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Monday, December 4, 2006

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Total Clips: 6

	Date	Outlet
Region will benefit, despite Auburn tactics	12/03/2006	Press-Register
Getting some shuteye	12/03/2006	Opelika-Auburn News
Auburn, USA agreement will help address pharmacist shortage	12/03/2006	Press-Register
Avoid hooks of online phishing scams with tips from experts	12/02/2006	Opelika-Auburn News
(AU President) Richardson issues education challenges	12/02/2006	Andalusia Star-News, The
USA more than halfway to $75 million fundraising goal	12/02/2006	Press-Register


Region will benefit, despite Auburn tactics 12/03/2006 Press-Register Editorial		Return to Top
A pharmacy program at the University of South Alabama is badly needed, even if it isn't completely USA's. Regardless of the higher-education politicking surrounding the agreement to run the program as a satellite of Auburn University, what's most important to this community is that the program is scheduled to start next fall. With a regional as well as nationwide shortage of pharmacists, a local program to educate new pharmacists was imperative. Under the terms of the agreement, the doctorate of pharmacy program will be located at USA, but most of the faculty will come from Auburn and the degree requirements will be those of Auburn's pharmacy school. Twenty-four students are expected to enroll in the first class next fall. People with knowledge of the pharmacist shortage in south Alabama say it results in longer waits for prescriptions to be filled, less time for consultations between pharmacists and patients, and in some cases reduced hours at pharmacies that don't have enough staff. Since the proper use of prescription medication can help keep patients from needing much more expensive forms of health care, it's important that pharmacy services be readily accessible. And anyone who's ever been sick and had to stand in line or sit at a drive-through window waiting to get a prescription filled knows that a long wait is only going to make a patient feel worse. The Auburn-USA agreement will get the program up and running quickly, and the two schools may well find other ways to cooperate in providing health care education. That said, members of the Press-Register editorial board remain unhappy with the tactics originally employed by Auburn officials to block USA from having its own pharmacy school. Indeed, we're still not sure that USA wasn't, to some extent, bullied into agreeing to the joint program. Last year, USA took its proposal for its own pharmacy school to the Alabama Commission on Higher Education, which must approve new academic programs at public universities. Auburn and Samford, a private university, have the only pharmacy schools in the state. USA clearly documented the need for a new school, but under pressure from turf-oriented Auburn, ACHE rejected the idea. We still think ACHE should have considered only whether the pharmacy school was needed, regardless of what Auburn officials thought about the idea. And we still think USA ought to have control over programs offered on its own campus. But we hope that the joint operation will work well, and that graduates from the USA campus pharmacy program will want to set up their careers in south Alabama. However it's structured, the program will be considered a success if it improves the quality and availability of pharmacy service.
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Getting some shuteye 12/03/2006 Opelika-Auburn News Donathan Prater		Return to Top
Joseph Buckhalt, a professor with the Department of Counseling Education, Counseling Psychology and School Psychology at AU was a source for this story. Mona El-Sheikh, a professor with AU's Department of Human Development and Family Studies is cited for studies on the subject. Its an act that has been humorously referred to with images of counting sheep or sawing logs. Some folks call it 'getting some shuteye' while others simply refer to it as 'catching some Zs.' But no matter what nickname you might have for it, when it comes to getting a good nights sleep, the real science behind what happens between the time you shut your eyes and awake the next day, starts from the moment you put your head to the pillow. Over the course of a lifetime, most of us will spend up to a third of our lives asleep. The structure of sleep in humans follows a pattern of alternating REM (rapid eye movement) and NREM (non-rapid eye movement) that repeats itself in various stages of sleep during a typical night. "It is thought that during these various stages of sleep, that areas of the brain retune themselves," said Joseph Buckhalt, a professor with the Department of Counseling Education, Counseling Psychology and School Psychology at Auburn University. "It takes about and hour and a half to two hours to move from one stage of sleep to another." Buckhalt and his colleague, Mona El-Sheikh, a professor with AUs Department of Human Development and Family Studies, have conducted numerous pediatric studies on sleep habits due in part to research grants from the National Science Foundation. What happens in each of the four stages of NREM sleep is a key ingredient to achieving an overall good nights rest. The first stage of NREM occurs when one is still awake and just entering a light sleep. Next, at the onset of sleep, one becomes disengaged from surroundings, but the bodys heartbeat and breathing remain regular. During the third and fourth stages, the most restorative stages of sleep, the blood pressure drops, breathing slows and blood supply to the bodys muscles increases. Waking up early or getting to bed late on a regular basis can disrupt any one of these stages, according to Buckhalt. "When it comes to sleep deprivation, when you get to bed too late or get up too early, youre not only losing quantity of sleep but your quality of sleep as well," Buckhalt said. While each persons sleep requirements vary, elementary-school-aged children should get 10 to 12 hours of sleep a night, while middle schoolers and high schoolers can usually get along just fine with eight or nine hours of sleep a night. But getting the right amount of sleep can be especially important in children because they are still growing, and many of the bodys growth hormones are secreted at night. The children who have participated in some of Buckhalts past research were found to perform better academically and behaviorally if they got 10 to 12 hours of sleep a night. That number can change for adults, but there are a couple of ways Buckhalt says people can determine if theyre getting enough sleep each night. "You can tell how much sleep youre missing by taking a look at your sleeping habits when youre on a vacation or on a weekend when you get a chance to sleep in late, and figure out the time that you wake up on one of those days compared to the time youd have to get up on a normal workday," Buckhalt said. "And while many people use an alarm clock to get themselves up in the morning, if you have to use one to get yourself up, theres a good chance youre probably sleep deprived." And while many folks simply blow off missing a few hours of sleep here or there or try to drown it out with a strong cup of coffee, accumulating what Buckhalt calls a "sleep debt" can have serious consequences if youre in a profession that requires you to be alert for a sustained amount of time or even drive a considerable distance. "Some studies have even indicated that driving while youre sleepy can be just as bad as if you were driving drunk," Buckhalt said. Add that to the nearly 40 million Americans who already suffer from a chronic sleeping disorder, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and you have a serious problem that people are literally losing sleep over. But there are some steps one can take to get a better quality and in some cases greater quantity of sleep. "With the exception of preschoolers, it seems that the nap is no longer part of our lives, but a short nap can be very restorative during the day," Buckhalt said. Another step that a person can take in reclaiming valuable rest time is to get "unplugged" every now and then. "We live in a world where we are bombarded with so much technology," Buckhalt said. "Cable television, iPods, video games and text-messaging devices are available and it seems that theyre always on." Other tips to help get a good nights rest: - Make sleep a priority in your life, and try to establish a regular sleeping routine. - Avoid watching TV in bed, and designate your bed for sleeping only. - Avoid eating at night and drinking alcohol or caffeinated beverages. This will give your body an energy boost that youre not looking for just before turning in for the night. - Record or (Tivo) your favorite show if it comes on late to watch later. Several cable channels show reruns of shows the following day.
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Auburn, USA agreement will help address pharmacist shortage 12/03/2006 Press-Register Ed Richardson and Gordon Moulton		Return to Top
AU President Richardson and USA President Moulton contributed this Special to the Press-Register. Most of Alabama as well as the United States is facing a serious shortage of pharmacists. Fortunately for the people of our state and the Gulf Coast, an exciting new collaboration has been created between Auburn University and the University of South Alabama to alleviate this shortage by increasing the number of pharmacy school graduates and enhancing the availability of trained pharmacists. If you live in Mobile or Baldwin counties, the shortage of pharmacists may have touched you when you noticed an unusually long wait to have a prescription filled. Or perhaps your favorite pharmacy has had to reduce its hours because of a lack of staff. Maybe you felt the shortage when, due to a hectic pace in your drugstore, you weren't able to adequately discuss your medications with your pharmacist. If you live in a small town or rural area in Alabama, your likelihood of having experienced one or more of these scenarios is dramatically higher. Your local pharmacy may have even gone out of business due to an inability to hire a licensed pharmacist. The U.S. Bureau of Health Professions puts it plainly: "There has been an unprecedented demand for pharmacists which has not been met by current supply." Why is there a shortage of pharmacists? The good news is that many of the reasons reflect positive trends. -Pharmaceutical research is bringing new and better medications to the market, and people have unprecedented health care options. -We are living longer and our quality of life is improving. -Health care is more convenient. Community pharmacies and drugstore chains are expanding their hours to meet the needs of the modern consumer. -Our hospitals and health care institutions are increasingly involving pharmacists in total patient care. These are all positive developments, but they pose a challenge. If we are to adequately support continued improvement in our nation's health care, we must educate far more pharmacists than we educate at present. While retail pharmacists are often the most visible to the consumer, there is much more to the equation. Professional pharmacists are vital members of the medical team in our nation's hospitals and community clinics. These staff pharmacists are critical in the delivery of medication and for providing consultation, expertise and quality control. And as our hospitals get more sophisticated and more adept at saving and improving lives, the demand for pharmacists expands as well. Pharmacists are also needed in universities and research laboratories where students are being taught and tomorrow's miracle drugs are being developed and tested. When you combine the expanding demand for pharmacists with the need for pharmacy professionals in hospitals, other health care institutions, education and the research field, you have a much clearer picture of our national shortage of professional pharmacists. Nationally, every type of organization or business that depends on pharmacy professionals is having difficulty filling vacancies. The number of pharmacy jobs open today is among the highest in history. Salaries for new doctor of pharmacy graduates are in the $90,000-per-year range and above. In fact, nationally there is one pharmacist for every 1,050 people, a ratio that has been widely described as a "shortage." Looking more closely at Alabama reveals the true picture in our state. In Mobile and Baldwin counties, there is one pharmacist for every 1,200 people. And if you look at Alabama's rural areas, you have one pharmacist for every 1,500 people, a ratio 40 percent below the national average. The U.S. Bureau of Health Professions sees no end to this trend and envisions even greater demand for pharmacists in the future. The only real solution, according to the bureau, is to expand the number of pharmacy professionals. This is where the new program between Auburn University and the University of South Alabama comes in. For many years, Auburn University has served as the only public university in Alabama offering the doctor of pharmacy degree required for professional licensure. Over the years, Auburn graduates have taken their place in the pharmacy profession in the state and well beyond. The University of South Alabama, through its academic programs in medicine, nursing and allied health professions, has educated numerous physicians and health care professionals. It also has served as one of the largest providers of health care on the upper Gulf Coast through its physicians, hospitals and the Mitchell Cancer Institute. Playing on the strengths of both institutions, Auburn and USA have joined forces to create a doctor of pharmacy degree program on the USA campus in Mobile. The program begins in fall 2007. Graduates of the program in Mobile will receive their degrees from the Auburn University Harrison School of Pharmacy at the University of South Alabama. Students are eligible to apply for this four-year graduate program upon completing undergraduate studies in an appropriate pre-pharmacy or related health professions field, which are already offered at both institutions. In a nutshell, we believe this agreement between Auburn and USA is the right thing to do for the people of Alabama. Both of our institutions are committed to working together to improve pharmacy care, especially in the southern part of the state, while making efficient use of state funds. Student pharmacists will receive the same high-quality education in Mobile as at Auburn, and residents of Mobile will soon see an increase in the number of well-educated, highly competent pharmacy graduates serving all of South Alabama. Under the new arrangement between the two universities, Auburn's pharmacy school will establish a satellite program in facilities at the USA Health Services Building. It will staff and administer the program with AU faculty, and establish the same admission requirements and academic criteria as the Harrison School of Pharmacy on the Auburn campus. AU will administer the admission process to the pharmacy program, and a USA faculty member is expected to serve on the AU Harrison School's admission committee. In some cases, AU pharmacy faculty will teach USA medical students and USA medical faculty will teach AU pharmacy students. USA will extend clinical pharmacy appointments to AU pharmacy faculty involved in education programs for student physicians, medical residents and other health care students. Auburn, in turn, will extend affiliate faculty appointments to USA faculty who participate in the Harrison School of Pharmacy program. Students in all of these health-related programs will benefit from "real world" experience gained at USA's hospitals and other medical facilities. The new program's goal is to quickly move to help reduce the shortage of well-trained, licensed pharmacists throughout the state, but particularly in the Mobile area and along the Gulf Coast from the Florida Panhandle to the Biloxi area and beyond. By immediately increasing the number of qualified students accepted into the doctor of pharmacy program, as well as making this program more geographically accessible to bright young men and women in the region, we will help alleviate the shortage of professional pharmacists serving the public. This exciting partnership between Auburn University and the University of South Alabama will result in improved health care and longer, healthier lives for the people of Alabama and the Gulf Coast.
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Avoid hooks of online phishing scams with tips from experts 12/02/2006 Opelika-Auburn News Donathan Prater		Return to Top
Jonathan Davis, co-leader of the Extension and College of Agriculture and Computer Technology Unit for Auburn University is quoted in this story. Crack open most anglers' tackle boxes and you’ll find an assortment of lures used to reel in that prized catch. However, this latest group of avaricious anglers is pulling their brand of bait from a high-tech tackle box - the Internet. Actually, the kind of bait these crooks are trying to get folks to bite on is called phishing, a criminal activity in which 'phishers' attempt to acquire sensitive personal information about an individual such as passwords and credit card numbers using electronic communications and in doing so can potentially assume the victim's identity and rack up huge debts in their names. And the numbers would indicate that the line these phony phishermen are casting has gotten more than its share of bites. According to the Anti-Phishing Working Group and the Better Business Bureau, phishing scams grew 178 percent from March to April 2004. It is estimated that between May 2004 and May 2005, 1.2 million U.S. computers suffered losses as the result of phishing totaling another $929 million in financial losses. The practice of phishing represents an evolution in fraud, according to Jonathan Davis, co-leader of the Extension and College of Agriculture and Computer Technology Unit for Auburn University. "Before, schemes like phishing were done with telephone calls," Davis said. "Now that same scheme has been taken to the Internet." And when it comes to phishing, the old saying that states that the more things change, the more they stay the same especially applies and recognizing and understanding that fact can help keep you from becoming a victim of a phishing. "One way to identify a potential phishing attempt is when you open your e-mail and the message has a very generic look," Davis said. "The phisher is usually sending out that same message to thousands of people, so that should be one of your first tip-offs as to the legitimacy of the message." Phishing messages may appear authentic and even include the logo or insignia of a reputable financial institution and request personal information about you such as your Social Security and account numbers. "Other phishing messages include links that say one thing, but once you click on it, take you to a totally different destination," Davis said. Using your browser's tools to check the 'properties' of the link in the e-mail is an easy way to make sure that that link is actually taking you where it says it is or just taking you for a ride. Providing your personal information online via a non-secured site is something Davis recommends one never do and is something that most reputable banks and financial institutions will never ask you for in an e-mail. "If you think the e-mail requesting your personal information might be legitimate, contact the financial institution instead of replying to it online to see if the' actually sent you anything in the first place," Davis said. "But if you're sure that your bank hasn't sent you anything, don’t even bother opening the e-mail and simply delete it." A piece of advice Capt. Tom Stofer of the Auburn Police Division echoes. "Always safeguard your personal information such as your Social Security and date of birth," Stofer said. And while phisher's methods of stealing have gotten an upgrade with the introduction of the Internet, there's one piece of good, old-fashioned advice Stofer has that's timeless. "If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is," Stofer said. The Details Tips to avoid getting hooked by Internet phishing scams: - Don't respond to online pop-ups. - Check your credit card statements frequently, monitoring any suspicious purchases. - Keep your computer's anti-virus software up to date. - Use a current version of the Web browser you're using. (The most recent versions of the Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers notify you with a warning message when you navigate onto a potential phishing Web site.)
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(AU President) Richardson issues education challenges 12/02/2006 Andalusia Star-News, The Jerry Andrews		Return to Top
This week I was honored to be a guest at the Andalusia Rotary Club to hear Auburn University President Ed Richardson speak. I know that everyone remembers Dr. Richardson and his family during the eight years that he spent here as principal of the Andalusia High School. I credit Dr. Richardson with much of the success that we have had in the past and still experience in Andalusia. I have often commented on the great heritage that education has in Andalusia. I have spoken at length about the many great educators that Andalusia has been fortunate to have had over the years. Certainly Dr. Richardson is included in that distinguished company During his remarks Tuesday, Dr. Richardson noted that due to rising entrance test scores, that Auburn, and all of Alabama's colleges and universities, would become more difficult to gain entrance into. He challenged us to redouble our efforts in education so that our students will be prepared for the competition that they will face in the future. Not only from here in Alabama, but also from the rest of the nation and all over the world. As the economies of China and India emerge, our kids will have to compete with students from those countries for admission and for jobs. I know that there are limited resources in any situation and that no matter how well funded any institution is there is always need for improvement. However, I feel that we must take a stand and build our community's success around education. Our schools have performed at optimum levels consistently for many, many years. They have done so while facing funding shortages and cutbacks during difficult times. Dr. Richardson, while praising Andalusia and its accomplishments, said that we must turn it up a notch if we are truly serious about success. With the emergence of China, India, and many other traditionally third world nations, many manufacturing jobs that our region of the country relied upon for generations will be gone. Many have already left. The challenge before us is to create highly skilled jobs that have normally been centered in other regions of the county. We have a tremendous opportunity before us at the airport to bring these jobs to our area. Along with these efforts we must build an educational system that is second to none. As business and industry look at a community they seriously consider the schools for several reasons. They want to know if the schools can produce graduates with communication, math and science skills. They also want a good school system that can prepare the firm's management's kids with an outstanding education. They want neat, clean, vibrant campuses. They want competitive sports programs, state-of-the-art media and resource centers, science labs, top notch extracurricular activities like band and chorus. We have so much of the battle already fought and won. We have so much in our favor. We have great tradition. Andalusia is right in the middle of the Sun Belt, but is a safe distance from the gulf's storms. People are flocking out of the North and into the South but want to find a safe community that still provides a great quality of life. However the don't want to be too close to the coast. Sound familiar? Dr. Richardson also singled out five outstanding Andalusia High School students that he had signed scholarship offers to. They are Sarah Darby, David Mathews, Rachel Wilkes, Anna Williams, and Sarah Wofford. I cannot tell you how proud I am of these young people and their parents and teachers. Yet it is no surprise that Andalusia High School consistently turns out quality graduates. If we are to prosper, no survive, we must make education our top priority. Of course we still must have infrastructure to fuel economic development and a vast array of city services to satisfy public demands, but we must not loose sight of education. In closing, I want to comment on my great pride in our football team's accomplishments. I know that we have many other athletic and academic events that we are equally prideful of, but football represents a venue that allows so many of our people to participate in and enjoy. These young men and their coaches have worked many long months to get where they are today. This column will appear on Saturday after the Thomasville game, however I am writing it on Wednesday before the game. It has been a long time since we have had the opportunity to see our team advance this far in the playoffs. Having Dr. Richardson in town brought back memories of the days when Andalusia was known all over the state for a winning tradition. This bunch we have now is very serious about bringing us back to the top. No matter what happens Friday night, I am very proud of our team and their class and determination. They have already done more to draw positive attention to Andalusia than any ad campaign ever could. Congratulations to all students, faculty and staff at Andalusia High School! Go Bulldogs!
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USA more than halfway to $75 million fundraising goal 12/02/2006 Press-Register GEORGE R. ALTMAN		Return to Top
AU's fund-raising is mentioned in this story. The University of South Alabama raised about $16 million in fiscal 2005-06, bringing the school more than halfway toward the $75 million goal for its first-ever campaign. USA has raised a total of $44.3 million since the effort began in September 2003, according to Joseph F. Busta Jr., the university's vice president for development and alumni relations. The University of Alabama and Auburn University are conducting similar fundraising campaigns and also posted strong gains in the last fiscal year. Auburn raised $105.3 million in the 2005-06 year. With total pledges of $413 million, Auburn is closing in on a $500 million goal it said it wants to reach by March 2008, according to spokesman Mike Clardy. The University of Alabama, meanwhile, raised $108 million in the past fiscal year toward its $500 million goal, according to information from university spokeswoman Cathy Andreen. The campaign has drawn pledges of $340 million thus far, and is set to end in 2009. Universities occasionally conduct such campaigns to boost money available for everything from scholarships to construction. Schools set fundraising priorities and goals and dispatch volunteers in pursuit of large donations. Typically, the campaigns start with a "quiet phase," in which neither the campaign nor the fundraising goals are announced. The quiet phase of USA's fundraising campaign began in September 2003. The 13,300-student university announced the campaign and its $75 million goal in March this year and hopes to meet that amount by March 2009. It has raised another $8 million since the March announcement. Busta said that the quiet phase of a fundraising campaign helps a school set realistic goals. After this period, a university can win pledges more quickly by revealing the campaign to the public. "It helps momentum. It shows credibility," Busta said of public announcements. "People don't like to give to things that aren't successful." Medical programs at USA are set to be the biggest beneficiaries of the university's campaign. The USA Mitchell Cancer Institute is slated to get $21 million, more than any other department at the school. If the campaign met all goals, there would be $3.42 million for Children's & Women's Hospital, $2.5 million for the USA Medical Center, $3 million for the College of Medicine, and $1 million each for nursing and allied health programs. The remaining money would go to scholarships, new faculty hires, building costs and various academic programs. "If we're successful, we believe we'll provide more and stronger student leaders for the future, more and better quality research," Busta said. He said that the public money that USA receives as a state university allows it to meet a minimum standard. Going beyond this minimum requires additional funding, Busta said. While university-affiliated foundations at Auburn and Alabama are aiding campaigns at those schools, the USA Foundation will play no role in USA's fundraising effort, Busta said. There is a history of conflict between the university and its free-standing foundation. University trustees and the foundation board have sued each other twice, with the trustees in both cases trying to gain control of foundation assets. Settlements in each case left the foundation in charge of the money, and relations have improved somewhat since. Busta said he was not at USA at the time of the lawsuits and could not speak to how they may be affecting the foundation's lack of a role in the campaign. The University of Alabama received gifts from some 50,549 donors in the 2005-06 fiscal year, according to figures provided by spokeswoman Andreen. Auburn's campaign received donations from 29,088 people in the last fiscal year, according to Clardy, Auburn's spokesman. In contrast, USA has received donations from 11,710 people during its entire campaign. Because this is USA's first such fundraising effort, the goal is not only to raise money, but to increase the number of contributors, Busta said. "Since we've not had a campaign," Busta said, "broadening the base of support is one of the objectives." Busta said he didn't believe that the other schools' campaigns would affect USA's fundraising. "It doesn't matter to us whether they're doing campaigns or not because our markets are different," Busta said. "There's some overlap, but there's not that much."
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