New science building to open at UA in the fall
FOX6 (Birmingham) – July 20
A new multi-million dollar engineering building opens this fall at the University of Alabama…the science and engineering complex houses chemistry and engineering labs, as well as computer science rooms.
UA offers program for adults who didn’t finish their degree
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – July 20
…UA’s “Back to Bama” program was started so adults can finish their degrees they never completed years ago. The program offers flexible online and distance courses that you plan around your schedule.
Obama’s Plan for Community Colleges
U.S. News and World Report – July 20
Experts say the $2.5 billion Obama hopes to spend revitalizing community colleges’ infrastructure is vital for those schools’ success in the future. Between the academic years that ended in 2002 and 2006, 2.3 million new students enrolled in community college courses, the largest number of new students since the 1960s. During the same period, two thirds of all state community colleges reported deferred maintenance needs, according to a 2007 survey by the University of Alabama’s Education Policy Center. Obama’s proposal constitutes the first major, federally funded community college construction project since the 1960s, when the government doled out $1 billion each year between 1965 and 1970, says Stephen Katsinas, the policy center’s director. “It’s probably not enough; it’s probably nowhere near enough,” he says of the $2.5 billion infrastructure proposal. “But this is the first administration since Lyndon Johnson to see the need.”…
America’s Retirees Working to Protect Health Care Benefits They Earned
KATC.com (Lafayette, La.) – July 21
…University Of Alabama School Of Law Professor Dr. Norman Stein, an expert on the nation’s Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) pension law testified in favor of the proposal at a congressional hearing in the fall, saying Congress should pass legislation “that would make it difficult or perhaps impossible for an employer to terminate retiree health benefits after an employee has retired.” The long time advisor to AARP and the Pension Rights Center argued, “Congress could try to level the playing field for employees with clear, reasonable and consistent rules.”…
26 Mobile-area students earn top scholarship honors
Mobile Press-Register – July 21
Fifteen southwest Alabama students have won college scholarships from the National Merit Scholarship Corp., and 11 have won the prestigious Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarships from the federal government. The following students won college-sponsored scholarships from National Merit, valued at between $500 and $2,000 annually: Kara L. Demetropoulos of Murphy High in Mobile, who will study journalism at the University of Alabama…Lauren E. Huffman of the Alabama School of Mathematics and Science in Mobile, who will study pharmacy at the University of Alabama…William C. Kiszla of UMS-Wright Preparatory School in Mobile, who will study journalism at the University of Alabama…