Untitled Document

Friday, September 1, 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: 9

	Date	Outlet
County system trying to 'grow' teachers	09/01/2006	Alexander City Outlook
Programmed Returns	09/01/2006	Beef
Seeing a need for change, Auburn University proposing overhaul of academic recruitment	09/01/2006	Opelika-Auburn News
Auburn University launching energy research center	09/01/2006	Central Alabama Business Journal
Auburn engineering center is being named after Shelby	09/01/2006	Central Alabama Business Journal
Gulf State Park Buildings to Be Made Into Artificial Reefs	09/01/2006	WEAR-TV
Sorry, Catbert! Study Shows Cutting Employee Incentives Hurts	09/01/2006	Las Vegas Trade Show Guide
AU, Samford, UA in Top 20 tilting right AU, Samford, UA in Top 20 tilting right	09/01/2006	Birmingham News
Under Armour ad offers big boost to Tigers	09/01/2006	Birmingham News


County system trying to 'grow' teachers 09/01/2006 Alexander City Outlook Tatiana Richards		Return to Top
This story is about the AU College of Education's Truman Pierce Institute's initiative to help schools in rural Alabama. This year the Tallapoosa County School System will partner with Auburn University in a new program designed to provide leadership development and to hopefully create "home grown" teachers for Tallapoosa County. Students, teachers and administrators will receive training in leadership through Sustaining School Success, a program created by the Truman Pierce Institute (TPI) in Auburn University's College of Education. The program has three goals: to develop and implement effective school leadership practices for administrators, teachers and students; to create meaningful and effective mentoring programs for administrators and new teachers; and to create and sustain Future Teacher programs in an effort to address the need for teachers in the rural schools of Alabama. "The Tallapoosa County school system is very proud to partner with Auburn University in this grant opportunity that will assist us with leadership development and career exploration for our students," said superintendent Ginger East. "It's a way that schools and school systems can take part in improving the economy in the area by providing leadership," said Teresa Smoot, director of personnel for Tallapoosa County. "We don't want young people to have to leave the area to be successful." One of the main attractors of new industries is a strong school system, and Smoot hopes to strengthen the school system by developing quality teachers that are products of the school system. Smoot said she hopes they will help fill in positions that are typically difficult for rural school systems to fill, such as math and special education teachers. "We hope community groups can actually get together and start creating some type of scholarships for education to help students who are interested in going into those hard to fill positions," Smoot said. Dadeville Elementary School teacher Karen Sanford will participate in the leadership program and said she thinks it's a good idea for both students and teachers, as the program will enhance Tallapoosa County's Teachers Helping Teachers mentoring program. "You always want to have (student) role models that set a good example," Sanford said. "As far as teachers, there's so much to learn as new teachers. So you have to have teachers that are willing to step in and help them."
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Programmed Returns 09/01/2006 Beef Wes Ishmael Contributing Editor		Return to Top
Darrell Rankins, Auburn University Extension beef nutritionist is a source in the story. "I've had some of the largest stocker operations in the area tell me if they had the guts, they'd get rid of every lease and go strictly to program feeding because they can put 300-400 lbs. on the calves at a similar cost to grazing, but with more predictability," says Dave Jones, general manager of Livestock Nutrition Center facilities at Chickasha and Fletcher, OK. Even those more inclined toward tradition are taking a harder look at it this year given the horrid grazing conditions since last fall. "I think program feeding is the biggest opportunity for stockers in our area this year, other than getting lots of rain the next couple of months," says David Lalman, Oklahoma State University Extension beef specialist. "At current prices, we can design a program ration for $120-$130/ton if you mix it yourself, $130-$140/ton if you have it mixed. That's 6¢/lb. for feed, and conversions are 5:1 to 6:1." For those unfamiliar with the practice, Lalman explains the terms "limit-feeding" and "program feeding" refer to feeding a limited amount of a high-concentrate ration to achieve a specific weight-gain target. "A very small amount of roughage, if any, will be fed," Lalman says. "This varies greatly with traditional management where cattle have free-choice access to forage and you take what weight gain you can get." More specifically, Lalman says, "With program feeding, you're limiting them to two-thirds to three-quarters of what they would normally eat. Typically, rations consist of 80-85% whole-shelled corn and 15-20% of a commercial pelleted supplement. The total amount of ration offered is increased every two weeks or so to maintain the desired level of gain." He adds many feed companies have supplements formulated for this purpose, and can help with supplement selection for specific classes of cattle and rates of gain. For most folks, any non-forage discussion these days centers on grain by-products. Though some products, wheat-mids for one, are currently priced beyond program-feeding practicality, Lalman says others, like corn gluten and dried distiller's grains, remain prime candidates. Whatever the ingredient, Lalman points out, "By-product feeds tend to vary a great deal in nutrient concentration and moisture composition. Therefore, it's a good idea to obtain a laboratory feed analysis from the supplier for each load of feed." If an analysis isn't available specifically for the feed you've purchased or are considering, he suggests having it tested. For most by-product feeds, moisture content beyond around 11% can create significant storage and spoilage problems. Darrell Rankins, Auburn University Extension beef nutritionist, says he's seeing more by-product feeding. There's even talk of an ethanol plant going into Alabama, despite corn production being next to nil in that locale. "Some producers in our area program feed almost exclusively. Most of them use a large amount of by-products, and some non-traditional sources such as weevil-infested flour," Rankins says. That's the exception, though. Ryegrass is the primary currency of stocker operators here, though last year's pasture was the worst Rankins says he's seen since coming to Auburn in 1989. Even then, he says, the more popular strategies were to limit numbers, transport calves to available grazing, or supplement with by-products rather than switch to a programmed regimen. Incidentally, Rankins says some stocker operators in his locale have switched to more custom backgrounding, pooling calves from producers who lack the facilities to precondition and background themselves. They get calves in, sort them up for load lots, background them 45 days and market them for the producer. Rankins says age has something to do with the scenario, as some stocker operators choose to deal with farm-fresh calves rather than endure the rigors of straightening out put-together loads. Precision is a must In order to estimate program feeding's potential, Lalman says, "The important factors in developing a ration are to obtain a high value for net energy for gain per dollar of ration cost, and then to adjust the protein and mineral content of the ration to the animal's requirements, determined by the targeted gain, the animal's sex, weight and frame size. It's simplest to calculate the ration's net energy for maintenance and growth (NEm and NEg) values on a dry matter basis." Find a spreadsheet calculator at www.ansi.okstate.edu/software/PROGFED2.xls. As for the mineral included, Jones believes matching it to the specific ration and goal is a key. "We're seeing 4-5¢ in better cost of gain with the right vitamin and mineral package," he says. Lalman cautions that feeding a single ingredient invites problems. He and OSU colleagues have tried feeding free-choice soybean hulls and the equivalent of 1 lb./day of hay on a dry matter basis. "It works for a short period of time, up until about 45 days, then you start running into bloat problems," Lalman says. Bottom line, both Jones and Lalman suggest arriving at the performance goal for program feeding, then work with specialists to design a cost-effective program capable of achieving the goal. Of course, feeding this way isn't for everyone. For one thing, cattle need to be fed the same amount at the same time every day in a situation where all calves have a chance to get to the bunk. You also must calculate and adjust the ration every couple of weeks as the cattle grow. "Anyone with difficulty maintaining a regular time schedule should think twice about programmed feeding. You can't be sloppy, and you can't guess at it," Lalman says. "Program feeding is all about you deciding what you want the cattle to consume and gain. You have to go at it with the right mindset and understand the principle behind it, which is feeding two-thirds to three-quarters of what the cattle would normally eat. You don't feed hay, nor will it work in a pasture situation because you must control consumption," he says. Precision also extends to how cattle are sorted and grouped. "Cattle must be as uniform as possible in body type, weight, size, age, disposition and previous background,” Lalman says. “The cattle also must be healthy at the outset, which means most stockers will be taking the cattle through a traditional receiving program before beginning with program feeding." Likewise, feed selection revolves around more than cost of gain and convenience. For instance, Lalman stresses, “Complete pelleted diets won't work with program feeding unless the pellet also contains cottonseed hulls or peanut hulls. The usual problem with a complete pelleted feed is it's not possible to maintain adequate roughage particle size to prevent rumen disorders and bloat. "However, rations can be developed with only whole corn and specially formulated supplement pellets. With the whole corn program, the supplement and whole corn will have to be carefully mixed before they're fed," he adds. Predictability and flexibility " "Commodity feeding and supplemental feeding make stocker operations more predictable," Jones says. “With program feeding, we've learned there are other ways to get stockers from 350 lbs. to 750 lbs. without hay or forage." Sometimes, that means program feeding only part of the season. In Alabama, for example, Rankins says some folks feed for about 1 lb. of gain until grass is available. For the record, Rankins and Auburn folks conducted studies starting in 2000 to determine how feeding calves up front affected their subsequent pasture gains. "The idea is that those cattle being limit-fed should exhibit faster gains on grass (compensatory) while those full-fed will continue on at the same rate of gain," Rankins says. In the initial study, one set of steers grazed stockpiled Bermuda until the first part of January, then received supplement (limit-fed soybean hulls) for a month until ryegrass was available. The cattle gained 1.26 lbs./day until grass season. Subsequently, they gained 2.54 lbs. during 60 days on ryegrass. Another set of calves received a free-choice 50:50 ration of broiler litter and soybean hulls after the stockpiled grass was grazed. They gained 2.45 lbs. until the same out-date the end of April. Researchers saw the same thing in a study a year later. So, holding cattle didn't dilute grass gains later on. Of course, Rankins says, "The simplest strategy for operators this year is to be cautious about their numbers early on." He's a true stocker at heart, though; he figures it will rain. Find a detailed fact sheet about program feeding lightweight calves at http://pods.dasnr.okstate.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-80/CR-3025pod.pdf. Program feeding management Adequate bunk space so most cattle can eat at one time. Pens small enough that cattle can come up to the bunk when fed. Scales or other methods of weighing out daily feed. Roughage feeds to work the cattle up to a high-concentrate diet. Skill on the part of the manager. Sufficient business-management skill to assess the economic limitations and opportunities of limit feeding cattle. A solid plan for the use or sale of the cattle following limit-growing.
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Seeing a need for change, Auburn University proposing overhaul of academic recruitment 09/01/2006 Opelika-Auburn News Amy Weaver		Return to Top
Auburn University's current recruitment practices could be dramatically revamped to help ensure Alabama's top academic students are enrolling here. Some of the state's top students are applying to Auburn, but the vast majority are not attending. In 2005, Auburn accepted 1,759 students with an ACT score between 28-36, but only 254 enrolled. That news was unacceptable to members of the AU Board of Trustees who serve on committees for Academic Affairs, Finance and Student Affairs. They agreed Thursday changes needed to be in place by next fall. Money would help the situation but wasn't the sole solution. Kent Hopkins, vice president of consulting services at Noel-Levitz, a national firm specializing in enrollment management, recommended the board allocate an additional $2 million to its $7.5 million scholarship fund. Committee members agreed. The Finance Committee also approved the proposed $733 million budget for 2006-07, which included the new funding. The items are up for review and final approval by the full board today in its meeting at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center. The committees agreed with every suggestion from Hopkins, but also empowered Interim President Ed Richardson to develop new recruitment and marketing strategies, plus a review of the various scholarships available through AU’s colleges, by its next meeting, Nov. 9. Trustee Jack Miller said Auburn's recruitment practices are outdated. "The way we recruit would have been fine in 1940," he said. It is now time to change them to be "absolutely the best in the state of Alabama," he said. Hopkins called for changes to scholarship allocation practices, including using various ACT scores and grade point averages as primary predictors of different scholarship awards. He also suggested developing differentiated recruitment strategies to attract students of different ability levels. Between 2002 and 2005, Auburn got more students with ACT scores of 24 or higher than the University of Alabama, Auburn’s strongest competition for the top students. A change in recruitment strategies would also help Auburn attract top students from outside Alabama. Hopkins found there to be more "high ability" students from out-of-state turning down admission to Auburn than high ability, in-state students. Trustee Bobby Lowder would like to see Auburn go after the brightest students the same way it would a top athletic prospect, including home and high school visits. "We do a great job of recruiting football players," he said. The longtime trustee said he wanted enrollment limits on the colleges to ensure those admitted are the best and therefore will be successful. Trustee Sarah Newton said the investment the university makes in these types of students will come back to the university when those students become successful and give back to the university. In other matters, members of the Academic Affairs, Property and Facilities, and Student Affairs committees approved using an 18-acre site on the west side of campus as the future home of a new student housing project. By building six or seven dorms, Auburn would have an additional 1,600 beds on campus. John Mouton, special assistant to the president, said the change should help the university get 80 percent of the incoming freshman class in 2008 to live on campus. Auburn currently has space for about 50 percent of the freshman. - A proposal comparing cost of building new or revamping Beard-Eaves Coliseum will be presented to the president at the end of September. - The Property and Facilities Committee agreed to hire Richard Hudgens Architect Inc. of Selma to do the renovation and expansion project at the Scott-Yarbrough House at Pebble Hill. The plan calls to update the historic structure and add an additional 4,000 square feet.
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Auburn University launching energy research center 09/01/2006 Central Alabama Business Journal		Return to Top
AUBURN -- With the escalating worldwide demand for new sources of energy, Auburn University is launching a new research center to bolster research already under way or planned for the near future in several schools and colleges. Interim President Ed Richardson said that the university will provide a one-year grant to launch the new Auburn Alternative Fuels Initiative at the start of the 2006-07 fiscal year on Oct. 1. Continued operation of the initiative or center will depend on its ability to secure external funding, but Richardson and organizers said they are optimistic that the center will be able to secure funding for continued research and development of alternatives to petroleum-based fuels. Ralph Zee of the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering and Graeme Lockaby of the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences are co-chairs of a nine-member campuswide committee that is developing plans for the center. The co-chairs said the center will focus on developing technologies that can help Alabama use its renewable natural resources to augment the nation's energy supplies.
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Auburn engineering center is being named after Shelby 09/01/2006 Central Alabama Business Journal		Return to Top
AUBURN -- An engineering center designed to place Auburn University among the nation's leaders in 21st century transportation technology will bear the name of U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby. The AU Board of Trustees recently voted to name the nearly 200,000-square-foot engineering center for Alabama's senior senator in recognition of his efforts to secure $65 million in federal funding for the $108 million, two-stage project. Phase I of the Shelby Center for Engineering Technology opens in November 2007. Shelby is especially deserving of the honor, said interim AU President Ed Richardson, because the senator's successful efforts gave AU at least a decade's head start on development of a technology center that will be among the most advanced in the nation. Richardson added, "This is going to change the face of Auburn University, both physically, because the buildings will be truly magnificent, and also functionally, because the Shelby Center will greatly impact the research aspect of Auburn's mission." With a mission of advancing technology in a variety of disciplines, including those vital to the automotive and other transportation industries in Alabama, the Shelby Center will be the largest building complex in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering. The center, with a wide array of new instructional and research technologies, will play an important role in the state's economic development and is central to the college's goal of engineering leadership for Alabama and the nation throughout the 21 century, said engineering dean Larry Benefield. "The technology center is the cornerstone of our strategic plan for the college to bring our programs to the next level," Benefield said. "The buildings will provide the facilities necessary to expand our research efforts while ensuring that our undergraduate programs remain among the best in the nation." The Shelby Center, located between the Lowder Business Building and the Textile Engineering Building on Magnolia Avenue, will consist of a central structure with two L-shaped wings and two stand-alone buildings wrapped around a central courtyard. Research and teaching in the center will involve faculty from a variety of engineering disciplines. Phase I, currently under construction, will house research laboratories, classrooms, lecture halls and offices for the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering and the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, as well as Engineering Administration. The second phase will begin shortly after completion of the current phase in late 2007 and will house the Department of Mechanical Engineering and general and specialized laboratories.
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Gulf State Park Buildings to Be Made Into Artificial Reefs 09/01/2006 WEAR-TV		Return to Top
An Alabama Gulf Coast icon that was reduced to an eyesore by Hurricane Ivan will soon be demolished. The rubble won't go to waste. Nearly two years ago, the Convention Center and surrounding buildings at Gulf State Park were destroyed by Hurricane Ivan. Insurance woes and other delays will finally be put to rest sometime in September when the buildings, a Gulf Coast fixture since 1974, will be torn down. Hugh Branyon/Gulf State Park:"It was a relief yes. Not only for me, but for people who live here, business people. It was an eyesore and an unsafe area." Michael Loff/Channel Three News:"Branyon says much of the debris created by the demolition project won't go to waste. In fact, some of the large structures, like the roof, will be made into artificial reefs in the Gulf and other local waterways." Branyon:"We're using it for the benefit of the taxpayers and the people who go out and fishing that's good that we could do that." The first phase of construction will be on the west side of the property. Branyon:"We're gonna put the new pier. We couldn't move forward until thats torn down. That'll be the first part torn down." According to Branyon, Auburn University's plans to turn the site into a hotel and convention center remain in legal limbo. An exact start date for the demolition work has not been set.
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Sorry, Catbert! Study Shows Cutting Employee Incentives Hurts 09/01/2006 Las Vegas Trade Show Guide By Auburn University		Return to Top
This story has also appeared in Economic Times-India Times, South Asia News, Insurance Agents, Muslim Times and on Yahoo Canada. Newswise — 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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AU, Samford, UA in Top 20 tilting right AU, Samford, UA in Top 20 tilting right 09/01/2006 Birmingham News Lisa Osburn		Return to Top
Auburn and Samford universities are among the Top 20 schools where students are most likely to pray on a regular basis. Auburn, Samford and Alabama are among the Top 20 where students are most nostalgic for Ronald Reagan. Those findings are part of the recently released "2007 Best 361 Colleges Rankings" compiled by The Princeton Review. "I don't think there are many campuses more conservative than Auburn," said Kristy Cottrell, a student and chairwoman of the Auburn University College Republicans. "It is just understood that most everyone here is a Christian and a Republican." In two days this week, Cottrell signed up 200 paying members of her organization. Her goal is to have more than 600 this school year. The organization's Facebook membership (an online networking site) has almost 3,000 members. Religion is the foundation of Samford University, where praying is routine and some students question whether other beliefs are tolerated, according to the survey. The school made the Top 20 list in which students said alternative lifestyles were not an alternative at the campus. "You would have to look at the makeup of the university. We are a small Christian university with a foundation of beliefs going back about 165 years," said Taylor Clement, president of the Student Government Association at Samford. One by one Thursday, students filled the pews of Samford's Reid Chapel, talking with each other and waiting for one of the first chapel services of the school year. When the time came to pray, heads bowed and eyes closed. "Samford lets it be known it is a very strong Christian university," Clement said. "Students who are in alternative lifestyles would not see Samford as a place where they would experience the best opportunity for growth. Samford is inclusive of all of these lifestyles; they are present on campus. But they are not the most active voices." At Alabama, Bruce Barrett is the faculty advisor for College Republicans. "My general observation at Alabama: I think the student body is more conservative than the faculty," he said. "I think that is probably typical throughout the South." But both Barrett and Cottrell said apathy runs high. Brandon Owens, 30, found the same thing at Auburn where he completed undergraduate studies and Alabama where he earned his master's in political science. He now works for the Alabama Democratic Party. "Most people at the college level are not as politically involved," he said. "You probably had equal amounts of hard-core political types on both sides. It really wasn't that big of a deal." Cliff McCollum, president of Auburn University College Democrats, had the opposite experience. He said he changed his major from political science to English because he could not tolerate the political atmosphere. "I did not feel welcome with the students," he said. "They felt, `Oh God, he is opening his mouth. What is Ted Kennedy going to say today?'" The Princeton Review sends representatives to colleges and universities to interview and survey students about issues including academics, politics, religion and partying, among other categories. The publication ranks information for 361 of those schools. "We consider these colleges the best in the nation academically," says Princeton Review's Robert Franek, author of "The Best 361 Colleges." The University of Alabama at Birmingham was not among the colleges included in the study. But it was in the 146 schools named Best Southeastern Colleges by The Princeton Review. There was a stark difference between UAB's description and the descriptions of Samford, Auburn and Alabama. Researchers said UAB is a "mecca of multiculturalism. Here you will find students of all ages, from all walks of life, all religions and all ethnic backgrounds. This diversity adds to the classroom and social experience by broadening the spectrum of discussion and expertise."
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Under Armour ad offers big boost to Tigers 09/01/2006 Birmingham News Charles Goldberg		Return to Top
AUBURN - Coach Tommy Tuberville figures his Auburn University football team will reap millions of dollars in free publicity when apparel-provider Under Armour unveils a national television commercial showcasing the Tigers on Saturday. The value to Tuberville's acting career? Maybe a buck or two short of that. "I'm not going to win any Oscars or anything," Tuberville said. "Then again, when you've only got two words, it's hard to mess that up." His two words are "Click clack," the sound made by the cleats of oncoming football players, and the central phrase of Under Armour's ongoing advertising campaign. The campaign began earlier this year when the company featured selected NFL draft picks and will expand to Auburn, the first and only team Under Armour will actively promote. The commercial will be aired during Saturday night's Auburn-Washington State season-opener on ESPN2 and is a bonus to the five-year, $10.6 million deal Under Armour signed with the university last December. The commercial was shot this spring in Dallas with Tuberville leading a group of faux Auburn players out of a stadium tunnel that was shaped and painted to look like the one at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The commercial, which will also feature some of Under Armour's contracted NFL players, will run through the football season. It will appear on CBS and ESPN this Saturday. Tuberville said Auburn will win with the national exposure. "We're now recognized with the Under Armour symbol that a lot of the young kids are growing up with," Tuberville said. "It gives us an opportunity in these commercials to market Under Armour, and market Auburn, too," Tuberville said. "This gives us an opportunity to grow a little bit more in recruiting." Under Armour will ultimately provide all of Auburn's sports teams with uniforms, shoes and other items. The football team will officially show off its new threads Saturday. "We like the product. Our football uniforms are lighter. And along with the publicity we're getting, it's been a great relationship," Tuberville said. Under Armour also provides football uniforms to Maryland and Texas Tech. Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen was featured in an Under Armour commercial several years ago, but he was "coaching" a team that was only identified by the Under Armour logo. Auburn is the first team that will be clearly identifiable with its colors, helmet and logo. Under Armour has found success in the athletic wear market this year. Its second-quarter revenue was up 63 percent from the same period a year ago. Under Armour's market capitalization value is $1.1 billion.
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