Auburn Magazine Winter 2011

Tim Cook ’82 takes a bite of Apple pg 10

NEWS

How golf pro Jason Dufner ’00 lost big but still won his peers’ respect pg 24

SPORTS

Spirits unafraid to lurk in chapel? pg 36 FEATURE

WINTER 2011

Road to Redemption The curious case of Bobby Hoppe ’62

You might not

EXPECT

to find Santa Claus this far south.

Wise men come here too.

You might not expect to be thinking about Christmas quite this early, but with everything there is to see and do this holiday season in the Auburn-Opelika area, it’s never too early to start planning your visit. Groups and families will get in the spirit with our Victorian Front Porch Christmas, the Loveliest Village Tour of Homes, Christmas in a Railroad Town, and Auburn’s brand new musical light display. Let us make all the arrangements for your meals and travel while you find the true meaning of the season, and a whole lot of other cool things

UN

you might not expect.

expected

AU Alumni fall holiday 11.indd 1

aotourism.com | 866.880.8747 10/11/2011 1:50:38 PM

Sign from above?

It’s hard not to believe Auburn’s a special place when even the heavens agree: West Thach Concourse is a prime viewing spot for picture-perfect orange-andblue sunsets. In the foreground stands Tichenor Hall, home to the Department of Communication and Journalism as well as College of Liberal Arts administrators. Built in 1940 and recently renovated, Tichenor Hall bears the name of AU’s third president, Issac Taylor Tichenor, a Baptist minister and Confederate Army chaplain who led the university from 1872 to 1882.

Photograph by Jeff Etheridge

W I N T E R

2 0 1 1

From the Editor

A note of thanks

Betsy Robertson

BETSY ROBERTSON

Suzanne Johnson

Editor, Auburn Magazine

EDITOR

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

In a society that has increasingly numbed itself to rude behavior and made texting an acceptable alternative to actually speaking with one’s family and friends, I find it charming and occasionally life-affirming to receive a handwritten thank-you note in the mail. A few months ago I received a sweet letter from an aunt of mine who excels at expressing appreciation. Her words brightened my day, and I treasured the time she took to craft those paragraphs, forage for a postal stamp and look up my street address. That note had a shelf-life, too: It sat on my kitchen desk for days, and, every time I saw it there, the carefully scrawled cursive on thick cream stationery reminded me that I am loved. Words on paper are sentimental that way—which is why I’ll never concede to the idea that there is a suitable electronic substitute for the magazine you now hold in your hands.

All of us in the magazine business have been asked repeatedly in the past few years how we are going to adapt our products to survive in the digital age. Advertising revenue is down due to the sagging economy, and publishers are scrambling to cut costs and find new ways to generate operating income. Many now offer online versions of their print publications, and rightly so— the growing popularity of e-readers and tablets necessitates that we go where our readers are. Less than two years after the

introduction of the Apple iPad, 11 percent of U.S. adults now own a tablet computer of some kind, and three out of four users spend an average of 90 minutes on their tablets daily, according to the Pew Research Center. Meanwhile, print magazine readership continues to grow—leaving publishers in a quandary about how to fund online editions, maintain their print products and attract advertisers for both.

In Auburn Magazine’s own reader surveys, a whopping 90 percent of you say that, given a choice, you’d prefer continuing to read your alumni magazine in print rather than online. No other form of communication, asserts my colleague Brian Doyle at the University of Portland, has the “verve and emotional depth” of a printed magazine. That’s why, for the past two years, we’ve asked for your help in continuing to deliver the quality publication you’ve come to expect from your alma mater.

More than 800 of you responded to this year’s “voluntary subscription” request with gifts totaling nearly $40,000, funding that we’ll use to ensure Auburn Magazine remains one of the best of its kind in the country. On behalf of the Auburn Alumni Association and the magazine staff, I thank you. Your generosity makes it possible for us to keep doing what we’re doing, and it means more to us than you know.

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 ©2011 by the Auburn Alumni Association, all rights reserved.

LETTERS Auburn Magazine welcomes readers’ comments, but reserves the right to edit letters or to refuse publication of letters judged libelous or distasteful. Space availability may prevent publication of all letters in the magazine, in which case, letters not printed will be available on the alumni association website at the address listed below. No writer is eligible for publication more often than once every two issues. No anonymous letters will be accepted. Auburn Magazine is available in alternative formats for persons with disabilities. For information, call (334) 844–1164. Auburn Magazine is a benefit of membership in the Auburn Alumni Association and is not available by individual subscription.

To join, call (334) 844–2586 or visit the association’s website at www.aualum.org.

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

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

4

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

Shannon Bryant-Hankes ’84 ART DIRECTOR

Stacy Wood UNIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHER

Jeff Etheridge EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS

Morgan McKean ’12 Abby Townson ’11 DESIGN ASSISTANTS

Shannon Allgood ’12 Zoey Gay ’12, Jake Odom ’12

PRESIDENT, AUBURN UNIVERSITY

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

Deborah L. Shaw ’84 PRESIDENT, AUBURN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

Bobby Poundstone ’95 AUBURN MAGAZINE ADVISORY BOARD CHAIR

Neal Reynolds ’77 AUBURN MAGAZINE ADVISORY BOARD

betsyrobertson@auburn.edu

Maria Baugh ’87, John Carvalho ’78, Jon Cole ’88, Ed Dickinson ’70, Christian Flathman ’97, Tom Ford ’67, Kay Fuston ’84, Julie Keith ’90, Mary Lou Foy ’66, Eric Ludgood ’78, Cindy McDaniel ’80, Carol Pappas ’77, Joyce Reynolds Ringer ’59,

Allen Vaughan ’75

THE CELEBRATION continues...

The national championship Spirit of Auburn credit card allows you to honor Auburn’s winning season all the time!

Plus, you help Auburn students by supporting Auburn’s scholarship fund when you use the card for all your everyday purchases—at no additional cost to you. To date, our credit card program has generated more than $5.7 million for freshman academic scholarships.

And you’ll earn WorldPoints® rewards points on purchases that can be redeemed for travel, merchandise, or cash rewards. Yet another reason to celebrate.

For details or to apply, visit www.auburn.edu/spiritcard.

The Spirit of Auburn credit card is made possible by the Auburn Spirit Foundation for Scholarships (ASFS), which is affiliated with Auburn University. This advertisement was paid for by the ASFS. For information about the rates, fees, other costs, and benefits associated with the use of these cards or to apply, visit www.auburn.edu/spiritcard and refer to the disclosures accompanying the online credit card application. This credit card program is issued and administered by FIA Card Services, N.A. Bank of America and the Bank of America logo are registered trademarks of Bank of America Corporation. Visa is a registered trademark of Visa International Service Association and is used by the issuer pursuant to license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. MasterCard is a registered trademark of MasterCard International Incorporated and is used by the issuer pursuant to license. Platinum Plus and WorldPoints are registered trademarks of FIA Card Services, N.A. ARNOWOW4 6/13/11 © 2011 Bank of America Corporation.

Auburn University then and now, portr ayed in photogr aphs

If you are one of the more than 270,000 Auburn alumni, the images in Echoes Strong and Clear will give you a sense of what student life was like for those who went before, during, or after your time here.

Echoes Strong and Clear is available for $39.95 per book. Order your copies directly from Auburn University Photographic Services.

www.auburn.edu/photo or (334) 844-4560

Your Auburn Spirit transcends time. Begin a new tradition today by purchasing the first official Auburn University ornament. As the years pass, you will possess a meaningful collection your family will cherish for generations.

The ornaments are designed and crafted exclusively for Auburn University by Orbix Hot Glass, a family-run glassblowing studio in Fort Payne, Alabama.

For the Auburn Family by the Auburn Family.

www.auburn.edu/samfordcollection

6

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

On the cover Chattanooga, Tenn., native Bobby Hoppe ’62 was a high school football standout. He changed his jersey number to 20 prior to the 1957 championship run.

Winter 2011 F R O N T 4 From the Editor

Thank you for your generosity: Auburn Magazine readers rock!

The Tigers’ Fall World Series was underway at press time.

8 The First Word

Freshman-year memories, from coping with homesick blues to living with curfews.

24 Tiger Walk

How golfer Jason Dufner ’00 became summer’s shooting star.

Also: The NCAA clears Auburn as well as favorite son Cam Newton.

10 College Street

Updates on Auburn’s trustee vacancies and the Toomer’s oaks poisoning. Plus: a War Eagle wedding.

B A C K 47 Alumni Center

The Auburn Alumni Association recognizes its newest Lifetime Achievement Award winners. Also: Cub Corner for kids.

Stateside after the war, alumni and students salute the Tigers at the 1945 homecoming game.

Art professor Barry Fleming teaches a drawing class as part of the Alabama Prison Arts + Education Project based at Auburn University.

16 Research

Watch out: Formosan termites could eat you out of house and home.

Also: Auburn plans to teach food-safety skills.

18 Roundup

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

20 Concourse

A student braves the South American wilds of the Guiana Shield. Plus: Cooking for the hungry.

F E A T U R E S

28

Bobby Hoppe ’62 won accolades on the gridiron as part of Auburn’s 1957 championship team, but he carried a heavy burden off the field. Just before football season began that year, he shot at a man. Thirty-one years later, Hoppe was on trial for murder. by sherry lee hoppe

36

Haunted Haven

Auburn Alumni Association honors top faculty members

50 Class Notes 56 In Memoriam 64 The Last Word

For years, students and alumni have insisted that the Auburn University Chapel is haunted by the ghost of a Civil War soldier named Sydney Grimlett. A trio of Auburn Magazine interns try to spirit out the truth. by morgan mckean photographs by jeff etheridge

42

Graduate student Lesley de Souza ’99 and a slithery friend

Trial and Error?

Did a panty raid help Auburn win the 1957 football championship?

Raising the Bars

Poet Kyes Stevens ’94 and the Alabama Prison Arts + Education Project are bringing the humanities to the state’s prison system—by teaching literature, art and history to inmates. by matthew shaer photographs by kyes stevens

Remembered: Evelyn Jordan ’66, student counselor at Auburn

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

7

L E T T E R S

T O

T H E

E D I T O R

The First Word THE TOPIC In Auburn Magazine’s fall issue, we asked

readers to share their freshman-year memories, from minor acts of rebellion to character-building moments. The result: too many letters to print! To read more, see wp.auburn.edu/auburnmagazine.

Moving in the morning

Arriving at Auburn in June ’65, I, like everyone else in my freshman class, had to stand in line to register for classes. Of course, Auburn had folks there to help you select the proper courses. I think they were called “take this quickly, sign here and move along” people—or so it seemed. Well, my counselor (and I use that term loosely) gave me two wonderful courses: ROTC at 7 a.m., so I drilled and sweated and drilled, then ran home from the old drill field to change and get to my 8:10 class (always late)! The other wonderful course was basic physical education at—you guessed it—7 a.m., so I ran and sweated and ran, then sprinted home to shower and change and get to my 8:10 class (late again). So, students: Enjoy your online registration, online book purchases, online meal tickets, online schedule changes and your transit bus!

—Jack Boutin ’70, Marietta, Ga. Father knows best

I arrived on Auburn’s campus as a freshman in fall 1977. Coming from my hometown in Louisiana, I knew not one soul in the entire student body, but it had been my lifelong dream to attend college at Auburn, as my father was a 1950 graduate. I just knew this was where I wanted to be.

I moved into the old Auburn Hall with my “potluck” roommate and proceeded to adjust to life on my own, independent and far from home. It would be dishonest to say that the initial adjustment was smooth sailing. I found myself overwhelmed by the size and scope of my newfound freedom, and the challenges of making new friends, fitting in and learning my way around campus. I became extremely homesick, and I will remember forever a distraught phone call I placed to my dad. I cried and said that perhaps I had made a mistake, at which point my father passed along sage advice that has stuck with me throughout my life, and which I share with all young people headed off to college. He said, “Honey, homesickness is like the flu—you’ll eventually get over it.” Of course, it could also be that, in the same conversation, he told me my only other alternative was to leave Auburn and move home to attend community college!

Regardless, I instantly felt better and never looked back. And he was right: My years at Auburn were some of the fondest of my life, a place where I

8

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

received a stellar education at the hands of our wonderful faculty and made friends who have lasted a lifetime. In fact, I got so comfortable in my Auburn surroundings that I survived the explosion at the old Kopper Kettle in January 1978 by sleeping right through it! Two blocks from Auburn Hall, and my only clue it had happened at all was the broken windowpane glass on the floor of my dorm room when I hopped off the bunk that Sunday morning!

—Tami Merriman Johnson ’81, Birmingham, Ala. Fast friends

I was a freshman at Auburn in fall ’62. I had attended Girls State in ’61 and became friends with a girl from Greenville, Ala., who was also going to Auburn.

When random roommate assignments came in, she and I were rooming together in Alumni Hall, about three doors down from J & M Bookstore on College Street; we also became sorority sisters. We had a great housemother we called “Hoppy.” She dealt with all kinds of freshman stuff: homesickness, broken hearts, bad dining-hall food and an 8:30 curfew Monday through Thursday nights for first-quarter freshmen. Then came the panty raids, which created lots of hype, and to top it off an exhibitionist who visited the backside of the dorm for several weeks in the evenings. I can’t remember if he was finally caught or just moved on, but he created some kind of excitement! What an introduction to dorm life at Auburn. By the time we freshmen survived the registration process with computer punch cards, our blood was running orange and blue. War Eagle!

—Tricia Gwin Lowery ’66, Ringgold, Ga. More than athletics

Most will agree that when an opportunity comes to move out on your own at 18, there is a combination of excitement and apprehension. For me, it was both.

I was leaving home with one member of my family no longer with us: my father. He passed away in March of that year. How I wished that he had been there to see me off, to see the last of his six children start the process of obtaining a college education.

On I went, on a stretch of interstate that had been traveled many times before. On those occasions, it was to see a football game or visit my older sister and brother during their years as students. Now it was my turn. From the first time I set my feet on the grounds of the “loveliest village,” I knew I was where I wanted to be. Yes, I was now with a new family— my adopted family—and we would have a close relationship for four years. After graduation, that relationship took on a more proud and spiritual closeness. To be honest, there have been some football seasons in which that pride had a hard time

coming through, but, with age, life’s lessons are always learned. To be part of a university that has a great athletic program is one thing; to be part of a university that becomes so rooted in the way you look at life and the way you try to live your life, that’s something else. I am blessed to have attended a university that has both. War Eagle!

—Kerry M. Rehm ’84, Mobile, Ala.

Salute to Sullivan

I am a lifelong Auburn fan as well as an alumnus. I always enjoy getting Auburn Magazine, and I am usually delighted by the interesting articles and news you convey. However, I must take serious issue with your catalog of “100 Things We Love About Auburn” (Fall 2011). The absence of Pat Sullivan ’72 from the list is inexcusable. Pat Sullivan winning the Heisman Trophy at that time did more for Auburn’s image than any other athletic achievement up to that date. It put Auburn full face on the national scene, elevated the status of our football program and was a “stick in the eye” to the Crimson Tide during the Bear Bryant era. Pat was, and has continued to be, a great representative of what Auburn football and the Auburn Creed is all about.

—W.M. “Bill” Leslie Jr. ’62, Sandy Springs, Ga. Minor inconveniences

I came to Auburn University as a shy, immature, socially backward, barely-18-year-old. My freshman year was spent in Auburn Hall, a converted boys’ dorm, which was thought to be the absolute worst place to live at the time. They’ve torn Auburn Hall down now, but I’ll never forget it. The rooms were so small that the only way two beds would fit was if they were stacked—bunk beds. There were three other indiscriminate pieces of furniture: two aged chests and a heavy metal table for a desk. My roommate and I set out to cheer the place up with contact paper and posters, but it still resembled a prison cell more than anything else. It didn’t matter. It was home.

Female students were subject to an entire set of regulations that began with “permissions” (which governed comings and goings). There were sign-out cards you had to fill out when you were going to be out after supper and “pink slips” which had to be approved when you went home on weekends. If you came in after the dorm closed, you were put on restriction, which meant you had to be in your room at 7:30 and couldn’t come out for anything (except to go to the bathroom, and then you weren’t supposed to talk to anybody). During “strict study hour,” between 9:30 and 10:30, you could not leave your room. Our dorm mother used to sneak around trying to catch us out of our rooms so she could put us on

PETA pan The group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals called for an end to Auburn’s pregame eagle flights after bald eagle Spirit collided into the window of a Jordan-Hare Stadium luxury box in September. The bird was not injured in the incident, and Auburn has no plans to curtail the flights, which are conducted by permission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

restriction. But we devised methods of dealing with strict study hour. One of the girls had a popcorn popper; she would pop the corn and tug on a string that had been carefully laid the length of the hall to her room, which was on the end. We would then haul a pan full of hot popcorn down the hall and all get some when it went by our doors. It wasn’t so much that we wanted the popcorn, but it was fun to see what we could get away with.

My courses that first quarter were difficult, more so than in high school. I was accustomed to making good grades by paying attention in class and doing minimal work outside, but college was different. So much more was expected of students; most of the learning was outside of class. P.E. was always my worst subject. I thought I was going to drown in swimming class fall quarter; the next quarter I had bowling, and, being the klutz that I am, almost crippled my instructor when I dropped the ball on the backward swing as she stood behind me.

As for being homesick, I was far too busy with classes and new friends to even think about it. My mother told me years later that she worried about her decision to send me away to college, but the first weekend I came home, she could tell I was going to cope with my new situation. That first year gave me the self-reliance I lacked as a high school student.

Auburn was a primary factor in making me the person I became as I entered adulthood.

—Catherine Hannon Hawkins ’68, Rainbow City, Ala. Fountain follies

It was summer ’69, my freshman year. One hot Sunday afternoon, my roommates and I decided to go running in the stadium. We ran around the field several times, got hot and decided it would be a great idea to go over to the fountains at Haley Center to cool off. Haley Center had just opened, and at the time there were two big fountains outside by the steps. We jumped in and started splashing around.

We noticed quite a few coins that had been thrown into the fountain and started kidding around about how much money we were finding. We were having a great time when we noticed a young man walking toward us. He started talking to us and asked what we were doing. We thought he was flirting, so we enjoyed telling him about our day. He proceeded to tell us that he was with the campus police, and we would need to come to the station Monday to meet with the police chief. Needless to say that finished up our frolic in the fountain. We trudged back to Noble Hall dreading what the morning would bring.

We dutifully showed up as requested at the campus police station. The chief proceeded to explain to us in stern tones what would happen if we were ever caught playing in those fountains again. I was still

L E T T E R S

shaking when we left the police station and wondered if the chief planned to call our parents. I decided that the best defense was a good offense, so I immediately called home when we got back to the dorm. I carefully explained to my parents what had happened, and I must say they took it rather well. To put things in perspective, my mother decided it was really not bad as long as it wasn’t on my “permanent record.”

—Joy Shealy Martin ’73, Dothan, Ala. Woman’s liberation

My freshman year at Auburn was 1973. Thinking back on the way things were on campus at that time, it almost seems like it happened before women got to vote. There was still a “dean of women,” Katharine Cater, who made the rules regarding what women were and were not allowed to do. All the freshmen women had to live in Noble Hall, which was torn down several years ago. We had curfews every night (10 p.m. school nights and 11 p.m. weekends). Anytime we left the dorm after 6 p.m. we had to sign out at the front desk and list where we were going and with whom, particularly if there was a male companion involved, and sign back in upon return. We had a resident “dorm mother” and her assistants, who were typically older students. They would be standing in the front doorway at curfew and would reprimand those who came back late. Repeated infractions earned a punishment of being restricted to the dorm for the weekend. I learned to wedge an empty Coke can between the dorm’s back door and the doorway, and sneak out at night.

Freshmen were not allowed to have cars on campus at that time due to the small number of parking lots. My grandfather bought a new bicycle for my high school graduation gift, and I took my bicycle to Auburn. I rode it everywhere and was in the best shape of my life. I would never have been on time to class without being able to ride between buildings.

I know life is very different for women on campus at Auburn these days, but the enjoyment of being there on that beautiful campus, being able to attend the awesome football games and getting an outstanding education that carries you professionally for the rest of your life has remained the same no matter what years you were there or will be there.

—Deborah Johnson Fraley ’78, Madison, Ala. Special places

I really enjoyed the recent issue of Auburn Magazine, especially the feature on “100 Things We Love About Auburn” (Fall 2011). Some other memories of my time at API: Athey’s Cafe on Magnolia, where you could get a 5-cent half cup of coffee; the War

T O

T H E

E D I T O R

Eagle Theater right behind Athey’s; the Tiger Cub on North College; The Grill; Pop Raines’ Beverage Shack; and the Casino on South College. The three places I lived as an Auburn student: Magnolia Hall, the Delta Chi House on West Glenn and the garage apartment my wife and I shared on South Gay next door to the A&P behind Alumni Hall. None remain standing today. Ware’s Jewelry was where I bought my wife’s wedding rings. My wife meeting me after classes at Ramsay Hall with our son in a stroller and our leisurely stroll through campus on the way home.

So many great memories; thank you.

—James A. “Jim” Keene ’58, Birmingham, Ala.

Hail to the chief

Since I couldn’t find No. 61 (“100 Things We Love About Auburn,” Fall 2011), I nominate Gen. Carl E. Mundy Jr. ’57, the 30th commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps.

—Will D. Magruder ’57, Canton, Ga. Add it to the list

You’ve done it again! You should absolutely make it “101 Things We Love about Auburn”—and make the additional one Auburn Magazine. This was a fun issue with all the good “old” memories. Thanks for the hard work and beautiful product.

—Kitty Fairleigh Allen ’63, Waynesville, N.C. Remembering Dean Foy

Wonderful article (“100 Things We Love About Auburn”) with one glaring omission. How on Earth could we have as No. 8 “Foy Information Desk” and not list the late dean of students, James Foy, himself? I had several memorable interactions with dean Foy during my time on the Plains from 1974-78. There have been many memorable traditions and people that have touched our lives at Auburn. Certainly dean Foy is at the top of my list. In his memory: War Eagle!

—Steven S. Anderson ’78, Chesapeake, Va. NEXT TOPIC In a few short months, seniors and

graduate students completing their last semesters at Auburn University will graduate, enter the job market and close the book—possibly forever—on college classes, all-nighters, term papers, grade anxiety, cramming for tests and, hopefully, ramen-noodle suppers. What’s the most enduring piece of advice you received as a newly minted college graduate, and why was the lesson valuable? Better yet, what advice would you give a fledgling Auburn alumnus?

Tell us your story: Write Auburn Magazine, 317 South College St., Auburn, AL 36849-5149 or email Auburn Magazine editor Betsy Robertson at betsyrobertson@auburn.edu.

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

9

C A M P U S

N E W S

COLLEGE STREET

APPLE INC.

Cook named Apple chief

10

Long considered the heir apparent to Apple Inc. cofounder Steve Jobs, Auburn industrial-engineering alumnus Tim Cook ’82 officially took the reins of the company in August, succeeding the charismatic front man as CEO. Jobs died Oct. 5 of cancer.

Cook had served as Apple’s chief operating officer for 13 years, overseeing the company’s worldwide sales and operations as well as its Macintosh division.

He now leads a multinational computer and electronics company that overtook Microsoft Corp. in market capital last year to become the second-most valuable U.S. company behind energy giant Exxon Mobil Corp.

Apple’s loyal customer base and reputation for cutting-edge product design transformed the late Jobs from a brilliant, shaggy-haired upstart in the late 1970s to a veritable Messiah figure in a world of buttoned-down suits. He has been described as one of the greatest business leaders in American history.

“I personally admire Steve not most for what he did or what he said, but what he stood for,” Cook told mourners gathered at Apple’s Cupertino, Calif., headquarters during Jobs’ memorial service in October. “The largest lesson I learned from Steve was that the joy in life is in the journey, and I saw him live this every day.

“Steve never followed the herd. He thought deeply about almost everything and was the most unconventional thinker I have ever known. He always did what he thought was right—not what was easy. He never accepted the merely

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

good. He would only accept great. Insanely great.”

Earlier this year, Apple was named by global research agency Millward Brown as the world’s most valuable brand. In July, Apple’s financial reserves were reported to have exceeded that of the entire U.S. government.

Cook joined Apple in 1998, when he was lured away from a fast-track management position at Compaq Computer Corp., then the technology industry leader. In his 2010 commencement address at Auburn, Cook called his decision to join Apple the best he’d ever made—although, in retrospect, not as obvious a choice as it might seem.

“In 1998, there was no iPad or iMac or iPhone—there wasn’t even an iPod,” Cook told students. “While Apple did make Macs, the company had been losing sales for years and was commonly considered to be on the verge of extinction.”

Nevertheless, he went with his gut.

“There are times in our lives when the careful consideration of cost and benefits just doesn’t seem like the right way to make a decision,” Cook said. “There are times in all of our lives when a reliance on gut or intuition just seems appropriate— when a particular course of action just feels right.”

Cook, described as a “business maestro” by Fortune magazine, has become known within Apple for having a strong work ethic and driven personality. “Those who try to achieve success without hard work ultimately deceive themselves or, worse, deceive others,” he advised Auburn’s graduating seniors last year. “I have the good fortune to be surrounded by some brilliant, intuitive thinkers who create the most elegant and extraordinary products in the world.”

Q and A HOW MUCH TRASH IS RECYCLED ON CAMPUS DURING FOOTBALL SEASON?

“On Sunday morning after a game, our staff comes in and collects all the bins and bags of recycling, and we centralize them at the food-services warehouse on South Donahue Drive. At 1 p.m., 50-plus student volunteers come to the warehouse to help sort through the material. During the 2010 football season, we recycled 22.35 tons of bottles, cans and cardboard. This season we’re hoping to break 30 tons.”

Donny Addison ’05

Manager, Auburn University Waste Reduction and Recycling Department

TRUSTEE TRYOUTS The selection committee

“I would like someone that

working to fill nine open

loves Auburn and cares

seats on the Auburn Uni-

about how the university

versity board of trustees

progresses. I would like to

has until February to

see what knowledge they

complete its review of in-

have about budgets. … It’s

depth questionnaires from

primarily about their con-

each of the 170 nominees

cern and the dreams that

and make recommenda-

they have for Auburn Uni-

tions to Alabama Gov.

versity and how they want

Robert Bentley.

to see Auburn progress.”

Bentley, who chairs the

The committee

committee—which also

originally nominated nine

includes two representatives

people earlier this year to

from the Auburn Alumni As-

fill the vacant trustee posts.

sociation board—extended

After some Auburn alumni

the deadline for appointing

publicly criticized what they

trustees from Sept. 30 to

described as a rushed selec-

Feb. 1, citing a desire to find

tion process, Bentley agreed

out how well each candidate

to start over from scratch.

knows the university.

“I would like to find out

The selection committee hopes to make

about their knowledge of

its recommendations to

the school itself,” he told

the Alabama Senate in

the Opelika-Auburn News.

February.

S T R E E T

AUBURN UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

C O L L E G E

Flashback 100 years ago

75 years ago

50 years ago

25 years ago

10 years ago

Winter 1911

Winter 1936

Winter 1961

Winter 1986

Winter 2001

Among the “Polytechnic Proverbs” heard around the Alabama Polytechnic Institute campus and printed in the Glomerata: “A freshman and his money are soon parted,” “Fools rush in and play football where angels fear to even stand on the sidelines,” “It is better to have studied and found out than to have never studied at all,” and our favorite, “None but the brave deserve the fare at Auburn.”

Auburn made its first football bowl appearance under coach Jack Meagher after a 7-2-2 season. The Bacardi Bowl, held in Havana, Cuba, pitted the Tigers against Villanova University and ended in a 7-7 tie. Havana hosted the Bacardi Bowl seven times between 1907 and 1946; the 1936 game was the only one boasting two U.S. competitors rather than an American team versus a Cuban team.

Bill “Doc” Walls was named assistant director of Auburn University Bands, beginning a 30year period of change.

During his tenure—he became director in 1969—Auburn named its first African-American and female drum majors, formed wind and percussion ensembles, and adopted military-style uniforms. He retired in 1991. For more on the late Walls, see Page 60.

When Auburn hoops legend Charles Barkley ’86 joined the NBA, he would have left a void in Tigers basketball but for the rising star of forward Chuck Person ’85, who averaged a school record 21.5 points per game and led Auburn to the Elite Eight in 1986.

Person is now an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Auburn alumnus and former Marine captain Johnny Micheal “Mike” Spann ’92, a covert operations officer for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, was killed in an uprising at the Qalai-Jangi compound in Afghanistan near the fortress in Mazar-e Sharif, where Taliban prisoners were being held and questioned. Spann was the first American killed in combat in the War on Terror.

Above: In this 1939 photo, a couple plays with a pair of skunks whose scent glands have been removed by Auburn veterinary students. Back in the day, vet students occasionally performed the surgery upon request by folks who wanted to keep skunks as pets, according to retired College of Veterinary Medicine dean Tom Vaughan.

Alabama is one of only 17 states in which it is legal to own domesticated skunks.

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

11

C O L L E G E

S T R E E T

Fire up above One of Auburn’s oldest buildings, Hargis Hall, suffered damage from an attic fire in October, forcing staff members of the Graduate School to temporarily relocate while repairs are made. Built in 1888, Hargis Hall predates Auburn’s iconic administration building, Samford Hall, by a few months. Officials are investigating the cause of the blaze.

Progress report JAY GOGUE ’69

President, Auburn University

ACES HIGH ON LEMME South Dakota soil scientist

consumers about managing

Gary Lemme was tapped in

finances, taking care of the

October as the new head of

environment, parenting

the Alabama Cooperative

children and staying safe.

Extension System, succeed-

ACES was created in 1995

ing retiring director Gaines

when the extension pro-

Smith ’64.

grams at Auburn University

Lemme formerly was a professor of plant sciences and dean of the College of

12

and Alabama A&M were combined.

“I look forward to

Agriculture and Biological

working with the extension

Sciences at South Dakota

professionals of ACES as

State University, from

we optimize resources at

which he holds bachelor’s

both universities,” said

and master’s degrees. He

Lemme. “The unique joint

completed his doctoral

system of Alabama exten-

work at the University of

sion is one reason I was

Nebraska and also has

attracted to the position.

worked at other land-grant

Two land-grant institutions

universities, including

working in concert through

Michigan State, the Univer-

extension can provide

sity of Minnesota and the

citizens with a vast and

University of Hawaii.

diverse body of knowledge.”

Originally meant to

Environmental stew-

educate rural farmers on

ardship, economic devel-

the latest advancements in

opment and quality-of-life

gardening, care of livestock,

issues are specific areas

cooking and other routines

in which the extension

of daily life, extension

service may be able to

services around the country

make a difference in the

have adapted their outreach

lives of Alabamians in the

efforts to include teaching

future, he noted.

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

One of the principal goals of Auburn University’s strategic plan is to take every opportunity to elevate and enrich the academic experience. We have accomplished more than half the plan’s objectives and made great strides toward improving Auburn’s academic quality.

Among them: • Graduation rates increased 2.3 percent from 2009 to 2010.

• New freshman enrollment totals 4,202 students, just two fewer than last year’s record class. The class compiled an average 27.2 on the ACT entrance exam, outpacing last year’s 26.9. The class also earned an average high school grade-point average of 3.81, up from 3.79 last year.

• Auburn surpassed its goal of securing funding for 80 professorships and established more than 90 professorships in 2010.

• The core curriculum was revised to include nearly 20 new courses in literature, humanities, fine arts and social sciences.

• Campuswide input led to selection of electronic portfolios for Auburn’s Quality Enhancement Plan, a key component of the university’s reaccreditation process. A campus committee has been established to develop a long-term implementation plan.

• Since 2008, Auburn has increased technology-enhanced classrooms to 500.

• Graduate School enrollment increased to about 5,000 for the first time in 2011, a figure that includes students pursuing studies in veterinary medicine and pharmacy.

• A new honors curriculum includes interdisciplinary symposia, new departmental

courses, seminars, participation courses and the capstone “Apogee Experience” that provides a thesis/project option or a seminar option.

• Forty-six “learning communities” are now in place representing every college and school. Learning communities are groups of first-year students who enroll in courses surrounding a particular theme or interest.

• Auburn rose to 36th place among public universities nationwide, up from 38th last year, in an annual survey by U.S. News & World Report. This is the 19th consecutive year the magazine has ranked Auburn among the nation’s top 50 public universities. Auburn is also included in the magazine’s list of “A-Plus Schools for ‘B’ Students,” which identifies schools that admit solidly prepared high-school students and do a good job of helping them advance toward their educational goals.

• In a state that has the highest percentage of people on food stamps, Auburn’s outreach into communities is ever more important. This past year, Auburn made the Presidential Honor Roll for community service and earned the highest level of distinction for outreach by the Carnegie organization, a significant recognition.

As we think of the world our graduates face, it is important to use the goals of our plan and ongoing planning to ensure they have the skills to make them successful. Our dedication must span the decades as it reaffirms the importance of student success to our institutional mission.

War Eagle!

jgogue@auburn.edu

Where you WANT to stay!

We know that a beach vacation on Alabama’s Gulf Coast’s white shores can be anything you want it to be, but the one thing ResortQuest wants it to be is memorable. With the unexpected spaciousness, amenities and freedom of a fully furnished beach home or condominium, plus days filled with deep-sea fishing, golfing, shopping or simply soaking in the sun....

ResortQuest is easily the most comfortable and unforgettable way to stay. Plus, now you can SAVE 10% on your next

stay when you use our TIGER RATE code $ALTR* From Fort Morgan, Alabama to Panama City Beach, Florida... we’re where YOU want to stay. Call or visit us online today!

Looking for the BEST Property Management Company on the Gulf Coast?

2009-2011

888-598-3387 | ResortQuestAL.com | ResortQuestNWFL.com * Offer valid for stays in eligible vacation rentals. Cannot be applied to existing reservations, third party reservations, group reservations or combined with any other discount or offer. Discount does not apply to taxes and other applicable fees.

Offer cannot be booked online and some restrictions apply. Please call 888-598-3387 and ask for promo code $ALTR.

Well, look no further! We have incentives available to new owners joining our program, PLUS we’re the area’s leader in: Vacation Rentals, Property Management & Real Estate.

Check Us Out Today!

ResortQuest.com/new-contract

S T R E E T

War Eagle wedding Auburn glassblower Matt Montgomery and fiancée Melisa Wallace in August became the first couple to marry on Samford Hall lawn under the auspices of “Weddings in Samford Park,” a new effort to promote the campus as a wedding venue. Want an Auburn wedding? See www.auburn.edu/wedding for details.

TODD VAN EMS T

C O L L E G E

Meet the Prof Randy Bartlett ’80 Associate professor of industrial design, College of Architecture, Design & Construction BACKSTORY When Randy Bartlett came to Auburn

as a student in the late ’70s, he thought industrial design involved merely putting labels on products.

Nowadays, he describes the profession as “conceptualizing and developing creative solutions for products and systems used by humans.” Bartlett is a frequent invited lecturer at conferences of the Industrial Designers Society of America, where he teaches students and professionals how to develop and improve their portfolios.

FOREIGN RELATIONS Bartlett teaches courses in baTRASH TO TREASURE: Former NFL guard Kendall Simmons ’02 transformed a lone window left in the path of Alabama’s deadly tornado outbreak earlier this year into a painting entitled “Reach for the Moon,” which was auctioned as part of an October fundraiser for storm victims in the Dadeville and Lake Martin area. The effort, hosted by the Chizik Family YouTurn Foundation, raised $40,000 for tornado relief. Randy McClendon ’75 and Beverly Kimble McClendon ’76 of Birmingham (right) bought the painting in honor of their daughter, Kimberly, who died in a 2004 car accident while a student at Auburn.

OAKS IN DECLINE Auburn’s famous Toomer’s oaks continued to decline over the summer and into the early fall, and signs of poisoning are now appearing among other trees and plants nearby.

University officials announced in October that fewer leaves are forming during the oaks’ leafing cycles. Officials say there also are signs that the herbicide tebuthiuron has spread to crepe myrtle, hollies and a water oak growing within 20 feet of the Toomer’s oaks.

The trees were allegedly poisoned by University of Alabama fan Harvey Updyke Jr., who later publicly bragged about the stunt. Updyke is charged with two counts of first-degree criminal mischief and two counts of desecrating a venerated object, among other crimes. Updyke’s lawyer has asked a Lee County judge to reduce the charges against his client to misdemeanor criminal mischief, claiming the two trees’ value, according to Alabama statute,

14

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

amounts to only $20. The court had not ruled on the motion at press time.

Meanwhile, the condition of the trees is unlikely to improve with the onset of winter, according to Auburn horticulture professor Gary Keever. “The canopy density is a small fraction of what it should be this time of year,” he said, adding that the trees also are lacking in acorns.

University experts continue to try to to reduce the oaks’ stress, clearing fallen, poisoned leaves, irrigating the planting beds and removing toilet paper from limbs by hand.

Administrators announced earlier this year they would allow fans to continue rolling the trees after sports wins at least through the current football season. A campus committee composed of Auburn trustees, faculty, alumni and others has been formed to look at options for future Toomer’s Corner celebrations. For more, see ocm.auburn.edu/news/oaks.html.

sic principles of industrial design as well as portfolio design. He also directs the Ireland Design Program, a nine-week study-abroad program for industrial-design majors in which students visit half a dozen colleges and work on projects with their counterparts in the United Kingdom. Bartlett says students who join the program benefit from experiencing a different worldview and being exposed to their peers in another country. “They see that design is a universal language,” he says.

OUT OF CLASS When

he’s not teaching, Bartlett moonlights as a restaurateur. He and wife Janet have owned and managed Cock of the Walk seafood restaurant in Opelika for 14 years.

Membership in the Auburn Alumni Association keeps the people you love connected to campus—so make them part of the family too.

Membership benefits include the quarterly Auburn Magazine, merchandise and service discounts, and free entry to the Alumni Hospitality Tent prior to home football games. Give the gift of membership this holiday season.

This year’s no-clutter gift.

www.aualum.org/join w w w. a u a l u m . o r g

AN AUBURN TRADITION Situated on the charming campus of Auburn University, just a short walk from quaint, historic downtown Auburn.

Individuals & Groups, Alumni, Family & Friends, Meetings, Conferences & Special Events

241 South College Street • Auburn, Alabama 36830 Direct: 334-821-8200 • Fax: 334-826-8755 • reservations@auhcc.com • www.auhcc.com

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

HAND TO MOUTH

Tar-nation

16

Tar balls that appeared

that submerged oil from

on Alabama’s beaches

the Deepwater Horizon

after Tropical Storm Lee

accident is substan-

in September have the

tially weathered and

same chemical signature

thus depleted of most

as oil from the British

polycyclic aromatic

Petroleum Deepwater Ho-

hydrocarbons,” wrote

rizon spill in June 2010,

researchers Prabhakar

leading Auburn civil en-

Clement, Joel Hayworth

gineers to conclude that

and Vanisree Mulaba-

last year’s disaster still

gal, faculty members in

may threaten ecosystems

Auburn’s Samuel Ginn

in the Gulf of Mexico.

College of Engineering.

The preliminary study—

Shortly after the study

conducted prior to,

was released, Mike

during and after the

Utsler, head of the BP

storm’s landfall on

Gulf Coast Restoration

Alabama beaches—in-

Organization, down-

dicated the spill’s rem-

played its findings, cit-

nants remained largely

ing a U.S. Coast Guard

unchanged 17 months

report which concluded

after the Deepwater

that the chemical com-

Horizon oil rig exploded

position of residual oil

and sank off the coast of

from the spill is below

Louisiana. “ The data

federally established

questions the validity of

levels of concern for

the widely held belief

human health.

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

As part of its effort to reduce food contamination and save lives, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has chosen Auburn University as headquarters for a national food-safety training center.

The federal Food Safety Modernization Act signed into law in January supports the development of a national food-protection training effort; Auburn will receive $6.5 million during the five-year program.

The FDA is seeking to standardize training and create certifications for food inspectors at all levels. In October alone, government officials or manufacturers recalled potentially hazardous microwaveable macaroni and cheese, bagged salad, cereal bars, cantaloupe, packaged mixed fruit and sardines, among other grocery staples. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that some 76 million people get sick annually from contaminated food.

More than 300,000 are hospitalized, and some 5,000 die.

“Several factors combine to cause an increase in outbreaks from tainted food,” says Patricia Curtis, director of Auburn’s food systems initiative and leader of the FDA program. “Auburn will work with the FDA to strengthen protection of our food supply and improve the way we detect and respond to foodborne illness.”

More than 3,000 local health agencies work with city and county officials to monitor food supplies at restaurants and retailers around the country. State health and agriculture agencies inspect foodmanufacturing facilities, and the FDA and other federal agencies monitor imported foods. Yet food inspectors receive no standardized training, and there are no required skill levels for those positions.

There is likewise no system to

keep food-safety personnel up-to-date on new inspection technologies, changes in laws and regulations, or developments in food-safety science.

“FDA employees in the past have been obtaining their training from a variety of different sources,” Curtis says. “The goal of this project is to offer an opportunity to obtain a series of planned training programs at different levels of employment—a more structured professional development throughout the career ladder.”

Auburn and other universities will infuse future FDA training with the latest research and technology on food detection and safety, according to Curtis. Faculty members will also develop online instruction to simulate a “virtual world” that complements hands-on training for foodsafety personnel.

The long-term goal is for Auburn to play a major national role in the food-safety arena, says John Mason, Auburn vice president for research. Alabama A&M, North Carolina State and Purdue universities also are included in the FDA program, called the Virtual Food-Systems Training Consortium.

—Abby Townson

Smart and slimy Auburn biological sciences graduate student Kevin Kocot and his colleagues are rewriting the evolution of the mollusk family, which is among the brainiest of invertebrates. An international group of scientists has analyzed mollusk genetics and concluded that the creatures may have managed to formulate a complex brain not once but four times over the course of history.

C O L L E G E

S T R E E T

Gas guzzlers

Home wreckers Auburn scientists are warning of an Asian invader that threatens to swallow homes in Alabama: The Formosan subterranean termite, believed to have been introduced to the U.S. by World War II boats returning from the Pacific front.

An exceptionally prolific species, Formosan termites recently were blamed for necessitating $400,000 in repairs to the Lee County Courthouse in Opelika. The hungry pests are increasing in number across the state, with infestations reported in Baldwin, Calhoun, Mobile and Shelby counties, says entomology professor and extension specialist Xing Ping Hu. The U.S. Department of Agriculture also cites cases of the termites in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. Formosans are now damaging property and incurring repair costs to the tune of more than $1 billion per year.

Formosans have bigger colonies, larger populations, more voracious appetites, more aggressive behavior and a greater ten-

dency to attack living trees than their indigenous brothers, experts say. They are also known for nesting in buildings without the need for ground contact.

According to the USDA, a mature Formosan termite colony can generate about 2,000 eggs a day. One colony can contain millions of termites.

Formosans are light brown and swarm at night, particularly in warmer temperatures, Hu says.

In their natural environment, termites are the “good guys” of the insect world, maintaining nature’s recycling system by helping dispose of rotting trees and other natural debris. In homes and among living timberland, though, Formosan termite colonies can take a huge bite out of a property owner’s wallet.

Homeowners can discourage Formosan termite attacks by keeping their homes dry and free of leaks, and limiting the number of attractive termite habitats near the home, such as woodpiles and thick mulch.

“That’s just like putting a banquet out for them,” Hu says.—Abby Townson

A new study shows that one road to energy savings could already be under the wheels of our cars: smoother pavements.

Auburn civil engineer Richard Willis reports that modest improvements in the smoothness of pavements could save up to 2.4 billion gallons of gasoline and more than 900 million gallons of diesel in the U.S. every year—a total of more than 3.3 billion gallons of fuel for the vehicles being driven on our highways. In other words, smoothing out America’s roads and highways could save the U.S. economy around $12.5 billion annually.

In their analysis of more than 20 studies from around the world, Willis and colleague Rob Jackson found that smoothness is a pavement characteristic that has one of the greatest impacts on fuel economy.

“We know that, of all the factors that influence fuel economy— vehicle aerodynamics, engine dynamics, ambi-

ent air temperature, tire geometry, vehicle speed, tire pressure, and so forth—there is only one that pavements can affect, and that is rolling resistance,” says Willis.

“Rolling resistance can be thought of as the force required to keep tires rolling. It could also be thought of as the energy lost between the vehicle and the pavement. Of the two main influences on rolling resistance related to pavements— those due to the stiffness properties of the tire and those due to imperfections in the pavement surface—the pavement industry has the opportunity to influence only one, the pavement itself.”

Working with the Auburn-based National Center for Asphalt Technology, Willis hopes his work will help road builders develop environmentally responsible, durable and economical asphalt pavement materials designed to improve the nation’s transportation infrastructure.

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

17

C O L L E G E

S T R E E T

Roundup COLLEGE OF

Agriculture Auburn rural sociologist Connor Bailey and graduate student Janice Dyer have discovered that “heir property”—land owned collectively by descendants of a property owner who died without a will—is a major cause of land loss among rural African Americans and a key contributor to the persistent poverty, high unemployment, substandard and abandoned housing, and other problems plaguing Alabama’s 12-county Black Belt region. In a five-year study that included interviews with many heir-property owners, the researchers documented problems and risks associated with land that has been passed from generation to generation without a clear title. As much as $300 million worth of land could be tied up in clouded titles in Macon County alone, one of the poorest regions in the U.S., the researchers say. “If that wealth were accessible, it could potentially change the economic, political and social fabric of the Black Belt,” Dyer says.

After the Civil War, many African Americans newly freed from slavery were able to buy or were deeded land to live on and farm. Few of those landowners, however, ever wrote wills detailing how they intended the property to be divided after their deaths. The Alabama Cooperative Extension

18

System has held a series of 39 workshops for heir-property owners around the state to make landowners aware of their rights, responsibilities and risks.

COLLEGE OF

Architecture, Design and Construction Auburn building-science students and faculty have figured out how to take a few sticks of bamboo, a little chicken wire, some plastic bottles and

McWhorter School of Building Science for a solution. Professor Ben Farrow and his team of students researched practical and affordable methods of constructing walls from readily available materials that could be built and massproduced by unskilled workers and even children. Third graders from Wrights Mill Elementary School in Auburn helped by trying out various bamboo-chicken wire configurations; the group found that a 4-by-4-foot bamboo panel with an

students an edge in landing their first jobs. The college’s 5,400-squarefoot Office of Professional and Career Development allows students to interview on site or through video conferencing with companies around the country. The facility is located in a remodeled, first-floor section of the College of Business building; it boasts eight interview rooms and conference rooms where visiting employers can debrief at the end of the day. A video-conferencing sys-

housed for years in the old Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. The new building, scheduled to open by March 2013, is designed to meet the varied interests and needs of faculty and students in exercise science, physical education and healthteacher education. The first floor of the facility will house space for the department’s biomechanics and motor-behavior labs. The second floor will house epidemiology and exercise-behavior labs, as well as the department’s TigerFit program, which provides health screenings and fitness assessments. The third floor will feature controlled-access space for muscle physiology, cardioprotection, neuromechanics, sports optimization and thermal labs.

SAMUEL GINN COLLEGE OF

Engineering

other trash, cover the material with mortar and create a wall system that is cheap, easy to build, and provides safety and shelter to residents of Third World countries.

When Servants in Faith and Technology, a Christian nonprofit group that provides training and self-help programs for needy countries, was looking for an innovative and easy method for constructing walls out of available materials, they turned to Auburn’s

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

interior bamboo grid support, covered with chicken wire, stuffed with plastic bottles, and coated in mortar took four to six people about four hours to complete and cost around $45—a viable solution for a low-cost and easy-toconstruct shelter.

COLLEGE OF

Business Auburn’s College of Business has opened a new facility to give its

tem allows recruiters the option of interviewing Auburn students without having to spend travel dollars.

COLLEGE OF

Education Auburn kinesiology students and faculty will soon have room to move: The university broke ground in September on a 58,000-squarefoot facility on Wire Road for the department, which has been

Auburn researchers have secured a $3 million, five-year National Science Foundation grant to teach graduate students about the sustainable production of biofuels and chemicals. It is the first NSF Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship grant awarded to the university. “Exploring bioenergy is integral to Auburn’s strategic plan, and the university is uniquely suited to lead this effort because of its established track record and expertise in biorefining research and

education,” says Mario Eden, Joe T. and Billie Carole McMillan associate professor in chemical engineering. “Auburn researchers are advancing the technologies that enable production of fuels and chemicals from a wide range of bioresource feedstocks.”

An interdisciplinary team of investigators includes Chris Roberts, Uthlaut professor and department chair in chemical engineering, and Steve Taylor, director of Auburn’s Center for Bioenergy and Bioproducts and department head in biosystems engineering. P.K. Raju, Thomas Walter professor in mechanical engineering, and Tom Gallagher, an associate professor in the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, round out the team. Biomassderived products are considered nearly carbon dioxide-neutral and may reduce greenhouse gas emissions, lessening the effects of global warming.

SCHOOL OF

Forestry and Wildlife Sciences Professor Gary R. Hepp is hatching new research into the incubation of birds—with the help of the humble wood duck.

After discovering that wood-duck eggs incubated at low temperatures take longer to hatch and produce ducklings that use more fat and protein during development,

C O L L E G E

Art and soul “Promises of Freedom: Selections from the Arthur Primas Collection,” an exhibition of African-American art that includes paintings, sculptures, works on paper, graphics and documents covering a period of 150 years, will be on display Dec. 10–March 10 at Auburn’s Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art.

the intergenerational transmission of fathering practices among African-American men,” says Kirkland. “Overall, I hope my current and future work will be used to inform social policy and serve the greater community through family-based programs.”

COLLEGE OF

Liberal Arts

he began a large-scale field experiment using incubation temperature to examine the effects of temperature-induced changes in duckling quality in terms of growth and development, survival, recruitment to the breeding population, and subsequent reproductive success. Time and energy demands during the incubation period are especially important in species like wood ducks, where only the females incubate eggs.

If a mother duck leaves her eggs often to feed, egg temperatures may fall below that needed for optimal development, leading to the risk of nest failure, or fewer ducklings. Results from his research, Hepp says, should lead to a better understanding of the reproductive ecology of the wood duck and help in conserving and managing the species, which was virtually extinct in the early 20th century. Now a common Southern breed, the wood-duck population

rebounded following the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which imposed hunting limits.

COLLEGE OF

Human Sciences The National Council on Family Relations has tapped Auburn graduate student Cassandra Kirkland for its 2011 Outstanding Graduate Student Award. Kirkland, who is pursuing a doctoral degree in human development and family studies, is writing a doctoral dissertation on understudied issues

Kirkland

in the African-American community, including fatherhood. “I hope to provide a comprehensive understanding of

Associate English professor James Emmett Ryan will serve as a Fulbright scholar/lecturer at Nanjing Normal University in China this spring, where he will teach earlyAmerican literature to undergraduate and graduate students. Of the 30 Fulbright scholars selected for China this year, he is the only one who will teach American literature and the only professor selected from a university in Alabama. Ryan studies the ways in which American writers and literary culture have been shaped by transformative historical forces such as religion, politics, technology and commercial media. “Having been for many years a student and teacher of American literature and culture, I am very eager to explore key issues from our nation’s past with university students in China,” he says. Ryan is one of about 1,100 U.S. faculty and professionals who will travel abroad through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar program in 2011-12. To read more, see Ryan’s blog at: nanjingamericanstudies. wordpress.com.

SCHOOL OF

Nursing The U.S. Air Force may have given Kimberly Davis ’11 the opportunity to study nursing, but it was her daughter, Abby, who gave her career direction. When Abby was 18 months old, she was diagnosed with juvenile, or Type 1, diabetes. As a nurse, Davis was aware of the disease’s severity.

“It took me a long time to come to grips with it,” she says. “I finally realized that if it had to be her, I thank God I am who I am, because I understand. The first priority of a nurse is to be a patient advocate, even if that patient is your daughter.” Davis left a promising nursing career in the service to care for her child and, in 2009, began pursuing a master’s degree in nursing at Auburn, aspiring to be a clinical nurse specialist in adult health. Davis graduated in May. She and Abby, now 9, recently visited Washington, D.C., as part of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation 2011 Children’s Congress, advocating for research that might lead to a cure.

HARRISON SCHOOL OF

Pharmacy

Students in Auburn’s Harrison School of Pharmacy will soon have the option of studying in Thailand. The school hopes to join the U.S. Thai Consortium for the Advancement of

Pharmacy Education, a collection of 14 U.S. and 15 Thai pharmacy schools, this fall; travel could begin by fall 2012.

“Our students would be able to understand why a different (health care) system works in a different county and have a good understanding of what the pros and cons of our system are here in the U.S.,” says Thailand native Salisa Westrick, an associate professor in the Department of Pharmacy Care Systems. Two universities specifically interested in hosting Auburn student pharmacists are Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, from which Westrick received her undergraduate degree, and Naresuan University, a newer institution in Phitsanulok. Auburn students choosing an international clerkship would spend five weeks working with health care providers and interns in a community pharmacy practice, a public hospital and a private hospital.

COLLEGE OF

Sciences and Mathematics The college hosted the 2011 Atomic Data and Analysis Structure workshop in October, which focused on using nuclear fusion to make electricity. The process produces no greenhouse gases and creates less radioactive material than nuclear fission, which means fewer problems with storing nuclear waste.

The workshop also fea-

S T R E E T

tured recent astrophysics research from a group of presenters representing a wide range of countries, including the United Kingdom, Romania, France, Russia, Italy and the U.S. Attending the conference was Bas Braams of Vienna, a representative of the International Atomic Energy Authority and head of the Atomic and Molecular Data Unit.

His primary responsibility is to support efforts of member states in research into nuclear fusion through the provision of databases of atomic, molecular and plasma-material interaction processes.

COLLEGE OF

Veterinary Medicine Chad Foradori, an assistant professor in the anatomy, pharmacology and physiology department, has received a grant from Syngenta Crop Protection Inc. to investigate the effects of atrazine exposure on liver metabolism and endocrine function.

Atrazine is a herbicide used to stop broadleaf and grassy weeds in major crops. Foradori’s research interests include the neuroendocrine control of reproduction and how environmental factors might perturb normal reproductive function. Before joining Auburn in 2010, he was an assistant professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix.

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

19

S T U D E N T

L I F E

CONCOURSE

Jungle love Interview Azeem Ahmed Senior, chemical engineering THE 4-1-1 Auburn native Azeem Ahmed, an econom-

ics and finance major who aspires to attend medical school, spent last summer in Cairo, Egypt, as an intern with the United Nations’ World Food Programme. He wrote about the experience in his blog at noseofthesphinx.com.

ENDING WORLD HUNGER “When I was 5, my

parents took me to visit a refugee family displaced by the war in Kosovo. I’ll never forget the sight of their kids trying to give us whatever little bit they had— three bananas, some milk and candy. From then on, instead of gifts for our birthdays, my brother and I asked friends to bring canned goods for the local food bank.”

IN THE FIELD “I wanted an internship that would

give me the opportunity to actually work in the field to develop and implement a way to fight hunger on a national level. My job as WFP’s intern in Egypt was to find a way to fortify the country’s rice supply with vitamin A, vitamin B and zinc.

Working with a WFP nutrition specialist and a local rice expert, I was able to convince and certify enough mills to fortify more than 220,000 tons of rice—enough to feed nearly 15 million people on Egypt’s national ration-card program, roughly 18 percent of the country’s total population.”

FUTURE PLANS “I’m hoping to pursue a career

in public health, and this program provided me a practical, hands-on experience that few 19-yearolds ever get. I worked side by side with top U.N. and government officials as well as local nongovernmental organizations, schoolteachers, mill owners and food experts. It was both humbling and empowering to be a key team player in such an innovative, nationwide nutritional enhancement program.”

20

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

Auburn graduate student Lesley de Souza spends her days in a place so remote, it’s nearly impossible to find: the Guiana Shield. A mountainous, forested region just north of Brazil, the place has no cities, cold drinks or showers. Instead, it welcomes visitors with attractions such as anacondas, piranhas, jaguars and a tiny fish called a candiru that is rumored to invade humans by swimming up the urethra.

De Souza knows that should she ever receive a poisonous snake or spider bite in the field, not much could be done; there is no medic standing by. But for her, the dangers are worth the rewards of researching the area’s rich biodiversity.

De Souza’s adventure began shortly after completing her undergraduate degree in zoology at Auburn in 1999. She then spent one year completing a cellular- and molecular-biology fellowship at Auburn’s College of Veterinary Medicine, studying genetics and wondering whether to pursue a doctoral degree. She was at the library researching her options when a student told her about biological sciences professor Jonathan Armbruster.

“I wasn’t planning to stay at Auburn, but when I heard that Armbruster was

looking for graduate students and had just received a grant to study fish in South America, I knew Auburn was the place for me,” says de Souza, whose family is originally from Brazil. “The first thing he asked me was, ‘Do you want to go to Guyana next month?’ It changed my life.”

De Souza, who is defending her dissertation this fall, has focused on the biodiversity of fish populations in the Guiana Shield, a region of low, ancient mountains that boasts a tropical forest that is 80 percent intact and adjoins the much younger Amazon basin. Within the shield is an area called the Rupununi Savannah, an open grassland that floods during the annual rainy season from May to October. As the area floods, two major river systems connect: the Amazon, the largest river in the world, and the Essequibo, which flows north off the Guiana Shield. It is in and around this intersection that de Souza collects fish for her research.

“We collect during the dry season because the area is difficult to access during the rains,” de Souza explains.

“This region of South America is not well studied. I’ve been on four expeditions, and every time we’ve found new species.”—Candice Birchfield

‘Savage’ AU MTV officials visited Auburn in September to film part of an episode of “Savage University,” a new show in which college students discuss issues of sexuality. Twelve university campuses across the country were selected for hosting student discussions with Dan Savage, cofounder of the “It Gets Better” movement and author of an internationally syndicated relationship and sex column.

RECIPE FOR HUNGER RELIEF Emilee Williams has a full heart for empty stomachs.

Since being crowned Miss Auburn University 2011, the Athens native has used her celebrity to create Cooking with Miss Auburn University, a community cookbook that debuted in October during Auburn’s campus hunger-awareness week and the university’s annual “Beat ’Bama” food drive.

A sophomore majoring in civil engineering with a minor in hunger studies, an interdisciplinary minor offered through the College of Human Sciences, Williams has made fighting hunger one of her long-term goals. In high school, she volunteered at her local food pantry, filing folders and sorting food. She soon noticed the names of classmates on file folders and saw them stop by the food bank with their families.

“The struggle automatically became very personal to me,” Williams says. “I knew I had found my cause, and I knew what I was meant to do and who I was meant to help.”

Williams hopes the cookbook will remind people about the ever-present problem of hunger. Included in the book are statistics on the problem and information on how to get involved.

“I hope people will reach for the book looking for a recipe and see the message of hunger relief behind it,” Williams says. “I also wanted to do something special for the Auburn family and by the Auburn family.”

Cookbooks are available through the AU Bookstore and online at auburn.edu/sga/programs/miss_ au/. Proceeds will be used to fight hunger in Alabama.

—Abby Townson

C O N C O U R S E

Syllabus COURSE NAME RTVF 4370 “Media and Religion” INSTRUCTOR Richard W. “Ric” Smith ’85, direc-

tor of experiential learning, Department of Communication & Journalism, College of Liberal Arts THE SCOOP The course examines the way in

which the media portrays religion and how religion may use media to its advantage, such as music-and-video feeds of contemporary Christian services. Drawing from scholarly research, books and current events, Smith hopes to teach criticalthinking skills necessary for students to look beyond the face value of religion as seen through the media prism. For example, students study how often Muslims are portrayed as terrorists as opposed to the actual percentage of Muslims who are terrorists. Smith pushes students to question the implications of this type of message. “If the students can break down messages and understand motive, then they can come to their own conclusions,” he says. “What encourages me is how eager the students are to learn and how eager they are to explore this topic.”

SUGGESTED READING “The Bible Tells Me So:

Depictions of Race, Gender and Authority in Children’s Videos” by communication researcher Hillary Warren in the Journal of Media and Religion analyzes subliminal gender and racial themes underlying the animated Christian children’s video series “Veggie Tales,” while “The Priming of Religion in Political Attitudes: The Role of Religious Programming” by University of Georgia associate professor Barry Hollander in The Journal of Communication and Religion examines how religious programming influences political attitudes on issues such as gay rights and abortion.

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

21

Seeing America Auburn’s Graduate School is offering a new program of activities to help its international students acclimate to the U.S. The program, called “Interconnect,” allows local residents to lead groups of students on recreational or cultural outings. So far students have been on sightseeing, fishing and hiking trips to Tuskegee National Forest, Lake Martin and Callaway Gardens in Georgia. For more information or to offer to host a group, email Len Vining at vininlj@auburn.edu.

C O N C O U R S E

KEVIN TAYLOR/ THE WE TUMPKA HE RALD

Auburn’s sophomore architecture majors had an otherworldly assignment this year: designing a proposed visitor’s and research center for Alabama’s only meteorite-impact crater.

Located outside Wetumpka, just north of Montgomery, the Alabama Impact Crater is about 85 million years old, formed when a meteor slammed to Earth as it traveled about 40,000 miles per hour.

Officials want to build a facility at the crater—whose origins were proven in 2002 through the research of Auburn University geologist David T. King and his colleagues—where visitors and scientists can learn about the cavity in the ground and how it came to be.

Designing a building for the center became a project for the entire sophomore class of Auburn architecture students, says professor Justin Miller.

Sponsored by the Auburn architecture program and the Elmore County Economic Development Authority, each second-year architecture student created a proposal. The winning design by Prattville native Ryan Zimmerman (below, center) was unveiled in August and displayed at Wetumpka City Hall.

22

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

G ARY W. MEEK

CRATER CREATOR

A spirit unafraid She was almost there.

Welch’s home away

just a welcoming place,

She expects so much of

Molly Welch, a junior

from home for nearly

full of pride and tradi-

herself that she’d be

journalism major from

four years has been the

tion,” Welch recalls.

insulted if we offered

Alpharetta, Ga., was

hospital and outpatient

“After the accident, I

an easier way out.

headed south on I-85

facility of Atlanta’s

realized Auburn treats

in February 2008 after

Shepherd Center, one

students like individu-

alumnus could have

spending a weekend at

of the country’s top

als, not the thousands

ever wanted a degree

home. One exit before

facilities specializing

that we are.”

from Auburn University

reaching Auburn, it hap-

in spinal cord and brain

more. … She could have

pened: She lost control

injuries. There, she has

associate journalism

gotten a diploma long

of her vehicle, crossed

regained the ability to

professor Judy Shep-

ago from other colleges

the median into oncom-

walk and speak, albeit

pard counts on Welch

near her home, but that

ing traffic and collided

with limited use of the

to stay late for further

wasn’t good enough.”

head-on with a pickup

right side of her body.

discussion of the day’s

truck, subsequently

Previously right-hand-

lesson. Welch won’t

tually become more

clinging to life in an

ed, Welch has learned

leave until she has the

independent, driving

intensive care unit.

to use her left hand to

material down.

again and someday liv-

do everything. She can’t

ing on her own.

receive her Auburn di-

walk as quickly or eas-

mine, at least—would

ploma in December. But

ily as she once could

agree they had it easier.

was in a bed; then I

the road back has been

or speak loudly due

Molly has never asked

was in a wheelchair,”

twisted with pain, set-

to vocal-cord damage

to be exempted from

she says. “Then came

backs and challenges.

incurred by intubation.

any assignment or do

the walker, and now

The 24-year-old now

less than any other stu-

a cane. I hope to be

lives north of Atlanta

changed, though, includ-

dent,” Sheppard says.

running before too long.

with her parents, Mary

ing her tenacious attitude

“God help anybody who

It’s not too far-fetched

and John, who take

and goal to graduate.

gets between Molly

—I’ve really made a lot

turns driving her to

Welch and something

of progress.”—Sarah

Auburn for classes.

I thought of Auburn as

she’s determined to do.

Hansen

Welch will finally

Some things have not

“Before the accident,

Once a week, Auburn

“I think students—or

“I don’t know if any

Welch hopes to even-

“In the beginning I

Orange and Blue,

meet GREEN!

School

of

foreStry

and

Wildlife ScienceS

proudly announces a new degree in

Na t u ra l R es o urce s Ma nage me nt Phone: 334-844-1001 • Website: https://sites.auburn.edu/academic/sfws

Cement your legacy on the Auburn University campus by purchasing a personalized paver for the Auburn Alumni Association’s new Alumni Walk to be installed in front of the Auburn Alumni Center. The walk will feature pavers in three sizes that may be etched with an inscription of your choosing. Proceeds benefit student scholarships, and purchases are tax deductible.

Leave your mark.

www.aualum.org/scholarships w w w. a u a l u m . o r g

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

23

S P O R T S

TIGER WALK JEF F ET H ERIDG E

Grace under pressure

Former Auburn golfer Jason Dufner finished second on the PGA Tour twice in 2011.

Jason Dufner ’00 loses big, wins bigger at PGA final He still doesn’t look like one of the best golfers on the planet.

In his rumpled shirt, unruly wafts of longish brown hair jutting from under his cap like feathers on a windblown goose, Jason Dufner lopes around the grounds at PGA Tour events attracting less attention than some of the caddies.

He doesn’t seem to mind. Unassuming and inconspicuous, Dufner smiles and shrugs as security guards check his ID outside the clubhouse, despite his status as one of the top 30 golfers in the world. How would they know him, anyway? Looking more

24

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

like a clean-shaven Zach Galifianakis than the next great American golf champion, Dufner lacks an entourage of swing coaches, nutritionists or fitness trainers: Yet there he is, week in and week out, leading golf tournaments without a ripple of pretension.

The Auburn graduate has earned more than $8 million on the tour to date and a reputation in golf circles as one of the nicest athletes on the fairway. “Can I have an autograph, Justin?” a kid at one tour stop asks. The soft-spoken Dufner signs the kid’s cap without correcting the name.

Net news Lauren Longbotham-Meisner was named head coach of Auburn’s women’s tennis team after spending five seasons at Southern Methodist University. At SMU, the Texas native coached the Mustangs to an NCAA Sweet 16 in 2011 and the team’s first-ever Conference USA Tournament championship in 2009.

“Why embarrass him?” he says. “I’m just happy he knew I was a player.”

And so it might have gone indefinitely but for a spectacular, surprise loss in August that put Dufner’s name—literally—in newspaper headlines and gained him the public’s admiration— not just as a good golfer, but also a good sport.

It all started at Atlanta Athletic Club during the 91st PGA Championship, the final major of the golf season and the last chance for some of the game’s most notable stars to create history. Tiger Woods, just four majors shy of Jack Nicklaus’ record, was attempting another comeback after missing the summer with a knee injury; Phil Mickelson was hoping to rekindle the spark he found in the waning hours of the British Open; and Rory McIlroy was hoping to solidify his spot as the next superstar by adding another major to his U.S. Open win. Six consecutive major golf championships had been played without an American winner: Three trophies had gone to Northern Ireland, a country the size of Birmingham, while two other champions came from South Africa, a country with a tenth of the golfing population of the U.S. Would the next great American golfer finally emerge?

Not once did the names Jason Dufner or Keegan Bradley come up. Bradley was a young hotshot, having won the Byron Nelson Classic in Dallas earlier in the year, but Dufner, 34, was what veterans of the game politely call a “journeyman,” someone who makes a good living at the sport by grinding away, cashing checks without hogging the spotlight. He was filler, a fine player with plenty of talent, but no one mentioned Dufner as a contender for the PGA. His last victory had come on the Nationwide Tour back in 2006 at the LaSalle Bank Open in Chicago, and he wasn’t predicted to finish in the top 10 in Atlanta. Even after he shot a 65 in the second round to take a share of the lead into the weekend, many asked, “Jason who?” Except those who know him best.

“He has one of the greatest qualities that any champion can possibly have, and that is the ability to remain calm and evenkeel at all times, no matter what the circumstances,” says Trevor Immelman, who witnessed Dufner’s ice-man demeanor firsthand.

Immelman beat Dufner 3 and 2 in the finals of the 1998 U.S. Public Links Championships when Dufner was one of Auburn University’s best players. “Controlling your emotions is such a difficult thing to learn in golf or any other sport for that matter,” Immelman says. “There are players who have an extraordinary amount of talent but who never reach their full potential because they are always either too high or too low emotionally. For Jason to have been blessed with the gift of remaining calm at all times has really been a benefit to his career. That shows in how he’s handled himself, this year especially.”

Immelman refers to the summer PGA tournament, when Dufner shot 68 to lead going into the final round, playing in the final group for the first time in a major. Under that kind of pressure, many players crumble: McIlroy fell apart at Augusta National, losing the Masters after leading for Jason Dufner (center, 63 holes. Aaron Baddeley couldn’t handle standing) began playing the pressure at the U.S. Open; Jason Gore professional golf immeafter graduating also fell apart in Pinehurst, N.C., when he diately from Auburn with a was in the final pairing in the U.S. Open; degree in economics.

T I G E R

W A L K

Dustin Johnson fell to pieces at both the U.S. Open and the PGA when everyone else thought he had both in the bag.

So it came as a surprise to almost everyone when Dufner marched around Atlanta Athletic Club on championship Sunday like he was playing a five-dollar Nassau with his buddies at the Auburn University club. Even cries of “War Eagle!”—heard at every hole—didn’t distract him. Dufner would simply wave, nod and hit. “That’s his game,” Bradley says. “He hits a lot of fairways and greens, and when the putter gets hot, don’t underestimate him.”

Whether due to his understated demeanor or the fact that he only started playing golf at 15, until this year Dufner always seemed to hover just under the radar. He took up the game when his mother moved from Ohio to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to run a health club. One of her employment perks was a membership at the local golf course, so Jason decided to give the game a shot.

“The tour came to our course every year for the Honda Classic, so I got to see those guys up close,” he says. “That’s when I really found a passion for golf, and the idea of being a professional golfer began to sink in. I had always been into sports and followed a lot of professional teams, but I wasn’t the size and build for team sports. As I got to see the PGA Tour up close, I thought, ‘This is the type of professional athlete I would like to be.’”

From then on, Dufner was determined to compete at the college level. Auburn golf director Mike Griffin admits he knew nothing about Dufner when the kid walked on at Auburn. “He recruited us,” Griffin recalls. “He was a pure walk-on, not even an invited walk-on. He had offers from Division II schools but wanted to play D-I golf.”

In Auburn’s walk-on qualifier, Dufner beat the average score of 12 varsity players on the Tigers’ team in a four-round tourney over four public courses by so many shots that Griffin pulled him aside and asked, “How come I’ve never heard of you?” Dufner shrugged and replied, “I sent you my résumé, coach.” The folcontinued on Page 26

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

25

T I G E R

W A L K

Top traditions Auburn’s pregame eagle flights in Jordan-Hare Stadium made the No. 2 spot on Sports Illustrated’s list of 10 top college football traditions nationwide, just behind the Ohio State University band’s on-field choreographed formation of the word “Ohio” before each Buckeyes home game.

continued from Page 25

Cam in the clear Following more than

with Bryant Gumbel” that

a year of speculation,

they received thousands

rumor and distractions

of dollars while being

that marred the Auburn

recruited by or playing for

Tigers’ otherwise picture-

the Tigers. NCAA officials

perfect 2010 champion-

said they interviewed one

ship football season,

of the players as well as

the NCAA announced

his family and friends,

in October that it had

who did not substanti-

discovered no major

ate his claims; the other

violations against either

three players would not

Auburn University or

speak to the association’s

former quarterback Cam

investigators.

Newton in its pay-for-play

times, I feel very confi-

around allegations that

dent about the way we

Newton’s father shopped

run this program,” Tigers

his son’s talent to col-

head football coach Gene

legiate recruiters.

Chizik told the Associated

The NCAA released

Press after the announce-

a statement saying it had

ment. “I’ve said many

closed its 13-month inves-

times that we haven’t

tigation into Auburn’s re-

done anything wrong, so,

cruitment of Newton, who

quite frankly, I moved on

won the Heisman trophy

a long time ago.”

in December and is now

The NCAA agreed

a rookie NFL quarterback

with Auburn’s self-report

for the Carolina Panthers.

from November 2010 that

Auburn also was

26

“As I’ve said many

investigation centering

Cam Newton’s father,

cleared of allegations

Cecil, and the owner

made by four former

of a scouting service,

players that they had

Kenny Rogers, shopped

received payments during

Newton’s services to Mis-

their recruitment or col-

sissippi State out of junior

lege careers. Raven Gray,

college, but that there was

Stanley McClover, Chaz

no evidence either Cam

Ramsey and Troy Reddick

himself or Auburn officials

told HBO’s “Real Sports

knew about it.

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

lowing spring, Dufner qualified to play in the John Burns Collegiate in Hawaii, finished 10th and was never out of the starting lineup again. A two-time All-SEC selection, Dufner turned pro upon graduation and began eking out checks on minor tours. “When I got out of college I didn’t have a lot of money, so I stayed in Auburn because it was cheap and easy,” he says. “I knew the town, and it was easy to get to tournaments. I also had a place to practice and play when I was at home.”

The Hooters Tour advanced to the Nationwide Tour, the PGA Tour’s minorleague proving ground, where Dufner had several six-figure seasons, picking up two career wins and earning a total of $862,851. He bounced back and forth on the PGA Tour, playing in 32 events in 2007 but only 16 in 2008. His breakout year came in 2009, when he secured eight top-10 finishes and, at age 32, earned more than $2 million.

“My fiancé and I have been in Auburn for almost 11 years,” he says. “It’s been nice. It’s great to get away from the hustle and bustle of big-city life. On the PGA Tour we visit almost all the major cities, and it can be pretty tiresome living out of a hotel and dealing with hundreds of thousands of people. That makes it nice living in a small town. It’s a quiet life.”

Then came the final two hours of the PGA. Dufner started his Sunday round like a man destined to win. He birdied two holes on the front side and two more early on the back, stretching his lead to five shots with only four holes remaining—holes that might have been the toughest closing stretch in major championship history.

“I don’t think there’s another stretch that I can remember that’s this difficult coming in,” says fellow competitor Tiger Woods. “If you par those four holes every day, play those 16 holes even par, you’ll be picking up a ton of shots on the guys.”

Dufner didn’t need four pars: Two pars and two bogeys would have done the trick. Instead he made three straight bogeys beginning at the long, par-3 15th, where he hit his first bad shot of the day, a push with a 5-wood that found the water.

At 16, he pushed another shot, this time a 6-iron approach that buried in the right greenside bunker. Then at 17, another par

3, he hit his ball into the middle of the green, but took three putts to get down for another bogey.

Just like that, the lead vanished.

Bradley birdied two of the closing holes to tie for the lead. Dufner parred the 18th to get into a playoff, but another 3-putt bogey at 17 sealed it. At the end of the day, Keegan Bradley had staged the most improbable comeback in recent major championship history, while Auburn alumnus Jason Dufner let one slip away.

Within 10 minutes of losing the biggest tournament of his life, Dufner sat straight in a chair, looked reporters in the eye and said, “Hats off to Keegan coming in there the last three holes. He played great.”

Later, he admitted that losing hurt.

The loss was the largest major championship collapse since Jean Van de Velde made triple-bogey on the final hole to lose the 1999 British Open. Van de Velde was never heard from again, and some pundits began writing Dufner off as well.

“I’m disappointed now, but there are a lot of good things to take from this week,” Dufner said at the time, seemingly determined to handle defeat with dignity.

“I’ve got the PGA Tour playoffs, and I believe this gets me into all the majors next year … Coming from where I came, to be in this position, it is a dream come true.

I’m not going to let this define my career.”

A funny thing happened on the way to obscurity, though: Dufner shrugged off the criticism, finished sixth in the BMW Championship, and qualified for the season-ending tour championship, where he played his way into a first-round lead.

When the dust settled, Dufner finished the 2011 season ranked 25th in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings, better than Masters winner Charl Schwartzel, U.S. Open winner Rory McIlroy, British Open winner Darren Clarke and 14-time major champion Tiger Woods.

And he still seems baffled that people see something extraordinary in the way he handled himself in August.

“I told a lot of people: ‘Don’t feel bad for me. There’s nothing to feel bad for,’” he says. “‘I was in a great situation, and it didn’t work out.’ It wasn’t a negative experience for me.”—Steve Eubanks

My husband Bobby shot a man, and he died.

I wish it were not so, but it is. It happened in 1957, and Bobby hid the terrible truth for 31 years. b y

s h e r r y

l e e

h o p p e

Trial and Error?

As the clock ticked into the wee hours of July 20, 1957, the city of Chattanooga, Tenn., seemed asleep. But at 1 a.m., two young men, both near Former Auburn halftheir homes, began a fateful drive down Bell Avenue. back Bobby Hoppe At 1:07 a.m., a sudden flash of light and an echoing shotgun ’62, who played on the blast shattered the peaceful night. A car sped away, tires squealTigers’ 1957 championship football team, ing. Another explosion ripped the air as the second car plowed stood trial for murder into a power pole and stone wall, knocking an 8-inch gap bein 1988 after admitting tween the sidewalk curb and wall. to having shot at his sister’s ex-boyfriend A 24-year-old moonshine runner named Don Hudson during a car chase. The slumped sideways onto the passenger seat of his 1948 DeSoto victim’s mother alleged a police coverup. sedan—shot at close range in the side of his face.

28

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

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

29

T R I A L

A N D

I

E R R O R ?

n the 1950s there were few, if any, interstates in the rural South. The road between Chattanooga and Auburn was a paved, two-lane highway.

After twisting free of the hills of southeastern Tennessee and northern Georgia, it cut straight through the red-clay dirt of Alabama. On this day, July 21, 1957, one driver was oblivious.

Bobby Hoppe, a high school All-American from Chattanooga who’d been hand-picked to play football for Auburn University under head coach Ralph “Shug” Jordan, didn’t know how long he’d been on the road, racing along in his sister’s car, floating on the waves of heat shimmering off the pavement. He recalled hugging his mama, avoiding his dad. Trying to act normal.

Touching his wet cheeks, he wondered how long he’d been crying. In the car, he didn’t have to suck it up, so he sobbed.

“Dear God, dear God,” he said out loud, words of anguish, a prayer. “Dear God. Help me. Please help me.” Tears he’d held in for almost 24 hours broke free like water over a spillway. He had never felt more alone in his life.

Two days before, skimming over the road toward home, he had been a different person. Driving up from Auburn, he had been happy—anticipating his date Saturday night and time to hang out with old high school buddies at Nikki’s and the Riverside Pharmacy, a chance to talk with Mama about the next season and the games she would attend.

What are you going to do now, big man? How do you push past this kind of pain? Many times, he’d played football with broken ribs, sprained ankles, strained muscles, but nothing like this pain. This would never heal.

So much that had happened seemed like a dream, but one thing he knew for sure—there would be no happy ending to this nightmare. He’d killed a man.

Somehow Bobby found himself on the outskirts of Auburn, heading to campus. The thought of facing teammates made him

30

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

nauseous. Swallowing back the bile filling his throat, he looked in the rearview mirror—a pale face with red-rimmed eyes looked back. Struggling to maintain his sanity and suffering from overwhelming guilt, he was thankful when fall football practice started. Focused on blocking and running, his mind could temporarily escape the anxiety. With his team already having lost key players, Bobby was not going to let coach Jordan down.

The last game of the 1957 season—against Alabama in the Iron Bowl—was a night to remember. Auburn posted its first touchdown in Birmingham within the first two minutes of the game, continuing to pour it on until clobbering Alabama 40-0.

Every single dressed-out Auburn player got into the game, becoming part of the legend.

Sitting atop the Associated Press poll—finally No. 1—Auburn was unstoppable. Before a sellout crowd of 45,000 fans, Auburn’s Billy Atkins went over from the 1-yard line and then kicked the PAT after Zeke Smith, pouncing on a fumble, moved the ball within scoring distance. The second touchdown began with Bobby running for four, followed by a Lloyd-Nix-toTommy-Lorino toss good for 28 yards. Nix threw to Lorino for 21 additional yards, and Bobby made a quick 3. Then Atkins crashed across the line, making the score 14-0—the beginning of a rout.

And on and on it went in front of the wildly ecstatic Auburn fans and shell-shocked Alabama supporters. Just after Bobby picked up another yard, disaster struck. His arm was injured, and supporters groaned along with him Fifty-four years ago, as he was led, grimacing, off the field.

Auburn kicked off its Bobby sat on the sidelines, a towel national championship season with a 7-0 win draped across his shoulders, his collegiate over Tennessee and career over, thinking that not getting to ended it with a 40-0 win over Alabama at finish the last game of his senior season Legion Field. Meanhurt much more than his arm. while, the team’s No. Late sportswriter Paul Hemphill ’59 20 was burdened by a guilty conscience. described the scene, one he never forgot:

T R I A L

A N D

E R R O R ?

Coach Ralph “Shug” “As the gritty Chattanoogan sat dejectedJordan, shown here ly on the Auburn bench, head down and with teammates probably with a tear in his eye, his coach Bobby Hoppe (left) and Tommy Lorino ’59, sensed the need for saying one last word later described playing of gratitude to the one who had exemboth men in the same position as one of his plified the Auburn spirit throughout the biggest mistakes. football season that was almost ended.

“I’ll never, ever, forget the look of fatherly pride in Shug Jordan’s eyes as he cupped Bobby Hoppe’s chin in his hand and lifted his head to say a simple ‘thank you.’”

The end of the season hit Bobby hard. Throwing himself wholeheartedly into football had offered an escape from the turmoil flooding him whenever he was still. Without football, he began to lose interest in his studies and, ultimately, did so poorly he didn’t have enough honor points to graduate. Humiliated and disgusted with himself, he headed to Chattanooga.

What should have been a hero’s return was a sad homecoming.

His mother was furious and embarrassed, because he hadn’t completed his degree.

S

itting at our breakfast table in early 1987, I was the first to read an article in the local paper about the formation of the Friends and Families of Murder Victims group. I handed it to Bobby and watched as he read. He shuddered lightly, then looked up at me slowly.

Among the grieving members was Georgia Hudson. It had been 30 years since her son, Don, was killed, but she could not put it behind her.

Three decades of thinking she knew who killed him but not sure. Three decades since burying her boy—and his killer still walking free.

Petite and gray-haired, with a slight stoop to her birdlike shoulders, Georgia Hudson was neither brave nor vocal, but she was persistent. Touched by a mother’s dogged determination, (cold-case police detective Richard) Heck agreed to look at the case, realizing that solving a 30-year-old mystery would be like panning for gold in a dry creek bed. Working out of a small office jammed with two desks and a bank of filing cabinets, Heck plodded along, identifying potential witnesses. He interviewed 45 people from Chattanooga to Mars Hill, N.C., to Auburn. At Auburn he talked with Buddy Davidson ’64, an assistant athletics director at the time, peppering him with questions about Bobby. Davidson was adamant: He didn’t know anything. As soon as Heck left, Davidson called Bobby about the visit.

After confirmation of the investigation, weeks passed excruciatingly slow. By sheer will, Bobby went to work (as athletic director) at Chattanooga State each day, despite his anxiety.

Somehow he went through the regular routines, meeting with people, attending athletic events, trying to remain himself with staff members. But the possibility of an indictment never receded into his subconscious. It swam just below the surface, constantly bobbing up unbidden.

In Nashville, Tenn., where I was serving as interim president of Nashville State Technical Institute, I, too, went through the motions—burying my unrest in the routine of running a state college. Ours was a life of total pretense. Fearing the im-

pending gale, we told no one what was coming our way. And then it happened.

Bobby had left work for lunch when, more than a hundred miles away in Nashville, I got a surreptitious call from a sympathetic police captain, saying officers were on their way to arrest Bobby at Chattanooga State. Although Bobby turned himself in without resistance, he was handcuffed and shoved into the back of a patrol car for the drive to the Hamilton County jail. The patrol car pulled to the curb and Bobby stepped out, hands behind him but head held high. He was booked and posted bail, surprised the bond was only $7,500—the first sign that some people within the justice system weren’t aligned with the investigators and the district attorney’s office.

After fingerprinting and being pushed against a wall for photographing, Bobby’s handcuffs were removed, and he walked out with (attorneys) Leroy Phillips and Bobby Lee Cook on each side, cameras flashing. The next morning, as feared, the story made headlines—in newspaper, television and radio—not only in Chattanooga but across the nation, from Florida to California: “Football hero accused of murder in 31-year-old case.”

The state theorized that Bobby killed Teddy Donald Hudson, an acknowledged moonshine runner, because Hudson had physically and mentally abused Bobby’s sister, Joan. To Bobby’s embarrassment, the pair’s torrid affair had been the talk of the town. The couple seemed to hate each other as much as they desired each other. Prosecutors, in a swelling crescendo, argued that Bobby killed Hudson “because this sports hero, well thought of in the community, had a problem in his family he did not like. He did not like the relationship between Donald Hudson, who ran moonshine, and his sister, Joan Hoppe Voiles, who was married to another man.”

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

31

T R I A L

A N D

E R R O R ?

E

very day of the trial, Jack Robbs, a captain with the Chattanooga police, positions himself at the door as we enter the courtroom, squeezing Bobby’s shoulder or shaking his hand. After we pass, Robbs takes his place near the door through which the jury will enter—a silent sign of his support for Bobby. Robbs has taken vacation to be here for his former teammate at Chattanooga Central High. On this particular day, however, Robbs partially blocks our entrance into the courtroom. Taking Bobby by the shoulders, he whispers, “Pretend you’re blocking a lineman when (prosecutor Tom) Evans hits you. You can outrun him, old buddy. You’re Hippity Hoppe.” It brings a slight smile to Bobby’s face.

Now he sits in front of me, shoulders bent forward, head down. In his hand, he holds the laminated card (of Bible verses) I gave him months ago. I wonder which verse of scripture he’s reading.

“All rise,” the bailiff drones, kicking off Bobby’s testimony. At least the first inquisitor, Leroy Phillips, is on our team.

Bobby slips the well-worn card into his suit coat pocket, stands up straight and walks to the witness stand. As he takes his seat, rather than looking at his own attorney, Bobby looks directly at the prosecutor with eyes as clear as a mountain stream.

Phillips starts slowly, asking Bobby to tell about his job, my job, his family. Next he leads Bobby briefly into his sports career, including his short stint in the professional leagues. In 1958, Bob-

32

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

Retired college presiby had been the third draft choice for the dent Sherry Hoppe San Francisco Forty-Niners. But, haunted (left) wrote her late by memories of the 1957 tragedy, Bobby husband’s story “not to revise history or returned home after a few weeks. Later, whitewash the ugliness he was given a chance to go back but, of what occurred,” but just before his return, Bobby was traded simply to tell the truth, she says. to the Washington Redskins. For a short time before injuring his knee, he played for the Redskins. Back then, with only 10 to 12 professional football teams and no union representation, players weren’t protected like today. So, he tells Phillips, after his knee healed, he was released and sent home.

But Shug Jordan, Auburn’s head football coach, had not forgotten what Bobby Hoppe did for the Tigers, so he contacted Bobby, encouraging him to return to school one semester to complete his degree and help coach the freshman team. Bobby not only finished his degree, he fell in love with coaching and made it his career for more than 20 years.

Phillips has accomplished his goal of putting Bobby at ease.

Now comes the hard part. Phillips hits it straight on, asking about the gun, even having Bobby describe the gun. “… a .410 shotgun, over under. It had two barrels, one on top of the other. The top barrel fired a .410 shot, and the bottom fired a .22,” Bobby says, looking directly at the jury.

And how did he obtain the gun? Under what circumstances?

On the way to pick up his date, Bobby says, he dropped by the Riverview Pharmacy. He was standing in the back of the store, shooting the breeze … when a man named Bill McCutcheon telephoned, asking to talk with him.

Describing McCutcheon as a kind of “horse trader” who swapped antiques, coins, stamps, guns, even cars, Bobby says McCutcheon wanted him to come by and see the .410 shotgun because Bobby had a pistol McCutcheon wanted. Bobby continued to tell McCutcheon he didn’t want the gun, but, finally, he made the trade. Late for his date, he didn’t take time to drive home to put the gun away.

Phillips abruptly swerves from the lead-up to the evening Hudson was killed, asking Bobby about his sister Joan. After establishing that, to Bobby’s knowledge, Hudson had not abused Joan in the nine months preceding July 1957, Phillips asks about the period when Joan was dating Hudson.

Trying to remain calm, Bobby speaks through clenched teeth, saying he saw suspicious bruises on Joan a few times, and friends would say, “Don had whipped my sister.”

“I don’t suppose you liked that, did you, sir?”

Voice steady, eyes piercing, Bobby replies, “No, I didn’t.”

“Did you kill anybody over it, sir?”

Solemnly, Bobby says, “Don Hudson has never, as far as I know, done anything to me or any member of my family that would warrant me murdering him. I have never talked to Don Hudson to his face or driven a car up to him, written him a letter, called him on the phone nor gotten a third party to carry a threatening message to him. Absolutely, concretely, no, never.”

With that, the background testimony by Bobby is over, all leading up to this—time to tell the jury what happened the night Hudson was shot. My heart gallops, then misses several beats.

What Bobby is getting ready to share—these horrific recollections—have been locked inside this very private man for more than 30 years.

Bobby’s memories of that night have become oozing sores that never heal. They may have scabbed over briefly when he was

T R I A L

doing something he loved—huddled on the line of scrimmage or coaching a game—but the scab never stays intact. Often, people scrape it away inadvertently.

But most of the time, it is Bobby who picks at it, inviting the pain back, refusing to believe he deserves to be whole again.

Maybe, Bobby believes, he’ll be able to heal after he swings the door open on July 20, 1957. Now the world will know what I know—what Bobby told me on a blustery winter evening six short months ago.

This will be difficult for Bobby, so Phillips guides him gently, telling him to share what he did after leaving his date in the early morning of July 20.

“I drove by Nikki’s (a popular hangout); I didn’t see anyone I knew. I didn’t recognize anybody’s car, so I started home on this back road that runs behind Nikki’s.”

Going slowly, still adjusting the car radio, Bobby sensed something to this left. “I looked, and there was a car with no lights on. The hood, the grille of the car, was about even with my back tires. It scared me; it shocked me. I immediately swerved to the right to get away. The car fell in back behind me.”

Bobby didn’t recognize the car, but he figured it was friends playing a joke. So he kept driving down Bell Avenue, pausing at a stop sign where the curves end and a straight stretch leads to North Market Street.

Bobby pulled slowly away from the stop sign, allowing the darkened car to pull up beside him, expecting to see some guys laughing at him for being startled by their prank.

The car paralleled him again, this time more quickly, and it wasn’t filled with friends. But he didn’t know that. He was struggling to keep his own car from being hit as the other car pulled tighter to him as if trying to run him off the road.

“The other car swerved into me, and I swerved to the right and put my brakes on,” Bobby explains, his voice shaking. “I almost came to a complete stop. I was still rolling a little bit forward. And as I rolled forward, I rolled past him. As he fell back behind me, I recognized the person in the car, and he hollered something and pointed a gun at me.

“I had the radio on and didn’t hear what he said, but he pointed the gun at me.” Bobby is pale, shaking, his eyes closed as he dredges up the memories.

The car behind him stayed so close Bobby thought it might be touching his bumper. Barely moving, realizing it was Hudson brandishing a gun, Bobby remembered the shotgun. Reaching behind him and grabbing it by the long barrel, Bobby yanked the gun over the seat. He reached into the open box of shells, grabbed one and, with one hand, loaded it. With a single smooth move, Bobby stuck the barrel of the shotgun out the window.

Bobby tells Phillips he was hoping that if he fired, Hudson might hear the gun or see the flash. “But that was a fleeting thought. I couldn’t aim the gun and drive the car, too.

“I was afraid … the pellets might ricochet and hit someone or hit a house, and I decided against firing. Plus, if I fired, I wouldn’t have any more ammunition, and I would have to load the gun again—I didn’t want to do it again. I was scared. I didn’t know … I didn’t know what to do really. I didn’t want to fire the gun,” his words taper off, low and sick.

Strained from reliving the moment he knew Hudson was going to kill him, Bobby pauses to collect himself before continuing.

“I felt like the best thing I could do was just keep going.

I gained a little speed, and he gained speed and stayed on my

A N D

E R R O R ?

bumper. I realized if he hit the back of my car, I would go out of control. So I immediately slowed down.”

As he talks, Bobby’s eyes grow wide, the whites showing around the blue irises, but he isn’t seeing Phillips or the jury or me. He’s back on Bell Avenue.

Suddenly, he refocuses. Knowing he must stop reliving the fear he felt at the time, Bobby takes a deep breath and continues.

“I looked and saw him, and I was having to drive with one hand and hold the gun with the other. I looked back to see if I was in my lane, and there were cars parked on the right side of the road. I was afraid I would run into a car. And I looked and saw him coming, and I looked back to see where I was, and I looked back again—and he was right beside me, again pointing the gun at me.”

Bobby’s voice breaks. His terror is tangible, thickening the air in the room.

“And I turned back to see where I was, and at the same time I fired. I fired. And Mr. Phillips, when I fired, I was not trying to hit him. I was not. Killing him had never entered my mind. I fired out of sheer fear, out of fright. I was just desperate. I was trying to get away from him. I, you know, I felt like then—and I feel like now in my heart—that if I hadn’t taken that action, I would be dead.”

Bobby’s head drops slightly, his face drained of color.

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

33

T R I A L

A N D

E R R O R ?

A

ll rise,” the bailiff intones as judge Joseph DiRisio sweeps into the room, black robe fluttering behind him, still unzipped—perhaps indicating he had to rush back to court, too. Not wasting any time, he asks foreman Samuel Russell if the jury has reached a verdict.

Russell rises slowly, looking at Bobby, then back at the judge, before speaking. The room crackles with tension as everyone waits for his words. Taking a deep breath, Russell spells it out: The jury’s deliberation “has been inconclusive as to guilt or innocence. We really feel we cannot come to a conclusion concerning that.”

Seeing the scowl on DiRisio’s face, Russell reiterates, regret wrapping his words, “We cannot come to a clear verdict.”

Taken aback at the unexpected outcome, DiRisio calls counsel to the bench. Covering the microphone, he asks if they think he should accept that the jury’s division is irreconcilable. Defense attorneys Cook and Phillips believe he has no alternative but to call a mistrial. Even prosecutor Evans says, “The jurors have reached a point where they can’t even agree that they can’t agree.”

Nodding his head slowly, telling the attorneys he just wanted “to be sure I wasn’t misinterpreting,” DiRisio ends the bench conference and turns to address the jury.

“Members of the jury, all of us conclude the position of the jury is that the difference or division among you is irreconcilable and that you will not reach a verdict—and that will be the decision here today, that the jury is irretrievable or irrevocably, irreconcilably split and divided.

“A hung jury is declared with a mistrial as a consequence.”

Bobby never moves a muscle. I can’t see his face, but I know his expression is stoic, revealing nothing. He’s become good at that over the last 31 years.

Though the jurors deliberated less than four hours, with a quick thunk of the gavel, it’s over.

“Dejected.” That’s the word used in the cutline for the picture in the next morning’s newspaper. Even worse, the cutline continues: “The former football hero will apparently be back at the Justice Building for a retrial.”

When Bobby reads those words, his face ages 10 years.

R

Just when we think the door is closing on our darkest days, an astounding phone call kicks it wide open again.

I’m sitting on the patio when I hear the phone ring inside.

Dashing through the door, I grab the receiver, expecting it to be defense attorney Leroy Phillips or Bobby Lee Cook. Instead it’s Sylvia, my sister.

Breathless with excitement, Sylvia tells me her husband, Bud, just received a telephone call.

“The man on the other end said he knew who killed Don Hudson—and it wasn’t Bobby.”

I’m trying to take in her words, but my head is spinning. …

It’s late in the afternoon, so we find a parking spot on the street adjacent to Leroy’s office. Within minutes, we take our seats around the conference table where we’ve spent so many anxious hours the past few months. But today is different. As always, suspense hangs in the air, but today it’s not fear-filled.

34

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

Leroy nods at Bud, who starts to speak.

“Well, I called that number in Los Angeles about 1 a.m. today and reached a Mr. King,” Bud says, before pausing. He looks from Bobby to me, knowing what he’s getting ready to say is going to shock us—and he’s right. We’re stunned.

Across the table, Bud tilts his bald head and burly shoulders toward us. “Bobby, Mr. King told me, all these years you thought you killed Don Hudson—but you didn’t. He said you did fire your shotgun. And that caused Hudson to swerve and wreck his car, but you were not the one who killed Don Hudson … That’s about all I know right now, except Mr. King said—let me check my notes to be precise. He said: ‘I did it. I was hired to do it.’

“Here’s what he described as happening that night in 1957: Mr. King and a policeman—local, I guess—were parked on a side street.

They planned to ambush Hudson as he came down Bell Avenue. …

They heard gunfire and then the sound of a car crashing. King leaped out and ran to the scene, while the policeman waited in the car.

“King said he leaned into Don’s car and realized he was unconscious—slumped over the steering wheel. The right side of Don’s head was bloody, but he was breathing. After glancing around, King shot him point-blank in the eye.”

O

n the night before the hearing to determine a retrial, Bobby is walking his dog when the phone rings about 10 p.m. I pick up hesitantly. It’s Leroy, and he’s talking so fast, I ask him to slow down. (District attorney general) Gary Gerbitz just called to say he will notify the judge tomorrow that he plans to drop the state’s prosecution.

Hesitant to believe, Bobby refuses to be jubilant, but I see hope flicker in his eyes. That night, I toss and turn until Bobby says he’s going to sleep on the couch if I don’t settle down. As soon as the newspaper hits the front doorstep, I throw off the covers and rush outside to get it.

“Attorney general expected to drop Hoppe prosecution,” declares the front-page headline. I run back to the bedroom and read the article aloud to Bobby. Sitting side by side on the bed, we hold each other, say a quick prayer of thanksgiving, and read the article again.

The article says Gerbitz has called a news conference for 9:30 this morning. Over and over again, I savor the words: “The prosecution is expected to serve formal notice on the record in the Hoppe case today that it will not prosecute the case further, according to an informed source. Though such a notice would not prevent the state from reopening the case against Hoppe in the future, it was understood the prosecution has no plans to do so.”

Suddenly, it sinks in. The district attorney could open the case again. A cloud passes over Bobby’s face.

R

I’m listening carefully, but I still do not understand. I want Mr. King (the eye witness) subpoenaed and brought to Chattanooga. I want the DA to hear what he told Bud. I want the world to know Bobby is innocent. Most importantly, I want Bobby himself to hear the words.

In a controlled voice, Leroy reasons with me. “Sherry, if we

T R I A L

give the DA the King information and it doesn’t stand up under scrutiny, it’s possible during another investigation the DA might unearth something we don’t know about. He could decide to try Bobby again.”

I start to argue, but he cuts me off. “Two details King cited are inaccurate, Sherry, and that makes me extremely uncomfortable.”

Despite his warnings, I’m not sure I’m ready to yield the possibility the guilt Bobby has carried so long could be lifted. That night, Bobby and I talk about what Bud told us. Then we discuss Leroy’s opinion. Finally, we turn off the light on another sleepless night.

The next morning, Bobby tells me to let it go. “Sherry, I’m not a young man. A battle like we’ve been through takes its toll, regardless of the outcome. I’m sorry, but I’m simply not willing to risk everything again.”

I look more closely at my husband. I see smudges of no sleep under his eyes again. He has wrestled with this all night. It’s not a decision he’s come to lightly, so I take his hand in both of mine.

Pulling his hand away, Bobby draws me down into his arms, and I rest my head on his shoulder, forcing my thoughts to be still.

With regret—but with total understanding—I accept Bobby’s decision.

R 2008. Harbingers of spring in the Appalachian mountains, the redbuds and forsythia meant it was time for Bobby and me to prepare our yard for planting flowers, flowers that would last until the first frost. After 20 years, the nightmare from which Bobby could never fully recover had receded into a rarely visited nook of his mind.

A few weeks earlier, discerning he was increasingly at peace with his past, I had begun secretly writing his story. Amazingly, when I read him the initial pages, he seemed open to the idea. In fact, he agreed

A N D

E R R O R ?

to assist me—with one caveat. “Sherry Lee, Bobby Hoppe ’62 hired attorney Bobby even if I let you write my story, I might nev- Georgia Lee Cook (far left) to er let you have it published.” defend him against That April afternoon, I returned home, accusations he killed a man in 1957. The TV my arms full of larkspurs and snapdragons, show “Matlock” was and my heart filled with excitement about reportedly based on colorful experiour days ahead, days as promising as the Cook’s ence as a trial lawyer. new season bursting to life around me.

Instead of walking into the warmth of Bobby’s arms, I found him sprawled on his back on the kitchen floor, his eyes wide open. I somehow called 911 and then began trying to resuscitate him—but I knew it was too late.

Since finding Bobby on the floor that day, I am haunted by his eyes. I see them in their myriad hues. Twinkling bright blue— like sunlight on water—when he was laughing. Steel blue when he was upset or sad. For me, their color was a gauge of his emotions. When Bobby appears in my dreams—day or night—what I see first are his eyes. I hope that never changes.

Several weeks after his death, with a heavy heart, I returned to the story we had begun. It is difficult, even today, to realize how much richer the book would be if Bobby had lived to tell his story.

So, although I wrote the book, it is Bobby Hoppe’s story—the story of a sports legend who shielded those he loved from his dark secret for 31 years. I wrote this story for you, Bobby, because I wanted your story to be told. I wanted others to hear what really happened that night—not just to Don Hudson, but also to you.

Excerpted with permission from A Matter of Conscience: Redemption of a Hometown Hero (Wakestone Press, 2010), by Sherry Lee Hoppe with Dennie B. Burke. Sherry Lee Hoppe is president emeritus of Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tenn. A Matter of Conscience is available at bookstores and online.

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

35

B y th e time I f i na l l y a r r iv ed a t th e A u b u r n U n iv e r s ity C hap e l, I was re a dy t o pul l a v a n is h in g a ct o f m y o wn . Sle e ping i n a (s uppose dl y ) h au n te d c a m p u s b ui ld i n g a nd inve sti gatin g it s c re a ks a nd g r o a n s with a b u n c h o f p r ofe s s ional ghost h unt e rs? S ure , wh y n o t?

by morgan mckean

Haunted Haven Everyone has a story, paranormal researcher Michelle Smith ’00 notes, speaking with quiet conviction. It might be true, but my story is one I haven’t thought about in years. One I wouldn’t have thought of now, without having been prompted.

I tense my lips and purse my eyebrows, deepening the furrows to form those dreadful “11s” that dermatologists warn against. I close my eyes, and I can see a woman standing in the doorway of my bedroom. Although I was only 5, the image is etched in my mind deeper than the wrinkles on my forehead.

It was my adored aunt, who had passed away unexpectedly months earlier. Luminescent and hov-

36

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

ering about a foot off the ground, she was clothed in an angelic drape of fabric. I know it was her.

Smith is right—I do have my own story. I’d decided, though, that one ghost encounter was enough for me. I didn’t need any more.

Now, here I am, a reluctant participant on a ghost-hunting excursion. But when the boss assigns a story that entails spending the night in a haunted church, what’s a girl to do?

The sleeping bag lying next to my feet bellows that I need a sanity check, and I pray that whatever—whoever—still inhabits the Auburn University Chapel’s Gothic interior can’t hear at that frequency.

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

Listed on the U.S. National Re gister of Historic Places, Auburn Univer sity Chapel on South Colle ge Street was built in 1851. The church has been used variously over the past 160 year s as a Presbyterian and Episcopalian house of wor ship, a Civil War hospital, a civic center, a YMCA/YWCA headquar ter s, a USO and a performing ar ts theater.

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

37

H A U N T E D

38

H A V E N

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

S

mith and her colleagues Faith Serafin, Tonya Campos and John Mark Poe—all members of the Alabama Paranormal Research Team—devote their free time to looking and listening for things skeptics believe don’t exist. The group crisscrosses the state, investigating possible paranormal activity and, just as often, assuaging people’s fears. Serafin’s personal panache—she sports too many vibrant tattoos to count—might read “out there,” she explains with a laugh, but she’s not guided by imagination. She and the rest of the team simply believe ghosts are real.

On a Thursday night in September, Serafin, Smith, Campos and Poe show up to assist with a paranormal investigation at the Auburn chapel, one of the oldest buildings on campus.

Over the past century and a half, the tiny brick church, built in 1851 and located at the corner of South College Street and Thach Avenue, has served as, among other things, a Civil War hospital and a performing arts theater. Legend has it that the building also houses the ghost of a Confederate soldier: Sydney Grimlett, a cavalryman in the Sixth Virginia volunteer regiment who sustained a leg injury as his company tried to block Union Army Gen. William Sherman’s March to the Sea. Grimlett supposedly contracted gangrene and spent his last days in the chapel-turned-hospital. Some believe he’s still there.

Students in Auburn’s theater department, which used the chapel as a playhouse from 1927 to 1973, reported hearing loud thuds and strange voices in the building, and noticed that props and costumes would, at times, mysteriously vanish. They often attributed the noises and mischief to Grimlett’s ghost, even placing chocolate candy in the rafters in order to appease the spirit.

Truth be told, though, the name Sydney Grimlett is nowhere to be found in the registry of the Sixth Virginia cavalry or in Auburn’s Pine Hill Cemetery, blocks away from the chapel, where the soldier was supposedly buried. Was he real? Is the chapel ghost real? Ghost hunters Serafin, Smith, Campos and Poe aim to find out.

I

s anybody here with us that would like to speak?” Michelle Smith asks the stale air of the old sanctuary, attempting to jump-start an ethereal conversation. Silence.

“Can you make a noise, and let us know that you are here?” Crickets again. So far, I’m delighted by the direction in which this story is going.

We’re in the middle of a session in which the ghost hunters are attempting to capture “electronic voice phenomena” by querying the supposed spirits, using a digital recorder to register sounds or voices not Opposite: Alabama heard by the human ear or that lack a Paranormal Research Team co-founder logical explanation. Earlier they shared Faith Serafin and sound clips from EVP recorded in other her colleagues have reputedly haunted buildings: snatches investigated reported hauntings across Alaof conversations, phrases and spobama and Georgia, inken words with no discernable human cluding at Springvilla Mansion in Opelika. source. My fear level skyrockets.

H A U N T E D

H A V E N

Is the chapel really haunted by a Civil War soldier named Sydney? Historical records fail to confirm such a person ever existed.

“Morgan, feel free to jump in and ask a question if you want,” Smith offers. “Just say the first thing that comes to mind.”

The last thing I want to do is enter into a conversation with a spirit: It’s hard enough interviewing real people. I’m just warming the bench here, dutifully doing my assignment as a part-time editorial assistant for Auburn Magazine, an undergraduate journalism major here to take notes, see what happens and get a decent story, not the fright of my life. I’m determined to remain inconspicuous.

I

n the course of their work, the ghost hunters of the Alabama Paranormal Research Team have heard disembodied voices; seen strange people, figures and shadows where there should be none; and even felt the sensation of being touched by invisible beings. They’ve collected what they say is evidence of paranormal activity from a number of reputedly haunted buildings, including Sloss Furnaces, a 19th-century ironworks in Birmingham now listed on the National Register of Historic Places; Tuscaloosa’s Bryce Hospital, founded in 1859 as the Alabama Insane Hospital; and Port Columbus in Columbus, Ga., which houses the National Civil War Naval Museum. Think a ghost is randomly slamming your bedroom door at night? These are the people you’re gonna call, and their services are free.

What the team can’t do, however, is offer the cachet of the National Science Foundation, which has yet to endorse paranormal studies as a legitimate field of research. Why? Lack of scientific evidence. While rogue researchers in the U.S. have been trying to gather proof of paranormal activity since the Victorian era, none have garnered the acceptance of conven-

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

39

H A U N T E D

H A V E N

tional science. Duke University psychologist J.B. Rhine, for example, investigated psychic phenomena for more than 50 years, establishing a parapsychology lab on the Durham, N.C., campus in 1935. Considered by many to be the “Einstein of the

In a Gallup poll, 37 percent of Americans said they believe houses can be haunted. Ghost hunters say seeing is believing.

40

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

paranormal,” Rhine devoted most of his life to documenting scientific evidence that he and his assistants deemed conclusive, but his fellow scientists did not.

Serafin and her colleagues say seeing is believing, though, and a significant proportion of national survey respondents agree there’s something out there: In a 2005 Gallup poll, 37 percent of Americans said they believe houses can be haunted; 25 percent said they believe in astrology, or that the position of the stars and planets can affect people’s lives; and 24 percent reported believing that extraterrestrial beings have visited the Earth at some time in the past.

“All it takes is one time to have an episode, and it will change your mind and make you a believer,” Poe says.

So, the Alabama ghost hunters trod on, hauling their voice recorders, cameras and electromagnetic-field detectors to homes and buildings around the state in their search for spooks, just regular people who have an interest in the unknown. Smith works as a law enforcement clerk; Serafin is a writer and housewife; Poe sells custom-built furniture; and Campos owns a couple of Mexican restaurants.

“We aren’t a Ouija-board, spell-conjuring type of group,” Serafin says. “They are out there, now don’t get me wrong, but we are very far from that.”

The team starts each investigation by attempting to debunk reported phenomena, and often ends up crediting natural causes as the source.

“Just because your toilet is running doesn’t mean it’s haunted,” Smith says, laughing. “It just means you need to fix the floater.”

M

y senses are in overdrive, straining to see things, hear sounds that don’t belong.

Discouraged but also relieved, I notice the glow of streetlights shining through a sliver of a crack between the two front doors of the sanctuary. I surmise that the doors can’t quite bridge the gap; it’s an old building, after all.

“Is that door open?” Serafin asks, her voice rising.

Seven pairs of eyes dart to the front of the church, where one of the doors has now swung wide open, apparently on its own.

The ghost hunters go into rapid-fire debunking mode. I want to crawl under a table and hide my eyes.

“Well, is anyone over there?” Serafin asks. Nothing. No one.

“Was the door pulled tightly to begin with?” Smith counters.

“Yes, I jiggled the handle to make sure before we sat down,” Serafin responds.

“Could it have been the air conditioner?” Poe poses.

“If so, why hasn’t that happened every time the air kicked on?” Smith shoots back.

“The air flow would have pushed the door open to the outside, anyway. This door opens to the inside,” Serafin observes.

This is getting interesting.

H A U N T E D

H A V E N

you can do anything to help these people and help yourself in the process, then why not?

“When I was 16, I rolled over and there was a man in the bed with me, and he didn’t have any eyes,” Smith recalls. “I admit, I ran downstairs to get in bed with my parents, but my siblings had the same visitor and were already in the bed with them.”

I pull the top of my sleeping bag over my head, suffocating on this still-warm Alabama evening, but thankful that all I can see is the familiar black-and-teal plaid flannel that has warmed me at slumber parties and on camping trips since 1998. Trying desperately to fall asleep, I pray for my heart to stop beating so fast and my anxiety to diminish. But mostly I pray for daylight.

It’s hard to admit, but I think I’m now a believer.

Morgan McKean is an editorial assistant for Auburn Magazine. Read her blog posts and listen to EVP recordings from the university chapel investigation at http://auburnmagazine.auburn.edu. For more information on the Alabama Paranormal Research Team, see www.alabamaghosthunters.com.

S

erafin co-founded the Lee Countybased Alabama Paranormal Research Team in 2007 after “a lot of research and pokin’ my nose in books and wondering why these things happen to people,” she explains.

Members of the group have written a book about their adventures, Haunted Auburn and Opelika, published by The History Press in August.

Serafin, Smith, Poe and Campos dedicate up to 50 hours a week to paranormal investigations during their “busy season”— which, not surprisingly, occurs during October—in addition to raising families and working full-time jobs.

“I’ll be in the pick-up line at school, emailing reviews of cases,” says Serafin. “During the busy season we go all out. It’s every waking minute of the day.”

The 13-member research team is composed of ghost hunters who boast various religious backgrounds, but all share a desire to understand reported paranormal activity and maybe even offer their clients some peace of mind.

“When we get a call, the first thing the person says is always, ‘You’re going to think I’m crazy when I tell you this, but … ’” says Smith, whose childhood home in Opp was characterized by slamming doors, exploding light bulbs, and the sounds of stomping footsteps and something dragging the floor.

Opposite: If you don’t Her brother once frantically deserted mind the possibility of an invisible extra guest, the house wearing only a towel, because Auburn’s 90-seat camhe heard a voice that sounded exactly like pus chapel is available their mother calling his name—only he for rental as a wedding venue. Right: Auburn was positive she wasn’t home. alumna Michelle Smith “To be able to say, ‘No, I get it, because ’00 believes her childhood home in Opp was I’ve been there myself’ makes a world of haunted. difference for (clients),” Smith says. “So if

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

41

In Alabama, where more than two-thirds of prisoners lack a high school degree or GED certificate, Auburn alumna Kyes Stevens ’94 and her colleagues are educating inmates in drawing, photography, literature, creative writing and history. The goal: to reduce recidivism, unlock a love of learning and give prisoners the key to productive self-expression. b y

m a t t h e w

s h a e r

Raising the Bars On a sweltering day in June, Michelle Bankston stands hunched over a table in the rec room of a minimum-security prison in Montgomery, putting the finishing touches on a charcoal drawing of an ascendant bird.

The bird, Bankston confesses, manifested itself almost accidentally—she had been drawing a maze of waves and flowers and sidelong scribbles before she noticed in the chalky whorls a head and wings.

“Sometimes it happens like that,” she says with a shrug, wiping a blackened finger on her white prison-issue pants. “I’ll be working on something from a dream, or I’ll be envisioning things I want to do, positive things, and I’ll start out with one thing, and end up with another. For me, art has always been like having a little radio playing in the back of my head.”

Bankston, who has short, blond hair and a muscular build, has spent almost 20 years behind bars. She was incarcerated first at a medium-security facility here in Alabama, and then at a private prison in Louisiana (to relieve overcrowding, Alabama sends some inmates out of state), and finally here, at the Mont-

42

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

gomery Women’s Facility, a sun-soused cluster of buildings on the outskirts of the capital city.

“A while back I decided that I could either spend decades in the bunks, watching TV or playing cards,” Bankston says, “or I could get out here and take the opportunity to write poetry and draw.”

That she’s been given this opportunity to do her art is testament to the work of Auburn alumna Kyes Stevens ’94, an avuncular and outspoken educator, poet and Alabama native.

Since 2002, Stevens has headed the Alabama Prison Arts + Education Project, which offers literature and Alabama Prison art classes in a range of prisons across the The Arts + Education state. The program is funded by Auburn Project is a five-time University and an array of grants; the recipient of National Endowment for the teaching staff consists of five Auburn- Arts funding and based instructors and a rotating cast of was chosen to test organization’s teaching fellows from the graduate cre- the “Big Read” reading ative-writing program at the University advocacy effort in the of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Classes run prison setting.

P H OTO G R A P H Y B Y K Y E S S T E V E N S

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

43

R A I S I N G

T H E

B A R S

A fourth-generation Auburn alumna, poet Kyes Stevens ’94 (left) began teaching in Alabama prisons in 2001. A decade later, more than 80 instructors are teaching literature, art, history and writing classes to inmates in 12 correctional facilities.

for 14 weeks and are rigorously structured, like college courses, demanding a full commitment from students.

The teachers are “people who absolutely love teaching and learning for the sake of teaching and learning,” Stevens says. “It is about nothing else. It just happens that this is where our students are.”

Stevens grew up in the town of Auburn, earning a bachelor’s degree in English at AU before decamping to Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y., where she eventually earned a master’s degree in poetry.

She returned to Alabama after graduation and spent a few months helping renovate local homes for $10 an hour. In 2002, with the help of a friend, she received a grant to teach in a prison in Talladega.

Although the whole thing was something of a “fluke”—and although her mom worried about her—Stevens found herself exceptionally well suited to the job. She reveled in the challenge of teaching a group of prisoners whose lives and educational experiences varied so wildly. Some read and wrote ceaselessly, while others hadn’t finished high school. Stevens fed off the curiosity of her students.

“I loved Sarah Lawrence,” she says. “It was an amazing experience. And then I got to (the) prison, and I realized I knew absolutely nothing about poetry.”

In late 2002, Stevens founded the organization that would become known as APAEP; in 2004, she secured funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. That year, APAEP became an official program of Auburn University.

“It was build, build, build,” Stevens says. She reached out

44

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

to wardens at minimum-, medium- and maximum-security prisons, some of whom proved more than a little skeptical. She tirelessly applied for grants and funding, and recruited instructors who shared her vision and enthusiasm.

“The major reason we’re able to do any of this is because of Kyes,” says Ryan Browne, a longtime instructor with APAEP. “She has energy and commitment, yes, but she is also so incredibly earnest about what this program does and (honest about) what it can do. It’s always, always about the students.”

I can’t get a degree with this, but I sure am getting perspective. I take things in, and I get my own truths out.

T

oday, Stevens circles the perimeter of the rec room at the Montgomery Women’s Facility, chatting with Jaime Grimes, the instructor of the class. A hard afternoon light filters through the west windows, and the assembled students—some 20 women—scrawl furiously across the wide, white paper.

Portraits of fire-breathing dragons, clouds and sunbursts, checkerboards and hearts emerge. At least one piece, in its paint-splattered, controlled chaos, bears a striking resemblance to a Jackson Pollock.

Grimes and Stevens stop next to Bankston. Grimes nods approvingly and suggests Bankston try using an eraser to bring the head of the bird into relief.

“You’re close,” he says. “The piece looks great.”

“But I’m not done,” Bankston responds. “I’m never totally done.”

“I get that way with my poems,” Stevens chortles. “I always say, ‘When my art and my work are done, I’m dead.’”

“I wish we had more programs like this one,” says Edward Ellington, the warden at the Montgomery Women’s Facility.

Programs like APAEP not only help the prisoners find a sense of self-worth—vital to preventing recidivism—but also help them make better use of their time, he notes.

“This is how a lot of these girls cope,” he adds. “A lot of them are serving a lot of time. … If they weren’t here, getting this energy out, they’d just be watching TV, playing cards, wasting time. Here, they’re learning. Using their minds.”

A day later, Stevens travels to Staton Correctional Facility in Elmore to watch a literature class led by Heather Pavletic, a doctoral candidate in English at Auburn and one of the newer APAEP instructors.

The mood in this classroom is markedly subdued, especially in comparison with the happy furor at Montgomery.

Twenty-two men sit around a U-shaped configuration of tables, their hands neatly crossed, a scattering of books open before them. The air-conditioning unit gurgles. Pavletic paces at the front of the room while Stevens looks on.

The subject of the class is Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, a Tom Stoppard play that famously centers on matters of free will. The title characters are trapped in a play, and a world, that seems to roar onward without their consent. The students are rapt. With each prompt from Pavletic, a dozen hands shoot up.

“I think Stoppard is saying that, either way you cut it, chance or fate, we’re still going to end up in the same place,” says a gray-haired student named Michael Moore. “We’re not writing the script, are we? We’re just actors in a play.”

“Maybe,” answers Michael Carter, a tall, wizened prisoner, who scans a single finger over the text. “But I think they can still change the world they live in. And one way for them to change the world is to change themselves. In the end it comes down to whether you are a player or a character. We have that choice, don’t we?”

The class ends just after 6, and the students filter slowly out of the room, some stopping to chat briefly with Pavletic and Stevens.

“I can’t get a degree with this,” Moore shrugs to Stevens,

R A I S I N G

T H E

B A R S

“but I sure am getting a lot of perspective. It’s like, I take everything in, and I get my own truths out.”

After Moore has stepped away, Stevens smiles. “Invest in people,” she says, “and you’d be surprised—the effects are endless.”

Reprinted with permission from The Christian Science Monitor. Brooklyn, N.Y.-based writer Matthew Shaer is the author of Among Righteous Men: A Tale of Vigilantes and Vindication in Hasidic Crown Heights (Wiley, 2011). A former staff reporter for The Christian Science Monitor, his articles have appeared in Harper’s Magazine, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Slate and The Boston Globe, among other publications.

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

45

Shop here. Save gas.

www.aualum.org/shop This year, shop for the holidays right from your recliner. The Auburn Alumni Association has gifts for everyone on your list: association memberships, T-shirts, diploma frames, classic chairs and lamps, class rings, commemorative BCS National Championship and Toomer’s Corner jewelry, and—new this year—personalized pavers along the association’s Alumni Walk. Proceeds benefit student scholarships as well as alumni programs and services.

w w w. a u a l u m . o r g

A L U M N I

ALUMNI CENTER

Auburn clubs all in for community service BOBBY POUNDSTONE ’95

President, Auburn Alumni Association Prior to the BCS National Championship game last season, I heard a television analyst make a comment about Auburn people that reminded me of what it means to be a member of the Auburn family. The commentator was comparing Auburn to another school (which I will refrain from naming, but I suspect you can guess). He said people who associate themselves with the other school love that school’s football program, but that Auburn people love Auburn University. There is no greater example of that statement than comparing our 98 Auburn clubs to similar organizations representing other colleges and universities. While many serve no other purpose than to serve as football or basketball boosters, Auburn clubs around the nation are much more. For example, Auburn clubs work tirelessly to raise funds for academic scholarship endowments. In fact, for the 2010-11 school year, Auburn clubs awarded scholarships to about 100 students, and we expect that number to increase this year.

Not only are Auburn clubs working toward improving Auburn University, they’ve also been making contributions to their communities. One example that has received significant media attention is the Columbus-Phenix City Auburn Club’s Game Day for Heroes project. Members of the club started the project to honor combat-wounded American soldiers by bringing them to Auburn to experience a football game. The project has grown into a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation that sends veterans, combat-wounded and active military personnel to football, basketball and baseball games all over the country. The Game Day for Heroes project is one of many efforts our local alumni clubs have been undertaking to give back to the com-

munity. The community involvement demonstrated by our Auburn clubs and their members is not surprising since these actions are consistent with the Auburn Creed, which states: “I believe in the human touch, which cultivates sympathy with my fellow men and mutual helpfulness and brings happiness for all.”

Recognizing that our Auburn clubs are making a difference in their communities, the Auburn Alumni Association recently decided to follow their lead and institute a coordinated community-service week for all Auburn alumni. The goal is to combine the activities our clubs are already undertaking and further demonstrate the positive contributions being made by Auburn men and women. The first Auburn Alumni in Action week was held Oct. 1-8 and was a huge success. The clubs performed service projects for organizations such as the American Cancer Society, the American Red Cross, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and Habitat for Humanity, just to name a few.

The second Auburn Alumni in Action week will be held next fall and is expected to be bigger and better. I’m confident this annual event will grow and thrive, because Auburn men and women have lived out the Auburn Creed for generations and will continue to do so for generations. In fact, statistics show that about half of Auburn students are already involved in community service prior to graduation.

For more information concerning Auburn Alumni in Action or Auburn clubs, please contact the Auburn Alumni Association at 334-844-2586 or check out the website at www.aualum.org. Until next time, War Eagle!

N E W S

Calendar Dec. 11–19 WAR EAGLE TRAVELERS: EUROPEAN CHRISTMAS MARKETS

Snow-capped Alpine vistas and the legendary Black Forest are the perfect backdrops for this nine-day tour exploring Europe’s Christmas Markets.

Collect one-of-a-kind treasures in the charming markets of Innsbruck, Strasbourg and Bern. From $2,449, including air. Info: 334-844-1443 or www.aualum.org/travel.

Feb. 3–4 AUBURN CLUB LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

Auburn alumni club leaders from around the nation gather at the Auburn Alumni Center for training in fundraising and event planning. Info: 334-844-1148 or www.aualum.org/clubs.

Feb. 15-28 WAR EAGLE TRAVELERS: EXPEDITION TO ANTARCTICA

Join us for a spectacular 14-day journey featuring a cruise to Antarctica, Earth’s last frontier, aboard the exclusively chartered, deluxe M.S. Le Boréal. Experience the White Continent in its unspoiled state, accompanied by the ship’s expert team of naturalists. Iguazú Falls postprogram option offered. From $6,995. Info: 334-844-1443 or www.aualum.org/travel. Trip sold out at press time.

bpoundstone@babc.com

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

47

A L U M N I

C E N T E R

Calendar Feb. 16-26 WAR EAGLE TRAVELERS: CARIBBEAN DISCOVERY

Set sail from Miami to the beautiful tropical islands of Tortola, Antigua, St. Bart’s, Virgin Gorda, the Dominican Republic and Grand Turk. Experience spectacular vistas framed by swaying palm trees; snorkel vivid coral reefs teeming with colorful wildlife; and hike through lush rainforests. From $1,499, including air. Info: 334-844-1443 or www.aualum.org/travel.

Feb. 18-25 WAR EAGLE TRAVELERS: YOUNG ALUMNI ALPINE WINTER ADVENTURE

You’ve conquered Vail in Colorado and explored the slopes of Jackson Hole, Wyo.—now it’s time to point your skis toward the Austrian Alps.

Experience more than 550 miles of slopes, cozy mountain huts and restaurants, ski lodges, and ultra-modern ski lifts and cable cars. From $795.

Info: 334-844-1443 or www.aualum.org/travel.

’

Feb. 28 DEADLINE: 2011 YOUNG ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT AWARD NOMINATIONS

Nominations are being accepted through Feb. 28 for the Office of Alumni Affairs’ Young Alumni Achievement Awards. Sixteen recipients under age 40 will be recognized for significant achievement in their professional lives or for distinguished community service.

Candidates may be nominated by Auburn Alumni Association members, Auburn University faculty and staff, or any chartered Auburn club. For details, see www.aualum.org/youngalumniaward or contact Janet Bryant at 334-844-1150 or janetbryant@auburn.edu.

March 3 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS BANQUET

Dinner and induction ceremony honoring Lloyd J. Austin III ’86, Kirby Isaac Bland ’64, N. Jan Davis ’77 and James E. Livingston ’62 at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center.

6 p.m. reception; 6:30 p.m. dinner. Black tie.

Tickets are $175 each or $2,250 for a table of 10.

Info: 334-844-1150 or 334-844-1113.

48

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

Smells like team spirit DEBBIE SHAW ’84

Vice President for Alumni Affairs and Executive Director, Auburn Alumni Association I am asked all the time how it feels to have my job during a year in which our football team won a national championship, our second national title in more than 50 years. Let’s just say so far it has been beyond great. To see, hear and experience the pride Auburn people have in our university has been fabulous.

The phrase “All In,” which resonated from head football coach Gene Chizik on a regular basis throughout the season, has been a recurring theme people have used in their workplaces, student organizations and family lives. The Auburn family has always supported its teams—win or lose—but sometimes we all need reminding. “All In” has become a slogan for all things Auburn. Holding the national title in football is quite an accomplishment, but I don’t feel it defines us. Auburn people in general have always been very humble about these things. We’re proud, but we move on.

We know what lasts for years and years is the academic reputation of our university—that is paramount and what truly keeps Auburn on the map.

When alumni ask me how they can support our university, I inform them that we have 98 Auburn clubs throughout the nation. If you live near one and are a member of the Auburn Alumni Association, you are now automatically a member of your local club as well: two memberships for the price of one. As of Oct. 1, all 98 clubs are now participating in the association’s “membership-unity program,” which marks the end of the association’s board-approved, three-year transition to align association and club membership under one dues structure, a move designed to attract more alumni to both the larger association and its chartered clubs, and positioning all of us for future growth. I encourage you to attend

a local club event over the next year and network with like-minded Auburn fans.

To find one, see: www.aualum.org/clubs.

Auburn’s student enrollment this fall totaled a record-setting 25,469 students, up 1.6 percent from the same time last year; students from all 50 U.S. states and 79 countries are represented. Auburn intentionally practices what is called “enrollment management,” which keeps our numbers at the level at which our faculty and infrastructure can support student education by providing the most outstanding academic experience possible. Our new retention statistics also are very impressive: 88.5 percent of AU freshmen return for a second year, which is a record-setting percentage for us and one of the highest among our Southeastern Conference peers. We have a lot of which to be proud.

The Spring 2012 issue of Auburn Magazine will contain your alumni association’s complete 2010-11 annual report, but I am proud to go ahead and relay that this past year has seen an increase in both the association’s duespaying membership and in dollars raised for student scholarships, two of our highest priorities. We have a very active alumni board of directors, an outstanding president in Montgomery attorney Bobby Poundstone ’95 and a dedicated staff in the Office of Alumni Affairs that works very hard to meet the goals we set. University president Jay Gogue has been very supportive of the alumni association, and we make sure our goals are in line with the strategic plan of the university. I am proud to be part of a group of people so committed to making Auburn a better place. War Eagle!

debbieshaw@auburn.edu

A L U M N I

C E N T E R

Lifetime Achievement Awards The Auburn Alumni Association’s Lifetime Achievement Awards honor professional accomplishments, personal integrity and stature, and service to Auburn University by members of the Auburn family. Recipients are selected by a committee of administrators,

trustees, faculty and alumni. The association will recognize the following as the newest recipients of the association’s highest honor March 3 at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center. For more, see www.aualum.org/awards/lifetime.

Lloyd James Austin III Class of 1986 U.S. Army Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III commands U.S. ground forces in Iraq and recently was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as the Army’s next vice chief of staff, its second-highest uniformed position.

•Commissioned as an infantry second lieutenant in 1975 upon graduating from the U.S. Military Academy, he also earned master’s degrees in counselor education from Auburn and in business management from Webster University. •After serving in various military positions for more than two decades, Austin was assigned in 1999 as chief of the Joint Operations Division on the Joint Staff at the Pentagon and, in 2003, was responsible for maneuvering the 3rd Infantry Division as spearhead of the operation to liberate Iraq. •He was awarded a Silver Star, promoted to major general and served as commander of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. •As a lieutenant general, he became the first African-American to lead a corps in combat, assuming command of the 18th Airborne in 2006 and deploying to Iraq in 2008. Upon U.S. Senate confirmation in June 2010, Austin became the Army’s 200th four-star general and sixth African-American Army general.

Kirby Isaac Bland Class of 1964 Surgeon, oncologist and researcher Kirby Bland received his undergraduate degree from Auburn in 1964 and graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine in 1968. •After a tour of duty in the U.S. Army, he served as a research associate and surgical oncology fellow at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and associate professor of surgery at the University of Louisville. •Bland joined the University of Florida faculty in 1983 and went on to successfully complete various trials in the therapy of breast and colorectal carcinoma. •He served as principal investigator for the National Cancer Institute research training program for surgical oncology and subsequently accepted a professorship and chairmanship at Brown University in 1993. •He returned to UAB in 1999 as Fay Fletcher Kerner professor, chair of the Department of Surgery and surgeon-in-chief at University Hospital and The Kirklin Clinic. •He serves as director of general surgery and, until 2009, served as deputy director of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, followed by an appointment as senior adviser. •Bland is immediate past president of the American Surgical Association.

N. Jan Davis Class of 1977 Astronaut and aerospace engineer Jan Davis earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Auburn, a bachelor’s degree in applied biology in biomechanics from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and master’s and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. •After supporting several major NASA programs as an aerospace engineer, she became a team leader and lead engineer for the redesign of the Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster External Tank attach ring in 1986 and, a year later, was selected to join NASA’s astronaut corps. •Davis spent more than 670 hours in space on three shuttle flights and received the Presidential Rank of Meritorious Service from President George W. Bush. •She subsequently served as director of NASA’s Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate, pioneering changes following the fatal Columbia flight in 2003. •She now serves as vice president and deputy general manager for Jacobs Engineering, Science and Technical Services Group in Huntsville. •Davis is a former member of the Auburn Alumni Association board of directors and serves on Auburn’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering Alumni Advisory Council.

James E. Livingston Class of 1962 Upon graduating from Auburn with a degree in civil engineering in 1962, retired U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James Everett Livingston was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marines and served as a commanding officer in Vietnam, earning the U.S.’ highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor—the only Auburn graduate ever so recognized. •After a second tour in Vietnam, he served as an instructor at the U.S. Army Infantry School and returned to Vietnam in 1975 as operations officer for the evacuation of Saigon. •He continued his Marines service in London and Parris Island, S.C., earning a master’s degree in management from Webster University in 1984.

•After a tour with the Joint U.S. Assistance Group in the Philippines, he advanced to brigadier general. Livingston commanded the Marine Air Ground Combat Center and developed the Desert Warfare Training Program during operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. •In 1991 he assumed command of the 4th Marine Division after being advanced to major general and subsequently led the Marine Forces Reserve. •Livingston was a founding trustee and former chairman of The National World War II Museum in New Orleans.

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

49

A L U M N I

C E N T E R

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

’20–’59 Seroba Bowdoin Marsh ’48 founded a

SNAPSHOT

Leaving Iraq Though U.S. forces in Iraq are planning to draw down to zero in December, they are preserving capabilities in the country should the Iraqis ask for continued help, says the top U.S. commander in Iraq, U.S. Army Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III ’86.

Austin told reporters in August that Iraqi leaders are thinking about the way ahead and trying to figure out in which direction they want to go. “In the meantime, we stay focused on our commitments to be down to zero by December, and our plans and all of our actions are taking us that way,” Austin said. “We’re on the glide path, and I think we are where we need to be about right now.”

More than 40,000 American troops are in Iraq, and all are scheduled to exit the country by Dec. 31. But gaps exist in Iraqi security-force capabilities, and U.S. officials have said they would listen to an Iraqi request for some U.S. forces to stay in the country after the deadline. The Iraqi air force, for example, cannot defend the country against an external threat, and the Iraqi forces still have shortages in command and control, intelligence capabilities, and logistics and maintenance.

At press time, political leaders were still debating whether to leave a small contingent of soldiers in Iraq. News outlets reported in September that President Barack Obama was considering maintaining a force of about 3,000 to 4,000 troops in the country, while military leaders—including Austin—were advocating for a higher number. Austin, who received a master’s degree at Auburn in 1986, is planning the withdrawal with an eye toward the capabilities the Iraqis would need, if they ask.

“In all our planning, all of our actions, all of our downsizing of our footprint, we’ve been very prudent about preserving as much flexibility for our leadership as we can,” Austin said. “So if the Iraqis ask, and our leaders think it is the thing to do, we will have some capability to do whatever we need to do.”

Iraq remains a challenge, he added, due to the expected ability of militants to use anti-armor weapons against large concentrations of U.S. troops.—Jim Garamone/American Forces Press Service

50

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

private kindergarten in Enterprise and taught there for 59 years. A scholarship fund in her name assists Enterprise High School students majoring in education.

C. Eugene “Gene” Moore ’52 wrote Amish

Folk Tales and Other Stories of the Pennsylvania Dutch (Schiffer Publishing, 2011). He is a past chairman of the Heritage Center of Lancaster County, Pa., and serves on its board of trustees.

was recognized by the Alabama 4-H Club Foundation, which named its environmental science education building in his honor.

Charlie Thomas ’65

is pharmacy director for the Alabama Department of Public Health in Montgomery. He founded Phi Lambda Sigma national pharmacy leadership society, which established a scholarship in his name.

Jerry E. Brown ’67 of

Cedar Mountain, N.C., wrote Alabama’s Mitcham Wars (Looking Glass, 2011), a book about a 19th-century cold-case murder. He taught at Auburn for 20 years and retired from the University of Montana, where he served as a dean.

Donald Magnusson

Hal N. Pennington ’59

was named the 2011 laureate of the Nashville Business Hall of Fame, sponsored by Junior Achievement of Middle Tennessee, which recognizes the city’s outstanding contributors to business and philanthropy. He is a consultant for Genesco Inc., a Nashville, Tenn.-based retailer, where he served as chief executive officer from 2002-08.

’60–’69

’67, an employee of

United Space Alliance in Houston, was on hand to shut down the test simulator at Johnson Space Center following the space shuttle Atlantis touchdown in July. He was part of the team that built the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory, which was used for testing computers, software and other avionics that controlled the space shuttle during flight.

W. Gaines Smith

James M. “Jim”

’64 , retired director of

Hicks ’68 of Stoning-

the Alabama Cooperative Extension System,

ton, Conn., co-wrote Healthy Eating,

Healthy World: Unleashing the Power of Plant-Based Nutrition (BenBella Books, 2011) with son Jason S. Hicks ’97. The book encourages readers to make better food choices.

Temple Bowling IV ’69 retired last year as

director of contracting and deputy director of Mission Support Group at Arnold Air Force Base. He and wife Janice Henderson Bowling ’69 live in Tullahoma, Tenn.

David G. Serota ’69 was

elected president of the American College of Toxicology. He is senior vice president of drug-safety development and senior principal study director for MPI Research Inc. in Mattawan, Mich.

’70–’79 Charles F. Stephenson ’71 , wife Candice

Jones Stephenson ’74 and family of Huntsville have established “Hunter’s Hotline,” an avenue for teens and parents to confidentially report on non-emergency issues such as bullying and drug abuse, in several Alabama high schools.

James R. Pratt III ’72 was named presi-

dent of the Alabama State Bar in July. He is an attorney in the Birmingham office of Hare Wynn Newell & Newton law firm and previously served

On the run Former Tigers track-and-field team member Christopher M. George ’06, a high school civics teacher in Nashville, Tenn., recently raised nearly $6,000 for Teach for America—a nonprofit organization that places teachers in underfunded urban and rural schools nationwide—by running 100 miles along the Appalachian Trail in 30 hours. He was joined in the effort by former Tigers cross-country runner Alan Burnie ’05.

as president of the Alabama Association for Justice.

Melissa Bowling Tubbs ’72 of Montgomery

was commissioned

by Strathmore Artist Papers, a division of Pacon Corp., to create artwork for the company’s new packaging design. Her pen-andink drawings will appear on the covers of Strathmore Drawing and 500 Series Bristol fine-art pads in retail stores throughout North America.

James V. “Jim” Perdue ’73 of Luverne

is president of the Alabama Probate Judges Association. He is a probate judge in Crenshaw County.

Larry Wells ’73 of Lawrenceville, Ga., received the International Society of Automation’s Distinguished Society Service Award in October.

The Atlanta JournalConstitution, where she won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 2007.

’80–’89 Judith “Judy” Carroll Sower ’80 , a university

lecturer at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, cowrote Differentiating Instruction with Centers in the Inclusive Classroom (Prufrock Press, 2011).

a first-team All-American at Auburn in 1985 and punted for two seasons in the NFL.

Bruce Hartsough ’86

was inducted as a fellow of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers in August.

He is a professor and associate dean in the College of Engineering at the University of California, Davis.

L. Griffin “Griff” Tyndall ’92 joined the

was promoted to chief architect for the city of Birmingham.

Birmingham office of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz law firm.

Alan L. Gardner ’89

was promoted to senior financial manager with ING North America Insurance Corp. He, his partner and their 5-yearold son recently relocated to Omaha, Neb. Dominic J. Marino ’89 of Plainview, N.Y.,

received the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Practitioner Research Award.

He is chief of staff for Long Island Veterinary Specialists and serves as a surgical consultant to the New York City police department, the Federal Air Marshal Service and other organizations.

MARRIED Pamela Kaye Ledbetter

Curt Harrington ’74 of

Long Beach, Calif., was appointed to the State Bar of California’s Board of Legal Specialization as an at-large member for a three-year term. He is an attorney specializing in tax and patent law.

Cynthia Tucker ’76

is a visiting professor in the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

She formerly served as editorial-page editor of

Russell E. “Rusty” Miller Jr. ’86 was

named chief executive officer of the Nashville, Tenn.-based Tennessee Medical Association.

Lewis Colbert ’88 of

Senoia, Ga., wrote an autobiography, Lewis Colbert: The Unlikeliest Auburn Tiger (Donnell Group, 2011). A former Auburn Tigers football captain and starting punter, he was born with a club foot which he used to set career punting records. He was

Business Council of Alabama. He and wife Kimi live in Montgomery.

Terry Oglesby ’88

Ken Jackson ’83

joined Huntsville-based LogiCore Corp., a defense contractor, as Missile Defense Agency program manager.

A L U M N I

’89 to Daniel Howard

Quam on June 4. They live in Sonoma, Calif.

’90–’99 Phyllis R. Neill ’90 co-

founded Buzz12 Social Media Outsourcing, a Birmingham-based digital marketing firm.

Quentin P. Riggins ’92

was named vice president of governmental relations for Alabama Power. He formerly worked as senior vice president of governmental affairs for the

Jeffrey Wells ’92 joined

Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, Okla., as an associate professor of theater. He previously served as an adjunct instructor at St. Petersburg College and administrative consultant for Stageworks Theatre in Tampa, Fla.

C E N T E R

New direction Four alumni will begin new terms on the Auburn Alumni Association board of directors during the organization’s annual meeting at 9 a.m. Nov. 19 at the Auburn Alumni Center.

ROBERT R. “BOB” JONES III ’74 is

president and CEO of United Bancorporation of Alabama Inc. and United Bank of Atmore. He is a past president of the Tidewater and Escambia County Auburn clubs as well as a past member of the School of Accountancy Advisory Council.

WILLIAM D. “BILL” NELSON SR. ’62, a

William Coleman Mills ’93 is an architect

and painter. He coowns wmCM Studio, a design firm in Fairhope.

defense-industry consultant based in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., is a retired employee of BAE Systems global defense and security company and serves as president of the Emerald Coast Auburn Club.

William T. “Bill” McCown ’95 received

the 2011 Jim Puckett Outstanding Educator Award from the Georgia Association of Educational Leaders.

He is a county school superintendent in Calhoun, Ga.

EARL GAINES THOMAS ’71 of Mobile

is a pediatric dentist. He is a member of the Mobile County Auburn Club and several Auburn University Foundation donor societies. He was appointed to the association board a year ago to fill a vacant seat, completing an unexpired term.

BARBARA ANN WALLACE-EDWARDS ’79 is a divisional project manager

Andrew Whatley ’95

was named assistant dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Columbia College Chicago. He has also worked as an actor, director or dramaturge for more than 30 Chicago-area theatrical productions.

Jason Johnson ’97 is

director of the human resources and employment management prac-

for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama/Cahaba Government Benefit Administrators in Birmingham and a member of the Greater Birmingham Auburn Club. She was appointed to the association board a year ago to fill a vacant seat, completing an unexpired term.

tice area in the Fairhope office of Hartmann, Blackmon & Kilgore accounting firm.

Amber Jessen Keyser ’98 is a freelance writ-

er based in Portland, Ore. She is working on a novel based on the story of Angel Punk, a fantasy comic book series and film produced

by Relium Media.

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

51

G i n n

S o c i e t y

A L U M N I

C E N T E R

Class Notes Brooke Ulrickson Allen ’99 received the Presi-

dent’s Award of Merit from the Texas Young Lawyers Association.

She is an attorney in Fort Worth, Texas.

MARRIED Leslie Durham ’96

to Philip L. Brown III on June 24. They live in Nashville, Tenn., where Leslie works as a sales representative for Meda Pharmaceuticals Inc. SNAPSHOT

Flower power Caught in a throng of preoccupied travelers rushing through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport this holiday season? Take time to stop and smell the flowers.

No, seriously. Smell them. Gently touch them, even. Nothing would please Abra Lee ’02 more.

“I’m all about wanting this place to feel like a garden,” says Lee, landscape manager at the world’s busiest airport. “When I see somebody feeling the leaves on one of my plants or checking out the flowers, I say, ‘Yes! That person’s getting it!’”

In her four years on the job, Lee has transformed the scenery at Hartsfield-Jackson from blah to, in the words of airport interim assistant general manager Balram Bheodari, “a fresh and welcome level of majestic beauty that we hope brightens the day for our many travelers and employees.”

The perpetually upbeat Lee says she’s just making good on what she promised at her job interview in 2006—that she could transform the airport grounds into a more pleasant place for the 89 million customers who annually pass through the gates. “What I told them was, this place wasn’t memorable,” the fifth-generation Atlantan recalls. “It was bleak, drab. There was no color anywhere—nothing but shrubs and trees—and they all needed trimming and shaping up like you wouldn’t believe.”

Lee’s spunk, combined with horticultural expertise, landed her the job, and in January 2007, the former City of Atlanta arborist hit pay dirt as the mega-airport’s first landscape manager, responsible for beautifying practically all of the public spaces around the airport’s 130-acre terminal complex.

“I’m in charge of the high-profile areas—the areas you see when you’re dropping people off or picking people up,” Lee says.

Lee credits her success to Auburn’s College of Agriculture, where her professors stressed practical knowledge. “Everything they taught me was valuable,” she says, “and there still isn’t a day goes by that I’m not using what I learned.”—Jamie Creamer ’79

54

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

Sally Lyn Sprayberry ’98 to Randall Hub-

bard on Oct. 16, 2010.

They live in Hoover.

BORN A son, Landon Frank, to Lisa Beville Kubes ’93 and husband Troy of Marietta, Ga., on Dec. 14.

A daughter, Lauren Madison, to Brian Weigle ’94 and wife Julianna of Lilburn, Ga., on Feb. 12.

A son, Charles Grayer, to Amy Huggins Dearborn ’95

and husband Edward of Acworth, Ga., on May 18.

A daughter, Kaylee Makanalani, to KathyLyn Allen ’96 and Anthony James Pacheco of Pueblo, Colo., on March 4.

A son, Tyler Adams, to Harold Cole ’96 and Heather Adams Cole ’94 of Arlington, Va.,

on Jan. 18. Harold is a U.S. Navy commander.

A daughter, Grace Andrea, to Danny Daniele ’96 and wife April of Rochester, N.Y., on May 6. She joins brother Caleb, 2.

on July 16. He joins sister Madeleine.

A daughter, Rhyan Elizabeth, to Brandon Ealy ’99 and Stephanie Robinson Ealy ’00

A daughter, Gracelyn Rose, to Dana Griffin Town ’96 and husband Jay of Huntsville. Dana owns SEA Wire and Cable Inc. in Madison.

A daughter, Elizabeth Harper, to Brian W. Willis ’96 and Anje Harman Willis ’97 of Columbus, Ga., on March 24. She joins sister Lauren Bennett, 3. Brian is a representative for Abbott Park, Ill.-based Abbott Laboratories and serves as a major in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.

A daughter, Annabel Sutton, to William Canterbury ’97 and Laura Stevenson Canterbury ’97 of Birmingham on

Aug. 4.

A daughter, Clara Jane, to Ben Mitchell ’98 and Amy Nelson Mitchell ’98 of Birmingham on July 24. She joins brother Quinn, 3. Ben is an attorney in the Birmingham office of Maynard, Cooper & Gale law firm.

A son, William Jaycob, to Roy Snead ’98 and wife Amy of Anniston on Dec. 27.

A son, Robert James Lee, to April Helm Archer ’99 and husband Greg of Wichita, Kan.,

of Norcross, Ga., on Aug. 1.

A son, John Reynolds, to Jason Hare ’99 and wife Julie of Auburn on Nov. 27, 2010.

’00 BORN A daughter, Zoe Jane, to Samantha Whitehead Hartsell

and husband Jason of Russellville on Dec. 2. Samantha is a senior watershed representative for the Tennessee Valley Authority.

A son, Nicholas James, to Christy Flowers Stanley and husband Nicholas of Springfield, Va., on April 12.

’01 Ruth Ann Fite was

inducted into the Decatur General Foundation Guild.

Geoff Smith of

Bremen, Ga., was promoted to vice president of construction services for R.K. Redding Construction Inc.

MARRIED Mary Peyton Posey

to Thomas Edwin Kennedy ’99 on Oct.10, 2010. Peyton works for Buzz12 Social Media Outsourcing in Birmingham.

A L U M N I

C E N T E R

Cub Corner BORN A son, Hudson Walker, to Zachary Keith Gibbs and Jennifer Webster Gibbs ’02

of Montgomery on May 12. He joins brother Gunner.

A daughter, Addison Climes, to James M. Marbut Jr.

and Bethany Beard Marbut of Huntsville on June 1.

’04 Christian W.

A son, Henry Grey, to Ryan Simpson and Ashley Hunt Simpson ’02 of

Piedmont on July 21. He joins brother Jack, 3.

’02 BORN A son, Cale Speir, to Kimberly Haynes Webb

and husband Tyler on July 19, 2010. They live in Rincon, Ga.

’03 MARRIED John Wesley Cochran

to Tyler Frances Thigpen on Dec. 20. They live in Lafayette, La. Ashley Elizabeth Nungesser to Timothy Kane McGukin ’04 on June 4.

They live in Atlanta.

BORN A son, Russell Elbey III, to Russ Allman Jr. and wife Joanna of St. Louis on June 25. Russ is completing a radiology fellowship at Washington University.

Johnston graduated

from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center and is now a special agent in the Phoenix office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

In touch with your roots Root vegetables, that is. According to the Northern Plains Potato Growers Association, the average American consumes 140 pounds of potatoes per year.

But did you know that “taters” aren’t just for eating? Here’s a fun way to turn the humble potato into a tool for putting your Auburn spirit on paper. Use the template below to make an inter-

locking AU logo stamp, then create festive placemats for your family’s Thanksgiving table or or tailgate party. You can even make gift wrap!

Once you’ve created your tuber masterpiece, send us a picture so we can share your art with the rest of the Auburn family. Email a photo of the finished creation to: alumweb@auburn.edu.

Supplies: • Baking potato • Tempera paint in orange and navy blue • Two saucers (to hold paint)

James Russell Linger-

• Paper grocery bag or brown craft paper

felt wrote The Mason

• Pens or markers

Jar, a coming-of-age novel scheduled to be published next year.

• Kitchen knife (for adult use only)

R. Keith Redding Jr.

was promoted from estimator to vice president of preconstruction at R.K. Redding Construction Inc. He and wife Brooke live in Bremen, Ga., with their four children.

• Markers, glitter, sequins (optional)

Directions: 1. Cut potato in half. The raw surface will be used as the stamp for your prints.

2. Cut out the letter templates (right) and trace them on the raw surface of the potato halves. Ask an adult to carve out the background around the letters using a kitchen knife.

4. Pour orange and blue paint into individual saucers.

Dip the “U” stamp in orange paint and press down evenly onto brown craft paper. Allow to dry. Dip the “A” stamp in blue paint and stamp over the “U” to

Arma White works in

create the interlocking AU logo. After the paint

the Office of the Commissioner, U.S. Food & Drug Administration, in Washington, D.C.

is dry, you may choose to highlight the letters with markers, glitter or other decorative elements.

5. Use stamped paper as gift wrap or cut into placemats.

MARRIED A daughter, Jillian Adeline, to Clark T. Gollotte and wife Sarah of Cumming, Ga., on May 26.

Emily Irene Sanders

to Glenn Nowakowski ’06 on June 4. They live in Atlanta.

II and Ramsey Rob-

A son, Graham Marshall, to Keith Marshall Jackson and

ertson Magaro ’04 of

Tiffany Baker Jackson

Atlanta on Aug. 19.

of Owasso, Okla., on Aug. 22.

Joseph Edwin Magaro

Kelbe Buntin Lawson ’03 of West Columbia,

BORN A son, Joseph Hall, to

A son, William Ridley, to Wes Lawson and

S.C., on May 25.

A son, Andrew Neal, to Amber Robinson Maradiaga and husband Alfonso of Carrollton, Ga., on April 8.

A son, John Turner, to Gunter Price and Kari Beth Brown Price ’06 of Dothan on April 13.

’05

Mike Stover of Hendersonville, Tenn., is a partner in Crosslin Executive Search, a Nashville, Tenn.-based executive search firm.

Holly McIndoe joined

Nashville, Tenn.-based The Key Alliance as a funds development coordinator.

They live in Jackson, Ga. Kristen is a teacher at Ola High School in McDonough, Ga.

’06 Melanie Edwards was

MARRIED Kristen Lynn Cawthon to James Wil-

liam Lal on Feb. 19.

named manager of strategic sales for Chromatic Technologies Inc. in Denver.

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

55

A L U M N I

C E N T E R

Old Navy misfire?

Some Auburn fans have suggested boycotting retailer Old Navy, claiming one of the chain’s TV commercials makes fun of their alma mater. In the ad, a group of Crimson Tide fans order pizza, which is delivered by an Auburn fan in a tiger suit riding a four-wheeler. The ad is no longer airing but, naturally, lives on at YouTube.com.

Class Notes MARRIED Caitlin Coleman Dinken

to Paul Martin Stone on Aug. 6. They live in Birmingham.

awarded by the Alexandria, Va.-based Human Resources Certification Institute.

on June 25. They live in Birmingham.

Katherine Elizabeth

’03 on June 25. They

Shirley to Brandon

live in Auburn.

as administrator for the Charlie Norwood Veterans Administration Medical Center in Augusta, Ga.

Lauren Wiygul to Peter

Ruth C. Naughton ’36 of

Morris Riley Jr. ’08 on

Norcross, Ga., died Aug. 2. She worked as a homedemonstration agent for the state of Alabama.

Leigh Owens ’03 on

Jan. 15. They live in Norcross, Ga.

the Birmingham office of Pittman Financial Partners Inc. as a financial adviser.

BORN

MARRIED

A daughter, Lexie Jane, to Ashley Sherbett Whatley and husband Lee of Montgomery on July 6.

RayeCarol Cavender to

Feb. 26. Katherine is a designer with Student Life Inc. in Birmingham, and Brandon is a civil engineer with Dothan-based Wiregrass Construction Co. Inc. They live in Homewood.

’07

Lori Gann Daniel to

Bailey Griffin Copeland

Jeremy Schwind on March 17. They live in Birmingham.

Andrew Turman ’07 on

was inducted into the Decatur General Foundation Guild.

Brice Montgomery Cole on July 30. They live in Blacksburg, Va.

Laura Allison Zaremba

Anna Kay Dobson to Denise Duncan of Bir-

mingham, an employeeservices representative for U.S. Steel, earned the Professional in Human Resources certification

Joshua Dane Moore on

May 21. They live in Gadsden.

Landon Michelle McKean to Ryan Nast

Allison Elizabeth Bullington to Kevin Wright

Zachery Gilbert joined Laura Anne Henson to

MARRIED

to Ian Morgan on July 23. They live in Auburn.

’08 Kevin Irwin is an enrollment specialist for Life University in Marietta, Ga. He recently completed a master’s degree in public administration at Kennesaw State University.

June 18. They live in Atlanta.

Crystal Luster to Trip Strickland on June 11.

They live in Montgomery.

’10 MARRIED Lee Anne Moffitt to John Christopher Lambert ’08

on July 23. They live in Montgomery.

’11 Kendra L. Kelley of

Slocomb wrote a book of poetry, Painted Hearts: The Writings of a Young Poet (AuthorHouse, 2011).

Sam Lamere teaches

MARRIED Katherine Ann Andrews to Andrew

Henry Higgins on July 23. They live in Birmingham.

Spanish at Jones Paideia Magnet Elementary School in Nashville, Tenn., in conjunction with Teach for America.

MARRIED Thomas Dawson

Maryann Catherine

McGough V to Leah

Cooley to Zachary Cur-

Christine Thomas on May 21. They live in Nashville, Tenn.

ran DeVries on June 11.

They live in Auburn.

In Memoriam

Stephanie Nicole Wall

FUN IN THE SUN: About 120 Auburn alumni, plus their families and friends, gathered for food, fun and fellowship at Atlanta’s Grant Park and Birmingham’s Oak Mountain State Park in July and August as part of the Auburn Alumni Association’s annual Minority Alumni Involvement Now summer picnics. Highlights included barbecue catered by local alumni restauranteurs, giveaways, and drawings benefiting association members and scholarship donors.

56

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

to Matthew Moore on April 2. They live in Montgomery.

’09 Matthew C. Tufts

was elected president of the Florida Medical Association’s Medical Students Division.

John Randall Parrish

Mary Rosser Burkhardt ’38 of Athens

died Aug. 11. She taught home economics at S.R. Butler High School for 30 years and served as a member of the Huntsville Auburn Club board.

of Griffin, Ga., died Oct. 3. A U.S. Army veteran of World War II, he was an entomologist, professor, and department head at the University of Georgia Experiment Station in Experiment, Ga. He was also a member and past president of the Georgia Entomological Society and a member of the Entomological Society of America.

Robert Anderson Dobbins Jr. ’43 of

Decatur, Ga., died June 25. He was a Presbyterian minister.

Emanuel Reid Hopper ’39 of Cullman died

Emerson Medlock

July 21. A U.S. Army Air Corps meteorologist during World War II, he worked for the Army Ordnance Missile Command at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville.

“Mike” Evans ’43 of

Arthur Thomas Ousley ’39 of Memphis,

Tenn., died Oct. 16. A U.S. Army Air Corps veteran of World War II, he retired from active and Reserve duty as a U.S. Air Force colonel in 1971.

He had worked with NASA as a project manager and engineer for flight experiments on Skylab.

’35 of Boynton Beach,

Fla., died Aug. 25.

A U.S. Army veteran who served in the Pentagon during World War II, he retired from the Army Reserve as a lieutenant colonel and had served

Hamlin H. Tippins ’42

Auburn died Aug. 19. He was a retired Auburn professor of agronomy and soils.

James Ray Harris ’43 of Raleigh, N.C.,

died Aug. 29. A former U.S. Army captain, he worked in North Carolina State University’s Department of Poultry Science for 25 years.

Sarah Green Palmer ’43 of Catawba, N.C.,

died Aug. 8. She was a retired University of Montevallo English professor.

Herman F. Stephenson ’43 of Tuscumbia

Walter Britt Jones ’40

of Akron, Ohio, died Aug. 26. A U.S. Army Air Corps veteran of World War II, he retired from Goodyear Aerospace Corp. after 30 years.

died July 27. He was a retired Tennessee Valley Authority employee.

Edward Clarke Bozeman ’45 of Columbus,

Ga., died Sept. 9. A veterinarian, he built

A L U M N I

C E N T E R

U.S. U.S. Air Air Force Force photo photo by

by Staff Staff Sgt. Sgt. Aaron Aaron Allmon Allmon II II

REFUEL YOUR CAREER WITH THE BEST, ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. The Executive MBA Programs at Auburn University can fuel your career without grounding your schedule.

Ranked among the world’s best by the Financial Times of London, the programs feature a uniquely flexible blend of advanced curriculum delivery and short campus visits.

Take your career to new heights.

Contact us for information at:

C OLLEGE

www.AubEMBA.org or 1.877.AUB.EMBA

OF

BUSINESS

MB E x e c ut i v e M B A Pr o gr ams business.auburn.edu

Auburn University is an equal opportunity educational institution/employer.

Auburn Magazine

For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University

Auburn Magazine

For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University

59

u aa ll u um m .. oo rr gg Auburn Auburn Magazine Magazine aa u 59AuburnMag_Fall08.indd 59

59

59 57

7/11/08 5:34:32 PM

A L U M N I

C E N T E R

In Memoriam Elro M. Swindle Jr. ’47 of Lake Mitchell

Professors, we salute you

Phillip Adair Mash ’49

of Luverne died Aug. 21. A World War II veteran, he was a partner in Mill and Mine Supply Co. and a member of Kappa Alpha Order social fraternity.

June Reddoch Summer-

Mable Schock Moore ’49

lin ’48 of Luverne died

of Clanton died Aug. 27.

During World War II, she was a chemist in the Alabama Army Ammunition Plant in Childersburg and later worked as a lab specialist for the Mobile County Health Department.

Aug. 24.

Carson N. Burgess ’49

12. A U.S. Army Air Corps veteran, he was employed with B.F. Goodrich Chemical Co. for 40 years, retiring as a senior sales executive.

Aaron Jackson “Jack” Tucker ’50 of Soddy-

Daisy, Tenn., died July 22. A World War II veteran, he retired from the Tennessee Valley Authority.

F. Ennis Washburn ’50 of Newton, Texas,

Each fall, the Auburn Alumni Association honors outstanding faculty for their research and teaching achievements. This year’s new Alumni Professors, each of whom will receive a $3,500 stipend annually for five years, are: Henry Fadamiro, associate professor of entomology and plant pathology; Narendra Kumar Govil, professor of mathematics and statistics; Aleksandr Simonian, professor of mechanical engineering; Bill Trimble, professor of history; and Daowei Zhang, professor of forestry and wildlife sciences. Also receiving recognition this year were the association’s three Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award recipients: Sridhar Krishnamurti, associate professor of communication disorders; Veena Chattaraman, assistant professor of consumer affairs; and Jung Won Hur, assistant professor of educational foundations, leadership and technology.

Psychology professor Chris Newland ’72 was named Distinguished Graduate Faculty Lecturer. Chantel Acevedo, associate professor of English, was named Alumni Writer-in-Residence.

of Birmingham died Sept. 4. He served in the U.S. Air Force and Air Force Reserve for 29 years, reaching the rank of major. He retired from General Motors after 25 years.

Abbeville died Sept 4.

A U.S. Army veteran of World War II, he taught school for 41 years and retired as principal of Abbeville Elementary School.

died July 22. He served as a medical technician during World War II and was the head of the Cardiovascular Electronics Laboratory at University Hospital in Birmingham.

the first small-animal hospital in Columbus and helped establish Auburn’s Scott-Ritchey Research Center.

Thomas Fredrick Fur-

Robert “Bob” Forbus

long ’49 of Montgom-

’50 of Panama City, Fla.,

James G. Arnold ’51

ery died July 11. He retired from Monsanto Co. agricultural biotechnology corporation after 35 years.

died Aug. 12. A U.S. Army Air Corps veteran, he served as special assistant to the naval forces commander in Vietnam and worked at the Naval Coastal Systems Laboratory for 28 years.

of Alexander City died Aug. 22.

Martha Merkel Gam-

Fielding Lindsey ’46 of

Griffin, Ga., died Aug. 25. He was president of Sigma Chi social fraternity while at Auburn and practiced veterinary medicine for 52 years.

brell ’45 of Talladega

died July 19. She was a member of Delta Zeta sorority and helped raise money for missionary work.

Jeanelle Boon Kaminske ’45 of Carmel,

Calif., died July 16. She was a real estate broker and also had worked for the Carmel Valley Chamber of Commerce.

58

died July 25. A U.S. Air Force veteran, he served in World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars. He was an entrepreneur who held two patents for a solar waterheating system.

he worked for IBM for 37 years.

participated for several years in a foster parents’ program and sang in church choirs for more than 40 years.

William Cutchen ’49 of

Lila Rhodes Tate ’46 of William Seddon Lee ’46 of Chapel Hill,

N.C., died July 6.

A World War II veteran, he served as an Episcopal priest in parishes in Fairhope and Sumter, S.C. Lilibel C. Spearman ’46 of Newport, Va.,

died Sept. 1. A former stenographer, she

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

Montgomery died Aug. 11. She was active in the music ministries of First Baptist Church.

Allen McLeod Mathews ’47 of Dothan died

Dec. 30, 2010. A World War II veteran, he was a Houston County agricultural agent for 25 years.

Ernest E. Hutto ’49

of Decatur died Aug. 20. He received the Navy Cross for his service as a pilot during World War II and worked as a dairy-plant sanitation consultant.

Andrew F. Spear Jr. ’49 of Vestavia Hills

Jim Macon Kirby ’50

of Anniston died July 18. A veteran of World War II, he practiced dentistry in Anniston for 36 years.

George D. Johnston Jr. ’49 of Tallahassee,

Fla., died July 21. A World War II veteran,

died Aug. 17. He was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran of World War II and the Korean War, and later built a timber forest and tree nursery in Texas for Time Inc.

William Glenn McLain ’50 of Moun-

tain Brook died July

Cecil R. Williams ’50

of Montgomery died Aug. 21. A U.S. Army Air Corps veteran of World War II, he was a partner in Folmar & Associates, a commercial property management and development company.

Charles Seawright Crowther Jr. ’51 of

Sylacauga died June 30. A U.S. Navy veteran of World War II, he was employed by Avondale Mills textile manufacturing company for 34 years.

Ralph N. Culbreth ’51

of Montgomery died Sept. 7. A World War II veteran, he was an educator in Conecuh and Escambia coun-

Cop shop Auburn University administrators and local law enforcement have established a new police substation on campus aimed at improving response times and acting as a visual deterrent to anyone thinking about committing a crime on campus.

The substation is location on the Heisman Drive side of the Student Center, across from Jordan-Hare Stadium. Auburn maintained its own campus police force until 2004, when it merged its unit with the city’s to save money.

ties, and also worked for the Alabama Department of Pensions and Security in Evergreen.

American Revolution and Junior League of Columbus.

William Thomas Brown ’52 of Opelika died July

Daniel Dillon Hall ’51 of Thompson Sta-

tion died Sept. 10. A veteran of World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars, he served with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Paul Jackson Herring Sr. ’51 of Newnan, Ga.,

died June 22. He served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War and worked for General Motors for 32 years.

John David Jones ’51

of Atlanta died Aug. 3. He was a captain in the U.S. Army and a trial lawyer with Greene, Buckley, Jones & McQueen law firm.

He was a founder of the Georgia Defense Lawyers Association.

Sue McCully ’51 of

Muscle Shoals died Aug. 22. She taught elementary school for more than 30 years and was nominated as Teacher of the Year for the state of Alabama.

Frances High Woolfolk ’51 of Columbus, Ga.,

died Aug. 29. She was a church organist and a music teacher at Richards Junior High and Carver High schools.

She served as a member of Delta Kappa Gamma honorary society for female educators, the Daughters of the

13. A Korean War veteran, he owned Southern Electronics Co. with his wife, Elna.

Robert F. Chandler Jr. ’52 of Ruckersville,

Va., died Sept. 6. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and worked for General Electric Co. as an engineer.

in downtown Cullman for more than 25 years and served as the first executive director of the Cullman County Agricultural Trade Center for 10 years.

Billy D. McAnnally ’52

of Anniston died Sept.

4. A U.S. Army veteran, 32nd-degree Mason and Shriner, he was a retired family physician.

Donald Barton Morris ’52 of San Clemente,

of Manchester, Ga., died July 17. A U.S. Navy veteran, he retired as a certified public accountant with Atlanta-based Smith, Adcock and Co. accounting firm.

Calif., died Aug. 20. A member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, he served in the U.S. Navy as a pilot from 1954-58 and retired as a lieutenant in the Navy Reserve.

He designed aircraft and spacecraft interiors for North American Aviation and Rockwell International.

Raymond Burton Davis

J. Tom Radney ’52 of

’52 of Columbus, Ga.,

Alexander City died Aug. 7. He served as a captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps and practiced law in Alexander City. Radney was elected to the Alabama Senate in 1966 and served as president of the Alabama State University board of trustees, the Alexander City Chamber of Commerce and the Tallapoosa County Young Democrats. He was a longtime member of the Alabama Democratic Executive Committee and served as a municipal judge.

Fred Lee Clark Jr. ’52

died July 27. A World War II veteran, he served as principal of Brown Avenue and Key elementary schools and retired as an employee of the state’s vocational rehabilitation services program.

John H. Endsley ’52 of

Lower Paxton Township, Pa., died Aug. 20.

A U.S. Navy veteran of the Korean War, he retired in 1989 as director of corporate approvals at AMP Inc. Freddie Harold Freeman ’52 of Cullman

died Aug. 13. A Korean War veteran, he owned the Western Auto store

William “Bill” Rawls ’53 of Robertsdale

died July 9. He owned

and ran the Lee Drug Store Inc. pharmacy for 51 years.

A L U M N I

ber of the American Dental Association and the Marianna Rotary Club.

James Raymond Anderson ’54 of Kings-

Julia Hanlin Smith ’55

ton Springs, Tenn., died Sept. 4. He enjoyed woodworking, gardening, fishing and being a handyman.

of Murphy, Texas, died July 9. She worked for Oklahoma Natural Gas in Tulsa, Okla., training and demonstrating the use of gas appliances and hosting a cooking show on local public television.

Hendon Martin Simms Jr. ’54 of Gainesville,

Fla., died July 2. He served in the U.S. Army and worked in the real estate investment department of Travelers Insurance Co. in Lakeland, Fla., for 28 years.

George W. “Bill” Cooley ’55 of Huntsville

died July 26. A member of the varsity wrestling team at Auburn, he was a retired employee of Thiokol Chemical Corp. and Sverdrup Corp.

Henry Lewis Greer ’55

of Columbus, Ga., died Sept. 6. A U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War, he worked for nearly three decades in management positions in the wholesale and retail tire industry. He retired as proprietor of Greer Furniture Refinishing in 2005.

Freda Steele White

C E N T E R

Thomas Octavius Gaillard Jr. ’56 of Mo-

bile died June 16. He was a certified public accountant and most recently worked for the firm of Wilkins Miller Hieronymus.

William Howard Gray Jr. ’56 of New

Market died June 21.

A U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War, he founded New Market Agricultural Chemical Co.

’55 of Auburn died

Aug. 2. She was an adviser in Auburn’s College of Liberal Arts, was a member of Village Gardeners and served as a volunteer for Community Market of East Alabama.

James Barney Hood ’56 of Southside died

Sept. 3. He taught and coached for 21 years at Southside High School and was a member of the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association, the Etowah

Auburn Roots.

Auburn Spirit.

Auburn People.

Auburn Bank.

Shouldn’t your bank have the same passion for Auburn as you do?

Eugene McLemore ’55 of Montgomery died

Aug. 26.

Harvey Rex Nowell ’55 of Marianna, Fla.,

died July 2. He served in the U.S. Air Force Dental Corps before operating his own dental practice for 33 years. He was a mem-

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

59

A L U M N I

C E N T E R

In Memoriam County Soil and Water Conservation Service and the Alabama Farmers Federation.

Curtis Perry Truett ’56

of Columbus, Ga., died July 17. He retired as a U.S. Army major after 15 years of service and taught math at Richards Middle School.

Richard “Dick”

Band aide With a sly sense of humor, a love for students and mad trombone skills, Bill G. “Doc” Walls presided over the Auburn University Marching Band during two decades of change that included the instatement of the first female drum major and the addition of a flag corps.

Walls, who became Auburn’s seventh band director in 1969 and retired in 1991, died Sept. 13. He was 77.

During his years on the AU faculty, Walls oversaw the construction of the Goodwin Music Hall and Hinton Field outdoor practice facility and helped organize the first band reunion in 1987. Under his direction, Auburn’s marching band adopted new military-style uniforms and participated in former U.S. President George H.W. Bush’s inaugural parade in Washington, D.C. A native of Naples, Texas, Walls received degrees in music education and music from Baylor University, Manhattan School of Music and Florida State University. A professional trombonist, he served in the 4th Army Band at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio.

In recent years, Walls lived on Lake Martin, near Dadeville. He continued to teach music, visit classes at Loachapoka Elementary School and indulge his lifelong passion for the trombone.

He is survived by wife Kim Curley Walls ’82, a professor of music education in Auburn’s curriculum-and-teaching department, as well as two sons and two grandsons.

60

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

Looser ’57 of Northport

died July 23. A Korean War veteran, he worked as a newspaper reporter during the civil rights era and served as executive director of West Alabama Emergency Medical Services for 18 years.

Kay Thiel Moon ’57 of Augusta, Ga., died June 21. She was a talented seamstress, a charter member of the Family Life Center Women’s Group at Trinity Hospital and a member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority.

James Glen Sanders Jr. ’57 of Fitzpatrick

died June 27. He was a Montgomery-area veterinarian.

Jimmy Ray Peacock ’58 of Clermont, Fla.,

died Aug. 27. A U.S. Air Force veteran, he was a veterinarian and an inspector for the Florida Department of Agriculture.

W. Crutcher Ross ’58 of

Charlotte, N.C., died July 27. He was a residential and commercial architect credited for starting the successful Fourth Ward neighborhood in central Charlotte and designing the Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Hilton hotel.

Catherine Earle Cor-

died July 23. She taught in the Atlanta Public Schools system for 33 years and was a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority and the Daughters of the American Revolution.

’59 of Dallas died

June 16. He was a certified public accountant with ARCO, a division of BP America Inc., and also worked as a stockbroker for many years.

Billy Joe Kirkley ’59 of Auburn died July 9. He was a partner in Burns, Kirkley and Williams Construction Co. and an avid outdoorsman.

John Devon Landers

’58 of Montgomery

Aug. 6. A U.S. Army veteran, he owned and operated East Florence Drugs for 33 years and was active in the Civitan Club and the Jaycees.

died July 15. A U.S. Army veteran, he was a pharmacist for more than 50 years.

died Sept. 10. A U.S. Navy veteran, he was president of Alabama Industrial Fabricators and retired from the steel industry in 1996.

He was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.

Perry D. Mathis ’59

of Birmingham died Aug. 2. A veteran of the U.S. Army and Army Reserve, he was a probation officer and later clerk of court for the U.S. District Court.

John Dupree Davis

’59 of Birmingham died

July 27.

Mary M. “Sis” Burleson ’59 of Auburn

died Aug. 1. She was a member of Chi Omega Alumnae Association, the Red Hat Society and Auburn University Campus Club.

James Rufus “Jim” Carter ’59 of Gulfport,

Miss., died July 6. A U.S. Navy veteran, he

’60 of North Augusta,

Ga., died June 22. He was a member of the U.S. Army Reserve and worked as a chemical engineer for 40 years at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site.

Phillip “Flick”

Moines, Iowa, died July 28. He worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a research veterinarian, director of the National Animal Disease Center and national technology-transfer coordinator. He mentored at-risk youth with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

Thomas Jefferson Rayfield Jr. ’60 of

Paul B. Adamson Jr. ’59 of Birmingham

Michael Edward Hodges

O’Berry ’60 of Des

’59 of Florence died

Ben S. Holley ’58 of

Foley died Aug. 11. A U.S. Air Force veteran, he retired from the federal civil service system.

Joe Russell Culver

George Oberon Warren

Betty Sanders Bence telyou ’58 of Atlanta

retired from the U.S. Postal Service.

’60 of Dothan died

June 14. He practiced dentistry for 40 years, and served in the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and as a U.S. Merchant Marine captain.

Milton Charles Hawie ’60 of Huntsville died

Aug. 19. A U.S. Air Force veteran of the Korean War, he was a civilian deputy commander of the U.S. Army Ballistic Command for 30 years.

Sylacauga died Aug. 21.

A World War II veteran, he retired as principal of Weogufka High School.

William Scott Sprinkle ’60 of The Woodlands,

Texas, died Sept. 9. He retired as director of health and human resources for the Georgia Department of Public Health in 1992.

Jo Harrison White ’60

of Anniston died Aug. 21. She taught kindergarten at Parker Memorial Baptist Church and first grade at the Episcopal Day School and The Donoho School for many years.

Jack W. Boykin ’61

of Montrose died Aug. 25. A U.S. Navy

Southern belle Newsweek this fall named Auburn one of the 25 most beautiful universities in the nation, an honor the magazine claims is meant to recognize both the landscape of campus and the attractiveness of the student body. Auburn, which appeared at No. 15 on the list, was bested by Ole Miss at No. 1.

veteran, he worked as a process-engineer supervisor for Monsanto Co. before founding several start-up companies and received an Outstanding Alumni Award from Auburn’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering.

Douglas K. Kidd Sr.

Theo Daniel “Dan”

’64 of Greenville,

Kimbrough Jr. ’65 of

S.C., died Dec. 22. He retired after 37 years as a vice president of Burlington Industries, after which he continued his career as an owner of two Curves for Women fitness franchises.

Crozier, Va., died Sept. 10. He taught biology for 40 years, beginning at Tuscaloosa High School and later at Birmingham Southern College and Virginia Commonwealth University.

Marcia Oxford Walton ’61 of Nashville,

Herbert Clark Lloyd

Tenn., died June 29.

She was a member of Music City Tres Dias and Delta Delta Delta sorority.

Sr. ’64 of Arcadia,

Carol Stokes Liles ’65

Fla., died July 6. A Korean War veteran, he practiced veterinary medicine in Florida for 45 years.

He and his wife also served in the Peace Corps and participated in Christian veterinary missions around the world.

of Columbia, S.C., died July 8. He was a member of Kappa Alpha Order social fraternity.

Samuel S. Malone ’62

of Cleveland, Tenn., died Aug. 2. A U.S. Army veteran, he worked for Stromquist & Co. Inc. in Smyrna, Ga., for 23 years.

Carl James Meyer ’65 of Inverness, Fla.,

died June 27. He was a veterinarian specializing in equine surgery and conditioning horses for long-distance races.

George Thomas Page Melbur Hancock Fuller

’64 of Purlear, N.C.,

’63 of Auburn died

died July 24. A U.S. Air Force and National Guard veteran, he worked as a veterinarian for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Overton Park Zoo in Memphis, Tenn.

Aug. 11. She served as a leader and committee member of the Girl Scouts of Concharty Council Inc. Barbara Vance Tallman ’63 of Ocala, Fla.,

and Blountville, Tenn., died Aug. 21. She was a member of Chi Omega sorority.

Stephen W. Brown ’64 of Martinsburg,

W.Va., died July 23.

A U.S. Army veteran, he was pastor of Pikeside United Methodist Church.

Earl Reece Burns ’64 of Cherokee died

June 1. He worked in aquatic-plant management for the Tennessee Valley Authority for 22 years.

Norma Mary Piacun ’64 of Slidell, La.,

died July 27. She was a lifelong educator, most recently teaching computer classes to employees of Loyola University in New Orleans.

Bill Atkins ’65 of Clay

died Aug. 22. He taught in the biology department at Jefferson State Community College for 30 years, and owned and operated Birmingham Bug Busters Pest Control Co. until 2009.

College for more than 25 years. He was also a PGA-certified golf instructor and taught gun safety for the Alabama Hunter Education Association.

James Ernest Lambert Jr. ’66 of Dallas died

Aug. 10. A U.S. Army Reserve veteran, he founded Lambert Environmental.

Norman Trentham ’66 of Chattanooga,

Tenn., died Aug. 8. He worked for the U.S. Army Missile Command in Huntsville and later for NASA, where he was recognized for his work on the Hubble Space Telescope.

Harry Edward “Hap” Myers Jr. ’65 of

Helen Tarn Chang ’67

Mobile died Aug. 3. A three-term Alabama state senator, he was president and chief executive officer of J.B. Converse Co./ BCM Engineers for 20 years and served as chairman of the Mobile Chamber of Commerce.

of Houston died Aug. 16. She was the director of international trade and development for the mayor’s office in Houston.

James W. Clark ’66 of Johnson City,

Tenn., died July 14.

A U.S. Navy veteran, he taught economics at Auburn and served as dean of Southern Union State Community College.

James Grady Goggans ’66 of Pinson died

Aug. 31. A U.S. Navy veteran, he was a biology instructor at Jefferson State Community

John C. Kandarakis ’67

of Tallahassee, Fla., died Aug. 22. He was a faculty member at Florida State University and retired from the Florida Department of Education as a bilingual education consultant.

Madeline Warren Mann ’67 of Opelika died July

8. She taught elementary school for many years and started a summer camp for children called Camp Sunshine.

Kenneth R. Allen ’68 of

Jasper, Ga., died July 9.

He was an educator.

Student guide Even as the spotlight shone on her husband, Evelyn Walker Jordan ’66 became a fixture in her own right at Auburn as a counselor to hundreds of students. Jordan, 98, wife of late head football coach Ralph “Shug” Jordan, died Nov. 3 following a brief illness.

“Mrs. Jordan was the epitome of a Southern lady … remembered as both a gracious former first lady of Auburn football and for her distinguished career advising and mentoring students on our campus,” said university president Jay Gogue.

Evelyn Jordan grew up in Macon, Ga., and Columbia, S.C., where she received an undergraduate degree in sociology from the University of South Carolina. She did graduate work in botany at Tulane University before earning a master’s degree at Auburn.

“I used to tell people Mother was a ‘libber’ before it was even cool,” said son Ralph Jordan Jr. ’70. “She believed that women needed to pursue their careers and develop themselves educationally so they could have their own identity.”

It was in 1934 in Columbia that Evelyn Walker first met a young visiting basketball coach named Ralph Jordan. The couple wed in 1937, and “Shug” went on to fame as the Tigers’ winningest football coach.

Evelyn Jordan served as a Panhellenic adviser and counselor to married and international students at Auburn for many years, and in 1992 received the university’s Pamela Wells Sheffield Award in recognition of her service and commitment to AU. She was a founding member of Delta Delta Delta’s Phi Theta chapter at Auburn.

Evelyn Jordan is survived by children James Ralph Jordan Jr. ’70 of Norris, Tenn.; Susan Jordan Pilgreen ’61 of Auburn; and Darby Walker Jordan ’63 of Jasper, Ga.; four grandchildren, and several great and great-great-grandchildren.

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

61

A L U M N I

Welcome the Warhawks After three years of discussion, Auburn University Montgomery, formerly called the AUM Senators, recently announced its new campus mascot, the “Warhawk.” The name was suggested by students who wanted to honor Montgomery’s aviation history, particularly the pilots of World War II who trained at Maxwell Air Force Base. Nearly 1,800 people weighed in after a campus committee narrowed the list of suggestions down to three finalists; a custom mascot costume is being designed.

C E N T E R

In Memoriam Charles William Bethea ’68 of

Foley died Aug. 18. He worked in sales and marketing for American Cyanamid before starting his own business.

Forrest M. Blue Jr. ’68

of Sacramento, Calif., died July 16. He was a football captain at Auburn and later played center for the San Francisco 49ers. He was also a commercial developer.

was an electrical engineer with Alabama Power for 34 years.

Elaine Holland Jenkins ’72 of Alexander

City died July 24. She taught business education in Alabama public schools.

James Elliot Cox ’73

of Birmingham died Aug. 24. A U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War, he was employed

by U.S. Steel for 38 years.

Stephen McCarl ’68

of Florence died Aug. 16. He worked in the aluminum industry with Reynolds Metals Co. and Alcoa Inc.

Kevin D. Davis ’73

of Athens, Ga., died Aug. 25.

Stephen G. Gardner ’74 of Middleburg,

Mike Miceli ’69 of Gulf

Shores died Aug. 5.

He was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and businessman.

Fla., died Sept. 3. He was retired from the U.S. Navy and American Airlines.

William N. Donovan

Robert Edward “Bob” Sellers ’69 of Daphne died Aug. 11.

A U.S. Army veteran, he worked in engineering management with Champion International Paper for 29 years.

’75 of Marietta, Ga.,

died July 9. A retired U.S. Navy captain, he was employed by Dow Jones & Co.’s Factiva division.

Joseph D. Hubbard ’75 of Oxford died

Larry Biddy ’70 of

Cumming, Ga., died Sept. 3. He was a project executive for IBM and a contractor for NASA. Nina Reynolds Wright ’70 of Montgomery

died Aug. 15. She taught elementary school for 25 years.

Freeman Darrell Warnix ’71 of Birming-

ham died July 13. He

62

July 4. He had served as Calhoun County district attorney.

Larry Hagewood ’76

of Milton, Ga., died July 29. He was CEO of several software companies.

Joseph Kirby Farrington ’77 of Auburn

died March 26. He worked in the field of microbiology and quality control in the

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

pharmaceutical industry for more than 33 years and most recently oversaw Auburn’s microbiology laboratories.

A memorial fund has been established in his name in the Department of Biological Sciences. Gifts may be sent to the attention of Tammy Beck Hartwell, 315 Roosevelt Concourse, Auburn, AL 36849.

Coy Allen Spurlin ’77

of Leesburg, Ga., died Aug. 26. He was an electrical engineer.

worked at Georgia Fence Wholesale Inc. for 27 years, served as fire chief of the Cottonton Volunteer Fire Department, was active in the Boy Scouts of America and volunteered for Habitat for Humanity.

studies department at the University of South Alabama from 1996 to 2006 and was a licensed counselor.

Steve Sheffield ’89 of Dacula, Ga., died Aug. 18. He was a practice manager for Athens Vascular Specialists.

William B. Hopkins Jr. ’83 of Panama City

Beach, Fla., died Sept.

8. He was the general manager at Burnt Pine Golf Club in Sandestin, Fla., and previously served as general manager at Camp Creek Golf Course.

Kenneth M. Webb

W. Yancey Jernigan IV ’91 of Selma died

July 20.

Lee Kent IV ’92 of Gulf Breeze died Aug. 27. He was a sales representative for United Rentals.

Shawntel Dixon

’77 of Wichita, Kan.,

Jonathan Vinson ’84

Jones ’93 of Vestavia

died July 12. He was a U.S. Air Force captain.

of Smiths Station died July 14. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, he taught history and coached at Carver High School.

Hills died Aug. 22. She was president of the Parent Teacher Organization at Vestavia East Elementary School.

William R. Box ’78 of

Birmingham died Aug. 10. A certified public accountant, he served on the board of the Business Council of Alabama.

Robert Shelby Shafer Susan Brooks Catt ’85

of Birmingham died July 30.

Susan Elizabeth Ed-

Charles Anthony

wards ’79 of Alexander

“Charlie” Kinnucan ’86

City died Aug. 11. She worked for A & H Fluid Technologies in Birmingham.

of Auburn died July 1.

He founded Kinnucan’s Inc., a chain of sporting goods stores with locations in four states.

Curtis Jefferson “Jeff”

’93 of Nashville, Tenn., died Aug. 20. He was president of Construction Enterprises Inc.

Billie Ruth Chambless of Birmingham

died Aug. 11. She was a past president of the Phi Mu alumnae chapter in Montgomery and coached girls’ tennis.

Norman Davis of Auburn died July 3.

He taught courses in botany, biology and microbiology at Auburn from 1958 to 1990.

He also served as a graduate advisor and co-wrote five editions of Guide and Key to Alabama Trees (Kendall Hunt, 1999).

Marvin Foster Jr. of Birmingham died June 27. A veteran of World War II, he worked for Liberty National Life Insurance Co. for 43 years and was a past president of the Jefferson County Auburn Club and an honorary member of the Auburn Lettermen Club.

Jean Farr Henderson

Jon David McAnally ’01 of Brownsboro died

Aug. 14. He worked as a news director for WAFF-TV and WHNTTV, and had started a multimedia advertising company.

of Auburn died Aug. 27. She was a founding member of the Jules Collins Smith Museum of Art and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Auburn University.

McMinn Jr. ’79 of Mobile died Aug. 16.

He was a longtime employee of International Paper Co.

Fla., died July 27.

Lee Fite ’87 of Piney

Sept. 1.

Anthony Estess ’80 of

Flats, Tenn., died Sept.

10. He worked in the construction industry.

Faculty and Friends

Joyce Carter Woodruff

Robert Kent Butz of

Woodruff Jr. of Sedona,

’87 of Mobile died

Auburn died Aug. 30.

He taught math at Auburn from 1958 to 1988.

Ariz., and Gulf Shores died Aug. 23. He was president of Rosemont Shopping Center Inc.

Magnolia, Miss., died Aug. 21. He was a veterinarian and farmer.

Steve Albert Land ’80 of Macon, Ga., died Aug. 24. He

Luanne Elliott Robinson ’86 of Pensacola,

Jarred Michael Hubbard ’05 of Oxford died

Ralph Smith of Dothan died Aug. 18. He ran Alabama’s largest independently owned plumbing, heating and cooling distributorship.

John Barnett “Bart”

Aug. 27. She served as chairwoman of the interdisciplinary

A L U M N I

C E N T E R

The Last Word

Credit the panty raid

BY BRIAN CRONIN A little-known football urban legend has it that a panty raid actually helped lead to Auburn University’s first national championship more than half a century ago.

Earlier this year, Auburn won the national college football championship by defeating Oregon in the BCS National Championship Game. It was the Tigers’ only national championship since 1957, when the team was voted national champion in that year’s Associated Press poll (Ohio State was national champion according to the 1957 coaches’ poll). The 1957 championship began with a number of controversies, one of which might have been the key to Auburn’s season. In fact, you could argue that the Tigers owe a great deal of their success that year to—of all things—a panty raid.

A number of issues that had been building for years came into play for Auburn during its 1957 football season. The first was the extreme scarcity of “clean” programs in college football during the 1950s. For decades, the NCAA did not pay particular attention to whether teams were running clean programs (as in not paying the players). A 1929 Carnegie Foundation investigation revealed just 28 clean programs out of 112 universities reviewed; in fact, the NCAA did not even have an enforcement division until 1952. The enforcement division was important because it gave the NCAA a variety of ways to punish schools other than expulsion (and, as you might imagine, it was nearly impossible to actually expel a university from college sports).

So when head coach Ralph “Shug” Jordan turned the Auburn football program around (after an 0-10 season in 1950) upon his hire in 1951, there might have been some improprieties. In 1956, an assistant coach was found to have paid two high school recruits (twin brothers) $500 as an enticement to come to Auburn. As a result, Auburn was punished by not being able to compete in a bowl game for three years, the harshest punishment handed out to that point by the NCAA. Entering the 1957 season, Jordan knew Auburn was not bowl-eligible.

The other issue that came to a head in 1957 had to do with the role of women in college after World War II. Once the war ended, colleges were filled to the brim with returning GIs. However, schools also saw an influx of female students at the time; at Auburn, female attendance doubled between 1946 and 1950. With the influx of male students and the increased role of female students, male-female fraternization became a major issue in colleges during the late 1940s. Perhaps the greatest symbol of this new era was the panty raid, in which male students

64

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

would storm into female-only dorms to Former Auburn head steal undergarments. In November 1947, football coach Ralph “Shug” Jordan and a massive panty raid outraged Auburn’s sports information dean of women, Katharine Cooper Ca- director Bill Becklaunched a PR ter. She wrote a thorough report detail- with campaign to vault the ing property destruction and affronts to Tigers to the top of women students, which led to a series of the 1957 AP poll. rules women were to follow in the event of a panty raid. She ordered Auburn women to don housecoats or raincoats, turn off the lights and sit on the floors of the hallways; anyone who disobeyed would suffer restrictions.

However silly the whole thing was, Auburn took these things seriously and so did Jordan, who strictly monitored his team’s moral code. In 1957, quarterback Jimmy Cooke was caught in the female dorm late at night. Auburn history has dubbed the incident a panty raid, but no one can confirm that for sure (including Cooke’s former teammates). Whatever the reason Cooke was there, the panty-raid restrictions led to Jordan kicking Cooke off of the team. As it turned out, junior halfback Lloyd Nix stepped up and helped lead Auburn to an undefeated season. His halfback experience served him wonderfully as the Tigers developed a powerful option system led by halfbacks Tommy Lorino and Bobby Hoppe, fullback Billy Atkins, and, of course, Nix’s intelligent game-calling. But the team was really led by its defense, particularly linebacker Jackie Burkett, nose guard Zeke Smith, and ends Jim Phillips and Jerry Wilson.

Here’s where things get tricky. Back then, the Associated Press poll took place before any bowls were played, and a littleknown rule allowed that any AP subscriber was allowed to vote.

Auburn sports information director Bill Beckwith went to small radio stations and newspapers, asking them to vote for Auburn.

His strategy worked, and Auburn ran away with the voting, ending up with 210 first-place votes and 3,123 total points, compared with Ohio State’s 71 first-place votes and 2,646 points. The following year, Auburn went 9-0-1, so Nix went undefeated as a quarterback at Auburn. And he would never have gotten the chance had it not been for rules connected to panty raids.

So as for this urban legend, I’m going to go with: True.

Brian Cronin is a blogger whose work appears on his own site, legendsrevealed. com, as well that of The Los Angeles Times. He also wrote Was Superman a Spy? And Other Comic Book Legends Revealed (Plume, 2009). Reprinted with permission.

Celebrating a Love of Auburn and the Human Touch

Helen Smith (center) with the Byrds

Elizabeth Byrd attended Auburn early in her academic studies, but eventually went on to earn undergraduate and graduate social work degrees elsewhere. While not an Auburn graduate, Elizabeth carried a love for Auburn throughout her life and career as a gifted counselor, therapist and administrator. She possessed the “human touch” and compassion for others for which Auburn men and women are known.

When Elizabeth passed away in 2010, her parents — William A. Byrd and Carol Tucker Byrd ’79 — desired to celebrate her passion for social work. Elizabeth had devoted her life to serving others, and at the time of her death was working in a rural health center as a therapist with clients of all ages — the majority of which lacked resources for such services.

As part of the Auburn Scholarship Campaign, the Byrds’ gift will be paired with a Spirit of Auburn Scholarship and awarded to students studying social work in the College of Liberal Arts. By doing so, Elizabeth’s spirit of helping others live happier and more fulfilling lives will endure in students like Helen Smith, currently a junior in the social work curriculum and the first recipient of the Elizabeth Grace Byrd Endowed Memorial Scholarship Award.

To learn more about the Auburn Scholarship Campaign, visit www.auburn.edu/scholarshipcampaign.

Auburn Scholarship Campaign

Auburn Alumni Center 317 South College Street Auburn, AL 36849-5149 w w w.aualum.org

IMAGINE WHAT YOU COULD DO WITH YOUR SPECIAL SAVINGS ON AUTO INSURANCE.

Order football season tickets, splurge on a gourmet meal, or contribute to your kid’s college fund…whatever moves you most.

As a member of the Auburn Alumni Association, you could save up to $327.96* on your auto insurance with Liberty Mutual. You could save even more by insuring your home as well.

Liberty Mutual—helping people live safer, more secure lives for more than 95 years.

Responsibility. What’s your policy?

CONTACT US TODAY TO START SAVING CALL

800-524-9400 Client #101128

CLICK

www.libertymutual.com/aualum

COME IN

to your local office

AUTO

This organization receives financial support for allowing Liberty Mutual to offer this auto and home insurance program. *Discounts are available where state laws and regulations allow, and may vary by state. To the extent permitted by law, applicants are individually underwritten; not all applicants may qualify. Savings figure based on a February 2010 sample of auto policyholder savings when comparing their former premium with those of Liberty Mutual’s group auto and home program. Individual premiums and savings will vary. Coverage provided and underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and its affiliates, 175 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA. © 2011 Liberty Mutual Insurance Company. All rights reserved.