3/3/05 Contact: David Granger, 334/844-9999 (grangdm@auburn.edu)
Dina Kanellos, 334/844-2203 (kaneldi@auburn.edu)

BEASLEY TO BE VISITING EXECUTIVE IN AUBURN COLLEGE OF BUSINESS

AUBURN – Jere Beasley, the senior member of the firm Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C., will be the Lowder Visiting Executive in the Auburn University College of Business on Tuesday, March 8.

A 1959 graduate of Auburn, Beasley has practiced law as an advocate for victims of wrongdoing since being admitted to the Alabama Bar in 1962. Beasley’s numerous courtroom victories include many landmark cases. He was co-lead counsel in the record $11.9 billion punitive damages award against ExxonMobil Corp. on behalf of the state of Alabama in 2003.

Beasley has appeared as a lecturer throughout the country at numerous legal seminars and other events and has been profiled in Time, Business Week, and other noted publications. He is also featured in the 2003-2004 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, a traditional database of more than 16,000 lawyers in 30 specialties, all of whom have been chosen as "the best" by their fellow attorneys.

During his visit to Auburn, Beasley will speak to several business classes as well as participate in a roundtable discussion with members of the Pre-law Scholars Program, sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts. Members of the community are invited to join students at 12:30 p.m. in Lowder 125A as Beasley speaks to the undergraduate Business Law course.

The Robert and Charlotte Lowder Visiting Executive-in-Residence Program provides students and faculty with an opportunity to interact with prominent executives for an open exchange of views on current issues. Through this vital program, executives are brought into the classroom to offer students first-hand information about the complexities of the business world, while giving them the inspiration they need to seek new ways to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

This program is made possible through the generous endowment of Robert and Charlotte Lowder, of Montgomery. Mr. Lowder is a 1964 graduate of the College of Business and CEO of Colonial BancGroup. A longtime supporter of Auburn University, he currently serves on the AU Board of Trustees.

Auburn University is a pre-eminent land-grant and comprehensive research institution with nearly 23,000 students and 6,500 faculty and staff. Ranked among the top 50 public universities nationally, Auburn is Alabama’s largest educational institution, offering more than 230 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degree programs.

(Contributed by Dina Kanellos.)

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