2/1/2000
LIST OF AUBURN SOURCES ON ALABAMA LEGISLATURE ISSUES
AUBURN -- Several Auburn University faculty can provide expert commentary on issues before the 2000 Alabama Legislature, including:
Susan Fillippeli (334/844-275) Assistant professor, communication, will watch Gov. Don Siegelman's address Tuesday evening and can give commentary following his speech. Contact her at home at 334/821-2819. She can also speak on the role of media in politics and political communication.
John Jackson (334/844-2926; at home 821-0806) Professor of economics; has studied sin taxes (specifically casino gambling and dogtrack gambling) and state growth; says the proposed legislation for video gambling could take money away from dogtracks, not help them. "It could be a matter of them competing against themselves,"he said. "The only way it could be beneficial is it (video gambling) will attract people who would have come otherwise."
David Laband(334/844-2910 (labandn@business.auburn.edu) Professor and head of the Department of Economics. Laband has expertise on wide range of issues, including gambling.
Joe A. Sumners (334/844- 4782) Research associate with AU's Center for Governmental Services; says "The 1901 Constitution is Alabama's anchor preventing the state from moving forward to address the myriad of challenges that confront it. It is a vestige of Alabama's past and a major impediment to growth and progress." Sumners has researched Alabama's Constitution extensively. "It is the national poster child for outdated, obsolete constitutions, he says."
Wayne Flynt (334/844-6650, or at home at 821-5825) Distinguished University Professor, history. Flynt can speak extensively about Alabama's constitution, the nation's longest in the. With more than 220,000 words (compared to an average of 26,500 for other state's constitutions. It's nearly eight times as long as the U.S. Constitution, and has an astounding 658 amendments.
Barry Burkhart (334/844- 6476; at home 821-2894) Professor of psychology. Burkhart can speak on bills related to sexual assault or policies on the rehabilitation of sexual offenders. Director of AU's Clinical Psychology Program, he's a nationally recognized expert on issues concerning sexual assault and criminal abnormalities.
Greg Kowalski (334/844- 2825; at home 887-7136) Professor and chair, Department of Sociology. Kowalski is a good source in a variety of general topics, including crime, date rape, murder and suicide. He can give comparisons for trends.
Emily Myers (334/844- 2830) Director of AU's Social Work Program. Can speak to issues of DUI. For 15 years she served as a DUI instructor, primarily for repeat offenders. for the Court-Referral Program, an eight-week education program geared toward treatment. In addition, Myers can speak on domestic violence issues.
Janice Wittekind (334/844- 5080) Assistant professor of sociology, she has conducted research on families, partner/spouse issues, single parent families and divorce. Currently serves as a member of the East Alabama Task Force for Battered Women and can speak to issues of domestic violence.
Wayne Flynt (334/844-6650, or at home at 821-5825) Distinguished University Professor, history. Flynt is an excellent source on Alabama, it's history and politics. Author of books on state's economic development, social history of South and history of city of Montgomery; considered top expert on Southern history, culture and education reform.
Murray Jardine, (334/844-6162; at home 821-0227) Assistant professor, political science. He can speak on political philosophy, political theory, ethics and religion and politics. His research area is political philosophy and the foundations of social ethics. Specifically, he examines how societies can establish, justify and enforce standards of moral conduct.
James Long (334/844-2911; at home at 826-6490) Professor, economics. He is well-versed on Alabama's state tax reform efforts.
Robert Montjoy (334/844- 4704; at home 887-6693) Assistant vice president for university outreach and professor, political science. Montjoy has conducted studies of operations of state agencies in Alabama and other states; was the chief writer of state handbook for election officials and is a former elections consultant for the secretary of state.
Robert Widell(334/844- 6173; at home 887-9814) Assistant professor, political science. Widell can discuss party switching in Alabama.
feb2000:AU-alaxgr