Editor: Roy Summerford. Contributing editors: Pete Pepinsky, Bob Lowry and Janet McCoy. Also contributing: Sam Hendrix, Martha Barker and Gina Cordell.

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

The state education budget, signed Sept. 11 by Gov. Fob James, contains a $1 million increase for AU, but Auburn must pay an additional $700,000 for increased employer contributions to the Retirement System for all employees and must offset the $400,000 cost of the state's long-distance telephone account, which, for the first time, was not funded for the coming year.

The budget for Auburn differs little from what the university would have received from the state education budget vetoed by James last spring or the one under which AU is operating this year.

"It's pretty much of a wash," said Buddy Mitchell, AU's executive director of governmental affairs. "What the state gives with one hand, it takes away with the other."

President William Muse said the lack of new funding, though expected, is further evidence of the need for Auburn constituencies to join the fight for better funding from the state.

During the late August-early September special legislative session, Muse took Auburn's case to the lieutenant governor, speaker of the House and key legislators as the university fought to prevent cuts as well as attempting to get an increase.

"The results were about as we expected but not what we wanted and certainly not what Auburn needs," said Muse. "We are continuing to step up our efforts to enlist all Auburn people in our efforts to impress upon the governor and members of the Legislatur e the importance of adequate funding for Auburn University."

The education budget, effective Oct. 1, contains $174,971,211 for operations and maintenance of the Auburn campus, the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System and Auburn University at Montgomery. The amount is $1 .9 million more than requested for Auburn by Gov. Fob James in the $3.7 billion education budget.

All of higher education shared a similar fate of virtually level funding for a second consecutive year, after a 7.5 percent cut in funding in 1995-96, noted Mitchell. He said the Legislature's inclusion of retirement adjustments as part of each instituti on's funding since 1995-96 makes comparisons difficult because the retirement adjustments fluctuate from year to year as well as from institution to institution.

"It used to be that you could look at each school's appropriation and see how they did in relation to one another, but that is virtually impossible now because the money for retirement payouts is mixed in with the rest of the budget," Mitchell added. "It can go up one year and they take it away the next."

The pass-through for retirement funds is about $15 million per year, but the amount is reduced or increased from one year to the next, depending on actual payouts for the previous year.

Auburn did, however, gain an extra $500,000 from the state's general fund, signed last week by the governor, as partial matching funds for a proposed poultry science building. Congress has appropriated $6 million over two years toward the $12 million bui lding, and industry sources have committed $2 million.

Muse: Looking elsewhere for new funds for raises

For Auburn, virtually level funding in the state education budget for 1997-98 will mean no new money from the state in the coming year to fund operations.

President William Muse said the administration is hopeful that funds can be found from other sources for a modest pay raise for faculty and staff starting Jan. 1. The administration is preparing a request for consideration by the Board of Trustees based on recommendations of the university's Budget Advisory Committee.

The committee is proposing a 2 percent increase for all employees, effective Jan. 1. A second part of the proposal would grant in December a $500 one-time distribution to each employee who was on the AU payroll as of May 31 and remains employed by Auburn through the end of the calendar year.

Muse said the main goal of any one-time distribution will be to reward longstanding service to the university.

The committee is also recommending an increase in amounts allocated for faculty promotions, although amounts have not been set.

The only significant source of new funds, other than cost cutting, will be an 8.9 percent tuition increase effective fall quarter, but tuition and fees provide less than 20 percent of the university's budget. State appropriations provide about 40 percent , although the state share has been shrinking in recent years.

With the Alabama Legislature entering a special session on the state education and general fund budgets in late August and the budget year officially starting on Oct. 1, the AU Board of Trustees in July authorized the administration to continue operation s on the 1996-97 university budget until Jan.1, if necessary.

The Board's first opportunity to consider the university's budget for the coming year will be at its Oct. 9 session, although action could come at a later session.

"It has been obvious for some time that adequate resources are not going to be available from the state in the near future," explained Muse. "We are taking our message to the Legislature through Auburn people around the state, but we have to look elsewhe re for the resources the state is failing to provide."

The Board of Trustees this summer authorized the administration to proceed with a strategic plan designed to bring faculty salaries closer to the regional average and reduce deferred maintenance. Key components include bringing tuition to the regional av erage, examination of most university functions and gradual reallocation of resources in line with recommendations of the 21st Century Commission.

One key feature of the strategic plan starting with the new budget will be a contribution of 1 percent from departmental budgets to go toward a campuswide fund for reallocation in the 1998-99 budget.

Employees may escape hike in insurance costs for 1998; panel also to request option

No increase in health insurance premiums for 1998 will be recommended to the Board of Trustees, says Don Large, AU executive vice president and chief financial officer.

In addition, Large says the university's Insurance and Benefits Committee has recommended adoption of an alternative Blue Cross and Blue Shield plan called "Personal Choice."

If approved by the Board of Trustees, the Personal Choice option would be available, starting Jan. 1, 1998.

Stanley Reeves, chair of the Insurance and Benefits Committee, says the Personal Choice plan would not replace the existing BC/BS Preferred Provider plan, but would simply be an alternative for AU employees to consider.

"PC has similarities to an HMO in that each covered individual must choose a 'personal choice physician' as a 'gatekeeper,'" said Reeves. "The individual must be referred by this physician to see a specialist."

In exchange for the restriction, PC would be cheaper and offer some routine care benefits not included in the existing health insurance program.
For example, the plan covers routine physical examinations and allergy testing and
treatment 100 percent after a $20 co-pay.

Reeves says most non-routine services not approved by the PC physician would be generally covered at 70 percent after the major medical deductible has been met. Care received by those living outside the network area would generally be covered at 80 percen t after the deductible.

The PC plan would cost about 6 to 8 percent less than the existing Preferred Provider plan. Under the proposal, AU employees would be able switch back and forth between plans, but would have to remain with one for at least 12 months before being able to switch again.

Meanwhile, Large said AU was able to avoid an increase in premiums for the Preferred Provider plan 1998 because of the shift of retired employees to the state PEEHIP plan. That move results in a cash savings to the AU plan of about $1.3 million.

"Additionally, it should be noted that, based on feedback from the retirees having moved (to PEEHIP), they generally seem to be pleased with the new arrangements," Large added.

President reorganizes central administration of university

President William Muse has streamlined AU's administrative structure, reducing from 15 to eight the number of administrators reporting to him.

Under the new structure, effective Oct. 1, the heads of four major units will report to the president. They are Provost and Chief Academic Officer Paul Parks, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Don Large, Director of Athletics David Ho usel and AU at Montgomery Chancellor Roy Saigo.

Also reporting directly to the president will be Lynne Hammond, assistant to the president and secretary to the Board of Trustees; General Counsel Lee Armstrong; Governmental Affairs Director. "Buddy" Mitchell; and James C. Brown, executive director for minority advancement.

Student Affairs will join Research, Outreach and the deans in reporting to the provost, and interim Vice President for Student Affairs Bettye Burkhalter will be extended for two years in that post, with the title vice president and associate provost.

A search to fill the Student Affairs post will begin in the 1998-99 academic year.
University Relations, under the direction of Pete Pepinsky, will join Alumni and Development, with Vice President Betty DeMent assuming the new title of vice president for alumni, development and university relations. As part of the restructuring, DeMent will report to the executive vice president.

Muse said placing the three units together under one vice president will allow for better coordination of efforts to develop relationships with external organizations and individuals.

Also reporting to the executive vice president instead of the president will be Vice President for Administrative Services Jim Ferguson. Three other units -- Planning and Analysis, Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity and Internal Auditing -- were placed under Large in February.

Muse said he expects the changes to lead to better management and coordination of university activities.

"This will provide me with the opportunity to concentrate more time on government relations and fund-raising, two important areas for the university," he added.

Carolyn Hayhurst succumbs to cancer

Carolyn Ann Hayhurst, director of Budget Services at Auburn since 1987, died Sept. 10 at East Alabama Medical Center from complications following treatment of cancer. She was 55.

The funeral was Sept. 12 at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Auburn.

Hayhurst received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of West Virginia in 1964 and a bachelor's degree from Auburn in accounting in 1977. She earned a master's degree in higher education administration from AU in 1994.

Hayhurst began her career at AU in 1979 as accounting manager for the Chef's Club.
She became staff accountant for the office of General Finance and Accounting in 1981 and was promoted to assistant director of the office in 1984. Hayhurst was promoted to director of Budget Services in 1987.

She was named AU "Employee of the Year" for administrative and professional staff in 1991.

In civic affairs, Hayhurst was active in the League of Women Voters, the Altar Guild of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, the Lee County Democratic Club, United Way and the AU Federal Credit Union.

Survivors include her daughter, Brooke Hayhurst of Montgomery; mother and father, Louise and Kenneth Hess of Parkersburg, W. Va.; brothers Larry Hess and Gary Hess, both of West Virginia; and sister, Mary Louise Webb of West Virginia.

New signs alert drivers to disabledMedical service takes on new look

The AU Facilities Division has given a facelift to crosswalk signs to accommodate the needs of every type of pedestrian on campus. And the newly designed signs are drawing positive reviews from the public and private sector.

They've been praised by officials from the Alabama Department of Transportation and by other visitors to campus. A traffic consultant from Birmingham liked them so much he asked permission to use them, said Tena Barnes, project designer for the Facilitie s Division and designer of the signs.

"Someone said I should patent the signs, but I said no. I am just happy I could help," said Barnes.

The decision to change the signs was prompted by complaints from visually impaired students with guide dogs who reported trouble getting to class, said Deborah Armstrong-Wright, executive director of affirmative action/equal employment opportunity at Aubu rn.

"What people do not understand is that guide dogs are trained not to step into a crosswalk until the oncoming cars have stopped, but the cars were not stopping and the students had to start using a personal escort," said Armstrong-Wright.

"This defeats the purpose of having a guide dog which is to enable a person to act independently."

Persons with guide dogs were not the only ones having trouble, said Barnes, who noted that persons in wheelchairs have also encountered problems.

Medical service takes on new look

The former Drake Medical Center starts fall quarter with a new staff and mission and will enter winter quarter with a new look.

Now the AU Medical Clinic, the facility operates as a privately managed primary care facility following the outsourcing of health care by the university during the past academic year.

Operated under a partnership of East Alabama Medical Center and Connecticut based Collegiate Health Care, the center offers primary and family care for the entire university community.

Center Director Bonnie Keller said the medical facility is expanding and improving its services for students and will also serve faculty, staff and their families, as well as others in the community who seek treatment there.

"We have the staff now and we will soon have the facilities to provide much better and faster health care to students and to the rest of the university community, as well," Keller said.

Like other commercial health care providers, the center operates on a fee basis and accepts Blue Cross/Blue Shield and other health insurance.

Dr. Fred Kam, who came to Auburn as vice president of Health Delivery Systems for Collegiate Health Care, has remained as medical director of the medical clinic. A specialist in internal medicine, Kam has been joined by Dr. David Smithson, whose special ty is internal medicine, and Dr. Marvin Powell, a family practitioner.

The medical staff also includes two full-time and one part-time registered nurses, three nurse practitioners, two medical technicians and an X-ray technician.

An eye clinic is also being added during renovations that have extended into fall quarter. Keller said the extensive renovations will be completed before the start of winter quarter, and an open house is being planned for January.

The renovated facility will feature a smaller waiting room, and the service will be designed to get patients quickly into private patient rooms, where they will meet with doctors. In addition, Keller noted, outdated equipment is being replaced with equip ment typical of medical centers in the private sector.

"The medical center is vastly different now from what it used to be," said Keller. "As a private facility serving a university community, we strive to be more customer friendly and to provide high quality medical service for all our patients."

The changes will continue and be most obvious when the renovations are complete, said Keller, who brings 18 years experience in military records and personnel management and five years experience in medical facility management to the center.

Now open 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday, the center expects to extend its hours and days as demand for its services grows, said Keller.

Graduate student survives incredible journey, looks forward to normalcy

After a brief recovery from 16 days wandering lost and without food in the mountain wilderness of eastern Oregon, graduate teaching assistant David Vetterlein was due back at Auburn this week.

Vetterlein, a 50-year-old mathematics doctoral student, said he was looking forward to returning to Auburn and putting behind him the most trying physical ordeal of his life.

"I want to thank everyone back at Auburn for their prayers and thoughts," he said from his parents' home in Brookings, Ore., two days after his Sept. 14 rescue. "Look for me back there for the start of classes next Tuesday."

Toward the end of his vacation, the former community college math teacher had solved a math problem that he was looking forward to discussing with his major professor, Bill Transue of Mathematics.

With a few days left before returning to Auburn, Vetterlein decided to take a three day hike in the rugged mountains near his parents' home.
Attempting a shortcut while returning to his pickup site, he misread his map and wandered off course. When he failed to appear on schedule, search crews combed the mountains but failed to find him, and the search was called off after several days.

Vetterlein spotted aircraft that was looking for him, but they failed to see him because of the dense growth. "That was the most rugged terrain I have ever seen in my life," he said. "In Alabama, you can get into a lot of bushes, but there are no huge l ogs to climb over and no slopes that I'm aware of that are so steep you cannot get down them."

He supplemented a meager food supply of cornmeal muffins and salmon jerky with blueberries along the way and plodded on through cold and rain until he found a logging road and rescue on the 16th day. Vetterlein flagged down a man and his son who were bow hunting, and they took him to a ranger station.

"One of the things that bothered me while I was out there was that if I died there, I would not be able to tell my advisor I had solved the (math) problem," he said.
Transue said he was glad to hear that the doctoral student was recovering and that the math problem had helped to motivate him. "He's a pretty resourceful person, and if anyone can survive an ordeal like that, it would be him," said Transue.

Vetterlein, who lost 15 pounds while wandering in the mountains, said the ordeal also had been stressful on his parents, both in their 80s, and he was spending a few peaceful days with them before heading back to Auburn.

'Wear Sunscreen': Urban legend weaves its way into Auburn graduation

Internet-fanned rumors can have long lives but short reaches, President William Muse learned at the summer commencement Aug. 29.

Trying to bring a bit of levity to the formal ceremony awarding 1,045 degrees, Muse told the graduates and their families that he had just received an anonymous message for the new alumni, which began: "Wear sunscreen."

The punchline drew scattered chuckles but less attention than the brightly colored beachball batted across the sea of black robes.
Just weeks earlier, e-mail boxes worldwide filled with stirring words attributed to Kurt Vonnegut, purported to be his commencement address at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

"Wear sunscreen" was the opening line of the practical advice, which also included, "Read the directions, even if you don't follow them." The speech was widely acclaimed, even more widely distributed. There were just a few problems.
Vonnegut never wrote it, nor did he speak at the MIT commencement, nor were
those the words spoken at that graduation. (Kofi Annah, secretary general of the United Nations, delivered the June 6 MIT commencement address.)

Mary Schmich wrote the sunscreen advice in a June 1 Chicago Tribune column. She later admitted penning it "one Friday afternoon while high on coffee and M&M's."
A graduate of the College of Architecture, Design and Construction explained to the president that the anonymous message was from Kurt Vonnegut's commencement address. A faculty member in Counseling and Counseling Psychology sent, by e mail, the "straight story" of the "urban legend."

Entertainment, food beckon AU alumni at Hospitality Tent

A prominent and colorful feature at all Auburn home football games this fall will be the "Alumni Hospitality Tent" just outside Jordan-Hare Stadium.

The Hospitality Tent -- sponsored by the Auburn Alumni Association -- made its debut at the Ole Miss game. The association is using the university's new 40x80 tent.
"It's been a common misconception that only Auburn graduates can join the Alumni Association," said Betty DeMent, AU's vice president for alumni and development. "Anyone who loves Auburn can join."

The alumni tent is located at the corner of Roosevelt Drive and Duncan Drive, next to the site of the old Sports Arena.
The tent features free food, drinks and entertainment for three hours before kickoff for each home game. Before the Ole Miss game, more than 2,000 visitors were entertained by a local band, AU's Aubie mascot, the Tiger Pause and cheerleaders.

Entrance to the tent is free to members of the Alumni Association. The new ALUM membership pin is the entrance "ticket" to the tent and will be distributed at the gate. To gain admission, nonmembers will have the option of signing up or paying a $5 entran ce fee. Non-alums are also invited to become associate members or family members of the alumni association and provide the annual or life member fees for members, families, associate members. Additional promotional items, including shakers, posters and ca n coolers, will be given away.

Agriculture Dean Marion to step down in one year

Emmett Thompson, dean of the School of Forestry, has been appointed chair of a 19 member search committee to recommend a new dean of the College of Agriculture and Director of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station.

James Marion, who holds the dual posts, plans to step down on Oct. 1, 1998.
Marion said he accepted the dual position with the understanding that it would last two years. He said he will help with the transition of his successor, but has not decided about retirement.

In addition to Thompson, members of the search committee appointed by Provost Paul Parks include Art Appel, Bob Brewer, Art Chappelka, Billy Dozier, McArthur Floyd, John Jensen, Russ Muntifering, Robyn Rhodes, Rodrigo Rodriguez-Kabana, Mary Lou Smith, Gre g Traxler, Ted Tyson, Edzard Van Santen, Paul Waddy, Carol Warfield, John Weete, Larry Wells and Dwight Wolfe..

"The search committee has the important role of identifying and recommending candidates for the position of dean and director who are qualified to continue the excellence of our programs in agriculture and the AAES and build upon this excellence for the f uture," said Parks.

Credit Union promotes Armstrong to CEO; Royal, Patterson also promoted

Henry H. Armstrong has been named president and chief executive officer of the Auburn University Federal Credit Union.

Armstrong's appointment, effective Sept. 1, was announced by Thomas McCaskey, chairman of the AUFCU Board of Directors. Armstrong succeeds Barbara Bohmann, who retired.

Other recent AUFCU appointments include Roger Royal as vice president for loans and Gordon Patterson Jr., as assistant vice president for loans. Both appointments were effective Aug. 1.

As president and CEO, Armstrong leads a credit union with 20 employees and about 10,500 members.

Armstrong joined the credit union in January 1990 as vice president for operations and participated in the credit union's eight-year management succession plan.

Armstrong, who has a B.S. in finance from AU, has completed continuing education at the National Association of Federal Credit Union's Management
Development Institute at the LSU School of Banking and the Mapothers Bankruptcy School in Louisville, Ky.

Royal, who joined the credit union as assistant vice president for loans in 1990, succeeds Barbara Nowell, who recently retired. He has a B.S. degree in banking and finance from Mississippi State University and more than nine years experience in
the thrift industry.

Royal has completed studies at the National Association of Federal Credit Union's Management Institute at the LSU School of Banking and Mapother's College of Collections and Bankruptcy School.

Patterson, who joined the AUFCU's loan department as a loan officer in 1994, will be Royal's first assistant. He earned a B.S. in business administration from AU at Montgomery and had more than three years prior experience in consumer finance.
He has also completed the Mapother College of Collections and Bankruptcy School in Louisville, Ky.

ACE Fellow to work with AU administrators

Richard Keaster, a professor at Southeastern Louisiana University, is taking a one year sabbatical to be an American Council on Education Fellow at Auburn.

Keaster was among 35 fellows selected by the Washington, D.C.-based ACE from more than 200 applicants nationwide.

The ACE program is "designed to encourage, foster and promote individuals into higher education administrative positions within universities," said Keaster, an associate professor in Southeastern Louisiana's Department of Counseling, Family Studies and Ed ucational Leadership.

At Auburn, Keaster's primary mentor will be AU President William V. Muse. Secondary mentors will be Don Large, executive vice president and chief financial officer; and Provost Paul Parks.

"What they (ACE) suggest we do is engage in as many activities as we can as learn as much as we can about the university where we are fellows," said Keaster. "They say cut a swath five miles wide, one inch deep. On the whole, learn as much as one can abo ut what goes into administration at the university."

During his year at Auburn, Keaster plans to study decision-making, leadership styles, problem-solving, budgets and financial reporting, institutional advancement and development and administrative services. One of the specific tasks he has been assigned a t Auburn is to work with the semester transition team.

Keaster says he hopes to be able to move, at some point, into administration at Southeastern Louisiana.

AU alumnus Paul Rudolph leaves architectural legacy of modernism

Auburn alumnus and world famous architect Paul Rudolph died of cancer in August at a New York hospital. He was 78 and lived in Manhattan.

Rudolph had agreed months ago to be the lead architect for Auburn's new art museum, but he was forced to pull out of the project because of his failing health.

A native of Elkton, Ky., Rudolph received a bachelor's degree from Auburn in 1940 and became one of the nation's most prominent architects in the 1950s and '60s.

In a half-page obituary, The New York Times said Rudolph's career "epitomized the turbulence that engulfed American modernism of the 1960s . . . With the exception of Louis I. Kahn, no American architect of his generation enjoyed higher esteem in the 1960s."

After graduating from Auburn, Rudolph served a two-year stint in the Navy during World War II. He received a master's degree in architecture from Harvard University in 1947.

Rudolph exerted most of his influence on architecture while serving as chair of the School of Architecture at Yale University from 1957 to 1965.

"His buildings, often executed in concrete with textured finish that resembled corduroy, were widely studied and imitated," said The Times.
In recent years, Rudolph's practice was largely concentrated in Southeast Asia, where respect for his strict modernist ideals endured.

Financial aid goes on-line with list-serve

Financial aid at Auburn University just got easier and faster by going on-line with a new list-serve called FINAID. The list-serve will provide students with up-to-date information and reminders over electronic-mail.

The FINAID list was designed to respond to student requests for additional methods of distributing information, said Kaye Storey, director of financial aid at AU.
The new system will also make informing students more cost-effective by cutting down on postal costs and will reach students more quickly and efficiently.

"The list-serve will ensure that students will not miss important application deadlines," said Storey. "It will also keep them abreast of changes in federal regulations that affect their financial aid eligibility."

FINAID will interest a diverse group of people, said Storey, but it is mainly intended for students who are financial aid recipients. However, she says other interested parties such as AU students, employees and faculty members are welcome to subscribe as well.

Subscribing to the service is a simple process, says Storey. To subscribe, send an e mail message to majordomo@mail.auburn.edu and type the message, "subscribe FINAID." The sender's name will be added to the list of subscribers, and he or she will begin receiving e-mail promptly.

"We hope to post something at least every week, but postings could be more frequent depending on what is going on in the financial aid community," Storey said.

Additional information is available at the financial aid office's web site at http://www.auburn.edu/student_info/student_affairs/finaid/index.html. The site provides an array of financial aid information including frequently asked questions and applicati ons that can be downloaded.

Auburn People: AU staffer turns bedtime tale into children's book

AU students encounter Donna Wilson Stokes in the Office of Career Development Services when they take career orientation tests or seek information about their careers. The AU staffer is also becoming popular with a different age group as the author of a little book aimed at pre-schoolers.

Stokes recently wrote and published the children's book Airabella Goes To School and has attracted a growing audience of young children and their parents in readings and signings at area bookstores.

The book is a retelling of a bedtime story she created for her daughter Courtney seven years ago, when Courtney was five. The story describes a young fairy, Airabella, whose wings have not grown enough for her to join her friends at school.
With a special gift from her grandmother, Airabella is able to overcome the handicap and go to school.

Stokes said the book encourages children to look forward to school and to accept others regardless of their differences.

Although her daughter encouraged her to share the story with others, Stokes resisted until last year, when her second child was born. While home with the baby during maternity leave, she put the story to paper and began researching ways to get it publish ed.

"The easiest part was the writing," she said. "I had to learn a lot to get it into print, but it was all worthwhile."

After her lone contact with a large commercial publisher yielded a form letter, Stokes turned to resources and staff in AU's Draughon Library to learn how to publish and copyright the work herself.

For art, she contacted a cousin, Marty Stephens, who is a commercial artist in Texas. She sent him the text and a rough draft showing her conception of Airabella, and received back a set of vibrant pastel drawings to accompany the text.

Stokes established her own publishing company, DonnaJill Publications, and had the book printed in Montgomery. The first books arrived on July 3, barely in time for her first reading at a commercial bookstore, she noted. "It came right down to the wire ," she added.

The book is available at several area bookstores, and the number of stores carrying it has expanded as parents and teachers in a broader area learn about the book and ask for it.

Campus Views: What if Auburn lost to Kent State in football?
By Wayne Flynt

It is no wonder Alabamians have no idea what is going on in higher education. There are as many versions of reality as there are Alabama politicians.

One group tells us we spend more on higher education than most states. Another tells us spending per student is well below regional averages. Soon we will have yet another politically appointed committee study to tell us what to believe.

I really don't need another study. I know very well what is happening, at least in my department. We just completed a survey of all history departments in Southeastern Conference universities, plus Florida State. The reality is this:
Professors at Auburn University teach an average of one-third more courses each year than do professors at peer institutions. No other school has loads as heavy -- not even Ole Miss, Mississippi State or Arkansas. And Auburn professors receive approxima tely 15 percent less salary, on average.

Those facts explain why two of our best history faculty members left Auburn for other schools this spring. One was a Rhodes scholar from Oxford University, and a highly regarded teacher. Although she was satisfied with life in Auburn, she left for Kent State University, where she will teach a lighter load, have a sabbatical program for research, and make about $8,000 more next year. Another senior professor in Latin American history, the author of eight books and an excellent teacher, who watched his p rograms being cut, left Auburn for the University of South Florida and a substantial salary increase.

If Auburn's football team lost to Kent State or South Florida because coaches were paid less or Auburn had inferior facilities, heads would roll. But being out-recruited academically by these schools seems not to matter at all.

The lack of adequate staffing in our department next year produced the following situation: Of 27 faculty, six (22 percent) will be novice, temporary, full-time teachers. Those six will teach 26 of the 38 world history sections (most with 200 students or more in each section.) That is 68 percent of the total. Temporary instructors will teach 20 percent of the technology and civilization courses. Temporary instructors will teach an estimated 5,720 students in freshman sections next year. They will also teach 11 sections of advanced history with an estimated enrollment of 330.

No doubt they will all do the best they can. Some will do fine. Others will likely be overwhelmed by classes of 200 and more. As for efficiency, I had this thought: Why not pull all 3,300 new freshmen who will take core courses this year into Jordan Hare Stadium and teach them at one time? Think how efficient that would be!
Some would argue that professors teaching graduate or upper-level courses should be transferred to freshman courses. But such changes merely erode quality at a different level. Even though I usually teach upper level and graduate courses, next winter qu arter I will drop one of those in order to teach 200 freshmen. Not that I mind teaching freshmen.

In fact, I greatly enjoyed teaching freshman history during 16 of my 32 years in the profession. Bur when senior professors teach freshmen, other courses suffer. In my case, the dropped course is Alabama history, which is required for many education stu dents. Two years ago, the department offered four sections of Alabama history, but an early retirement/buyout last year eliminated my fellow professor who has not been replaced. The result is that a course formerly offered four times a year, with maximu m enrollment every time it was offered, will now be scheduled once a year, with likely graduation delays for students required to take it. To eliminate the graduate program would make Auburn the only university in the Southeastern Conference to have no g raduate work in history.

Similar staffing problems have prevented the department from offering courses in Asian history for the last two years. Knowledge of Asian languages, history and culture will likely be key components of the new economic order of the next century. But suc h skills will be difficult to obtain at Auburn.
Is all of this just "business as usual"? Absolutely not. In my two decades at Auburn, the department has never employed so many temporary instructors. It has never had so many students in huge survey sections with inexperienced teachers. It has never had so much difficulty scheduling upper-level courses that students need to graduate.

The current debate comes down to two issues. If there is significant mismanagement and inefficiency at Auburn, then we can maintain the same educational quality for less money. If there is not significant mismanagement and inefficiency, then funding red uctions will quickly and certainly erode quality. I cannot speak for any other departments. But students enrolling in history courses at AU this fall will enroll in a department suffering a measurable decline in quality. Alabamians in general, and Aubu rn people in particular, will sooner or later have to face that fact -- not in abstract and esoteric debates about per-capita or per-student expenditures.

My hunch is that our department isn't an exception to this stark reality. We are simply the first to admit to the public what all of us know privately.

Unsung Hero: Nadine Cooper, HHP schedule coordinator

This week's Unsung Hero is Nadine Cooper, schedule coordinator in the Department of Health and Human Performance. She was recognized in May for completion of 30 years as an AU staff member. She was asked:

I get the greatest satisfaction in my job when... "I know I've done my job well and have managed in the process to make someone's day a little brighter."

In my job area, quality is measured by... "the ability to plan and implement course schedules that provide students with access to classes they need while at the same time maintaining an acceptable balance between our faculty's teaching loads and their r esearch, extension and other responsibilities."

If I could change one thing about Auburn or my job, it would be... "to have more opportunities in my job to interact with students."

I've always wondered why... "the Legislature does not seem to recognize the enormous contribution Auburn makes to the state and region as reflected by their chronic underfunding of Auburn's programs."

When people come to campus, I want them to... "experience Auburn's beauty and hospitality and take with them a positive impression of Auburn."

In my spare time I like to... "read, play the piano, and spend time with my family."

Semester Answers

Q: Why is Auburn making the change from quarters to semesters and what are the benefits of a semester system?

A: The first and foremost reason for changing to a semester system is to provide the most effective educational environment for students. Most higher education institutions already are on semesters or, like Auburn, are in the transition process. There are many advantages. A short list includes: Auburn's calendar will mesh with those of other institutions, including Alabama's community colleges; students will have more time between class meetings for review and preparations; and faculty will have more tim e during the student for in-depth coverage of subject matter.
Semester Answers is presented by the AU Semester Transition Committee to address questions about the semester transition, which will occur in August 2000.

Submit questions about the semester transition via e-mail to semester@mail.auburn.edu .

A question submission form also is available on the semester transition web site at: http://www.auburn.edu/academic/provost/semester/ .

Campus Roundup

Nominations sought for teaching awards
The Auburn Alumni Association is seeking nominations for Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Awards. Students, alumni and others are invited to submit nominations for professors from each of Auburn's colleges and schools. Twelve awards with $500 each will be presented in early 1998. For information, contact Liz Peel at 844-1146.

Accounting system to go off-line Oct. 2-6
The Business and Finance Division will be processing the accounting fiscal 1996-97 year-end closing as of 7 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 2. Accounting information will not be available via AIMS the following Friday and Monday. Account information for the 1997- 98 fiscal year will be available via AIMS on Tuesday, Oct. 7. Direct questions to Information Systems Support at 844 5661.

University Club kicks off 1997-98 schedule
The University Club will kick off its 1997-98 schedule with "dinner on the hill" at Pebble Hill at 5 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 28. Cost per member, spouse or date is $10. Cost per guest is $11. Reservations should be made not later than Thursday, Sept. 25, by sending a check to Dwight Norris, Department of Management, AU College of Business.

NCAA Division I Athletics Certification Program
Auburn University recently completed the self-study report as called for in the NCAA Division I Athletics Certification Program. Copies of the self-study report are available for review in the following locations: Office of the Vice President for Admini strative Services; Office of the Director of Athletes; Office of the Associate Athletics Director and Senior Woman Administrator; Office of the Chair, Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics; Reserve Section, Draughon library; World Wide Web at http://www. auburn.edu/administration/president/committees/ athletics. The self-study report will be validated in October by a peer review team that has been appointed by the NCAA Committee on Athletics Certification. Questions, comments and suggestions concerning t he self study report should be directed to Jim Ferguson, Vice President for Administrative Services and Chair, NCAA Division I Athletics Certification Program Steering Committee, by e-mail at Ferguji@mail.auburn.edu or by phone at 844-4190.

Career Expo '97 scheduled for Oct. 7
Dennis Drake of Student Career Services requests that faculty announce the upcoming Career Expo '97 to their classes. This year's Career Expo will be at the AU Hotel and Conference Center on Tuesday, Oct. 7, from 2 p.m-5 p.m., and 6 p.m.-9 p.m. Drake de scribes the event as an ideal time for students to "break the ice" with employers and to make initial contact before formal interviews begin in the Placement Office. Students should dress professionally and bring copies of their resumes.

Spirit of Excellence recipients announced for August

Auburn's Spirit of Excellence award recipients for August were Izeal Dowdell, AU Building Services; Donna Rogillio, Agriculture Administration; Willie Levett, Fisheries Research; and Cathy Simmons, General Biology.