COLLEGE NEWS: May 22
Tuscaloosa News – May 21
University of Alabama – Seven alumni and graduate students won Fulbright awards for 2016-17. Graduate students receiving Fulbright research awards are Rebecca Beamer of Tuscaloosa, who will gather personal narratives of women in Lusaka, Zambia, in the discussion of pregnancy and health, and Pandora White of Fayette, Mississippi, who will investigate the mechanisms of action of trivalent chromium and bitter melon in enhancing insulin signaling in rats in Poznan, Poland.
Learning English can bring academic success
Tuscaloosa News – May 22
For some students, walking into a classroom for the first time is also the first time they are brought into American culture. Six years ago, Danica Gutierrez left Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, with her family to come to the United States. She neither spoke nor read English at the time. After a couple of months, she began to slowly grasp the language, but her arrival in Tuscaloosa marked a turning point for her … Rafael Alvarez, a professor at the University of Alabama, has provided translation assistance to the school since 2008, doing everything from taking phone calls from parents to translating certain assignments for the students to take back home. “When I first came here to the U.S. 22 years ago, it was really hard for me to adjust to a new language and culture,” Alvarez said. “I guess it’s just a way to give back to the community.”
Ferry native named department chairwoman at University of Alabama
Times Leader (Martin’s Ferry, Ohio) – May 22
Martins Ferry native Cory L. Armstrong has been named the new chairwoman of the Department of Journalism and Creative Media at the University of Alabama effective July 15, said Mark Nelson, dean of the College of Communication of Information Sciences. Armstrong is the daughter of Suzanne Armstrong and the late Russell Armstrong. She has extensive administrative experience and a solid pedigree in mass communication scholarship, Nelson said. She will lead the new department that was created earlier this year with the merger of the departments of Journalism and Telecommunication and Film in the College of Communication of Information Sciences.
Successful first year partnership for Murphy University Center and UA Early College
CBS 5 (Mobile) – May 21
How can students take classes from The University of Alabama without leaving Murphy High School in Mobile? Just ask the high schoolers who earned almost 400 hours of college credit and earned a grade-point-average of 3.43 out of 4. Students had their final Skype lecture today from professors at The University of Alabama Early College. The University says Early College helps guide students in transition to college study.
WALA-Fox 10 (Mobile) – May 20
County’s jobless rate falls to 5.1%
Tuscaloosa News – May 20
Employment numbers released Friday show a slightly improving economy, according to an University of Alabama economist who closely follows the state’s labor market. Ahmad Ijaz, executive director of Alabama’s Center for Business and Economic Research, noted the state added almost 16,500 jobs in April, with the state unemployment rate dropping from 6.2 percent in March to 6.1 percent. “The good news is that the unemployment rate did not increase despite a significant increase in civilian labor force, indicating that the job growth is strong enough to absorb most of the workers looking for jobs,” he said.
Calhoun County catches up to state in unemployment
Anniston Star – May 18
Unemployment in Alabama was the same in April as it was one year earlier, but Calhoun County’s unemployment has dropped to the same rate as the state as a whole, according to numbers released Friday. Calhoun County’s unemployment rate decreased from 6.3 percent in April 2015 to 6.1 percent in April 2016, according to a release from Gov. Robert Bentley’s office. Alabama, at 6.1 percent, still remains above the 5.0 percent national average unemployment … The statewide number was down from March, but Ahmad Ijaz, an economic forecaster at the University of Alabama’s Center for Business and Economic Research, said that it’s not a good idea to look at month-to-month numbers because there are too many factors affecting the results and instead people should compare data year-to-year.
Area unemployment drops, but fewer manufacturing jobs
Decatur Daily – May 21
Unemployment rates for April edged down in Morgan, Limestone and Lawrence counties, but the Decatur-area’s increase in service jobs was countered by a decrease in industrial jobs, according to data released Friday by the state Department of Labor. The Decatur metro area, which includes Morgan and Lawrence counties, lost 200 manufacturing jobs in the year ending in April. During the same period, it gained 400 service jobs. Ahmad Ijaz, director of economic forecasting at the University of Alabama’s Culverhouse School of Commerce, said the loss of manufacturing jobs is not unique to the Decatur area. He attributes it primarily to two causes.
Trump in pocket of gun lobby: Hillary Clinton
Young Herald – May 21
Clinton has never taken that position, although she does support additional gun control measures, and her campaign immediately denounced Trump, telling reporters that he is “peddling falsehoods”. It would still, though, nearly certainly leave him short of the delegates needed to catch up to her. University of Alabama political science professor Bill Stewart said that even if the Alabama GOP were inclined to organize an independent anti-Trump candidate, the party isn’t united enough to pull it off. “This sentiment will grow even stronger if his current lead in national polls persists”.
How Alabama matters in the transgender bathroom debate
Al.com – May 22
When it comes to the national transgender restroom debate, Alabama is taking a back seat to Mississippi and North Carolina, at least for now. With the Legislature out of session, the issue isn’t likely to percolate in the Statehouse halls anytime soon. But it could come up for discussion next month in Montgomery at the state Board of Education meeting … William Stewart, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Alabama, said that the state’s political leadership likely prefers to stay out of new frays, for now. Bentley is battling the fallout of a scandal involving salacious recordings with his former political adviser, Rebekah Mason, while House Speaker Mike Hubbard is about to go on trial on allegations of corruption. Said Stewart: “I think this issue is one on which Alabama will let other states, with whom we are in philosophical agreement with, take the lead.”
Why narcissistic behaviour is a plus for politicians — including Justin Trudeau
24news.ca – May 20
Doesn’t anyone read Miss Manners anymore? Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has apologized “unreservedly” for losing his comportment this week in the House of Commons when he marched into a gaggle of MPs, took Opposition whip Gord Brown by the arm to speed up a vote related to the government’s proposed assisted-death bill and unceremoniously escorted him back to his seat, accidentally elbowing NDP MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau in the chest … Peter Harms, a Canadian professor of management at the University of Alabama who studies narcissism and leadership, agrees that, “nothing in (this week’s) situation seemed very Canadian to me, even if it was minor by the standards of other countries.”
High School Senior runs for spot on Trussville City Council
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – May 20
Anthony Irwin is running for Trussville City Council. He believes his youth will bring fresh ideas to city hall. Irwin wants the city to buy body cameras for police officers. He’s a senior at Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School and Irwin plans to major in political science at The University of Alabama starting in the Fall.