‘Realizing the Dream’ event features artist John Legend
Crimson White – Jan. 15
On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. uttered four words to a crowd of more than 250,000 people: “I have a dream.” The speech has come to define King’s fight for civil rights and the Civil Rights movement as a whole. More than 50 years later, The University of Alabama and other partners will honor King’s legacy with a series of events over the course of MLK weekend. The headline event, the Martin Luther King Jr. “Realizing the Dream” Program, will feature John Legend, a nine-time Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and philanthropist. Legend will be speaking and performing at Moody Music Building on Sunday. This series, put on by the University, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Stillman College, will be celebrating its 25th anniversary with special guests and events from Thursday to Monday. The first event will be the Legacy Awards Banquet, which will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. The banquet will feature multiple speakers and will recognize several honorees for various accomplishments in work that is reflective of King’s legacy.
Tuscaloosa News – Jan. 14
UA’s MBA #1 Over-Performing Program In Nation
Yahoo! Finance – Jan. 14
A new review by on-line business school website Poets & Quants reveals that the Manderson MBA Program at The University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce may not be ranked as high as it should be and is being undersold. The analysis is based on
the U.S. News and World Report 2014 business schools rankings. UA’s MBA program came in as the top over-performing school on the list, indicating that the school is producing far better MBA graduates than U.S. News peer assessments would indicate. “This is great news for The University of Alabama and the Culverhouse College of Commerce,” said UA Interim Provost Joe Benson. “We are pleased to see this recognition of the hard work and dedication of our business school students, faculty and staff.”
UA students teach science after school
Crimson White – Jan. 15
At Matthews Elementary, “elephant toothpaste,” a thick foam caused by the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen, is helping bring together college students and elementary school students through the Discovery Buddies program – all in the name of science. Every Monday and Tuesday, 45 University of Alabama undergraduate students pair up with elementary school students and lead hands-on science experiments for Matthews’ after-school program. Monica Brint, a junior majoring in biology, said she came up with the idea to start Discovery Buddies while volunteering at Matthews as a ballet teacher during her sophomore year. “I was talking to some of the students there, and they thought it was really cool that I wanted to be a doctor,” she said. “They didn’t know anyone else who worked in science, and I think it’s important for them to know that it’s an option. I think that’s what Discovery Buddies does; it gives them that option.” Brint said she took her initial idea of connecting pre-med students with students at Matthews to the school’s after-school coordinator as well as the University’s Alpha Epsilon Delta Pre-Health Honor Society and was met with enthusiasm on both ends. The program is funded by Tuscaloosa’s One Place, a nonprofit organization that works with many Tuscaloosa elementary schools and also sponsors the Al’s Pals program, which pairs elementary school students with college mentors in a similar fashion.
Blackburn Institute dedicated to Alabama
Crimson White – Jan. 15
For years, University of Alabama students came to expect a question from long-time UA administrator John L. Blackburn: What have you done today to make the state of Alabama better? He quickly became known for stopping students on the Quad to ask them about their daily contribution to the state. He is often credited with peacefully integrating the University during the 1960s, but when the University wanted to honor Blackburn for his service to the University in 1993, Blackburn wasn’t comfortable having a room named after him. After days of thinking, he came up with the idea of an organization that would cultivate the future ethical leaders for Alabama and the nation. The Blackburn Institute was created in the hope that students would remain in Alabama for some of their lives after graduation to give back to the community. Marlan Golden, a senior majoring in history and Spanish, said he is open to looking at a variety of different opportunities, but ultimately he wants to end up back in the state. “The idea that you will come back and help out your state is part of the whole idea of Blackburn,” Golden said. “They are investing their time and resources in students on campus, hoping students will give back to state, whether for a career, policy or government.”
Docent training at Moundville scheduled
Tuscaloosa News – Jan. 14
Docent training for the University of Alabama’s Moundville Archaeological Park will be held Jan. 25 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the park off Alabama Highway 69 about 13 miles south of Tuscaloosa. Volunteers will learn how to conduct an interpretive tour. Park staff will cover good communication and interpretive skills, how to interpret current knowledge about archaeology, Mississippian Indians and the Moundville site. There also will be a guided tour of the Jones Museum. Potential docents will shadow an experienced guide later before conducting a tour themselves.
Public relations major excels in field
Crimson White – Jan. 15
For Benjamin Ladrillono, a senior majoring in public relations, the phrase, “Be different. Be the difference,” which he developed as a response for a fellowship program application, exemplifies his past, present and future goals in life. “My Filipino heritage and culture makes me who I am,” Ladrillono said. “Everyone is different and at some point you have to embrace it in order to succeed in what you want to do. The moment you embrace being different, you can make the difference.” At just 22, Ladrillono has met with CEOs of nationally acclaimed companies, been mentored by top PR executives and interned for countless organizations and political campaigns, which is not too shabby for the senior, who came into college with the dream of becoming a lawyer. “I had a major meltdown when I decided not to pursue that path because I had this goal of going to law school my entire life,” Ladrillono said. “Then I decided one day, ‘Oh, I’m not going to do it,’ and it kind of shook my world.” Ladrillono said he decided on public relations at the off-handed suggestion of a friend at Bama Bound after he realized the University did not offer a pre-law major. By the end of his sophomore year, after taking only one introductory public relations course, Ladrillono had landed an internship in his hometown of Huntsville, Ala., doing PR for the Huntsville Museum of Art.
Weight loss programs costly for many students
Crimson White – Jan. 15
With the timeworn New Year’s resolution of weight loss comes an annual increase in ads for fad diets such as Jenny Craig or Nutrisystem. While advertisements for these “Lose 12 in 12” diets have convinced some students, nutritionists on campus remain skeptical of the promises and payoffs of price per meal versus pounds lost. … Sheena Gregg, assistant director of Nutrition and Education and Health Services at the Student Health Center, has had more than her fair share of clients who come into her office asking about meal plan diets and their sustainability. “I really commend [students] for coming in and checking with me about [diet plans] because there are going to be some plans out there that, as a registered dietitian, I would not advise,” Gregg said. “Usually the red flags for different programs I tell people to watch out for when it comes to crash diets and the like are any kind of programs that encourage folks to completely exclude certain food groups.”