First listening sessions for University of Alabama strategic plan slated
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 10
The first of a series of listening sessions that will inform the ongoing strategic planning process at the University of Alabama is scheduled for today. The listening sessions will be used to hear concerns from the campus community as the strategic planning council assesses the state of the university and identifies priorities and corresponding strategies for the next five years. The sessions announced so far are intended for faculty and staff specifically with other general listening sessions to come later, according to a university spokesperson.
What’s the Right Age for Kids to Learn to Code?
How Stuff Works – Feb. 10
Imagine if you never learned addition in elementary school — and when you went to middle school, it wasn’t part of the curriculum. Then came high school, where no one breathed a word about it. By the time you were a college freshman, however, you could at long last enroll in an addition course and tackle the topic as an adult. This scenario may seem a little ridiculous, but it’s a familiar timeline when it comes to computer science says Jeff Gray, a professor of computer science at the University of Alabama. It’s not uncommon for a student’s first formal education in coding to come in college, says Gray, also a member of the 10-person Education Advisory Panel for Code.org, an advocacy group for computer science education.
Students take advantage of business career fair
Crimson White – Feb. 11
On Wednesday afternoon, the College of Commerce & Business Administration hosted Connect 2016. The event was a Sales and Marketing Career Fair that is hosted biannually by the UA Sales Program. Students in business casual dress flocked to the ballroom of the Ferguson Student Center for a chance to network with over 45 companies. Jordan Tucker, a graduate student and Digital Outreach Manager for the University’s Sales Program, spoke briefly on the purpose and helpfulness of the career fair for students. “It’s a great opportunity for students to meet companies from all across the country,” Tucker said. “They’ve got jobs in marketing, sales and management so a lot of different types of industries are represented so it’s a really great opportunity for them to network.”
Treatment provides new options for inmates
Crimson White – Feb. 8
The steady decline in mental health services across the United States and the mass closing of mental health institutions that provide vital psychological car, for mentally ill patients has led to the criminalization of those with mental disorders. Now, there are approximately three times more people with serious mental illnesses incarcerated in the United States than in hospitals, and the types of behavioral and mental health problems among inmates are becoming more severe, according to a 2014 report by PBS titled “By the Numbers: Mental illness behind bars.” … Dr. Marisa Giggie, assistant professor of public psychiatry and behavioral medicine in the College of Community Health Sciences, has worked with inmates in the jail since 2012. Giggie said in a typical week she sees around 20 inmates, and she has seen hundreds so far.
Exhibit features audio-visual display of Alabama roads
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 10
A exhibit described as music videos of Alabama roads will be on display at 7:30 p.m. today at the Fuel & Lumber Co., 2003 Eighth St. in Tuscaloosa. “Music For Cars At Night On Country Roads,” an immersive audio-visual display incorporated into a 2008 Chrysler Town & Country van, was created by Jane Cassidy, a University of Alabama assistant professor of art.
Off-Broadway actress portrays social activist at Ferguson Student Theater
Crimson White – Feb. 8
The Tuscaloosa County Democrats hosted “Go Granny D” on Thursday, Feb. 5 at 7:30 p.m. in the Ferguson Student Theater. Off-Broadway actress Barbara Smith Bates portrayed Doris Haddock, “Granny D”, a social activist passionate about the need for Campaign Finance Reform who, at age 90, completed a 3,200 mile walk across the U.S. from Pasadena, California to Washington, D.C., in an effort to draw attention to her cause. The show began with Nick Rose, chairman of the Tuscaloosa County Democrats, giving special thanks to members of the audience who helped make the show happen. “This is an event that has excited me so much, and part of it is I knew the story of Granny D, or so I thought I did,” Rose said. “I just knew a sliver of the things that she accomplished starting at age 90 in her life.”
Welch, Hudson visit Polk Commission to provide early 2016 Chamber updates
Northwest Georgia News – Feb. 10
Polk County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tamaka Hudson joined 2016 chair April Welch at the podium during the county commission’s work session on Feb. 1 to provide updates on the latest happenings with the chamber. Welch, who is head of the Georgia Northwestern Technical College Polk County campus in Rockmart also received good news from the University of Alabama, being named the recipient of the James A. Hood Endowed Scholarship.