Campaign Quarterly, Vol. 2, Issue 1 (Summer 2016)

C A M P A I G N Q U A R T E R LY

SUMMER 2016

VOLUME 2 • ISSUE 1

Great students require great teachers Endowed professorships support top faculty members like Rosephanye Dunn Powell, professor of voice in Auburn's Department of Music.

SEE PAGE 2

Photo courtesy of Distinguished Concerts in New York (DCINY)

Campaign Progress

$988 MILLION

98.8% of the $1 billion goal as of June 30, 2016

Black alumni surpass their goal, commit to increase participation in campaign

Goodwin Hall expansion to provide indoor practice space for the marching band

Glovers support School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences with faculty endowment

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Find more campaign news, photos, and resources at

BECAUSE.AUBURN.EDU

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CAMPAIGN QUARTERLY | SUMMER 2016

COMPETING for the

The Auburn Family understands that great students require great teachers.

And, like many things in life, great teachers are always in high demand.

W E A R E amazed to share with you that we are very close to reaching our historic $1 billion goal for Because This is Auburn — A Campaign for Auburn University. The support from Auburn’s alumni and friends has been overwhelming, and we have much to be proud of in this campaign. But, even as we near this goal, we also know that we have much left to do.

This campaign has many important implications for the future of Auburn. Each of our four strategic areas of support — students, faculty, programs, and facilities — stands to elevate the exceptional education that Auburn offers and to further enhance our reputation as an outstanding university.

Our success in this campaign is due to the demonstrated commitment of those who support this cause. We have seen gifts of all sizes, from transformational ones to those creating lasting endowments to loyal, ongoing annual gifts. Each gift matters; and each gift ensures a brighter future for the students who begin their professional journeys at Auburn. Your philanthropy brings them to Auburn and matches their passion with tangible resources.

We encourage you to continue your support because that is what the Auburn Family does. We set our sights on ambitious goals and then we go about reaching them.

This campaign continues its tremendous trajectory and tells the Auburn story — a story rooted in a commitment to keep a promise to preserve the Auburn experience for the next generation.

Raymond ’82 Harbert Campaign Co-chair

Supporting our faculty through philanthropic gifts allows Auburn to attract and retain the finest educators. Funds for faculty positions, including endowed professorships and chairs, provide important resources for salary enhancements, research and graduate student support, and professional development. But for many of Auburn’s schools and colleges, endowed professorships are scarce. A top priority of Because This is Auburn – A Campaign for Auburn University is increasing the number of endowed professorships that enable the university to compete for those faculty members who have set themselves apart as exceptional teachers and researchers.

Because he believes in the important role that faculty members play in the lives of Auburn students, former Auburn basketball star and NBA legend “Sir Charles” Barkley established the Charles W. Barkley Endowed Professorships to support underrepresented professors. These endowed faculty positions are awarded to professors with superior credentials in teaching, research, service in their disciplines, and a demonstrated commitment to promoting diversity.

Endowed professorships, which serve as one of the highest academic honors the university bestows upon a faculty member, support renowned faculty like Rosephanye Dunn Powell, professor of voice in the Department of Music in the College of Liberal Arts. Powell is internationally recognized as the most published and performed AfricanAmerican female composer of choral music.

“To be recognized with an endowed professorship adds both prestige and distinction to my position and reputation,” said Powell. “Faculty endowments demonstrate that Auburn University seeks and rewards the most innovative researchers and passionately inventive teachers in their fields. The prestige professorships bring is crucial for the recruitment of outstanding faculty who excel in research and teaching and who endeavor to be a part of a dynamic, forward-looking faculty.”

With an impressive repertoire of works published by some of America’s leading publishers, Powell teaches courses in vocal pedagogy, art-song vocal literature, and applied voice. She also serves as the conductor of the Women’s Chorus and associate conductor for the Gospel Choir, in addition to conducting high school All-State and honor choirs throughout the country.

According to Powell, endowed professorships also position faculty members to compete for the finest students nationally and internationally and assist with professional networking.

“A professorship comes with a great deal of responsibility and an expectation that one performs at the highest standards of excellence,” she said.

“It speaks to the quality of the faculty in our music department and helps us attract students to our department — and the university.”

Powell earned a doctor of music degree in vocal performance from Florida State University, a master of music in vocal performance and pedagogy from Westminster Choir College, and a bachelor’s degree in music education from Alabama State University.

Kathryn ’81 Harbert Campaign Co-chair

AUBURN’S BLACK

C A M PA I G N Q UA R T E R LY

During their annual alumni weekend held in April, Auburn’s black alumni established two important goals as part of Because This is Auburn — A Campaign for Auburn University. Elizabeth Huntley, a member of Auburn’s board of trustees, challenged the group to raise a total of $3.5 million in support of the campaign.

Vice President for Development President, Auburn University Foundation Jane DiFolco Parker Associate Vice President for Communications, Marketing, and Campaign Strategy Jason Peevy ’92 Editorial Staff Beth L. Smith ’88, Editor Lisa Lofland Katie Wilder ’00 Designer Emily Wilkins

To date, black alumni and friends have surpassed that goal with gifts from nearly 1,650 donors, totaling more than $3.6 million.

Photography Auburn University Photographic Services Intown Imagery Nik Layman George Littleton Campaign Quarterly is published four times a year by the Office of Development Communications and Marketing. For editorial information, contact Beth Smith at smithel@auburn.edu or 334.844.2924.

Kenneth Kelly ’90

The group also committed to increase the number of black alumni participating in the campaign to 1,964 — a number commemorating the year in which Auburn enrolled its first black student, Harold Franklin.

“I am very grateful to Charles Barkley for providing funding for endowed professorships.

When I travel, I find that people are intrigued as to how I — a singer, voice professor, and composer — hold a professorship endowed by a famous basketball player. It gives me great pleasure to explain that Mr. Barkley is proud of our distinguished university and invests himself fully, including philanthropically, in the university. It is with great pride that I say, ‘This is what we do at Auburn.’

Students, faculty, and alumni give back because we believe in the mission and ideals of Auburn. I realize that wherever I go, nationally or internationally, I represent the university because I have been awarded this professorship. The expectations are always high for me.

This is what endowed professorships do. I find it awe-inspiring to know that one donor, through one faculty member, instructing one student, can change our world — our future!

How wonderfully incredible!”

— Rosephanye Dunn Powell, Barkley Professor

“As black alumni of our university, we need to be involved not only in making Auburn the best it can be, but also in what we would like to see it become,” said Thomas Gossom Jr., a 1975 graduate and chair of the Auburn University Foundation Board of Directors.

Auburn received its first gift from a black alumnus in 1980, and since that time, contributions from black alumni and friends have increased steadily.

Kenneth Kelly, a 1990 graduate in electrical engineering, shared why he gives back to the university. "I choose to financially support Auburn because of my desire to express my appreciation for the opportunities that my Auburn education afforded me," he

said. "I hope that we can create a culture of minority students who 'pass it on' and demonstrate the tenets of the Auburn Creed — hard work and the human touch."

Keisha Dzata, a 2010 Auburn graduate in accounting who began giving back to Auburn early in her career, echoed Kelly's remarks. "Auburn taught me to solve problems and helped me develop strong verbal communication skills, both of which have supported my professional life as a whole," she said. "I support Auburn because I want to invest in the next generation of leaders."

did you know?

ALUMNI ESTABLISH CAMPAIGN GOALS One of the most significant ways to support underrepresented students at Auburn is through gifts for graduate fellowships.

These fellowships enable Auburn to compete with other prestigious institutions for graduate students who have demonstrated superior academic achievement. They also are a valuable means of strengthening the diversity of our graduate student body by increasing opportunities to engage in exceptional academic programs and innovative research.

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CAMPAIGN QUARTERLY | SUMMER 2016

FACILITIES

THE AUBURN FAMILY SUPPORTS ONE OF ITS MOST LOVED TRADITIONS A S W E approach the beginning of a new academic year at Auburn University, faculty and students are returning to campus. We see ambitious students who will take their first college classes thanks to scholarships provided through your philanthropic support.

We see educators who, through your gifts for faculty endowments, will begin this year holding distinguished professorships and chairs that recognize and reward their exceptional performance.

We will witness life-changing experiences our students gain through engaging in out-of-the classroom programs that broaden their world view. And, we will see how renovated and newly constructed facilities enable all of these things to happen.

These beginnings to a new year are a testament to the important role philanthropy plays in the educational experiences we provide and the lives we touch. Your participation in Because This is Auburn — A Campaign for Auburn University truly makes all of these things possible.

Your giving also moves us closer to our $1 billon campaign goal. State funding and tuition revenue are vitally important to our university; but they are finite. Your philanthropy provides essential resources that keep Auburn in the lead. It creates a strategic advantage for our institution.

This fall, the Auburn University Marching Band’s precise musical timing and perfectly executed formations will represent hours spent on the practice field preparing six different halftime shows. But if it begins to rain, practice will stop, as there simply isn’t enough room in Goodwin Hall to move the entire band indoors.

Members of the Auburn Family are funding an expansion to Goodwin Hall, which will give students the indoor practice space they need for preparing the halftime shows, a pregame show, music for the stands, and pep rally and parade sequences. The expansion also provides critical space in which to store instruments, as well as access to advanced recording equipment. In addition, the facility will be used by other musical groups within the Music Department, including three concert bands, two jazz ensembles, and multiple percussion ensembles that need indoor space for rehearsals and clinics.

Goodwin Hall was built in the 1970s to house the Music Department.

At that time, its indoor rehearsal hall was able to accommodate 200 band members and a majorette line. Since then, the band has grown to 380 members and has added a flagline and danceline. During its preseason camp, the band has as many as 450 students auditioning.

The band is seeking $800,000 in private support which, in addition to expanded indoor practice space, also will provide an extra set of instruments so the band can keep one set at the band hall and another at the practice field to eliminate students having to transport them back and forth.

“Those who are donating to our project are ensuring the long-term success of one of Auburn University’s greatest traditions,” said Corey Spurlin, associate professor of music and director of the Auburn University Marching Band. “The Auburn Band is made up of students from every college on campus and represents the whole university. What better cause is there to support if you bleed orange and blue?”

Worleys show appreciation for Auburn by enhancing endowed professorship

Achievement of our $1 billion milestone will be an outstanding accomplishment for Auburn University.

But we will not stop there, because we have not yet reached our potential.

We have embraced a bold vision to fund all opportunities at Auburn.

I encourage you to consider the many ways in which your gift can ensure that our university is the very best Auburn for years to come.

Jane DiFolco Parker Vice President for Development President, Auburn University Foundation

Professor emeritus Dave Worley ’64, and his wife, Karen ’63, are enhancing the S.D. & Karen Worley Endowed Professorship for the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the College of Sciences and Mathematics through a legacy gift from their estate. Dave and Karen both are Auburn chemistry graduates. After receiving advanced degrees from other universities and Dave’s time in the military, the couple returned to Auburn to work and raise their family.

“Karen and I created the professorship in hopes of enhancing the research reputation of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Auburn,” Dave said. “It will be used to help recruit outstanding faculty members at a senior level or to aid in retaining existing faculty members who have demonstrated a high level of research productivity while at Auburn.”

“Auburn has been good to us, both as students and later as faculty and staff members, so we felt that the creation of a professorship was a way of showing our gratitude.”

—Dave Worley ’64

Karen spent 25 years as chief medical technologist in the Small Animal Clinic Laboratory of the College of Veterinary Medicine. In 1974, Dave became a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry and served in that department until his retirement in 2009. He holds more than 40 patents in antimicrobial technology and his research on antimicrobial polymers was featured several times on national television and in other venues. One of his inventions has been commercialized by the HaloSource Company in Seattle for the disinfection of drinking water in developing nations.

“Auburn has been good to us, both as students and later as faculty and staff members, so we felt that the creation of a professorship was a way of showing our gratitude,” Dave added.

STUDENTS

Lears "pay it forward" with gift for endowed scholarship For many people, Auburn is a place of beginnings.

For Scott and Karyn Lear of Tampa, Fla., it is where they met and where they made lifelong friends.

Now, through their gift to establish the Cynthia Conrad Fry Endowed Scholarship in the Harbert College of Business, they are creating opportunities for other Auburn beginnings.

Fry spent most of her career as a physical therapist and, after retiring in 2012, went on to earn a Certified Health Coach certificate. “Aunt Cindy loves family and believes in the power of education as much as we do,” said Karyn. “She has contributed much to better the world around her through her work and community involvement.”

98.8%

OF $1 BILLION GOAL

84.5%

OF CA MPAIGN EL APSED

CAMPAIGN FUNDS RAISED

“Everyone who knows us knows that we are diehard Auburn fans — and that Auburn means the world to us,” said Karyn, a 1999 mass communications graduate. “Our time there was special and gave us an education and solid foundation once we graduated.”

The scholarship endowment honors Karyn's aunt and provides resources for business students who demonstrate financial need. “This gift is our way of acknowledging a wonderful act of kindness,” said Scott, who earned a bachelor’s degree in management in 1998. “We adopted our son Calvin three years ago and we wanted to recognize Aunt Cindy for her generosity and her part in the adoption process. For us, it's a way to pay it forward and honor her at the same time.”

CAMPAIGN PROGRESS As of June 30, 2016

PROGRESS BY CAMPAIGN FOCUS AREA

The Lears, who attended a recent event in Tampa for Because This is Auburn – A Campaign for Auburn University, noted that they were inspired by the vision for the campaign and its impact on the future of the university. “Auburn events are always so special because of the people involved,” said Scott. “It sparked a conversation between us about ways to give back.”

“Giving back is something we are more than happy to do because of all that Auburn has given to us,” added Karyn. “We hope this endowment will help other students begin their Auburn experience.”

26%

7%

13%

54%

Student Support $252.3 MILLION

Program Support $537.3 MILLION

Faculty Support $65.5 MILLION

Facilities Support $132.7 MILLION

ANNUAL VS. ENDOWED

65%

Annual $645.2 MILLION

McCartney gift for men's basketball program honors wife

35%

Endowed $342.7 MILLION

PROGRESS TOWARD UNIT CAMPAIGN GOALS AGRICULTURE ALUMNI AFFAIRS ARCHITECTURE, DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION ATHLETICS AUBURN UNIVERSITY MONTGOMERY BUSINESS EDUCATION

Mike McCartney’s love of Auburn runs deep. So it is fitting that the 1957 graduate would choose Auburn as a place to pay tribute to his wife — not once, but twice.

McCartney recently made a significant gift to enhance the men’s basketball program to honor his wife, Virginia, while showing his support of Coach Bruce Pearl. The gift will provide funding for travel, recruiting, and facility upgrades. In recognition of his gift, the Athletics Department will name the area adjacent to the scholarship entrance at Auburn Arena the Mike and Virginia McCartney Atrium.

The gift also is a touching reminder of a previous gift McCartney made in October 2006 to honor his first wife, Jane, who passed away in February 2013. The brick area outside the south end zone of Jordan-Hare Stadium — where Tiger Walk culminates — is the Mike and Jane McCartney Plaza.

“I felt like since I had the Mike and Jane Plaza that I also wanted something with Mike and Virginia,”

McCartney said. He said Virginia, who quickly has come to love Auburn as much as he does, was honored by the gesture. Since they married nearly three years ago, the McCartneys have enjoyed attending men’s basketball games together.

“I’ve been to almost every game since Bruce has been at Auburn — I probably hadn’t been to a basketball game since I was in college,” he said. “I hope this gift encourages and supports Bruce. We know that turning a program around takes time, and we believe Bruce will be very successful at Auburn.”

Auburn has always been a special place for McCartney, who has served as president pro tempore of the Board of Trustees and as chair of the Tigers Unlimited Foundation.

“To be able to share Auburn with two very beloved women in my life means everything to me,” McCartney said.

ENGINEERING FORESTRY & WILDLIFE SCIENCES GRADUATE SCHOOL HONORS COLLEGE HUMAN SCIENCES INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY LIBERAL ARTS LIBRARIES MUSEUM OF FINE ART NURSING

109% 104% 91% 93% 123% 101% 94% 106% 118% 84% 68% 94% 79% 107% 121% 117% 110%

OUTREACH

104%

PHARMACY

78% 87%

RESEARCH SCIENCES & MATHEMATICS STUDENT AFFAIRS UNIVERSITY FACILITIES UNIVERSITY INITIATIVES VETERINARY MEDICINE

81% 96% 56% 123% 111%

0 100

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CAMPAIGN QUARTERLY | SUMMER 2016

Unit Campaign Updates Facility, which supports both men’s and women’s golf, in honor of the significant support he gave to make the state-of-the-art facility possible. Key was a four-year golf letterman at Auburn.

Auburn University at Montgomery

COLLEGE OF

Agriculture

Through strong donor support for its study abroad programs, the college has surpassed its campaign goal of increasing the number of students receiving scholarships for international study by 50 percent. Compared to 2015, donor support led to a 173 percent increase in the number of agriculture majors participating in faculty-led international study tours and a 134 percent increase in study abroad scholarship dollars awarded. The 71 students who traveled abroad collectively received $85,950 in scholarship assistance, a significant increase from the 26 student participants and $36,700 awarded last year.

OFFICE OF

Alumni Affairs

M. Van Henley ’80, senior tax partner at Ernst & Young, has funded five scholarship endowments, including two in the Harbert College of Business for accountancy students, one in the Honors College, and one each for a student worker in the Ralph Brown Draughon Library and Student Athlete Support Services. Henley noted that Ernst & Young has approximately 200 Auburn graduates and hired nearly 50 Auburn students last year. “I invest in Auburn because what Auburn does matters. The rewards for the investment are evident in the quality graduates being produced.

Knowing your gift made a difference…that is priceless,” he said.

COLLEGE OF

Architecture, Design and Construction

Established through gifts from various 1982 architecture graduates, the Class of 1982 Endowment awarded its first scholarship this spring — an effort that celebrates the 34th anniversary of their graduation. The endowment, which funds an annual scholarship to support first-generation college students studying architecture, was created by the donors to honor the impact of the architecture program on their lives and the friendships they developed during their time at Auburn.

Athletics Department

Supporting Auburn is a long-standing tradition for the Key family, who recently made a generous gift to pay tribute to the memory of the family’s patriarch, Jack Botts Key, Jr. ’50. The gift continues Key’s legacy of support for athletic programs. In 2008, Auburn dedicated the Jack Key Golf Teaching

The NAVCO Foundation recently gave a substantial gift to the Auburn University at Montgomery Speech and Hearing Clinic. The unrestricted gift will be used to support the clinic’s efforts to provide complete diagnostic and therapeutic services to children and adults in central Alabama who have speech and hearing problems. In addition to serving the public, the clinic also trains undergraduates pursuing a degree in speech language pathology and audiology.

RAYMOND J. HARBERT COLLEGE OF

Business

The Auburn Student Investment Fund (ASIF), the university’s first student-managed investment fund, is providing opportunities for students of all majors to learn more about the investment industry in a real-world, hands-on environment.

Students leverage lessons learned in the classroom regarding market analysis and risk allocation by selecting stocks suitable for investment and management of the portfolio. The college is seeking $1 million to establish the program. When this goal is met, any gains from the portfolio’s performance will go back to the Harbert College of Business for students to manage and allocate to projects they deem necessary or beneficial.

COLLEGE OF

Education

East Alabama Medical Center recently made a gift to support Abilities Unlimited, a threeweek summer camp for children and youth with or without developmental disabilities.

The purpose of the camp, which is directed by Melissa Pangelinan, assistant professor in the college’s School of Kinesiology, is to build motor confidence and social, cognitive, and life skills in those with disabilities. Attendees participate in an adapted physical activity curriculum, including bicycle training and swimming lessons, as well as academic and transition activities.

SAMUEL GINN COLLEGE OF

Engineering

Gifts from Ed ’70 and Peggy Reynolds, and Jim ’81 and Anna Cooper are creating the first named spaces in the highly anticipated Brown-Kopel Engineering Student Achievement Center. The Ed and Peggy Reynolds Classroom, as well as an area to be determined later and named for the Coopers, will enable this state-of-the-art center to enhance a multitude of student support services and transform the engineering educational experience.

SCHOOL OF

Forestry and Wildlife Sciences

Glenn and Flavin Glover, both 1973 graduates, recently created The Faculty Enhancement

Endowed Fund for Excellence. This gift will be used to advance and enrich faculty members' careers, particularly junior faculty. It will support activities such as travel to professional or scientific meetings; summer research; grant support; research, teaching, or extension publications and software; equipment; or other needs and activities that will advance the faculty member’s profession.

Graduate School

The Graduate Education Development Council is devoted to promoting and securing new resources for all graduate programs and students. Since last fall, the council has added six new members, including Mike Flannagan ’06, Ian Hamilton Jr. ’09, George Buchanan III ’91, Patrick Smith ’82, Melissa Kessler Smith, and Richard Hughey ’86.

Most recently, the council, along with the Metro Washington Auburn Club and Dean George Flowers, hosted a brunch at The Old Ebbitt Grill to promote graduate education to alumni and donors in the area.

Honors College

Lee ’68 and Gwendolyn Christian recently established the Lee and Gwendolyn Christian Endowed Fund for Excellence to provide programmatic support for Honors College students. They also gave a $35,000 matching gift to help fund study abroad opportunities.

The Christians participate in the Honors College mentorship program, and Lee serves on the college’s Campaign Committee. Their generous gifts of both resources and time are contributing to the growth and success of the Honors College.

COLLEGE OF

Human Sciences

Former professor of nutrition and food science Peggy Hsieh has established the Y-H Peggy Hsieh Endowed Fund for Innovation & Research Excellence. The goal of this endowment is to inspire and recognize talented faculty and graduate students who have made a positive impact on society through innovation and entrepreneurship.

During more than 23 years of service in academia, Hsieh followed her passion for improving quality of life through dedicated education and innovative research in nutrition and food sciences.

OFFICE OF

Inclusion and Diversity

Dewayne T. Scott ’95, who earned his bachelor’s degree in information systems management, and his wife, Tamara, along with 70 members of the War Eagle Society, are supporting an endowment to benefit first-generation college students with a diverse background through the War Eagle Society Endowment. The endowment is part of the Provost Leadership Undergraduate Scholarship initiative, or PLUS, which began in 2006 as a way to increase diversity among the undergraduate student population at Auburn with an emphasis on students from underserved populations.

A recent gift to the College of Education supported Abilities Unlimited, a three-week summer camp for children and youth designed to build motor confidence and social, cognitive, and life skills in those with disabilities.

COLLEGE OF

Liberal Arts

Through a bequest, Roy ’89 and Sara ’89 Kiser recently established endowed scholarships for the Auburn University Band Program. The Kisers also have contributed to the band practice facility project. Their gift also supports scholarships at Auburn Montgomery. Sara graduated from Auburn Montgomery, earning both her bachelor’s in business and MBA, and, in 1998, received her doctorate in management from Auburn University. Roy earned his bachelor’s in finance in 1989 and a bachelor’s in information systems in 1994, both from Auburn Montgomery.

AUBURN UNIVERSITY

Libraries

Jim ’59 and Bettye ’59 Ballenger have added numerous rare items to the libraries’ Department of Special Collections and Archives, including pieces of Confederate and Continental currency. This historic currency now is available to students, faculty, and all library visitors to assist in their research. In addition, Jim and Bettye have established the Ballenger Fund for Excellence in the library to support Auburn’s collection in the areas of science and technology.

They also have made additional planned gifts to the library that will support a variety of emerging needs, ranging from collections support to facility upgrades.

JULE COLLINS SMITH

Museum of Fine Art

Through a gift of contemporary ceramics, Ronald C. Porter ’71 and Joe Price are helping the museum build its collection strengths. Their private collection focuses on figurative ceramic sculpture, and also includes glass, painting, prints, and jewelry. Anticipating additional gifts of artwork from the collectors to the Porter•Price Collection, the museum seeks to acquire similar art objects through its 1072 Society Campaign.

SCHOOL OF

Nursing

Robert E. “Bob” Adams '55 has established the third of three endowments in the school to honor members of his family. The Allison Adams Blankenship and Elizabeth Adams Vann Endowed Fund for Excellence will provide funds to support faculty. Previous endowments include the Robert E. and Eugenia D. Adams Endowment for Scholarships and the Dr. Chris and Sarah Adams Endowment for Scholarships.

University Outreach

Auburn’s Campus Kitchens Project is a student-run organization that collects leftover food from dining venues on campus and distributes it to those in need throughout the community. Through the program, which is part of Outreach’s Office of Public Service, students collected and served more than 1,800 pounds of food in one month alone. As the program continues to grow, private support is vital to ensure student volunteers can continue to provide food for families in need.

HARRISON SCHOOL OF

Pharmacy

An anonymous gift to establish a new fund for excellence will provide the school with valuable resources to meet its most pressing needs and offer important educational opportunities to the next generation of pharmacists. The donor, who is a graduate of the class of 1985, is encouraging other pharmacy alumni who also graduated in the 1980s to contribute. The donor has committed to match gifts to the endowment up to $60,000.

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR

Research and Economic Development

Pathway Services, Inc., based in Tulsa, Okla., recently donated a fully instrumented pavement profiler van to the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT). NCAT is Auburn’s nationally recognized research center focused on developing asphalt pavements that are durable, sustainable, quiet, safe, and economical. The pavement profiler van will support this work by performing precision measurements at the pavement test track to understand how pavements wear. Pathway Services, Inc., specializes in data collection vehicles and services for transportation agencies.

COLLEGE OF

OFFICE OF DONOR RELATIONS

Endowment reports give donors insight into impact This spring, the Office of Donor Relations mailed annual endowment report packages to more than 1,900 donors. These reports are a crucial tool in keeping Auburn’s dedicated donors informed about the value of their investments and the impact they have on the university’s ability to fulfill its mission of instruction, research, and outreach.

These reports feature infographics detailing the performance and use of the endowment pool. Donors with endowed scholarships or funds for excellence that can be awarded to students also receive a listing of their current scholarship recipients.

If you have questions about this year’s report, or endowment reporting in general, please contact Jan McGuire, director of donor relations, at 334-844-1322 or at jlm0042@auburn.edu.

OFFICE OF GIFT PLANNING

Sciences and Mathematics Through contributions from alumni and friends, the college has established the Leaders to Leaders Endowed Scholarship that supports the COSAM Leaders, the official student ambassadors of the college. This group of 16 outstanding juniors and seniors promote COSAM by recruiting prospective students, hosting events, and engaging with Auburn alumni.

DIVISION OF

Student Affairs

Lorrie ’80 and Mark Eilers, active members of the Student Affairs Parent Development Board, have established the Eilers Family Endowment through a gift of $75,000. The proceeds from the endowment will support the Student Affairs Student Success Fund, which provides financial resources that enable students to maintain their studies without disruption when facing unforeseen economic hardships that otherwise might affect their academic success and retention. The fund assists students in paying for food, clothing, shelter, living expenses, academic fees, medical expenses, and transportation costs.

COLLEGE OF

Veterinary Medicine

Because of his ongoing relationship with the college, its dean, and its development staff, Bruce Pratt ’53 has established a planned gift to benefit the college’s faculty. Pratt originally established a professorship but has recently upgraded his gift to provide an endowed chair for the college. This endowment will create a new position for a faculty member specializing in orthopedic surgery.

Charitable gift annuities provide a unique way to support Auburn Retired veterinarian Chuck Otto ’51, and his wife, Ruth, are funding the Dr. and Mrs. Charles S. Otto Endowed Fund for Excellence in the College of Veterinary Medicine through charitable gift annuities.

This affordable option allows Chuck and Ruth to contribute to Auburn’s success while also securing their financial future.

The College of Veterinary Medicine ultimately will receive funds for scholarships, while the Ottos draw a quarterly income, a portion of which is tax-free. They also will receive a charitable deduction equal to approximately half the value of the total gift.

For more information about gift annuities, please contact the Office of Gift Planning at 334-844-7375 or plannedgiving@auburn.edu.

Find more campaign updates, news, and publications at

BECAUSE.AUBURN.EDU

7

Auburn University is an equal opportunity educational institution/employer.

Because now is the time for every member of the Auburn Family to join together for the future of this institution.

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Auburn University Foundation 317 S. College Street Auburn, Alabama 36849-5153

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WAR EAGLE MOTORSPORTS

Formula SAE team celebrates first national win Auburn’s Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) team took first place among 80 collegiate teams at a national competition in June in Lincoln, Neb. — the best finish in the history of the Auburn Formula team. Each year, students design, build, and race a new, internal-combustionengine autocross car. The 2016 car features a carbon fiber monocoque structure, electronic powertrain and chassis control, and a full aerodynamics package.

The team will conclude its competition season with the Formula Student Germany competition in August in Hockenheim, Germany.

One of the priorities of Because This is Auburn — A Campaign for Auburn University is support for programs that offer students out-of-the-classroom, hands-on educational experiences. The Formula SAE team is supported heavily through philanthropic gifts from Auburn alumni and friends. In addition, Peter Jones, the team’s faculty advisor, holds the Woltosz Endowed Professorship in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Photo courtesy of Peter Jones