KeyFacts
The University of
Alabama is ranked among the nation's top 50 public universities in U.S.
News & World Report's 2002 edition.
The University of Alabama's graduates include 15 Rhodes Scholars, 15 Goldwater
Scholars, and nine Truman Scholars. Our most recent Rhodes Scholar is
Bradley Tuggle, an English major who received the award in 2001.
The University of Alabama's chapter of the prestigious liberal arts honor
society Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest of the three chapters in the state.
Approximately 66 percent of UA's undergraduates receive some type of financial
aid.
UA ranks as one of the top public universities in enrollment of National
Merit, National Achievement, and National Hispanic Scholars. Our fall
2000 freshman class accounts for 94 of these 300 outstanding undergraduate
students.
For over a decade, The University of Alabama has been one of the top public
flagship universities in the Southeast in enrollment of African-American
students. In fall 2000, African-Americans comprised 14.9 percent of freshmen
and 14.5 percent of total undergraduate enrollment, and 13.6 percent of
the student body overall. Enrollment of African-American students in UA's
Graduate School has increased by 44 percent since 1996.
U.S. News & World Report has ranked the University of Alabama School
of Law among the top 50 in the nation for three consecutive years while
our undergraduate business program has made the top 50 nationally for
two years.
Across our beautiful 1,000-acre campus, several buildings dating back
to the founding of the university are still in use today—alongside other
historic structures and recent construction housing state-of-the-art technology.
We offer excellent facilities for study and research, including campus-wide
computer labs, multimedia classrooms, and online libraries.
More than 20 percent of the university's entering freshmen and 22 percent
of all undergraduates received merit scholarships for the academic year
2000-01.
The University of Alabama debate team holds 14 national championships—two
more than our football team!
UA offers 215 degree programs.
Founded in 1831, The University of Alabama was the state's first university.
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| Members
of UA's first-place winning tuba quartet are: seated, Chad Entrup,
Contra-Bass; standing from left, Martin Cochran, First Euphonium;
Jamin McPhetrige, Second Euphonium; and Martin Hill, Bass. |
UA's Tuba Quartet
Hits All the Right Notes, Wins International Competition
by Elizabeth Smith
The University of
Alabama's Tuba quartet recently brought home a first-place award from
the International
Tuba Euphonium Association conference in Greensboro, N.C., where they
competed against quartets from across America and around the world.
Members of the tuba
quartet are leader Martin Cochran, a doctoral student from New Orleans;
Chad Entrup, a junior from Trussville; Jamin McPhetrige, a junior from
Helena; and Martin Hill, a senior from Trussville. The tuba quartet consists
of a Bass tuba, a Contra-Bass tuba and two Euphoniums-which is Latin for
"beautiful sound." The Euphonium also is known as the Tenor
tuba and has the closest correlation to the human voice.
The four have
played together as a serious quartet only since November 2001. "The
competition is the biggest gathering of tuba and euphonium from around
the world," Cochran said. "All the famous players are there.
We really didn't expect to win because we're considerably younger than
other quartets and far less experienced."
The group had sent a demo tape and received confirmation of their acceptance
into the competition that same month. They worked for an hour a day, six
days per week in preparation for the competition.
These four are building
on a tradition of winning tuba quartets at UA. Three years ago, a UA quartet
finished second in the competition. Four years ago, a quartet placed second,
and five years ago, a quartet won the competition.
"The tuba is the youngest of the brass instruments," said Michael
Dunn, an associate professor in the School
of Music in UA's College
of Arts and Sciences. "It was not invented until 1835, so there
isn't as much music written for the instrument. This competition gives
students a place to hear and learn about great tuba music as well as a
springboard to professional careers."
International Tuba
Euphonium Association conventions draw students and professionals from
all over the world. The next convention will meet in Budapest in two years.
As winners of this year's competition, the quartet has been invited to
present at the next conference.
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