President Emeritus Wilford Bailey dies
AU presents Legislative Tiger awards
Tisdales return to AU after surgery
'War Eagle' fight song composer dies
Journal names Auburn a 'dreamtown'
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A memorial service was scheduled for 3 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 10, at the Auburn Church of Christ.
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Bailey's academic career at Auburn spanned 50 years, including service as interim president of AU in 1983-84. His success in that role prompted the university's Board of Trustees to confer the title of president on him retroactively in 1984. He later went on to serve as president of the NCAA in 1987-88 and as Auburn's first University Professor until 1992.
AU's current president, William V. Muse, recalled Bailey as a man who had a huge impact on the university. "Dr. Bailey served higher education and Auburn University for portions of eight decades in so many significant roles, including president, NCAA president, veterinary medicine faculty member, student and adviser," Muse said.
"His leadership and counsel have been celebrated and marked by distinction, dedication and wisdom," he added. "At a luncheon honoring our summer graduates, just a day before his heart surgery, Dr. Bailey made an impromptu speech that reached the heart of every person assembled. He told us how honored he had been to serve. We knew the honor was ours to have known and been guided by him."
Bailey was days away from his 62nd birthday and retirement as a professor of veterinary medicine when he accepted appointment as interim president of AU on Feb. 27, 1983.
A biblical scholar outside the academic realm, Bailey spent the next 11 months uniting with an evangelistic fervor a campus which was recovering from three years of conflict over leadership issues that had culminated with the resignation of the previous president. Rather than serve as a caretaker, Bailey rallied the faculty, students, trustees and alumni to a united effort at improving the university's finances and academic standing.
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Known as a "healer and mender," Bailey said during his Auburn presidency that he wanted to be remembered for having improved the educational environment in which Auburn must operate. "If the environment is not there, the quality of programs is not likely to be more than mediocre," he said. "Mediocrity is completely unacceptable."
A 1938 graduate of Morgan County High School in Hartselle, Bailey came to Auburn to study veterinary medicine and spent the remainder of his life affiliated with the university. After earning his doctor of veterinary medicine degree in 1942, he taught in the then-School of Veterinary Medicine while earning his master's degree in 1946 and remained a faculty member in the school throughout his career.
Bailey took professional improvement leave from Auburn to earn a doctorate from Johns Hopkins University in 1950. Returning to campus, he developed an international reputation for his research and teaching in parasitology. While on the veterinary faculty, he was named coordinator of research and associate dean of the AU Graduate School in 1962.
President Harry M. Philpott named Bailey as Auburn's vice president for academic affairs in 1966 and added administrative affairs to his title and responsibilities three years later.
Philpott remembers Bailey as both an oustanding leader and a close personal friend. "Wilford Bailey will be numbered among the most outstanding leaders of Auburn University in its 144-year history," he said. "As a teacher, administrator, president and one who always sought the highest standards for the university, he will be remembered for eternity.
"Auburn has lost a peerless educator and I have lost a dear friend and his
wonderful family has lost a devoted husband and father," Philpott added.
"All who loved him and love Auburn mourn his passing but thank God for
his life."
Bailey took leave from the university in 1972 to serve as chief of the parasitology and medical entomology branch of the National Institutes of Health. He returned to campus in 1974 as a faculty member and administrator in veterinary medicine and held several affiliated positions over the next decade. He was retiring from service as director of the USDA Regional Parasite Research Laboratory and coordinator of special projects for AU's Research Office when he agreed to serve as interim president of the university.
Following his second attempt at retirement in 1984, the Board of Trustees named Bailey president emeritus and Auburn's first University Professor. Holding the professorship part-time, he resumed writing on issues in higher education and expanded his efforts to improve the relationship between athletics and academics. During that period, he focused increasingly on athletic regulations and academic standards and served on the NCAA governing board as secretary treasurer and president.
Bailey retired as University Professor in 1992, and spent his remaining
years in church, family and civic activities in the Auburn community. In
the late 1980s, he looked toward his third attempt at retirement and said,
"I have no more mountains to climb, but I won't just sit in my rocking
chair. It's not my style."
He is surved by his wife of 58 years, Cratus Hester "Kate" Bailey; two sisters, Freda Nance of Lawrenceburg, Tenn., and Frances B. Watson of Auburn; two son, W. Edward Bailey of Rye, N.Y., and Joe S. Bailey of Auburn; two daughters, Margaret B. Newcomb of Charlottsville, Va., and Sara B. Clark of Atlanta; and eight grandchildren.
Legislative Tiger awards go to Butler, Hubbard
A veteran state senator from Huntsville and a first-term state representative from Auburn are recipients of Auburn University's Legislative Tiger awards for 2000.
Sen. Tom Butler and Rep. Mike Hubbard received the awards from AU President William Muse in recognition of their support for the university during the 2000 session of the Alabama Legislature.
Muse made the presentations during a recent meeting of the Auburn Legislative Action Network, an organization of several hundred Auburn supporters from around the state. The AU president noted that many legislators had shown support for Auburn during the legislative session and several had been especially active in their support on issues affecting the university. Butler and Hubbard stood out, he said, because of their tenacity and perseverance on behalf of Auburn during the session.
"These two legislators are both highly deserving of this recognition because of their dedication to Auburn and their support for our legislative efforts," Muse said.
Butler, an Auburn graduate, is Senate majority leader and Senate floor leader. A member of the Legislature since 1982, and a member of the Senate since 1995, he represents Limestone, Morgan and Madison counties. During the 2000 session, Butler was instrumental in passage of a bill to provide universities more flexibility in extension of competitively bid contracts, and he led funding initiatives on behalf of outreach programs for practicing pharmacists in Alabama.
This is the second consecutive year that Hubbard has won the award. Hubbard's district includes AU and the city of Auburn. Muse said Hubbard was very active in support of funding for Auburn in the Alabama House and helped secure additional funding for needed programs ranging from turfgrass research to services and training to public school students with disabilities.
The award was established in 1998 and was first presented to former Rep. Pete Turnham of Auburn, who retired that year after 40 years of service in the Legislature.
Health insurance costs going up Jan. 1
The rising cost of prescription drugs and health care will hit the
university and the pocketbooks of the faculty and staff, starting Jan. 1.
Monthly health insurance rates will increase 15 percent. Employees will
pay $91, up from $79, for individual coverage and $191, up from $166, for
family coverage. The university's matching share will also increase 15
percent to $136.50 per single employee and $286.50 for employees with
family coverage.
Employees will also pay more for visits to the doctor and for non-generic prescriptions. The employee co-pay for office visits will go from $20 to $25, and the outpatient facility co-pay from $25 to $50. The co-pay for prescriptions will remain $5 for generic drugs and will increase from $15 to $20 when the doctor specifies a brand that is on a Blue Cross/Blue Shield list of covered brands and $25 when the drug is not on that list.
The Board of Trustees agreed to the increases in fees to Auburn's health insurance plan on the recommendation of the University Insurance and Benefits Committee and the university administration. Executive Vice President Don Large told the board that rapidly rising medical costs are pushing up the cost of coverage.
In the other major action of the meeting, the board gave quick, final approval to a new operating budget for the university. The $503.3 million budget for the AU System went into effect on Oct. 1, along with pay raises for faculty and staff and funding increases for departments. The budget had been developed along guidelines approved by the board in June.
The rising cost of insurance led board members to request alternatives from the administration on ways to hold down future costs. Auburn contracts with Blue Cross/Blue Shield for administrative services but is self-insured and must pay all claims from its insurance reserve fund, which is maintained with fees collected from employees and the university.
Board members asked Large to develop comparative information for future discussion on the Alabama Retirement Systems' Public Education Employees Health Insurance Plan, which is also administered by Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
Large said PEEHIP membership for AU would be cheaper for employees but would cost the university more because PEEHIP member institutions pay 99.4 percent of the cost for individually insured employees and 72 percent for employees with family coverage. Auburn pays 60 percent and all employees participating in the university health insurance plan pay 40 percent under the current plan.
The goal, Large said, is to keep the plan's reserve fund above the industry standard of 14 percent of annual cost. The reserve fund, which guarantees that all claims are paid, is projected to drop from $4.1 million to below $3.9 million. That figure would still be $1 million above the 14 percent threshold, but the numbers for 2001 are estimates. The plan will have to pay all legitimate claims, even if the claims exceed projections.
Large said the university must maintain a balancing act with the insurance pool, keeping it safely above the minimum but avoiding having so large a pool of funds that federal government auditors would be likely to object. Insurance costs are factored into federal research grants, and auditors see large reserve funds as driving up costs excessively, he noted.
This will be the second consecutive year that health insurance premiums have increased 15 percent. The Insurance and Benefits Committee warned in 1999 that two years of increases would be necessary to meet the insurance plan's obligations and protect its reserve fund.
In five of the previous six years, AU had no increase in premiums. Large said the university managed to avoid increases during much of the 1990s because of price stability in the health care industry and savings the university generated by moving AU retirees to PEEHIP coverage.
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AU agreement with state agency enables disabled to hunt
People with disabilities will soon have their own hunting area on AU owned land in Bullock County. That access will come as a result of action by the AU Board of Trustees on Sept. 29.
The board approved a resolution authorizing a cooperative wildlife management agreement between AU's Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station and the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The resolution will enable the state agency to improve access by disabled people to hunting areas on the university's Turnipseed Ikenberry Place in Bullock County.
Sen. Lowell Barron of Fyffe, chairman of the board's Property and Facilities Committee, recommended the proposal to the board, and M.N. "Corky" Pugh of Conservation and Natural Resources endorsed it. The board voted unanimously for the proposal after John Clayton of Tallassee, a disabled hunter, urged Auburn to assist the state in making more hunting areas accessible to persons with disabilities.
Emergency signal sends astronaut to airport
An early morning visit to the President's Home usually signals trouble on campus, or so AU President William Muse thought as he greeted campus police officers who knocked at his door at 6:30 a.m. one recent Saturday.
That though gave way to one about the university-owned airport when the officers spoke to Muse. They were looking for Auburn alumnus and NASA astronaut Jim Voss. Voss and his wife Suzan had spent the night of Sept. 29-30 as a guest of the Muses. The officers said there was an emergency signal coming from his plane at the Auburn-Opelika Airport, and Voss needed to get out there as soon as possible.
The emergency soon turned out to be a false alarm but not before some anxious moments.
Voss, who has circled the earth many times as an astronaut, is also a veteran pilot who flew his own plane, a rear-engine craft classified as "experimental" because of its uniqueness, from Houston to Auburn. Following the usual procedure for that aircraft, he had parked it nosedown at the airport and secured it for the night.
Rain the night before had seeped into the cockpit, triggering the plane's emergency beacon, which sent a satellite signal to the Federal Aviation Authority. The FAA notified the Auburn airport, which reported the plane safely parked. Airport personnel then asked campus police to contact Voss to turn off the beacon.
"It turned out not to have been serious, but we did have an anxious moment or two at first," Muse said. "It is kind of unusual when your doorbell rings at 6:30 in the morning and you look out the window to see a police car out front. We were all relieved when we found out what happened."
Todd Storey, interim director of the Auburn-Opelika Airport, said such false alarms are fairly common for all airports because the emergency signals are pre-set to be sensitive to disturbances as a safety precaution. "Anytime the FAA picks up an emergency signal, they have certain procedures that have to be followed," Storey said. "It would be better not to have false alarms, but I am glad we have the emergency signals in aircraft."
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Composer of 'War Eagle' fight song dies
Robert Allen, composer of the Auburn fight song "War Eagle," died of colon cancer on Oct. 1 at his home in Quogue, N.Y., according to The New York Times. He was 73.
Allen, who also wrote "Chances Are" and hundreds of other compositions, wrote the music to "War Eagle" while his collaborator, Al Stillman, wrote the lyrics.
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"War Eagle" was commissioned in 1954 by prominent Auburn alumnus Roy B. Sewell, who sought out what he considered the best of the big-city songwriters and charged them with writing a song "to express the spirit which has sparked the Tigers' amazing football comeback."
Hubert Liverman, who served as head of the Auburn Department of Music from 1951-1967 and put together the first arrangement of "War Eagle" for the Auburn Marching Band, recalled when he first played the song.
"I was on a committee of some nature examining the song and I went to (then-Auburn President Ralph Brown Draughon's) office and he called several people in and I played it on the piano for them," said Liverman, now retired and living in Hendersonville, N.C. "They asked my opinion and I told them that it was very, very good -- extremely good -- and that we ought to use it."
After Liverman put together the arrangement, the marching band -- under the direction of Dave Herbert -- played it for the first time on Sept. 24, 1955 at a football game .
"It was a good song," recalled Herbert, who was director of bands at Auburn from 1948 through 1955. "It replaced 'Auburn Victory March' that we used to play a lot, but sort of faded out after 'War Eagle.' We recognized that 'War Eagle' was a good fight song for Auburn and we played it regularly after that."
Some editorial writers criticized the song, prompting The Lee County Bulletin to respond: "'War Eagle is a fighting song expressing in music the undaunted spirit of today's revitalized Tigers."
Expatriate Cuban writer dies during stay at AU
Heberto Padilla, a quiet Cuban poet whose criticism of the Castro regime drew international exposure, died peacefully in his Auburn apartment on Sept. 25, but not without admirers and friends.
A visiting writer-in-residence in AU's Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures for just five weeks, Padilla was found in his apartment by a faculty colleague and student, concerned that he had missed his three classes that day. The Auburn Police Department said Padilla, who had a history of heart problems, died of natural causes.
"He used no notes, no book. He would just talk," said Leslie Maxwell, a graduate student from Cairo, Ga. She was enrolled in Padilla's graduate seminar in Hispanic literature and culture. "It was amazing the amount of information that just came from him. Every name he threw out he could quote. It was very hard to keep up with him."
As Miami Herald reporter Fabiola Santiago wrote, Padilla was "in virtual
house arrest" as a persecuted intellectual by the Castro government from
1971 until, with the help of Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., he was able to
come to the United States in 1980. Padilla was a faculty member at New
York University, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars,
Ohio State University and Bowdoin College, among others, before joining
the Auburn faculty for the fall semester.
His companion, Lourdes Gil, a faculty member at New School University in New York City, said her husband was "very impressed with the school and the students" at Auburn. "He found the students eager, intellectually aware, a true academic environment," she said.
Jose Madrigal, head of the AU Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, who recruited Padilla, said the visiting writer in residence fascinated students and faculty alike "because he was not a critic, he was a poet who was teaching what poetry is all about." Padilla was teaching undergraduate courses in Spanish composition and conversation in addition to the graduate seminar.
Despite the brevity of Padilla's experience at Auburn, Madrigal said he had planned to extend Padilla's one-year contract because of his knowledge of world literature.
"He was so intellectually deep," said faculty colleague Nicolas Alvarez. "It was not at all common how he was able to understand poetry, and he was able to express his assessment of a colleague in one word. Then you would have to think what he meant."
Archaeology staff member dies in traffic accident
Jonathan F. Harmon, a technician II in AU's Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work's archaeology program, died following a traffic accident on Oct. 2 near Lafayette. He was 36.
The funeral was Oct. 5 at Pleasant Grove Christian Church, with burial at Macedonia Church Cemetery.
Harmon received his bachelor's degree in 1993 from AU in anthropology and archaeology and a master's degree in sociology and anthropology from AU in 1998. He had been involved in several archaeological surveys and excavations in Chambers, Lee and Macon counties, including the excavation of Fort Tyler, a Civil War fort in West Point, Ga. Harmon also worked with AU, the Russell County Commission and the Alabama Historical Commission to excavate the Fort Mitchell Historic Site. Harmon had also worked as an archaeological consultant in the private sector.
State troopers said Harmon lost control of his pickup truck after an oncoming car crossed the center line of Chambers County Road 114, causing the two vehicles to make contact. Harmon, who was driving east toward his home in Union Hill at 7:50 p.m., was ejected from his truck after it flipped several times. The driver of the car was not hurt.
Lee County Coroner Bill Harris said Harmon died at 11 p.m. at East Alabama Medical Center from massive head and body injuries. An autopsy was ordered by the district attorney's office. According to Harris, the 82 year-old driver of the other vehicle said he was blinded, apparently by Harmon's headlights.
Tisdales return to work after surgery
Three weeks after Connie and Scott Tisdale underwent surgery to transfer one of her kidneys to him, the Auburn couple were back at work in AU's Office of Information Technology.
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Connie returned parttime to Division of University Computing offices in the L Building and Scott to DUC offices in Parker Hall on Sept. 27, weeks earlier than doctors had predicted. By the following week they were back at work fulltime.
"We were getting better so fast that we wanted to get back to work," Connie said. "We were tired of sitting around the house."
Doctors at the University of Alabama Medical Center in Birmingham removed a kidney from Connie and transferred it to Scott on Sept. 6. Transplant operations involving married couples are rare, but the Tisdales had matching blood types and met other anti-rejection criteria, prompting the couple's decision to attempt the transplant.
The Tisdales entered their North Auburn neighborhood following their release from the hospital a few days after the surgery to find trees decorated with yellow ribbons by neighbors on their behalf. Back at work, Connie noted that her co-workers had kept her from getting behind and were helping out on her projects. "Everyone has been more helpful and more caring than I would have thought possible," she said.
Scott will continue regular visits to his doctor in Montgomery for bloodwork for several more months as he continues a regimen of treatments to help his body accept the new kidney. "So far all the signs are good, but it will be day-to-day for the next six to nine months," he said.
One of the hardest parts of the entire experience, Scott said, had been meeting persons with kidney disease who had been trying for years to get a donated kidney. Connie said many lives could be saved if more people would make advance arrangements for transplant of their organs after their death.
Internet2 speeds links with other campuses
If you think the Internet was a communication wonder, wait until you see Internet2. Auburn has linked with more than 170 other universities and more than 60 industry and government sites in development of Internet2, a consortium developing expanded Internet capabilities for research partnerships.
Internet2, a copyrighted name, utilizes the existing campus network, said Richard Burnett, AU's interim director of the Office of Information Technology. The added distinction of Internet2, he said, is that it brings together research universities and research leaders in government and industry in collaborative efforts to both develop and utilize the newest technologies.
Internet2 members are connected through central switching stations that speed communications and enable researchers to employ technologies that are not available to most Internet users. For instance, anytime an Internet user at Auburn goes to another Internet2 member's web site, the user will be automatically routed over Internet2 to the web site.
After several months of testing, AU went fully operational with Internet2 in mid September.
Most users will not notice any difference, but the new routing capabilities enable researchers and other educators to reach each other faster with much more complex communications than previously, said Bliss Bailey, Auburn's OIT network administrator. The Internet2 home page touts the system as advantageous for "virtual laboratories," "digital libraries" and "distributed instruction," including music instruction over the Internet.
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Activities to fill calendar for homecoming
Auburn will celebrate homecoming week Oct. 16-21 with concerts, comedy acts, cookouts and cake races, culminating with the Oct. 21 home football game with Louisiana Tech.
The events begin on Tuesday, Oct. 17, with the Miss Glomerata pageant at 7 p.m. in the Foy Union Ballroom. On Wednesday, Omicron Delta Kappa National Honor Society will sponsor its annual cake race at 3 p.m., a homecoming tradition started by former Auburn track coach Wilbur Hutsell in which participants who finish the 3.2-mile course receive homemade cakes.
The AU Program Council will sponsor Tigermania, a week of entertainment including free movies and a comedy concert and highlighted by a free concert featuring the popular rock band Sister Hazel. The concert will be at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 19, at the Bibb Graves Amphitheater.
That Friday and Saturday, the AU Alumni Association will host a reunion for the classes of 1951-59, featuring a Friday night Decade Dinner with AU President William V. Muse and James Samford, president pro tem of the AU Board of Trustees.
On Oct. 21, University Relations and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System will host "Media Day." Activities will include the annual Alabama Press Association Newspaper Hall of Honor induction ceremony at 10 p.m., at Draughon Library Rick Lockridge, CNN's technology correspondent, will speak to Alabama broadcasters at 9:30 a.m., at Foy Student Union, Room 213. The Alabama Farmers Federation and the Alabama Pork Producers will co-sponsor a barbecue lunch on the library lawn for print and broadcast media guests.
Several AU colleges and schools will honor alumni, friends and parents with gameday gatherings, including the College of Agriculture's annual Ag Roundup, barbecues by the College of Engineering and the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, and a cocktail reception by the College of Education. The College of Science and Mathematics will be featured at the Alumni Association tent adjacent to Jordan-Hare Stadium.
The homecoming football game kicks off at 1 p.m. Saturday. Halftime ceremonies will include the crowning of AU's Miss Homecoming for 2000. Students vote Thursday, Oct. 19.
Business journal names Auburn a 'dreamtown'
AU is located in one "dreamtown" and next door to another. That's the word from a national business journal. The cities of Auburn and Opelika have been named among America's best small cities by Demographics Daily, a unit of American City Business Journals of Charlotte, N.C.
The publication designated the two Lee County cities as "dreamtowns," which the business journal defined as among 141 "cities with populations of 10,000 to 50,000 that offer an outstanding quality of life." The Mobile Bay communities of Fairhope and Daphne were the only other Alabama small cities to make the list, and Auburn, at number 38, was the only one to make the publication's top 40.
Demographics Daily based the list on its own study, which examined each city's economic vitality, supply of good jobs, support for schools, crime and traffic stress levels, connection to cultural opportunities, access to health care, cost of living and small-town character.
One common characteristic of many of the cities was the presence of a college or university in their midst. Morgantown, W. Va., the business journal's pick for No. 1, is home to West Virginia University. The highest ranking Southern small city was Oxford, Miss., home of the University of Mississippi; Charlottesville and Blacksburg, Va., home of Virginia's flagship state universities, also made the list.
'Peak' program receives USDA grant
The Detection and Food Safety Peak of Excellence has secured funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to create a project aimed at making engineers and scientists more familiar with each other.
Bill Gale, associate professor of materials engineering, and Donald Conner, professor of poultry science, were awarded a two-year, $178,000 grant to develop web-based modules that will introduce engineering students to biological science. Similarly, food science and agriculture students will learn more about engineering as it relates to food safety. The program will not only help the multi-departmental Detection and Food Safety research faculty, but also flattens the learning curve for students who are part of the team.
"This cross-disciplinary experience will equip students to compete successfully for some of the best jobs that U.S. industry has to offer," Gale said. The DFS research team is seeking ways to reduce food borne illnesses, which affect more than 33 million Americans each year.
Cellular, Molecular Biosciences faculty receive grants
Faculty in Auburn's Peak of Excellence program in Cellular and Molecular Biosciences were recently awarded grants for the purchase of equipment for ongoing research.
Six grant proposals were approved by a CMB committee for a total of $27,822, said Curt Bird, a professor of pathiobiology and interim director of AU's CMB Peak of Excellence.
AU's CMB program is built on research strengths of Auburn life sciences faculty in the colleges of Sciences and Mathematics, Agriculture, Veterinary Medicine and Human Sciences. "The requests were awarded based on scientific merit and impact on CMB-related research on campus," said Bird. "Most proposals were for very basic needs and in some instances, the small equipment grant money was the catalyst for receiving additional funds from the individual departments."
NASA to host conference on web and TV
NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin will host the NASA-University Cyber Conference from 1-4 p.m. on Oct. 19 to share NASA's plans for strengthening its partnerships with universities and colleges.
Associate administrators for NASA's Enterprises will discuss increased opportunities and funding for 2001 and beyond. The conference will be broadcast over NASA-TV and webcast over the Internet, with interactive Q&A sessions.
For information on how to observe or participate, go to the conference web site.
BC/BS extends on-campus access in person, on web
AU's Blue Cross/Blue Shield representative will be on campus in Ingram 212 from 10-11:45 a.m., Tuesday, Oct. 17, to meet with faculty and staff who have questions or need assistance concerning their BC/BS insurance coverage. No appointment is necessary.
Blue Cross/Blue Shield also provides services to faculty and staff over the BC/BS web site. Through that site, persons insured by the AU health plan may download or order claim forms, order replacement ID cards, check provide directories or correspond by e-mail to BC/BS customer service and obtain a response within 24 hours.
Nominations of students sought for USA Today team
Do you know of a student who you think is the best and brightest on campus? The Office of University Relations is looking for Auburn's most talented undergraduate student to nominate for USA Today's All-USA Academic Team.
University Relations is compiling information to help select the Auburn student who will be nominated for the honor, and we're seeking input campuswide from faculty.
The national newspaper will name 60 students to its First, Second and Third Teams of the 2001 All-USA Academic Team. They will be featured in a two-page color spread in the newspaper and the 20 members of the First Team will each receive a $2,500 award and be the paper's guests at an awards luncheon.
E-mail your nomination to Janet McCoy (mccoyjl@auburn.edu) in University Relations. Include a paragraph on why you think this student deserves the recognition, list some of his or her on- or off-campus accomplishments and detail any additional information to help a nominating committee select the best candidate.
Deadline for entry to University Relations is Friday, Oct. 20. Following that, University Relations will assemble a committee of faculty and others to choose AU's nominee. The criteria are designed to find students who excel not only in scholarship but also in leadership roles on and off campus.
Nominations sought for teaching awards
The Auburn Alumni Association is seeking nominations for Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Awards.
Students, alumni and others are invited to nominate professors from Auburn's colleges and schools. Each award winner will be presented a plaque and a $1,000 honorarium at the Alumni Scholars and Professors Reception in early 2001.
To nominate a faculty member or support a nomination, send a letter describing that person's teaching performance, knowledge of subject, interest in students, impact on the nominator's own educational experience and influence with AU. Direct the letter to Liz Peel, Alumni Teaching Awards, Auburn Alumni Center. Deadline for nominations is Dec. 7. Call 844-1146 for additional information.
Blanks appointed to outreach post in Engineering
George W. Blanks has been appointed as director of Engineering Outreach and Continuing Education in the College of Engineering.
"EOCE represents the engineering component of a new partnership that combines business and engineering outreach and continuing education," College of Engineering Dean Benefield said in making the announcement.
"This collaborative effort has been designed to better serve graduates who
have begun their careers and are looking to further their skills."
Engineering's graduate outreach program, which includes the master of
engineering distance degree programs, represents for-credit academic
offerings within EOCE, while the programs and services of what
previously was the Engineering Extension Service, represent continuing
education offerings.
Blanks has been with the College of Engineering since 1996. He previously held positions at Auburn as assistant director of student life and assistant director of housing and residence life. He earned a doctorate from AU in educational leadership, a master's degree from the University of Alabama in Birmingham in counselor education, and a bachelor's degree from Samford University in communication.
"We are entering a challenging era in outreach and continuing education, with a closer focus on client satisfaction as our goal," Blanks said. "I feel fortunate to be able to take a part in the development of this program, as we seek a higher level of service."
Sessions on outreach technology scheduled
The Office of Distance Learning and Outreach Technology will sponsor a series of "brown bag" seminars this fall.
Sessions are held around the lunch hour and participants eat lunch during the session. Participants in the first session will be served a light lunch. Those in the other November and December sessions will bring their own.
The first session, "Going the Distance in Education," will be from noon 1:15 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18, in Ballroom B, right, of the Dixon Conference Center. That session will feature Rick Alekna, director of distance learning; Sandy Einsel, DLOT program developer; and Diane Thorne, DLOT multimedia specialist.
"Converse with Your Colleagues on the Distance Learning Experience" will be the subject of a session from 12:30-1:45 p.m., Nov. 16, in Mell 102. Speakers will be Peter Grandjean, assistant professor of health & human performance; Emmett Winn, assistant professor of communication; and Tom Martinson, professor of geography
The third session will be "Instructional Media Group, Media Production Group and Distance Learning: How These Offices Work Together to Support You in Your Distance Education Experience." That session will be from 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m., Dec. 5, in Mell 102, and will feature James Barnes of the Instructional Media Group and Tom Lenard of the Office of Instructional Technology's Media Production Group.
To register, contact Sandy Einsel, program developer, by phone at 844 3476 or by e-mail at einsesm@auburn.edu
Sessions to study faculty issues in online learning
The following Distance Learning and Outreach Technology Teleconferences have been scheduled in the "Faculty Issues in Online Learning" PBS teleconference series:
* "Are You History? Faculty Job Security in an Online World," Thursday, Oct. 12.
* "With a Little Help from My Friends: Implementing Information Technology into the Curriculum," Dec. 7.
* "Control, Conflict and Courseware: Intellectual Property in Online Education, " Feb. 8.
* "Staying the Course: Retaining Online Students," April 19.
All showings are from 1:30-3 p.m. and will be available on AU Campus Cable Channel 17. For more information or if you plan to view the teleconferences in 102 Mell Hall,contact Sandy Einsel, 844-3476, or e mail einsesm@auburn.edu
AU swimmer to compete in paralympics
Auburn University was well represented at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney with 18 athletes competing in a variety of sports, but one athlete is waiting until mid October before vying for a medal.
While 17 athletes and Auburn swim coach David Marsh participated in the Olympic Games, Carrie Willoughby of Birmingham will compete in the 2000 Paralympics Games in Sydney, starting Oct. 20.
Willoughby, who has been legally blind since birth with the disease albinism, will compete in several swimming events. She has qualified to swim in the 50 meter freestyle, 100 meter freestyle and the 200 individual medley as well as a possible wild-card spot on a relay team.
Willoughby is one of hundreds of athletes competing in the Paralympics Games, set for Oct. 18-29, who have overcome personal challenges to compete in athletic events.
The Paralympics are a multi-sport, multi-disability competition of elite, world-class, disabled athletes, similar in scope to the Olympic Games. The difference between the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games is that the Paralympics provide a competition opportunity for athletes who have a disability that precludes their involvement in the Olympic Games.
Paralympic athletes go through rigorous training year-round to prepare for their respective events, says Willoughby's coach, Eric Smith of Auburn Aquatics. "Carrie is really no different from any of my other swimmers," says Smith. "She's an extremely hard worker, is very dedicated to the sport and wants to win. Her goal was to make the Paralympic Team and she's done that."
And while she competes as hard as other athletes, Willoughby has to go the extra mile, said Smith. "What we have to do that is a little different is that I have to give her a little more explanation outside the water because she cannot see markers in the water that help all swimmers know where they are in the pool," he said. "Carrie has a more difficult time than sighted swimmers in knowing where she is in the pool. To compensate for that, she has to know how many strokes she takes per lane so she can do a flip turn at the right time.
"It's taken years and years of training for her to be natural in the water," he added. "That's something that most swimmers take for granted."
Willoughby has been a competitive swimmer since age 6, participating in summer programs in the Birmingham area. It wasn't until high school that she started swimming year-round.
As a high school student at Berry High School (which during her senior year in 1995 was renamed Hoover High School), Willoughby and her teammates won the state swimming championships in 1993.
Willoughby came to AU in 1997 after transferring from Jacksonville State University. The art major, who is accomplished at painting and drawing, is scheduled to graduate in May 2001.
One of oldest technologies enters space age
Tony Overfelt, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Auburn, is taking a space-age approach to foundries, one of the world's oldest technologies.
As head of a College of Engineering-based facility, the NASA Solidification Design Center, Overfelt describes foundry research entering the space age
"Our NASA funding this year totals approximately $2.9 million, with a significant off-campus component that includes academic institutions such as the University of Alabama and MIT, as well as a number of industrial partners."
Proposals for the center's research base are solicited nationally, subjected to peer review and prioritized, Overfelt says. The program is in its fourth year. "Our partnership with NASA includes a number of specific projects geared toward the space station, including the design of an electromagnetic levitator."
Overfelt's group is also responsible for the express racks being built to melt small samples of pure metals and commercial alloys, which are then analyzed for thermal diffusivity, surface tension, and other properties.
"Importantly, this represents the basic raw data needed to create computer simulations of foundry activities, which will ultimately lead to computer models for manufacturing processes," Overfelt said.
Computer models have generally acted as poor approximations of the casting process because they are based on analyses of the earth-bound properties that are exhibited when molten metals solidify.
"Gravity messes things up," says Overfelt, "What's important to us is the microstructure of the metal as it freezes into a solid -- that determines its mechanical properties, and hence, performance."
Casting samples in the microgravity of low earth orbit produces data that models the process with a much higher degree of precision, and allows the demonstration of more options in the process itself -- designing for minimal scrap and environmental loads, for example.
"Our overall goal is can be summed up in two ways: shortened lead times and improved quality," Overfelt says.
He says the development time for complex parts in a manufacturing process can often by spread over two to three years, which can represents significant costs.
"Time to market is a significant hallmark of today's manufacturing culture,"said Overfelt. "With manufacturers turning out products more quickly, it's necessary for foundries as suppliers to do the same.
"Our intention is to get to that place where we can design a product on a computer screen with complete confidence, to the point of replicating the manufacturing process digitally before we make the first part. The result will be a time-line measured in days rather than weeks or months."
Industrial design conference set for Oct. 20
More than 100 professional and student industrial designers are expected to attend a one-day symposium at Auburn on Oct. 20.
The 22nd annual Design Interaction conference will be at Parker Auditorium in Dudley Hall, home of the College of Architecture, Design and Construction. The program begins at 9 a.m. and concludes with a 2:30 p.m. reception in the department's offices in Wallace Center.
The speakers -- all graduates of AU's industrial design program -- include: Will Creech, product designer with Hasbro Games in East Longmeadow, Mass.; Shea Tillman, a design researcher with SonicRim in Columbus, Ohio; and Albert Woods, co-founder of Albert Woods Design Associates in New York.
"The students get a chance to really talk to our alumni speakers as well as other alumni who come back for the program," said Clark Lundell, head of the Department of Industrial Design. "The program also gives our alumni a chance to keep up with what we're doing at Auburn and it's a place for them to network as well
"The Design Interaction program has been very successful over the years because our industrial design students are able to meet one-on-one on their turf with industry professionals. Professionals get the opportunity to share their knowledge and experience with our students."
Campus Roundup
Russian choral group to perform
A choral group from Russia will perform at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 10 in
Goodwin Recital Hall The group, Volga Voices, will perform unaccompanied
sacred and secular music of Russian composers as well as Russian folk
songs in the free concert. The choral group consists of students from the
Saratov Providence Theatre of Choral Music, many of whom are post
graduate students and teachers of music.
Flu shots offered this week
Flu shots will be available at the AU Medical Clinic on Wednesday,
Thursday and Friday, Oct. 11-13. The vaccinations, which are intended to
head off bouts of influenza this winter, will be offered from 8 a.m.-noon
and 1-4 p.m. each day, except for Thursday, when shots start at 9 a.m. The
vaccine is $10, payable by cash or by check made payable to East Alabama
Campus Health.
Osler to speak on gender issues
Margaret J. Osler, a professor of the history of science at the University
of Calgary, will speak on "The Gender of Nature and the Nature of Gender in
Early Modern Natural Philosophy," at 4 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 10, in Haley
2370. She is the author of Divine Will and the Mechanical Philosophy, and
has edited or co-edited four books, including Rethinking the Scientific
Revolution. Her visit is sponsored by Auburn University Women's Studies,
the History Department, Philosophy Department, Human Odyssey, Philpott
Stevens Fund, and University Special Lectures Series.
Political influence of women examined
Cal Clark, Alumni Professor of political science at AU, and Janet Clark,
chair of the Political Science Department at State University of West
Georgia, will address the issue of "Will Women Elect the Next President?
The Gender Gap in U.S. Elections" at noon Friday, Oct. 13, in Foy 203. Their
presentation is part of the Women's Studies Brown Bag Speaker Series.
The series is open to the public, and audience members are invited to bring
a lunch.
Graduate & Professional School Day set
Career Development Service will host Graduate and Professional School
Day at the Haley Center first floor lobby from 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on
Wednesday, Oct. 11. Representatives from graduate and professional
school programs will be on hand to discuss graduate school opportunities
with undergraduates. For details, contact Melvin Smith at 844-4744.
Depression screening set for Oct. 12
Student Counseling Services is sponsoring National Depression Screening
Day, Thursday, October 12 from 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. in Foy Union Ballroom.
The free screening provides information about the signs, symptoms and
treatment of depression and bipolar disorder. The screening is available to
the entire campus and Auburn community. For details, call 844-5123.
Child care referral services offered
The Employer's Child Care Alliance assists AU faculty and staff in
placement of children in area day care facilities. ECCA also provides
other child-care referral services to parents who are employed by AU or
one of several other major employers in Lee County. Contact the ECCA at
749-8400 for assistance.
GLB Caucus schedules meetings
The Auburn GLB Caucus, a faculty/staff/graduate student group that works
to make Auburn a better place for gay, lesbian and bisexual members of
the university community, meets the first and third Wednesdays of each
month. For more information, contact Becky Liddle at liddlbj@auburn.edu
or 844-2881.
Classical performance set
The Gryphon Trio from Canada will perform selections from Haydn,
Beethoven and Dvorak on Oct. 24 at 8 p.m. in Goodwin Hall. Other upcoming
recitals include the Lark Quartet from New York on Dec. 4, and the
Whitman String Quartet, also from New York, on April 3. Season tickets
are $40; single tickets at the door are $15. Call 821-0032 or 844-6367
for further information.
Education Interview Day set
Career Development Service will host Education Interview Day at Beard
Eaves Memorial Coliseum from 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. on Oct. 24. Representatives
from school systems will be on hand to discuss career opportunities and
interview future teachers. For more information, contact Melvin Smith at
844-4744.
Unsung Hero: Joan Nelson, Freshman Year Experience
This week's Unsung Hero is Joan A. Nelson, specialist III in the Freshman Year Experience unit of Student Affairs. She has been at AU and in her current job for two and a half years. She was asked:
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What do you do in your current job? "Simply, I am here for the students.... The Freshman Year Experience Office is... like a family -- we are a team -- everyone jumps in and helps to get the job done. Our office coordinates, trains and guides counselors in the operation of Camp War Eagle, the Summer Orientation for incoming freshmen, New Student Orientation for transfer students and new students held each semester. We also coordinate, recruit and train the instructors for U1000: The Auburn Experience and U1050: Academic Success Strategies....
What is the most rewarding part of your job? "I believe that my job is to BE THERE for the students, to help or assist them in any way that I can. I am rewarded each day by the students who come to 189 Foy Student Union with problems -- I try to direct them to a solution to their problem which brings a smile to their faces."
What is the most challenging part of your job? " I like to pride myself on knowing where to go for answers and where to send students to deal with their situations. Being a resource person is quite challenging because policies, rules and procedures seem to change constantly."
If you were not doing this job, what would you most like to do? "I'd be scuba diving at Bon Bini Divers in Bonaire with my husband."
What makes Auburn special? "The people that make up Auburn University are who make Auburn special. Auburn is filled with a very diverse population and each person has so much to offer. If everyone took time to talk to the students, they would realize that students have a great deal to share, and that their opinions really do count."
What was your first impression of Auburn University? "Auburn has one of the most beautiful campuses in the southeast and everyone is football crazed!"
How has that impression changed? "Auburn is still the most beautiful and still is football crazed!"
What words best describe Auburn as a work environment, learning environment or just a place to be? "Auburn University is a diverse community of loving and caring people who reach out to the unfortunate."
What do you like to do when not at work? "Hike, bike, canoe, dive, visit my two daughters."
What person or persons do you most admire and why? "Back in the late 70s there was a guy that I used to see riding his 3-wheel bike on the streets of Auburn. He always had a helmet on because he had to protect his head. He had a disability that even made it difficult to get around on a bike, but he always struggled on until he got where he was going. I always remember him even though I never knew his name. He worked so much harder at the things I took for granted.... I admire anyone that overcomes their physical, emotional, intellectual challenges to reach their goals."
What is your favorite line from the Auburn Creed and why? "'I believe in the human touch, which cultivates sympathy with my fellow men and mutual helpfulness and brings happiness for all.' Why is that my favorite line, because I believe that everyone needs human touch, touch being a kind word, a phone call, a listening ear, a helping hand in finding information. Human touch can be just being a friend to someone."
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AU Report
Editor: Roy Summerford. Contributing editors: Bob Lowry, Janet McCoy and David Granger. University Relations Executive Director: Pete Pepinsky. The AU Report is the faculty/staff newsletter of Auburn University and is published by the Office of University Relations at Auburn University. Direct correspondence to AU Report, 23 Samford Hall, Auburn University, Ala. 36849-5109. Telephone 334/844-9999. Electronic mail: summero@auburn.edu |