Witt touts college's accomplishments
Florence Times-Daily – Sept. 25
…Robert Witt, president of the University of Alabama, used growth as the cornerstone of his speech to the Rotary Club on Monday. "Every year, for the last three years, I've been able to tell the university administration this is the largest, best-quality freshman class we've had in university history," he said. "In less than a month, I'll be able to tell them for the fourth time this is the largest, best-quality freshman class in university history." Alabama's fall enrollment is 25,580. The state's other large four-year public university, Auburn, also hit a record high with 24,137…Pam Parker, assistant vice president for advancement at Alabama, said the school is already seeing more than half of its population coming from outside the state's borders, particularly from Texas, Georgia, Virginia and the Carolinas. “Despite that, we must still be a place for students from Alabama," she said. "We want them to find their place, too."...

Saban speaks out on Tide fans' behavior
Tuscaloosa News – Sept. 25
Nick Saban doesn’t want University of Alabama football fans to shower opposing players with garbage. He’s not too fond of late-night phone calls from irate fans, either…where fans in the UA student section threw cups and other objects onto the field where Georgia players were celebrating their victory. “I don’t think it’s classy to throw something on somebody else,” Saban said. “I don’t think it’s classy to call somebody’s house at night and complain about something. I don’t think any of that’s classy. “If anybody out there that’s our fans and our supporters don’t think all the coaches here … work hard and want to win as bad as anybody, as well as the players, trust and believe in that. Trust and believe in doing it right. If you want to do something, do something positive to support the program or don’t do anything at all.”…

Development program opens center in Bibb
Tuscaloosa News – Sept. 25
With the addition of Bibb County to the Alabama Entrepreneurial Research Network this month, the University of Alabama-based economic development program has a presence in 13 rural counties in west-central Alabama. The UA College of Commerce and Business Administration established AERN in 2001 with the mission of stimulating business development in low-income, rural areas by providing resources, training and information that would otherwise be unavailable locally. The program has more than tripled in size and reach since the first four centers opened that year in Greene, Hale, Marengo and Sumter counties. “AERN is entirely a rural Alabama project," said network co-director Annette Watters of the UA Center for Business and Economic Research…

New program will target dangerous roads
Tuscaloosa News – Sept. 24
…The CARE Research and Development Laboratory at the University of Alabama will use Department of Transportation numbers to help troopers identify problem areas. CARE stands for Critical Analysis Reporting Environment. “We have software to analyze crash data and load the raw data into our base,” said Rhonda Stricklin, assistant research engineer at CARE…

Alabamians Are Spoiled When It Comes to Driving
Fox 6 (Birmingham) -- Sept. 24
Dan Turner, director of the Transportation Center at The University of Alabama, says Alabamians are spoiled because they can drive in one car to where they want and when they want. A new study says Alabamians would rather walk down I-65 than drive down Highway 280.