Editor: Roy Summerford. Contributing editors: Bob Lowry, Janet McCoy, Mitch Emmons and Richarde Talbot. Photography by Jeff Etheridge, AU Photo Services.

The AU Report is published by the Office of University Relations at Auburn University. Issues appear every two weeks during academic quarters.

Official distribution by campus mail includes full-time faculty and staff at campus offices. Copies also are mailed to trustees and officials at AU at Montgomery.

Deadline for receiving items is noon on Tuesday before publication. Direct inquiries, suggestions and items to 23 SAmford Hall, Auburn University, Ala. 36849-5109. Telephone 334/844-9999. Electronic mail: summero@mail.auburn.edu.

The governor has proposed a second consecutive year of level funding for most colleges and universities in the state, but his budget includes a 0.5 percent cut totaling $917,000 for Auburn.

ACHE, meanwhile, has asked the joint legislative budget committee for a 6.4 percent increase for higher education, including a 6.5 percent, $10.2 million increase for Auburn.

Although operations would be level-funded under the governor's budget, this year's $500,000 special appropriation for the College of Veterinary Medicine would not be renewed. The remaining $419,000 cut represents an expected reduction in payments to AU re tirees.

Veterinary Medicine Dean Timothy Boosinger said the state this year appropriated little more than half the $900,000 the college needs to build a temporary isolation facility. The college needs more funds for facilities in its efforts to regain full accred itation by the American Veterinary Medicine Association, he said.

"Naturally, we are disappointed," Boosinger said. "We feel that the people of Alabama are solidly behind Au-burn's efforts to maintain a fully capable veterinary medicine program, and for the state to inadequately fund that program harms the efforts we a re making to teach, conduct research and provide outreach services.

"We believe our record in serving the animal health needs of the state and its multimillion-dollar industries warrants that support," he added.

AU President William Muse said the governor's latest budget proposal would further erode the university's finances and threaten academic quality without achieving the governor's goal of improved primary and secondary education.

"Each year that we suffer reduced or level funding, we find it that much harder to compete with peer universities in neighboring states, and the entire state suffers as a result," he said. "Fortunately, support seems to be building in the Legislature to reverse that trend."

At the ACHE budget presentation on Jan. 16, legislators painted both the governor's budget and the ACHE proposal as "extreme" and predicted a small increase in the range of 3 percent for the higher education spending in the 1997-98 budget.

Muse and other university presidents have met with the governor in search of ways to improve the financial picture for higher education, and Auburn has stepped up efforts to make its case before the Legislature and the public. Latest actions include the h iring of political consultant Lillian Woo to advise the president and consideration of proposals from advertising agencies on a campaign to build public support.

At stake are attempts to increase state appropriations which this year total $174 million to the Auburn System -- AU's Auburn and Montgomery campuses, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System and the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station. Auburn asked f or a 1997-98 appropriation totaling $215 million, compared to the governor's recommendation of $173 million.

ACHE's figures, which do not include retirement funds as part of university appropriations, show this year's AU share of the state education budget as $157.5 million and propose an increase to $167.76 million. If Auburn were financed at what ACHE recogniz es as the regional standard for peer institutions, AU's state appropriation would nearly double to $298.67 million.

As part of a team of six presidents who met recently with Gov. Fob James to discuss funding and management concerns, Muse is circulating the draft to college presidents throughout the state. The board of regents plan was one of several ideas considered as James and the presidents looked at ways to improve governance of the state's higher education system.

The Auburn president said James asked the group to consider four options and come back to him with some solid suggestions.

Muse said it is too early to predict the outcome of the discussions, but he added, "For the first time in many years, college and university presidents are working together and with the governor to find common ground. If we can continue and expand on the cooperation that has been visible so far, we ought to be able to make some real progress in higher education for this state."

The board of regents idea surfaced as a more acceptable alternative to combining all of Alabama higher education under two boards of trustees: Auburn's and the University of Alabama's. The two-board proposal was frequently criticized at legislative budge t hearings this month.

A single board of regents, as proposed, would replace the Alabama Commission on Higher Education and the Department of Postsec-ondary Education.

Colleges and universities would continue to have boards of trustees, but the board of regents would have control of statewide policies that affect the institutions.

"Whether Alabama adopts a board of regents plan, as Georgia and Florida have done, or not, any plan to improve statewide governance of higher education would not address the immediate funding problems of higher education in Alabama," Muse added.

Christine Curtis, who has mixed faculty and administrative duties at Auburn for much of the past decade, has been named by Provost Paul Parks as coordinator for AU's transition from quarters to semesters.

Curtis, Alumni Professor of Chemical Engineering and associate vice president for research, will coordinate the day-to-day activities of the transition and will chair a committee, which will handle the larger issues associated with the transition, Parks s aid.

The coordinator and transition committee will work with colleges and schools to coordinate changes in curriculum and with support units to change business operations as Auburn changes from the quarter system to semesters.

The AU Board of Trustees approved the transition at the administration's request in November, with a transition date set for the fall term in the year 2000.
The coordinator's duties will be part-time initially and will increase later in the process, Parks said.

Curtis came to Auburn in 1976 as a research associate with a Ph.D. from Florida State University and was promoted to assistant professor in 1985, associate professor in 1989 and professor, alumni professor and associate vice president in 1993. In additi on to teaching and advising students, she is the author or co-author of more than 160 technical articles, conference proceedings and reports.

Parks said each school or college and major support area will be asked to organize a transition committee to oversee preparations for the change to semesters within its jurisdiction. Members of the campus transition committee will also serve on the commit tee for their academic or support unit.

(For related articles on the switch to semesters, see Special Report: Surviving Semesters)

Deborah K. Dietsch, editor-in-chief of Architecture magazine, says the Rural Studio was chosen for the first award ever presented by the magazine because of the Auburn program's uniqueness.

"The studio's focus on design and social responsibility is inspiring to the professional architect and the student as well. I visited the studio last fall and was amazed," she said. "They are really making a difference in the community. We were also impr essed with the link between the students and the studio, the community and a state agency. That's very unusual."

Dietsch said she believes social consciousness is increasing among professional architects. "Our past issues have shown that there is concern among practicing architects, and Auburn's program is simply remarkable."

The studio, established in 1992 in the west Alabama town of Greensboro, is a community-based educational program where AU architectural students learn by working with local and state government to assist the economically disadvantaged.
Each quarter 15 AU students live at the studio building houses and other small-scale projects in the Black Belt area.

AU and college administrators, faculty and students attended the 1996 Progressive Architecture Awards ceremony in New York, where the presentation was made Wednesday, Jan. 15. This is the 44th year of the awards program, originally established by Progress ive Architecture magazine, which was purchased by Architecture magazine. Proceeds from the black-tie awards dinner will fund the scholarship.

Samuel Mockbee and D. K. Ruth, both professors in the Department of Architecture at AU, developed the program. Mockbee got the idea after serving as a visiting critic in Genoa, Italy, where architecture students live in a villa for a semester and do sketc hes and a design problem.

"When I returned to Auburn, I told Ruth that we ought to set up a program where we could build houses and small projects," Mockbee said.

The main goal of the studio is to allow students to gain 'real-world' experience and be involved in a community, he said.

The studio was funded by a $215,000 grant from the Alabama Power Foundation and $75,000 from the Jessie Ball DuPont Fund of Jacksonville. While participating in the studio, students live in a donated antebellum home.

She succeeds Anita Hardin, who has been appointed superintendent of schools in Barbour County.

Kochan was acting director of the Truman Pierce Institute in 1995, while Hardin served as acting superintendent of Auburn City Schools.

The Truman Pierce Institute, named for a nationally prominent educator and former AU College of Education dean, is a research and outreach unit of the College of Education. The institute is dedicated to perpetuating its namesake's philosophy of partnersh ip between the public schools and the college.
College of Education Dean Richard Kunkel said Kochan was chosen for the post because her experience and interests fit the goals of the institute.

"Dr. Kochan brings a unique blend of experiences at both the higher education level and K-12 ," Kunkel said. "She is a truly talented and energetic professional, and she brings to the position knowledge and understanding of the needs of the public schools as well as a demonstrated ability to work effectively with colleagues and students in higher education."

Kochan, who holds a doctorate in educational foundations and policy studies from Florida State University, is a former superintendent of FSU's laboratory school.
She also has served as a teacher, principal and district-level administrator in public schools.

She has written articles on the teacher as researcher and has published book chapters on family and school relationships and middle school organizational change. Her major research interests include organizational change and school and university collabor ation.

Kunkel said Kochan's background is an asset for the institute, which has worked extensively to support educational reform and build partnerships between universities and K-12 in Alabama.

The appointment, which was effective Jan. 1, fills one of the most critical leadership roles in AU's research programs, says Michael Moriarty, associate provost and vice president for research.

"The position is one of the most necessary functions within our research program," he said.

"The Animal Resources Program has a tremendous responsibility ensuring that personnel who handle animals for teaching and research are properly trained and that the program operates in compliance with all laws and regulations."

Swango succeeds Henry Baker, director of the Scott-Ritchey Research Center.
Since 1994, Baker had served a dual role as interim director of the Animal Resources Program while continuing to head the Scott-Ritchey programs.

Swango earned a doctorate in virology from Purdue University and the CVM degree in veterinary medicine and a bachelor of science degree in veterinary science from Oklahoma State University. He began his work in laboratory animal health while on the facult y at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He has served on the College of Veterinary Medicine faculty at Auburn since 1972 and is a professor of virology in the Department of Pathobiology.

Additionally, Swango is acting director of the laboratory animal health program at the College of Veterinary Medicine and serves on the program's executive committee. He formerly headed the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, which is now led by Skip Bartol, an associate professor in the Department of Animal and Dairy Science.

Swango's research focuses on pathogenesis of viral diseases in dogs, development and evaluation of vaccines for dogs and cats, and evaluation of disinfectants for antiviral activity. A rabies consultant, he has been involved in evaluating rabies vaccines for humans.

The senate approved the resolution by Rex Gandy of Physics after Gandy expressed concern over presidential rejections of some recommendations by the Tenure and Promotions Committee.

Gandy said President William Muse had overruled the committee in only 19 of 447 recommendations over the past four years.

But Gandy said some of the reasons had not been convincing to committee members, and some actions had come after the original committee had been succeeded by a new committee.

Senate President John Grover said presidents sometimes disagree with the committee's assessment of the individual and at other times choose to grant tenure to avoid a lawsuit when a department head has made unwise contractual obligations.

Gandy acknowledged that the president has the authority to accept or reject the committee's recommendations, but he said a committee should be appointed to draft clearer guidelines.

Among possible suggestions, he said, could be a requirement for the president to
notify the tenure and promotions committee in advance.

Auburn University engineers have teamed up with researchers from industry in an attempt to revolutionize electronics in the automotive and aerospace industries.

The six-member Consortium for Vehicle Electronics, whose research is funded through the Department of Defense Technology Reinvestment Project and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, develops and evaluates low-cost packaging technologies for veh icle electronics.

AU, along with other consortium members, AlliedSignal of Tucson, Ariz.; Amp Circuits, Greenville, S.C.; Delco Electronics, Kokomo, Ind.; AVEX Electronics and Chrysler, both of Huntsville, Ala., have completed three technology demonstrators under a two-yea r, $12 million program, said Wayne Johnson, a professor in Auburn's Department of Electrical Engineering and chairman of the consortium.

"The prototypes (based on multi-chip modular electronics packaging) have been fabricated to define critical technology requirements and to demonstrate the CVE technologies developed under this program," Johnson said.

Chrysler Huntsville-Electronics designed a high-volume engine emissions controller that is being used in the computer systems of new model vehicles.

Capable of performing in the hot under-the-hood environment of an automobile, the devices are assembled using an arrangement of solder known as the ball grid array (BGA) that enables them to be smaller than conventional designs.
AlliedSignal has successfully applied the multi-chip module technology to development of an anti-lock braking system emulator for use in heavy trucks.

This alternative ABS braking devise is expected to be significantly less expensive to manufacture than current devices.

The company's aerospace division also has used the technology in jet engine controllers known as intelligent data acquisition units (IDAUs). Amp Circuits and AVEX Electronics are involved in developing packaging and manufacturing and assembly processes. < P> Delco, using its own proprietary process, is assisting in evaluating solder joints in the electronics assemblies.

The test group in Auburn's Department of Electrical Engineering has developed software that will extract information from the circuit schematic and packaging board, thus improve testing of these new electronics devices, Johnson said.

Johnson is joined in the consortium project at Auburn by Vic Nelson and Adit Singh, associate professors in the Department of Electrical Engineering.

Simpson, an Emmy Award-winner who reports from Washington, D.C., will speak Feb. 26 at 7:15 p.m. at Foy Union Ballroom. The topic of presentation will be "African-Americans in the Media."

Several programs have been developed by AU faculty celebrate the accomplishments of African-Americans.

Programs include:

€ Garth A. Baker, professor of mathematics at the University of Tennessee, will give a seminar Thursday, Jan. 30, on "The Origins of Mathematics and Physics in Africa." The lecture will be at 1:30 in Ballroom B of the AU Hotel and Conference Center a nd is sponsored by the Auburn Black Caucus Academic Lecture Series.

€ "Celebrating Black History Through Black Inventions," a display of inventions, historical informations, models and copies of patents, will be held Friday, Jan. 31, in Ballroom A of the AU Hotel and Conference Center.
The exhibit is from 9 a.m.-6 p.m., and is from The Black Inventions Museum Inc., of Los Angeles. The exhibit is sponsored by AU's College of Business.

€ A Black History Film Festival is being sponsored by AU's Department of Communication. Movies and dates are: "A Great Day in Harlem," Jan, 28; "The Learning Tree," Feb. 18; "Cotton Comes to Harlem," Feb. 25; and "Daughters of the Dust," March 4. All films will be shown in Haley 1203 at 7 p.m.

€ Frank Toland will lecture on "Confessions of a Black Agitator," sponsored by the History Department and Office of Minority Advancement for Student Services, Eagle's Nest, north end, on Feb. 4 at 4 p.m.

€ Charles Bacon, Timothy Conner, Clarence Johnson and Sheila Walton will present a panel discussion on "Diversification of Agriculture Science for the 21st Century," sponsored by College of Agriculture, Comer Hall auditorium, on Feb. 6 at 2 p.m.

€ Clifford Jones speaks on "Contribution of Minorities to Science" sponsored by College of Agriculture, on Feb. 6, Comer Hall auditorium, at 7 p.m.

€ State Sen. Vivian Figures of Mobile, successor to and widow of the late Sen. Michael Figures, speaks on "A Vision for Leadership in Alabama," sponsored by the College of Education, Eagle's Nest, South, on Feb. 24, at 5 p.m.

The J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board and the United States Information Agency made the announcement. Mitrevski left this month and will remain in his native country through spring quarter.

Mitrevski will lecture at the University of Skopje with electrical engineering faculty.

He will teach graduate courses on multimedia instructional design and on integrating the World Wide Web in instruction. In addition to lecturing at the university, he will conduct workshops sponsored by the U.S. Information Service in Skopje for educators throughout the country.

A member of AU's faculty since 1983, Mitrevski has developed several interactive instructional programs and Internet lessons for teaching Russian, which are used at more than 30 universities and secondary schools in the United States

Mitrevski is one of about 1,600 U.S. grantees who will travel abroad for the 1996-97 academic year under the Fulbright Program. Established under federal law sponsored by former Sen. J. William Fulbright, the program is designed to increase mutual underst anding between the people of the United States and other countries.

Richard Guthrie, associate dean for international programs in the College of Agriculture, has been appointed secretary to the Board on Agriculture of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges.

"This is an honor for Richard and great recognition for him and Auburn University," said Agriculture Dean James E. Marion.
"He is probably one of the most visible people in NASULGC from Auburn University, with the possible exception of our president."

NASULGC is a Washington, D.C.-based organization that coordinates activities at the federal level for all land-grant and state colleges, explained Mort Neufville, director of federal relations for NASULGC.

The Board on Agriculture ­ comprised of research, extension and academic leaders in agriculture, human sciences, forestry and veterinary medicine ­ serves as a watchdog group for legislative activities, policies and funding related to agricultur e, Neufville said.

Working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the board also develops an annual budget on research, extension and higher education for submission to Congress, he added.

Neufville said Guthrie was sought as an officer for the Board on Agriculture because of his "extensive knowledge of agriculture and the leadership role he has played for years in agriculture."

Guthrie has a history of service on NASULGC committees and was recently chair of the association's Food, Environment and International Programs Section. He will advance over the next few years to the position of chair for the Board on Agriculture.

Guthrie earned his B.S. degree in agronomy and soils in 1962 and his M.S. degree in soil science in 1965 from AU. He received his Ph.D. in soil science from Cornell University in 1968.

Newman, a frequent lecturer at the nation's leading schools of law, will speak on Wednesday, Feb. 5, at 4 p.m. in the Foy Union Gallery.

In addition to his public lecture on the jurist, Newman on Feb. 6 will meet separately with pre-law, history and media students.

He will also address a session of AU Academy of Lifelong Learners.

Newman's book on Black, Hugo Black: A Biography, won the Scribes Book Award of Scribes, the American Society of Writers on Legal Subjects for 1995 and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in biography for 1994.

The Franklin Lectures in Science and Humanities, celebrating its 30th year at Auburn in 1997, is sponsored by the John and Mary Franklin Foundation of Atlanta.

AU's Blue Cross/Blue Shield representative will return to campus on Feb. 11, from 10 a.m.-noon, in the Payroll and Employee Benefits Office, Ingram 212. No appointment is necessary.

Audubon String Quartet to perform in concert

The Auburn Chamber Music Society will present a concert by the Audubon String Quartet at 8 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 6 in Goodwin Hall, featuring selections by Beethoven and Schumann. Admission is free to students and is $15 for others.

I get the greatest satisfaction in my job when... the customers, employees and our bosses are all in a good mood and smiling -- that's guaranteed satisfaction!

In my job area, quality is measured by... customer compliments. Trying to maintain high standards to overcome the label "school cafeteria" is a goal that keeps us constantly motivated.

If I could change one thing about Auburn (or my job), it would be... that all departments worked together and supported each other for the betterment of AU.

I've always wondered why... (no answer).

When people come to this campus, I want them to... feel comfortable, safe and enjoy the best food on any campus they have ever visited.

In my spare time, I like to... spend quality time with my family.

The state of Alabama is heading in the wrong direction and the price of this misguidance is high.

While every one of our neighboring states in the Southeast is increasing higher education appropriations, Alabama has steadily reduced its support by more than 7 percent since 1994. Among the casualties of these funding reductions is university research. This abatement is a threat to both our educational and economic progress.

One can spend hours trying to analyze the reasons why the powers-that-be have made decisions so potentially devastating to the future well-being of our state and its citizens. However, I believe it comes down to a lack of awareness about the value of high er education -- particularly the value of universities that also are among the nation's major research institutions -- and the importance of research to the effectiveness of teaching.

Most discoveries and their application to learning and public benefit have been the direct result of the triad mission of research, teaching and outreach by major research universities. There are some who argue that universities place too much emphasis on research and not enough on teaching. Yet, it is research that is the essence of new knowledge and understanding -- and the key to economic progress.

All educational institutions impart knowledge, but it is research universities alone, that create new knowledge. Without research there would never be a need for textbooks to be revised. True, that would save money in printing costs, but at what price for the future of our children and our society?

According to science and engineering indicators for 1996, reported by the National Science Foundation, research and development have a significant positive effect on economic growth and standards of living; also, more than 70 percent of the American publi c believes the benefits of scientific research outweigh the drawbacks.

But while everyone agrees that research and development are important, they have no real champions.

Research is an investment which pays significant -- often extraordinary -- returns.
Research sets high standards for graduate education, and it is those high standards that chart the course driving the undergraduate program. If those high standards aren't there, then the undergraduate program begins to drift downward.

Research trains both faculty and students to approach problems methodically and with open-mindedness.

Research generates the knowledge and discoveries that are transferred from the laboratory to the classroom through instruction and from the university to the public through outreach and economic development.

Research is the foundation upon which strong academic programs, a well-educated citizenry and a healthy standard of living are built.

What kind of future do we want?

Basically, it comes down to deciding what kind of future we want for our children and our state. A recent article in Southern Growth magazine discusses the changes developing in our region's economy and education's role in the process:

"Despite genuine progress over the past decade, southern economic development is still grappling with the limitations of an iron triangle world view -- lower skills, lower wages and lower technology. Education can no longer be the most vulnerable among st ate expenditures, nor undervalued in the esteem of its citizens."

While Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee are heeding this warning by strengthening higher education, Alabama is being pulled backwards.

I believe most Alabamians are passionate about their children receiving a first-rate education. To ensure that our universities maintain the ability to provide first-rate educational opportunities we must adopt the mindset that education is an investment in the future, and research is an investment that society makes in itself.

Bob Smith, vice provost for research at Washington State University stated it well when he said, "Effective teaching without research is the tree without the roots, an automobile without an engine. Like the tree's roots, research nurtures teaching. Like t he engine, research drives disciplines forward to keep teaching relevant and alive."

Public support is important toward ensuring adequate funding for higher education and its valuable research programs. We cannot move to the future if we fix our gaze only in the rearview mirror. As the citizens of Alabama, we must decide what type of futu re we seek for our children and what economic path we desire for our state.
The choice is ours and silence is not appropriate.

* * *
(Michael Moriarty is associate provost and vice president for research for AU.)