A symbol of courage
Tuscaloosa News – Nov. 10
Gail Spann stood by the bronze bust of her son, Johnny Micheal Spann, America’s first combat death in Afghanistan in 2001, and touched the top of its head. The likeness captures Spann, who was a CIA paramilitary officer at the time of his death, as a Marine captain in his dress uniform. “It brings back the memories of seeing him wanting to be in the Marines, and, of course as his mom, I didn’t want him to be there,” she said Thursday. “But gosh, I look back on it now and think what a wonderful thing he did.” A day before Veterans Day, Gail Spann and her husband, Johnny Spann, saw the finished bronze for the first time in Houser Hall at the University of Alabama.
WVUA 23 (Tuscaloosa) – Nov. 10
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Nov. 10
Which past U.S. president does Donald Trump already remind us of, if any?
AL.com – Nov. 11
Those still in shock that Donald Trump won the U.S. Presidential election have until Jan. 20, 2017’s inauguration to come grips with the new political normal. Before the country makes it official in Washington D.C., we want to perhaps understand just what kind of president Trump could be once he takes the Oval Office, and which past U.S. presidents to whom he might favorably compare. We reached out to a pair of University of Alabama political science professors who specialize in American politics to ask them: Which past U.S. president does Donald Trump already remind us of, if any? . . . The first past president that came to UA professor Steven Borrelli’s mind? Andrew Jackson, the seventh U.S. President. Borrelli said Jackson was the first president after the founding generation, the first six presidents who were either founders or children of founders — all from well-to-do backgrounds, highly educated, part of the cultural elite. Like Trump, Jackson was a change of pace. Jackson was kind of the first party-crasher,” Borrelli said. “He came from the west, he was a populist. He claimed not only to speak for the people but that he was somehow one of the people or understood their concerns, and he was really the first presidential candidate to do that.”
Luminries placed at Bryant-Denny stadium for Veterans Day
WVUA 23 (Tuscaloosa) – Nov. 10
Take a look at this video from in front of Bryant-Denny Stadium at the Walk of Champions. These luminaries make up the American flag. It’s a tribute to all those who have served in the U.S. Armed forces. This symbolic gesture is done by The University of Alabama each year for Veterans Day.
UA and NASA sign Space Act Agreement
WVUA 23 (Tuscaloosa) – Nov. 10
NASA and The University of Alabama are coming together for engineering students. The new agreement allows engineering students to play a key role in the space flight program. Twenty to 30 students will work on a NASA project. Professors are pleased to see the students get such a great opportunity.
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Nov. 10
NASA employees discuss travel to Mars with engineering students
Crimson White – Nov. 10
NASA is planning on traveling to Mars and wants engineering students from The University of Alabama to help it get there. A panel composed of UA alumni and current Marshall Space Flight Center employees spoke to a crowded room of engineering students yesterday about NASA’s attempt to complete deep space travel and reach Mars in a matter of mere decades.The panel discussion titled “Path to Mars” was the official kickoff of NASA Days. NASA Days is a two-day event hosted by the College of Engineering and the Capstone Engineering Society to expose UA students to the many future career opportunities that are available to them at NASA and their industry partners. The “Path to Mars” talk started with panelists informing students about NASA’s Space Launch System, which, according to SLS Assistant Program Director Tracy Johnson, will be the largest and most powerful rocket in history upon completion. “It is the cornerstone of traveling to deep space,” deputy director of Marshal Space Flight Center Jody Singer went so far as to say.
Secret Meals Grand Gala held
WVUA 23 (Tuscaloosa) – Nov. 10
The Secret Meals Grand Gala was held tonight to celebrate the successful partnership between Secret Meals for Hungry Children and UA’s APR department. The event was hosted by the Alabama Credit Union at the North River yacht Club.
What has changed since the first modern mass shooting 50 years ago?
Cnn.com – Nov. 11
By now, it’s a tragically familiar storyline. An angry, armed white man unleashes a hailstorm of bullets on a group of random innocents, leaving behind carnage, shattered families and questions about how it could have been prevented … Research shows that fame is also a compelling incentive. “As a culture, America’s priority on fame-seeking at any cost and celebrity culture is much worse than it used to be,” said criminology professor Adam Lankford of the University of Alabama, author of “The Myth of Martyrdom.” For those obsessed with making it, mass violence can be a means to an end.
UA ranked one of the most beautiful autumn campuses in the country
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Nov. 10
According to Best College Reviews, The University of Alabama is one of the best autumn campuses in the country. UA ranks 46 in the top 50.
An Astonishing Health Benefit of Tattoos
Netscape – Nov. 10
Want to avoid getting a cold? Get tattoos! Those who have multiple tattoos have a stronger immune system than those who aren’t inked, which makes them better able to fight infections. But there is just one catch: Receiving just one tattoo has the opposite effect, lowering your resistance to germs, according to a trio of researchers from the University of Alabama.
UA wraps up plans on new performing arts center
Crimson White – Nov. 10
The new UA Performing Arts Academic Center is now in the final stages of planning after The University of Alabama Systems Board of Trustees approved its architectural designs on Nov. 3. The state-of-the-art center will be constructed on the Bryce Hospital property that The University of Alabama acquired for nearly $77 million in 2010. The 130,088-square-foot-center will house three performance theaters and will connect to the main building of Bryce Hospital, which is currently being restored by the university. Once fully renovated, the Bryce Hospital main building will include faculty offices and rehearsal spaces for theatre and dance.
UGA professor guest lectures on education following the election
Crimson White – Nov. 11
Poet and author Melisa Cahnmann-Taylor from the University of Georgia came to speak to students and faculty within the College of Education in the “brown bag” discussion held Thursday in Graves Hall. Her lecture was titled “Writing the ‘Not Me:’ Drama and Poetry in Qualitative Inquiry,” and it discussed new ways of considering what research is and what it might inspire.