AU may ask high court for ruling
AU files suit against SACS
Alumni to honor AU legends
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AU REPORT |
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| Headlines AU may ask high court for ruling AU files suit against SACS Alumni to honor AU legends |
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Honorary degree
Board to meet on AU budget
The budget committee of the AU Board of Trustees will meet at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 21, in Samford 107 to review progress in development of AU's operating budget for the 2001-02 fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1.
The Board of Trustees will meet at 9 a.m. Friday, Aug. 31 at the Dixon
Conference Center to discuss the budget.
AU may ask State Supreme Court to rule on meetings
AU attorneys last week were considering asking the Alabama Supreme Court to issue a definitive ruling on when governing boards and their committees may meet in private.
The attorneys were reviewing an injunction from Lee County Circuit Judge Robert Harper against private meetings of the Board of Trustees or meetings by three or more members of the 14-member board to discuss university business without public notice and access.
Wednesday's ruling was in response to a suit by several Alabama newspapers, which argued that discussions of university business by board members in committee meetings without public notice or access were in violation of Alabama's Sunshine Law.
Harper ruled in favor of the newspapers and against the university's position that such meetings were legal as long as fewer than half the board's voting members were present. He also issued narrow interpretations of the law's exceptions for discussion of issues involving the "good name and character" of individuals or for meetings between the board and attorneys to discuss pending lawsuits.
Dennis Bailey, attorney for the plaintiffs, commended the ruling, calling it a "powerful affirmation of the Sunshine Law." Bailey said the ruling should be read by every public official in the state.
Phil Adams, an attorney representing AU, said the case may need to go to a higher court for all issues to be resolved. "The university is reviewing the court ruling; however, we have said from the outset that we want Alabama courts, with the Alabama Supreme Court being the final authority, to resolve this issue once and for all. Only then can public entities throughout the state more clearly follow the law."
Attorneys for the plaintiffs and the university were in agreement that members of the board had met in private 39 times over two years to discuss university business. Although the university's attorneys argued that the meetings met the criteria for exceptions to the open meetings requirement, Harper ruled that the board was interpreting the exceptions too broadly.
Harper ruled that the law did not mention a quorum or majority but did extend to the entire deliberative process, which he interpreted to include committee meetings.
The circuit judge's injunction forbids any three or more members of the
board from meeting together to discuss university business in the future
without public notice and access unless certain criteria are met. Those
criteria, in summary, are:
* "Good name and character" issues should be limited to instances in
which there is a discussion of a person's general reputation or such
personality traits as honesty, loyalty, integrity or reliability.
* Meetings with counsel are limited to receiving advice on present or
pending matters of litigation and may not be extended to discussions
among governing board members.
AU sues SACS over investigation procedures
Auburn University filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Atlanta on Aug. 3, with AU administrators saying that the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools had violated its own rules and procedures in its treatment of the university.
Interim AU President William Walker said the lawsuit is an effort to ensure that its upcoming review by the Atlanta-based accrediting agency is fair, impartial and conducted according to established guidelines.
The suit asks the court to:
* Order SACS to conduct its review of Auburn with an impartial
committee composed of a large and diverse group, including membership
from faculty and public university board of trustee members.
* Limit the review to relevant issues under SACS' own rules and
regulations.
* Require SACS to maintain complete and accurate records of evidence
collected during its inquiry at Auburn.
* Order SACS to comply with due process in its investigation.
"We welcome the assessment process because of all the good things it will show about this university," said Walker. "If there are areas where improvement is needed, we will certainly respond in a positive manner.
"We aren't seeking to delay or stop this process," Walker added. "We just want to ensure that it's done fairly."
In April, a joint assessment committee of the University Senate filed a complaint with SACS, asking the agency to examine Auburn's governance procedures.
According to SACS' rules, Auburn had 30 days in which to respond, after which SACS would evaluate the merits of the complaint and determine what action, if any, was needed. However, SACS made its decision to send a special committee to Auburn -- scheduled for early October -- prior to receiving Auburn's response, which was filed with SACS within the 30 day time-frame.
Peter M. Degnan, an Atlanta attorney hired by Auburn to conduct an independent assessment of the allegations, said legal action against SACS is necessary because the agency failed to comply with its own regulations in processing the complaint.
Degnan pointed to SACS guidelines that state that the accrediting agency will "review the complaint, the evidence, and the response of the institution's president" prior to making a decision.
"SACS violated these guidelines when it voted to proceed with a review even before receiving Auburn's response, much less looking at that response for important information about the issues raised," said Degnan.
"This is a red flag about how SACS is proceeding and it's imperative that Auburn take every step to ensure that proper guidelines are followed.
"In addition, the complaint against Auburn raises issues that are not in any way related to standards for accreditation," Degnan added.
A SACS policy statement describes the scope of issues subject to the agency's review, and excludes "individual matters of admissions, grades, granting or transferability of credits, application of academic policies, fees or other financial matters, disciplinary matters or other contractual rights and obligations."
"There is certainly a difference of opinion among the Auburn family about various policies and governance, and we're attempting to address those in an open and forthright manner," Walker said. "But these same issues do not necessarily violate accreditation criteria.
"All we're asking is to have an impartial and professional review of Auburn, its environment conducive to learning, its comprehensive and challenging curricula and its outstanding faculty, students and staff," Walker added. "It would show why Auburn consistently ranks among the best in the nation in higher education."
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AU Film Lab closing
The AU Film Lab in the Telecommunications complex is closing after more than 25 years of service to the university.
"It's no longer a viable cost-recovery service, and rather than subsidize the losses we want to focus our resources on the support of faculty and student use of Educational Technology," said Nick Backscheider the associate executive director of the Office of Information Technology, which includes the Film Lab.
"Fortunately we were able to find employment within OIT for the full time staff of the Film Lab," said Rich Burnett, OIT executive director. "Both Willie Robinson and Ben Shell have been excellent workers and loyal to Auburn University."
The Educational Support unit of OIT will continue to assist faculty in the preparation of digital images for courses, but encourages its former clients to take all other photographic needs to Photographic Services in the L Building, said Backscheider.
Semester signals merger of journalism, communication
The start of fall semester marks a merger in the College of Liberal Arts as the departments of Communication and Journalism are combined to form the Department of Communication and Journalism.
With an expected enrollment of more than 800 students and 19 fulltime faculty, the departmental change is going as well as expected, said Mary Helen Brown, interim chair of the department.
Rebekah Pindzola, interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts, said Brown, who previously was chair of the Department of Communication, will serve in this new role for one year.
The college had planned to have a department chair in place by the start of this academic year, said Pindzola. "Unfortunately, we were not successful in hiring an outside candidate," she added.
While Brown will handle day-to-day administrative issues of the department, a subcommittee on merger issues has been established by Pindzola with Greg Kowalski, interim associate dean for academic affairs in the college, as chair. Other subcommittee members include faculty from both journalism and communication.
Pindzola said the subcommittee will be involved in issues such as promotion and tenure, space allocation and utilization, curriculum, bylaws, directional goals and vision, shared governance and budget. She added that while salary budgets were merged, the operation and maintenance budgets will remain separate due to accreditation issues.
Brown said faculty from the two units have been working together on issues for several months and "have really been learning a lot about one another. I've been pleasantly surprised at how much we have in common."
Kochan named to lead College of Education
Frances Kochan, director of an Auburn institute devoted to building
partnerships between AU and public school systems, has been named
interim dean of the AU College of Education, effective Aug. 1.
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"Dr. Kochan has earned a reputation as an innovative and excellent teacher, researcher and administrator in both K-12 and higher education," said interim Provost John Pritchett. "She is a valued faculty member and administrator for the College of Education and Auburn University."
As director of the Truman Pierce Institute since 1997, Kochan established and coordinated partnerships for teacher training and curriculum improvement between the College of Education and public school systems throughout Alabama. Among the most notable projects are partnerships involving communities, schools and private sponsors to improve education opportunities in several rural West Alabama counties.
Kochan said she is optimistic that the college will continue the progress sustained under Kunkel. "We have a wonderful college of education and I am honored to have the opportunity to work with our faculty, staff and alumni to build on our past, excel in the present and focus on the future," she added.
A professor in the Department of Educational Foundations, Leadership and Technology, Kochan holds a Ph.D. in educational foundations and policy studies from Florida State. She also holds degrees from the State University of New York at Fredonia and the University of Guam.
Before joining the AU faculty in 1994, Kochan served as a teacher, school principal, district-level administrator in Guam and Florida and as principal and superintendent of the FSU School, a model school in Tallahassee. She also has served as project director for several educator training programs.
Kochan is executive editor of the newsletter for the Holmes Partnership, a coalition of nearly 100 colleges of education that are committed to school/university partnerships and high-quality teacher preparation. She also has written books on principalship and mentoring and has published book chapters on family and school relationship and middle school organizational change and referred journal articles on the teacher as researcher. Her major research interests are mentoring, school and university collaboration and barriers to organizational change.
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The Auburn Alumni Association will host its first Lifetime Achievement Awards dinner and induction ceremony on Sept. 6, at the Dixon Conference Center.
The Lifetime Achievement Award honors alumni for significant achievement in their professional lives, said Betty DeMent, AU vice president for Alumni and Development. Faculty and administrators are recognized for their meritorious service on behalf of the quality and advancement of Auburn.
The first recipients of the award are AU President Emeritus Harry M. Philpott, the late Katharine Cooper Cater, the late Ralph "Shug" Jordan and the late George Petrie.
"The Lifetime Achievement Award is the highest honor given by the Auburn Alumni Association. We are looking forward to this special evening honoring these outstanding individuals," said DeMent.
The black-tie induction will begin with a reception at 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner and the induction ceremony at 7:30 p.m. Individual tickets are $150 per person, and patron's tables for 10 persons are $2,000. A portion of the funds raised from ticket sales will benefit academic scholarships at Auburn.
Philpott served from 1965-80 as Auburn's 11th president 1965-1980, guiding the university through a time of tremendous growth, including the 1967 creation of branch campus AUM.
Cater was dean of women and later dean of student life on Auburn's campus from 1946 until 1980. Her 34 years of service were recognized in 1980 when Auburn's social center was named for her.
Jordan, Auburm Class of '32, played basketball, football, and baseball while a student at API, but is best known as Auburn's winningest coach for his stellar 25 years as head football coach.
Petrie, author of the Auburn Creed, first came to the campus in 1887. A professor of history and Auburn's first football coach, he served as dean of the academic school (liberal arts) from 1908 until 1921, when he was promoted to dean of the graduate school. He remained in that position until he retired in 1942. He died in 1947.
For more information about the event, call 844-2995.
Lindsey named head of School of Architecture
Bruce Lindsey, associate head of Carnegie Mellon University's School of Architecture, has been named head of Auburn's School of Architecture.
Lindsey, whose appointment was effective Aug. 6, has won numerous national awards for his architecture and furniture designs. He has been a teacher and practicing architect for more than 20 years.
"I am most pleased that Bruce Lindsey has accepted our invitation to join the Auburn University faculty as head of the School of Architecture," said Daniel Bennett, dean of AU's College of Architecture, Design and Construction. "Bruce enjoys an outstanding and well-deserved national reputation as an administrator, educator, architect and artist."
Lindsey holds a bachelor's degree in art from the University of Utah, a master's degree in sculpture and photography from the University of Utah and a master's degree in architecture from Yale University.
Lindsey joined Carnegie Mellon in 1987 as an associate professor of architecture and art and was promoted to associate head in 1994. While there, he coordinated the first year programs. Prior to that, he taught one year at Virginia Polytechnic Institute.
Dedication set for new women's athletics center
AU will dedicate its new center for women's athletics in honor of Earlon and Betty McWhorter at 11 a.m. on Sept. 1, prior to AU's first football game of the season.
The 44,000-square-foot building, which opened in January, is home to the AU gymnastics and softball teams. The building on Samford Avenue was made possible with a major portion of a $2.5 million gift from the McWhorters.
Earlon McWhorter, an Anniston-based developer, is an AU graduate and a member of the AU Board of Trustees.
Cornfield maze to open Friday
Auburn's College of Agriculture will officially open its cornfield maze with a 4 p.m. grand opening ceremony on Friday, Aug. 31.
Seen from the air, the six-acre plot of field corn is a "drawing" of Aubie on a tractor driving into the Auburn's interlocking AU symbol and a College of Ag logo. On the ground, it's a challenging labyrinth of paths cut into the corn through which maze-goers must navigate.
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Effective Sept. 1, travel expense reimbursements will be made electronically via direct deposit for AU employees whose payroll checks are direct-deposited.
Employees who do not participate in payroll direct deposit can sign up for this new service by completing a Travel Direct Deposit Authorization Form and submitting it to Accounts Payable, 21 Ingram Hall. Forms are available online at the Business Office Forms web site. For more information contact Accounts Payable at 844-3639.
Campus Roundup
Upcoming computer training
The Office of Information Technology is offering short courses for
employees this fall in the areas of e-mail, word processing, spreadsheet,
database, web page development, instructional and administrative
information software. To learn more about training opportunities, click
on www.auburn.edu/its/training. For more information or to enroll in
classes, click on the blue box in the upper right corner. For frequent online
updates on information technology at Auburn, see "What's New in
Information Technology" at www.auburn.edu/its/update.html.
Openings in Early Learning Center
The AU Early Learning Center has openings in the 4-year-old and mixed
age group classes. The 4's meet Monday through Friday from 8:30-11:30.
The mixed-age class (3's and 4's) meets Monday through Friday from
12:30-3:30 p.m.. Children must be toilet trained. The fee is $1,500 a year.
Contact Linda Silvern at 844-4696 for an application or further
information.
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AU Report
Editor: Roy Summerford. Contributing editors: Bob Lowry, Janet McCoy, David Granger and Roy Roberson. The AU Report is the faculty/staff newsletter of Auburn University and is published by the Office of University Relations at Auburn University. Direct correspondence to AU Report, 23 Samford Hall, Auburn University, Ala. 36849-5109. Telephone 334/844-9999. Electronic mail: summero@auburn.edu |