4 UA grads accept Fulbright grants
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 2
Four University of Alabama graduates have accepted Fulbright grants to study and teach abroad during the 2013-2014 academic year. Emma Fick, Carolyn Bero, Rachel Hunkler and Anna Foley were among seven UA graduates selected for Fulbright awards, according to a release from the university. The other three had previous commitments to other international work. Fick, an English major from Covington, La., will assist an English instructor in Serbia. Bero, a Spanish major from Madison and Hunkler, a Spanish major from Nashville, Tenn., will help English teachers in Spain. Foley, a 2011 UA graduate from Richardson, Texas, who has been serving as a bilingual instructor for Teach For America, will serve in Brazil, according to the release. The Fulbright U.S. Student Program provides grants for study and research projects or English teaching assistantships, according to the release. This year, 1,700 students were chosen nationwide for Fulbright grants.
High school students do research internships at UA
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Aug. 1
A group of local high school students are spending their summer as engineers. The program is a collaborative effort between the University of Alabama and local high school students. The students spend their summer working full time research internships alongside UA professors.
UA students end summer internship in Walker County
Jasper Daily Mountain Eagle – Aug. 2
Students from the University of Alabama have been in Walker County for the third consecutive summer tackling important issues with local partners. Bryant Cooper teamed up with Jon Nee, director of Camp McDowell’s new farm school, to expand raised bed gardens at West Jasper Elementary School. “I think when people better understand where their food comes from, they can live healthier lives. What better way to do that than with children?” Cooper said. The gardens were established last summer by another intern from UA’s New College program. The school recently received a $2,000 School Garden Grant from the Whole Kids Foundation to fund improvements. West Jasper students now have access to more and bigger beds, a rain barrel and a compost station. Cooper also provided teachers with a packet of information to help them maximize the use of the gardens.
University of Alabama football’s Fan Day set for Sunday
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 2
The University of Alabama’s annual football Fan Day will take place Sunday afternoon at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Players and coaches will be available for autographs after an open-to-the-public practice. The two-hour practice will start at 2:30 p.m., with Fan Day activities set to start on the field as soon as practice ends. Fans may enter the stadium starting at 1:30 p.m. at gates 11 and 17 and will be able to sit in the lower bowl in sections A through N. At the end of practice, Fan Day participants can enter the field through gate 44 and will exit through gates 11 and 17. Those who wish to participate in Fan Day without viewing the practice can start lining up at gate 44 at 1:30 p.m.
“Nick’s Kids” holds seventh annual luncheon
WTVM 9 (Columbus, Ga.) – Aug. 1
The seventh annual Nick’s Kids Luncheon was held Thursday in The North Zone at Bryant-Denny Stadium where checks totaling more than $400,000 were presented to 115 local and state organizations. Since Nick and Terry Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa in 2007, $4 million has been distributed to numerous charities and organizations throughout the state and surrounding areas. This year’s total in terms of funds distributed through Nick’s Kids initiatives was $700,000. “This is the happiest day for me because it’s such a wonderful feeling to see so many young kids be here and be happy and also all of the people that support the young kids that we are able to help,” said Nick Saban. “I am so very proud of all the work that Terry and our core group have done that has supported Nick’s Kids.”
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 2
Inside the Crimson Tide new locker room
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Aug. 1
The University of Alabama invited media into their newly renovated football locker room Thursday. The renovations are reported to cost in the $9 million range. You can see everything from a new waterfall, weight room, and conference room. Click on the video player to see it for yourself!
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – Aug. 1
NFL.com – Aug. 1
Alabama Public Radio to change lineup
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 2
Alabama Public Radio has announced changes to its lineup, following a decision to phase out its remaining programming provided by Public Radio International. The decision to phase out the remaining PRI programs, “The World” and “This American Life,” was the result of budget concerns and a desire to add new programs, Elizabeth Brock, director of the University of Alabama’s Center for Public Television and Radio, said. Brock said APR was paying approximately $43,000 annually in membership and licensing fees for the two PRI shows. The new lineup includes an extra hour of the National Public Radio news program “All Things Considered” and the addition of a weekly broadcast of “Radiolab.”
Experts in abortion clinic case come at a price
Individual.com – Aug.1
The Alabama attorney general’s office plans to pay two experts between $300 and $385 an hour for their work on an ongoing lawsuit over a new abortion clinic law…The contracts are capped at $80,000, and include a $7,500 allowance for expenses. Experts said those figures are not unusual. “That fee structure fits with what experienced and solid experts get,” said Stanley Brodsky, a psychology professor at the University of Alabama who directs the department of psychology’s Witness Research Laboratory. “Some very well-known and distinguished experts, like psychiatrist Park Dietz, get $1,000 an hour.”
LOCAL Q&A: Bill Fitts
Tuscaloosa News (The Tusk) – Aug. 2
This week we meet Bill Fitts, longtime University of Alabama employee who retired early to begin writing a series of “cozy mysteries” about people who needed killing … at least as far as some characters are concerned. Who are you? What do you do? Tell us about your job and how you became involved in it. My name is Bill Fitts, and I’m an author. I write murder mysteries, specifically the “Needed Killing” series. Three books in the series — “He Needed Killing,” “He Needed Killing Too,” and “She Needed Killing” — have been published, and I’ve started writing the fourth. Its working title is “The Deacon Needed Killing.” The novels belong to a subgenre called cozy mysteries. The first three take place in the fictional town of Shelbyville, which is a midsize town in Alabama with a large university. I had planned to embark on a full-time writing career when I retired from (the University of Alabama), which would have been about two years from now. But the April 27 (2011) tornado that struck Tuscaloosa made me realize I had my priorities in the wrong order, so I retired in September 2011. My wife and I are having a lot of fun with this post-retirement adventure.
Paul Rilling: Checking the shelves
Anniston Star – Aug. 1
Among the interesting investigative stories in July’s Stars was “Shelved at school,” a review of how Alabama public school libraries handle requests that certain books be taken off library shelves as not suitable for children in the schools’ age groups. The Star’s graduate school interns and a group of other journalism students at the University of Alabama carried out the research. The survey did not show widespread efforts to censor school library books. It did report that at least eight schools have received requests to remove books in the last five years.
Fun walk, other activities, to fight obesity at Bessemer City High School Aug. 17
Al.com – Aug. 1
Obesity has many negative health effects, according to the Centers for Disease Control. It can lead to diabetes, stroke, heart disease, high blood pressure, liver and gall bladder disease, sleep apnea and respiratory problems. It can lead to osteoarthritis and certain type of cancers. And the people of Alabama are sadly familiar with overweight and obesity. The state is the 2nd worst in the nation for obesity, edged out only by Mississippi, according to statistics presented at the annual Rural Health Conference at the University of Alabama in February.