Sgt. Julian Alvarez, vice president of CVA, said the memorial is a way for the organization to honor and celebrate veterans. “It gives us, as a veterans group, a chance to get together and celebrate things that we’ve done and let the community know that we still care,” Alvarez said. Alvarez said having the memorial at the Walk of Champions was symbolic because it’s the heart of the campus. He said the Walk of Champions is a place that shows the hard work and dedication of the football players, so it’s fitting to hold the memorial to the sacrifice of soldiers in the same spot.
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Nov. 11
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Nov. 11
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Nov. 11
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Nov. 11
Agrawal receives prestigious award for research work
Crimson White – Nov. 12
In the College of Engineering, professors place a great deal of emphasis on involving their students in cutting edge research projects. Many of these projects often expand the field and give students a sense of involvement in engineering. Ajay Agrawal, a professor of mechanical engineering, is the 2013 recipient of the Blackmon-Moody Outstanding Professor Award. He is the first professor in the College of Engineering to receive this award in 23 years. His research broadly focuses on energy concerns and making fuels environmentally efficient. In the beginning, he used porous materials and structures to reduce emissions from combustion. After the culmination of that project, his research shifted to working on reducing engine sound as well. “To begin with, we reduced emissions, and then I realized that the sound is also an emission,” Agrawal said. “Sound is a pollution.”
SGA Date Auction to raise money for scholarship fund
Crimson White – Nov. 12
The SGA Date Auction, an effort developed four years ago to help raise funds for the SGA scholarship fund, will be returning to The University of Alabama after taking a hiatus in 2012. This year the Date Auction is partnering with Taste of Tuscaloosa to allow students a chance to try food from local restaurants. The event will be held Nov. 12 at 6:30 p.m. in Sellers Auditorium in the Bryant Conference Center. Dates with students and UA athletes will be auctioned off to raise funds. Only UA students can bid during the night. The dates and highest bidders will be treated to a group dinner at a later date. Some of the students being auctioned off include SGA President Jimmy Taylor, 2013 UA Homecoming Queen Isabella Wesley, Natalie Goodwin, Mary Wills and Brandi Morrison. A live auctioneer will be leading the formal bidding process. Leela Foley, director of media relations, works to publicize the Date Auction by creating news releases, contacting student organizations on campus and keeping up with SGA social media accounts. “We hope to sell 500 tickets and raise $5,000-$6,000 towards the SGA scholarship fund,” Foley said.
Renaissance student
Crimson White – Nov. 12
Armed with a cup of coffee or three, a textbook and a laptop, students at The University of Alabama are facing increasingly frenetic schedules, fighting the temptation of sleep and tackling essays and assignments into the early hours of the morning…While employers do take GPA into consideration, straight A’s are not always the golden ticket to postgraduate employment. In a 2012 study by The Chronicle of Higher Education and American Public Media’s Marketplace, 43 percent of employers surveyed placed more importance on experience than academics, while only 22 percent placed more importance on academics… “Companies aren’t solely focused on the 4.0 necessarily,” Travis Railsback, executive director of the Career Center, said. “We encourage students to put themselves in the position to develop practical skills to use in the workforce. Frankly, you can find students that can study and have a strong GPA, but what companies are looking for is whether or not that student will be successful in that organization.” Railsback, who has worked at the Career Center for almost two years, has seen students with resumes listing as many as 10 to 15 clubs and organizations. However, when it comes to student involvement, he said employers value quality over quantity.
Hot in Mobile and Manhattan: meet fine art starlet Lauren Woods at UMobile’s Art Walk
Al.com – Nov. 11
Mobile’s fine art mavens know Lauren Woods pretty well. In addition to her jobs as a visual arts instructor at University of Alabama and ballet teacher at Mobile Ballet, Wood manages to pop up in a plethora of local visual and performing arts events. Here’s a sampling of what she’s done in just this past year: Danced in Mobile Ballet’s “Nutcracker,” and “Snow White,” designed costumes for and danced in Project Mouvement’s “Carnival of the Animals,” and created a dozen paintings for the Mobile Arts Council show “Ten by Ten.”
UA student awaits bone marrow transplant
Gadsden Times – Nov. 11
Friends and family of University of Alabama student Ashley Roberts are hoping to help her get through an upcoming bone marrow transplant by raising money to cover costs associated with the procedure. Cathy Carpenter, Roberts’ mother, said her daughter was diagnosed in 1997 with severe aplastic anemia, a disorder in which the bone marrow does not produce enough new blood cells. “This is 16 years that she’s been fighting for every single day, and my friends and family have been there for 16 years now…She’s gone through every single clinical trial that there is,” Carpenter said. Now, her supporters are hosting a fundraising drive by selling decorative mailbox bows with Alabama or Christmas themes. Carpenter said that with November being bone marrow awareness month, they’ll probably sell green ribbons. They are also hosting a gun raffle and have accounts set up for cash donations at Regions Bank and First United Security Bank.