April 14, 2003
AU President to speak at convocation
Board votes for changes in Legacy Program
AU to host Model United Nations
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April 14, 2003 |
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| Headlines AU President to speak at convocation Board votes for changes in Legacy Program AU to host Model United Nations |
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President to discuss vision for AU at University Convocation
AU President William Walker will speak on "A Vision for Auburn University" at a University Convocation at 3:30 p.m. Monday, April 28, in Dixon Conference Center.
Walker, who has served as AU president since June 2002 after 15 months as interim president, will discuss goals for Auburn during his presidency and the challenges and opportunities facing the university in the near future.
Unlike meetings of the University Faculty and other large segments of the university, the University Convocation is an assembly of people from all segments of the AU community.
The presentation will examine issues, plans and initiatives from a broader perspective than the president's "State of the University" address to faculty and staff organizations.
Board of Trustees votes to change Legacy Program
Auburn's Legacy Program for children of out-of-state AU alumni will change to a merit scholarship plan this fall.
The AU Board of Trustees voted April 4 to change the formerly open-ended tuition reduction plan to a merit scholarship plan for the top 200 applicants from among entering freshman and transfer students who are dependents of out-of-state alumni.
To compete for the scholarship, applicants must have at least a 3.0 cumulative high school grade point average. Also, only those who applied by Feb. 15 will be considered. Each recipient must maintain a 3.0 grade point average at Auburn to continue receiving the new scholarship for up to four semesters.
The board also imposed a sunset provision, which will terminate the program after one year unless the trustees vote to renew it.
The scholarship plan, which goes into effect this fall, replaces an automatic tuition waiver for dependents of AU alumni who are lifetime members of the Auburn Alumni Association.
The approximately 780 students now receiving the tuition waiver will continue to receive the benefit until they graduate. Students under the Legacy Program pay twice the amount of tuition charged to in-state students, while other out-of-state students pay three times the in-state rate.
Trustees said the university needs the revenue that could come from charging out-of-state students the full out-of-state tuition. Students receiving the Legacy benefit are displacing prospective students willing to pay the higher rate, they said.
The tuition break this year resulted in $2.5 million in savings for the students and lost income for the university. Executive Vice President Don Large said the revisions would reduce the cost of the program to $1.5 million next year, based on 2002-03 tuition.
Trustee Paul Spina asked the board to continue the legacy program with revisions, if necessary, as a bridge between the board and alumni. Although smaller with the new plan, the bridge would remain open for at least another year, he said.
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Highlights of April 4 session of AU trustees
On April 4, the AU Board of Trustees:
* Changed the Legacy Program for dependents of out-of-state alumni to a merit scholarship plan and imposed a sunset restriction to the plan.
* Approved an increase in student transit fees to $45 per semester from $22 to pay for upgrades to the transit system.
* Approved increases in rental fees for student housing next fall of 4.5 percent to 8.8 percent, varying by type, to offset rising costs for utilities, communication fees and safety and security improvements.
* Approved expansion and renovation of Jordan-Hare Stadium to add 1,100 seats, 12 new east-side suites and food service areas and restrooms on the concourse.
* Authorized the administration to proceed with plans to renovate Telfair Peet Theatre.
* Approved an accelerated renovation plan costing $3.5 million for the lobby, first-floor north wing, restaurant and kitchen areas of the AU Hotel in an effort to complete the renovations before the busy fall season.
* Awarded a posthumous bachelor's degree to Ceddrick Mack, a senior and student government leader who died in January.
* Agreed to expand the James Tatum athletic training facility to provide increased academic support for student athletes.
Staff, students report for duty with military
Nine AU staff members and 45 students have been called to active duty in U.S. armed services as a result of the Iraq War.
AU President William Walker said employees called to military service through military Reserve and National Guard units will not suffer reduced income if they are earning less in military service than in their jobs at Auburn.
Walker said the university will reimburse employees under those circumstances for the difference between their military pay and their AU salaries.
The university is also refunding tuition to students who have been called to military service.
"We are very proud of our employees and students who have stepped forward to serve their country, and we intend to show our support in every way possible," Walker said.
Sanders Festival to show winning videos of nationwide competition
AU's Jay Sanders Film Festival on Thursday, April 17, will present the premiere of 16 award-winning videos by aspiring student filmmakers from across the United States.
Admission is free to the festival at the Dixon Conference Center, with the first showing at 7 p.m. The videos are all short subjects, ranging from one minute to 20 minutes, and most will last about 10 minutes, says festival coordinator Emmett Winn, an associate professor of communication in AU's College of Liberal Arts.
The Auburn Film Society and the AU Department of Communication will host a reception celebrating the film series from 5:30-6:30 p.m.
The film festival, sponsored by an endowment from Movie Gallery Inc., will showcase the top 16 videos from more than 150 entries. Those entries came from high schools and colleges across the U.S. and parts of Canada.
"Viewers will see a variety of entertaining and interesting videos from very talented students," said Winn. "Many of these would challenge established professionals in terms of quality and creativity."
Winn said he expects some of the winners to forge strong careers in the film industry.
"The festival provides a showcase for the early work of emerging talent in the field, and students have been eager to take advantage of this opportunity with some high-quality entries."
The film festival is named for an AU professor who established Auburn's first fine arts film series and encouraged student filmmaking during a 33-year career at AU. Sanders retired in 1985 as a professor emeritus but maintained a close connection with the film studies program at Auburn until shortly before his death in 2001.
AU to host students for model United Nations
For four days beginning April 23, more than 150 delegates from high schools and colleges from throughout the Southeast will symbolically represent the nations of the world as ambassadors to the Southeastern Invitational Model United Nations at AU's Foy Student Union.
SIMUN seeks to provide students with a realistic simulation of diplomacy and interaction modeled on what they would see at the United Nations. Students represent nations and receive committee assignments. Representatives research the views of their nations and present those views as accurately as possible in position papers as well as in debate in the general assembly and their committees.
"The model UN experience brings a greater understanding of not only issues, but how people interpret issues," said Winard Britt, an Auburn senior who will serve this year as the SIMUN Secretary-General. "SIMUN participants have the opportunity to be ambassadors for a few days, learn the real issues diplomats face and meet those challenges. In the process, they learn a great deal and become better-informed global citizens."
Organizers try to make SIMUN as close to the real thing as possible, Britt said. Debate is substantive and sometimes long and heated. Resolutions may be staunchly opposed and just as vehemently defended. Delegates strive to represent the views of the countries they represent. The most effective delegates are recognized with awards during closing ceremonies.
Britt, a software engineering major from Montgomery, said this year's SIMUN sessions will likely be dominated by talk of the war in Iraq. The Middle East, he added, often dominates Model UN discussions.
"I expect the situation in Iraq to have a prominent influence on the Security Council, which may request resolutions from the Social & Humanitarian Committee as well," Britt said. "Iraq was actually on the Security Council agenda before the war broke out, but obviously the war will very much intensify that discussion." SIMUN is a program of the AU Student Government Association.
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Reading Center to offer summer tutoring program
The AU Reading Center will offer low-cost tutoring during June and July for children who need extra help with reading.
In its sixth year, the Summer Reading Program is designed for children who have completed kindergarten or first or second grade and who are reading at or below grade level. The program also has a few places for older elementary students who are struggling with reading.
First- and second-graders typically gain a full reading level during the summer, said College of Education Associate Professor Bruce Murray, the program coordinator.
"Children who have just finished kindergarten will get a head start in formal reading instruction at the hands of a positive, patient, caring tutor," said Murray. "We expect all participants to improve their decoding ability, reading fluency, comprehension and enjoyment of reading through the Summer Reading Program."
Junior and senior education majors and graduate students studying reading development at AU will serve as tutors under Murray's direction.
The program features individually designed lessons with instruction in decoding and extensive, supervised practice in reading and writing.
The Summer Reading Program consists of 12 45-minute sessions. The Monday-Wednesday program will be from June 11-July 21. The Tuesday-Thursday program runs from June 12-July 22.
Children who can attend the entire program will receive priority. For information, call 844-6934 or write to Murray at 5040 Haley Center.
Detection and Food Safety Center to display advances at conference
Auburn's Detection and Food Safety Center will display the latest advances in food and livestock feed safety to representatives of industry, government and trade associations at its 2003 Technology Preview April 30-May 1 at Dixon Conference Center.
The conference will showcase AU's research and technology transfer programs and share information on industry needs and sponsored research opportunities, says Bryan Chin, center director and chair of the Materials Engineering program.
The center seeks conference participants that represent food manufacturers, packagers, labelers, transporters, wholesalers and retailers; feed manufacturers, packagers, wholesalers and retailers; diagnostic testing companies; electronics companies; food and feed safety practitioners; government agency leaders and lawmakers; trade association leaders and safety advocacy groups.
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Lockaby, Somers named acting associate deans
Forestry and Wildlife Sciences Dean Richard Brinker has named two faculty members as acting associate deans of the school.
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Graeme Lockaby, a professor and director of the Forestry Sustainability program, is the acting associate dean for research, and Greg Somers, an associate professor of forestry, is the associate dean for education.
Both appointments are 50 percent administrative, and the professors will continue with their teaching and research duties the remainder of the time, Brinker said.
The two fill the post vacated by George Bengtson, who retired in July 2001. Brinker said the position was divided into two halftime positions after an unsuccessful search for Bengtson's successor.
"We want to explore the idea of dividing the administrative responsibilities in research and education to see if we can meet those responsibilities without totally removing these very accomplished individuals from the classroom and their research," Brinker said.
Lockaby has been a member of the Auburn faculty since 1986 and has been head of the Forest Sustainability initiative in AU's Peaks of Excellence program since its inception three years ago. He holds a Ph.D. in forestry from Mississippi State.
Somers has been an AU faculty member since 1987 and previously worked as an industry forester for International Paper Co. He holds a Ph.D. in forestry from Virginia Tech.
Carmona receives Hughes Medical Institute fellowship
Juan J. Carmona, a senior in the College of Sciences and Mathematics and the University Honors College, is one of 49 students worldwide to receive a 2003 Predoctoral Fellowship from the prominent Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The fellowship will support up to five years of doctoral study.
"HHMI Fellowships are highly prestigious and are awarded under the most competitive of conditions," said Stewart Schneller, dean of the College of Sciences and Mathematics. "Consequently, we are very proud of Juan for receiving one of these fellowships, and we are pleased with his accomplishments and future plans."
At Auburn, Carmona has a 3.99 GPA in his major of molecular biology. Recently, Carmona received national attention when he won first place in cellular biology for his poster and presentation at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students in New Orleans. Carmona was also recently named to the prestigious USA Today All-USA College Academic First Team, which the newspaper terms the nation's top 20 undergraduates.
In fall 2003, Carmona will attend the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University and the Harvard Medical School as a student in the combined doctoral program in the biological and biomedical sciences. Carmona will also receive a Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Fellowship Prize from the faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard.
AU artist wins award; works displayed in Montgomery, Auburn
Works by AU artist Terry Rodriguez are on display in Auburn and Montgomery this month.
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In Montgomery, Rodriguez, art designer for the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station and the AU College of Agriculture, is one of five artists receiving an Award of Excellence from the Montgomery Art Guild as part of the guild's first Alabama Exhibition: The Face of Alabama.
Her artworks are also on display locally at Telfair Peet Theatre in conjunction with AU Theatre's production of "Trojan Women" through April 26. The exhibit on the theatre's upper landing features samples of Rodriguez's mixed media drawings and three-dimensional constructions.
Rodriguez was one of 41 Alabama artists whose work was accepted for The Face of Alabama exhibition, which presents a view of the state through the works of artists living within its borders.
The show, which opened April 3 at Troy State University at Montgomery's Rosa Parks Museum, is a collaboration between the museum and the Montgomery Art Guild. Rodriguez's work, "Clown House," is a multimedia, three-dimensional piece using a variety of found objects. The piece depicts the astounded face of a clown peering from the window of a house. The door to the house is made of a computer board, and strips of metal tape measure form the steps to the house. A moon composed of watchworks shines down on the scene.
Also at the Rosa Parks Museum, at 1 p.m., Saturday, April 19, Rodriguez and other Award of Excellence winners will discuss their works at a ceremony in their honor. On May 3 at 6 p.m., singer-songwriter and Auburn graduate Kate Campbell will perform music composed for the exhibition.
Rodriguez, who has been creating and exhibiting her art for more than 30 years, received a bachelor of fine arts from Auburn in 1969 and a master of science in textile design at Auburn in 1985. She has worked as a graphic designer at Auburn since 1972 and is the designer for the AAES magazine and other publications and projects. She has won numerous awards for her artwork, including the SouthTrust Bank Purchase Award at the Montgomery Art Guild Museum Show in 1990.
For more information, contact Georgette Norman, director, TSUM Rosa Parks Museum, at 334/241-8608.
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