UA and Auburn students put rivalry aside; say they will plant two trees, one on each campus
CNN – Feb. 24
Students at Auburn University and the University of Alabama are putting their differences aside for the greater good. After a self-proclaimed Alabama fan was arrested for poisoning historic Auburn trees, the student body presidents from both schools announced they would plant two trees, one on each campus.
ESPN – Feb. 24
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UA business school dean to step down
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 25
Barry Mason, the longtime dean of the University of Alabama Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration, has decided to step down from his position. “Actually, I’m stepping up to the role of faculty member,” Mason said Thursday. “That position is far more prestigious.” Upon stepping down, Mason said he will return to his first love of teaching, but he said he will not vacate his position as dean until a successor is named and in position. UA has begun the search for a successor. The job has been posted on the Chronicle of Higher Education website. Mason, 67, has been a member of the UA faculty since 1967. He served as head of the Department of Management and Marketing for 16 years before becoming the dean of the business school in 1988. Mason also served as the university’s interim president from May 2002 to March 2003, between the resignation of former President Andrew A. Sorensen and the hiring of current President Robert E. Witt. Witt said Thursday that Mason’s work has improved not only UA, but the Tuscaloosa community and state of Alabama as well. “Dr. Mason has led the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration through a period of tremendous growth and achievement,” he said. “As a professor and dean for more than 40 years, he has had a positive impact not only on generations of students, but also on the community and the state. “I look forward to continuing to work with him as he takes on new projects in the coming years.”…
Birmingham shrinks as other Alabama cities swell
USA Today – Feb. 25
…The state’s two growth powerhouses were Tuscaloosa, home of the University of Alabama, which grew by 16.1%…Birmingham’s population decrease is tied to the troubled economy, says Annette Watters, manager of the University of Alabama’s Alabama State Data Center. “Birmingham had a big presence as a financial center,” she says. “There’s been a lot of upheaval in the financial sector over the past decade.”…Elsewhere, Watters says, “most rural counties in Alabama lost population. All of the growth in the state happened in the top major metro areas.”
Tuscaloosa population falls short of 100,000 in census
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 25
…Annette Watters, demographer for the University of Alabama Center for Business and Economic Research, said bigger does not mean better, and said Shelby County’s rocket-booster growth has come with problems. “We live in a lovely place,” Watters said of Tuscaloosa County. “It grew some, but not enough to be disruptive. It was not too hot and not too cold.” … Maddox said Tuscaloosa is handling growth well, including the influx of UA students added during President Robert Witt’s aggressive recruitment campaign. But the more than 30,000 UA students were likely undercounted, said Maddox, who said he had not yet examined detailed data Thursday afternoon. “There was an extraordinary effort and great partnership, but I still can’t help but think there were a large number of students that we were unable to get included,” Maddox said. Watters said Tuscaloosa city’s census count is wrong, but that she doesn’t think the undercount comes from the campus. The count of UA students is probably the best it’s ever been because of exhaustive efforts by university officials to reach students, she said. “Every university town in the whole nation is undercounted,” Watters said. The undercount likely stems from not counting Hispanics, Watters said…Watters said even though the census did not hit the 100,000 mark that city leaders hoped, the growth between the censuses is encouraging. The city’s 16 percent growth rate is the fourth highest of the 10 largest Alabama cities during the decade, and unlike Birmingham, Mobile and Gadsden, Tuscaloosa didn’t lose people…
2010 Census: Rural to urban shift for Alabama population
Birmingham News – Feb. 25
The state of Alabama continued its transformation from rural to urban with strong population gains in metro areas, particularly around Huntsville, and bleak population losses in rural counties, according to results of the 2010 U.S. Census released Thursday. “The past decade was not kind to rural Alabama,” said Annette Watters, the director of the Alabama State Data Center at the University of Alabama.
SGA candidates announced
Crimson White – Feb. 25
Both current Vice President of External Affairs Grant Cochran and Senior Adviser to the SGA President Coresa Nancy Hogan have declared their intention to run for SGA president, according to vote.ua.edu. “To have an active voice in the progressive movement that campus is taking a part of is what has driven me to run for this position,” Hogan said in her letter of intent. “Since I’ve stepped foot on this campus, my sole purpose has been to serve the student body by actively listening and pursuing issues that concern them,” she said. “I have worked for UA students every day of my term,” Cochran said in his own letter of intent. “Throughout the last year, our campus has seen great improvements to unify the student body and to crumble walls that have long divided our University. Unification is our goal, and unyielding progress is our method.” As the SGA elections near, the new candidates must adapt to changes made this year by the elections board to prohibit using chalking and stickers to gain votes.“We chose to eliminate chalking to encourage students to select more substantive campaign methods,” said Amelia Haas, president of the Academic Honor Council and member of the elections board. “Chalking works only for name recognition because no one attempts to communicate a platform via chalk. We felt that by eliminating chalking, students would spend their time speaking to student groups, building websites and social media campaigns.”
Project Runway star tells how to make it work
Crimson White – Feb. 25
Anthony Williams, a UA alumnus and former contestant on the Lifetime series “Project Runway,” offered his advice to a room of 65 students and faculty during a presentation Thursday afternoon…Williams, a graduate of the University’s apparel design program, owns the Atlanta-based clothing design company Tony Kennedy, LLC. He is the 2011 recipient of the University’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year award. Williams was honored in a ceremony Thursday night in the North Zone of Bryant-Denny Stadium. “Anthony exemplifies what the University of Alabama can do for students,” said Milla Boschung, dean of the College of Human Environmental Sciences. “Anthony developed the total package here,” she said. “He not only is a fabulous designer, but he was mentored to interview and to have the presence to develop relationships.” Williams placed fifth out of 16 on “Project Runway” and is currently working on a new reality show with VH1 called “Single Ladies.” Additionally, Heidi Klum modeled a dress he designed on the cover of the April 2010 edition of Marie Claire. He also designed Gov. Robert Bentley’s wife’s gown for the inaugural ball…
Blackburn Symposium brings Katrina response and recovery official
Crimson White – Feb. 25
Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, leader of the federal response to the 2010 BP oil spill, is scheduled to speak at 6:30 p.m. today in Hoover, Ala., during a symposium hosted by the University of Alabama’s Blackburn Institute. “We are very excited to have him come,” said Jimmy Young, coordinator of Blackburn Institute. “We are hoping to have a full house. It will be first come, first serve.”…Allen is part of Blackburn Institute’s annual Winter Symposium. The symposium brings together speakers from different industries to talk and give advice in their specified area…
Bama Dining offers tutoring to employees
Crimson White – Feb. 25
Bama Dining is offering tutoring and a meal free of charge for the children and grandchildren of their employees every Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Ferguson Center. The program, called Bama Dining Helps Kids Thrive, was started during fall 2009 by Bama Dining administrators Brent Davidson, Ed Robertson and Taneisha Henry…Kelsey Faust, marketing manager for Bama Dining, said the program was initiated to show appreciation for the employees’ hard work while simultaneously helping children to be successful in school and reach goals. “We have had mostly elementary students attend our tutoring program with one or two middle school students participating a few times,” Faust said. “We help them with their homework and prepare for upcoming tests. We also provide them with lessons on math, reading comprehension and spelling through worksheets, flash cards and donated academic books.”
Visiting professor promotes genetically modified food
Crimson White – Feb. 25
Genetically modified food may be the healthiest, most profitable alternative to organic food and the products of conventional agriculture in the coming days, according to a lecture by R. Paul Thompson, visiting professor from the department of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Toronto…
Alabama home sales flat in January
Birmingham Business Journal – Feb. 25
Statewide home sales remained flat in January from a year ago, according to the Alabama Center for Real Estate. The research center at the University of Alabama said 2,052 homes sold in Alabama last month, a nearly 1 percent drop from the same month a year ago, but a more than 23 percent decrease from December…
UA holds event to bring awareness to eating disorders
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Feb. 24
…the University of Alabama was the backdrop for the “Fashion Rocks and So Does My Body” fashion show. Experts hope this event will get people talking about having a positive body image…