Auburn MAGAZINE / SPRING 2015
Cynthia Hill’s Double Life Auburn’s Best of the Best
Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus (But Cupid’s Aim is True)
We are unveiling the newest model home in Quail Ridge at National Village. So we’re inviting you to come see this beautifully crafted home. You’ll appreciate the outstanding custom features, newest color palettes and trends in new homes. A flowing home plan with great entertaining areas, large master suites plus two guest bedrooms. Enjoy miles of trails, private lakes, RTJ golf, pickle ball, tennis and the great resort pool. The Homeowner’s Association even takes care of all lawn maintenance. Priced from the $300’s Monday – Saturday 10 am – 5 pm Sundays 1 pm – 5 pm From Hwy 280, take Grand National Parkway. Right on Robert Trent Jones Trail. Go to third round about and turn right on Lake Lodge Blvd. Left on National Village Parkway. Model home on the left.
1 (334) 749-8165
nationalvillage.com
Auburn University in conjunction with
Auburn Airwaves Presents
THE CORNER BLOCK PARTY
April 18th
A celebration for the new Auburn Oaks including a dedication ceremony, inspiring remarks, spirit rally, and live concert featuring chart-topping artists.
by stude nts •
www.auburn.edu/oaks
s dent stu or
UPC
f
university program council
In partnership with: University Program Council • Auburn Athletics • City of Auburn • Auburn Chamber of Commerce Auburn-Opelika Tourism Bureau • Office of Development • Office of Alumni Affairs
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Twilight’s Last Gleaming As the winter sun sets over the majestic silhouette of Samford Hall, take a moment to enjoy the scenery. The 1888 version was a rebuild of the 1859 original “Old Main,” which burned in 1887. (Photograph by Jeff Etheridge.)
See more online at www.facebook.com/AuburnUPhoto
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Distinctive auto insurance—just because you belong. Did you know that as a member of the Auburn Alumni Association, you could save up to $427.96 or more on Liberty Mutual Auto Insurance?1 You could save even more if you also insure your home with us. Plus, you’ll receive quality coverage from a partner you can trust, with features and options that can include Accident Forgiveness2, New Car Replacement3, and Lifetime Repair Guarantee.4
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This organization receives financial support for allowing Liberty Mutual to offer this auto and home insurance program. 1 Discounts are available where state laws and regulations allow, and may vary by state. Figure reflects average national savings for customers who switched to Liberty Mutual’s group auto and home program. Based on data collected between 9/1/12 and 8/31/13. Individual premiums and savings will vary. To the extent permitted by law, applicants are individually underwritten; not all applicants may qualify. 2For qualifying customers only. Subject to terms and conditions of Liberty Mutual’s underwriting guidelines. Not available in CA and may vary by state. 3Applies to a covered total loss. Your car must be less than one year old, have fewer than 15,000 miles and have had no previous owner. Does not apply to leased vehicles or motorcycles. Subject to applicable deductible. Not available in NC or WY. 4Loss must be covered by your policy. Not available in AK. Coverage provided and underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and its affiliates, 175 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA. ©2014 Liberty Mutual Insurance
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Auburn MAGAZINE/SPRING 2015
FROM THE EDITOR
Love & Looks Everyone needs a new look now and then, and a magazine is no exception. With this issue, the Auburn Magazine staff rolls out an updated design that has been months in the planning. You’ll find departments that offer more flexibility in the type of stories we cover and the way they’re presented, along with the in-depth feature stories you’ve come to expect from us. In the magazine’s graphic design, you’ll find changes both subtle (check out the new fonts) and substantial (the departmental introductory pages with their own mini tables-of-contents). Working with a talented consulting team of editorial design professionals from Zehno Communications in New Orleans, we sought to give our magazine a more contemporary feel while retaining the traditions of the Auburn Magazine you’ve supported throughout the
FEATURES
years. We hope you love it as much as we do! Speaking of love, I’d like to offer a big thank you and War Eagle to those of you—and there were many—who
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shared personal anecdotes and photos of your own Auburn love stories for this issue. From chance meetings at Jordan-Hare Stadium to Aubie, dressed as a UPS delivery driver, delivering an engagement ring to the potential bride, your stories
Cupid Takes Aim
Maybe an Auburn Woman is trying to find her way through the maze of Haley Center, or an Auburn Man shows up for a tennis game and notices the cute (but tennischallenged) girl on the adjacent court. Eventually, at Auburn, Cupid’s aim will land true.
made us smile, brought us to tears, and reinforced our
BY SUZANNE JOHNSON | Photography by Jeff Etheridge
belief that Auburn University is a special place where the type of family bonds are forged that last a lifetime. Only a fraction of your stories fit in the print magazine, so check out our Auburn Magazine website at auburnmagazine.auburn.edu for more “Love on the Plains.”
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The Double Life of Cynthia Hill
When the call came to filmmaker Cynthia Hill that her PBS-TV show, “A Chef’s Life,” had won a Peabody, the broadcast equivalent of a Pulitzer, she was hard at work—in the pharmacy of a North Carolina Walmart. Read about her journey from pharm to film. BY DAVID MENCONI | Photography by Rex Miller, Josh Wall and Michael Loccisano
Suzanne Johnson Editor, Auburn Magazine suzannejohnson@auburn.edu
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2015 Lifetime Achievement Awards
Meet the winners of the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Awards, established in 2001 to honor Auburn University alumni and their extraordinary accomplishments in their professional lives, their personal integrity and their service to the university. Also, get to know the honoree for this year’s Young Alumni Achievement Award.
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Auburn MAGAZINE/SPRING 2015
EDITOR
Suzanne Johnson CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Shannon Bryant-Hankes ’84 ART DIRECTOR
Audrey Lowry ’12 UNIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHER
Jeff Etheridge EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS
Ashtyne Cole ‘15 Nick Hines ‘15 DESIGN ASSISTANTS
Jenna Ritterling ’15, Amanda Jernigan ’18 Madison Wooters ’15 IT SPECIALIST
James Hammond ’13 PRESIDENT, AUBURN UNIVERSITY
Jay Gogue ’69 VICE PRESIDENT FOR ALUMNI AFFAIRS & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AUBURN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Deborah L. Shaw ’84 PRESIDENT, AUBURN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Jack Fite ’85 AUBURN MAGAZINE ADVISORY COUNCIL CHAIR
Neal Reynolds ’77
DEPARTMENTS 5 From the Editor
22 Philanthropy
Check out the new looks and true loves in this issue.
How we do, and can, give back to Auburn.
CONCOURSE 13 Mixed Media Auburn alumni on screen, on stage, on the page and on the art gallery walls.
14 Students Senior Kyle Marchuck and Active Minds (photo above, right) increase awareness about student mental health.
16 Heat Treatment A better—and quicker—way to check airline passengers for Ebola and other potential pandemics.
20 Tiger Walk Everything old is new again as Auburn welcomes Will Muschamp (above, left) back to campus as the Tigers’ new defensive coordinator. Hashtag? #Guschamp.
THE CLASSES 48 Lifetime Achievement Awards Meet new Auburn Alumni Association president Jack Fite ‘85 and the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award and Young Alumni Achievement Award honorees.
57 Class Notes 59 In Memoriam 63 Backchat See what your classmates are talking up on social media and remember to tag us in your Auburn pics with #AuburnAlumni!
ON THE COVER Aubie bravely donned a toga and wings and expertly wielded a bow and arrows for his role as Cupid, drawing quite a crowd of curious onlookers for his cover shot at the Shelby Center with photographer Jeff Etheridge.
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AUBURN MAGAZINE ADVISORY COUNCIL
Maria Baugh ’87 John Carvalho ’78 Jon Cole ’88 Christian Flathman ’97 Tom Ford ’67 Kay Fuston ’84 Julie Keith ’90 Mary Lou Foy ’66 Eric Ludgood ’78 Cindy McDaniel ’80 Napo Monasterio ’02 Carol Pappas ’77 Joyce Reynolds Ringer ’59 Allen Vaughan ’75 AUBURN MAGAZINE (ISSN 1077– 8640) is published quarterly; 4X per year; spring, summer, fall, winter, for 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 University, AL 36849-5149. Phone 334-844–1164. Fax 334-844–1477. Email: aubmag@auburn.edu. Contents ©2014 by the Auburn Alumni Association, all rights reserved. ADVERTISING INFORMATION Contact Jessica King at 334844–2586 or see our media guide at www.aualum.org/magazine. POSTMASTER Send address changes to AU Records, 317 South College St., Auburn, AL 36849–5149.
AUBURN NEWS & VIEWS
Concourse IN THIS SECTION News 8 Rankings 11 Students 14 Research 16
Leaping LIZARDS!
Tegu Takeover Alabama could potentially be the new home of the Argentine Black and White Tegu, a predatory carnivorous lizard reaching 4 feet in length and weighing more than 10 pounds. Tegus, native to South America, have spread rapidly through southern Florida, where they eat small mammals, birds and other reptile eggs—a threat to both alligators and the rare gopher tortoise. Auburn researchers are testing how far north these razor-toothed invaders can thrive. Nineteen tegus are spending their winter on the Auburn campus and, if they thrive in this climate, will rise on the radar of the state conservation and natural resources department.
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CONCOURSE > WORLD HUNGER
THE 19 CREED The Committee of 19, a student group that first led AU’s role in fighting hunger, has its own version of the Auburn Creed: We believe in a world free of hunger. We believe that every man, woman, and child has a right to the basic human need of food.
In Good Conscience In a world where we can make instant connections across the globe, why are children still going hungry? And if our best-educated leaders can’t make a contribution, who can? Auburn University has long been recognized as a leader in hunger initiatives with more than a decade of active programs addressing hunger issues. On Dec. 9, AU President Jay Gogue joined 27 university presidents and other senior administrators at the United Nations to sign the Presidents’ Commitment to Food Nutrition Security (see photo). The goal? Creating a blueprint for higher education’s role in fighting hunger and malnutrition. “The intellectual expertise of institutions of higher education is greatly needed
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to solve the problem of food insecurity,” said Amina Mohammed, special advisor to the UN Secretary-General. “This partnership is critical.” One of the first action items of the coalition will be to inventory and map food security activities in areas where hunger is historically addressed at academic institutions: teaching, research, outreach and student
other universities acknowledge their commitment to making food security a priority. “Universities have a tremendous role to play in addressing global challenges such as hunger,” said Gogue. “Our institutions have a deep faculty talent pool, an energetic, innovative population of students, an unprecedented commitment from
“Universities are the moral and social conscience of the world.”—Alastair Summerlee, president emeritus of the University of Guelph and chair of the Hunger Solutions Institute board. engagement. Members of the consortium will get together again in 2015 to discuss progress and outline next steps. By signing the pledge, Gogue and leaders from the
top leadership, and a staying power from generation to generation that lends itself to tackling long-term issues like hunger.”
We believe that the skills we learn in the classroom reach beyond the bounds of our own selves and have the power to influence the lives of others for good. We believe that uniting our unique knowledge, talents, and skill sets can produce powerful cooperation and promote sustainable, effective change. We believe that collaboration on university, local, regional, national, and global levels is necessary for reaching universal solutions in our globalized world. We believe that a world without hunger promotes well-being, increases productivity, embraces education, and proliferates peace. And because we believe these things, we have no choice but to take action.
CONCOURSE > CAMPUS NEWS
COMING HOME Following a national search, Gretchen R. VanValkenburg has been named vice president for alumni affairs and executive director of the Auburn Alumni Association at Auburn University. Her appointment begins March 1. VanValkenburg, a 1986 graduate of the Harbert College of Business, currently serves as executive director of development and alumni engagement at the University of West Florida. She fills the position vacated by the retirement of Debbie Shaw, who had headed alumni affairs at Auburn since 2006 and worked at the university since 1983. “It’s a pleasure to welcome Gretchen back to Auburn as our executive director,” said Auburn Alumni Association President Jack Fite ’85. “She brings a distinguished career in alumni affairs and development, and we’re excited to work with her to move our association forward
and to new levels of alumni engagement.” VanValkenburg, a native of Montevallo, has worked in positions of increasing responsibility at the University of West Florida since 1997, when she began as a coordinator of alumni relations. She brings experience in alumni event planning, donor relations, fiscal management, volunteer recruitment and public speaking. She also served as a major gifts officer and led capital campaign planning efforts. Prior to her work at UWF, VanValkenburg worked for the American Heart Association in Colorado and the American Red Cross in Florida. “I look forward to the opportunity to further strengthen the bond between Auburn University and its many alumni and friends,” said VanValkenburg. “Coming back to Auburn feels like coming home.”
Common Ground Rusty Arnold, an associate professor in Auburn’s Harrison School of Pharmacy, believes in academic units working together and crossing departmental lines to further research. That collaboration does not stop at the faculty level as Arnold, a recipient of the President’s Collaborative Units Award, also benefits from the work of undergraduate students such as chemical engineering major Christy Pickering.
Pickering, a senior from Hazel Green, was recently awarded a $5,000 Gateway to Research Scholarship from the American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education for her work in Arnold’s lab, called “Development and Application of Gold Lipidic Nanocomposites to Enhance Chemotherapeutic Delivery and Release.” She was one of seven recipients nationally. The purpose of the scholarship is to support facultymentored research in the
pharmaceutical sciences. For Pickering, an active student who has been a member of the Auburn University Marching Band the last four years, the funding will assist with tuition and research expenses in her final year at Auburn. Pickering is in her second year in Arnold’s lab, coming on board shortly after he arrived on campus. For someone who knew she wanted to work in the medical field, it was a perfect match.
“I applied because I thought what Dr. Arnold did sounded really cool—working with cancer, looking at chemo—it just sounded like a project I would really be interested in,” said Pickering. “So I sat down with him and talked about the project, and he took on me and four other undergrads. My project, from the start, was set up to be a very engineering-based pharmaceutical project. It has been a really neat experience getting to work with him.”
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CONCOURSE > FROM THE PRESIDENT
Power to Preserve & Protect
Advancing energy security and conservation research will be the emphasis of the newly created Charles D. McCrary Institute at Auburn University. Through a generous philanthropic investment, the Alabama Power Foundation has enabled the university to fund an entity tasked with providing world-class expertise to address challenging and complex problems and offer timely solutions for the protection and security of energy infrastructure and the conservation and development of natural resources. Named for the 1973 Auburn University mechanical engineering graduate and current trustee, the gift was made in honor of Charles McCrary’s recent retirement as president and CEO of Alabama Power Co., capping a 40-year career. While the amount of the gift is confidential, it is the largest ever given to Auburn University specifically designated for research. The formation of the institute will begin this year with the establishment of the advisory council and the search for an eminent scholar with a national reputation for excellence and expertise in infrastructure security or industrial systems who will serve as director and oversee and direct the institute’s day-to-day operation.
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Three leading faculty members will be recruited to endowed chairs in cyber security, power grid design and protection, energy production and energy efficiency. The new institute will focus on interdisciplinary research and advanced technologies to improve the security and operations of our nation’s infrastructure while valuing natural resources and conservation. The creation of the institute will enable Auburn to attract nationally recognized faculty who are at the forefront of emerging technological issues, while leveraging existing university resources and personnel to broaden the institute’s technological impact and to inform policy and practice. Significant emphasis will be placed on developing partnerships to expand the breadth and depth of the institute’s impact. Potential partners at the federal and state level may include the Department of Energy, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Department of Homeland Security and the Alabama Forestry Commission. The location of the institute’s administrative offices on campus is still under consideration and will depend on a number of correlated activities occurring this year. The state of Alabama has benefited greatly from the efforts of the Alabama Power Foundation, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2014. The foundation has been a constant contributor to the state’s communities, educational institutions, and nonprofits, providing more than $150 million in support through more than 20,000 grants and scholarships since 1989. Auburn University is grateful to the Alabama Power Foundation for the creation of this institute, which reflects the values of Mr. McCrary and Alabama Power and will serve as a lasting legacy to Mr. McCrary’s leadership and vision.
War Eagle,
Jay Gogue ’69 President, Auburn University jgogue@auburn.edu
From the 2015 U.S. News & World Report Best Online Programs national rankings:
JOHN HIMMELFARB: TRUCKS | JANUARY 24–MAY 10, 2015
DETAIL: John Himmelfarb, Hero, 2010. Photo by: William H. Bengtson
ONLINE, ON TOP
No. 6: Non-MBA online grad programs, Raymond J. Harbert College of Business. No. 10: Online MBA program, Raymond J. Harbert College of Business. No. 8: Online graduate education programs, College of Education. No. 17: Online graduate engineering programs, Samuel Ginn College of Engineering. No. 6: Online graduate computer information technology programs, Computer Science & Software Engineering, Samuel Ginn College of Engineering.
JOHN HIMMELFARB
JCSM.AUBURN.EDU/TRUCKS #JCSMTruckStop
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CONCOURSE > CAMPUS NEWS
Nominations Open The Nominating Committee of the Auburn Alumni Association Board of Directors is requesting nominations from alumni and friends of Auburn University for four new directors. All nominees must be life members of the association and be willing to serve on a volunteer basis. These board positions require travel to Auburn at least three times per year. Successful nominees will be installed this fall; each will serve a four-year term. Candidates should have a demonstrated history of leadership in support of the Auburn Alumni Association and Auburn University. Strong consideration will be shown to those who have actively promoted the association and AU through involvement with local Auburn Clubs. Additionally, persons who have previously contributed both time and resources to AU and the association will be strongly considered. In agreeing to serve on the Auburn Alumni Association board, directors and officers are expected to join the association’s sustaining life membership program through contributions to the “Circle of Excellence” scholarship society. The Nominating Committee will also consider an individual’s accomplishments, as demonstrated through career development and community service, along with their potential for representing the association’s various constituencies. Additionally, an individual’s college major(s), profession and the geographic location of his or her residence may influence the committee’s determination. The committee encourages all alumni association members to participate by submitting nominations for consideration to Susan Barnes, Office of the Vice President for Alumni Affairs, Auburn Alumni Center, 317 South College St., Auburn University, AL 36849-5149. A nomination form must be submitted, along with at least two letters of recommendation (but no more than four), from life members of the association. Resumes may also be submitted. The nomination form is available for downloading on the association website (www.aualum.org), or by contacting Susan Barnes at (334) 844-3820. Completed forms, letters of recommendation and resumes may be returned to Ms. Barnes at the above address or sent to her by fax (334) 844-4003 or as email attachments (susanbarnes@auburn.edu). The deadline for receiving nominations and supporting documentation is 5 p.m. CST, Monday, March 23, 2015. For more information, see www.aualum.org
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LICENSED Tigers fans will have a new way to display their team pride with the debut of Auburn University’s new collegiate license plate design. The new design features the interlocking AU logo on the left side of the tag, a blue bar at the bottom with “Auburn” in white and “Alabama” at the top in an orange bar. Six characters will allow for additional personalization options. Several new designs were considered, but in the end, Auburn alumni voiced their opinions in a survey, and one design in particular was overwhelmingly the favorite. Proceeds from the sale of Auburn University license plates in Alabama go to the Auburn University “License to Learn” Scholarship Endowment Fund, a statewide program that raises funds for freshman scholarships. Approximately $1.9 million in scholarships was awarded in 2012-13. The cost of numbered tags and personalized tags is $50 above the normal tag cost of $24.25, and may be purchased at any time, regardless of the individual’s tag renewal month. Auburn tags are also available in Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, Mississippi, South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland and Texas. Tag sales from North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas also benefit scholarships.
<gotcha> Auburn University will start a bicycle sharing program this fall with “smart bikes” that will allow students to get to class easier and will be accessible 24 hours a day free of charge. Auburn’s Parking Services is partnering with Gotcha Group— Green Operating Transit Carrying Humans Around—on the bike sharing program with the Gotcha bikes. The bicycles can be used anywhere as long as they are returned to their original bike corral within 24 hours. Bike corrals will be placed in popular places around campus, such as transit stops, residence halls and the Student Center.
MIXED MEDIA Now Playing BIG SCREEN Black or White, a film starring Kevin Costner and Octavia Spencer ’94. A grieving widower is drawn into a custody battle over his granddaughter, whom he helped raise her entire life. Release date: Jan. 30, 2015. GALLERY “Gleanings: A Response to the Journals of Henry David Thoreau.” This collection of recent work by artist Billy Renkl ’85 reflects visual interpretations of Thoreau’s books, letters, papers and postcards. The 30-piece exhibit was featured at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art in November, December and January. BOOKSHELF William Spratling, His Life and Art, by Taylor D. Littleton (Louisiana State University Press, 2014). Reissued with a new foreword by John Shelton Reed, this is a lavishly illustrated biography of noted early-century silversmith and graphic artist Spratling ’20 (1900-67), who came to international fame in his silversmithing workshop in Taxco, Mexico. He remains one of Auburn’s most eminent alumni in the arts. Littleton is the W. Kelly Mosley Professor of Science and Humanities Emeritus at Auburn. Cantankerous Bulldogs, Unherdable Cats, Hummingbirds, Jackasses, Raccoons and Bats: The Lord God Loves Them All, by Jean Gay Mussleman ’54 and David C. Mussleman ’58 (Mindbridge Press, 2014). Coauthored by Jean Mussleman (Potluck, Postscripts, and Potpourri) and husband David, a longtime veterinarian, Cantankerous Bulldogs offers 50 stories by Jean and 30 historical sidebars from David gleaned from his veterinary practice. Evolution of the Alabama Agroecosystem: Always Keeping Up, But Never Catching Up, by Eddie Wayne Shell ’52 (NewSouth Books, 2013). A 35-year veteran of the Auburn faculty, including 21 years as head of fisheries and allied aquacultures, Shell looks at the development of agriculture in Alabama since the early 19th century and the effects of increased government involvement on agricultural development—including why Southern ag has remained only marginally competitive.
Billy Renkl, October 24, 1847 (Making room) 2012, Courtesy of the artist
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CONCOURSE > STUDENT LIFE
AUBURN’S ACTIVE MINDS Active Minds Inc., a national organization with more than 400 chapters across the United States, is beginning to make strides in mental health at Auburn. Senior marketing major Kyle Marchuck, Auburn’s Active Minds president, helped initiate this program on campus last year after seeing how a struggle with mental illness tragically affected a childhood friend. “My freshman year of college, one of my best friends I had grown up with since I was 2 years old took his own life at LSU. He was a freshman there, president of his [fraternity] pledge class, played sports, and was in the Marine program. He took his own life on April 21, 2012, and I saw the way that it rocked my community back at home,” Marchuck said. Active Minds labels its mission statement as “utilizing the student voice to change the conversation about mental health.” Marchuck (in photo at right) hopes Active Minds can continue doing so at Auburn through advocating for mental health, serving as an information resource and planning inspirational events. Dustin Johnson, a licensed psychologist at Student Counseling Services (SCS), serves as the chapter’s adviser. One of their largest events held last year was called One Man’s War, and featured former Auburn employee Jack Smith. Smith worked for the athletics communications department and had struggled with bipolar disorder, depression and alcoholism. “He started writing this blog, which was therapeutic for him. We picked up on it and decided, ‘Hey, we need to reach out to him,’” Marchuck said. Smith spoke to about 75 students about his struggles and how he learned to overcome them through mental health treatment. Smith now works as an individual business consultant for his own company, J Smith Consulting. Active Minds also brought “Out of the Darkness” to Auburn during the fall semester, a walk to raise awareness for mental health issues that had about 300 participants. The walk was co-
hosted by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Student Counseling Services and Auburn Health Promotion and Wellness Services. “It was a two-mile walk around campus with displays and memorabilia for those who have lost their lives. When you came to the end, we had a mini concert and butterfly release for survivors and companies who sponsored the event,” Marchuck said. Marchuck sees a promising future for Active Minds during the remainder of the school year. Active Minds and the SGA have already sponsored a “Mental Health Week” during the first week of spring semester. “The news is getting out, people are starting to recognize who we are and we’re hoping to be here for the long run.” —Kerry Coppinger www.facebook.com/ ActiveMindsAuburn
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Back on the Corner PHASE 1
On February 14, 2015 Auburn University’s newest citizens took their rightful place on campus, earning the instant love of the AU community.
COMPLETE
Not Your Mama’s Library Remember finals weeks filled with all-nighters and the search for the best study spot? Here are a few of the perks today’s students enjoy at Ralph Brown Draughon Library:
30 ft
35 ft
Open 24 hours a day during finals. OJ, doughnuts and massages for late-night study owls, courtesy of the SGA and Student Counseling Services.
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2 LLIVE IVE O OAKS AKS
1 YEAR
Rollin Rolling i g iiss n not ott permitted fo for at least a year while the newcomers acc acclimate to their new environment & establish roots.
PHASE 2 BEGINS IN SPRING 15 ft
“By planting mature oaks, we hope to be able to resume the rolling tradition much sooner than we could if we planted younger trees.” - Dan King, Assistant Vice President AU facilities management
SAMFORD PARK
The university will plant 30 live oaks, offspring of the iconic Auburn Oaks, between Toomer’s Corner & Samford Hall. “We planted the descendant trees 12 years ago thinking if anything happened to the Auburn Oaks, we would have offspring to replace them... The offspring trees are too small to go on the corner, but I’m pleased they’ll be planted in Samford Park where their parents stood for more than 80 years.” - Scott Enebak, Professor in School of Forestry & Wildlife Sciences
Noise-controlled areas, with specific floors dedicated to allowing different decibels (the fourth floor is the “quiet floor” —no spirited debates here). Caribou Coffee, a vendor located at the library’s main entrance, to keep the caffeine flowing.
The Study E.R., a mini-store selling every necessity, from scantrons to sweatshirts.
A redesign to the Learning Commons included tables and chairs on wheels for easier mobility, and the construction of “power walls” providing more than 300 power outlets.
Boomerang-shaped study tables that provide room for laptops as well as (gasp) books.
A PC repair shop on-site that also allows students to borrow laptops. A security shuttle bus that runs from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. For more information www.lib.auburn.edu/
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CONCOURSE > RESEARCH
The Air Up There The United States is not meeting international standards during its airport screenings for pandemics such as Ebola, says Auburn University’s David Pascoe, who serves as the U.S. delegate on the International Standards Committee for Thermal Imagers for Human Temperature Screening. “We need to be measuring a person’s core temperature with infrared cameras, which the current screening with lasers does not do,” said Pascoe, a kinesiology professor in the College of Education’s School of Kinesiology. “The current screenings, as shown in the media, are capturing a temperature measure taken from various locations from which large differences in temperature are observed over a small surface area.” The committee adopted a measure in 2003 calling for the use of infrared cameras focusing on the full face to provide a thermal image of the skin face temperature. The reading indicates the temperature of the inner canthus, the area between the eyes and above the nose, which is an indicator of the core temperature. Pascoe says temperature screening for fever cannot distinguish the type of disease, such as Ebola, bird flu, H1N1 or common flu, but is beneficial as a prescreening technique to avoid the spread of communicable diseases.
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“The infrared camera works like a digital camera, but detects the heat emitted from the skin and provides a temperature map of the skin surface. It is not harmful,” Pascoe said. “Lasers used in current screenings cannot be pointed near the eyes and must be pointed at a place such as the arm. You will get many different readings from one person’s skin just by moving the point of aim.” The international standards were developed after a well-publicized, but less than effective, attempt to use infrared cameras to screen for SARS in Singapore in 2003. Pascoe says a problem in accuracy was encountered, though, because the images were taken of groups of people, not individuals. He says readings are needed for each person, which is done by filling 60 percent of the camera screen with the person’s face. “We have had infrared technology since the 1950s and it has become much more advanced, to the point where it is economically possible to have small, handheld infrared cameras in airports,” he said. Pascoe recommends that the U.S. conduct screenings as airline passengers go through Customs, saving both time and money, and providing more accurate screenings.
More online: bit.ly/ PascoeImaging
CONCOURSE > RESEARCH
JOB SATISFACTION When he was a child, Stephen Dobson’s parents gave him some sage advice. “They told me I should look for a job where I’d pay somebody else to let me do it, and that’s exactly the kind of job I have here.” Dobson has been a member of the AU faculty in evolutionary biology since 1988, working in behavioral and population ecology. His main focus is empirical fieldwork, using small mammals as a model system to study the evolution of behaviors and life cycles of organisms. He has worked extensively with pikas in the Tibetan Plateau, king penguins in the French subAntarctic and ground squirrels in Canada. “My career at Auburn has allowed me to take nature into my hands in obscure corners of the earth, both high and low,” said Dobson. “Working internationally really allows me to form collaborations with people in other cultures and develop new ideas.” Dobson received Auburn’s 2014 Creative Research and Scholarship Award, which honors the research achievements and contributions of faculty who have distinguished themselves through research, scholarly works and creative contributions to their fields.
After 26 years at Auburn, Dobson says he is most fond of the personal touch that the university possesses. “At many other institutions, you’re just a face in a sea, but at Auburn, we pay attention to the students,” said Dobson. “The personal attention shown to students is something we really pride ourselves on and specialize in.” Dobson’s fascination with nature and motivation to conduct fieldwork continues to
grow as he shares that passion with his students. “Understanding the evolution of organisms is important because our world is always changing, climates are changing, nature is changing, and our understanding of how nature is making these changes is very primitive,” said Dobson. “Expanding our knowledge in these areas is vital.” —Lindsay Miles
VITAL STATISTICS Ph.D., University of Michigan, followed by two postdoc fellowships in Canada. In 2002, named a Chevalier of France, in the Order of Academic Palms. Spent two summers as an invited professor at the University of Paris. Appointed director of research in the French National Center for Scientific Research. Authored more than 100 publications.
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CONCOURSE > RESEARCH
Sweets’ Revenge More than 40 Auburn University faculty have research projects related to one of America’s most chronic health concerns —diabetes. The research being conducted at Auburn and at other universities was highlighted at the eighth annual Boshell Research Day on Feb. 13 at the Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center. Auburn researchers represent a wide variety of colleges and schools, including the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Ya-Xiong Tao; the College of Sciences and Mathematics’ Chris Easley; and Michael Greene in the College of Human Sciences. Ya-Xiong Tao is a professor of physiology in the Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology in the College of Veterinary Medicine. Tao and his team conduct extensive research into receptors in the brain and mutations in proteins that regulate appetite.
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“Proteins are essential for everything that happens in our bodies, including regulating metabolism,” Tao said. “Sometimes mutations occur in these proteins that would normally regulate your appetite. When this occurs, cells will not allow them ‘outside,’ and people with these conditions have a difficult time controlling their appetites and are very susceptible to heavy weight gain.” Chris Easley, the Knowles Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the College of Sciences and Mathematics, focuses his research on developing techniques to measure hormones in very small sample sizes. Researchers can then apply these techniques to study how the body reacts immediately following a meal, such as in high fructose diets that can contribute to diabetes. Easley’s work has been featured in the Analyst journal, a leading publication that covers
analytical and bioanalytical sciences. Michael Greene, an assistant professor of nutrition with the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics, and Hospitality Management in the College of Human Sciences, focuses his research on the role of sugar and fructose-laden diets in the development of obesity and exacerbation of metabolic disease. Greene supports the emerging theory that artificial sweeteners containing fructose are a much greater contributor to obesity and diabetes than normal sugar, which is the most commonly accepted theory. He also believes it is possible that the type of sugar—glucose versus fructose—and the form, solid versus liquid, may play a role in the development of conditions linked to obesity. Greene hopes that his research will conclusively prove this theory, and help people to stay informed about healthy dieting.
Did you know? Original construction cost for Cater Hall: $17,000
THE ARCHIVES Found in “Auburn’s Attic”
Cater Hall turns 100 this year, so we brought out some artifacts to celebrate, including the photo above, taken shortly after construction, when it served as the president’s home. diglib.auburn.edu/
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CONCOURSE > TIGER WALK
BACK TO THE FUTURE < Will Muschamp Returns > Jerraud Powers says Auburn’s defense is going to get its swagger back with a tough-minded, no-nonsense defensive coordinator that will demand the best of his players. Welcome back, Will Muschamp. Powers, a defensive back with the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, was a defensive back at Auburn in 2006-08 during Muschamp’s first stint as the Tigers’ defensive coordinator. His memories from those years give a glimpse of what Auburn fans should expect next season with Muschamp, who was hired this time around after the 2014 regular season. “He’ll bring back the toughness of the defense the way it used to be,” Powers said. “I think everybody knows he’s a hard-nosed coach. It’s going to be smart football with smart football players. It’s going to be a defense that is not going to beat itself.” Certainly, head coach Gus Malzahn has praised Muschamp at
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every turn, calling his new defensive coordinator “the best defensive mind in all of college football.” Muschamp knows the SEC, from playing at Georgia, coaching at LSU and Auburn, becoming the head coach at Florida. His offenses labored during his four years with the Gators, but his defenses, under his control, finished in the Top 10 nationally every season. He listened to other job offers after Florida, but decided Auburn was the best fit.
“I’m just a ball coach, and at the end of the day, that’s what I enjoy doing. I’m very thankful to have a great family that understands that. “For me, it’s not just about being a head coach,” Muschamp said. “I’d rather be a defensive coordinator at a place like Auburn where you know you can go compete for a championship every year and that’s what we plan on doing.” Plus, he knew Auburn. “This move was about, No. 1, coming back to a great place, and to
work for Gus, a guy I have a lot of respect for,” Muschamp said. “This was about my family, having my wife’s parents an hour and a half away, and my mom three or four hours away, and all of our family in Rome, Ga., and Atlanta. It was important.” And it was important to get coaching again. “I’m just a ball coach, and at the end of the day, that’s what I enjoy doing. I’m very thankful to have a great family that understands that. We’re looking forward to the next step.” And with that, Muschamp began scheming up another defensive game plan. “I enjoy being back in the meeting rooms more, not that I wasn’t before because I was very involved, but to have the day-to-day position meetings, defensive team meetings and then get on the field and directly coach guys on the field more—that has been a lot of fun,” Muschamp said. Powers can tell next year’s Auburn defensive players what to expect. “He was my coordinator the two years he was there, and he just brought a toughness to us and a confidence to us. We thought when we got on the field that there was nobody on the field better than us,” Powers said. “He was very demanding. He expects everybody to know their job and do their job, and he holds everybody accountable. He doesn’t have favorites, and that’s what I liked about him.”—Charles Goldberg
FROM THE BRINK It’s easy for Auburn big man Cinmeon Bowers to accept some constructive criticism from Auburn head basketball coach Bruce Pearl. Words are not going to hurt him, considering all he’s been through. Bowers was shot five times—nine bullet holes because most went in, then out—on Feb. 1, 2011, during an attempted robbery near Milwaukee, Wisc. “Bad place at the wrong time,” Bowers said. He said he didn’t initially feel the shooting, but the realization soon hit home. He feared his career was over. “I didn’t think I was going to play basketball again,” he said. But Cinmeon Bowers did, and does. The Auburn forward and the No. 1 junior college prospect in the country last year has found a home at Auburn this season with Pearl.
“By the grace of God, I’m here,” Bowers said. He had nine double-doubles after 15 games and was one of only three players from a major conference who could make that claim. By then, he was leading the SEC in rebounding and was 12th in scoring and an integral part of Auburn’s game. Pearl has demanded much of Bowers because he thinks he can be more of a complete player. Bowers, at 6-foot-7 and 278 pounds, is big enough to play inside even though he’s undersized. That’s why Pearl has told him not to think of himself as an undersized center but as a forward with moves.
See more online at auburntigers.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/011415aab.html
Room with a View
In November, a ribbon-cutting marked the official opening of Auburn’s covered equestrian arena, home to the university’s three-time national championship team. The arena also provides educational space for the College of Agriculture’s equine science program. At press time, the equestrian team ranked No. 4 nationally.
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CONCOURSE > PHILANTHROPY
Because This is Auburn Philanthropy at Auburn University fuels the engine that propels our university forward through a renewed commitment to our students, a continued promise to our state and a shared responsibility to the world. It takes every member of the Auburn Family to achieve our ambitious goals. Generations of Auburn people have been inspired to take action, and show support through their philanthropic investments in our university. Gifts bolster Auburn’s academic excellence and provide new opportunities for our students. Gifts fund innovative research in every school and college, and across every discipline at Auburn. And gifts help construct new facilities and renovate existing facilities where this vital work continues. Philanthropy also increases the value of an Auburn degree, and allows us to establish new endowed chairs and professorships that attract and retain best-in-their-field faculty. Through philanthropy, the world can see a renewed and strengthened Auburn, an institution with enhanced abilities to shape our world, serve our communities, develop our students and build a better future. Philanthropy also connects alumni, students, fans, faculty, staff, parents and every member of the Auburn Family to this institution and reminds them what makes it great. There is tremendous power in each and every gift, and within each person who supports our cause. We envision a very bright future for Auburn University. It is through your philanthropic investment that we can make that vision a reality. We all know it is up to us. How do we know we will succeed? Why do we believe that our family will rise to the occasion? Because this is Auburn. Jane DiFolco Parker Vice President for Development President, Auburn University Foundation because@auburn.edu
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Get Pinned A new donor society initiated by Auburn’s Office of Development and the Auburn University Foundation recognizes donors for loyalty based on consecutive years of giving to Auburn. Named in honor of one of Auburn’s most widely known and beloved figures, the James E. Foy Loyalty Society honors donors who have made a gift to Auburn for five or more consecutive years. As Auburn’s dean of student affairs for a quarter century, Foy was one of AU’s most iconic figures. The Foy Society, launched in October, has recognized more than 10,000 alumni and friends for their consecutive years of giving. Donors who give for 25 consecutive years are recognized as members of the Foy Society’s Cater Circle and receive a gold lapel pin. This year, more than 1,100 donors received the Cater Circle designation, with 15 of those having given for 50 years or more. Visit auburn. edu/foysociety or contact donor.relations@auburn.edu or (334) 844-1322.
A Solid Foundation The Auburn University Foundation, which receives all charitable contributions made in support of and to benefit Auburn University and Auburn University Montgomery, recently appointed four new directors to its board and named a new board chair. The board elected Thomas Gossom Jr. ’75 (above, left) as its new chair. Gossom, who lives in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., is a veteran actor and owner of Best Gurl Inc., which creates, produces and distributes entertainment and corporate communications programs. He succeeds Jeff Stone ’79 of Birmingham, who served as board chair from 2012-14. The new directors are (above, from second left) Cheryl Casey ’83 of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., senior vice president at Dreyfus Investments; Melissa Brown Herkt ’77 of Austin, Texas, retired president and COO of Process Systems and Solutions, Emerson Process Management; Thomas “Randy” Campbell ’84 of Birmingham, owner and managing partner of Campbell Wealth Management; and Steven Spencer ’78 of Birmingham, executive vice president of Alabama Power Co.
“Foundation directors are vital partners with the professional fundraising staff in Auburn’s Office of Development,” said Jane DiFolco Parker, vice president for development and president of the AU Foundation. “Through their contributions to fostering philanthropic relationships with our alumni and friends, our directors help ensure Auburn’s development enterprise maintains a high level of performance, effectiveness and accountability.” The Auburn University Foundation was formed in 1960 and is led by a volunteer board of directors composed of no more than 27 voting directors. Directors, elected for a four-year term and who serve up to two consecutive terms, oversee the foundation’s efforts to manage, invest and steward private, philanthropic gifts. In addition, the AU president, AUM chancellor and the president of the Auburn Alumni Association serve as non-voting, ex-officio members of the board. The four new members replace those on the board whose terms have expired: Tom Clement ’66 of Montgomery; Allen Reed ’70 of Johns Island, S.C.; Stone; and Dwight Wiggins ’62 of Philadelphia, Pa.
More online: www.auburnuniversityfoundation.org
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You might not
EXPECT
to find this much variety in a place called the “plains.”
From the world’s best golf
value to the last foothill of
the Appalachian mountains,
you might not realize there’s
so much adventure to be had in this cool college town.
Opportunities for outdoor
recreation abound, and there’s
a full calendar of events for you
to enjoy, either as a spectator or a participant! So whether your
favorite experiences happen on two wheels or on your plate,
the Auburn-Opelika area has
something just for you. Download our app (Visit Auburn-Opelika) or
log on today to find it and a whole
UN
lot of other cool things you might not expect.
expected
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A U B U15.indd R N M A G1A Z I N E . A U B U R N . E D U AU Alumni spring
aotourism.com | 866.880.8747
2/5/2015 3:55:15 PM
I give to Auburn because
“A STRONG
LOVE ENDURES IN MY HEART FOR AUBURN.” –DR. LEAH RAWLS ATKINS, ’58
ALABAMA HISTORIAN AND AUTHOR, CHAMPION WATER SKIER, AND RECIPIENT OF AUBURN’S FIRST DOCTORAL DEGREE IN HISTORY
WHY DO YOU GIVE? TELL US BY EMAILING BECAUSE@AUBURN.EDU.
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Auburn Magazine
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Luxury Golf at The Auburn University Club or Moore’s Mill Club
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Golf packages available by calling 334.821.8200 or visit us online at www.auhcc.com 241 South College Street, Auburn, AL 36830
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UNVEILING ARTISTRY WITH A HINT OF TRADITION. Commemorating the Auburn Oaks The Official Auburn University Ornament
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Auburn Magazine
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Love on the Plains For generations of Auburn students, their years on campus meant more than learning and self-discovery. Many also found their own happily-ever-afters. BY SUZANNE JOHNSON
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LOVE ON THE PLAINS
OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES
Gwendolyn Williams & Wallace Gordon ’36 Submitted by Stephanie Wallace Renuart ’69, Dadeville
Consider the mating ritual of the tiger. The female instigates things, roaring at attractive suitors as they pass within earshot. If she captures the interest of more than one male, they might fight over her—but never to the death. Mostly, they hiss and gnash their teeth at each other until one gives up and moves on. (There are other tigresses on the Plains, so to speak.) Once contact has been made, the tigress goes into flirtatious mode, rolling on the ground and waving her paws in the air while the male watches with disdain...until he finally falls under her spell. Once together, tigers often live in family groups, raising their young. With an Auburn Tiger, maybe things work a bit differently—we aren’t too sure about who instigates what, or how much paw-waving might occur. What we do know is that, for a lot of AU students, the rolling hills of campus provide the perfect setting for finding their own true love. How many of Auburn’s quarter-million alumni met their spouses while in college? We don’t know for sure, but we’d bet at least half. Here are a few of their stories. (Can’t get enough Auburn love stories? You’ll find more on our website at auburnmagazine.auburn.edu.)
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My parents had six children, and five of them graduated from Auburn (or API). I am the only one who met my spouse while in college. However, the story I want to share is that of how my parents met while students. When I was in elementary school one of my Sunday School teachers asked us if we knew how our parents met. I immediately volunteered that they met when my mother was sleeping in my father’s bed. I did not understand her shock. But the story is true; it is just out of context! Both my mother, Gwendolyn Williams ’36, and her older brother, Theron Williams ’37, were students at API. My father, Gordon E. Wallace ’36, transferred from RPI in upstate New York, arriving on campus with no place to live. My uncle was looking for a roommate and was linked up with my father. My mother received a letter from home and went to the rooming house to share it with her brother. He was not there at the time so she decided to take a nap. Logically, she used the spare bed as she did not yet know about the roommate. My father returned to the room before my uncle and the rest is history!
ONCE UPON A TENNIS COURT Rita & Gene Chandler ’54 Auburn
My husband and I met as freshmen in 1950 and married in the Auburn Methodist Church the day after we received our API B.S. degrees. Several years ago I wrote a story of our meeting for our grandchildren to read and know how their grandparents met. Gene and I have been married 60 years as of June 6, 2014.... Once upon a tennis court in the Loveliest Village, two freshman coeds met two freshman boys. It was a bright, sunny afternoon on Oct. 29, 1950. It was the Sunday afternoon that all the new sorority pledges, dressed in party finery and high heels, were off to their welcoming teas. My friend and I were not of this social
LOVE ON THE PLAINS
group since we were lacking in financial backing and probably in social graces and beauty-queen potential. But with carefree hearts and wearing our high spirits, shorts, shirts, borrowed tennis shoes (which were too small), and, of course, our necessary raincoats and rat caps, we set out for a day that would begin to chart my life course. My friend and I awkwardly tried to bat the ball over the net and return it in some fashion. Neither of us knew the game. I have been reminded of this frequently over the years. It was a comical and pitiful sight. Two boys came onto the next court and began their game. They could really play! Soon, they started to call friendly remarks to us, which we properly ignored. They continued to call to us. We continued, in our ladylike manner, to ignore them. We wanted to appear disinterested, but we watched them out of the corner of our eyes and became more aware of our pitiful tennis skills. My friend and I quit our game, put on our raincoats and headed for a drink at a water faucet (not a fountain) just outside the court on the hillside. We sat down on the grass to rest. The two boys joined us. We knew they had not come to invite us for doubles. They were gentlemanly and made no reference to our performance on the court. After exchanging names and friendly comments, Gene and Sonny invited us to walk around the campus. They were cute, polite and seemed nice enough. We accepted the invitation and paired off, my friend with Sonny and I with Gene. We were not long into our walk until we arrived at the northeast end of the football stadium, which was closed off by a brick wall except for the ticket window, which was open. The dare was before us, and we took it. The boys boosted us up and through the window, raincoats, rackets and all. They followed. Little did I know, but that ticket window would turn into my ticket to a lifetime adventure. (See the Chandler family, right.) As we walked across the football field, I don’t remember anything we talked about, but it was probably about our hometowns and high schools. I remember laughing and enjoying our trek.... What a day! A lasting friendship had begun, and the day so much more fun than a Sunday afternoon tea.
the daughter of a longtime Texas A&M University engineering professor who was among a group of Aggie educators being recruited by Auburn to supplement its engineering faculty. The year was 1959. To support the cost of my education, I was somewhat successful in convincing local homebuilder Jack Bailey ’43 to welcome fresh design ideas as he continued new land development in southeast Auburn. Jack was an ag major who began his career as a contractor out of housing necessity following the World War II absence of places to live, and I felt that he and his wife would be receptive to new ideas. They were, and thus began a great relationship that lasted many years. Somehow I managed to juggle the amount of time required for architecture in Biggin Hall with the new real-world workload. And Jack Bailey as a benefactor was a real lifesaver in more ways than one. When the A&M professor began his search for Auburn housing, he was soon drawn to Bailey’s reputation for quality and I, as the struggling architectural student, was commissioned to design and prepare construction drawings. During this process, I met periodically with the professor and his wife but had not yet met other family members. That came months later, after the family had settled into the new digs. Late one afternoon, I chanced an unannounced visit with my clients to make sure everything was working as it should in post-occupancy. I was met at the door by a beautiful and vivacious stranger—one of their daughters I had never met.
LOVE, AUBURN, FATE: WHAT’S NOT TO LOVE? Anita Hamner ’64 & Julian Jenkins ’61 Auburn
I was a struggling student of architecture fresh off a Korean War tour of duty with the U.S. Air Force. She was a born-and-bred member of the “twelfth man” conspiracy,
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So here we are, 55 years later, just slightly beyond a 52-year wedding anniversary; four beautiful children, all college graduates and productive members of society serving the fields of medicine, architecture and construction. Love. Auburn. Fate. Anita. War Eagle. What’s not to love?
THIRD TIME A CHARM Emily Hughes ’10 and Andy Lawton ‘11 Sorrento, Fla.
For my first two years at Auburn, I (Andy) was a member of the Auburn University Marching Band as a trombone player (a detail which will be important later) and Emily was a member of the Tiger Eyes on the flag team. During our first year, we were content to acclimate to a new way of life as college students, completely unaware of the other’s existence. Going to class and band practice, attending parties, and making new friends along the way led to a lifetime’s worth of stories (a few of which couldn’t be shared in this space). Meeting a future life partner certainly wasn’t part of the plan at that stage of the game. In our second year, little did we know that a simple date would transform the rest of our lives. I had begun to notice her at band practice, and I was attempting to figure out ways to talk to her through mutual friends and this nifty new tool called Facebook without seeming overly creepy. One day after band rehearsal, however, she stole my thunder. As I was strolling across the field on the way to my afternoon physics recitation in Allison Hall, I thought I heard her call my name. I turned around, slightly stunned, assuming she must have intended to talk to someone else since we had never even said hello. She strode right toward me, and in her typical matter-offact fashion, promptly asked if I was available that Friday night to attend her sorority formal. Flabbergasted, but excited, I said yes while still trying to play it cool, as 20-year-olds often do. We immediately began to discuss logistics, which brought us to what she figured to be the potential deal-breaker—securing a tuxedo in time for the event. It was already Tuesday, and she figured it impossible to make such arrangements in such a short time frame. Little did she know that as a member of the AU Symphonic Band, I already had that box checked with my $150 JC Penney tuxedo (short on style but high on functionality). With that
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settled, she gave me her phone number and told me to pick her up at the dorm Friday night. We enjoyed our time together at her formal, and she even attended a party that my roommates and I were throwing at our apartment the next day. We continued to see each other and get more serious. The one odd thing I couldn’t figure out was the strange looks I would get from other members of the trombone section when she and I were together at band functions. I found out some time later that I was actually her third choice for that formal. In fact, I was her third choice out of the trombone section of the band. The other two were certainly interested, but had already been taken off the market for that particular event by other girls. Third time is the charm, I suppose. Our relationship seemed to mirror the fortunes of the football Tigers as time went on. We hit a rough patch in 2008 and took some time apart, only to get things back on track for the improvements of 2009. 2010 was a special year for us, our last as students, for obvious reasons. I proposed to her at Samford Hall near the lathe on New Year’s Eve, and we traveled, newly engaged, to watch our Tigers win the national championship in the desert. We were married in 2012 at the First Presbyterian Church in Auburn, as we couldn’t think of anywhere else we would rather celebrate that event than the place that means more to us than any other. (See photo, above.)
LOVE ON THE PLAINS
CUPID’S AIM IS TRUE (KLAUS’, NOT SO MUCH) Betty Joyce ’66 & Klaus Dannenberg ’67 Denton, Texas
It was fall quarter 1962 and I was an incoming freshman. Rat cap on, a bounce in my step (really!), and full of myself, I quickly became infatuated with a tall girl in my Basic Design class in the School of Architecture. Alas, she was going through fall rush and was not allowed to talk with the male of our species during that week. But—hallelujah—she had a friend that was not going through rush, so we communicated through this convenient “interpreter.” I’d speak with her friend, who would relay my message (even though they were standing next to each other) and she would reply, also through our handy interpreter. After trying unsuccessfully for several dates and then strategizing with the interpreter (who, it appears, did not really take my side with regard to making that connection), I finally got a date with the trusty (or so I thought) interpreter instead. Two and a half years later, when we were juniors, the interpreter and I married on Valentine’s Day 1965. When this issue of Auburn Magazine comes out in spring 2015, we will have just celebrated 50 years of marriage marked with two terrific kids and four grandkids. Who could have interpreted then that love happened on the Plains—just not in the targeted relationship. But it’s been a lifelong, wonderful relationship that we celebrate every year on Valentine’s Day and frequently laugh about my erroneous target.
SHE SAYS, HE SAYS
Beverly Schneider ’74 & James Lakin ’90 Auburn She says: In June 1971, immediately following high school graduation, I came to AU to begin my studies. I showed up the day before classes started to participate in what we called “Drop and Add Day.” I was able to get English 101, Biology 101 and History 101. I wanted a full load and was able to pull a card for Psychology 201, which was a sophomore-level course.
On my first day of class, I was trying to find my classroom in Haley Center. I... finally found the room and rushed in. There was only one seat available in the front center of the class, next to a very attractive guy. I quickly and breathlessly took the seat. In those days, you didn’t know which book you would need until you attended the first class. The professor gave us the book title just as class was ending. As I gathered my things, the very nice guy offered to let me accompany him to the bookstore (since I was obviously out of my comfort zone being a new student). We walked together to J&M and purchased the book. He walked me back to Haley to be sure I could find my next class. When I came out of the history class, he was waiting for me! We then went on a walking tour of Auburn. As things happen at AU, we continued seeing each other and two years later to the day, we got married—June 9, 1973! We both later graduated from AU. Now, it’s 41 years of happy marriage and we still live in our beloved Auburn. He says: I had signed up for an elective, Psychology 201. When I arrived at the classroom, I found the desks were rapidly filling as I sat down in the first row in one of two adjacent open desks. I had a clear view down the hallway and saw a pretty girl glancing from her paper schedule at each room number as she passed, obviously looking for her class. I realized that the only occupied classroom on that side of the quadrant was mine, so I casually placed a book on the open desk next to me. When she got to my classroom door, she had a look of relief and started in the door. I waited until a couple of other students walked past, then I slipped the book off the open desk before she looked in my direction. She saw the open desk and sat down and “the rest is history”!
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ONE GEORGIA TICKET
Farrow Wallace ’92 & R.W. “Bo” Burks ’87 Montgomery
Auburn, but more specifically Auburn football, brought us together and 20 years later it still rekindles our Auburn marriage every fall. As our graduation classes show, we didn’t meet as students. Farrow and I became an Auburn Woman and Auburn Man in different eras. I’m Jackson & Carr and she’s Rocker & King. As a young alumni season ticket holder, I made it to every game, everywhere. Traveling to road games with buddies was essential to my Auburn football passion. In 1991 the AuburnGeorgia game was in Athens and I needed a ticket. Through work I was introduced to Farrow and knew as a senior she might have access to a Georgia ticket. As the game got closer I was chasing every possibility and gave Farrow a call. The purpose of the call was a ticket but the result of the call was more. Wednesday before the Georgia game I drove to Auburn for a friendly meal and a game ticket. Over dinner at the Hungry Hunter, I bought a single ticket and we parted ways. The following Saturday we both made our separate trips to Athens. At halftime
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we “bumped” into one another at the concession stand under the west end zone. We talked until the second half began and we went back to our friends and seats. The game ended and my buddies and I headed to Atlanta for the night. Hours later and somewhere in traffic on a Georgia highway, Farrow appeared right outside my window. Fate and Auburn football put her car right beside the car I was in. We shouted and tried to talk between cars and struggled to communicate. At the next red light I had a decision to make. In the middle of GA HWY 29, I abandoned my buddies and joined my Auburn Girl in her car. Two weeks later we had a “real” date to Birmingham and the Iron Bowl. After going 0 and 2 in 1991 and finishing 5-5-1 in 1992, I asked her to every Auburn game we had left. Our union started with a 37-27 loss in Athens, and has been through 22 seasons of heartbreaks and championships. We’ve always been there and always been together. From the beginning, a love of Auburn, football and each other has bound our marriage and even produced another generation of the Auburn Family. Our oldest daughter will be a freshman on the Loveliest Village on the Plains in the fall of 2015.
LOVE ON THE PLAINS
SPECIAL DELIVERY: AUBIE
Laura Jenkins ’90 & Luther Richardson ’96 Columbus, Ga.
I was attending a football game in the fall of 1995. I brought my sisters over from Columbus for the game and we bought tickets outside the stadium. Because they were all single tickets, we decided to watch from the ramps, as we often did. When we walked in the east side of Jordan-Hare, I asked “which way”? The girls didn’t care and I felt a sudden draw to go left. I always went right to stand above the visitors but this time I went left to stand above the students. I walked up and stood randomly in the middle of people already there, including a young man around my age. As the game progressed, we chatted, as people do in public events. By halftime, we were conversing freely about the game and about Auburn. By the end of the third quarter, we were discussing other topics, including his completion of school at Auburn and his work with the physics department, and I’d confirmed that there was no ring on his finger. At the end of the game, we walked together out of the game and I gave him my number. A week later, we had an away game at LSU but I came over to watch it with him at Foy Union. It was our first date. Since he
worked with the football team as a tutor, he took me to the practice field, where he gave me orange roses. It was a nice night. Fast forward to spring of 1997. Luther Richardson ’96 had graduated and was working as a teacher in Columbus and we’d been dating almost two years. We planned to have dinner in Auburn with friends who lived there. We drove over, but we were about 30 minutes early for dinner, so he drove to campus and we ended up at the practice fields. There, he gave me some small purple and gold flowers and said he’d planned to give them to his friend but he wanted me to have them. We sat there and talked a few minutes and suddenly he looked over my shoulder. I looked up and back and who was there? Aubie was walking up in a UPS hat with a box and a clipboard, along with his assistant. He made me sign for the box and waited as I opened it. It was a huge bouquet of orange roses in a gold bow with a ring attached. Luther had planned it all for our engagement. Of course I said yes. I treasure the pictures from that evening and loved that he included even the purple & gold of LSU as a memory. Heck, even our wedding was blue and orange that fall, and we watched the Mississippi State away-game in the limo between the wedding and reception.
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by David Menconi
The Road Less Traveled Walmart pharmacist and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Cynthia Hill ’95 embraces her dual nature to make her own way in the world. Cynthia Hill thrives within dualities. She’s a filmmaker with an unusual day job, working as a part-time Walmart pharmacist. And within her filmmaking side, her best-known works are “Private Violence,” a searing documentary about domestic violence currently airing on HBO, and the acclaimed PBS cooking-show series “A Chef ’s Life.” Sometimes those parallel tracks merge. One morning last year, Hill was working at the Walmart pharmacy in High Point, N.C., when her phone lit up with calls and texts from Vivian Howard, her partner on “A Chef ’s Life.” Hill tried to ignore them, but Howard was insistent: “Take a break, you need to call me now!” So Hill called and got the news that they’d just won a
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Peabody Award, the broadcast industry’s equivalent of a Pulitzer Prize. That topped a phenomenal run for Hill. “A Chef’s Life” also picked up a nomination for the prestigious James Beard Award, while “Private Violence” played the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and won a prize at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival before debuting on HBO. “Yeah, I’m probably the only Walmart pharmacist who has ever won a Peabody, been nominated for a James Beard and gone to Sundance, all within a three-month period,” Hill says with a laugh. “I’m not positive, but probably.” When “Private Violence” began airing on HBO last October, domestic violence was a hot topic thanks to controversy over NFL running back Ray Rice. Graphic video
footage of Rice hitting his fiancée in an elevator brought the issue out of the shadows and into the headlines. “I hate to say this, but the timing on the Ray Rice stuff was really good in helping prepare the country to receive this film,” Hill says. “Domestic violence is an issue that a lot of people just don’t think much about, but the level of outrage over Ray Rice just blew up. “You could see it in the press response. The kinds of questions I was getting in October were very different from what I’d gotten earlier in the year at Sundance. I was supposed to be on CNN and MSNBC to talk about domestic violence, too, but got bumped by wall-to-wall Ebola coverage. I was literally one week too late. The issue of the day switches real quick because that’s how the news cycle is.”
CYNTHIA HILL
’ 95
FILMOGRAPHY 2014 A Chef’s Life, Season 2 (director/producer), docuseries, PBS (14 episodes) Private Violence (director/producer), documentary film, HBO 2013 A Chef’s Life, Season 1 (director/producer), docuseries, PBS (13 episodes) 2011 Survivor to Survivor (director/producer), web docuseries
PHOTOGRAPH BY REX MILLER
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A Chef’s Life Cynthia Hill, left, and North Carolina chef Vivian Howard, go from farm to table to screen with their Peabodywinning PBS series “A Chef’s Life.”
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JOSH WOLL/A CHEF’S LIFE
THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED
The roots of “A Chef ’s Life” go back to when Hill and Howard were both growing up in Eastern North Carolina, where their families knew each other. Both women lived in New York for a time before returning home on separate paths—Howard to run a restaurant called Chef & the Farmer in the small town of Kinston, and Hill to make the 2003 documentary “Tobacco Money Feeds My Family.” Howard admired “Tobacco Money” and contacted Hill about documenting some of the food traditions she was reviving with Chef & the Farmer, a “Farm To Fork” restaurant serving old-school Southern cuisine using produce from local farms. Eventually, that evolved into “A Chef ’s Life,” with Hill and her husband/ cinematographer Rex Miller working behind the camera. Now in its second season on PBS, “A Chef ’s Life” is equal parts cooking show and documentary series in which Howard revisits the food-preparation methods with which she grew up. “Vivian and I both felt it was important to document the foodways of Eastern North Carolina, all the things our grandmothers used to do,” Hill says. “We were shooting about turnips this season and we went out to Warren Brothers’ farm. He was in the first season a lot and Vivian likes to get produce from him. He pulled a couple and took them to his house to
cook for lunch. Turnip greens with fatback, turnip roots with sausage, pork chops on the side, who doesn’t love that? “Doing this really brings back a lot of warm, fuzzy, nostalgic memories of growing up in my grandma’s Southern kitchen.”
Hill into filmmaking, starting with the videos she made while earning an undergraduate pharmacy degree at UNC. Hill’s filmmaking aptitude caught the eye of UNC’s pharmacy school dean, who suggested she go to graduate school at Auburn because its
I’m probably the only Walmart pharmacist who has won a Peabody, been nominated for a James Beard and gone to Sundance, all within a three-month period. It’s not all warm and fuzzy, however. “A Chef’s Life” doesn’t shy away from the harsher side of agriculture, like the seasontwo episode that included a hog-killing scene. “You don’t see it being killed, but you hear it and see people’s reactions,” Hill says. “The show is all about Eastern North Carolina traditions, and that’s definitely part of it. I find it interesting, how squeamish people get about that kind of stuff. Vivian’s husband Ben said that if you buy pork chops from the grocery store, then you should have to watch this.”
Pharmacist seems like an odd second job for an artist, but Hill calls her day job “strangely grounding” and a perfect getaway from films. Training for the pharmaceutical arts at the University of North Carolina and at Auburn also helped lead
pharmacy school has a large amount of video equipment. Hill started making healtheducation videos while working on her master’s at AU. In 1994, she and other Auburn students and professors teamed up with the ABC network’s “Primetime Live” news show to do a piece on medication-dispensing errors at pharmacies. Hill was one of the undercover patients, which took her to New York City for the first time ever to meet with “Primetime Live” cohost Diane Sawyer. “Diane Sawyer took one look at me and said, ‘She’s too pretty, better frump her up,’” Hill remembers with a laugh. “I’ll take it! But I was completely ruined after that. How could I go back to just counting pills? I couldn’t. And it was eye-opening and exhilarating to combine my two worlds together and think maybe there was a role there for me. I was an odd bird because
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THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED
2006 The Guestworker (director/producer), documentary film, PBS 2004 Tobacco Money Feeds My Family (director/producer), documentary film, PBS 2003 February One (producer), documentary film, PBS 2002 Grace and the New Rules (editor), short documentary film, Sundance Channel
Hill’s “Private Violence” spotlights the problem of domestic abuse. More than four women a day in the U.S. die at the hands of a current or ex partner.
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I wanted something where I could do filmmaking and health care together. But there’s no playbook for something like that. You just have to figure it out along the way.” With her Auburn adviser Bruce Berger offering encouragement, Hill resolved to pursue filmmaking. “The longer she stayed in grad school, the more I could see that filmmaking was where her passion was,” Berger says. “She’s a very creative, talented and introspective human being. Those are the best people to work with. I’m proud of her and the fact she’s stuck with it, and also not at
all surprised that she’s been successful.”
When they began “A Chef ’s Life,” Hill decided that Howard should be the on-camera star of a show about Eastern North Carolina food traditions because she was doing the equivalent of fieldwork and “asking all the right questions” about how food gets from farm to table. Initially, she ran into opposition from Howard herself, who didn’t like the idea of being the focal point. Howard even indulged in some self-sabotage when they
made the pilot episode. “The first time I filmed Vivian, she was about three months out from having given birth to twins, wearing a maternity dress with milk stains, and she’d refused to do her hair or wear makeup,” Hill says. “We were calling it a test shoot and she didn’t know if she could pull it off and be able to engage with the camera. But we both realized that first day that she was really good at it. She even surprised herself. After that, she decided to do her hair and makeup and ditch the maternity dress. That was in the first episode, which she still complains about.”
MICHAEL LOCCISANO/HBO
FILMOGRAPHY, CONT.
MICHAEL LOCCISANO/HBO
THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED
Howard’s complaints aside, that first mini-episode was good enough to get “A Chef’s Life” on the air, although it wasn’t easy. One friend of Hill’s at the Food Network told her it wasn’t quite good enough for a show starring a non-celebrity, and another at the local public station even called it “unprogrammable.” But a third friend at South Carolina Public Television loved the pilot and
brought it to the attention of PBS, which picked up the show. “It was exactly what they’re interested in,” Hill says. “They struggle to find honest and respectful portrayals of the rural South, so it was perfect for them. It was validating to have people on a national level see and understand what we were trying to do. But I did it the way I do everything else, by
imagining what I’d want to watch. I’m my own harshest critic. If I can please myself, I figure I can please others, too.” For the past year, Hill has been juggling “Private Violence” promotion with shooting, editing and marketing for “A Chef’s Life.” Throw in the pharmacy job and her schedule’s been “just a beast,” she says. Sometime soon, she’ll start working on another film, too.
“I have one feature brewing, but those take so long,” Hill says. “I always say they’ll take two years, but it turns out to be four or five. I’d like to do something that doesn’t take so long. So I’m looking at the serial format, seeing if we can translate what A A A A A A we do with ‘A Chef’s Life’ to A A be another topic. That A would Aa A A way to combine ‘A Chef’s Life’ A A A A A A and ‘Private Violence.’” A A A A Another duality.
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Grow Your Career Register today to network, get advice and find helpful job search information on the Auburn Alumni Association’s Career Management Resource website!
GAIN EXCLUSIVE ACCESS TO: · live and archived webinars · career tips, strategies and best practices · top career authors and experts · extensive career planning tools · and much more! www.alumnicareerservices.org/auburn
Upcoming live webinars include Stuff Your Resume with Keywords to Highlight Your Experience by Jay Block on March 4, Use Your Strengths to Create a Rewarding and Satisfying Career by Tom Rath on April 1, 5 Steps to Building a Powerful & Profitable Network by Beth Bridges on May 6 and What You Don’t Say in an Interview Could Hold You Back by Carole Martin on June 3.
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What’s Orange and Blue and Green All Over? Answer: Gardening in the South Auburn’s Extension experts bring you Gardening in the South. This iBook series can transform you into a successful Southern gardener. Learn designing, planting, fertilizing, watering, pruning, and more.
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the Classes ALUMNI CENTER > CLASSNOTES > IN MEMORIAM
IN THIS SECTION
Lifetime Achievement
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Association Annual Report
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Classnotes
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In Memoriam
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Backchat
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Dogwoods!
Spring Forward This photograph from the 1947 Glomerata features an unidentified API student enjoying the springtime dogwood blossoms in full flower. Between 2009 and 2012, a team of Auburn researchers documented 7,345 trees on campus (not counting those in the arboretum), representing 139 species. Most common? The 1,639 crape myrtles, followed by the willow oak (596), loblolly pine (565) and magnolia (464).
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SPECIAL FEATURE
SPECIAL FEATURE > LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
A Spirit That is Not Afraid
The 2015 Lifetime Achievement Awards The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes recipients for outstanding achievements in their professional lives, personal integrity and stature, and university service. Recipients are selected by a committee of Auburn administrators, trustees, faculty and alumni.
We proudly present the winners of this year’s awards, plus the winner of the 2015 Young Alumni Achievement Award, as well as an introduction and welcome from new Auburn Alumni Association President Jack Fite ’85.
My daughter Sarah, an Auburn nursing senior, recently said she should take her spring clothes to Auburn. A balmy 25 degrees in North Alabama and my daughter is thinking spring semester. I think of this time of year as winter quarter, but I know things have changed. Jack Fite ’85 The only constant in higher education is President, Auburn change. How we educate, where we educate, Alumni Association who we educate and what degrees we offer are certainly changing, and the landscape of education at Auburn University is no exception. Today, an incoming freshman can choose not to attend calculus class and participate online. State-of-the-art labs and technology are common on our tradition-rich campus. The average ACT score of incoming freshmen is over 27. The demand for an Auburn education has never been higher. Change is also hitting close to home with the retirement of Dr. Debbie Shaw, who has built your Auburn Alumni Association into one of the most respected in the nation. We will miss Debbie and wish her the best in all of her future endeavors. At the same time,
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we welcome our new vice president, Gretchen VanValkenburg ’86, and are excited about the new era of alumni relations she will usher in. How we fund public education is also changing. I invite you to develop a more meaningful relationship to Auburn by donating money for scholarships so a young student can enjoy the great education and experiences we remember. One way to help is by joining the Circle of Excellence Society. Please visit aualum.org/scholarships or call (334) 844-2586 for information. What never changes is the outstanding recipients we honor each year with the Lifetime Achievement Awards. You can meet the 2015 honorees on the following pages. These alumni make me realize how fortunate I am to have graduated from Auburn where, given the right beginning, great things can be accomplished! Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your alumni association president. I am honored and humbled. If you ever have a question or a concern regarding the association, please do not hesitate to contact me at jfite@fitebuilding.com or (256) 353-5759. War Eagle!
In His Own Words
Samuel L. Ginn Class of 1959 Auburn University Bachelor of Science, Industrial Management; Master of Business Administration, Stanford University (1969); Honorary D.S., Auburn University (1998) • Sam Ginn has more than 42 years of experience in telecommunications after beginning his career in 1960 with AT&T as a student. His early years at AT&T led to increasing responsibilities in sales, engineering and operations. Ginn transferred to California as the wireless industry was beginning, becoming founder, chair and CEO of AirTouch Communications, which later merged with Vodafone as the world’s largest wireless communications company. • Ginn is active in charitable boards, startup companies and is chairman of the Ginn Family Foundation. He made a gift of $25 million to Auburn University to establish an undergraduate degree program in wireless engineering, the nation’s first accredited program of its kind. The
College of Engineering was named the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering in his honor. • Ginn co-chaired Auburn’s last major fundraising campaign, during which the university raised $609 million, the largest campaign amount in the school’s history. • Ginn is: the first chairman of the First Responder Network Authority; an inductee in the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame; and named to the Wireless Hall of Fame Class of 2014 by the Wireless History Foundation (WHF). He has served on the board of trustees for Auburn University and is a life member of the Auburn Alumni Association.
Auburn is very special to me, as it is to most people. It had much to do with my life, my career and my success. In my individual case it came at the right time in my development. I was not a great high school student. One of the first things Auburn gave me was an opportunity to grow academically, and it impressed upon me the need to work hard and study hard. As a result of that, I benefited from the rewards later on. The other thing was that it made me a lifelong learner. It led me to read, pursue issues, understand complexities and made me curious about the world around me. Auburn gave me a foundation that enriched my life. The other thing that was really beneficial to me at Auburn has to do with the Southern values. There is a culture in the South, manifested at Auburn more than any other place I’ve ever been. People are respectful of an individual. If I walk around campus and if I look confused, they ask if they can help me. It’s a beautiful part of the culture, to be open and helpful. If you anticipate a career in business it is mandatory to show respect for individuals. People want to relate to you and support your objectives, especially if you’re a manager. The Southern values system had a lot to do with my own personal success and is practiced at Auburn at a level that no one else approaches.
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In Her Own Words
Melissa Brown Herkt Class of 1977 Auburn University Bachelor of Science, Civil Engineering Melissa Herkt entered the male-dominated field of engineering in 1977 and quickly began breaking the barriers to help pave the way for women in civil engineering. She was the first female co-op student and worked for Alabama Power for three quarters. •
At Exxon, Herkt became the first female engineer posted overseas, serving as construction engineer on a $30 million project in Denmark, which led her to lead billion-dollar operations in North and South America. She was the first female construction manager for Exxon, where she led a $300 million refinery expansion in France and a $400 million project in the UK and Denmark. •
Herkt served as president of Process Systems and Solutions—Americas, a division of Emerson Process Management, responsible for a half-dozen •
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vital industries approaching $900 million in annual revenue. She oversaw 4,000 employees and provided cutting-edge process improvements. Honors include induction into the National Academy of Construction; the State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame; and the Construction Industry Institute’s Outstanding Implementer Award. •
Herkt provides for students at Auburn University through the Melissa Brown Herkt Endowment for scholarships in civil engineering and is part of the Auburn Alumni Engineering Council. In 2014, she was selected to serve on the AU Foundation board. Herkt is a life member of the Auburn Alumni Association. •
I’ve never really thought of myself as being a pioneer for women in engineering; I was just living my life. I suppose a career can be looked at sort of like a supertanker. It takes a long time for it to turn in the water, but you can look back later and see the patterns and the turns it took to get where it is. My undergraduate experience at Auburn was a little different because I transferred here from Gadsden State Junior College. I couldn’t afford to go to Auburn as a freshman, so I came here as a rising junior and was already a co-op student with Alabama Power Co. I missed out on a lot of that typical college experience, and I was already used to being in classes where I was the only woman. So the classes here weren’t that different and I never felt held back or discouraged. I knew as soon as I got here that this place was special. There’s the Auburn Creed that embodies us. If we could all aspire to be who the Auburn Creed says we should be, then what a wonderful world we would have! Coming back to Auburn still feels like coming home.
In His Own Words I can’t imagine my life without Auburn. I never remember a time, not a single day of my life, when I didn’t dream of coming to Auburn. My Auburn experience has been better, so much better, than I could have ever imagined. I am a truly blessed man to have had Auburn and Auburn people in my life. Auburn taught me how to think—that it is okay not to accept something as true just because you were taught or told it was true as a child. A person has to learn to think for himself or herself and determine what is true and what is not, what has meaning and what does not. Athletics was my profession and my passion, but my introduction to the arts at Auburn, in particular music, theater and literature, has made me whole. Auburn and Auburn people taught me that a life isn’t worth much unless it is spent trying to help people, especially young people, grow and increase in wisdom. The human touch and the Auburn Spirit, a “Spirit That is Unafraid,” are important parts of that wisdom and growth.
David E. Housel Class of 1969 Auburn University Bachelor of Arts, Journalism •
David Housel started his career in the athletic ticket office before becoming a journalism instructor and adviser to the Auburn Plainsman from 1972-80. He rejoined the athletic staff as assistant sports information director and became Auburn’s 13th director of athletics in 1994, a position he served in for 10 years.
served as president of the SEC Sports Information Directors, chair of both the NCAA public relations and communications committees, member of both the NCAA Championships Cabinet and SEC executive committee and worked 18 consecutive Final Four tournaments at the request of the NCAA.
Under his leadership, the Tigers won eight national titles, 38 SEC titles and added softball and equestrian to the sports roster. Student-athletes during his tenure posted their highest graduation rates in school history and a number of athletic facility improvements were added to campus.
•
•
Housel was named director of athletics emeritus upon his retirement in 2005. He has •
Housel is a member of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, the Sports Information Directors Hall of Fame and has received distinguished service awards from the Walter Camp Football Foundation and the Alabama chapter of the National Football Hall of Fame. In 2005, the press box in Jordan-Hare Stadium was officially named the David E. Housel Press Box. Housel is a life member of the Auburn Alumni Association.
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In His Own Words
W. Michael Warren Class of 1968 Auburn University Bachelor of Arts, History; J.D., Duke University (1971); J.D., Birmingham Southern College
Mike Warren began his career practicing law with the Birmingham firm of Bradley, Arant, Rose & White for 12 years before joining Alabama Gas in 1983. Warren became president of Alagasco in 1984 and was named president and CEO of Energen in 1997, and chair in 1998. Under Warren’s leadership, Alagasco was named one of the 100 best companies to work for in America in the book by the same name and the Fortune magazine annual listing for two years. In 2001, Warren was named Alabama CEO of the year by The Birmingham News and in 2008, he was named president and CEO of Children’s of Alabama, the state’s only freestanding pediatric medical facility. •
Warren chaired the Business Council of Alabama, the United Way, Leadership Birmingham and Leadership Alabama. He has also •
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chaired the Metropolitan Development Board, the Alabama Symphony and his area American Heart Association. Warren had a pivotal role in establishing and raising funds for the Provost Leadership Undergraduate Scholarship Program (PLUS) at Auburn. He and his family have established the William Michael Warren Endowed Undergraduate Student Leadership Awards in the College of Agriculture’s Department of Animal Sciences to honor his father, a longtime faculty member. In 2012, the Greater Birmingham Auburn Club awarded Warren the title of Distinguished Alumnus of the Year and, recently, he was selected as Birmingham’s Game Changer at The Vulcans, given by the Vulcan Park & Museum. He is a life member of the Auburn Alumni Association. •
Many people say that being at Auburn gets in your blood. And if you grew up in Auburn as I did, you bleed orange and blue. In fact, I have often said that it took me twelve years to get out of Auburn! And, it did. We moved to Alabama when I started the third grade and for 25 years, until my parents moved following my dad’s retirement as head of the animal and dairy science departments in 1980, Auburn was our family home. So when I think of Auburn, I think of home. Auburn University was special to me long before I enrolled as a student. The campus was an important part of my growth as a person. I learned a great deal working as a youngster in the War Eagle Cafeteria and later at the Air Force ROTC hanger. For two summers I worked in a lab and learned that medical school was not in my future, but I did learn that intellectual challenges in many other fields were important, stimulating and rewarding. Most of all, Auburn became a major part of my foundation as a person. Auburn is where I learned the lessons of hard work and teamwork. If we each are a part of all that we have met, I am at least two parts Auburn!
In His Own Words As a third-generation Auburn University graduate, I truly come from an Auburn family. My two grandfathers left their respective homes in Louisiana and South Carolina to attend Auburn University, and my parents met while in school at Auburn. Since Auburn was truly in my blood and some of my fondest childhood memories center around Auburn athletics, I chose to leave my home state of South Carolina and enroll at Auburn because it just felt like home. I never completely grasped the length and breadth of the true universal Auburn family, though, until I entered the professional world. Several of my most profound early mentors were Auburn graduates, and I attribute a great deal of my professional success to their influence. Additionally, I have had Auburn “family reunions” in locations around the world, including British Columbia, Hong Kong and New Zealand. “War Eagle” means much more than “hello.” It’s a connection with other Auburn graduates in knowing that we share a common core set of values. These values serve as the foundation of Auburn University’s expanding worldwide influence, and I am proud to be a member of this family.
J. Benjamin Chappell Class of 2003 Young Alumni Achievement Award Winner — Auburn University Bachelor of Science, Finance; EMBA, 2014
Ben Chappell is the owner and principal of Interior Elements, a contract furniture dealership based in Jackson, Miss., which represents elite manufactures Knoll, DIRTT, Kimball and KI. In 2010, Chappell became the youngest principal of a Knoll-aligned dealership in the world. •
Merging a rep group he founded in Birmingham with Interior Elements of Mississippi and expanding into Tennessee and Georgia, Chappell formed one of the largest contract furniture dealerships in the Southeast. He has planned and executed interiors packages for numerous prestigious clients, including Auburn University, the University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University, the University of Alabama, UAB, Florida State University, the Retirement Systems of Alabama (RSA), Trustmark Bank, C Spire, Blue Cross Blue Shield, UAB Hospital, Children’s •
Hospital of Alabama, University of Mississippi Medical Center, and numerous K-12 systems throughout the Southeast, including the largest in Alabama: Mobile County Public Schools. Chappell sits on the advisory board of directors for the Auburn University interior design program, which has been recognized as one of the top five interior design programs in the nation. •
Chappell sponsors two scholarships for the Raymond J. Harbert College of Business and two additional scholarships for the AU interior design program in the College of Human Sciences. He has served on the board of directors of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) for both the Delta Regional Chapter and the Alabama Chapter. He is a life member of the Auburn Alumni Association. •
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YEAR IN REVIEW The 2013-14 Annual Report of the Auburn Alumni Association
Scholarship & Academic Support • 103 student scholarships were awarded this year from the $5.7 million Alumni Scholars Endowment. Alumni contributions support the endowment. • Fifty-nine Auburn Clubs nationwide awarded 123 student scholarships. • Scholarships awarded totaled 250. • The Alumni Professors Endowment, with more than $2 million invested, provides financial supplements to 26 faculty members each year for five-year terms. Our Alumni Professors for 2014-2018 are: Ellen Behrend, clinical sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine; Virginia Davis, chemical engineering, Samuel Ginn College of Engineering; Lisa Samuelson, tree physiology, School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences; Peter Johnson, mathematics and statistics, College of Sciences and Mathematics; and Valentina Hartarska, agriculture economics, College of Agriculture. • Three faculty members received $1,000 each as recipients of the 2014 Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Awards. They are: Brian Connelly, business management, Harbert
Auburn Clubs There are currently 32 Auburn Clubs within the state of Alabama, 60 Auburn Clubs out-
College of Business; Stephen Schmidt, animal sciences, College of Agriculture; and Rod
of-state, making a total of 92 Auburn Clubs nationwide. Tiger Trek featured Coach Gus
Turochy, civil engineering, Samuel Ginn College of Engineering.
Malzahn speaking in 10 locations across Alabama, Georgia and Florida. Some 5,600 alumni
• Paula Backscheider, English, College of Liberal Arts, received $2,000 from the
and friends attended the Tiger Trek events. Eighteen Auburn Clubs were a part of this
Auburn Alumni Association as the recipient of the 2014 Distinguished Graduate Faculty
year’s Tiger Trek, which raised more than $143,000 for student scholarships.
Lectureship Award. • Robin Sabino, English, College of Liberal Arts, received $1,000 from the Auburn Alumni Association as the 2014 Minority Achievement Award recipient.
Freshman Send-Offs In 2014, 45 Auburn Clubs hosted an exclusive Freshman Send-Off for incoming students
• Life members contributed $42,158 to the Circle of Excellence Society, supporting the Auburn Alumni Association Endowed Scholarship
in their respective communities. Clubs hosted a total of 633 freshmen and 907 parents
program. A total of 68 are sustaining members of this special society.
dinners in local restaurants and parties in homes of Auburn families.
• The Golden Eagles Scholarship was introduced at the 2009 Golden Eagles Reunion. Since its inception, the scholarship has raised more than $35,000.
at events that included picnics, a Major League Baseball game, brunches, pool parties,
Alumni Travel
• The Alumni Walk was installed before the 2012 football season. Sales of engraved pavers provide scholarships for future students. $176,761 has been provided for
More than 225 Auburn University alumni and friends joined the War Eagle Travelers on
scholarships over the life of the program.
to enjoy special events and destinations in the United States to specially designed tours
• Auburn Clubs contributed $370,017 to their endowments and $160,449 to their annual scholarships.
across the globe by land, sea and air. The Auburn Alumni Association also partnered with
• Number of endowment scholarship funds by clubs totaled 66. • Number of annual scholarships by clubs totaled 57.
alumni and friends to include the SEC and BCS Championship games. The association
• Club endowments over $150,000: West Georgia, Shoals and Greater Birmingham clubs.
more than 12,000 alumni and friends.
26 association-sponsored tours. Travel options spanned the globe, from opportunities
Tigers Unlimited and Total Sports Travel to provide six away-game football trips for 2,267 offered three special events at the BCS National Championship game, providing events for
CATEGORIES OF MEMBERSHIP
Auburn Alumni Association Fiscal Year Ending: Sept. 30, 2014
4%
80%
34,662 Annual/3-year Members
54
3% 23%
AUBURN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION REVENUE
8%
Life Members
8,689
4%
20%
43,351 Total Members
AUBURNMAGAZINE.AUBURN.EDU
9%
19%
9%
10%
11%
Alumni Programs & Services
Gifts
University Support
Life Memberships
Annual Membership
Other Income
Investment Income
Royalties
Rental Income
Advertising
Student Alumni Association
2013-2014 AUBURN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
The Auburn Student Alumni Association (SAA) is the student chapter of the Auburn Alumni Association. Established
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
in 1999, SAA is the largest student organization at Auburn, with more than 3,500 members. Angelo Medici served as president of the SAA in 2013-14, overseeing 25 student
PRESIDENT
ambassadors. The organization awarded nine scholarships to
William B. “Bill” Stone ’85
rising seniors and conducted the second annual SAA Color Me Auburn 5k in partnership with the Auburn Alumni Association,
VICE PRESIDENT
raising $7,900 for the SAA endowment.
William Jackson “Jack” Fite ’85
Communications
TREASURER
Auburn Magazine was mailed in November, February,
Douglas E. Pritchett ’77
May and August to an average of 37,538 member households. Les Hayes ’80
Auburn Magazine Awards
Paula Steigerwald ’76
• Award of Excellence for Photography, “The Face of Change” (Harold Franklin cover), University and College Designers
Regenia Sanders ’95
Association, 2014, Photographer Jeff Etheridge, Creative
Beau Byrd ’89
Director Shannon Bryant-Hankes
Deborah Carter ’72
• Silver Award, Best Articles of the Year, “The Dearth of Newspapers” by Suzanne Johnson, CASE Circle of Excellence, 2014
Jeremy Arthur ’99
• Grand Gold Award for Feature Writing, “The Dearth of Journalism,” CASE District III Awards, 2014 • Award of Excellence, Alumni Magazines, CASE District III Awards, 2014
Barbara Wallace-Edwards ’82
Bill Nelson ’62
Van Henley ’80 Rip Britton ’82 Gaines Thomas ’72 Mark Thomas ’95 Bob Jones ’74 K-Rob Thomas ’01 Tim Martin ’78 Dave Oberman ’80 EX-OFFICIO
Executive Director Deborah L. Shaw ’84 Jay Gogue ’69 Donald L. Large Jr. ’75 Jeffrey Ira Stone ’79
Lifetime Achievement Awards Four individuals were recognized for their extraordinary career accomplishments, from left: Larry Benefield ’66,
Robert E. “Bobby” Poundstone IV ’95 Jennifer L. Stephens Angelo Medici
Pat Sullivan ’72, John Brown ’57 and Tim Cook ’82. An annual banquet in March 2014 recognized the contributions that these outstanding recipients have made to their professions and communities.
5%
AUBURN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION EXPENSES
6%
14% 42%
General & Administration Alumni Programs & Services Scholarships Auburn Magazine
33%
Membership & Marketing
MISSION STATEMENT The mission of the Auburn Alumni Association is to foster and strengthen the relationship between Auburn University and its alumni and friends; to preserve and promote the university’s traditions, purposes, growth and development; and to keep alive the spirit of affection and reverence for our alma mater. VISION STATEMENT The Auburn Alumni Association cultivates lifelong relationships between Auburn and its alumni and friends to support the advancement of our university.
SPRING 2015
Auburn Magazine
55
THE CLASSES > CLASSNOTES
ALUMNI SNAPSHOT
CARVED Camille “Sug” Cheatwood ’71 had always liked totem poles, but a trip to Alaska kindled a passion for the beauty of this ancient carved artform. “My art ability stems only from the fact that I can do mathematics,” said Cheatwood, an Atlanta resident who taught math to high school students for about 31 years and who began her 12-foot pole armed with a book called How to Carve Your Totem Pole. “I can’t tell you how much mathematics I did in the whole design and even assisting in the engineering feats.” Before taking on the grand, self-designed sculpture that stands in her backyard today, Cheatwood completed a much smaller version of the same pole for a practice run. Carving in 3D proved to be the most difficult part of the creation, and starting small paid off in the end. As she worked her way from the Auburn Tiger at the bottom of the pole to the eagle at the top, Cheatwood found her carving skills sharpen with each character. It made the daunting task of carving a 12-foot pole seem a little more approachable. Cheatwood eschewed power tools and used only a few chisels, gauges and a mallet. To help the process run a little smoother, she enlisted the help of a mentor, Jay Ricketts. “Just from conversations we had, I knew what a craftsman he was. He’s so meticulous and he’s such a perfectionist. I think he liked that I came with so little expertise in the art of carving, because then he could teach me.” Ricketts offered Cheatwood advice on how to carve the pole, what could be carved on a rotisserie and what had to be carved erect, and the type of wood to use. As she began making great strides in her project, however, she was forced to deal with a setback. The Cheatwood house caught on fire, and home repairs had to become the priority. “It did take a little bit longer [to make the pole] than I had anticipated, but my friends have been so supportive.” Four years later, her original totem is complete. “It’s been a fun, fun process,” Cheatwood said. —Kerry Coppinger
56
AUBURNMAGAZINE.AUBURN.EDU
S H A R E YO U R N E W S W I T H U S AT AU B M AG @AU B U R N . E D U
THE CLASSES > CLASSNOTES
Send your updates to Auburn Magazine,
director of the E.V. Smith Research Center in
317 S. College Street, Auburn University, AL
Shorter and was promoted to director of all
36849-5149, or aubmag@auburn.edu.
outlying units in 2001.
CALENDAR GOLDEN EAGLES
1950s JOEL BLAIR ’59 celebrated
his 80th birthday with family
MICHAEL A. WATSON ’69 was recently
The Golden Eagles Reunion will be hosted by the Auburn
awarded the Outstanding Citizen Service
Alumni Association on April 15-17, 2015. For more
Award for his leadership as board chair of the
information please visit aualum.org/ge or call (334)
Atlanta USO for 10 years. This is the third-
844-1145.
highest civilian medal awarded by the United States Army. Following his retirement from
2016 TRAVEL PREVIEW
BellSouth in 2006, he served as president and
Join a host of travel professionals at the Auburn Alumni
CEO of the Foundation of Wesley Woods. He
Center to hear about the lineup of trips available for
signed by coach Gus Malzahn and players as
retired from this position recently and moved
War Eagle Travelers in 2016. Visit www. aualum.org/
he watched his alma mater beat LSU.
with his wife, Cindy, from Atlanta to Franklin,
travel for more information or to register.
and friends in Tyler, Texas, last Oct. 4. He was presented an Auburn football
N.C. Watson is a former vice president of the
1960s
Auburn Alumni Association and member of
BLACK ALUMNI WEEKEND
the AU Foundation board.
The Office of Alumni Affairs and Office of Diversity & Multicultural Affairs welcomes you back to campus for
1970s
Black Alumni Weekend April 17-19. The deadline to
children and eight grandchildren, and
CHARLIE LAWS ’76 has been named general
844-1148 or email alumniprograms@auburn.edu.
celebrated their anniversary with a family
manager for Advanced Disposal’s Kentucky
trip to the beach.
operations. In his new position, he is
TIGER TREK 2015
GERALD NEW ’64 and LINDA CROOK NEW ’64 of Decatur celebrated their 50th wedding
anniversary on July 19, 2014. They have three
register and purchase tickets is March 31. For information, visit www.aualum.org/main, call (334)
responsible for managing the company’s three
Please see our ad on Page 46 to see when coach Gus
CARL W. AMES ’69 is a pastor at the King
hauling locations in Lexington, Morehead and
Malzahn and this year’s Tiger Trek will be visiting a city
Lutheran Church in Huntington, W.Va. He
Irvine, Ky., as well as two landfills located in
near you!
has a master’s in public health from Alabama-
Irvine and Morehead. He has 36 years of
Birmingham, where he worked for 15 years
experience in the solid-waste industry.
following three years in the U.S. Army. He and his wife, Kathy, have two children, Devin,
RALPH G. BEARD ’71 of Montgomery has
18, and Paula, 15.
been named director of corporate development and special projects for Functional
JIM BANNON ’69 received the Service to
Products Inc. He joins the company from
Agriculture Award, the highest honor
Dorf Ketal Chemicals, where he was the
awarded by the Alabama Farmers Federation,
global technical and business development
at the organization’s annual meeting in
manager—lubricant additives. Prior to that,
Montgomery on Dec. 7. Bannon retired on
he held positions in both the lubricant raw
Sept. 1 as director of outlying units for the
material field and finished products. He
WAR EAGLE TRAVELERS
Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
recently worked to initiate and drive the
For more information on the trips below and all the
(AAES) at Auburn University. He received his
first-ever formal undergraduate program in
other War Eagle Travelers trips being offered in 2015,
doctorate in plant pathology from Louisiana
tribology and lubrication science in North
visit www.aualum.org/travel.
State University in 1977. The following year,
America, located at Auburn. He has been
he joined the research staff at Monsanto in
named chair of the Auburn tribology minor’s
NATIONAL PARKS & LODGES OF THE OLD WEST
St. Louis, where he was part of the team
industry advisory board.
Ten days along California’s natural preserves, June 13-22.
responsible for developing Roundup®. At the next stop in his career, Micogen, he discov-
PETE ANDERSON ’75 received the 2014
ered a previously unidentified fungus.
Alumni of the Year award from Enterprise
PEARLS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN
Bannon returned to Auburn in 1989 as the
State Community College. He is a retired
Free airfare offered on this 7-night cruise, June 15-23.
SPRING 2015
Auburn Magazine
57
THE CLASSES > CLASSNOTES
professional civil engineer from the
assistance to people in need of
Bradberry were married on Dec. 22,
Grove, Calif., her work includes
Alabama Department of Transpor-
diabetes supplies or medication.
2011, in Pensacola, where they
advancing coastal management at
currently live.
the state, regional and national
tation and a retired first sergeant with the Alabama Army National
CINDY COLLING ’79 of Albuquer-
Guard. He has lived in Montgomery
que, N.M., has retired from her
TIM O. CRAIG ’87 received his LL.M.
environmental law and policy,
since 1980.
position as a clinical research
in taxation from the University of
specifically ocean and coastal law, for
pharmacist with the federal
Alabama School of Law. He practices
more than 17 years, during which
SAN HARNEY SHORT ’77, an ostomy
government after 35 years. She
forestry and law in Greenville.
time she directed two Sea Grant
nurse at Upson Regional Medical
earned her bachelor’s in pharmacy
Center in Thomaston, Ga., has been
from Purdue University in 1973 and
WILLIAM TIMOTHY MITCHELL ’87
director of the National Sea Grant
awarded the 2014 Lifetime Achieve-
her master’s from Auburn in 1979.
is an assistant professor in the school
Law Center at the University of
ment Award from the Georgia
of accounting and finance at the
Mississippi School of Law.
Hospital Association. She began her
University of Waterloo in Waterloo,
career at Upson more than 30 years
1980s
ago, and has demonstrated excellence
levels. She has worked in
Legal Programs and was the founding
Ontario, Canada. He and his wife,
ELIZABETH FULLER STOLL ’97
Julia Mitchell ’83, live in Guelph,
and her husband, Buck, recently
Ontario.
adopted a 3-year-old girl from
in a variety of roles: ostomy nurse,
SUSAN GAZAWAY D’ANTONI ’80,
diabetes educator, point-of-care
executive director of Montgomery
coordinator for blood glucose testing,
County Medical Society in Maryland,
and Mission Champion for patient
has been elected president of the
satisfaction. She has provided
American Association of Medical
diabetes education to Upson patients
Society Executives, an organization
RICH THIGPEN ’90 works as an IT
DEREK HOUSTON ’98, a real estate
since 1980, developed a free monthly
representing more than 300 societies
manager at the University of
attorney, has been named special
diabetes education class that is open
nationwide. She is a member of the
California-Los Angeles and was
counsel in the St. Petersburg, Fla.,
to the community, and provided
AU College of Liberal Arts Dean’s
Return to
Auburn Maintenance-Free Ranch Homes in a Clubhouse Community from the mid $200s
Bangkok, Thailand. Sarah Thornton Stoll joins two older brothers, Conner
1990s
and Fuller. The family lives in Atlanta.
named the 2013-14 faculty advisor of
office of Adams and Reese. He was a
Council and a
the year for the California-Nevada-
former shareholder from the Trenam
member of the
Hawaii district of Circle K Interna-
Kemker St. Petersburg office, and he
board of the
tional Thigpen advises the UCLA
also formerly worked for Holland and
college’s Women’s
chapter of CKI, which is one of the
Knight. He has focused his legal
Leadership
organization’s largest at more than
practice on lending, commercial real
Institute. She also
280 members. This is his second time
estate and real estate development
serves as president
to receive the award.
transactions and construction
of the Metropolitan
contracting.
Washington Auburn
CHRISTOPHER SHAFFER ’91 was
Club and as vice
appointed dean of library services at
president of the AU
Troy University on Aug. 15, 2014.
2000s
Health Administration Alumni
MICHAEL B. “MIKE” WALTER ’92
ERICA MUSGROVE ’02, along with
Organization.
has been named director of sales for
her sister, recently completed her first
Symmons Corp. and will be living in
marathon, the Marine Corps
Auburn.
Marathon in Washington, D.C.
Batya Grunfeld
KRISTEN FLETCHER ’93 was
CLAIRE DONNEE ’03 and Brian
were married on
named a distinguished environmental
O’Donnell were married on May 3 in
March 31, 2014.
law graduate of Lewis & Clark Law
Orange Beach. They live in Chicago.
They live in New
School in October. She received her
York City.
J.D. from Notre Dame, then went on
ELIZABETH COOLEY LORING ’03
to earn an LL.M. from Lewis & Clark
and her husband, Porter, announce
MAERA NIX CARR
in 1998. Currently principal of
the birth of a son, James Porter
’86 and David
Fletcher Coastal Consulting in Pacific
Loring, on Oct. 2. He joins a big sister,
CHARLES S. STEIN ’82 and
Hamilton Gables 3115 Alumni Lane Opelika, AL (334) 741-9900 WilcoxCommunities.com
58
AUBURNMAGAZINE.AUBURN.EDU
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THE CLASSES > IN MEMORIAM
Jillian. The family lives in Cumming, Ga. TIFFANY BAKER JACKSON ’04 and KEITH MARSHALL JACKSON ’04 announce the
birth of a daughter, Miller Kate, on July 23. She joins two brothers, Sawyer and Graham. The family lives in Birmingham. KYTE HOEFERT ’05 was
accepted into the physician assistant program at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, a two-year master’s program. He and his wife, Kate, live in Annapolis, Md., where he has been completing prerequisite coursework, teaching sailing and volunteer-
Looking for Love The lyrics in the program weren’t the cheeriest for the A.P.I. Faculty Club’s Valentine
Dinner on Feb. 13, 1951, but the menu, including casseroles and congealed salads, no doubt encouraged romance.
ing as an EMT since his 2012 U.S. Navy discharge. GORDON SUMNER ’06 was recently
Council on Foreign Relations in
WILBER C. HAIRE ’41 of Tallahassee,
FRANK BARBAREE ’48 of Jackson
New York City.
Fla., on Feb. 7. He worked in the
on Oct. 13. An Army veteran of World
veterinary field in Jacksonville, Fla.,
War II, he enjoyed a 37-year career as
appointed as an Army Reserve Ambassador for the Commonwealth
ASHLEIGH T. DEMOLL ’08 received
for many years before moving to
an educator, 22 years as principal of
of Virginia, a three-year appointment.
her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine
Tallahassee in 1961 as chief of the
Jackson High School.
The Army Reserve Ambassador
degree on May 28 from the Philadel-
Florida Bureau of Poultry Services.
program was established in 1998 for
phia College of Osteopathic Medicine,
He was active throughout the
ROSEMARY DABNEY DEAL ’48 of
private citizens to promote awareness
Georgia campus. She has accepted a
veterinary community before his
Taylorsville, N.C., on Oct. 19. She was
of the Army Reserve. During his
four-year residency program at
retirement.
a Kappa Delta while at Auburn.
27-year Army career, Sumner served
Inspira Medical Center in Vineland,
in various command and staff
N.J., specializing in emergency
LAURIE “ELIZABETH” AVERRETT
JESSE F. “JACK” MEHAFFEY ’48
positions worldwide. After retiring
medicine.
’44 of Auburn on Oct. 8. She enjoyed
of Lanett on Aug. 26. An Army Air
a 37-year teaching career at Port
Corps veteran of World War II, where
from the Army, he served in various senior leadership positions with
ALLISON PENDLETON ’12 married
Arthur Junior High School in Port
he served as a crew chief on the PSI
small, veteran-owned/minority-
John Matthew Piercy on July 19. They
Arthur, Texas, before returning to her
Mustang Fighter Squadron, he
owned businesses.
live in Bowling Green, Ky., where she
hometown of Notasulga in 1981.
worked as an industrial engineer for
is a third grade teacher at Briarwood KATIE LOWRY ’07 of Auburn,
Elementary.
who received her master’s in international relations/ communications from Boston
West Point Manufacturing/ West Point Pepperell throughout his career.
FRANCIS L. “FRANK” THOMAS ’44 of Tallahassee, Fla., on Jan. 4,
In Memoriam
University in 2010, has been
2013. A U.S. Army veteran retiring
JEFFERSON D. PORTER SR. ’48 of
with the rank of major, he worked for
Richland Township, Pa., on Sept. 26.
the USDA and the Florida Depart-
A veteran of World War II, he worked at Westinghouse for 36 years.
named assistant director of the
D. W. KISER ’40 of Jasper on Sept.
ment of Agriculture until his
Maurice R. Greenberg Center for
26. He worked for the Soil Conserva-
retirement in 1993.
Geoeconomic Studies at the
tion Service for 35 years.
SPRING 2015
Auburn Magazine
59
THE CLASSES > IN MEMORIAM
ALBERT M. “BERT” FRENCH ’49
Corps veteran of the Korean War, he
of Dadeville on Oct. 3. A U.S. Navy
most recently served as the chief
veteran of World War II, he was a
veterinary medical officer at the
manufacturing executive with the
USDA Agricultural Research Center
Clorox Co. for 36 years.
in Beltsville, Md.
A microscope system that NASA is using on Antarctic expeditions.
DORSEY L. HAYNES ’49 of Dothan
BETTY SCONYERS PHILLIPS ’52 of
on Oct. 4. A longtime educator, he is
Mobile on Oct. 16. She practiced
Antimicrobial coatings with potential to prevent diseases from spreading on contaminated surfaces.
credited with creating the statewide
veterinary medicine in Mobile with
network of technical schools and
her husband, Charlie, for 29 years
Bacteria-eliminating chemical technology currently marketed as a water purification process.
community colleges in Alabama.
and was the first woman to practice
Fabric that improves the effectiveness of bullet-proof vests worn by law enforcement personnel.
HAROLD CLAYTON INGRAM SR. ’50 of Decatur on Sept. 19. He served
DONALD K. MARTIN ’54 of
A device that improves the operation and safety of automobile air bags.
as a textile engineer for Monsanto for
Huntsville on Oct. 23. He worked for
30 years before his retirement in
Teledyne Brown Engineering, from
1982. A U.S. Army veteran, he was
which he retired in 1996.
TigerTRIVIA It came from where? Technologies, discoveries and inventions originating from Auburn researchers:
Asphalt that dramatically improves driving conditions. A drug-delivery system that aids in the treatment of muscular dystrophy and diabetes. Biodegradable food-source fishing lures. Technologies for highway and bridge construction. Highly advanced filters used in ventilation systems and in high-level security systems. Food-safety sensors. Lightweight air masks that filter out toxins and allow longer use by first responders. A popular and widely used flea pill for dogs.
veterinary medicine in Alabama.
commissioned as a second lieutenant upon graduation from Auburn.
GEORGE A. ATKINS ’55 of Hoover
on Jan. 21. A three-year letterman EDWARD E. JOHNSTON JR. ’50 of
and an All-American while at
Fairhope on Oct. 25. He was a former
Auburn, he played in the NFL for the
longtime resident of Opelika.
Detroit Lions and for 16 years coached the offensive line at Auburn
DON E. TILLERY SR. ’50 of Winter
for Coach Ralph “Shug” Jordan. After
Park, Fla., on May 25. A prominent
working in Birmingham for ten years,
oral surgeon, he graduated from
he returned to Auburn in 1982 to
Emory University School of Dentistry,
work in university development. He
and was a PiKA and a member of
retired from Auburn in 1995, and
numerous honor societies at Auburn.
enjoyed hunting, fishing and spending time at Lake Martin.
DWIGHT E. “POP” HULGAN SR. ’51
of Geneva on Oct. 3. A Navy veteran
ROBERT DEAN MIMS ’56 of Griffin,
of World War II, he was retired as a
Ga., on Dec. 20. A U.S. Army veteran
salesman for the Mississippi
who served with the signal corps, he
Chemical Corp.
owned and operated Cherokee Casket Co. until his retirement.
KENNETH FRANK INGRAM ’51 of
The Oxfords What’s better than an Oxford Smith? Why, three Oxford Smiths, of course. Pictured, from left, are Andrew Oxford Smith Sr. ‘62 of
Ashland on Oct. 24. A Marine Corps
BROWNLEE FIVEASH ’57 of
veteran, he had a long political career
Northport on Oct. 1. A Korean War
in Alabama, including service in the
veteran, he was retired from Alabama
Alabama Legislature. His judicial
Gas Co.
career began in 1968 with the 18th Judicial Circuit. He served as a circuit
JOHN LEE MARSHALL JR. ’57 of
judge for 18 years.
Cantonment, Fla., on Oct. 1. He had a
Eclectic, his grandson Andrew Oxford Smith III , an AU freshman, and his
long engineering career with
son Andrew Oxford Smith Jr. ‘86 of Auburn. Need another Andrew? Add
BEN HILL STROUD ’51 of Front
the late family patriarch Andrew Luther Smith ‘29 of Orrville.
Royal, Va., on Sept. 7. A U.S. Marine
60
AUBURNMAGAZINE.AUBURN.EDU
Monsanto, from which he retired.
S H A R E YO U R N E W S W I T H U S AT AU B M AG @AU B U R N . E D U
ALUMNI SNAPSHOT
AMONG THE ELITE Ashton Richardson ’12 has been named a recipient of the prestigious Marshall Scholarship, becoming one of only 40 students or young graduates in the United States selected for the honor, which enables them to attend their choice of university in the United Kingdom.
“Ashton Richardson is an exemplar of the student athlete who through dedication to his academic studies and his hard work on the field has brought much credit to himself, his family, and Auburn University. We couldn’t be happier for Ashton and we know that the world is a better place because this young man is a Marshall Scholar,” said Melissa Baumann, Auburn University assistant provost and director of the Honors College. New Orleans native Richardson is a December 2012 summa cum laude graduate in the College of Agriculture with a major in animal sciences (pre-veterinary medicine). His many achievements include the W. James Samford Foundation President’s Award; the 2013 Fellowship of Christian Athletes Bobby Bowden Award; the Cliff Hare Award, which is awarded to Auburn’s top male scholar athlete; the Auburn University Male Scholar Athlete for academic year 2012-2013; and Auburn’s nominee for the S.E.C. H. Boyd McWhorter Award in spring 2013. A four-year letterman and linebacker for the Auburn Tigers, Ashton conducted undergraduate research under the direction of Reid Hanson, professor of veterinary medicine, examining articular cartilage thickness in cadaveric equine limbs. Currently, Ashton is in his second year at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine, where he serves as the president of the One Health Association, which explores the connections between human, animal and environmental health. He is also a member of the Texas Veterinary Medicine Foundation Board of Trustees.
SPRING 2015
Auburn Magazine
61
THE CLASSES > IN MEMORIAM
ROY HENRY REDDERSON ’61 of
Program and served as an interde-
JOSEPH ANDREW “DREW”
JAMES MATTHEW YELLE ’80 of
Greenville, S.C., on Nov. 7. He served
nominational Stephen Minister.
RHODES JR. ’73 of Greenville, S.C.,
Toney on Sept. 24. He worked in
died on Sept. 12. He was a partner
software programming for banking
15 years in the Navy, leaving with the rank of LCDR, and worked for
ROBERT “BOB” GRAY III ’65 of
in the law firm of Ogletree, Deakins,
systems for 30 years and was an
10 years with ITT Grinnell and 18
Baton Rouge, La., on Oct. 25. An
Nash, Smoak and Stewart.
avid Auburn fan.
years at Georgia Southern
electrical lighting engineer, he
University as an associate professor
worked for the Boeing Corp. during
STACY BURLEY MOORE ’74 of
WILLIAM G. “BILLY” FAULKNER
of engineering technology.
the heyday of the space program,
Roswell, Ga., on Aug. 29. She taught
JR. ’81 of Birmingham on Oct. 13. A
contributing to the Apollo missions
at Garrison Mill Elementary for 17
Lambda Chi at Auburn, he worked
PERRIN C. “PC” BRYANT ’63 of
VII-XII and was on the launch team
years and at The Howard School for
for Trane Corp. for 33 years.
Georgetown, S.C., on Oct. 27. A
for the first manned space flight.
10 years, and was an active
Vietnam veteran, he retired from the
volunteer for Relay for Life and the
Alabama Air National Guard in 1992
GLENN ROBERT ADAMS ’70 of
at the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He
Henagar on Sept. 1. He owned and
retired as chief pilot for SouthTrust
operated Adams Construction.
Bank in Birmingham in 2001.
Alzheimer’s Association.
Faculty & Friends
GERALD DELANE “JOE” JERNI-
DONNA DENAY POWELL PORTER
GAN ’77 of Fort Worth, Texas, on
of Birmingham on Sept. 29. She
JAMES STROUD PAINTER JR. ’53
Oct. 18. A longtime educator in
enjoyed a distinguished career in
CAROLINE BURNETT COOK ’63 of
of Orlando, Fla., on March 22, 2014.
Texas, he authored three textbooks
real estate and was a member of the
Roanoke, Va., on Oct. 7. She was one
He was a veteran of the Vietnam
adopted by the state on Internet use
Club of Excellence and a recipient
of the founders of the Cooperative
War, where he earned a Purple
and co-authored training for
of the Vulcan Award. She also was a
Baptist Fellowship, was a graduate of
Heart, and was a dedicated Auburn
different software applications used
founding member of the Assistance
Loyola University’s Stephen Ministry
fan throughout his life.
in education.
League of Birmingham.
Black Alumni Weekend
Join us on the Plains! Don’t miss out on a great A-Day weekend this year with MAIN as we gather for events that include tours, a Friday night mixer, Saturday tailgate, AU Alumni Gospel Choir concert and more. Register at www.aualum.org/MAIN or call 334-844-1148 for more information.
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BACKCHAT Online Speak
FACEBOOK Gotta love the #AuburnFamily! Greater Houston Auburn Club member Justin Brodnax was happy to find this note on his windshield after a long day recently! And more love stories.
AUBURN MAGAZINE ONLINE A Day in the Life of “Today.” Meet Lee Miller ’99, director of NBC’s weekend “Today” show and “NBC Nightly News.” auburnmagazine.auburn.edu
TWITTER @kyleAUbonds1: Grad gift for finishing at Auburn? A dove hunt trip to Argentina. War Damn from Córdoba.
INSTAGRAM The sun is shining bright on #Samfordhall today #auburn #auburnuniversity #auburnalumni
SPRING 2015
Auburn Magazine
63
THIS IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE THROUGH SCIENCE. “In simple terms, the Ebola virus compromises the body’s natural immune response to its presence, and we are seeking to develop molecules to counter that effect.” - Stewart Schneller
An Auburn University research team, led by professor of chemistry and biochemistry Stewart Schneller, has produced a new drug candidate that could one day slow or even stop the deadly Ebola virus. The group of postdoctoral associates, PhD candidates, and undergraduates designed a compound aimed at reversing the immune-blocking abilities of certain viruses, including Ebola. This focused research and expertise represents a decade of collaboration, perseverance, and continuous improvement on results. This is WY3161, the Auburn-developed compound under extensive study in partnership with the National Institutes of Health. Schneller directs his team in pursuing antiviral drug design and discovery with a focus on emerging and re-emerging viruses like monkeypox, measles, yellow fever, West Nile Fever, dengue fever, and Hepatitis C. Learn more about the Schneller Group and Auburn University at auburn.edu/thisisauburn.
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“FACULTY DIDN’T JUST TEACH US LESSONS, THEY PREPARED US FOR LIFE.” –JOHN W. BROWN ’57
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WHY DO YOU GIVE? TELL US BY EMAILING BECAUSE@AUBURN.EDU.
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