New College Blues

Carmichael Close Down!

2009-04-19T16:58:00.001-05:00

Hey, a great time was had by all at the Carmichael Close Down Event. Thanks to everyone who sent me memories and reflections. . . . We'll try to compile them all into some kind of memory book, so that folks who would like to still send along Carmichael memories can most certainly do so. I hope we have more photos and videos of the event up soon.And we look forward to sending along news of the Lloyd Hall grand opening soon.

Wonderful New Hire at New College!

2009-04-09T19:14:00.002-05:00

We are very happy to announce that Dr. Ellen Spears of Emory University will be joining the New College faculty this August. Ellen does work at the intersection of public health and history. She has a book coming out from the University of North Carolina Press on PCB contamination in Anniston, AL. She's 100% New College in her interest in undergraduate students and love of interdisciplinary learning and respect for community. Please consider dropping her a note at espears@LearnLink.Emory.Edu to welcome her aboard.

Mary Scott Hunter update

2009-02-16T21:38:00.003-06:00

New College alum Mary Scott Hunter is a Republican candidate for Alabama State Senate. Regardless of your political affiliation, I hope friends of New College will extend their congratulations to Mary Scott for making this demanding civic commitment. More information at MaryScottHunter.com

First Spring Update

2009-02-16T21:34:00.002-06:00

Ok, its true; I'm the world's worst blogger. . .. I can only plead that New College is thriving and its incredibly busy. Some quick good news to share from the past week: NCer Emerald Greywoode was named the winner of the Milton Mayer Award -- one of UA's highest achievements for an undergraduate. And NCer Lindsey Mullen -- and front desk jockey extraordinaire -- was named winner of UA's Capstone Hero Award for exemplifying the Capstone Creed. I hope you'll join me in celebrating their success.

Great Profile of Recent New College Grad

2008-08-28T21:39:00.002-05:00

Please take a look at this terrific profile of recent New College graduate Gus Hahn-Powell. Richard LeComte did a terrific job capturing Gus's energy, commitment to learning, and the spirit of New College. http://ua.edu/features/findyourpassion/japanese.html

We're Back!

2008-08-28T21:33:00.002-05:00

We're back with a new academic year! Great fun at the New College Kickoff Event this past weekend, with over 100 NCers and special guests, including NC emeritus faculty member Bob McKenzie. I'll get some pics up here ASAP, but for now folks can mosey over to the New College facebook page to see the fun. Active student enrollment in the program right now is about 190 students, plus perhaps 50 more involved in the Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies Minor, the Minor in Civic Engagement and Leadership, and the Self-Designed Minor program. We're looking forward to having NC alum Melissa Delbridge give a reading from her new memoir, FAMILY BIBLE, on October 1st. We're looking forward to having an important role to play in the Alabama Perspectives on Sustainability and Climate Change lecture series. And we're much looking forward to hiring another new faculty member this upcoming year. We're absolutely convinced -- fingers crossed -- that this will be our last year in Carmichael Hall. Keep tuned to this space for more news about our move to Lloyd Hall.

New College at the Beijing Olympics

2008-08-01T14:45:00.003-05:00

We're thrilled to let you all know that New Colleger Kou Luogon (above right) will be competing in the 400m hurdles for Liberia. Please send her your good wishes at kluogon@gmail.com

http://blog.al.com/bamabeat/2008/07/olympics_to_include_14_with_ua.html

Thank You's and Goodbyes

2008-08-01T14:29:00.002-05:00

We're saying good bye and thanks to some dear friends of New College who are leaving Tuscaloosa and moving on to great things: Derrick Taff and Patricia Spears Taff have made the move to Fort Collins, CO, where Derrick will be entering into the Ph.D. program in Park and Natural Resource Management. Both were great students at New College, and both folks continued to contribute to the our learning community through their support of students who followed them. Derrick's work at Outdoor Recreation has meant an absolute avalanche of internship opportunities for New College students. And Patricia worked hard at the Career Center on a number of programs that benefited us too. Please join me and thanking them for all they have done for us. Goodbye and thanks too to Arts and Sciences development officer (and Marysia's neighbor) Aaron Vold. Through Aaron's hard work we were able to identify and secure close to $100,000 in new New College scholarship support. Aaron is moving on down the road to become Assistant VP for development at the University of Southern Mississippi and we're greatly appreciative of all he has done for us.

Mary Rachel Fanning

2008-07-17T16:08:00.002-05:00

There is a fun interview with Mary Rachel Fanning (NC 01) at http://badatsports.com/2008/episode-148-mary-rachel-fanning-diane-grams/ You can see more of a Mary Rachel's art-world success at http://www.maryrachelfanning.com/random/home1.html

In Memoriam: John Hawbaker

2008-07-17T15:21:00.003-05:00

NCer Julie Hawbaker's father passed away this week after a strong fight with cancer. I was so delighted and honored to get to meet John at Julie's graduation. He was rightfully very proud of Julie's accomplishments. You can leave messages for Julie and her family at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=56494085506

Meet Will Byington!

2008-07-02T11:31:00.002-05:00

Will Byington (class of 2000) is a New College grad based in Chicago where he works on a variety of photography projects. Will has been a great asset to the program and has been supportive of students interested in his previous work in film and music. We're happy to report that Will has a new book out that centers on his photographic work in and around Chicago's Wrigley Field. Check it out (and buy it) here: http://www.wearecubsfans.com/about.html You can get a fuller introduction to the range of Will's work at http://www.willbyington.com/

General Update

2008-07-02T11:26:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the break in updates. . . . On the road again, this time to the Kettering Foundation's Deliberative Democracy Exchange in Dayton, Ohio, where I had opportunity to meet lots of engaged folks deeply invested in changing communities by improving the character and quality of citizen participation. Much of this conversation will be very helpful to New College as we move forward in partnership with the Mathews Center for Civic Life and the Draughn Center for the Arts and Humanities at Auburn University in a set of experiments with student interns and community deliberation. Stay Tuned! Freshmen (and women) continue to make their way to campus for orientation. We're hoping for a class of first year students this Fall of somewhere between 25 and 30 students. As has always been the case, much of our student traffic will continue to be internal transfers, and will probably mean a New 100 cohort this Fall of somewhere between 40 and 50 students.

More on Melissa Delbridge's FAMILY BIBLE

2008-06-19T11:57:00.002-05:00

Folks, I'm on the road in North Carolina this week, and am happy that I had a chance to stop in and meet New College alum Melissa Delbridge at the Duke University Library where she is Head Cataloguer at Special Collections. We're in the process of organizing a visit of Melissa to New College in late September and early October so that she can read from her new book Family Bible (University of Iowa Press). It's a wonderful memoir about growing up in Tuscaloosa in the 1960s. Here's a terrific interview with her from North Carolina Public Radio: http://wunc.org/tsot/archive/SOT052708b.mp3/view Keep tuned here for more information on Melissa's visit this Fall.

Ride with Kristen

2008-06-10T09:36:00.001-05:00

NC grad Kristen Ragland is off on a terrific fundraising bike ride this summer. . . . Many of you will recall that Kristen's depth study involved the study of disability, recreation, and social change. Here's the deal from Kristen herself: Dear Friends and Family, Hi from Utah! Hopefully I'll be able to see most of you soon; I'll be visiting Alabama in two weeks! Until then I want to update you on my most recent adventure! Feel free to think I'm nuts... Most other people have and I've even questioned it a little myself! Anyway, here goes... As you probably know, I've been serving as an AmeriCorps volunteer for the past year with a non-profit organization in Logan, Utah, called Common Ground Outdoor Adventures. Common Ground's mission is to provide life-enhancing outdoor recreational opportunities for youth and adults with disabilities. We provide adaptive equipment and support, which enable people with disabilities to participate in outdoor recreation alongside their peers. These experiences reduce stereotypes, raise awareness, and empower people to realize their full potential. Our trips are not only accessible physically but also financially. Common Ground will soon begin celebrating its 15th year as an organization and I want to help meet that milestone with excitement and ambition!This July, I will be combining my love for travel, my desire to see Common Ground continue to change lives, and my passion for enabling people of all abilities to make the most of life! I am cycling from Astoria, OR, to San Diego, CA, - a grand total of over 1200 miles! - to raise funds and awareness for adaptive outdoor recreation. This tour will be self-supported and every penny that I raise will go directly towards providing outdoor recreation for people with disabilities. Even the smallest donation could provide the chance for an individual with a disability to experience downhill skiing, cycling, or whitewater rafting, just to name a few! I'm writing to ask for your support... Monetary support is great, but I appreciate your moral support as much or more! I want to keep anyone that's interested updated on my progress, so I've started a blog: www.kristenragland.blogspot.com. Visit it to learn more about my ride or my progress on the coast! Please feel free to forward this on to anyone I've left off the list... THANKS SO MUCH!! KristenYou can help me out by donating...*A PENNY PER MILE = $12.00*A NICKEL PER MILE = $60.00*A DIME PER MILE = $120.00Ways to donate: Follow the link below to donate via credit card or mail cash/ check to:Common Ground Attn: Kristen335 North 100 EastLogan, UT 84321 Click "Donate Now" and put my name in the "In Honor of" section at: www.cgadventures.org

It's a Bloggy Blog World

2008-06-03T20:37:00.001-05:00

Recent New College grad Kali McNutt is travelling and working in India this summer. . . You can follow her adventures at http://www.rickshawramblings.blogspot.com/

New Books by New College Alums

2008-06-01T17:39:00.002-05:00

See Melissa Delbridge's (NC77) memoir of growing up in Tuscaloosa in the 1960s: http://www.amazon.com/Family-Bible-Sightline-Melissa-Delbridge/dp/tags-on-product/1587296519 and http://library.duke.edu/magazine-archive/issue18/writerspage.html And the latest work by noted garden writer Barbara Pleasant (NC75): http://www.barbarapleasant.com/books.htm

Fishy Research

2008-05-30T21:56:00.001-05:00

NC prof disturbs trout up and down the Atlantic coast: http://geographerontheroad.blogspot.com/

Must Reading

2008-05-29T18:31:00.002-05:00

New College books you must read. . . Michael Steinberg: http://www.lsu.edu/lsupress/bookPages/9780807133057.html Catherine Roach: http://www.powells.com/biblio?isbn=9781845201296

The 2008 Graduating Class!

2008-05-29T13:19:00.003-05:00

The 2008 Graduating Class! Good looking as always. . . .

May Tidbits

2008-05-28T10:06:00.002-05:00

2 NCers are competing in the Miss Alabama competition next week. . . . LeNae Powe & Claire O'Rear. . . . Jack Evans graduated from Hofstra University Law School last week and is now hard at work studying for the New York bar. Holly Radford graduated with her Masters in Student Service Personnel from Florida State University. Wonderful wedding this past weekend in Tuscaloosa as NCer Natalie Jackson married Andrew Hannah at Cavalry Baptist Church. Congrats!

and why New College blues?

2008-05-25T22:33:00.003-05:00

Well, I certainly don't mean to imply that sharing in the task of keeping the program on task is a chore or cause for loud lamentation. Far from it. Folks in Ted Trost's Songcraft seminar will know what I mean: The Blues is the richest of American cultural idioms. It is a tradition that speaks to the joys and challenges of managing the everyday. As a cultural mechanism for coping, celebrating, sharing, exploring, demanding, and speaking, it's a great example of what the critic Kenneth Burke called "equipment for living." And more mundanely: "blues" nicely gives props to our adopted program color -- see the banner out front of Carmichael! -- and speaks to the ways we want to live in harmony with the crimson army even as we go our own way.

Alas, another blog

2008-05-25T22:27:00.002-05:00

I've been thinking much about all the good energy surrounding the program and how difficult it is to keep up! And there is the slim, ego-centric, and not especially intellectually rich rationale for this blog. It's hard to keep reasonable cost, substantive newsletters coming your way. It's hard to keep everyone up to speed on the rich community life we're developing. So I will do the best I can to check in every day or so with news of what you all are up to. . . . and, perhaps more useful still, I'll promise to think out loud a bit about the challenges we face as we grow and move forward. Thanks to everyone for their patience during my absence this spring. I'm especially looking forward to getting caught up with students and getting back to helping folks achieve their goals.