AU REPORT
Human Sciences may become college
Administrators cite dilemma in AU's support
Trustee sees potential for link with Wallace State
AU REPORT | |
| Headlines Human Sciences may become college Administrators cite dilemma in AU's support Trustee sees potential for link with Wallace State |
Buses being rerouted
The portion of Thach Avenue adjacent to Haley Center was scheduled to be closed to traffic beginning today to allow for the connection of Haley Center to the campus' main steam system.
The segment of Thach stretching from Duncan Drive to Tichenor Hall is expected to be closed through Sept. 3, said David Storey of the Facilities Division.
Storey said the timing of the work was intended to minimize the amount of time traffic would be affected during summer quarter and, at the same time, assure the work would be completed prior to the start of football season.
"Of course, we try to take into consideration our entire campus population -- students, faculty and staff -- anytime a main traffic artery is closed. By doing this work now, summer quarter traffic flow is only interrupted two weeks," Storey said.
Mike Harris, manager of plant operations in the Facilities Division, said connecting Haley Center to the main steam system will allow the facility to discontinue use of its independent steam plant. That system is aging and has lost its alternate fuel source.
Adding Haley to the main system would save any money eventually needed for repair or replacement of the existing independent system, which is aging and lost its alternate fuel source (number 2 fuel oil) when removal of the oil storage tank was required by environmental regulations several years ago.
"The steam line from the main system runs just east of Haley, so it is going to be an easy tap-in," said Harris.
Harris said steam routed to Haley after the connection could be used for heating, hot water and for certain processes, such as sterilization.
The road closure will block Tiger Transit, the campus bus system, from its main stop at Haley Center at the normal Thach Avenue location.
"That's our main stop and we'll have to relocate it," said Greg Lund, manager of Transportation Services for AU Public Safety. "Starting Aug. 9 for the duration of the quarter, students who normally use that stop will be picked up or dropped off on the concrete apron adjacent to (Jordan Hare) Stadium at the corner of Duncan Drive and Roosevelt."
Lund also said the Mell Street stop directly across from Draughon Library will be temporarily eliminated during the day, but will still be served by the night security shuttle.
"The bus that serves the Mell Street stop during the day would have to circle around and out via College Street," Lund said. "We have one shuttle that runs College Street and we don't want to add another.
"The bus we use for the night security shuttle, though, is small enough to circle around Ross Square, so we'll continue to serve the Mell Street stop with it."
Administrators cite dilemma in AU's support
A recent survey of Alabama residents illustrates a dilemma facing Auburn University, say the university's lobbyist and its chief academic officer.
The survey, conducted in April by AU's Center for Governmental Services, found that Alabamians overwhelmingly consider Auburn among the South's best universities and a major force for economic development in Alabama. However, public support for more state funding for Auburn is more muted.
AU Interim Provost William Walker said the survey confirms positive attitudes he encounters when Alabama citizens talk to him about AU's academic and research programs. But, he added, the positive attitude sometimes has a down side.
"We've been very successful in convincing the taxpayers of the state that Auburn does a good job of educating our young people and in research and other areas," said Walker. "In fact, we are doing so good a job of getting that message out that the taxpaying public is saying, 'If you're that good, you don't need any more money.'"
Buddy Mitchell, AU's executive director of governmental affairs, says he hears the same comments in the corridors of state government in Montgomery.
Walker said the public is aware of Auburn's successes but most citizens are not aware of the cost of maintaining a faculty and facilities that are necessary for the university to continue achieving success.
State funding to Auburn is among the lowest for major institutions in the South and Auburn rapidly lost ground to competing state universities in funding during budget cuts in the 1990s, Mitchell said. However, four in 10 respondents in the survey said they think Auburn receives about the same funding as its rivals in neighboring states.
"The perception of the public is that we are in great shape, and perception is everything," Walker said. "To change that perception, we may need to discuss areas of need. The public must come to realize that we have to address those needs if we are to remain successful."
Walker said he would like for the public to be more aware that Auburn must have adequate funding to upgrade its facilities and maintain competitive faculty salaries if the university is to live up to the image that Alabama residents have about Auburn.
Mitchell, AU's chief lobbyist, said he is encouraged by the finding that a majority of those surveyed believe Auburn should receive more state funding. Less than 3 percent said Auburn should receive less.
He added that many of the 30 percent who believe Auburn's state funding should remain about the same should probably be included with the 16 percent who said they don't know. People who don't have enough information to form an opinion will often want to maintain the status quo, he explained.
The challenge, Mitchell said, is to convince persons in those two categories that Auburn's needs are real and the state would gain by increasing state support for AU.
Building additional public support is only part of the solution, Mitchell said, noting that legislative funding is based on historical patterns that legislators are reluctant to change, especially in the face of resistance from institutions that might lose funds from any changes. It would take a very active and aroused populace to force changes in the historical patterns, he said.
"Performance-based funding would be a way to make things more
equitable," Mitchell said. "It is difficult to achieve in the face of
historical resistance from those who benefit from the present system, but
that does not mean we are going to stop trying to achieve it."
Human Sciences may become college
AU's School of Human Sciences may soon gain college status. The school's long-sought name change is on a tentative agenda for the Aug. 20 meeting of the AU Board of Trustees.
The board is scheduled to meet at 9 a.m. at the AU Hotel and Conference Center. All agenda items are subject to change.
If approved by the AU Board, the school will become the ninth major academic unit to be designated a college since the designation was established in 1985. Human Sciences has 1,004 students and is comparable in size to the College of Agriculture.
Auburn is one of only three institutions established under the original 1862 land-grant legislation at which a free-standing human sciences unit is classified as a school. The other institutions are Purdue University in Indiana and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Also scheduled for consideration are a proposal for the university to
purchase the Delta Tau Delta fraternity house on the corner of Magnolia
Avenue and Donahue Drive and a proposed name change for the Department
of Computer Science and Engineering, which seeks to become the
Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering.
Central location
Trustee sees potential for distance learning ties with Wallace
State
Although an AU-Wallace State Community College merger is not imminent, a July 29 meeting between a group of Auburn trustees and Cullman-area business leaders could eventually result in distance learning efforts between the two schools.
Trustee Jack Venable of Tallassee, who attended the meeting with the Wallace State Partnership Committee, says he could envision Internet or video classes originating from AU being beamed to junior-level students at the Hanceville campus.
"At this point, I don't see Auburn taking over Wallace State -- there are too many political hurdles for that to happen anytime soon," said Venable, who will report on the discussions with the Cullman group at the Aug. 20 Board of Trustees meeting.
"What we might need to consider is some sort of pilot program where Auburn would offer distance learning courses to junior-level students in selected subjects with the understanding that those students would have to complete their studies at Auburn. If Auburn doesn't begin to pursue some progressive distance learning program, then someone else is going to and we're going to be left behind."
Venable stopped short of saying whether his report to the board will include any type of recommendation.
"I honestly haven't made a decision about that yet," he said.
Any merger of the two schools would have to be approved by the Alabama
Legislature, Venable said. Plus, Alabama's two- and four-year colleges are
governed by different boards, making any merger between AU and WSCC
even more difficult.
Venable stressed that trustees attended the meeting at the request of the Cullman-area business leaders and that Auburn is not soliciting partnerships with two-year schools. He said the Cullman group believes a four-year higher education presence is the key element lacking in the area's quest for economic development.
"They have no four-year school in the area since St. Bernard College closed," Venable said. "That's what they're after, what they think they need."
The AU trustees were treated much like executives from any business being recruited to an area would be, Venable said.
"They were very nice and they gave quite an impressive presentation," he said. "They did an excellent job of more or less treating us like an economic prospect. They showed a video that they use for industrial prospects and they gave us the same type pitch."
Venable said Wallace State officials' participation in the meeting was limited to a tour of the campus.
"They didn't take part in any of the discussions," he said.
Summer projects
Wilmore renovation is one of many projects under way this summer.
Facilities crews tackle 220 projects this summer
While students prepare for another year of lectures, the Facilities Division is working feverishly to prepare the campus for the coming fall quarter and the new millennium.
"This year is especially busy in renovation because we're trying to beat the semester system, which begins fall quarter of 2000," said Catherine Love, director of the Facilities Division. "We usually renovate one or two classrooms during the summer. This summer and throughout the year, we will be doing eight to 10 classrooms."
Love said 220 projects are in the design or construction phase this summer, with a total estimated cost of $116 million. The biggest project is the renovation of the Wilmore Laboratories, which began in January and is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2000.
Another project under way is the reinforcement of a section of the water system.
"A line will be tapped from the city of Auburn's water main on Shug Jordan Parkway to reinforce the grid that will boost pressure to the Facility department," Love said. "It will improve the fire capacity at the Old CDV (Caroline Draughon Village) and deliver additional water to soccer and intramural fields."
In addition, Foy Student Union is getting an improved sewage system. A plumbing construction team has begun preparing the area to install the new system. The War Eagle Food Court will be closed during the renovation.
"One of our sewers under Foy Union started having a lot of leaks. The pump was old and worn out," Love said.
The division will renovate a number of classrooms based on a priority system. Since students are required to take core classes, the classrooms used for those classes will be renovated first. These include classrooms in Parker, Spidle, Petrie and Thach halls and in Haley Center.
Tile will be replaced in the Thach Auditorium and computer labs installed at Petrie Hall. Additional projects will include replacing substations and checking heating vents and air conditioners to make sure environments are free from fumes or gases, Love said.
Other projects on campus include roadway paving and new parking lots.
Minority Affairs interviews set
Open forum interviews have been scheduled for three candidates for the position of assistant provost for minority affairs.
The candidates are Edward Prather, assistant dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Cincinnati; John Stanfield, professor and chair of the Department of Sociology at Morehouse College in Atlanta; and John Bello-Ogunu, acting director and associate professor of Communication Programs at Oakland University in Rochester, Mich.
Prather's interview was set for Tuesday, Aug. 10; Stanfield's is Aug. 17; and Bello-Ogunu's is Sept. 3. All are at 1:45 p.m. in Foy 208.
Outreach Vice President David Wilson is head of the search committee. Copies of the candidate's vitae are on file at the Outreach office in Samford 213.
Forestry award winner
Rhett Johnson, director of the School of Forestry's Solon Dixon Forestry
Education Center and co-director of the Longleaf Alliance, was recently
presented the inaugural Henry Hardtner Award by the Southern Group of
State Foresters. The award is named for early 20th century forester
Henry Hardtner, who is known within the industry as the father of
Southern forestry. School of Forestry Dean Richard Brinker, left,
congratulates Johnson.
Airport receives grant for improvements
The AU-owned and operated Robert G. Pitts Airport has received a grant of almost $1 million from the Federal Aviation Administration as part of an ongoing project to improve the airport.
The funds have been earmarked to build a new terminal area aircraft parking apron.
The additional parking apron is needed to accommodate aircraft already using the airport and to provide aircraft parking in the vicinity of a new terminal building that will be constructed with local funds.
"These funds are well needed and will allow more convenient, more efficient service for the airport personnel as well as for travelers," said U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Transportation Appropriations, in announcing the grant.
As part of long-term improvements to the airport, the north-south runway will be extended from 3,933 feet to 5,260 feet.
The extension cannot be completed, however, until the state Department of Transportation reroutes Glenn Avenue around the runway. The road work is expected to be completed by mid-2000.
In other airport-related news, AU President William Muse has appointed a new commission to study future management of the airport. The commission, chaired by Lee County Probate Judge Hal Smith, will meet for the first time at 9 a.m. Wednesday in Meeting Room E at the AU Hotel and Conference Center.
Other commission members are Auburn Mayor Bill Ham; Opelika Mayor Barbara Patton; Jim Ferguson, vice president for administrative services; Wayne Alderman, dean of the College of Business; Stanley Drake, assistant vice president for Facilities; and John Eagerton of the state Aeronautics Commission.
Muse says he hopes the commission can complete its work in time for him to make a report to the AU Board of Trustees at its January 2000 meeting.
Also, Ferguson announced three interim appointments at the airport as a result of two retirements.
Todd Storey, chief air transportation pilot, has been appointed interim director of AU Aviation, and Ron Pilz, senior air transportation pilot, will serve as interim chief air transportation pilot. Both appointments are effective Oct. 1.
Tammie Harper, administrator of accounts, was appointed interim manager of airport administration and operations, effective Aug. 1.
Storey replaces Jim Hendrick, and Harper replaces Patsy Vincent, who are retiring.
Grants go to 12 faculty to enhance teaching
Twelve Auburn faculty have received financial support from the university's Daniel F. Breeden Endowment for Faculty Enhancement grants, enabling them to develop programs related to teaching.
"We had some really outstanding ideas this year and felt as though the quality of the applications were high," said Isabelle Thompson, an associate professor of English and chair of the university's Teaching Effectiveness Committee.
Each recipient could receive as much as $2,000 in the competitive grants, and faculty used their grants in a variety of ways.
The faculty who received the awards, and their funded project, were:
* Leonard Bell, assistant professor, nutrition and food science, the
development of high quality laboratory manuals for food science
laboratory courses;
* Kai Chang, professor, computer science, development of a lecture and programming assignment materials for the Computer Graphics course;
* Barbara Estridge, research associate, zoology/wildlife, the development of six new laboratory exercises with accompanying Web-based tutorials for the course Cell Biology Laboratory;
* James Gravios, Librarian III, the development of on-line tutorials for AU Libraries Web-based databases;
* Alejandro Lazarte, assistant professor, psychology, implementing and evaluating a system of developing and grading a new scanning system for new assessment forms used in an introductory statistics course offered by psychology;
* Sharon Roberts, assistant professor, botany and microbiology, enhancement of course content for two courses -- Recombinant DNA Laboratory Techniques and Techniques in Immunology;
* Lisa Samuelson, associate professor, forestry, development of a Web site on trees in Alabama and the Southeast to assist students in learning;
* Pamela Stamm, assistant professor, clinical pharmacy, development of a non invasive direct observational method for assessing and documenting communication skills during a primary care clinical clerkship;
* Paul Starr, professor, sociology, was one of 12 applicants worldwide to attend a workshop on the production and use of video in educational programs seeking to promote and enhance cross-cultural understanding;
* Mary Stroup-Gardiner, assistant professor, civil engineering, development of pilot program for measuring outcomes for Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology 2000 through exams to assess the students' understanding of math and science skills and other fundamental concepts;
* James Wohl, assistant professor, small animal surgery and medicine, the purchase of sophisticated synthetic animal models to establish a Animal Model Teaching Laboratory for use in the clinical instructional program.
* Z. David Zuwiyya, visiting assistant professor, foreign languages and literatures, development of four indexes of 100 songs to teach Spanish through music.
Gain Recognition
Recognized for their work with the annual food and clothing drive were,
from left, Martha Faupel of the East Alabama Food Bank; Capt. Carolyn
Nichols of the Salvation Army; Waymon Abner of AU Housing and Residence
Life; Michael Tullier of the East Alabama Food Bank; Beth Guerta of the
East Alabama Food Bank; Ron Welch of the East Alabama Food Bank; and
Bobby Riggs of the East Alabama Food Bank.
Employees honored for community effort
Housing and Residence Life employees have been recognized by two community service organizations for their annual work to collect food and household items for the needy.
The East Alabama Food Bank and Salvation Army presented Waymon Abner, representing Housing and Residence Life, with a plaque citing their "appreciation for helping us help the needy" for the annual "Spring Move Out."
This year's drive collected more than 4,000 pounds of food with a retail value of $5,858, said Martha Faupel, executive director of the East Alabama Food Bank.
"This cooperative effort between AU, the student population, the East Alabama Food Bank and the Salvation Army has a major impact on the needy in our community," Faupel said.
Partnership head reaches out to AU professionals
The head of the Higher Education Partnership told AU's Administration and Professional Assembly on Aug. 4 that the advocacy organization for higher education is not just for faculty and students.
Gordon Stone, executive director of the Montgomery-based association, told the administrative and professional staff representatives that the partnership helps provide a united front for everyone connected with state universities in Alabama. By including administrative and professional personnel, other staff and friends of higher education as well as students and faculty in its membership, the organization provides a stronger voice for higher education in the state, he said.
Stone noted that the organization has doubled its membership this year to about 4,000, meeting a challenge from Wallace Malone, chairman and chief executive officer of SouthTrust Corporation. Malone fulfilled his pledge to match the money, up to $25,000, brought into the partnership through new memberships.
The partnership has 402 members from Auburn and 224 from the University of Alabama.
In encouraging AP members to join the organization, Stone said the partnership supplements from a broader perspective the activities of lobbyists from member institutions such as Auburn.
For a membership application, contact the partnership's Montgomery office at 334/832-9911.
Assembly officers
Michael Miller, left, of University Computing, presided over his last
session as chair of the Administrative and Professional Assembly on Aug.
4. He will be succeeded on Oct. 1 by Kevin Robinson, third from left, of
Internal Auditing. Miller will serve next year as immediate past chair.
Elected to join them were Mickie Jacob, second from left, of the Space
Power Institute, as secretary and Ellyn Hix, right, of University
Computing, as chair-elect.
Cotton tour grows into major event for ag personnel
In 1978, when a young county Extension agent organized the first Lee County Cotton Tour, he had no idea how big it would become.
Twenty-one years later, what began as a modest farm tour focusing on only one aspect of cotton production has evolved into one of the biggest cotton-production events of the year.
Sponsored by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station and AU's College of Agriculture, the annual cotton trek is now a mainstay for growers in a six-county region in East and Central Alabama.
The "cotton trek" was organized and led from the start by Jeff Clary, an Extension agent since 1973 and Lee County Extension Coordinator since 1981, with participation since the start by AU-based Extension specialists and researchers.
"It's one of the most cost-effective ways I've seen to reach producers, all of whom enjoy getting out and visiting with other producers and discussing the year's crop," says Ron Smith, an Extension entomologist and AU professor who's participated in the tour since 1978.
The tour was originally established as a countywide tour involving only growers in Lee County and focusing only on insect damage on cotton, Clary says.
"Twenty years ago, growers were so preoccupied with holding the boll weevils at bay, they hardly could think of anything else," Clary said. "But thanks to the major strides made by boll-weevil eradication, they've been able to concentrate on the even bigger challenge of acquiring new technology -- technology they're going to need to stay in business."
As a result, the annual event now amounts to a technology tour, affording many producers with the best opportunity they have all year to get acquainted with many professionals on the cutting edge of production technology. In fact, Clary says one of the biggest assets of the tour is that it allows growers to "rub elbows" with Cooperative Extension specialists and Auburn researchers as well as seed, chemical and equipment vendors.
"We county agents are only so good, and we depend on our subject-matter experts at Auburn University as well as industry professionals to maintain that cutting edge in production technology," he said.
"These tours are one of the many ways the Cooperative Extension System, Experiment Station and College of Agriculture work together to provide cutting-edge education to the state's producers," he adds.
This year's event, held July 28, encompassed three tours. In the morning,
producers from Lee, Chambers, Macon and Tallapoosa counties took part in
the East Alabama tour, while growers in Elmore and Autauga counties
participated in a tour of Central Alabama cotton fields. Later that day, a
third tour, sponsored by the AU College of Agriculture and the Alabama
Agricultural Experiment Station was conducted at the E.V. Smith Research
Center's Agronomy Farm by the facility's director, Jim Bannon.
Space center director to visit
Auburn research in support of NASA projects at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville will be examined by the center's director on Aug. 19. An open faculty forum from 1:30-2:30 p.m. will be in Foy 203, preceding the research tour.
Arthur Stephenson, who was named director of the National Aeronautic and Space Administration's Marshall Space Flight Center in September 1998, will review Auburn's research in the areas of propulsion, biotechnology and space nuclear power. Among his planned stops are AU's Space Power Institute and the Commercial Space Center for Space Power and Advanced Electronics, and research facilities in the colleges of Sciences and Mathematics and Engineering.
"The main purpose of director Stephenson's visit is to acquaint him with
Auburn's research facilities and the people working on projects of NASA
interest," said Michael Moriarty, AU's vice president for research.
Fire investigation goes beyond Peet Theatre
University officials are investigating a fire that occurred on the stage of Telfair Peet Theatre on Aug. 2. The fire led to the discovery that the fire alarm system in the building had been turned off.
The fire, which started about 9:30 a.m. when a student accidentally placed a light fixture too close to a curtain, destroyed four side curtains that block the audience's view of backstage and a black scrim used in lighting and scenery.
A student pulled an alarm when the fire began, but it did not activate. A university employee called 911. The Auburn Fire Department and AU Public Safety officers arrived on the scene within minutes. In addition, Charles Ray and Debra Sharpe of AU's Office of Safety and Environmental Health, also went to the scene.
Once the building was deemed safe, AU officials found that the fire alarm annunciator system had been disengaged because of a problem it caused with the building's elevator.
The alarm system in Telfair Peet was being upgraded by the Facilities Project Construction Group, which was tying the system directly to the Auburn Fire Department. Tests following the initial installation determined that the Telfair Peet elevator would not function properly when tied to the alarm system. When an alarm sounds, the elevator goes automatically to the ground floor, opens and remains open.
The alarm system had been out of service for about nine months while various contractors have been working on the problem. "Why it has taken so long is unclear," Sharpe said.
The fire alarm system in Telfair Peet was reactivated by the end of the day on Aug. 2.
Robin Jaffe, an associate professor of theatre, was teaching a class on the stage at the time of the fire. He suffered minor burns on his hand while extinguishing the fire. He was treated on scene and later went to the AU Medical Clinic.
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Spirit of Excellence
Spirit of Excellence recipients for July were, clockwise from left, Sherrie
Odom of Air Force ROTC, Louise Buchannon of Facilities, Kay Menniefee of
Chemical Engineering and John Gardiner of Mechanical Engineering.
AU library given rare botanical publications
An anonymous donor has presented Auburn University Libraries with a collection of very rare and beautifully elaborate scientific publications, Curtis's Botanical Magazine.
"As a journal of science, the publication is one of the pre-eminent in its
field," said Dale Foster, head of the Special Collections
Department of AU Libraries. "As a work of art, its exquisite hand-colored
images exemplify the development of printing techniques through time."
The collection is available for viewing during normal business hours in the Special Collections Department on the ground floor of Draughon Library. An exhibit highlighting some of the illustrations will be displayed in the department until Sept. 12.
The hard-bound magazine is the oldest continuously published journal of color illustrations in the world, the first issued being produced in 1787.
The collection is a complete set of the magazine, dating from 1787 to 1983. The magazine ceased publishing after that, but years later it was restarted and AU is working to retrieve those as well.
"This accession makes Auburn University Libraries' collection one of the most comprehensive sets in the U.S. and one of the very few libraries in the world with the earliest issues," Foster said.
One reason the collection is rare is that "the magazine is a highly sought after prize by book dealers who tend to remove the elaborate illustrations and sell them as individual works of art," he said. "But that leads to the loss of the valuable scientific information contained in the volumes."
Each magazine contains a four-part volume featuring 24 botanicallyprecise plant portraits reproduced from watercolor originals by some of the world's leading botanical artists.
Birmingham conference to focus on child learning
An AU-led conference in Birmingham this month will focus on how to create a climate for children's learning as they move into the classroom and then on into the workforce.
The four-day conference, set for Aug. 16-19 at the Tutwiler Hotel in downtown Birmingham, is titled "Transitions from Childhood to the Workforce" and will bring together child experts from across theU.S., France, Portugal and Canada.
It is funded through a grant from the National Science Foundation and also sponsored by Alabama Power Company, the Birmingham Early Learning Center and AU's Department of Human Development and Family Studies, AU Vice President for Research and AU Vice President for Outreach.
"The main goal of this conference is to bridge the theoretical gap in our knowledge between early child development and learning and factors that lead to successful school and, later, work," said Marilyn Bradbard, professor and head of the Department of Human Development and Family Studies and conference coordinator.
"Specifically, our objective is to examine what we know and what we do not know about the development of child social and cognitive competence on the one hand and school readiness characteristics.
"Most children make a reasonable successful transition to school and the developmental demands that school represent," she said. "Unfortunately, a significant number do not. It is this group that represents the greatest potential threat to society because these are the children that are most likely to be turned-off by the learning process that is a prerequisite for later success."
Researcher seeks couch potatoes for study
Notice to couch potatoes: Looking for a way to get in shape without having to pay gym fees? A researcher in AU's College of Education is helping East Alabama men get started on a monitored exercise program as part of a study of cholesterol levels.
The project helps relatively inactive men between the ages of 25 and 55 ease into an exercise program with medical screening, said the researcher, Peter Grandjean, an assistant professor in the Department of Health and Human Performance.
"This program is ideal for men who have been thinking about entering an exercise program but may be concerned about possible health risks," said Grandjean. Medical screening will alert the participants to any potential health risks and will provide a baseline for the study, Grandjean added.
Volunteers are screened for body fat, cardiovascular disease risk cholesterol levels. One component of the latter is triglyceride level, which is an indicator of heart attack risk.
The medical monitoring will be of the sort that men often undergo to determine health risks when entering or participating in an exercise program, Grandjean said.
While participants work out daily in an exercise room at AU's Beard- Eaves-Memorial Coliseum to get in shape, researchers led by Grandjean will monitor changes in their levels of triglycerides. The results will be compared with other studies of similar men who exercise every other day.
Regular exercise has been shown to reduce the level of triglycerides with a resulting reduction in heart attack risk, Grandjean noted. The research project will seek to help the medical community develop better guidelines on frequency of exercise, he added.
With the first volunteers already signed up, Grandjean said he anticipates approximately 20 men to launch exercise programs over the next several weeks as part of the project. Participants will be placed on a program to burn 350 calories per session, with the time of each session decreasing as the participants progress from mild to more intense exercise routines, he said.
Grandjean said a wide range of times is available for participants who need to work the exercise routine into their schedules.
The volunteers will benefit medical science and themselves, he added. "Aside from the contribution this study can make to medical and scientific knowledge, the participants will be taking the first step toward what could prove to be lifelong health benefits for themselves."
To volunteer or gain more information, contact Grandjean by e-mail at
grandpw@mail.auburn.edu or by phone at 844-1462.
Engineering retention program exceeds expectations
Two years after its creation, an AU program designed to increase the
retention rate and improve the academic performance of minority
engineering students has exceeded expectations.
For the second consecutive year, first-year freshman pre-engineering
students in the AU Minority
Engineering Program have accomplished what was specified as the
program's goal when it began in the fall of 1997 by performing on an
academic par with white engineering students.
An MEP report states that minority first-year freshman pre-engineering students involved in the program in 1998-99 had a mean grad-point average over their first three academic quarters of 2.70. Nearly 79 percent of the participants had GPAs equal to or better than the 2.20 required to begin taking engineering courses. By comparison, white first year freshman pre-engineering students had a mean GPA after three quarters of 2.56 and just below 70 percent had the required 2.20 GPA.
Dennis Weatherby, the MEP director, says the results for 1998-99 mirror those from the first year and are a product of what he calls the "structured learning environment" of the MEP.
"Our program isn't just about helping the participants with homework and in preparation for exams," said Weatherby. "We teach them to master the principles they learn in class. They do about 300 problems for each of these principles. It's grueling, but that's the only way to master the concepts. And once you master them, anyway the professor comes at you on that exam, you're prepared.
Muse elected SEC president
AU President William Muse has been elected President of the Southeastern
Conference. In this role, he will chair the Council of Presidents and
Chancellors and serve as president of the Executive Committee. Muse has
served on the Executive Committee for the past four years.
In addition, Muse participated in the week-long Oxford Round Table on
Education Policy that ended August 7 at England's Oxford University.
Twenty-eight chancellors and presidents, representing 10 different
countries, attended. Each participant presented a paper and/or served on a
panel. The conference focused on problems confronting higher education
around the world.
Campus Roundup
Presentation on enrollment
Achievements
Marie Kraska, associate professor in the Department of Vocational
and Adult Education, is giving an invited paper, "Integrating Applied
Mathematics and Vocational Education," this week at the International
Vocational Education and Training Association Conference in Sydney,
Australia. The theme of the conference is "Skilling for a Small Planet."
Daowei Zhang of Forestry received one of 24 grants given
nationwide in the market and trade program area of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's National Research Initiative Competitive Grant Program. His
project, "The Political Economy of U.S.-Canada Trade in Softwood Lumber
and Newsprint," will involve research in the causes and consequences of
the largest trade disputes between the two countries. This is the second
time that Zhang has received this type of grant in four years.
James Barth, the Lowder Eminent Scholar of Finance in the College
of Business, co-authored a paper on international financial systems that
was recently presented at the Second Annual International Financial
Management Association meeting in Barcelona, Spain. Also contributing to
the paper was Dan Nowlle of the Comptroller of the Currency.
Unsung Hero:Belinda Jackson
This week's Unsung Hero is Belinda Jackson, an associate in the
Business/Administration Center for Student Affairs. She has been at AU
for nine years, the past 18 months in her current position. She was
asked:
What do you do in your current job? "Departmental accounting,
payroll, TicketLink and Tiger Stop administration and I supervise student
interns."
What is the most rewarding part of your job? "Every aspect of my
job is rewarding, because I love what I do!"
What is the most challenging part of your job? "Daily
reconciliation of Foy Student Union 60Plus accounts with University
records, which I am now able to accomplish with relative ease."
What makes Auburn special? "The people. There are no strangers
here; everybody knows everybody."
What was your first impression of Auburn University? "Unity."
How has that impression changed? "It hasn't."
What words best describe Auburn as a work environment, learning
environment or just a place to be? "Learning environment with ample
opportunities."
What do you like to do when not at work? "Fish!!! I also like to
spend time with my family."
What person or persons do you most admire and why? "God! He
strengthens me where I am weak and builds me up where I am torn down."
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 that I can best serve that country by doing justly, loving
mercy, and walking humbly with my God.'"
Dan Rosenthal of the Office of Planning and Analysis will address
academic advisors, academic deans, and Academic Affairs Committee
members Wednesday, August 11, at 1 p.m. in Foy 202. His topic is the
effects on enrollment in Alabama and Georgia colleges that changed to
semesters in 1998.
BC/BS representative visit scheduled
AU's Blue Cross/Blue Shield representative will be on campus on Tuesday,
Aug. 10 from 10 a.m.-noon in the Payroll and Benefits Office at Ingram
212 to answer questions from AU faculty and staff about health insurance
coverage and other Blue Cross/Blue Shield benefits. No appointment is
necessary.
Hours for Processing Final Exams
Test Scoring Services in Tichenor 120 will provide machine scoring to
process final exams for summer quarter from: 7:45 a.m.-11:45 a.m. and
12:45 p.m.-4:45 p.m., on Aug. 23-27. The expected turnaround time, during
final exams is from two to three hours. Scan sheets should be placed in an
envelope with the name and telephone number of the person to contact for
pickup. A mail slot has been installed for after hours drop-off. For more
information, call 4-9904
Child Study Center has openings
The Child Study Center, the only nationally accredited child care center in
the area, has openings in the 4-year-old and 5-K classes. For
information, call 844-4696 or e-mail lsilvern@humsci.auburn.
If you were not doing this job, what would you most like to do?
"Attending school full-time, studying for a degree in office
administration, which I'm doing now on a part-time basis."
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