AU REPORT April 24, 2000
Headlines Legislation may to to wire Reviews look to future of fields Graduate School automates applications Provost, dean air merger views

AU-related bills headed to wire in legislative session

As the 2000 session of the Alabama Legislature moves into its final days, the odds remain high that Auburn will receive a 5.4 percent funding increase in the state's education budget, says AU Director of Governmental Relations Buddy Mitchell.

The budget was in a conference committee of Alabama House and Senate members last Thursday and could remain there until the last one or two meeting days before the 2000 session ends on May 15.

"A lot could happen in conference committee, but indications are that the final result will be pretty close to what the governor recommended," he said.

Mitchell, however, cautions that AU could be squeezed out of future state funding increases, along with other Alabama four-year colleges and universities, if the teacher pay raise bill championed by the Alabama Education Association continues toward final passage in its present form.

The bill to mandate increases in state appropriations until K-12 teacher salaries reach the national average was passed by the Alabama House on April 18 and sent to the State Senate, where the bill was placed in committee.

While virtually all of higher education supports teacher pay raises, Mitchell said problems arise from the bill's attempt to finance the K-12 pay raises from growth in the education budget. The mandated allocation would leave little or nothing for the faculty, staff and operations of colleges and universities.

"We are all for teacher pay raises but not through mandated allocations that would require the sacrifice of higher education," said Mitchell. "There has to be a better way to pay for them."

He added that the mandated higher pay and accompanying benefits would eat up 60 percent of education budget growth in good economic years. "As bad as that would be, the much greater concern," he added, "is that this could devastate higher education when the economy hits a downturn."

Mitchell said all the four-year institutions are fighting the mandate requirements of the teacher pay raise bill but they face a formidable opponent in the Alabama Education Association.

The teacher pay raise mandate, with an accompanying bill to change tenure laws for K-12 teachers and principals, is among several hotly contested bills before the Senate in the final days of the session. With seven legislative days remaining at the start of this week, Mitchell said the fate of some bills may not be known until the final day of the session.

Among those are a constitutional amendment and enabling legislation to reorganize and add members to the AU Board of Trustees. That legislation has passed the House and has been assigned to the Senate's Finance and Taxation Committee.

One bill that has been approved by both Houses and sent to Gov. Don Siegelman to be signed into law is legislation removing college faculty and staff from background checks mandated last year for K-12 school personnel. Many legislators who voted for the 1999 legislation were unaware that colleges had been a last-minute addition to the bill, and they vowed to remove that language from the legislation this year.

Reviews to look to future of career fields

AU College of Liberal Arts Dean John Heilman has invited Will Norton Jr., dean of the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Nebraska, to help evaluate the impact of a potential merger between Auburn's departments of Journalism and Communication.

Although the principal issue in discussions about the possible merger of the departments has been Journalism's accreditation, the review will also examine the broader role of that field and others at Auburn. In remarks to the University Senate on April 11, Provost William Walker said he wants far-reaching recommendations from AU deans involved in reviews of those programs and others.

With 16 of AU's smaller academic departments under review for possible merger or termination, Walker told the Senate he would like the deans from the colleges and schools over all 16 departments to provide evaluations of the future role of the departments to him in May. An administration report is due to the Board of Trustees on June 5.

Walker said he would like the deans to include input from leaders of industries or professions served by those departments in their recommendations to him. Even departments not affected by the current reviews should consult with leaders in their field outside the academic arena in developing longterm plans, he added.

All the departments under review have close ties to industries or professions. Other departments for which reviews are continuing are Biosystems Engineering, Entomology and Plant Pathology, Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures, Poultry Science, Industrial Design, Counseling and Counseling Psychology, Industrial and Systems Engineering, Textile Engineering, Communication Disorders, Theatre, Pharmacy Care Systems, Pharmacal Sciences, Pathobiology and Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology. Entomology and Plant Pathology were merged in 1999 but still fell short of the numerical criteria.

Those departments came under review because they failed to meet numerical criteria for department size and undergraduate teaching load passed by the Board of Trustees in January. Although the criteria were developed for consideration in elevating programs to department status, the Board asked for a review of departments that did not meet the criteria.

Walker said he will consult with faculty in formulating his recommendations but does not expect to have time for another review by the Senate's Academic Review and Assessment Committee before the administration recommendations go to the board.

The provost added that over a longer term he would like to see deans, department heads and faculty of all departments with ties to industries or professions meet with leaders of those constituencies. Out of those meetings, he said, should come assessments of the direction of the industry or profession over the next 50 years, changes each department must make to meet the needs of that constituency and changes the department must make to prepare graduates for successful and adaptive careers in those industries and professions.

Complex skeleton
This metal skeleton will soon take on a sleeker, fuller form as AU's new women's sports complex. Construction is progressing toward an anticipated October completion of the new Earlon and Betty McWhorter Women's Sports Center, located across from the Athletic Complex on Samford Avenue. The new facility will feature a gymnastics practice area, locker rooms, meeting rooms and offices for AU gymnastics and softball plus training and laundry rooms and equipment storage.

Family Fun Day tradition to continue

Auburn's third annual Family Fun Day for AU employees and their families has been scheduled for June 2 along Biggio Drive south of Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum.

From 2 p.m.-5 p.m., adults and children can compete for prizes, play games, listen to music and participate in related activities. Biggio Drive will be closed to traffic for the event.

"Family Fun Day has proven an effective way for us to bring the University employees and their families together for an afternoon of fun, food and fellowship," said Albert Snipes, manager of employee relations for AU's personnel services and chairman of the Fun Day organizing committee. "It's an opportunity for employees to get to know each other in a casual setting and have a little fun in the process."

Snipes said all AU employees will soon receive a card, which includes more information about the event and a mailing label required to claim door prizes. Snipes urges all AU offices to make sure the cards are distributed to their employees and to remind the employees to bring their cards to the event.

Approximately 4,000 people attended Family Fun Day in each of its first two years, Snipes said. Feedback has been positive and AU is committed to making it an annual event, he added.

"We've had a good time the last two years," Snipes said. "It takes a lot of effort to plan this thing, but it's been worth the effort. We learn a little something every year that helps make each year's festivities a little bit better. We hope all Auburn employees will attend and bring their families this year."

Graduate School pioneers online admissions process

Applicants to the AU Graduate School will find it easier and faster to gain admission following changes introduced on April 18.

Admission requirements remain unchanged. However, new automated features on the Graduate School's web site have vastly increased communication speed and virtually eliminated paper processing, filing and mailing delays, said Graduate School Dean John Pritchett.

The new online system, GWAAP or Graduate Web Application and Admissions Process, was developed by Steve McFarland, associate dean of the Graduate School. Auburn is one of the first institutions in America to automate handling of graduate applications, McFarland said.

The improved version of the application web site enables the Graduate School to instantly forward an applicant's materials to any of the about 60 graduate program officers in academic departments across campus. Those program officers can review the materials, consult their department's graduate committee and at any time contact the Graduate School, the applicant or both.

Approximately 60 percent of applications arrive online and the data is now automatically transferred to the new system. Until GWAAP, the Graduate School had to print out the online applications and mail them to the departments. Pritchett projects that 90 percent of applications will arrive online in the near future. Under the new system, traditional paper applications are typed into the database as they arrive by mail at the Graduate School.

"This system virtually eliminates the transmission of paper records by campus mail and it eliminates the need for row after row of cabinets," says Pritchett. "By eliminating paperhandling and mailing steps, we are able to remove the major causes of delays and lost records in the admissions process."

Instead of waiting weeks while admissions materials go back and forth between the Graduate School and the graduate program officer in the student's program, applicants can gain acceptance within days and, in special cases, within hours, Pritchett said.

"This truly represents a paradigm shift," said Pritchett. "The departments have the information as soon as we get it."

Students who report exceptional qualifications can be admitted provisionally within hours by the graduate officer for their program. Once the data is confirmed from their previous institutions, the Graduate School will drop the "provisional" label from the student's status.

Students who pay online by credit card will have their applications processed immediately, while those who send checks through the mail will have their materials processed when the check is received.

Transcripts are the only records that will not be transmitted online. Pritchett said transcripts will eventually be transferred electronically between institutions when the records are standardized at least nationally and university officials nationwide or worldwide are more comfortable with electronic transmission. In the meantime, he said, graduate program officers will still want official documents on paper from the institutions attended by applicants.

Pritchett said the new process should further increase the accuracy, efficiency and effectiveness of the universitywide graduate application and admissions process. In so doing, the online process will enhance Auburn's competitive stature for highly qualified graduate students, he added.

Frisbee dogs
Dog trainer Herb Hennigan and his Hennigan's Spinning Frisbee K9s were a crowd-pleaser at the College of Veterinary Medicine's open house on April 15. The open house attracted several hundred visitors for entertainment and a tour of the college's facilities.

AU moves mascot to raptor center

War Eagle VI, the golden eagle displayed at AU athletic events, has been transferred to the Southeastern Raptor Rehabilitation Center at the College of Veterinary Medicine.

The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service on April 13 ordered that the SERRC hold the permit for custody of War Eagle VI to ensure compliance with the Fish and Wildlife Service's education mission and terms for the health and safety of the eagle.

War Eagle VI suffers from recurring "bumblefoot," a chronic foot infection caused by inadequate husbandry practices.

The FWS said if the eagle is to remain at Auburn, it must be housed at the SERRC. Under federal law, captive birds of prey can only be used for conservation education.

The SERRC and the College of Veterinary Medicine have invited the Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity to have a meaningful role in the care of War Eagle VI. The service fraternity has cared for Auburn's eagle mascots for 41 years.

The eagle -- nicknamed Tiger -- does not belong to AU, because federal law does not allow an individual or institution to own any bird of prey. The FWS, not AU, dictates the terms for permits involving native birds of prey. The SERRC has offered APO a seat on its advisory board and a standardized training program for APO members. APO would also maintain its team for exhibition of Tiger at athletic events. Even though Tiger will live permanently at the new SERRC facility, there will be certain hours that she would be housed on the main campus.

Students examine obstacles faced by disabled

The AU Program for Students with Disabilities and student groups sponsored activities last week to make faculty, staff and students more aware of obstacles faced by disabled students.

Students with Disabilities and the student group Advocates for Disability Awareness sponsored activities ranging from organized discussions of obstacles to events that allowed non-disabled persons to encounter some of those obstacles in a wheelchair. Other sponsors of activities in connection with Disability Awareness Week on campus included Advocates for Disability Awareness and the Sign Language Club.

Students with Disabilities hosted informational discussions each night of the week on topics ranging from psychological disorders and learning disabilities to assistive technology for visual, hearing, or mobility problems.

"Our goal this week is to make faculty and students aware of the disabilities on campus. There are students with a disability in every college and the program serves over 700 students on campus, " said Kelly Haynes, director of Students with Disabilities.

Students with Disabilities provides accessible programs, services and activities and reasonable accommodations for any student with a documented disability. The program's goal is to ensure that students with disabilities have an equal opportunity to pursue an education.

Advocates for Disability Awareness, one of three participating student groups, offered non-disabled students a fresh perspective on obstacles faced by wheelchair bound students through a simulation event between sorority and two fraternity teams.

Adding spaces
New and expanded parking areas on the west side of campus are taking shape as construction crews near completion of the second phase of AU's master plan for parking improvements. The work will add more than 1,000 parking spaces.

AU World's Fair set for early May

Auburn will showcase the international flavor of its student body on Wednesday, May 3 at its 16th annual World's Fair on the Haley Center Concourse.

The 10 a.m.-3 p.m. event will feature displays by students from more than 40 countries, including Chile, India, England, South Africa, Taiwan, Switzerland and Romania.

"The World's Fair allows our international students the opportunity to show their pride in their homelands and promotes good will," said Nejla Orgen, associate director of AU's Office of International Student Life and Admissions. "It also helps the students from the U.S. become more aware of the international flavor of Auburn and that Auburn draws students from around the world."

The displays will include information about the cultures and traditions of the various countries as well as crafts and games. Participating groups will be awarded cash prizes and gift certificates for the most educational, most interesting or creative and best overall displays.

As in the past, several hundred children from area schools have been invited to attend the event, Orgen said. "We hope to have about 1,000 students visiting the event from area elementary and high schools."

Eligibility opens for service learning grants

The AU program Partners in Community Service is seeking applicants for service-learning grants for the 2000-01 academic year.

The 10 grants of $1,500 each are to assist faculty in incorporating community service into their curricula, said the program's coordinator, Holly Stadler. The center will also award a $2,500 grant for evaluation of the service learning initiative.

This will be the second year for the grants, which are funded through AU Outreach and the Provost's Office. The grants carry an application deadline of June 1 and will cover organized academic activities during the period from Aug. 15, 2000 to Aug. 4, 2001. Award recipients will be announced June 15.

"The grants give faculty the opportunity to think creatively about teaching concepts that are both important to their courses and can also be linked to community needs," said Stadler, who is also head of the Department of Counseling and Counseling Psychology in the College of Education.

Stadler described service learning as a teaching method designed to advance student learning in the context of community service. Courses should be designed to encourage students to see community service as an ongoing means of personal development as well as community improvement, she added.

She noted that the U.S. Commission of National and Community Service defines service learning as a pedagogical method under which students learn and develop through active participation in thoughtfully organized service experiences that meet actual community needs and that are coordinated in collaboration with the university and community.
For application forms, see the application web site or contact Stadler at 844-5160.

AU pay schedules adjusted for semesters

The faculty pay schedule has been adjusted to reflect the semester system. Fall 2000 semester starts Aug. 22, a month earlier than under the quarter system. As a result, the summer 2000 term is only eight weeks long.

Faculty teaching this summer will receive checks for a half month salary on June 30 and Aug. 15, and a check for a full month salary on July 31.

The semester pay period begins Aug. 16, a month earlier than on the quarter system. Faculty will receive checks for a one-half month salary on August 31 and May 15. Checks issued during the months of September through April will each be for a full month.

Pharmacy School to launch distance learning web site

The School of Pharmacy will launch a distance learning program this fall to enable practicing pharmacists to more easily obtain their doctor of pharmacy degree.

"A lot of schools of pharmacy are making the move to nontraditional Pharm. D. programs," said Bob Pearson, assistant dean and professor in School of Pharmacy. "We feel like we are in a position to be very competitive with other institutions and offer some elements that others do not."

The AU program will combine traditional instruction with modern delivery methods -- primarily via CD-ROM and Internet.

It will give working professionals the flexibility to continue their education without relocation or lifestyle change. Students may work around professional, family and travel demands to complete their academic requirements.

In addition, when students need face-to-face consultation with an AU faculty member, faculty will be available at the School of Pharmacy's regional sites in Huntsville, Tuscaloosa, Mobile, Montgomery, Phenix City/Columbus and Birmingham.

For more information on the AU Pharm. D. program, contact the School of Pharmacy's Office of Post-Graduate Professional Education and Outreach at 844-8370 or via email at seayer@auburn.edu

Fashion web site creator to speak at AU

The creator of one of the Internet's more fashionable sites will give the 14th annual Grisham-Trentham Lecture in the College of Human Sciences on May 12.

Ben Narasin, chief executive officer and president of fashionmall.com, will speak on "The Internet and its Influences on Fashion and Retail: A Reality Check" at 10:30 a.m. in the Dixon Conference Center auditorium.

Created in 1995, the online mall receives more than 16 million hits a month for those seeking fashion, accessories and beauty products from some of the world's top designers.

The site is noted for its use of "push" technology, which selects information from the site based on a person's preferences and delivers the information automatically.

Authority on Marcel Proust to speak at AU

William Carter, author of the new biography Marcel Proust: A Life , will be at Auburn on Thursday, April 27, for a program on one of the most prominent literary voices of the 20th century. Carter, professor of art and humanities at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, will give a public reading as well as sign his books at 4 p.m. at Pebble Hill.

The biography, published by Yale University Press, was described by a reviewer as "a prodigious work, rich and racy, informed by fact, animated by imagination, utterly worthy of its wondrous subject." The book is an account of the life and times of Marcel Proust, one of the most cited literary influences of the 20th century. Based on a host of recently available letters, memoirs, and manuscripts, Carter's work sheds new light on Proust's character, his development as an artist, and his masterpiece Remembrance of Things Past.

Carter is an expert on 19th and 20th century French literature, Proustian studies and French civilization. The lecture is sponsored by the Department of English, the College of Liberal Arts Dean's Office and the Center for the Arts and Humanities.

AU faculty help LaFayette school launch magazine

A literary publication written and developed by LaFayette High School students with assistance from Auburn faculty will be celebrated on Wednesday, April 26.

Activities include a reading and reception at 3 p.m. at Barrow's Restaurant in LaFayette to debut Visions of LaFayette, a new literary publication by students at LaFayette High. Contributors to the magazine will read from their work, and free copies of the magazine will be available.

The magazine features alternating students' photographs of friends, family and the surrounding area along with their poems about love, loss, nature and humanity.

The magazine was designed and produced by LaFayette students under the tutelage of poet Natasha Trethewey, an assistant professor of English at AU, and writer/teacher Mary Moran, who teaches writing classes for AU's Outreach program.

The magazine is a product of the AU's Center for the Arts and Humanities' Alabama Voices V program, which brings writers to communities in Alabama to work in schools, public libraries and other venues. Since December, Trethewey and Moran have spent extended periods of time in classes and working with students on their individual work and on the Visions of LaFayette collection.

A writer-in-the-community model program, Alabama Voices is funded by a grant from the Alabama State Council on the Arts and administered by the Alabama Writers' Forum and the AU Center for the Arts and Humanities.

Trethewey receives Bunting Fellowship

Natasha Trethewey, an assistant professor of English, has been awarded a Bunting Fellowship from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University.

Trethewey, who teaches poetry writing, will spend the 2000-01 academic year at Harvard, where she will research and write poetry. She will also complete her second book, Bellocq's Ophelia, and begin a new volume of poetry.

The Bunting Fellowship Program awards about 40 fellowships annually to distinguished scholars, artists, creative writers, and activists. Bunting fellows work on projects of their own choosing, which may range from postdoctoral research in science to the completion of a novel.

The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study is among the nation's most prominent multidisciplinary centers for scholars, writers, artists and activists. Bunting Fellows' accomplishments have had an impact on virtually every scholarly, political and artistic field in contemporary society.

Earlier this year, Trethewey won the prestigious Cave Canem Poetry Prize for her first book, Domestic Works, by Graywolf Press of St. Paul, Minn. Some of her poems have appeared in Agni, The American Poetry Review, Gettysburg Review, The Massachusetts Review, North American Review and The Southern Review.

AU, WVU sign agreement for counter-terrorism programs

Auburn and West Virginia University have agreed to work together in the research and development of a wide array of programs for counter terrorism Administrators from the two land-grant universities signed a formal agreement last week.

The collaboration will involve veterinary medicine, science and engineering expertise from Auburn and medical, science and engineering expertise from West Virginia. The focus is planning and training for rapid response to bio-terrorism, agri-terrorism and other similar acts.

AU's Institute for Biological Detection Systems and West Virginia's Virtual Medical Campus (tm/sm) are the primary components of the agreement. Training and planning support will be provided via an "integrated knowledge base," part of a high-speed online system capable of providing quick response to emergencies such as anthrax or sarin gas attacks by terrorist organizations.

Areas for collaboration include AU's development of facilities at Fort McClellan, near Anniston, and WVU's development of the VMC and its high speed network at Morgantown, W.Va.

"Each university has programs that support the U.S. medical community and related government agencies in preparing for and responding to events involving weapons of mass destruction," said Michael Moriarty, vice president for research at AU.

"Through today's agreement, the two universities intend to partner in a manner that allows them to address problems collectively and share opportunities that may not be readily available to them individually," added John Weete, associate provost for research at WVU and president of the WVU Research Corporation.

Achievements

Four AU College of Veterinary Medicine faculty have been honored by the college for devoting their professional careers to guiding students and providing Auburn with vital advancements in research.The foremost teaching award went to Joe Newton as he received the Norden Distinguished Teacher Award, which is given annually to a teacher at each veterinary college in the United States. Michael Tillson, an assistant professor in the Department of Small Animal Surgery and Medicine, received the Dean's Award for excellence in teaching. Gatz Riddell was named the Student Government Association's Outstanding Teacher. He is a professor in the Department of Large Animal Surgery and Medicine. Vitaly Vodyanoy, a professor in the Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, was presented the Pfizer Animal Health Award for research excellence.

Dale Coleman, associate professor of animal and dairy sciences, has been named faculty secretary for the AU chapter of Omicron Delta Kappa national leadership honorary. Coleman replaces Malcolm Cutchins, professor emeritus of aerospace engineering, who had served as faculty secretary of ODK at AU since 1984 and was recently honored at ODK's national convention in St. Louis with one of four awards for meritorious service presented by the national organization, election to the ODK's 13 member national board of directors, and re-election to a third term as faculty director of ODK province VIII (which includes Alabama, Mississippi and west Florida). In his tenure as ODK faculty secretary at AU, Cutchins helped initiate 1,000 students, faculty, staff, and alumni -- almost 40 percent of all initiates into ODK at AU since 1928.

James Barth, the Lowder Eminent Scholar in Finance, has been selected as the United Overseas Banking Professor at Nanyang Technological University (http://www.ntu.edu.sg/index_hi.htm) in Singapore. Barth will spend August and September at the university, lecturing faculty and students and working with faculty on various research projects. In 1997, Barth, an expert in international banking and finance, was the Shaw Foundation Professor at Nanyang.

Michael Solomon, Human Sciences Professor of Consumer Behavior, has been named to the Editorial Board of the Journal of Consumer Behavior, an international research review. This is a new internationally focused journal scheduled to be launched in October by Henry Stewart Publications in London.

Campus Roundup

BC/BS representative on campus AU's Blue Cross/Blue Shield representative will be on campus in Ingram 212 from 10 a.m.-noon on May 9 to meet with faculty and staff who have questions or need assistance concerning their BC/BS insurance coverage. No appointment is necessary.

Speech and hearing screenings offered
The AU Speech and Hearing Clinic will have free screenings from 1:30-4 p.m. Wednesday, May 3, at the clinic's facilities, Haley Center 1199. No appointment is necessary. All children must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

Child Study Center enrolling students
The Child Study Center is a half day preschool for children ages 2 1/2 to 6. Classes are now forming for the 2000-01 school year. Contact Margaret Vollenweider at 844-4696 or stop by the CSC across the concourse from Haley Center for enrollment information.

Children's summer program offered
The Department of Curriculum and Teaching and the Auburn City Schools Early Education Center will offer an Early Childhood Summer Enrichment Program from June 26-Aug. 1. The program for children, ages 4 to 8, will be 8 a.m-noon, Monday through Thursday of each week, except for the holidays of July 3-4. The theme for this year's program will be "The Art Center." The fee is $20 per child per week, except for weeks 2 and 6, which will be $10 each. Children may be enrolled for one to six weeks. For registration information, contact Kim Odum or Rita Farver at 844 6747.

Campus Views: On merging Communication and Journalism

By AU Provost William Walker and John Heilman, Dean, College of Liberal Arts

In the words of the late Ernest L. Boyer, president of The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, the mission of Auburn University is to pursue the scholarship of instruction; the scholarship of discovery; the scholarship of integration; and the scholarship of application. It is the intention of everyone associated with this great land grant institution that throughout the 21st century and beyond, the products of our instruction, research and outreach will demonstrate our dedication to the responsible pursuit of excellence in all that we do. We therefore have been and continue to be involved in efforts to review and improve programs in all our mission areas. As a part of these activities, the dean of the College of Liberal Arts has recommended to the provost the merger of the Departments of Communication and Journalism.

This recommendation for change has produced some very useful, critical and collegial discussion -- exactly what is supposed to take place in a real university. It has also generated some personal attacks on the authors, attacks which must not be permitted to divert attention from the fundamental academic issues involved. It appears that this proposed union of departments can enhance Auburn's ability to satisfy its mission, particularly with respect to its students, to the industry, to academic quality, and to fiscal responsibility.

A carefully conducted merger can be of benefit to all involved. Some of the potential benefits are financial and some are administrative. Some are less tangible to the public but involve the obligation of each and every faculty member at Auburn to participate in the scholarship of discovery as well as the scholarship of instruction and integration.

Both departments are small (seven faculty in Journalism and 11 in Communication), and a merger would improve financial efficiency. Incredible as it may seem, we have actually been criticized for concerning ourselves with the financial aspects of the institution. We cannot bring ourselves to apologize for believing that fiscal responsibility is what the taxpayers want and deserve.

In our view one of the most fundamental issues with regard to the organization of the two departments has to do with the changing nature of the academic disciplines involved. It is unquestionably our responsibility to offer degree programs that prepare our students to meet the professional demands of the 21st century. We are determined to meet this responsibility. The departments in question deal with disciplinary areas that now overlap and appear likely to continue converging. The relationship between print journalism (itself a subfield of mass communications, and currently taught in Journalism) and the mass communications disciplines of radio, television, and film (currently taught in Communication), is growing closer and closer. The days when the different media (film, television, radio, newspapers) were all separate entities are coming to an end.

A major reason for this convergence is the Internet, which increasingly allows for the integration of diverse media. Corporate America has already responded to the strength of this trend: consider, for example, the reach of Time Warner, Inc., a conglomerate which owns newspapers, magazines, film production companies, distribution outlets, recording companies, cable providers and more.

We believe that universities, too, must consider the implications of such broad changes for their academic programs. In the case of Communications and Journalism at Auburn, this kind of questioning is far from new. The decisions made decades ago to establish separate departments with some shared subject matter have been examined before, and past external reviewers have recommended merging at least some of the programs in these departments. And, in 1998, a departmental merger received serious consideration as part of a universitywide review of organizational restructuring.

Now the possibility of merger has surfaced again, this time in connection with a review of departments that are small in terms of faculty size and student credit hour production. Communication and Journalism are both among the 16 departments being studied universitywide. This kind of review, while painful, is increasingly common in higher education, especially in public institutions such as Auburn. The potential benefits of the proposed merger include increased efficiency in the organization and use of resources, and a programmatic structure that reflects the steady blending of what have been distinct disciplines.

Much has been made, we know, of the possibility that a merger would jeopardize the full reaccreditation of Auburn's Journalism program. The best advice we have received to date suggests that the accreditation issue is, in all candor, a red herring. In any event, the question of accreditation, and the broader issues involved with merger, need to be authoritatively resolved.

To achieve this resolution we are bringing to Auburn experts of national standing to help us sort through the issues and prepare a recommendation for review by Auburn's Board of Trustees in June. In this regard, Dean Will Norton of the University of Nebraska has indicated his willingness to visit Auburn in late April. He is a nationally recognized authority in the fields involved, and has been suggested as a consultant both by Auburn's
Communication faculty and by Dean Richard Cole of the University of North Carolina, who recently chaired an accreditation site visit for Auburn's Journalism program. We are working to identify one or more additional experts of national standing to assist us in this review. We call on all involved to work with us in a constructive manner to resolve these matters objectively and expeditiously.

Unsung Hero: Linda Mowery, Enrollment Management

This week's Unsung Hero is Linda Mowery, executive secretary to the assistant vice president for enrollment management. She has been in her current position for one year and at Auburn for more than two years. She was asked:

What do you do in your current job? "I assist the assistant vice president for EMS in the day-to-day activities of the office along with overall assistance to the other departments of EMS. I also serve the Admissions Appeals Committee by coordinating all necessary information to present to the committee."

What is the most rewarding part of your job? "I enjoy working with the students and the parents. It is very rewarding to be able to inform and help families that contact our office for assistance."

What is the most challenging part of your job? "Working with frustrated students at a difficult point in their educational track."

What was your first impression of Auburn University? "My first impression of Auburn was and still is the beauty of the campus. It's always breathtaking to drive onto campus in the mornings."

How has that impression changed? "It hasn't. I will always enjoy the trees and flowers that make this such a showplace."

What words best describe Auburn as a work environment, learning environment or just a place to be? "Friendly, supportive and a great place for opportunity."

What do you like to do when not at work? "I enjoy being with my family, working in the yard and reading."

What person or persons do you admire and why? "I admire anyone who is understanding and compassionate."

What is your favorite line from the Auburn Creed and why? "'I believe in my country, because it is a land of freedom and because it is my own home, and I can best serve that country by doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with my God.'"

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@mail.auburn.edu