UA In the News — June 20

UA professors comment on recent terror attacks
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – June 19
It seems that terrorists’ attacks are in the news more and more often, whether it’s overseas or in our native country. Last night, a man deliberately drove into a group of Muslims leaving a mosque in London, leaving 11 injured and one dead. In the wake of the terrorists’ attacks last night in London, we came here to the Islamic Society of Tuscaloosa to speaks with Muslim leaders in the community about their thoughts on the situation, and they made it clear that terrorism does not discriminate. We spoke with Muhammad Sharif and Anwar Hoque, who are both Aerospace Engineering professors at The University of Alabama, as well as mosque leaders and members of the Islamic community of Tuscaloosa.
 
UA announces how much of an impact football has on the state
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – June 19
Nick Saban is 63-7 at Bryant-Denny Stadium since taking the reins a decade ago, but playing in Tuscaloosa extends way beyond the win-loss column. It means big bucks for the rest of the state. The University announced today that its home football games in the 2015-16 season had a $175 million economic impact statewide. That’s about $25 million per game. The Tide have seven home games this season, five of them coming in the first eight.
 
Greenwich Students Graduate from Several US Colleges
Greenwich (Connecticut) Free Press – June 19
The University of Alabama awarded approximately 5,000 degrees during spring commencement which took place May 5-7, including Emma Sachs and Caroline Lee who were both awarded Bachelor of Arts degrees.
Crestview (Florida) News – June 19
 
UA hires new VP and Associate Provost for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
NBC 13 (Birmingham)– June 19
The University of Alabama is taking steps to address a big concern for some students on campus. These students marched through the campus of The University of Alabama nearly two years ago, asking for greater diversity and inclusion on campus. It appears their voices were heard. UA is set to welcome Dr. Christine Taylor in August, as Vice President and Associate Provost for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. “I’m just glad to see us keeping up-to-date with the kind of positions you need in a growing campus, but also a growing diverse population of the student body.” Dr. Taylor comes from Perdue University in Indiana where she held a similar position for nearly six years.

PR Women Need Political Skills, Guts to Advance Their Goals
O’Dwyer’s – June 19
Newly-founded American Women in PR wants PR to be seen as a “profession” and not as an “industry.” It wants equal pay/titles with men. Organizational skills are needed for that to happen. . .  Muriel Fox, a founder of the National Organization of Women, called on women to “stand out in a very crowded field.” The program was devoted to boosting the pay and status of women in PR. Other panelists were Anne Bernays, daughter of Doris Fleischman and Edward Bernays; Karla Gower, Ph.D, advertising and PR department, University of Alabama; Meg Lamme, Ph.D., professor of PR, University of Alabama, and Karen Miller Russell, Ph.D., professor of PR and media historian, University of Georgia.

Dispelling Myths About Ancient, Modern Maya Peoples
Public.com – June 19
Think of the word ‘Maya’ and free associate. Does Mel Gibson’s 2006 film ‘Apocalypto ‘ spring to mind? Unless you’re a Mayanist, you’re likely to think of ancient Peoples who had a taste for blood and writing skills that were ahead of their time. A new book edited by a UMUC faculty member tells a very different story. First, Maya people exist today. And more than 6 million people speak Mayan languages, primarily in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras said Bethany Beyyette, assistant professor of anthropology and sociology at UMUC. . . . Beyyette began investigating in 2000. In 2016, University Press of Colorado published the book, which she edited with Lisa LeCount, associate professor of anthropology at The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa.

Should Churches Keep Their Civil War Landmarks?
Christianity Today – June 20
The most recent chapter in the story of America’s relationship with its Confederate past began in church. Since Dylann Roof, a rebel flag-waving white supremacist, opened fire at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal in Charleston two years ago, the debate over historical markers of the Civil War South has taken on more urgency and more widespread concern. . . . “There is no such thing as an anti-slavery church in the South at this point,” said Michael Altman, an expert in American religious history at the University of Alabama. “The slavery question was argued on a biblical basis. It was a biblical issue.”

What is ‘alt-right’ movement? ERLC provides answers
Baptist Press – June 19
The alt-right social and political movement is in the spotlight after the Southern Baptist Convention condemned alternative-right white supremacy at its 2017 annual meeting in Phoenix. What is the alt-right movement? he term alt-right was first used by former conservatives, but the movement itself is not a conservative movement, Carter said, quoting University of Alabama professor George Hawley. “The modal alt-right person is a male, white millennial; probably has a college degree or is in college; is secular and perhaps atheist and [is] not interested in the conservative movement at all,” Carter quoted Hawley from a Washington Post article.
 
Tax Reform and IRS Modernization Top List of Issues for CPA Advocates’ Visits on Capitol Hill  
AICPA – June 19
Several hundred CPAs from around the nation visited Capitol Hill in May to share the accounting profession’s advocacy agenda with lawmakers.  The visits were a highlight of the three-day meeting of the American Institute of CPAs’ (AICPA) governing Council in Washington, D.C. . . . Jeannine Birmingham, CPA, CGMA, president and CEO of the Alabama Society of CPAs (right), and Mary Stone, CPA, Ph.D., Hugh Culverhouse Endowed Chair of Accounting, University of Alabama, and a member of the AICPA Board of Directors (left), meet with Rep. Terri A. Sewell (D-Ala.) to explain the role of sound tax principles in tax reform and why improved IRS services are important to Alabama CPAs and taxpayers.

America’s most Instagrammed landmarks, by state
CBS News – June 20
Alabama: The University of Alabama Instagram has more than 6 million users, many of whom log in to the photo sharing app every single day. They share selfies and food pics, they share from their homes and their commutes. But where are people posting from the most? Instagram broke it down by state and gathered the places most geo-tagged in 2016. Here are the stats, as reported first by BuzzFeed. In Alabama, the three-square-mile campus of the state’s first public college is the most Instagrammed location.