CEO Aldag donates $50K to create UA biz plan competition
Birmingham Business Journal – Jan. 27
Edward Aldag, CEO of Birmingham-basedMedical Properties Trust, gave $50,000 that will help students create startups at the University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce. Aldag’s gift will create the Edward K. AldagJr. Business Plan Competition, according to a post on the Culverhouse website. “Ten years ago, I started a company with just an idea and determination,” Aldag said, in a statement. “I got to experience the feeling of launching a company from scratch, seeing it listed on the New York Stock Exchange and nurturing its growth over just a decade to assets of approximately $3 billion in the U.S. and Europe. My experience as a student at the University of Alabama served me well in all these endeavors.”
University engineering professor dead at 66
Tuscaloosa News— Jan. 28
Longtime University of Alabama engineering professor Nagy El-Kaddah died Jan. 20. He was 66. El-Kaddah, who spent 28 years as a professor in UA’s metallurgical and materials engineering department, is survived by his wife of 42 years, Attiat, and his two children, Ahmed and Dahlia, according to UA. “Dr. El-Kaddah will be truly missed by the faculty, staff, students and alumni of the department of metallurgical and materials engineering. He dedicated his life to providing quality education to students for nearly 30 years,” said professor Viola Acoff, head of the metallurgical and materials engineering department, in a released statement. “His passion for teaching was well known by all who had the opportunity to interact with him. I had the pleasure of working with Dr. El-Kaddah for 20 years, and we collaborated on a number of research projects. He was a mentor, colleague and friend who will be greatly missed.”
AL.com – Jan. 27
University of Alabama to offer viewing opportunity for recently discovered supernova
Tuscaloosa News – Jan. 28
Weather permitting, the University of Alabama is offering the curious a rare chance to view a recently discovered supernova during an open house Thursday at Gallalee Hall observatory. “If it is clear enough, we will show people the supernova,” said professor Bill Keel. The public viewing will be from 8 to 10 p.m. Thursday using the university’s reflector telescope. The university originally planned to look at Jupiter and Orion’s nebula, but added the supernova to the list after its discovery.
Skin and Bones to perform
Crimson White – Jan. 28
Skin and Bones, the annual collaborative concert between The University of Alabama Trombone Choir and Percussion Ensemble, celebrates its fourth performance Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Skin (percussion) and Bones (trombones) uses the creative talents of two seemingly unlike ensembles within the School of Music to create a diverse, yet cohesive, concert. “Besides being a unique instrumentation, the concert focuses on the possibilities of a relatively unheard combination of instruments,” Scott O’Toole, a second-year masters student studying percussion performance, said. “There is a lot of power inherent in both percussion and trombone and, when combined, make an ensemble capable of both the extremely intense and the subtle.”
Unlocked UA holds Alabama charter school forum
Crimson White – Jan. 28
Alabama is one of eight states in which the establishment of charter schools is illegal. Despite recent attempts to draft and pass charter school legislation, educators and politicians within the state still disagree on many facets of the charter school debate. Monday night, students and faculty gathered to listen and engage in a conversation with education professionals at the Alabama Charter School Forum. The event, hosted by Unlocked UA, fostered a vibrant and nuanced dialogue about the controversy surrounding charter schools in Alabama. The panel featured four speakers: Amy Hubbard Marlow, the research and information systems manager for the Alabama Education Association AEA; Emily Schultz, director of the Alabama Coalition for Public Charter Schools; Barbara Starnes Rountree, professor emeritus from The University of Alabama College of Education and Joyce Stallworth, associate provost for special projects and professor of English education at The University of Alabama.
Statewide group honors two Tuscaloosa schools
Tuscaloosa News – Jan. 28
The Tuscaloosa Magnet Elementary School and Oak Hill’s Success Prep Academy have been recognized as “banner schools” by the Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools. Both schools submitted applications to a committee of statewide school leaders who chose schools that “demonstrate outstanding programs and service to students,” according to a news release from the council. The Tuscaloosa Magnet Elementary School’s application highlights the school’s international baccalaureate program, its partnership with the University of Alabama and its collaborative method of teaching and learning.
First Scholars program helps students from low income families go to college
KTKA-ABC (Topeka, Kan.) – Jan. 27
There’s a new call to action from the White House. The president wants to make sure more students have the opportunity to go to college, especially those from low-income families. President Obama’s call to action released in January includes more than 100 new commitments to expand college opportunity. Kansas State University vice provost of undergraduate studies Steven Dandaneau says 40 percent of K-State’students are first generation students. The school says one of the reasons for this is the First Scholars program. The program provides scholarships and a support group for students from low-income families. . . . The other universities involved with the first scholars program are the University ofKentucky, University of Alabama, Southern Illinois University, University of Memphis, Northern Arizona University and Washington State University.
KSNT-NBC (Topeka, Kan.) – Jan. 27
Campaign spotlights male voices against domestic violence
Crimson White – Jan. 28
An estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year in the United States. The Women’s Resource Center on campus not only advocates for women but encourages men to take action as well in its White Ribbon Campaign. The White Ribbon Campaign originally began in Canada in 1991 and was started by activist Michael Kaufman and politician Jack Layton. The campaign is centered around men taking the pledge to end all violence against women. … George Daniels, an associate professor in the journalism department, teaches a class called “Race, Gender, and Media,” which not only teaches students about how violence and masculinity are portrayed in society, but also the ways they can learn from it. Daniels will be one of speakers at the forum. “In the news business we get too many stories like this. We get too many stories with domestic violence,” Daniels said. “I wish I could give this wonderful story about how someone I knew was killed or something like that, but I know that there are enough people who die from domestic violence. Putting on pants and a white shirt for a day is not too much to ask.”
Students earn master’s degrees on one-year track
Crimson White – Jan. 28
For many current undergraduates, the thought of staying in school after graduation can be a daunting notion. The time it takes to complete a traditional master’s program, as well as the financial costs of pursuing a higher degree, can deter many from seeking these options, but now, The University of Alabama is offering multiple programs for students to obtain their master’s degree only one year after earning their bachelor’s degree. … Various colleges at the University are now offering these accelerated master’s tracks, many of which are geared toward a more professional, rather than academic, future. The Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) path to the MBA is a program for students in mathematic, science and engineering disciplines to obtain their Master’s of Business Administration over five years at the University.
Students face online job hunt
Crimson White – Jan. 28
Online applications, employment search engines and digital questionnaires have taken the current crop of job applicants into what Time.com calls “the recruiting black hole.” Companies are standardizing the hiring process to meet government regulations, and applications are no longer delivered by hand. Candidates click them away into cyberspace, sometimes to no avail. . . . Travis Railsback, executive director of the Career Center at The University of Alabama, said he agrees that while online applications are efficient, they present new challenges to the job market. The most prominent challenge is increased applicant pools for a handful of positions, with hundreds or even thousands of applicants applying for one position, Railsback said. “The challenge for the candidate is that it makes the hiring process much less personal,” Railsback said. “It’s frankly quite easy to become just a number in the system.”
Woodland High band to perform at University of Alabama
Daily Tribune (Cartersville, Ga.) – Jan .28
The Woodland High School symphonic wind band, weather permitting, will hold a preview concert tonight at 7 in the school’s Performing Arts Center. On Feb. 8, the band will perform at the 29th annual Alabama High School Honor Band Festival, held at the University of Alabama, during which they will perform for bands from other high schools in Georgia and Alabama.