Untitled Document

Thursday, August 31, 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: 5

	Date	Outlet
Talk on grade probe postponed	08/31/2006	Opelika-Auburn News
Auburn considers options for arena	08/30/2006	Press-Register
AU hoops arena on hold for now	08/30/2006	Opelika-Auburn News
State's 2006 seniors beat national SAT average scores	08/30/2006	Birmingham News, The
Sorry, Catbert! Study Shows Cutting Employee Incentives Hurts	08/30/2006	Insurance Journal National


Talk on grade probe postponed 08/31/2006 Opelika-Auburn News Amy Weaver		Return to Top
The internal investigation into academic misconduct at Auburn University will not be a topic of conversation at this week's board of trustees meetings. Interim President Ed Richardson told the media Aug. 10 he anticipated being able to give the board an update into the investigation by the end of the month. However, university officials have not completed their review, primarily in interviewing former students. They are looking into allegations that Professors Tom Petee and James Witte taught directed reading courses for a number of students, including athletes, and gave high grades for little or no work. The university gave no indication on when a final report would be released. Since the last press conference, both Petee and Witte resigned their leadership duties with the university but remain tenured faculty members. Petee is a professor of criminology in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, Social Work, Criminology and Criminal Justice, and Witte is an associate professor in the Department of Educational Foundations, Leadership and Technology. Trustees will finally discuss potential changes to Auburn's scholarship practices. Trustee Jack Miller proposed the discussion at the last board meeting in June, and a special meeting was scheduled for Aug. 4. It was canceled however due to scheduling conflicts of several trustees and because officials weren’t finished gathering information. University officials plan to propose short-term and long-term goals for Auburn to attract more of the top academic students in and around Alabama. By next fall, an additional $2 million should be added to the scholarship fund. Scholarship types and ability levels could be adjusted to compete with the types of scholarships states like Georgia and Florida offer to top students. The development of an AU Scholar Outreach Tour will provide additional attention to these students, as they consider Auburn as their college of choice. Auburn’s Web site can be reconstructed to help get scholarship information to parents and potential students. Statistics from 2005 show that Auburn accepted 1,759 students with an ACT score between 28-36, but only 254 enrolled. The number of students Auburn gets from out-of-state with high ACT scores is far less than those with top scores from within Alabama. In the long term, officials will call for an analysis of scholarship monies. The scholarship discussion needed to happen before the board approved the 2006-07 budget since financial proposals directly affect the budget, which goes into effect Oct. 1. Both issues and many others will be discussed in committee meetings today at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center, and could be approved by the full board Friday.
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Auburn considers options for arena 08/30/2006 Press-Register Evan Woodbery		Return to Top
John G. Blackwell, chairman of the trustees' facilities committee, said the members would discuss options, but make no decisions. For almost a year, Auburn has been considering a plan to replace the aging Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum with a modern, fan-friendly facility. If the price tag for a new arena runs too high, officials would opt to renovate the current arena and add a new practice facility for the basketball teams. "We're exploring all our options," Blackwell said. "We want to make sure we're making the best decision for the university." On an SEC media teleconference last month, Auburn men's basketball coach Jeff Lebo said he hoped that a final decision would be made by early September. He declined an interview request for this story. After Friday's main trustees meeting, the board won't meet again until Nov. 10. By that time, another basketball season will be under way, and Lebo should have some firm answers. There are two big questions surrounding a new arena -- where will it go, and how much will it cost? Blackwell said any potential site must fit into the university's master plan, and have adequate parking and infrastructure. Some sites have been eliminated, he said. As for cost, AU interim president Ed Richardson originally surmised that a new arena would cost in the neighborhood of $60 to $70 million. Although Auburn is planning a relatively small arena, that estimate is still probably too low. Blackwell said construction costs have soared. "That's been the case for the last several months, particularly since (Hurricane) Katrina," he said. "But there's been some stabilization, and we're hoping that will continue until we can get this project completed. But we're not necessarily counting on that." Despite the delays, there seems to be a near-unanimous desire among Auburn leaders to build from scratch, rather than renovate, if it's financially feasible. And how long will it be until Auburn officials know if the numbers will work? "Not at this meeting," Blackwell said, "but soon."
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AU hoops arena on hold for now 08/30/2006 Opelika-Auburn News Collin Mickle		Return to Top
The Auburn University Board of Trustees will meet Thursday and Friday facing an agenda chock-full of pressing topics. One subject that won't command much attention is the university's long-awaited decision on a new arena for the men's and women's basketball programs. Originally scheduled for June 30, then pushed back to July and then to this week, the final verdict on the basketball arena is now expected sometime in October. That's the expectation of AU athletic director Jay Jacobs, who has made resolving the basketball teams' arena issues one of his top priorities. The Jacobs-appointed task force in charge of the project is working on cost-benefit analyses for four different arena options. As the price of oil, steel and concrete - and thus, of all construction - continues to skyrocket worldwide, an all-new arena is an increasingly expensive proposition. The project’s cost was originally estimated around $60-75 million; new estimates are north of $80 million and rising. Renovating Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum is therefore becoming more attractive. But Jacobs vows that any renovation would be much more than a mere face-lift. "When we talk about renovating the coliseum, it's not a new scoreboard and new seats," Jacobs said Tuesday in an interview with the Opelika-Auburn News. "It's a completely different look inside and out. When you'd pull up to it from the street, it would look different. You wouldn't recognize the whole thing. "That's the level we're considering, comparing it to a completely brand-new stand-alone arena." Among many other changes, Jacobs said the renovation could include repositioning the playing surface so that the first rows of seats were closer to the action. That’s the standard at most on-campus basketball arenas. Of course, gutting Beard-Eaves and reconstructing it from scratch is easier said than done, especially since the Tigers would have to continue to play home games there during any construction. "We have to play games here - we want to," Jacobs said. "So how do you do that? This will be quite extensive; how will all that work? Those are the questions we'll have to get answered." According to Jacobs, the team considering the arena issue - led by facilities director John Mouton - will provide cost estimates on four different possibilities. Those possibilities are: A new arena located somewhere other than the current location of Beard-Eaves; a new arena on the site of Beard-Eaves; a fully renovated Beard-Eaves; or "joint usage" of the Coliseum and a new practice facility. Price will be an element of that decision, but Jacobs says it's far from the only factor. "We'll look into all these options and make the best decision we can make for Auburn," he said.
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State's 2006 seniors beat national SAT average scores 08/30/2006 Birmingham News, The Patrick Hickerson		Return to Top
Alabama high school seniors in the class of 2006 did better than the national average on the SAT college-admission exam. Alabama's 2006 seniors scored 565 in critical reading, 561 in math and 565 in writing, according to scores released Tuesday by the College Board, which administers the SAT. Students nationally posted a score of 503 in critical reading, 518 in math and 497 in writing. The state's average scores compared to 2005 were up two points in math and down two points in critical reading. This is the first year for the writing test. A perfect score in each category is 800. Alabama has performed better than the national average for 15 years. State Superintendent of Education Dr. Joe Morton said in a press release Tuesday that the SAT scores are further evidence that Alabama is headed in the right direction. "The fact that test scores are continuing to improve with every category of student is particularly encouraging as we move forward with a strong resolve to truly leave no child behind," he said. "College preparatory tests are the gateway to our students' academic future and we owe it to our students, and to our nation, to prepare them with the best possible education that allows them to compete and excel after high school." The test drew a 9 percent participation rate for graduating Alabama seniors. The 2005 exam drew 10 percent, according to the College Board's Web site. More 2006 seniors, 79 percent, took the ACT college entrance exam. Those students posted an average composite score of 20.2, the same posted in 2005 and 2004. The 2006 national ACT average was 21.1, up from 20.9 the previous year. Students in Alabama who take the SAT traditionally are seeking admission to top-tier schools. Of the 3,968 Alabama students who took the SAT, 1,419 elected to send their results to Auburn University, followed by 1,327 to the University of Alabama and 750 to UAB. Vanderbilt University came in fourth place with 507.
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Sorry, Catbert! Study Shows Cutting Employee Incentives Hurts 08/30/2006 Insurance Journal National		Return to Top
Coverage continues on this story about a study co-authored by Dave Ketchen, AU Lowder Eminent Scholar. Contrary to the nefarious plots of Catbert, the 'evil director of human resources' character depicted in the popular Dilbert comic strip, a study of nearly 20,000 organizations shows that employee incentives really are good for business. Data from 19,319 organizations reveal that when a company emphasizes human resource activities such as incentive pay and flextime, it can enjoy a 10 percent to 20 percent improvement in employee retention, employee productivity, profitability, and stock price, according to an upcoming study in Personnel Psychology. Meanwhile, companies that cut these programs can expect a 10 to 20 percent reduction in their bottom line. "Over the last 25 years, corporate America has debated whether the human resources function adds value or if it is just a necessary evil," noted Dave Ketchen, study co-author and Lowder Eminent Scholar at Auburn University. "Our results show that negative images of human resource managers miss the mark. Skilled HR managers can make the difference between a company making a profit or losing money." The study found that performance improvements are stronger when companies take a systematic approach to human resources rather than implementing one or two practices. "A firm can't view training or team-building as a magic bullet that will deliver profits," said Ketchen. "Executives need to adopt a strategic view of the human resource function and create sets of practices that reinforce each other." The study also found that human resource activities make a bigger difference among manufacturing firms than among service firms. "Manufacturing jobs often involve complex and dangerous machinery," said Ketchen. "In high performing companies, the services that the human resource function provides, such as safety and training, support other programs such as quality management and lean manufacturing systems to make sure that workers are safe, motivated, and productive." The study used a technique called meta-analysis to mathematically combine the findings of 92 previous studies published since the mid-1980s. Co-authors with Ketchen on the project were James Combs, Yongmei Liu, and Angela Hall, all of Florida State University.
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