Capital Campaign raises funds for scholarships
Crimson White – July 16
The “Our Students. Our Future.” capital campaign raised $612 million, which will be used to improve campus facilities and for scholarships. Out of that $612 million, $257 million will be used for scholarships for future UA students. “The purpose of these funds is to help recruit the best and brightest,” said Pam Parker, vice president of advancement and director of the capital campaign…Pat Whetstone, director of alumni affairs, said he thinks the alumni greatly contributed to the success of the campaign. “For an institution to be great, it has to have the support of its alumni,” Whetstone said. “I think our alumni have really embraced the vision President [Robert] Witt has [for UA] academic facilities and campus facilities.” The UA faculty and staff contributed over $11.6 million, and UA students contributed nearly $290,000…
Alabama doctor nominated to be surgeon general: UA medical student served with her before announcement
Crimson White – July 16
When UA medical student LaTasha Seliby chose to do her required eight-week preceptorship with Dr. Regina Benjamin, she had no inkling President Barack Obama was considering Benjamin to be surgeon general. However, Seliby, who returned from Benjamin’s Bayou La Batre clinic less than three weeks before President Obama’s announcement, said she was excited by his choice. “She definitely has the skill set to be surgeon general,” Selby said…
UA professors receive over $1.45 million in grants
Crimson White – July 16
The National Science Foundation awarded two UA professors over $1.45 million in grants in June to further their research in the fields of chemistry and biological sciences. According to a news release, Dr. Laura Busenlehner and Dr. Kim Caldwell both received the NSF’s CAREER award, which will be put towards their research. Their awards are funded through stimulus funds allocated to the National Science Foundation…
Our View – UA needs leaders like Blackburn
Crimson White – July 16
Great leaders are hard to find, and the University of Alabama has lost one in John L. Blackburn. Blackburn, more than anyone else, worked for the peaceful integration of the University as its dean of men in 1963, sparing the campus from the bloodshed and violence seen elsewhere. He then worked some five decades as first an administrator then as a mentor and treasured counselor after he retired. In 1995, he lent his name to the Blackburn Institute; a campus group formed to advance a progressive agenda for Alabama and tutor the future leaders of tomorrow…This University needs more people like John Blackburn. We need more people who are committed to a singular goal: doing good. Though he never formally lectured students in a classroom, he taught students through his actions and examples…
Wireless Internet available on Strip
Crimson White – July 16
…David Hale, director of management information systems programs, said the Strip is also now home to a Wi-Fi network, called Tide-Fi, in an effort to change the image of the Strip. “If people want to go in on an afternoon to grab lunch or go into Crimson Café, they’ll be able to do that plus they’ll be able to study,” Hale said. “We’re adding another dimension to the Strip.”…The idea came from a group of students who had trouble finding places to do group projects. UA business professor Dung Chau’s management information systems class proposed the idea. Hale said the class took the idea, determined all the benefits and all the risks, determined costs and came up with a preliminary plan. They then presented the idea to UA President Robert Witt…The UA MIS program has partnered with Strip merchants, the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama and others to provide this free service. Tide-Fi is still in testing stage and will be for the next two years, when a permanent network decision will be made…
UA professor receives recognition for art
Crimson White – July 16
…Alvin Sella…professor emeritus in painting, has been honored with a Governor’s Arts Award in May from the Alabama State Council on the Arts as well as an article in Alabama Arts magazine. The article said Sella, 89, has taught more than 3,500 students and calls him “a legend in the world of Alabama art.”…
UA student volunteers in Arkansas
Crimson White – July 16
UA student Matthew Wilson, a sophomore majoring in elementary education, is dedicating two months out of his summer to help create better a community. Wilson, along with five other interning students from around the country, is working with the Student.Go Together For Hope Mission Organization in Helena, Ark., from June 1 to Aug. 1…According to their Web site, Student.Go is a global initiative mission project working together with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship to provide opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to travel to the 20 poorest counties in the nation…
The Black Belt through the eyes of 100 Lenses
Demopolis Times – July 15
…The sponsoring program, called “Black Belt 100 Lenses,” began two years ago as a partnership between the Center for Community-Based Partnerships at the University of Alabama and the Black Belt Community Foundation…