Board reconsiders funding priorities
Samford seeks end to campus conflict
University Senate seeks delay in search
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AU REPORT |
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| Headlines Board reconsiders funding priorities Samford seeks end to campus conflict University Senate seeks delay in search |
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Board agrees to take fresh look at funding priorities
Changing financial circumstances, emerging priorities and greater-than anticipated competition from peer institutions have prompted the AU Board of Trustees to take a fresh look at the university's priorities halfway into a five-year plan adopted in January 1999.
With most board members present and expressing agreement, the board's budget committee on June 3 agreed to revisit the priorities adopted two years ago on recommendation from the Commission to Review Auburn's Role in the 21st Century. The full board, the following day, approved a 6.9 percent increase in tuition, effective fall semester, and agreed to schedule a meeting for early July to take a closer look at all the budget priorities.
The key spending elements of the Role Commission plan were an attempt to raise faculty salaries closer to the regional average within five years, establish a fund to repair deteriorating facilities across campus, rebuild depleted departmental operating and maintenance budgets by 3 percent per year for five years, increase support for certain central academic functions such as the core curriculum and provide extra funding for a select number of "Peaks of Excellence" programs so they can compete nationally for recognition.
Anticipating only 1 percent annual growth in state revenues for operations and maintenance, the five-year plan called for tuition increases averaging 6 percent per year, return of a portion of departmental budgets to the central administration for reallocation and the merger or elimination of programs identified as low priority by their deans and the administration. Some programs were also merged or eliminated following a review of their ability to meet criteria related to graduation rates and faculty and student numbers.
During budgeting efforts for the third year of the five-year plan, effective Oct. 1, board members agreed to update the plan in line with new realities. Those include:
* An increase in state funding for this year has evaporated, with the appropriation being cut by a still undetermined amount -- currently either 6.2 percent or 11.17 percent, with the amount dependent on a pending Alabama Supreme Court ruling.
In either event, the prorated amount is likely to be 3.74 percent if the ruling occurs in time to permit a $110 million state education bond issue approved recently by the Alabama Legislature. The bonds can be sold only if the funds can be credited toward education funding in the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.
* Rather than the planned 1 percent increase, state appropriations for next year will be below the original level for this year, with the possibility of an additional 1 percent reduction before the fiscal year starts.
* Planners had anticipated that AU could gain ground on peer institutions by increasing faculty salaries at a higher rate than the competing institutions. Although Auburn increased its payroll by 10.4 percent over two years, peer institutions raised their faculty salaries at a faster rate than AU planners had expected. That expectation was based on performance of Auburn's peers during the late 1990s.
Average salary levels at AU after two years were 92.8 percent of the regional average for assistant professors, 93.2 percent for associate professors and 91.8 percent for full professors. Collectively, in relation to peer institutions, Auburn's salaries for assistant professors remained the same, and AU moved only 0.6 percent closer to the regional average for associate and full professors.
* A new priority emerged last year as trustees sought to provide scholarship relief to students from lower- and middle-income Alabama families. Trustees feared that those students would be unable to keep up with the rising cost of tuition. The board responded by setting aside $1 million in this year's budget to cover the scholarships.
* Another new priority emerged as faculty and administrators sought tuition waivers for graduate teaching assistants to make AU competitive with most of its peers, which waive tuition for GTAs. Phased in over three years, the program costs $2.5 million per year.
* A university committee of faculty, staff and administrators this year has asked the board to ease the burden of insurance premium increases on the lowest paid employees by shifting some of the cost to the university. Employees making $20,000 per year now pay a significantly higher portion of their income for health insurance than those making $30,000 and above. That proposal would add $912,000 the first year to the budget but enable low-income workers to afford health insurance.
* The university committee also recommended increasing the university's match for tax deferred annuities, a benefit sought by faculty and professional staff to build retirement funds. That benefit would cost $220,000 the first year.
* Meeting another recommended goal, tuition remission for dependents of faculty and staff, would add an estimated $350,000 to the budget.<
Executive Vice President Don Large told the board's budget committee that funding sources would not be sufficient in 2002 to meet most of the budget priorities. "We're trying to be more than we can be with the amount of funds that we have," he said.
Without additional resources or a major shift in resources, the university will not have funds for salary enhancements, deferred maintenance or an increase in departmental operating budgets. Board members agreed that they will have to find new funding, alter some priorities or do both.
The budget committee asked Large to break the faculty salary comparisons down by major unit and to produce figures on nonacademic expenditures throughout the university.
"The reality is we have to focus our resources and chip away at areas where we cannot afford to be," Large said. He cautioned, however, that cuts in recent years will make it very difficult to identify new areas to reduce expenditures.
Although most of the attention has been on academic programs that were merged or eliminated, Large said administrative areas took a larger cut as funds were shifted from those areas to academic units. Some units may be unable to sustain additional cuts, he said.
Board members said they would like to take the scholarships and graduate tuition waivers out of the operating budget and finance those goals through endowments, but the members added that they would need the support of the Auburn Alumni Association and AU Foundation to accomplish that goal. Members noted that other institutions have larger endowments from which scholarships and other student support is drawn.
Noting that relations are strained between the Board of Trustees and the Alumni Association Board, Trustees Paul Spina and Jimmy Rane said they want the members of these two board to put aside hurt feelings and work together to get more money for student financial aid. Rane also said he wants to find a way for the board to bring faculty salaries to the regional average regardless of cutbacks in state funding.
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Samford calls on all parties to end conflict
The presiding officer of the AU Board of Trustees called at the board's June 4th meeting for an end to conflict between the board and various Auburn constituencies.
The board and audience for the annual meeting witnessed a demonstration of the conflict later in the meeting during a public exchange between a member of the board and the head of the faculty senate.
After citing signs of progress and challenges facing the university, Board President Pro Tempore W. James Samford Jr. said, "We are committed to doing our part to meet these challenges and we ask each and every Auburn person to work with us in a constructive and positive way so that we can further the achievements and success of this great university in the years ahead."
Samford, an attorney in Opelika and Montgomery, said the university can best meet its challenges with a united front as it begins the search for a new president, confronts state funding problems and prepares for an accreditation review.
"Unfortunately, the Auburn family is not united in the face of these challenges and decisions," he said. "Our divisions have become very public and, in some cases, quite emotional. They threaten to compromise our ability to deal effectively with each one of these issues.
"If the proud record of Auburn's past is to continue, we simply must find a way to rise above these differences and divisions and work together for the good of this fine institution," Samford added.
Since February, the board has been the subject of no-confidence votes by representative organizations for the students, faculty, support staff, professional staff and alumni. The University Senate has also passed a resolution asking all board members to resign. Those actions began following the board's replacement of former president William Muse in February, after Muse's announcement that he is leaving AU for East Carolina University. Most of the protest actions have involved charges of micromanagement by the board, accusations that board members say represent misunderstandings of their intent.
Samford said the board accepts its share of responsibility for divisions within the Auburn family along with its share of the credit for successes. Part of the problem, he said, is that the board has in the past not fully explained the complexity or depth of problems that it was addressing. Nor did it correct false information and misinterpretations, he added.
"More than any other reason, the need to deal with serious state funding shortfalls over the past decade caused us to make decisions that have divided us and have led to a lack of confidence in our ability to work together," he said.
"In our desire to do what we deeply felt was the right thing for the Auburn family, we may have failed to explain adequately what we were doing and why, or to ensure that the voices and concerns of all members of the Auburn family were being heard," Samford continued. "In our desire not to further the divisions, we have failed to respond to repeated misstatments of fact, perhaps contributing to the misunderstanding of our actions and motives."
Samford said he wants to see parties on both sides of the issues working together to address Auburn's challenges. "I assure each of you here today and all members of the Auburn family that we will do all that is within our power to heal the divisions and unite the Auburn family," he said.
Samford, who later was re-elected by the board to another one-year term as president pro tempore, pledged to better explain the board activities, seek and listen to input from all constituencies, promptly correct erroneous information and strive for decisions that are best for Auburn.
"To this end, it is important to note that this process is a two-way street," Samford said. "We must expand communication and build trust in a mutual and cooperative way."
A confrontation a few minutes later provided a public example of the divisions addressed by the board's presiding officer. Following a report by Trustee Jack Miller concerning formation of a search committee for a new president, Jim Bradley, chair of the University Senate, rose to ask Miller if the composition of the committee was still negotiable.
Ten of the 16 positions on the search committee have been filled, but six seats, including the three faculty seats remain vacant. The other vacant seats are for one representative each from the Administrative and Professional Assembly, the Staff Council and the Alumni Association. Miller said he would be contacting the two staff organizations in the near future regarding their representatives on the search committee.
The search committee chair said he has asked for nine names from the University Senate. Of those nominations, he said, three will be selected to serve on the committee. With the selection process in dispute between the University Senate and Miller, the senate has not submitted names for its representatives. Miller said he is prepared to fill the faculty seats on the committee without faculty senate input, if necessary.
Miller, showing anger over recent senate actions, accused the faculty leadership of imposing a gag order on faculty. University Senate leaders, citing concerns about the possibility of micromanagement as a result of direct contacts with faculty at the college and school level, had opposed the appointment of board members as liaisons with colleges and schools. Miller, a Mobile attorney, fired staccato questions at Bradley, seeking yes or no answers as to whether the senate had imposed a gag order on faculty dealings with the board.
The board accepted Miller's recommendation to negotiate with William Weary, president of Fieldstone Consulting Inc. of Washington, D.C., for assistance in the search for a new university president.
Faculty senate seeks one-year delay in presidential search
(Update: 6-13-01)
The University Senate has called for a one-year delay in the search for a new AU president.
In other action at the June 12 meeting, the faculty's representative body, defeated by a two-to-one margin a proposal that would have opposed a Board of Trustees programs appointing board members as liaisons with colleges and schools.
The call for delay in the presidential search drew unanimous support, with senators citing a wide range of reasons. Some opposed any further contact with the board. Other senators urged the delay to allow a cooling-off period in conflicts that have strained relations between the board and major campus constituencies, including the faculty.
The resolution was one of several options presented to the senate by its chairman, Jim Bradley, as possible responses to a request from Trustee Jack Miller of Mobile, head of the presidential search committee. Miller had requested nine names, from which he would pick three to be faculty representatives on the 16-member search committee.
Miller has said he will ask the provost for nine names if the senate does not submit its list. Interim President William Walker said he has asked Miller not to use that approach because such action would make it virtually impossible for the university's chief academic officer to work with the faculty in the future.
Bradley offered the senate the option of complying with Miller's request, submitting only three names, refusing to cooperate or seeking a delay in the presidential search. The only option to gain the form of a motion was the one seeking the delay. That motion was amended to reopen the presidential search on June 1, 2002.
Proponents of the delay said it would enable the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the regional accrediting body for AU, to complete its examination of Auburn's governance and for the board to act on any recommendations from that study. Proponents of a cooling-off period also said they wanted to see if relations could be improved between faculty and the trustees before candidates for president are identified.
While unanimous in support of the delay in a presidential search, the senate defeated the motion to oppose trustee visits to colleges and schools. Senators voted 30-16, with three abstentions, to block the motion, leaving the program to continue without opposition by the faculty representative body.
Senators seeking to block the visitation plan said they fear that board members could use the opportunity of formal visits to the colleges and schools in an attempt to micromanage those academic areas. Senators opposing the motion objected to the senate getting involved in decisions they said should be made by deans and faculties within the colleges and schools.
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AU sets record for number of graduates
Final examination of the numbers shows that Auburn's spring graduating class was the largest in the university's 145-year history, says John Fletcher, interim assistant vice president for enrollment management services.
Auburn awarded 2,361 academic degrees at the end of spring semester, breaking the old record of 2,240 set in spring 2000. Both records were set following AU's switch to semesters, which led to elimination of March graduation.
Because of the size of the class, AU held two ceremonies on May 12 to accommodate the 22,000 guests. That number was also a record for single-event attendance at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.
Fletcher said spring terms historically produce more graduates and, with the change at AU from the quarter system to semesters, the record breaking graduation was expected.
"Spring semester is, for most universities, going to be the term when the
most degrees are awarded," he said.
"Personally, I see our spring classes getting larger and larger every year,"
he said. "It's not going to surprise me if, down the road, we have a class
of 3,000 graduates or more."
Burgering appointed Printing Service head
Drew Burgering, a management information systems professional at Auburn since 1984, has been named director of the AU Printing Service.
Robert Ritenbaugh, director of auxiliary enterprises, announced the appointment, capping a months-long search that attracted candidates from printing operations in Alabama and Georgia.
"All the finalists had valuable professional experience, good leadership skills and excellent potential," said Ritenbaugh, "But Drew Burgering demonstrated a greater degree of the skills and knowledge that are most closely aligned with the current and future needs of the AU Printing Service.
"In addition, he has done an excellent job of guiding the Printing Service as interim director," Ritenbaugh said.
Burgering had served as interim director since October 2000. He joined the
Printing Service in 1986 after two years in charge of daily operations in
AU's Engineering Computer Center. At the Printing Service, Burgering was
computer applications specialist, manager of graphics and data processing
and as Printing Service assistant director prior to his appointment as
interim director.
In his various positions, Burgering set up the unit's database management
system, upgraded technology, handled customer relations and supervised
first the art and typesetting areas and later all day-to-day operations of
the Printing Service. He holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics, with a
minor in industrial engineering, from AU.
"During his tenure as interim director, Drew organized team efforts that improved the professionalism of the staff and the financial and management structure of the Printing Service," Ritenbaugh added. "As a result of those efforts, units across campus can look forward to receiving high-quality printing within their budgets for the foreseeable future," Ritenbaugh said.
AU colleges join forces for high school robotics
The College of Sciences and Mathematics and the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering are seeking team mentors and volunteers to help with this fall's Alabama BEST program, a high school robotics competition scheduled for September at Auburn.
Through BEST, high school teams learn about engineering and science by building robots to compete against each other in a game format. BEST stands for "Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology." Since the program began in Texas seven years ago, it has extended to 18 sites in eight states, with Auburn being the latest.
The AU effort is coordinated by Mary Lu Howard, director of outreach for the College of Sciences and Mathematics, and George Blanks, director of Engineering Outreach and Continuing Education.
On Sept. 15, teams from 26 Alabama schools will visit AU for the first part of the activities.
Blanks said the program is used to encourage high school students to enter careers in science and engineering. Organizers are seeking corporate sponsors, team mentors and volunteers. Contact Blanks at blankgw@eng.auburn.edu.
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Governor's Art Award goes to AU Theatre's Robinson
Dyann Robinson, an associate professor in the Department of Theatre, has received a Governor's Arts Award from the Alabama State Council on the Arts.
A professional dancer who performed on Broadway before returning to her
Alabama roots, Robinson was honored with a 2001 Arts Award at the
historic Davis Theatre in Montgomery.
Comedian and actress Fannie Flagg of Fairhope was given the
Distinguished Artist Award and James Nelson, longtime executive director
of the Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham, was the recipient of
the Jonnie D. Little Lifetime Achievement Award. Other Governor's Arts
Award recipients for 2001 are Frederick Kimbrough of Gilbertown, Betty
Huth Schonrock of Huntsville and Charles Stakely of Montgomery.
Robinson, who teaches dance in the Department of Theatre, has taught at AU since 1987. She has created five original full-length dance dramas for the department. A Tuskegee native, Robinson returned to her birthplace following a Broadway dance career that included a position as assistant choreographer for the hit musical, "Bubbling Brown Sugar."
Her professional dance career included teaching and performing at the National Center for African-American Artists in Boston and at the Dance Theatre of Harlem in New York City.
Before joining AU, she served as Director of Tuskegee's Department of
Cultural Affairs and staged "Bubbling Brown Sugar" for the Alabama
Shakespeare Festival.
Robinson is also the founder of the Tuskegee Repertory Theatre, Inc.
School and Dance Company, and that city's Jessie Clinton Arts Centre.
Hitchcock honored for works
Bert Hitchcock, the Hargis Professor of American Literature at Auburn, has received the 2001 Eugene Current Garcia Award from the Alabama Writers Symposium.
Hitchcock, who has taught English at Auburn since 1971, was presented the award for Alabama's Most Distinguished Literary Scholar during the symposium's annual meeting at Alabama Southern Community College in Monroeville.
Hitchcock has devoted much of his career to the teaching and research of Southern literature, especially Alabama literature.
The Garcia Award, named for former legendary AU Professor Eugene Current Garcia, recognizes and rewards Alabamians who have distinguished themselves in scholarly writing on literary topics. The Association of College English Teachers for Alabama is responsible for selecting the recipient each year.
Library association elects Bentley president for 2001
Stella Bentley, dean of Auburn University Libraries, has been elected president of the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries.
Bentley, who joined AU in 1997, will lead the ASERL Board of Directors during the 2001-02 year.
In the coming year, the ASERL board and its members will focus on continuing program development for its members. This includes the expansion of Kudzu, a shared catalog system that links information among 14 ASERL libraries; the promulgation of its competency guidelines for research librarians; and the development of a cooperative virtual reference service, which is anticipated to be in pilot testing by the end of the year.
Founded in 1956, ASERL is the largest regional academic library cooperative in the country, with 35 research libraries and eight state libraries. ASERL was a founding member of SOLINET and established SOLINET's licensing program.
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Library begins move of all its books in new arrangement
The next time you look for a book in the library, you may be looking on a different shelf or even a different floor than in the past. Nearly all the 2.6 million books in AU's Draughon Library collection are being moved this summer.
This second Reconfiguration phase, which began last week, has library employees and student workers installing new shelves and moving shelves and books to new locations in the five-story library.
Daily update boards have been placed at each entrance to the library informing patrons where the noisy move is taking place, said Nancy Noe, a librarian II who is serving on one of the Reconfiguration committees. "The boards have a noise meter on them telling customers what floors will be more noisy that day," she said.
During this reconfiguration process, library staff are also informed of the
changes and patrons are encouraged to seek their help in finding the
materials they need.
"We will be moving collections that have been difficult for people to find
as well as locating entire collections in one space instead of on several
floors," said Marcia Boosinger, co-chair of a task force studying changes
in AU's main library.
The current change involves shifting books from an organizational plan that grouped subjects together on the same floors to a plan that follow a straight A to Z flow by call numbers. No longer will humanities be limited to the second floor; nor will all social sciences be on the third floor.
The changes are scheduled to be completed by the beginning of fall semester. More than a year and a half of study went into planning the changes. Those efforts included focus group meetings with faculty and staff as well as graduate and undergraduate students.
Memorial fund set up to honor deceased faculty member
A memorial fund has been established at Auburn for architecture
associate professor Franklin Setzer, who died May 23 of an apparent heart
attack. He was 52. Funeral services were May 29 at St. Mary's On the
Highlands Episcopal Church in Birmingham.
Setzer, who joined the AU faculty in 1990, directed Auburn's Center for
Architecture and Urban Studies in Birmingham, an extension of the School
of Architecture.
The Franklin Setzer Memorial Fund for Excellence was established in AU's College of Architecture, Design and Construction. Donations may be made to the AU Foundation in Setzer's memory.
A teacher, architect and planner, Setzer had a significant impact on the quality of life in Birmingham and Alabama through his work with AU architecture students, said Behzad Nakhjavan, professor of architecture and interim head of AU's School of Architecture.
"He introduced students to all sorts of architectural issues that deals with cities and urbanism," Nakhjavan said. "Frank not only taught students about urban architecture, but was massively involved in the community of Birmingham. He was a very knowledgeable person, very serious and a kind, caring person."
For the past decade, AU architecture students have been required to spend one semester at the Urban Studio.
Setzer was a board member of the Housing Authority of the Birmingham District and a founding member of The Tuesday Group, YourTown Alabama and Birmingham Affordable Rental Communities. He also worked with several nonprofit and volunteer organizations.
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SummerStage production starts June 20
Cast and crew are putting finishing touches on AU's town and gown production of "Anything Goes," which will be performed June 20-23 at Telfair Peet Theatre. The departments of Theatre and Music are staging the joint production.
With a cast of more than 40, rehearsals are proceeding well, said Ralph Miller, professor and interim department chair of the Department of Theatre. Cast members will rehearse each weeknight until the June 20 opening, said Miller, who is directing the play.
Thomas Smith, professor and head of AU's Department of Music, is the play's vocal director.
With music and lyrics by Cole Porter, "Anything Goes" is the first of two summer productions part of the Department of Theatre's SummerStage 2001. Each performance begins at 7:30 p.m.
The second production is "Lend Me A Tenor," set for July 11-14.
In its 10th year, SummerStage 2001 includes a 5 p.m. dinner buffet at
Horizons Restaurant at the AU Hotel and Dixon Conference Center, as well
as tickets to the play.
Tickets are $30 or a theatre ticket can be purchased for $15. For reservations, call the AU Ticket Office at 844-4154.
Liberal Arts honors alumnus architect
David E. Alsobrook, an Auburn alumnus who is helping put together the Clinton Presidential Library, has received the Award for Alumni Achievement in the Humanities from the AU College of Liberal Arts. It is the college's highest honor for an alumnus.
As director of the Clinton Presidential Materials Project, Alsobrook is responsible for the arrangements that will culminate in the establishment of the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Ark.
Alsobrook, who earned a history degree from Auburn in 1968, previously was the director of the Bush Presidential Library at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, and was also affiliated with the Carter Presidential Library in Atlanta.
Vogue photographer shoots spread at Rural Studio
A free-lance photographer selected Auburn's Rural Studio as the site for
four photo shoots last month for some prominent international fashion and
design magazines.
The magazines, all under the umbrella of the Italian edition of the fashion
magazine Vogue, will showcase the
Rural Studio with a feature on the work of AU students in west Alabama
and co-founder Samuel Mockbee.
More than a dozen of the magazine's staff spent a week during May at the Rural Studio shooting a spread for upcoming editions of the magazines Casa Vogue, Uomo Vogue and Italian Vogue. All three publications are part of Condé Nast publications and are internationally respected fashion and design magazines. Their circulation includes major metropolitan areas in the United States.
While in the West Alabama town of Newbern, home of the Rural Studio, the
editors hired AU architect students to assist them, with fifth-year
student Jay Sanders coordinating the efforts of the team. The
photographers used examples of the students' work, such as the Butterfly
House and Haybale House, in the photography.
Brewer receives society's Distinguished Teaching Award
Entomology Professor and Extension Entomologist Wayne Brewer has received the 2001 Entomological Society of America's Distinguished Award in Teaching.
A former head of Auburn's Department of Entomology, now Entomology and Plant Pathology, Brewer has taught on the college level for more than 30 years and has been cited within his field for taking instruction far beyond the classroom setting. He frequently incorporates multimedia techniques to enhance his courses and developed a computerized correspondence course for academic credit through the AU Distance Learning/Outreach Technology program.
Brewer also coordinates the university's entomology internship program, and has been active in the Hands-On Activity Science Program, an educational program that enhances the science training of elementary school teachers in Alabama. His research focuses on the relationship between insects and plants, particularly gall midges and the abnormal plant growth they cause.
Smith wins award for Extension entomology work
Ronald H. Smith, an AU entomology professor and Alabama Cooperative Extension System entomologist, was recently named the Southeastern Branch winner of the 2001 Entomological Society of America's Distinguished Achievement Award in Extension.
As the Southeastern Branch winner, he is a nominee for the national ESA
Distinguished Achievement Award. The national winner will be named this
summer.
Smith became an Extension entomologist at AU in 1972, serving as
coordinator of the cotton IPM program.
A former head of the Extension Pest Management Staff Group, Smith also served from 1986 to 1987 as the first acting head of the Department of Entomology. Throughout his career, Smith has developed economical and effective cotton IPM recommendations and has published a method for evaluating Extension IPM educational programs that has been used on the national level.
Mitra named to association office
Amit Mitra, associate dean in the College of Business, has been named president-elect for 2001-02 of the Alabama Association for Higher Education in Business. Mitra will serve as the association's president for 2002-2003.
Formerly the Alabama Council on Higher Education in Business, AAHEB coordinates academic programs in business in Alabama junior and senior colleges through meetings and conferences. Mitra says the association has helped develop state articulation agreements for programs in the schools and colleges of business throughout the state.
Backscheider wins Purdue award
Paula Backscheider, AU's West Point Stevens Eminent Scholar, has been named as one of four Distinguished Liberal Arts Alumni as part of Purdue University's millennium celebration.
Backscheider, who specializes in Restoration and 18th century literature, feminist criticism, cultural studies and biography, received her bachelor's and doctoral degrees from Purdue. That university's School of Liberal Arts recently recognized the AU professor among four Purdue liberal arts alumni for outstanding contributions to their fields.
Two from CDS elected to posts
Two staff members from Career Development Services have been elected president-elect of professional associations.
Nancy M. Bernard, coordinator of CDS, is president-elect of the Southeastern Association of Colleges and Employers, and will become president of the association in July 2002.
Melvin K. Smith, program advisor III in CDS, has been elected president elect of the Southeastern Association for Employment in Education. He begins his term as president in January 2002.
Other Achievements
Albert Snipes, director of employee relations in the Office of Human Resources, has been elected to the board of directors of the Southern Region of the College and University Personnel Association for 2001-02. Snipes will serve as director-at-large for program support.
Wayne Flynt, Distinguished University Professor in History, was named one of 50 "Leaders with Impact" by Samford University's chapter of Omicron Delta Kappa. The chapter celebrated its 50th birthday by honoring 50 alumni who live the values of ODK and Samford University.
Campus Views: Campus conflict resembles a marriage gone sour
By Richard Penaskovic, Department of Philosophy
I have been on sabbatical this past semester and offer my perspective on
the state of AU based on what faculty have told me and my own
perceptions.
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1. I am surprised at the depth of faculty demoralization. Many are going through the motions and are depressed at the reluctance of the Board to step down. One could say there's no brain drain but I say look at the numbers. Item: In the College of Liberal Arts 23 faculty are leaving this year for sundry reasons. This compares to the 12 who left last year. Some faculty will be notoriously difficult to replace. I'm thinking of, say, Bill Buskist who taught the large introduction to psychology so very well these many years. For every faculty member who leaves, there are five others who wish they could leave but cannot: those whose spouse does not want to move, those who cannot afford to retire etc. In my 27 years in higher education I have never seen faculty discontent and demoralization so widespread.
2. The basic problem between the board and the faculty cannot be attributed to a lack of communication. Faculty are speaking out like never before. The problem, in my view, is this: The board does not want to hear them. Neither, seemingly, does the interim president. Faculty have stated quite clearly their opposition to the board visitation program yet the program is going through nevertheless. This means the discounting of the voice of the faculty. The basic issue between faculty and the board has to do with POWER. The board insists on total control of the university with the president's role reduced to that of a puppet. If a president has his own mind, i.e., does not cater to every whim and wish of the board, he will be unceremoniously ousted as the case of President Muse abundantly illustrated. What faculty see happening at Auburn is the living out of Lord Acton's axiom: "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely."
3. Faculty were shocked to hear of Trustee Miller's grilling of Dr. Jim Bradley, the respected head of the Faculty Senate. Some wonder why Dr. Walker did not step in as mediator and stop the browbeating. This raises a larger question. Is it not chimerical to think that a President can mediate between the board and the faculty? Mediators are neutral observers and have no stake in the outcome of a dispute. In Auburn's situation the interim president has been handpicked by one party in the dispute. And the interim president's salary, perks, and continuance in office depend on how well he implements the board's wishes.
4. The relationship between the board and the faculty reminds me of a marriage that has gone sour. The differences between the two sides cannot be neatly wallpapered over, as some have attempted to do. There are irreconcilable differences. Faculty feel strongly that the board should resign now since they represent neither the alumni, the faculty nor the students but simply their own interests.
Unsung Hero: Lilla Bass, Custodial Services
This week's Unsung Hero is Lilla Bass of Facilities. She has been at Auburn in Custodial Services for 15 years and now works at Broun Hall, having been relocated from the recently demolished Math Annex. She was asked:
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What is the most rewarding part of your job? "I enjoy working in the classrooms I love the students . . . I love making things nice and clean for them when they get into class in the mornings. I feel like I am helping them get their education."
What is the most challenging part of your job? "I was at the Math Annex for seven years . . . coming to Broun Hall has been an adjustment but I love it. I am happy at Broun Hall. I may end up liking it better."
If you were not doing this job, what would you most like to do? "A maid... housekeeping in the private sector."
What makes Auburn special? "Students are what makes Auburn special."
What was your first impression of Auburn University? "When I first got
here the first thing I noticed was that we didn't have wheel-carts with
rollers but now we do and that had has made my job a lot easier. I even
like the new mops..."
What words describe Auburn as a work environment, learning environment or just a place to be? "The three are inseparable it is a place to work, to learn AND to be..."
What do you like to do when not at work? "Clean my yard, clean my house... and then I sit out front, drink coffee and relax. Sometimes I watch TV."
What person or persons do you most admire and why? "Sandra Walker, (Carpenter I) she used to be my supervisor years back. She was good to work for. She's a real nice person."
What is your favorite line from the Auburn Creed and why? "'I believe in
my Country, because it is a land of freedom and because it is my home, and
that I can best serve that country by doing justly, loving mercy, and
walking humbly with my God.'"
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AU Report
Editor: Roy Summerford. Contributing editors: Bob Lowry, Janet McCoy and David Granger. University Relations Executive Director: Pete Pepinsky. The AU Report is the faculty/staff newsletter of Auburn University and is published by the Office of University Relations at Auburn University. Direct correspondence to AU Report, 23 Samford Hall, Auburn University, Ala. 36849-5109. Telephone 334/844-9999. Electronic mail: summero@auburn.edu |