January 14, 2002
Campus mourns death of acclaimed architect
U.S. funds transporation technology center
Jensen named interim dean of Agriculture
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January 14, 2002 |
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| Headlines Campus mourns death of acclaimed architect U.S. funds transporation technology center Jensen named interim dean of Agriculture |
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Dees to lead King observance
Morris Dees, founder and chief trial counsel of Montgomery's Southern Poverty Law Center, will speak at Auburn's Martin Luther King Jr. Diversity Scholarship Banquet on Friday, Jan. 18.
Dee's address, set for 7 p.m. at Dixon Conference Center, will cap a week of activities put together by the Office of Multicultural relations to celebrate the birthday of the slain civil rights leader.
Tiffany Verrett, coordinator of multicultural student services, said she hopes the celebration of King's birthday can help students and staff at Auburn understand the spirit of the slain civil rights leader's message.
"We hope that, through this celebration, we can help people here at Auburn University understand that, although Dr. King is revered by African-Americans especially, his message went beyond them, to all people," said Verrett.
"After all that happened fall semester with Sept. 11 and the Halloween parties, we feel like we need to take a look at Dr. King's message now more than ever and, hopefully, it will accelerate our cultivation of increased diversity here at Auburn."
Interim President William Walker said the celebration of King's birthday is even more appropriate for Auburn as the university community takes a fresh look at efforts to foster the appreciation of diversity.
"In recent months, I've charged this university with moving quickly and innovatively to foster an Auburn culture that is more aware and more appreciative of the contributions of people from all races and cultures," said Walker. "It is only fitting that one of the first steps we take towards that end be in the celebration of the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., a man who gave his life to show that a culture that appreciates its diverse makeup --that treats every man woman and child equally -- is a richer and stronger culture."
Dees, a native of Shorter and a graduate of the University of Alabama, founded the SPLC, a nonprofit organization dedicated to seeking justice, in 1971 with his law partner Joseph J. Levin Jr. He has received numerous awards in conjunction with his work at the Center, including being named Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice in 1987 and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Award from the National Education Association in 1990.
As chief trial counsel for the Southern Poverty Law Center, he is nationally known for pursuing lawsuits against hate groups. He also oversees the education projects organized by the center.
Tickets to the scholarship banquet are $85 each, with proceeds going to the Auburn scholarship fund. Those interested should contact the AU Office of Multicultural Affairs at 844-4184.
The King Week activities were to begin on Monday, Jan. 14, in the Dixon Conference Center with a 5 p.m. speech by Donna Brazile, who was manager of Al Gore's presidential campaign.
A Unity Breakfast at the Dixon Conference Center 7 a.m. Tuesday is sponsored by Zeta Phi Beta sorority.
At 11 a.m. on Tuesday, students and others are invited to participate in a Community Peace and Unity March from Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum to Samford Lawn.
The events continue on Wednesday with a poetry reading at 11 a.m. in Foy 217. Students and others are invited to read poems or other material of their own creation or choice that express feelings relevant to the life and message of Martin Luther King Jr.
The Office of Multicultural Affairs is also sponsoring an essay contest related to the King celebration. The winners will be announced and the winning essays read at 11 a.m. Thursday in Foy 217.
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cast the AU campus, including Samford Hall, in a blanket of white. |
AU mourns loss of acclaimed architect
Auburn will hold a memorial service in February for Samuel "Sambo" Mockbee, an internationally acclaimed AU architecture professor.
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Mockbee died Dec. 30 of pneumonia. He was buried Jan. 2 in Mississippi. Details of the planned memorial service will be announced later this month or in early February. A memorial event will also be scheduled for early spring at the Rural Studio.
Mockbee, who was 57, was co-founder of AU's Rural Studio. An AU architecture graduate, he had taught architecture at AU since 1991.
"The loss of Sambo Mockbee is a profound tragedy for everyone," said Daniel Bennett, dean of AU's College of Architecture, Design and Construction. "His influence and kindness reached far beyond the walls of Auburn University, our state and the profession of architecture. "The untimely death of Sambo Mockbee has only deepened the resolve of the college and school to ensure that his vision for the Rural Studio not only continues, but is strengthened.
"He was truly loved and admired by all who came in contact with him," said Bennett. "His talent was amazing, but that was not what made Sambo unique ... there are many people with special talent. However, there are very few that process Sambo's compassion for people, especially for the socially and economically deprived, and his wonderful generosity.
"In almost everything that he did, his own personal welfare was the last thing that he thought about. He would literally give you the shirt off of his back."
D.K. Ruth, a professor of architecture who co-founded the Rural Studio with Mockbee, said he will remember Mockbee as a person "who could bridge the gap and communicate with a whole range of humanity. He had the ability to talk to the president of a university or a corporate official or a senator and at the next minute talk to Shepard Bryant about fishing for turtles.
"Sambo was a master at putting together the abstract of university education and social issues and culture," Ruth said. "That is the Rural Studio and it is the legacy of the Rural Studio."
Ruth said this fall, he and Mockbee worked to develop an infrastructure for the Rural Studio, ensuring that it would be supported and continue to educate young architects not only about the science of architecture but the social aspect as well. "I felt he had a sense of urgency to get this in place, and it is. I know the Rural Studio will continue.
"Sambo would want that and he and I worked hard this fall to get the infrastructure in place," said Ruth, who likened his nearly 30-association with Mockbee as "brothers to each other."
Bennett, a personal friend of Mockbee and his family since 1978, said, "when I think of Sambo, it really is not his wonderfully unique and inspirational buildings, or the care that he brought to the studio and classroom, or his compassion for people.
"Instead, I am first reminded of his family. He loved (his wife) Jackie, his three girls, and (son) Julius more than anything. They represent everything that we value in people... kind, thoughtful, amazing integrity, devotion to one another, and love. They are the finest people that I have ever known. That is Sambo's greatest gift.
"Sambo was able to accomplish more for his fellow man in the few years since recovering from leukemia than most are able to do in a lifetime," Bennett said. "The world is a better place because of Sambo Mockbee and I am personally very privileged to have know him."
In 2000, Mockbee received one of only 25 highly competitive and prestigious "genious" grants from the McArthur Foundation, the only recipient from a Southern university to receive the distinction.
Last year, his native Mississippi honored Mockbee as one of eight recipients of the 2001 Mississippi Governor's Awards for Excellence in the Arts. In 2000, he was one of five national architects honored for environmental, social and aesthetic contributions by the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum at a White House Ceremony.
In 1998, he was named the first recipient of the National Building Museum's Apgar Award for Excellence in 1998.
Mockbee brought world-wide attention to the education of architect students -- and to Auburn University -- when he and Ruth established the Rural Studio in 1993, a program that combines the teaching of architecture with a commitment to public service.
The Rural Studio brings students from the College of Architecture, Design and Construction to the Rural Studio's base in Newbern, a town about 160 miles from the Auburn campus in rural Hale County. The west Alabama county is one of the poorest in the United States, with more than 1,400 substandard dwellings.
Under Mockbee's direction, the students built homes and other structures that challenge all convention in terms of methods, materials and forms. Since its inception, architectural students at the Rural Studio have built five new houses and numerous community projects including a farmer's market, children's center, a chapel, a bus stop and community center and an open-air pavilion. In addition, the students have completed hundreds of small construction projects such as roof repairs and new stairs.
Mockbee was a partner in the firm of Mockbee/Coker in Memphis, Tenn. and Canton, Miss. He received a bachelor's degree in architecture from AU in 1974. Since 1977, he has been a practicing architect and in 1989 he was elected to the American Institute of Architects' College of Fellows.
Salaries move back to top of funding goals
Interim AU President William Walker said last week that faculty and staff salaries will be the first priority for spending if money set aside for proration in this year's budget is not needed for that purpose.
Walker told the University Senate on Jan. 8 that he wants the university to again put salary improvement at the top of its budget priorities. A goal of making AU salaries more competitive with other institutions in the region had been the number-one priority of the administration and the Board of Trustees until state funding fell rapidly in 2001, forcing cuts in state funding for education last year.
Trustees agreed to requests by employee groups and the administration for benefit increases in this year's budget, but the state's financial problems prompted extra caution in the administration's other budget recommendations, which were adopted by the board.
In the current budget, which went into effect Oct. 1, AU increased its proration reserve by $6 million to a total of $13 million in anticipation of a second round of proration in the state education budget. However, Gov. Don Siegelman called a special legislative session in December, and the Legislature headed off a second consecutive year of proration by passing a tax package to increase revenues for education by $160 million this year.
Walker warned the University Senate that the state education funding problems are far from over. But, with the Legislature beginning its 2002 session on Jan. 8, Walker said early indications are that education funding will at least remain stable through next year.
The total budget for the main campus this year is $388 million, with approximately $150 million going into salaries and benefits.
"By April, we will see whether our hopes for level funding are justified," Walker said. "If they are, I will bring to the trustees proposals for improvements in compensation for this year and also the coming fiscal year."
Walker added, "One of the most powerful lessons of the past few years is that we must do everything we can to provide competitive compensation, and doing so will be a primary objective in the months to come."
Executive Vice President Don Large said the business office is examining the budget to determine how to best distribute part of the proration reserve if the current projections hold. While salary increases late in the fiscal year would be difficult to implement, that remains a possibility, he said.
Large said the business office is also examining the possibility of providing a one-time lump-sum allocation to faculty and staff in the current budget year and providing salary increases in the 2003 budget year, which starts Oct. 1.
Walker and Large said any distribution will depend on continuation of the current improvement in state funding, on further development of administrative recommendations and on approval of the funding priority by the Board of Trustees.
AU technology center slated for $20 million from federal budget
Auburn's transportation research received a $20 million boost in December with passage by Congress of a new federal transportation bill. The appropriation, which brings the total federal commitment to $30 million, will help fund construction of a $50 million Center for Transportation Technology.
Auburn is seeking $20 million in matching funds from the state for the transportation technology center in a proposed bond issue before the Legislature for Alabama's public research universities.
Announcing the federal appropriation, Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said, "I am pleased that the bill provides significant funding for transportation projects at Auburn University. These funds reflect the senate's commitment to safe and efficient transportation and infrastructure. Auburn University has talented faculty members and students who have much to contribute to the challenges facing the nation's transportation sector."
"Adequate infrastructure is essential to enabling Auburn to conduct leading edge research and instruction," said interim AU President William Walker.
"This appropriation will be supported by matching funds from state and other sources to enable the university to construct its Center for Transportation Technology."
Plans approved last April by the AU Board of Trustees were revised in September to enable project designers to fit the 194,000-square-foot facility into the university's master plan, which is under development by Sasaki Associates.
The new Center for Transportation Technology will be part of the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering and will focus on transportation-related research involving AU's civil, mechanical, electrical, and computer science engineering disciplines.
"The Center for Transportation Technology will provide Auburn with a modern facility in which to conduct research and develop analytical approaches to address highway design and construction, traffic modeling and simulation, vehicle safety and other issues," said Engineering Dean Larry Benefield.
"Auburn University is very fortunate in that it has a very strong relationship with the state's congressional delegation," said Associate Provost and Vice President for Research Michael Moriarty. "We greatly appreciate the work of Sen. Shelby and others on Auburn's behalf in this effort."
The new building will be nearly twice the size of Broun Hall and larger than Ross, Ramsay and Dunstan halls, and the Textile Engineering Building combined. The facility will be located east of the Lowder Building and north of Broun Hall.
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Paving projects slated for winter months
Several major streets and parking areas on campus will be closed temporarily for repaving or reconstruction at times during spring semester.
Work began during the Christmas break on reconstruction of the Ag Hill parking areas in front of and west of Comer Hall. Similar work was completed, except for striping, on Wilmore Drive, and parking areas at Haley Center, Peet Theatre and behind Foy Union and Tichenor Hall.
A contractor has also begun repaving Samford Avenue between Mell and Donahue. Repaving projects also include Roosevelt between Mell and Donahue, Donahue from Roosevelt to Magnolia and Duncan between Magnolia and Thach avenues. Away from the central campus, Hemlock will be repaved, and Woodfield between College Street and Donahue is scheduled for reconstruction.
Ross Circle is also slated for repaving. In a related project, workers are laying open conduit under that roadway to permit future addition of utility lines without the need to tear up the roadway once it has been repaved.
D&J Enterprises of Lee County won the contract for the repaving with a bid of $588,000. The total project budget is approximately $1.2 million.
The work is part of the university's program in which funds are set aside in each budget cycle to reduce its backlog of deferred maintenance.
Catherine Love of the Facilities Division said plans were completed for the projects during the summer but the work was delayed until after fall semester to hold traffic disruption to a minimum.
An advantage of conducting paving projects in the winter, she noted, is that bids are sometimes more competitive because contractors , who are overbooked in the summer, are eager for the work during the colder months. "Contractors have to work around the weather, but fortunately paving can be done year Śround in Alabama," Love said. "We got a good price on the project, so we will be able to do more than we could otherwise.
Jensen named interim head of Agriculture, AAES
John W. Jensen has been named interim dean of the AU College of Agriculture and director of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station.
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"I am absolutely delighted that John Jensen has accepted this position and the challenges associated with it," Pritchett said.
Interim President William Walker praised the selection, citing Jensen's record, energy and familiarity with Auburn and its constituencies. "John Jensen's record as a researcher, administrator and an innovator make him extremely qualified to head the College of Agriculture and the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station as interim dean and director," Walker said.
"He possesses the energy, the knowledge and the familiarity with this university's various constituencies to help both the College and the Experiment Station grow to meet the challenges of new directions in agriculture that we're seeing in Alabama, nationally and worldwide."
Jensen, a faculty member at Auburn for 30 years, holds a bachelor's degree in wildlife management from the University of Minnesota and a master's and Ph.D. in fisheries and allied aquacultures from Auburn.
After three years in Brazil with the Peace Corps, Jensen came to Auburn in 1972 as a research associate and served as a graduate research assistant, for 15 years as an Extension fisheries specialist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, and six years as a fisheries professor. In 1995, he was named interim head of the department and was appointed head of the department a year later.
As fisheries head, Jensen directed a 145-employee program largely reliant on outside funding (grant money for the department exceeded $4.1 million in 2000, more than any other department on the AU campus). Still, Auburn's fisheries program has continued its reputation as among the best of its kind in the world.
Jensen's tenure has seen improvement and expansion of facilities across the state (including construction of a $650,000 shellfish-research laboratory at the Dauphin Island Sea Laboratory), leading research in species ranging from red snapper to catfish and the department's coordination of a statewide volunteer water quality monitoring network.
Jensen's work as a researcher and administrator has been recognized with awards from the Alabama Agribusiness Council, the National Association of County Agricultural Agents, the Alabama catfish industry and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. He has authored or co-authored more than 40 extension publications, refereed publications, bulletins, reports, departmental series and books.
Ohio professor named to lead Auburn journalism program
W. Dale Harrison, previously an associate professor of journalism at Youngstown State University in Ohio, is the new director of Auburn's journalism program.
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"We are thrilled to have someone of Dale's talent join our department," said Mary Helen Brown, interim chair of AU's Department of Communication and Journalism. "With his background in both communication and journalism, I know that Dale will be a wonderful addition to our faculty."
While at Youngstown State University, Harrison was a tenured faculty member as well as director of the college's journalism program.
As a professional print journalist, Harrison worked as a managing editor, editorial writer, sports writer and syndicated columnist for daily and weekly newspapers. He has also worked as a freelance writer and photographer for regional and national magazines. As a broadcast journalist, Harrison produced and hosted a weekly interview program for the NPR affiliate in Youngstown, Ohio for four years.
Harrison earned a doctorate in journalism from the University of Georgia.
Pension bill appears headed toward legislative passage
Auburn faculty and staff, along with other public employees and educators in Alabama, would gain additional pension benefits under a bill on the fast track before the Legislature.
Under that bill, state employees and educators who are at least age 55 could retire after 25 years and continue working for the same employer for three to five more years. During that time, pension benefits would go to an interest-drawing escrow account, which the employee would receive as a lump sum at the end of the three-to-five year period.
The bill would keep veteran employees on the job and provide an alternative for public educators and employees who leave state employment in order to draw retirement pay and take comparable jobs elsewhere.
Buddy Mitchell, executive director of governmental affairs for AU, noted that a similar bill with more benefits was passed overwhelmingly by the House in the 2001 legislative session but died in the Senate. The current bill, described by sponsors as less costly, is cosponsored by 28 of 35 state senators. It cleared a senate committee last week by a 13-0 vote.
Three FLL faculty receive first Castanoli Awards
The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures recently presented the first Castanoli Faculty Achievement Awards in the department. Faculty receiving the awards were Louise Katainen, Samia Spencer and Tony Madrigal.
The competitive awards are given to tenured faculty who have achieved national recognition in their field and who have direct responsibilities in the university's land-grant mission.
AU to dedicate Harrison School of Pharmacy
AU will officially dedicate the Harrison School of Pharmacy at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 25, at the W.W. Walker Jr. Pharmacy Building.
The school's name change, which was approved by the Board of Trustees last August, will honor James I. Harrison Sr., who grew a single pharmacy in Tuscaloosa into the Harco Drug chain and whose family has supported Auburn pharmacy over many years, including a major gift from the Harrisons to the pharmacy school last year.
"No other Alabama family has contributed as much to the field of pharmacy in Alabama as the Harrisons," said interim AU President William Walker.
"Without a doubt, they are Alabama's first family of pharmacy. The vision the Harrison family exhibited with the founding and growth of the Harco chain is exactly the same kind of vision we hope to cultivate in our graduates from the AU Harrison School of Pharmacy."
"We are extremely proud of the School of Pharmacy's association with the Harrison family," said Pharmacy Dean Lee Evans. "We're eternally grateful for what they have done and continue to do for the school and honored to name the school for the patriarch of a family and a drug store chain that enjoys an outstanding reputation in pharmacy throughout the state, the Southeast and the nation. This latest gift will prove pivotal in allowing us to move forward with additional facilities."
Walker, Evans and AU Trustee Robert E. Lowder will preside over the naming ceremony. In addition to members of the Harrison family, speakers will include James A. Main, chair of the Pharmacy Advisory Council, Tim Bishop, president of the Auburn Pharmacy Alumni Association, and Deidre Bray, president of the Pharmacy Student Government Association.
James I. Harrison Sr. was born in rural Perry County and began his pharmacy career as an employee of Wilkerson Drug in Marion while still in high school. In 1941, 16 years after receiving his AU pharmacy degree, Harrison and his wife, Elizabeth, were able to open the first family-owned store, Central Drug in Tuscaloosa. That store formed the nucleus for the Harco chain of drug stores, which was expanded to 150 stores under the couple's son, James Harrison Jr.
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