UA In the News — June 3-5

Ancient clam species named for Alabama professor
Athens News Courier – June 4
Two European researchers have named an ancient clam species after a longtime professor at the University of Alabama. The recently discovered fossil clam is called “Archivesica aharoni” after Paul Aharon. He is a professor emeritus of geological sciences at the campus in Tuscaloosa. A paper about the species was recently published in the Journal of Paleontology. It was written by Steffen Kiel of the Swedish Museum of Natural History, and Marco Taviani of the Institute of Marine Sciences in Bologna, Italy.
WAFF 48 (Huntsville) – June 4
San Francisco Gate – June 4
Florence Times Daily – June 4

Alabama president pleased with progress of new AD
Montgomery Advertiser – June 3
In just three months, new Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne has already put his stamp on the Crimson Tide.
Whether it was signing football coach Nick Saban to a three-year contract extension or firing a first-year baseball coach and hiring a replacement a week later, Byrne has hit the ground running since arriving in March.
All of it has thoroughly impressed the man that brought him to Tuscaloosa. “Greg’s great. He’s very smart, and if you look back at his background, since he’s been able to walk he’s been in an AD’s household,” UA president Stuart Bell said Friday from the SEC spring meetings in Destin.
Florence Times Daily – June 3
OA Now – June 3
Dothan Eagle – June 3
 
ALABAMA GIRLS STATE
Tuscaloosa News – June
Seventeen junior class outstanding girls from schools throughout Tuscaloosa County have been chosen as delegates to attend the Alabama Girls State program at the University of Alabama sponsored by the Alabama American Legion Auxiliary including the two local units, McCray-Moody Unit #34 and Alberta City Unit #123.

Girls State is coming to UA
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – June 2
Young women are flooding The University of Alabama campus next week, but it’s not for sorority rush. It’s for Girls State. The 75th session of the American Legion Auxiliary Alabama Girls State is happening Sunday through Friday. Guest speakers include Alabama State Treasurer Young Boozer, Alabama Supreme Court Justice Lynn Stewart and many, many more.

UA project in Hobson City boosted by federal grant
Anniston Star – June 2
A portion of more than $1 million in federal grants announced Thursday by the National Endowment for the Arts will support a University of Alabama-led project in Hobson City. Jane Chu, the chairman of the endowment, visited Alabama Thursday to announce the grants would be awarded, according to a release, with $25,000 of the total going to the university. The money will be spent on a photography and creative writing project started in Hobson City by associate professor Michelle Bachelor Robinson. The project tasked young girls with using photos to illustrate the town’s history, and what that history means to them today.

Five things to look for in this year’s Senate race
Gadsden Times – June 5
Alabama’s upcoming special election may have voters feeling like the seasons are out of whack. The state’s residents will go to the polls in the dog days of summer, Aug. 15, to winnow a field of 10 Republican and eight Democratic candidates for the U.S. Senate seat that was vacated when Jeff Sessions became U.S. attorney general. . . . George Hawley, University of Alabama political science professor, said he didn’t expect the Bentley scandal to significantly hurt the GOP in December, either. The Republican lead is so strong the party can afford to lose the votes of those put off by that scandal, Hawley said in an email.

Why Turning Down All 8 Ivy League Schools Is Brilliant
Public – June 2
The number of students who were accepted to all 8 Ivy League schools this year can be counted on two hands. Years of hard work and dedication paid off and this select group faced an incredibly difficult decision. Harvard? Yale? Princeton? Ronald Nelson of Memphis made the smartest choice of all – The University of Alabama. And no, he’s not going to play football for the Crimson Tide.
 
Examining the “Back the Blue Act”
American Constitution Society – June 2
While many have welcomed the increased national interest in police accountability, critics, including President Donald Trump and police unions, have warned of a so-called “war on cops.”  To their credit, there is evidence that ambush killings of police officers increased in 2016, as did the number of total police officers killed in fatal shootings. But it is difficult to know whether these numbers are part of a larger pattern, or merely a statistical aberration.

UA holds program on caring for veterans’ children
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – June 2
A gathering in Tuscalooosa today to learn better ways of helping children of veterans transition out of a military lifestyle. Dozens of educators, parents and social workers met for The Supporting Veteran’s Children Through Transitions Conference. The University of Alabama and the Military Child Education Network sponsored the event.
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – June 2

UA professor weighs in on Trump’s decision to pull out of Paris Climate Agreement
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – June 2
A chemical and biological engineering professor weighs in on what the President’s decision to pull out of the Paris Agreement means for you. Online there have been several opinions about how not being a part of the Paris Climate Change Agreement would impact American air quality. President Donald Trump did speak yesterday about how abandoning the climate change pact would help save jobs in the U.S. since being a part of the plan would cost tax payers billions of dollars. We’ve heard about the economic impact, but what about the environment? Professor Dr. Jason Bara explains the Air Quality Act protects the U.S. air for now despite not being a part of the agreement.

OPELIKA’S TYLER CHAFFEE TO RECEIVE THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA’S APPLIED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT HONORS CERTIFICATE
Public – June 5
The City of Opelika is pleased to announce that Tyler Chaffee, Project Manager for Opelika Economic Development, recently completed The University of Alabama Economic Development Academy … The City of Opelika and The University of Alabama are committed to supporting job creation and broad-based economic development throughout the State and the Applied Honors class focuses on Alabama’s emerging practitioners.

Students take part in Bama Bound
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – June 3
The University of Alabama’s class of 2021 doesn’t start classes until this Fall, but already they are visiting campus and getting ready for the new school year. It’s all part of Alabama’s annual Bama Bound effort. Freshmen and transfer students from all across the U.S. are acquired to attend a session offered throughout the summer. Students sign up for classes, meet fellow students and get to know the University during the days-long event.

Clinton-Dix continues to work on his criminal justice degree at UA
WDJT-CBS (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) – June 4
The All-Pro Safety has been working hard all off-season, but not just in the weight room. Clinton-Dix is back at school. He’s finishing his degree in Criminal Justice at The University of Alabama.

Bright Side
Florence Times Daily – June 4
The Alabama Music Teachers Association hosted state auditions May 13 at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. Students of members of Shoals Area Music Teacher Forum qualified for the state audition by receiving outstanding scores in theory and performance at the district audition in April.

DON NOBLE: Novel shows lawyer’s quest to crack death row case
Tuscaloosa News – June 3
Each year the University of Alabama School of Law and the ABA Journal sponsor the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, given to a book which “features the role of lawyers in society and their power to effect change.” This year’s finalists have been announced and I thought it might be fun to review the three novels. You, too, may want to read them and then vote for a winner at abajournal.gov. Voting closes June 30.

Long on cash reserve: ‘I worry about it’
Decatur Daily – June 5
Years of flat residential growth have left Morgan County with little in cash reserves, which could leave it in a precarious financial situation if it ever has to cover unforeseen emergency expenses, said County Commission Chairman Ray Long. . . . According to the Alabama Center for Real Estate at the University of Alabama, Limestone County has so far outpaced Morgan County for new housing starts this year with 105 permits issued since Jan. 1 compared to 67 in Morgan.

Campus News
Marietta (Georgia) Journal – June 4
Anthony Fiacco of Acworth and John Lundeen of Smyrna were among the 41 students inducted into the University of Alabama’s chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.