UA unveils plans for new Performing Arts Academic Center
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – Nov. 17
A new $60 million performing arts academic center is in the works at The University of Alabama. The center will be built on the former Bryce Hospital property. You are looking at renderings of what the center will look like when it’s finished. We’re told the center will serve as the new home for the UA Theatre and Dance Department when its completed a few years from now.
Alabama universities partner with NASA to boost space exploration
Alabama News Center – Nov. 18
The University of Alabama and Auburn University are collaborating with NASA on future technologies that could aid space exploration. Officials from both universities and representatives of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville signed new Space Act Agreements to kick off the partnerships. Under an agreement signed last week, University of Alabama students will work to enhance understanding of the propulsion systems for small satellites, called CubeSats, that orbit the Earth. Meanwhile, work at Auburn will focus on the development of wireless sensor and communication technologies, as part of a pact signed last month. “This agreement allows our students the chance to work on applied research ultimately used by NASA, which is a win-win for all sides,” said Dr. Carl A. Pinkert, UA vice president for research and economic development. “The University of Alabama and the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center have partnered many times, and we look forward to continuing that relationship.”
Drive nets 400K pounds of food
Tuscaloosa News – Nov. 18
Dueling food drives at the University of Alabama and Auburn University collected more than 400,000 pounds of food for local food banks during the annual contest ahead of the Iron Bowl. This year, we really tried to bring in more camaraderie. We tried to come together more, tried to work together against Auburn and really work together as a community,” said UA student Courtney Charland, executive director of the Beat Auburn Beat Hunger food drive. The drive at UA, which had a goal of gathering 140,000 pounds, collected 150,322 pounds of nonperishable food during the six-and-a-half week campaign, according to totals announced Thursday at the West Alabama Food Bank in Northport. The Auburn drive collected about 245,000 pounds.
WVUA 23 (Tuscaloosa) – Nov. 17
‘Uneducated’ voters backed Donald Trump, but word stokes emotion in Alabama
Al.com – Nov. 18
Walter Vernon, Margaret Norton and Murray Gardner all supported Donald Trump for president. They’re were among hundreds of Trump voters in Semmes, the city that’s home to their favorite lunchtime hangout, the Hickory Pit Too. They scoff at the derogatory epithet that rank-and-file folks like themselves are “uneducated” voters … Alexa Tullett, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Alabama, said the derogatory use of the work “uneducated” only promotes already-present divisions in society. She also said the term could create a greater emergence of “anti-intellectualism” on issues in which scientific research often backs policy decisions, such as climate change. Trump, himself, has claimed that climate change is a Chinese hoax used to make American manufacturing less competitive.
Roadway Dangers increase before Thanksgiving
WVUA 23 (Tuscaloosa) – Nov. 17
Thanksgiving is right around the corner and that means travel time. A lot of people like to travel. Did you know that the days just before Thanksgiving are some of the very worst times to be on the road. According to a recent study of traffic data by The University of Alabama’s Center for Advanced Public Safety, there was a daily average of 460 automobile crashes on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Thanksgiving week last year in Alabama. That’s over 50 more crashes than an average day. This study is based on the information provided by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Rhonda Stricklin with the UA Center for Advanced Public Safety credits the uptick in crashes to the increase in traffic, traveling after sunset, alcohol and deer.
Mock trial team takes first at invitational
Crimson White – Nov. 17
The University of Alabama’s Mock Trial Team, led by Allen Linken, a professor at the University, brought home first place from the Mid-South Invitational. The invitational is one of the biggest of its kind, with 58 teams representing 31 universities competing. Alabama’s team is made up of three squads consisting of ten members each, with all three teams having a combination of experienced members and new members. One team, led by Read Mills, had multiple members who have never competed before and
still took first.
Author of “Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy” Launches Free iTunes Podcast
Corporate Media News – Nov. 17
Dr. David Burns, author of the #1 best-selling self-help book, “Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy,” has launched the Feeling Good Podcast hosted by psychologist Dr. Fabrice Nye. It is available free on iTunes … Several published studies by Dr. Forrest Scogin and colleagues from the University of Alabama indicate that two-thirds of individuals with moderate to severe depression recover or improve dramatically within four weeks of being given a copy of “Feeling Good,” without any other treatment, and continue to feel good, without significant relapses, for three years.
Cast of “Blue Bloods” pays tribute to their dolly grip Richard Kerkes who was an Alabama fan
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Nov. 17
The cast of the hit series “Blue Bloods” pays tribute to a late Alabama fan. Meridian Star sports editor Michael Kerkes tweeted this photo of the cast wearing University of Alabama shirts. He says they did it to honor his father Richard Kerkes, who was a dolly grip for the show and recently passed away.
Professor Guest Lectures on “The Black Bottom Line”
Crimson White – Nov. 18
At a time when racial tensions are especially sensitive, Houston Baker spoke to UA students about the Black Lives Matter movement and the current position of blacks in America during a hidden humanities lecture on Wednesday. “This appearance is more difficult than I would’ve imagined a few months ago,” Baker said as he began his lecture, clearly referring to Donald Trump’s surprise presidential election victory on Nov. 8. After, he did his best to “address the elephant in the room” and acknowledge that he understands the increased racial tensions that have resulted from the 2016 presidential election. Baker focused in on the main topic of his guest lecture: The Black Lives Matter movement and what he calls the Black bottom line in America. Baker, who currently serves as Distinguished University Professor of English and African-American Diaspora Studies at Vanderbilt, set the scene for his discussion by tracing Black Lives Matter back to its roots. According to Baker, Black Lives Matter was formed to protest the death of Trayvon Martin in 2012. A few years later, BLM rose to national prominence again while protesting the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.