Robert Witt inducted into the National Collegiate Wheelchair Basketball Intercollegiate Division Hall of Fame
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 26
University of Alabama System Chancellor Robert Witt watched from mid-court as the women’s wheelchair basketball teams for UA and the University of Texas-Arlington zipped up and down the court at Foster Auditorium on Friday night. After a close first half, the Movin’ Mavs beat the Crimson Tide 54-42. As the court prepared for the men’s game that followed, the 2014-2015 women’s team was recognized for its fourth national championship in seven years with a ring presentation ceremony … At half time, with the women’s teams tied 26-26, Witt was inducted into the National Collegiate Wheelchair Basketball Intercollegiate Division Hall of Fame for his contributions at Texas-Arlington and UA. Witt receive a standing ovation from the stands as Margaret Stran, the assistant director of UA Adapted Athletics, presented him with a plaque.
Alabama announces gift for the construction of adaptive athletics facility
Crimson White – Feb. 26
Earlier this month, The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees approved a $10-million-dollar plan to build a two-story facility that will house the Adaptive Athletics programs at UA. The facility will include basketball courts, locker rooms, workout facilities, team meeting rooms and study halls. The facility will be on the south side of the UA Rec Center, east of the main entrance, and tentative plans are to start construction in November 2016, with the hope to complete the project 17 months later. There is one requirement that has to be met before the plans are officially set into action, 50% of the budget must be raised by gifts. At a press conference on Thursday afternoon, adaptive athletics took a huge step towards that goal, with the gift of $3 million dollars given by Mike and Kathy Mouron of Mountain Brook, Alabama.
Alabama will be hub of scientific study of Southern tornadoes
Tuscaloosa News – March 1
About 40 scientists from around the nation are expected to participate in “VORTEX Southeast,” an upcoming study of the unique characteristics of tornadoes that develop in the South, weather researchers say. Like earlier studies in the Midwest, the research based in Huntsville, Alabama, will include mobile radars, drones and other equipment that can measure tornado intensity. It is set to run through March and April … On the wide open plains in the Midwest, “people can just look out their window and see it coming from miles away and still have time to take action,” said one of the researchers, Laura Myers, executive director of the Center for Advanced Public Safety at the University of Alabama.
OA Now – March 1
Thomasville Times-Enterprise (Ga.) – March 1
Chattanooga Times-Free Press – Feb. 29
Savannah Morning News – Feb. 29
Pittsburgh Tribune – Feb. 29
People reacting to negative political ads on social media rather than watching them on TV
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Feb. 29
Negative campaign ads are all over television and social media. Politicians buy a lot of air time during elections after digging up dirt on their opponents and putting it out there for the world to see. A new study finds more people are reacting to them online. They turn a lot of voters like Karen Martin off. “Being that you are going to lead this county, I really don’t need to see you tearing down someone else to get it,” Karen Martin said. A new University of Alabama (UA) Advertising and Public Relations study finds more people are getting involved with those campaigns on social media because of the negative ads.
NBC 12 (Montgomery) – Feb. 29
UA’s Lift program offers free computer, financial classes
NBC 12 (Montgomery) – Feb. 29
The University of Alabama’s Lift program has only been around since 2014, but it’s already credited with uplifting many in the Tuscaloosa community who wanted to improve their computer skills and get a job. The program is open to anyone in the Tuscaloosa area. In 2016, high school students, veterans and even some people with jobs are participating. More than 300 University of Alabama accounting students are teaching these people everything from basic computer skills to mastering Microsoft word and excel.
BabyPalooza provides resources for parents
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 29
New and expectant parents can learn everything they need to know about their little one at the BabyPalooza Baby & Maternity Expo on Saturday. BabyPalooza is a free one-day event that gives parents the opportunity to interact with pre- and post-natal health providers, attend parenting workshops, test the latest baby gear and gadgets, and visit with maternity and baby themed exhibitors … The DCH Health System will have its labor and delivery, lactation services and women’s health departments available to provide pre- and post-natal healthcare information, and the University of Alabama Child Life Services will also provide information about its services.
Shifts alter South
Denton Record-Chronicle (Texas) – Feb. 29
Eight years ago, Democrats were such a dominant force in Arkansas that Republicans didn’t bother putting up a candidate to challenge for a U.S. Senate seat. Today, the state that launched the careers of generations of centrist Democrats, including Bill Clinton, has joined the rest of the South in largely turning its back on the party … Richard Fording, chairman of the political science department at the University of Alabama, there are similarities in the angst Nixon saw brewing in the Southern electorate a half-century ago and what Trump is tapping into now. “There is this silent majority phenomenon,” Fording said. “A lot of it has to do with race: the first black president, immigration, other threats to social and cultural values. There’s a lot of anger and it’s very satisfying for people to listen to Donald Trump.”
Johnson City Press (Tenn.) – Feb. 29
Blue Ridge Now (Hendersonville, N.C.) – Feb. 29
UA political science professor comments on Super Tuesday
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Feb. 29
UA Political Scientist Dr. George Hawley says with an endorsement from Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, Trump should have no problem taking Alabama.
Annual sorority Easter egg hunt on Sunday
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 29
The Alabama Panhellenic Association’s annual Easter egg hunt will be at 2 p.m. Sunday on the front lawn of the President’s Mansion at the University of Alabama. The free event for children 12 and younger featuring an egg hunt, face painting and appearance by the Easter Bunny will last until 4 p.m. or until the last egg is found. The event will include refreshments by Bama Dining and candy-filled eggs provided by sorority women organized through the APA Junior Panhellenic Delegate program.
DSC Academic Excellence Symposium to focus on student engagement
Capital Soup (Fla.) – Feb. 29
Two leading experts on promoting student engagement and success inside and outside the halls of higher education will speak at Daytona State College’s eighth annual Academic Excellence Symposium slated for Friday, March 4, from 8:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. in the Hosseini Center on the college’s Daytona Beach Campus, 1200 W. International Speedway Blvd … Stephen Black, director of the Center for Ethics & Social Responsibility at the University of Alabama, will speak about how institutions can help students develop a greater sense of civic responsibility and promote social change. Black founded Impact Alabama, an award-winning nonprofit where college students and graduates take part in structured service projects that promote learning and leadership development.
Meet an Expert: Sheena Gregg, MS, RDN, LD
Best Food Facts – Feb. 29
Sheena Gregg, MS, RDN, LD, is Assistant Director of the Department of Health Promotion and Wellness at the University of Alabama. We wanted to get to know Sheena a bit better, so we asked her a few questions!
Dr. David Albright discusses recent work examining the history and context of the U.S. military’s treatment of GLB service members and veteran
In Social Work – Jan. 18
David Albright, professor of social work at the University of Alabama describes his review of the social work profession’s literature related to this population over the past twenty-plus years, implications for social work education and practice, and the training needed by social workers to competently serve this population.