Auburn University

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Good morning! Here's today's summary of news coverage of Auburn University.
Total Clips: 15
Headline Date Outlet
   Football team just one piece of Auburn mess 07/18/2006 al.com
   Professor says he won't help with probe 07/18/2006 Birmingham News
   Auburn professor backs out of investigation of his claims 07/18/2006 USA Today
   NCAA waits for Auburn probe 07/18/2006 Washington (DC) Times
   Auburn accuser balks 07/18/2006 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
   Auburn Professor Speaks Out 07/18/2006 WTVM-TV
   Auburn Professor Speaks About Grade Scandal Allegations 07/18/2006 WSFA-TV
   Gundlach removes himself 07/18/2006 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
FOOTBALL; N.C.A.A. and SEC Await Auburn's Inquiry on Suspect Courses 07/18/2006 New York Times (NY)
Professor right to blow whistle 07/18/2006 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
   Prof denies filing complaint 07/18/2006 Opelika-Auburn News
   Auburn president not taking questions lightly 07/18/2006 Montgomery Advertiser
   Giant-size yellow jacket nests appearing in state 07/17/2006 Birmingham News, The
   Auburn University Hands out Vulcan Grant 07/17/2006 Rock Products
   Review two views of the first man 07/17/2006 Space Review, The

Football team just one piece of Auburn mess
07/18/2006
al.com

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BELIEVE IT or not, football is not the most important issue in the case of possible academic fraud at Auburn University.

As many as 250 students may have gotten an easy ride from a sociology professor, according to a story in The New York Times. Fewer than 20 of them were football players.

The story is based on allegations and records provided by a fellow sociology professor, James Gundlach. If the story holds up, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools may be more interested than the NCAA.

The story centers on sociology professor Thomas Petee, now the interim department chairman, and his extensive offerings of independent studies in lieu of traditional classes during the 2004-05 academic year. It appears that students could read a book or two, write reports on what they read and get college credit.

According to the Times, 18 football players from the undefeated 2004 team took 97 hours of sociology "directed readings." Overall grades were high; perhaps not coincidentally, the team has the highest academic progress ranking among public universities in the nation's major football conferences.

Dr. Gundlach says he reported his findings to John Heilman, who has since become Auburn provost; and eventually Dr. Petee was asked to cut back on a workload considered all-but-impossible to manage. He reportedly has scaled back the directed readings.

With the avalanche of bad publicity and the specter of possible NCAA sanctions on the football team, university officials naturally say they're investigating.

One newspaper story and one professor making allegations aren't enough to draw conclusions as to whether the NCAA -- or SACS -- will have a case against Auburn.

But Auburn's recent history with SACS, its accrediting agency, should be making university officials very nervous.

SACS put the university on probation in late 2003 after a series of problems that included meddling by powerful trustees and what was said to be improper administrative oversight of athletics. That wide-ranging scandal damaged the university and outraged alumni.

In the case of the football team, one of the key questions in any NCAA investigation that may ensue will be whether football players got special treatment that other students didn't get. If, as Dr. Gundlach alleges, 250 students were involved in just one academic year, then academic fraud may be more wide-ranging.

If athletes weren't getting special treatment, but Dr. Petee's directed readings were business as usual for everyone who knew how to get enrolled in his sociology "classes," then Auburn may be in much bigger trouble with SACS than the NCAA.

SACS officials ought to be asking questions and monitoring the university's investigation. And Auburn's investigation needs to be as open as possible.

Already, the reputation of not just the football team but of the entire university has been tarnished.
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Professor says he won't help with probe
07/18/2006
Birmingham News
Jon Solomon

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Sociology professor Jim Gundlach says he will no longer help Auburn University investigate his claims of easy grades given to students, including athletes, because of distrust with the investigating committee.

Gundlach said Monday the three-person committee asked him over the weekend to rerun the data he used to accuse hisdepartment chair, Thomas Petee, of running "fake courses." Gundlach believes Auburn leaked false information to portray him as a disgruntled employee.

"I'm just not going to go into a meeting where I think I'm sitting here being prosecuted so they can find some way to come out with another story," Gundlach said. "I'll just call their hand on it."

Auburn denied that its investigating committee has bad-mouthed Gundlach.

Gundlach said he spoke with two members of the committee about a month ago before the committee was officially formed.

During the inquiry, Gundlach said, he was surprised to be asked whether he supported Petee's appointment as department chair. Gundlach replied no.

Citing unidentified Auburn officials last week, a media report last Friday said that Gundlach complained to The New York Times partly because he was passed over as department chair. Gundlach, and other colleagues, say he never sought the post.

"It seems to me that at this stage of things, there was a deliberate effort by university officials to use discussions going on in this so-called inquiry to do the public-relations equivalent of killing the messenger," Gundlach said. "I've told them I don't feel safe talking before them anymore."

Sharon Gaber, associate provost and a member of the investigation committee, declined to comment. She referred questions to the marketing and communications department.

"I can't speak to how he feels. I can only say we absolutely and categorically deny that any member of the committee conveyed anything publicly about Dr. Gundlach," said university spokesperson Deedie Dowdle.

"We have no idea who might have said that or even if it is accurate by attribution. It absolutely did not come from the committee."

The other committee members are Constance Relihan, associate dean of academic affairs for the college of liberal arts, and Marsha Boosinger, chair of the library.

Petee is accused of offering directed-reading classes with minimal requirements to 250 students, including 18 football players. At least a quarter of the students were athletes - and Gundlach now says that claim was conservative.

Dowdle said the university does not have a specific timetable for the completion of its internal investigation, which started June 5.

"Rather than set an arbitrary deadline, we're trying to move as quickly as we can," Dowdle said. "But as long as it takes to answer every question, we'll take it."

Gundlach said his lack of cooperation now will not hinder the investigation because he informed the university how to cross-check data through a university system between classes and athletes.

Auburn first saw the data when it was provided by a New York Times reporter, at which time the school said it may not agree with the findings, Gundlach said.

Gundlach said he offered to run the data again for the university, under two conditions. He wanted a university employee with access to student records with him and someone willing to spend five or six hours.

"I'm not going to produce results that have students' names on it and have it passed around," Gundlach said. "That offers the potential of it getting out and me being blamed for violating somebody's confidentiality."

Gundlach said the university then responded it was comfortable with the data.

Gundlach said his meeting with committee members, which occurred before the story became public, led him to believe Auburn's focus was on determining if extra benefits occurred that would violate NCAA rules.

"If they're interested in reaching the conclusion whether this violated NCAA regulation, I think they can legitimately find the answer to be no," Gundlach said. "The people I think the university should be concerned about are SACS and the Alabama Legislature."

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Auburn's accrediting body, said last week it planned to speak with the university. Auburn was recently on one-year probation and was fully cleared in December 2005.

Paul Starr, a sociology professor at Auburn, said he views the investigation as a major academic issue mixed with elements of athletics.

"I know there's a lot of pressure on academic advisers helping athletes maintain eligibility and keep people in school, but I don't see a conspiracy," Starr said. "It's more of a culture thing. There are subtle indications where you're appreciated if you take care of some students. Some people are attracted to having celebrity athletes in class."

Gundlach said he was greeted by applause Monday morning by 10 or 12 faculty members at his office parking lot.

"It was really heart-warming," he said.
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Auburn professor backs out of investigation of his claims
07/18/2006
USA Today
Wire reports

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Auburn professor backs out of investigation of his claims
Updated 7/17/2006 11:26 PM ET
From wire reports
AUBURN, Ala. — The professor who blew the whistle on allegations of academic misconduct involving Auburn football players said he would no longer assist with the university's investigation of his claims, The Huntsville Times reported Monday.
James Gundlach, director of sociology at Auburn, also said there probably were no violations of NCAA rules since the courses under investigation were available to all students, not just athletes.

He said he sent an e-mail to university officials saying he would not cooperate with the review, which centers on his claims that Thomas Petee, a higher-ranking professor in the sociology department, gave high grades to athletes who enrolled in classes that didn't require them to do much work or attend classes.

Gundlach said he made his decision not to cooperate based on the reported comments of an unnamed university official in a Huntsville Times story on Friday. In the story, the official was quoted as saying Gundlach's complaints were prompted in part because of dissatisfaction over missing out on a promotion that went to Petee.

Gundlach called the claim "a total falsehood."

"The only contested office I ran for was director of sociology, and I won that. There are no sour grapes here," he said.

Gundlach did not return messages from the Associated Press seeking comment.

The university is investigating Gundlach's claims that Petee repeatedly gave high grades to football players without requiring them to do much academic work. The grades were in so-called "directed reading" courses, in which students aren't required to attend class but instead meet privately with teachers.

Gundlach said he went public with his claims, which were first reported by The New York Times, because of his belief that Petee was unfit to administer the sociology department. He said there were probably no violations of NCAA rules since the courses were available to students other than athletes.

"I have never said this was something that was done specifically for athletes," Gundlach said. "My concern was that the athletes were something that was going to call attention to it and lead to embarrassing situations. If the athletes weren't there, nobody would care."
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NCAA waits for Auburn probe
07/18/2006
Washington (DC) Times

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**UPI story**

The NCAA has said it will not take action against Auburn University athletes until the completion of an investigation into allegations of academic fraud.
NCAA President Miles Brand said the organization would allow Auburn University to complete its investigation into the allegations, which concern athletes using so-called directed-readings courses to keep their grade-point averages in the range acceptable to remain eligible for sports, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
"If there was abuse in the case, and I'm not sure that there is, if there was abuse, we would be sure to act," Brand said.
James Gundlach, director of Auburn's sociology department, has claimed that department Chairman Thomas Petee assigned large numbers of directed-reading classes, which involve very little work and no class time, to both athletes and non-athletes. Gundlach said Petee had run 152 such courses in a single semester.
"That's an institutional problem of some magnitude," Brand said. "It's not an athletics problem. It needs to be addressed on an institutional level."
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Auburn accuser balks
07/18/2006
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Bill Sanders

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Auburn sociology professor James Gundlach will not cooperate with the university committee assigned to investigate his allegations that a colleague gave out easy grades for almost no work in a class that became a haven for football players.

Gundlach isn't backing off his claims and still wants the matter investigated. But he said he has no faith in the committee, and notified its members this week of his decision.

"I want to expose them as not being interested in the truth," Gundlach said. "I think they are more interested in PR than a real investigation. Maybe by me not cooperating, they'll change the members of the committee."

Gundlach, 63, said he does not wish for Auburn to be sanctioned by the NCAA for rules violations and doesn't think what professor Thomas Petee, the sociology department chairman, did merited sanctions.

"If I had done nothing, I think it could have escalated to that point. What I want from this isn't sanctions. I hope that doesn't happen. But I want athletes to get a chance to maximize their academic experience here and not be persuaded to do otherwise."

Auburn administrators have declined comment on Gundlach's allegations while the investigation is ongoing.

Gundlach said he lost faith in the committee after meeting with them about four weeks ago. He believes one of the committee members leaked misleading information that he was bitter over not getting the chairmanship of the department.

"They asked me if I supported Petee's bid and I said no," he said. "Somehow, that got out as I wanted the position."

Another professor, Gregory Kowalski, said last week that he was the only other candidate for the position two years ago and that Gundlach had not sought the position.

While Gundlach insists politics did not play a role in him going to the administration about Petee, he acknowledges that there is a philosophical

divide in the department between the traditional anthropology sociologists, of which Gundlach is one, and the criminologists like Petee.

One of Gundlach's chief complaints was that Petee had offered directed-reading courses in sociology classes that were not part of his primary discipline of criminology.

Gundlach teaches Tuesday and Thursday classes during the summer.
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Auburn Professor Speaks Out
07/18/2006
WTVM-TV

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An Auburn university professor is being judged by students and fans. Last week, Dr. Jim Gundlach accused sociology chair Thomas Petee of handing out easy grades to students and athletes for very little work.


Emails have flooded Professor Jim Gundlach computer.

Some are vicious.

"Enjoy your 50 minutes of fame, after that your career will be over and I hope to be able to ignore your request for will work for money at a state intersection, Jackass."

Others are positive.


"I applaud what you are doing keep up the good work, don't let them intimidate you."

The fallout is from Gundlach's decision to speak out about alleged academic dishonesty by Thomas Petee, interim chair of the sociology department.

"He provided a hole that let people get a fair amount of academic credit for doing very little work," said Gundlach.

Gundlach first became concerned after seeing a football game, where a player was described as a Sociology academic all-star.

But, Gundlach, had never heard of the student. So, he researched Petee's directed reading classes.

"I totalled the grades for those and found 80-percent A's and 97.9 percent B's, that's about as high as grade inflation gets," said Gundlach.

Since gong public, the university has launched a full investigation. Gundlach highly doubts the NCAA will bring sanctions, but he does believe the universities accreditation agency will get involved.


Meanwhile, the professor will deal with backlash, until he can retire next year, after 32 years at Auburn.

"This institution is bleeding to death, it is sick, I see it was unable to respond to the clear violations of academic norms has convinced me the place is hopeless, that's why I'm retiring," he said.

We did trying to contact Thomas Petee today, however we were told he was out of town. Gundlach denies having sour grapes, because Petee was named department chair. Gundlach says he never went for the job, and believes higher ups at the university are sending those messages to the media. That is why, he says he is no longer participating in the university's investigation.
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Auburn Professor Speaks About Grade Scandal Allegations
07/18/2006
WSFA-TV
Sally Pitts, Reporter

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Professor Jim Gundlach reported allegations that a fellow Sociology professor gave out high grades to football players 'who didn't do much work.' Auburn University is investigating. Now, Gundlach says he'll no longer cooperate.

"Enjoy your 50 minutes of fame. After that, your career will be over and I hope to be able to ignore your request for will work for money at a state intersection, jackass," Gundlach reads from his email. Emails have flooded his computer. Some are negative, others are positive.

He reads another, "I applaud what you are doing. Keep up the good work. Don't let them intimidate you."

The fallout is from his decision to speak out about alleged academic dishonesty by Thomas Petee, Interim Chair of the Sociology Department. Gundlach says, "He provided a hole that let people get a fair amount of academic credit for doing very little work."

During a televised Auburn football game, Gundlach became concerned. A player is described as a sociology academic all-star. But, Gundlach had never heard of the student. So, he researched Petee's directed reading classes. I totaled the grades for those and found 80-percent a's and 97.9 percent B's. That's about as high as grade inflation gets," says Gundlach.

The University has launched a full investigation. Gundlach doubts the NCAA will bring sanctions, but he does believe the University's accreditation agency will get involved.

Gundlach will deal with backlash until he can retire next years, after 32 years at Auburn. He says, "This institution is bleeding to death. It is sick. I see it was unable to respond to the clear violations of academic norms. That has convinced me the place is hopeless."

Gundlach denies having hard feelings, because Thomas Petee was named department chair. Gundlach says he never went for the job, and believes higher ups at the university are sending those messages to the media. That's why, Gundlach says he's no longer participating in the university's investigation. Gundlach told the Huntsville times the courses in question were available to all students and not just athletes.
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Gundlach removes himself
07/18/2006
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

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Gundlach removes himself Says he doesn't feel safe with committee BY CHRISTA TURNER Staff Writer AUBURN, Ala. - Auburn University professor James Gundlach removed himself from the process, but an investigative committee continues to sift through information as it looks into an academic fraud in the athletics department complaint lodged by the professor. Auburn president Ed Richardson said Monday the committee would pursue any lead and once its investigation is completed, would make a report. We are conducting an investigation to determine what improprieties happened, if any, Richardson said. Once we determine that, we'll take what action is appropriate.

The speculation and quotes in the papers aren't based on evidence. Richardson promised, in essence, a thorough investigation. Sometimes you talk to one person and it's not clear, he said. We'll wait and talk to everyone we think has information and make the call after that.

Gundlach said he spoke to committee members Sharon Gaber, associate provost, and Constance Relihan, associate dean of academic affairs for the college of liberal arts, about four weeks ago, but has refused to meet with them a second time. Gundlach said he was upset by a news report that quoted an unnamed Auburn official who painted the investigation as a personal squabble between Petee and Gundlach after Gundlach was overlooked for the chairperson position. Gundlach and others in the department confirmed he didn't apply for that post. I'm not going to participate in a committee where I don't feel safe talking to them, Gundlach said.

Richardson refused to comment on reports that the committee is investigating a separate department which also has a proliferation of directed readings offered by a professor. Last week, in a New York Times article, Gundlach went public with allegations against Thomas Petee, a criminology professor and interim chairman of the multi-discipline department which includes sociology, anthropology, social work and criminology/criminal justice. Gundlach's research showed an inordinately high number of sociology and criminology classes being offered in a directed readings format to students, including many Auburn athletes. During the 2004-05 academic year, Petee taught 272 students in a directed reading format. About one-quarter of those were athletes. Gundlach compiled data on 18 Auburn football players who took a total of 97 hours of directed readings classes from Petee during their careers.

He noticed the grade point average for athletes was noticeably higher than their overall GPA. Auburn athletes had a 2.14 GPA overall but were averaging 3.31 in Petee's directed readings classes. One former Auburn athlete, linebacker Travis Williams, has been vocal about the investigation. I haven't been happy at all, Williams said. I just think it's the wrong way to go about it. I think he's throwing out stuff that's not true.

Players getting benefit and handed grades? I know that's not true. The committee has interviewed several of the football players. David Irons Sr. confirmed to one newspaper that his son, David Jr., a senior cornerback, turned over work to the committee. It's unclear if impropriety in the athletic department exists. NCAA bylaws state schools can be penalized for knowing involvement in arranging for fraudulent academic credit or false transcripts for a prospective or current student-athlete.

The Southern Association of and Schools (SACS) might be more interested in the outcome. The organization placed Auburn on probation for a year, citing trustee involvement in the athletics department. High offerings Other professors in Petee's department, Greg Kowalski and Paul Starr, also said having more than five to 10 students in directed readings would be unusual. It's rare to have that number, Kowlaski said.

Auburn's Bulletin, which shows class offerings, states directed readings are an independent reading program under supervision, to allow pursuit of specific interests in sociology not covered in other course offerings. Gundlach said it bothered him when Petee began offering core sociology classes such as statistics, theory and methods of research as directed readings. Generally, those classes are expected to meet in a regular classroom setting, Gundlach said. Nobody was keeping tabs on him. Gundlach said Petee violated the spirit of directed readings and stretched the rules by applying it to regular classes and blew every rule out by extending it to core classes to the point of teaching more upper division sociology than three full-time professors. That's just mind-boggling, if you will, Gundlach said.

One reason there are no written rules is that it never occurred to anyone that anyone would do this. Contact Christa Turner at 706-571-8505 or
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FOOTBALL; N.C.A.A. and SEC Await Auburn's Inquiry on Suspect Courses
07/18/2006
New York Times (NY)
THAMEL, PETE

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The National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Southeastern Conference are awaiting the findings of Auburn University's investigation into allegations of academic fraud before determining what action, if any, to take.

The New York Times reported last week that Auburn athletes took advantage of so-called directed-readings courses to help boost their grades and remain eligible for their sports, according to a professor who disclosed the matter. In some cases, the courses in sociology and criminology involved no class time and little work.

If there was abuse in the case, and I'm not sure that there is, if there was abuse, we would be sure to act, Myles Brand, the N.C.A.A. president, said in a telephone interview yesterday.

Brand commended James Gundlach, the whistleblower and the director of Auburn's sociology department, for risking damage to his career by publicly revealing what he had learned. Gundlach told The Times that one of his superiors, Thomas Petee, a criminology professor and the sociology department's chairman, had provided an inordinate number of directed-reading classes for easy grades to athletes and nonathletes.

Brand, a former president of Indiana University, said he was dumbfounded that Petee had been allowed to teach so many directed-reading courses; Petee led 152 such courses in one semester before Gundlach reported him.

That's an institutional problem of some magnitude, Brand said. It's not an athletics problem. It needs to be addressed on an institutional level.

Mike Slive, who has been the commissioner of the SEC for about four years, said that he and his staff work hard in making sure athletes receive quality educations. He declined to comment specifically on the Auburn case until the investigation was complete.

We can see the other side of the shore of this body of water, Slive said. A boat blows here or there, but we never lose sight of where we're going. To the extent that anything is out there, our goal is to be on course at all times.

Gordon Gee, the chancellor of Vanderbilt, which is also in the SEC, did not share Slive's optimism. Gee said the issues raised at Auburn were very serious and showed why there needed to be more academic oversight in athletics.

What is shown is that when there's an athletic culture that allows athletes to migrate toward that kind of approach, that it undermines the academic and athletic integrity of the program, he said.

Since going public, Gundlach has been flooded with telephone calls and e-mail messages expressing support and condemnation. He said he had received 69 positive messages and 66 negative ones. As he walked into the main academic building on campus yesterday morning, he said, 10 to 12 faculty members applauded him.

It was a very pleasant experience, he said.

He did, however, say he was no longer cooperating with a three-member committee investigating the matter because of an inaccurate leak to the local news media about his motivation for going public. The report said that Gundlach had come forward because he was passed over for the job that Petee landed as department chairman. Gundlach said that suggestion was untrue because he never sought the position.

Gundlach met once with two members of the investigating committee weeks ago -- Sharon Gaber, an associate provost, and Constance Relihan, an associate dean. The third member, Marcia Boosinger, Auburn's faculty athletics representative, was not at the meeting. (Gundlach said that he tried twice to talk to Boosinger about the issue last year and that she did not respond to his e-mail messages. Boosinger is one of a number of Auburn officials who have declined to comment until the investigation is complete.)

David Cicci, the chairman-elect of the faculty senate at Auburn, said the investigation had to determine whether athletes had been steered to Petee.

I guess the thing to find out in this is has this guy been recommended? Cicci said. Who did and how often? Were all the athletes who took these courses guided to this guy?

Photo Myles Brand, the president of the N.C.A.A., commended a whistleblower at Auburn. (Photo by Lawrence Jackson/Associated Press)

Copyright (c) 2006 The New York Times. All rights reserved.

Professor right to blow whistle
07/18/2006
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

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University. Look it up. It's a place to learn.

The other things -- athletics, fraternity or sorority life, music, clubs, and many other distractions -- are all part of a rich higher educational experience. But the mission of a university is to teach.

With that in mind, those who are attacking an Auburn University professor for blowing the whistle on apparent grade inflation involving athletes need to reassess their values.

Dr. James Gundlach, a veteran sociology professor at Auburn, recently went public with allegations that a colleague may have been giving athletes a free ride in independent study courses.

The numbers he compiled about criminology professor Thomas Petee are damning

** Athletes were given an A 81 percent of the time in Petee's classes before Gundlach confronted him about it. Afterward, athletes were given an A about 41 percent of the time.

** Athletes had a 3.31 grade point average in Petee's classes, while carrying a 2.14 GPA in their other classes.

** Over two semesters, Petee conducted 272 directed reading classes. Other professors say three to five such classes, along with the normal class load, would be as much extra work as anyone would want. Ten, they say, would be onerous. So 272 is beyond absurd.

One of Petee's defenders, fellow professor Greg Kowalski, said he thinks Petee just got caught up helping students, many of whom were athletes, who needed a break.

(Petee's) a good colleague, concerned with students, Kowalski told our reporter Christa Turner. That's part of the problem. He's too willing to do things when maybe he should have gotten more help. I think it was an error in judgment, but I think he truly did believe he was doing the right thing and helping students.

You're not helping students by giving them grades and credits they did not earn. You may think you are, and the student may thing you are. But in the long run, you're doing them harm.

Auburn is conducting an investigation into Gundlach's allegations, so no one there is saying anything.

But if the allegations are true, it is a black eye for the university. It could lead to some sanctions from the NCAA, but that would be secondary to the real damage this kind of behavior inflicts.

It cheapens diplomas. It cheats the students who are being helped, as well as those who actually do the work necessary to succeed legitimately. It damages the reputation of the university and its faculty.

So if rules were being bent or broken for athletes, Gundlach should be congratulated for blowing the whistle. He is more of a true friend of the university than those who are criticizing him for not looking the other way.

-- Michael Owen, for the editorial board

Copyright © 2006 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

Prof denies filing complaint
07/18/2006
Opelika-Auburn News
Jessica R. Elmore and Mitch Sneed

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A little before 7 a.m. Monday on Auburn Universitys campus, Professor James Gundlach, the alleged whistle-blower, exited his vehicle greeted by applause from fellow faculty members. As the director of sociology turned to face them, their applause evolved into thumbs up for Gundlach. But Monday afternoon, the professor with more than three decades on campus said he isnt the one who filed the anonymous complaint through AUs online system. Gundlach said he isnt the person who tipped the media about sociology-criminolgy chair Dr. Thomas Petee teaching an unusual number of directed-reading classes to a group that included some AU football stars. 'I have probably talked to 35 people on campus over the past two years,' said Gundlach who never discussed the issue outside of campus, except for in conversations with his wife.

But apparently the talking to those on campus is over as well. After news of the academic irregularities and ongoing investigation broke Thursday, Gundlach will no longer serve as an aide to the committee investigating the complaints. He said university officials are trying to paint him as a bitter man attempting to get back at Petee who got the department chair. In response to Gundlachs claims, he has said Auburn football fanatics and university officials have attacked his character, painting a picture of a disgruntled employee with an ax to grind. 'The efforts to paint me in this way have failed,' said Gundlach, who notified the committee by letter Monday. 'I had originally agreed to meet with them, but I feel that I am not safe participating in that communication in any form.' AU spokesman David Granger said that regardless of anyones choice to participate or not, the investigation is ongoing and a report will be issued upon completion. The complaint currently being investigated is the first ever received through the EthicsPoint system, according to Granger.

This also marks the first time that a committee has been formed to investigate a complaint. Granger would not reveal the members of the committee or speak to any specifics of the probe. However, one source said, the committee met Monday, interviewing at least four separate individuals. While football fans might not be happy with Gundlach now, come football season, Auburn football fans may join the ranks of Gundlach supporters.

According to Gundlachs estimates, had the trend of increasing direct-reading courses offered by Petee not been curtailed after an initial confrontation in the spring of 2005, Auburn could find itself facing academic sanctions in the fall. 'I do take credit for stopping it,' Gundlach said. The number of direct-reading courses offered by Petee jumped from 40 to 80, then 120 and ultimately 152 in the spring of 2005. 'If you project the trend, by now (fall 2006) Petee would be teaching 250 to 300 direct-reading courses. This would be clearly enough damage to put Auburn in sanction position.The irony is for the sports fans sending me e-mails. I may be the person that saves Auburn University from a sanction.' Gundlach is screening phone calls and holding his head high. The support shown by other faculty members 'makes up for all the hate mail,' he said. To date, Gundlachs electronic mail box has been flooded by 61 hate e-mails and 62 support e-mails. 'Outside of individual university officials passing on this fabrication about why I am doing this, no one from the university has contacted me,' Gundlach said.

During a conversation with two members of the committee, one of the members strayed from the direction of the conversation to ask Gundlach a question off subject. Gundlach replied 'No' when asked if he supported Petee as the interim chair of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, Criminology and Social Work, which offers degrees in each field. 'Somehow someone wanted that question in there to try to illicit a response,' Gundlach said. 'My answer was twisted into a PR thing to kill the messenger.' Gundlach said he was appointed to the office of director of sociology, the only contested office he ever sought. 'I have always been unhappy with the way Petee marginalized sociology in the department,' Gundlach said. 'Criminologists rewrote the sociology curriculum to include criminology classes and the sociology faculty doesnt get to decide who teaches sociology classes.' Gundlach said Petee was teaching more upper division sociology students than sociology professors Raj Mohan, Paul Starr and himself combined. He (Petee) clearly has a difficulty saying no,' Gundlach said. While Gundlach said he didnt file a complaint, he said whoever did had access to inside information.

Whoever wrote one of the letters 'knew I was pretty good with the data and could back it up,' Gundlach said. Gundlach never shared any paper copies of the statistics with the media. Gundlach said he offered to sit down with an authorized official to review the student records involved in the case. Auburn declined the offer, saying they were comfortable with the numbers and gave up on challenging the data. 'I am a great deal certain they found a higher intersection between Petees students and athletes than my data showed,' said Gundlach who only reviewed the past two years of departmental records, although he has access to the past five years. Criticized for not following the chain of command, Gundlach first presented then university administrator and current provost John Heilman with his findings. Gundlach had no other option - 'the chain of command was interim all the way up.' Gundlach said he couldnt approach Petee or the late Joe Ansel, who was hospitalized at the time.

Gundlach said he has also offered a solution. He proposes enacting a system that allows a committee of all departmental tenured professors to annually evaluate the department chair. 'If we had a system in place that first semester (Petee) offered 40 direct-reading courses,' Gundlach said, 'the faculty would have flagged that and stopped it then. An ongoing, stable administration could have stopped this.'
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Auburn president not taking questions lightly
07/18/2006
Montgomery Advertiser

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AUBURN -- When Auburn University president Ed Richardson left for vacation last week, he wasn't worried about the possibility of an academic scandal unfolding on campus.Things have changed.Richardson told the Montgomery Advertiser on Monday that his air of confidence has been shaken.'When I met with the Board of Trustees on (July 7), there was no evidence that there was anything there at all,' Richardson said. 'Now we're looking at it as, 'Yes, there is that potential that there could have been some very poor judgment shown.' There are some things floating around out there that cause me concern.'At issue is Thomas Petee, a criminology professor who serves as an interim chair of a multi-disciplined department that includes criminology, sociology, anthropology and social work. Petee allowed hundreds of students -- a quarter of them athletes -- to earn credits through one-on-one instruction outside the standard curriculum.Those independent-study courses, also called 'directed-reading' courses, aren't unusual. One professor directing more than 100 directed-reading courses per semester is the crux of Auburn's internal investigation.Still, it's unclear how the situation could affect Auburn athletics.Only a handful of football players received individual instruction from Petee, and there have been no allegations surrounding Auburn athletes gaining preferential treatment.'This really isn't an athletic issue; it's an academic issue,' Richardson said. 'Everybody is interested in football, and that gives the story some life to some people. We hope to bring it to a conclusion fairly soon.'Richardson spent time Monday speaking with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, an organization that accredits the University's academic programs.After reading newspaper reports of possible academic irregularities last week, Tom Benberg, SACS chief of staff, said his organization requested more information.'We wanted to get (Richardson's) view of things and see what they plan to do if in fact there is something to this,' Benberg said. 'I don't feel like this story has been validated as far as if the university faltered.

If there was an aberration, they need to review what has happened and find a way to prevent that from happening again.'Auburn is no stranger to academic scrutiny. SACS placed the school on probation in 2004 after an investigation showed irregularities regarding trustee involvement and academic governance.The school was fully reinstated last year.'That was then. What happened before is in the past,' Benberg said. 'This is new. What has happened before has no effect on how we approach Auburn now.'This most recent scandal was kicked off by a New York Times story that alleged improprieties among football players during the 2004-05 academic year. Eighteen football players took Petee's directed-reading courses, earning a total of 97 credits during their careers.Several former players including tailback Carnell 'Cadillac' Williams said the classes required minimal reading and coursework. Former defensive end Doug Langenfeld earned a passing grade in one of Petee's directed-reading courses after missing the first month of a semester due to a scheduling error.Those 18 football players earned a cumulative 3.31 grade-point average in Petee's classes, helping Auburn earn a sterling academic reputation with the NCAA.'Do you want to hang the person (Petee) before he has a trial, or are you going to wait and see?' Richardson said Monday. 'Auburn is going to wait and see. If there's a violation, I assure you that I'll make a public report on it.'
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Giant-size yellow jacket nests appearing in state
07/17/2006
Birmingham News, The
GARRY MITCHELL

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**Story quotes AU entomologist Charles Ray, and continues to appear in state and regional media.**

Giant-size yellow jacket nests appearing in state Warmer winters may be to blame Monday, July 17, 006GARRY MITCHELL Associated Press writer MOBILE - To the bafflement of insect experts, gigantic yellow jacket nests have started turning up in old barns, unoccupied houses, cars and underground cavities across the southern two-thirds of Alabama. Specialists say it could be the result of a mild winter and drought conditions, or multiple queens forcing worker yellow jackets to enlarge their quarters so the queens will be in separate areas. But experts haven't determined exactly what's behind the surprisingly large nests. Auburn University entomologists, who say they've never seen the nests so large, have been fielding calls about the huge nests from property owners from Dothan to Sylacauga and over into west-central Alabama's Black Belt.

At one site in Barbour County, the nest was as large as a Volkswagen Beetle, said Andy McLean, an Orkin pesticide service manager in Dothan who helped remove it from an abandoned barn about a month ago. 'It was one of the largest ones we've seen,' McLean said. Attached to two walls and under the slab, the nest had to be removed in sections, McLean said. Entomologist Dr. Charles Ray at the Alabama Cooperative Extension System in Auburn said he's aware of about 16 of what he described as 'super-sized' nests in south Alabama. Ray said he's seen 10 of them and cautioned people about going near them because of the yellow jacket's painful sting. The largest nest Ray has inspected this year filled the interior of a weathered 1955 Chevrolet parked in a rural Elmore County barn.

That nest was about the size of a tire in the rear floor seven weeks ago, but quickly spread to fill the entire vehicle, the property owner, Harry Coker, said. Four satellite nests around it have gotten into the eaves of the barn, about 00 yards from his home. 'I'm kind of afraid for the grandkids. I had to sneak down there at dark and get my tractor out of the barn,' Coker said. 'It's been a disruption.'
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Auburn University Hands out Vulcan Grant
07/17/2006
Rock Products

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The Auburn University Environmental Institute and the National Center for Asphalt Technology have awarded Vulcan Materials' grants to two AU engineering professors. Vulcan established the grant program in 2005 to help Auburn faculty develop techniques to improve the efficiency of mining hard rock such as limestone, sandstone and granite, and to minimize the associated environmental impacts. Each grant was worth $30,000. They will be used as seed grants to launch projects that serve as a foundation for further research to attract additional public and private funds. These projects have the potential for significant impact not only on Vulcan's operations but on those of the entire construction materials industry, says Don Powell, Vulcan's technical services center director.

One of the professors will investigate the potential for using pond fines as a mechanical viscosity-modifying additive in self-consolidating concrete. The project also is evaluating the use of screenings as the only aggregate source for SCC mixes. The other project will assess the importance of aggregate composition, size and moisture content on odor and visible emissions from hot-mix asphalt concrete production.
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Review two views of the first man
07/17/2006
Space Review, The
Jeff Foust

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One Giant Leap Neil Armstrongs Stellar American Journey First Man The Life of Neil A. Armstrong This Thursday marks the 37th anniversary of the landing of Apollo 11 on the surface of the Moon. Given that 37 isnt a particularly round number (indeed, it is a prime number) this anniversary will get little attention outside of the small, insular community of space aficionados and history buffs. In those years that the anniversary does warrant some attention from the mainstream media, much of that interest is focused on a single individual, mission commander Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the lunar surface. Many of those accounts point out that Armstrong seemed predestined as a child to travel to the Moon, only to become a virtual recluse after the mission.

However, just because such statements are repeated over and over doesnt make them true; instead, its evidence of what some might call the mythologizing of Armstrong. Two recent, but very different, biographies of Armstrong make that point very clearly. One Giant Leap offers what might be called the conventional wisdom regarding Armstrong. Journalist Leon Wagener did not have access to Armstrong himself in the course of writing his book, so instead Wagener relied on interviews of people who knew Armstrong, ranging from fellow pilots of the naval fighter squadron Armstrong served in during the Korean War to fellow Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, as well as contemporary press accounts and other documents. While imperfect, it is the best one can do in such circumstances when the subject of a biography is unwilling or unable to cooperate with the biographer.

The result is a book that hews to what is commonly known and accepted about Armstrong a person who, since a young boy, yearned to travel to the Moon and, once that goal was achieved, retreated to a quiet life in academia and corporate boards. As an example, Wagener cites both a junior high teacher of Armstrong and a local engineer with a home observatory who said that Armstrong, as a child growing up in Wapakoneta, Ohio, that he wanted to travel to the Moon. And who would believe otherwise? After all, someone who ably performed the work and willing accepted the risk involved with such a journey must have been seeking to fulfill a lifelong dream. Helping debunk that conventional wisdom, at least to some degree, is First Man. Two things set First Man apart from One Giant Leap and other accounts of Armstrongs life.

First is the length and attention to detail. James Hansen, a professor of history at Auburn University, goes into a level of detail, aided by rigorous research, not seen in previous accounts. Not only is First Man more than twice the length of One Giant Leap, it includes notes, a bibliography, and an index that are, combined, more than 100 pages long; One Giant Leap has only a 16-page index. The second, and more important, factor that sets First Man apart is that it was written with the cooperation of Armstrong, who sat for many interviews with Hansen, providing insights not otherwise available. (While the book is billed as authorized biography of Armstrong, Hansen makes it clear in the acknowledgments section of the book that this is an independent, scholarly biography and than Armstrong made no effort to influence Hansens interpretation of events.) Hansen also interviewed many other people, including Armstrongs first wife, Janet, and other family and friends who might not otherwise be available to another biographer. The result is a comprehensive biography that does as much to bust some of the myths about Armstrong as tell his life story. A case in point is the abovementioned claims that the young Armstrong expressed a desire to go to the Moon.

Thats fiction, Armstrong bluntly states in the book. All my aspirations in those days were related to aircraft. Space flight would have been an unrealistic ambition. Armstrong notes in particular them claims that he spent a lot of time at the home of Jacob Zint, the local engineer with the telescope, were false he visited the Zint home perhaps once, and never looked through the telescope or talked with Zint about the Moon.

Oft-repeated stories like that created a false mythology of who Neil Armstrong was, Hansen said during a stop in Washington last fall during a tour promoting the book. That mythology has been created in part by a society seeking to imprint their own meaning on who Armstrong was and why he traveled to the Moon a person who flew to the Moon because he had aspired to do so since a child sounds far more noble than a test pilot-turned-astronaut who got to be the first man to walk on the Moon because of his expertise, demeanor, and at least a little bit of luck. What I tried to do in the book is to give you the Neil Armstrong that really existed, Hansen said. Given that Armstrong himself has called First Man a great book, according to Hansen, it seems clear that Hansen did succeed, or at least came far closer to describing the real Armstrong than anyone else to date. While this book is not the last word on Armstrongand one hopes that the final chapter of Armstrongs life is not written for many years to comeit provides a far better picture of Armstrong the man, rather than Armstrong the icon, than One Giant Leap or previous books, as well-intentioned as they might have been about telling Armstrongs life story. Great men and their deeds, like Armstrong and his journey to the Moon, are compelling enough to stand on their own, without the need for mythology.

Jeff Foust (jeff@thespacereview.com) is the editor and publisher of The Space Review. He also operates the Spacetoday.net web site and the Space Politics and Personal Spaceflight weblogs. Views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author alone, and do not represent the official positions of any organization or company, including the Futron Corporation, the authors employer.
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