Muse leaving, Walker appointed
AU adjusts for proration
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AU REPORT |
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| Headlines Muse leaving, Walker appointed AU adjusts for proration |
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The Board of Trustees appointed Provost William Walker interim president of Auburn University on Monday, succeeding William Muse, who last week was named chancellor of East Carolina University in North Carolina. Muse was appointed special counsel to the board until he assumes the East Carolina position on Aug. 1.
In the specially called meeting, the board also authorized Board President Pro Tem Jimmy Samford to begin the search for a new president. The board gave Samford approval to identify and hire a nationally recognized executive search firm to assist in the search. Samford said he also will appoint a committee drawing from all major AU constituencies to participate in the process.
Samford complimented Muse for his leadership at Auburn during the past nine years. "The Auburn Family can take great pride in the progress our university has made over the past decade," he said. "During that time, under the leadership of Dr. William Muse, our university has seen unparalleled growth in academic success, financial success and an athletic program that graduates our student athletes at a higher rate than any other public institution in the Southeastern Conference.'
With the president's impending departure coming during a time of financial stress for the university due to cuts in state funding, Samford said the board needed to act quickly to appoint an interim president. "The next few months are critical to Auburn from a budget and academic standpoint, and we need to manage the shortfall we have this year while planning for next year's budget," he added.
Samford said Walker was a natural choice as interim president because of Walker's role as AU's chief academic officer, his experience as a faculty member and administrator and strengths he brings to the position. "He has built a solid reputation with our faculty, which is one of our most important constituencies," Samford said. "He shoots straight, and in my times with him, I have come to understand that he feels very strongly about Auburn University."
Walker credited Muse with strengthening the university and getting various groups to work together for the betterment of the institution. "It has been my great personal privilege to have had Bill Muse as president," he said.
As interim president, Walker said his immediate challenge will be to address a direct cut in state funding of $13 million over the next seven months and adjust for state funding over two years that will be $30 million less than the university had expected. "Certainly, the financial challenges facing our university are sobering, but they are neither fatal nor unique," Walker added. "One of my hopes for the long term is that we learn how to manage financial crises without sacrificing advances that have been made."
Muse said he will always regard Auburn as a special institution with many special people. "I will always appreciate the opportunity to have served."
Responding to concerns raised by Lindsey Boney, president of the Student Government Association, Samford said the board did not intend for its action to be interpreted as disrespect for the departing president. "We appreciate the job that Bill Muse has done for Auburn University during his tenure. The institution is in better shape today than when he arrived, and that is a tribute to him," Samford said.
Noting that Muse's remaining months would be a period of transition, Samford said, "The board determined that we need a president who can have 100 percent of his effort and time devoted to Auburn. This is no reflection on Dr. Muse or the job he has done."
Walker to meet with members of AU constituencies
William Walker, named interim president by the AU Board of Trustees on Monday, plans to spend much of his time over the coming weeks meeting with key university constituencies, including faculty, staff, students, alumni and legislators.
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"My priorities are to introduce myself to those I have not met, to listen closely, and to assure one and all that this university will continue on the sound paths in which we take such pride, Walker said.
Excerpts of Walker's remarks at the trustees' meeting follow:
"I accept the appointment with humility and deep gratitude and pledge to do all that I possibly can to provide direction and leadership to this great institution as it embarks on the search for its next president.
"I also want to take this occasion to thank Dr. Bill Muse for his leadership over the past ten years. In my opinion, Auburn University is today a stronger university both financially and academically than ever before in its history. The progress that has been made is due to the untiring efforts of many people including faculty, staff, alumni, and the Board of Trustees. Under Dr. Muse's watch, these groups have begun to work together to realize the objective expressed in the institutional vision statement, which says 'Auburn University will emerge as one of the nation's preeminent land-grant universities in the 21st Century.'
"Clearly, our first order of business should be to develop a plan to recommend to the Board of Trustees the best procedures for addressing immediate financial downturns. We have several options to explore with the intent of having preliminary recommendations for the April meeting of the board.
"Certainly, the financial challenges facing our university are sobering, but they are neither fatal nor unique. If we have learned anything it should be first that Auburn people will indeed find a way to overcome financial crises; and second, that such economic challenges will reappear despite our best efforts. So, one of my hopes for the long term is that we learn how to handle financial crisis without sacrificing the advances toward excellence that have been made.
"Again, I thank the Board for the honor of serving this fine institution. I ask for the help and prayers of all Auburn people as we make the transition to a new administration. In closing, I would like to quote from the comments made by Dr. Wilford Bailey on Feb. 26, 1983, when he assumed the position of Interim President of Auburn: 'For more than 125 years Auburn University has been a great institution, responsive to the needs of the people of this state and those beyond its borders. Working together, we will make sure that Auburn takes its rightful place in helping Alabama, our region and the nation respond effectively to the monumental challenges now facing higher education. Our goal is the enhancement of the quality of life and the improvement in the level of living of a wider spectrum of the citizenry.'"
William F. Walker Biographical Information
* William F. Walker was named interim president of Auburn University on Feb. 12, 2001.
* He had been provost and vice president for academic affairs of Auburn University on Aug. 8, 1999. Prior to that, he had been interim provost since Sept. 1, 1998, following the retirement of Paul Parks, the first person to hold the office of provost at AU. As provost and vice president for academic affairs, Walker is the chief academic officer at Auburn. As provost, he oversaw the activities of deans and faculty of AUÕs academic schools, colleges and library and the vice presidents for research and outreach, as well as directing other academic functions. In addition, Walker spearheaded AUÕs move to the semester system in 2000.
* In 1998, Walker was co-chair of a special committee created by the AU Board of Trustees to examine university governance and priorities. The committeeÕs recommendations led to a defining of academic priorities, including identification of high priority programs for extra funding and the phase-out of low-priority programs.
* Walker named dean of AUÕs College of Engineering and a professor of mechanical engineering in 1988. While dean, he implemented the strategic planning and continuous quality improvement processes at the college and launched initiatives to improve retention of women and minority students in engineering at Auburn.
* From 1965-88, Walker was a faculty member at Rice University in Houston. While at Rice, he served as chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science for nine years. During much of his tenure at Rice, he was a professor of mechanical engineering and mathematics.
* Walker holds bachelor's and master's degrees in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Oklahoma State University.
* Walker was born Dec. 1, 1937 in Sherman, Texas.
AU adjusts for 6.2 percent cut in state funds
With questions resolved concerning how big a cut Auburn University will sustain from proration of this year's budget, AU Executive Vice President Don Large says the university is adjusting its budget to absorb the reduction in state funds.
Gov. Don Siegelman's administration warned in early January that a sudden shortfall in state tax collections for education would likely lead to proration -- a cut in the current year's state allocation to public education, which includes higher education as well as elementary and secondary schools. Last week, the Siegelman administration pegged the cut at 6.2 percent for the year. With schools and universities in the fifth month of the fiscal year, these institutions have to absorb the cuts in the remaining seven months rather than the entire year.
Large said the university is adjusting its operating budget now that it knows how much its state funding will be prorated.
"Now that Governor Siegelman has determined that the proration of the Education Trust Fund will be 6.2 percent for the current year, Auburn University will develop a fiscally responsible plan to address the state appropriation reduction," he said.
Before proration, the AU System -- AU main campus, Auburn University at Montgomery, Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station and Alabama Cooperative Extension System -- was budgeted to receive $207 million, or 41 percent of its total budget, from the state. The state appropriation to the AU System will be reduced by more than $12.8 million over the remainder of the budget year, which ends Sept. 30. Of the state funds going to the AU System, the main campus was originally scheduled to receive $135 million, or 36 percent of the total main campus budget. The state funds for the main campus will now be reduced nearly $8.4 million through the remainder of the budget year.
"In our budgeting process, we did establish reserves which could accommodate a small to moderate proration," Large said. " We will examine options including a combination of proration reserve utilization and reducing or deferring budgeted expenditures."
Many of the details will originate in the departments and schools or colleges, he added. "While these plans are just in the formative stages, it would be my expectation that we will attempt to provide some flexibility for our academic deans and administrative division heads.
"Those in charge of programs are often best equipped to determine how reductions are sustained, whether it is through curtailing travel, freezing personnel vacancies or holding off on equipment purchases, for example."
With nearly half of the budget year complete, the university must move quickly in revising its plans for the remainder of the year and for next year, Large said.
In his budget proposal to the Alabama Legislature, the governor has proposed the prorated budgets be a starting point for higher eduction funding in 2001-02. His proposal would further reduce funding for the AU System by $90,000.
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Clark to lead AU assessment planning
Drew Clark, an associate professor of English, has been named director of assessment in the Office of the Provost. Clark, who began his duties in January, will assist departments, schools and colleges in developing assessment data for accreditation review by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
"Dr. Clark has demonstrated his ability in the past in working with faculty and administrators to gather the kinds of assessment data that SACS is seeking in its process of accreditation reaffirmation," said then-Provost William Walker in announcing the appointment. "He has both the experience and the skills to help our schools, colleges and departments gather the data that SACS will be seeking."
Walker, who was named interim president on Monday, said the processes established during the SACS review will be ongoing and will aid faculty and administrators in longrange planning for their programs.
Clark, an English Department faculty member since 1982, was chair of AU's Program Review and Assessment Committee in 1998.
The SACS review is part of a reaffirmation process the accrediting board undertakes of each member institution every 10 years. As director of assessment, Clark will work with faculty and administrators to develop assessment methods that SACS has indicated it wants before reaffirming accreditation of its member institutions. Those data lean heavily toward assessment of outcomes, such as the number of students achieving success after graduation. Clark said academic departments face a challenge in defining their graduates' success.
"Job placement or admission to graduate school can be a means of assessment for some graduates but not for others," he said. "For some, the target may be scores on performance reviews or standardized tests for admission into professions. For others, the measure may be students' success in meeting goals that are very personal rather than career oriented."
The departments and schools are in the best position to develop their assessment plans, Clark said. His role, he added, will be to provide information to the faculty and administrators of those units on practices that have been successful at Auburn and at peer institutions and to assist those units in implementing their assessment plans.
Verrett named minority peer mentoring coordinator
Tiffany Verrett
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John Bello-Ogunu, assistant provost for multicultural affairs, said Verrett will be responsible for keeping the program alive and making it more effective.
Verrett will also be responsible for recruiting, training, programming, counseling, advising, monitoring, assessment, advocacy, referral and community outreach. One of Verrett's main concerns for minority students is retention, said Bello-Ogunu.
Verrett says Auburn's program "can increase and maintain minority student retention rates by creating a more aware and active minority student body through the provision of first-year academic assistance, life skills training outlets to celebrate self and culture and the building blocks toward a cohesive community environment."
Verrett holds a bachelor's degree from Troy State and a master's degree in education from the University of Southern Mississippi.
Draughon Library undergoes layout changes
Draughon Library will undergo configuration changes in the next few months. Library faculty say the changes will enable library patrons to more easily locate books and other information they are seeking.
"We will be moving collections that have been difficult for people to find as well as locating entire collections in one space instead of on several floors," said Marcia Boosinger, chair of Reference and Instruction Services at RBD and co-chair of a task force studying changes in AU's largest library.
When the changes are complete by the beginning of fall semester, "almost everything will move," said Boosinger. Once completed, the libraries collections will be arranged alphabetically by call numbers instead of the current way, by subjects.
"The A's will start on the second floor and end with Z's on the fourth floor," said Linda Thornton, chair
of the Access Services Department in RBD who co-chairs the committee with Boosinger.
While the major shift will start after spring semester finals, some changes will be made during this
semester.
As these changes occur, Boosinger said Library faculty consider it important that patrons ask for
assistance. "We encourage patrons to go the Information Desk or ask one of the librarians for help."
In order to meet the challenge of the change and to provide space to add books to AU's collection, some
little used volumes will be moved into closed stacks within the library, but on demand retrieval will be
available for patrons.
"In addition, we are working to make our retrieval response faster," Thornton added.
More than a year and a half of study went into planning the changes. Those efforts included focus group meetings with faculty and staff as well as graduate and undergraduate students.
To make the changes, additional shelves are being ordered, many times replacing half-height shelves with full-height ones. In addition, little-used study carrels will be replaced by shelving. In addition, more common study areas, with tables for study groups, are being included, especially in the areas where subject reference desks were once located. "We are working within the constraints of the physical building," she added. "We've spent a lot of time and effort to ensure that the space is more logically useful for patrons and that we are not taking away significant amounts of user space."
When the library's addition was completed more than 10 years ago, university research libraries around the nation were grouping materials by particular subject areas, such as the humanities or social sciences. "That was a very predominant model and we chose to use it," said Boosinger.
Today, however, because more and more subjects are interdisciplinary, it has become a challenge for a library patron to find the information. Many times, the information is spread out on different floors of the library. "What we have found is that especially the uninitiated users have really no hope of finding all the materials they needed without an extensive search."
Boosinger said that when the library's reference desk was merged to one -- from one on each of the library's four floors -- it became more feasible to change the grouping of materials by subject.
"Our ultimate goal is to dismantle as many unique locations as we can, pockets of small areas around the library, from pockets of atlases to children's books and merge the information together items into a single call number sequence," she said. "Unless you are very familiar with the building, it is difficult to use because of all of these pockets. unintegrated locations."
While a patron may look at the library and see empty shelves, the current layout has impacted the collection, Thornton said. "You don't want to fill the shelves full because you have no place for growth and it can be damaging to the collection as well, it is difficult to reshelve materials when shelves are 100 percent full. In addition, any given day, a good portion of our collection is out in circulation space to reshelve them must be available."
RBD adds more than 35,000 volumes to its collection annually, and collections in other formats also increase. RBD already houses 2.6 million volumes, 100,000 more than the designed capacity of the building. An anticipated 175,000 volumes will be added during the next five years.
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AU Theatre to present 'Cabaret'
AU Theatre will showcase "Cabaret" next week as its first performance of 2001. Performances will be Feb. 20-24 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 25, at 2 p.m.
The Auburn production is under the direction of Ralph Miller, a professor of theatre and interim head of the Department of Theatre, with musical direction provided by Tom Smith, director of choral activities, and interim head of the Department of Music.
The play features some of the best known songs in musical theatre, including "Wilkommen," "Tomorrow Belongs To Me," "Money," and "Cabaret."
"Cabaret" tells the story of an English woman's romance with an American writer set against the backdrop of a rapidly crumbling Germany at the beginning of the Third Reich.
Based on the true life experiences of Christopher Isherwood, Cabaret was originally directed on Broadway by Hal Prince with Jill Haworth starring as Sally Bowles and Joel Grey as the Emcee. Liza Minelli later played Sally in the film version of the musical directed by Bob Fosse.
The Theatre Department will also honor AU President Emeritus Harry M. Philpott with a reception and ceremony in Philpott's honor at the Friday, Feb. 23, performance.
Tickets for performances are $10 for students, $12 for seniors and AU faculty/staff and $14 for the general public. For reservations or more information call 844-4154.
ABC to air segment on AU's Rural Studio
Auburn's Rural Studio will be featured on national television Friday, Feb. 16, when ABC's "Nightline" televises a story on the one-of-a-kind learning environment for architecture students which places an emphasis on social awareness.
The Rural Studio, and its co-founder and director Samuel Mockbee, will be the subject of a 30-minute feature on the popular late night news show.
ABC producer Mary Beth Kircher and news correspondent Robert Krulwich visited the Rural Studio
several times during the past year, and also interviewed Mockbee at his home in Mississippi.
Mockbee, an Alumni Professor of architecture at AU, in 2000 won a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship,
the only architect and the only recipient from a Southern university to receive the distinction. The
Chicago-based John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation named 25 fellows, each of whom will
receive $500,000 over five years of "no strings attached" support.
Mockbee and architecture professor D.K. Ruth in 1993 co-founded the Rural Studio, which brings
students from the College of Architecture, Design and Construction to the Rural Studio's base in
Newbern, a town about 160 miles from the Auburn campus in rural Hale County. The west Alabama
county is one of the poorest in the United States, with more than 1,400 substandard dwellings.
Under Mockbee's direction the students build homes and other structures that challenge all convention
in terms of methods, materials and forms.
Howze awarded Fubright grant
Glenn Howze, an AU professor in agricultural economics and rural sociology, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.
The grant will help to fund Howze's work at the University of Fort Hare in Alice, South Africa, where he will research and lecture on enhancing quantitative skills for an interdisciplinary approach to rural development and farming systems.
Howze is one of about 800 U.S. faculty and scholars award Fulbright grants for studies and research in more than 140 countries around the world. A similar number of foreign visiting scholars also received Fulbright grants to come to the United States, primarily as researchers.
Howze has been a member of the Auburn faculty since 1985. He received his bachelor's degree from Southern Methodist University and holds a master's from the University of North Texas and a Ph.D. from Washington State University.
The Fulbright Scholar Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, with additional funding from participating governments and host institutions nationwide and abroad. The Council for International Exchange of Scholars is a private, nonprofit organization that manages the Fulbright Scholar exchanges.
Since the highly competitive Fulbright program was instituted in 1946, some 72,000 U.S. and foreign scholars have participated in the exchanges.
FRS training sessions scheduled
Training sessions on the university's Financial Records System are available for Auburn faculty involved with sponsored programs management.
AU Controller Marcie Smith says the training is in response to findings from a recent external review of Auburn's sponsored programs services. "The consultants found that some faculty members do not have access to up-to-date financial information. This training is being offered to give faculty FRS users an opportunity to learn how to effectively use the system."
Training is being developed from two approaches, Smith said. "First, we want to ensure that investigators have access to the system," Smith explained. "Second, we will train them how to effectively use the necessary screens. We also will provide FRS users with a tip sheet that they can take back to their work stations."
Smith added that the tip sheet is intended to serve as a quick reference and user guide. It contains log
on and screen access instructions and contact information for users needing additional assistance.
"This is training tailored specifically for AU faculty," Smith said. "It is not as intense as the training
provided to administrative and staff employees who use FRS daily in their work, but is designed to
enable faculty users to negotiate the system to meet their needs."
Training is offered in four 45-minute sessions.. Dates are Feb. 12 at 9 a.m.; Feb. 15 at 2 p.m; Feb. 19 at 2 p.m.; and Feb. 20 at 9 a.m. All sessions will be in 124 Parker Hall. "Faculty need only to attend one of the four sessions," Smith said. "If they elect not to attend one of the hands-on training sessions, the training materials also will be available on the web."
FRS is a mainframe processing system and is used in all aspects of university financial business. While
negotiating FRS may be intimidating, those using the system for research and other sponsored programs
management tasks only need to learn about a few of the program screens, said Smith. "Our objective is
to ultimately make FRS a more user-friendly system with some web-based functionality," she said.
"Right now, we are focusing on providing better user training and helping those who need this system
for their work to learn to more effectively use the system that we have." For more information call 844
3660, or e-mail, thaxdi@auburn.edu
Seminars on library resources scheduled
AuburnLibraries has scheduled three seminars for faculty and graduate students during spring semester.
The seminars, which two sessions available for each, will be taught by reference librarians, on the
following topics:
* First Gov: Centralized Access to Government Information, on Feb. 21 and 22, on the first floor Instruction Lab of Draughon Library by Tim Dodge, reference librarian. With the federal government-produced information is increasingly available in electronic form only, FirstGov is the latest development in the process of providing a centralized electronic gateway to federal government information, resources and services.
* Current Census Statistical Information Online, on March 7 and 8 at 2 p.m. on the first floor Instruction Lab of Draughon Library by Tim Dodge, reference librarian. This seminar will be an introduction to the Census Bureau's Website, where an amazing amount of statistical information is available. The seminar will cover the basics in locating statistical information from the Census of Population and Housing, the Economic Census, and much more.
* Electronic Journals on the Web, March 13 at 10 a.m. and March 16 at 3 p.m., both on the first floor Instruction Lab of Draughon Library by Joan Sears and Lynn Williams, reference librarians. AU Libraries offer a wealth of full-text journal articles available from the computer in your office as well as off-campus. This seminar will help faculty and graduate students learn about electronic journals and the various ways to access them from the library's homepage, including through individual indexes and databases, as well as learn how to create a list of electronic journals in a subject area.
All seminars are free but advance registration is required by completing the online registration form (http://www.lib.auburn.edu/madd/seminars/xx.html). A space will be reserved and materials prepared for you. Detailed information and the online form are available at at the seminars web site .
Watch for times and dates of additional seminars on EndNote, using the Web of Science and Current Contents Databases, as well as customizing the library interface for your own personal information resources list using MyLibrary. All are to be offered later in the semester. For more information, contact Marcia Boosinger, chair of Reference and Instruction Services at AU Libraries, at 844-1739 (boosiml@auburn.edu).
Unsung Hero: Ruby Cunningham, Treasury Services
This week's Unsung Hero is Ruby Cunningham, financial assistant I in Treasury Services. She has been at AU for 30 years and in her current job for 15. She was asked:
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What do you do in your current job? "Prepare financial documents, maintain safekeeping and pledged collateral files, and serve as receptionist."
What is the most rewarding part of your job? "When I have performed my job well and everyone is pleased."
What is the most challenging part of your job? "To assume new responsibilities and be successful in learning those well."
If you were not doing this job, what would you most like to do? "If I were not doing this job I would probably be working in other departments on campus as a retired temporary employee, or visiting grandchildren and traveling."
What makes Auburn special? "Its people -- and the Auburn spirit."
What was your first impression of Auburn University? "That was long ago, but I am sure my first impression was good. Many of my family members earned degrees from Auburn and that is one reason I am here at Auburn."
How has that impression changed? "My impression has not changed."
What words best describe Auburn as a work or learning environment? "A good work environment with many opportunities to learn and also a good place to be for whatever reason."
What do you like to do when not at work? "Have my children visit or I visit them. Take out-of-state
bus trips with friends. Working in my yard, sewing, reading and tending to two little dogs. Attending
Auburn football and basketball games, visiting friends and relatives, visiting my Mom in a Phenix City
nursing home, and attending Sunday school and church at Lakeview Baptist Church here in Auburn."
What person or persons do you most admire and why? "I admire my Sunday School teacher, Gail
McCullers. She understands and is truly interested in others."
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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 |