AU REPORT June 7, 1999
Headlines Russell to receive honorary degree Board sets budget priorities Heilman named Liberal Arts dean AU hosts Family Fun Day

AU buying hotel
The AU Board of Trustees on June 7 approved the purchase of the AU Hotel and Conference Center. The privately owned hotel is attached to the university-managed AU Conference Center. The deal will bring both units under ownership of the university.

AU agrees to buy AU Hotel & Conference Center

AU has agreed in principle to purchase the privately owned, 248-room hotel connected to the university's conference center.

The hotel, which opened in 1988, has been owned by private investors and managed by Richfield Hospitality Services, Inc., an independent hotel management company providing services at more than 125 lodging properties throughout the United States and Canada. The university's current plan is to continue Richfield's management, providing a transparent, seamless transition to hotel guests.

"The hotel and conference center have been assets to the university and the community since its inception," said AU President William Muse. "This purchase represents a commitment by the university to continually enhance its outreach mission by providing high quality hotel and conference facilities for visitors to East Alabama."

Upon conclusion of the transaction, the university will pay $5.5 million for the hotel from available university funds and assume about $11 million in bonded indebtedness. The sale price represents fair market value.

The purchase also will resolve litigation that arose over disputes between the current owners and the university concerning management issues.

The hotel rests on university property under terms of a ground lease. Located across South College Street from the university's Ralph B. Draughon Library, the hotel and conference center complex is of contemporary Georgian architecture with a grand Southern lobby of hardwood floors, large round columns, French doors and greenery.

The hotel is rated as a AAA three-diamond property by the American Automobile Association and as a three-star facility by Mobil. Horizons, the hotel's restaurant, seats 96 plus 30 in a private dining room.

The hotel's occupancy rate over the past five years has averaged 59.4 percent, ranging from a low of 54 percent in 1994 to a high of 63 percent in 1996. The projected occupancy rate for 1999 is 60 percent. The hotel's average daily rate, a hospitality industry standard for revenue per room rented, has averaged $65 over the last five years.

Gross sales for the hotel operation, which includes guest rooms, food and beverages, telephone and other revenues, has averaged $6.54 million annually over the past five years. Richfield has 100 full-time and 75 part time employees at the hotel. Sixty percent of the staff are AU students.
The hotel's solid occupancy rate and high-volume conference food service were considered in projections that revenues even at the current level can cover the bond repayments, said AU Executive Vice President Don Large.

"We will be examining ways to further enhance the coordination between the hotel and conference center, to build on the already excellent reputation for guest services, to increase the revenue stream and to develop ties to our academic programs," Large said.

The parties continue to negotiate certain details of the transaction and expect to execute a definitive purchase agreement and close the transaction as soon as possible.

New trustees
New AU Board members Jimmy Rane, left, and Byron Franklin, right, participated in their first session on the board on June 7.

Board sets guidelines for pay raises, spending priorities

Faculty and staff will receive pay raises and their departments will gain additional operating funds under budget guidelines approved Monday by the AU Board of Trustees.

Under those guidelines, a larger than expected increase in state appropriations will lead to a smaller than expected tuition increase this fall for Auburn students.

The board agreed to guidelines that include a 2 percent across-the-board salary/wage increase and a 3 percent pool for merit and equity pay increases. Using those guidelines, the administration will develop a budget for the 1999-2000 fiscal year for final approval by the board before the Oct.1 start of the budget year.

The guidelines were developed by an 18-member committee of faculty, staff and students. Executive Vice President Don Large, who chaired the committee, said the budget process is easier this year than in the past because of planning priorities established in January by the board.

Large noted that the 4.9 percent increase in tuition approved by the board was smaller than the 6 percent annual increase under the January agreement. Part of that agreement, he noted, was for the university to levy a smaller tuition increase if state appropriations were larger than the 1 percent projected for state funding increases to Auburn.
With support for higher education from new Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and a more receptive Legislature, Large noted that Auburn expects about a 6 percent increase -- approximately $7 million -- in its state appropriation when the legislative session ends on Wednesday.

The tuition increase, $45 per quarter for in-state residents, is expected to generate $5 million in additional income per year.

The higher state appropriations and the tuition increase plus reallocations and cost savings are expected to provide $19.8 million more university income next year.

Those funds will be used for the pay increases, increasing deferred maintenance funds by $1 million, increasing departmental operating budgets by 3 percent, allocating $1 million to academic program enhancement and $4 million for one-time funding of other priorities. The one-time funding priorities include additional funds for the library, instructional technology, core curriculum, diversity enhancement, laboratory improvements, semester transition and a $2.5 million proration reserve.

Large said the tuition increase would probably not move the university closer to a goal of reaching the regional average. But, he said, the increase would be enough to maintain AU's current status of 90 percent of the regional average while complying with the board's desire to hold down the size of increases.

State School Superintendent Ed Richardson, an ex-officio member of the board, recommended sticking to the original priority of 6 percent annual increases for five years, but board member Lowell Barron, president pro tempore of the Alabama Senate, said he dislikes any increase.
Besides approving the tuition increase, the board agreed to a schedule of fee increases to finance a new student union. The Student Government Association asked for the increase and students overwhelmingly endorsed an increase in an election in April.

Starting fall quarter, student fees will go up $5 per quarter and increase on a regular basis thereafter to generate funds for the building.
President William Muse said a planning committee for the building would be established in the near future.

In other action, the board voted to transfer the Aviation Management program from the College of Engineering to the College of Business and to create a master's degree program in technical and professional communication within the Department of English.

Guidelines set for naming of colleges, schools and departments

The Board of Trustees on June 7 adopted a resolution establishing formal guidelines for naming major AU academic units, such as departments, schools and colleges.

The guidelines are similar to those already used by the trustees in the naming of campus buildings and other physical facilities.

The procedure for the naming of departments, schools and colleges would require a three-fourths vote by the trustees on a secret ballot during an executive committee meeting.

Under the new board policy, the naming of an AU college would require a
minimum gift or financial commitment of $10 million. The minimum for a school is $5 million, while the minimum for a department is $3 million.
The policy says the funding may be used to support instruction, outreach or research programs in the department, school or college, including facilities, equipment and staff.

Heilman named dean of College of Liberal Arts

John Heilman, a veteran faculty member and former associate dean, has been named dean of the College of Liberal Arts.

The appointment of Heilman, who has served as interim dean for nearly two years, was effective June 1.

"John has done a great job managing the College of Liberal Arts during some very difficult times," said Provost William F. Walker, who announced the appointment. "He has shown courage and demonstrated to me that he can hold his own in difficult situations. I feel he will represent the students, faculty and alumni very well."

Heilman said he foresees the college "addressing the issues of role, resources and respect. It will be important for us to communicate the centrality of our work to Auburn's mission and to document the quality and efficiency with which we do this work."

Following the 1997 death of Liberal Arts Dean Gordon Bond, Heilman and Rebekah Pindzola were named as interim co-deans for one year, and Heilman served a second year alone in the post after Pindzola stepped down.

Authorizing lottery vote
Gov. Don Siegelman visited Auburn last week in his effort to obtain a statewide lottery to benefit education. In signing a replica of enabling legislation for the Oct. 12 election on the issue, the governor stressed that a major purpose of the lottery will be to support scholarships for Alabamians at the state's colleges and universities. He presented the signed replica to AU Provost William Walker.

More than 2,000 to receive AU diplomas

Auburn will award an estimated 2,072 academic degrees at two separate spring quarter commencement ceremonies on Friday.

Depending on the final numbers, AU's spring 1999 class could be its largest ever, eclipsing the record 2,031 degrees awarded in spring 1992, said Registrar John Fletcher. Because of the size of the class, Auburn will have two commencement ceremonies -- at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. -- in an effort to accommodate family and friends of the graduates.

Students in the colleges of Agriculture, Education, Business and Architecture, Design and Construction will receive their degrees in the 10 a.m. ceremony. Graduates of the colleges and schools of Forestry, Human Sciences, Nursing, Engineering, Liberal Arts and Sciences and Mathematics will be awarded degrees at 2 p.m.

As usual, the College of Veterinary Medicine and the School of Pharmacy will have separate ceremonies.

AU's College of Liberal Arts will award the most degrees with 350, followed by the College of Business with 338 and the College of Engineering with 247. The College of Education will award 179 degrees, the College of Sciences and Mathematics 134, the College of Architecture, Design and Construction 122, the College of Agriculture 91, the College of Veterinary Medicine 89, the School of Human Sciences 82, the School of Nursing 70, the School of Pharmacy 52 and the School of Forestry 26.
Other notable activities slated for graduation day include the Reserve Officer Training Command Ceremony for new graduates receiving commissions at Langdon Hall at 8:30 a.m. and the School of Nursing's pinning ceremony at the Auburn United Methodist Church at 11 a.m.

Civic, alumni leader Ruel Russell to receive honorary degree

AU will present an honorary degree to retired business executive and Birmingham civic leader Ruel Russell Jr., on Friday.

The Birmingham native will receive an honorary doctor of science degree during a 10 a.m. commencement in Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. He will also participate in the day's second graduation at 2 p.m in the same location. Due to anticipated large crowds, the university for the first time is holding two commencements on the same day, with about 1,000 diplomas awarded at each.

A World War II combat veteran, Russell is a 1948 graduate in industrial management from Auburn. He began working with U.S. Steel in 1947 as a student and remained with the company until his retirement in 1979 as assistant to the vice president.

Since his retirement from industry, Russell has been prominent in Birmingham civic and Auburn alumni activities, and he has remained active in a series of business interests dating back to 1950. Russell, 75, has owned and operated a succession of businesses: Russell Hardware Co., Russell Insurance Co., Alabama Waste Paper Co., Russell Management Co., Birmingham Pool Supply, Atlas Metals Co., R&R Metals Co. of Houston and Advance Floor Systems of Atlanta.

Russell has served two terms as president of the Auburn Alumni Association Board of Directors and is a past-president of the Birmingham Jefferson County Auburn Club. He has also served as chair of the Auburn First Committee of Auburn alumni and supporters and is a member of the Auburn Alumni Engineering Council.

In Birmingham civic activities, Russell has served as vice president of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and has been active in the United Way, Red Cross, Lions Club, Boy Scouts and the Heart Guild.
He is married to the former Margaret Sims, a 1947 graduate of Auburn, and is active in Mountain Brook Baptist Church.

LSU president to speak at veterinary graduation

The new president of Louisiana State University, who is also a veterinarian, is the graduation speaker for AU's College of Veterinary Medicine on Tuesday.

William L. Jenkins will address the class of 1999 at 6 p.m. in the Student Activities Center on the main campus.

"We are delighted that Dr. Jenkins will join us for our commencement," said Timothy Boosinger, dean of AU's College of Veterinary Medicine. "He rose to the rank of university president through his career in veterinary medicine, serving as dean of the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine from 1988 to 1993."

Jenkins in April became president of the LSU system which includes eight institutions on 10 campuses in five cities, as well as nine charity hospitals in nine cities. He previously was chancellor of the LSU Agricultural and Mechanical College.

A native of South Africa, Jenkins moved to the United States in 1978, joining Texas A&M University.

Five receive Liberal Arts awards

AU's College of Liberal Arts recently recognized five faculty members for outstanding contributions during the past year.

History Professor Joseph Kicklighter received the college's Teaching Effectiveness Award in the Humanities. English Professor Bert Hitchcock and Foreign Languages Professor Jose A. Escarpenter received the Award for Faculty Achievement in the Humanities. Psychology Professor William F. Buskist received the Teaching Effectiveness Award in Communication and Social Sciences, and Foreign Languages Associate Professor Donald Buck received the College of Liberal Arts Advising Award.

The presentations were made by Liberal Arts Dean John Heilman at the college's annual awards ceremony.

Discussing Child Care
Lynne Hammond, center on right side of table, of the AU President's Office represented both Auburn and the Employers' Child Care Alliance, in a roundtable discussion that also included U.S. Secretary of State Alexis Herman, center on left side of table, and Congressman Earl Hilliard, top right. Other participants included representatives of sponsoring agencies, the governor's office and employer and parent participants.

Child Care Alliance cited as model for nation

The Employers' Child Care Alliance in Lee County has been cited by Labor Secretary Alexis Herman as a national model for employers to address child care problems in their communities.

The labor secretary and ECCA President Lynne Hammond of AU participated last week in Montgomery in a roundtable discussion on child care issues. Hammond is assistant to the AU president and secretary to the AU Board of Trustees.

The ECCA, headquartered at the Child Care Resource Center in Opelika, is a cooperative effort of 17 local employers, including Auburn University, Southern Union and the cities of Auburn and Opelika.

Herman said the U.S. Department of Labor is recognizing innovative solutions to child care problems for working Americans. The labor secretary said organizations that have found innovative and successful solutions to child care problems will serve as mentors for communities across the nation.

Under the direction of Gail Piggott at the Child Care Resource Center, the ECCA program helps match employees of its members with quality child care providers. The alliance also works with the employees, their employers and child care providers to improve the quality of child care in the community.

Since its origin five years ago, the ECCA has enhanced its resource and referral services and developed other services such as a quality enhancement partnership to help child care centers move toward accreditation and the "Bridge" program of after-school and summer services for 10- to 14-year-old children of its members' employees.

Hammond said the alliance began as a collective effort by the university and other local employers to help employees find quality child care, but the efforts have had a broader impact than the members at first imagined.
"The fact that we are being looked at as a model indicates that the alliance is having a positive impact on the entire community," she said.

Other alliance members include Auburn Bank, AU Hotel and Conference Center, Briggs & Stratton, Craftmaster Printers, East Alabama Medical Center, East Alabama Mental Health/MR, Employment Resources Corp., Quantegy Corp., Uniroyal Goodrich and Vermont American.

Family Fun Day draws thousands

AU employees and their families celebrated the end of another school year at a university-sponsored carnival the afternoon of June 3. The annual celebration has become a festive part of campus life since it began three years ago as a "thank you" gift from the university to its employees.

Approximately 4,000 adults and children participated in games, ate barbecue and visited with one another at the Biggio Drive festival site. While long lines formed at several of the outside game booths, hundreds of people also took cover in the air-conditioned comfort of the coliseum, where other games beckoned.

Dozens of volunteers fed the crowd, hosted the games and participated in the festivities along with their families. Al Snipes, manager of employee relations for the Department of Human Resources and chair of the Fun Day organizing committee, attributed the festival's success to volunteers from throughout campus who planned and hosted the activities.

Business college names Revco executive alumnus of year

D. Dwayne Hoven, retired president and chief executive officer of Revco D.S., Inc., and a director of the company, has been named the 1999
Outstanding Alumnus of AU's College of Business.

The annual award is the highest alumnus honor granted by the college. The 1998 winner was Jimmy Rane, president and chief executive officer of Great Southern Wood Preserving, Inc., who has since been named to the AU Board of Trustees.

Hoven, who received a B.S. in industrial management from AU in 1964, was honored at the Honors Day Banquet hosted by the AU Business Advisory Council on May 13.

"His record of accomplishments in business coupled with his dedication to Auburn University make him a most worthwhile recipient of the Outstanding Alumnus Award," said Dean Wayne Alderman.

Hoven joined Revco in 1987 as senior vice president of distribution for the drugstore chain. He was named president and chief operating officer of the company in 1992, and was promoted to CEO a year later.

Revco, a Fortune 500 company based in Twinsburg, Ohio, employs nearly 40,000 people in some 2,600 retail stores, regional offices and distribution centers in 17 states in the East, Midwest and Southeast.

AU becomes first in Southeast to offer software engineering degrees

Auburn has become the first university in the Southeast to offer the bachelor of software engineering degree and the master of software engineering degree.

"The goal of these software engineering programs is to give our graduates the ability to analyze, design, implement and maintain software systems," said James Cross, chair of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering.

Applications include computer operating systems and networks, compilers, real-time and embedded systems, distributed and parallel systems, and engineering, scientific, and business application software systems.

Cross says although the term software engineering has been in use for 30 years, it was only about five years ago that the field's two major professional societies, the Association for Computing Machinery and the
IEEE Computer Society, began working jointly to define software engineering as a discipline.

The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology then developed an accreditation criteria for software engineering degree programs.

Freshmen who entered last fall will be the first graduates to receive the bachelor's degree in software engineering when they finish in the spring semester of 2002.

"By refocusing its engineering curriculum on software engineering, the Department of Computer Science and Engineering moves to the leading edge as a provider of information technology professionals," Cross added.

Barth named fellow at Milken Institute

James Barth, the Lowder Eminent Scholar in Finance in AU's College of Business, will be a senior fellow for the second consecutive year at the Milken Institute in Santa Monica, Calif.

Barth will conduct research on international financial systems from mid June through mid-November. While he's in California, Barth will continue to teach in AU's Executive MBA Program. Barth is the author of The Great Savings and Loan Debacle and co-wrote The Future of American Banking.

The Milken Institute is a non-profit economic think-tank that focuses on research in the global economy, capital markets and financial institutions, the role of education and human capital and regional economics and demographics. During his 1998 stint at the institute, he worked on the structure and regulation of global banking and capital markets.

Unsung Hero
Jeanine Salvas: Architecture, Design & Construction

This week's Unsung Hero is Jeanine Salvas, executive secretary II to D.K. Ruth, interim dean of the College of Architecture, Design and Construction. She has been with the college for two years. She was asked:

What is the most rewarding part of your job? "Interacting with all faculty members of the College and working with a good group of people. Although it's rather limited, I also value the contact I have with students."

If you were not doing this job, what would you most like to do? "I would most like to travel and spend more time with my family."

What makes Auburn special? "The fact that my daughter, son-in-law and three grandsons live here. I also like the small-town atmosphere."

What was your first impression of Auburn University? "I first came to Auburn in 1987 for a campus visit with my daughter. I was most impressed by the friendliness of everyone we met and by the strong sense of community."

What words best describe Auburn as a work environment, learning environment or just a place to be? "It's great working at CADC and being around so many artistic, talented professors and students -- it's a wonderful environment. Regarding the university, I think one of our greatest employee benefits is the opportunity to take courses -- a benefit I've taken advantage of and will continue to do so as time permits."

What do you like to do when not at work? "Music is one of my great pleasures -- I enjoy just listening to music, singing with the Auburn Civic Chorale and attending concerts. I also enjoy reading and going to plays. My real great joy however, is 'playing' with my three grandsons."

What person or persons do you most admire and why? "I most admire my dad. He was the most honest and selfless person I've ever known. He was loving and gentle with my mother, my sisters and me. I'm grateful to have had such a wonderful example of goodness in my life."

Campus Views
Obsolete patent policy poses potential danger

By David Bransby, Alumni Professor, Agronomy and Soils
Part 2 of 2
As noted in my perspective piece on May 24, a university may take an academic view of patenting, in which faculty are encouraged to pursue patents and allowed maximum personal benefit from such patents, or it may take the approach of private industry, which is to maximize economic returns for the company or institution.

Ideally, the choice of exactly what policy is developed should result from negotiation between the faculty and administration. Of course it is entirely reasonable to expect the university and employees to share in the proceeds from a patent according to the level of participation and investment of the parties.

However, if a policy is developed along the lines of those typically used by private companies, then, at a minimum, it should involve the following: a) payment of competitive salaries to its employees, b) a signed and witnessed contract executed by faculty when they initiate employment, which commits them to compliance with the policy, and c) at the time of initial employment, training for all faculty on how to pursue, protect and commercialize patents. AU has not implemented any of these fundamental requirements, implying that the more liberal academic view is the one that prevails.

Another strong indication of our university's documented view of patenting is the location of the patent policy summary in the Faculty Handbook. It does not appear in chapter 3, Faculty Personnel Policies and Procedures, but rather, it is located in chapter 7, University Policies Related to Extramural Activity of Faculty, along with the private consulting and copyright policies. Again, the implication here is that developing patents, like private consulting and developing copyrighted material, is not considered to be a formal part of our duties, but instead it is an extramural activity which we are free to pursue as we wish. However, can one believe that this is really the view that is in the minds of our current administrators?

There are several ways in which our patent policy has not been implemented. First, the document states that "this policy shall be published in the Faculty Handbook... and the Tiger Cub..." The requirement for publication of the policy in the tiger Cub was presumably to facilitate accessibility for graduate students, many of whom are entirely capable of developing patents. However, the policy has not been published in the tiger Cub for many years, and only a confusing summary appears in the Faculty Handbook. The document also states that "The policy shall be referenced in initial employment papers of faculty and other employees of Auburn University..." yet this requirement seems to have been totally ignored by our administration.

In another section of the policy it is stated that "This policy shall exist between Auburn University and all faculty, other employees and students of the University. This relation between the parties shall arise as a part of the employment contract between the University and its faculty and employees and shall constitute a condition of enrollment for all students and, prior to the use of any University facilities which might result in an invention or discovery, the individuals will execute a signed and witnessed agreement to this policy." This statement refers clearly to employment contracts. Yet, I have been told repeatedly that only the President and the football coach have employment contracts. Furthermore, on the very first page of our Faculty Handbook it states explicitly that "This handbook is not a contract." So what faculty employment contract is being referred to here?

Much more serious is the fact that I have not been able to identify a single employee (faculty or staff) or student that has signed the witnessed agreement referenced in this statement. Clearly, if almost any dispute were handled by a skillful lawyer, failure of our administration to implement this section of the policy could mean that the university has no right to any patent, regardless of the circumstances under which the patent was developed, or the amount of money invested in it. While most of us faculty, staff and students are honest and fair minded enough to not take advantage of this situation, failure to implement the policy properly could potentially lead to huge economic loss for our institution.

In summary, the patent policy is a critically important element of a comprehensive university. Ours at AU is in a state of serious disarray and mismanagement, and it is totally irresponsible to allow this to continue. Unfortunately, this is not just an opinion, it is hard fact. Therefore, it is time for those of us faculty who conduct research which relates to this policy to take the lead, be responsible, and insist that the administration, with our help, correct this unacceptable negligence, because such action is in the best interest of our institution and the entire university community.