Trustees across state join forces
Vote clears way for new buildings
AU to hold ceremony for summer grads
Muse cites need for new funding approach
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AU REPORT |
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| Headlines Trustees across state join forces Vote clears way for new buildings AU to hold ceremony for summer grads Muse cites need for new funding approach
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Trustees from Alabama's universities banded together last week to ask Gov. Don Siegelman for higher education's once-traditional one-third share of the education budget in 2001-02.
Approximately 20 trustees representing all public universities in Alabama met with the governor on Nov. 13. Participants said it was the first time they could remember a united front of university boards of trustees in a meeting with the governor.
"We made it clear to the governor that we support the effort to bring teacher salaries to the national level, but we also made it clear that our goal right now is just to get faculty salaries to the regional level," said Rep. Jack Venable of Tallassee, one of two AU trustees at the meeting.
Auburn was also represented by Jimmy Samford, president pro tempore of the AU Board. "It was monumental that we were able to get trustees from just about every public four-year institution in the state to come together for the common good," said Samford.
Siegelman has been moving the state education budget back toward the one-third share for higher education that had been the standard for decades until the mid-1990s. In the current fiscal year, which started Oct. 1, higher education is scheduled to receive 30 percent of the education budget. Siegelman's predecessor, Fob James, had abandoned the traditional split to send approximately three-fourths to K-12 while he was governor.
The college representatives said they are concerned that the state's commitment to K-12 salaries would push the education budget back in that direction. K-12 salaries are expected to take from 65-70 percent of the education budget.
Dollar figures were not discussed, Venable said. "We would just like to work toward one-third of the new money," he said. "We were willing to commit to the governor that new funding, if made available, will go toward salaries."
Amendment 1 vote clears way for new buildings
The university is moving forward with plans for new buildings in several agriculture-related disciplines. The Nov. 7 approval by Alabama voters of Amendment 1 on their ballots will enable the state to finance a major portion of the buildings' cost.
Current projections call for the university to seek construction bids in the first half of 2001 on two projects -- a poultry science building in the College of Agriculture and a large animal teaching hospital in Veterinary Medicine.
Campus Planner Tom Tillman said planning is at an earlier stage for two other projects at Auburn -- a new home for the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences and a new building for teaching and research in animal science fields. It is too early to make projections for those buildings, he said. A fifth AU project includes facilities improvements at Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station units to upgrade their research capabilities.
The Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, animal sciences buildings and AAES facilities projects will be submitted to the Board of Trustees for formal approval before timetables for construction are set.
Most of the buildings will be financed with a combination of university, state, federal and private funds. Tillman said passage of Amendment 1, which created the mechanism for financing a major share of the construction costs, will enable the projects to stay on schedule.
The state is preparing to issue a $52 million bond issue for facilities for agricultural education and services, with nearly $30 million of that amount slated for AU. The remainder of the state bond issue will be for facilities at Tuskegee and Alabama A&M universities and the state diagnostics lab at Auburn.
The bonds will be backed by a portion of income from oil and gas leases on state property. The bond issue was approved by Alabama voters in 1998, but the Siegelman administration had said it was unable to issue the bonds until a means of repayment could be found.
The state bond issue will provide $5.5 million in financing toward the $17 million poultry science building, $7.5 million toward the $32 million Large Animal Teaching Hospital, $7 million toward the $23 million Forestry and Wildlife Sciences Building, the $8 million expected total for the Animal Sciences facility and $1.5 million for the AAES improvements.
AU to reinstate ceremony for summer grads
Auburn students who qualify for graduation next summer can graduate in August instead of waiting until December.
The Board of Trustees on Nov. 10 voted for AU to continue with graduation ceremonies in August rather than following the practice of most other semester-calendar institutions, which have graduation only in May and December.
John Fletcher, interim vice president for Student Affairs, told the board that other institutions have experienced a sharp drop in students graduating during the summer under the semester system. Fletcher said he expects the numbers to trend down at Auburn in future summers.
With approximately 500 students on schedule to graduate next August, board members said they see no need to abandon the tradition of summer graduations that Auburn followed until its conversion to a semester calendar this fall.
"I don't see any reason to drop it just because others are doing so," said state Rep. Jack Venable, a trustee from Tallassee, with other trustees expressing agreement.
Several trustees said they had received phone calls from parents of students who will meet graduation requirements in August.
Trustee Bobby Lowder of Montgomery said those students should not have to wait until December simply because their numbers will be smaller than in past years under the quarter system.
"I don't think we should deprive these students and their families of a ceremony," Lowder added.
Sen. Lowell Barron, a trustee from Fyffe, added that an August ceremony could reduce the possibility of overcrowding of the coliseum for the December ceremony.
The University Senate on Nov. 14 voted to recommend a 2001 summer graduation date of Aug. 6. Final exams end on Aug. 4 for that term.
Agricultural services building named for Alfa
The planned agricultural services and research building will be first building at Auburn to carry the name of a corporate donor.
The AU Board of Trustees voted Nov. 10 to name the building the Alfa Agricultural
Services and Research Building in honor of the insurance companies which,
together with their affiliated organization, the Alabama Farmers
Federation, donated funds to AU for the building's construction.
The gift plus interest has grown to more than $5.6 million.
The planned building will upgrade AU's facilities for soil analysis, plant diagnosis and toxicity determinations for farmers, commercial growers, agribusiness, extension agents, homeowners and others.
The building will be constructed on the east side of South Donahue Drive between Woodfield Drive and Research Road. The architectural firm of Seay, Seay and Litchfield was chosen at the Nov. 10 board meeting to design the building.
In other business, the board approved the demolition of several
substandard agricultural buildings between P.O. Davis Drive and Lem
Morrison Drive in preparation for the planned poultry science building on
the site.
Board commends leaders of bid for Phi Beta Kappa chapter
Auburn's successful bid for membership in Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's oldest
academic honor society, received special commendation by the AU Board of
Trustees on Nov. 10.
During a meeting at which Linda Glaze, assistant provost for academic
affairs, outlined the university's successful efforts to gain membership in
the honor society, board members commended the administrators and
faculty who worked for 20 years to attain AU membership in Phi Beta
Kappa.
Glaze noted that Phi Beta Kappa membership is especially beneficial for the colleges of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Mathematics. It also signals a high level of recognition for the entire university, she added.
Board President Pro Tem Jimmy Samford said Auburn's selection for a Phi
Beta Kappa chapter is proof that AU continues to make strides
academically.
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Muse cites need for new approach to state funding
AU President William Muse called on legislators and alumni leaders in East Alabama to support performance-based funding for higher education in the 2001 session of the Alabama Legislature.
Speaking to a packed AU Hotel and Dixon Conference Center ballroom of legislators and Auburn supporters at the Nov. 9 meeting of the Auburn Legislative Action Network, Muse said Auburn should be rewarded with increased state funding for its quality and productivity.
"Auburn has done a remarkably effective job in managing its resources and producing results," Muse said. "The state ought to reward institutions that get the job done the most effectively."
Muse cited AU's ranking by U.S. News and World Report among the nation's top 50 public universities. The only Southeastern Conference public institutions ranked higher were the University of Georgia and the University of Florida. He noted that UGA receives 60 percent more funding per student from its state, and UF receives double the amount from its state that Auburn receives per student from Alabama.
"To compete, we have had to be better at planning and efficiency," Muse said. The state could take advantage of Auburn's productivity through funding increases based on productivity, he added.
In terms of graduation rates and the successful placement of its
graduates, Auburn far outstrips other institutions in the state, Muse
noted. A 5 percent increase in funding for Auburn would be one of the
most profitable investments the state could make in higher education, he
said.
University Senate votes for combining fall breaks
Next year, AU faculty and students could receive the week of Thanksgiving off under a calendar proposal endorsed by the University Senate on Nov. 14.
The faculty representative body voted to send that proposal to the administration for review rather than a proposal endorsed by Student Government Association leaders for two days off in October and three days, plus the weekend, on Thanksgiving Week.
The Senate's calendar proposal calls for the 74-class-day 2001 fall semester to start on Aug. 17 and conclude with graduation on Dec. 15.
The student leaders had sought a calendar which designated Monday and Tuesday Oct. 15-16 as fall break and Wednesday-Friday Nov. 21-25, including the weekend, as Thanksgiving holidays in 2001. The October break would enable students a rest near the middle of a long academic term, they argued.
Faculty senators from disciplines that make heavy use of labs for instruction argued that two partial weeks of classes would disrupt class schedules and hamper instruction far more than one break of a full week.
The University Senate split about two-thirds, one-third in favor of combining the fall and Thanksgiving breaks.
AP Assembly steps up involvement efforts
The Administrative and Professional Assembly is stepping up its efforts to increase awareness of the assembly among its members.
"Many administrative and professional staff employees don't realize that
they have a voice through the AP Assembly," said 2000-01 AP Assembly
Chair Ellyn Hix. "The Assembly provides them with a means to get
involved in matters that can impact their jobs and benefits."
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The Assembly is establishing a committee to explore ways to establish regular two-way and ongoing communication with administrative and professional personnel. Part of the challenge, Hix said, is to alert AP members to the work the Assembly does outside that body's quarterly meetings.
Since its creation five years ago, the Assembly has represented the interests of administrative and professional employees before the AU administration. Assembly appointees also represent administrative and professional staff members on university committees that develop recommendations for regulations and policies.
Assembly officers also represent the members of their employee categories when issues overlap with the University Senate and the Staff Council.
Administrative and professional members share many of the concerns and interests of the faculty and support staff, but each group has its own needs and priorities as well, said Hix. Administrative and professional personnel support the academic mission of the university, and like faculty, many hold positions that require high levels of expertise.
"All employee groups at Auburn should be treated equally, and each needs a voice in matters that affect its members," said Hix.
The AP Assembly encourages its members to volunteer as AP representatives on university committees. Those panels are the springboard from which new programs and changes in benefits and working conditions emerge, she noted.
Hix said committee service is one of the best available means for university employees to influence the formation of policies and programs that affect their work environment.
The AP Assembly also provides a forum and mechanism for administrative and professional personnel to express themselves on matters that affect them, she added. "The AP employee group is here to serve Auburn University," she said. "In fulfilling that role as individuals and as a group, we also want to make sure that the needs of our members are being met."
Scholarship fund to honor deceased professor
Friends, family and colleagues of School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences
faculty member Charles F. Raper, who died Oct. 26, have initiated efforts
to establish a scholarship fund in his memory.
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Contributions to the Charles F. Raper Scholarship Fund can be made payable to the Auburn University Foundation at the Auburn Alumni Center.
Raper, George W. Peake Professor of Forestry, reportedly died of a stroke at age 70. He had been a member of the AU faculty since 1988, following a 30-year career with Travelers Insurance Company.
The forestry professor had received a bachelor's degree from North Carolina State University in 1954 and M.B.A. and juris doctorate degrees from the University of Connecticut. After four years in the Army, Raper joined the real estate investment department at Travelers in 1958. He remained with the company until 1988, and rose through the ranks to retire as second vice-president in charge of real estate research and development.
Raper's unconventional background for a forestry professor brought a valuable perspective to the faculty, said Richard Brinker, dean of the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences.
"His industry background and his educational qualifications in forestry, business and law were a truly unique combination that allowed Charlie to bring a great level of expertise and knowledge to undergraduate and graduate students in the classroom."
The Forestry and Wildlife Sciences professor participated extensively in professional activities as a member of the Society of American Foresters, American Bar Association, the Bar Associations of Alabama and Connecticut, and the National Council of Real Estate Investment Judiciaries.
"Charlie's contributions to the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences' students will be forever remembered," said Brinker. "He has made an indelible mark on hundreds of undergraduate students and mentored numerous graduate students who have benefitted from his knowledge of forest investment and analysis."
AU student newspaper wins Pacemaker Award
The AU student newspaper, The Auburn Plainsman, has won a 2000 national Pacemaker Award for excellence in journalism, the college newspaper equivalent to the Pulitzer Prize.
It is the 13th national and 19th finalist Pacemaker Award the newspaper has received since 1966-67. This is the second consecutive year The Plainsman has won this award.
Plainsman advisor Ed Williams, a journalism professor, said the students
richly deserve the recognition. "They display considerable courage and
conviction -- attributes that will serve them well in life."
Williams, who has been advisor for The Plainsman since 1985, said the
paper improves each year.
The award was presented at the Associated Collegiate Press and College Media Advisers, Inc. media convention in Washington, D.C. It was accepted by AU journalism major Bill Barrow, 1999-2000 Plainsman editor, who is interning this semester at the Student Press Law Center in Arlington, Va.
"There are 25 staff members who deserve the credit and it's nice to know that the effort we all put into The Plainsman has been recognized by journalism professionals as quality work," said Barrow.
Judges from The Washington Post selected 22 student newspapers from across the nation to receive Pacemaker Awards in three categories -- four-year dailies, four-year non-dailies and two-year papers. Auburn won the award in the four-year non-dailies category and was one of 12 national winners.
The judging was based on coverage and content, quality of writing and reporting, leadership on the opinion page, evidence of in-depth reporting, design, photography, art and graphics.
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Auburn on Nov. 7 officially named the building that houses its School of Pharmacy for W.W. Walker Jr., who built Birmingham-based Walker Drug Co. into one of the nation's largest independent wholesale drug companies.
"I can't tell you how proud our family is," said James O. Walker Sr., the son of the honoree and an Auburn graduate, who spoke to the 250 in attendance on behalf of his family. "I know that Dad is watching this and it's just a dream come true."
State Sen. Lowell Barron, D-Fyffe, an AU Trustee and a 1965 graduate of Auburn's School of Pharmacy, read from a resolution adopted by the board that cited Walker for his "generous support of the Auburn University pharmacy program throughout his lifetime."
Walker was closely identified with the family business from 1930, when
he joined his father in the business, until his death in 1987. His son,
James O. Walker Sr., who succeeded him as president of Walker Drug Co.,
and daughter, Catherine Walker Crawford, are both Auburn graduates.
Members of the family are longtime benefactors of Auburn.
W.W. Walker Jr. completed his pharmacy education before joining his father's business and helping build it into an organization of more than 200 employees with a national reputation for nurturing the start-up and survival of many independent pharmacies throughout Alabama.
Gift of tickets revives memories of seasons past
When Bill Hill was a freshman at Auburn in 1965, he saw the Auburn Tigers defeat a nationally ranked Kentucky football team, then went home and pinned his ticket to a bulletin board.
Thus began a 35-year collection that the Thomasville native and his wife,
Louise Jones Shepherd Hill, have donated to AU. The collection is on
display at Auburn's Lovelace
Athletic Museum and Hall of Honor.
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The exhibition, called "Auburn's Greatest Football Game Tickets," features tickets from some of Auburn's most exciting and memorable football games.
They include the 1971 Gator Bowl, the 1978 Georgia game in which Auburn wore orange jerseys, the 1982 Alabama game in which Bo Jackson "went over the top" to win the game, the 1984 and 1988 Sugar Bowl tickets and the 1989 ticket for the first game Alabama played at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
"When I was a freshman, the first game I ever saw was when Auburn upset a rated Kentucky team and the second game I saw was Coach (Shug) Jordan's 100th win," said Hill, a Thomasville resident who works for the Department of Youth Services.
"I just started keeping the tickets, writing the score on the ticket
somewhere, mainly for my memory," he said. "I just collected the tickets
and just kept on doing it. For me, it was like collecting baseball cards."
David Rosenblatt, Lovelace museum curator, said the colorful collection
has been well-received by museum visitors.
"The display of the tickets is at the front of the museum and when people come in and look at it I hear them say, 'I was at that game' or 'I remember how exciting that was,'" he said.
Hill said he mentioned the tickets to Auburn Athletics Director David Housel during their 30th class reunion last year. Bill and Louise Hill, as well as Housel, graduated from Auburn in 1969.
"I told David I had 35 years worth of tickets in a briefcase, just sitting
there and he said the museum would love to have them," said Hill, a former
school teacher and coach in Elmore and Montgomery counties.
Housel, Hill and Rosenblatt met last year and the trio looked at the
tickets, and with each ticket, remembered something special about that
game.
EDI receives federal grant for West Alabama work
AU's Economic
Development Institute has been awarded a $382,267 federal grant
to help boost the economic and educational development of the
impoverished West Alabama Black Belt community of Uniontown.
EDI will be joined by Uniontown, the University of Alabama, Tuskegee
University, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System and Design Corp., in
working on Uniontown's 2020 strategic plan.
The grant, which will be administered by AU, was made by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Outreach. The funding will be matched by $507,066 of in-kind services for a total project budget of $889,333.
Joe Sumners, associate director of EDI, said it is rare for the grant program to award funding for a rural community 150 miles from the host's campus. "These grants normally go to urban universities working with their local communities," he said.
Alabama -- with its application from AU -- was one of 16 states and 24 schools, out of a field of 87, that received funding from COPC's $6.4 million New Grants category.
"These institutions are already key members of their communities, and these grants will further help them to support innovative partnerships between university and community that helps strengthen the economic and social infrastructure of distressed neighborhoods," said HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo.
College of Education advisors receive award
Auburn's College of Education has received an Outstanding Publication Certificate of Merit for a publication it produced for the college's advisors.
The National Academic Advising Association award was presented to Linda Gresham, an academic advisor in the college and author of the winning publication, Helping Students Navigate the Academic Waters. The award was presented at the annual NACADA National Conference in Orlando.
"I created the handbook to help motivate and guide our faculty advisors," said Gresham. "It defines the role of the faculty advisor and discusses advisor/advisee responsibilities."
Gresham also delivered a presentation based on the material included in the handbook at the national conference.
Helping Students Navigate the Academic Waters, which promotes vital communication in the College of Education advising program at Auburn, was one of 21 award-winning print, video and electronic publications nationally. The publications were judged on content, presentation, clarity and creativity.
The goal of NACADA is to promote quality academic advising and professional development of its membership to enhance the educational development of students. Quality publications allow students and parents to obtain accurate information to help them in the process of determining resources available through on-campus advising programs.
School leaders examine role of Arts & Humanities Center
Representatives from three Alabama schools are discovering new ways that Auburn's Center for the Arts and Humanities can help their students.
John Covington, superintendent of Lowndes County Schools; Willie Hill, principal, and Barnetta Hall of Calhoun School; Sanford Isom, principal of LaFayette High School; and Richard Harvey, principal of Loachapoka High School visited the center's headquarters at AU's Pebble Hill.
"We're excited to be working with some dynamic schools," said Allen Cronenberg, director of the Center for the Arts and Humanities. "Our goal is to broaden students' horizons through the arts and humanities."
Each school represented comes from a position of strength, says Mary
Moran, educational projects director for the center.
Calhoun School went from a state Alert II status to clear, LaFayette's
overall graduate exam results were equal to the best schools in the state,
and Loachapoka lowered its dropout rate from 25 percent to just 5 percent
in one year.
The group heard a presentation from Linda Dean, director of education for the Alabama Shakespeare Festival.
The ASF each year sponsors School Fest with special student matinees and
discounted tickets. Study guides are sent to teachers to prepare students
for the production.
This year's plays include "Julius Caesar," "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "Guys and Dolls," "Holiday Memories" by Truman Capote, "The Negro Peter the Great," based on an unfinished Alexander Pushkin play, and "Blues for an Alabama Sky."
In conjunction with School Fest, a teacher seminar is scheduled to enable participants to earn continuing education units.
Pebble Hill programs feature Alabama writers
Writers Charlie Smith and Honorée Jeffers will speak in upcoming programs at Pebble Hill, home of AU's Center for the Arts and Humanities.
Smith, author of five books of poems and six books of fiction, will read from his works at 4 p.m. Nov. 30. He is the Coal Royalty Endowed Chair in Creative Writing at the University of Alabama. His lecture is co-sponsored by AU's Department of English.
Jeffers, an assistant professor of English at Talladega College, will speak on her new book, The Gospel of Barbecue, at 4 p.m. Dec. 5.
ACES wins EPA award for radon education
The Alabama Cooperative Extension System's Radon Education Program has received one of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's inaugural Environmental Merit Awards.
The awards were presented in recognition of the creative and productive activities of those outside of EPA in the Southeast who are working in their communities to promote environmental stewardship. The Awareness Program was developed to increase public awareness about radon, a potentially life-threatening air pollutant, and to take action to reduce the risk.
Although the program is administered statewide, it is primarily aimed at the 15 counties in north Alabama considered at highest risk for radon exposure.
Primary target groups include homeowners, real estate professionals, builders and building code inspectors. Working with 13 other public- and private-sector organizations and through extensive use of public service announcements and news releases, Extension personnel have reached local citizens throughout the high-risk area.
More than 2,000 homes have been tested for radon in the state program
area with nearly 22 percent above the level at which EPA recommends
taking action to reduce exposure. Most of the high-risk homes are
expected to be undergoing mitigation or are being tested for one full year.
In addition, more than 200 building professionals have been reached
through special seminars, with 41 requesting additional training via video.
The project has received $600,000 in funding from the EPA and the Alabama Department of Public Health. The funding is matched by ACES. Program funding has grown every year since its inception.
Previously, there was no major effort conducted in Alabama to reach residents in high-risk areas. While another state agency conducted limited radon training for more than 11 years, the program effort reached only 25 percent of those reached by extension in only 28 months.
Early Learning Center in Birmingham reaccredited
The Birmingham Early Learning Center, administered through a partnership with AU's College of Human Sciences, has been reaccredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Less than 7 percent of the early childhood programs nationwide are accredited by the group.
Bryan Korth, co-director of BELC and an assistant professor in AU's Department of Human Development and Family Studies, said the reaccreditation is a signal of the continued strength of the program.
"At least one teacher in each of our 16 classrooms has a degree and our strong commitment to teaching, research and outreach is evident," he said.
BELC is a state-of-the-art childcare center in downtown Birmingham that serves more than 200 children from ages six weeks through kindergarten. Opened in 1995, the center is a product of a unique public-private partnership including city government, higher education and various corporations.
Through the efforts of the Birmingham Urban Revitalization Partnership and AU's Department of Human Development and Family Studies, the center is a model facility for education, research and outreach.
Latino dance troupe to perform at Auburn
The Latino dance, entertainment and education group Cultural Explosion Inc. will present a free performance at 3 p.m. Dec. 3 in the Dixon Conference Center auditorium.
The troupe consists of 10 dancers in the adult group and 10 dancers in the youth group For the past six years, Juan Antonio Calderon and his group have been simplifying the Latin dance Salsa for thousands of people, teaching, performing and competing at clubs, colleges, conferences and other events.
The performance is is sponsored by AU's Office of Multicultural Affairs. John Bello Ogunu, assistant provost for Multicultural Affairs, said the program is part of an ongoing effort to bring programs and events which are all-inclusive and multicultural in nature.
"Auburn's Office of Multicultural Affairs understands that coexistence in today's Global Village requires a strong commitment on the part of the villagers to recognize, understand, respect and appreciate the diverse and unique cultures of their fellow villagers," he said.
The primary mission of the Office of Multicultural Affairs is to create and sustain an all-inclusive multicultural campus community where members, regardless of racial, ethnic, cultural, and other differences, can co-exist in harmony.
AU Theatre to present 'The Taming of the Shrew'
AU
Theatre will present its production of Shakespeare's "The Taming
of the Shrew" on Nov. 28-Dec. 2 at Telfair Peet Theatre. The classic farce
centers on the courtship between the rough and tumble Petruchio and the
fiery Katherina.
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Performances begin daily at 7:30 p.m., with an additional Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. Ticket prices are $12 general admission; $10 for seniors, faculty and staff; and $8 for students. For more information and ticket reservations, call the AU Box Office at 334/844-4154.
This year's AU Theatre season has been dedicated to honoring members of
the Lee County community whose work supports the arts. This production
will honor Wanda Lewis, executive director of the Boys and Girls Clubs of
Greater Lee County. Lewis will be recognized with a ceremony and
reception at Peet Theatre following the Dec. 1 performance.
"We honor Wanda Lewis because of her consistent and extraordinary
service to the empowerment of children through her work to involve
children in the arts," said Dan LaRocque, head of performance and artistic
director of Auburn University Theatre.
Lewis is also the founder and executive director of the Center for Cultural Enrichment, Education and Experience, which brings children, their families and arts professionals together with business, government and educators to celebrate the arts.
AU librarians featured in national publication
Three Auburn University librarians wrote an article on marketing libraries services that was featured as the cover story in the national publication Computers in Libraries.
The article, "Footballs and URLS: Marketing Your Library and Its Online Presence" was featured in the monthly magazine that covers issues in the field of library information technology.
The article, which detailed how AU librarians have made the library's services more visible to users, was a written by Robert McDonald, the web site manager and English literature specialist; JoAnn Sears, a science and technology reference librarian and the chemical and mathematical literature specialist; and Cindy Mitchell, the manager of InfoQuest.
Campus Roundup
Test scoring available for finals
Test Scoring Services, which recently relocated to Parker Hall 145, will provide
computer scoring of scan sheets for faculty to use in grading fall semester final
exams. The service will be available from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, and 7:45
11:45 a.m. and 12:45-4:45 p.m. Monday-Thursday, Dec. 11-14. For additional
information, contact Bruce Holt by e-mail at holtbru@auburn.edu or call 844-9904.
November is open enrollment period
November is the open enrollment period for eligible AU employees to make
changes in their health and dental insurance coverage for those changes to be
effective Jan. 1, 2001. Also, anyone who wishes to participate in the calendar year
2001 with the Benefit Elect of Alabama flexible spending account plan must enroll
during the month of November. You have to enroll each year you plan to
participate in the Benefit Elect of Alabama flexible spending account plan. For
information on these benefits, contact the office of Payroll and Employee Benefits at
844 4183.
Nominations sought for 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. Send a letter describing the nominee'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 information.
Campus Views: Thoughts on decreasing meaning of letter grades
By Herbert Jack Rotfeld, Professor of Marketing
Kishwaukee University of Ubiquity, Minutes of Board of Trustees meeting (excerpt):
...the Vice President for Academic Affairs distributed a report showing percentages
of various grades awarded by various academic units, plus the overall Grade Point
Averages (GPA) for the university and how these have changed over the past
twenty-five years. He pointed out that the average grade has gone up from a C plus
in 1974 (2.25 GPA) to B plus today (GPA 3.45). More than 44 percent of all grades last
year were A....
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The Board was pleased with the report's findings, saying it indicated that Kishwaukee now enrolls more capable students. All agreed that good grades help our graduates compete on the job market, and the Board wished to redirect faculty standards so that the average student would be able to get more of these top grades....
To: Academic Standards Committee
From: Knott Dee Manding, Committee chair
The Kishwaukee president has sent us a letter he received from a new faculty
member, Dr. Ohsuch Fun. Dr. Fun expressed dismay that our current grading
standards lack plus and minus grades, lamenting that they do not allow him to
distinguish between degrees of B grades in his classes.
I conducted an informal poll of some faculty and graduate students and found many faculty indicating interest in giving differing levels of A or B grades. The students seem to be wildly in favor of such a change, saying, as one student wrote, "With the pressure on grades increasing and students needing higher grades from admission to graduate and professional programs, this would be a big help." However, responses were not totally supportive. There was some strong opposition from a few crusty elders scattered around campus. Comparing their responses to our recent study of grade inflation, they are the faculty who still give a large number of C, D and F grades. Since these faculty have not enjoyed the increasing quality of students that would enable them to give more top grades, they see no need to distinguish between the varying degrees of B. (Logically, no one seems concerned about distinguishing between differing degrees of C or D performance!)
We will meet to discuss this next Wednesday in the dean's conference room with the plush leather chairs. (I have reserved space on his practice putting green area for after our meeting.)
From: Eilene Ukiss, Chair
Board of Trustees Committee on Academic Standards and Football
RE: Recommended new grade guidelines
Following the approval of the University Senate and Recommendations from the
President, we recommend adoptions of changes in the grade standards as follows:
A+, A, B+, B, C+, C and N.
We eliminated the proposal for minus grades in that they would make a negative comment on the otherwise positive performances of our students that might hurt them as they apply for graduate programs or jobs. Similarly, D and F are also eliminated as unduly stigmatizing for the hard working students. In their place will be the grade of N, for "No Credit." We also recommend that the president be directed to report back in one year on an investigation of all faculty who give many C or N grades since they harm our students' reputations....
From: Uwork Fourmee, Office of Personnel and Recruitment
RE: Evaluating grades of college graduates
We have tried to use grades as a tool to understand job applicants, but the
information has become confused with every applicant claiming a GPA over 3.6.
We have looked at transcripts, but no one shows a grade lower than C, except for a
rare N (whatever that means). Everyone has plus grades, but never is there a minus.
In search of a solution, I contacted a faculty member where I got my M.B.A. degree.
He told me their acceptance committee recently adopted a system that is now in use
by most graduate programs that we also will adopt.
Our recruiters will now look at all transcripts and calculate our own GPA: A+ will
be worth 4 points, A or A- will be 3 points, B+ will 2 points, B or lower will be worth
a point and N will be zero.
I am tired of graduates saying they had top grades but they can't write a simple
sentence and are unable to answer a question unless they are first told the options
and given a friend to call. Maybe this will return some sanity to the system.
Unsung Hero: Jason Richardson, groundskeeper
This week's Unsung Hero is Jason Richardson, groundskeeper II in
Landscape Services of the Facilities Division. He has been at Auburn three
years and in his current position for two. He was asked:
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What do you do in your current job? "Mowing, pruning, edging, watering and blowing leaves, clippings and other debris from sidewalks."
What is the most rewarding part of your job? "Doing my best to make Samford Park and other areas look nice."
What is the most challenging part of your job? "When it rains and I still have work to do."
If you were not doing this job, what would you most like to do? "Probably be in school."
What makes Auburn special? "Having a lot of nice people around."
What was your first impression of Auburn University? "Football,
basketball and baseball games attended when I was a kid."
How has that impression changed? "My impression hasn't changed. It's still the same."
What words best describe Auburn as a work environment, learning environment or just a place to be? "Good job, good supervisor, good leadership."
What do you like to do when not at work? "Fishing for bass and bream in Chambers County Lake."
What person or persons do you most admire and why? "My father, Allen Baker, because he is a hard-working fellow."
What is your favorite line from the Auburn Creed and why? "'I believe that this is a practical world and that I can count only on what I earn. Therefore, I believe in work, hard work.' If you work hard, you earn what you get."
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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 |