Untitled Document

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Good morning! Here's today's summary of news coverage of Auburn University.
NOTE: Any errors in text are due to formatting by the publication.

Total Clips: 6

	Date	Outlet
Area ACT scores keep pace	08/17/2006	Opelika-Auburn News
University announces pay raise	08/17/2006	Troy Messenger
Auburn shares fault	08/17/2006	Anniston Star
Student removed from 'Holiday Tree' group over political party involvement	08/17/2006	Opelika-Auburn News
New development to bring Auburn freshmen on campus	08/17/2006	Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
Rapid, drastic cuts seen in U.S. peanut acreage	08/17/2006	Southeast Farm Press


Area ACT scores keep pace 08/17/2006 Opelika-Auburn News Beverly Harvey and the Associated Press		Return to Top
The ACT scores for 2006 graduates of Opelika City Schools and Lee County Schools improved slightly over 2005, while Auburn City Schools graduates score fell less than a point. Opelika City Schools graduates ACT scores improved to 19.9 in 2006 up from 19.4 in 2005, according to figures provided by OCS Accountability and Testing Coordinator Bobby Kelly. Lee County Schools 2006 graduates had an increase of 0.1 percent over the previous year with 19.2, as compared to 19.1 in 2005. While Auburn City Schools graduates ACT scores fell to 22.4 in 2006 from 23 the year before, ACS Superintendent Dr. Terry Jenkins said it was the second highest score in a five-year period. Those numbers were consistent with what was found in the state, according to the Associated Press. More Alabama high school students took the ACT college entrance exam this year than in 2005, apparently indicating a greater interest among seniors in attending college, according to test results being released Wednesday by the ACT. Alabama students scored an average overall score of 20.2, the same as the 2005 average score and below the national average of 21.1. State education officials said they were encouraged that more minority students took the test in 2006 and that their overall scores were improved. The number of black students taking the test in Alabama rose from 8,011 in 2005 to 8,240 this year. The overall picture from this report is very encouraging,' said Deputy State Superintendent Ruth Ash. 'Scores look good, more students are planning on attending college, and they are being better equipped with the key academic skills needed for their first year of college-level studies.' Overall, Alabama students did the best on the reading comprehension portion of the test, with an average score of 20.6 and did the worst on the math test, with an average score of 19.5. The results showed that in all subjects Alabama students improved or stayed the same in meeting the ACTs benchmark score, which is the level where students are considered to have a good chance of making a C or better on college level courses. This was the first year that ACT released the results of a new optional writing test and Alabama students made an average score of 23, above the national average of 22. The ACT report also showed that Auburn University was the most popular college choice among Alabama students taking the test, followed by the University of Alabama, UAB, Troy and South Alabama. The most popular out-of-state schools among Alabama students were Mississippi State, the University of Georgia and Florida State. Students taking the test were also asked what subject they planned to pursue as a major. The most popular choice among Alabama students was health sciences and allied health fields, followed by business and management.
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University announces pay raise 08/17/2006 Troy Messenger Matt Clower		Return to Top
AU faculty salary average is mentioned in this story. The faculty and staff of Troy University will start the new academic year with a 5 percent, across the board increase in pay that will become effective on Sept. 1. Troy University Chancellor Jack Hawkins Jr. made the announcement during the annual faculty and staff convocation on Monday. Hawkins said the pay raise is being made possible by the 19.8 percent increase in state funding that Troy University received for the upcoming year. "This year, we will invest two-thirds of the additional funding we received from the State of Alabama in our people through increased salaries, benefits and new personnel," Hawkins said. "Your are important and we hope you know that." For the 2006-2007 fiscal year, Troy will receive $52 million in state appropriations, up from the more than $43 million appropriated in the 2005-2006 fiscal year budget. The funding increase also allows Troy University to begin the semester without a tuition increase for the first time in over 30 years. According to information released by the university, about $6 million of the additional funding from the state will cover the cost of the salary increase, new faculty positions and an increase in the university's insurance contribution. Troy University's increased contribution to the employee's health insurance fund will lower monthly premiums for Troy employees to the state's average for public universities. University officials say about $284,000 was allocated to the insurance premiums, which combined with a $1 million contribution last year puts the family coverage premium at $235 each month. That premium has decreased in the past two years from $432 a month. At the convocation, Hawkins told faculty members that the administration remains committed to bringing Troy's salaries up to the average in the southeast, although Hawkins acknowledged that a 5 percent raise alone will not achieve that goal. We're no there yet, but we are making progress," Hawkins said. According to the Alabama Commission on Higher Education, the average faculty salary at Troy University is $51,949.48, making it the third lowest average salary in the state for a four-year public institution. Only Alabama A&M University, at $50,907.53, and the University of West Alabama, at $48,575.27, have lower average faculty salaries. Auburn University has the highest average faculty salary in the state, at $75,324.06. This is the second year Troy's faculty and staff have received an across the board raise. Employees received a four percent across the board raise at the start of the 2005-2006 academic year.
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Auburn shares fault 08/17/2006 Anniston Star Editorial		Return to Top
Anniston Star editorial comments on New York Times story. The headline was a grabber. The story was just the sort of thing that folks critical of college athletics and big-time football were sure to salivate over. On top of that, it happened down in Dixie. A bright, hard-working, deep-digging reporter for The New York Times had uncovered a major scandal at Auburn University. Auburn football players had been taking "directed readings" courses from a professor who was teaching these courses by the bucketful. Can anyone say "Pulitzer?" Sports talk shows had a field day as callers (most of them University of Alabama fans) got all lathered up at the possibility that the NCAA would do to their arch-rival what it did to the Capstone’s team a few years back. Meanwhile, down on the Plains, university officials began damage control. Which included finding out what was really going on. What they found out was this. Auburn University had a problem. But it was not with athletes getting special treatment. The problem was with two teacher/administrators using "bad judgment" in teaching and administering directed readings courses. Of the hundreds of students taking these courses, only 18 percent were athletes and only 7.5 percent were football players. Auburn University had an academic problem, not an athletic one. And Dr. Ed Richardson, the university's interim president has moved to solve it. The professors involved have been relieved of administrative duties. Tighter restrictions on directed readings courses are now in place. A formal investigation is almost complete. And all of this will be reported to the university's accrediting bodies. Good for Auburn. Not so good for The New York Times. "I believe," Dr. Richardson concluded, "that athletics was infused into this discussion to provide a sufficient traction to make it newsworthy." It looks that way to us as well. Had the reporter sent in a story about a Southern university, or any university for that matter, that was teaching too many directed readings courses, do you think it would have been published? Not likely. We expected better from The Times.
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Student removed from 'Holiday Tree' group over political party involvement 08/17/2006 Opelika-Auburn News Amy Weaver		Return to Top
A committee charged with potentially changing the name of Auburn University's Holiday Tree Lighting or the ceremony itself recently dismissed a member because of his political affiliation on campus. Cliff McCollum, managing editor of the Auburn Plainsman, was removed from the Holiday Tree Lighting Committee because he is president of the College Democrats. Amy Gordon, who served as the Plainsman's summer editor, had been appointed to be the student newspaper's representative on the panel, but declined. McCollum was asked instead and he accepted. "I want this committee to be as nonpolitical as possible, and his commitment to the College Democrats infringes upon this," said George Stegall, president of the Student Government Association. The nine-member committee was formed in June to examine the name and celebration itself. Last year, the event drew negative attention over its name. The celebration held annually on the grounds of Samford Hall surrounds the lighting of a Christmas tree each December. It has been called a Holiday Tree Lighting since Auburn started celebrating them in 2000. Stegall said he could have asked McCollum to step down from his position with the College Democrats or added representatives of the other political campus groups, but felt it would be more appropriate to ask him to leave the tree-lighting committee. "It got too political last year," he said. "I just don't want it this year." All committee members are either part of SGA or the University Program Council, the event sponsors. Stegall said a representative from the Plainsman was added in hopes that an accurate account would be told. "One of the major problems last year was that the wrong story about what happened got out," he said. "I felt that their presence on the committee would help alleviate this problem." AU senior Brandon Costerison, the former president of the College Democrats, believes the committee's efforts to remove politics from the event fail because the decision was politically motivated. Stegall disagrees: "It has nothing to do with politics. If anything I'm discriminating against all politics." Costerison doesn't believe that, especially since Kristy Cottrell, chair of the College Republicans, maintains her position as an SGA senator-at large. Stegall said Cottrell has no voting power as co-chair of the senate's Organizations Board, which oversees all student organizations such as the College Democrats, College Republicans, Gay/Straight Alliance and Auburn Libertarians. She has "absolutely nothing" to do with the Holiday Tree Lighting Committee. Without voting power, Stegall called her position non-influential. McCollum wrote an editorial for the Plainsman last month, explaining how he was initially upset at his dismissal, but was not going to hold grudges. The next day he told the Opelika-Auburn News, "I think I've said pretty much everything I had to say on the issue with that column." The Plainsman staff has been asked to replace McCollum, but new editor Niki Doyle declined, citing a conflict of interest. The paper would rather cover the committee than serve on it, Stegall said. The decision to fill the empty seat lies solely with Stegall. It may remain vacant though.
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New development to bring Auburn freshmen on campus 08/17/2006 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer Associated Press		Return to Top
This AP story appeared in GadsdenTimes, TimesDaily, Montgomery Advertiser and WTVM-TV and WAFF-TV. AUBURN, Ala. - Auburn University officials hope a new housing development, which could open next fall, will draw 80 percent of the incoming class to university housing. About 50 percent of freshmen live on campus now. Student housing director Kim Trupp said Auburn does not require students to live on campus because it doesn't have room. The university has 22 residence halls and one apartment complex to accommodate about 2,800 students. The freshman class has been more than 4,000 students for the past two years. "We need more on-campus housing, primarily for freshmen," John Mouton, senior adviser to the president, said. University officials believe Auburn is at a recruiting disadvantage because limited campus housing forces students to live off campus. "I have no doubt it has to do with a student's decision to come to Auburn," Trupp said. As enrollment increased through the years, she said the number of beds dropped. "We turn away thousands every year," she said. Auburn hopes to get students back on campus with living and learning communities in the new development. Mouton said such communities are becoming common at universities across the country. The concept has 20 to 25 students with similar academic interests taking some of the same classes and living in the same residence hall. Mouton said other universities have found the communities help freshmen be more successful and increase retention rates. The College of Liberal Arts and the College of Sciences and Mathematics are piloting such communities in a hall on the Quad this fall. If the test goes well, Trupp said Auburn could see more of them throughout the other halls. Mouton and Trupp are optimistic the premise will increase the number of freshmen on campus. The current plan is to build multiple buildings, enough to house an additional 1,200 beds, on the west side of campus. Mouton said the site will be confirmed by the Board of Trustees at its Sept. 1 meeting, Mouton said. The buildings will not be taller than four stories, but will be consistent with the university's architecture. The plan is for "super suite" rooms with most having four beds, two baths and a common area with kitchen amenities. Some will have two beds and one bath. The buildings will have classroom space to be used for tutors or speakers.
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Rapid, drastic cuts seen in U.S. peanut acreage 08/17/2006 Southeast Farm Press Paul L. Hollis		Return to Top
Dallas Hartzog, Auburn University Extension agronomist, is the primary source for this story. Rapid and drastic cuts in U.S. peanut acreage are being seen this year, to the point of Virginia no longer being a major peanut-producing state, says Dallas Hartzog, Auburn University Extension agronomist. Hartzog gave an update on peanut acreage during the recent Southern Peanut Growers Conference held in Panama City, Fla. "Virginia has grown from 90,000 to 95,000 acres of peanuts. In 2005, they grew 23,000 acres, and they'll grow only 13,000 acres this year. That is the death of an industry, and that breaks my heart," says Hartzog. "No one wants to see peanuts go in that direction. "There are a number of reasons for it, but the fact is that there are now several counties in Alabama, Georgia and Florida that grow more peanuts than the entire state of Virginia. Unless things change drastically, Virginia is not going to be a major peanut-producing state this year for the first time in recent history." Extension specialists report that Virginia has a good-looking crop this year with tomato spotted wilt virus being their only concern, he says. North Carolina has grown from 110,000 to 120,000 acres of peanuts, says Hartzog. In 2005, they grew 97,000 acres and that number dropped to 86,000 acres this year. "They're growing about 75,000 acres of Virginia-type peanuts and the balance is planted in runners," he says. Extension specialists report that North Carolina had a dry spring until May. "Since then, they've had adequate rainfall, and they have a good stand of peanuts. Crop yield prospects are good for now," says Hartzog. Georgia peanut growers had expanded to 755,000 acres but are back to about 580,000 this year, he says. "Central Georgia is very dry, and it's also dry in the western part of the state's peanut belt. The eastern part of Georgia received 2 to 5 inches of rain from Tropical Storm Alberto, but that moisture is gone. For the most part, the moisture situation in Georgia ranges from marginally dry to very dry." Georgia growers have reported problems with weeds and insects, adds Hartzog. "Thrips pressure was high in some areas, and a heavy incidence of tomato spotted wilt virus is expected where that has occurred." In Alabama, growers are about 15 inches short on rainfall for the year, with about 54 percent of normal rainfall to date, said Hartzog in mid-July. "We have three conditions — dry, drier and driest. Most showers have been isolated, brief in duration, and have covered a small area. Some growers have not received a good rain since they planted. Alabama's peanut acreage dropped from 225,000 acres last year to 170,000 acres in 2006. The certified acreage could be even less, at about 138,000, says Hartzog. Looking at Texas, it's very dry, says Hartzog. "Only south Texas has received some rain along the coast, but the rest is dry. Historically, Texas is dry, and growers there rely on irrigation. Acreage in Texas is down from 265,000 acres in 2005 to 210,000 acres this year." Providing an update on Mississippi's peanut crop was Joe Morgan, executive director of the Mississippi Peanut Growers Association. "Peanuts are not a new crop to Mississippi — they go back many years," says Morgan. Peanut production is steadily increasing in Mississippi. The predicted acreage for 2006 is 19,000 to 20,000." "Predicting where we go from here is more difficult," says Morgan. "In making a prediction, I'll assume four things. The next farm bill must have a peanut loan rate of at least $355 per ton. The peanut handling charges must be resolved so growers don't have to pay for them. Reasonable contracts must be offered. And new buying points must be built in Mississippi where there aren't any. Our infrastructure is there now, but there's a lot of trucking involved — that will help us.' If all these conditions occur, he says, Mississippi could grow from 30,000 to 40,000 acres of peanuts. Mississippi has several things going for it as far as peanut production, he says.
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