September 23, 2002
Auburn ranked 43rd among U.S. public universities
Walker urges unified effort to build 'commons'
Faculty resolutions commend, thank Board
Barker to receive lifetime achievement award
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U.S. News again ranks AU in top 50
U.S. News & World Report magazine has ranked Auburn University 43rd among the nation's top public universities in its annual rankings for 2002-03. AU moved up one spot from its ranking a year ago.
Auburn again was the highest ranked Alabama university listed among the magazine's overall top public universities.
This is the 10th consecutive year that AU has been ranked by U.S. News & World Report. Princeton University was ranked No. 1 nationally.
Meanwhile, engineering programs in AU's Samuel Ginn College of Engineering were ranked No. 35 nationally among the nation's public universities.
Among Southeastern Conference-member public universities, only the University of Florida ranked ahead of Auburn in engineering. No other engineering schools from Alabama were included in the rankings.
AU President William Walker said he was pleased by Auburn's continued high national ranking by the magazine.
"This ranking offers independent proof of the quality of Auburn University and the dividends that can be generated by the modest investment of state dollars in this institution," Walker said. "It is a credit to our students, faculty, staff and Board of Trustees that we've been able to sustain our quality and even improve our national rankings in an era of budget cuts and financial uncertainty."
The only SEC-member universities that ranked ahead of Auburn in the overall national ratings were the University of Florida and the University of Georgia, both of which receive substantially higher per student state appropriations than Auburn.
The newsstand book, "America's Best Colleges," which contains the U.S. News college rankings, went on sale Sept. 16. Most of the rankings and some of the articles from the book are in the Sept. 23 issue of U.S. News & World Report, the weekly newsmagazine.
The method that U.S. News uses to rank colleges and universities consists of two basic steps.
The schools are categorized primarily by mission and, in some cases, region, and the magazine gathers data from each on up to 16 indicators of academic excellence. Each factor is assigned a weight that reflects the magazine's judgment about how much each measure matters.
The indicators the magazine staff uses to capture academic quality fall into seven categories: academic reputation among its peers, retention of students, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, alumni giving, and (for national universities doctoral and liberal arts colleges bachelor's) the graduation rate performance, or the difference between the proportion of students expected to graduate and the proportion who actually do.
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Seeking 'Commons'
Walker urges shared vision, goals for AU
With the start of a new academic year, AU President William Walker has called for a united effort in building a shared sense of mission, vision and goals for the university.
In his State of the University address to the University Faculty on Sept. 10, Walker followed an analysis of the past year with words of caution linked to a report by institutional governance consultant William Weary.
"Auburn, like many of its peer institutions, has had to make some very difficult decisions to retain control of its destiny," Walker said. "But we have indeed retained that control."
However, he added, "I am concerned that in doing so, we have lost our sense of what Bill Weary has called 'the commons,' meaning those shared values and experiences that have made Auburn unique. Restoring our sense of the commons, and our institutional capacity, must continue to be our first order of business."
Citing the need for all parties to put aside past differences and work together, Walker said progress in that effort is vital to the future of the institution.
Walker said he senses a solid foundation on which Auburn can build its institutional strength. He outlined for the assembled faculty six major objectives that AU could pursue enroute to that objective, adding, "I ask you to keep in mind my hope that you will be among those who provide active and unambiguous support for the initiatives that are involved."
As the first step, Walker announced the start of national searches to fill the position of provost and several deans' positions that have been filled on an interim basis for months, and in some cases more than a year.
"Second, we will be addressing Auburn's image of itself and the manner in which we project that image to the outside world," Walker said.
Walker noted that he recently appointed a new executive director of University Relations, John Hachtel, to coordinate and develop strategies for university publications, communication and marketing. "This charge reflects very real concerns I have about the image, or lack thereof, that we as a university are communicating to the world," he added.
Weary, the governance consultant, last year tied his assessment of Auburn's need for institutional "commons" to a set of general recommendations that have since been approved by the Board of Trustees. In his third point, Walker said work is under way to develop specific criteria by which the university can implement Weary's recommendations..
The fourth point, Walker said, is for the university to significantly increase its support from the private sector to finance a higher level of quality than state revenues can support. He announced the appointment of Robert McGinnis from Georgia State University as vice president for development to organize a new capital campaign.
The fifth point, he said, should be a major increase in scholarship funding. "We must turn our attention toward obtaining more scholarship money. That is an area where Auburn is woefully behind its peer institutions, not only in the Southeast but right here in Alabama."
Walker cited, as his sixth point, the need to convince the state's people and their leaders of the value of investment in AU. "One of my goals as president is to see Auburn University play a more prominent role in helping this state economically," he said. "I believe that a research university such as Auburn can serve as a hub from which spokes of economic development can grow."
He said those six goals constitute an agenda that could position Auburn to succeed in a highly competitive educational environment.
"The role of the faculty in carrying out this agenda is critical; the strength of Auburn depends heavily on your passion for her mission," he said. "I ask you to join me in working toward the preeminent status that I believe is within Auburn's reach."
Walker, who retains the academic rank of professor of engineering, asked the faculty to also join him in presenting a fuller picture of academic dialogue to those outside the academic environment. "This is a university, and as all of us know, heated disagreement is what has characterized the academy since the days of Plato. That passionate competition of ideas is all about the search for truth.
"Unfortunately, the outside world does not understand this faculty role very well, if at all," he added. "Our passion for ideas is often seen as petulance, anger and even hatred for those who may disagree with us."
Walker said he hopes to convince those outside the university that debate is desirable and essential for the institution. "I believe that one of my responsibilities is to try to help people understand that what goes on here is a matter of passionate commitment to ideas and therefore represents a significant commitment to the institution," he said. "I believe that the effort to do this is one of the important ways in which a president can support the faculty. And I want you to know that I will do all I can to this end."
Panel recommends increasing health insurance premiums
Escalating increases in health care costs could lead to an increase in health insurance premiums for AU and its faculty and staff next January.
The university's Insurance and Benefits Committee has recommended that health insurance premiums go up 7 percent on Jan. 1 to protect the fiscal health of AU's self-insurance program. That recommendation and four options -- ranging from no increase to increases of up to 10 percent -- are scheduled for consideration by the Board of Trustees on Friday, Sept. 27, in Dixon Conference Center.
Board committee sessions start at 8 a.m., and the full board meets at 1 p.m. The meeting was originally scheduled for Sept. 30 but has been moved up to Friday. Agenda items are subject to change during or before the committee sessions.
Friday's session will provide a final opportunity for the board to review and approve a university budget before the start of the 2002-03 fiscal year on Oct. 1. During the summer, the board approved guidelines and most major aspects of the budget, including pay raises for faculty and staff.
The Insurance and Benefits Committee is a 14-member panel of faculty, staff and administrators. The committee recommended the 7 percent increase in premiums on the basis of current trends and insurance industry forecasts for 2003. The administration concurred in its recommendation to the board.
If the board adopts the recommended increase, the amount of increase will vary from $4 to $15 a month, depending on the person's annual salary and whether the employee has single- or family-coverage. Among other options, a 3 percent increase would range from $2 to $6 per month, and a 10 percent increase would range from $5 to $21 per month.
Employees who earn below $21,000 per year and have single coverage will pay the least, and those who earn $31,500 or more per year and have family coverage will pay the most. The premiums, however, do not reflect the total cost. Depending on individual income, each participating employee's premiums are 20 percent to 40 percent of the total cost for health insurance; the university pays the remainder.
Although costs of health care continue to rise, the proposed increase is smaller than the double-digit increases of the past three years. Rates went up 10 percent for 2002 and 15 percent in each of the two preceding years.
AU's health insurance plan is administered by Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Alabama, but all costs of the plan are borne by the university, which funds the plan through employee premiums and matching AU contributions.
If there is no increase in premiums, the AU insurance plan is projected to take in $26.7 million and pay out $22.6 million in 2003. However, the reserve fund, which includes a small amount carried over from the previous year, would fall by $600,000, leaving a $4 million cushion that the committee determined would reduce the margin for error to an unacceptable level. A 7 percent increase is projected to maintain a reserve of $5.6 million. A 10 percent increase would yield a reserve of $6.25 million.
In a related recommendation, the committee suggests increasing the premium for dental insurance by 15 percent to keep that insurance fund in the black for 2003. The dental insurance is limited to preventative and diagnostic treatment and is now priced at $8.25 per month for singles and $26 per month for families. The proposed increase would set the dental insurance monthly rates at $9.50 for singles and $30 for families.
United Way sets $125,000 goal for AU in 2002
The United Way campaign for 2002 is under way at AU with a goal of $125,000 to assist 35 charities and social service organizations in East Alabama. Susie Hall, executive assistant in the Office of Administrative Services, heads the campus campaign. The AU campaign, which began on Aug. 27, is part of the Lee County United Way campaign, which has a goal of $850,000. Hall said the campus campaign is off to a fast start, raising more than $48,800 -- 39 percent of its goal -- as of Sept. 18.
Since Sept. 1, volunteers have distributed pledge cards and information packets to faculty and staff throughout campus.
Hall said the campaign can reach its goal by Thanksgiving if contributions continue at the current rate. However, she added, the campaign will continue into December if necessary to reach the goal.
The campus campaign is organized around 22 leadership teams that reach out to all colleges, schools and other units at AU. Hall said all faculty and staff are asked to give. "With faculty and staff receiving pay raises this year, we are seeing some people increase their contributions, and we hope that more will also do so," Hall said. United Way contributions are important to the local community because most of the money goes to support the work of local charities and social service organizations, she added.
Of the money raised locally, 91 percent remains in the local area for services and financial assistance to the needy, the disabled, youth groups, sick or injured persons and others with special needs.
Donor support reaches these groups and individuals through such organizations as the East Alabama Food Bank, East Alabama Services for the Elderly, Child Care Alliance, Hospice of East Alabama Medical Center, local operations of the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army and more than two dozen other local charities and organizations.
Faculty resolutions commend, thank Board of Trustees
The University Faculty on Sept. 10 passed a resolution thanking the Board of Trustees and AU administration for developing a strategy that moves faculty salaries closer to the average for flagship state universities in the South.
The assembled faculty also approved a resolution commending the Board of Trustees for establishing advisory, nonvoting seats on the board for faculty from Auburn and AU-Montgomery.
The group amended the resolution on the advisory position to urge the board to make the Auburn faculty position permanent and staffed by either the chair of the University Faculty or a member of the faculty elected for that purpose.
Approximately 175-200 of AU's 1,100 faculty attended the fall assembly in Broun Hall. The crowd size was typical for the semiannual University Faculty assemblies. A large majority approved both measures by voice vote. Those supporting the measures said they wanted to issue a positive response to positive actions by the board.
Opponents said they wanted to refrain from action until an inquiry into governance by the Board of Trustees is concluded this fall. A U.S. district court in Atlanta has appointed Columbus attorney Richard Y. Bradley to conduct the inquiry as part of a settlement agreed to by AU President William Walker and officials of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
University Faculty Chair Barbara Struempler acknowledged that some issues remain unresolved. But, she said, the resolutions demonstrate that relations between the faculty and board can also be positive.
"I personally don't feel that it is incorrect to tell people they did something good," Struempler said.
Pharmacy institute to present lifetime achievement award to Barker
A national pharmaceutical institute has selected Pharmacy Professor Kenneth Barker to receive a lifetime achievement award in recognition of pacesetting work in prevention of prescription errors. Barker, who is the Sterling Distinguished Professor and director of the Center for Pharmacy Operations Design in AU's School of Pharmacy, will receive the award from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices in Atlanta in December.
Since the 1970s, he has been a national leader in the study and prevention of prescription errors. In his latest report, Barker this month released a study which showed that medication errors were found in nearly one of five doses administered in 36 health care facilities in Colorado and Georgia. His findings were published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, a publication of the American Medical Association.
Barker, who came to Auburn in 1975, has also received national attention for the development and assessment of a unit-dose medication distribution system, which is a safety system designed to ensure proper dosages for hospital patients, eliminate drug-therapy errors and improve effectiveness.
In 1998, American Druggist magazine named Barker one of the nation's "50 Most Influential Pharmacists."
Hotel-conference center shows AU ties in interior renovation
The AU Hotel and Dixon Conference Center will have more of an Auburn look in a few months, following a major interior renovation, say officials.
"The overall effect will be one that is brighter, more appealing, more hospitable and much more tied-in with the university," said John Wild, general manager of the AU-owned hotel and conference center.
Renovation of the 248 guest rooms started last fall, and that part is almost complete, said Alvin Bettcher, the facility's director of sales and marketing. Renovation of the conference center will begin in late November and is expected to take three months, he added. Most areas of the building will remain open during remodeling, Bettcher said.
Hotel rooms have new carpeting, bedspreads, drapes and bathroom tile. Some rooms now have DVD players, microwaves and miniature refrigerators. Corridors are also getting new carpet, and some areas are receiving new paint and wallpaper.
The conference center will get new carpet, lighting upgrades, brighter paint and wallpaper, more functional and additional auditorium seating, new tables for the computer room and new desks for the seminar room.
The conference center has upgraded its presentation equipment for the meeting rooms, and the auditorium features a new DVD player and upgraded sound system and projector.
To emphasize the facility's AU ties, work crews are replacing the faded crimson carpet with dark blue carpet throughout. Bettcher said the change in colors and additional reminders of the AU connection are in response to suggestions from many guests. "We think most people will be very pleased with the new look," he added.
He added that the AU seal will be used as a focal point in one or more public areas. The hotel and conference center are managed for the university by the Richfield Hospitality Services, a national hotel management company that managed the hotel for its private owners. The university assumed ownership of the entire facility in 1999, and the university retained Richfield to manage both the hotel and the conference center.
The management group has spent about $700,000 on the renovation this year and projects the improvements in the coming year to cost $500,000 to $1 million.
Wild said the management team sees the renovation as an opportunity to let visitors know they are at Auburn University when they are in the hotel and conference center.
"We want everyone to know that we are part of Auburn University," Wild said. "We want visitors to enjoy and be part of the Auburn experience, and we want people on campus to think of us first when they plan activities."
The hotel-conference center is attracting attention within the tourism industry. Meetings magazine recently named the Auburn facility among 54 top meeting sites in the Southeast, Caribbean and Mexico.
AmSouth donates funds for classroom
AmSouth Bank has donated $250,000 to finance and name a 60-seat classroom in a new building for AU's School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences. Construction on the building southwest of the Hill Dorms is scheduled to begin this fall.
The classroom will accommodate the latest instructional technology, including computer connections at all seats. The room will also include projection systems, state-of-the-art audiovisual capability and flexible seating.
"We've got a longstanding, good relationship with Auburn University," said Arthur DuCote, the area executive for AmSouth's Central Alabama operations. "At this time, with the strength of the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences and our natural resources department being a natural match for each other, we felt like supporting the school's new campus building was a perfect way for us to partner together."
The bank employs several foresters, including seven AU forestry graduates. AmSouth manages natural resources and real estate assets in 39 states. The foresters manage real estate assets that includes timberland.
"We manage those assets to meet the objectives of our landowners or the beneficiaries of the trusts," said Don Heath, manager of AmSouth's Natural Resources and Real Estate Group.
Heath is a 1973 Auburn graduate and serves on the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences Advisory Council.
AU ranked high for African-American graduates in engineering
Auburn improved its ranking to 13th nationally among colleges and universities in graduating African-Americans with bachelor's degrees in engineering, according to a new survey by Black Issues in Higher Education.
A year ago, in its first appearance in that publication's top 20, AU was 16th. Black Issues in Higher Education's rankings are based on graduation data that colleges and universities provided to the U. S. Department of Education for the 2000-01 academic year. The data come from both historically black and predominately white institutions.
"We credit Auburn engineering's BellSouth Minority Engineering Program in bringing our enrollment and graduation numbers to levels never before achieved, said Larry Benefield, dean of the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering.
"This program has proven that a well-structured academic support network can make a real difference in the education of our students," said Benefield. "Since the fall of 1996, when this program was begun under the leadership of President Walker (who was then dean of engineering), we have seen steady increases in Auburn Engineering's rankings for African-American enrollment.
Benefield attributed much of the progress to Assistant Dean Dennis Weatherby, who has directed the program since its inception. The dean said much of the credit also goes to student leaders in the college who have worked on behalf of the program.
The BellSouth Minority Engineering Program provides proactive tutoring and mentoring to underrepresented minorities entering the engineering curriculum.
"Our academic support programs have been successful because we have focused on the most important issues of retention and creating an environment that fosters success," said Weatherby. "As a result, the number of African-American engineering baccalaureates has increased every year. The number of minorities graduating from Auburn with bachelor's degrees in engineering is up nearly 61 percent since 1996."
During the 2000-2001 academic year, AU produced 45 African-American engineers, ranking ahead of such programs as MIT, ranked 14th, with 43 graduates; Virginia Tech, ranked No. 22, with 28; Purdue, ranked 37th, with 20; and Stanford, which was 49th, with 16 graduates. The top two institutions were North Carolina A&T and Georgia Tech.
"Auburn Engineering has made retention and graduation of our minority students the hallmark of our success," Weatherby said. "We have always believed that if we could build a results-oriented retention program, recruiting and increased enrollment would be easier. We are thrilled to have this national recognition for Auburn University, the Ginn College of Engineering and our academic support programs."
Since the BellSouth Minority Engineering Program began, the number of African-Americans earning degrees has steadily increased, with Auburn engineering showing steady growth in graduation numbers over the past five year -- from 28 in 1997-98 to 45 in 2000-01.
"The BellSouth Minority Engineering Program has taken a very proactive approach to retaining students," he said. "Instead of waiting for students to drop in whenever they feel like they need assistance in their coursework, we ask program participants to maintain a weekly tutorial scheduled with BMEP that consists of several one-hour sessions between their class times. This arrangement allows the students to view their participation in BMEP as a part of their academic schedule."
Research suggests that providing structured academic support in this way is effective in meeting students' academic needs, Weatherby said. The program's sessions provide assistance in mathematics, chemistry and physics, and include one-on-one tutoring and collaborative learning group study that allow students to learn from upper-level engineering students, as well as from their classmates.
Black Issues in Higher Education, the nation's only news magazine dedicated exclusively to minority issues in higher education, has nationwide circulation in excess of 200,000.
Students' design wins high marks for energy efficiency
Researchers from the U. S. Department of Energy's Building America program recently tested and evaluated Auburn's DesignHabitat home using the Home Energy Rating System and found it to be an "Energy Star" house, the first Habitat house to meet the department's rigorous standard.
Students and faculty from AU's College of Architecture, Design and Construction, worked with the state chapter of Habitat for Humanity and the nonprofit organization DesignAlabama to design and build a new type of Habitat house, dubbed "DesignHabitat." The Opelika house incorporates a wide variety of innovations to achieve maximum energy efficiency, durability and practicality.
David Hinson, an associate professor of architecture who led the student team, said a goal of the DesignHabitat project was to conserve energy resources and save money for homeowners. "That significant goal has been realized and the 50-home campaign can make a significant difference to Habitat homeowners in the state," he said.
Members of the Alabama Association of Habitat Affiliates have said they hope that the prototype will become a standard approach for affordable housing and have developed a campaign to build 50 DesignHabitat houses in the state.
Through the national Energy Star program, homes are rated similar to the auto industry's miles-per-gallon ratings. Those that are predicted to be 30 percent more efficient than the national model energy code, including the DesignHabitat home, are awarded the designation.
The 30 percent savings translates into as much as $400 annual saving for an average three-bedroom home. Savings are achieved through a combination of cost-effective, proven-energy improvements including a properly sealed duct system, optimum window orientation, climate appropriate levels of insulation in the floors, walls, and ceiling, efficient windows and high-efficiency heating and cooling equipment.
AU students who designed and built the DesignHabitat house, looked to designs from the past to minimize the need for heating and cooling. Porches and overhangs protect the south-facing windows. Natural ventilation receives an assist from a whole-house fan that pulls hot air out of the house and draws cooler air through open windows even when bedroom doors are closed. Louvered transom vents over bedroom doors allow air to flow freely through those rooms, improving ventilation, comfort and indoor air quality.
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