Orlando brothers roll with Tide as part of coed cheerleading team
Orlando Sentinel – Sept. 17
The three young men, as sturdy as a cast-iron skillet, were on the field when the most dominant college football team this decade began its season. It was two weeks ago at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and reigning national champion Alabama was taking on Southern Cal. Jed, Zachary and Elijah Vaughn beamed proudly from their unique vantage point on the field. The Vaughns played high-school football in Orlando, but their names don’t appear on any of Nick Saban‘s depth charts. They mostly remain on the sideline while being very much a part of the game experience without catching a pass or making a tackle. “[My brothers] are there to experience everything I do, and I get to experience everything that they get to do,” said Jed, who also goes by Trey. “I get to watch them grow into men I hope my brothers want to be when they get older. I get to see how they react in certain situations, and I get to help them through things.
UA leads effort to increase minority participation in ‘STEM’ fields with $5 million grant
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – Sept. 19
The need for employees in science, engineering and math fields is rising nationwide. The University of Alabama is joining with other education leaders in the state to increase the number of under-represented minority groups in those fields. The University of Alabama received a $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation. The goal is to make sure all minority groups are well represented in the science, technology, engineering and math, or ‘STEM’, fields. “It’s really a systemic attempt to change how we’re educating students in the STEM fields,” Dr. Kevin Whitaker, UA Interim Provost, said. Schools, two year colleges and universities from across the state are partnering with the University of Alabama to implement the Alabama Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation program. “This program is seeking to have folks that perhaps never thought about seeking STEM fields, to get involved in STEM fields, then what this does, it wraps our arms, so to speak, around them to make sure they enter, they are successful in the program and they go out and make an impact on the state,” Whitaker said.
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Sept. 19
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Sept. 19
Take a look inside the University of Alabama’s brand new Million Dollar Band facility
AL.com – Sept. 20
The University of Alabama recently opened the brand new state-of-the-art Million Dollar Band facility, housed in the Frank Moody Music Building on campus. The Frank M. Moody Music Building Addition, which cost about $8 million, began construction in September 2015 while the band moved in around early August 2016. The new addition added approximately 24,000 square feet to existing Moody Music Building. It contains a new Band Hall, which is 7,068-square-feet and will seat approximately 280 musicians. It also has a practice room, which is 2,120-square-feet and seats approximately 76 musicians. Special attention was given to acoustics and acoustical treatments to enhance sound quality, protect the musicians’ hearing, and to ensure adjacent spaces were not impacted by the sound, according to the University of Alabama.
UA celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with variety of events
Crimson White – Sept. 20
It is Hispanic Heritage Month, and organizations at The University of Alabama are hosting a variety of events from now until mid-October. Events held during the month are centered on promoting and celebrating Hispanic and Latino contributions to world culture, featuring art work, dancing, storytelling, film-making and history from those cultures, as well as helping to lift up Hispanic and Latino students with resume building, diversity-focused career fairs, and a student-centered art exhibit. UA Crossroads, the diversity office on campus started in 2005, is orchestrating the calendar of events, but department offices, UA faculty and student organizations are largely responsible for their planning and hosting. Sponsoring the variety of activities are the Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies program, the Capstone College of Nursing, Crimson Tide Ballroom Dancers, Creative Campus, and many more. These organizations often work together to provide an inclusive string of activities that run throughout the month.
DCS planning computer science curriculum for elementary students
Decatur Daily – Sept. 20
Three schools in the Decatur City system are preparing to pilot a curriculum that will teach students as early as kindergarten how to write computer programs. “This is where our kids are, so we have to get there with them,” Benjamin Davis Magnet School Principal Aundrea Hanson said. Jeff Gray, a University of Alabama professor who said K-12 schools do students a disservice by denying them access to more computer science, is in Decatur this week training teachers from Julian Harris, Ben Davis and Leon Sheffield elementary schools how to write programs. Gray, who serves on the educational advisory board for Code.org, said the goal is to build a pipeline so that computer science is available from the first day students enroll in school. “We don’t need to wait until they get to middle or high school,” he said. Code.org, a nonprofit organization based in Seattle whose founding donors include Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, is dedicated to expanding computer science education in secondary and primary schools, and provides training for teachers nationwide.
New paver for 2015 National Champions placed on Walk of Champions
WVUA 23 (Tuscaloosa) – Sept. 19
If you’re going to be on campus this weekend for the big game, you’ll notice this new addition on the Walk of Champions. It’s the new plaque for the 2015 National Championship and it was installed this afternoon. This will feature the year, Coach Saban’s name and the team captains.
The Amateur Genealogist: Maps
MyKawartha.com (Ontario) – Sept. 20
A list of online historic maps is available HERE. Another list is this commercial site. A third good site is – amazingly – at the University of Alabama. That page will lead you to post-1885 pages. I wonder why they collected all these Ontario maps?