RESEARCH Human bones tell tale of woe pg 16
AU show choir turns 40 this year pg 28
FEATURE
Animal sciences major nabs key to the Kingdom pg 42
PROFILE
SPRING 2012
Eye Contact
Scientist’s ‘smart lens’ poised to revolutionize medication delivery
New
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Tucked away on the outskirts of Auburn University and right at the world-class Grand National Golf course, National Village offers everything you’ll ever need for the way you want to live: gorgeous new craftsman-style cottages, miles of picturesque nature trails, boating and fishing on the stocked 600 acre Saugahatchee Lake, a beautiful new resort style pool and exciting tennis facilities (opening late spring) and of course championship golf at the three courses of Grand National on the robert Trent Jones Trail. All just a cart’s drive from your doorstep. homeowners enjoy playing the Short course for free and also receive substantial discounts on fees for the Links and Lake courses. Now, introducing the Golf cottages at National Village. Wonderfully designed and appointed, 3 bedroom energy Star-rated cottages with hardwood floors, hardi-Plank siding, vented gas fireplaces,
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Fire down below There are 17 native species of azaleas in the U.S., but it’s not hard to determine which one best complements Auburn’s campus landscape. This brilliant orange beauty, located between Cater Hall and Haley Center, began blooming in early spring; the same species also grows on Samford Hall lawn. Photograph by Jeff Etheridge
S P R I N G
2 0 1 2 1
From the Editor
Weird science
Betsy Robertson
BETSY ROBERTSON
Suzanne Johnson
Editor, Auburn Magazine
EDITOR
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
I never won first place in a science fair, and if there was one thing I dreaded as a kid it was the announcement of the deadline date for the mandatory annual contest that separates the brains from the brawn at the elementary school level. The whole process seemed so overwhelming: identify a problem, formulate a hypothesis, conduct an experiment and form a conclusion. I’d agonize for weeks over what sort of topic to tackle. One year I explored the efficacy of food preservatives by comparing the time it took for two loaves of bread—one homemade and one store-bought—to grow a thick coat of mold. For weeks I recorded my findings by observing bread slices under various conditions: unwrapped at room temperature, bundled in tin foil and refrigerated, stored in the dark recesses of a corner cabinet. By the time the experiment was complete, my family’s kitchen posed a health risk from the combination of flying mold spores and mice droppings, and the results of my groundbreaking research simply stated the obvious: Wonder bread stays fresh longer than my aunt’s yeast rolls. Another time, I decided to measure the velocity of a tiny, crawdad-infested stream that ran behind several of the houses in my neighborhood. That was a complicated one, because the experiment involved a fair degree of physics and some
math as well. The idea was to mark a section of stream with string, then measure the time it took for a tangerine to float from the upstream checkpoint to the next checkpoint a few feet away. Unfortunately the tangerine kept getting stuck in the rocks and debris lining the streambed. The whole thing was a flop. Even if one had a solid idea for the scientific experiment itself, there was still the task of creating a display out of plywood and felt remnants capable of dazzling the judges. It was all just too much, and I remember well the inferiority complex I experienced when some smarty-pants would build a working model volcano or an actual skyscraper. Fortunately, the science fair also typically required us to turn in reports detailing how we reached our conclusions. Mine were written with near-perfect grammatical precision. I’m guessing Auburn chemical engineer Mark Byrne (“Eye Contact,” Page 36) likely won a few blue ribbons for his science projects as a kid. Byrne and his team are creating a new type of contact lens that could change the way doctors treat allergies and other eye diseases, and it’s one more example of the ways in which Auburn researchers are trying to solve problems, big and small, that affect all of us. Read on.
AUBURN MAGAZINE (ISSN 1077– 8640) is published quarterly; 4X per year; spring, summer, fall, winter, for dues-paying members of the Auburn Alumni Association. Periodicals-class postage paid in Auburn and additional mailing offices. Editorial offices are located in the Auburn Alumni Center, 317 South College St., Auburn, AL 36849-5149. Phone 334-844-1164. Fax 334-844-1477. Email: aubmag@auburn.edu. Contents ©2012 by the Auburn Alumni Association, all rights reserved.
LETTERS Auburn Magazine welcomes readers’ comments, but reserves the right to edit letters or to refuse publication of letters judged libelous or distasteful. Space availability may prevent publication of all letters in the magazine, in which case, letters not printed will be available on the alumni association website at the address listed below. No writer is eligible for publication more often than once every two issues. No anonymous letters will be accepted. Auburn Magazine is available in alternative formats for persons with disabilities. For information, call 334-844-1164. Auburn Magazine is a benefit of membership in the Auburn Alumni Association and is not available by individual subscription. To join, call 334-844-2586 or visit the association’s website at www.aualum.org.
ADVERTISING INFORMATION Contact Betsy Robertson at 334-844-1164. POSTMASTER Send address changes to 317 South College St., Auburn, AL 36849–5149.
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Auburn Magazine a u a l u m . o r g
Shannon Bryant-Hankes ’84 ART DIRECTOR
Stacy Smith Lipscomb UNIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHER
Jeff Etheridge EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS
Morgan McKean ’12 Alexandria Smith ’12 DESIGN ASSISTANT
Jake Odom ’12 ADVERTISING ASSISTANT
Christopher Stanley ’12
PRESIDENT, AUBURN UNIVERSITY
Jay Gogue ’69 VICE PRESIDENT FOR ALUMNI AFFAIRS AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AUBURN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Deborah L. Shaw ’84 PRESIDENT, AUBURN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Bobby Poundstone ’95 AUBURN MAGAZINE ADVISORY BOARD CHAIR
Neal Reynolds ’77 AUBURN MAGAZINE ADVISORY BOARD
betsyrobertson@auburn.edu
Maria Baugh ’87, John Carvalho ’78, Jon Cole ’88 Ed Dickinson ’70, Christian Flathman ’97, Tom Ford ’67, Kay Fuston ’84, Julie Keith ’90, Mary Lou Foy ’66, Eric Ludgood ’78, Cindy McDaniel ’80, Carol Pappas ’77, Joyce Reynolds Ringer ’59,
Allen Vaughan ’75
THE CELEBRATION continues...
The national championship Spirit of Auburn credit card allows you to honor Auburn’s winning season all the time! Plus, you help Auburn students by supporting Auburn’s scholarship fund when you use the card for all your everyday purchases—at no additional cost to you. To date, our credit card program has generated more than $5.7 million for freshman academic scholarships. And you’ll earn WorldPoints® rewards points on purchases that can be redeemed for travel, merchandise, or cash rewards. Yet another reason to celebrate.
For details or to apply, visit www.auburn.edu/spiritcard.
The Spirit of Auburn credit card is made possible by the Auburn Spirit Foundation for Scholarships (ASFS), which is affiliated with Auburn University. This advertisement was paid for by the ASFS. For information about the rates, fees, other costs, and benefits associated with the use of these cards or to apply, visit www.auburn.edu/spiritcard and refer to the disclosures accompanying the online credit card application. This credit card program is issued and administered by FIA Card Services, N.A. Bank of America and the Bank of America logo are registered trademarks of Bank of America Corporation. Visa is a registered trademark of Visa International Service Association and is used by the issuer pursuant to license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. MasterCard is a registered trademark of MasterCard International Incorporated and is used by the issuer pursuant to license. Platinum Plus and WorldPoints are registered trademarks of FIA Card Services, N.A. ARNOWOW4 6/13/11 © 2011 Bank of America Corporation. a u a l u m . o r g Auburn Magazine
5
C A M P U S
N E W S
99PERCENT
of alumni surveyed said
they were familiar with the Auburn Creed.
SHOW YOUR STRIPES Tell us why you believe in Auburn and love it to help the 1 percent understand the importance of being part of the Tiger Pride. Plus, by telling us on Facebook,you could be featured in an upcoming Auburn University campaign.
Facebook/auburn99percent Results are from an online survey conducted by SimpsonScarborough in September 2011.
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Auburn Magazine a u a l u m . o r g
C A M S N E W S On P theUcover The eyes will soon have it: Auburn researchers are reinventing the contact lens in an effort to find a better way to deliver medication to the eye.
Spring 2012 F R O N T 4 From the Editor
A 10-year-old searches for the “fair” in the school science fair. Brian VanGorder leaves the Atlanta Falcons to tackle the Tigers’ defense.
8 The First Word
A reader recalls how he learned about “work, hard work.” Plus: what came before Auburn’s fight song.
24 Tiger Walk
Football head coach Gene Chizik hires new offensive and defensive coordinators. Also: Walk-on hoops guard Josh Wallace tries to net an engineering degree.
10 College Street
Auburn’s plan to continue the Toomer’s rolling tradition and an update on trustee selection.
B A C K 47 Alumni Center
Tandem bicycling became a popular student pastime during the World War II years.
The annual Golden Eagles reunion is coming up this spring. Plus: the War Eagle Travelers’ “Grand Tour” of Europe. The Auburn University Singers hold a hootenanny as part of its repertoire. The group is planning a reunion to celebrate its 40th birthday this spring.
16 Research
Resting in pieces: An Auburn anthropologist studies skeletal remains of Barbadian slaves. Also: turf-testing. 18 Roundup
What’s happening in your college? Check it out. 20 Concourse
Nursing students treat the fallen faithful at Jordan-Hare, and voting guides get a new look.
F E A T U R E S
28
Songs Sung True
Television’s “Glee” has convinced the world that show choirs are cool—and the Auburn University Singers are enjoying the spotlight. The perfectly pitched group, founded in 1972, marks 40 years of song-and-dance routines. by abby townson ’11
36
Eye Contact
Barbara Wallace-Edwards ’79 and national champion mascot Aubie
50 Class Notes 58 In Memoriam
What if your contact lenses could correct your vision and treat your cold? Chemical engineering professor Mark Byrne and his team believe it’s possible: Their “smart” contact lens could make messy eye drops a thing of the past. by suzanne johnson
42
64 The Last Word
Chris Humphries ’96 and son Parker get a Christmas gift from Cam the man.
Cat Woman
From the pretend savannahs of Africa to the fantasy jungles of the Far East, Meaghan Gonsalves ’10 cares for the exotic wildlife of Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom without ever stepping foot out of Orlando, Fla. by jamie creamer ’79 Auburn students competed to design a new state voting guide.
Tears of joy: Parker Humphries nabs Cam Newton’s ball.
m .. oo rr gg Auburn Auburn Magazine Magazine aa uu aa ll uu m
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L E T T E R S
T O
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The First Word THE TOPIC This quarter’s letter writers recount their Auburn memories and explain how the university’s culture and people influenced their lives after graduation. Plus: A couple of readers had some choice words about our Winter 2011 issue. Living the creed
It was not words of advice that encouraged me throughout my student days at Auburn or in the working world afterward. Rather, it was the example of hard work and persistent spirit through the lives of those around me that inspired me most. I stated at my father’s funeral that he was the most honest, hardworking man I have ever known. In addition to him, there were many others I refer to as my “heroes.” One was Calvester Johnson, a black man who lived in a modest brick home at the edge of my small Alabama hometown. My mom ran a hole-in-the-wall café that sold lunch to factory workers. The menu was typical country folks’ food, with green beans, mashed potatoes and cornbread as staples. Calvester would usually come around after 5 p.m., just before closing. This was late ’50s to early ’60s Alabama, still largely segregated in rural areas. For blacks, the café had two booths in a walled area off the kitchen that could be entered through an alley. I would hear the alley screen door slam, and Calvester would peer over the wall from the area with the two booths. “Whatcha got, Ms. Perry?” “Calvester, all that is left is a pork chop, a few beans and mashed potatoes, and a couple of corn sticks,” Mom would reply. “I will make you a fried patty out of the potatoes.” “Yes ma’am, that’s good.” On most summer evenings the café was empty except for the three of us. I would sit down and talk with Calvester as he ate. One particular evening it was getting late, and I asked if I could give him a ride home in my grandfather’s cab. “No suh, I’m not going home. I’m on my way to the lumberyard. It’s a nice summer night with a cool breeze and a full moon—just right for stacking green lumber.” Calvester was on his way to a second job. He was putting in the extra mile. That fall when I was back in Auburn, burning the midnight oil for a midterm, and on many occasions in later years when I was soaring across the country on a red-eye flight and feeling sorry for myself for having to work so hard, I would look out the window, see a full moon and think of Calvester stacking lumber on a moonlit night. My oh my—my life was easy street! “I believe that this is a practical world and
8
Auburn Magazine a u a l u m . o r g
that I can count only on what I earn. Therefore, I believe in work, hard work,” reads the Auburn Creed. Neither Dad nor Calvester probably ever read those words, but their lives authored it for me. I only hope my life has measured up for someone in a similar way. —Charles R. “Charlie” Perry Jr. ’65, Auburn, Ala. Birth of a fight song
It was a typical fall afternoon in the “loveliest village.” The year was 1955. As the 1 o’clock hour approached, we band members gathered behind the athletics offices (now called Petrie Hall) for our daily rehearsal time. The football season was in full swing, and we were antsy over the rumor that a new song would be added to our repertoire. Between the warming-up blasts, drummers banging away, tubas honking and clarinets squealing their trills, many were griping about the song—which had been written by a New York musician—that we would have to adopt as another “fight song.” The song had been commissioned by Auburn supporter Roy Sewell. It was unconscionable and un-Auburn. How could anyone think that a song could be written that could top “I’m a Happy, Snappy, Scrappy Auburn Tiger”? Not to mention our famous “Tiger Rag” and the ever-popular “Glory, Glory to Ole Auburn.” Our director at the time was Burton Leidner, who had taken the place of Dave Herbert. Leidner was a short man with a grin that went from ear to ear and forehead to neck. (He had a large mouth.) We were not particularly fond of Leidner because of the popularity of Herbert. When Leidner approached the band that day, we became quiet and reluctantly accepted the music that had been prepared. Of all things, the head of the music department, Hubert Liverman, had written the arrangement for the band. This was devastating to us music majors, as we were duty-bound to try it. Nonetheless, we halfheartedly struggled through the notes and finished the 32 bars in slow time. It was none too exemplary for a peppy and winsome tune. In fact, even the words had the expression, “give ’em hell, give ’em hell, stand up and yell.” So we played it again. Then again. Then again. And as we played it over and over, faster and faster, louder and louder, peppier and peppier, it began to take on new life. The words were easy; they rhymed; and it was apparent that we had found an Auburn treasure that would resonate around the world. But what would happen now to “Happy, Snappy, Scrappy Auburn Tiger”? The delightful words have since been lost among other Auburn memories, but we all agree on this: “War eagle, fly down the field, ever to conquer, never to yield! War eagle, fearless and
true, fight on you orange and blue!” So, a new song was born, and it became a rallying cry for the Auburn nation. The Auburn marching band has played it all over the world. Auburn astronauts have even played it in space. Its words and tune have cemented our legion together. The succession of band directors has carried the message for many years. Never forget Bodie Hinton, Bill Walls, Johnnie Vinson, Tim Kelley, Rick Good and Corey Spurlin when you hear that wonderful rallying cry for our Auburn family. And, finally, do you know the words to “Happy, Snappy, Scrappy Auburn Tiger”? I do. —John H. “Pete” Mosley ’58, Ozark, Ala. No ghosts
I don’t know whether I am more incensed or embarrassed that a publication associated with Auburn University would give space and resources to such utter nonsense and absurdity as an article on the paranormal (“Haunted Haven,” Winter 2011). There has never been the first scientific proof of any paranormal phenomenon in the history of mankind, certainly not ghosts. If the so-called Alabama Paranormal Research Team wishes to dupe the gullible and witless, let them do it without besmirching our fine university. The James Randi Educational Foundation has for many years had a standing offer of a $1 million prize to “anyone who can show, under proper observing conditions, evidence of any paranormal, supernatural or occult power.” If Auburn Magazine wishes to stoop to publishing articles on such childish subject matter, let them do it when someone comes forward to legitimately claim the JREF prize. —Royce Mitchell ’59, Huntsville, Ala. Undue influence
I was very disappointed that the Winter 2011 issue of Auburn Magazine included a feature on a course called RTVF 4370 “Media and Religion” (Syllabus, Page 21). The course description and list of reading materials makes it clear this is yet another college class that is heavily skewed toward political and social indoctrination rather than honest discussion and education. That Auburn offers such pap is bad enough; that Auburn Magazine chose to brag about it just adds insult to injury. —Benjamin T. “Ben” Gibbons IV ’93, Huntsville, Ala. NEXT TOPIC In about three months, Auburn will
send another group of graduating seniors into the world. What’s your best career advice for young people who are looking for a job? Write Auburn Magazine, 317 South College St., Auburn, AL 36849-5149 or email betsyrobertson@auburn.edu.
L E T T E R S
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a u a l u m . o r g Auburn Magazine
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L A E T C M TP EU RS S N TE OW ST H E
E D I T O R
COLLEGE STREET MELIS S A H U MBL E
Q and A How well are women represented in leadersHip positions in our country?
“Women make up 51 percent of the population and 55 percent of the voters, yet we make up only 18 percent of top leadership positions and 17 percent of the U.S. Congress. We are only 5 percent of CEOs of Fortune 500 companies and comprise only 15 percent of their board members. So, obviously, the leadership gap persists. We need the balance that results when women serve alongside men at the tables of decision-making authority.”
Barbara Baker ’93
Executive director, Women’s Leadership Institute, College of Liberal Arts
Roll on, Auburn fans Although the future of Auburn University’s historic live oaks looks decidedly grim, the tradition of Toomer’s Corner as a gathering place for fans will live on, university officials say. A committee composed of administrators, students, faculty, alumni and others in January recommended that one or more large trees be planted to replace the existing oaks, which were poisoned more than a year ago. After considering ideas and suggestions from more than 1,200 members of the university community, the committee also recommended keeping Auburn’s toilet-paper-rolling tradition alive by building a temporary structure so fans can continue to celebrate wins over the next three to five years as the new trees establish their root systems. Then, eventually, fans may roll the new trees themselves. Auburn president Jay Gogue ’69 has approved the committee’s recommended plan. At press time, administrators had not developed a timeline for when the ailing live oaks will come down and new trees planted, said committee chair Debbie Shaw ’84, Auburn’s vice president for alumni affairs.
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Auburn Magazine Magazine aa uu aa ll uu m m .. oo rr gg Auburn
Administrators still have to decide what type of trees to plant in place of the live oaks, which are more naturally suited to the coastal South. A different oak species would likely grow and thrive more readily under less-than-optimum environmental conditions such as being adjacent to a busy traffic intersection, said Auburn horticulture professor Gary Keever. Officials also have to figure out what type of structure might be built at or near the intersection of Magnolia Avenue and College Street that would be appropriate for rolling. City and university officials will work together to find a solution, said Auburn mayor Bill Ham ’77. Neither decision has to be reached immediately. Fans should be able to continue rolling the existing Toomer’s oaks at least through this year’s football season, Keever said. In forming its recommendations, the Committee to Determine the Future of Rolling Toomer’s Corner considered a number of options, including replanting small oak saplings, possibly grown from acorns produced by the existing Toomer’s trees, and designing a permanent artificial tree or sculpture to replace the oaks. — Suzanne Johnson
group picks new trustees Auburn’s Trustee Selection
McCrary ’73, both of
Committee at press time
Birmingham. Three others
had narrowed the field of
who were nominated last
candidates for nine open
year—B.T. Roberts ’72 of
spots on the university
Mobile, Jimmy Sanford ’68
board of trustees to 35 out
of Prattville and Elizabeth
of nearly 170 nominees.
Huntley ’93 of Clanton—re-
The committee, which
main on the list of potential
includes two Auburn
nominees as well. Former
Alumni Association repre-
Colonial Bank CEO Bobby
sentatives, was expected
Lowder ’64 announced last
to interview candidates on
summer he would not seek
the short list and make its
another term.
final recommendations by
Alabama Gov. Robert
the time the Alabama Leg-
Bentley, who serves as
islature began its regular
president of Auburn’s board
session on Feb. 7. The Ala-
of trustees, scrapped the
bama Senate must officially
committee’s original recom-
confirm the nominations.
mended slate of nominees
Current trustees who
last year after the confirma-
made the short list of
tion process stalled in the
interviewees were Virginia
state legislature. Several key
Thompson ’78 of Mont-
senators had objected to the
gomery, Jimmy Rane ’68
haste with which the nomi-
of Abbeville, Sarah Newton
nations were made and the
’74 of Fayette, and Byron
lack of time for public input
Franklin ’91 and Charles
into the selection process.
S T R E E T
AUBURN UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES
C O L L E G E
Flashback 100 years ago
75 years ago
50 years ago
25 years ago
10 years ago
Spring 1912
Spring 1937
Spring 1962
Spring 1987
Spring 2002
The Auburn Alumni Association’s predecessor, the Alabama Polytechnic Institute Society of the Alumni, produced the university’s first recorded alumni publication, The Alumni Quarterly. The publication’s name was later changed to The Alumnus, which, in 1945, morphed into the Auburn AlumNews. Auburn Magazine began its run as the association’s flagship alumni publication in 1994.
Auburn acquired the Civil War-era iron lathe—which was used to bore cannons for the Confederate Army— that remains on display near Samford Hall. The Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad company presented the lathe to Alabama Polytechnic Institute officials as a memorial.
The Phi Gamma Delta “Fiji” fraternity house burned to the ground, causing $100,000 in property damage. No one was hurt, although most students living in the house escaped wearing only pajamas or shorts in 10-degree weather. The fraternity had recently moved into the house previously occupied by the brothers of Pi Kappa Alpha. The cause of the fire was never determined.
Paul Davis, defensive coordinator under legendary Tigers football head coach Ralph “Shug” Jordan from 1967-80 and architect of the team’s famous 1972 “Punt ’Bama Punt” play, returned to Auburn as a volunteer assistant coach in charge of special teams under Pat Dye. A former head coach at Mississippi State, Davis died in 2009 at age 87.
After almost a decade of fundraising, Auburn officials broke ground on a $20 million, 85,000-square-foot building on Lem Morrison Drive to house the Department of Poultry Science. The facility, which opened in 2005, is also home to the Poultry Products Safety and Quality program, the National Poultry Technology Center and the National Egg Processing Center.
Above: It might look more like a landlocked form of synchronized swimming, but these 1948 Alabama Polytechnic Institute coeds were engaged in an artistic round of tumbling as part of the university’s athletics program.
a u a l u m . o r g Auburn Magazine
11
C O L L E G E
Good luck out there Auburn University awarded 1,575 academic degrees during its December commencement ceremonies, with the College of Liberal Arts leading the pack. The college bestowed 288 bachelor’s degrees, more than any of Auburn’s 12 colleges and schools, followed by the College of Business with 268 and the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering with 177. Auburn has awarded more than 250,000 degrees since it was founded as East Alabama Male College in 1856.
S T R E E T
New year, new projects JAY GOGUE ’69
President, Auburn University
Winner! Auburn University’s
rules for the number and
tiger mascot, Aubie, in
size of props being used
January won the Universal
as well as a strict time re-
Cheerleaders Associa-
quirement, it is completely
tion National Champion-
up in the air after that.”
ship competition for an
factors in determining
time. The winning skit,
finalists, including char-
titled “Aubie’s Saturday,”
acter development, crowd
featured the goofy feline
involvement and cheer/
imitating pop star Lady
band integration. During
Gaga, dancing to rapper
the final round, mascots
MC Hammer’s 1990 hit
are scored on crowd
“U Can’t Touch This”
appeal and interaction,
and parodying a classic
creativity, animation and
“Saturday Night Live” skit
enthusiasm, prop usage,
in which he auditions for a
and overall impression.
spot on the Chippendales dance troupe. Aubie also won the
Illustrator Phil Neel created Aubie in 1959 as a cartoon tiger that
national champion title in
appeared regularly on the
1991, 1995, 1996, 1999,
covers of Auburn football
2003 and 2006.
game programs. Two
“Aubie continues to
12
Judges consider several
unprecedented seventh
decades after his debut
set the example for the
on paper, Aubie made his
model mascot program
first live appearance at the
in the country,” said
1979 Southeastern Con-
Corey Edwards, director of
ference basketball tourna-
Auburn University’s Office
ment. Three “friends of
of Student Involvement.
Aubie”— Bob Harris,
“The competition is based
Barry Mask and Viki Leach
around the production of
McGinty—brought the
a skit. Although there are
costume to life that year.
Auburn Magazine a u a l u m . o r g
As we’ve started a new year, I am happy to report that Auburn is making excellent progress in many academic and studentsupport areas, and we look forward to continuing that momentum. Several academic and student-support initiatives are examples of progress that helps us prepare students for a constantly evolving economic landscape as well as work with industry and government to create economic opportunity for the state of Alabama. In November, we broke ground on the 84,000-square-foot Auburn University Center for Advanced Science, Innovation and Commerce. The $28.8 million science center will foster multidisciplinary research collaborations across the campus that will generate new knowledge and technology to benefit Alabama. The center will feature 20 labs as well as shared support spaces and specialized equipment areas for scientific research in bioenergy, water quality, food safety, genomics, information science and ecosystem health. Researchers from Auburn’s colleges and schools of agriculture; engineering; sciences and mathematics; architecture, design and construction; and forestry and wildlife sciences will be housed in the facility. Construction is also continuing on the new Auburn University Recreation and
Wellness Center. The 240,000-squarefoot facility will provide recreational space for Auburn students, faculty and staff to enjoy and engage in a healthier and more active lifestyle. The center, scheduled for completion in spring 2013, is expected to be one of the best campus recreation facilities in the country. An Auburn team of chemical and biomedical engineers has developed a new method to deliver eye medication by wearing contact lenses (“Eye Contact,” Page 36). The lenses are the fi rst to release drug doses over time for as long as the contact should be worn. The lenses deliver a constant flow of medication without altering a patient’s natural vision, or can be used to correct vision while also delivering eye medication such as anti-inflammatories, antibiotics and anti-allergy drugs. DesignIntelligence magazine recently ranked Auburn’s undergraduate interior design program in the College of Human Sciences as best in the nation, and industrial design and architecture programs in the College of Architecture, Design and Construction in the nation’s top-20 degree programs in their fields. The ranking was part of the prestigious design magazine’s annual survey to determine “America’s Best Architecture & Design Schools 2012.” Those items are just a few of the many projects we are pursuing at this time. For more, I urge you to visit the Wire Eagle news feed on Auburn University’s home page: www.auburn.edu. On behalf of Auburn’s administration, faculty and staff, I wish each of you a healthy and happy 2012. War Eagle!
jgogue@auburn.edu
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Updyke update Attorneys for Harvey Updyke, the University of Alabama football fan accused of poisoning Auburn’s historic Toomer’s oaks, have asked to postpone their client’s trial on felony criminal mischief and other charges in order to secure expert witnesses on Updyke’s behalf. The trial is scheduled to begin March 5; Updyke remains free on bond.
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Meet the Prof Sunny Stalter-Pace Assistant professor of English, College of Liberal Arts BACKSTORY Sunny Stalter-Pace graduated from
Loyola University in Chicago, where she doublemajored in English and French, and received her doctoral degree from Rutgers University. She teaches survey courses in world literature, American literature and popular culture.
FAMILY TREES: How do you move 40-year-old trees that have roots weighing between 65,000 and 128,000 pounds? It helps to have a 128-inch tree spade—just one of the tools used by Texas company Environmental Design Inc. on a recent campus project. The group was brought in to move eight large trees, including six burr oaks, one Nuttall oak and a winged elm, to make way for construction of a new building near Wire Road that eventually will house Auburn’s Department of Kinesiology. The trees are being relocated to different sites on the outskirts of campus.
HERE COMES THE BRiDE Valley natives Katie Oliver and Slade Ponder, both of whom graduated from Auburn University in 2010, plan to get married in the shadow of Samford Hall— courtesy of their alma mater and several local sponsors—as the winning couple of the first “War Eagle Wedding” contest. Fashioned after the popular “‘Today’ Throws a Wedding” competition featured each spring on NBC’s “Today” show, Auburn’s version of the contest also solicits public voting on various aspects of the celebration, including the bridal gown, invitation style, cake design, floral arrangements and reception menu. The wedding is set for May 26 on Samford Lawn, followed by a reception at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center. Oliver, 24, and Ponder, 23, were chosen from among 19 couples vying for their big day on campus. Candidates submitted either a two-minute video or a
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written application explaining why they should be selected. At press time, the public was deciding which one of three wedding gown prototypes—designed by students in Auburn’s apparel-design program—Oliver will wear for the nuptuals. Students also are designing options for bridesmaids’ dresses. Oliver and Ponder will be able to determine a few event details, such as the flavors of both the wedding cake and the groom’s cake. They’ll also have veto power over the hors d’oeuvres and dinner menu items selected for voting, and will be able to choose the music, style and content of the ceremony itself. The War Eagle Wedding contest is sponsored by Auburn’s Office of Communications and Marketing, The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center, the Opelika-Auburn News and WRBL-TV.
QUIZ SHOW Stalter-Pace won $38,000 in prize money as a contestant on the long-running TV game show “Jeopardy” in October. She won two consecutive matches, correctly answering trivia questions from topic categories such as “texting” and “seashells.” Stalter-Pace began applying to compete on the show at age 14. “i have never not wanted to be on ‘Jeopardy,’” Stalter-Pace says. “The second game i played in was fairly low-scoring, because it was full of these nightmare ‘Jeopardy’ categories that i was completely unprepared for—things such as idaho, Russian composers and the 16th century. Stuff i had no clue about.” She hopes to use some of her cash prize to take a trip to Paris. OUT OF CLASS StalterPace loves movies, reading and dancing. She’s currently helping organize an annual film series for Auburn’s Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art.
Auburn University is an equal opportunity educational institution/employer.
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Auburn Magazine
For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University
Auburn Magazine
For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University
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Cement your legacy on the Auburn University campus by purchasing a personalized paver for the Auburn Alumni Association’s new Alumni Walk to be installed in front of the Auburn Alumni Center. The walk will feature pavers in three sizes that may be etched with an inscription of your choosing. Proceeds benefit student scholarships, and purchases are tax deductible.
Leave your mark.
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Research JEFF ET H ERI DG E
REAl lovE
Skeleton keys they were African or
more than three centuries
traveled to the Caribbean
old. Today, the slaves’
found herself enduring
Barbadian-born. She also
island of Barbados on an
skeletons are helping tell the
the heat of a Barbadian
looks for evidence of dis-
archaeological expedition
story of how individuals in
work site at the height of
eases, malnutrition
in 1997, she found herself
that society lived—and how
the rainy season, where
and other health
with several hundred bones
they died.
she collected 49 complete
aberrations.
to pick—as well as brush, clean, catalog and study.
“The West Indies
skeletons and a series
“We can
is considered by many
of co-mingled remains.
physically look at the data
historians to have had the
The bones now reside at
recorded on the individuals
sor of anthropology and
most brutal circumstances
Auburn, where they remain
themselves,” Shuler says.
Auburn University’s only
of slavery,” Shuler says.
the subject of studies,
“So, I can go in and basi-
bio-anthropologist, Shuler’s
“People were basically
theses and dissertations
cally look for specific
professional focus is on hu-
worked into the ground and
by Shuler as well as un-
types of pathogens
man evolution and variation.
replaced.”
dergraduate and graduate
and nutritional
researchers from Auburn
deficiency
and other universities.
diseases that
An assistant profes-
“Particularly, my focus is
In the 1980s, Shuler’s
in bio-archaeology, which
dissertation adviser at
is looking at reconstructing
Southern Illinois University
health through an archaeo-
began a study of slave life
100-square-foot room full
in the skeleton
logical context,” Shuler says.
in the New World, par-
of bags and boxes of bones
and compare it
“So—reconstructing health
ticularly in the Caribbean.
on metal shelves, plus a
to the historic
in the past.”
He asked if she would be
table laden with a single
records, to try
interested in re-excavating
computer and trays of bone
to get a more
in social inequalities, an
at Newton Plantation to
fragments. By studying
complete picture
area of study that led her
find entire bodies in hopes
the bones, Shuler can
of the past.”
to the Lesser Antilles to
they might learn more
determine the age and sex
—Abby Townson
excavate a slave cemetery
about slave populations.
of individuals and whether
Shuler is also interested
16
A year later, Shuler
When Kristrina Shuler
Auburn Magazine a u a l u m . o r g
Shuler’s “lab” is a
are recorded
Reality diva Kim Kardashian’s official coupling fizzled after 72 days; the union of actors Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward lasted more than a half-century. Why is it that some marriages fail and others stand the test of time? No one seems to have a definitive answer, but Auburn faculty involved with the Alabama Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education Initiative hope to at least lay a foundation for lasting unions by educating couples on healthier relationships. Auburn University human development and family studies professor Francesca Adler-Baeder has led the initiative—begun to address the state’s persistently high degree of family instability and soaring divorce rates—since 2002. The program is a joint partnership between AU, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, the Alabama Department of Children’s Affairs and family resource centers around the state. The initiative offers free classes for coparents, couples with stepfamilies, premarital couples, married couples and singles. There is also a “Relationship Smarts” class for teens, offered at 50 high schools. “Just as with parenting education, information on healthy relationships and the recognition of unhealthy relationships can be taught in an educational setting,” Adler-Baeder says.
Have a heart More than one out of every four deaths in the U.S. is caused by heart disease, making it the leading cause of death for men and women every year. Auburn engineer Elizabeth Lipke sees a solution: Her lab is developing materials and techniques to grow contracting heart cells and assemble them into heart tissue. Her research could improve our ability to repair the damaged or diseased heart.
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Field testing On the south end of the
between Auburn’s College
Auburn campus, a student
of Agriculture and Depart-
pushes an odd-looking
ment of Athletics.
machine—sort of a push
You are here Most landowners know every inch of their property—fences, timber stands, streams, pastures, hills, everything—yet they don’t know what the property looks like from above or on a map. Auburn University forestry researcher John Gilbert kept encountering the situation as he conducted a study for the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences—so he created an instructional booklet to help landowners use online mapping programs. Gilbert, who earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in forestry at Auburn in 2003 and 2007, respectively, got the idea while working with landowners to record locations of longleaf-pine-forest stands in Alabama. The longleaf pine is Alabama’s state tree, and its stands once covered millions of acres. Only fragments exist today. “Most landowners did not know about (geographic information systems) or how to use their computers to map their property,” Gilbert says. “They had used (global positioning system) devices, and some had used Google Maps to find driving directions, but they did not know they could use Google to create land maps.” Gilbert and colleague John Kush obtained a grant to develop a 20-page booklet titled Mapping Your Land: An Overview for Landowners. Designed for beginners,
the guide contains tutorial information on how to use five online mapping programs, including Google Earth, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Web Soil Survey and Geospatial Data Gateway, the University of Alabama’s Alabama Historic Aerial Photo Archive, and the USDA National Agroforestry Center’s CanVIS. “The booklet focuses on five programs to help landowners use maps with aerial photography, topographic layers, soils information, data collected with GPS and even a visual simulation, such as adding images of trees. This lets landowners see what it would look like if they planted trees,” Gilbert says. Property maps can also be helpful for site-managing timber and other crops, wildlife habitats, livestock foraging, watershed management, aesthetics and recreation. “I set it up for landowners, but anyone can use it,” Gilbert says. “Students can use it for class projects. Homeowners might find it helpful as well. Really, it’s for anyone who wants to have geographic information about a piece of property.” The booklet is available in print by contacting Gilbert at gilbejo@auburn.edu or may be viewed online at www.lpsdl.au burn.edu/pdfs/MappingBook_FINAL.pdf. —Charles Martin
McElroy, an associate
mower with teeth—across
professor of agronomy and
several fields of deep green
soils, and graduate research
grass. Again. And again.
assistant Philipe Aldahir
And again. With each
laid side-by-side plots of five
pass, the turf degenerates,
Bermuda grass varieties,
its ruts and tears exposing
including Tifway 419, a
chips of rusty soil beneath.
classic cultivar that has been
All in the name of athletics.
planted on athletic fields
At the university’s
for more than four decades.
Turfgrass Research Unit just
Other varieties being tested
south of campus, plant sci-
are TifSport, TifGrand, Cel-
entist Scott McElroy ’98 is
ebration and Patriot.
putting five Bermuda grass
The researchers are
sports-turf cultivars through
using an “athlete-traffic
the wringer to generate data
simulator”—a souped-up
that can help high school,
version of a golf course
college and pro-athletics
aerator—to replicate the
field managers determine
abuse a football field endures
which grass will perform
during a three-hour battle
best on their playing fields.
between two teams of 250-
Bermuda grasses have
to 300-pound athletes. With some modifications, the machine simulates both the pounding and the shearing of a cleated athletic shoe, producing the same number of cleat marks that would occur between the hash marks during a single NFL game. Sections are tested at the
some good things going
frequency of one, three and
for them: They tolerate
five games a week.
wear and draught, recover
At Jordan-Hare
quickly from injury, boast a
Stadium, the Auburn Tigers
fine texture, grow vigorously
played their 2011 football
and densely, and retain
season on a field planted
color. They tend to be the
with Tifway, but fields man-
grasses of choice for sports
ager Eric Kleypas ’99 says
fields in the South.
McElroy’s research will help
“We’re evaluating
administrators determine
several of these differ-
whether there’s something
ent characteristics in this
better out there.
project, but our main focus
“Installing sports turf
is on how well each one
is very expensive—more than
stands up against heavy
$2 a square foot,” Kleypas
traffic and how quickly
says. “This study to simulate
it bounces back from
play on a football field ... will
damage,” says McElroy of
give us information to make
the joint research project
that kind of decision.”
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Roundup COLLEGE OF
Agriculture Auburn’s Agricultural Alumni Association will honor several Alabama agriculturists during its annual Hall of Honor banquet on Feb. 23. They are: longtime commercial egg grower Herman McElrath of Guntersville; retired AU fisheries professor and aquaculturist Rudy Schmittou ’65 of Auburn; and sustainable farming advocate Ben Bowden of Eufaula. The association also plans to present its Pioneer Awards posthumously to George Blake Jr., a longtime faculty member in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, and William M. Warren, former head of the Department of Animal Sciences.
decorated to look like the real deal. Students designed models and drew blueprints of Hargis Hall, Langdon Hall, Cater Hall and the hotel itself after scanning the buildings with high-definition equipment using light- and detectionradar technology. It took about a week for students to take 3D scans of the buildings and convert them to 3D modeling software, and another several days to build three-dimensional wooden models that will last from year to year. The hotel’s master pastry chef, Adelle Bonilla, then decorated the buildings with edible embellishments.
and precision-piloting skills. Twelve members of the War Eagle Flying Team competed against six other collegiate flight programs in nine events. Auburn’s team won the Team Safety Award and the prize for top female pilot, which went to sophomore Blake N. Schuette. The team also placed in the top group of winners in most categories, including third in poweroff landing, third in message-drop, third and fourth in simulated comprehensive aircraft navigation, and fourth and fifth in highest-scoring overall contestants.
South America. In 1960, at age 32, he became the nation’s youngest college president as head of Indian River (Fla.) Community College. He later served as the third president of Brevard (Fla.) Community College for three decades.
COLLEGE OF
COLLEGE OF
Business
Education
Representing the second-oldest university aviation program in the nation, Auburn’s competitive flight team placed second overall at the 2011 Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference Region IX Flight Competition in November at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla. The competition is sanctioned by the National Intercollegiate Flying Association and emphasizes safety
Maxwell C. King ’50, an AU education alumnus who once held the distinction of being the nation’s youngest college president, visited Auburn in November as the College of Education’s 2011 Keystone Leader-in-Residence. King served as a teacher, principal and community college president during his career and played an instrumental role in developing distance-learning programs throughout the U.S. and
most common building material. Xinyu Zhang, an assistant professor of polymer and fiber engineering at Auburn, and his colleague, engineering associate professor Jialai Wang at Alabama, are perfecting a process that takes a power plant byproduct—coal ash—and uses it in place of cement in their mix for concrete. The recipe also includes a futuristic ingredient, carbon nanotubes, and a new technique for making them. (The nanotubes, which add strength, durability and conducting properties
SAMUEL GINN COLLEGE OF
Engineering Researchers at Auburn University and the University of Alabama have teamed up to devise a new recipe for concrete, one that has the potential to recycle a form of toxic waste, cut greenhouse gas production and otherwise improve the world’s
COLLEGE OF
Architecture, Design and Construction Led by building science professor Paul Holley, graduate students studying integrated design and construction added four new buildings in December to the annual “gingerbread campus” display at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center. Each year, the McWhorter School of Building Science joins forces with the hotel to celebrate the holiday season by presenting iconic Auburn buildings cast in gingerbread and
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to the concrete, are produced by cooking an iron compound for 10 seconds in a microwave oven. The researchers liken the process to making popcorn and have dubbed the result “Poptubes.”) Concrete accounts for 70 percent of all construction materials globally. It’s easy to apply, but the process of cooking it results in the production of large quantities of greenhouse gases. Most coal ash generated nationwide is stored in landfills or ponds, where trace toxic contaminants could leach into groundwater or wash into the environment during a dam failure or other disaster. The Environmental Protection Agency currently is studying ways coal ash is reused to make sure the traces of heavy metal in it don’t leach out; meanwhile, Wang, Zhang and their collaborators have received a $450,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to further the development of their concrete alternative. SCHOOL OF
Forestry and Wildlife Sciences A team of Auburn scientists has documented the species, height, diameter, crown width, canopy cover and condition of more than 7,300 trees valued at almost $11 million on campus and simultaneously generated
data that could help landscape managers nationwide. “This will be a valuable tool for campus planners,” says forestry and wildlife professor Art Chappelka. “We have mapped the location of every tree in proximity to roads, buildings, power lines and other structures ... It’s like a blueprint of campus trees.” There are 1,639 crape myrtles—the most common tree on campus—at Auburn, 596 willow oaks, 565 loblolly pines and 464 magnolias. The researchers found that Auburn has 7,345 trees representing 139 species on areas maintained by the university’s landscape services division, not including the campus arboretum. The study was published in the September 2011 issue of Arboriculture & Urban Forestry journal. COLLEGE OF
Human Sciences The Accreditation Commission for Programs in Hospitality Administration has given its seal of approval to Auburn’s hotel-and-restaurantmanagement program. The accreditation benchmark was a primary objective of the program’s 2009-12 strategic plan, and the program, part of the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics, and Hospitality Management, is now one of only 56 of its kind in the U.S.
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America’s best DesignIntelligence magazine ranked Auburn’s undergraduate interior design program as best in the nation in its 2012 “America’s Best Architecture & Design Schools” issue. Auburn shared the No. 1 interior design spot with the Savannah College of Art and Design. The industrial design and architecture programs in AU’s College of Construction, Architecture and Design were rated in the top 20 degree programs in their fields.
to earn the designation. Now in its 25th year, Auburn’s HRMT program also hosted the 2012 Graduate Research Conference in Hospitality Education in January. COLLEGE OF
Liberal Arts Auburn’s College of Liberal Arts hosted a twoday public symposium in January that attempted to tackle what has become a hot-button issue in state politics: “Becoming Alabama: Immigration and Migration in a Deep-South State.” The symposium, directed by Mary Helen Brown, associate professor of communication and journalism and Breeden Eminent Scholar for the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts and Humanities, featured scholars and professionals exploring immigration and migration from Spanish exploration through the 1813 Creek War to the present. Headline presenters were Isabel Wilkerson, author of the Pulitzer-winning The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migra-
tion, and Carmen Agra Deedy, an awardwinning children’s author who discussed growing up Cuban in Decatur, Ga. “Alabama is a complicated place, and we can learn much by looking at the state through the lens of history and thinking about the future,” Brown said. ... The Department of Communication and Journalism and the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center plan to sponsor a lecture by investigative journalist Eric Schlosser on March 22. Schlosser is the author of Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal (Houghton Mifflin, 2001), an exposé of the U.S. fast-food industry. SCHOOL OF
Nursing Students in the School of Nursing and other health-related majors will head to Europe in early summer for a month of intensive study of the Spanish health care system and the Spanish language itself. The students will be totally immersed in Spanish language and culture, with daily classes at the
Pamploma Learning Spanish Institute. Students are expected to learn to ask and give information and advice, describe health care and daily routines, and communicate suggestions to patients, in part, officials say, to ensure they can meet the needs of their future employers. Hispanics are the largest and fastestgrowing ethnic group in the U.S. HARRISON SCHOOL OF
Pharmacy
Retail giant Target Corp. recently awarded a $6,000 grant to the Harrison School of Pharmacy so that students on the school’s Mobile campus can meet the needs of uninsured residents in Mobile, Baldwin and Escambia counties. Student pharmacists discovered a need for medicationtherapy management after running a health-screening fair at Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy. According to associate clinical professor Allison Chung, student pharmacists screened 53 patients in four hours and identified two cases of hyperglycemia and two cases of hypertensive urgencies as a result of inappropriate management of medications. The students earned the Target grant for developing a program called “Stepping Up and Reaching Out: Medication-Therapy Management Services.” The money will be used to buy diabetic-testing
supplies and monitoring equipment, as well as medication-therapy management software. COLLEGE OF
Sciences and Mathematics Auburn biological sciences professor Ken Halanych participated in a public community forum in December to talk about the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and what scientists are learning about its longer-term impact. “Residents of the Gulf region are still struggling to understand the impact of the oil spill,” Halanych said. “The future health of the Gulf of Mexico is dependent on the public’s understanding of the science that goes into assessing our understanding and management of ecosystems. Dialogue among the researchers and the community is critical.” Halanych is an alumni professor and coordinator of the marine biology program at Auburn. His research focuses on the biodiversity of marine invertebrate animals.
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Veterinary Medicine Auburn’s Scott-Ritchey Research Center and Birmingham-based Vaxin Inc., a clinical-stage vaccine-development company, are working on a vaccine that could provide an alternative to surgical spay and neuter procedures for cats and dogs. Auburn professors Henry Baker ’60 and Nancy Cox ’75, along with Kent Van Kampen of Vaxin, are the lead investigators. “For a decade, scientists at the Scott-Ritchey Research Center and Vaxin
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have collaborated in the design and testing of dogand cat-contraceptive vaccines,” Baker said. “The goal is to create a vaccine that will induce long-term sterility and block breeding behavior in both male and female dogs and cats after administration of a single dose.” As many as 8 million cats and dogs enter U.S. shelters each year; about half are euthanized, according to the Found Animals Foundation Inc., which is supporting the research. Officials say the introduction of a spay/ neuter vaccine could reduce that number significantly.
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CONCOURSE
Interview Grant Moore Senior, electrical engineering THE 4-1-1 Moore founded the Innovative Humanitar-
ian Products Organization, an Auburn University student organization whose members aim to design, build and deliver products meant to improve life in developing nations. In just over a year, the group has developed a water-purification system being tested in Uganda. DYING OF THIRST More than 3.5 million people around the world die annually of water-related illnesses, according to the World Health Organization. “Access to clean water is a monumental issue in much of the world, so we’re trying to gain partnerships and support in order to make a lasting difference,” Moore says. INSPIRATION “The idea for IHPO began in a project I was involved with in my business-engineering-technology minor. Our class was broken into teams and told to create a hypothetical business plan and model product. My team and I wanted to create a humanitarian product, one that would improve the world in some capacity. After much consideration, we decided to pursue water purification, as it was something we felt could be profitable in the camping market and humanitarian to the developing world. After many long hours, we created a completely functional water purifier. From there on out, our reason for forming the club was simple: We desired to help people and believed we could make a difference.” PROGRESS “One of our graduate students traveled to Uganda to verify and test our purifiers, and a member of the Huntsville Rotary Club, who started a nonprofit organization called the African Children’s Educational Initiative, has taken our purifier to Uganda on two occasions, providing valuable field testing and design verification. We’re working with American Precision Products in Huntsville to try and expand our operations to a larger scale. We truly believe this is a worthwhile pursuit.”
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Medical care at Jordan-Hare We’ve all asked the question. It’s a bakinghot afternoon that feels more like midAugust than late September, and you’re surrounded by nearly 90,000 screaming Auburn Tigers fans. There’s no shade, you’re dehydrated, and you ask it: What happens if I pass out right here in the middle of Jordan-Hare Stadium? Will I be trampled by the masses? Thrown onto the field as a sacrificial offering to the football muses? Chances are, if the worst happens, you’ll end up at one of nine first-aid stations located around the stadium, tended by an Auburn nursing student. Last fall, students in nursing professor Constance Hendricks’ “Population Health” class were asked to work at football games, joining the dozens of doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners and paramedics who also are on duty. “The students experience a different kind of health care delivery in the stadium than they are used to seeing in a hospital or clinic,” Hendricks says. “The students may complain about the idea of working
at a game, but they are always amazed at the need for care on game days.” Theoretically, would-be student nurses not only help treat intoxicated fans but also those suffering from heat exhaustion and other potential health threats. “All the 90,000 people that come to the stadium bring their health care problems with them,” says East Alabama EMS director Dan Goslin. “So if you are a diabetic before you come to the game, you’re a diabetic while you’re at the game.” Senior nursing major Heather Bagents, who was assigned to the Auburn vs. Ole Miss home game in October, assumed she would encounter some fans who’d had too much to drink outside the stadium, but she didn’t think she’d help care for a young diabetic boy, an unconscious fan or a woman in premature labor, among other cases. “I learned that when you are with the public, with that many people, there are so many variables you never know what’s going to happen,” Bagents says. “I knew that
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JEFF ET H ERI DG E
Joining the ranks Online graduate programs in Auburn’s College of Education and the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering were named “honor-roll programs” in U.S. News and World Report magazine’s first “Top Online Education Program” rankings. Programs named to the honor roll ranked in the top third among their peers in four categories: student services and technology; faculty credentials and training; teaching practices and student engagement; and admissions selectivity.
Health concerns can become exacerbated in the charged atmosphere of a crowd at a sporting event. Auburn nursing students get hands-on experience at Jordan-Hare Stadium during football season, working with professionals at first-aid stations.
some things would be unexpected, but I got to see firsthand. “I didn’t get to be there for much of the football game at all,” she adds. “I was in the ambulance, riding with paramedics.” Which suited Bagents—who grew up on a south Alabama farm—just fine. “Waking up from one day to the next, you never know what’s going to happen with the cattle or the chickens,” she says. “Just like a nurse in the emergency room or the intensive care unit, you’ve got to be on your toes and alert at all times.” Senior Heather Edell worked in the main first-aid station at Jordan-Hare. She also spent time patrolling the student section during the Oct. 29 football game against Ole Miss.
“We weren’t that busy, but the things we did get to see were pretty cool,” she recalls. “I got to ride in the ambulance with a patient to the hospital.” Both Bagents and Edell are interested in pursuing careers in the field of emergency medicine. “I doubted I would ever be in an ambulance, being able to start an IV on a patient and be successful at it,” Bagents says. “It really encouraged me to do ER nursing. That’s what I’d really like to do.” Edell believes she is suited for ER or trauma nursing because of her experience as a volunteer firefighter, she says. “I get bored with routine, and the unexpected keeps me on my toes and I like that,” she says. “It makes you think, and I really like critical thinking.” Hendricks’ “Population Health” class also provides health care screenings for area schoolchildren and holds information sessions at senior centers and nursing homes on preventing falls and how to avoid adverse medicinal interactions. “It’s what a baccalaureate nurse should do,” Hendricks says. “It’s the community-health aspect that makes the difference between a baccalaureate nurse and an associate-degree nurse.” Goslin, also a registered nurse, appreciates Hendricks’ strategy for getting students involved in real-world settings and cases. “What you find out when you get out of nursing school is that nursing doesn’t fit any particular mold,” he says. “There is no nursing floor or doctor’s office or ER or ICU that’s going to give you exactly what you see in school. Having a program that mixes up what your clinical experiences are … will ultimately turn out better nurses in the long run.” —Amy Weaver
DESIGNING WITH THE STARS Rather than illustrating
free to use their own
with stars and stripes,
creativity in designing
Auburn sophomore Kyle
the publication.
Pauley took a different
The state voter
tactic when tackling
guide is published by
a class assignment
the secretary of state’s
to design a new voter
election division and
guide for the state of
provides information
Alabama: He scanned
to citizens on voter
an actual flag.
registration, election
“I didn’t draw them or make them,” says
dates, polling places and voting procedures. In addition to his
Pauley, a graphic design major in the
scanned flag, Pauley
College of Architecture,
incorporated a hand-
Design and Construc-
sketched check mark
tion. “Scanning a real
for the letter ‘V’ on
flag gave the design
the word “vote.” “I put
a unique feel. I felt
my own spin on it,”
having a real flag
he says. “Everything
scan would give it an
else was just a simple
extra pop, and I think it
design that I carefully
worked out well.”
crafted, and with help from my classmates
The Alabama secretary of state’s
giving suggestions and
office agreed, choosing
opinions, I was able to
Pauley’s design from
make it even better …
among 30 submitted by
I was happy with what
students from graphic
I came up with, but it
design professor Ross
still was a surprise that
Heck’s “Production
they chose mine.”
Processes and Typogra-
Voter guides are available now at county
phy” class. The students were
courthouses and lo-
provided with the
cal voter-registration
required text and the
offices, or from civic
Alabama state seal,
groups that do voter
but otherwise were
outreach.
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TIGER WALK
Inventive ventures The Student Inventors and Entrepreneurship Club recently joined Auburn’s roster of official student organizations. The club educates and promotes invention, patenting and commercialization by partnering with the university’s business-engineering-technology program. Group activities include an annual entrepreneurship challenge in which students must turn an idea into profit within 72 hours.
Education abroad Syllabus COURSE NAME FLIT 3110 “Food in Italian Cinema” INSTRUCTOR Rosetta Giuliani Caponetto, assistant professor, Department of Foreign Languages and Literature, College of Liberal Arts THE SCOOP “Food is likeable,” says Caponetto, and it’s what most people think of when they think of “Italian culture”—pasta, tomatoes, red wine and big families. Her special-topics course is designed to educate students on contemporary Italian cinema and its representation of food, which in Italian culture may have political connotations, is connected with gender roles and even plays a part in race relations. The Italian government, for example, has attempted to make it illegal for foreign restaurants to operate in downtown areas, a practice that has been dubbed “gastronomic racism.” Students discuss these issues and study how Italians (and their food) are portrayed in both American and Italian films. One of the main objectives of the class is to encourage students to view such references critically. SUGGESTED READING Selected chapters from
a number of texts, including The Anthropology of Food and Body: Gender, Meaning and Power by Carol Counihan; Reel Food: Essays on Food and Film by Anne L. Bower; Food, Film and Culture: A Genre Study by James R. Keller; Slow Living by Wendy Parkins and Geoffrey Craig; You Are What You Eat: Literary Probes into the Palate by Annette M. Magid; and The Taste for Civilization: Food, Politics and Civil Society by Janet Flammang. Naurally, students in the “Food and Italian Cinema” class also watch a number of Italian films, including “The Story of Boys and Girls” (1989), “Big Night” (1996) and “Mid-August Lunch” (2008).
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Forget about the elephants and wildebeests that roam the Serengeti, the crystal expanse of the African Great Lakes or the towering presence of Mt. Kilimanjaro. For Khiari McAlpin ’09 and other Auburn education majors, the most awe-inspiring sight of a recent four-week summer trip to Tanzania was found inside a crowded classroom. When McAlpin first stepped through the doorway of the elementary school classroom where she would do her teaching, some 50 children stood at attention and greeted her in perfect harmony. “Good morning, teacher, how are you today?” exclaimed the students of Tetra Lutheran School. The class greeted McAlpin and other Auburn students the same way each morning, even though the conditions didn’t seem ideal for incubating eager learners. Many of the children arrived barefoot each day, their feet toughened by walking up to three hours to and from school. “I was happy to see how excited and enthusiastic the kids were to be there,” says McAlpin, who has since completed a master’s degree in elementary education. “Those students had the best behavior I had ever seen.” In Tanzania, where the literacy rate is estimated at just above 72 percent, many view education as a privilege. According to a 2006 U.S. Department of Labor study, more than 87 percent of Tanzanian children who begin school are unlikely to continue their education past fifth grade.
From Tanzania to New Zealand and Australia, Auburn College of Education students have demonstrated the ability to touch lives while accumulating an impressive collection of passport stamps. Associate professor James Witte says he’s seen a shift among students’ attitudes regarding international travel in recent years. “For a long time, Alabama looked into itself,” says Witte, who has lived and worked in such places as Iran, Egypt, Pakistan and the Panama Canal Zone. “The idea of going beyond the borders of Alabama was a foreign concept for most of our graduates. … (Now) you’re passed over (for jobs) if you have that view.” New Johnsonville, Tenn., resident Jana Dickey ’11, one of three Auburn schoolcounseling graduate students who spent time studying in South Korea, says travel is an essential component of aspiring educators’ professional preparation. During her trip to Seoul, Dickey took part in classes at Korea University, and provided diversity and multicultural training for Korean students. “That was the moment that I truly felt like a school counselor in training,” Dickey says. “I think one of the main things I took from the experience was the importance of understanding different cultures and keeping an open mind regarding different viewpoints. It is important to see and understand that everyone does not live the same way. Every culture is different.”
T I G E R
Auburn University graduates and members of the Auburn Alumni Association may reconnect with classmates, update their addresses and post résumés through the online Auburn Alumni Network. It’s free: Just sign in, create a profile, upload photos and start finding friends today.
W A L K
Stay in touch.
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S O ER RT S W A L K T P I G
TIGER WALK JI MMY CRIB
From Falcons to ‘War Eagle’
New Auburn Tigers defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder met the media at a Dec. 11 press conference in Auburn, fresh from a four-year stint as defensive coordinator for the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. He formerly served in the same position with the Georgia Bulldogs, where he won the 2003 Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach.
Auburn’s new defensive coordinator heads back to college On leaving the NFL and returning to college football “It was a very difficult decision. I think, as I look at our profession, there are certain places and certain ideas from a family standpoint that you think are special. … Auburn kind of just perked my interest, so to speak, but we were slow and deliberate through the process. I think right now for myself and my family, it offers a great opportunity, and we really want to be a part of tradi-
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tion and be a part of the excitement and pageantry and incredible game day here. We’re well aware of the Auburn family and the excitement that surrounds it. We hope we can make our way into that and be a major part of it.” On the type of defense he’ll run “I’m a 4-3 guy. Having said that, we consider ourselves basing off the 4-3, but multiple in its
Happy birthday, Chiz Auburn Tigers football players serenaded head coach Gene Chizik on his 50th birthday Dec. 28 following practice for the Chick-fil-A Bowl at Atlanta’s Georgia Dome. “We just kind of interrupted with it,” quarterback Clint Moseley told reporters. “I think that’s good. Sometimes you get caught up in how serious and stressful all of this is. I think he enjoyed it.” The team went on to beat the Virginia Cavaliers 43-24 on New Year’s Eve.
T I G E R
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TODD VAN EMS T
makeup, I think. That’s today’s football. I think you have to be able to do that, but we’ll base out of the 4-3.” On the similarities and differences between coaching NFL and college teams “It’s probably not as different as many people might think. … Having said that, the 18-year-old and the 23-year-old are finding themselves as young men, and you hope that you can help them along in respect to their journey. You have more of an influence and more of a conversation along those lines than you do at the NFL level, but when you start talking about Xs and Os and standards and expectations with a group, it is very similar.” On what he wants from the defense “I think the things that are common to defense start with an incredible commitment to excellence … The next thing that comes to me is execution. If you have the idea of extreme effort in what you are doing through a strong commitment, the game comes down to execution and your ability to execute. I would say consistency in that particular area is a must if you really want to be good.” On getting back into recruiting “I’m really looking forward to that. I feel like, as a father of five, I understand the 17- (and) 18-year-old young man much better than I did seven or eight years ago. I have three in college right now, as a matter of fact … I look forward to being honest and upfront about the opportunity that a young man has here at Auburn and what we think we can do in terms of his development. The development part of it … they don’t really factor in a lot of times to their decision, but I think it’s crucial, and I think I will be able to really sell the idea that we’ll give them every chance to become the best they can be here at Auburn.”
LOeFFLer TO cOAcH AuburN TIgers’ OFFeNse Before the ink on the
men had spent three years
nationally in rushing,
he’ll continue playing for
invitation to the 2011
with the Tigers.
averaging 256.5 yards
Malzahn. Former starting
per game, and 39th
quarterback Barrett Trotter
Chick-fil-A Bowl was dry,
Loeffler, who served
sportswriters and fans
as offensive coordinator
nationally in scoring. He
also will not return for his
already were speculating
and quarterbacks coach at
also spent two seasons
final year of eligibility with
on how the Auburn Tigers
Temple, has worked with
as quarterbacks coach at
the Tigers. He graduated in
football program would
six college quarterbacks
the University of Florida,
August with a commu-
deal with the departures of
who went on to play in the
guiding a unit that led the
nications degree and is
both offensive coordinator
NFL, including Tom Brady
nation in pass efficiency
now enrolled in graduate
Gus Malzahn and defensive
and Tim Tebow.
(167.3) in 2009. The Bar-
school at Auburn.
coordinator Ted Roof.
“Scot is a rising star
berton, Ohio, native spent
“This is one of the few
Head coach Gene Chizik
who has worked with some
one season in the NFL with
places in America that the
answered the question in
very good quarterbacks
the Detroit Lions and six
expectations are to win
January, hiring Temple
and has achieved a
seasons at his alma mater,
the championship year
University’s Scot Loeffler
tremendous amount of
the University of Michigan.
in and year out, and it is
as Auburn’s new offensive
success,” Chizik said. “He
coordinator and the Atlanta
is a tireless worker (and)
priority at Auburn will be
honor to be a part of some-
Falcons’ Brian VanGorder
an outstanding recruiter,
recruiting new players,
thing so special,” Loeffler
to lead the Tigers’ defense.
and knows the rigors of
he told reporters in Janu-
said. “We’re going to go
competing in this confer-
ary. Within weeks of the
out there, ... and we’re
position as head coach
ence. We’re very excited
Tigers’ bowl win Dec. 31,
going to find the very best
at Arkansas State in
to have Scot join our staff,
Auburn’s record-holding
quarterback in America
December. Roof took the
and we welcome him to the
running back Michael
(who) has the ‘it’ factor:
defensive coordinator
Auburn family.”
Dyer—who’d been sus-
a guy that is smart, a guy
pended prior to the bowl
that is tough … and a guy
Malzahn accepted a
position at the University
At Temple, Loeffler
Loeffler’s immediate
an absolute privilege and
of Central Florida, then
helped guide the Owls to
game for undisclosed rea-
that just wants to win for
resigned to take the same
a 9-4 record, directing an
sons—elected to transfer
Auburn, period, no other
spot at Penn State. Both
offense that was seventh
to Arkansas State, where
hidden agenda.”
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Flex time More than 4,500 fans turned out to watch the Auburn Tigers gymnastics team post its highest scores of the season in three events Jan. 20 against Georgia. In its first home competition this year at the Auburn Arena, No. 16 Auburn posted season-high scores on uneven bars, balance beam and in the floor exercise en route to posting a season-high 195.600 overall, despite ultimately falling to the No. 6-ranked Georgia Gym Dogs. “With a young team, what you’re really shooting for is to hold your own (and) be in the game at the end, and we did it,” Auburn head coach Jeff Graba said.
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Books and basketball Books have always come before basketball for Auburn Tigers walk-on guard Josh Wallace. It’s been that way as long as he can remember. “Ever since I started having homework growing up, I wanted to go out and play with my friends—but my mom always made me do my homework first,” Wallace says. “You couldn’t touch a basketball until you did all of your homework. Academics always came first. She preached that heavily.” That life lesson has paid off for Wallace, a 5-foot-10 junior attending Auburn on a full engineering scholarship. He plans to graduate with a civil engineering degree in December, a feat some said could not be accomplished. It’s not the first time Wallace has proven people wrong, though. He also was told he was too short to play Division I-A basketball, yet he set an Auburn record last year for the most starts by a walk-on, and ranked second in the league in steals and fourth in assists. Wallace’s typical day shatters the notion that student-athletes can’t be both students and athletes. Lab days are the most taxing. He rises early to prepare for classes that run from 9 a.m. to noon, grabs a bite to eat and then heads for practice. Afterward, it’s three hours of lab work followed by several hours of homework. He often finishes around 1 a.m. “I can’t get any sleep until my school work is done,” Wallace says. “That’s just the way I was brought up.” Keeping up with classwork on road trips can be a challenge, but Wallace always takes a couple of books. When the team isn’t practicing or watching film, he can often be found reading. He even wrote a paper on a recent plane ride to Baton Rouge, La. On the basketball court, Wallace is the consummate team player. After starting nearly every game for Auburn last year, new additions to the lineup, including Texas transfer Varez Ward, have cut into his playing time. “Before the season even started, (head coach Tony Barbee) pretty much laid out everybody’s role,” Wallace says. “I’m a team player. It really isn’t about me and my points.” The Pensacola, Fla., native says his only personal goal is to give it everything he’s got on the court. “My role is to just be a Tasmanian devil on the ball,” Wallace says. “I try to bring unlimited energy, defensively, off the bench for the team and run the offense. That’s my role. “Every day I am able to hit the court, I’m blessed,” he adds. “Just to be able to put on that jersey, knowing everybody said I wouldn’t make it this far, it gives me joy. That’s what keeps me playing hard.”—Jack Smith
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AN AUBURN TRADITION Situated on the charming campus of Auburn University, just a short walk from quaint, historic downtown Auburn.
Individuals & Groups, Alumni, Family & Friends, Meetings, Conferences & Special Events
241 South College Street • Auburn, Alabama 36830 Direct: 334-821-8200 • Fax: 334-826-8755 • reservations@auhcc.com • www.auhcc.com
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Broadway tunes, jazz hands, sequins and smiles: the Auburn University Singers celebrate four decades of bonding over their love of the stage. b y a b b y t o w n s o n ’ 1 1
Songs Sung True In May 2009, at a time when shows about doctors, police detectives and real people—often competing in grueling or unlikely contests for cash prizes—ruled the TV airwaves, the pilot episode of a new series debuted on the Fox network featuring a bunch of high school misfits prone to bursting into song. The Auburn University Less than three years later, “Glee” has become a bona Singers show choir, fide critical and commercial success, offering adult viewers founded in 1972, has an escape from the daily grind, teenagers a sympathetic storyperformed at the U.S. Capitol and Carnegie line and TV executives a chance to cross-pollinate with music Hall, among other vendownloads, videos and concerts. At the heart of the “Glee” ues. The group is plansuccess story, though, are the camaraderie, drama and spirit ning a 40th anniversary reunion April 20-22. of the ensemble cast, young actors who play members of a For more information high school show choir called New Directions. In a National or to register, see www.ausingers.org. Association for Music Education poll, 43 percent of choral
PHOTOGRAPH BY JEFF ETHERIDGE
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are shy, others gregarious. A few hope for careers in music, but most are simply pursuing a creative outlet and, perhaps more importantly, seeking others with whom to connect.
S Above and opposite: The Singers then and now. The first glee club was formed at Harrow School in London in 1787. At the time, the word “glee” denoted a part song arranged for three or more voices.
directors credit “Glee” with spurring a sharp increase in interest and participation in school choral programs across the country. The show’s appeal doesn’t surprise Dale Farmer ’74. As a freshman at Auburn four decades ago, he leapt at the chance to join a new student organization that aimed to be an updated version of an old-fashioned glee club: the Auburn University Singers. Today Farmer is heading into his sixth year as director of the group, a part-time position he holds in addition to his job as a flight attendant for Delta Air Lines. The success of “Glee” makes comparisons with the Singers inevitable. “It’s like ‘Glee’ on steroids,” Farmer notes of New Directions’ Auburn counterpart. Stop by the Goodwin Music Building on campus around 3:30 p.m. on a Tuesday or Thursday and envision yourself as an anthropologist stumbling across a group of college students milling about a practice room. They sweep their arms back and forth, loosening up tight muscles, and chant in unison. Yaa-AAAH-aaah. Their leader rises up and down on his toes, sways and flaps his arms like a featherless bird. The group, as one, takes a breath. Mouths drop open, and out flows the hallowed, familiar lines of Auburn’s “Alma Mater.” It’s rehearsal time. The AU Singers choir is composed of an eclectic bunch of 36 vocalists, nine instrumentalists and two technical assistants, roughly equally divided between men and women. Members represent various socioeconomic backgrounds and boast majors ranging from aerospace engineering to education. Some 30
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enior communication major Blake Harris grew up hearing stories about the AU Singers from his parents, David Harris ’85 and Brenda Austin Harris ’84 of Birmingham. The couple met as members of the group, traveled with the choir to Europe during the Cold War and shared their first kiss in Germany. “My dad would come home from work, they’d be cooking dinner, and they’d just break into song and start dancing,” Blake Harris says. “I thought that was just how parents are. They dance in the kitchen.” Blake himself had no plans to join the Singers when he enrolled at Auburn four years ago. But once he arrived on campus for freshman orientation, his mother “strongly encouraged” him to consider auditioning. “That means my mom walked me up there and said, ‘You’ve got to at least try out,’” he recalls. Now officially the choir’s president, Harris also plays flag football, climbs trees, collects rocks and rubber bands, and likes to practice beat-boxing, a form of vocal percussion mostly associated with hip-hop music. He’s the quirky leader of this quirky club in which, like their “Glee” counterparts, members tend to look out for each other through good times and bad. “It’s hard to identify yourself apart from groups you’re in— it’s almost impossible,” Harris says. “Everybody’s hurting. Everybody’s got something they’re going through.” If singing and dancing were all there were to participating in a show choir, Harris might not have stuck around after experiencing a crisis of confidence during his sophomore year. “I felt like, ‘I’m not good at this. I can’t dance very well; I’m kind of bringing the group down,’” he recalls. “Also, it’s just hard. It’s a lot of time.” A friend encouraged Harris to stick it out. He did. “The best parts are the people,” he says. “There’s drama. People don’t always like each other, but it’s a unique bond (they) have. Right off the bat, you walk in, and you feel at home.”
S
oprano Elizabeth Ann “E.A.” Moore thinks of herself as a “Singers baby.” “I grew up coming to Singers shows my whole life and loved Auburn, always loved it,” says the petite brunette, who began singing and dancing in musical theater as a third grader. Her mother cofounded a children’s musical theater company in Birmingham where Moore eventually taught choreography. As a teenager, she also taught at a local dance studio. Being involved with the AU Singers allows Moore to continue performing in college while studying to be a pharmacist. “I’m not a very crazy person,” says Moore, who choreographs the Singers’ dance routines. “I’m pretty responsible; I can’t help it. I’m a get-crap-done kind of person, and so when I’m in charge and I’m cleaning choreography, you better believe we’re
PHOTOGRAPH BY BROOKE GLASSFORD
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going to finish, and we’re going to just bust it out.” If “The Sound of Music” illustrates what can happen when a family makes music, you might say the AU Singers demonstrate how music can make a family. Moore admits to having been surprised at the level of affection she’s developed for the group over the past three years. “I didn’t expect it to be such a big part of who I am on campus and the friends that I have,” Moore says. “I think I sort of almost expected it to just be something that would be on the side of what I did, but Singers is such a family that who I am has really been molded by meeting the people that I’ve met in this group.” That’s music to the ears of retired director of choral activities Thomas R. Smith, who founded the Singers in 1972 in an effort to add a choral element to Auburn’s music curriculum. “We’ve more than achieved what we dreamed of,” says Smith, who retired in 2006. “The Singers bring (audiences) something that’s very positive. It gives them entertainment that’s wholesome.” The group’s repertoire was broader in its early days, featuring musical genres ranging from spirituals to 16th-century madrigals. But even then, Smith says, audiences were drawn mainly to the performances of pop songs and show tunes—now the group’s mainstay. “It was the staging and the Broadway and the entertainment that the audience loved,” he says.
A
“Harry Potter dork” who loves Italian food and doit-yourself projects, soprano Alison Swindall suffered an unhappy freshman year as a music-education major at another college and, by the time she transferred to Auburn as a junior, had almost lost her love of music. Now a senior majoring in mass communication/radio, television and film, Swindall is finishing her second and final year as a member of the Singers and only regrets she didn’t have more time. The sassy vocalist often plays the role of bossy-yet-compassionate big sister to the group, the one who might shush someone who’s talking during rehearsal, or suggest another performer apply more makeup for a performance. Swindall repeatedly postponed auditioning for the group even though she previously had participated in show choir as a teenager. “I knew it was something I wanted to do,” Swindall says, “but I was so intimidated because my background was classical, and I hadn’t done show choir since high school. I almost didn’t try out.” After making the Singers, Swindall wasn’t sure what to make of her instant family. Like an overbearing Sue Sylvester on “Glee,” the Left: The AU Singers affection of strangers was nearly too much. “The first couple perform for audiences of weeks I was like, ‘I don’t get it. I don’t know you people,’” on and off campus each year. Students of Swindall remembers. Friendships were cemented, though, by all majors may audition the end of her first semester performing with the group. As one for the group in spring of the Singers’ two social chairs or “fun facilitators,” Swindall and summer. plans the choir’s outings and events. Right: Senior “E.A” “It has made my college experience,” Swindall says. “I feel Moore choreographs like music is my therapy, and the Singers are my therapists. I can the Singers’ moves.
P H oTo G R a P H b y Dav I D c l I n E
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go in there and just unload my horrible day, and the music and the people—they just make it better.”
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s each season progresses and the songs they’ve rehearsed for the big end-of-semester show become second nature, the Auburn Singers turn their attention to learning dance steps—some more happily than others. “This is kind of a sensitive subject to me,” Harris says, “because I really have to focus my mind and just say, ‘All right, I’m not going to like this, but it’s going to be great.’” Choreography rehearsals can be daunting. Sweat drips from foreheads, and muscles grow sore. The group practices moves with names like the shampoo, guitar, pony and shake-and-bake. Teamwork is key. Performers exchange smiles as they go through their paces. When one young woman forgets a sequence during the middle of a song, another nudges her into the right spot without missing a beat. If it all sounds easy, imagine doing a Zumba workout for a couple of hours and singing at the same time, knowing in a few months you’ll be playing to a packed house. “There’s a lot of sweat that goes into it,” Harris says. “I mean, it’s not just pretty flowers and sequins and everything. It’s tough.” Then, the date that once seemed eons away suddenly arrives: opening night. Everyone’s in costume, working off nervous jitters backstage at the Telfair Peet Theater on campus. The venue is sold out; a local TV crew sets up its equipment. The cacophony of the crowd provides the background track as Farmer drifts from one performer to another, issuing calming words, jokes and general encouragement. He steps up to the music stand and the curtain goes up, signaling silence from the audience. The music swells as Farmer lifts his hand, and where before there were dissonant voices, now there is harmony—and some snazzy dance moves. With the skill of a Cirque du Soleil juggler, Farmer has spent the semester directing tenors, altos and sopranos with the wave of a hand, ushering in the bass section with a flourish of the other and raising the dynamics of all with a scooping motion of his arms. All the while, he’s guided the Auburn is one of only group, correcting and demanding, urging 26 American colleges and universithem to do better. with active show “Don’t cheat the notes,” Farmer in- ties choirs, according to sisted during rehearsals. “Give them the insidecollege.com. value that’s indicated.” He used the f-word Famous former show choir members include frequently: focus. actors Ashton Kutcher Now, the payoff. A standing ovation, and Blake Lively. a curtain call, proud parents, fans. Another semester finished. A short break, and then they’ll reconnect to do it all again. Farmer thinks the Singers have endured because they perform with humility, from the heart. “It’s about taking a talent that you’ve been given and sharing it with other people,” he says. “It’s not about ‘Hey, look at me, how wonderful I am, I can sing and dance.’ It’s ‘I have something I want to give you.’” Just like family.
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PHOTOGRAPH BY JEFF ETHERIDGE
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Within the next 10 years, doctors may prescribe contact lens es to ease your allergies as well as correct your vision. In Auburn engineer Mark Byrne’s lab, researchers have set out to revolutionize eye health. b y s u z a n n e j o h n s o n
Eye Contact
Around 45 B.C., Roman philosopher Cicero described the eyes as windows to the soul (he also said the nose and mouth were windows, but history didn’t find them as poetic). The Bible admonishes us to not worry about the speck in someone else’s eye lest we ignore the log in our own. Shakespeare pointed out that love is blind, while the Eagles classic rock band asserted that we can’t hide our lying eyes. Attempts to treat The eye is arguably one of the most eye disease can be traced as far back important organs in the human body. as 800 B.C., when As babies, we use our eyes to begin to Indian physician Suunderstand the world around us; reshruta published a treatise in Sanskrit searchers recently have discovered that describing 76 difwe also use them to read lips as we ferent eye maladies. learn to talk. In a fall 2011 survey by He is reco gnized as the fir st cateract the Ocular Nutrition Society, 78 persurgeon, though his cent of baby boomers ranked vision as methods might scare patients today. the most important of the five senses—
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in fact, aging boomers worried as much about vision loss as heart disease. Yet while the diagnosis of eye maladies has advanced rapidly, treatment of those diseases is stuck in a medical time warp. Got dry eyes? Use eye drops as needed. Suffering from an eye infection? Use antibiotic eye drops every four hours. Glaucoma? Allergies? Yep, eye drops. Auburn University chemical engineer Mark Byrne believes he and his team can improve on the go-to medication-delivery method that has many of us in tears, straining our heads backward and trying not to blink. If he has his way, eye drops will be practically obsolete within a decade—a disappearing image in our rear-view mirrors. Byrne arrived at Auburn eight years ago, shortly after completing his doctoral work at Purdue University. His wife, Susan, went into labor with the couple’s first child during his first day on the job. It might have been a sign that life was going to get busy, and fast. He now has four kids, coaches soccer, runs an
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occasional half-marathon and is so adept in the classroom that he won Auburn’s most prestigious teaching honor last year, the Gerald and Emily Leischuck Endowed Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching. Yet at heart, Byrne—Auburn’s Daniel F. and Josephine Breeden Distinguished Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering—is a lab maven, surrounding himself with teams of graduate and undergraduate research assistants and machines with tongue-tripping names such as the Q-100 Modulated Differential Scanning Calorimeter and the Synergy HT Multi-Detection Microplate Reader. Here in stately, cupola-topped Ross Hall, Byrne hopes to birth another baby: a “smart” contact lens capable of delivering medication as well as—or even instead of—correcting vision. The contact lens as we know it has been around for a few decades, but you might be surprised at who came up with the idea: Italian Renaissance painter Leonardo da Vinci described the concept in 1508, a few years after he began work on the “Mona Lisa.” Three centuries later, a German glassblower developed a glass lens meant to cover the entire eye—but the thing was so irritating, not to mention dangerous, it had to be removed after only a couple hours’ wear. Shortly before the second World War, scientists began to create contact lenses made of plastic, which were more practical but still posed health hazards by blocking oxygen from entering the cornea. Eventually, researchers developed oxygen-permeable, rigid lenses and, finally, in the 1970s, soft, disposable and extended-wear lenses made of rubbery, water-loving hydrogels. Today, about 36 million Americans wear contact lenses, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Within the past decade, doctors have increasingly turned to contacts made of silicone hydrogels as a solution for patients who need
C O N T A C T
Leonardo da Vinci wrote about the concept of contact lenses in his 1508 journal Codex of the eye, Manual D, but it was the late 19th century before the technology that made molds of living eyes possible also made feasible the precursors to modern contacts. Today, Auburn engineer Mark Byrne (right) and his students are making contact lenses in the Wilmore Lab on campus. The team hopes to bring to market a lens capable of delivering medication through the eye.
Eye drops make up 90 percent of eye medications and treatments, but are washed out in as little as 30 minutes.
vision correction, mainly because they deliver more oxygen to the cornea, are slower to dry out and are a safer option for extended wear. What no one has done over the years is figure out how a contact lens might be used as a vehicle for correcting other minor eye ailments. And eye drops, Byrne will tell you, have serious limitations. The eye constantly sends fluid—tears—across the cornea, delivering oxygen to the tissues and keeping the eye lubricated. The process also washes away medication from eye drops. “Eye drops make up 90 percent of the market-todelivery therapeutics to the eye, yet when you use that eye drop, the medication is out of your eye in 30 minutes,” he notes. “What happens then is, you need to use the eye drops multiple times per day just to get the medication. Because manufacturers know the eyes will wash away the medicine, they have to increase the concentration of drugs in the eye drops so you can get enough.” As a result, patients receive uneven doses of medication—a high dose for a few minutes immediately after using the drops, a quick decline over a half-hour and then nothing until it’s time for the next treatment. Over the years, researchers have experimented with soaking manufactured contact lenses in medicine as a way of improving on eye drops, but the results haven’t been effective— patients still experience uneven absorption. Byrne and his team are trying something new. Beginning at the basic molecular level, they’re reinventing the contact lens.
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n the surface, delivering eye medi- The earliest contact cation by contact lens seems simple lenses, made of blown could only be enough. Deceptively simple, Byrne glass, worn a couple of hours. will tell you. The eye is accessible, but Today, Auburn scientists getting medication to the tissue is dif- are able to produce extended-wear lenses ficult because of the constant rinsing engineered to feature extra comfort agents, action of your own tears. vision if needed, Rather than trying to infuse exist- correct and deliver medications. ing types of lenses with medication, Byrne developed polymers—chains of molecules—from which he and his students actually create various lenses from scratch, imprinting the medication directly into the lenses’ molecular makeup. The resulting product must not only be able to deliver a steady stream of medication for as long as they’re worn, but also remain perfectly clear, comfortable to wear for long periods and correct wearers’ vision if needed. A gargantuan task for a tiny product. Byrne and his colleagues, doctoral students Arianna Tieppo and Charles White ’11 plus a team of undergraduate students, have tested the process exhaustively on campus, duplicating conditions likely to be encountered by different patients, conditions and medications. The results have been downright eye boggling. “With most testing, if your results offer double or triple the effectiveness of the existing treatments, it would be considered really good,” Byrne says. “Our system delivers a constant amount of medication for an extended period of time—we beat the effectiveness of eye drops by a hundred times.” Byrne’s “smart” lenses also have an intangible advantage over eye drops: They take dosing out of the patient’s hands. “If you have an eye-drop prescription you are supposed to take every four hours, chances are good that you won’t remember every single time,” Byrne says. “You also probably aren’t going to get up every few hours at night to put in eye drops.” Using Byrne’s invention, the doctor is in control. “Take patients who’ve had something like cataract or Lasik surgery, and you’re prescribed both an anti-inflammatory and an antibiotic.” (Patients are commonly prescribed an anti-inflammatory drop as often as every two hours and a separate antibiotic every four hours.) “With these lenses, the doctor will put in the lens and say, ‘Come back if it falls out. Otherwise, I’ll see you in two weeks,’” explains Byrne, whose lenses are designed to deliver a constant stream of medicine in the right dosage. Patients can even sleep in them. In addition to delivering antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and antihistamines, the “smart” lens may be used to treat eye injuries such as a scratched cornea—providing pain relief as well.
I
n 2007, Byrne founded a company, OcuMedic Inc., which he hopes will eventually bring his lens to market, tapping into the $3 billionper-year ophthalmic-medication industry. When the lenses become available depends on a lot of variables. “We could produce a number of lenses right now that you could use in the veterinary medicine market,” he says. “We have some lens drug-release systems that are at the stage where they could go into clinical testing toward getting (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) approval.” The lenses could be ready to sell in foreign countries relatively quickly while awaiting FDA approval in the U.S., Byrne says. “I think the public will start seeing more lenses capable of releasing some medications in the next five or 10 years—which sounds like a long time, but in terms of getting research to market, it’s not.” Meanwhile, Byrne and his group are working on delivery systems for more medications as well as examining ways to treat other eye diseases such as retinal and nerve problems. “The bottom line is improving ocular health,” Byrne says, adding that he’s received letters and calls from people anxious for better ways to address their eye ailments. “Mostly, we want to improve those people’s lives.”
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PHOTOGRAPH BY JEFF ETHERIDGE
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F a ced wit h de c i di ng w h eth e r to p u r s u e a g rad uate de g re e or f in d a jo b , a n im a l sciences major Meaghan Gonsalves ’10 jumped out of the saddle and into the tigers’ den. b y j a m i e c r e a m e r ’ 7 9
Cat Woman As recently as two years ago, the only thing Meaghan Gonsalves ’10 knew about meerkats was that the wisecracking, animated Timon from Disney’s “The Lion King” was one. And if somebody said tigers, she said Auburn. These days, real meerkats and tigers—not to mention Komodo dragons, banteng cattle, Malayan flying foxes and a host of other foreign beasts of the earth—are all in a day’s work for the former Auburn University animal sciences major, who works as an animal keeper at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom theme park in Orlando, Fla. As a “cast member,” Gonsalves helps care for the myriad species of exotics whose antics fascinate guests on the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail in the Kingdom’s Africa area and the Maharajah Jungle Trek in the nearby Asia pavilion. There, in Disney’s fantasyland, Gonsalves has found her real-life niche. “There have always been two distinct parts to my personality—the animal and environmental enthusiast, and the
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people person,” Gonsalves says. “I love making people smile just as much as I love working toward the conservation of our animals and environment. Disney’s Animal Kingdom is the perfect fit for me, because every day I have the wonderful opportunity to work with and care for animals, and at the same time to be a part of creating the magic for all of the guests and for the animals, too.” Even though she’s now a Disney insider working 10-hour shifts four days a week, the place is still as enchanting as it was when the Davie, Fla., native visited the Magic Kingdom as a child, she adds. Gonsalves first experienced Animal Kingdom, Disney’s newest park, as a guest about 10 years ago. She was awestruck then by the lush natural landscapes and the menagerie of unrecognizable creatures, great and small, that dwelt in them. She still finds it all bewitching. “Working here just amplifies how magical Disney is,” Gonsalves says.
Florida native Meaghan Gonsalves ’10 is an animal keeper at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom, the largest animal-themed park in the world. Gonsalves helps care for the animals of the Maharajah Jungle Trek, which houses blackbuck antelope, Komodo dragons, various species of birds and bats, and majestic Asian tigers. The tiger is the largest member of the cat family, outweighing even the king of the jungle, the lion.
P h o t o g r a P h B Y g L E N D U N C a N / C o U r t E S Y o F W a Lt D I S N E Y W o r L D
The Alabama Prison Arts + Education Project is a five-time recipient of National Endowment for the Arts funding and was chosen to test the organization’s “Big Read” reading advocacy effort in the prison setting.
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“Every one of the exhibits is inspired by the geographic locations the animals are from, to help them feel like they’re in their natural habitat and to help the guests feel like they’re immersed in it with them. It’s incredible. Now I sometimes forget I’m not really in Asia when I’m working with the tigers. Animal Kingdom and the interesting, diverse animals in it are some of Disney’s most amazing ‘imagineering.’”
G
onsalves’ interest in a more common animal species—horses—led the 24-year-old to enroll at Auburn University in fall 2007. Growing up in suburban Fort Lauderdale, Fla., she began riding at age 6 and developed a fervor for the sport, later working after school, on weekends and during summers at a local horse boardingand-breeding facility where she taught riding lessons, handled chores and trained horses. After graduating from high school, she formalized her education in the field by majoring in equine science at Auburn, studying the animals’ physiology, reproduction, behavior and nutritional needs.
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“I knew the minute I was (at Au- Left: Tiny meerkats, of the burn) that there was no other place for members mongoose family, live me,” Gonsalves recalls. “When I got to among the various anAuburn, I honestly can’t remember a imals of the Pangani Exploration transition period where I was homesick Forest Trail, where Animal or lonely. All I remember is immediately Kingdom visitors also becoming a part of the greatest family may view an okapi, the only known living Auburn has to offer: the College of Ag- relative of the giraffe; riculture. With the love and support of naked mole rats; rare birds such that family, nothing that came my way African as pygmy geese; a seemed undoable.” herd of hippos; and a The energetic and outgoing Gon- band of peace-loving, lowland salves developed into a stellar college vegetarian gorillas, who share 98 student destined to excel profession- percent of their DNA ally as an equine rider and trainer. But with humans. as her final semester at Auburn ap- Opposite: An Asian tiproached, the vision she’d had of a ca- ger prowls its habitat. typically live reer that revolved around horses began Tigers eight to 10 years in to lose its luster. the wild. “I came to realize that lifelong dedication to competing, training and traveling (to shows and competitions) already was starting to take a toll,” she recalls. “I no longer saw my horses as my pets—they had become a job, and I didn’t much like the idea of having to ride horses to make a paycheck. I wanted to make horses fun again.” Just before graduating, Gonsalves’ career ambivalence left her weighing whether to apply to veterinary school or change direction altogether. That’s when she decided to take a sixmonth internship at Disney World, working part time to help prepare meals for the carnivores, small mammals, birds and primates that are among the Animal Kingdom’s 1,700-plus animals representing 250 species. Four days into the job, Gonsalves had begun to devise her own nutrition-based research project involving gerenuks, an odd-looking, long-necked East African antelope. By the time her internship ended, Gonsalves had already landed a full-time job as a keeper on the park’s “trails team,” checking on the animals each morning, shifting them from their night quarters into exhibit areas and vice versa, freshening the exhibit areas and stalls, serving the animals dinner, and securing them at night. She also works with individual animals, conditioning them to respond to visual and audio signals so that caregivers can keep tabs on their health. Gonsalves trains tigers, for example, to open their mouths or show their paws on cue. “You condition exotics just like you train domestics—positive reinforcement, consistency and timing, and capturing the behavior when it’s offered,” she says. “With some animals, we’re able to get fairly close to them, but with the tigers, I’m always on the other side of a protective barrier when I give them food as a reward.” Gonsalves describes her internship at Disney as “the best decision I ever made,” in part because it excited her interest in pursuing a master’s degree in zoology. And while she now spends most of her days at a resort billed as “the happiest place on Earth,” Gonsalves still wouldn’t trade her time on the Plains for a pile of pixie dust. “Auburn is my home,” she says. “It made me who I am. And no place I ever live will be able to replace what Auburn, the people there and the College of Agriculture mean to me.”
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF WALT DISNEY WORLD
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The mission of the Circle of Excellence Society is to award scholarships to future generations of Auburn alumni, specifically children of life members of the Auburn Alumni Association. Established in 2005, the number of Circle of Excellence-awarded alumni scholarships has been rising steadily; the association awarded 80 scholarships to children of life members during the 2010-11 academic year. The association offers its sincerest gratitude to members of the Circle of Excellence Society.* For more information on how to be a part of the Circle of Excellence, contact Toni Rich at tonirich@ auburn.edu or 334-844-7420. SUSTAINING DIAMOND $5,000 + $500 min. annually
Lynne Hawkins Boucher ’77 Steven A. Boucher ’77 Holly Helms Byrd ’80 Georgia Ann Boutwell ’81 Burt Cloud ’66 Sherry Grace Cloud ’67 Burke Cox ’93 Heather Cox ’93 Laura H. Fite ’86 William Jackson Fite ’85 Margaret Long Forsythe ’81 Phillip Alan Forsythe ’81 Nancy Young Fortner ’71 Robert David Fortner ’73 Robert Edwin Hicks ’86 Stephanie Lynn Hicks Lisa Denise Page Robert “Bobby” Poundstone IV ’95 B.T. Roberts ’72 Gale Roberts Robert W. Schorr ’61 Kurt Joseph Sehn ’94 Debbie L. Shaw ’84 William “Bill” Stone ’85 Lisa Stone Jane Copeland Walley ’62 William C. Walley ’62
DIAMOND $5,000
Ashley Agrelius K.C. Davis Agrelius ’88 John Glasgow Blackwell ’64 Brookes Brown Owen Brown ’64 Tanya Densmore Christensen ’80 Alicia M. Conn ’84 Walton T. Conn Jr. ’85 Louise H. Davis Nick Davis ’84
Rod Michael Duraski ’76 Elmer B. Harris ’62 Glenda S. Harris ’61 William C. Haskell Jr. ’71 Andrew P. Hornsby Jr. ’68 Eve Schlesinger Jordan James Ralph Jordan Jr. ’70 Arthur M. Leadingham Jr. ’77 Don Logan ’66 Sandra Logan Timothy Allen Martin ’78 Earlon Curtis McWhorter ’68 Dana Fortner Robicheaux ’74 Robert A. Robicheaux Ann Bendinger Rundquist ’76 Paul J. Spina, Jr. ’63 Bena Spina Jane T. Upshaw ’69 Mike A. Watson ’69 Cindy M. Watson C. Dent Williams ’67 Deborah A. Williams ’79 Ken C. Williams ’79
ORANGE & BLUE $2,500–$4,999
Dennis R. Bailey ’75 David E. Brown Teresa M. Brown Kathy Goodwin Byrd ’89 William C. Byrd II ’89 Neil Edward Christopher ’55 John Matthew Dasis Jr. ’86 Ann Adams Galbreath ’74 Hank Galbreath ’76 Carrie Roberts Griffin Michael Ray Griffin ’96 Van Henley ’80 Charles R. Horton ’65 Michael Ray Ingram ’87 David Glenn Johnson ’74 Donna L. Johnson Catherine V. Killebrew ’69 Lester Killebrew Sr. ’68
Ann Freeman Martin ’57 James Everett Martin ’54 Desmond L. Merrill Jr. ’65 Janet E. Mertz ’91 Parcena Buckley Nelson William D. Nelson Sr. ’62 Cynthia L. Ayers Sahlie ’85 M. Clark Sahlie ’88 Don L. Sollie ’74 David Strain ’69 John M. Trotman Sr. ’49 Elizabeth Payne Word ’55 Robert D. Word Jr. ’55 Robert “Don” Word III ’81
ORANGE $1,000–$2,499
Douglas Lee Acton ’77 James Chesley Allred III ’86 Martha Cash Allred ’86 Belinda P. Ballard ’82 Damaris Barnes Vernell Edwin Barnes ’75 Jere L. Beasley Sr. ’59 Sara Baker Beasley ’61 Gene Culver Beck ’62 Marc Anthony Bonifacic ’96 Deborah Hopkins Carter ’72 Rebecca Roy Cazana ’69 Carl Compton ’52 Kristina Dominique Conner Marcus Ferez Conner ’99 William O. Cowart ’58 Lillian Belle Cross ’65 Laurie M. Dasher ’89 Roger C. Dill ’58
Kenneth Hayward Dunn ’86 Timothy Ray Easterling ’95 Kenneth L. Farmer Jr. ’72 Patricia Riley Farmer ’72 Sandra McAlister Fisher ’59 Deborah J. Freeman ’91 Jamie Freeman ’65 Mack Freeman ’65 Courtney W. Giles ’99 Roy Lee Gilreath Jr. ’81 Barbara Daughtry Gosser ’60 Harvey Stephen Gosser ’62 James H. Ham III ’66 Randy Joe Ham ’73 Rosemary Cook Ham ’72 Jason Brent Hanchey ’98 C. Dean Hansen ’49 Elmer Carlton Hill ’49 Bertha Thornbury Hoskins ’80 James M. Hoskins ’81 David Emerson Housel ’69 Susan McIntosh Housel ’73 Cary Dale Johnson ’69 John Dee Johnson Jr. ’88 Kim Floyd Johnson ’88 Robert Roy Jones III ’74 Sam David Knight ’94 John Langford ’53 Tanja Matthews ’92 Emma Jean McKinley ’55 J Dean Metz ’86 Gene W. Mitchell Jr. ’55 Lisa B. Mitchell ’88 Cheryll Mullin Richard W. Mullin Jr. ’75 Howard B. Nelson Jr. ’69 Dawn LaTasha Oliver ’97 E. Wycliffe Orr Sr. ’68 Lyn H. Orr Laurie Beth Patrick ’83 Donna P. Porter William “Bill” E. Porter ’57 Don Watson Powell ’60 Cissy Proctor
Patrick Stewart Proctor ’95 Carol B. Ratteree ’63 Allen C. Rice ’68 Nancy K. Rice Clifford Edward Roberts ’71 Flavil H. Roberts Jr. ’57 Kevin Thomas Rodgers ’96 Alicia Hailey Rudolph ’90 Robert K. Rudolph Arthur N. Ryan ’69 Karen Saliba Richard Saliba Ben E. Satterwhite III ’75 Hugh B. Segrest Jr. ’50 Cindi J. Seidel ’82 Diane Stinson Sellers ’68 Robert E. Sellers ’69 George Anthony Smith ’75 Carmen Gandy Sneed ’94 George Oliver Sneed Jr. ’96 Mary Beth Sprayberry ’93 Scott Sprayberry ’93 Robert R. Sternenberg ’42 Douglas M. Stoker ’64 David Robert Strain ’69 Gwendolyn C. Swingle ’55 Roger Swingle ’54 Martha Williams Thompson ’80 Thomas Melvin Thornton ’65 Earl S. Wallace Jr. ’57 Diane Wampold Edward L. Wampold ’53 Thomas B. Watkins ’78 Kinn Webb ’82 Lynn Southern Webb ’82 Carol Haile Wells ’77 Norajill Norman Winstead ’80 Emily Corcoran Woste ’57 Samuel M. Wylie Jr. ’50 Lillian Auten Yates ’80 * Names in bold indicate charter members.
A L U A M L U N M I NC I E N T E E W RS
ALUMNI CENTER
Calendar
Paying it forward
Feb. 28
BOBBY POUNDSTONE ’95
President, Auburn Alumni Association In the days following the Auburn vs. Alabama football game, I saw a picture of one of our senior players sitting alone in the empty stands of Jordan-Hare Stadium. I obviously do not know exactly what was going through his mind, but I cannot help but assume a big part of it was disappointment in the outcome and a feeling that how the game unfolded was not how he wanted to end his Auburn career. Fortunately, as time passes, human nature allows for the intensity of life’s disappointments to subside. Although a large percentage of us (including me) place too much emphasis on the outcome of a single sporting event, life goes on, and, thankfully, events occur that help us put things back into proper perspective. I had the privilege of giving the alumni address at Auburn’s December commencement ceremonies. Among the Auburn men and women receiving degrees was that same football player. This time, however, the disappointed look had been replaced by a larger-than-life smile. Witnessing him walk across the stage was a reminder that the most important mission of our university is to educate students—both in the classroom and socially—and send men and women who embody the Auburn Creed into the world to represent the Auburn family. The educational benefit of attending Auburn is as much a “way-of-life” education as a classroom education. It is hard to succinctly define the intangible factors that make Auburn men and women different. However, I think it is probably best (although not completely) described in the portion of the Auburn Creed that reads, “I believe in the human touch, which cultivates sympathy with my fellow men and mutual helpfulness and brings happiness for all.” A prospective student being forced to choose another school because of financial concerns, and thereby missing out on experiencing Auburn’s human touch, should be
unacceptable to all Auburn alumni. Unfortunately, Auburn’s scholarship endowment is much smaller than the majority of our peer land grant institutions and other schools in the Southeastern Conference. Auburn University has fantastic administrative leadership and is engaged in an exhaustive effort to bring the scholarship endowment up to a more competitive level. In these times of economic uncertainty and reduced government funding, accomplishing that objective is an extremely daunting task. Simply put, Auburn needs your help to increase its scholarship endowment funds. I am certain the overwhelming majority of alumni reading this column will agree that their Auburn education provided more than merely a skill set to perform an occupation or profession. If you agree, I ask that you please consider “paying forward” the benefit you received from your education so academic scholarships will be available to future generations of Auburn men and women. Becoming a member of the Auburn Alumni Association’s Circle of Excellence is a fantastic way to demonstrate the human touch to future Auburn students. The Circle of Excellence is a scholarship program designed to specifically support the children of life members of your alumni association. Every dollar donated to the Circle of Excellence goes directly toward awarding scholarships to deserving students. If you are interested in paying forward all that Auburn has given you by participating in the Circle of Excellence, check out the association’s website at www.aualum.org/scholarships or call 334-844-2586 for more information. Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your association president. I continue to be honored and humbled to serve. If you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at bpoundstone@ babc.com or 334-956-7700. War Eagle!
bpoundstone@babc.com
DEADLINE: 2011 YOUNG ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT AWARD NOMINATIONS
Nominations are being accepted through Feb. 28 for the Office of Alumni Affairs’ Young Alumni Achievement Awards. Sixteen recipients under age 40 will be recognized for significant achievement in their professional lives or for distinguished community service. Candidates may be nominated by Auburn Alumni Association members, Auburn University faculty and staff, or any chartered Auburn club. For details, see www.aualum.org/ youngalumniaward or contact Janet Bryant at 334-844-1150 or janetbryant@auburn.edu. March 3 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS BANQUET
Dinner and induction ceremony honoring Lloyd J. Austin III ’86, Kirby Isaac Bland ’64, N. Jan Davis ’77 and James E. Livingston ’62 at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center. 6 p.m. reception; 6:30 p.m. dinner. Black tie. Info: 334-844-1150 or 334-844-1113. April 10–18 WAR EAGLE TRAVELERS: WATERWAYS OF HOLLAND & BELGIUM
Experience the beauty, history and culture of Holland and Belgium, and discover the Netherlands’ horticultural heritage at the Floriade, a once-per-decade gardening and floral exhibition. Visit The Hague, and admire the port city of Antwerp, the diamond capital of the world. From $2,495; sold out at press time. Info: 334-844-1443 or www.aualum.org/travel.
April 21–29 WAR EAGLE TRAVELERS: PARIS & PROVENCE
This weeklong tour of France includes sightseeing in the Côte d’Azur and sun-kissed Provence, Monaco, historic Avignon, Arles, and Aix-enProvence, plus a three-night stay in Paris, a guided tour of the Louvre and a private dinner cruise on the River Seine. From $3,490. Info: 334-844-1443 or www.aualum.org/travel.
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C C EE N N TT EE R R
2010–2011
Calendar
Annual Report
April 21–May 3
A year of engagement
WAR EAGLE TRAVELERS: TAHITIAN JEWELS
Savor the tropical splendor of emerald-green palms, white sand beaches and brilliant turquoise waters as you sail aboard the Oceania Regatta to the most stunning destinations in the South Pacific. Experience Moorea, watch a sunset on romantic Bora Bora and enjoy Tahiti. From $2,799 (including airfare). Info: 334-844-1443 or www.aualum.org/travel.
April 23–May 1 WAR EAGLE TRAVELERS: CANADIAN ROCKIES BY TRAIN
Experience the grandeur of the Canadian Rockies with an overnight rail journey aboard VIA Rail’s The Canadian from Vancouver to Jasper, plus stays at the grand Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise and the Fairmont Banff Springs. From $3,689. Info: 334-844-1443 or www.aualum.org/travel.
DEBBIE SHAW ’84
Vice President for Alumni Affairs and Executive Director, Auburn Alumni Association On behalf of the Auburn Alumni Association board of directors and the staff of the Auburn University Office of Alumni Affairs, I am proud to present this annual report. Innovative programs of the last fiscal year included the completion of the two-year sale of Toomer’s Corner bricks, a voluntary subscription program for Auburn Magazine, sponsorship of “Tiger Trek” in the spring and the addition of local club membership as a benefit of alumni association membership. Winning the BCS football championship game in January provided an exciting time for increased alumni engagement. Thank you for your membership in the Auburn Alumni Association. It’s an honor to serve as your executive director.
April 26–28 GOLDEN EAGLES REUNION
Honoring the classes of ’42, ’47, ’52, ’57 and ’62. Info: 334-844-1150 or www.aualum.org/ goldeneagles.
War Eagle!
debbieshaw@auburn.edu
May 1–9 WAR EAGLE TRAVELERS: UNDISCOVERED ITALY
SCHOLARSHIP & ACADEMIC SUPPORT
Southern Italy’s Apulia region is a land of olive trees, Norman castles and hilltop towns overlooking aquamarine seas. Travel to Leece to admire its baroque architecture and the fishing village of Trani. Sample regional wines on a winery tour, and visit a family-owned and operated olive farm. From $2,540. Info: 334-844-1443 or www.aualum.org/travel.
• Eighty student scholarships were awarded this yearfrom the $3.8 million Alumni Scholars Endowment. • Sixty-one Auburn clubs nationwide awarded 115 student scholarships. • The Alumni Professors Endowment, with more than $2 million invested, provides annual financial supple-
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
Four individuals were recognized for extraordinary career accomplishments: Neil E. Christopher ’55, Thomas K. “T.K.” Mattingly ’58, Forrest S. McCartney ’52 and Wayne T. Smith ’68. An annual
Auburn Alumni Association REVENUE
Auburn Alumni Association EXPENSES
Fiscal year ending, Sept. 30, 2011
Fiscal year ending, Sept. 30, 2011
May 15–25 WAR EAGLE TRAVELERS: CLASSIC EUROPEAN
ments to 26 faculty members for five-year terms. Selected this year were: Henry Fadamiro, entomology and plant pathology; Narendra K. Govil, mathematics and statistics; Aleksandr Simonian, mechanical engineering; Bill Trimble, history; and Daowei Zhang, forestry and wildlife sciences. • Life members contributed more than $47,000 to the Circle of Excellence Society, supporting the Alumni Scholars Endowment. • Six students were awarded $1,000 each from the Golden Eagles Scholarship fund. • Chris Newland ’70, electrical engineering, received $2,000 from the Auburn Alumni Association as the recipient of the 2011 Distinguished Graduate Faculty Lectureship Award hosted by the Graduate School. • Three faculty members received $1,000 each as recipients of the Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award. They were: Sridhar Krishnamurti, communication disorders; Veena Chattaraman, consumer affairs; and Jung Won Hur, educational foundations, leadership and technology. • The association reopened the Toomer’s Bricks project to sell the remaining bricks excavated from Toomer’s Corner in 2008. A total of $200,000 was raised for scholarships over the course of the project, of which $67,475 was raised after the project reopened in February 2011. The project is now complete. • MAIN (Minority Alumni Involvement Now) programs included a homecoming reunion, as well as summer picnics in Atlanta and Birmingham, serving more than 300 alumni, family and friends.
Categories of Membership Fiscal year ending, Sept. 30, 2011
GRADUATION TOUR
The trip of a lifetime for a recent college graduate reminiscent of the fabled “Grand Tour” of Europe favored by upper-crust Brits and Americans since the 17th century. Travelers will explore the pomp and pageantry of London, the glamour of Paris, the richness of ancient Roman ruins and the majesty of the Greek isles. From $1,998. Info: 334-844-1443 or www.aualum.org/travel.
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13%
Investment Income
15%
20%
Annual Dues
7%
13%
Alumni Programs & Services
6%
Other Income
Dues & Marketing
5%
Advertising
9%
Life Memberships
23%
University Support
49% General & Administration
25% Annual Members
Auburn Magazine
10%
5%
Royalties
New Graduates
10%
Gifts
Rental Income
2%
15%
Scholarships
73%
Life Members
A A L L U U M M N N II
banquet recognized the contributions recipients have made to their professions and communities. STUDENT ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Nicholas Romero served as president of the Student Alumni Association, overseeing 25 student ambassadors. The organization awarded four scholarships to rising seniors and launched a community-service project to support active military alumni serving overseas. MEMBERSHIP UNITY
The Auburn Alumni Association completed the second phase of a membership-unity effort launched in 2009 that unites membership in the Auburn Alumni Association with membership in a local Auburn club. The final phase of the program began on Oct. 1, 2011, with all clubs now participating.
COMMUNICATIONS
2010-2011
Auburn Magazine was mailed in November, May and August to an average 39,841 member households. The Spring 2011 issue, which celebrated the Tigers’ BCS National Championship, was mailed in February to 166,781 mailable alumni households. The magazine also received a national gold award and a regional award of excellence from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education in 2011. The communications area originated and administered an online book club to prompt discussion and engagement between alumni, faculty and students. The book club garnered 134 subscribers.
AUBURN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
TRAVEL PROGRAMS - War Eagle Travelers
(international and domestic travel) Tours offered: 21 Travelers: 116
AUBURN CLUBS
Clubs in Alabama: 37 Out-of-state clubs: 61 Total: 98
AWAY-GAME TRAVEL - Football 2010
Trips offered: Travelers:
5 2,358
C C E E N N T T E E R R
BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT
Robert Poundstone ’95 VICE PRESIDENT
Bill Stone ’85 TREASURER
Douglas Pritchett ’77 Jeremy Arthur ’99 Vernell Barnes ’75 William “Beau” Byrd ’89 Marcus Conner ’99 William Jackson Fite ’85 Michael Griffin ’96 Randy Ham ’73 Van Henley ’80 Charles Horton ’65 Howard Nelson ’69 Arthur “Skip” Ryan ’69 Kathleen Saal ’83 Cynthia Sahlie ’85 Gaines Thomas ’72 K-Rob Thomas ’01 Barbara Wallace-Edwards ’79 EX-OFFICIO EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
The 2010-11 Auburn Alumni Association Board of Directors (back row, left to right) Gaines Thomas, Van Henley, Jeremy Arthur, Skip Ryan, K-Rob Thomas, Jack Fite, Marcus Conner, Howard Nelson, (middle row, left to right) Beau Byrd, Mike Griffin, Nancy Fortner, Charlie Horton, Randy Ham, Nick Romero, Vernell Barnes, Debbie Shaw, (front row, left to right) Jennifer Stephens, Barbara Wallace-Edwards, Steve Boucher, Bobby Poundstone, Bill Stone, Cindy Sahlie, Kathleen Saal.
The Mission Statement
Members by Gender
Member Feedback
Deborah L. Shaw ’84 Jay Gogue ’69 Nancy Young Fortner ’71 Donald L. Large Jr. ’75 Joe T. McMillan ’58 Nicholas Romero Jennifer L. Stephens
The mission of the Auburn Alumni Association is to foster
self reporting
and strengthen the relationship between Auburn University
95%
say the association meets their expectations
89%
say they actively read Auburn Magazine
university’s traditions, purposes, growth and development;
66%
said they proudly display the association decal signifying membership
and to keep alive the spirit of affection and reverence for
49%
say the association is their main link to Auburn University
30%
say they attend the Alumni Hospitality Tent before home football games
and its alumni and friends; to preserve and promote the
our alma mater.
The Vision Statement
15,211
33%
26,386
57%
The Auburn Alumni Association cultivates lifelong relationships between Auburn and its alumni and friends to support the advancement of our university.
a au ua a ll u um m .. o o rr g g Auburn Auburn Magazine Magazine
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Class Notes GOT NEWS? Auburn Magazine 317 S. College Street Auburn, AL 36849-5149,
1991 and was inducted into the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame in 1994.
or aubmag@auburn.edu. Clarence Small ’56, Life Member Annual Member
’20–’59 George D. “Yank” SNAPSHOT
To bee or not to bee You might think apiarist Fred Rossman ’66 has a honey of a job: His business is on the upswing in a decidedly down economy, and the Georgia Beekeepers Association just named him its Beekeeper of the Year. Still, things on Rossman’s Moultrie, Ga., farm aren’t all that sweet. “People think that if you have bees, then you produce honey. In our particular situation, we don’t,” says Rossman, who joined his father in the family beekeeping company, Rossman Apiaries Inc., upon graduating from Auburn with a business degree 46 years ago. Instead, Rossman, wife Ann and their two dozen employees stay busy—as, well, bees—managing about 3,000 hives and raising up to 30,000 queen honeybees a year to sell to hobbyists for backyard honey farms. Customers from around the U.S. also buy the apiaries’ beekeeping supplies, ranging from honey extractors to “bee britches.” But don’t expect to see Rossman wearing a lot of his own gear. “I was raised to handle the bees with my bare hands,” notes the 67-year-old, explaining his father’s theory that glove-wearing apiarists are less conscientious about stings and more apt to crush individual bees during handling, which could provoke an angry frenzy among the colony and endanger other gloveless workers near the hives. “My dad never used (coveralls or gloves), and he didn’t allow me to,” recalls Rossman, who, after more than four decades in the bee business, has been stung more times than he can count, most frequently on his hands and arms. He does wear a veil over his face to prevent more serious on-the-job injuries, however. “You get accustomed to the fact that you’re liable to be stung if you mess with bees or if you’re around them very much,” he says. Though none of Rossman’s children seem interested in carrying on the bee business, he remains optimistic that it will continue after he retires, in part due to the industry’s vital link to the nation’s food chain. In the U.S. alone, the economic value of the honeybee is estimated at about $16 billion; 30 percent of the food consumed by humans in North America is produced by plants pollinated by bees. California almond growers, for example, annually rent thousands of honeybee colonies in order to pollinate their groves. Other bee-pollinated crops include apples, peaches and blueberries. “If we don’t have honeybees, we’re going to be losing food one of these days,” Rossman notes. “And we’re not going to have the types of food—or even any food—that we normally eat.”—Abby Townson ’11
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Whitney ’43 is a retired
veterinarian living in Brattleboro, Vt. He writes a blog and recently self-published a book, Come Jog with Me (iUniverse.com, 2011), that aims to teach older adults how to run for exercise. John M. Lowery ’51
is a U.S. Air Force veteran living in Folsom, Calif. He recently wrote The Global Hunter’s Information Handbook (CreateSpace, 2011), which advises hunters on safety, security, disease prevention, emergency medical care and other issues pertaining to big-game hunting. Earle Williams ’51 and wife June Anson Williams ’53
of McLean, Va., celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in September. A U.S. Army veteran, Earle retired in 1992 as president and CEO of BDM International defense contracting company and served as president of the Auburn University Foundation for more than a decade. He received an honorary doctorate from Auburn University in
a Birmingham attorney, was named a “Local Litigation Star” by Benchmark: Litigation expert guide.
’60-’69 Charlotte Bailey Coleman ’62 of Rising Fawn,
Ga., is a semi-retired, self-employed conference and event planner. Rick Wood ’66 wrote 40 Seasons: The Life of a High School Basketball Coach (Wheatmark, 2011). He retired as a teacher and coach at West Henderson High School in Hendersonville, N.C.
’70-’79 Robert C. “Bobby” Keen ’70 received
the Indiana Hospital Association’s Distinguished Service Award. He has served as president and CEO of Hancock Regional Hospital in Greenfield, Ind., for 17 years.
in Montgomery after 24 years in the position. Earl Nance ’71 was named university counsel for Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va. He formerly served as a senior assistant attorney general for the commonwealth of Virginia. Tony Stockton ’72
of Moulton was named by the Lawrence County Industrial Development Board as the county’s new industrial development director. He retired in August as senior facilities project manager and strategic planner for Lockheed Martin Corp. in Huntsville. Seab Tuck ’75
is vice president of Tuck-Hinton Architects in Nashville, Tenn. The American Planning Association named his firm’s project, the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park, as one of this year’s “Top 10 Great Public Spaces in America.” LaBella Stewart Alvis ’77, a personal-injury
Robert J. “Bob” Kloeti ’70, a Richmond,
Va., attorney and former president of the Auburn Alumni Association, was selected as a member of Virginia Business magazine’s “Virginia Legal Elite” in civil litigation. Joyce Bigbee ’71
retired as executive director of the Alabama Legislative Fiscal Office
litigation attorney with the Birmingham firm of Christian & Small, was listed in the 2012 edition of the Best Lawyers peer review guide and was named a “Local Litigation Star” by Benchmark: Litigation expert guide. Kevin Carroll ’77
of Tallahassee, Fla., in October was appointed circuit judge for the
Lift up a friend Nominations are being accepted through June 30 for two Auburn University honors: the Pamela Wells Sheffield Award, presented annually to a woman who best embodies service and commitment to the university and the Auburn family, and the Walter Gilbert Award, which recognizes alumni athletes for post-graduation achievements. For more information and a nomination form, contact Beverly DeVane at 334-844-9523 or devanbl@auburn.edu.
Second Judicial Circuit Court of Florida.
A nurse practitioner, she teaches in Auburn’s School of Nursing.
James M. “Jimmy” Horn ’77 has joined
Michael D. “Mike” Allen
Birmingham-based Cadence Bank as director of loan operations.
’81 of Arab was named deputy manager of the Shuttle-Ares Transition Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. He has worked for NASA since 1986.
MARRIED Andrew D. “Lan” Lipscomb III ’79 to Stacy
Smith Wood on Dec. 23. They live in Auburn.
’80-’89 Marlon Blackwell ’80
is a professor and department head in the Fay Jones School of Architecture at the University of Arkansas. His eightperson architectural firm received Residential Architect magazine’s 2011 Leadership Award. Timothy A. Bush ’80
is an attorney in the Birmingham office of Sirote & Permutt law firm, where he leads the intellectual property group. He was named Birmingham’s “Best Lawyer of the Year” for nonprofit/charities law by Best Lawyers referral guide.
Chuck Barrett ’81
is the author of two novels, The Toymaker (Switchback Publishing, 2012) and The Savannah Project (Switchback, 2010). Terri R. Clark ’82 of
Laurel, Md., was named chief veterinarian for the U.S. Public Health Service in October, overseeing veterinary professional affairs for the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General and the federal Department of Health and Human Services. She also serves as director of the federal Office of Animal Care and Use. Charles Golson ’82 of Sedona, Ariz.,
Russell L. “Rusty” Keller ’80 is a technical fellow
in structural repair development for The Boeing Co. in Seattle. He recently was honored with the company’s 2011 Special Invention Award highlighting the best in Boeing innovation. Kimberly Harrison Raines ’80 graduated
from Auburn University with a doctoral degree in December.
retired from Honeywell International Inc. after 24 years as an aerospace engineer in Florida, Texas and Arizona.
First, a program that assists Afghan-owned businesses in competing for government-issued grants and contracts. John J. Hollins
Rhon E. Jones ’86,
an attorney in the Montgomery law firm of Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Porits & Miles, was named an Environmental Lawyer of the Year in the 2012 edition of Best Lawyers peer review guide.
Barbara Anderson Nixon ’84, of Lakeland,
Fla., has been appointed interim chair of the Department of Communication at Southeastern University, a Christian institution located in Lakeland. Eric J. Dyas ’85, a partner in the Mobile office of Burr & Forman law firm, was listed in the 2012 edition of Best Lawyers peer review guide in the industries of bankingand-finance law, corporate compliance law, corporate-governance law and corporate law. James A. “Jim” East-
Jan Ziglar Eunice ’86 of Eufaula is a flute
soloist and retired public educator. She is on sabbatical from teaching private flute and piano lessons. Donn Sierra ’86 teaches at McGavock High School in Nashville, Tenn. He is the author of Candin Book 1: A Dog and His Boy (Strategic Book Publishing, 2011). George Cowart ’88 of
Mount Pleasant, S.C., is a manufacturing engineer for The Boeing Co. He recently was honored with the company’s 2011 Special Invention Award highlighting the best in Boeing innovation.
Theodore “Ted” Jen-
erling ’86, senior vice
’90-’99
nings ’83 is chief of local
president of the Petra Wealth Management Group at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney in Atlanta, recently celebrated 25 years with the firm. He also coaches youth football for the Northside
David Nordwall ’90
acquisition and contractmanagement oversight for the NATO Training Mission/Combined Security Training Command at Camp Eggers in Kabul, Afghanistan. He helps manage Afghan
C E N T E R
Youth Organization and was named a Positive Coaching Alliance Coach of the Year.
Jr. ’84 has practiced
domestic-relations law in Nashville, Tenn., for nearly 25 years and is president and managing partner in the law firm of Hollins Raybin & Weissman. He recently wrote Surviving Divorce (Eveready Press, 2011), a legal guide for individuals who are considering terminating a marriage.
A L U M N I
opened a law firm in Chicago focusing on state and federal civil court appeals. Missy Moon Burchart ’92 earned postgradu-
ate certification and
Student culture The Auburn Alumni Association is reinstating what became an educational rite of passage for British and American college students as early as the 17th century: the post-commencement “Grand Tour” of Europe. While the Grand Tour historically meant a traveler spent a year or more visiting various European cities, modern transportation allows completion of a varied itinerary in only about two weeks. The association’s War Eagle Travelers program will offer its version of the Grand Tour, titled “Classic European Graduation Tour,” from May 15-25. Nearly 100 Auburn graduates have completed the tour since the association began offering its recent-graduate European itinerary three years ago. The journey is designed to educate as well as entertain: Highlights include Big Ben and Buckingham Palace in London; the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Eiffel Tower and access to more than 70 museums in Paris; the Colosseum in Rome; the Vatican Museum in Vatican City; and the Parthenon and Temple of Zeus in Athens. Participants will travel along with recent graduates from other universities for 11 or 17 days depending on the package booked, and some meals are included. The trip’s base price per person is $1,998 plus airfare. For details or to book a trip as a graduation gift, see www.aualum.org/ travel, email wareagletravelers@auburn. edu or call 334-844-1443.
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Kidney needed, stat Columbus, Ga., resident Clay Taber ’10 found a hero in an Atlanta nurse who donated her own kidney in January to save his life. Taber was diagnosed with kidney failure shortly after graduating from Auburn and met nurse Allison Batson during a stay at Emory University Hospital. Batson took a shine to the young finance major and offered to go under the knife on his behalf. The operation was a success.
Class Notes
on a billboard at the corporation’s appliances headquarters in Louisville, Ky. She has lost more than 150 pounds over the past three years. Michael Dugan ’97
of St. Paul, Minn., and Chadd Charland ’97 of
REUNITED: Auburn student Lauren Smith, Veatrice Ware Thomas ’95 of Phenix City and Angela Smith Jenkins ’94 of Montgomery enjoy an evening of food, dancing and networking at the Auburn Alumni Association’s annual Minority Alumni Involvement Now Event in November.
accreditation in public relations. She serves as communications and development manager for The Literacy Council in Birmingham.
Don H. Bravaldo III ’93
Wesley J. Chenault ’92
Meyer ’93 was promot-
is the new head of special collections and archives in the James Branch Cabell Library at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va. He formerly served as a research associate for the Auburn Avenue Research Library on AfricanAmerican Culture and History in Atlanta and as an archivist at the Atlanta History Center.
ed to director of internal audit for Healthways, a Nashville, Tenn.-based health care and wellness consulting firm.
owns Bravaldo Capital Advisors Inc., an Atlanta mergers-andacquisitions firm.
Tonya Elrod Bradley
dent of the Alabama Academy of Family Physicians. She is a physician with Auburn Pediatric and Adult Medicine.
52
John Cole ’94 is a
lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army. He recently returned from a deployment to Iraq and now is assigned to the 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, N.C.
of Pace, Fla., received a doctoral degree in pharmacy from the University of Florida in December. He is a member of the American Society of Health Care Pharmacists, Florida Society of Health System Pharmacists and the Florida Pharmacy Association. Matthew Trent Benge ’96 is a worship leader
Vulcan Materials Co. as a sales representative and supervisor of the company’s Charleston, S.C., yard.
and band director at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Nashville, Tenn. The church’s band recently recorded an album to benefi t a food program for Haitian children.
Lisa Hendy ’94 of Moab,
Cynthia Lewis ’96
Utah, is a park ranger at Grand Canyon National Park. She received the
was featured as a General Electric Co. “HealthAhead” leader
Cory Dunlap ’94 joined
Auburn Magazine a u a l u m . o r g
Marty Graves ’98 joined
Skanska construction company as a senior project manager with the St. Francis Hospital team in Columbus, Ga. David McWaters ’98
Charles A. Kemp ’96 James M. “Mike”
’93 of Auburn is presi-
National Park Service’s 2011 Harry Yount National Park Ranger Award.
Marietta, Ga., co-wrote a book geared toward business owners, Saving Innovation: How to Harness the Incredible Promise of Innovation (Mill City Press, 2011).
received a Master of Divinity degree from Luther Rice Seminary & University in Lithonia, Ga. Rich Perkins ’98
hosts “The Drive” radio show on ESPN-FM 106.5 and serves as manager of radio traffic operations for Auburn Network Inc.’s commercial radio stations. He and wife Kirsten Shunk Perkins ’92, a counselor in Auburn University’s athletics department, have a son, Dirk. Dave Rodgers ’98 was named executive vice president of Dominion Partners, a Birminghambased real estate development company. Amanda Keener Barritt ’99 serves as public
relations officer for the
Lee County Association for Women Lawyers in Florida. She is an attorney with the Fort Myers, Fla., office of Henderson Franklin law firm. Tim Lovell ’99 joined the insurance sales team of the Norton Agency, a Gainesville, Ga.-based insurance and real estate company.
A daughter, Scarlett Elizabeth, to Heather Watson Cohn ’94 and husband Mark of Slidell, La., on Aug. 29. She joins siblings Louis, Samantha, Mark Jacob and Austin. Twin daughters, Lauren Kendall and Kensley Reagan, to Chris Cochran ’95 and wife Beverly of Columbiana on June 20.
William H. “Bill” Robertson V ’99 was promoted to shareholder in the Montgomery law firm of Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Porits & Miles. He formerly served as president of the Montgomery County Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section.
Twin sons, Benjamin Thomas and Elijah Lee, to Steven Todd Speakman ’95 and wife Sandy of Auburn on Aug. 9. Their adoption was finalized on Nov. 15, and they join sister Mary Grace.
BORN
“Jeff” Weathers ’96
A daughter, Hannah Kathryn, to John H. Henderson Jr. ’90 and wife Sarah of Rockledge, Fla., on Aug. 9.
and wife Lauren of Birmingham on Nov. 7. He joins brother Ryan. Jeff manages financial and contract services for Southern Co. in Birmingham.
A daughter, Lyla Kate, to Rob Fain ’92 and Maureen Keane Fain ’95
of Auburn on July 22. She joins siblings Phelps, Cooper and Grayson. A daughter, Caroline Elizabeth, to Jason Harpe ’93 and wife Lynn of Birmingham on May 19. A daughter, Elizabeth Nancy, to Christopher “Buzz” Buzard ’94 and wife Mary of Lexington, Ky., on Feb. 10, 2011. She joins siblings Luke Thomas and Leah Katherine.
A son, Haskin Charles, to Jeffrey B.
A son, Andrew Ryan, to Amy Spohn Milburn ’97 and husband Chad of Winston-Salem, N.C., on March 26. A son, Eli Harrison, to Robert L. Maull II ’98 and Michelle Gunn Maull ’99 of Fairburn, Ga., on Aug. 31. He joins brothers Trey and Miles. A son, Luke Edward, to Kimberly Causey Coenen ’99 and husband David of Harvest on Aug. 26.
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A L U M N I
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Class Notes A daughter, Hannah Katherine, to Daniel Noles ’99 and wife Melody of Soddy-Daisy, Tenn., on Aug. 23. She joins siblings Eli Samuel and Sarah Elizabeth. A daughter, Anna Kathryn, to Melissa
MARRIED
Blake Rutland is an
Anthony “Tony” Levine
Elizabeth Chandler
architect with TuckHinton Architects in Nashville, Tenn.
was named head football coach at the University of Houston in December. He formerly served as an assistant coach and special-teams coordinator at the university.
Howes to Justin Day
on July 9. They live in Austin, Texas.
Brandon Wilson Robert D. Mills to
Amanda R. Doby on Sept. 10. They live in Hoover.
Durham Thomas ’99 SNAPSHOT
Talking horse Polo devotee Steve Lewandowski ’82 grew up in Milwaukee, entered the ROTC program at Auburn University, majored in political science and, upon graduation, joined the U.S. Army. What he didn’t do—ever—was ride a horse. Not until age 32, when a girlfriend introduced him to polo. The highbrow sport—which is thought to have originated more than 2,000 years ago in ancient China and Persia—has consumed his life ever since. “I like the history of the game,” Lewandowski says. “I like the grass, the horses, the smells, and the social and networking aspects. It’s like hockey on horseback, only faster.” Lewandowski recently celebrated his 20th year as an announcer for the San Diego Polo Club, a position he assumed full-time after playing polo for seven years. The former insurance agent has called more than 1,000 matches at clubs in the U.S., Mexico and Europe. He’s also the home announcer for Club Polo Cabo in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and is the official announcer of the American Polo Horse Association’s annual National Polo Pony Show in Florida. He offered play-by-play in English for the 2008 World Cup of Polo in Mexico City and has even done voice-overs for video games. A self-described late bloomer, Lewandowski likes to lose himself in the job, whether as a player or an announcer. “When you’re on the horse, you can’t focus on anything else but the game, and all of your other worries of the day go away,” he says.—Sarah Hansen ’11
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Auburn Magazine a u a l u m . o r g
and husband Larry of Loxley on July 12.
’00 Dave Williamson of
Miami won third place at the Second Annual World Series of Comedy in Las Vegas in September.
MARRIED Cheron Hunter to Terrance Davis on Nov. 22. They live in Tallahassee, Fla.
BORN A son, Reid Frederick, to Leslie Jennings and husband Trey of Athens on July 26. A daughter, Reagan Elizabeth, to Robert D. “Rob” Lampe and Allison Goolsby Lampe of Metamora, Ill., on Oct. 21. She joins sister Anna Caroline. Rob is a senior account representative for 3M Co., and Allison is a logistics planner for Caterpillar Inc.
’01 Christine Macaulay Simonton of Atlanta
was promoted to vice president of Delcan engineering fi rm. She has worked for the company since 2006.
BORN A daughter, Molly Claire, to Jeremy Hilton and Brandi Stansell Hilton of Columbus, Ga., on April 10. She joins brothers Walker and William. A son, Corbitt Christopher, to Holly Corbitt Palmer and husband Mike of Birmingham on Feb. 22, 2011. A son, Grant Camden, to Jonathan Cameron Phillips and wife Danica of Fyffe on Sept. 28. A daughter, Eleanor Ruth, to Chris Rogers and Leigh Armistead Rogers ’02 of Cumming, Ga., on Oct. 27. A daughter, Charlotte Reese, to Matthew Paul Todd and
earned postgraduate certification and accreditation in public relations. He is president of the Public Relations Society of America’s board of directors for the Alabama chapter and serves as president and CEO of the Wilbron Institute in Birmingham.
BORN A son, Anderson Everett Dobbs, to Taylor Stewart Dobbs
and husband Matthew of Nashville, Tenn., on Nov. 27. A son, Daniel Cook, to Andrew C. “Drew” Rodgers and Corey Rodgers ’00 of Nashville, Tenn., on Aug. 30. Corey is an affiliate broker with Village Real Estate Services, and Drew is a vice president with First Tennessee Bank.
’02 of Canton, Mich., on Dec. 12.
A daughter, Kimberly Grace, to Melvin A. “Artie” Vaughn II and wife Leeatra of Fairfield, Calif., on Nov. 4.
’02
’03
Alison Bohannon Todd
Jennifer Bonner is an
architect practicing in Los Angeles. Her design fi rm, Studio Bonner, recently was named one of California Home+Design magazine’s “Top 10 to Watch.”
Claire Donnee
received a master’s degree in public and corporate communication from the University of South Alabama. She is a research assistant for Starcom MediaVest Group Inc. in Chicago.
Brandon Page joined Skanska construction company as a project engineer with the St. Francis Hospital team in Columbus, Ga.
BORN A daughter, Madeline Jeanette, to James Stephen Gunn and wife Holly of Hershey, Penn., on Oct. 9. Twin daughters, Addison Elizabeth and Avery Gabriele, to Jessica Padgett and husband David of Savannah, Ga., on Sept 20. A daughter, Elizabeth Ann, to Andy Tillery and Dawn Smith Tillery ’02
of Birmingham on Aug. 17. Andy is a systems operations engineer with Southern Co. A son, Owen William, to Jason Tyra and Shanna Hodges Tyra ’01
of Houston on Sept. 16.
’04 John Michael Dunn
joined Skanska construction company as a project manager on the Kaiser Permanente Southwood Comprehensive Medical Center team in Jonesboro, Ga. Ashley Smith Durham
was named 2011 Lee County Realtor of the
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a u a l u m . o r g Auburn Magazine
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Class Notes Year. She is a real estate agent with Prestige Properties in Auburn.
and husband Jason of Enterprise on May 27.
A son, Barrett Benjamin, to Zack Feldman and Bragan Baldwin Feldman ’04 of Chelsea on June 24. He joins sister Grier Lillianne. Zack teaches at Oak Mountain High School, and Bragan is real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Preferred Properties.
Kendall Kathleen Skelton
is a nurse practitioner. She lives in Memphis, Tenn., with husband Christopher Welder.
BORN A son, Owen Elliott, to Carla Holk McClinton
’05
’07
SNAPSHOT
MARRIED
Librarian-in-chief
Rebecca Joan Lead-
Laila Muhanna is a licensed associate professional counselor and certified psychiatric rehabilitation practitioner. She works for Grady Health System in Atlanta.
When the Auburn Tigers football team kicks off against the Texas A&M Aggies in October, Warren Finch ’89 will be facing a firsttime-ever decision: which jersey to wear as his home campus faces his alma mater on the playing field. Finch is director of the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in College Station, Texas, on the Texas A&M campus. The repository, which opened in 2007, houses Bush’s records, personal papers and documents, plus other White House artifacts. Finch’s involvement with the library began nearly a decade ago, when he was assigned to the transition team responsible for getting materials ready to be archived. He’d already spent a year at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., and two years at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. The Bush library’s 44 million pages of documents, two million photos, and thousands of sound and video recordings chronicle Bush’s years as the nation’s vice president and 41st president, and provide an insider’s view of the workings of the highest U.S. public office. Among Finch’s favorite artifacts is a ready-room chair from the USS San Jacinto, upon which Bush was stationed during World War II. A U.S. Marine found the chair—along with the captain’s flight book—at a yard sale in 1966. Another unique artifact is a rock from Nicaragua, a 1991 gift to the president from then-Nicaraguan president Violeta Chamorro. Colorful and primitive in style, the rock is painted with a scene from Managua, Nicaragua. The library also houses hundreds of other official gifts presented to Bush and family during his term in office. “It’s not one of the most expensive gifts we have, but it is one of the most unique,” says Finch, who hopes Auburn fans won’t wait until the first away football game at College Station next year to drop by. “I’d love, love, love, love to see Auburn people who are here in town.”—Abby Townson ’11
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Hendon of Chattanooga, Tenn., on June 19.
Auburn Magazine a u a l u m . o r g
ingham to Eric Wilson Hunter on April 16. They live in Birmingham. Kathryn Anne Stokley to Eric Paul Golden ’08 on July 30. Kate is
firm as an associate in the commercial litigation practice group. Daniel Heath, an architect with Larry E. Boerder Architects in Dallas, was awarded the Charles Rieger and John D. Graham Architectural Art Prize by the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art. He will study classical design at the American Academy in Rome, the oldest Americian overseas center for studying arts and humanities.
MARRIED Robert Wesley Cardwell
to Tara Tays on Aug. 20. They live in Springdale, Ark., where Wesley is a project engineer.
a medical technologist at East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika, and Eric is a pharmacist with Walgreens. They live in Auburn.
Daniel J. Newton joined the Birmingham office of Adams and Reese law firm as an associate practicing in the specialbusiness-services group.
BORN
MARRIED
A daughter, Olivia Grace, to Morgan Busby and wife Melanie of Mobile on Oct. 18.
Hannah Elizabeth Lane
BORN
to Adam Douglas Ziebach on June 18. They live in Auburn.
A daughter, Ruth Abigail, to Aaron Wierenga and Rachel Leonard Wierenga ’05 of San Francisco on Sept. 15.
A son, Caleb William, to Nathan Tubbs and Lesley Freeman Tubbs ’04 of Brooklyn, N.Y., on Oct. 24.
Riedman to Andrew Russell Allphin on June 25. They live in Parkersburg, W.Va.
’06
BORN
Elizabeth Denson
Leigh Anna Ivey to John Bagby Hall ’07 on
Nov. 19. They live in Homewood.
’09 Sara Caitlin Bearden is
serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala.
MARRIED
A girl, Harper Lee, to
Anna Hodge writes a
Molly Amanda Martin to
Dana Stone Maness and
Andrew Stuart Camarata on March 5. They live in Atlanta.
husband James of Sylacauga on July 27. She joins sister Kennedy.
fashion blog and is an aspiring accessory designer.
BORN
’08
A son, Reid Anthony, to
Austin Averitt joined
James A. “Tony” Hendon
the Birmingham office of Burr & Forman law
and Ruthann Richardson
MARRIED Benjamin Taylor Garrett
to Susan Winters McCarroll on Aug. 27. They live in Austin, Texas.
A A LL U U M M N N II
C C EE N N TT EE R R
Trim the fat.
Do you pinch pennies, clip coupons and live for a good sale? Are you building a nest egg, seeking a better paycheck or hoping to retire soon? These days it makes sense to take advantage of your Auburn Alumni Association’s memberbenefits program, including discounts on insurance, logo merchandise, hotel stays and more. Because saving money is a smart thing to do.
www.aualum.org/benefits w w w. a u a l u m . o r g
U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Aaron Allmon II
REFUEL YOUR CAREER WITH THE BEST, ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. The Executive MBA Programs at Auburn University can fuel your career without grounding your schedule. Ranked among the world’s best by the Financial Times of London, the programs feature a uniquely flexible blend of advanced curriculum delivery and short campus visits.
Take your career to new heights. Contact us for information at:
C OLLEGE
www.AubEMBA.org or 1.877.AUB.EMBA
OF
BUSINESS
E x e c ut i v e MB A Pr o gr ams business.auburn.edu
Auburn University is an equal opportunity educational institution/employer.
aa uu aa ll uu m m .. oo rr gg Auburn Auburn Magazine Magazine
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MIK E K IT TREL L /m o b il e p res s –regis t er
A L U M N I
C E N T E R
Class Notes ’10 Bethany Heck is a free-
lance graphic designer and a graduate student at the Maryland Institute College of Art. She recently was named one of How magazine’s “Eight Young Creatives to Watch.” SNAPSHOT
Head ornaments Kelley Andrews ’11 lost her hair five times while being treated for leukemia. Just 8 years old, she didn’t want to wear a wig. She donned baseball caps and an old-fashioned, crocheted hat meant for someone much older. By the time she was 11, her cancer went into remission and her straight brown hair grew back—darker and with curls. This year, at 23, she enrolled in sewing and pattern-making classes to pursue a dream. Her idea was to create a line of colorful head wraps for children and others struggling with illnesses that cost them their hair or keep them from styling it. “I did research, and I saw the need,” Andrews says. “I’m really excited that people have taken to them.” In less than six months, she created a portfolio of bright designs, found a manufacturer in Lucedale, Miss., and so far has signed on half a dozen retailers in Mobile and Baldwin County, where she lives. The line goes by the name “Button Up Sunshine,” and for every five head-wraps sold, Andrews donates one wrap to a child with cancer. Catherine Moates, gift shop manager at the University of South Alabama Children’s and Women’s Hospital and Infirmary West, says female patients come in looking for something to cover their heads if they’ve been unable to shower and shampoo their hair. She described the wraps as an ideal solution. Andrews has posted photographs of her work on Facebook, where she also keeps friends and family updated on the progress of her new venture. Andrews was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in September 1997. She spent countless hours in treatment, having powerful drugs pumped into her body. Cancer has struck at least nine of Andrews’ family members, including her mother. Sylvia Andrews says she has been amazed at how quickly her daughter transformed her idea for a business into reality. “She really has accomplished a lot in a very short period of time, and she never gave up,” Sylvia Andrews says. “She just kept calling people and taking sewing lessons. She has a passion for doing things, and she can totally relate to children.” Kelley Andrews said beating cancer has taught her the importance of perseverance: “Because I went through so much as a child, I know you can achieve anything.”—Casandra Andrews/Reprinted with permission from the Mobile Press-Register 2011©. All rights reserved.
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Auburn Magazine a u a l u m . o r g
MARRIED Sarah Mischia Dansak
to Paul Blanton Davis on April 16. They live in Chicago, where Sarah is a preschool teacher. Siobhan Mary O’Reilly to Kyle MacDonald ’09 on Sept.
24. Kyle is an engineer with Eaton Corp., and Siobhan is an engineer for DCP Midstream. They live in Denver.
’11 Zach Burhop of Madison appeared on National Geographic Channel’s “Mad Scientists” to highlight the process of designing and building a waterpowered rocket pack.
Kristy Swann joined Stubbs Muldrow Herin Architects Inc. in Mount Pleasant, S.C.
Ralph Lanier Davis ’43 of West Lafayette,
In Memoriam
Ind., died Sept. 27. He was a retired Purdue University agronomy professor.
Fred Euell Copeland ’30
Marion Lewis Hayles
of Chattanooga, Tenn., died Oct. 5. He worked for the Tennessee Valley Authority and the U.S. Geological Survey.
’43 of Brookhaven,
Thurman Irving ’37 of
William Jesse “Doc”
San Luis Obispo, Calif., died Sept. 28. A World War II veteran and U.S. Army colonel, he was awarded the Legion of Merit and Bronze Star.
Isbell Jr. ’43 of Bessemer
Sarah Coleman “Sadie” Wilburn ’38 of Montgomery died Oct. 3. She was a financial secretary at Trinity Presbyterian Church.
Miss., died Nov. 11. A World War II veteran, he practiced veterinary medicine for 47 years.
died Oct. 4. He practiced veterinary medicine for 17 years and subsequently served as Baptist Brotherhood secretary for the Alabama Baptist Convention and director of the men’s division of the Baptist Brotherhood/ Southern Baptist Convention in Memphis, Tenn. Nimrod W.E. Long
Benjamin Jones Eich ’40 of Mountain Brook died Oct. 28. He was a retired district manager with Parke-Davis pharmaceutical company. Arthur Thomas
’43 of Birmingham died
Sept. 27. A World War II fighter pilot, he worked for APAC-Alabama Inc. for 40 years, retiring as president. Jane Sheffield Agee
Mark Matel was awarded
Ousley ’40 of Memphis,
’44 of Pine Hill died Oct.
Enterprise Community Partners Inc.’s Rose Architectural Fellowship to redevelop Bartlett Yards, a former transit yard in the Boston neighborhood of Roxbury, into a sustainable residential and commercial node.
Tenn., died Oct. 16. He served on active and reserve duty in the U.S. Air Force for almost 30 years and worked as an engineer for NASA.
23. She owned Alabama Wholesale Co. Inc. with her family and was a member of Delta Zeta sorority.
Brittany L. Perry is
a U.S. Navy seaman. She recently graduated from recruit training at Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, Ill.
Hamlin H. Tippins ’42
of Griffin, Ga., died Oct. 3. A World War II veteran, he was an entomologist at the University of Georgia Agricultural Experiment Station in Experiment, Ga.
Milner Eskew ’44 of Hampton Roads, Va., died Oct. 23. A U.S. Navy veteran, he was employed with NASA. Luther Wright Johnson ’44 of Rome, Ga.,
died Oct. 20. A U.S. Navy veteran, he was a retired employee of General Electric Co.
A L U M N I
This year’s War Eagle Travelers tour lineup offers a glimpse of village life in France and Italy, an African wildlife safari and a tour of ancient Greece, among dozens of other exotic destinations and itineraries. Prefer to stick closer to home? Join other members of the Auburn family for the annual New York City Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade or the beauty of Alaska this fall. Book early for best available rates.
C E N T E R
Come fly with us.
w w w . aua l u m . o r g / t r av e l w w w. a u a l u m . o r g
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A A L L U U M M N N II
C C E E N N T T E E R R
In Memoriam Vanderford ’44 of Hoover
of Key Real Estate and Investment Co.
died Oct. 24. He was a U.S. Navy lieutenant.
Fay Clements Sasser
Wayman Erskine “Biff”
Thelma Smith Calton
60 60
Nominees wanted
’45 of Dothan died
The Auburn Alumni Association is requesting nominations for four new board directors. All nominees must be association life members and be willing to serve on a volunteer basis. The positions require travel to Auburn at least three times a year. Successful nominees will be installed this fall; each will serve a four-year term. Nominations are also requested for board president and vice president, each of whom serves two-year terms. Officer nominees must be current or former members of the board and life members of the association. All candidates for board seats should have a demonstrated history of leadership in support of the association and Auburn University. Those who have actively promoted the association and AU through involvement with local Auburn clubs will be strongly considered. Those who have previously contributed both time and resources to Auburn and the association also will be strongly considered. Board directors and officers are expected to participate in the association’s sustaining-life membership program through contributions to the “Circle of Excellence” scholarship society. Nominations may be submitted to Debbie Shaw ’84, Office of Alumni Affairs, Auburn University, 317 South College St., Auburn, AL, 36849. Submissions will also be accepted by fax to 334-844-4003 or as email attachments to debbieshaw@auburn. edu. A nomination form must be submitted along with at least two letters of recommendation (but no more than four) from life members. Résumés may also be submitted. The deadline for receiving nominations and supporting documentation is 5 p.m. CST March 23. The nomination form is available online at www.aualum.org or by calling 334-844-1134.
Jane Fackler Greene
Auburn Auburn Magazine Magazine a au ua a ll u um m .. o o rr g g
Oct. 5. She was a home economist for Alabama Power and later worked as an auditor for Swift & Co. in Chicago.
’45 of Mountain Brook
died Oct. 6. She retired as director of the art and music department for the Birmingham Public Library and was a member of Alpha Gamma Delta women’s fraternity. Marion Schlosburg ’45
of Macon, Ga., died Oct. 12. A World War II veteran, he spent most of his career in hotel and restaurant management.
’47 of Longwood, Fla., died Sept. 30. She was a member of Alpha Omicron Pi sorority. Harris Montgomery Allen ’48 of Atlanta
died Nov. 6. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, he worked in the foodbrokerage business for 50 years. He was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Henry Fair ’48 of Louisville, Miss., died Sept. 20. A World War II veteran, he was employed as sales manager at D.L. Fair Lumber Co. and served as a district governor of Rotary International. Laverne Taylor
Dorothy Smith Keith ’46
Flanagan ’48 of Auburn
of Auburn died Oct. 14. She was a travel agent.
died Jan. 2. A former president of Alabama Polytechnic Institute Women’s Student Government, she was an active member of Alpha Gamma Delta women’s fraternity, serving as international president for the Alpha Gamma Delta Alumnae organization for eight years.
Walton Thomas ’46 of
Glencoe died Sept. 17. A World War II veteran, he served as a personnel manager for General Electric Co., Sperry Rand Corp. and Ampex Corp. Dimitri George Constantine ’47 of
Pensacola, Fla., died Dec. 9. A World War II veteran, he served as a Naval Aviation Museum volunteer for more than 25 years. John B. Richardson ’47 of Birmingham
died Nov. 10. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, he retired as president
Barbara Ann Lancaster ’48 of Tuscaloosa died Sept. 13. She worked as an occupational engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Leland Long ’48 of Au-
burn died Sept. 15. He taught at Kathleen Senior High School in Lakeland, Fla., for 25 years.
Paul Rakel ’48 of Albany, Ga., died Oct. 10. A U.S. Army Air Corps veteran of World War II, he was a retired engineer. Robert Perry Teeple ’48 of Maggie Valley,
N.C., died Oct. 10. A World War II veteran, he was employed by Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Co. for more than 40 years.
James Walker Moore Jr. ’49 of Monroe, La.,
died Sept. 27. A World War II veteran, he was a graphic designer for Graphic Packaging International Inc. for more than 30 years. Samuel D. Moorer ’49
of Birmingham died Nov. 11. A World War II veteran, he was an engineer with Alabama Power for 38 years.
Bill G. Williams ’48
of Vestavia Hills died Nov. 13. He was a member of the National Guard for 30 years and served on the Vestavia Hills City Council.
Wilburn J. Sample ’49 of Birmingham died Nov. 9. He retired as Western Division chief engineer for Alabama Power. John L. Solomon Jr.
Cecil F. “Fontel” Wingard ’48 of Auburn died Sept. 21. A U.S. Navy veteran, he retired from the Alabama Department of Transportation and the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. Beall Dozier “Nap” Gary ’49 of Vestavia Hills died Oct. 6. A World War II veteran, he owned Gary Drugs in Mountain Brook for 26 years and was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity. Joseph Keith Lynch ’49
of Gulf Shores died Sept. 29. He worked as an engineer with Vulcan Materials Co. for 26 years. Elida Mathews ’49 of
Heflin died Oct. 6. She taught typing and shorthand at Winterboro and Talladega high schools.
’49 of El Dorado, Ark.,
died Oct. 24. A World War II veteran, he retired as a vice president for Murphy Oil Corp. after 32 years of service. Charles Aderhold Walker ’49 of German-
town, Tenn., died Nov. 26. He was a retired manufacturer’s representative. William P. Williams ’49
of Atlanta died Oct. 26. A U.S. Army veteran of World War II, he worked in the poultry industry at Vantress Farms Inc. and Cargill Inc. Wilbur “Bill” Clary ’50
of Mobile died Oct. 20. He was Southeastern district manager for General Electric Co. for 30 years. Robert B. “Bob” Gentry ’50 of Mont-
gomery died Sept. 25. A veteran of World War II
Hollywood glamour Octavia Spencer ’94 won a Golden Globe as best supporting actress from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in January for her star-making turn as a sassy maid in last year’s DreamWorks film “The Help.” The Montgomery native is also nominated for an Academy Award for her performance; tune in for the Oscar ceremony at 6 p.m. CST Feb. 26 on ABC.
and the Korean War, he managed family-owned Francis Cafeteria. Tula Brown Harper ’50
of Birmingham died Oct. 3. She was a home economics teacher with Birmingham City Schools for 30 years. Michael P. Kinney ’50 of
Scottsboro died Sept. 14. A World War II veteran, he retired from civil service at the U.S. Army’s Redstone Arsenal after 31 years of service. Joe Patterson ’50 of Huntsville died Nov. 16. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, he worked as a mechanical designer for NASA. Everett Phillips ’50
of Quitman, Miss., died Oct. 12. A U.S. Army veteran, he was a past chairman of the Alabama Junior Bankers and past president of the Independent Community Bankers Association of Alabama.
died Oct. 5. He retired from Western Auto and volunteered at the Alexander City Recycling Center.
A A LL U U M M N N II
C C EE N N TT EE R R
gusta, S.C., died Sept. 23. He served as a supervisor at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site industrial complex for 37 years.
James A. Connally ’51
of Thomaston, Ga., died Sept. 29. A World War II veteran, he was a supervisor with B.F. Goodrich for 29 years. Bobbye Chancellor
Jim Counselman ’52 of Otto, N.C., died Sept. 26. He was the head of the Ciba-Geigy research and development laboratory in Vero Beach, Fla., for 20 years.
’51 of Collinsville died
June 21. She worked as a U.S. Department of Agriculture veterinarian for more than 25 years and was named Mississippi Veterinarian of the Year. Hugh Lee Edge ’51 of
Birmingham died Sept 22. He was a U.S. Army cryptographer in Germany and a member of Delta Sigma Phi fraternity.
Dan M. Crane ’52 of
Decatur died Oct. 18. He worked for Amoco Corp. and was a member of the Kappa Alpha Order. Hutson Davis ’52 of
Greenville, S.C., died Oct. 19. A veteran of World War II, he retired as regional sales director for Ralston Purina Co. after 37 years. Robert Harrison Gwin
William C. “Bill” Farrell
’52 of Florence died Oct.
Jr. ’51 of Birmingham
23. He was an engineer with Harlee Quattlebaum Construction Co.
died Oct. 2. He retired from Stockham Valves & Fittings Co. after a lifelong career as a mechanical engineer.
Martha Hawthorne
Solid gold Fifty years ago, Elvis Presley was topping the music charts with “Return to Sender,” the Academy Award for best picture went to “West Side Story,” the Cuban missile crisis briefly set the nation on edge and the store that would eventually cause a retail revolution—Wal-Mart—opened for business in Rogers, Ark. At Auburn, the class of 1962 graduated from college in a world where the price of gasoline topped out at 28 cents per gallon, and the average home cost a mere $12,500. Members of the class will return to their alma mater April 26-28 for the Auburn Alumni Association’s annual Golden Eagles Reunion. “The Golden Eagles celebration brings together folks who graduated from Auburn during a tumultuous time in the nation’s history, but whose love for their alma mater transcends the political and social changes of the past five decades,” says Debbie Shaw, the university’s vice president for alumni affairs. “It’s a heartwarming experience to witness the bond they share.” The association will also honor the classes of 1942, 1947, 1952 and 1957. Reunion activities include campus tours, dinner at the President’s Home, educational sessions and a dance featuring the Auburn Knights Orchestra. For more information or to register, see www.aualum.org/goldeneagles, call 334-844-1150 or email janetbryant@auburn.edu.
Lynn ’52 of Sylvester
died Oct. 25. John V. Raines ’50 of
Auburn died December 7. A U.S. Army veteran of World War II, he worked for State Farm insurance company for more than 30 years. Malcom V. Smith ’50
of Birmingham died Oct. 5. A World War II veteran, he worked for U.S. Pipe and Foundry Co. and later for Jim Walter Resources.
Robert Edward Gardner Jr. ’51 of Hueytown
Joseph A. Miller Jr.
died Sept. 23. A World War II veteran, he worked at the U.S. Steel Corp. coke plant for 30 years.
’53 of Birmingham died Oct. 13. A veteran of the Korean War, he founded Miller Triplett & Miller Engineers Inc.
Howell Payne Hen-
Margaret Davis
derson ’51 of Pell City
Swindall ’53 of Leeds
died Oct. 1. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, he worked for R.P. Henderson and Son Builders Supply Co.
died Sept. 13. She taught school in Goodwater for 34 years. John Bowden Venters ’53 of Huntsville died
Woodie Lee Speaks ’50 of Alexander City
Harold Lindbergh Mann ’51 of North Au-
Oct. 19. A World War II merchant marine radio
operator, he later worked for the U.S. Army Missile Command as an engineer.
Delta Kappa honor society, he served as student body president at Auburn.
James J. “Jim” Baird
was a past president of the Tennessee Veterinary Medical Association. William McKinley
Jr. ’54 of Auburn died
Marianne Jackson
“Bill” Minor Jr. ’54
Nov. 27. A U.S. Army veteran and member of the Auburn Rotary Club, he was a longtime employee of Sullivan, Long & Hagerty in Bessemer and retired as president and CEO of Insituform Southeast Inc. in 1997. A member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and Omicron
Cashatt ’54 of Waynes-
of Lake Wylie, S.C., died Sept. 21. A U.S. Army veteran, he was a manufacturer’s representative in Charlotte, N.C., and a member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.
boro, Va., died Nov. 14. She worked in the rehabilitation field for 30 years. Daniel Fitzpatrick ’54 of Nashville, Tenn.,
died Sept. 30. A retired veterinarian, he ran Fitzpatrick Veterinary Clinic for 27 years and
Jane Garrett Mitchell ’54 of Birmingham
died Oct. 2. She was a
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In Memoriam James O. Culbreth ’57 of Montgomery died
Nov. 9. A U.S. Army veteran, he retired as president of Tri-State Plant Food Inc. Raymond Edgar Davis ’57 of Florence died
ACTION FIGURES: Local Auburn clubs around the nation spent one week in October participating in various community-service projects during Auburn Alumni in Action, a new program designed to encourage the act of volunteerism. Nearly two dozen clubs aided 27 projects ranging from collecting supplies for overseas military troops and food for the hungry to assisting with the International Paralympic Committee Shooting World Cup event at Fort Benning near Columbus, Ga. For more information, see www.auburnclubs.org/page/alumni-in-action.
Oct. 3. A veteran of the Korean War, he worked for International Mills and Chemical Corp. for 35 years before retiring as vice president and general manager.
of Alpha Gamma Delta women’s fraternity. William Hoyt Nelson ’55
Norman G. Sansing ’54
of Athens, Ga., died Sept. 22. He retired as an associate professor of biochemistry and associate dean at the University of Georgia.
of Decatur died Sept. 25. He was a minister in the Church of Christ for more than 55 years and a former editor of the Alexander City Outlook. Martha Ann Blackmarr
Fred Williams ’54 of
’56 of Dothan died
Alexander City died Oct. 21. He retired as a credit manager for 7-Eleven Inc. in Virginia.
Oct. 5. She taught first grade for 25 years and was active in several historical societies.
Gene Kay ’55 of Hunts-
ville died Oct. 30. He worked for the U.S. Army Ordnance Missile and Munitions Center & School at Redstone Arsenal for 35 years. Jane Masters Mullane ’55 of Hoover died Sept.
Charles Franklin Gilbert
Fairhope died Oct. 18. He worked as an industrial engineer and later as manager of Fly Creek Restaurant and Marina.
’57 of Waltersboro,
S.C., died Nov. 3. A U.S. Navy veteran, he worked as an electrical engineer for 40 years.
Ga., died Sept. 21. A U.S. Navy veteran, he was the director of engineering for the Columbus Consolidated Government for 20 years.
Auburn Magazine a u a l u m . o r g
of James Island, S.C., died Nov. 16. She taught physical education and history, and was a member of Delta Zeta sorority. J. Franklin Stewart
Horace L. Porter ’56
III ’57 of Hartselle died
of Rainbow City died Nov. 15. He retired from Gadsden State Community College.
Oct. 7. A cattle farmer, he also operated the Western Auto store in Hartselle from 1963 to 1995.
Hunter Vardaman ’56
of Alexander City died Oct. 22. He served in three branches of the military and enjoyed a career in the aerospace industry.
’56 of Columbus,
29. She was a member
62
Jack Pickett ’56 of
Muscle Shoals died Sept. 27. He was an aeronautical engineer and a member of Phi Kappa Tau fraternity.
Curtis Robinson ’58 of
Ardmore died Sept. 14. A veteran of the Korean War, he retired as instrumentation branch chief in NASA’s propulsion lab after 30 years. Francile Scott Shelley
N.C., died Oct. 1. A member of Mortar Board and Kappa Delta sorority, she was an environmental engineer with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. Joe Morton Thompson ’58 of Phenix City died Oct. 2. He was an employee of Bibb Manufacturing Co. and Total System Services Inc. Thomas Trapani ’58
of Savannah, Ga., died Oct. 13. A B-29 bomber pilot during World War II, he worked in the construction industry.
’58 of Little Rock,
Ark., died Sept. 30. A former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, he later flew commercially for Delta Air Lines. Robert Hamner ’58
of Fayette died Nov. 10. He was an industrial engineer and business owner, and a member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.
from the U.S. Department of Agriculture after 35 years of service. Vida McElrath ’59 of Alexander City died Oct. 25. She taught in the Anniston City School System for 18 years. Thomas Elliott Shields ’59 of Fairhope died
Nov. 3. Billye Jean Smith ’59 of Pine Bluff, Ark., died Sept. 17. She worked as a certified public accountant for Caterpillar Inc. Robert Martin Harper ’60
of Auburn died Dec. 22. He was a Lee County circuit court judge from 1986 to 2005. Lewis Ruffner ’60 of Brevard County died Sept. 18. He was employed at The Boeing Co. for more than 35 years. Max Taylor ’60 of Greenville, S.C., died Oct. 12. He retired as a manufacturing manager with Milliken & Co. Bobby Austin Guilfoil ’61 of Glasgow, Ky.,
Jacob James Caldwell
Thomas Laffin Baggette ’57 of
of Birmingham died Oct. 3. A U.S. Army veteran, he retired as a civil engineer with Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle.
’58 of Banner Elk, Charles Albert Owen
June Burns Smith ’57
member of the Ballet Women’s Committee and Chi Omega sorority.
Robert Hollands Jr. ’58
Joseph Lee Jackson ’59 of Gulf Shores died
Sept. 26. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, he retired from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, and later worked for the law firm of Kittrell & Middlebrooks. Hugh S. Johnson ’59
of Newnan, Ga., died Aug. 15. He retired
died Sept. 27. He was a veterinarian and served on the Barren County Board of Health for 40 years. Wiley Montana ’61 of Clute, Texas, died Oct. 13. A U.S. Navy veteran, he worked for Dow Chemical Co. and the International Society of Automation.
Pounds of rebound Former Auburn hoops standout Charles Barkley has joined the ranks of Grammy Award winner Jennifer Hudson, actress Lynn Redgrave and Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, as a spokesperson for Weight Watchers. In media interviews, the NBA Hall of Famer claimed the program has helped him lose 38 of the 100 pounds he gained after retiring from sports 12 years ago. “I just need to get healthier and hopefully help others get healthier,” he told ESPN in December. “That’s my real goal.”
Harry E. “Hap” Myers Jr. ’61 of Mobile died
Aug. 11. He served as an Alabama state senator from 1994 to 2006 and was a professional consulting engineer for more than 40 years. Patricia Hogan Ward ’61
of Salt Lake City died Oct. 22. She worked for Bank of America Corp. and was a member of Phi Mu sorority. Norman DeWeese ’62
of Pensacola, Fla., died Oct. 27. He was a banker for 25 years in the Pensacola area, and was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. William E. “Bill” McDowell ’62 of Birmingham died Oct. 23. He worked for Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. for 30 years and was a member of Theta Xi fraternity.
tant treasurer of Auburn University in 1991 after 27 years of service. Rolf Sieber ’64 of
Huntsville died Nov. 9. He retired after a career with Teledyne Brown Engineering Inc. and The Boeing Co. Froman Bruce “Choppy” Johnson ’65
of Montgomery died Sept. 19. He served in the National Guard and worked for the Alabama Forestry Commission for 25 years. Caroline Chappell Powell ’65 of Tuscaloosa died Oct. 20. She taught school and also served on the Tuscaloosa City Board of Education for 15 years.
Clara Hodnette Foster ’69 of Montgomery died
Oct. 15. She worked in secondary and postsecondary education for more than 40 years. John Walker Jones ’69 of Owensboro, Ky.,
died Nov. 9. He worked for Modern Welding for 40 years, most recently serving as chairman of the board. Thomas James Lam-
Fla., died June 24. A U.S. Air Force veteran, he was self-employed for 36 years. Danny Elkins Stanley ’69 of Savannah, Ga.,
died Sept. 18. A U.S. Air Force veteran, he retired as president of Thomas & Hutton civil engineering firm.
Miss., died Oct. 12. She worked as an interior designer.
James Ross “Jim” But-
Gary Farrar ’70 of Franklin, Tenn., died Sept. 26. Tommy Glenn
Thomas Powell ’67 of
Hendrick ’70 of
Fla., died Oct. 18. He worked in the Florida citrus industry for more than 35 years.
Richmond, Va., died Nov. 4. He was employed by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration for 27 years.
Greensboro, N.C., died Oct. 7. He retired from Huntsman International, a global chemical manufacturer.
Jr. ’63 of Winston-
James Neal Gillis ’68
Salem, N.C., died Oct. 31. He worked as a chemical engineer.
of Warner Robins, Ga., died Oct. 9. He retired as an employee of Robins Air Force Base after 37 years of service.
Luther Burl James ’64
of Spruce Pine died Nov. 12. He taught in the Franklin County school system for 31 years. Ernest Andrew Phillips ’64 of Oneonta died Sept.
28. He retired as assis-
MacIntire ’88 of Auburn
Tenn., died Sept. 14. She was a veterinarian.
died Dec. 27. A 21-year veteran of the Auburn veterinary medicine faculty, she retired as the P.B. Griffin Distinguished Professor of Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care.
Larry Donald Thompson ’73 of Phenix City
died Oct. 27. He played football at Auburn and worked as a pharmacist for 39 years.
Kimberly Hammond James Joseph Gary Jr.
Rice ’90 of Hayden
’74 of Austell, Ga., died
died Oct. 1. She was an electrical engineer with U.S. Steel Corp.
Oct. 25. He was mayor of Georgetown, Ga., and served as superintendent of the Quitman County School District. David B. Gooch ’76 of
Huntsville died Nov. 10. He served as director and vice president of operations and human resources for Toyo Tire USA Corp.
’77 of Birmingham
died Sept. 30. A career educator, he retired as superintendent of Talladega City Schools. Barbara Pelham Espy ’78 of Law-
Charles Richard Jones
John Paul O’Neal
David Wayne Thursby ’70 of Albany, Ga., died
Oct. 7. He was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and the Georgia Education Association.
Douglass K. “Dougie”
’73 of Chattanooga,
Billy Royce Mills
tram ’63 of Clermont,
Lesia Mackey ’81 of Leeds died Sept. 27. She owned LJM Services windshield repair.
C C EE N N TT EE R R
Faculty and Friends Elizabeth L. “Libbie” Ainsworth of Coppell,
Donna Pearce Scorey
bert ’69 of Jacksonville,
Judith Kubilis McMullan ’67 of Meridian,
Force Reserve captain, he was a partner in Mims & Stephens insurance agency.
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renceville, Ga., died Oct. 29. She served as preschool director for Buford Presbyterian and Buford First United Methodist churches for 16 years.
W. Yancey Jernigan IV ’91 of Brewton
died July 20. He was a member of Kappa Alpha Order and served as vice president of sales and marketing for Precision Paper and Board. John Mark Trent ’00 of
Wetumpka died Oct. 5. He was a pastor and marriage and family therapist. William Steven Davis ’05 of Atlanta died Nov. 4. He served as a surface warfare officer in the U.S. Navy. Robert Marshall “Bobby” Mitchell ’07
of Atlanta died Nov. 28. He worked as a client services representative for IBM Corp.
Texas, died Jan. 3. An Auburn sophomore, she was a member of Phi Mu sorority. William E. Hardy of
Auburn died Oct. 14. He was a professor in Auburn’s Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology from 1972 to 2011. Charles Knecht of Ashville, N.C., died Sept. 20. He was professor and head of the Department of Small Animal Surgery and Medicine at Auburn from 1979 to 1997. Paul Latimer of
Alpharetta, Ga., died Oct. 1. He retired in 1992 after serving as a physics professor at Auburn for 30 years. Kyle Evans Nixon of Au-
burn died Sept. 29. An Auburn senior, he was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. Joanne Cobb Smith of Auburn died Jan. 6. She taught school for many years, co-owned The Ole Iron Horse antique shop and founded the Joy Bible Study at Auburn United Methodist Church.
Terry Yarbrough
’68 of Port Arthur,
’70 of Huntsville died
Texas, died Nov. 1. He and his wife owned Burkett’s Jewelry. He also was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity.
Sept. 17.
Hammond ’78 of Jack-
’08 of Auburn died
J. David Mims ’72 of
sonville, Fla., died Oct. 1. She taught school for more than 20 years.
Oct. 25. She was a member of Lakeview Baptist Church.
Midland, Texas, died Sept 11. A U.S. Air
Darrah-Kay Dennis
Carrie Ann Chavers
William Ullery of
Auburn died Jan. 1. He had served as a professor of mathematics and statistics at Auburn since 1987.
aa uu aa ll uu m m .. oo rr gg Auburn Auburn Magazine Magazine
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A A L L U U M M N N II
C C E E N N T T E E R R
The Last Word
The real deal BY CHRIS HUMPHRIES ’96 A few weeks ago I was given the opportunity to get some tickets to see the Carolina Panthers play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The big problem was that it was on Christmas Eve, and, with so many things going on, I wasn’t sure I could pull it off. I knew my 10-year-old, Parker, would love to see the Panthers, because his favorite football player, former Auburn Tigers standout Cam Newton, is the team’s starting quarterback. We had a choice of where we wanted to sit, so I told Parker he could decide. We could sit in the club level on about the 40yard line and see every play Cam made, or we could sit in section 118 on the fourth row, in the corner of the end zone on the visiting side. I told him he might get the chance to see Cam score a touchdown and have an opportunity to maybe get a football from Cam. (I knew the chances of him getting said football were about a million to one.) Obviously, the optimistic mind of a 10-year-old prevailed, and he chose to sit in the end zone. Even before the game started, Parker told me several times he felt like he was dreaming, and he couldn’t believe we were actually going to see Cam play in an NFL game. As the introductions started, the excitement grew. On the first drive, Cam broke the NFL rookie passing record held by Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning. The fun had begun! During this game, Cam showed off. He even ran for a 49-yard touchdown that reminded me of a similar run he made against LSU last year. To see all of these things in one game was amazing for both Parker and me. Quite honestly, it was just like watching a game at Auburn last year. There was a huge downside though: Each touchdown the Panthers scored was in the opposite end zone. Ball after ball went to other kids, and I knew in my mind the odds were getting smaller and smaller for the Panthers to score in our end zone. At the end of the third quarter the Panthers scored again, giving them a total of 41 points. I told Parker there was really no chance we would see a Panthers touchdown on our end. Still, the Panthers started the fourth quarter by immediately driving to our end of the field, getting in the red zone quickly. I told Parker to go down to the rail and get ready, “just in case.” It was a bit chilly during the game, so Parker had a hoodie on over his Auburn hat. I told him to take the hoodie down, let Cam see that Auburn hat, and yell “War Eagle!” as loud as he could. The Panthers drove down to the 8-yard line—then something amazing happened. The ball was snapped. Cam completed a pass to teammate Jeremy Shockey to the left side. Shockey broke two tackles and made his way into our end zone, scoring
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the final touchdown for the Panthers that day. Shockey threw the ball down, and I watched as Cam came in to celebrate the touchdown with teammates and fans. He turned to the side judge, and I saw him mouth the words, “Where is the ball?” The referee pointed; Cam ran to the ball and picked it up. Cam looked up at Parker, smiled, ran over and handed him the ball, accompanied by a “War Eagle” greeting. The next few minutes were a blur, but I do remember Parker running straight to me and jumping in my arms, screaming. All of the kids in the section ran over to him, wanting to see the ball and get their pictures made. There were even adults who wanted to touch the ball. We were all overwhelmed with excitement. As things settled down, I noticed Parker was crying. I asked him if he had gotten hurt during the chaos. “No, Dad, I’m just so excited that I can’t quit crying,” he said. I shot a photo of my son then, and one thing comes to mind when I see it: pure joy. Cam Newton is the real deal. I’m not just talking about talent and ability. Yes, in my opinion, he will be one of the best ever, and I believe he will win Super Bowls as an NFL quarterback. Those things are not what I mean, though. What I am talking about is his love for the game and his love for the kids who watch him play. At Auburn, he spent his free time tutoring elementary school children. I hear he is doing the same thing in the Charlotte, N.C., area. It’s not all about Cam Newton, and he has made that abundantly clear. Auburn is family. I have no doubt in my mind that Cam gave that ball to Parker because he saw the AU hat and possibly heard him yell “War Eagle.” I’ve received so many messages from Auburn people saying how “AUsome” it was to see Cam give Parker the ball. One of the men in Section 118 said, “Maybe I should’ve gotten my son an Auburn hat for the game.” I wanted to tell him that being an Auburn fan is way more than wearing a hat. You can’t buy family at a convenience store. I know in my heart that Cam understands he is a role model, whether he wants to be or not. For any Auburn fan to get to be a part of that day would’ve been exciting. To be the dad who got to experience it with his son? I’m not sure if there will ever be another Auburn experience that great for me again. Chris Humphries studied health promotion at Auburn and is a former Tigers athletic trainer. He lives in Chattanooga, Tenn., with wife Torie and children Parker, Miller and Bella.
The Auburn FAmily ThAnks 1856 socieTy For iTs supporT The 1856 Society, named for the year in which the East Alabama Male College (now Auburn University) was established, recognizes donors to Auburn University and Auburn University Montgomery whose cumulative contributions and irrevocable planned gifts reach or exceed $100,000. Society members and organizational benefactors are honored in the fall at a biennial dinner and recognition ceremony. Those individuals and couples honored during the Sept. 23, 2011, induction ceremony include: Bill & Sylvia Alexander Joel K. & Sylvia A. Alford Mr. & Mrs. Michael Anderson Ed, Jeanne & Jessica Andre’ David & Joanna Austin Mr. & Mrs. Diaco Aviki Terri Martin Barnes Jerry & Marilyn Batts Lee & Brenda Baumann Terry Paul Beasley Elaine Hill Beech Mrs. Raye Benefield Mr. & Mrs. Robert Tracy Bishop Alan Dale Boan Mr. & Mrs. Robert E. Bowers Jane Parkman Bowles Mr. & Mrs. Paul Cranston Box Colonel James Hodo Boykin Mr. & Mrs. Jesse Kane Bray Tom & Pat Brock Fleming & Lynn Brooks Mr. & Mrs. George Randolph Brown Mrs. James M. Brown Jr. David & Theresa Brubaker Mr. Robert F. Burgin III Julia Burkett Caddell & William P. Caddell Jr. (deceased) Dr. & Mrs. Tony J. Catanzaro Mr. & Mrs. Brent Thompson Cook Timothy D. Cook Mr. & Mrs. Roger H. Cox Mrs. Mary Lynda Crockett Laura & David Darby Mr. & Mrs. Paul DePriest Carlo & Patty Diliberto Dr. & Mrs. Steven Paul Disch Barbara & Patrick F. Dye Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Watt Andy Ellis III Mr. & Mrs. Paul R. Flowers Dr. Michelle S. Freeman & Mr. Benjamin W. Freeman Dr. & Mrs. David M. Fry Jr. Dr. & Mrs. Charles K. Funderburk Drs. Sherry & Russ Galloway
Mr. & Mrs. J. Robert Gardner Gary & Carol Elsen Godfrey Ralph & Lynda Godfrey Mr. & Mrs. Jefferson Lavelle Grant Mr. & Mrs. Wyche Thomas Green III Cliff & Grace Hare Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Ashley Harris Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth Byron Hawsey Mr. Julian R. Haynes Mr. & Mrs. Dale Robert Henderson Kenneth & Kathy Henderson David & Rona Holmes Jack Howell Dick & Terry Ingwersen Charlie & Vikki Johnson Dr. & Mrs. John D. Johnson Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Joseph S. Johnson Kay Hathaway & Burke C. Jones Susie Kimbrough Kennedy Joseph A. Kicklighter Sue & George King Mrs. Terry Allen Kirkley Nicole Lakin C. C. “Jack” & Sue Lee John A. & Anne W. MacFarlane J. Douglas Maund Mike & Jane McLain Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Wilkinson McNeel III Art & Carol Merkle David & Leslie Moore Mr. & Mrs. John O. Moore Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Donald R. Morris H. K. & Margaret Nix Dr. & Mrs. George W. Nunn Mr. & Mrs. James Burton Odom Mr. & Mrs. Timothy James O’Neill Jr. Haywood & Glenda Parrish Earl B. & Nancy S. Parsons Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Stuart Thomas Patton Dr. & Mrs. William Pendleton Mr. & Mrs. William F. Pepper Lynne Clark Ratz & J. Thomas Ratz Mr. Todd Dewey Reaves Mike Rowe & Leann Rowe
For more information, please contact Donor Relations at donor.relations@auburn.edu or by calling 334.844.1322. Information, event photos and a full listing of 1856 Society members are online by clicking “Donor Societies” at develop.auburn.edu/recognition.
S
1856ociety
Mr. & Mrs. Peter Rummell Jerry Lewis Savage John Paul Scott Jr. Dr. David George Serota Mr. & Mrs. Michael W. Slocumb Clyde & Elizabeth Smith Jill & Doug Smith Susan & Jamie Smith Mr. & Mrs. Stephen L. Smith Dr. & Mrs. Scott Sprayberry Dr. Thomas J. Stokes Mr. & Mrs. Rickie L. Stukes Mr. & Mrs. Frank Summersell Mr. & Mrs. Ronald W. Thacker John & Tammi Trawick Mr. & Mrs. Tom Wadsworth Dr. & Mrs. Richard Wayne Waguespack James Edwin Walker Jim & Sherry Ward Tommy & Sandra Watts Joe & Kathy Weatherford Carl & Margie Whatley Mr. & Mrs. Milton M. Woodruff Glenn & Judith Yancey Dr. Eugenia Malone Zallen ’53 & Dr. Harold Zallen Anonymous Names reflect donors’ preferred listings.
October 26, 2007
The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center OFFICE OF DEVELOPMENT
Auburn Alumni Center 317 South College Street Auburn, AL 36849-5149 w w w.aualum.org
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