February 17, 2003
Headlines AU seeks solution for AAES finances Construction continues on pace AU student wins USA Today honors

Governor on board
Gov. Bob Riley participated in his first meeting as president of the AU Board of Trustees on Feb. 7. Riley, at left, joined Board President Pro Tem Jimmy Samford, center, and AU President William F. Walker, at the head of the table for the meeting at Auburn University-Montgomery. Riley, is also the new chair of the Trustee Nominating Committee.

AU seeks AAES funding solution

The AU President's Office is preparing to name a special university committee for a fresh look at financial problems surrounding agricultural research at Auburn.

The financial problems of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station have been building for more than two decades as federal support for agricultural research programs declined to half the support level of the mid-1980s while costs keep rising with every salary increase, said interim Provost John Pritchett. State revenues have increased but not enough to keep up with rising costs, he noted.

Pritchett told the Board of Trustees Agriculture Committee on Feb. 6 that the university needs to correct the financial situation before the trend becomes irreversible by the end of this decade. With administrators and trustees in agreement, Agriculture Committee Chair John Blackwell asked AU President William Walker to appoint a special panel to develop recommendations for future budget planning. Last week, the AU president was selecting individuals to serve on the committee.

The interim provost noted that AAES staff positions declined from 408 in 1986 to 307 in 2002 and AAES faculty positions declined from 250 in 1992 to 216 in 2002. Despite the reductions, salaries now comprise most of the Experiment Station's $41 million annual budget, leaving little funding for operations and maintenance.

Pritchett suggested two primary options to strengthen the AAES budget.

One alternative would be to create salary differentials for AAES faculty and staff when the board approves pay raises that exceed funding increases from the state. Pay raises tied to tuition increases are limited to faculty and staff in Divisions 1 and 2, the academic divisions of the university in Auburn and Montgomery. Currently, Divisions 3 and 4, AAES and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, respectively, must make up the difference through other revenues or by cutting operating expenses.

With salary differentials, AAES personnel involved in teaching would receive the same raises as faculty and staff on the two campuses but only for the percentage of each employee's salary that is classified as teaching. AAES personnel engaged fulltime in research activities would receive raises equal only to the increase in state funding for that purpose.

The second alternative would be to identify alternative resources to enable AAES to provide pay raises that track those of the academic divisions. This alternative won wide support, and administrators and trustees said the committee needs to explore ways to achieve this goal regardless of other actions taken.

Pritchett said additional action is also needed once Experiment Station funding is stabilized. He suggested that AU establish a competitive research funding program within AAES. That step would involve two initiatives:

* Continue to pursue targeted state appropriations for an AAES Foundation Fund. The university would also seek to build the endowed fund through support from agricultural constituents.

* Over the following five years, shift faculty and staff support salaries to the main campus academic division.

Walker said differences in the primary constituencies served by AAES and the academic divisions would make it difficult to fully merge Experiment Station personnel into the academic division. Parents and students have made it clear that they want tuition dollars going to support the teaching mission, he said.

Site work
The area between Roosevelt Drive and Duncan Hall is taking on a different look as work crews prepare the area for construction of a new Science Laboratories Center. The center will contain teaching labs for the College of Sciences and Mathematics, replacing aging facilities that are spread across campus with state-of-the art labs. The college's headquarters building has been removed and the east end of Saunders Hall will be demolished to make way for the new facilities.

AU moves forward with construction

Several major construction projects moved a step closer to completion on Feb. 7 as part of a broad effort that AU trustees say will bring campus facilities up to 21st century standards.

Those projects, reviewed at the Board of Trustees session are part of a construction program projected to cost more than $500 million. The projects include:

* Restoration of Samford Hall. The board approved the program concept, pre-design budget and funding plan and selected the firm of Brasfield and Gorrie of Birmingham as construction managers and, as architects, Davis Architects of Birmingham and the Office of Jack Pyburn in Atlanta.

* Renovation of Langdon Hall for office space.

* Construction of a "surge space" building to house occupants of other buildings while those buildings undergo renovation.

* Renovation of Ross Hall to modern standards.

* A new building to house the Building Science Department, which now shares space in Dudley Hall.

* Infrastructure improvements to the campus storm-sewer system to prevent flooding in low-lying areas during heavy rains.

Other buildings in the construction program for the next five years include a laboratories center for the College of Sciences and Mathematics, a transportation technology center in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, a new student medical center, a large animal teaching hospital in Veterinary Medicine, heating and cooling facilities for the campus and new homes for the Poultry Science Department and the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences.

Plans extending into the next decade include renovation of campus buildings dating from the 1960s and Œ70s, including Haley Center.

USA Today taps AU student for honors

Juan Carmona, a senior in Auburn's College of Sciences and Mathematics, has been named to the prestigious USA Today All-USA College Academic First Team, featured in the newspaper's Feb. 13 edition.

Only the nation's top 20 undergraduates are chosen for the All-USA First Team. Eleven women and nine men from across the United States were selected for the team, based on academics, leadership, activities and application of their talents beyond the classroom.

"I am honored to receive this national award. This is certainly a joyous moment for my family and for the university," said Carmona, who emigrated with his family from Mexico at age 7, speaking no English. "It is truly humbling to stand alongside the greatest young minds in the country."

His parents, Juan and Elisa Carmona, live in Auburn.

"Juan's recognition by USA Today is well deserved for a student who has a passion for his studies that he translated into hard work to admirably meet the challenges of a curriculum in molecular biology," said Stewart Schneller, dean of the College of Sciences and Mathematics.

Carmona has a 3.9 GPA in molecular biology at Auburn. He is also enrolled in the University Honors College, where he encountered the most rigorous sections of the core curriculum.

Active in a variety of undergraduate research programs, Carmona has worked at the cutting edge of neurobiological and immunological research. For the past three summers, he has participated in stem-cell research programs at Princeton University and epilepsy research at Harvard Medical School.

The Auburn senior recently received national recognition for his research on epilepsy at Harvard University on how rat brains are altered during hypoxia. He won first place for his poster and was the top cell biology presenter at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students in New Orleans, sponsored by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the National Institutes of Health.

Black History Month brings array of speakers, activities to campus

Auburn is celebrating Black History Month with an array of speakers, panels and activities throughout February.

Highlights of the celebration include a series of speakers sponsored by the AU Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, the new Center for Diversity and Race Relations and Draughon Library.

Already this month, AU has hosted Lacy Ward, an authority on the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II and Maulana Karenga, the creator of Kwanzaa, which is a celebration of family, community and culture by African Americans and Pan-Africans around the world.

Auburn will also host speakers Richard Bailey, a consultant for the Center for Public Television at the University of Alabama; Samuel L. Pettijohn, the first African American to receive a degree from Auburn and a senior project manager for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission; and Nellie McKay, professor of African American and American literature at the University of Wisconsin.

Bailey will speak at 3 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 19, in the Special Collections and Archives section of Draughon Library on the topic "They Call Alabama Home: African American Profiles, 1800-1999." A lecturer and tour guide, he has appeared frequently on radio and television to discuss Alabama history, Southern history and contemporary issues. He is the author of a book by the same name as his lecture and of "Neither Carpetbaggers Nor Scalawags: Black Officeholders During the Reconstruction of Alabama."

Pettijohn will speak on "Vision, Education and Determination: The Hallmarks of Maneuvering Through an Uncertain Future" at 7 p.m. on Feb. 26 in the ballroom of Foy Student Union. Pettijohn received a bachelor's degree in physics from AU in 1967. Later, he earned a master's in engineering science from Loyola College in Baltimore. He is a Vietnam veteran, a Boy Scouts of America leader, and was awarded the NRC's Meritorious Service Award for his work to improve employment opportunities for African Americans.

McKay will speak about "Why We Need Diversity in Higher Education" on March 19 at 6 p.m. in the Foy ballroom. She has edited and written several books pertaining to African American literature and contributed numerous scholarly essays to literary journals. She is working with Stanlie James, chair of Wisconsin's Afro-American Studies department, as co-editor of the 20th anniversary edition of "All Women are White, All Blacks are Men, But Some of Us are Brave."

Other upcoming Black History Month events include Candle Light Jazz and Poetry Night, featuring author and poet Jerold M. Bryant, on Monday, Feb. 24, in the Foy ballroom, and a series of Alpha Black History Moments in War Eagle Cafeteria, sponsored by AU's Omicron Kappa Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

For more information, contact the AU Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs at 844-4184.

End approaches for AU Printing & Design

AU Printing and Design is wrapping up its operations as it prepares to close its doors for the last time on Feb. 28.

The administration announced in December that the auxiliary enterprise would close at the end of February after 30 years at AU rather than continue to operate at a deficit as it had been doing during the first quarter of the fiscal year.

As of last week about half the unit's 19 employees had been offered new jobs either on campus or in the private sector. The remainder, primarily in specialty fields in the printing industry, will either pursue jobs in that industry in other cities or change occupations to stay in the Auburn-Opelika area, said Printing and Design Director Drew Burgering.

An outplacement firm is advising the departing employees on ways to assess their skills, conduct job searches and make effective presentations to potential employers.

"These are all talented people, and they will find other jobs, in time, but this is a hard and sad time for everyone, whether they have other job offers or not," said Burgering. "They were proud of their work and proud of the university, and I am glad that we had the chance to work together. I just wish it could have been longer."

Following a review of the unit's finances and market conditions during fall semester, AU President William Walker authorized the unit's phase-out on recommendation of Executive Vice President Don Large and Bob Ritenbaugh, interim associate vice president for auxiliary enterprises. Ritenbaugh said the decision was based on economic necessity and not the unit's quality of work.

"AU Printing and Design had a long history of service to the university and was producing its best work ever," Ritenbaugh said. "We appreciate the dedication of the staff and the quality of their work, and we want to do everything we can to help them through this process. We regret that we had to close the unit, but we could not afford to subsidize an auxiliary enterprise out of funds intended for academic support."

Effective March 1, Burgering and Pam Sanford, coordinator of printing services, will transfer to University Relations, where they will assist departments in getting their publications produced at commercial printers.

Three other staff members, artists Tracey Spates and Al Eiland and typesetter Sheron Scott, will also join University Relations to perform similar duties in a new setting. At least three other AU Printing and Design employees have been offered positions at other units on campus and at least three have job offers in the private sector.

Meeting engineers
Gov. Bob Riley addresses a record crowd of more than 1,200 at the 46th Annual Transportation Conference, as Larry Benefield, right, dean of AU's Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, looks on. The conference, held last week in Montgomery, was hosted by the Office of Business and Engineering Continuing Education at Auburn in conjunction with AU's Department of Civil Engineering.

Engineering's E-Day set for Feb. 28

High school students and junior college students from across the state and region will travel to Auburn on Feb. 28 for the college's annual open house -- better known as E-Day.

The event provides students with the opportunity to learn about the campus and the exciting programs offered by the college, including the very newest program -- wireless engineering.

"E-Day is hands-down the best opportunity prospective students have to get a good overview of the College of Engineering," said Bob Karcher, director of student services for the college. "They can cover a lot of ground in a very short time. Attendance can be as high as 2,000 students."

Each year the college highlights one of its programs. This year the spotlight will be on the college's new program in wireless technology.

The program was developed with the help of industry leaders and offers hardware and software tracks as well as an option for specialization in network operations. The program prepares graduates for wireless technology careers in communications, medicine, entertainment and the military.

Students will also have the opportunity to learn more about all of the other options -- aerospace, biosystems, chemical, civil, computer science and software, electrical and computer, industrial and systems, materials, mechanical, and textile engineering.

"We did our first E-Day in 1973," says Morgan, "Recruitment is the primary goal, but teachers tell us that E-Day also sparks student interest in math and science. Personally, I enjoy the energy that the students bring with them. It is fun to watch their faces as they realize that engineering offers a wealth of exciting opportunities."

For more about E-Day contact Engineering Student Services at 844-4310 or log on to www.eng.auburn.edu/department/eday/index.html.

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