AU REPORTJuly 3, 2000
Headlines Academy honors Muse Bennett to head CADC Families of slain couple visit Samford honors Flynt

AU President William Muse will join civil rights legend Rosa Parks as an inductee into the Alabama Academy of Honor on Aug. 28. Two others, Sandrall Hullett, executive director of Family Health Care of Alabama, and Birmingham businessman John McMahon Jr., will also be inducted. The induction ceremony will be at 11 a.m., in the House chambers of the state Capitol.

The academy was established by the Alabama Legislature in 1965 to pay tribute to outstanding Alabamians who "have brought honor to our state," said Thomas Carruthers, chair of the academy's executive committee.

"I was surprised but honored to be selected for this prestigious award," said Muse. "Inclusion in the Alabama Academy of Honor is significant recognition for me and for Auburn."

Muse, at left, was nominated for membership by former AU president Harry Philpott, who has been a member since 1972.

Since becoming the 15th president of AU in 1992, Muse has guided Auburn through difficult financial times while maintaining its national status as a high-quality comprehensive university.

Despite financial struggles, program reductions and downsizing, Auburn continues to receive accolades from independent sources. U.S. News & World Report magazine ranks Auburn 38th among the nation's top 50 public universities for 1999-2000 based on the quality of its academic programs. It is the highest ranking ever by U.S. News & World Report for Auburn.

A native of Marks, Miss., Muse earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from Northwestern (La.) State University and an M.B.A. from the University of Arkansas. He received a Ph.D. in Business Administration from Arkansas .
Muse, 61, came to Auburn from the University of Akron, where he was president for nearly eight years.

Parks, who has been called "the mother of the civil rights movement," was arrested in 1955 for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus to a white man. Her arrest led to a Supreme Court ruling in 1956 banning segregation in public transportation.

Meanwhile, Hullett is being recognized for her leadership of a community health center that serves more than 20 rural counties. McMahon was active in the creation of Birmingham's McWane Center science museum and the National Bank of Commerce.

Bennett named dean of Architecture, Design & Construction

Daniel Bennett, dean of the School of Architecture and interim provost at the University of Arkansas, has been named dean of the College of Architecture, Design and Construction at Auburn University.

The appointment, effective Aug. 7, signals a return to Auburn for Bennett, who graduated from AU in 1968 and was head of the Department of Architecture from 1988 until 1991, when he assumed the Arkansas deanship. The AU department has since become the School of Architecture in the College of Architecture, Design and Construction.

Since September 1998, while continuing as dean of the University of Arkansas School of Architecture, Bennett has served as that university's interim chief academic officer.

"Daniel Bennett has established a well-earned reputation for outstanding achievement, high academic quality and leadership in architecture and higher education," said AU Provost William Walker. "We are very pleased that he has accepted our offer to return to Auburn."

As architecture dean at Arkansas, Bennett developed a recruiting strategy that raised the grade point average and standardized test scores of entering freshmen to among the highest on campus. Also under his leadership, the school's endowment increased from $3,500 to $9.4 million in eight years, and the school developed two endowed chairs and two endowed professorships.

Bennett also led creation of the privately funded University of Arkansas Community Design Center, which has provided urban and housing design for more than 30 communities in that state.

"The University of Arkansas will miss Dan Bennett very much. However,
we are very pleased for him to be able to return to his alma mater in the top post in the College of Architecture, Design and Construction," said University of Arkansas Chancellor John A. White.

"Dan has not only set a precedent of excellence at our school of architecture through his leadership and vision, he has been a great friend to the University. Dan stepped up to the plate with no reservation to serve as interim vice chancellor for academic affairs in addition to his post as dean. His insight about the University and how we can attain our goals has been invaluable to me. I will miss his friendship, support and wise counsel," White said.

In addition to a bachelor of architecture degree from Auburn, Bennett has a master of architecture degree in urban design from Rice University. Before becoming a department head at Auburn, he served in 1987-88 as a professor of architecture in the University of South Florida and associate director of the Florida Center for Urban Design and Research in Tampa. He was director of the Mississippi State University School of Architecture's Urban Center from 1978-88.

Earlier in his career, Bennett was a planner and architect for the cities of Oklahoma City and West Palm Beach, Fla.

Since 1982, Bennett has also maintained a private professional practice specializing in historic restoration and adaptive use.

The AU College of Architecture, Design and Construction, with about 1,230 students, offers undergraduate programs in architecture, building science, industrial design and interior architecture. The college offers graduate programs in building science, community planning, industrial design and landscape architecture. Auburn's nationally renowned Rural Studio is also a part of the college.

AU President William Muse, right, presents a memorial gift to Mingshi Chen, left, father of Changqing Chen, as faculty member Daewei Zhang interprets. Families traveled from China to mourn the deaths of an AU graduate student and his wife.

AU community joins Chinese families in grieving for slain couple

The shock has subsided but grief lingers for families and a campus community touched by the Memorial Day weekend murders of an AU graduate student and his wife.

A cross section of the campus community joined family members from China in mourning the May 29 deaths of Changqing Chen, a graduate student in Textile Engineering, and his wife, Yi Wu, who would have started graduate studies at Auburn this summer. That weekend's traumatic events were followed by two weeks of shared mourning and acts of kindness that several observers said provided some consolation for the family members and friends of the slain couple.

For Nejla Orgen of Student Affairs, Graduate School Dean John Pritchett and Daowei Zhang of the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences -- as well as several other faculty and staff and dozens of Chinese graduate students -- the period following the deaths of the Auburn couple became a period of intense activity and compassion for families that traveled halfway around the world to retrieve their dead.

"That was a very sad time for everyone, but I am thankful that so many people came forward and made things a little easier for the families," said Orgen, who handled travel arrangements from China to Auburn for family members of Changqing Chen and Yi Wu and assisted the families during their stay on campus.

Activities that would normally take months were resolved in days as Orgen and Zhang quickly gained the cooperation of U.S. and Chinese officials to get visas and airline tickets for the families to come to Auburn. Family members arriving June 6 were Changqing Chen's father, brother and older sister and Yi Wu's father and younger sister.

Zhang, who broke the news to the couple's families by telephone, said members of the Chinese Student Organization virtually adopted the family members during their stay in Auburn. Although the university offered them rooms at the AU Hotel and Conference Center, the family members stayed at Caroline Draughon Village, where several Chinese students looked after them, cooked their meals and consoled them.

"The students were very helpful to the families, but, more important, they showed support when it was needed most," said Zhang. He noted that faculty members such as Tin-Man Lau of Industrial Design and Bill Walsh, Changqing Chen's department head in Textile Engineering, had also been very supportive.

The forestry faculty member said family members told him they were deeply touched to learn that the Auburn community had held a candlelight vigil in Samford Park a few nights after the murders. Several events during their stay in Auburn also helped to make a difficult trip somewhat easier, he said.

"The family dealt with the situation as good as they could under the circumstances, and they were very appreciative of the fact that the whole Auburn community mobilized and gave support," Zhang said.

Pritchett, who also handled many of the details for the family members' visit, said he was impressed by a steady show of kindness and compassion for the visiting family members. He noted that a nucleus of students, faculty and staff assisted the family throughout the ordeal and hundreds more expressed their grief at ceremonies before and after the family arrived.

"I was impressed that people of our university stepped out and showed us what caring for families is all about," said Pritchett. "Just about every sector of the university stepped forward."

Orgen said people throughout the university community made sure that the families did not have to grieve alone. A small delegation from Auburn even joined the family members in accompanying the bodies to a cremation ceremony in Hamilton, Ga., and many more participated in a memorial service in Auburn. William and Marlene Muse, AU's president and his wife, also hosted a reception for the families.

The Chinese families departed for their homeland on June 16 with their loved ones' ashes in urns purchased by an anonymous donor. "This was probably the saddest time of their lives," said Orgen, "but among all that happened to them, I think they did find out that there are caring human beings in this world. I was touched to see so much caring, and I think they were, too."

Members of the community have established a memorial scholarship fund for the slain couple. Memorial gifts for the scholarship may be made to the AU Foundation, with the names of Changqing Chen and Yi Wu noted on the check, and delivered to Carolyn Golden, development officer, at the Auburn Alumni Center.

AU faculty bring longleaf pines back to prominence in South

The "tree that built the South" is in a rebuilding mode of its own due to a movement led by a group of AU foresters.

Longleaf pine, source of most of the hardwood-tough "heart pine" in older Southern homes, had dwindled from 90 million acres across the South to less than 3 million in 1996, when faculty from AU's School of Forestry (now the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences) established the Longleaf Alliance in cooperation with Auburn-based U.S. Forest Service scientists.

The AU and Forest Service scientists recently received an Honor Award from U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman for their efforts to reestablish the once dominant species of pine across the Southern landscape. The award is the highest presented by the USDA.

By encouraging landowners to plant the slower growing but hardier species of pine, Longleaf Alliance members have enabled the longleaf pine to regain a more prominent spot in the Southern landscape. Based at AU's Solon Dixon Forestry Education Center between Andalusia and Brewton, the Longleaf Alliance now has 750 members across the Southern Coastal Plain that stretches 150 to 250 miles inland from Virginia to Texas.

"The longleaf is an interesting tree that enthusiasts develop a real passion for," said Dean Gjerstad, an AU forestry professor and co-director of the Longleaf Alliance. "The longleaf is part of our Southern heritage."
Rhett Johnson, the alliance's other co-director, said longleaf pine was once so dominant across the Southern Coastal Plain that it became known as the tree that built the South.

Although valued for timber and utility poles, the longleaf lost favor among timber producers as growers switched to the faster-growing loblolly and other pine species for the pulp and paper industry. Longleaf also proved harder for growers to plant commercially, and fire control efforts hampered natural regeneration of longleaf pines, which depended on fire to maintain their ecosystem.

"Everything seemed to be working against it for a long time, but we are beginning to turn things around," said Johnson, who is director of AU's Dixon Center, where longleaf is now the dominant tree on 2,400 of the center's 5,000 acres. The species now accounts for two-thirds of the center's upland forest.

"Longleaf produces products of high economic value, offsetting the slower growth," said Johnson. In addition to higher value of wood and utility poles, longleaf forests produce a much higher grade of pine straw that is in high demand for urban landscaping, he said.

Longleaf pines are more resistant to diseases, insects and fire than other varieties of pines, Gjerstad noted. A longer taproot also makes them more resistant to toppling in heavy winds, he added.

Addressing the biggest obstacle to commercial production of longleafs, Auburn and USDA researchers are developing new means for growers to establish stands of the seedlings. Containerized seedlings hold promise of overcoming that obstacle, Gjerstad said.

Much of the attention so far has been on building a base of support among timber growers along the coastal plain, but Johnson said the tree has significant potential as an urban tree. "It is a really unique and beautiful tree that is low maintenance and is well-suited for home-landscaping."

Besides Gjerstad and Johnson, the AU forestry faculty researchers in the Longleaf Alliance are John S. Kush and Ralph Meldahl. The research coordinator is Mark Hainds, the alliance's only fulltime employee. The USDA group leader in the alliance is Charles McMahon of the U.S. Forest Service's Southern Research Station in Auburn.

Honorary degree from Samford recognizes AU professor

University Professor Wayne Flynt, a member of the Auburn faculty since 1977, has received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Samford University.

Flynt, a Samford alumnus whose earned doctorate is from Florida State University, was recognized on May 20 by his alma mater for a distinguished career as a scholar and interpreter of Southern history.

The resolution reads:

"Devoted to the South, Dr. Wayne Flynt has never felt the need to burn incense over his native region or to tattoo the Confederate flag onto his intellect to demonstrate his loyalty. Rather this loyal Alabamian has regarded Truth and Reality as too compelling to be nuanced or symbolized, and so he has lovingly spoken the truth with all the courage of an Old Testament prophet. A teacher, scholar and writer whose high-wattage light has beamed into the darkness surrounding issues of poverty, race, education, and state government, he has an informed conscience, a compassionate heart, a Christian will. As historian of Baptists, he has told our story with truth and candor, and he has stood fast for those doctrines that most purely define our distinctive tradition under God.

"Alabama is his pulpit; Southerners are his congregation; righteousness and civic justice are his message. From love of God, love of his native state and region, love of fellow citizens, this modern-day Jeremiah studies the past in order to change the present and to impact the future. With fearless consistency, he calls government and civic leadership to integrity and accountability, articulating our foibles, admitting our weaknesses, challenging us to betterness -- winning the respect of all those who value honesty and forthrightness.

"Though often a lonely voice, this native son has gained old-fashioned respect in our dot-com world. For his effectiveness as a teacher, his prominence as a scholar, his faithfulness as a Christian, his leadership as a public citizen, Samford University confers upon Wayne Flynt the degree, Doctor of Humane Letters Honoris Causa."

Schwartz to head Textile Engineering Department

Peter Schwartz, a professor in textiles and apparel at Cornell University, has been appointed as head of the Department of Textile Engineering at Auburn.

The appointment was announced by Larry Benefield, dean of the AU College of Engineering. Schwartz, whose appointment is effective Jan. 1, 2001, will succeed Bill Walsh, who plans to retire in December.

Schwartz received the doctorate in fiber and polymer science in 1981 from North Carolina State University, where he also was an instructor. He received his baccalaureate in textile engineering from Georgia Tech in 1968. He also received a master's degree in engineering mechanics from Georgia Tech and a master of arts degree in mathematics from the University of Pittsburgh.

Benefield noted that industry representatives played a strong role in the search for Walsh's successor, with two textile executives serving on the search committee.

Industry leaders also met with Schwartz, says David Seagraves, executive vice president of the Alabama Textile Manufacturers Association, who worked closely with the search committee and industry.

Liberal Arts presents Alumni Achievement Award to Reed

AU's College of Liberal Arts has presented Carolyn Brinson Reed, right, of Birmingham with its Award for Alumni Achievement in the Humanities and recognized six faculty for outstanding work.

Robin F.A. Fable, Hollifield Professor of Southern History and a leading authority on the colonial Gulf Coast, received the Award for Faculty Achievement in the Humanities. Teaching effectiveness awards went to Wayne Flynt, Distinguished University Professor of history; Allyson Comstock, an associate professor of art; and Phillip M. Lewis, a professor of psychology.

Jeffrey Lewis, an associate professor of art, received the college's Advising Award.

The new Teaching Award in the Core Curriculum was awarded posthumously to Charles Spindler, who died in May.

Reed, a 1965 AU graduate, has served on several advisory boards for AU, including those for the College of Liberal Arts, Center for Arts and Humanities, School of Fine Arts and the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Art.

In 1988, she co-founded the Birmingham-based Societe Academique, which meets three times a year to hear scholars and leaders in the arts and humanities discuss ideas and events in the college.

A decade ago, she established an endowment to provide scholarships for students enrolled in AU's Honors College who are majoring in the arts or humanities.

Crayton elected president of dietetic association

Evelyn Crayton, a professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Science and a specialist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, has been elected president of the Alabama Dietetic Association.

A registered dietician, Crayton will serve as president for the 2000-01 year. She has been a member of the statewide organization since 1969, and in 1985 was named Outstanding Dietician of the Year by the ALDA.

Crayton is a leading authority in nutrition education, writing nutritional education in simple, easy-to-read and understand messages for community-based nutrition programs.

The ALDA is an affiliate of the American Dietetic Association and is comprised of 11 districts throughout Alabama. ALDA, which promotes optimal nutrition, health and well-being, has a membership of more than 1,000 nutrition professionals, including registered dietitians and dietetic technicians.

Meanwhile, Crayton was among a select group of nutrition educators invited by U.S. Agricultural Secretary Dan Glickman and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala to attend a national Nutrition Summit in Washington.

Robinson finds excitement in movie role

If you watch closely and know what you're looking for, you may catch a glimpse of Auburn's Dyann Robinson in the Independence Day blockbuster film "The Patriot."

Robinson, an associate professor of dance in Auburn's Department of Theatre, was an extra in the movie that was filmed last year in South Carolina. The movie was released nationally by Columbia Pictures for the extended holiday weekend.

The emotionally charged adventure "The Patriot" tells the story of Benjamin Martin -- played by Mel Gibson -- as a reluctant hero who is swept into the American Revolution when the war reaches his farm and the British endanger what he holds most dear, his family.

Robinson plays the role of a servant and while she has no speaking part, she says she learned a lot about the film industry and it whetted her appetite to appear in more. She was one of more than 400 extras -- excluding those who were in the battle scenes.

"I would love to do more," Robinson said. "I will always love theatre, but I found it all very interesting and exciting.

"There are three slave ladies who are house servants and I was one of those," she said. "We are dressed in very nice dresses with hats. I don't know that you'll see me unless you know what you're looking for, but I had a great time.

"It's not hard at all to get into character when you put on those lovely costumes and you're in a real house on a real street with real horses," Robinson added. "It's not like it is on a stage."

Robinson isn't the only Alabamian in the film. State Sen. Johnny Ford, D Tuskegee, has a small part, and Alabama First Lady Lori Siegelman and her daughter, Dana, were also extras in the movie.

Human Sciences gets grant for technology

A state education grant to the College of Human Sciences will provide badly needed seed money for the college's efforts to expand its computer technology laboratory, said Dean June Henton.

The dean credited state Sen. Ted Little, D-Auburn, with securing the $1,500 grant. The funds will allow the purchase of new monitors and will be used to leverage other funds in the college's plans for expansion of its computing facilities, she added.

Henton said the state senator, a member of the Human Sciences Dean's Development Board, has been an active supporter of the college's efforts to more fully integrate computing technology into its instructional programs.

Campus Roundup

Road work slated for summer
The Wire Road/Simmons Drive intersection will undergo extensive reconstruction work during July and August to improve vehicular and pedestrian safety. The roadways will be realigned and widened to add turning lanes. Signals will be installed at the intersection this fall, and a crosswalk and traffic signal "call buttons" will be added for pedestrians crossing Wire Road. The project is funded by the university's special allocations for deferred maintenance.

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 July 11 and Aug. 8 to meet with faculty and staff who have questions or need assistance concerning their BC/BS insurance coverage. No appointment is necessary.

Health writing workshop set
The Office of Veterinary Continuing Education will host a writing workshop for health professions students and their faculty sponsors on Aug. 7. The workshop is designed for persons interested in participating in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services competition for Innovations in Health Promotion and Disease Writing Competition. For information, contact Charles Hendrix in Pathobiology at 844-2688.

Computer course information is online
Summer computer course information offered by the Office of Information Technology through the Human Resources Development Office is available on the Internet at www.auburn.edu/desktop/training/currclasses.html . Offerings include Word 2000, Access 2000, and WordPerfect 9 classes. Registration for these courses is handled by HRD at 844-4145.

Achievements

Debbie Shaw Conner, director of Foy Student Union and Student Activities has been appointed the state Ddrector for the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators for 2000-01. NASPA is the leading professional organization for student affairs administrators. Conner will lead the state board of directors consisting of representatives from four- and two-year colleges and universities.

Mark G. Fischman, professor in the Department of Health and Human Performance, has been elected to membership as an Active Fellow in The American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education. Dr. Fischman will be inducted into the Academy at this year's Annual Meeting, October 5-7, in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

Harry Cullinan, director of AU's Pulp and Paper Research and Education Center, has been re-elected president of the Pulp and Paper Education and Research Alliance. He was re-elected to the post at the alliance's June 22 meeting in Atlanta. PPERA is an alliance of universities with programs which are individually distinctive and share a commitment to the advancement of the North American pulp, paper and allied industries.

Campus Views: Ways to get most from ag funding

By Henry Kinnucan, Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology

Provost Walker, along with other top university administrators and two trustees, met recently with the College of Agriculture's faculty and staff to discuss our future. At that meeting Provost Walker indicated a commitment to provide additional resources to the college provided changes were made to ensure that the funds were not wasted. The new monies would be directed toward enhancing the college's research and extension programs.

In this article I identify three things that could be done to maximize the impact of additional funding. These items are based on 17 years experience at Auburn as a faculty member with a major (72 percent) research appointment. Since I have little experience with extension, I will confine my remarks to what can be done to improve research performance.

1. Insist that research faculty do research. There is a long-standing tradition in the college of using research dollars to subsidize teaching. For example, a 1994 self-study indicated that the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology taught 11.0 teaching Full Time Equivalents (tFTEs) on a budget of 6.4 tFTEs. The deficit, 4.6 tFTEs, in essence was funded by the Experiment Station through the department's 8.0 research FTEs. As a result, 58 percent of the budgeted research effort was diverted to teaching.

Although I cannot document the extent to which the same diversion is occurring in other departments, it is my understanding that the problem is widespread. Moreover, since a number of college faculty with research appointments plan to teach in the core curriculum, the problem is likely to get worse when Auburn converts to semesters.
Obviously, if research faculty are over-teaching their appointments, less research is getting done than otherwise would be the case. Fixing this problem would not only help ensure that additional monies for research are not misused, it would increase the impact of existing funding.

2. Strengthen incentives. Once a faculty member is tenured and promoted, the incentives to continue an active research program are minimal. For one thing, the red tape involved in securing and managing outside funding has increased, in part due to increased specificity required in budgets, but also because of reduced support from the contracts and grants office, and from central administration. In addition, the salary premium for maintaining a strong research program is modest at best. The equity adjustments of recent years have only exacerbated this problem. (Did anyone stop to think that perhaps salary compression was due to productivity differences?)

The upshot is that once a faculty member becomes a full professor, there are few incentives to do research, especially given the current emphasis on undergraduate instruction. Since full professors now comprise the majority in most departments, this is a serious problem. To motivate these faculty, a clear signal needs to be given that research is expected, and will be rewarded.

3. Raise Expectations. Over the years I have sat on numerous committees to review Experiment Station projects. In addition, I have served several stints on the Highlights editorial board. My overall impression from these experiences is that a significant portion of the college's research portfolio lacks rigor. In particular, much of the research could not be published in a reputable journal. And in some instances journal publications of any type from five-year research projects were nil. Since journal publication is basic to science, there is a need to raise performance standards.
A few Highlights articles and an M.S. thesis are not acceptable: Projects should contribute to the scientific literature, with at least one article in a prestigious journal. By stressing the importance of journal publication, Dean Waters can help improve research quality.

Implicit in items 1-3 is a redirection of faculty time from teaching to research. Since this runs counter to the prevailing view that Auburn's main mission is undergraduate education, it is useful to be reminded of some budget arithmetic. First, 75 percent of the college's funding is for research and extension. Division I funds (teaching monies) account for only 25 percent of the college's total budget. Second, of the 953 students enrolled in the College, 22 percent are graduate students. Neglecting the fact that a graduate student is worth about six times an undergraduate in ACHE formulas, undergraduate instruction should account for no more than 20 percent of our time allocation (9 percent with ACHE weights). In reality, it accounts for a lot more, which is the basic reason why the college's research is below par.

Unsung Hero: Burt Pitchford, Parking Services

This week's Unsung Hero is Burt Pitchford, field supervisor for Parking Services in the Department of Public Safety. He has been at Auburn 14 years. He was asked:

What do you do in your current job? "I am responsible for five parking service specialists and three part-time reserve officers that enforce parking on campus."

What is the most rewarding part of your job? "To monitor the activities of students that have taken advantage of the opportunity that Auburn University has offered them to further their education to meet the demands of society."

What is the most challenging part of your job? "To encourage other employees how important it is to have a job. To continue to express to employees what a job means to their family and livelihood."

What makes Auburn special? "The opportunity that is offered to faculty, staff and students. The way the university serves its customers."

What words best describe Auburn as a work environment, learning environment or just a place to be? "Auburn University has always been a good place to work and an excellent learning environment. I hope that we don't have any employees that think that Auburn is just a place to be."

What was your first impression of Auburn University? "My first impression of Auburn was it's excellence for opportunity."

How has that impression changed? "I am still impressed with the everyday challenge at Auburn to better serve the community as a whole."

If you were not doing this job, what would you most like to do? "Be a representative of some kind for a public educational system."

What do you like to do when not at work? "Work on my farm and spend time with my family."

What person or persons do you most admire and why? "The Board of Trustees, AU administration and the students. They are the foundation that has created a solid education for the future of this country."

What is your favorite line from the Auburn Creed and why? "'I believe in hard work, honesty and truthfulness, without which I cannot win the respect and confidence of my fellow man.' That is what my parents also instilled in me."

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