Auburn Magazine Summer 2009

“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” hits Montgomery pg 36

FEATURE

Q&A How to get admitted to Auburn University pg 42

Tales of LBJ from the cockpit of Air Force One pg 64

ESSAY

SUMMER 2009

Go Orange!

It’s tasty and good for you, too: Your health and other fruits of eating local

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Who’s your daddy?

Fans of the local-food movement urge us to “put a face” on our food—and who could resist this one?

Red swamp crawfish, like these from a Georgia market, are often boiled with seasoning, garlic, potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, onions and sausage. Yum! The little pinchers can be found in creeks around the South, waiting to clamp down on toes and other predators.

Cover story on Page 28. Photograph by Jeff Etheridge

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On the cover Yep, that’s a real orange winking at you. Art by Saxton Freymann© from Play With Your Food LLC.

Summer 2009 F R O N T

24 Tiger Walk

AU swimmers win a national title as an ode to an ailing coach. Plus: Hoops and Tiger trivia.

6 From the Editor

Auburn’s graduating seniors are competing for job offers in hard economic times.

8 The First Word

Readers react to our new look.

10 College Street

In our campus news section: Students leave the country to study.

Also: reading, in school and behind bars.

Swimmers hit No. 1 on the charts

B A C K 47 Alumni Center

We bring you a calendar chock full of events, plus what’s up with Auburn clubs. And don’t miss our mini-features on alumni who study presidents’ favorite hymns, write poignant poetry and jump out of planes.

Iralee Whitaker, circa 1909

16 Research

In a fight between a bird and an airplane, who wins? Not the passengers. Also: drug delivery, cinnamon-scented roach repellent, health reporting and more.

18 Roundup

What’s happening in your college? Check it out.

Jayme Oates ’04 extracts honey from her Notasulga hive to sell at a local farmers market. For more buzz on the local-food movement, see Page 28.

F E A T U R E S

Veggie Tales

28

20 Concourse

Student life at Auburn, from job searches to hurricane relief to wheelchair basketball.

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A New Home for the Jordans

When ABC-TV’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” threw out a pitch for Montgomery volunteers, Auburn alumni and thousands of others stepped up to the plate. by christian boone photographs by jeff etheridge

42 Chandler Moore: WEGL’s wow factor

John Lowery ’51 flies high

An omnivore dodges foreign fruits and vagabond vegetables to explore the pros and cons of eating food grown locally. Advocates say we can shrink our environmental footprint, improve our health and even save a few bucks—but it’s not as easy as it sounds. by suzanne johnson photographs by jeff etheridge

49 Class Notes 58 In Memoriam 64 The Last Word

Brig. Gen. James U. Cross ’50 recalls his time in the skies with LBJ as pilot of Air Force One.

Getting to Yes

Two admissions pros discuss what it takes to get into Auburn University these days.

Good grades and high standardized-test scores help, but entry isn’t limited strictly to eggheads—motivation and commitment count too. with wayne alderman and cindy singley

“Sawdust” with the boss

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S U M M E R

2 0 0 9

From the Editor

Beginnings

Betsy Robertson

BETSY ROBERTSON

Suzanne Johnson

EDITOR

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Editor, Auburn Magazine

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Just before this issue landed in your mailbox, more than 2,800 Auburn University students filed into Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum in caps and gowns, then walked, shuffled or strutted across a makeshift stage, shook hands with the university president and received that familiar piece of parchment signifying the end of their college coursework.

Cameras flashed. Parents beamed. People hugged generously. It was a happy day.

Sometimes it strikes me as ironic that we feature so little coverage of our university’s commencement ceremonies in Auburn Magazine. I myself downplay the newsworthiness of the occasion: Graduations, after all, take place every few months, just like lectures and final exams and sporting events. The “shiny balls” on campus tend to attract our attention, and too often we fail to take interest in routine events, fall victim to thinking commencement is just another part of what happens here—no big deal.

And then we remember: For each one of those black-robed young adults, commencement is a fresh start. Their university degrees represent not only a goal accomplished but also progress toward individual ambitions and independence, the ability to think critically and make smart choices. The graduation ceremony represents, in a sense, what Auburn exists to do: Create a society of people ca-

AUBURN MAGAZINE (ISSN 1077– 8640) is published quarterly; 4X per year; spring, summer, fall, winter, for dues-paying members of the Auburn Alumni Association. Periodicals-class postage paid in Auburn and additional mailing offices. Editorial offices are located in the Auburn Alumni Center, 317 South College St., Auburn University, AL 36849-5149. Phone (334) 844–1164.

Fax (334) 844–1477. E–mail: aubmag@auburn.edu. Contents ©2009 by the Auburn Alumni Association, all rights reserved.

ADVERTISING INFORMATION Contact Betsy Robertson at (334) 844–1164.

POSTMASTER Send address changes to 317 South College St., Auburn University, AL 36849–5149.

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Auburn Magazine a u a l u m . o r g

pable of solving the world’s problems. It’s a heady proposition, and one none of us should take for granted.

Unfortunately, Auburn’s newest alumni also are facing the bittersweet reality that along with their newfound freedom from classes and research papers comes the challenge of finding a job. Employers are hiring 22 percent fewer graduates this year, and starting salaries themselves are showing a slight decline: The overall average offer to this year’s bachelor’s degree graduates stands at $48,515—down 2.2 percent from last spring’s average of $49,624, reports the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Those employers who are hiring want graduates who have at least a “B” average and have held leadership positions on campus.

For many of this spring’s graduates, the age-old question of “what do I do now?” looms larger than usual. That’s where you come in.

I hope all the members of the Auburn family will take time this summer to reconnect with a young AU graduate at a local club meeting or in your community. Share an encouraging word, a campus memory or just a smile. Help with a job search if you can, and let them know you’re rooting for them. It’s a big world out there, and they need all of us. It’s the Auburn way.

Shannon Bryant-Hankes ’84 ART DIRECTOR

Stacy Wood WEBMASTER

Jeff Hall UNIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHER

Jeff Etheridge EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS

Morgan Ladner ’10, Rebecca Lakin ’10, Kate Winford ’09 DESIGN ASSISTANTS

Ashley Hollis ’09, Nayeon Kim ’10 Shannon Leutzinger ’09 PRESIDENT, AUBURN UNIVERSITY

Jay Gogue ’69 VICE PRESIDENT FOR ALUMNI AFFAIRS AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AUBURN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

Deborah L. Shaw ’84 PRESIDENT, AUBURN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

Nancy Young Fortner ’71 AUBURN MAGAZINE ADVISORY BOARD CHAIR

Kay Fuston ’84 AUBURN MAGAZINE ADVISORY BOARD

betsyrobertson@auburn.edu

LETTERS Auburn Magazine welcomes readers’ comments, but reserves the right to edit letters or to refuse publication of letters judged libelous or distasteful. Space availability may prevent publication of all letters in the magazine, in which case, letters not printed will be available on the alumni association Web site at the address listed below. No writer is eligible for publication more often than once every two issues. No anonymous letters will be accepted. Auburn Magazine is available in alternative formats for persons with disabilities. For information, call (334) 844–1143. Auburn Magazine is a benefit of membership in the Auburn Alumni Association and is not available by individual subscription.

To request a membership application, call the association at (334) 844–2586.

John Carvalho ’78, Susan Dendy ’79, Ed Dickinson ’70, Christian Flathman ’97, Tom Ford ’67, Mary Lou Foy ’66, Thomas Gossom Jr. ’75, Paul Hemphill ’59, Eric Ludgood ’78, Cindy McDaniel ’80, Carol Pappas ’77, Neal Reynolds ’77, Joyce Reynolds Ringer ’59, Allen Vaughan ’75

L E T T E R S

T O

T H E

E D I T O R

The First Word THE TOPIC Auburn Magazine debuted its design over-

haul this spring; below are some of your comments about the issue from our recent online reader survey.

Responses were anonymous. Also: Auburn Magazine welcomes letters to the editor. Send your thoughts via e-mail to aubmag@auburn.edu, or write to us at Auburn Magazine, 317 South College St., Auburn University, AL 36849-5149.

Thumbs up on redesign

Asked how you felt about the magazine redesign, 68 percent of 5,000 readers surveyed said they liked the new design better than the old; 17 percent couldn’t tell a difference; and 8 percent preferred the old design. Comments: • “Both designs were good. This change is great.”

• “It has a more professional look and feel.”

• “It’s different, but I like it.”

• “The old design was better, but I like the ‘greener’ footprint.”

• “I like them both. I’m more into content than design.”

The eagle soars

The Spring 2009 issue sported a cover photo of golden eagle Nova to promote a feature story on Auburn’s Southeastern Raptor Center. A whopping 97 percent of survey respondents found the cover appealing or said it enticed them to open the magazine. Comments: • “I thought it was a great cover. My son asked when I had started receiving this magazine; he had never noticed it before now.”

• “It attracted the attention of visitors in our house.”

• “Excellent depiction of our mascot and its traits of self-reliance and steadfastness! The essence of War Eagle.”

• “I love the cover! The eagle is a symbol of our university, and the picture invokes memories of Tiger flying during pre-game.”

Seeds of change

If you could change one thing about Auburn Magazine, what would it be? More than 200 readers offered suggestions, including: • “Publish more frequently.”

• “More pictures of the campus, especially before-and-after pictures.”

• “More sports articles.”

• “Maybe a page in each issue with photos of campus life from the past.”

• “I would like to see a ‘Where Are They Now?’ section featuring former sports figures, etc.”

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• “More on the traditions and outstanding alums, and what efforts Auburn is making to improve on our total image among colleges and the general public. I think Auburn’s image is not as appreciated as it should be!”

• “I would like to see the old style back. I’m too old to see all these changes.”

• “More articles about the minority population at Auburn.”

• “So many of the changes have actually been addressed in the new design. I think additional factoids around stories (see Wired magazine) would give the magazine more depth and maintain my interest longer.”

• “I guess someone has to pay the bills, but there are still too many ads. ” • “Give us less unalloyed boosterism. AU has some problems.”

• “Issue it weekly.”

Readers’ choice

Nearly 60 percent of you reported that, of the three feature stories in the Spring 2009 issue, the article on the Southeastern Raptor Center interested you the most. Twenty-nine percent of readers preferred “The Perfect Storm,” which featured Auburn business faculty ruminating on the national economy, while 12 percent most enjoyed “The Thinker,” a profile of philosophy professor Kelly Jolley. Asked which story from recent issues has stuck in their minds, readers had a range of favorites. Among them: • “The unusual jobs people had in college— probably because it was about several people and not just one alum.”

• “The ‘Civil War,’ since I come from mainly a University of Alabama family.”

• “The story about the man who created Habitat for Humanity (Millard Fuller). I thought it was sad the way he was treated, but I liked that he was resilient.”

• “‘To Hell and Back’—a great view of the best generation.”

• “History of the tradition at Toomer’s Corner, i.e., rolling the trees following an athletic victory. We received a small seedling from the acorns grown at AU as a gift. We planted it in our backyard and have nurtured it. It has grown to above 6 feet tall. We call it our ‘Toomer tree.’”

• “The story of Pat Dye and Harper Lee. I enjoyed the personal touch and the humor.”

• “Myths of past AU students—my husband’s grandfather was part of the group who led the cow up Samford Hall’s stairs to mess with their friend who was in charge of winding the clock.”

ATO eagle?

In 1961 I was a junior and lived in the Alpha Tau Omega House. Returning from class one day, there was a crowd outside the house. As I got closer, I saw a golden eagle in a wooden cage and noticed he had an injured wing.

One of my fraternity brothers, Dell Hill, had a father who worked as a county agent in Talladega. He had found the bird and sent it down to Auburn in hopes that it could receive treatment from the doctors at the vet school. After watching the bird as it eyed us, it was decided it might be hungry. Someone came up with a live chicken and put it in the cage with the eagle! After quickly having dinner, the eagle again eyed us, but this time he seemed to be saying, “Um, tasty!”

I never heard what happened to the ATO eagle and would love to hear from anyone who knows the rest of the story. In the meantime, I’ll always think of that bird as the first War Eagle of the modern era.

—Richard Brown ’62, Buford, Ga. Remember 1948-49

As an alumnus, I enjoyed your article on Auburn’s football rivalry with the University of Alabama (“Civil War,” Fall 2008). I was surprised you did not mention the incredible story of the 1948-49 seasons.

Due to the intense rivalry and attendant brawls, the two schools had ceased meeting in the football arena for a number of years. In 1948, the decision was made to resume the rivalry but to do so on neutral territory, Birmingham. The game was a humiliating debacle, with Alabama winning 55-0.

One year later the two teams played on the same field, and Auburn won 14-13. I have always wondered if a 56-point reversal in score from one year to the next is a national record. Personally, I had the misfortune to attend the first game but not the second.

—Kelly H. Burke ’52, Shalimar, Fla. Correction

Former Auburn head football coach Jack Meagher, who hired Ralph “Shug” Jordan as an assistant coach in 1934, was misidentified in our Spring 2009 issue. We regret the error.

NEXT TOPIC We’re collecting summer memories: What happened during your most memorable summer as a college student? Did you take a road trip, or have a wild adventure? Send your story to aubmag@auburn.edu, or write us at: Auburn Magazine, 317 South College St., Auburn, AL 36849-5149.

Snapshots of the Auburn Family Auburn is more than its high rankings, growing campus, and breakthrough inventions. What makes Auburn special is the people who make up the Auburn Family. Especially our students, the faculty who teach them, and the successful alumni they eventually become.

For example….

Meet student JaRyce Nabors JaRyce is a biochemistry major who participated in the undergraduate research program under the supervision of her professor Doug Goodwin. After completing her degree, she plans to attend pharmacy school at Auburn and pursue a career as a

Meet faculty member Mark Byrne

clinical pharmacist.

The assistant professor of chemical engineering has developed a proven technology to enable contact lenses to hold medication in concentrated, renewable doses and release the drug in a time-controlled manner.

Meet alumna Marie Rush Earning degrees from both the College of Agriculture’s pre-vet program and the College of Veterinary Medicine, Marie Rush first held her dream jobs at the Bronx and Birmingham zoos. Now, she’s back at Auburn caring for birds at the Southeastern Raptor Center and teaching the next generation of veterinarians.

We’re glad you’re a part of our Auburn Family, too.

Check out our online publication Snapshots of the Auburn Family that showcases a few people from each of Auburn’s colleges and schools and highlights research, history, athletics, and more at www.auburn.edu/snapshots.

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C A M P U S

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COLLEGE STREET

All abroad Money might be tight, but Auburn students are hitting the books overseas at a record rate. If summer projections hold true, about 885 AU students will study outside the U.S. this year, compared to 712 last year; the number of Auburn students who go abroad for classes has tripled over the past decade.

The economic recession apparently hasn’t affected enrollment in studyabroad programs, says Deborah Weiss, an assistant director in Auburn’s Office of International Education. Good deals on international travel and the dollar’s rising value against the euro have helped, but students’ and their families’ attitudes are just as important, Weiss says.

“At one time, students made the decision to spend a summer or a semester studying abroad after they got to college, but now they’re coming in as freshmen with international study as part of their educational plans,” she says. “A lot of parents recognize the importance of

Q and A HAS BARBIE, WHO TURNED 50 THIS SPRING, SERVED AS A BAD ROLE MODEL FOR GIRLS?

studying abroad with faculty, and they consider it a necessary part of the total educational package.”

University administrators recently began emphasizing study-abroad opportunities and increasing the number of overseas programs offered in various disciplines, which is part of Auburn’s strategic plan. About 3 percent of AU’s 24,000plus students participate in international study; the plan calls for an increase to 25 percent.

Among AU’s study-abroad options:

Denise Davis-Maye Associate professor of sociology

• In the College of Architecture, Design and Construction, students are studying building science in China and Italy, industrial design in Taiwan and Hong Kong, and landscape architecture in Portugal.

• Students in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering will be studying “Global Perspectives in Engineering” in Pamploma, Spain, this summer.

• The School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences has a new program in Brazil.

• College of Human Sciences students travel each year to Ariccia, Italy, for a semester.

• The School of Nursing has a new program in Ecuador.

• The College of Sciences and Mathematics sponsors studies in locations such as Costa Rica and Jordan.

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Barbie has its place. It’s a doll, an opportunity for children to fantasize, pretend, dream and grow … while their parents and community help them develop a love for their own faces, bodies and wonderful selves.

• This summer, horticulture students will study at Myerscough College in England, and the fisheries program has ongoing programs in China, Uganda and Vietnam.

• The College of Business’ London internship program now includes Dublin, and the college requires all MBA students to study abroad.

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BANG FOR THE BUCK Auburn is one of only five universities in the country with the capability and expertise to conduct research into nuclear waste storage for recycling.

BOOK ’EM! Edith Wharton’s 19th-

panel discussions and

century novel The Age

other events focusing on

of Innocence is one of

specific books. Auburn

a dozen classic works

faculty and students

of literature that might

plan to introduce

soon be a topic of

prisoners to three works

discussion by Alabama

of American literature

prisoners as part of a

within a 14-week time

literacy project funded

span.

by the federal govern-

ment.

Arts+Education Project,

founded by poet Kyes

The National Endow-

The Alabama Prison

ment for the Arts has

Stevens ’94 and housed

teamed with Auburn’s

in Auburn’s College of

psychology depart-

Liberal Arts, also offers

ment to adapt its “The

inmates a number of

Big Read” program for

other classes, including

the state’s inmates.

poetry, creative writing,

The program encour-

drawing, Alabama his-

ages Americans to

tory, photography and

read more by offering

theater.

N E W S

AUBURN UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

C A M P U S

Flashback 100 years ago

75 years ago

50 years ago

25 years ago

10 years ago

Summer 1909

Summer 1934

Summer 1959

Summer 1984

Summer 1999

Only two women were among the class of 1909 at Alabama Polytechnic Institute. Auburn’s Glomerata yearbook described class historian Iralee Whitaker as “despising frivolity, and believes in doing right, and maintaining her rights as an API cadet,” while class poet Hattie Finley “says she is from Alabama but talks like a Northern girl.”

Chet Wayne announced his decision to leave API as head football coach and athletic director after four years.

Loved by the student body for his “magnetic personality” and “matchless coaching ability,” he left with a record of 22-15-2. He was replaced by Jack Meagher, who served eight years in the position and led the Tigers to a 48-37-10 record.

Students began saying goodbye to API: The university was soon to be renamed Auburn University in accordance with Act No. 332 of the Alabama Legislature as signed by Gov. John Patterson. The university had been known colloquially as Auburn University for years.

Auburn’s first ever First-Team Kodak All-American women’s basketball player, Becky Jackson, was selected in the inaugural draft of the Women’s American Basketball Association.

The league was attempting to play a 22-game regular season soon after. Meanwhile, basketball legend Charles Barkley was drafted to the Philadelphia 76ers.

He left Auburn before his senior year.

University officials agreed to purchase a privately owned hotel on South College Street connected to the university’s conference center.

The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center’s 243 rooms and suites last year received their first design overhaul, which included the installation of new furniture, softer lighting, plasma TVs and wireless Internet service.

Above: Ralph Draughon, Auburn University president from 1947-65, and his wife Caroline enjoy the gardens of the President’s House, built in 1938 as a Public Works Administration project.

The home and its occupants through the years are profiled in A Family Home: A History of the President’s Mansion at Auburn University, by former first lady Nell Richardson ’83.

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C O L L E G E

S T R E E T

Grad stats up

Auburn provost: Academic reputation is priority one Senior administrators in

was able to look to

and the strategic plan

higher education typi-

senior associate provost

provides an outline for

cally wait for a semester

Sharon Gaber—who left

doing that,” Mazey says.

break to start a new job,

this spring to take the

“The search committee

but Auburn University’s

provost’s position at the

told me the institution

new academic chief,

University of Arkan-

wants to change, to

Mary Ellen Mazey, just

sas—for help during

move forward instead of

didn’t see the need.

the transition. In her

maintaining the status

first month, she met

quo. That is unusual

challenging, but the

with deans and faculty

and refreshing.”

timing was right,” says

members to discuss pri-

Mazey. The former West

orities and worked with

bachelor’s degree in so-

Virginia University dean

other top administrators

ciology and a master’s

joined Auburn in Febru-

on money matters as

degree in geology from

ary as provost and vice

the university confronts

West Virginia University

more than 20 years, in-

president for academic

a deepening economic

and a doctorate in urban

cluding a six-year term

affairs, succeeding John

recession and uncertain

geography from the

as dean of the College

Heilman, who retired

state funding.

University of Cincinnati.

of Liberal Arts. From

last year. She formerly

Prior to her tenure as

1996-97, Mazey was

oversaw WVU’s Eberly

ity is to work with the

arts-and-sciences dean

director of the Office of

College of Arts and Sci-

president, faculty,

at WVU, Mazey served

University Partnerships

ences.

staff and students to

in various administra-

for the U.S. Department

promote the university’s

tive capacities at Wright

of Housing and Urban

academic reputation,

State University for

Development.

“I knew it would be

By starting the job

mid-semester, Mazey

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Mary Ellen Mazey told faculty in March that national rankings, graduate programs and international education would be top priorities. The provost’s office oversees all academic deans.

“My No. 1 prior-

Auburn Magazine a u a l u m . o r g

Mazey holds a

Several Auburn University graduate programs in engineering and education improved their status among the most recent U.S. News and World Report “Best Graduate Schools” rankings.

The graduate program in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, which moved to 69th from 73rd nationally, is rated 41st among public universities and 24th among the 53 land-grant research universities. Also improving is chemical engineering (50th nationally, 32nd among public universities) and mechanical engineering (62nd nationally, 37th among public universities).

Auburn’s doctoral program in the College of Education saw a jump to 71st from 77th nationally, and is rated 50th among public universities and 24th among the 53 land-grant research universities.

In the social sciences, Auburn’s graduate program in psychology was ranked 103rd nationally and 67th among public universities, while the English program was rated 94th nationally and 59th among public universities.

Among the disciplines housed in the College of Engineering, industrial-systems engineering ranks 26th nationally and 19th among public universities; electrical engineering is 50th nationally and 29th among public universities; civil engineering is 58th nationally and 38th among public universities; and computer science/ software engineering is 58th nationally and 33rd among public universities.

Methodologies for the U.S. News rankings vary by discipline. Factors used in the rankings include: assessment by peer deans, assessment by corporate recruiters, mean Graduate Record Exam quantitative scores, acceptance rates, student-faculty ratios, percentage of National Academy of Engineering faculty members, doctoral degrees awarded, and total and average faculty research expenditures.

“Improving the quality of our academic programs is our major priority at Auburn,” says provost and vice president for academic affairs Mary Ellen Mazey.

“We are pleased that the new graduate rankings indicate we are making progress toward this priority. ”

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Mind over money JAY GOGUE ’69

President, Auburn University The economic downturn is having a dramatic impact on businesses, families and government. The same is true at Auburn University as in all of higher education. Because of the sluggish economy, cuts to the Auburn budget are substantial.

Support to Auburn from the Alabama Education Trust Fund was reduced this year by almost $69 million, the steepest cut in our history, and we expect lean budgets again in the future.

Our university is fortunate in that sound financial management through the years has put us in a position to thus far avoid severe cost-cutting measures such as employee furloughs or hiring freezes.

Some of the ways we are cutting expenses include slowing the pace of hiring, reprioritizing capital expenditures, improving the way we pay for goods, services and travel, and reviewing ways to decrease health care costs.

We also see ways in which Auburn will excel during these tough economic times. For example, we’re reviewing our

internal procedures, looking for ways to do more with less, and embracing sustainability practices, helping to both protect the world around us and cut down on costs.

Through it all, a key objective guiding our actions is Auburn’s commitment to providing first-class education. Our budget decisions will minimize impact in the classroom as we instead cut expenses primarily from administrative and noninstructional areas of campus.

In other news, we welcome Mary Ellen Mazey as Auburn’s new provost and vice president for academic affairs following a national search. She has an extensive background in teaching and administration, most recently as dean of the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University. Dr. Mazey brings to Auburn a vision in higher-education administration, and her expertise in strategic planning will help us achieve the ambitious goals we have laid out for our future.

On the subject of Auburn’s strategic plan, we are making good progress throughout the institution. If you have not read the plan, it is available on our Web site at www.auburn.edu/strategic plan. In the upper right corner of that page is a link to a “report card” detailing the progress that is being made in each of the initiatives covered in the strategic plan.

Although we face economic obstacles, the strategic plan will keep us focused on enriching our academic environment, building the foundation for a larger and stronger research enterprise and expanding the impact of our outreach activities.

War Eagle!

jgogue@auburn.edu

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S T R E E T

Garbage collection Auburn students and administrators planned to canvass the campus in April to weigh the amount of food scraps trashed on university grounds each day. The data is expected to help environmental advocates build a case for starting a campus composting program, The Auburn Plainsman reports.

Meet the Prof Holly Lavenstein ’03 Assistant professor of radio, TV and film, College of Liberal Arts BACKSTORY Lavenstein joined Auburn in 2005 from the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. Her film “Just Act Normal” was one of only four in the nation chosen for the prestigious Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival this spring.

THE GREAT OUTDOORS: Alabama Cooperative Extension System specialist David Cline ’91 was a multiple-

ABNORMALITY? “The film monitors a man’s gradual descent into disorientation through four episodes,” Lavenstein says. “A stranger asking for directions to the Peace Pagoda turns out to want more than that. The president of the United States calls out of the blue to request a personal favor. A stuffed owl, purchased at a yard sale, turns into a menacing rival. An attempt at normalcy after a stay in the hospital sours. Is something wrong with the man? Or is something wrong with everyone else?”

entry winner in the state’s 2009 Outdoor Alabama Photo Contest, competing against nearly 250 top amateur wildlife” category. His shot “Tree Frog” won first place in the reptiles category. Winning photos will be exhibited in six cities across Alabama this year. For dates and locations, see: www.outdooralabama.com.

Learning to read in Chambers Nearly 15 percent of Americans can’t read, and while Alabama’s average is about the same—down from 21 percent in 1992— there are still counties where the illiteracy rate is as high as 34 percent.

Those numbers are not OK with state educators involved in the Alabama Reading Initiative, a K-12 agency that wants all Alabamians—particularly students—to learn to read. The organization is getting a boost from Auburn University and Auburn University Montgomery, which plan to send faculty to teach educators in rural Chambers County how to better help stu-

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Auburn Magazine a u a l u m . o r g

dents become literate. The program will initially reach 50 teachers, paraprofessionals and principals within the county’s public and private schools.

“We are working with research-proven methods that have been around for some time, but these teachers may not have had the opportunity to experience them in active, hands-on ways or to really put them into action in their classrooms,” says Edna Brabham, an associate professor in Auburn’s College of Education. The program will be aided by a $98,000 grant from the Alabama Commission on Higher Education.

ON FILMMAKING Lavenstein thinks short films have a “peculiar beauty.” Both short- and longform movies are significant and valuable art forms, she says.

COMING SOON Lavenstein’s “Office Hours” begins

shooting this summer. “The film takes a humorous look at the kinds of excuses college students give for missing class, cheating on exams, plagiarizing, etc. I’m interested in the excuse as a kind of genre.”

PHOTOGRAP H BY JEFF ETHERID GE

photographers. “Bee on Purple Coneflower,” above, won Cline, an aquaculturist, second place in the “other

C A M P U S

N E W S

STATE PACT IMPACTED Auburn University and the University of Alabama denied state officials’ requests in March to freeze tuition in order to assist the state’s troubled Prepaid Affordable College Tuition trust, known as PACT, which has lost nearly half its value since 2007 because of the turmoil on Wall Street.

The prepaid college-tuition plan, which has about 48,000 participants, allowed parents or grandparents to pay a fixed amount for a child in anticipation of the child getting four years of tuition at a state university upon graduating high school. About 2,500 current Auburn students use the program.

At presstime, the state legislature was considering a bill that would provide state money each year to shore up PACT.

On board The Alabama Senate confirmed Birmingham financier Raymond J. Harbert ’82 as a member of the Auburn University board of trustees in March.

Harbert’s new appointment was blocked for a year after Alabama Sen. Myron Penn, D-Union Springs, expressed concern about the board’s lack of diversity. Penn cast the only vote against Harbert, noting that the university’s board—composed of one black man, two white women and 11 white men—should better reflect the campus’ demographics. Former Auburn trustee and state Sen. Lowell Barron ’65, DFyffe, told The Birmingham News that one black trustee out of 14 accurately reflects the black percentage of university enrollment, but that the number of women on the board does not. Women make up about 49 percent of Auburn’s student population.

Harbert will serve a seven-year term on the board, filling the at-large position previously held by commercial building contractor Earlon McWhorter ’68 of Anniston.

a u a l u m . o r g Auburn Magazine

15

C O L L E G E

S T R E E T

Research

MEDIA HYPE? Health reporting in consumer magazines might entertain, but readers should be wary of whether such articles actually enlighten, an Auburn journalism researcher warns.

All health research, for example, isn’t created equal: The time frame of a study and the number of study participants help ensure the reliability of the results—yet that information is often omitted in the media.

“A lot of the articles weren’t very accurate in terms of reporting the sample sizes, and they weren’t very good about reporting the years of the studies,” says Brigitta Brunner, an associate professor of communication and journalism, who recently completed a study of health reporting in Glamour and Men’s Health. “There was really no information that warned readers some of the information might be biased.”

Most journalists aren’t trained in any type of science and medical writing, she adds. “A lot of journalists seem to get thrown into the health beat without having the background knowledge, and there seems to be a huge breakdown in communication.”

Brunner and her sister, Larissa Brunner Huber, an associate professor at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, co-wrote “101 Ways to Improve Health Reporting,” which won the first Public Relations Society of America Health Academy/Quinnipiac University paper competition. Brunner was scheduled to present her health-reporting research in May at the PRSA Health Academy Conference in Washington, D.C.—Kate Winford

Scents to repel roaches A study headed by Auburn entomologist Art Appel could yield an effective weapon against the seemingly invincible German cockroach. Appel is studying how certain essential oils—those carrying the distinctive aroma of plants—might kill or repel the pesky critters. Cinnamon holds promise, as well as carvacol, an ingredient in the oil extracted from thyme. The research may have implications for developing nontoxic, kitchen-friendly commercial insecticides. Appel, a professor in the College of Agriculture, studies urban entomology, structural pests, and insect physiology and behavior.

16

Auburn Magazine a u a l u m . o r g

Refining nuclear safety As researchers at Auburn and around the nation explore alternatives to fossil fuels, assistant chemistry professor Anne Gorden is taking a second look at nuclear energy.

Gorden and a team of student researchers hope to find ways to make nuclear energy a more practical, environmentally safe choice. “If we are going to look at energy independence, then nuclear fuel is a viable option,” Gorden says. “Some of the new facilities that have been built in places like Canada, Japan and France have been built so they leave a smaller footprint.”

Gorden’s research, a cross between organic and inorganic chemistry, will enable early detection of nuclear leaks and shed light on the logistics of nuclear spill cleanup.

“Waste-storage sites currently monitor storage by using careful measurements,” she says. “They use a Geiger counter and alpha counter to create a map of the area. They can compare old maps to new maps to detect a leak.”

But that’s not foolproof: “A Geiger counter can indicate radioactivity, but not what it is specifically that you need to clean up,” she says. “How you clean different materials up might be different. What we would like to do is come up with a colorimetric or fluorescent sensor for detecting heavy metal ions in the environment.”

Gorden’s students are looking at ways to make detection of actinides more selective and more sensitive. Then, using carbon-, nitrogen- and oxygen-based compounds, they’ll try to effect methods of detecting uranium or improve methods for more selective uranium extractions.

“Right now, we are trying to come up with compounds that are easy to make, because when you are doing an extraction, you will need a lot of it. Uranium is a good place to start, because we can use depleted uranium to answer these questions without worrying as much about the radioactivity. If we find something that works really well, we could move on to something more radioactive,” Gorden says.—Candis Hacker Birchfield ’97

The terminator Auburn assistant biochemistry professor Evert Duin has received a $424,000 National Science Foundation grant for research in the fight against infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and anthrax, as well as staph infections.

“The human race is losing its battle against infective bacterial diseases, and we are facing new threats from bioterrorism,” Duin says. He’s helping look for new antiinfective drugs that use a different way of killing pathogens.

C O L L E G E

S T R E E T

When a bird hits a plane U.S. Airways’ “Miracle on the Hudson”—so dubbed by media pundits after pilots safely crash-landed the airline’s Flight 1549 in the Hudson River in January—could have ended tragically. When birds fly into planes, the results can be devastating.

More than 200 people have been killed worldwide since 1988 as a result of bird and other wildlife strikes to aircraft, and such strikes cause $600 million in damage annually in the United States alone, according to Bird Strike Committee USA, a volunteer organization that monitors such incidents.

In 2007, the Federal Aviation Administration fielded 7,439 reports of bird strikes. The incidents, they say, correlate with the growing number of birds populating stormwater-retention ponds at airports, especially larger species such as geese and turkey vultures. The ponds, built to collect and purify runoff from runways and parking lots, offer animals plenty of food and shelter.

The FAA has turned to a team of Alabama Ag Experiment Station scientists at Auburn to help find ways to reduce bird populations at airports. Researchers are designing a “model pond” that cleans stormwater runoff to meet water-quality standards and simultaneously eliminates features attractive to birds. Project collaborators include Auburn wildlife sciences professor Jim Armstrong, biosystems engineering professor Kyung Yoo, fisheries professor and water-quality specialist Claude Boyd ’66, forestry associate professor Latif Kalin and federal wildlife scientist Brad Blackwell.

Armstrong and his graduate assistant began the project’s first phase in August 2007, collecting data on pond characteristics in bird sites. When they wrap up that part of the project this August, they will have amassed data from 40 Lee County ponds visited more than 10,000 times.

Next, Boyd will use the data to find the most effective methods for cleaning airport ponds of polluted stormwater runoff from runways and parking lots, and Kalin will evaluate water-quality changes using different filtering methods. Finally, Yoo will design a pond to be built in Auburn, testing and tweaking it before presenting it to the FAA. Ideally, airport managers can incorporate such ponds into their birdmanagement programs. The end result: safer flying.

—Jamie Creamer

SPECIAL DELIVERY Ingesting even one

various cancers and

pill can be tricky—as

viral infections,” says

evidenced by the small

Wower. “There is a need

pile of drug information

to create tailor-made

American consumers

treatments for these

now receive with their

kinds of diseases,

prescriptions—but

because one person

juggling multiple

may respond differently

medications contains

to a medication than

a veritable obstacle

another. Medicine of

course of potholes,

the future will take into

from combinations that

account a unique ge-

produce weird side ef-

netic blueprint of every

fects to those that could

patient, increased risks

actually reduce the

for certain illnesses and

drugs’ effectiveness.

how patients respond to

disease and therapy.”

A group of Auburn

scientists has tackled

the problem, developing

tiny RNA molecules

a new way of controlling

called aptamers to

how drugs are released

control the release

into the body, which

of drugs. For each

in turn can reduce the

individual patient,

frequency of doses

drug delivery can be

and side effects from

set to occur at various

multiple medications.

rates or under certain

Researchers Mark

conditions, including

Byrne of chemical en-

exposure to an enzyme

gineering, Jacek Wower

or reaching a spe-

of animal sciences and

cific temperature. The

former graduate student

technology is capable

Siddarth Venkatesh

of delivering doses of

’08 have harnessed

multiple drugs at dif-

the power of nucleic

ferent rates or a single

acids to control the

drug at controllable and

rate, release amount

extended rates from one

and delivery location of

medical device.

medicines in the human

body.

well for controlled drug

delivery, other nucleic

“We anticipate

The researchers use

“Nucleic acids work

tremendous benefits

acids and proteins,”

to the treatment of

says Byrne.

a u a l u m . o r g Auburn Magazine

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C O L L E G E

S T R E E T

Roundup COLLEGE OF

Agriculture Auburn agriculture students are bridging the cultural divide this May as part of Maymester Abroad, a program of the Office of International Agriculture. Agronomy and soils professor David Weaver and six graduate students traveled to Northwest China Agriculture and Forestry University this spring to join their counterparts for a three-week crashcourse in plant genetics and crop improvement taught by Weaver.

The Chinese university is located in the republic’s central region and is a gateway to the western provinces. ... John Liu, alumni professor of fisheries and allied aquacultures, has completed the genome sequence of catfish, identifying and cataloguing all 28,000 catfish genes. Ultimately, the catfish data will help researchers develop a top-quality, high-yielding catfish that is significantly cheaper to produce.

COLLEGE OF

Architecture, Design and Construction The real estate market’s downward spiral has signaled a change in real estate education at Auburn, where the College of Architecture, Design and Construction has teamed up with

18

the College of Business to launch a master’s degree program in real estate development.

The venture will be the first of its kind in the Southeast, combining business-based real estate concepts with the core legal, planning, and physical design and construction aspects of development. Classes begin next summer.

COLLEGE OF

Business The College of Business is racking up rankings: The Department of Management is listed among the world’s top 40 based on a study of eight top management journals conducted by Texas A&M University and the University of Florida; the Department of Marketing ranked fifth internationally in terms of advertising research productivity for the period 1997-2006, the Journal of Advertising indicates; and the Department of Finance boasts three of the discipline’s most prolific authors, according to a study published in Advances in Financial Education. James Barth, Jimmy Hilliard and John Jahera are among the top 2 percent of finance faculty based on lifetime publishing activity, and faculty in the Department of Aviation & Supply Chain Management are ranked 19th internationally in research productiv-

Auburn Magazine a u a l u m . o r g

ity, reports Transportation Journal.

COLLEGE OF

Education The College of Education in April honored Alabama education superintendent Joseph Morton ’69 with an Outstanding Alumni Award for serving as the driving force behind programs designed to better prepare students for society’s technological changes. Morton helped guide the creation and implementation of the Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative, the Alabama Reading Initiative, ACCESS: Alabama Connecting Classrooms, the Alabama Learning Exchange and the Alabama Supercomputer Authority, which

advanced-placement exams. Morton, who lives in Sylacauga, has headed Alabama’s public K-12 education agency since 2004 after serving eight years as deputy state superintendent of education.

The Executive Educator magazine, which regularly chronicles the achievements of leaders in K-12 education, named him one of the top 100 school executives in North America.

tions to the U.S. space program. During a March ceremony at Auburn’s Shelby Center, Mattingly (pictured above) accepted the award—a moon rock encased in Lucite—and presented it for display in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering.

NASA gives the Ambassador of Exploration Award to first-generation explorers in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space programs for realizing America’s goal of reaching the moon. The rock, the only one of its kind in Alabama, is part of the 842 pounds of lunar samples collected during the six Apollo missions between 1969 and 1972.

SCHOOL OF

facilitates connectivity across schools. He has also helped expand advanced-placement courses to every high school in the state; Alabama now leads the nation in the number of students taking

SAMUEL GINN COLLEGE OF

Engineering NASA has honored astronaut T.K. Mattingly ’58 with an Ambassador of Exploration Award for his contribu-

Forestry and Wildlife Sciences The AU Forestry Club traveled to north Alabama in March to compete against students in 13 other forestry programs across the Southeast in academic challenges including

tree identification, timber estimation and pole classification. Club president Kevin Guthrie placed first in timber estimation, and Skylar Clark, the school’s incoming Student Government Association senator, placed first in pole estimation.

The physical competition included archery, knife and ax throwing, crosscut sawing, bow sawing, pole climbing, log birling, and other endurance and skill tests. Auburn’s students captured third-place wins in speed chopping (Kris Lewis), knife throwing (Michael Harley) and chain throw (Sarah Leslie and Kris Lewis); the team placed sixth in overall competition.

Graduate School Former NASA astronaut Kathryn Thornton ’74 delivered the inaugural lecture of the New Horizons Lecture Series, developed by Auburn’s Graduate School to encourage broader thinking about graduate education. Thornton, a professor and associate dean of engineering and applied science at the University of Virginia, served 12 years as an astronaut and flew four shuttle missions. Over the course of her career, she has logged more than 975 hours in space as well as 21 hours of space walking—more than any other woman at NASA.

C O L L E G E

Grazie The Italian embassy has awarded $12,000 to the College of Liberal Arts to increase its course offerings in Italian studies and provide online classes for Italian teachers and students pursuing teaching certification. Auburn was one of only seven universities in the country to receive the grant.

COLLEGE OF

Human Sciences The economy took center stage at the annual spring symposium of the College of Human Sciences’ Women’s Philanthropy Board in April. Speakers included Gene L. Dodaro, acting U.S. comptroller general and head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office; David Altig, senior vice president and director of research, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta; Burt White, managing director of research, LPL Financial; Leura Canary, U.S. attorney, Middle District of Alabama; Dave Dennis ’75, president, Specialty Contractors, and past chairman, Federal Reserve Bank of New Orleans; and Brenda Dozier ’89, wealth management associate, Legacy Financial Group.

Organized in 2002, the Women’s Philanthropy Board educates women on estate planning, stocks and bonds, strategic giving, and other economic and financial topics.

COLLEGE OF

Liberal Arts Professor William Buskist recently received this year’s Charles L. Brewer Distinguished Teaching of Psychology Award from the American Psychological Foundation board

of trustees, denoting him as one of the nation’s top psychology educators. In his 27 years at Auburn, Buskist has taught more than 33,200 undergraduates, mostly in large introductory psychology courses.

He also developed the psychology department’s curriculum for

preparing doctoral students for their future teaching duties, which has become a national model for preparing graduate students for teaching positions.

Libraries Hungry for a bit of Auburn history? Alumni can view information and artifacts about the university’s history online, including yearbooks, board minutes, Auburn and Alabama Cooperative Extension Service photos, football program covers, and video recordings of several lectures.

Administrators eventually expect to add the The Auburn Plainsman and its predecessor, the Orange and Blue, as well as early college catalogs, to its Web archives.

A project of the

Auburn University Libraries, the Digital Library can be found online at http://diglib. auburn.edu/.

SCHOOL OF

Nursing The Auburn and Auburn Montgomery nursing schools have joined the Alabama Rural Action Commission, Alabama Power Foundation and Alabama Child Caring Foundation to provide health screenings for children.

Auburn faculty and students are conducting “KidCheck” —which includes vital signs, vision, hearing and dental tests—for public school elementary and middle-school children in Bullock and Lee counties, while Auburn Montgomery provides checks for the same groups in Lowndes County. Referrals are provided to school administrators for follow-up and intervention if a health need that requires immediate attention is identified in

any of the children.

Alabama’s KidCheck program reaches 24 school systems and has partnerships in 15 nursing schools around the state. It will help address the needs of some of the estimated 78,000 Alabama children who are not covered by health insurance, and is expected to reach more than 20,000 students statewide this year.

HARRISON SCHOOL OF

Pharmacy

Student pharmacists Charlie Darling, Jessica Gresham, Josh Hollingsworth, Brad Ledbetter and Somer Smith recently walked from Auburn to Montgomery to help feed hungry children and raise world-hunger awareness. The students hiked three days to reach the steps of the state capitol, where they were greeted by state representatives and the president of Auburn’s Committee of 19, the student leaders of the U.N. World Food Programme.

COLLEGE OF

Sciences and Mathematics Phenix City dentist Robert Kinsaul ’71 has received the American Dental Association’s Humanitarian Award for providing volunteer dental care on every continent except Antarctica and Australia. Kinsaul, who also farms cattle, has been involved in humanitarian efforts around the world, including providing aid

to tsunami victims in Sri Lanka, earthquake victims in Pakistan, citizens of war-torn Afghanistan and reindeer herders in the Siberian tundra, and is helping establish a dental clinic in Rameswaram, India.

Once, at his own expense, he flew a Russian dentist and his office manager from Moscow to the U.S. for training. Kinsaul serves on the advisory boards of World Dental Relief, International Healthcare Network and Healthcare Ministries.

Next: conquering one of his two unexplored continents. “I haven’t

S T R E E T

been to Antarctica yet, but I’m going one of these days,” says Kinsaul, who has logged 59 international mission trips since 1976. “It’s been 32 years’ worth of excitement to me.”

COLLEGE OF

Veterinary Medicine The College of Veterinary Medicine has named Douglas Allen Jr. ’76, former director of the veterinary teaching hospital

at the University of Georgia, as director of Auburn’s veterinary teaching hospitals.

Allen, who began April 1, manages the clinical and administrative functions of the hospitals, which are housed in the Department of Clinical Sciences. Allen is an expert in equine surgery, has served as president of the American Association of Veterinary Clinicians and is a diplomate in the American College of Veterinary Surgeons. Auburn’s animal teaching hospitals care for more than 13,000 patients per year.

a u a l u m . o r g Auburn Magazine

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C O N C O U R S E

L I F E

JEF F ET H ERI DG E

CONCOURSE

Job hunting in a down economy Interview Chandler Moore Senior, business THE 4-1-1 Chandler Moore is the station manager

for WEGL-FM 91.1, Auburn’s student-run radio station. In October, MTV-U, the MTV network’s university college radio Web site, selected WEGL as a nominee for its annual Woodies awards. WEGL made it through four rounds of eliminations and in final voting placed second among the final four college radio stations. “Our station got more votes for best college radio station than any other station in the Southeast,” says Moore.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE BAND? “That is such a

difficult question to ask a radio station manager! My favorite obscure band is called Ghosthustler. They are from Austin, Texas, and are a fun, danceable synthrock band. As for mainstream radio, I enjoy R&B like R. Kelly and Usher. And as for a current favorite, I have really enjoyed the ’70s prog rock band Yes. I can’t really justify that choice, except that the music is both goofy and complex.”

HOW’S LIFE AS THE WEGL STATION MANAGER?

“This year it has meant I’ve been in charge of a lot!

I have been responsible for the move to our location at the new Student Center, as well as setting up and overseeing the completion of the new studio and production areas. It has also been my project to get our organization more involved on campus. My staff has worked really hard this year, and I think finally we are starting to see some of the fruits of our labor.”

WHAT ABOUT YOU WOULD SURPRISE YOUR PARENTS? “Maybe how responsible I’ve become

since coming to college. I think if they could see how much I do on a daily basis between my schoolwork, WEGL, my fraternity and other extracurricular activities, they would probably be amazed.”

WHAT’S YOUR DREAM VACATION? “I would probably

go back to Thailand if given the chance. I am infatuated with Southeast Asian culture.”

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S T U D E N T

Auburn Magazine a u a l u m . o r g

Parents send child to college, child graduates, child gets job and becomes responsible, self-supporting adult: That was the prescription for success before the economy took a nosedive. These days, college graduates are finding job opportunities scarce, and the competition often includes mom or dad.

It’s a situation that’s keeping Auburn’s career counselors busier than ever.

“With the unemployment rate at 7.2 percent, college graduates face the daunting task of entering a workforce that is dwindling day by day,” says Career Development Services director Nancy Bernard.

Job prospects for this year’s grads are below those for the previous five graduating classes; unemployment is at its highest level in more than 15 years and is expected to reach 8.5 percent nationally by the end of 2009.

To help students and alumni, Auburn’s career services office provides job-search assistance and, each semester, holds a two-day career fair that is divided along technical and non-technical career paths.

“The Engineering and Technical Career Expo has remained strong, with several companies on a waiting list to participate this semester,” says Bernard.

“However, the Business and Non-Technical Career Expo has felt the sting of a down economy.”

Last semester, 104 companies participated in the career fair for business and non-technical majors. Fewer than 60 were on board for the spring semester fair in February.

Bernard’s keeping it in perspective. “I have worked in this field for a long time and have experienced this type of decline in hiring several times over the past 28 years,” she says. “We are coming off a very prosperous decade of more job opportunities than students available. During the past year this has shifted, and employers are cutting back in the number of students they are hiring.”

A recent National Association of Colleges and Employers study indicates that students with majors in accounting, engineering and computer sciences are commanding the most attention in the job market; elementary and secondary education, along with information technology, are disciplines with the best prospects for new graduates in the next few years.

Health care fields, particularly in nursing, also will remain in demand as the number of elderly patients continues to grow.

The doctors are in The National Science Foundation selected Auburn University as one of 18 U.S. sites for its “Bridge to the Doctorate” program, which helps fund the first two years of graduate school for minority students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The program is designed to increase the number of minority Ph.D. candidates in those disciplines; Auburn will receive $1 million over two years to support 14 students.

TIPS NEED WORK? TRY THESE

• Harness the power of networking. New graduates and seasoned professionals alike can call on family members, friends, friends of friends, former bosses, co-workers and professors, fellow alumni association members, old classmates—basically anyone you know—to help with your search. Communicate to all contacts that you’re in the job market.

• Treat your search like a job. Work on specific tasks daily to reach your goal; be patient and methodical; stay posi-

C O N C O U R S E

tive; follow up on any leads and interviews with thankyou letters; and ask for referrals from contacts.

• Tailor both your résumé and your cover letter to the job you’re seeking. Generic paperwork won’t make a good first impression. You want to separate yourself from the pack.

• Stand out during an interview. Research the company and the position, be able to briefly articulate past work experiences, and maintain an air of confidence. Be on time or, even better, early.

• Be available and “on.” Ensure that your cell phone number appears on your résumé along with a home number.

Record a professional voice mail greeting. Create a simple, intuitive e-mail address, and check for messages often.

• Seek professional help. Auburn’s Career Development Services office offers online resources and career counseling to help students and alumni. Call (334) 844-4744 or visit online: www.auburn.edu/academic/provost/undergrad_ studies/career.

• Be flexible. If an employer doesn’t have full-time work available, ask about part-time, contract or project-based employment. Once you have a foot in the door, you can position yourself for future openings.

a u a l u m . o r g Auburn Magazine

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C O N C O U R S E

Whale of an idea Auburn University and local government officials are studying the feasibility of building an aquarium in Lee County. Fisheries department head David Rouse says the aquarium would open up research opportunities for the university, perhaps even a degree program in fisheries biology. Within a year of opening its doors in 2005, the Georgia Aquarium, located in downtown Atlanta, had welcomed 3.6 million visitors.

Big wheels

Syllabus COURSE NAME ENGL 1120 “English Composi-

tion II: Cultural Diversity”

being taught by Jamie S. Kinsley.

THE SCOOP The English department began

themed composition courses last year on a pilot basis. One of the most popular themes: cultural diversity. By pairing topical issues and writing skills, the course allows students to discuss and write about major social, ethical, legal and economic implications within themed areas. Other composition-course themes include business, health and medicine, liberal arts, science and technology, and sustainability. In the cultural diversity class, students both write and blog about their readings.

SUGGESTED READING “My Faith in Nonviolence,” an essay from Nonviolent Resistance, by Mohandas Gandhi; Freedom from Fear, by Aung San Suu Kyi; Leading Beyond the Nation-State,

by Howard Gardner; Regarding the Pain of Others, by Susan Sontag

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Auburn Magazine a u a l u m . o r g

After Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast in 2005, the outpouring of volunteer help taught Auburn University graduate student Kristie Barton the importance of caring.

So when Hurricane Ike destroyed parts of the Louisiana and Texas coasts last summer, Barton, who lives in Gulfport, Miss., set up the Auburn Executive MBA Class of 2010 Hurricane Relief Fund. She and 57 of her classmates collected money for Sims Elementary in Bridge City, Texas; so far, the group has raised more than $3,500 for the school.

“Living on the Gulf Coast and having been a recipient of this kind of giving after Hurricane Katrina, I definitely wanted to be able to ‘pay it forward,’” Barton says.

Hurricane Ike was the third most destructive hurricane to ever make landfall in the United States. It hit as a Category 2 storm on Sept. 13, 2008, in Galveston, Texas, and caused 195 deaths.

—Kate Winford

fund the team, Waters coordinated halftime

Tigers’ nationally ranked

exhibitions at Auburn

women’s team advancing

basketball games.

to the NCAA playoffs and

the men top-seeded in

play for seven or eight

the NIT. But during the

minutes, playing five-on-

regular season, fans had

five so people could re-

a third team to cheer

ally see what wheelchair

during home-game half-

basketball looks like,”

times: Auburn’s fledgling

says Jared Rehm, an AU

wheelchair-basketball

senior philosophy major.

team, a pet project of

Rehm, one of three

Nathan Waters ’05,

students eligible to join

who works as an event

the team, says organiz-

planner in Auburn’s

ers hope to recruit from

Program for Students

local high-school wheel-

with Disabilities.

chair teams to round out

their numbers.

Currently, 11 intercol-

“We’d go out and

legiate wheelchair teams

participate as part of

obstacle, though Rehm

the National Wheelchair

says the cause was

Basketball Association—

helped this year when

and the University of

Auburn purchased six

Alabama boasts the only

sports wheelchairs for

team in the Southeast.

students’ use. A group

Waters hopes Auburn

of five practices every

will become No. 12. To

Wednesday in the Stu-

help raise $150,000 to

dent Activities Center.

Funding remains an

JEFF ETHERIDGE

INSTRUCTOR Varies. The summer 2009 course is

EMBA STUDENTS TO THE RESCUE

Basketball was big at Auburn this spring, with the

C A M P U S

N E W S

—Kate Winford

a u a l u m . o r g Auburn Magazine

23

S P O R T S

TIGER WALK

Mind over body

“The only thing I’m a victim of is the tree that didn’t get out of my way,” says swimmer Dave Denniston, who competed in five events, including the 100-meter breaststroke, during the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing.

Former swim captain charts progress in steps and strokes A few years ago, former Auburn Tigers swim captain Dave Denniston ’02 was in top physical form. A world-class competitor in the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke, he began swimming at age 8 and, by the time he graduated from college, was training to compete in the 2004 Olympics. He’d broken American and international records, and aspired to be a professional swimmer.

“Eat, sleep, swim, train,” Denniston remembers. “I did everything I could to make the 2004 Olympic team.”

Then, after failing to secure a spot on that year’s U.S. team, his life fell apart. Without a job and financially strapped, Denniston was in the best shape of his life physically—but scared and depressed about the future. Denniston accepted an offer to coach in New Zealand, but before moving overseas he decided to vacation with a friend at his family’s snowbound cabin in the

24

Auburn Magazine a u a l u m . o r g

Wyoming mountains. What happened on that February 2005 trip changed his life.

Gliding down a steep hill on a plastic sled, Denniston spun out of control and slammed into a tree, breaking his back and injuring his spinal cord. He lay crumpled on the ground for three hours before paramedics on snowmobiles found him. “Our bodies are not that strong,” he says, recalling the time he lay in the snow, tasting blood and numb in his legs and feet. “All I did was bruise my spinal cord, but I’m paralyzed from the waist down.”

After surgery to fuse his broken vertebra, rehabilitation and learning to get around in a wheelchair, the 30-year-old developed a new attitude and, remarkably, learned how to swim again—this time without using his legs. He competed on the U.S. Paralympics swim team in Beijing last summer.

Shopping or spectating? You decide.

The annual Auburn-Alabama grudge match is changing dates to accommodate CBS Sports.

For the next two years, the Iron Bowl will be played on the Friday following Thanksgiving; this year, kickoff is planned for 1:30 p.m. Nov. 27 at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

W A L K

TODD VAN EMS T

During the season, Denniston trains six times a week for up to three hours per session, performing core work, completing conditioning drills and exercising with medicine balls.

“Today I work twice as hard to go half as fast,” he says, adding that he loves to swim more than ever. And he still hopes to walk again. On the one-year anniversary of his sledding accident, Denniston took 163 steps.

The NCAA chose Denniston for its Inspiration Award in 2007. The award honors a coach, administrator or student athlete who shows perseverance, dedication and determination in overcoming a life-altering situation and serves as a role model to others. NCAA officials cited Denniston’s determination to continue in athletics after his sledding accident as one of their deciding factors.

A 1999 NCAA champion and member of the U.S. national team that competed in the 200-meter breaststroke in the 2003 World Championships, Denniston credits friends, family, former teammates and classmates for keeping him motivated.

“As soon as I was injured, I realized I had a choice I could make. I could be down and get caught up in all the things I couldn’t do anymore, or I could make the most of every situation. Through the support of my family, I didn’t have much of a choice to make. I had to be upbeat and positive.”

Denniston, a communications major who describes himself as a “motivational humorist,” uses his own daily trials and life-changing insights to show athletes how they can change their perspective on life as it relates to sport.

Out of the pool, the Longmont, Colo., resident fishes, rafts and shoots clay pigeons for fun. He and his father are building a motorized wheelchair engine that will equip Denniston to climb mountains; meanwhile, the Nike-sponsored athlete works the lecture circuit, talking to groups and conducting children’s swim clinics.

“The greatest gift we’ve been given is our minds,” he says. “The sooner you focus on the positive, the happier you’ll be. Focus on what you can do, and don’t get wrapped up in what you can’t do.”

—Paula Meyer, Indiana State University

T I G E R

SWIMMERS’ QUICK WORK Sometimes winning is everything, and this year’s Auburn Tigers swim team did it for a coach who wasn’t there.

The men’s swimming and diving team beat second-place University of Texas in March for an eighth national championship, winning by a decisive 39 points as head coach Richard Quick remained at home, undergoing treatments for an inoperable brain tumor.

The team’s win, dedicated to Quick, gave the veteran coach his 13th NCAA title— his first since arriving at Auburn two years ago—and made him the first coach to win a national title at three schools.

During the three-day NCAA finals in College Station, Texas, Auburn athletes tallied 54 All-America honors, and boasted one individual and four relay champions.

They also set three U.S. Open, three NCAA and 17 school records en route to the title.

The men were directed during the championship meets by co-head men’s coach Brett Hawke, who has led the team since Quick’s diagnosis in December.

“This is a great way to finish the meet,” Hawke said. “It’s a great tribute to Richard Quick and what he means to this program.”

Over the course of his 31-year coaching career, Quick, a six-time U.S. Olympic coach, won seven national titles at Stanford University and five at Texas to accompany his first at Auburn.

“Richard Quick’s accomplishments speak for themselves, and to win 13 national titles at three schools is truly remarkable,” said AU athletic director Jay Jacobs.

“While he was not able to be on deck, I know the coaching staff and student-athletes felt his presence and dedicated their efforts to him. We’re very proud of Brett, the staff and team for their ability to overcome difficult circumstances this season and win a championship.”

Quick and Hawke shared national 2009 Coach of the Year honors from the College Swimming Coaches Association.

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W A L K

Pair each Auburn athlete

6. Auburn’s first four-

with his or her claim to

time All-American in

fame:

soccer, this goalie holds

AU BU RN U NIVERIS T Y LIBRARIES

Match game the SEC record for shutA. Juliet Campbell

outs (33).

B. Charles Barkley C. Megan Rivera

7. Auburn assistant

D. Pat Sullivan

coach who swam on the

E. Jay Moseley

Tiger’s first two NCAA

F. Kim Evans

Championship teams

G. Q.V. Lowe

in 1997 and 1999, and

H. Fani Chifchieva

competed in the 2000

I. Brett Hawke

and 2004 Olympics.

J. Becky Jackson K. Stephen Huss

8. Former coach in-

L. Tracy Rocker

ducted into the National

M. John Heisman

Football Foundation Hall of Fame in 1954.

1. All-American baseball pitcher; took the

9. Auburn’s first female

Tigers to their first

Olympian in track and

College World Series in

field, representing

1967; drafted by the

Jamaica in the 1992,

Chicago Cubs.

1996 and 2000 games.

2. Holds the SEC

10. Holds the AU

individual record for

career field-goal record

basketball field goal

in women’s basket-

percentage, going 10

ball (864); field-goal

for 10 against Georgia

percentage (602); and

in 1983. Nicknamed

rebounds (1,118).

“The Round Mound of Rebound.”

11. Last year became Auburn’s first SEC

3. First SEC football

Player of the Year in

player to win both the

women’s tennis.

Outland and Lombardi trophies; now serves

12. Coach who led her

as Auburn’s defensive

team to the SEC cham-

line coach.

pionship this season and won national Coach

4. Golfer who won the

of the Year honors in

Cliff Hare Trophy—Au-

her sport in 2002.

burn’s highest studentathlete honor—in 2008

13. Auburn University’s

for his community

first Heisman Trophy

service record.

winner, in 1971.

5. In 2005 became Auburn’s only tennis

26

ANSWERS: A-9; B-2; C-6;

men’s Double.

D-13; E-4; F-12; G-1; H-11;

don title—the Gentle-

I-7; J-10; K-5; L-3; M-8

player to win a Wimble-

Auburn Magazine a u a l u m . o r g

Fly down the field Punter Connie Frederick ’70 dies at 61 Auburn football has had its share of iconic plays, and one of the most famous happened during the 1969 Iron Bowl.

The date was Nov. 29, and 72,000 fans packed Birmingham’s Legion Field. It wasn’t a close game; ’Bama was having an off year, and by the time Auburn got ready to punt after an unsuccessful fourth-quarter drive, the Tigers had already notched a 49-20 score.

Then punter and wingback Connie Frederick talked offensive line coach Gene Lorendo into letting him take a chance.

On his own 16 yard line, Frederick faked a punt, zipped around the startled Tide defenders and raced 84 yards for the touchdown. The Tigers ended with a 4925 blowout, Auburn’s first victory against Alabama since 1963.

The play still is tied for the fifth-longest run from scrimmage in school history.

Frederick also holds the school record for the most punts in a game, with 15 against Clemson in 1968.

Frederick died unexpectedly on Easter Sunday, April 12, in Cumming, Ga. A 1970 graduate in business administration, Frederick grew up in Montgomery, playing sports for Lee High School, and was such a dependable player on the

Auburn teams he became known as “Old Reliable.”

Frederick recalled the trick play years later, saying he’d been trying to persuade Lorendo and head coach Ralph “Shug” Jordan during the whole game to let him fake the punt because the Tide defenders were leaving him open.

“With 53 seconds to play, I told Coach Lorendo to let me try it, that I could get a first down,” he told a sportswriter. “He said, ‘If you do that, don’t tell anyone I knew about it.’

“No one knew what was going on.

All those Alabama players were looking in the air for the ball … Coach Jordan was screaming, ‘Where’s the ball? Where’s the ball?’ And Coach Lorendo told him, ‘Look, it’s coming right by you!’”

Frederick’s former teammates praised his character both at Auburn and later during his business career. He owned Capitol City Copy Shop in Montgomery.

“He was a great, great friend,” former AU teammate Buddy McClinton ’70 told the Montgomery Advertiser. “He would give you the shirt off his back. That’s an overused saying, but that’s just the way he was. He was always there for you. I was heartbroken when I learned he died.”

Fore!

T I G E R

W A L K

The No. 6-ranked Auburn women’s golf team took home its seventh SEC championship title in April.

The team finished the three-day tournament with an 18-over-par 870, the second-lowest tournament total ever for Auburn.

The Auburn Tigers men’s and women’s basketball teams parlayed successful regular seasons into postseason play, but both fell short in the playoffs.

Nationally ranked all season with a 30-4 record—its best season in 20 years— the women’s team fell 80-52 to Rutgers University in the second round of the NCAA championships. The women still walked away with the Southeastern Conference title, led by SEC Player of the Year DeWanna Bonner, a senior from Fairfield.

“The Auburn seniors had an outstanding career at Auburn, and I’m so proud of them for that,” said head coach Nell Fortner. “They put Auburn women’s basketball back on the map in a national scene, and that was something that is big for our program. We will continue to feed off that.”

Fortner was a finalist for the 2009 Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year Award, along with Connecticut’s Geno Auriemma (who won the award in April), Oklahoma’s Sherri Coale and South Dakota State’s Aaron Johnston.

In addition to her SEC title, Bonner picked up three All-America honors for the season from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, ESPN.com (First-Team) and the Associated Press (Second-Team).

Bonner was the only SEC player named to the basketball writers’ All-American team and is the first Auburn player to receive the honor since the awards began in 1997. While at Auburn, Bonner broke the Tigers’ career scoring record with 2,162 points and finished in the top 10 in every major statistical category. She ranked 10th in the country in scoring.

On the men’s side of the arena, coach Jeff Lebo’s Tigers advanced to the NIT quarterfinals before falling to Baylor in a 74-72 buzzer-beater. The Tigers’ 24-12 regular season record matched the secondbest win total in program history.

“We battled, and there were a couple of turnovers at the end,” said Lebo of the final game. “We just weren’t able to finish it off. But we’ve had an unbelievable year, and I am really proud of them and what they have accomplished.”

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HOOPSTERS GO BIG, GO HOME

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Dodging fast-food fries and Chilean cantaloupes, Auburn Magazine’s omnivorous associate editor tries to eat only local food. by suzanne johnson

Veggie Tales Considered an aphrodesiac in ancient Egypt, lettuce is a hardy, easy-to-grow vegetable for novice gardeners. Lettuces are members of the daisy family and come in a cornucopia of colors and varieties.

I’m hungry. It’s 8:30 p.m., and I’ve spent nine hours at work, grabbed lunch at my desk and attended a two-hour workshop.

Dinnertime came and went.

Hunger’s a primal need—straight from Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy, right next to water and breathing. I wonder how the famed psychologist would feel about the food options on my route home: two supermarkets, six fast-food spots and a halfdozen restaurants, most serving that ubiquitous Southern delicacy, the chicken finger. I suspect Maslow’s mind would boggle; in his day, chickens didn’t have fingers waiting to be battered, fried and dipped in ranch dressing.

A few years ago, after reading Michael Pollan’s groundbreaking The Omnivore’s Dilemma, I vowed to buy only organic food. Smug and virtuous, I lasted two weeks before my monthly food budget disappeared and I realized my organic grapes had barely survived their plane trip from Ecuador. It’s hard to feel virtuous when you’re out of money and creating a carbon footprint only King Kong could fill.

Finally, led astray by lower prices and the siren song of a McDonald’s French fry, I left the natural world behind.

Now it’s 2009, and much has changed. Turns out Pollan wasn’t just some far-out health nut: In the past four years, Americans have made bestsellers of Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon’s The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating, Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and Carlo Petrini and Alice Waters’ Slow Food Nation, just to name a few. The public appetite for information about food—local food, fast food,

P H OTO G R A P H S B Y J E F F E T H E R I D G E

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healthy food—and its inevitable subcategories (carbs, calories, caffeine, etc.) seems insatiable.

The message that we should eat more fresh, locally grown fruits, vegetables and meat, and fewer highly processed foods or those shipped from afar, has resonated with readers struggling with diabetes, food safety, grocery store prices and environmental concerns. What we eat is no longer simply a question of what’s for dinner; it’s a political issue, a “green” cause, a health matter—a movement in every sense of the word.

I’m always willing to jump on a bandwagon, so I recently vowed to explore an aspect of the healthy-food trend known as “eating local”—because as any eco-zealot will tell you: Local is the new organic.

L

ocal-eating converts call themselves “locavores,” and they’re fervent about eating only food grown within a certain radius of home: 25 miles, 100 miles—pick a number. Before a homegrown advocate coined the term in 2005, “locavore” wasn’t even a word—two years ago, the New Oxford American Dictionary chose the term as its “Word of the Year.”

Local eating is a hot topic, but I could easily get cold feet.

Can I do it long-term? And what’s in it for me, anyway?

I trail aimlessly through my supermarket produce aisle.

Water mists over delicate green grapes and glossy red peppers, hydrating them to just-picked beauty. Both originated in Chile, where it’s late summer. In Auburn at the beginning of spring, my local produce is limited to sweet potatoes with a chaser of turnip greens. I corner a store employee; he doesn’t know for sure where the turnip greens were grown. The sign says “USA.” I leave the produce behind and snag a package of frozen vegetables and a pack of boneless chicken breasts—a typical dinner—then round up the manager to ask where my chicken was raised. He stammers as if he suspects it’s a trick question, so I let him off the hook and call the manufacturers of both the chicken and the frozen veggies. I’m passed from operator to employee to PR flack until I finally reach the bottom of the corporate food chain. In both cases, an annoyed woman basically tells me it’s none of my business. After all, I’m only eating the stuff.

Auburn University water-quality researcher Jayme Oates ’04 wouldn’t be surprised. She tried the same thing herself once, looking for the source of a supermarket purchase, only to be told it was “proprietary information.” She decided to grow her own. (First lady Michelle Obama recently did the same thing, planting a vegetable garden at the White House—the first “national garden” since Eleanor Roosevelt’s day—to help educate people about locally grown fruits and vegetables. I stare into the small patch of red clay that passes for my backyard and suspect it wouldn’t grow a crop of rocks, even if I were so inclined.)

But it’s hard to talk to Oates and remain unconverted. She’s petite, sports sensible shoes and worries she’ll come across as a tree-hugger. Toy cows and horses stare from the shelves of her campus office, and I begin to suspect she is a tree-hugger—notably, trees are depicted on her green sweater—but a person who has allowed julienned-and-fried potatoes to lead her down the road to ruin shouldn’t pass judgment.

Oates’ day job aside, her passion lies 10 miles away in rural

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Notasulga, where she and partner Justin Taylor are working the land and slowly expanding their biofriendly farm. Oates brings me fresh eggs, brown and speckled, with thick shells and yolks that break a startling shade of yellow compared to their supermarket counterparts. She sings the health advantages of eating locally, which also means eating what’s in season. “Healthwise, it’s smart to eat seasonally,” Oates says. “I think of my food as medicine and grow it as healthy as possible.”

She and Taylor run their Mahone Creek Farm as a “certified naturally grown” operation, meaning they adhere to organic standards without undergoing the expensive federal designation process. They not only avoid pesticides, but eschew fuel-consuming machinery in favor of old-fashioned livestock helpers: After crops are harvested, rabbits graze the land and fertilize the fields. Later, chickens eat insects and deposit more waste.

Finally, cover crops aid in completing the cycle before spring planting begins anew.

Though Oates comes from a multi-generational Alabama farm family, she is part of an idealistic new breed of young, energetic and environmentally savvy agricultural entrepreneurs, says Mike Reeves ’82, a regional extension agent in commercial horticulture with the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service.

“In the last few years we’ve seen a lot more interest from people wanting to produce fruits and vegetables for local markets,” he says. “Many of these people are first-generation farmers.”

Factors driving the increase include the national economy, individual health concerns and the burgeoning environmental movement, Reeves says—there are a lot of people like me questioning the big-picture cost of buying South American cantaloupe out of season.

Z

ach Randle ’05 fidgets, keeping one eye on the darkening sky. It’s 7 a.m., thunderclouds are gathering, and he has work to do. Like Oates, Randle is a young farmer, working 160 acres southeast of Auburn with his brother, Franklin. Randle Farms, begun by Frank Randle Sr. ’73, employs 90 people during peak season.

The farm’s size means the Randles feel the pressure of economic and environmental sustainability acutely, and though Zach Randle earned his college degree in landscape horticulture, he quickly decided he’d rather dig deeper into the practice of “green” food production.

Randle forgets about the impending storm temporarily, and I can tell we’ve hit on a subject he cares about. “It takes somewhere between 12 and 14 calories of energy to get one calorie of food to the grocery store. That’s just not sustainable—it doesn’t make any sense,” he says.

Locavores most often cite the envi- Notasulga farmer Jamie Oates sells eggs ronmental cost of mass production as seasonally at a local the biggest reason to buy food grown farmers market. Her do double close to home; the average food product chickens duty by preying on travels about 1,500 miles between farm pesky garden insects and table. With a few mega-farms feed- and fertilizing the soil, the need for ing the masses, my Chilean grapes aren’t negating harmful chemicals. that fresh, plus they require a lot of fuel to get to my kitchen. Joan Gussow, a healthy-eating pioneer from Columbia University, estimates it takes 435 calories of

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fossil fuel to ship a five-calorie strawberry from California to New York.

Not so long ago, a footprint was a shallow hole I left in the sand on the beach. These days, it represents how much my lifestyle impacts the environment. An online footprint calculator claims that if everyone lived like me, it would take four planet Earths to sustain us—even though I limit my driving, recycle and have replaced all my light bulbs with energy-savers. A fourplanet price tag seems harsh.

Auburn University sustainability chief Lindy Biggs has eliminated the need for both a car and a major appliance: She rides a bike to work and hangs her wash to Opposite: Zach Randle dry. For Biggs, the local food movement keeps a waiting list of people who want to buy represents one more way individuals can portions of his harvests. save the world. “It’s all about decreasing Randle Farms grows the environmental footprint of everything tomatoes, blueberries, squash, zucchini, we do,” she says. “From a sustainabilwatermelon, broccoli, ity standpoint, eating local is better than carrots and more. Right: Tomatoes are the second eating organic, because food that has to most popular vegetable travel a long distance has a pretty big in America. footprint.”

And the cost will continue to rise. “Over the next decade, energy prices are going to look more like August 2008, not the currently depressed prices,” says Conner Bailey, an Auburn professor specializing in rural sociology. “Beyond transportation costs, we also have the potential environmental and publichealth costs of chemical inputs that may be used in other parts of the world. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration lacks the ability to adequately protect our food systems.”

I think about Chinese plastics in baby formula and e-coli contamination in produce and can see why extension agent Reeves thinks food-safety concerns are driving some of the interest in eating local.

“Consumers want to know where their food comes from now,” he says. “They want to know the person who grew their food.”

A

CLUSTER OF BLACK COWS stares from a green pasture as I drive up the hill off Shug Jordan Parkway to Auburn’s Lambert-Powell Meats Lab. The cows chew placidly, but I avoid eye contact—I’m about to buy some beef to grill for dinner. Jayme Oates says seeing the source of our food makes us respect it more. She doesn’t mention the guilt.

Eating local might be easier in Auburn, where universityowned farms and academic programs in animal and poultry science translate to campus-grown meat and eggs for sale every weekday. It’s about as fresh and local as you can get.

Auburn’s meats lab is offering more grass-fed products these days, which is healthier but more expensive to produce, says Chris Kerth, associate professor of animal sciences, who recently wrapped up three months in Uruguay as a Fulbright Scholar studying grass-fed versus conventional beef. Around the country, more producers are offering meat products at local markets to meet the demand.

Today at Auburn, there’s a special on grass-fed beef, and I lug a 20-pound box crammed with roasts, steaks and ground

T A L E S

beef out to my car. Averaging about $2.50 a pound, the cost is cheaper than at the local grocery. Eggs are less expensive too, at about $1 a dozen. I’m lucky to live here though, because buying fresh, locally grown food isn’t necessarily easier on the household budget. As Biggs points out, highly processed junk food still costs less, even though it may come at the expense of one’s health. I try to save a little money by shopping at farmers markets, food stands or even parked pickup trucks spilling with lettuces and turnips. The growing number of roadside produce sales is beginning to make eating local a bit easier.

A decade ago, only 17 farmers markets existed in Alabama; this summer, there will be at least 110, says Don Wambles of the Alabama Farmers Market Authority, a state agency set up in 1965 to help the state’s farmers get their products to market.

More than 5,000 farmers markets serve customers nationwide, up from 340 in 1970, and the number of small farms catering to people in their own communities has increased 20 percent in the past six years, to 1.9 million.

“People want to support their local economy,” Wambles says. “And they want to buy food that tastes good as opposed to buying something that looks pretty but doesn’t taste good.

We have a greater demand for farmers market products than what we have available, which is amazing. It’s a bright spot in our state’s economy.”

Some farmers are exploring other business plans and marketing routes. The year he graduated from Auburn, Zach Randle began allowing local consumers to pay an upfront fee—called a “community share”—to his family’s farm in exchange for the promise of produce from future harvests. The Randles use the money to fund their operation; “shareholders” later divide the produce bounty. The business model, known as communitysupported agriculture, allows farmers to spread their financial risk among customers. If a late freeze cuts the tomato crop in half, shareholders get fewer tomatoes; a great year for bell peppers might find them scrambling for new recipes.

Randle began with 25 shareholders in 2005 and now has a waiting list. “If I let everybody in, we would have hundreds of shareholders,” he says. “This old farm can’t feed everybody.”

The idea of community-supported agriculture was articulated in Europe as early as the 1920s, but only took root in America in 1986 with the establishment of shareholder farms

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Ashes to ashes, soil to soil. I just want to eat a banana without setting off an agricultural apocalypse. in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The U.S. Department of Agriculture now estimates there are more than 12,500 domestic community-supported farms in existence.

“The farmer has the land and the investment to grow the food, and the community buys shares in the business,” says Oates, who began offering community shares at Mahone Creek Farm this year. “It’s an advantage to both, aesthetically and economically.”

Still, should the local-food movement catch on in a big way, what happens to the mega-farms? If I’m moving my food dollars around, somebody’s business is bound to suffer.

“That’s the mindset we’ve been brainwashed into thinking,” Randle says. “Some of those huge farms might go out of

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business, but in the long run having hundreds of acres of any crop is not sustainable. In order to have hundreds of acres of anything, you can’t pay attention to all the little details, and you can’t take as good of care without pesticides and killing everything to guarantee a crop.”

Though federal and state officials keep tabs on the effects of pesticides on crops, groundwater and soil, Biggs believes megafarms may be nearing the end of their life cycle.

“Soil is the mother of all things,” she says. “Real soil is a living thing, full of microbes and insects and life. If you go into a field that has been heavily farmed for a long time, there’s no life there. In order to continue growing, the farmer must use more fertilizer and pesticides, which further deplete the soil. It all comes back to soil.”

In California, where mega-farms generate more than half the nation’s food supply, water shortages and pollution threaten farmers’ futures, Biggs adds.

In 2007, California became the first state to declare war on widely used fumigants and estimated that its strawberry, carrot, tomato and pepper farmers would bear the brunt of the cost—up to $40 million per year—to ensure their operations meet emission targets. Between soil contamination, air pollution and water shortages, what happens when California can no longer feed the nation?

Ashes to ashes, soil to soil. I just want to eat a banana without setting off an agricultural apocalypse.

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the “what’s in it for me” question. Eating local is good for my health, the environment, the local economy and maybe even my own pocketbook.

But can I do it? Is it realistic for this city dweller, with limited time, patience and resources, to become a locavore?

Sadly, I conclude, probably not. But that doesn’t mean I can’t do better.

For one thing, experts say, I can start small. Everything I put in my mouth doesn’t have to come from Auburn, or even from Montgomery, Birmingham or Atlanta. As Bailey, Auburn’s rural sociologist, notes: If I spend even 20 percent of my food dollars at home, it can make a difference. I also can eat local whenever possible and at least eat domestically produced food the rest of the time. Every little bit helps; I just have Opposite: Purple cabbage takes its color to start. a compound that So I head back to the supermarket, from reacts to the amount wandering row-by-row through the pro- of acidity in the soil. duce and reading the signs over each bin. Alabama-grown cabbage is available from April Most of the fruit is from South America, through October. but there are a few early strawberries Left: A cup of raw contains about from California, potatoes from Idaho, carrots 52 calories. sweet potatoes from North Carolina and my favorite Fuji apples from Washington. I wonder if my counterpart in North Carolina is pawing through a bin of sweet potatoes from Lee County, Ala., and what Maslow would think of the convoluted food system we’ve created.

For now, though, it’s time to eat. I grab a North Carolina sweet potato to go with my Auburn pork chop and head for home.

INALLY, I HAVE ANSWERED

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Auburn alumni are in the house as the crew of ABC-TV’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” changes

the life of a Montgomery family. by christian boone

A New Home for the Jordans Monica and Brady Jordan, plus the couple’s daughter and three grandchildren, see their new home for the first time as hundreds of volunteers, neighbors and friends— and a network television audience—cheer the family on.

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PHOTOGRAPHS B Y J E F F E T H E R I D G E

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monica and brady jordan emerged from a Ford Excursion limousine after a weeklong vacation in February and stared as an oversized network production bus slowly pulled away from the curb, giving the couple a first look at their new home in Montgomery’s Southlawn neighborhood.

Like a tornado, the hit series “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” had descended on 5336 Ira Lane, wreaking its destructive force on the Jordan’s old ranch-style house and—with the help of thousands of volunteers and several key Auburn University alumni—rebuilding it from scratch in a mere seven days.

Before the Jordans left town, the home they’d lived in for 32 years had become a victim of neglect. The bathroom pipes leaked. The kitchen countertops were rotting. Outside, walls were missing some of their siding. For more than a decade, the Jordans had other financial priorities, including sending youngest daughter Brittany to college, raising their three grandchildren and opening their home once a week to anyone in the community in need of a hot meal—all at their own expense.

S

ometimes, strength is forged through sorrow, and 48-year-old Monica Jordan has swallowed large helpings of the latter. Thirteen years ago, her oldest daughter, FalaShada, was enjoying a last family dinner before her scheduled U.S. Army Reserve duty was to begin the following week. “I remember that night very well,” says middle Jordan daughter Lakita, who was 13 at the time. “Mom was in the kitchen as usual. FalaShada had helped me with my homework. It was a real good visit.”

A few hours after FalaShada left, Lakita awoke to her mother’s screams. FalaShada was dead, shot by a boyfriend who then turned the gun on himself; they’d been fighting over her military enlistment. Monica Jordan barely stopped to grieve, instead setting aside her own needs to care for the rest of her family.

Eight years later, in 2004, a drunk driver killed the Jordans’ only son, William. “She relives it every day, but she hasn’t let it bring her down,” says Lakita, who nominated her mother for “Extreme Makeover.” “If anything, she’s used these bad things to help lift other people up. She doesn’t think what she does is that special, but I don’t think there’s anyone more worthy.”

After FalaShada and William died, Monica Jordan grasped the cause of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers with a vengeance, speaking to groups and hosting meetings. She also began working for the Alabama Crime Victims Commission and made the family’s small Southlawn home into a haven where neighborhood kids—sometimes as many as 100 at a time—drop in for meals, conversation or just to hang out.

T

he jordans’ house now boasts a spiral staircase reaching to the second floor, majestic white columns flanking a red front door and arched windows. The interior was finally revealed to the public when the “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” episode featuring the family aired April 26.

Auburn alumna Kristine Mantel ’94, controller for Aronov Homes in Montgomery, which handled the demolition and building project, says she’ll never forget the look on Monica Jordan’s face as the crowd gath- Left: Celebrity carpenered on Ira Lane and chanted, “Move that ter Paul DiMeo built a court—combus!” signaling the home’s “reveal.” “Pure basketball plete with goal—into his joy,” Mantel says. “She looked at me and design for 15-year-old Miles’ bedroom. Opsaid, ‘There’s no way I can repay you.’” posite: Volunteers deAs the new house came into view, molished the Jordans’ Monica Jordan dropped to her knees. “I had old home in a day, then four days building to take a deep breath,” she says. “I never spent and furnishing the new dreamed we’d end up in this kind of house. house from scratch.

“When we opened that I just couldn’t believe it.”

I felt like I was The Jordans were one of five families door, walking on air,” said being considered for the show. Monica Jor- college senior Britdan didn’t expect to be chosen—in fact, she’d tany Jordan, whose new bedroom boasts a large signed up to help build new homes for other desk for studying. home-makeover candidates. But on President’s Day, Feb. 16, host Ty Pennington landed in Southlawn with tickets to Disneyland, and the Jordans were on their way to California.

“I thought they had the wrong house,” Jordan says. “I just didn’t feel deserving.”

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ehind the scenes, executives with Aronov Homes were already prepping for the project, which some might view as practically impossible to complete.

ABC producers had called the company in January with a question: Can you build a home within a week, plus supply the labor and materials?

Quite a proposition in the midst of a recession, but the folks at Aronov—many of whom are Auburn alumni—jumped at the chance, enlisting volunteers to bring supplies and do the work.

Everything would be taken care of, including an “extreme” shelter for the family dog, Wishbone. “We thought the economy might keep people away, but that was not a problem,” Mantel recalls. “Everyone jumped on board. The whole community wanted to be involved. The hardest thing was turning people away.”

More than 2,000 people worked on the job, from picking up trash on the site to supplying building materials. “It was quite challenging personally,” says Royce Bradley ’91, project

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manager for Aronov Realty Management. “After the initial excitement, it hits you that you’re going to have to build a house in four days. Planning was the key.”

Volunteer crews worked nights, moonlighting to plan the Jordans’ new home and simultaneously stay abreast of their day jobs.

“I’m a construction guy—been in it for a while,” Bradley says. “Scheduling, planning, instructing—that’s what I do. But we learned pretty quickly that the established model we used had to be thrown out the window. We had to focus on the skilled labor, and we had no shortage of volunteers.”

Two days before construction began, crews finally met the family whose lives they would forever alter. “When we met the Jordans, to see their need and how humble they were, it confirmed for us how special this project was,” Bradley says.

Lakita Jordan watched as men demolished the home in which she’d grown up. “It was bittersweet, to tell you the truth,” she says. “I was born there.”

But the four-day build left no time for nostalgia. “It may not sound like much, but, for a builder, what happened with

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the foundation was truly amazing,” Bradley says. “We had three separate concrete contractors, all competitors, all working side-by-side with the excavators. And this was a complicated slab system.

“Ordinarily you’d say, ‘This is insane.’ You’re not supposed to get this done with all these people. Normally, that’s a recipe for disaster.”

By the second day, though, the Jordans’ new home had begun to take shape. It’s roomy, with an adjoining garage and a state-of-the-art kitchen.

“One of the great blessings for me was bringing my 8-yearold twins to the site,” says Auburn University Montgomery alumna Jennifer Atkins, vice president for development and marketing for Aronov Homes. “It allowed me to show them personally how to give back. Plus, it was fun—I’ve never experienced that kind of fellowship.”

Anyone who has watched “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” knows the house itself typically isn’t the family’s only surprise. After the reveal, Aronov Homes CEO Jake Aronov told the Jordans he planned to pay off their mortgage, and five universities—Auburn University, Auburn University Montgomery, Troy, Alabama State and the University of Alabama— all pledged full scholarships to each of the three grandchildren: Miles, 15, Shan, 14, and Keiunta, 11.

Auburn’s volunteers didn’t walk away empty-handed either. After the project was complete, Mantel and some colleagues watched a video replay of the moment the Jordans first saw their new home.

“I got so emotional I had to leave the room,” Mantel remembers. “To see Monica Jordan’s expression of wonder was so moving.

“You always think, ‘I’ll volunteer later.’ You make all kinds of excuses—work, family. But this showed what a great impact you can have in your community.”

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for and throw a weekly, open-invitation dinner party? Buy in bulk, cook as much as you can—and have a second refrigerator on call.

Monica Jordan’s been doing it for years, every Sunday after church. “I go to Sam’s Club two to three times a month and load up,” she says, estimating her monthly grocery bill adds up to at least $1,000.

Successful meal preparation—which in any given week might include a feast of meatloaf, barbecue chicken, macaroni and cheese, and a cornucopia of side dishes—needed nothing short of a miracle in the Jordans’ old house. Monica Jordan used to send dishes home with daughter “Extreme Makeover” Lakita to refrigerate because there was producers aired footage a MADD display no storage room. No longer. “It’s easy of showing vehicles that with the kitchen I’ve got now,” she says. had been involved in Little else has changed for the Jor- drunken-driving acci“When I saw the dans, particularly Monica, who makes a dents. video of those wrecked point of keeping a lid on her anger. cars, I knew that Wil“You’ve got to forgive and move liam’s death was not in vain,” says Monica Joron,” she says. “You do that, and you’ll dan, here with daughter be amazed at the burden lifted off your Lakita. shoulders.”

O HOW DOES ONE PLAN

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About 4,000 freshmen will start classes at Auburn University in August, beginning a four-year odyssey of learning, maturing, making mistakes and having fun. But for highschool students, their parents and admissions officers, the college experience begins well before the first fall football game—and many won’t make it that far. Just what does it take to get into your alma mater these days? Auburn’s enrollment management dean Wayne Alderman ’71 and university recruitment director Cindy Singley ’79 talk about helping applicants find the right fit. interview by betsy robertson

Getting to yes

DECISIONS, DECISIONS Admissions staffers review thousands of applications each year from would-be students competing for spots in Auburn’s freshman class.

How many prospective students apply to Auburn each year, and how many are accepted—freshmen and transfer students?

WA For freshmen, about 19,000 on average apply, of which we accept 11,000 to 12,000. Obviously, we depend on students applying to more than one school, so we shoot for a freshman class of around 3,800 to 4,000. Transfer students: We have about 2,000 apply per year; we admit about 1,500. Almost all of

I L LU S TRATION BY KINO BROD

Wayne Alderman Dean, enrollment management

Cindy Singley

Recruitment director, admissions

those will show up, so we’ll enroll 1,200 to 1,300.

Would you describe the admissions process as an art or a science?

WA You know, I’m an accountant by background. Everyone thinks accounting is all numbers and science, but there is a tremendous amount of art in accounting.

It reminds me of that. We deal with numbers, but there is an art to it also.

CS Our applicants aren’t numbers

when it gets down to face-to-face recruitment. We try to create a personal feel to the recruitment process—as much as we can with 19,000 applicants.

Walk me through the decision-making process, beginning with the time a prospective student submits his or her application.

CS This year students may begin applying Aug. 1 and, in October, we’ll start making our “early action” deci-

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At the end of the day, we are looking to see who can be successful at Auburn.

That’s what we’re looking for, and it’s a hard thing to measure. sions, which are based strictly on academic criteria: grade-point average and test scores. Then, beginning in November, we’ll make decisions based on the review process, where we look at other factors such as “legacy” status, extracurricular activities, community service and leadership, and the answers to the four essay questions on the application. Underrepresented counties in Alabama will be a consideration—first-generation college students, all of those things. Then we’ll begin to send acceptance letters and, in some cases, if we are continuing to review an application, we may send a “deferred” letter. There will be some—very few—that will be actually denied at that point, folks that we feel need to start looking for other options.

So students begin to get their acceptances—then they have an option to pay a tuition deposit of $200. They may do that anytime up until May 1 of their senior year. Once they make that tuition deposit, they can continue in the process, such as applying for on-campus housing. In March, they will begin receiving information on Camp War Eagle, Auburn’s ori-

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entation program for new students. Then we provide them several opportunities to visit campus, either through preview days or campus tour programs. About 65 percent of students make their enrollment decision based on the campus visit, so that is the most important part of the process for them—to actually visit the campuses in which they’re most interested.

WA It is important to understand that if a student has really good ACT scores and high-school grades, that’s all we need to know. We want those students admitted as quickly as possible, because there are scholarship opportunities for those we call “early action.”

Everyone else will go through a review process. As Cindy said, if they have really low grades or test scores, we may just say no. But 90-plus percent of everyone else goes through a review process, which is good for Auburn. It kind of represents what Auburn is. We try, and want, to get to know that student better. Not every student has an outstanding standardizedtest score—that doesn’t mean they won’t be successful at Auburn. We just have to get to know them better, and that, for us, is labor-intensive. The individual reviews take us from Oct. 1 to February. Families need to understand that what drives the lack of an answer is because it just takes us a while.

CS And really, it’s to the students’ advantage that we take that kind of time, because we’re digging deeper than just the academic criteria.

WA One of the things we’re trying to educate people about is that a deferral is not negative. It simply means it’s going to take us some time.

What are parents and students looking for in a university nowadays?

What are they impressed by? Is it housing? Facilities? Specific academic programs? All of that?

CS It’s all of that. When we get students to Auburn’s campus and we ask those questions, they say they want a big college experience with tradition and lots of opportunities as far as academic programs. Quite often, especially with non-Alabama residents, the academic programs will drive them to Auburn; it’s the reason they come. But they’re also looking at other schools of similar cultures with big-time athletics, school spirit and tradition. What we hear often is that when they come onto Auburn’s

campus, they feel a real, personal, warm welcome.

WA Parents’ decision-making factors aren’t the same as the students’ decision factors. For example, parents will be more concerned with safety, cost, job opportunities, housing and dining. Students are more concerned with friends, activities, organizations. In general, they are going to make a decision on academic quality. The other factor is whether you feel it’s a place you can grow, not just intellectually, but emotionally and socially. Parents and students weigh that along with the cost to make a decision.

How does Auburn compete for the best and brightest students, those who might be good candidates for the Ivy League?

WA For those students, academic quality is very important, so we try to show them all the many nationally ranked programs at Auburn. They are very interested in scholarships. Those students deserve scholarships and they expect them, so we’ve got to have a reasonable package—it may not be as attractive as another institution’s, but for the value of the education, we think it is. We have to convey that to the student and parents. Another thing we try to get across to those students is that because Auburn is a personal place, you may have opportunities with professors that you might not get at some of those other schools. We’re just trying to show them exactly what Auburn is and what opportunities they would have here, then let them make the decision.

What do you look for in a student’s academic record? What’s the minimum GPA and ACT score to make the “early action” cut?

WA Normally the ACT score is going to be 24 or 25. The high-school GPA is certainly at least a 3.0, but we kind of weigh the ACT score with the GPA. So if a student has a 32 ACT and 3.0 GPA, they’re in “early action.” A student with a 24 may have to have a higher GPA. Interestingly, 75 percent of our freshman class this fall will probably be at a 24 or higher on the ACT. You mentioned that most applicants will fall into the “deferred” group.

For those whose grades and test scores don’t warrant early accep-

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tance, how do you determine who gets admitted?

WA At the end of the day, we are looking to see who can be successful at Auburn. If we admit a student, we want them to come and stay here and graduate and get a good job and bring success to themselves and the university. That’s what we’re looking for, and that’s a hard thing to measure.

CS They have an opportunity on the application to outline anything that has adversely affected their academic careers during high school. There is also an opportunity for them to list activities they are involved in—offices they may have held to indicate leadership and commitment to an organization. They can even list community service—that’s a big part of the college experience—as well as any work they’ve done.

WA On average, a student’s Auburn GPA drops by 1 point from their high school GPA, at least during the freshman year. So if you have a 2.6 GPA in high school, and you tell me the reason you got the 2.6 is that you just love activities, then something’s got to change.

What advice would you give a teenager who really, really wants to be an Auburn student but doesn’t have the academic chops or extracurricular success to be admitted as a freshman?

CS We had an admissions adviser who recently passed away, Dr. J. Boyd Scebra, and he would always say, “We can still get you into Auburn, you just might have to take a detour.” You can take your freshman year at another school, perhaps Southern Union State Community College in Opelika or Auburn University Montgomery, just to build up your academic foundation so you’ll be ready for Auburn.

WA If you’re denied admission as a freshman, you’re not denied admission forever. One thing I tell parents is that there’s one thing worse than your child not coming to Auburn, and that’s him or her coming to Auburn and failing. Some students do need another year of study skills and a little more responsibility before they come here.

Is there a rule of thumb for the number of accepted and enrolled out-ofstate and international students versus Alabama students?

WA Our goal for the freshman class is

40 percent from out of state and 60 percent from in state. We come pretty close to that.

Talk to me about diversity in admissions—that’s been a challenge for Auburn as well as some other Southern universities. Why is it important for Auburn to attract more minority applicants? Are we making any progress?

WA It’s certainly important, because we live in a diverse world. Business people will tell you that they want their employees to be able to relate and work within a diverse workplace. It’s not just important for the student of color, but the majority student too, because he or she is also going into that world.

It’s difficult for us for a variety of reasons. The (minority) students who do well and have good ACT scores, everybody wants them—not just the large public universities like Auburn or Georgia or Alabama, but the Ivy League schools as well. The historically black colleges and universities really want those students too.

So they have lots of options. We have to work hard at it. We’re making progress … This year, we’ve held some receptions in Birmingham and Mobile. We had some African-American alumni speak at those receptions, which has gone over extremely well. Getting minority alumni involved (in recruiting) really helps. We’ve also started doing financial-aid workshops with those students for whom cost is a big issue.

Sometimes we hear the word “legacy” used to describe successive generations of Auburn families. Does the fact that mom or dad or grandpa were students here have any bearing on the admissions decision?

WA Legacy is one of the factors we look at. It doesn’t guarantee admission, but it is a factor.

As an admissions officer, what keeps you up at night?

WA Three thousand eight hundred to 4,000 freshmen not showing up. We can’t skip a freshmen class. That’s the biggest thing.

CS Talking to those applicants for whom Auburn is not going to be an option. Through the process, you quite often form a bond with the student and their family. If you’ve been in contact with them from when they first started taking the ACT or SAT—because our recruiters are in the schools early on—you’re with

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these students through the whole process of making their biggest decision. It’s a lot of fun, because you get to celebrate with a lot of families, too. There are more good times than negative ones.

WA One piece of advice I’d give to alumni is to let their students, their children, manage more of the process. It’s not the mom or dad going to college, it’s the student, so we’ve got to see if that student has some initiative and can take some responsibility.

How can alumni assist with Auburn’s student-recruitment efforts?

CS We’re putting some concentrated effort into our alumni volunteer area, the FANS (Finding Auburn’s New Students) program, so they can go to the Web site www.aualum.org/alumni/fans.html and let us know they’d be interested in helping at college fairs or receptions. I had a call this morning from an alumnus in Denton, Texas, who wants to have one.

Those are the types of things they could do for us.

There’s one thing worse than your child not coming to Auburn, and that’s him or her coming to Auburn and failing. Some students need another year of study skills. a u a l u m . o r g Auburn Magazine

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ALUMNI CENTER

Calendar

A lifetime of giving

May 20

NANCY YOUNG FORTNER ’71 President, Auburn Alumni Association

Your Auburn Alumni Association is committed to academic excellence for both faculty and students.

Did you know your alumni association funds a significant percentage of Auburn University’s 104 titled professors? There are 25 Alumni Professors who each receive $3,500 annually for five years (including benefits, each stipend totals about $4,500 annually). Alumni professorships touch a broad spectrum of academic disciplines.

What about student scholarships?

The Auburn Alumni Association scholarship endowment funded 49 scholarships in 2008-09 for both in-state and out-ofstate students whose parents or guardians are life members (roughly an even split). Your alumni association hopes to increase student scholarships through the Circle of Excellence fundraising program, which is offered exclusively to its approximately 32,000 life members as a means of continuous giving to the Auburn Alumni Association scholarship endowment.

At its March meeting, your board of directors approved a restructured Circle of Excellence plan that includes four levels and flexibility in contribution participation. Life members will receive more information about the giving program in the next few months from newly hired Office of Alumni Affairs scholarship coordinator Toni Littleton-Rich, who can also provide technical assistance on local Auburn club scholarship efforts. An identified need for increasing student legacy scholarships exists. Life members have an opportunity to make a difference in providing scholarship support for future students whose parents or guardians are life members.

My two favorite seasons at Auburn are spring and fall. This season, let us: • congratulate the Auburn Alumni Association’s 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award

recipients: Vincent J. Dooley ’54, Henry “Hank” Hartsfield Jr. ’54, Oliver D. Kingsley Jr. ’66 and Philip W. Lett ’44, who were honored at a March 7 dinner in Auburn. The award represents the alumni association’s highest honor, and these four extraordinary alumni remind us of the rich heritage of Auburn as well as the possibilities for our university;

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COLUMBUS/PHENIX CITY AUBURN CLUB

Kickoff celebration with Tigers head football coach Gene Chizik at Green Island Country Club in Columbus, Ga. Info: (706) 576-5850.

June 4 EMERALD COAST AUBURN CLUB

Kickoff celebration with Tigers head football coach Gene Chizik at the Emerald Coast Conference Center, Fort Walton Beach, Fla. Info: See club Web site at www.emeraldcoastauburnclub.com.

• welcome Mary Ellen Mazey, Auburn University provost and new member of the Auburn Alumni Association; • thank the Auburn women’s and men’s basketball teams not only for successful seasons but also for modeling for the entire Auburn family the definition of teamwork; • remember the Auburn men’s swimming-and-diving team’s inspirational tribute to ailing head coach Richard Quick in winning its eighth NCAA national championship; • and attend an Auburn club meeting or event near you. Your alumni association supports 99 local clubs around the nation, from Seattle to Miami. Get involved today!

On March 24, the Alabama Senate confirmed Birmingham businessman Raymond Harbert for the at-large vacancy on Auburn University’s board of trustees. I extend my best wishes to Raymond as he begins his seven-year term and look forward to working with him for the betterment of our beloved university.

May we continue to honor the past, celebrate the present and embrace the future of Auburn.

War Eagle!

June 6-14 WAR EAGLE TRAVELERS: ITALIAN LAKES DISTRICT

Savor the sweet life in the lakeside village of Cernobbio, enjoy a private cruise on Lake Como and stroll through the gardens of the Borromean Islands on Lake Maggiore. From $2,795. Info: (334) 844-1143.

June 9 MONTGOMERY COUNTY AUBURN CLUB

Kickoff celebration with Tigers head football coach Gene Chizik in Montgomery. Info: E-mail Stan Maxey ’99 at smaxey@value-centers.com.

June 10 LANIERLAND AUBURN CLUB

Kickoff celebration with Tigers head football coach Gene Chizik in Gainesville, Ga. Info: E-mail Ward McCamy ’91 at wmccamy@gbt.com.

June 11 CULLMAN COUNTY AUBURN CLUB

Kickoff celebration with Tigers head football coach Gene Chizik in Cullman. Info: Call Frederick Bussey ’75 at (256) 339-5049.

June 12 DEADLINE FOR NOMINATIONS, 2010 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

(See Page 52) June 15 SHOALS AREA AUBURN CLUB

nancyfortner@auburnalum.org

Kickoff celebration with Tigers head football coach Gene Chizik at Listerhill Credit Union. Info: E-mail info@shoalsauburnclub.com.

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Calendar June 16 HUNTSVILLE-MADISON COUNTY AUBURN CLUB

Kickoff celebration with Tigers head football coach Gene Chizik in Huntsville. Info: E-mail club president Bradley Hamner ’03 at bradleygh22@aol.com.

In the summertime DEBBIE SHAW ’84

Vice President for Alumni Affairs and Executive Director, Auburn Alumni Association

June 18-26 WAR EAGLE TRAVELERS: ICELAND

Scan the sea on a whale-watching cruise and learn how this tiny nation has harnessed its assets— volcanic activity, varied terrain and rivers with changing currents—to generate hydroelectric power. From $2,795. Info: (334) 844-1143.

June 23-July 1 WAR EAGLE TRAVELERS: NORWAY/FJORDLANDS

Contemplate the colossal glaciers that carved dramatic gorges and sparkling inlet waters, then take a cruise on the Hardangerfjord and view Norway’s largest waterfall. From $2,495. Info: (334) 844-1143.

June 27 AUBURN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

9 a.m., Auburn Alumni Center June 30 DEADLINE FOR NOMINATIONS, 2009 PAMELA WELLS SHEFFIELD AWARD

(See Page 52) July 24 GREATER BIRMINGHAM AUBURN CLUB

Kickoff celebration with Tigers head football coach Gene Chizik in Birmingham. Info: See www.thegbac.org.

July 25-Aug. 2 WAR EAGLE TRAVELERS: RHINE RIVER

Germany’s Heidelberg and France’s Strasbourg are on the itinerary, as are the Alsace region and the fabled Black Forest. From $2,395. Info: (334) 844-1143.

July 27-Aug. 3 WAR EAGLE TRAVELERS: ALASKA

Revel in the beauty and power of calving glaciers in College Fjord, the wildlife of Glacier Bay National Park and the famed Inside Passage on this popular cruise. From $999. Info: (334) 844-1143.

Aug. 2-11 WAR EAGLE TRAVELERS: SCOTLAND

Discover the very best of Scotland, including the country’s historic highlands and the mysterious Loch Ness, plus St. Andrews, the birthplace of golf. From $2,695. Info: (334) 844-1143.

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Greetings from the Plains! Signs of summer are here—from the blooms around Samford Hall, to the dogwoods in front of the Auburn Alumni Center, to the planters with cascading flowers on both sides of the street in downtown Auburn. It’s great to be an Auburn Tiger all times of the year, but especially when the days are longer and brighter, and even the Samford Hall clock in its high tower seems to play the War Eagle Fight Song just a little louder as the hand hits noon.

Summer is the height of Auburn’s “club season,” which is when most of our 99 alumni clubs hold their annual meetings and the alumni affairs staff travels extensively to meet with alumni volunteers nationwide. Auburn clubs are located in 23 states, from California to New York, and are led by alumni who give of their time to connect and engage others with Auburn University. Club gatherings offer networking opportunities as well as a chance to learn about what is occurring on our campus and, often, to receive sports updates. A primary goal of our Auburn clubs is to raise money at the grassroots level for student scholarships, particularly for students who live in each club area. But perhaps most of all, Auburn clubs promote the Auburn spirit, which is integral to our institution’s advancement. Club meeting dates are posted on our Web site under the “clubs” link; if we have your e-mail address, you should also receive a message announcing any meetings in your area. Update your address, e-mail and other information by contacting aurecords@auburn.edu.

In the last year you may have received at least one online survey from Auburn requesting your feedback about your experiences as an alumnus, alumna or former student. Thank you for taking the time to respond—your input is impor-

tant, as it helps us improve our programs and plan for the future. Data collected recently shows us just how important the undergraduate experience is to the way alumni view the university, and the alumni association must become more interested in improving student development.

We already do this through the Student Alumni Association; we’ll also be looking in the near future for ways to expand our support of other student-related programming, especially for new students.

It’s important they realize early that the goal is to obtain an Auburn degree, and that the Auburn Alumni Association is committed to keeping them connected to Auburn University for a lifetime.

Finally, a word about another group vital to Auburn’s well-being: the faculty.

We’re proud to honor a number of outstanding professors each year, rewarding them with a substantial stipend from the association’s endowment. Our 2009-10 Alumni Professor Award recipients are: Frank “Skip” Bartol, professor of animal sciences, College of Agriculture; Curtis M. Jolly, chair, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, College of Agriculture; Mary T. Mendonca, professor of biological sciences, College of Sciences and Mathematics; Subhash C. Sinha, professor of mechanical engineering, Samuel Ginn College of Engineering; Wei Wang, professor of graphic design, College of Architecture, Design and Construction; and Mark G. Steltenpohl, professor of geology and geography, College of Sciences and Mathematics. They join 15 others who have been chosen as alumni professors for five consecutive years.

We congratulate their hard work and appreciate their commitment to Auburn.

War Eagle!

debbieshaw@auburn.edu

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Class Notes GOT NEWS? Auburn Magazine 317 S. College Street Auburn University, AL 36849-5149, or aubmag@auburn.edu

Rick Wood ’66 of Hendersonville, N.C., a retired high school teacher and coach, was elected to serve on the Henderson County Board of Education.

Life Member Annual Member

’20–’59 Samuel J. Kellett Jr. ’42 and wife Martha Brooks Kellett ’43 of Easley, S.C., recently celebrated their 67th wedding anniversary.

Daniel B. Gilmore Jr. ’50 and wife Betty

celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in December. They live in Birmingham.

John W. Ross Jr. ’58

of Timonium, Md., was elected president of the Oriole Advocates, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting amateur and professional baseball.

’60–’69 Charles Prickett ’61 and wife Shirley celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

They live in Hoover.

Henry Louis “Hank” Miller Jr. ’64, a

Greenbrae, Calif., photographer, has been selected as the artist- in-residence at the Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site in Arizona from June 21–July 26 and at the Ghost Ranch in Santa Fe, N.M., from Oct. 18–24.

Charles S. “Chick” Ciccolella ’68 of

Alexandria, Va., is senior fellow for economic oppportunity (education and employment) with the Wounded Warrior Project, an advocacy group for injured military veterans. He also serves as board chairman of Student Veterans of America and formerly worked as assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service.

Brenda Arnette Smith Sanborn ’68 of

Greensboro, Ga., was the Auburn University College of Education’s 2009 Keystone Leader-in-Residence.

A former high school teacher and administrator, Sanborn began a 25-year career with Pfizer Inc. in 1981 and ultimately directed the company’s national pharmaceutical sales operations. She retired from Pfizer in 2006 and now co-owns a custom framing and retail art gallery.

Teresa “Terry” Weeks Ingwersen ’69

and husband Richard “Dick” Ingwersen ’70

were named the Stone Mountain (Ga.) Wom-

en’s Club’s 2008 Family of the Year. Terry is a retired employee of BellSouth Advertising & Publishing Corp., and Dick is a certified public accountant and attorney. Both are involved in volunteer activities, including the local YMCA and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

Casper Y. “Cy” Wood ’69, publisher and

editor of The Valley Times-News in Lanett since 1993, was elected president of the Alabama Press Association.

He is a trustee of the Chattahoochee Valley Hospital Society ​and has served on several other civic boards.

Wood and wife Jennifer have two children, ​Trey ’07 and Amy.

’70–’79 Mary Helen Benford ’70 is a member of the

Chattahoochee Valley Historical Society’s board of directors.

She’s an active member of the Chambers County Farmers Federation and won third place in the heirloom division of the organization’s cotton sewing competition.

Arthur R. Rosen ’70

of Scottsdale, Ariz., was elected chairman of the Scottsdale Aviation Advisory Board. He writes a monthly column for Plane & Pilot News, serves as aviation consultant for the local ABC affiliate in Phoenix and represents the

Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.

Kenneth B. “Bo” Walkley ’71 was named

an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He directs NASA Langley programs at the National Institute of Aerospace in Hampton, Va. His wife, Judith Bennett Walkley ’73, is director of guidance at Poquoson Middle School.

Steven P. Barnard ’73 has been elected

to a two-year term as president of the Alabama Veterans Affairs Association. He is a financial aid adviser at Auburn University.

Bob Foshee ’74 ​​of Birmingham is a vice president and materials manager in the pipe products division of The Ford Meter Box Co. Inc. in Pell City.

H.A. “Burn” Page Jr. ’76 joined Mississippi

College in Clinton, Miss., as an associate professor of ​Christian studies and philosophy. He also serves as director of the college’s Institute of Christian Leadership.

Timothy J. Lockhart ’77, an attorney, was

appointed to serve a three-year term on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Trademark Public Advisory

2008-2009

Auburn Alumni Association

Board Of Directors PRESIDENT

Nancy Young Fortner ’71 VICE PRESIDENT

Mike Watson ’69 TREASURER

Steven A. Boucher ’77 Burt Cloud ’66 Walton T. Conn Jr. ’85 Marcus F. Conner ’99 Burke D. Cox ’93 William Jackson Fite ’85 R. Mack Freeman Jr. ’65 Michael R. Griffin ’96 Charles R. Horton ’65 Janet E. Mertz ’91 Howard B. Nelson ’69 Robert Poundstone IV ’95 Ben Tom Roberts ’72 Dana F. Robicheaux ’74 Arthur N. Ryan ’69 George A. Smith ’75 William B. Stone II ’85 EX-OFFICIO

Deborah L. Shaw ’84 Jay Gogue ’69 J. Ralph Jordan Jr. ’70 Donald L. Large Jr. ’75 Joe T. McMillan ’58 Jennifer Stephens 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.

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Class Notes

Board nominees The Auburn Alumni Association board of directors’ nominating committee, having solicited nominations from the membership as required in the association bylaws, has submitted its list of candidates for four new directors to the full board. The recommended candidates have been approved by the board and are presented below for the membership’s consideration.

According to the association’s bylaws, members may propose other candidates via the process outlined in Article XI, Section 4 (see below). The deadline for contesting any candidate recommended by the board is June 15. If no further nominations are received, the unopposed candidates will be deemed automatically elected and will begin their terms at the association’s annual meeting on Nov 7. All annual and life members are invited to attend.

VERNELL E. BARNES ’75 RESIDENCE: Decatur, Ga. MAJOR: Architecture

Committee. He lives in Norfolk, Va. Olivia Kelley Owen ’77 was elected vice

president for safety, security, health & environment by Exxon Mobil Corp.’s board of directors. She and husband David Kenneth Owen ’77 live in Dallas.

Edwin D. Smith ’78 of

LaGrange, Ga., was appointed by Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue to the state’s Professional Standards Commission.

He is the superintendent of schools in Troup County.

EMPLOYMENT: Self-employed architect AUBURN ACTIVITIES: Atlanta Auburn Club; past board member, Auburn University Parents’ Association RANDY J. HAM ’73 RESIDENCE: Trussville MAJOR: Industrial management EMPLOYMENT: Manager, AT&T AUBURN ACTIVITIES: Advisory board and past president,

Jon C. Fox ’79 of

Winston-Salem, N.C., was honored for volunteerism and consideration toward others by the William G. White Jr. Family YMCA in February.

Greater Birmingham Auburn Club; charter member, Circle of Excellence

RESIDENCE: Acworth, Ga. MAJOR: Public relations EMPLOYMENT: Senior producer/writer, CNN/Turner Broadcasting AUBURN ACTIVITIES: President, Atlanta Auburn Club; Most Outstanding Club Leader 2007 (honorable mention 2008)

woman of the Harris County (Ga.) Board of Education after serving as a representative on the board for six years.

She and husband Kenny live in Cataula, Ga.

CYNTHIA A. SAHLIE ’85 RESIDENCE: Montgomery MAJOR: Pre-law/political science

John Thomas “Tommy” Main to Renita

Montgomery Auburn Club; Samford Society; 1856 Society; Talon Society

Rawls ’77. They live

in Union Springs. candidates for any position provided that (1) the name and a biography of their proposed candidate is submitted in writing to the secretary of the association by

Betsy Belcher Meagher ’80 is an

of the announcement; (2) the submission specifies which candidate submitted by

associate broker for Harry Norman Realtors in Atlanta.

new candidate’s signed consent; and (4) the submission of the new candidate contains the signed endorsement of at least seventy-five (75) members of the association. Facsimile transmissions of this information will be accepted.

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’80–’89

the time specified in the notice, which can be no sooner than 30 days from the day the nominating committee the new candidate opposes; (3) the submission bears the

Auburn Magazine a u a l u m . o r g

ham is in her 26th year teaching high-school geometry. She serves on the Alabama Governor’s Commission on Quality Teaching and was chosen as a 21st Century Teacher Fellow by the Alabama Best Practices Center.

operations for Georgia Quick Start.

Timothy St. John ’85

of Westminster, Colo., is a retired information systems executive.

His first novel, Emma Points the Way, was published last year

by Banner Press Inc., and he married Nina McGuire on Sept. 2 in Lebanon, Conn.

Diana Norwood ’88 of Montgomery is the first nationally boardcertified teacher at Marbury High School and the first in the field of special education in Autauga County.

Laura Smith Silver ’88 and daughter Erin

wrote and illustrated a children’s board book, All About Aubie, manufactured by Beverly Hills Teddy Bear Co. Guy C. Starr ’89 of

Macke B. Mauldin ’82, president of Bank

Independent in Sheffield, Ala., was appointed to the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s Birmingham branch.

MARRIED

AUBURN ACTIVITIES: Advisory board and past president,

Article XI, Section 4: Nominations from Members at Large. Members may propose other

Suzanne Bishop Culbreth ’82 of Birming-

Karen Davis Hopkins ’79 was elected chair-

KATHLEEN O. SAAL ’83

Timothy D. Cook ’82

is Apple Inc.’s chief operating officer and is running the company’s day-to-day operations while founder Steve Jobs is on medical leave. Cook is responsible for all of the company’s worldwide sales and operations, including end-to-end management of Apple’s supply chain, sales activities, and service and support in all markets and countries. He also heads Apple’s Macintosh division.

Greenville, S.C., was promoted to president of engineering, procurement and construction at Day & Zimmermann Inc. MARRIED Betty Willingham Hughes ’80 to John C.

Jeff Lynn ’85 was named executive director of Louisiana Economic Development’s new Louisiana FastStart program, a jobtraining, screening and employee-recruitment effort modeled after Georgia Quick Start.

He formerly directed regional project

Davis on Jan. 1. They live in Brevard, N.C. David Holcomb ’87

to Darlene Carter on Sept. 6. They live in McCalla.

Gwen Miller ’89 to Richard Cogar on Oct. 24. They live in Phenix City.

A L U M N I

C E N T E R

Identify yourself Your association membership ID is located on this issue of Auburn Magazine, directly above your name in the address block. Your ID number will be handy when seeking assistance from our office and may be necessary for receiving members-only discounts.

BORN A son, Cameron George, to Stephen Henning ’85 and wife Mimi of Bedford, Mass., on Dec. 11. He joins siblings Elizabeth, 5, and Liam, 3.

A daughter, Ansley Claire, to Andrew D. “Andy” Bauer and wife Ann McDowell Bauer ’95 of Helena on Jan. 20.

A son, James Oliver Boyd, to Jim Boyd ’88 of Memphis, Tenn., on Aug. 13.

’90 Kelvin Redd was

promoted to director of the Center for Servant Leadership in Columbus, Ga. BORN A daughter, Ridgely Adelinde, to Tag Wagner and wife Kate of Brentwood, Tenn., on Jan. 2. She joins brothers Dashiell and Trafford.

husband Keir live in Washington, Va.

’92 Donnie Cain is participating in Lockheed Martin Corp.’s Advanced Technical Leadership Program and was recently selected to be the simulation program manager for a defense satellite contract. He lives in Colorado Springs, Colo.

MARRIED John Huff to Katherine Coleman on April 12, 2008.

They live in Auburn.

BORN A son, Phelps Michael, to Rob Faine and wife Maureen Keane Fain ’95 of Auburn on Oct. 3. He joins sister Grayson, 5, and brother Cooper, 3.

Twin sons, Michael Lee and Jacob Paul, to Karen Leigh Wood-

MARRIED Chris Bishop to ​Hae

Yoon Kwon on April 26, 2008. They live in Birmingham.

Susan Warren to Michael Clark on June 28. They live in Montgomery.

BORN A daughter, Erin Marisa Reilly, to Patrick Francis Reilly

and wife Deidre Ann Decker Reilly ’96 of

Pensacola, Fla., on Dec. 30. She joins sister Clare Patricia, 4.

’94 BORN A son, Oliver Stephens, to Brandon Browning and wife Diana of Birmingham on Nov. 11.

A son, Reid Sims, to William Preston “Trey” Ware III and Erica Capps Ware ’96 of Birmingham. He joins brother Will, 1.

Brasel and husband

’95

A daughter, Mary Harper, to Robert G. “Bobby” Poole and

Michael of Medina, Ohio, on July 21.

Tamara C. “Tammy”

A son, John Peter Ryan, to Chad Ryan and wife Joanne of Keller, Texas, on Nov. 11.

He joins brother Zachary Chad, 2.

Laura S. Mason is the manager of IKON Office Solutions Inc. at Callison in Seattle.

Higgins Poole ’91

on Oct. 21.

’91 Travis S. Taylor of ​Har-

vest wrote Introduction to Rocket Science and Engineering (CRC Press, 2009).

Susan Dryden Whitson was named to the board of trustees of Shenandoah National Park Trust. She and

’93 Chris Haggerty has

joined Regions Financial Corp. as commercial real-estate relationship manager for Miami-Dade County.

BORN A son, Brody Nicholas, to Aaron Beggs and wife Jamie on Dec. 23.

A daughter, Jordan R., to Charles E. S. Combs and Melanie Ramos Combs ’93

on Jan. 12.

’96 Russell E. Lynch Jr. was named vice president

SNAPSHOT

Poetry in motion Seven years ago, Huntsville poet Bonnie Gibbs Roberts ’71 was declared dead of a heart attack. Minutes passed … tick, tock … tick, tock … first one, then two, then three, then eight. At last, she breathed again—and went on to publish a poetry collection dubbed Dances in Straw with a Two-Headed Calf (Elk River View Press, 2002), later nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

“Dances in Straw is … about the need I have to love my life—all of it,” she writes in the book’s preface. “I think the volume, overall, is about love that connects and heals, though some of the poems … are about (the) failure to love and its consequences.”

While Roberts is quick to dismiss her own near-death experience, she’s less guarded about the suicide of her older sister, Danylu Gibbs, when Roberts was 13. The ordeal inspired many of the poems in her Pulitzer-nominated debut poetry collection To Hide in the Light (Elk River Review Press, 1998), which won the Alabama State Poetry Society’s Book of the Year Award.

“I had to keep her alive. She was my muse in a way—I had to work out my grief,” says Roberts, who also teaches creative writing.

“The first thing I tell (students),” she says, “is that craft is important—but the most important thing is to access what is inside them.”

Roberts is now at work on a third poetry volume, God’s Opposable Thumb, about coming to terms with the hardships of life. She also helps plan Huntsville’s annual Limestone Dust Poetry Festival.

“Our desire is to help poets grow in their love of writing, their contact with other types of writing, but primarily in their sense of community with other poets and people who love an afternoon of poetry celebration,” she says. “It’s a place where everyone is a winner.”—Rebecca Lakin

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Class Notes

Send us some names The Auburn Alumni Association is seeking members’ input on candidates for several annual awards recognizing alumni achievements, faculty teaching excellence and commitment to Auburn University: • The Lifetime Achievement Award honors members of the Auburn family—including alumni and former faculty, coaches or administrators—who have obtained professional prominence or have served their communities or Auburn in an exemplary way. Successful candidates must display such integrity, stature and ability that faculty, staff, students and alumni will take pride in their accomplishments. Past recipients have included former Time Inc. CEO Don Logan ’66, retired dean of students James E. Foy and University of Texas women’s track coach Beverly Kearney ’81. Nomination deadline: June 12.

• The Pamela Wells Sheffield Award recognizes women who have faithfully served the university or the Auburn family. Nomination deadline: June 30.

• The Minority Achievement Award recognizes Auburn faculty who go the extra mile to recruit minority students or improve race relations on campus. Nomination deadline: Aug. 28.

• The Alumni Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award honors Auburn faculty who create exceptional classroom experiences for students. Nominations must be seconded by the appropriate college or school dean. Nomination deadline: Aug. 28.

Online nomination forms maybe viewed at www.aualum.org/awards. For more information about the alumni association’s award programs, contact coordinator Tanja Matthews in the Office of Alumni Affairs at (334) 844-1113 or e-mail tanjamatthews@auburn.edu.

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Auburn Magazine a u a l u m . o r g

and controller for Birmingham-based Energen Corp. in January.

BORN A boy, Carter Fenway, to Elizabeth Carboni Green and husband Jonathan of Decatur on Jan. 21.

A son, Colton Dane, to Bobby A. Ingram and Dana Nettuno Ingram of Woodstock, Ga., on Nov. 17. He joins brother Parker Allen, 1.

A daughter, Anna Caroline, to Ashley Camp Henry and husband Tim of Nashville, Tenn., on Jan. 2.

’97 Jason Mohrman of Auburn is a pilot for Continental Airlines based at Newark Liberty International Airport. He is also a member of Auburn’s Aviation Management Advisory Board.

BORN A son, Gavin ​Riley, to Aaron Bridges and

A daughter, Celia Katherine, to Laurie Sparks Junko and husband Matt on Sept. 21.

MARRIED Smith on Oct. 25. They live in Pelham.

BancWest Investment Services, a division of Bank of the West, in San Diego.

’98

Lydia Futch to

James R. Moncus III,

William “Peter” Eyler is

Michael Thurston ’01

a third-year resident in the radiology department at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville. He graduated from the Vanderbilt University College of Medicine in 2006.

on Dec. 27. They live in Birmingham.

a trial lawyer in the Birmingham office of Hare, Wynn, Newell & Newton, was elected to the executive committee of the Birmingham Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section.

Sara Rouse to Bradley Cordell ’01 on Nov.

MARRIED

Samuel Champion to

17, 2007. They live in Birmingham.

Amy Boosinger to Scott

Andrea Hutchinson on Aug. 2. They live in Nashville, Tenn.

BORN A son, Blake Allen, to Linsey Murphy McCullough and husband Brent of Birmingham on Nov. 19.

A boy, Elisha Daniel, to Todd Nims and of Social Circle, Ga., on Feb. 11. He joins brothers Nathaniel ​ and Nicholas.

’99

A girl, Renée Michelle, to David Neivon Morantez and Michelle Fein Morantez of New Orleans on May 20, 2008.

Min-Hsao Chen is a wireless technology consultant for Sparling Inc. in Seattle. He serves as president of the Seattle Auburn Club.

brother ​Ethan Edward.

Rogers on Nov. 1. They live in Trussville.

Angela Williams

to Wendell Mills ’94 on Dec. 20. They live in Opelika.

BORN A daughter, Madeleine Ann, to April Ann Archer and husband Greg of Wichita, Kan., on Feb. 10.

Elizabeth Joy Linder to James Madi-

son Massey IV on Jan. 23. They live in Vestavia Hills.

Megan Nix to

Robert Nissen on Aug. 29. They live in Pasadena, Calif.

Rebecca L. Nims ’01

A son, Benjamin Warren, to Jason W. Duke and Sara Kralovec Duke ’98 of Alpharetta, Ga., on Feb. 11. He joins sister Olivia Madeline, 2.

’95 on Dec. 11. He joins

Sarah Hill to Michael Corallo on June 14. They live in Montgomery.

MARRIED

Susan Ashmore of Decatur, Ga., wrote Carry It On: The War on Poverty and the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama (University of Georgia Press, 2008).

She is an associate professor of history at Oxford College in Oxford, Ga.

Nancy Heflin Bridges

Kelly Cooper to Marcus

A son, Hayes, to Kristen Fullum Jackson and husband Robert of Auburn on Jan. 14.

A daughter, Kaitlyn Serenity, to Brent C. Ross and Serenity Hogan Ross of Mooresville, N.C., on Nov. 29. She joins brother Christian Joseph.

A son, Samuel Noah, to Robert L. Slay III and wife Stacey on Dec. 30. He joins siblings Kaylin, Kelsey and Ethan.

’00 Jessica Mohrman is a

financial adviser for

BORN A son, John Carter, to John David Goolesby

and Tiffany Robertson Goolesby of Nolensville, Tenn., on Dec. 18.

A son, Tucker Michael, to Andrew Rice and Cathy Tucker Rice ’98 of Birmingham on Jan. 6.

A son, James Radford, to James Benning “Jim” Walker and Laurie Levy Walker ’99 on Feb. 25. He joins sister Ava Taylor.

’01 Aaron Criswell is a producer for Leonardo DiCaprio’s film company,

A L U M N I

Tree TLC Campus workers are replacing the bricks and concrete surrounding Auburn’s beloved Toomer’s oaks—which experts say are contributing to the trees’ decline— with pervious sidewalks that will allow water, air and nutrients to reach the root systems. Years of drought, plus stress from pressure washing, pollution, and occasional fires and traffic accidents, have endangered the health of the 130-yearold-plus live oaks.

Appian Way, in Los Angeles. He is working on a movie adaptation of the comic suspense novel Beat the Reaper

by Josh Bazell.

Bennett K. Garner

of Acworth, Ga., is a LEED-accredited mechanical engineer with Atlanta-based Newcomb & Boyd.

Justin C. Honaman,

director of customer intelligence for CocaCola Enterprises, wrote and self-published Make It Happen!

Live Out Your Personal Brand.

Jared Porter is a video editor for “KING 5 News” in Seattle.

Philip Currie to​​

Catherine Kuhlman ​on Sept. 6. They live in Birmingham.

Jonathan D. Simpson

was named a senior associate in the law firm of Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor & Reed in Orlando, Fla. A native of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., he received a law degree from the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law in 2004.

MARRIED Christopher Campbell

to Christen Risher ​on Nov. 22. They live in Birmingham.

Dan DeJarnette to Emily Robinson on June 28. They live in Monroe, La. Heather Pruitt to James Elliott on July 18. They live in Helena.

Margaret Barkley Williams to Matthew Lackey on May 17, 2008. They live in Birmingham.

Allison Wooldridge

to Stewart Joyner on

June 28. They live in Birmingham.

John R. Burgess III

to Mary Elizabeth Tinkler on Nov. 1.

They live in Birmingham.

C E N T E R

joins sister Savannah Grace, 3.

A daughter, Shelby Grace, to Bradford Snuggs and Courtney Fain Snuggs ’01 on Dec. 22. They reside in Birmingham.

BORN A son, Casey Daniel, to Scott E. Allen and Coe Wilson Allen of Springville on June 23. He joins brother Justin, 3.

Anna Cook to John McKee on July 26. They live in Montgomery.

’02

Jarrod Jackson

MARRIED

to Natalie Durr on July 19. They live in Trussville.

John Amari to ​Ambre

Kyle Armstrong

was named president of Baron + Dowdle ​ Construction in Nashville, Tenn.

MARRIED Elizabeth C. Flatt

to Tyler Allen on June 21. They live in Cartersville, Ga.

BORN A son, Cooper William, to Stephanie Parsons Day and husband Steve of Trussville on June 11. He

’03 Prosen on May 17, 2008. They live ​in Trussville.

Holly Atchley to Jeffrey Giroux on Aug. 2. They live in Northport.

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Class Notes Julia Causey to Martin Antonioni on Oct. 25.

They live in London.

The Garrison Barrett Group.

Laura Greenhaw to

Scott Sealock to

and wife Blair Cheek Moore ’05 launched BlueYardCare.com, a Web site for people who want to learn about landscaping.

Jeff works for a commercial landscaping company, and Blair writes for financial guru Dave Ramsey.

Stephanie McClinton on March 7. They live in Birmingham.

Rials was promoted

Jeffery J. Moore

Barry Willis on May 31, 2008. They live ​in Auburn.

Shannon Salter to

Arthur Fussell on Aug. 23. They live in Statesboro, Ga.

on Oct. 25. They live in Huntsville.

to associate quality assurance manager for Tyson Fresh Meats’ pork division in Dakota Dunes, S.D.

Jacob Williams to

MARRIED

Jana Santoro on May 10, 2008. They live in Leeds.

Anna Carpenter to

Amanda Shewmake to Charles Codding ’02 ​ SNAPSHOT

Free-falling

When George H.W. Bush celebrated his 80th birthday five years ago by jumping out of a plane, the former U.S. president was just copying the idea, claims retired aviator John Lowery ’51.

“I thought of it on my 75th birthday,” boasts Lowery, who lives in Folsom, Calif. “President Bush just beat me to it.”

Like Bush, Lowery parachuted from 13,500 feet in February to commemorate eight decades of life. Whoever originated the idea, both men had a little help from members of the U.S. Army’s Golden Knights skydiving team, which assisted each of them with their jumps.

Lowery doesn’t consider himself a daredevil.

“I’m just a nice, sweet, old man,” he says. “But my entire work life has involved airplanes, and I did have some background in parachuting. To the uninitiated, the thought of swinging out the door of an airplane at high altitude and free-falling 8,000 feet can seem scary, but it is a fun and safe way to celebrate a birthday.”

Lowery trained as a military parachutist at Fort Benning, Ga., before serving as a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot in Vietnam. While attached to the Air Force, he was a member of the U.S. Military Advisory Board with the Philippine Army Special Forces.

In the case of his most recent escapade, Lowery had an ulterior motive—he did it for his four grandsons, he says.

“I wanted to show them that turning 80 did not necessarily mean one was finished with life.”—Morgan Ladner

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Amanda Gardner

Gregory Bates on July 19. They live in Atlanta.

topher Flynn on July 19.

They live in Helena.

Dianne Colson to

Christopher Denny on June 6. They live in Santa Rosa, Calif.

Sarah Haldeman

to Matthew Smith on Nov. 8. They live in Marietta, Ga. Misty Kowatana to

Marcus Skinner on July 19. They live in Villa Rica, Ga. Lindsey Langston to Ben Evans ’06 on

May 31, 2008. They live in Vincent.

David Layton to Jennifer Estes on May 24, 2008. They live in Birmingham.

Elizabeth Mathews

BORN A daughter, Ellie, to Lyndsay Michelle Stegmann Borage and husband Jeremiah of Wildwood, Mo., on Aug. 26. She joins brother Chase, 2.

A daughter, Isabelle Kate, to Melissa Sanders DeLoney and husband Bryan of Ozark on Dec. 12.

Kendall Clary to

Steven Janorschke on Dec. 6. They live in Birmingham.

to Benjamin “B.J.” Jones ’06 on Aug. 30.

They live in Mountain Brook.

John Michael Machen

Britton McClinton to

to Kristen Bice on June 21. They live in Birmingham.

on Sept. 6. They live in Birmingham.

Christopher Rodgers

Margaret Rivers to

to Monica Miller on Aug. 19. They live in Newport News, Va.

Andrew Schilder ​on July 26. They live in Birmingham.

Kim White-Spunner to

Robert Bass Jr. ’01

A daughter, Taylor Anne, to Markus Herndon of Empire, Ga., on Sept. 7.

Sept. 13. They live in Birmingham.

Chandler Shinkle to David Rohwedder on Aug. 2. They live in Birmingham.

’04

’05

Susanne Weber to

Laura Ann Baker of

Birmingham was certified by the National Council for Interior Design Qualification.

She is employed by

Charles T. Gross Jr. on

Weston R. Davis is a

Brian Richardson ’07

software engineer for Boeing in Seattle.

on July 26. They live in Birmingham.

MARRIED

Christina Whatley to ​

Helon Baldone to Chris-

Roland Pond ’99 on

S C R A P B O O K

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Class Notes

Club country

’07 MARRIED

Thanks to the Greenville, S.C.-based PALMETTO AUBURN CLUB, AU’s 3,000-plus alumni residents of South Carolina now can buy license plates sporting the Auburn logo.

The specialized tag is available from the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles for $70 every two years plus regular registration fees. Available in field DMV offices as well as by mail, proceeds from tag sales benefit scholarships for South Carolina students attending Auburn. For more information, see the club’s Web site at www. auburnclub.com/palmetto. In other club news: • The GREATER BIRMINGHAM, MOBILE COUNTY, MONTGOMERY, EMERALD COAST, ATLANTA, WEST GEORGIA and GREATER NASHVILLE clubs received the prestigious

“All Auburn, All Orange” designation for general excellence during the Auburn Alumni Association’s annual volunteer leadership conference in February.

• The HUNTSVILLE-MADISON COUNTY AUBURN CLUB recently won the Auburn

Alumni Association membership challenge, which rewards clubs with the highest percentage of alumni who are association members. Seventy-three percent of the club’s members also belong to the alumni association. The club also was honored for helping organize a “Technology Touchdown” event last fall, which included a career fair for Auburn engineering and business students.

club completed its $25,000 endowment; held a golf tournament and kickoff party that raised more than $32,000; and offered scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $1,500 to more than a dozen students from the Birmingham area.

Katie Esser to Thomas Hammock on July 19. They live in Birmingham.

Gena Nicole Huggins to Matthew Blake Rice ’03 on June 7.

They live in Opelika.

Marie Humphrey to John Marshall on May 31, 2008. They live in Montgomery.

Selena Knott to Forrest Wesley Davis ’06

• The ST. LOUIS AUBURN CLUB successfully launched a new Web site that garnered more than 40,000 hits in eight months: www.auburnstl.org.

• The CULLMAN COUNTY AUBURN CLUB organized its first Relay for Life team and raised more than $1,500 for the American Cancer Society.

• MOBILE COUNTY AUBURN CLUB president Laura Megginson ’84 received the Auburn Alumni Association’s annual award for most outstanding club leader.

on Aug. 16. They live in Columbiana.

• Auburn’s 99 local clubs are holding kickoff events and meetings all summer. Find a club near you and check out our complete online calendar: www.aualum.org/clubs.

to Whitman Welch on July 19. They live in Birmingham.

James Parsons to

Kristle Swann on July 12. They live ​ in McCalla.

on July 19. They live in Birmingham.

’08 ter received a Ph.D.

Tracy Cunningham

Melanie Mathews

Stacy Patterson to

to Adam Williams on July 19. They live in Swannanoa, N.C.

to Edgar Denton on July 19. They live in Birmingham.

John Morris on June 7. They live in Birmingham.

Christopher Baker ​to

Bradley Hamilton

Robert Meriwether to

Lillian Rudd to

Alison Oakes on July 19. They live in Auburn.

to Joanna Holloway on Aug. 23. They live in Birmingham.

Tara Lee on Aug. 23.

They live in Tuscaloosa.

Joseph Adams ’08

Jennifer Hill to

Rachel Owens to

Lisa Wilson to

Thomas Willings on Dec. 13. They live in Birmingham.

Andrew Knain on

Fletcher Little III ’08

June 21. They live in Birmingham.

on Nov. 23. They live in Auburn.

’06

in biochemistry and accepted a post-doc research associate position at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Ore.

MARRIED

Kyle Creamer to ​

Ashley Pruitt on ​June 28, 2008. They live in Nashville, Tenn.

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associate for Nashville, Tenn.-based McNeely Pigott & Fox Public Relations.

MARRIED Joseph Brannan

to Emily Smith on June 21. Joseph is a market controller at Clear Channel Radio in Columbus, Ga.

to Joseph Rasnick ’07 on Oct. 25. They live in Lexington, Ky. Kristel Clary to Adam Corley on Aug. 2. They live in Birmingham.

Jacqueline Dillon

Megan Smith to

Russell Adam Carpen-

May 31, 2008. They live in Prattville.

Eric Tieles is a ​staff

Kathryn Carmichael Christine McCormack

Benjamin Burmester

• The GREATER BIRMINGHAM AUBURN CLUB won the association’s Outstanding Scholarship Program award for its fundraising efforts over the past year. The

Brian Spear is an intern for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Huntsville engineering and support center.

to Paul DeMarco ’90 ​​ on Aug. 30. They live in Birmingham.

Lindsey Epperson

to Jonathan Buttrey ​ on Oct. 25. They live in Opelika.

Christy Rae Mikels

to Kyle Smith on Aug. 15. They live in Montgomery.

Karmen Pinckney to

Auburn Magazine a u a l u m . o r g

on Nov. 8. They live in Montgomery.

Jessica Hughes

of Birmingham is a LEED-accredited professional working for The Garrison Barrett Group architecture and interior design firm in Birmingham.

Christopher Dennis ’07

on Dec. 20. They live ​in Auburn.

Katherine Rice to John Hutchison on

Aug. 16. They live in Memphis, Tenn.

S C R A P B O O K

Auburn Magazine

Park it here

59AuburnMag_Fall08.indd 59

...during home football games this fall.

www.aualum.org

For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University

59

7/11/08 5:34:32 PM

Reconnect with friends in a prime tailgate location! Reserve your secure game-day parking spot near the Auburn Alumni Center at the corner of Gay Street and Miller Avenue for the entire season. Proceeds benefit the alumni scholarship endowment.

Call (334) 844-ALUM (2586) or e-mail nancyingram@auburn.edu for pricing.

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C E N T E R

In Memoriam Irene Flurry Moore ’33 of Pleasant Grove

died Nov. 24. A longtime Auburn elementary school teacher, she served as president of Auburn First Baptist Church’s Missionary Union for two years and in 1942 founded the Vota Vita (Devoted Life) Sunday school class, which was active for 50 years.

Taliah Snelgrove

SNAPSHOT

Firm foundations At Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1945 White House funeral, a minister eulogized that a lot could be inferred about the late wartime president by listening to the hymns he loved.

Inspired by the words of an 8th-century Greek monk and published in 1862, “Art Thou Weary, Art Thou Languid,” for example, spoke to Roosevelt’s political experiences as well as the crippling polio he suffered at age 39: “Art thou weary, art thou languid, art thou sore distressed? ‘Come to Me,’ saith One, ‘and coming, be at rest.’”

Intrigued by Roosevelt’s funeral anecdote, Dallas Baptist University historian Michael E. Williams ’84 and colleague C. Edward Spann began taking a closer look at the intersection between religion, music and the nation’s top office. The result: Presidential Praise: Our Presidents and Their Hymns (Mercer University Press, 2008).

“This book especially reflects the diversity of the faith of our nation,” says Williams. “We like to think that all our heroes are people of faith. Unfortunately, that is not always true. But even many of those presidents who expressed little faith publicly had an appreciation for sacred music.”

Abraham Lincoln loved “How Tedious and Tasteless the Hours,” an 18th-century hymn penned by converted slave trader John Newton, who also wrote “Amazing Grace.” The song’s lyrics may have comforted Lincoln as he tried to lead a country wracked by civil war: “Dear Lord, if indeed I am Thine, if thou art my sun and my song, say why do I languish and pine? And why are my winters so long?” Adventurer Theodore Roosevelt, a champion of physical and mental fitness, found comfort in the classic “How Firm a Foundation.”

How do presidents pick their favorite hymns? Behind every good president is a good first lady, Williams says—often, wives influence their husbands’ musical choices. —Morgan Ladner

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Extension Service for 30 years.

James W. Rutland Jr. ’41 of Montgomery

died Jan. 29. A World War II veteran and a crack turkey hunter, he worked as a business manager for Folmar, Flynn and Associates and as a building manager at Liles, McElvy and Rutland.

Orval N. Frederick

O’Neill ’36 of Safford,

’42 of Montgomery

Ariz., died Dec. 25.

She was a teacher and the second woman in her state to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps.

died Nov. 23. A World War II veteran, he volunteered at Baptist Medical Center South for 19 years as well as at the Alabama State Fair.

Sterling W. Jones ’38

of Rainbow City died Nov. 18. A U.S. Army veteran of World War II, he owned Jones Sawmill.

Nathan J. Adams ’41

of Valdosta, Ga., died Nov. 24. He was a banker and a U.S. Air Force veteran.

Henry Allan Fillmer ’41 of Fernandina

Beach, Fla., died Nov. 17. A U.S. Army veteran, he retired in 1961 as lieutenant colonel and collected eagle memorabilia in honor of Auburn University’s “War Eagle” battle cry.

Alma Holladay ’41

of Auburn died Jan. 26. A former highschool math teacher in Etowah County and a history buff, she served as a county home economist with the Alabama Cooperative

William Hyatt Harwell ’42 of Greensboro,

N.C., died Dec. 15. A U.S. Army Air Corps veteran, he worked for Exxon Mobil Corp. for more than 35 years.

John Pelham ’42

of Gravois Mills, Mo., died Jan. 17. A U.S. Army veteran of World War II, he worked for J.A. Lamy Manufacturing Co., where he served as a manager and treasurer for more than 50 years. He also served as a trustee of the Mae Ilgenfritz Trust for 30 years. He enjoyed traveling and had visited five continents.

Clinton N. Kaminis

’43 of Tarpon Springs, Fla., died Dec. 5. A World War II veteran, he was a pharmaceutical executive.

Judson Cooley Martin ’43 of Greenville,

S.C., died Nov. 2. A World War II veteran, he received the Purple Heart and owned a woodworking business.

He retired from C.L. Cannon & Sons Inc. William R. “Bill” Ireland ’45 of Birming-

ham died March 5.

A U.S. Navy veteran and former Auburn University Foundation board member, he helped create and pass Alabama’s “Forever Wild” constitutional amendment, which in 1992 set up a statefunded program to buy public recreational lands. Ireland worked for 39 years at his family’s business, Vulcan Materials Co. James H. Sikes ’45

of Statesboro, Ga., died Dec. 15. He worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture for 33 years and the Georgia Department of Agriculture for 17 years.

Patty McCoy Horton ’46 of Demopolis died

Dec. 29. She was a poet and author.

Charles W. Thompson Jr. ’46 of St. Marys,

Ga., died Jan. 14. He retired as director of technical services for Gilman Paper Co. after 37 years and was a United Methodist Men’s Society of John Wesley fellow.

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In Memoriam William Fredrick

Howard Vincent

Lehman Jr. ’47 of

Smythe ’49 of Lake

Dora died Dec. 22. A U.S. Navy veteran, he retired from U.S. Steel after 40 years.

Charles, La., died Dec. 25. A U.S. Army Air Corps veteran of World War II, he received the Distinguished Flying Cross with nine clusters. He served as veterinarian supervisor in McNeese State University’s agriculture department.

James Horace Burson ’48 of Tracy, Calif.,

died Nov. 2. A U.S. Army veteran of World War II, he worked at Westinghouse Electric Co.

Joe Franklin ThombMargaret Cox Coker SNAPSHOT

’48 of Savannah died

So long, coach

March 28. She was a teacher for more than 30 years.

By all accounts, Paul Nix ’57 was one tough coach, a perfectionist with a true love of baseball. He talked the game as a kid in his hometown of Greenville, as a player at Troy University, through a minor-league career, as a coach at Troy and Auburn universities, and even in his final days as friends and family visited him in hospice care.

Nix, 76, died April 13 in Auburn, still holding the record as Auburn’s longest-tenured head baseball coach. He led the Tigers for 22 years from 1963-84 and coached the team to two NCAA College World Series berths, three Southeastern Conference championships, one SEC Tournament title and six SEC divisional titles. He was named SEC Coach of the Year five times.

“Paul Nix was a great Auburn man, and we are extremely saddened by his passing,” Auburn athletics director Jay Jacobs said. “He laid a strong foundation for our baseball program and brought it national recognition with Auburn’s first-ever College World Series appearance. He was well respected by his players and developed many that went on to have successful careers in and outside of baseball.”

Retired Major League Baseball pitcher Joe Beckwith ’76, known as “Smokey Joe” for his fastball, remembered Nix as a taskmaster who brought out the best in his players. “He was hard-nosed, but players liked to play for him and they gave the most for him and the team,” Beckwith told the Dothan Eagle.

“He got more out of players than really their ability allowed because of the way he coached and his style of coaching.”

At Auburn, Nix helped produce two All-Americans in pitcher Q.V. Lowe in 1967 and first baseman Dom Fucci in 1978, along with 37 first-team All-SEC players and seven alldistrict players. Nix’s 1967 squad, which was 32-10 and won a Southeastern Conference title with a 15-2 record, gave Auburn its first-ever trip to the College World Series. Upon retiring in 1984, Nix had won more games than any other active SEC coach and still ranks 10th on the all-time SEC wins list.

He is survived by his wife, Gwen, and two children.

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Vonceil Teel Conner ’48 of Montgomery

died Dec. 29. She taught math and served as administrator at Floyd Junior High School for 28 years.

James Wesley Smith ’48 of Columbus, Ga.,

died Dec. 1. He was a veteran of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. George Lamar Collier

ley Sr. ’49 of Kennesaw,

Ga., died March 2. A native of Americus, Ga., he was a U.S. Army Air Force veteran of World War II and spent his career in sales at Bickerstaff Clay Products Co. Ollis P. Thompson Jr. ’49 of Montgomery

died Dec. 30. A U.S Navy veteran of World War II, he worked for the Alabama Farm Bureau Insurance Co. and served as president and CEO of Southern Guaranty Insurance Co.

nization’s Exceptional Service Award.

Harold F. Smith ’50

of Memphis, Tenn., died Nov. 15. He served 30 years in the U.S. Army Reserve and worked at Schering-Plough Corp. for 42 years.

Hugh B. Smith ’50 of Florence died Nov. 24.

A U.S. Navy veteran, he owned Southland Merchandising Co. and was an Auburn football season ticketholder for 58 years.

Grovine Rice Capps ’51

of Dallas died Nov. 16.

In 1950, she was the only woman in the Auburn pharmacy school’s graduating class. She worked as a pharmacist in Luverne for 41 years.

John M. Wolf ’51 of Goochland, Va., died Nov. 7. He worked for Reynolds Metals Co. for more than 30 years.

Charles Bobby

Richard George

’49 of Montgomery

Gaines ’50 of Hunts-

Berberich ’52 of Sac-

died Dec. 7. A U.S. Navy veteran of World War II, he served as president of Dorsey Trailer in Elba.

ville died Jan. 4. He worked at NASA for more than 30 years.

ramento, Calif., died Jan. 19. A U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War, he played tuba in Auburn’s marching band and worked for the Sacramento branch of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for 27 years.

James Otis “Jimmie” Goff Jr. ’50 of Fairhope

Robert Bynum Porter ’49 of Boaz died

Dec. 27. A U.S. Army veteran, he worked for the Tennessee Valley Authority in Knoxville, Tenn., and taught at Snead State and Gadsden State community colleges.

died Nov. 19. He was a Mobile pharmacist, where he operated Gulfdale Pharmacy.

James Carven McPherson ’50 of Spring,

Texas, died Dec. 21.

He was a chief lunar navigator in NASA’s Apollo program and in 1972 received the orga-

Milton Levern Rew

’52 of Indianapolis died Jan. 20. A U.S. Army veteran of World War II, he worked as a project manager for DuPont.

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In Memoriam Condred Curtis Roberts Sr. ’52 of Orlando,

Fla., died Jan. 12. A U.S. Army veteran of World War II, he worked for U.S. Steel for 28 years and taught Dale Carnegie training courses for four years.

and The Club; formerly served as president and board chair of Steward Machine Co. Inc. of Birmingham; and was president and CEO of Deb Corp. of Trussville.

Jack Kelso Allison ’56 of Winchester,

James Day Thornton ’52 of Huntsville

died Dec. 4. He was a founding member of the Bank of Huntsville and served on Jacksonville State University’s board of trustees for 37 years.

Tenn., died Nov. 24.

A member of the National Society of Professional Engineers, he retired as vice president of wind tunnel facility design with Sverdrup Technology Inc. James Charles Booz-

Leonard A. Morgan ’53 of Fairfield, Conn.,

died Feb. 4. A U.S. Navy Reserve veteran, he worked for General Electric Co. as an engineering manager.

er ’56 of Marion died

Dec. 26. He served as president and chairman of the board of Marion Bank and Trust Co. James Byron Rollins Jr. ’56 of Enterprise

A. Allen Hamilton ’54 of Decatur died

Nov. 11. A U.S. Air Force veteran, he was a partner in Hamilton & Riggs insurance agency.

died Dec. 20. An Alabama National Guard veteran, he worked for Bryars-Warren Drug Co. and served two terms on the Enterprise board of education.

Noyce W. “Bud” Burt ’55 of Atlanta died Feb.

Bob Hoyt Evans ’57

28. An avid gardener, he cultivated 800 rosebushes in his Dunwoody, Ga., yard, and served as treasurer of the Dunwoody Nature Center. He worked in the real estate investment division of Prudential Insurance Co. for more than 40 years.

of Atlanta died Dec. 6.

A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, he received the Purple Heart during the Korean War and worked in real estate.

Richard Holtzclaw Jr. ’57 of Pensacola, Fla.,

died Dec. 15. He was a Sears store manager for 32 years.

Tenn., died Dec. 8. He was a member of the Birmingham Rotary Club, the Auburn Engineering Alumni Council

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4. She taught at Mountain Brook Junior High School for 24 years, and, upon receiving a substantial inheritance several years ago, donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to help fund Auburn’s Southeastern Raptor Center as well as baseball facility renovations and scholarship endowments for members of the AU Marching Band.

She was honored with the Pamela Wells Sheffield Award in 2005 for service and commitment to Auburn.

Robert Earl Alongi ’59 of Huntsville died

Jan. 29. He worked for the U.S. Army as a simulation/design engineer for more than 40 years.

Axel Roth ’59 of

Huntsville died Nov. 12. He worked at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center for 45 years, receiving the organization’s Exceptional Service, Outstanding Leadership, Distinguished Service and Presidential Rank awards. He was a member of Auburn’s Aerospace Engineering Advisory and Engineering Alumni councils.

Mortimer Jefferson Thurman Sr. ’60 of

Claude W. “Bill” Swader Jr. ’55 of Royal,

Carol Clark Laster ’58 of Auburn died Jan.

James Rankin Smith ’57 of Scottsboro died

Nov. 26. He retired as chief engineer with Norandal USA Inc.

Auburn Magazine a u a l u m . o r g

Jackson’s Gap died Oct. 8. The former Dadeville High School band director also served as a juvenile officer for Tallapoosa County

and warden with the Alabama Department of Corrections for 29 years. He was an active member of the Auburn Knights Alumni Association.

William Fletcher Campbell ’69 of Destin,

Fla., died Dec. 31. A U.S. Army veteran, he founded Sailing South Inc., which operated for more than 30 years.

James W. Entrekin ’62 of Columbus, Ga., died Nov. 24. He was a vocational supervisor at Jordan Vocational High School for 30 years.

John H. Bell Jr. ’63 of Conway, Ark., died Nov. 26. A U.S. Army veteran of World War II, he retired as a history professor at Auburn.

James E. Hobson ’63

of Wetumpka died Dec. 7. He was a member of the Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association and helped create Friends of Pomona State Park to plan events and promote recreation in Osage, Kansas.

John Michael Weigle ’68 of Augusta, Ga.,

died Feb. 25. A U.S. Navy veteran, he served as ensign and lieutenant commander from 1968 to 1975 and another 18 years as a Navy reserve captain. Upon retiring from the Navy, he worked as a financial adviser for Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. for 23 years and later became a branch manager and senior vice president for Interstate/ Johnson Lane, later Wachovia Securities.

Otto Peter Cerny ’69 of Huntsville

died Dec. 19. He served as chief of the system integration division within the U.S. Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency and received a number of awards, including the Commander’s Award for Civilian Service Excellence. He was a senior member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronauts, and founded and served as president of a local Auburn alumni club.

J. Boyd Scebra ’70

of Auburn died March 4. A career Auburn faculty member, he served as associate dean of Auburn’s College of Education until his retirement in 1989, then worked part time in the university’s admissions office until his death. Scebra received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award in 1990 for outstanding service to Auburn.

George Alston Millis ’73 of Pike Road died

Dec. 30. A member of the American Veterinary Medical Association and the Central Alabama Veterinary

Association, he retired as a public health officer with the Alabama National Guard.

Diane Alexis Logan ’76 of Pike Road died

Dec. 20. An avid Tigers fan, she attended Auburn basketball and football games until the time of her death.

Peter Michael Horan ’87 of Alpharetta, Ga.,

died Nov. 29. He was a U.S. Navy veteran.

Ross Alexander Fletcher ’92 of Jasper,

Ga., died Jan. 8. A former Auburn football player, he started a landscaping firm and served as chairman of the Pickens County Airport Authority.

Faculty Wilbur Bostwick DeVall

of Auburn died Jan. 28. He was an AU forestry professor and administrator for 33 years.

Alan S. Hodel of

Auburn died Jan. 9.

An associate professor in Auburn’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a skilled violinist, he was selected as the Outstanding Teacher in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering for 2007.

Perry Maxwell Smith Sr. of Auburn died Dec. 19. A U.S. Air Force veteran, he served as head of extension horticulture at Auburn for 17 years.

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A L U M N I

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The Last Word

Sawdust

BY JAMES U. CROSS ’50 Lyndon Johnson rode Air Force One with total confidence. He was the ultimate back-seat pilot, ordering last-minute trips to sometimes secret destinations, including a circumnavigation of the globe that allowed the flight crew mere catnaps. No president before or since has given Air Force One quite the same impetuous workouts.

And I was his enabler.

My Secret Service code name was Sawdust. I figure I got that name because I was a country boy from the sawmill-andpiney-woods country of southern Alabama who never lost his backwoods drawl. But it just as easily could have applied to what was left of me after some of those uncomfortable times when Mr. Johnson took me to the woodshed with his legendary temper fully loaded and cocked. Lyndon Johnson only chewed on those he respected. If he didn’t like you, he ignored you or gave you the silent treatment. He must have liked me a lot. In fact, he became a father figure to me after my own father died when I was 37.

I was President Johnson’s Air Force One pilot. I bucked the inviolate military chain of command to fly where and when he wanted. Protocol, rules and red tape couldn’t stop us. We did it his way, obstacles be damned. He wasn’t always the most pleasant personality to be around, but he was the best co-pilot in adventure anyone could ever have had.

Flying was just the half of it. I was the only Air Force One pilot in history to have one foot in the cockpit and the other in the White House inner circle. I flew the plane and joined the political ground crew, too, as the full-time Armed Forces aide to the president with an office in the East Wing. Double the duty, double the fun. And I juggled those two full-time jobs on one military salary, of course. No free lunch, either. I had to pay for my meals aboard Air Force One.

As Armed Forces aide and director of the White House Military Office, I had to provide liaison with the Pentagon; supervise Camp David, the presidential mountain retreat outside Washington; corral the presidential yachts, helicopters, planes and cars; run the White House Mess; line up military officers to be social escorts at White House functions (Chuck Robb fell in love with and married the president’s daughter, Lynda, after I brought him into the White House as a social aide); supervise and provision the secret underground bomb shelters for the president, his key staff and his cabinet; write the presidential

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condolence letters to families of U.S. soldiers killed in Vietnam; maintain plans for the funerals of all living former presidents; and more.

Day after day, I handled my high-level duties with any personal requests that came in from the president or his family.

When Lynda and Chuck decided to marry, they told me first and asked for advice on how to break the news to the president and Lady Bird. I flew to Dallas on the president’s privately owned King Air with a handful of Johnson jewels so that Stanley Marcus, the CEO and president of Neiman Marcus, could appraise them and craft them into rings, brooches and necklaces as presents for Lady Bird and the Johnson daughters.

I ran interference with the pesky San Antonio tailor who made the president’s famous khaki ranch clothes and often phoned the White House hoping to win government contracts in return. I flew to Mexico to look at property for the president. I even had to keep Johnson’s cattle from using his Texas ranch runway as an outhouse. I never knew what task might be thrown my way. So I made it a point to be available at all times, even if it meant lurking just out of sight in case the president called my name. I lived in a constant state of readiness.

Today, in the new millennium, as I recall those 11 exciting and eventful years from late 1961 until the president’s death in 1973, I am first reminded of Mr. Johnson’s vast energy and determination to pull the nation from the depths of despair after John F. Kennedy’s assassination. From that beginning came the whirlwind campaign in 1964 to win his own term in the presidency. Thereafter, he pushed forth and signed into law the greatest watershed body of social legislation in the history of the nation. Most regrettably, however, the Vietnam War had already begun taking a terrible toll on his energy, his health and his resolve.

To have been given the opportunity to build a relationship with this uncommon common man was the gift of a lifetime, one shared by few others. I remain humbled by the experience.

Excerpted from Around the World With LBJ: My Wild Ride as Air Force One Pilot, White House Aide, and Personal Confidant (University of Texas Press, 2008), by retired U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. James U. Cross. A native of Andalusia who retired from active military duty in 1971, Cross lives in Gatesville, Texas.

Upon retirement, he was commander of the 75th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas.

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