12/6/2004 Contact: Cheryl Cobb, 334/844-2220 (cobbche@auburn.edu)
David Granger, 334/844-9999 (grangdm@auburn.edu)

AU ENGINEERING DEAN HONORED AS DISTINGUISHED ALUMNUS BY VIRGINIA TECH

AUBURN -- Larry D. Benefield, dean of Auburn University’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, was inducted into the Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Academy of Distinguished Alumni at ceremonies held recently on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Va.

Benefield is a 1975 doctoral graduate of Virginia Tech and is a currently a member of the department’s alumni advisory board.

He joined the faculty at Auburn University in 1979, where he served as major professor to Mark Widdowson, a member of the faculty of Virginia Tech’s Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Benefield, who was named dean of Auburn’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering in 2000, has implemented an interdisciplinary automotive certificate program in response to the state’s growing automotive industry and coordinated a joint program with the College of Business that integrates business and management practices for undergraduate engineering students.

He has also worked to establish the first undergraduate wireless engineering degree program at Auburn, which is still ranked as the only such program in the nation.

“It’s certainly been an honor to take part in the alumni achievement awards banquet and be inducted into the academy of distinguished alumni,” Benefield said of the award. “My educational experiences at Blacksburg culminated the journey I began at Auburn with my bachelor’s and master’s degrees . . . and ultimately brought me back to the Auburn campus.”

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.

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