Summer Bridge program holds celebration
WVUA 23 (Tuscaloosa) – Aug. 1
Eleven students were recognized today as they completed The University of Alabama’s CrossingPoints Summer Bridge Program. It’s a unique summer long college transition program for students will intellectual disabilities. The lesson ranged from guidance on how to complete financial aid paperwork to simulated independent living. Over the next few years CrossingPoints is increasing its enrollment from 20 students to as many as 30, with a bigger focus for developing skills for independent living.
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – Aug. 1
Tuscaloosa News (gallery) – Aug. 1
University of Alabama students’ early move-in begins Thursday
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 1
Move-in for students arriving for early activities at the University of Alabama such as sorority recruitment and the marching band will be Thursday and Friday. Beginning at 8 a.m., early arrival students are scheduled to move into campus dorms. Early arrivals include students participating in sorority recruitment, the Million Dollar Band, Camp 1831, Alabama Action, Outdoor Action, and Black Belt Action. Although traffic will continue gradually building in and around campus for early move-in, commuters are not expected to experience delays, according to a UA spokesman. Traffic flow is expected to be normal.
Everglades Restoration Effects, Greenhouse Gases Under Study
Fondriest.com – Aug. 1
The Everglades is a special ecosystem, comprising the largest subtropical wetland system in North America. But beyond its size, it is also home to an astounding array of plant and animal life, including the American Alligator, American Crocodile and 73 threatened or endangered species, according to the Everglades Foundation. What does the future hold for the crucial region as an ambitious Everglades restoration plan gets underway? It’s hard to say, but investigators at the University of Alabama are at work trying to learn more about the Everglades and its changes over time.
The doctor who beat big tobacco
The Guardian (U.K.) – Aug. 2
On Good Friday this year, Dr Bronwyn King and her husband were staying with her parents in the quiet coastal town of Torquay in Victoria, Australia. They started watching a movie – although King, as she often is, was only half-there, busily pecking at her laptop. “AXA – news …” said the subject line of the email from a French insurance executive. “In confidentiality,” it read: “we have decided to divest tobacco … If you can, let’s discuss further. Thanks for your help.” . . . Divestment was trialled in the US in the 1980s, partly inspired by the boycott of companies invested in apartheid South Africa. Activists first cajoled the American Medical Association into urging medical schools to withdraw from tobacco funds. In the 1990s several universities and state pension funds followed suit. But efforts petered out after 1998’s Master Settlement Agreement (in which 46 states settled healthcare lawsuits with the four biggest US tobacco companies), which perversely aligned the interests of big tobacco and state legislatures dependent on them for future funds. And opinion remains divided on the efficacy of divestment. “As long as another investor buys what a university, pension fund, or a health insurer sells,”, says leading anti-tobacco authority Professor Alan Blum, of the University of Alabama, “there’s no net loss of investor confidence in the stock or capital in the company’s coffers.”
Which law schools have the highest percentage of graduates with federal clerkships?
ABA Journal – Aug. 1
Some of the country’s most affordable law schools also have a fair amount of graduates with federal clerkships, according to a recent list compiled by Business Insider. Besides using its annual list of top 50 law schools, the publication relied on ABA data to compile its clerkship list. Among the law schools with at least 8 percent of graduates receiving federal clerkships were the University of Alabama and the University of Kentucky. Law school tuition at Alabama, which was ranked 12th for clerkships, is $37,664, the least expensive out of the top 15 schools on the list.
UA athletes will compete in Olympics
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Aug. 1
We talked to the UA swimming and diving coach as well as a member of the track team about the upcoming Olympics. That track and field athlete (Jereem Richards) will be running for his home country. However, he is less concerned about the threat of mosquitos and the Zika virus than he is about not performing at his peak level. The University of Alabama has nine current and former student athletes participating in the Olympics.
Anniston Star – Aug. 2
UA sales instructor to offer tips on ‘leasing and managing Millennials’ at Aug. 26 real estate management summit
AL.com – Aug. 2
Millennials are on the minds of all real estate professionals these days. The young generation is larger than the Baby Boomers before, and many are entering the workforce on a daily basis. Learning to sell and lease to and manage Millennials has become more important than ever. Lexi Lowe, director of collaborative learning at the University of Alabama’s Sales Program, will talk about “Leasing and Managing Millennials” at the first Alabama Real Estate Management Summit on Aug. 26.
In dueling campaign swings, Clinton, Trump make very different plays for Pa. voters: Analysis
Penn Live – Aug. 2
Dalton Asper, 19, of Mechanicsburg, began the primary season as a supporter of Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida. Asper, a rising sophomore at the University of Alabama, said he started the GOP nominating season as a supporter of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, but “Trump was my second choice.” “I just don’t like mainstream Washington and an outsider would be nice,” Asper said.