Untitled Document

Thursday, 21, 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: 7

	Date	Outlet
Conference (In Alabama) Seeks to Aid Wounded Vets	09/21/2006	ABC Television Network
Marine from Mobile searches for trouble in Iraq	09/21/2006	Press-Register Online
Feathers, Frugality and Fashion	09/21/2006	Wired News
UA officials work out transit details	09/21/2006	Crimson White, University of Alabama, The
Coming to America	09/21/2006	Dothan Eagle
Mitch Sneed Grateful to the man who spoke for AU	09/20/2006	Opelika-Auburn News
'This is about ability'	09/20/2006	Opelika-Auburn News


Conference (In Alabama) Seeks to Aid Wounded Vets 09/21/2006 ABC Television Network KATE BRUMBACK, Associated Press		Return to Top
This AP story was also carried by: The New York Times, Washington Post, Atlanta Journal Constitution, The Baltimore Sun, The Seattle Post Intelligencer, Modesto Bee, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Newsday, The Press Register, Duluth News Tribune, Gainesville Sun, Ft. Worth Star Telegram, Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, The Ledger, Forbes, Houston Chronicle, Sarasota Herald-Times, The Hill, WTVM-TV and many other print and broadcast outlets across the U.S. Conference in Alabama Focuses on Helping Wounded and Disabled Veterans Join the Work Force AUBURN, Ala. - First Lt. Ed Salau was feeling down early in his recovery from an injury sustained in Iraq, when his son bounded into his room at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The 12-year-old boy's words are burned into Salau's memory: "Dad, you're so lucky. You only lost one leg!" His son had been talking to an amputee who lost both legs and an arm but was in good spirits, cracking jokes. At that moment, Salau said Wednesday at the Wounded & Injured Veteran's Summit at Auburn University, he began thinking differently about the loss of his left leg. "I'm not disabled unless of course it's to find a good parking space at the mall," he joked before the crowd of about 200 representatives from the military, government and business at the two-day program on ways to help wounded, injured and disabled veterans find work and fulfillment. "I'm mildly inconvenienced." John Melia, executive director of the Wounded Warrior Project, said business recruiters often dismiss veterans who list job titles such as "tanker" or "gravel agitator" on their resumes because they don't see how those skills are applicable to the business setting. What recruiters need to realize, Melia said, is that because of their military training, veterans are well-suited for jobs that require discipline, leadership and computer skills. Because of improvements in emergency combat medical treatment, fewer servicemembers are dying from their wounds, said Maj. Gen Kenneth L. Farmer, Jr., former commanding general at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. As a result, there are more surviving soldiers with severe extremity wounds. To respond to their needs, the military has made efforts such as a mentor program that matches new amputees with veterans who have learned to live with amputated limbs. The Wounded Warrior Project was founded in 2003 "to fill in a gap that we saw in providing services to wounded service members and their families," said Melia, a former Marine who was wounded in a helicopter crash in 1992. Though amputees are the most visible group of injured veterans, Melia said, it is important to remember those with less obvious wounds. Michelle Saunders, a former Army sergeant, was awarded a Purple Heart when she ruptured two disks in her back while trying to help a fellow soldier felled by enemy fire when their unit was caught in an ambush in Iraq in May 2004. She was injured enough to be discharged but not seriously enough to be medically retired. She falls into what Melia calls a "gray area" of service members who suffer from psychological trauma but who don't necessarily have serious physical injuries and thus don't get as much attention from the military. Pointing to the Wounded Warrior Project logo an image of one soldier carrying another on his back Melia said, "We always think about the guy who's on the top, the guy who's being carried. We never think about the one who's doing the carrying." Salau lost his left leg just above the knee when his Bradley Armored Fighting Vehicle was hit in a rocket-propelled grenade attack in Iraq in 2004. He walks with a prosthetic limb. The biggest challenge he has faced, he said, is looks of pity from employers, co-workers or people in the grocery store. "Keep your pity," he said, adding that wounded veterans just want to be treated like other employees. "Give us the same challenges. Give us the same opportunities, and we will excel. I promise you that."
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Marine from Mobile searches for trouble in Iraq 09/21/2006 Press-Register Online PENELOPE McCLENNY		Return to Top
Story about former AU SGA president Jonathan McConnell. When Mobilian Jonathan McConnell got his business degree from Auburn University two years ago, his parents never imagined that he would end up in Iraq searching rooftops and livestock pens for explosives and insurgents. McConnell, a Davidson High School graduate who also served as president of the Auburn Student Government Association, had planned on going to law school, and even had a job arranged with Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Drayton Nabers, said his mother, Susan McConnell. Instead, he came home and informed his parents that plans had changed: He was enrolling in officer candidate school for the U.S. Marine Corps. "I want to serve my country, I want to serve in the military, and I want to serve in the Marine Corps because I feel like they have the best training," Susan McConnell recalls her son telling her and his father, Roger McConnell, that summer. Even though he had sometimes mentioned military service, his announcement came as something of a shock. "We did question his decision," Susan McConnell said. "I've also told him that I have always trusted his judgment. I told him I would trust his judgment as long as he felt like he was making a good decision and it's what God wants him to do." After completing training in North Carolina and California, 2nd Lt. McConnell became a platoon commander for L Company, part of the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment known as the "Betio Bastards." On July 15 this year, he left for Iraq, where the group was charged with searching towns and cities for insurgents, explosives and information. The Marine Corps recently featured McConnell along with several other members of the Betio Marines in a news story as they completed missions east of Fallujah. "I can't say any house was left unturned," McConnell said in the Marines news report. "It went well. My Marines got the job done quickly. There's not as nearly as many IEDs (improvised explosive devices) as there used to be." The search also netted several detainees and information about insurgent activity in the area, the Marine Corps reported. On the home front, Susan McConnell said it's obviously hard to be the parent of a son who embarks on dangerous missions daily. Even though hearing the details his work may cause her worries, she asks Jonathan to keep her closely informed. "I do want to know what he's doing, because then I know how to pray for him, how to encourage him," she said. While the Marines work toward improving safety, local Iraqis are still slow to trust members of the U.S. military, McConnell told his parents during a telephone call Sunday night. "Jonathan talked about that these people have been oppressed for thousands of years, and because of that it's hard for them to trust," Susan McConnell said. To help ease his parents' minds, Jonathan McConnell tries to call and check in as often as possible. His family makes sure that their Marine is up to date on news from home, especially football scores. Jonathan McConnell received a prompt report on Auburn's 4-point victory over Louisiana State University this past weekend, Susan McConnell said, but that wasn't the case after the Sept. 9 game against Mississippi State. A fellow Marine's wife sent a message saying Auburn had lost that game, his mother said, and it wasn't until a few days later, his mother said, when Jonathan McConnell got the correct score -- Auburn won 34-0. His mother said that he told her, "I walked around for a day and half wondering how Auburn lost to Mississippi State." McConnell is scheduled to be back in the United States in 150 days, his mother said -- not that she's counting. He told his parents that he plans to eventually move forward with his law school plans. "He chose to do this," Susan McConnell said, "so I have to feel proud of his commitment to our country and his willingness to serve, and I really appreciate the support our family has received."
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Feathers, Frugality and Fashion 09/21/2006 Wired News Elizabeth Svoboda		Return to Top
Roy Broughton, AU textile engineer is a source in this story. Reducing petroleum consumption is normally associated with driving less, but two engineers say turning farm waste into fabric could help as well. Worldwide, the demand for clothing fibers approaches 67 million tons a year, and much of the resulting output consists of synthetic fabrics such as polyester, rayon and nylon, which are all manufactured from petroleum products. Narendra Reddy and Yiqi Yang, both textile researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, say making high-quality cloth from two waste products in large supply -- stems from rice plants and feathers from plucked chickens -- could save thousands of barrels of fuel annually. Their research was presented last week at the American Chemical Society meeting in San Francisco. "Four billion pounds of feathers are produced in the United States every year, but there aren't many applications for them," Reddy said. "Projects like this could really make the fiber industry more sustainable." Despite all their bizarre, Halloween-costume connotations, chicken feathers and rice straw actually have many similarities to existing natural fibers. Rice straw, like cotton and linen, is mainly composed of the dense plant fiber cellulose. Chicken feathers resemble wool in that they are made up of keratin, a hard structural protein also found in hoofs and fingernails. Like more conventional fibers, feathers and rice straw can be treated with chemicals and enzymes to break down non-essential components, then spun into thread with existing textile machinery. Production of these new fibers, according to Yang, will be very similar to the manufacture of other kinds of fabrics. "Every fiber needs to be processed with chemicals, and the spinning equipment used for these new fibers would be exactly the same," he said. Because the manufacturing infrastructure is already in place, he added, production costs would be low, and overhead would be even lower because all the raw materials are waste products. Rice straw fibers, for instance, will only cost about 50 cents per pound to make. In addition to their Earth-friendly properties, the newfangled fibers have unique physical properties that could spur demand in the clothing industry. Chicken feather barbs, in particular, have a lightweight, honeycomb-like internal structure that gives them superior insulation properties, making them ideal as a substitute for wool or synthetic fleece in vests and winter coats. "Wool keeps you warm because there are pockets of air in between the fibers, but with chicken feathers, those pockets of air are actually inside the fiber itself," Yang said. The feather fibers' stout internal structure, however, has given some engineers pause. Roy Broughton, a textile engineer at Auburn University in Alabama, points out that fibers with this property tend not to be very soft and flexible. "Chicken feathers will make a very stiff fiber, and that may cause some problems in spinning," he said. Rice straw fibers, by contrast, are naturally more pliant and produce fabric similar in texture to cotton or linen. Yang acknowledges that fabrics spun from chicken feathers may be slightly more cardboard-like than their cotton-derived counterparts. "I'm not recommending anyone try to use this fabric to make underwear," he said. The mixed success of previous recycled-fiber experiments also raises questions about how marketable Yang and Reddy's concept will be. Two years ago, the duo perfected a way to turn discarded corn husks into fabric, but no manufacturer has yet signed on to produce the cloth on a large scale. Engineers who specialize in making plastic soft drink bottles into fabric have had better luck. About 35 percent of plastic bottles are recycled each year, and most of them are turned into fibers for clothing and other textiles (25 two-liter plastic pop bottles make one fleece pullover). Though Yang and Reddy are still waiting on a big commercial breakthrough, they remain optimistic that economics and public opinion will eventually work in their favor. "Fifty percent of all the world's fabrics are made from petroleum, and most of the rest are made from cotton (crops), which use 20 percent of the world's pesticides," Yang said. "We wouldn't be consuming any products to make this fabric, because they're there anyway. We're adding increased value to agriculture without polluting the environment."
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UA officials work out transit details 09/21/2006 Crimson White, University of Alabama, The Kristie Busam		Return to Top
This story mentions AU's Tiger Transit as a model. Each fall the weather gets steamy and leaves pedestrians panting while they hike from the Moody Music Building to ten Hoor Hall, but next fall the administration has plans to aid the sweaty walkers. With final approval from the UA System Board of Trustees, the University's planned transit system is on its way to being implemented for fall 2007, said Gina Johnson, associate vice president for auxiliary services. There will be 15 buses that will run six routes during the peak hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Seven buses will run three routes from 7 p.m. to at least 2 or 3 a.m., Johnson said. She said that on the weekend seven buses will run three routes from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The Bama Escort Service, a University Supply Store supported program, will be available when the transit is not, said Ronnie Robertson, director of transportation services. A $1.5 million Federal Transportation Appropriations grant and $375,000 in parking reserves will fund the transit system, according to documents from Friday's board meeting. Cognisa was the company chosen to implement the transit system and currently provides transit system services to several other colleges including Georgia Technical Institute, Emory University, Texas State University and the University of Buffalo, Johnson said. Robertson said the most pressing concern with the transit system was keeping the buses on time for each bus stop. "Our major concern is doing something with the traffic," Robertson said. "Buses won't be on time if they are stuck in traffic." Robertson said ensuring timely buses meant that several roads on campus will be restricted for transit use only. Because the transit plans are in "the infant stage," consultants are still determining what roads will be only for the transit, where parking must be taken out and what transit routes will be added or taken away. "The parking around Gorgas [Library] and the Quad will be taken out," Johnson said. Robertson said one way students can determine where a particular bus is and when it will get to a particular stop is by a GPS system that locates each bus, and riders can track their bus via Internet or cell phone. "It shows a map of exactly where a bus is on a PC or it can come up on your phone to see where a bus is," Robertson said. Robertson said the GPS system will be like that of North Carolina State University's transit system. According to the NCSU transportation Web site, the information on Wolfline, NCSU's transit system, can be accessed on phones with Internet capability, text messaging or with computers via the Internet. TransLoc Inc. created the system to help with vehicular tracking, and the online map shows color coated transit routes with colored bubbles in motion to show exactly where a bus is on the road. Robertson said he realized students would not ride the transit if it wouldn't be on time. "Our major concern is timing, because a bus has to be where we say it's going to be at a certain time," Robertson said. Robertson said there are three kinds of routes. An academic route will take five minutes for full rotation, a residential route will have a 10-minute duration and the campus perimeter route will have a 20-minute duration. "You must be at a bus stop to board the bus," Robertson said. "You can't just flag down a bus." Robertson said this was necessary to keep the transit system on time. Johnson said the transit buses are in the process of being customized to fit the University. Johnson said Tiger Transit at Auburn University had orange and blue paint, and that the University's transit buses would probably be red and white. "We will have a custom made design for the interior with upholstery custom made with maybe some kind of Alabama logo on the seats," she said. "When you get on you will immediately know it's an Alabama, 'Roll Tide' bus." There will be two types of buses, one with forward-only seating with between 32 and 34 seats and the other with a combination of perimeter and forward seating with 30 to 32 seats, Johnson said. Robertson said the buses with perimeter seating had standing room. "We were told that there is standing room for around 90," Robertson said. Johnson said bus shelters would be created with covered benches, and that curb cuts were not needed. "There is an air system that allows the bus to lower to curb level so handicapped students can get on," Robertson said. "The bus actually drops down about a foot." Robertson said the transit stop points were preliminary because there was no way to tell exactly where students need stops. "We are not going to spend a lot of money on fancy stops the first year," Robertson said. "After a year cycle we should know exactly where stops are needed. "We want the transit to come where students need them." Johnson said swiping ACTion cards won't be needed, but that the transit system is for students, faculty and staff and official visitors. "At this time we don't plan on asking for any identification, but we may at night for safety reasons," Johnson said. The buses have air conditioners, no fumes and are quiet, Robertson said. "We hope everything goes well with the building of the buses so we will have three buses next summer for freshman orientation," Robertson said.
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Coming to America 09/21/2006 Dothan Eagle Jim Cook		Return to Top
AU is one of several Alabama colleges and universities with students from Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabian students will attend Alabama universities as part of a U.S. State Department plan allowing 15,000 students from the Middle Eastern kingdom to study in America. The plan expands current scholarship programs that are already allowing students from Saudi Arabia to study here. Most of the scholarships are funded by the royal family of Saudi Arabia. According to the Associated Press, the governments of the two countries hope the program will forge a better relationship between the countries at a time when the U.S.-Muslim ties are strained. The program would also benefit universities because the students attending would be fully-funded and paying out-of-state tuition. Several Alabama universities already have students from Saudi Arabia studying here. Troy University has about 25. Auburn University has five. The University of Alabama has about 35. The new program will likely add more. The move may be a cause for concern to some because of the country's connection to terrorism. Fifteen of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. Jim Ellis, director of international education for Auburn University, said all international students are given background searches before coming to America and are monitored by the university they attend. Ellis said the intensity of the background check depends on what subject the student is studying. Ellis said the university's monitoring begins when the students come in the country, when government officials verify that the person who has arrived is the same person who was allowed to enter the country. After entry, the students have about five days to check in with their school. If the students don't check in, they're reported to immigration officials. Once they're in school, university officials regularly check their enrollment status and their living address. Also, whenever the students leave the country, they must notify university officials. It's not round the clock monitoring. Ellis said if the students commit a criminal offense the university may not learn of it until they're convicted. "Can a student go for a year without seeing us - yeah," he said. However, Ellis also said that the level of monitoring international students received was higher than that of most non-immigrant visitors to America. Ellis said the point of the program, building bridges between nations, is what people should keep in mind. "Any program that fosters cultural exchange with the U.S. is a good program," he said. "...Having the Saudis come here, Chinese come here, Egyptians come here, Brazillians come here, is critical to fostering global awareness."
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Mitch Sneed Grateful to the man who spoke for AU 09/20/2006 Opelika-Auburn News		Return to Top
In this business, you come to appreciate people who work hard to make your job easier. That's why those who cover or have covered Auburn University at this newspaper came to appreciate AU's Media Relations Manager David Granger. He shoots straight, doesn't give you a line and does everything in his power to get you the information and access you need to do your job. News came last week that Granger will be leaving Auburn to head to Montgomery, where he will serve as assistant to the chancellor at Auburn University at Montgomery. "I'm extremely pleased to have someone of David's competence and experience joining Auburn University at Montgomery's leadership team," said AUM Chancellor John Veres. "David will be instrumental in informing the communities we serve about the many exciting AUM and joint AU-AUM initiatives we are currently undertaking. He'll be a considerable asset to our efforts in the years ahead." Deedie Dowdle, AU's director of Communications & Marketing, praised what David did here. He was often the public face in times that were less than flattering. "This opportunity is a terrific one for David and we are very happy for him," Dowdle said. "Although this office will sorely miss his day-to-day skills, he will continue to work from time to time with us to increase collaboration between AU and AUM on communications activities, bringing the campuses closer and expanding the good news we both have to share." It’s a great opportunity - it's a promotion, with a shorter commute to work. Plus, there has to be a little less pressure in Montgomery than what he faced here. But even though it's good for him, he will be missed by those of us who have to scramble each day for a story. Dealing with the media at a place like Auburn University is a stressful situation, but Granger handled it well. He would never take the credit and he would be quick to tell you he doesn't develop policy, but to reporters it's apparent that Granger was instrumental in changing an attitude that was once "if we say nothing maybe it will go away." I still have the picture of former AU beat reporter Jack Stripling on my office wall. Stripling was trying to get a quote from then AU Interim President Ed Richardson at a time when Richardson wasn't talking to Stripling. Granger's there in the picture, stuck in the middle, trying to mediate. David showed me very early on that he understood what we do for a living. He may not have always had the answer we wanted, or been able to get us everything. But he always tried to help. When we learned that the AU police force would merge with the city's police division we called on Granger to get a comment. The deal wasn't done and the administration didn’t want to say anything until all the details were worked out. We knew that the story was big and we couldn’t wait. Granger went to bat and came up with something that we could use. He didn't give me details, but it must have taken more trips back and forth between offices than a car salesman makes back to his boss when he's "trying to cut you a deal." I'm sure there were Rolaids eaten by the dozen, but the bottom line is David did what he said he would do. Dowdle has been great to work with and has been able to open the flow of information from the administration. People like Mike Clardy will take on many of the chores that David dealt with every day and Auburn's story will continue to be told. David will do a great job at AUM, but that doesn't change the fact that we will miss him here. Thanks David, we appreciate the role you played in changing the way people see Auburn University. Mitch Sneed is the managing editor of the Opelika-Auburn News. He can be reached at msneed@oanow.com or at (334) 737-2541.
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'This is about ability' 09/20/2006 Opelika-Auburn News Lindsay Field		Return to Top
Disabled veterans are "never a problem, just an opportunity to succeed." REALifelines, a program through the U.S. Department of Labor, and members of the national department began preparing for the Wounded and Injured Veterans Summit nearly a year and a half ago. The summit was held at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center on Wednesday and throughout today. "We are dedicated to the recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration of the severely injured into the work place," said Charles "Chick" Ciccolella, assistance secretary of labor for the Veterans’ Employment and Training. REALifelines has served between 600 and 700 people nationwide and placed over 100 wounded or injured service members in career-enhancing jobs. "The only reason we haven't placed more is because they are still in duty," Ciccolella said. "These soldiers are very well educated and receive enormous training." Ciccolella said Alabama was chosen for the summit location because of Gov. Bob Riley's "Operation Grateful Heart," which is Alabama's program to ensure that all military personnel and their families receive appropriate recognition, tangible support, and neighborly care, launched on June 3, 2004. "You often hear that Auburn (University) runs the world," said Gov. Riley, summit host. "If you look out here, you see that it does." Riley was referring to the nearly 40 states represented in the audience Wednesday morning. Members of the U.S. Departments of Labor, Defense and Veterans Affairs, as well as, federal, state and community personnel were in attendance. "We have to do something for (service members) when they return home," Riley said. "So many are living different ways because of their service to this country. What (summit attendees) are doing here today is important." Personnel from the federal, state and local levels met to share ideas on how the government and employers can better provide employment opportunities to wounded and injured soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines when they return from battle. "Understand how important your mission is for the next two days," concluded Riley. "You are making a difference in people’s lives you will probably never meet. Let's take care of our heroes of today." Maj. Gen. Kenneth L. Farmer Jr, M.D., former commanding general at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, gave his last speech in uniform to summit members. "This is about ability, not disability," Farmer said. "There's great potential for these folks as employees, who have been instilled with discipline and duty." Farmer reminded summit attendees that at some point, no matter how long recovery from their wounds may take, they will return to the work world. "Don't they just sound like the kind of employees you'd like to have," Farmer said. "This is one way you can serve our country." Matt Bacik, who retired from the U.S. Army, lost his leg in a roadside bomb on July 22, 2005. "When I healed, I asked, how do I transition back to active duty or the work world," said Bacik, who spoke on behalf of the Wounded Warrior Project, which is a program that has delivered over 12,000 backpacks to soldiers serving in the war against terrorism since 2003. "How can we foster more gate openings than gate keepings?" After retiring from the military, Bacik chose to return to college and is currently earning his master’s degree in business administration at Auburn University. "Communities (and employers) need to recognize the flood of people entering work and school (after they return from war)," Bacik said. "Be cognoscente of bringing wounded soldiers back into the work place." A ribbon cutting was held for the "State of Technology and Resource Fair" in the main ballroom at the Auburn University Hotel and Conference Center at noon. Technology demonstrations were held throughout the afternoon and today attendees participated in network, resource and demonstrations.
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