AU Report

Editor: Roy Summerford. Contributing editors: Bob Lowry, Janet McCoy, Mitch Emmons and Richarde Talbot.

The AU Report is published by the Office of University Relations at Auburn University. Issues appear biweekly. Official distribution by campus mail includes free distribution to full-time faculty and staff at campus offices. Copies are also 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, AL 36849-5109, e-mail: summero@mail.auburn.edu phone 334/844-9999.

Auburn will continue to face financial challenges as it heads into the 21st century, but there is still much that can be accomplished, according to a report of the 21st Century Commission.

The 18-member commission -- composed of a cross-section of representatives of campus constituencies and headed by President William Muse -- will submit its report for review by representatives of faculty, staff and student organizations before presenting the recommendations to the Board of Trustees during the coming academic year.

Muse said the recommendations reflect the thinking of a broad range of campus constituencies in light of current and expected realities. "The commission members devoted a great deal of time and effort into producing a document which will help us plot a c ourse for the future. Even as we gain additional input over time, the core document should serve us well in directing our effort in the 21st century."

The commission, which met 18 times and heard from all vice presidents, deans and other administrators since it was organized in July 1992, examined 10 areas: AUM and its relationship to the main campus; university outreach; research; enrollment; finances; academic programs; the graduate school; library resources administrative support units; and intercollegiate athletics.

Finances will be the predominant concern of the university and will influence the character of all other developments, the report notes.

"(I)t may safely be concluded that the degree to which the university is able to achieve its primary goals will be a function largely of utilizing more effectively revenues that are likely to grow, at best, only at inflation level rates," the report says.
Although the commission did not rank its recommendations, the report states: "Preservation of program quality must be the university's overarching priority."
The report recommends that, as long as resources remain limited, program offerings should be restricted to those that can be maintained effectively within available funding.

Addressing academic programs, the report states: "As resources become available, they should be directed toward maintenance of existing quality and strengthening of undergraduate education."

In evaluation of academic programs, the report stressed the relevance of courses to the occupational needs and opportunities of graduates; the potential for cooperative relationships with AUM and other institutions; interdepartmental cooperation; employe r satisfaction with AU graduates and graduates' satisfaction with their university experience; programs central to the university's mission; and Auburn's niche in Alabama higher education.

The report recommends that Auburn become more aggressive in identifying and recruiting better prepared students and that student financial assistance be increased significantly. Expansion at the graduate level would be restricted to areas where Auburn ca n gain national prominence.

Research would be expanded in strong disciplines, fields associated with the land grant mission and in areas identified as responsive to the needs of the people of Alabama.

The report also says future outreach efforts should weigh the impact of technology, competition, the expansion of audiences through lifelong learners and professional renewal requirement, the changing character of programs traditionally associated with la nd-grant universities, and the potential for loss of federal funding for traditional extension activities.

Several recommendations reflect actions and trends begun or accelerated since the commission was organized. These include establishment of program priorities, tuition increases that move AU closer to the regional average for peer institutions, increased private giving and endowment levels and a review of administrative and support functions, with some, such as health services, downsized or privatized.

REPORT OF RECOMMENDATIONS

The Twenty-First Century Commission began its work with an initial
meeting on July 21, 1992, and after 17 meetings now has completed its
assignment. The Commission, broadly representative of major constituent
groups, established the parameters for and oversaw a comprehensive planning
process that involved every Auburn University unit. The Commission heard
reports by all vice presidents, by deans of the schools and colleges, and for
other administrative units. The work of the Commission was segmented into
major areas as noted below:

A. AUM and its relationship to Auburn University

B. University Outreach

C. University Research

D. Student Enrollment

E. The Prevailing Fiscal Environment

F. Academic Programs in the Schools and Colleges

G. The Graduate School

H. Library Resources

I. Administrative Support Units

J. Intercollegiate Athletics

After nearly 50 hours of formal deliberation, during which a wide
assortment of issues was placed before it, the Commission has agreed upon a set
of recommendations to be presented for consideration by the Board of Trustees.
These are grouped into general categories and are identified below.

Finances

As the current century gives way to the new one, the predominant
concern that will influence the character of all other developments is the
availability of funding. Stated only slightly differently, it safely
may be concluded that the degree to which the University is able to achieve its
primary goals will be a function largely of utilizing more effectively revenues
that are likely to grow, at best, only at inflation level rates. Given that
Auburn, by most indices, is already underfunded, this represents a particular
and foreboding challenge as the University moves toward the Twenty-First
Century. The Commission makes the following recommendations:

1. Preservation of program quality must be the
University's overarching priority. If fiscal resources remain persistently
limited, then program offerings must be restricted to those that can be
maintained effectively within available funding.

2. To undergird decisions guiding placement of fiscal resources,
the planning and priority setting activities currently underway must continue.
Program priorities should be established in the context of the University's
mission statement, and the planning, evaluation, prioritizing and budgeting
functions must be interrelated and institutionalized.

3. An incentive budgeting/spending approach should be effected at
an early date to encourage innovative practices, greater cost efficiencies and
program restructuring.

4. Efforts must be intensified to increase revenues from all
available sources -- state appropriations, student tuition and fees, private
giving, and return on in-vested capital. This will require, as a minimum,
well-organized and focused efforts to mobilize Auburn's alumni and supporters,
to assure that the University receives its fair share of state funding.

5. A student tuition policy should be effected that incorporates
the following provisions: (1) An orderly plan that would move tuition rates at
Auburn as quickly as feasible to levels that reach or exceed the regional
average for peer institutions. (2) Differential tuition rates that assess
tuition more nearly proportionate to varying costs of providing instruction in
different programs. (3) Regularized or automatic inflationary level
adjustments.

6. The University's private giving and endowment levels must be
increased aggressively, to provide a solid base of continuous support that will
develop and maintain dimensions of excellence, especially during times of
severe funding shortfalls from other sources.

7. Within the context of available resources, the University's
facilities and human capital must be accorded special attention. To that end,
provision must be made to address methodically the increasing deferred
maintenance backlog and the lack of competitiveness in employee compensation.
It is suggested that the University's annual budget for facilities maintenance
be increased incrementally, to approximately $10 million.
At the same time, faculty and staff salaries should be
increased to levels that compare favorably with appropriate reference groups.

8. Administrative and support functions that are deemed to be of
lesser priority should be restructured, downsized, consolidated or phased out.
Resources recaptured by the these efforts should be redirected to support
priority instructional programs.

9. Student aid and scholarship programs must be expanded
significantly to assist Auburn in remaining reasonably accessible to a large
proportion of the state's academically eligible students. The Honors Program
should be expanded greatly, to include a larger portion of those eligible to
participate.

Academic Programs

The substance of the University is its academic programs. The
institution's character is determined by the effectiveness with which the
curriculum is configured and knowledge transmitted to those who study here.
Over the years, Auburn has become recognized widely for the overall quality of
our instructional programs, particularly at the undergraduate level. The
Commission places as its highest priority the preservation and enhancement of
this dimension of the University.

1. Auburn's hallmark, strong undergraduate instructional programs,
should be guarded carefully. As resources become available, they should be
directed toward maintenance of existing quality and strengthening of
undergraduate education.

2. Extreme caution must be exercised in consideration of new
program commitments. In the face of limited funds, program reviews and
institutional priorities should provide a basis for program consolidation
and/or termination.

3. Auburn, as a comprehensive land-grant university, should
continue to emphasize its research mission; however, support for research
should not be permitted to detract from or diminish Auburn's commitment to
quality instruction.

4. In the evaluation of academic program offerings, the following
must be considered: (1) Present and emergent occupational needs and/or
opportunities and the characteristics required of graduates to meet them. (2)
Po- tential for cooperative relationships with other institutions in the state,
and particularly with AUM. (3)
Opportunities for greater interdepartmental collaboration and
sharing of resources. (4) Employer satisfaction with Auburn graduates and
graduates' satisfaction with their University experience. (5) Programs of
particular strength and those central to the University's mission. (6)
Auburn's unique niche in the state's higher education milieu.

5. Program viability analysis and institutional priorities should
provide the basis for funding allocation/reallocation decisions. Programs
duplicated widely throughout the state and/or producing graduates for
which the demand is low, should be considered as targets for elimination.

6. Student learning opportunities should be augmented by greater
reliance upon technological advances; innovative configuration and scheduling
of courses, and courses at non-traditional times; academic support systems,
such as the proposed "academic success center;" and greater mentoring, work
experience and internship opportunities.

7. A well-considered and systematic enrollment management plan
must be effected to assure that student enrollment levels are controlled, and
that they coincide with resources available.

8. Programs that increase student retention and graduation rates
should be implemented. These would include counseling, intervention, mentoring
and other personal and academic assistance efforts.

9. Deans' offices, together with other academic support units,
should be reviewed for downsizing, thereby freeing resources for the primary
functions of the institution.

10. Benchmarking information should be assembled promptly, as a
basis for identifying opportunities for efficiencies and as measures of program
effectiveness.

11. The mission clarification and prioritizing processes should
identify academic programs at Auburn that have a legitimate opportunity to
become prominent on a national or international basis.

12. Rapidly escalating costs of providing library resources are
taxing the University's ability to remain competitive with other members of the
Association of Research Libraries. There must be increased reliance upon
technology and resource sharing to maintain a first-rate
library for students and scholars, within available funding.

13. Efforts should be made to assure that students stay on track
and graduate in a reasonable time.

Students

Students are the lifeblood of a university. They determine an
institution's general nature and become the school's alumni. Over the years,
Auburn University has successfully attracted and assisted in preparation of
outstanding young men and women who have gone on to leadership roles and
prominence in all fields of human endeavor. To assure continuation of that
status, the Commission offers the following recommendations:

1. Auburn should become more aggressive in identifying and
recruiting the better prepared student. While the University should remain
accessible to those who can benefit from study here, the more academically able
should be targeted during expected periods of limited resources.

2. Available student financial assistance programs must be
augmented promptly and dramatically. If the University is to have any chance
of achieving its academic aspirations, funding for scholarships, fellowships
and other aid programs must be increased significantly.

3. The portion of overall enrollment represented by non-Alabamians
could be impacted negatively by recently enacted state legislation.
Recruitment, student aid and retention efforts must be effected to minimize the
potential loss of students (and revenues) due to new residency statues and
policies.

4. Program, policy and recruitment activities all should be
dedicated to the increase of racial diversity among the student body. To be
successful in recruitment and retention of minorities, the University must
provide strong support systems, including financial assistance.

5. Non-classroom activities should receive special attention,
providing opportunities for students to develop leadership traits and to mature
socially, morally and culturally. The warmth and esprit de corps of the
"Auburn Spirit" should be nurtured, particularly as the University grows
in size and increasing numbers of students are housed in more isolated
off-campus areas.

6. Students at the graduate level should be recruited and
supported for programs identified as University priorities. Expansion at the
graduate level should be restricted to areas where Auburn has a legitimate
chance of gaining national prominence. Growth in graduate enrollment should be
tied closely to expansion of the University's research program and the needs of
the State.

Research and Outreach

Auburn, as a land-grant university, embraces the tripartite mission of
instruction, research and extension. While primacy must be accorded the
instruction function, and particularly at the undergraduate level, the
University does bear significant responsibility for research and outreach
activities. To that end, the following recommendations are presented:

1. The research function should be expanded, particularly in
strong disciplines, those fields typically associated with Auburn's land-grant
role, and in areas responsive to the needs of the people of Alabama.

2. There should be concerted effort to increase cooperative
interdisciplinary and inter-institutional research initiatives that bring
together resources capable of addressing major state or national problems.
Consortia should be developed to increase competitiveness for external funding.

3. Research programming should be expanded in two distinct
directions: (1) In relationships with private enterprise and industries,
increased attention should be directed to solution of practical problems
through applied research. (2) Without neglecting traditional areas of
strength, research programs should be expanded selectively into other academic
disciplines.

4. The University's research efforts must support instruction and
outreach. Particularly, research programs should be the foundation for
outreach activities, and provide opportunities for undergraduate and graduate
students to gain experience by participation in research projects.

5. The future of University outreach should be considered very
carefully, weighing the impact of forces emerging in this arena: (1)
Technological advances enabling rapid communication to any place at any time.
(2) Competitiveness caused by expansion in numbers and types of institutions
involved in extension efforts. (3) Expanded audiences brought about by
life-long learners and professional renewal requirements. (4) The changing
character of state cooperative extension services, and other programs
traditionally associated with land-grant universities. (5) Potential for loss
of federal funding for traditional extension activities.

6. While focus should remain on traditional, full-time, resident
students, the needs of nontraditional students should be addressed by
implementation of an assortment of new and innovative program delivery
mechanisms, including greater reliance upon serving students at remote sites
and on schedules and calendars convenient to the learner.

7. The cooperative extension service model should be expanded for
delivery of assistance to local governments, businesses, industries and the
citizens of the state, bringing expertise at Auburn to address problems in a
wide range of disciplines, and as a basis for gener- ating funding to
support these activities.

8. University outreach should develop sound cost recovery systems,
and tap contract and grant opportunities to generate revenues needed to support
increasingly enlarged scope and type of programs delivered and audiences
served. Program development should be limited to initiatives that can be
effectively supported.

9. Faculty reward systems should be structured carefully to assure
that there is proper balance among the incentives to recognize and compensate
individuals for achievements in instruction, research and outreach activities.

Other Areas

1. Because Auburn University is comprised of two campuses -- each
separately accredited, with unique clientele, role mission and resources --
considerable autonomy of operations is expected. However, there should be
closer cooperative planning to capitalize on resources of each campus. This
should include consideration of common calendars, joint and/or cooperative
academic programs, a common core curriculum, and sharing of other resources.

2. Auburn University must continue to embrace an intercollegiate
athletics program of national prominence, fiscally self-supportive and
operating completely within University, Conference and NCAA rules, policies and
processes.

3. There should be undertaken a thorough and comprehensive review
of physical plant operations and costs to ascertain if increased efficiencies
and savings can be realized. Such an analysis should include development of
comprehensive benchmarking data from which valid assessment can be made of
local operations.

4. Consideration of outsourcing some administrative, auxiliary and
physical plant operations should weigh the potential for efficiencies and cost
reduction against possible loss of control and traditional aspects of the
University.

5. Methodical and thorough review and revision of the University's
staff personnel policies must be accorded high priority. An updated personnel
policies manual should be prepared for distribution at an early date.

6. Administrative processes throughout the University should
undergo immediate scrutiny to identify methods of modernizing systems,
increasing efficiency of operations and reducing bureaucratic processes.
Change should be a function of feasibility, economic considerations, and
potential for improving operations.

7. Organizational structure should not be a barrier to increased
efficiency and effectiveness of operations and program delivery. Recasting of
functions through mergers or other regrouping alternatives should be considered
as a basis for reducing cost and enhancing operations.

8. A campus facilities master plan should be completed at an early
date. This plan should be economically pragmatic and should be predicated on
the goal of achieving greater efficiencies in use of existing facilities, and
in recognition of substantial unaddressed deferred maintenance of existing
facilities.

AU Athletic Director David Housel says that although it is still too early to say, it looks as if the Auburn gymnastics team will relocate practice facilities to the auxiliary gymnasium between Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum and the Martin
Aquatics Center. The team lost its facility and all equipment when the old Sports Arena burned to the ground Saturday evening.

The origin of the fire was in the rear of the building and the cause was an ignition source from the exterior of the building, according to a release by the Auburn Fire Division and the Alabama State Fire Marshall's Office. Officials said the most probabl e cause of the fire was a barbecue grill placed too close to the building.

"The old sports arena had been our home for 11 years," said Auburn Head Gymnastics Coach Robert Dillard. "I got to the fire shortly after it started. I was going to move the gymnastics van, but I remembered the key was in the office.

"As soon as I saw the fire I knew there was no way to save the building. We had worked so hard to fix up the building with new equipment. While everyone else was crying, I was wondering where we were going to practice. We lost everything, but the uniforms , which I keep at home."

Dillard and Housel met with the gymnastics team Sunday afternoon to inform them about efforts already underway to relocate the practice facilities and the purchase of new equipment.

"I told them to stop worrying about the fire and focus on school," Dillard said. "I told them we would be conditioning for the next two weeks until a temporary facility can be found and equipped. This team has outstanding talent and this fire might just p ull them together. I have received total commitment from the university to help the gymnastics program."

"I was shocked when I saw the fire," said junior gymnast Erin Gannon. "It was sad to sit there and watch it burn. That building was like a second home to me."

"All I can say is it was devastating," said senior gymnast Jenessa Collins. "We had just practiced there that morning and had commented how nice the new equipment looked. All we could do was sit and watch (the fire)."

"We have lost a building that holds a lot of meaning to those who graduated in the 1970s and before," Housel said. "Sorority rush bids were given out there... Auburn women's basketball began there... basic physical education courses were taught there. It was one of the last World War II structures in use on campus.

"We have already had a number of calls from Auburn people asking how they can help. Auburn's greatest strength has always been its people," Housel said. "Just as the legendary Phoenix rises from the ashes, so will the Auburn gymnastics team, but stronger and better."

Alumni and friends of Auburn wishing to assist the program may contact Housel or Larry Long, director of athletic development. Checks should be made payable to Auburn University (Gymnastics).

-- AU Athletics Media Relations

AU will seek a strong push from its alumni and friends to get the university off a "starvation diet" of state funding, President William Muse told county Auburn committees on Sept. 7.

Noting that funding cuts are hurting AU's competitive standing in the region, Muse issued a call to arms to the 1,200 assembled agricultural and community leaders at Ham Wilson Arena. "Today, I am announcing that we are determined to undertake efforts tha t will vigorously and actively oppose the current funding trend, and I invite you to join us," he said.

"I have directed Buddy Mitchell of our Governmental Affairs staff and Betty DeMent of Alumni and Development to initiate a program that will mobilize Auburn people throughout Alabama to become involved in political decisions," Muse said. "This is our hig hest priority -- one that is calculated to make a difference in Montgomery."

Mitchell said the county Auburn committees have played a limited role in support of legislation over the years and have the potential to rally support for AU in their counties, especially if they work in concert with alumni groups.

"Many of the members of the county committees have said they want to do more to help Auburn, and President Muse let them know that we will be calling on them for their assistance," Mitchell said. "It will take a grassroots campaign to get Auburn's messag e heard before the legislature, and the county leaders have the ear of their legislators. We will be looking to them for a very active role in the future."

Muse told the county committee members that decreased state funding in 1995-96 and level funding in the coming year is having a negative impact on Auburn's quality. He cited student difficulty in scheduling needed classes, increased reliance on temporary faculty and deferred purchases of library materials, laboratory equipment and teaching supplies.

He also noted that the administration is considering reducing enrollment because of funds limitations.

Muse praised legislators who successfully fought further attempts at cutting Auburn's budget for 1996-97. Auburn supporters can help the university find additional allies before AU is subjected to another round of budget cuts, he said.

Citing the universities of Florida, Georgia and Tennessee as Auburn's keenest and most direct competition, Muse noted that each received more than $7,500 per student in state support, compared to $4,900 for Auburn. "Long-term fiscal deprivation of this m agnitude will relegate this institution to permanent second class status," he warned.

To prevent the deterioration in quality, Muse said, he is calling on Auburn supporters to organize and present AU's case to their legislators.

"Our justification is simple," he said. "Auburn University is important to this state, our programs are very good, and it is short-sighted and false economy to continue the kind of fiscal neglect currently imposed."

The rankings appear in a special section on financing college in the Sept. 23 issue of the magazine, on newsstands last Monday.

It was the third consecutive year that U.S. News has ranked Auburn nationally.
U.S. News said its best value rankings for 1996-97 were devised to "provide a realistic measure of where students can get the best education for the money."
Auburn was the only college or university in Alabama -- public or private -- listed among the magazine's top 50 "national universities." The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was No. 1 nationally.

AU President William Muse said Auburn is "gratified by this type of national recognition."

"This ranking offers independent proof of the dividends generated by the investment of state dollars in Auburn University," Muse said. "It is a credit to our students, faculty, staff and Board of Trustees that we've been able to sustain our quality and n ational rankings in an era of budget cuts and financial uncertainty."

Only schools that finished in the top half of the U.S. News initial quality rankings of national universities were considered as potential best values.

"Since the best values are, by definition, found most often among the better schools, only those in the top tier or tiers of quality rankings were evaluated," the magazine said. "In the categories of national universities and national liberal arts college s, it was the top 50 percent ..."

The rankings were calculated by dividing the quality ratings by the total tuition, required fees and room and board for the 1996-97 academic year. "The higher the ratio of quality (a school's overall score) to price, the better the value," the magazine s aid.

U.S. News also gave Auburn a favorable rating nationally in another key category -- the debt load of 1995 graduates. On average, 1995 Auburn graduates left school owing only $8,280 -- 23rd best in the country and only second to the University of Te nnessee among Southeastern Conference-member schools on the list. The worst debt load -- $26,031 -- was incurred by 1995 graduates of Case-Western Reserve University.

Another national magazine, Money , recently ranked Auburn as the 20th best public university in the nation in terms of academics and value.

Negotiations between AU administrators and East Alabama Campus Health began in July and the Board of Trustees approved a contract with the group Aug. 29.
EACH is a joint venture between Collegiate Health and East Alabama Medical Center. The university decided to privatize the center because of a $465,970 deficit during fiscal 1994-95.

Fred Kam, interim vice president for health delivery systems and corporate medical director for Collegiate Healthcare, said the Center initially will offer the same services students previously received. The company also is looking at ways to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of services currently offered as well adding services, he said

"We plan on working closely with the students and administrators to make this their center of choice, so we very much want student participation," Kam said. "We've already met with some of the student leaders and they voiced their concerns."

Kam, who is leading the transition team, said the results of such meetings will be used to frame the operation of the center. So far, students have voiced concerns about hours of operation, the fee schedule, waiting time for appointments and having an atm osphere that is more customer friendly. Many of the details such as hours of operation and the fee schedule are not yet known.

Drake Center employees will remain on staff under EACH's management for a six month period as previously agreed. Employees will be evaluated during that six month period and some will receive offers to become employees of EACH, Kam said.

AU faculty may continue to use the center, as in the past, for services such as job injury situations and preventative vaccinations like flu shots.

"We are pleased to have the opportunity to operate and manage the health service here at Auburn, and we look forward to working with the students," said Kam. "We realize there will be challenges to face, not limited to but including, changing from a pre- paid facility to a fee for service facility utilizing students' existing health insurance coverage."

Previously, the university administration had allocated $20 from each student's fees per quarter for unlimited visits to the center.

AU kicked off its 1996-97 United Way campaign on Sept. 17 with a $125,000 goal.
The AU target is part of a $730,663 goal for United Way of Lee County, which kicks off its campaign on Thursday to support 41 local service and charitable agencies.

The campaign will run through Thanksgiving.

This year's campaign adopts the theme "Mission Possible" to signify that the goal is attainable, said Jim Ferguson, vice president for administrative services and co coordinator of the campus campaign. Susie Hall, executive secretary in the Office of Administrative Services is the other co-coordinator.

Ferguson said the campaign has four key messages for donors:

* United Way makes sure the money you give is well spent.

* Through United Way, you are helping people who really need help.

* Your United Way donation works here in your community.

* United Way keeps fund-raising costs low, so nearly all your contribution goes to community charities.

Collection as in the past will be through volunteers within each unit, and donors will have the option of giving through payroll deduction, Ferguson said.

Twenty-one volunteers are coordinators within the major units on campus. They are: Allison Franks, College of Liberal Arts; Pete Pepinsky, President's Office; Ralph Foster, University Outreach.
John Owens, Engineering; Stewart Schneller, Sciences and Mathematics; Jim Hardin, Student Affairs; Dianne Townsend, College of Business; Kent Hanby, Forestry; Charles Bruce, Business and Finance; Angela Courtney, Library; Trish Stough, Research; Bill Comp ton, Administrative Services; Ken Pylant, Alumni and Development; Fred Harshbarger, Veterinary Medicine.

Dot Cavender, Human Sciences; Charlotte Curry, Education; Janine Slick, Agriculture; Margaret Manley, Provost's Office; Glen Boyd, Architecture, Design and Construction; Jack DeRuiter, Pharmacy; and Karen Williams, Nursing.

Agencies that will receive support from the local campaign are:

The Achievement Center for job training for persons with disabilities; American Heart Association; Andrew Willis Fund for emergency medical assistance to needy children; Auburn City Schools Dental Care Unit; Auburn Day Care Centers; Auburn Dixie League B aseball/Softball; Beauregard Dixie League Baseball/Softball; Boys/Girls Club of Greater Lee County.

Camp ASCCA for children and adults with disabilities; Center for Cultural Enrichment, Education and Experience for at-risk adolescents and their families; Charity Fund food pantries; Chattahoochee Council, Boy Scouts; Concharty Council, Girl Scouts; Child Advocacy Center for child victims of crime; Crisis Center listener service; Dental Clinic of Lee County School System.

East Alabama Food Bank; East Alabama Medical Center Auxiliary for volunteer assistance to EAMC patients; East Alabama Mental Health-Mental Retardation Center; East Alabama Services for the Elderly; East Alabama Task Force for Battered Women; Health Care C enter Auxiliary for services to residents of Lee Manor Health Care; Hospice of EAMC to assist the terminally ill and their caregivers; Joyland Child Development Center for child care for working low-income families.

Junior Achievement; Lee County AIDS Outreach; Lee County Chapter, Easter Seals; Lee County Chapter, American Red Cross; Lee County Children's Camp; Lee County Human Services Coordination-Community Clearinghouse; Lee County Literacy Coalition; Lee Scan/God parent Project to prevent child abuse; National Kidney Foundation of Alabama; Opelika City Schools Dental Health Care; Opelika Dixie Youth Baseball.

Project AIM for young children with disabilities; Project Uplift for troubled families and youths; Rape Counselors of Lee County; Salvation Army; Social Concerns Committee thrift shop operations; and the William Mason Emergency Aid Fund for emergency assi stance to individuals in need and camp scholarships for children with diabetes.

A federal judge has dismissed a 26-year-old racial discrimination case that was originally filed by Willie Strain, assistant director for communications for the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.

"All litigation must have an end," U.S. District Judge Harold Albritton wrote in an order dated Sept. 18.

The class action case, alleging racially discriminatory policies and practices, was filed by Strain on May 25, 1970, against the former Alabama Cooperative Extension Service. The court ruled in Strain's favor on Sept. 1, 1971, issuing an order banning dis crimination in employment practices.

In dismissing the case, Albritton noted that ACES has become "a fully desegregated organization," and there were no additional claims of discrimination pending before the court.

In 1995, another federal judge ruled as part of a broader higher education discrimination case that the former Alabama Cooperative Extension Service should be abolished and merged into the new Alabama Cooperative Extension System. The new ACES unified the efforts of AU and Alabama A&M University.

Plaintiffs in the Strain case, along with Alabama A&M, had asked Albritton to continue the case under the general desegregation case, which involves all of higher education in Alabama.

But Albritton declined, saying, "It is not appropriate for a federal court to assume the role of permanent overseer of state functions. The entity which was the subject of this suit, and which was found guilty of racially discriminatory employment practic es, the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service operated by Auburn University, no longer exists."

Albritton added that if an individual employee of the new ACES has a complaint about employment practices, a new lawsuit could be filed.

"There is no legitimate purpose to be served by keeping the case open, with this federal court looking over the shoulders of two state universities and their new entity, just in case a violation of federal law occurs sometime in the future," he said.

A cooperative effort between Alabama community colleges and Auburn University's College of Education proves that community colleges and research universities can work together successfully, says an AU faculty member who is a link between the two branches of higher education.

Ray Hackett, an assistant professor of educational leadership at Auburn, says an AU workshop for two-year college administrators helped lay the groundwork for stronger collaboration between the state's community colleges and the universities. Hackett, a former small college administrator, coordinated the workshop to help two-year college administrators develop an information base for planning and budgeting.

"Community colleges and universities really have a lot more in common and a lot less in competition than many people realize," said Hackett, who is coordinator of an AU-based consortium that studies colleges nationally.

"The universities and the community colleges each have a role in educating the citizens of this state, and the better we can make either type of institution, the better the other will also be," Hackett said. "They need each other, and the state of Alabam a needs both."

Hackett explained that, on the whole, community colleges complement universities rather than competing against them. Where duplication of programs exists, it is more between colleges of the same type rather than between community colleges and universities , he said.

He noted that many faculty and administrators at the community colleges are graduates of research universities such as Auburn, and these faculty prepare students for further study at the four-year colleges. Other students learn skills not taught in the f our-year colleges, he added.

The recent workshop for 75 two-year college administrators -- including 16 presidents and vice presidents -- is an example of how a research university and community colleges can work together to strengthen education, Hackett said. The workshop focused o n developing an effective institutional research program with limited resources and generating information to aid in decision making.

It would be too expensive and time-consuming for every community college administrator to duplicate the research base and expertise in AU's educational leadership program, but the administrators can draw upon the research and expertise of Auburn to improv e planning and operations for their own campuses, Hackett said.

"It is important for administrators at two-year colleges to understand how to use the data they generate on their campus to make the wisest, most fiscally responsible decisions and plans possible," Hackett said. "That's vital for all of us in higher educ ation as financial support from the state decreases."

Each campus generates thousands of numbers every year, detailing everything from enrollment trends by age, gender and ethnic background to the dropout and graduation rates. Hackett said college administrators must understand what is happening demographic ally on their campuses and elsewhere if the colleges are to meet the needs of their students.

Fred Gainous, chancellor of post-secondary education in Alabama and keynote speaker at the workshop, told the workshop participants that college administrators have a special duty to learn how to use data about their campus more effectively.
"An institution must be preeminent in its knowledge of itself and of what it does for its constituents," Gainous said. "It's important that we achieve...the cultivation of the ability to read and understand what the data from our campuses say."

The AU College of Business will offer two "foundation" courses during fall quarter to gauge the interest in a part-time and/or evening MBA program.

"We are doing this on a trial basis fall quarter to assess community demand," said Daniel Gropper, director of AU's MBA program.

Gropper said the College of Business will offer AC 613 -- Foundations in Accounting for Management, and EC 601 -- Foundations of Economics. Both are key foundation courses that many new students in the MBA program are required to take.

Auburn's MBA program has about 160 full-time students -- the largest graduate program on campus. It also has another 200 part-time students enrolled in the MBA outreach program, which is delivered to students across the country and world via video tapes.

Football fans attending games at Auburn this fall can for the third year make free "Saturday Seminars" part of their game day activities.

AU's Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics, Athletic Department, Alumni Association and Office of Outreach Information will present five seminars by outstanding university faculty and administrators.

The first -- featuring a presentation on the Jonathan B. Lovelace AU Athletic Museum and Hall of Honor -- was Saturday before the LSU game.
David Rosenblatt of the Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics and the AU Archives says there is a change in the seminar location and times in 1996.

"For the first time, the seminars will be held in the Athletic Complex auditorium two- and one-half hours before each game," he said.

"This year's seminars will showcase Auburn's faculty and administrators for Auburn football fans through a variety of topics demonstrating how the university reaches out to make a difference in the lives of people in Alabama and throughout the country," s aid Rosenblatt.

The remaining Saturday Seminar game dates, topics and speakers include:

South Carolina, Oct. 5: "Auburn's Wildlife and Athletic Program: What They Have in Common that Helps the State of Alabama," Harry Lee Stribling, associate professor of Zoology-Wildlife Service, and Pat Dye, former AU head football coach.

Arkansas, Nov. 2: "Pet and Human Health: New Auburn Solutions to Old Problems," Byron Blagburn, professor of Pathobiology.

Northeast Louisiana, Nov. 9: "Ensuring Academic Integrity, Institutional Control and Student-Athlete Welfare at Auburn University," Jane Moore, professor of Health and Human performance, AU faculty athletics representative, and chair, Committee on Interco llegiate Athletics.

Georgia, Nov. 16: "Old Southwest Humor," Bert Hitchcock, professor of English, AU College of Liberal Arts.

Phyllis Williams of Birmingham received her doctorate in special education during summer quarter graduation and has begun post-doctoral work at the Johns Hopkins University Medical School.

Williams, a three-time recipient of AU's Graduate Opportunity Award as a student, enrolled in the AU program four years ago after getting a master's degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She held a bachelor's degree from Oberlin College i n Ohio.

Philip Browning, head of the Department of Rehabilitation and Special Education in the College of Education, said grants from the U.S. Department of Education enabled Williams to pursue the advanced degree in special education, where minorities are signi ficantly underrepresented.

RSE Professor Craig Darch said Williams' showed exceptional scholarship and leadership at Auburn, and he predicted that she will add to the quality of work in the field of special education.

Education Dean Richard Kunkel said Auburn can have a positive impact in the preparation of outstanding minority graduates in special education. "The College of Education believes that quality minority leaders in special education are important to Alabama and the nation," he said.

Leonard Lovshin, professor of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures, and John Blake, associate professor and extension poultry scientist, are the most recent Auburn faculty members to join the elite group of Fulbright scholars.

The Fulbright Act, signed by President Harry Truman on Aug. 1, 1946, has enabled more than 200,000 scholars in the United States and abroad to live and study in foreign countries.

Lovshin, who lived in Brazil from 1972 to 1978 and speaks fluent Portuguese, received a nine-month research and lecture fellowship to the Department of Animal Science at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil. He leaves in March.

Lovshin has maintained his Brazilian contacts through the years and will be reunited with two former students from Brazil who are now faculty members at the University of Sao Paulo.

Blake, who says he has "survivable Russian language skills," has begun preparing about 40 one-hour lectures for his six-month stay as a Fulbright Lecturer at the Volgograd Agricultural Institute in Volgograd, Russia. He is preparing lectures in English, which will be translated by an interpreter, and overhead materials and slides in Russian. He leaves in February.

Blake has made numerous trips to the former Soviet Union since his first visit four years ago -- a trip he credits to spurring his interest in learning the language.

Blake said he will lecture at the university and perhaps at three poultry companies he has worked with in the past. The lectures will cover topics about new technologies in poultry production, processing, hatching and rearing birds, quality management, an d feed and nutrition. He said he would also touch on marketing and sales -- topics which have not been introduced to the Russian people in the past.

After heading AU's Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures on an interim basis since September 1995, John Jensen has been named permanent head of the department.

James Marion, dean of the College of Agriculture, said Jensen's appointment was effective Sept. 5.

"Dr. Jensen is well trained in fisheries and aquaculture, and he has a number of years experience in the aquaculture industry in Alabama and throughout the Southeast," said Marion. "With programs in both salt water and fresh water fisheries and aquacultur e, his responsibilities will be diverse and comprehensive. Dr. Jensen has the necessary skills and the support to lead Fisheries and Allied Aquaculture into the 21st century."

Jensen, 49, takes the position left vacant by the retirement of Wilmer A. "Bill" Rogers last fall. Jensen came to Auburn in 1972 as a research associate serving as a specialist for the university's Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures in Brazil from 1972 to 1975. In January 1979, he was named Extension Fisheries Specialist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System where he developed and implemented statewide programs related to aquaculture production, processing, marketing and recreational fisheries.

Jensen holds a B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife Management from the University of Minnesota; and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures from AU.

A gift by two Maryland business executives of a multi-million dollar research and laboratory complex in Lee County will allow for future expansion in fisheries research and overall enhancement of AU's fisheries program.

Curt Hutchinson and Mark Jaber, co-owners of Wildlife International Ltd. and Solitude Creek Joint Ventures, have given AU a 50-acre-plus facility consisting of 36 ponds, laboratory and office space and 32 free-standing tanks for small scale experiments. D eveloped in 1987 to conduct studies to meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency testing requirements, the property represented a $5.9 million investment by the two companies.

On Wednesday, Sept. 25, Hutchinson and Jaber will formally present this gift to AU during a program that begins at 11 a.m. President William V. Muse will speak at the event.

"This facility will add to the numbers of ponds we have. Every pond at the North Auburn fisheries unit is in use and we have a demand for more ponds," said John Jensen, head of AU's Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures. "We have so much demand for our services because Auburn is the premier warm water facility in the United States. People want us to do things and now we'll have plenty of opportunity."

North Auburn is in dire need of renovation and this gift will allow the fisheries program to operate at the same level while those facilities are being renovated, he said.

Solitude Creek Joint Ventures leased the property to Wildlife International Ltd. for use in environmental studies involving agricultural pesticides, specifically those used in corn and cotton production, Hutchinson said.

"The EPA wanted to look at the impact of run-off in farm ponds of mainly pesticides," Hutchinson said. "Most studies are not suited to measure fish productivity and we came up with a method to do that."

Hutchinson said the company came to Auburn in 1987 because of it international reputation and its excellence in small pond management. In 1992, the EPA decided to discontinue the field testing and the company had no other use for the facility, he said.

"We feel this is a world-class research facility and someone ought to be making good use of it. We're just very proud to have the opportunity to make this gift to Auburn University and very happy that someone will benefit from this property," Hutchinson s aid.

Jensen said the Alabama Department of Environmental Management inspected the facility before the university accepted the property. It was important to ensure the tanks, ponds and grounds were not contaminated, and ADEM did not find any residual contaminat ion, he said.

"The companies took great care in operating the facility because they couldn't go into a contaminated environment to come up with credible data. They took great care to maintain the site for their operations and any future activities,"Jensen said .

AU employees will for the first time have a dental insurance option under a measure passed by the Board of Trustees on Aug. 29.

Employees will be notified of the start of the sign-up period by letter from Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Alabama, in mid-October, and coverage is expected to start on Jan. 1, said Ron Herring, AU director of payroll and benefits.

Herring said details are being worked out with Blue Cross/Blue Shield and are expected to closely resemble the plan recommended by the University Insurance and Benefits Committee in May. That plan provided for two annual checkups with X rays.

Herring cautioned that the final plan could differ from the committee's recommendation, which was based on preliminary data from Blue Cross/Blue Shield.

"One of the most unfortunate examples of the way in which we are having to scale back recruiting programs can be seen in our relationship with the Alabama School of Science and Mathematics in Mobile," he said. "We can no longer continue this program or o nes similar to it."

The College of Engineering had been hosting junior and seniors at the state magnet school in an annual intensive one-day field trip to the Auburn campus, where the students were exposed to classes, laboratories and given an introduction to the college's c omputer network.

"We also gave them a general overview of the institution and a look at campus life beyond the classroom," Walker said. "Our intent was to attract these students, who are among the state's finest, to pursue a career in engineering at the state's premier e ngineering school. It was a natural partnership."

Walker said, however, that budget cuts and proration of state funds over the past several years have caused severe restrictions to funding outlays beyond classroom instruction.

He added that the inability to bring to campus students who have demonstrated talent in science and mathematics and been recognized as gifted is particularly sobering.

"At this point I would like to point out that we are still extremely interested in bringing students like these onto the Auburn campus for an overview of engineering," he said. "These arrangements will now have to be worked out differently, with students paying their own way."

Timothy Meeks, a 1991 AU College of Business graduate, has been joined the staff of the Office of Alumni Affairs and the Auburn Alumni Association as marketing director.

For the past four years, Meeks was a member of the marketing staff for Turner Sports, an affiliate of the Turner Broadcasting System in Atlanta. While working for Turner Sports, he also worked with the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games and was mana ger of the Turner Olympic Hospitality Program.

Meeks, who is paid by the Alumni Association, will unify and expand services the association provides its members and identify other services that new and current members may need, said Genie Brock, assistant vice president for Alumni Affairs.

The listserv will also provide a forum for the discussion of AU-related issues.
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The one-acre farm plot beyond the "Hill Dorms" will be the focus of a symposium on the history and future of agricultural research.

Celebration activities include a technical seminar at 2:30 p.m., Oct. 3, in the Rouse Life Sciences Building, Room 112, by managers of similar experiments in Great Britain and Illinois.

The symposium at 1 p.m., Oct. 4, symposium at the AU Hotel and Conference Center will feature speakers from four of the world's oldest field experiments and AU scientists who have been gleaning information from the Old Rotation itself. Both the technical seminar and symposium are open to the public.

Charles Mitchell, chairman of the Old Rotation Centennial Committee, said the celebration will honor the Old Rotation and pay homage to the importance of long term research projects.

"The Old Rotation is the oldest, continuous cotton experiment in the world, and the third oldest continuous field crop experiment on the same site in the United States," explained Mitchell, a professor of agronomy and soils. The Old Rotation was placed o n the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

"The test was initiated in 1896 by Professor J.F. Duggar to investigate and demonstrate his theories about sustainable cotton production," he added. "The experiment has continued for a century with only slight modifications in the treatments used on the 13 original plots."

Sustainability, said Mitchell, has become a major concern for modern agriculture. "As our land and resource bases dwindle, and as world populations increase, many people are concerned about our ability to feed and clothe the world," he said.

Data from the Old Rotation are ideal for exploring sustainability issues, added Mitchell. "Using this long-term data, scientists can compare productivity over many years and among a variety of management strategies," he said.

For example, agronomists and other biological scientists used historical and current data to explore the soil quality issues relating to soil organic matter and fertilizer applications. In addition, ag economists have used the same data to identify best choice farm management schemes for cotton growers.

"Prof. Duggar's original objective, we believe, was to determine the effect of crop rotations and winter legumes on sustainable production of cotton in the South," said Mitchell. "In addition, fertilizer phosphorus and potassium treatments initiated in 1 925 allowed early researchers to evaluate soil fertility issues for cotton rotation systems."

Today, the site not only continues to yield research results, it also serves as a valuable field laboratory for researchers, students and visitors interested in long term, sustainable crop production systems.

"Longterm, continuous research is rare," explained Mitchell, "because it requires a long-term commitment of time, money and land. This experiment has remained intact because of the dedication and cooperation of many individual researchers and administrat ors at Auburn," he added.

This week's Unsung Hero is Steve Henderson, director of engineering computing and network services for Digital Repair and the College of Engineering. He has been at Auburn 14 years. He was asked:

I get the greatest satisfaction from my job... working with a team of bright, highly motivated individuals who consistently come up with ingenious solutions to the wide variety of challenges we face in supporting a large, highly integrated network.

In this department, quality is measured by... how quickly and how well we solve problems.

If I could change one thing about Auburn or my job, it would be... to have ways to efficiently hire, positively evaluate and retain good team members. The current personnel and evaluation systems needs some major work to meet that goal.
I've always wondered why... there is such a disparity between the competence of the politicians in Georgia and Alabama. It was not always that way. Remember Lester Maddox.

When people come to this campus, I want them to...See what I see: An outgoing and friendly place whose spirit is defined by the efforts of the many who dream of a time when our alumni are more often honored by Nobel than Heisman.

In my spare time, I like to... dream of a time when I will have more (time). With a working wife, three elementary kids and job that just gets cranked up at 4:45, I feel quite lucky when some comes my way. When it does, I find a comfortable chair and r ead. No complaints -- I'm one of the lucky ones who loves his wife, his children and his work. There's just not much time for anything else, but I really wouldn't want it any other way.

AAUW to host election issues forum
The American Association of University Women and other sponsors will host an election issues forum at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25, at the AuburnBank Center on North Gay Street. The topic is "Government and Family," with panelists Michael Martin, superint endent of Auburn City Schools; Ethel White, director of Auburn Day Care Centers; and Joel Sanders of the State Department of Human Resources. Candidates for congressional offices have been invited. Co-sponsors are the League of Women Voters; Delta Sigma Theta; AU Department of Family and Child Development; Department of Psychology, Program of Women's Studies; and the Women's Caucus.

J&M Calendars have wrong graduation date
If you plan to mark fall quarter graduation on your calendar, make sure you mark Dec. 13. Approximately 5,000 calendars were distributed by Johnston and Malone Bookstore with Dec. 16 incorrectly listed as this quarter's graduation date. Trey Johnston of J&M said the calendars were printed with a tentative date that was later changed, and the bookstore wants customers to be aware that Dec. 13 is the correct date.

Seminars on debt-free living, parenting to be offered
Personnel Services is offering free seminars to offer employees tips on how to get out of debt and how to develop parenting skills. The debt-free living seminar will be from 9 a.m.-11:30 a.m., Oct. 9, and the parenting seminar will be from 9 a.m.-11 a.m ., Oct. 23. Both will be at the AU Conference Center. For registration information, contact Jim Mitchell or Sheila Lett at 844-4145.

Campus Club has membership drive
The AU Campus Club, a social and service organization, will host a membership drive and tailgate party from 4:30-6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 24., at the AU Athletic Center. Dress will be casual, and snacks will be provided. The club, which is open to all current and retired AU faculty and their spouses, conducts a variety of social events during the year and raises funds for scholarships.

Recycling trailer schedule announced
The recycling trailer will be in the Coliseum parking lot from Sept. 23-27, at Agricultural Engineering from Sept. 30-Oct. 4 and at the Lowder Business Building from Oct. 4-7. The following items are accepted for recycling: Newspaper and telephone bo oks, mixed office paper and colored paper. Paper clips and staples do not need to be removed. Magazines and manila envelopes are not accepted at the trailer for recycling. For details, call 844-9580.

University Club opens membership Drive
The University Club will host an open house for new and prospective members from 4 p.m.-5:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 26, in Foy Union Lounge. The club is a social organization for faculty and administrative and professional staff from all areas of the unive rsity, including the Alabama Cooperative Extension System and federal and state cooperating agencies.

Supplemental Retirement seminar scheduled
Representatives of the AU-approved tax-deferred annuity companies will be on campus from 10 a.m.-noon, Oct. 8, in Foy 213. Each company's representative will give a brief overview of that company's investment plans, and a question and answer period will follow. The representatives will be available to enroll new participants.

Retirement credit for maternity leave
A recent change in state law allows active members of the Teachers' Retirement System to purchase prior service while on maternity leave without pay. This prior service must be purchased before Oct. 1. For details, call the Teachers' Retirement System at 1-800-214-2158.