Board weighs options for handling state cuts

Options ranging from tuition increases and spending cuts to incentives for early retirement of faculty and staff will be considered by the AU Board of Trustees as the university copes with anticipated major cuts in state funding for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1.

Neither administrators nor trustees spoke favorably of large tuition increases or retirement incentives, but those options remained on the table following the March 21 meeting of the board's budget committee.

With most trustees present as observers or committe members, the five-member budget panel decided to further review the university's options at another session at a date to be determined. The panel also agreed to consider some aspects of the budget at the trustees' April 6 meeting and decide on a final strategy at the June 4 meeting, when the amount of state funding will be known.

The April 6 meeting will be at 9 a.m. at Auburn University at Montgomery's Taylor Center. The June 4 meeting is scheduled for the Dixon Conference Center at Auburn.

Board members said they were stymied by the state government's uncertainty over both the level of funding cuts which public higher education will incur in the current budget year and the level of funds that will be available next year. The amount of proration ‹ cuts in appropriated state funding to equal a reduction in revenues ‹ has been set at 6.2 percent by Gov. Don Siegelman, who is attempting to reduce the impact on K-12 schools by increasing the level of proration for higher education to 11.8 percent.

Executive Vice President Don Large said the university's sacrifices to build a proration reserve of $8 million to $9 million will enable AU to continue its academic programs this year with limited impact. The problem becomes more acute if proration is bumped to 11.8 percent for higher education, he said. Proration of 6.2 percent would cost the main campus $8.5 million and the AU System nearly $12.9 in the remaining half of this fiscal year. Proration of 11.8 percent would bump the impact to $16.2 million for the main campus and $24.5 million for the system.

In addition to dealing with the impact of proration, board members said they must find ways to limit the harm of a budget reduction that carries over into next year's operations. If the prorated figure becomes the base for the 2001-02 budget year starting Oct. 1, the university will have to cope with the prospect of drastically reduced funding without benefit of a reserve.

Although tuition increases of 20 percent to 40 percent have been mentioned in recent weeks, Interim President William Walker said he feared that any increase of more than 10 percent could be too much of a blow to students. Too large a hike in tuition could also hurt out-of-state enrollment, he added. State Rep. Jack Venable of Tallassee, chairman of the budget and finance committee, encouraged Walker to keep the recommendation for an increase in the range of 8 percent to 10 percent.

Specific areas to cut were not addressed, but administrators and trustees said they intend to protect Auburn's academic ranking. Trustees added that they hope to see programs essential to academic quality protected from significant funding cuts.

"I would like to see us look at every possible avenue to gain the funds necessary to protect academic programs," said Trustee Ed Richardson, who is state superintendent of education. "It is important that the central administration take the first hit, and that includes us." Richardson suggested that the board consider giving up its football stadium sky box for lease to paying customers. Venable said the board would look at that and other options for trimming its own budget.

An early retirement incentive remained on the table, but Walker and Large said they hoped to avoid that option. Using a 1995 retirement incentive as a guide, Large estimated that the main campus would save $5.9 million as part of a total AU System savings of $7.8 million in next year's budget if 40 percent of employees eligible to retire by Sept. 1 accept the incentive.

Walker said the university took a severe hit in 1995, when 222 faculty and staff accepted the retirement incentive. Only 40 percent of the faculty positions and 20 percent of other positions were refilled, and the university suddenly lost many of its most experienced faculty. "We are thinner now as a faculty than we were then. It would be problematic."

He said the advantage of a retirement incentive is that it would create cost savings quickly and enable the university to redistribute faculty positions from departments that have lost enrollment to those that have insufficient faculty for their student numbers. But, he cautioned, retirement incentives are a strategy of last resort used by institutions to avoid fiscal exigency ‹ a situation in which an institution must take immediate action to be able to pay its bills.

Tiered premiums considered for heath insurance; funding uncertain

While AU prepares for reduced state financial support next year, the university and its employees face added expenses related to health insurance.

The amount of the increase for employees and the university will depend on two sets of circumstances: medical inflationary factors and whether AU is able to find funds to give the lowest paid employees a break on their insurance premiums at a time when no new funds are expected.

Executive Vice President Don Large told the Board of Trustees budget committee on March 21 that the university will need to put an additional $1 million in its reserve fund for employee health insurance to keep the self-insurance fund within industry standards. The self-insurance fund , which stood at approximately $4 million at the start of the current budget year, guarantees that money is available at all times to pay outstanding claims.

The university pays 60 percent of the cost of employee heath insurance, and employees pay 40 percent. The effect on individual premiums was not stated, but Large said the university and its employees can expect rising health care costs to drive up health premiums. Health premiums are set by calendar year, starting Jan. 1, rather than budget year, which starts Oct. 1.

A major concern, Large said, is that rising health insurance premiums could make the insurance unaffordable for the lowest paid employees. He noted that the university's insurance and benefits committee had identified as its first benefits priority a tiered system in which the university would pick up a larger share of the premiums for those employees.

A tiered system would provide the lowest rates for employees making below $20,000. Under such a two- or three-tier system, employees would pay progressively more for health insurance as their incomes rose to a predetermined level.
Large said that if funds can be found in the budget to implement the benefit, it would cost the university an additional $1 million to $1.3 million. That increase would be in addition to the $1 million necessary to keep the insurance fund within industry standards.

Stanley Reeves, faculty chair of the university insurance and benefits committee, later said that panel saw a tiered system for insurance premiums as the only way for lower-paid employees to afford health insurance.

Employees currently pay $191 per month for family coverage. Reeves said the insurance is becoming unaffordable for employees making below $20,000 a year and any increase will make the problem worse. "It should be the first priority if funds are available," he added.

The Staff Council has advocated insurance premium relief this year as the main goal for the support staff it represents.

AAUP national president offers assist to AU

The national president of the American Association of University Professors helped initiate discussions between AU faculty and members of the Board of Trustees on March 19.

Jane Buck, National AAUP president and professor emerita of psychology at Delaware State University, encouraged faculty and trustees at a campus AAUP meeting to schedule sessions at which faculty and trustees could build better relations. Four trustees at last week's AAUP meeting said they are eager for sessions aimed at improving relations with the faculty.

English faculty member George Crandell, president of the campus chapter, agreed to work with the trustees to schedule additional meetings for discussion of issues.

State Superintendent of Education Ed Richardson, an ex-officio member of the AU Board, said he wants to see board members meet with faculty to begin resolving disputes which led on March 13 to a general faculty vote of no confidence in the board. Other trustees present ­ Paul Spina, Charles Glover and new member Earlon McWhorter ­ agreed, saying they want more information from faculty and other AU constituencies before the board makes decisions.

Relations between the board and the faculty need to be improved significantly before the university gets deeply involved in the search for a new president, Richardson said. He recommended sessions at which board members could reply to faculty concerns on two or three issues per meeting. "The sooner we can clear the air, the more likely we are to attract high quality people," he said.

Some faculty members challenged his remarks as an attempt to control the agenda for such meetings, but Richardson countered that he simply wants to keep the sessions focused so that both sides can reach a better understanding of one another.

Spina said he has been hurt by accusations against him and fellow trustees in the media. "I'm not the dragon I see in the newspapers," he said. "I want to open lines of communication. We do want shared governance, but we are confused about where we fit in."

Trustees make the best decisions they can with information received from administrators, Spina said, adding that the board needs more direct input from faculty during the early stages of debate on issues. He encouraged faculty to attend board committee meeting, where trustees gather information on issues they will later decide at board meetings.

When asked for specifics of faculty grievances, AAUP members cited the sudden removal of President William Muse, overriding of the 21st Century Commission's recommendations on university priorities, elimination of the Ph.D. in economics, passage of an academic forgiveness policy over faculty objections and the decision to grant the dean of Veterinary Medicine authority to grant exemptions to students who do not meet the college's admission requirements.

Buck encouraged the AU faculty to accept the trustees' overtures and the trustees to demonstrate the sincerity of those overtures. "The only way you will be able to reestablish trust is to be trustworthy," she said. "It takes time."

New faculty officers
The general faculty elected two new officers and two officers turned their positions over to their successors on March 13. Faculty leaders for 2001-02, from left, are Immediate Past Chair Bruce Gladden, Immediate Past Secretary Mary Boudreaux, Chair Jim Bradley, Secretary Isabelle Thompson, Secretary-Elect Renee Middleton and Chair-Elect Barbara Struempler.

Faculty lodges protest votes against Board of Trustees

Auburn faculty on March 13 voted "no-confidence" in the AU Board of Trustees and called for an independent, external review of the board.

With nearly 400 of Auburn's 1,138 faculty packed into Telfair Peet Theatre, the expression of "no-confidence" passed 366-29 on a vote by written, secret ballot. One person voted to abstain. The resolution for a review of the board passed on a near-unanimous voice vote with a solitary, loud "no" vote from near the back of the packed theatre.

Also that day, 14 former elected leaders of the faculty released an open letter they mailed to the trustees asking the members of that board to resign.

Although neither resolution nor the letter is binding on AU's governing board, which receives its authority from the Alabama Constitution, faculty members said they wanted to send a message of protest to the board over longstanding issues of shared governance.

The faculty vote and the letter were the latest in a series of votes and actions by on-campus groups. The University Senate, Staff Council, Engineering Council, Administrative and Professional Assembly and the Student Government Association have adopted resolutions of protest against the board.

Faculty speaking at the March 13 meeting accused the board of micromanaging academic and athletic affairs and refusing to share governance with the faculty.

Interim President William Walker responded that many of the disagreements stem from the different perspectives from which board members and faculty view university governance. The challenge facing the university, he said, is to help members of each group understand and appreciate the perspective of the other.

Walker urged the faculty to take advantage of improving opportunities for communication with the board but to do so in a less adversarial manner.

Gladden urges broader view for state, university

In parting words to the AU faculty as their elected chairman, Bruce Gladden on March 13 said many of the state's problems and those of the university could be traced to provincialism both within the state and among university constitutencies, including members of the faculty.

Delivering his farewell address at the spring meeting of the general faculty, Gladden said the state and university are hampered by a tendency to extol the opinions of those from shared cultures and distrust or discredit outsiders. The faculty's conflict with the Board of Trustees, expressed later in the meeting through a symbolic vote of no-confidence in the board, is part of a larger problem that transcends both the faculty and the board, he added.

"First, with all due respect to Alabamians, Auburn University's biggest problem is that it is in Alabama," said the Health and Human Performance professor. "We live in a state when the Constitution is biased toward wealthy white men. A state where the Constitution works against stable tax income form education. A state where the Constitution favors regressive taxation. A state where the education level is low and the value placed on education is low."

The native Tennesseean added, "I've often thought that Alabama would be greatly improved by forcing all natives to move out of state, preferably out of the South, for at least a year or two. I think they would find out that those other people out there are nice folks too, that they do things differently but their way works just as well."

Gladden sais many of the general faculty's conflicts with the Board of Trustees are the result of a much broader conflict between the educators and the state. The current system makes it difficult for the faculty and trustees to reach an understanding over the meaning of shared governance, he said. That disagreement did not extend to the administration, he added, commending former President William Muse, former provost and current Interim President William Walker and Acting Provost John Pritchett for their work with the faculty.

The university faces other signicant problems which do not involve the board and which the faculty should help address, he said. The 12-year faculty veteran said he has at times observed subtle forms of racism and other prejudice, religious insensitivity and an overemphasis on athletics at the expense of academics.

"We need to expose our students to a diversity of thoughts and ideas," he said. "Most of (the students) come to us saturated with provincialism. I think we teach them, we impart knowledge to them, but I'm not sure that we really educate them. Do we take provincialism out of them? I wonder perhaps if we should place a greater emphasis on study abroad and edcuational exchange programs."

Walker warns AU will be hit hard by state funding cuts

In his first state-of the university address to AU faculty on March 13, Interim President William Walker warned of major threats to the university's funding as the state copes with declining economy.

"I hope everyone within the sound of my voice appreciates the very real and very deep concerns of not only faculty and administration but also students and parents regarding the budget issues we face," Walker said, warning that Auburn will soon be hit hard by proration. The governor's attempted cut of 11.7 percent in higher education budgets will have to be compressed into the last half of the budget year if it goes into effect. Even if the Alabama Supreme Court orders the state to spread proration equally among K-12 schools and higher education, a 6.2 percent cut in state funds would be harmful, Walker said.

The state education budget faces a minimum cut of 6.2 percent halfway through the year because the state constitution prohibits deficits in government spending, and the education budget is financed chiefly through sales tax collections, which have plummeted since December. The larger cut would result from the governor's attempts to protect funds for K-12 teacher salaries by shifting most the K-12 share of proration to higher education.

Walker said the university is fighting for more equitable treatment. "The principles for which we shall be working are simply expressed: first, treating all portions of public education the same in terms of state support, and second, treating all portions of public education better in terms of state support," he added.

"I wish to emphasize that, at either level, we will do all we possibly can to manage reductions for the current year with minimum disruption to Auburn students and programs," he said. "Barring unforseen developments, , we will complete the current semester and we will have summer school."

Walker said he expects the prorated budget for this year to be the starting point for the 200-02 state education budget, which goes into effect Oct. 1. "The most difficult decisions will arise in relation to next year's budget,"
Walker said. "We face multiple challenges on the budgetary front related to the level of this year's proration, the level of next year's budget reduction and the effects of both these cuts on our university's people and programs."

The interim president said he has asked the University Senate leadership to work with the Office of the Provost to develop a process of recommending budget reductions that involves input of all the affected groups. "The objective will be to incorporate this input into decision-making at both the local unit level and in the central administration."

Walker said he also takes seriously the faculty's concern with governance issues. While the University Senate and later the general faculty debated resolutions critical of the Board of Trustees, faculty leaders have sought more and sooner involvement in board deliberations affecting academic matters. "It appears to me that you and your elected faculty representatives have made positive and constructive contributions in this regard," he said. "I have already encouraged the board through its president pro tem to examine these ideas with a view toward proceeding with their implementation."

Phi Beta Kappa chapter installed

AU's Gamma Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa was officially installed Thursday by Niall Slater, vice president of the national association of Phi Beta Kappa.

The chapter's charter membership of 71 current and retired AU faculty who have been inducted into Phi Beta Kappa at other universities elected David Laband, a professor in the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, as their first president.

The chapter elected four honorary members, based on their past service to Auburn ­ former AU presidents William V. Muse and Harry M. Philpott; Taylor Littleton, former vice president for academic affairs and Edward Hobbs, former dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, now the colleges of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Mathematics.

"These four men were instrumental in academic changes and accomplishments at Auburn that have culminated in our being approved for a Phi Beta Kappa chapter," says Laband. "It's only fitting that they be honored as honorary members."

Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest honorary in the United States and is widely recognized as the most prestigious.
Outstanding students majoring in traditional arts and sciences are usually elected to Phi Beta Kappa in their senior year. Installation of AU's Phi Beta Kappa chapter represents the culmination of 30 years of effort on the part of Auburn University faculty and administrators. There are now Phi Beta Kappa chapters at 225 institutions across the country.

Cleaning up
Alabama Power Co. workers clear trees from Donahue Drive. The head of AU Landscape Services said the trees posed a safety hazard and will be replaced with more suitable varieties.

Trees removed, to be replaced

Alabama Power Co. last week removed nine trees from campus after the trees were deemed hazardous to pedestrians and motor vehicles, said Charles Crawford, superintendent of AU's Landscape Services.

The trees along Donahue Drive were planted in the 1950s, Crawford said. Since then, Alabama Power has trimmed tree growth every three or four years to keep them from touching high-voltage lines, leaving the trees in an unsightly and unsafe condition.

"It's been a continuous problem," he said. "You can't let them grow because the sucker branches can easily break off and hurt people and cars underneath. Plus, they were just unsightly."

The trees ­ between Thach Avenue and Roosevelt Drive ­ were scheduled to be removed as part of parking lot construction, Crawford said. Alabama Power paid for the removal.

Once the parking lot is completed, Crawford said, the university will plant about 50 October Glory Maple trees along Donahue, Roosevelt and in the median strips of the parking lot.

AU moves step closer to campus master plan

A committee of the AU Board of Trustees has identified a Boston-based consulting company to develop a master plan for the university. The property and facilities committee agreed March 21 to recommend Sasaki Associates to the full board on April 6. That meeting is set for 9 a.m. at Auburn University at Montgomery's Taylor Center.

Sasaki, described by committee members as the largest campus design organization in the business, states on its web page that it has conducted planning activities for 300 colleges and universities, including the University of Georgia and the University of Florida among AU peer institutions.

Committee chair Sen. Lowell Barron said the university needs an experienced planning firm to develop a comprehensive master plan that will guide future construction. The university in the next few years will construct several major buildings that have been planned since the mid-1990s. Failure to fit those into a comprehensive master plan could lead to chaos, he said.

The buildings will replace or add facilities for laboratory sciences, the Department of Poultry Science, the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences and others. Financing is from a variety of private and federal sources and university and state bond issues, rather than the state education budget, which is under proration.

Although cuts in state funding are causing the administration to reevaluate university spending, Interim President William Walker said AU should go ahead with the project because the master plan would influence the layout of campus for 100 years. "We cannot stop the functioning of the university because of fluctuations in the economy," he added.

Executive Vice President Don Large recommended that the university proceed with development of the master plan. "To not have a plan in place will cost for more than otherwise," he said, noting that lack of planning can result in costly mistakes that the university will have to live with for decades.

Celebration
Megan Houtsman, center, a senior in the College of Education, examines information on central Florida's Celebration School, during Teacher Interview Day, March 20, at the Dixon Conference Center. The school was one of dozens interviewing at AU that day. Offering advice are, left, Susan Brasfield of Celebration School and Pamela Boyd of the AU Department of Curriculum and Teaching. AU's College of Education was one of a handful of U.S. institutions that were partners with Walt Disney World in development of the nationally recognized model school.

Friends recall life of deceased Architecture faculty member

John Pratt, an associate professor of architecture at Auburn, died March 17 at age 50 and was buried Saturday in Virginia. A memorial service will be held in Auburn at a later date.

Dan Bennett, dean of AU's College of Architecture, Design and Construction, said Pratt "epitomized everything we value in Auburn faculty... he loved students and enjoyed teaching as much as anyone I've ever known.

His keen intellect was coupled with an extraordinary sense of humor which was evident in everything that he did and said ... in front of a class, in informal gatherings with students, or with colleagues, his humor was always present," Bennett said. "He had a wonderful spirit about him that we will all sorely miss. It is a terrible and tragic loss that is difficult for all in the college to accept. We will be a different place without him."

Behzad Nakhjavan, professor of architecture and interim head of AU's School of Architecture, said Pratt was an excellent, rare person. "He was someone who you could always count on to do the right thing," said Nakhjavan. "He was interested in a world of ideas, he was of pure conscience and was a true academician. He was a great guy and it's a lesser world now that we have lost him," Nakhjavan added.

At Auburn, Pratt taught architectural history as well as appreciation of architecture, part of the university's core curriculum. He also served as an advisor to architecture's fifth-year thesis students, working with them on their final thesis projects.

Pratt joined AU's faculty in 1989, following graduation from Cornell University with a master's degree in urban history and architectural preservation. In addition, he had completed work toward a doctoral degree in architectural history and theory from Cornell. He earned a bachelor's degree in art history from the University of Windsor in Ontario.

He is survived by his wife, Mary Kuntz, an associate professor in AU's Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, and their 18-month-old son.

AAUP award
Conner Bailey of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology speaks to faculty on March 13 after being named 2001 recipient of the Academic Freedom Award of the AU chapter of the American Association of University Professors.

Flynt serves as authority in documentary about landmark case

An Academy Award nominated documentary which details a shameful chapter in American history gets much of its historical reference from Auburn University historian Wayne Flynt, who served as a consultant on the film.
"Scottsboro: An American Tragedy" was nominated for an Oscar in the Documentary Feature category but did not win.

Flynt, a Distinguished University Professor at AU and an expert on Southern history, said he spent several hours in Birmingham being interviewed for the documentary. "That was two years ago and, of course, you spend 10 times more time filming than you actually show," said Flynt.

Flynt was one of two historical consultants on the documentary, which showcases one of the most notorious episodes in American legal history.

Produced and directed by Barak Goodman and Daniel Anker, the 90-minute documentary film will premiere on PBS Monday, April 2, as part of the national broadcast series "The American Experience." It will be the first national viewing of the film, before only shown at film festivals around the U.S.

Flynt, who has not seen the film, said he's looking forward to the April 2 air date. "I understand that it's a good film, that the directors and producers did a good job and I'm excited about seeing it."

The documentary reexamines the story of nine black males ­ ranging in age from 13 to 19 ­ who were tried, convicted and nearly executed after being accused of raping two white women near the north Alabama town in 1931.
The film includes trial transcripts and editorials read by actors, including Frances McDormand and Stanley Tucci. André Braugher delivers the narration.

Sen. Little recognized
State Sen. Ted Little, D-Auburn, was the recipient of the AAUP Meritorious Service Award presented on March 13 by the AU chapter of the American Association of University Professors.

Liberal Arts fills leadership posts

Several changes of administration have been announced in the College of Liberal Arts. Rebekah Pindzola, associate dean in Liberal Arts who was recently named acting dean of the college, said the changes were necessary to be able to continue with the day-to-day operations of the college. John Heilman, dean of Liberal Arts, was named last month as senior assistant to the president.

While Pindzola is serving as acting dean, Greg Kowalski, chair of the Department of Sociology, has been named interim associate dean for academic affairs. "Greg has nine years experience in leading an academic unit so he is thoroughly familiar with university issues and policies," Pindzola said.

With the departure of Kowalski, the faculty nominated Arthur Wilke, a professor of sociology, to assume the role of department chair.

Another change in Liberal Arts involves the appointment of Ralph Miller, a 27-year veteran of AU's Department of Theatre, as acting chair of theatre while Trish McAdams is on sabbatical.

Also, Thomas R. Smith, professor of music and director of choral activities at AU, has been named head of AU's Department of Music. Smith had served as interim head of music since last September, following the death of Joseph Stephenson.

In addition, Advisor III Peggy Kirby has taken on added responsibilities in oversight of the Liberal Arts Student Services Offices.

Former provost donates funds for transportation symposium

AU Provost Emeritus Paul Parks has donated $10,000 to support a transportation symposium at AU next fall. Parks was awarded the grant Feb. 28, from the a href="http://www.orau.gov/"> Oak Ridge Associated Universities as a recipient of the agency's Outstanding Leadership Award.

The award is given to recognize faculty or administrators from ORAU-member institutions who have demonstrated sustained leadership and support of ORAU activities. Recipients of the Outstanding Leadership Award can use the grant to support a conference or symposium on the topic of their choice.

Transportation is among the seven Peaks of Excellence research initiatives at AU. The Peaks of Excellence comprise multi-disciplinary research programs in areas poised to quickly address state, regional and national issues. Peaks of Excellence programs typically represent some of Auburn's most prominent research areas.

In addition to Transportation, Peaks of Excellence programs also include Information Technology, Detection and Food Safety, Forestry and Forest Products, Poultry, Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures, and Biosciences.

Parks, who retired as AU's first provost in 1998, also served as chair of the ORAU board of directors. Parks began his service on the ORAU Council of Sponsoring Institutions in 1975. He held leadership positions on a variety of committees, including the University Programs Committee, the Administration and Policy Committee, as well as served as vice chair of the board of directors.

Parks holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Auburn and a Ph.D. from Texas A&M. He began his career with Auburn in 1965 and served in positions of associate professor, dean of the Graduate School, vice president for research and provost and vice president for academic affairs.

Established in 1946, ORAU is a consortium of 86 doctoral-granting colleges and universities. ORAU serves the government, academia and the private sector in important areas of science and technology.

Libraries to sponsor run, other activities

Auburn University Libraries will sponsor a series of activities, including a five-kilometer run, the week of April 1-7 in observance of National Library Week.

With the theme of "@ your library," AU Libraries will kick off the week by distributing passports for all events. Patrons can have their passport stamped at each activity, and then turn it at the end of the week for a free pizza lunch. Activities have been planned for each day. Those activities include
:
* Monday, April 2 ­ "Check it Out Yourself" Patrons using TigerCirc, a self check-out system on the first-and second-floor entrances of the library, will be eligible for prizes.
* April 3 ­ "Discover Treasures" focuses on the Special Collections/Archives Department with a special Civil War exhibit. Also, library personnel will be available to repair damaged books from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
* April 4 ­ The first demonstration of the Library's new wireless system and of MYLibrary, a user-driven, customizable information service providing access to Internet resources, will be shown.
* April 5 ­ "Exercise Your Mind" will showcase the libraries in Architecture, Design and Construction and Cary Veterinary Medical Library.
Also that Thursday, AU Libraries will host a 5K Run/Walk beginning at 5 p.m. The race will start and finish at the Mell Street entrance to the main library. To register to enter the race, go to http://www.aulibrary.org/.
* April 6 ­ That Friday's lunch will be on the library for patrons who have used their passport during the week.

Getting started
Monty Gillock, left, of the AU Office of Safety and Environmental Health explains operation of an emergency warning radio to Fred Harshbarger of Veterinary Medicine.

AU distributing emergency warning radios

The AU Office of Safety and Environmental Health has begun distributing emergency warning radios to all major buildings on campus.

Staff from Safety and Environmental Health began distributing the first of 280 emergency warning radios the week of March 12-16 in an effort to provide faster and more complete information about threatening weather and campus emergencies, said the office's director, Charles Ray.

"The radios will alert people in those buildings when there's a major storm approaching or there's a tornado in the area, but this is more than a weather alert system ," said Ray. "The radios should prove useful in other emergencies as well."

He noted that the special, noncommercial radios can also be used to alert occupants about power outages and hazardous conditions.

Haley Center and student housing were the first to receive the radios, and most other major buildings will receive radios as soon as the Safety and Environmental Health staff can distribute them and provide training, Ray said. Safety and Environmental Health Staff are consulting with deans and other administrators on placement of the receivers.

The radios are being set to receive alerts from the Lee County Emergency Management Agency and the AU Department of Public Safety. Large buildings such as Haley Center are receiving several units to provide as wide dissemination of information as possible during weather alerts and other emergencies.

Information over the radios will augment and in some cases precede alarms sounded over the outdoor sirens by the LCMA. Persons closest to the receivers are being trained to disseminate the information to others in their area and may take the radios to designated shelters and safe areas, where they can await further information.
For additional details, contact the Safety and Environmental Health staff at 844-4870.

Margulis, Wilson to present Littleton-Franklin Lectures

Lynn Margulis, a microbiologist and Distinguished University Professor at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, will present a Littleton-Franklin Lecture in Science and Humanities at Auburn on Monday, April 9.

In addition, a Littleton-Franklin lecture by Pulitzer Prize winner E.O. Wilson has been rescheduled for April 16.

Margulis will speak on "Gaia's Secret Past: History of the Living Earth." Wilson, a professor of biology at Harvard University, will speak on "Consilience: Breaking The Boundaries Between Disciplines." Both public lectures will be at 4 p.m. at the Dixon Conference Center.

Southern history authority to present humanities lecture

George Rable, the Charles Summersell Professor of Southern History at the University of Alabama, will lecture at Auburn on April 5 as part of the Alabama Humanities Foundation Speaker in the House program.

Rable will speak on "What is There to Learn from the History of a Christian Slaveholder's Republic?" His presentation will be at 3 p.m. in the Special Collections & Archives Department of Draughon Library.

Rable, who received his Ph.D. in history from Louisiana State University, focuses his research on the Civil War. He has written books on Confederate politics, Southern women during the war and political violence during Reconstruction. He is currently completing a book on the battle of Fredericksburg.

The Alabama Humanities Foundation, a nonprofit organization, is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, of which the AHF is the state affiliate, as well as by corporate and individual donors. The foundation is dedicated to the promotion and celebration of the humanities throughout the state.

Alumni Association seeks nominees for positions

The nominating committee of the Auburn Alumni Association Board is soliciting nominations from association members for president, vice president, and five directors to the Alumni Association Board of Directors, Board members serve three-years, while the president and vice president serve one-year terms.

According to guidelines, nominees for the positions should include those who are leaders in their communities and successful in their careers. In addition, they should have contributed to Auburn either personally or financially and must be members of the National Alumni Association.

Alumni Association members are encouraged to participate by sending names and resumes of nominees for consideration by the committee to Betty DeMent, Vice President for Alumni and Development, at the Auburn Alumni Center, 317 S. College St., Auburn University, AL 36849-5149. Deadline for nominations is April 16.

Library drops online journal Nature over disagreement

For the past several years, AU Libraries has licensed electronic access to the journal Nature and faculty and other users could use the library password to view current issues.

On March 1, the library stopped providing the service because the license from Nature was judged as unacceptable, says Glenn Anderson, assistant dean and librarian III for AU Libraries. "Despite the popularity of Nature online among faculty and other researchers, the license offered by Nature has been judged unacceptable by Auburn and by many other universities," Anderson said.

He said the problem was created when the license for Nature online for libraries included an embargo on much of the content of issues from the most recent three months. "As a result, libraries which pay hefty prices for online access to Nature would pay these fees for dated content, while personal subscribers have access to all articles upon publication for a fraction of the cost libraries are charged," he said.

Auburn would have paid nearly $10,000 per year for the online publication.

International programs supporters to assemble

Faculty and staff supporters of AU involvement in international programs will host a brown bag lunch at 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. Thursday, April 12, in Foy Student Union Board Room to discuss Fulbright opportunities for 2002-2003 and the revitalization of the AU Phi Beta Delta chapter.

Phi Beta Delta is the honorary society for international scholars. The AU chapter has been inactive for several years. The Fulbright program is a federally funded program for scholars, teachers, professors, and researchers to go abroad to teach or engage in research. For information on either set of activities, contact Jim Ellis (ellijam@auburn.edu) or Emily Melvin (melviea@auburn.edu).

War Eagle VI to serve as grand marshal at open house

War Eagle VI, Auburn's golden eagle, will serve as grand marshal of the College of Veterinary Medicine's 24th annual open house on April 21.

"In the past, we would have a person serve as the grand marshal and cut the opening ribbon," said Gary Beard, assistant dean. "But this year we felt that Tiger (War Eagle VI's nickname) should have the honor because of the great exposure she has brought to Auburn University and wildlife conservation." The 21-year-old golden eagle received training from the veterinary college's Southeastern Raptor Rehabilitation Center, where she is housed by permission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Tiger will be joined by the Hennigan's Spinning Frisbee Dogs, which are making their third consecutive appearance at the yearly event.

Unsung Hero: Rhea James, Alumni & Development

This week's Unsung Hero is Rhea James, development program specialist in Alumni and Development. She has been at AU for 16 years and in her current job for 13. She was asked:

Rhea James

What do you do in your current job? "I support the assistant vice president for development and have the opportunity to work with each of the development officers. Our office coordinates the private support fund-raising efforts made on behalf of Auburn University. I work with the President's Office and the Vice President's Office to prepare lists of donors/prospects to be invited to the executive suites during athletic events. I also work with the Auburn University Foundation Development Committee."

What is the most rewarding part of your job? "Helping people who have an interest in Auburn find ways to benefit Auburn's programs and/or its students."

What is the most challenging part of your job? "Coordinating the necessary paperwork for our development efforts."
If you were not doing this job, what would you most like to do? "Work with a children's music program."

What makes Auburn special? "Its people ‹ whether they graduated 50 years ago, last semester, or are just blessed to work here, Auburn has a way of uniting people."

What was your first impression of Auburn University? "How majestic!"

How has that impression changed? "The history of that majesty is amazing. The stories surrounding this university, such as the individuals who went above and beyond what it took for Auburn to succeed, and then to be honored by having buildings name after them, is fascinating. Auburn University has a powerful story."

What words best describe Auburn as a work environment, learning environment or just a place to be? "Auburn is a constant learning environment, whether it is academic lessons or life lessons."

What do you like to do when not at work? "Spend time with my family. Be involved in our church and its ministries. Be with friends."

What person or persons do you most admire and why? "The most significant person I admire is Jesus Christ. He provides the basis on which I stand. I admire my family, from my parents, to my husband, to my children. Each one of them has planted seeds in my life. And I admire my boss, his wisdom is a blessing."

What is your favorite line from the Auburn Creed and why? "I like so many of the lines but the one which has the most impact is 'I believe in my Country, because it is a land of freedom and because it is my own home, and that I can best serve that country by doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with my God.' Amen."