UA In the News — July 2-5

Stillman to offer OLLI courses
Tuscaloosa News – July 1
Stillman College is partnering with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Alabama to bring courses to the private college’s West Tuscaloosa campus this fall. “We have chapters and locations in different locations in the state. This is basically another location (where) we are able to have classes, which we are very thankful for, and we believe it is going to be a hit,” said OLLI at UA director Jennifer Anderson.

UA senior advances in “American Ninja Warrior” competition
Tuscaloosa News – July 4
University of Alabama senior Casey Suchocki paused to wink at the camera as he became the first competitor to complete the obstacle course at the Atlanta qualifier for the NBC show “American Ninja Warrior.” “Just the fact of being there was amazing. Being able to hit the buzzer was definitely always a dream of mine,” he said.

Phony Tragedies Go Viral: A Modern Twist On A Mental Disorder
Orlando Sentinel – July 1
The Dirrs of Saskatchewan had all the makings of a young power couple. John “J.S.” Dirr worked as an officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, while his wife, Dana, was a trauma surgeon at a hospital. The two ran a busy household brimming with adorable, smiling children — 10 in all, including 5-year-old Cliff Elias, nicknamed “Warrior Eli” for his ongoing fight against cancer … “Actually, Munchausen by Internet has now become more common than real-life Munchausen syndrome because it’s so easy to do. It used to be that real-life Munchausen patients would have to go to medical libraries, research the illnesses they would feign and go to doctors’ offices to reenact the symptoms,” said Marc Feldman, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Alabama who coined the term “Munchausen by Internet” in 2000. “Now they don’t need to do any of that — instead, they can go online and deceive hundreds or thousands of people.”

Calhoun County would benefit from reducing reliance on federal spending, experts say
Anniston Star – July 1
A recent study shows defense spending supports nearly a quarter of Calhoun County’s workforce, but relying so much on one industry is risky, some economists warn … Ahmad Ijaz, economist for the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama, said relying on one sector is not good for an economy. “Federal government spending in particular has some drawbacks because it also affects a lot of the private sector,” Ijaz said. “Some of these government contracts go to the private sector.”
Bloomberg – July 1

Calhoun County Foreclosures on Decline
National Mortgage News – July 1
Calhoun County, Ala., had the fewest foreclosures over the last three months than in any second quarter since before the 2007 Great Recession. The drop in foreclosures comes as home sales and prices have risen in the county. Some economists, bankers and real estate experts say foreclosures aren’t the problem they were at the height of the recession and that the housing market is operating at a normal pace. According to the Calhoun County Probate Office, the county hasn’t had fewer foreclosures in a second quarter since 2006, a year before the recession hit. Foreclosures in the last three months were also lower than they were in the first quarter of the year.
 
Technology column: Tech robot digs deep at NASA competition
Montana Standard – July 2
In early May, Montana Tech participated in NASA’s 7th annual Robotics Mining Competition. Tech’s robot made headwinds with its ability to dig deep; in fact, so deep that it scraped the bottom of the arena. It was unheard of among the competition. Last month, I got the chance to talk with Bryce Hill, assistant professor of electrical engineering at Montana Tech and the lead adviser for the robotics team … Ultimately, the competition went to the University of Alabama for its overall performance across the five categories: outreach, systems engineering paper, presentation, social media public engagement, and mining.

Cleary named to dean’s list
Bowling Green Daily News (Kentucky) – July 3
Morgan Cleary of Bowling Green was named to the dean’s list at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa for spring of 2016. Morgan, who just completed her junior year, is an aerospace engineer major with a mechanical engineer minor.

COLLEGE NEWS: July 3
Tuscaloosa News – July 2
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA: Some 34 incoming freshmen have been selected for University Fellows Experience, housed in the Honors College. The new freshmen represent 17 states and were selected from a group of more than 660 students. The University Fellows Experience included talented undergraduates and strive to prepare them for leadership and service to others.

Business Buzz: July 3
Tuscaloosa News – July 2
William “Bill” V. Lewis has been named the community market president for Trustmark Corp.’s new market in Tuscaloosa. He previously was Trustmark’s community market president in Greenville … Bennett Bearden, an attorney and director of The University of Alabama Water Policy and Law Institute, was a featured speaker for the Breakout Session and continuing legal education seminar on water policy and law at the 2016 Alabama State Bar Annual Meeting and Legal Expo at Sandestin, Florida, on June 23. He spoke on “Alabama Water Policy and Law: Emerging Implications for Real Estate Practice” and provided an update on the development of the state’s water management plan.

Dig deeper into Old Cahawba history
Selma Times-Journal – July 5
Old Cahawba Archaeological Park is giving visitors a chance to dig deeper into the history of Alabama’s first state capitol. The park will hold archaeological days on July 21-23 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. each day.  . . . On Friday, July 22 Dr. Virgil Beasley, a cultural resources investigator from the University of Alabama’s Department of Anthropology, will discuss the remote sensing program being conducted at Old Cahawba and how ground penetrating radar is used in archaeology to conduct non-intrusive investigations.

Oldest living Alabama alum celebrates her 107 birthday
WTVM (Columbus, Ga.) – July 2
Leita Denson of Madion, Alabama turns 107, and is unofficially listed as the oldest living graduate of The University of Alabama.