Shannon Magers, 844-2365

DON LOGAN ENDOWMENT FOUNDED BY SOUTHERN PROGRESS

AUBURN -- Starting this fall, five outstanding Auburn University students will be awarded full tuition for the school year, thanks to the generosity of Southern Progress Corporation.

The Birmingham based publishing firm has established a $250,000 endowment in honor of prominent Auburn alumnus and former Southern Progress chief executive officer Don Logan.

"We are pleased with this contribution and the many opportunities it will bring to our students," said Betty DeMent, vice president for alumni and development. "This is a wonderful tribute to Don and his accomplishments."

The Don Logan Endowed Scholarships will provide students with three academic quarters of tuition and book expenses. The scholarships will be awarded to students pursuing degrees in horticulture, landscape architecture, marketing and advertising, journalism and nutrition and food sciences -- all key disciplines at Southern Progress. The scholarship is meant to help outstanding students excel in their fields.

"Southern Progress is important because it represents a new part of society that is concerned with nutrition, the environment, home and garden and agri-business," says James Marion, dean for the AU College of Agriculture. "We are extremely proud to have Southern Progress in Alabama. It is a first-class organization and represents one of the finer things in the state."

Logan joined Southern Progress as data processing manager in 1970 and quickly rose through company ranks. After transforming the company's struggling book operation into a major profit center, he assumed broader corporate responsibilities, becoming chairman and chief executive officer in 1986. Time Inc., tapped him as president and chief operating officer in 1992. Two years later, he was named CEO of Time Inc., the largest magazine publisher in the world. The Hartselle, Ala., native graduated magna cum laude from Auburn, where he earned a degree in mathematics in 1966. Logan maintains his Auburn ties and is a life member of the Auburn Alumni Association.

"This scholarship honors one of our most distinguished graduates and it honors Auburn," said June Henton, dean of the School of Human Sciences. "Don Logan has been just one of the key alumni supporters for the whole campus and this scholarship demonstrates that. It is benefitting, not just our department, but four others on campus."

Southern Progress is one of the largest employers in the state for human science graduates. Henton said the scholarship will be an outstanding recruitment tool that will enable Auburn to compete for the top scholars in these fields.

Southern Progress Corporation began publishing in 1886 with The Progressive Farmer, a weekly newspaper. In 1911, the company moved to Birmingham, its current location. Southern Progress publishes Southern Living, Progressive Farmer, Southern Accents, Cooking Light, Weight Watchers and Coastal Living magazines.

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