Auburn Magazine Winter 2007 by Auburn Alumni Association

2 TM

National champs

I enjoyed reading Paul Hemphill’s excellent article about Auburn’s 1957 national champion football team in the Fall 2007 Auburn Magazine. Having graduated from Auburn in 1958, I still have vivid memories of that entire football season. At the end of his article, Mr. Hemphill briefly mentioned Ohio State and Woody Hayes. I might add one additional footnote: There were two championship trophies awarded, one by the Associated Press and the other by United Press International. Ed Sullivan had the gall to invite Woody Hayes and the entire Ohio State football team to “The Ed Sullivan Show” and present them with the UPI trophy as the 1957 national champions. In the end, Ed Sullivan did Southern football a favor. That slap at Auburn affected every team in the Southeastern Conference and, over the years, has led to the SEC being one of the strongest conferences in the nation. —C harlTon C. wilSon ’58

Madison, Ala.

On the front of the (Fall 2007) issue there was a list of members’ names (from) the ’57 national championship team. Forty-four names of the 53 players shown in the picture (p. 22) were on the cover. Would it have been so difficult to include the nine you left off? I believe that all the men in that picture were on the national championship team; they all played for Coach Jordan that year, and they all deserve the same attention and praise from Auburn people. —Jan b. liSenby ’98

Ozark, Ala.

Editor’s note: Various versions of the “official” 1957 team roster exist in Auburn University’s archives. The players’ and coaches’ names for the cover art were drawn from the final program of the final game of the season, as noted in the issue on p. 5.

Friends indeed

It was so heartwarming to read your article on “Friends with differences” (Special Issue 2007). My husband and I are AU graduates with three children. Our middle child, Carolyn, is 9 years old with Down Syndrome. What a touching story about the relationship between the AU student and teenager with Down Syndrome. We know our daughter, like many of those with special needs, touches the lives of those around her in many different ways. It was inspirational to see how the Best Buddies program propelled (Anne Hopton-Jones ’07) toward a career of helping others! War Eagle! —John ’90 anD liSa C hriSTmaS Prunkl ’88 Oak Brook, Ill.

Designing women

Regarding the Summer 2007 issue of Auburn Magazine (“Creating stuff that works,” p. 16): Emerson Tool, headquartered in Saint Louis, has been a loyal supporter of our (industrial design) program for more than four years. They have gone to great effort and expense to provide all of our students educational opportunities that would be unheard of in most undergraduate academic settings. Emerson Tool provides our students with internships and has hired two recent graduates (one male, one female) over the last three years. While the author’s quotes from me are accurate, I provided them in generic terms. The point of the article was one well made. The case to make the point was entirely inaccurate and misrepresents one of our most valued industry supporters. —C lark e. lunDell AU Department of Industrial Design Winter 2007

www. aualum .org

Editor A ssociAtE Editor crEAtivE dirEctor A rt dirEctor EditoriAl A ssistAnts

Betsy Robertson Suzanne Johnson Shannon Bryant-Hankes ’84 Lizzie Moore ’98 Jeremiah Bodner ’07 Ashley Hopkinson ’08 Cody McCurley Pierce ’08

dEsign A ssistAnts

Lindsey Williford ’07 Kelan Wright ’07

PrEsidEnt, Auburn univErsity vicE PrEsidEnt for A lumni A ffAirs & ExEcutivE dirEctor, Auburn Alumni AssociAtion PrEsidEnt, Auburn A lumni A ssociAtion

Jay Gogue ’69 Deborah L. Shaw ’84

Auburn M AgAzine A dvisory boArd chAir

Ralph Jordan Jr. ’70

Kay Fuston ’84 Dennis Bailey ’75 Susan Dendy ’79 Ed Dickinson ’70 Tom Ford ’67 Mary Lou Foy ’66 Thomas Gossom Jr. ’75 Paul Hemphill ’59 Rheta Grimsley Johnson ’77 Eric Ludgood ’78 Neal Reynolds ’77 Joyce Reynolds Ringer ’59 Jack Simms ’49 Jim Stewart ’69 Cynthia Tucker ’76 Allen Vaughan ’75

a uburn m agazine (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 ©2007 by the Auburn Alumni Association, all rights reserved. aDVerTiSing inFormaTion: Contact Betsy Robertson at (334) 844-1164. PoSTmaSTer: Send address changes to 317 South College St., Auburn University, AL 36849-5149. leTTerS: Auburn Magazine welcomes readers’ comments, but reserves the right to edit letters or to refuse publication of letters judged libelous or distasteful. Space availability may prevent publication of all letters in the magazine, in which case, letters not printed will be available on the alumni association Web site at the address listed below. No writer is eligible for publication more often than once every two issues. No anonymous letters will be accepted. Auburn Magazine is available in alternative formats for persons with disabilities. For information, call (334) 844-1443. Auburn Magazine is a benefit of membership in the Auburn Alumni Association and is not available by individual subscription. To request a membership application, call the association at (334) 844-2586. www. aualum .org

Auburn Magazine

For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University

DEPARTMENTS 02 Letters 06 College Street 16 Toomer’s Corner 18 Tiger Walk 39 Alumni Center

Auburn Magazine is brought to you by the Auburn Alumni Association, a nonprofit organization designed to support the allegiance between Auburn University and its graduates and friends. The group is composed of about 47,000 dues-paying members; more than 190,000 AU alumni live throughout the world.

64 A Thousand Words

22 Too late for Toomer’s trees? After more than a century, the twin oaks at Toomer’s Corner have fallen victim to drought, pollution, crowding and toilet paper. Their potential demise has a lot of people asking: Can these trees be saved?

36 Rocket science

30 Father figure

Huntsville was best known as the world’s watercress capital before NASA moved to town and birthed Saturn V, the missile famous for taking man to the moon. Now a handful of Auburn alumni are paying tribute to the aging rocket star.

Twenty-five years ago, Chette Williams’ bad attitude and bad grades got him briefly kicked off the AU football team. Today, he is God’s man on the field. As the Auburn Tigers’ team chaplain, Williams ’86 hopes to help student athletes avoid making his mistakes.

Auburn Magazine

For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University

street Enrollment tops 24,000; AU freshmen smarter than ever Auburn’s enrollment hit a record high at 24,137 this fall, and the university’s freshman class boasts the highest average ACT score of any recent first-year class on the Plains, administrators say. “The university’s commitment last fall to improving and strengthening the recruitment of students to Auburn, along with the board of trustees’ support for the Spirit of Auburn scholarship program, are key factors in the improved academic profile of our freshman class,” says Wayne Alderman, the university’s dean of enrollment services. The number of graduate students increased 4 percent, from 3,245 last year to 3,375 this year. Undergraduate fall enrollment rose from 19,367 last year to 19,812, a 2.3 percent increase. AU’s firstprofessional student enrollment, which includes audiology, pharmacy

Winter 2007

www. aualum .org

and veterinary medicine majors, increased slightly from 935 students last year to 950 students this fall. AU also enrolled its second-largest freshman class—and potentially the smartest—ever. The total number of entering freshmen was 4,191 this fall, compared to 4,092 last year. The record for freshman enrollment stands at 4,197, set in 2005. The freshman class’ average ACT score, 24.8, and high school grade-point average, 3.61, are notably higher than last year’s class averages and better than those of any freshman class in at least 15 years. The university enrolled 2,477 new freshmen from Alabama, while 1,714 freshmen came from other U.S. states and foreign countries. A record 706 minority freshmen enrolled, up from last year’s 691.

StudentS, football fanS ride the green tiger Auburn University’s orange-and-blue Tiger Transit buses have gone green. The fleet of more than 40 vehicles, which ferries students around campus, now runs on biodiesel fuel made from soybean oil, a cleaner-burning alternative to diesel gas. AU is the first university in Alabama to make the switch. Tiger Transit’s ridership is currently at an all-time high, with a one-day record of more than 17,000 riders during the first week of fall classes. “It’s great not to have to worry about finding a parking place—Tiger Transit just comes right up to my apartment complex … and the alternative fuel sets a good example,” says junior marketing major Michelle England. The transit buses are initially using B10-grade biodiesel, a mix of 10 percent biodiesel and 90 percent diesel, but soon will move to a B20-grade biodiesel blend. Biodiesel is made through a chemical process that extracts methyl esters, the chemical name for biodiesel, and glycerin, which is used in soaps and other products, from fat or vegetable oil. The cost of the environmentally friendly fuel is comparable to regular diesel and helps keep the buses’ engines cleaner, says Dave George, AU’s director of parking and transit services. Passengers and drivers appreciate the reduction in exhaust fumes, he adds. “There is hardly any odor as compared to the smell of regular diesel fuel,” George says. “And we will get better fuel mileage.”

Music department strikes gold with rare piano finds It’s widely known among musicians that the best violins were made by Antonio Stradivari in the early 1700s. Among pianists, a similar gold standard applies to Steinway grand pianos made before 1930. Auburn University’s music department recently acquired two of these rare pianos, one of which had been stowed away on campus and largely forgotten. That piano, a 1927 D-scale, 9-foot Steinway grand piano, was found languishing in BeardEaves-Memorial Coliseum, where it had fallen into disrepair. Retired AU piano professor Roy Wylie and former interim music department chair Robert Greenleaf recognized the piano’s potential and hired

Piano Works of Marietta, Ga., to restore it. The company also rebuilt the other piano, a 1919 Steinway A-scale piano, which the department purchased with a grant from the provost’s office. The music department’s Joseph Stephenson Hall now houses the rediscovered Steinway grand piano, while the department’s piano teaching studio features the Steinway Ascale grand piano. Music faculty members describe the rebuilt pianos as two of the finest in the Southeast. Piano professor Jeremy Samolesky plans to present a public performance on the rediscovered 9-foot Steinway next spring. Auburn Magazine

For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University

President’s uPdate My wife Susie and I have enjoyed spending our first few months back at Auburn University connecting with individuals both on and off campus—those who are part of or tied to our university and its land-grant mission. We’ve had particular fun visiting with Tigers fans during football season this fall.

AU President Jay Gogue ’69

It is important to spend this time talking with people and listening to them so that we establish a collective vision for Auburn’s future. And no matter where or with whom these meetings occur—and especially on game days—it’s clear that Auburn people have a passion for their university. With such a dedicated and loyal following, I see no obstacles in Auburn’s path as we move forward. Auburn University is focused on helping the state and its people through our threepronged mission of instruction, outreach and research. Along with students who come here to prepare for their future, we also help others off campus—from farmers who need to know how to maximize crop yields and entrepreneurs who are starting up small businesses to major companies who desire our technical and scientific know-how. Auburn’s economic

impact on our state is tremendous, now exceeding $4 billion. Changes in the agricultural sector illustrate how the state and region benefit from Auburn. Since 1950, the United States’ agricultural output has increased more than 500 percent— despite a 60 percent reduction in the farm labor force and far fewer acres of land devoted to growing. If the technology of the 1950s was used today to feed our nation, we would need at least 400 million more acres of land under cultivation. Much of the credit for improved agricultural production goes to research conducted by land-grant institutions like ours. So, when we look at where we’ve been and where we’re going, it is unmistakable that Auburn University has and will continue to find solutions that work for us in Alabama and beyond in a wide array of areas and industries. Serving people and helping them achieve their hopes and dreams are fundamental to a great land-grant university. Many of you who are among our 210,000-plus alumni have shared with me that Auburn helped you do just that. War Eagle!

AU museum launches ‘Southern Exposure’ The work of Alabama native Roger Brown is on display through Jan. 5 at Auburn University’s Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art. “Roger Brown: Southern Exposure” focuses on the Southern sensibility of Brown, who achieved fame in the 1970s and ’80s as a key figure of the Imagist movement in Chicago, where he studied, settled and made his career. Tracking Brown’s life from his Alabama childhood through his working years and to his death in 1997, the exhibition presents nearly 40 examples of the boldly patterned landscapes, figure-filled skyscrapers, news-driven narratives and biting commentaries for which he became famous. The selection of paintings, three-dimensional pieces, prints and drawings is supplemented by personal and family memorabilia, works by artist-friends from Brown’s student years, and examples from the late artist’s own collection of self-taught and vernacular art. “By combining this breadth of materials, the show intends to reveal the origins and persistence of such recurring themes as folk craft, fire-andbrimstone religion, city awe, the great American landscape and a no-nonsense attitude about art, life and politics,” says guest curator Sidney Lawrence. “The artist, who returned to Alabama at least once a year and kept in close touch with his family, proudly identified himself as a Southerner. This show will open the door to that sensibility.” The exhibition is part of the museum’s ongoing celebration of the “Year of Alabama Arts.” For more information, including museum hours and admission prices, call (334) 844-1484 or see jcsm.auburn.edu. Winter 2007

www. aualum .org

Roger Brown at work in Chicago, c. 1985. Photo: David Wagonner. Below: Kissin’ Cousins, 1990, oil on canvas. 72 x 72 in. Roger Brown Estate. Painting Collection, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Auburn Magazine

For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University

WIRE EAGLE FEEDS STEADY DIET OF AU NEWS Auburn University has added a free weekly e-newsletter and RSS Internet feed to communicate more directly with alumni and others interested in AU news. The e-newsletter, dubbed Wire Eagle, “is a great way to communicate quickly about happenings at Auburn, and it will be very valuable in case of emergency situations that require any type of alert,” says Mike Clardy in AU’s Office of Communications and Marketing. “Our RSS feed is also available. It will automatically send out Auburn news once a week to those who add the feed to their Web browsers.” RSS, which stands for Really Simple Syndication, makes it possible for Internet users to keep up with several Web sites quickly by viewing customized content summaries. To subscribe, see wireeagle.auburn.edu.

U.S. NEWS RANKINGS: AU

MAKES TOP

Last year’s “American Idol” winner Taylor Hicks performs a halftime concert during the Tigers’ home game against Mississippi State on Sept. 15. Hicks, who was an AU student for three years before quitting to pursue a singing career, describes Auburn as his musical birthplace. His entourage includes Birmingham lawyer Mike Douglas ’97 and business manager Stan Roberts ’96. “I try to keep some of the same old faces around me,” Hicks says of his Idol fame. “My friends haven’t changed.”

AGAIN

Auburn University is ranked 45th among public universities nationwide, according to U.S. News & World Report’s annual college survey. The ranking marks the 15th consecutive year the magazine has listed AU among the nation’s top 50 public universities.

communication. Another assessment, the National Survey of Student Engagement, measures how much interaction students have with faculty, how actively they learn skills of inquiry and teamwork, and how challenging and supportive the campus environment is.

“The Auburn family can be proud that AU has enjoyed this distinction for 15 continuous years,” said university president Jay Gogue. “The U.S. News and World Report assessment is another helpful tool that Auburn will use as we prepare a new strategic plan and continue to strengthen our instruction, research and extension programs.”

“Auburn students consistently achieve high marks for active learning, and Auburn ranks among the top research universities in the nation on the ‘supportive campus environment’ measure of the NSSE,” Clark added.

The magazine ranked the University of Alabama 42nd among public universities, while the University of Alabama-Birmingham is ranked in the third tier—the 25 percent of universities immediately below the top group. While the value of U.S. News rankings have been questioned on college campuses for years—the difference between No. 42 Alabama and No. 45 Auburn, for example, is only one point in the magazine’s scoring system—AU officials say the lists are among many tools used by prospective students to narrow their options. “The U.S. News ratings are based on indicators that some prospective college students may value, such as general reputation or selectivity,” said Drew Clark, director of AU’s Office of Institutional Research and Assessment. “But AU also uses assessments that provide direct information on equally important indicators of quality, such as how much students are actually learning and what kind of college experiences they have.” Clark said AU was among the fi rst universities nationally to use the Collegiate Learning Assessment, which measures how much students are gaining in key areas such as critical thinking and written WINTER 2007

WWW. AUALUM .ORG

To establish its rankings, U.S. News categorizes colleges and universities primarily by mission and, in some cases, by region. The magazine then gathers data from each institution on as many as 15 indicators of academic excellence, assigning each factor a weight that reflects the magazine’s judgment about how much each measure matters. The indicators the magazine staff uses to capture academic quality fall into seven categories: reputation among academic peers, retention of students, faculty resources, student selectivity, fi nancial resources, alumni giving, and, for national universities and liberal arts colleges, graduation rate performance, or the difference between the proportion of students expected to graduate and the proportion that actually does. The AU College of Business improved in this year’s rankings. The college was ranked 29th among public business schools and 48th among all business schools nationally. The undergraduate program of Auburn’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering is ranked 57th nationally overall and 34th among public universities offering doctoral programs in engineering, moving up from 60th and 35th, respectively.

Study to yield info on distracted drivers You’re driving along, talking on the cell phone while programming your iPod, when an oncoming vehicle veers into your lane. The approaching driver, who is checking e-mail on his BlackBerry and switching radio stations, swerves just in time, averting a collision but causing you to drop the cell phone into your Starbucks caffé mocha. Highway robbery. Similar near-misses—and worse, actual accidents—are worrisome enough to have attracted the attention of researchers. AU computer science and software engineering professor N. Hari Narayanan recently received a $90,000 grant from a South Korean think tank to study drivers distracted by technology. Narayanan and his team are developing a computational model to simulate a person who, while driving, engages in other tasks such as talking on a cell phone, fiddling with stereo controls or entering an address into a navigation system. “Our initial goal will be to build a simulation capable of making realistic predictions about the driver’s mental workload based on data from human drivers,” says Narayanan. “Over the long term, we hope to develop an intelligent information management system for automobiles that will assist drivers in interacting with communication and entertainment devices without compromising safety.”

Auburn AuburnMagazine Magazine

For ForAlumni Alumni& &Friends FriendsofofAuburn AuburnUniversity University

11 11

The

J O L Tthat refreshes

Looking for a quick pick-me-up to get through a long afternoon? Forget that cola. A fizzy citrus drink could provide even more of a boost. A new study shows that citrus-flavored sodas often have a higher caffeine content than the most popular colas. The research also found that caffeine content can vary widely from brand to brand, and even within a brand. Scientists say labels on packaging should give the caffeine content to help buyers make informed choices. While most cans and bottles of soda don’t give caffeine amounts, some national brand beverage companies are already heading in that direction. “I don’t really take a stand on whether caffeine is good or bad, but I do think consumers have a right to know what they’re getting,” said Leonard Bell, one of two Auburn University food researchers who conducted the study. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not limit the amount of caffeine in foods. FDA spokeswoman Veronica Castro said a 0.02 percent caffeine content is generally recognized as safe for cola-type Winter 2007

www. aualum .org

beverages. For a 12-ounce soft drink, that’s about 72 milligrams of caffeine. The study by Bell and co-author KenHong Chou found caffeine content in 12ounce sodas ranged from 4.9 milligrams for a store brand of cola to 74 milligrams in Vault Zero, a citrus drink. The FDA has received a number of petitions to include caffeine content labeling on products, according to Mike Herndon, another FDA spokesman. Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Co. and Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo Inc. say they are phasing in new labels that include caffeine content. Most national brands also provide lists of the amount of caffeine in their products on their Web sites. While caffeine occurs naturally in some products, like coffee and tea, it’s an additive in soft drinks. Beverage companies say the slightly bitter substance is an element in their flavor formulas, but Bell and Chou say the buzz caused by caffeine is its main draw. They say previous research shows that only 8 percent of adults are able to differentiate between the tastes of caffeinated and caffeine-free colas. Their study analyzed the caffeine

contents of 56 national brands and 75 store-brand carbonated drinks. It was published in the August issue of the Journal of Food Science. The caffeine content of well-known national brands is as follows: CocaCola (33.9 milligrams), Diet Pepsi (36.7 milligrams), Pepsi (38.9 milligrams), Dr. Pepper (42.6 milligrams), Diet Dr. Pepper (44.1 milligrams), Diet Coke (46.3 milligrams), Mountain Dew (54.8 milligrams) and Diet Mountain Dew (55.2 milligrams). By comparison, according to the American Beverage Association Web site, a 12-ounce cup of coffee has between 156 and 288 milligrams of caffeine, and the same amount of tea has 30-135 milligrams. Bell said the data provided by the manufacturers of national-brand soft drinks was consistent with the findings of his study. He said the caffeine data for store-brand drinks is not easy to find and often isn’t available at all. —Kate Brumback © The Associated Press, 2007

Umps strike out in baseball bias Major League Baseball umpires are more likely to call strikes in favor of pitchers who share their race or ethnicity, a new study shows. Researchers from Auburn University, the University of Texas at Austin and McGill University, who analyzed every pitch from three major league seasons between 2004 and 2006, found that a pitcher who shares the home plate umpire’s race or ethnicity receives more called strikes and improves his team’s chance of winning. Discrimination diminishes when scrutiny of umpire calls increases, as in the case of ballparks that utilize electronic monitoring systems; on counts of three balls or two strikes; or when the game is well-attended. Co-author Michael Yates, an AU assistant professor of fi nance, said that in baseball the umpire’s evaluation heavily influences a

briefs

pitcher’s productivity and performance. During a typical game, umpires call about 75 pitches for each team. Throughout the season, they call about 400,000 pitches. “These fi ndings should not be viewed as an indictment of major league umpires,” said Yates. “A subconscious preference for individuals like one’s self is prevalent throughout society. Moreover, our study highlights the fi nding that such bias can be mitigated through explicit monitoring of the officials.” Off the baseball diamond, the research has broad implications for the study of discrimination in labor economics. According to co-author Daniel Hamermesh at the University of Texas at Austin, the power to evaluate players’ performances disproportionately belongs chiefly to members of one group, white umpires, while negative calls particularly impact minority pitchers.

“You’re

OUT!”

Reducing gas guzzle in big trucks An Auburn University graduate student’s research soon could help reduce the fuel consumption of tractor-trailers. Mechanical engineering graduate student Wei Huang and Denver-based Intermap Technologies are using the company’s 3-D road geometry system to design a predictive cruise controller and an automatic gear-shifting algorithm. The goal: an optimal control system to calculate the ideal vehicle speed for best fuel economy on various hill grades. “Early simulation results have shown that truck fuel consumption can be reduced up to 3 percent without significantly increasing traveling time,” says Huang.

Cool wash makes eggs go over easier AU researchers working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture have discovered a simple way to bring healthier eggs to market: a nice, cool bath. Egg producers, they say, can reduce levels of salmonella and other bad bacteria on eggs by following a warm-water commercial wash with a second wash in cool water. The study results, published in the Journal of Food Safety, show that an extra dip in cool water reduces egg temperature faster and cuts down on the risk of pathogens both inside and outside the shell.

The buck stops with the boss A company’s success or failure depends much more on its leaders’ decisions than on overall industry conditions, according to a study published in the February issue of Strategic Management Journal. Using data from more than 1,000 fi rms, researchers found that individual businesses’ resources and leadership accounted for more than 90 percent of the changes in fi rms’ stock market performance. “These fi ndings make it clear that stockholders should not accept difficult industry conditions as an excuse for poor performance,” says the study’s co-author, Dave Ketchen, Lowder Eminent Scholar in AU’s College of Business. “A fi rm’s fate is almost entirely driven by executives’ decisions. Executives should not be allowed to play the blame game when the fi rm struggles—they need to be held accountable through pay cuts or, in some cases, dismissal.”

Auburn Magazine

For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University

College

Agriculture

A biosystems-engineering faculty member in the College of Agriculture is playing a pivotal role in helping ensure that foods served at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games are safe to eat. AU’s Yifen Wang was named to a 15-member Olympics food-security panel in 2005, but the group took on new importance this year amid growing unrest over surging numbers of Chinese foods, drugs, toys and other products being recalled or identified as potentially hazardous. Wang has been instrumental in the Olympics panel’s decision to use radio-frequency identification technology to trace all foods that enter the athletes’ village, media villages, main press center and international broadcasting center during the August games.

Paul B obrowski pledged to award money raised during last year’s phone-athon to deserving junior and senior scholarship applicants. The awards are potentially renewable for the 2008-09 academic year. For more information, contact Cynthia Ingram at (334) 8442983.

College

Business

More than 250 AU business majors were awarded about $480,000 in scholarships and fellowships at a September ceremony and reception for outstanding students. The College of Business this year increased its scholarship payouts by 40 percent in part because Dean

Winter 2007

www. aualum .org

to AU to lead the curriculumand-teaching department. An AU faculty member from 1990 through 2000, she served as professor, music education chair and graduate coordinator at the University of Oklahoma. M ary Rudisill , Wayne T. Smith distinguished professor, was appointed department head of kinesiology (formerly known as health and human performance). She had served as acting department head since 2005.

Samuel Ginn College of Engineering

College of Architecture, Design & Construction The College of Architecture, Design and Construction surpassed its $20 million fundraising goal with a $5 million commitment from AU trustee E arlon M cWhorter ’68 and wife Betty of Anniston. The gift, which provides endowments for the building-science department, the design-build graduate program and the college dean’s position, represents the largest individual donation to the college during AU’s ongoing “It Begins at Auburn” campaign. Earlon McWhorter is president of McWhorter and Co. Inc. construction company and owner of McWhorter Properties.

Barry returns

The College of Education’s Mary Rudisill (right, and above with kinesiology students and faculty) was a keynote speaker at the 13th International Symposium in Health, Exercise and Sport Sciences at the University of Costa Rica in San Jose.

College of Education The College of Education has named an associate dean and two new department heads. Dan Clay joined AU as professor and associate dean for administration, research and innovative programming, filling a position previously held by Andrew Weaver, who retired after 47 years at AU. Clay formerly served as professor and associate dean of academic affairs for Western Illinois University’s College of Education. N ancy

Technologies developed within the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering have spurred the creation of four new companies. The businesses plan to market products and processes ranging from contact lenses that deliver medication straight into wearers’ eyes to a software program that helps universities ensure they meet minority enrollment goals. The firms are Aunigma Communications Technologies, which provides network security; Modular Carpet Recycling, offering an improved way to recycle carpet; Application Quest, which provides admissions software for colleges and universities; and Ocumedic Inc., which will make available a new way to deliver medications using contact lenses. Two of the startups will be based in Auburn.

School of Forestry & Wildlife Sciences With the help of a $1.65 million NASA research grant, Alumni Professor H anqin Tian and colleagues are examining how ecosystem goods and services have changed as a result of climate fluctuations, air pollution and land transformation, particularly in China.

China is the world’s third-largest country, the most rapidly developing nation and home to 1.3 billion people. For more than two decades, economic and population growth there has led to a dramatic land transformation. The changes make China a natural for studying the dynamics of natural and human systems, experts say. Tian’s approach is aimed at helping scientists and policymakers learn to manage the Earth’s ecosystems in a sustainable way.

College of Human Sciences The Women’s Philanthropy Board of the College of Human Sciences and the Alabama State Treasury have entered into a yearlong partnership to educate Alabama citizens on how to make sound fiscal decisions. College of Human Sciences Dean J une H enton and state treasurer K ay Ivey ’67 launched “Today’s Decisions for Tomorrow’s Money” at the board’s annual fall luncheon in October. “Through this partnership between my office and the Women’s Philanthropy Board, I believe that we can help people gain skills and confidence in managing their money,” Ivey said. The partners plan to host educational roundtables in Auburn, Montgomery, Birmingham, Huntsville and Mobile throughout the current academic year. For dates, see www.humsci.auburn.edu/wpb.

College

Liberal Arts

Former Miss America D eidre Downs in August talked about her own hearing problems with audiology students from the College of Liberal Arts. Downs, who as a child was diagnosed with a hereditary disease that causes midfrequency hearing loss, discussed the challenges of trying to fit in with her classmates, and how she used hearing devices inconsistently because she didn’t want to appear noticeably different from others. Downs, who is a medical student and a spokesperson for GN ReSound hearing aid company, is now an advocate for hearing amplification,

particularly in light of technological advances in the field.

School

Nursing

A new way of recognizing faculty expertise is in place in AU’s nursing schools. The “Clinical Series at Auburn” and the “Clinical Track at Montgomery” are alternatives to the traditional tenure track for professors, and allow the schools to hire and promote faculty whose major interests and skills are clinically focused. A doctorate is required for promotion in the tenure track, while clinical certification is required for gaining ground in the clinical track. Administrators say the alternative faculty career path paves the way for more flexibility in hiring, exposes students to expert clinical instruction and frees up tenured faculty to do research.

Harrison School of Pharmacy As part of the Harrison School of Pharmacy’s “Foundations of Pharmacy” orientation course, alumni, faculty, local attorneys and student pharmacists in August participated in a mock trial. Participants litigated and deliberated a fictional $375 million civil lawsuit against a pharmacist, an exercise designed to reinforce the scope of patient-care responsibility that pharmacists must assume. M ark Conradi ’74 of Clanton, a Harrison school law instructor, presented the case for the defense. Robbie Treese ’89 and K enney G ibbs, both prosecutors in the Lee County district attorney’s office, acted as the plaintiff’s attorney and judge, respectively.

College of Sciences & M athematics The Society of Women in Sciences and Mathematics’ second annual symposium in August featured former NASA

shuttle astronaut K athryn C. Thornton ’74. Thornton, a veteran of four space flights, is a professor and associate dean for graduate programs in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University of Virginia. More than 50 area high school students with a special interest in the sciences and mathematics were invited to interact with panelists from various fields, including physics, chemistry, biological research, patent law and education.

College of Veterinary Medicine

College of A rchitecture, D esign & Construction www.cadc.auburn.edu (334) 844-4524

College of B usiness www.business.auburn.edu (334) 844-4030

A landmark study led by two AU veterinary professors has proven that immature heartworms cause longlasting lung disease in cats, a finding that dispels the notion that heartworms only affect dogs. “This redefines the disease in cats, and it emphasizes the need for prevention,” says R ay D illon ’76, the Jack O. Rash Chair of Medicine in AU’s College of Veterinary

College of E ducation www.education.auburn.edu (334) 844-4446

Samuel G inn College of E ngineering www.eng.auburn.edu (334) 844-2308

School of Forestry & Wildlife Sciences www.sfws.auburn.edu (334) 844-1004

College of H uman Sciences www.humsci.auburn.edu (334) 844-4790

College of L iberal A rts www.cla.auburn.edu (334) 844-4026

School of N ursing www.auburn.edu/nursing (334) 844-5665

H arrison School of P harmacy www.pharmacy.auburn.edu (334) 844-8348

Medicine (pictured above with AU parasitologist Byron Blagburn). The culprits are immature heartworms that only grow in length from 1 to 2.5 inches. Infection takes place when a mosquito carrying microscopic heartworm larvae bites a cat or dog. In cats, many heartworms die three to four months after infection and disintegrate in the lungs, leaving the disease and creating lung-tissue damage.

Auburn Magazine

College of Sciences & M athematics www.auburn.edu/cosam (334) 844-5737

College of Veterinary M edicine www.vetmed.auburn.edu (334) 844-4546

For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University

Sister Act

Chilton County siblings go global

In recent summers, folks in Auburn could mark their calendars by Taylor and Whitney Boozer. If it was Thursday, the Chilton County sisters would be in the parking lot next to Price’s Barbecue House on South College Street, peddling fresh-picked Boozer-grown peaches, blackberries and blueberries from the back of their pickup truck. But this year, the two Auburn agriculture majors relinquished local produce sales and went global. The pair spent two months in Greece as College of Agriculture delegates in a federally funded exchange program for students interested in agricultural production, agricultural engineering or food safety. The sisters chronicled their overseas adventures—including highlights of their biofuels research project—in a journal on the college’s Web site. “I hope other students will see it, and it will encourage them to take advantage of the incredible opportunities that are out there,” Taylor says. The Boozers didn’t grow up on a farm per se—Taylor launched the family’s fruit-growing operation in 2003 as a way to raise money for college—but agriculture has been an integral part of their lives. Their father, horticulturist Bobby Boozer ’82, was a longtime Chilton County extension agent and is now a fruit and vegetable specialist for the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. Winter 2007

www. aualum .org

As youngsters—before they knew bet ter — t he Boozer g i rls used to yearn for good, hard, late-season freezes. For growers whose orchards were already in bloom, sub-freezing temperatures in late March or early April spelled potent ially disastrous consequences for the summer crop. But for the Boozers, hard-freeze warnings meant adventure. “Dad would let us ride with him around to different farms where the farmers would be out burning tires to protect their trees from the cold weather, and we’d get to stay up all night,” Taylor says. “For us, it was exciting, almost like a party. We thought it was just the greatest thing.” Taylor earned a bachelor’s degree in 2005 and immediately entered graduate school. She was named one of AU’s top 10 master’s students last year and plans to graduate in December with a master’s in plant pathology. When Whitney joined her sister at Auburn in fall 2004, she too chose the science track in agronomy and soils. Her goal: to work with bugs. Whitney first set her sights on entomology as an eighth grader. “We had to do a report on somebody in a career we thought would be interesting, and I chose one of my dad’s friends who’s an entomologist because I liked how the word sounded,” Whitney says. “But after I interviewed

him for my report, I decided right then that was what I wanted to be.” Whitney plans to graduate next spring and enter a master’s program in medical entomology. From there, she says she’s open to taking a job virtually anywhere. “I love Chilton County and my family, but I’ve always wanted to travel and live other places,” says Whitney. The Boozers’ younger brother, Jacob, an AU freshman, also plans to major in agronomy and soils, as did the siblings’ father. —Jamie Creamer

Ag students Whitney, left, and Taylor Boozer studied in Greece this summer. The Chilton County sisters chronicled their adventures on the College of Agriculture Web site at www.ag.auburn.edu/oia/students/.

Photo by Jeff Etheridge

YouTube sensations serenade new Atlanta Brave Just past the foosball table is a room. The room, its bare white walls punctuated by three mismatched sofas, two acoustic guitars and a one-hit wonder. This is the home of two Auburn students best known by their nom de Internet, “Tito and the Gun Show.” Few know their real names, but more than 223,000 Web surfers worldwide have seen the duo on YouTube belting out a catchy tribute to recently acquired Atlanta Braves first baseman Mark Teixeira. The performance has attracted the attention of not only Web surfers but also the Braves and Teixeira himself. Before the now-infamous tribute, 20-year-old Tyler Crawford of Chelsea and 23-year-old Andrew Hall of Athens (pictured right) were typical students, attending classes and making mischief on the side. That was before Crawford, a junior nursing major, and Hall, a graduate student in physical education, videotaped themselves singing their original verses and subsequently posted two minutes and 41 seconds of charismatic vocals online. The video, filmed in the pair’s Auburn apartment, quickly attracted the attention of newspapers, TV reporters, ESPN, SportsSouth and, eventually, Braves staffers. Next came an invitation to Turner Field, where Crawford and Hall—and the beige striped sofa from the video—performed their Teixeira tribute live before the Braves’ Aug. 31 home game. “We never thought it would turn into what it did,” says Hall. “We were excited about the trade and wanted to do something fun to celebrate getting (Teixeira). It’s amazing how it turned out.” —Jeremiah Bodner

Did you

know... ...there are nearly 100 Auburn clubs nationwide? An Auburn club is a group of alumni and friends whose common bond is Auburn University. Their unifying spirit exists whether the club is located in Montgomery or many miles away in Washington, D.C., Minneapolis, Philadelphia or Los Angeles. Auburn clubs help raise scholarship funds for deserving students and represent great networking opportunities for members. Join a club today!

a. Mobile, Al www.aualum.org/clubs Auburn Magazine

For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University

Backstroking avenger keeps college rivalry Steve Wood ’84 is a mild-mannered, 47-year-old orthodontist with revenge on his mind—and enough energy to continue trying to one-up his chief NCAA opponent more than two decades after leaving collegiate sports. The pool fight began 23 years ago when Wood was a member of the AU swim team and Clay Britt was swimming for the University of Texas at Austin. Both men were talented athletes: Britt would become a three-time NCAA 100 backstroke champion, while Wood was good enough to attend the U.S. Olympic swim-team trials in 1980. After college, Wood settled in Weatherford, Texas, and started an orthodontics practice while his college nemesis went to work for Smith Barney as a financial consultant in Bethesda, Md. Their college days were over, but the titans were destined to clash again. Winter 2007

www. aualum .org

Both men started competing in U.S. Masters Swimming, an organization that governs age-group swim competitions nationwide. Winning times from USMS competitions are compiled with those from parallel events in more than 20 countries across the globe, and a coveted slate of world records goes up for grabs. Wood, who began swimming competitively at age 9, set the world record for his age group last year in the 50-meter backstroke event. But he had only been king for a few weeks when Britt, who is a year younger but competes in the same age group, showed up to snatch the crown away. Britt shaved Wood’s record down by onehundredth of a second, and bragging rights went north. At this summer’s USMS Long Course National Master Championships near Houston, Wood was there to settle the score.

It was a morning race. Moving like a human torpedo, Wood swam from one side of the pool to the other in less than 30 seconds. He made it to the wall and peered upward: His time was a full three-hundredths of a second better than Britt’s world record. “You know the time to beat ahead of time,” Wood said. “It was kind of like tit-fortat, you know? OK, you take one-hundredth; I’ll take three-hundredths.” But Wood wasn’t finished. He still had the lead-off leg in the evening relay race to worry about. Luckily, he found a little extra inspiration. “The guy next to me was one from the younger age group who is always trying to beat me in the backstroke,” he said. “I just didn’t want him to beat me.” Wood exploded into the water and carved a full tenth of a second off the world-record time he set just hours before. “I was excited about the morning swim, but in the relay ... I touched and looked up—the

Texas orthodontist Steve Wood ’84 (opposite, and above with former AU classmate John Fields ’83) set the

50-meter backstroke world record for his age group this year in U.S. Masters Swimming. clock was right above us—I was just really pumped about that,” he said. Wood went on to beat 148 competitors in his age class at the meet. In addition to setting the new 50-meter backstroke record, he won gold medals in five other events, which included 100and 200-meter backstroke races, and three more in the freestyle category. About 12,000 men and women over age 18 compete in USMS meets around the country. At the end of every season, times are compiled to produce a Top 10 list. When the season ends, the swimmer in each age group with the most Top 10 times is crowned All-Star. Wood has ranked in the Top 10 a number of times since becoming active in USMS six years ago, but has never achieved All-Star status. USMS competitions are structured according to age group, sex and course format. Because competitors enter a new age group every five years, older athletes have a chance to remain competitive. “The great thing about Masters swimming is that you can do this forever,” said USMS national office administrator Tracy Grilli. “Every five years, you get to be young again.” At Wood’s current speeds, there may be more world records in store when he enters the next age group, and the level of competition falls. But that’s not really how he looks at things. “Everyone likes to age up; to be the youngest and usually the fastest,” Wood said. “But my goal is to move down into the age groups. As I get older, I want my times to be faster than the younger ones.” —Galen Scott Courtesy of the Weatherford (Texas) Democrat Auburn Magazine For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University

Tracking alumni pros: Q & A with Roderick Hood ’00 Columbus, Ga., native Roderick Hood ’00 is one of the newest members of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals. An Auburn University letterman from 1999-2002, Hood spent the last four seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles after making the team as an undrafted free agent four years ago. Hood played in 56 games, posting 121 total tackles for the Eagles. In four seasons in the NFL, Hood (pictured right) has five interceptions and 23 pass deflections.

What has your experience with the Cardinals been like so far?

How do you bring your winning expertise to the Cardinals?

“It’s going great. We have a lot of potential, and we are putting it all together. Everything is going well. There are a lot of promising players, and we just have to keep working hard.”

“Going into my fifth year, I just try to be a veteran to these guys. I know what it takes to win. We are all professionals here, and I just try to keep everyone confident. I think confidence is the biggest thing.”

How do you recall your days playing at Auburn?

“It was a great atmosphere. Auburn had great fans and a great coaching staff. I have a lot of good things to say about Auburn. It was a great experience for me. I love to get back there on the Plains.”

did the Arizona situation Q How materialize after being in Philadelphia?

“I was a free agent and unrestricted. I could have gone back to Philly, or a couple other teams, like the Browns. It just felt like a really good situation in Arizona. I liked what they wanted to do.”

—Courtesy of the Auburn Athletics Department

Through wins and losses, AU athletes vow to be good sports Auburn University student-athletes created a new program this season designed to promote good sportsmanship among players, coaches, staff and fans. “Auburn Pride” emphasizes fair play and respect toward opponents. The Auburn Athletics Sportsmanship Code is now read at every university athletic event. “We want our legacy as student-athletes at Auburn to be that we always exhibited good sportsmanship and represented Auburn well,” said soccer player Summer Ragsdale, president of the Auburn Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. The committee created “Auburn Pride” in conjunction with the AU athletics department. The program encourages AU’s 21 varsity teams to congratulate opponents in victory and defeat; to celebrate victories while treating opponents with respect; and to display consideration for teammates by hustling and working hard. “I think it’s something that we need,” said Carl Stewart, a senior fullback on the football team. “It’s a great program, and I’m going to encourage my teammates to be part of it.” Tiger fans should consider abiding by the sportsmanship code as well, suggested athletics director Jay Jacobs. “Promoting good sportsmanship is a major focus for our studentathletes, and we encourage our fans to join them in showing the type of class and character that Auburn represents at all of our athletic events,” he said. Winter 2007

www. aualum .org

Long-distance finish: Olympic gold medalist Willie J. Smith ’79 of Homewood attended AU’s commencement ceremonies in May to celebrate daughter Kendal’s graduation. Now a private trainer and consultant, Willie Smith was an Auburn track standout in the late 1970s along with teammate and fellow Olympian Harvey Glance ’91. Glance has served as head track coach at the University of Alabama since 1997.

Too late for

trees?

Winter 2007

www. aualum .org

After more than a century standing sentinel at the corner of College and Magnolia, the Toomer’s Pffffffttt. Swish. Thump. Oaks are entering their twilight years. Is the party over?

A small cardboard cylinder arcs gracefully

through the night air, its white streamer

unfurling as it lands with a soft thud in the branches of a massive oak tree.

More cylinders fly upward, creating an ala-

baster blanket made all the more dazzling by its lowly

chief ingredient: toilet paper. The subtle sounds made as rolls of Charmin fly gracefully through the air are

drowned by thousands of voices, jubilant, celebrating. Shouts of “War Eagle” fill the chill autumn night, the street lights adding a misty glow as ribbons of tissue

swirl in a light breeze off the oak branches—an oddly

festive Medusa, pale tentacles dancing on the winds of victory.

It’s Saturday night at Toomer’s Corner, and fans

by Suzanne Johnson/photography by Jeff Etheridge Auburn Magazine

For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University

Being the center of attention is nothing new for the twin oaks that grace Auburn University’s stately campus entry at Magnolia Avenue and College Street. But the headlines they’ve attracted over the long, hot summer of 2007 have been less than celebratory. “Toomer’s Corner oaks in poor health,” proclaimed the Aug. 12 Birmingham News, while the Montgomery Advertiser read, “Auburn works to preserve aging oak trees.” The Auburn Plainsman stated it more bluntly: “Landmark Toomer’s trees dying.” Though they anchor one of Auburn’s most beloved victory rituals—the university is said to be the only institution in the country with toilet paper removal as a line item in its budget—the rolling of Toomer’s Oaks could be in jeopardy, because the trees themselves are in jeopardy. Is the party about to end?

Winter 2007

www. aualum .org

By all rights, the Toomer’s Oaks should never have been here. The live oak, Quercus Virginiana, is actually a coastal species. Planted in the sandy native soils of Mobile or New Orleans, the trees typically reach monstrous proportions and can live for centuries, impervious to subtropical heat, termites, hurricanes and the most intrusive pest of all—humans. By contrast, the Toomer’s Oaks are mere teenagers at about 130 years old, estimates plant pathologist Scott Enebak, a “tree doctor” in the AU School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences who inspects the trees monthly. He isn’t the only one keeping watch. The trees get a steady stream of regular visitors, including longtime AU facilities director Charlie Crawford, who for the past decade has inspected the oaks at least weekly, looking for dead limbs, shrinking crown, sparse foliage or discoloration. All are signs of a tree in trouble. But it’s Enebak who has been the chief tree spokesman during the news-heavy summer. A Minnesota native drawn to forestry when an early aptitude test recommended he become a forest ranger, Enebak can tick off with scientific precision the reasons the Toomer’s Oaks are nearing the end of their lifespan:

Location. Live oaks grow naturally only along the Southern coast. “The Toomer’s Oaks were definitely planted,” Enebak says. Not old enough to have been sown by original Creek landowner Sundilla, the trees were likely planted about 1880, possibly by Auburn city founder Judge John Harper. No one knows the trees’ origin for sure—that piece of Auburn history is subject to conjecture. But since this is not their native habitat, the oaks have worked hard to adapt, Enebak says. Footprint. Over the years, construction has robbed the trees of space. John C. Mouton, senior adviser to the president and the John E. Wilborn Chair in Building Science, says the root systems are bound up due to construction. Widened streets and sidewalk repairs have restricted root development and water sources. Pollution/traffic. Toomer’s Corner is a busy intersection, and the trees absorb automobile exhaust. Cars occasionally careen into the oaks, adding insult to injury. A few years ago, Enebak and Crawford puzzled over how to help the College Street tree when a car smashed into it, knocking out a sizable chunk of wood. “We finally decided just to leave it alone and let it heal, and it is healing nicely,” Enebak says. Nature. Like much of the Southeast, Auburn has experienced several years of severe drought, which raises soil temperatures and puts further stress on ailing trees. Lack of rain has presented one of the greatest threats to the trees’ health, officials say. Rolling. And here’s the rub: The pressurewashing process made necessary by the beloved tradition of “Rolling Toomer’s Corner” also causes the trees stress, Enebak says.

Auburn Magazine

For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University

come in to Toomer’s Drugstore, which boasted the only wireless in the area. Exactly how the rolling of Toomer’s Corner got started is another bit of history left to the whims of human memory. But most agree that “Rolling Toomer’s” originally had nothing to do with the oaks. McAdory Lipscomb, who operated Toomer’s Drugstore for more than 30 years, estimates that while the corner has been a popular gathering place for generations, the initial rolling of the corner occurred around 1962. At first, only the arms extending from the light poles were rolled—not the trees— and only for away-game victories. Mary Lee Erhart ’78 confirms that recollection. “Back in the mid-’70s when I was a student at Auburn, we typically only rolled Toomer’s Corner for away-game wins,” says the Shelby resident. “Students would sit around the radio listening to the football game. As soon as we were assured a win, we would head to Toomer’s Corner for the traditional rolling.” Legend also has it that “Rolling Toomer’s” began as early as the 1940s, when away-game victories were announced via toilet paper after news had

Winter 2007

www. aualum .org

Others date at least an occasional tree-roll during that time as well. Gerald A. Stephens ’52 of Birmingham recalls joining students at Pop Raines’ Beverage Shack after a football game and then raiding engineering buildings for toilet paper to decorate the trees along Magnolia Avenue. “We could not believe the amount of toilet paper hanging from the trees the next morning,” he says. Rolling the intersection itself could be hazardous. “The original rolling of Toomer’s Corner was a high-risk adventure,” recalls John T. Folmar ’87 of Auburn. “Unsuspecting U.S. 29 (College Street) traffic was very much part of the spectacle.” Nothing matched the exhilaration of painting slogans—usually aimed at Alabama— on the side of passing New York-bound

Greyhounds, he adds.

couldn’t be contained, some alumni say.

Lee M. Ozley ’61 of Hilton Head Island, S.C., also recalls making unsuspecting motorists part of the celebration and dates the rolling of the corner earlier. “In 1957, when I was a freshman, Auburn was ranked No. 1 in the nation. I believe every student at Auburn ‘rolled the corner’ for hours. Students stopped every car that came through town that night and made the driver and passengers get out of their cars and shout ‘Warrrrr Eagle!’”

“It wasn’t until the ‘First Time Ever’ that the masses poured into the intersection of College Street and Magnolia Avenue,” Folmar remembers. “As the crowds expanded, the trees came into play.” And play they have, ever since. No one can really say whether the ’89 Iron Bowl actually represented the permanent move from rolling the intersection to rolling the trees, but it does make a good story.

It could have been a change in the traffic lights, a deliberate move to improve safety, or just natural migration. Whatever the reason, the year 1989 might have marked the fans’ move from rolling the intersection traffic lights after winning away games to rolling the oaks after every victory. If you like, you can blame it on ’Bama. For most of the 20th century, college football’s fiercest rivalry had taken place on the supposedly “neutral” ground of Birmingham’s Legion Field. But on Dec. 2, 1989, the series finally came to Auburn. When the Tigers secured their 30-20 victory, the celebration at Toomer’s Corner

The paper chase With all that paper comes the inevitable cleanup, and it is TP removal that puts even more pressure—literally—on Toomer’s Oaks.

For years, the post-celebration purge consisted of facilities workers in cherry pickers, laboriously hand-picking and disposing of as many shreds of limp paper as they could reach. Despite their best efforts, paper was always left hanging in the trees, turning dry and gray as time passed or blowing down the

streets. The steady accumulation of tissue was both unsightly and a fire hazard. And fire was a problem. Sometime during the joyous revelry of “Rolling Toomer’s,” fans discovered fire—or at least the idea of setting the toilet paper alight— which became a brief, dangerous fad during the disco era. Sharon Mohney ’78 of Covington, Va., remembers the Auburn fire chief announcing that anyone caught setting the paper on fire would be prosecuted. Over the years, occasional flames have damaged the oaks, once turning the Magnolia Avenue tree into what Enebak describes as “a burning bush.” In recent years, the university began using power washers to remove the toilet

Auburn Magazine

For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University

“That’s nothing I’d really propose,” he says with a laugh. “Rolling the corner is a wonderful tradition.” Meanwhile, AU administrators are looking at replacing the trees eventually. The original oaks’ removal will require heavy construction and a redesign of part of the historic corner; substitute trees will be placed farther away from the College Street/Magnolia Avenue intersection so their root systems will have room to grow. When that might happen is hard to predict. “The tree on College is bigger and is in better shape,” Enebak says. “The one on Magnolia is certainly not as healthy. They may die in five years, or they could last another hundred years. You don’t want to give them a death sentence and say their demise is imminent. You just can’t predict it.” paper, which is faster and more thorough than the manual method. Unfortunately, it also stresses out the trees. “I’m surprised, given the powerwashing, that the oaks are still here,”

Enebak says. “It is really hard on the trees.” While campus planners realize that power-washing bodes ill for the trees’ health, Mouton says, experts haven’t yet found a more effective and efficient alternative.

The next generation On the one hand, you have a cherished university tradition that no one wants to abandon. On the other hand, you have the impending demise of two Auburn landmarks. What’s a university to do? Enebak’s ironic solution—“I said, tongue-in-cheek, that Auburn could go 0-14 in football”—isn’t really an option. Winter 2007

www. aualum .org

If the trees were to die sooner—in five years, for example— it would be possible to replace them with other adult trees, perhaps a native species. But the better solution—and the university’s greatest hope, Enebak says— is that the offspring of the original Toomer’s Oaks can eventually replace their parents. The idea was born around 2002 with the launch of the Toomer’s Oak Project. With faculty and administrative guidance, three student clubs in the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences began selling seedlings grown from Toomer’s Oaks acorns to raise money for club activities and with an eye toward raising a new generation of trees to replace the aging Toomer’s Oaks. Each fall, Forestry Club students collect acorns directly from the trees, then sow them in

Read more Toomer’s Corner memories and submit your own at: www.aualum.org/toomers November and nurture them in a greenhouse. The numbered and dated Toomer’s Oaks offspring are sold—along with a roll of toilet paper—to alumni and others who want a piece of Auburn history for their own yards. About two dozen seedlings from the program’s first year are being carefully tended for campus use. “The idea is to have these children get big, and when the original Toomer’s Oaks die, we can dig up these progeny to replace them,” says Enebak (pictured right). “These are the original Toomer’s Oak children.” If the aging oaks last another decade or more, which Enebak says is possible, then the babies will be big enough to replant at the edge of Auburn’s most famous intersection—keeping the canopy of green alive for new generations of AU sports fans. Former Auburn Magazine editorial assistant Riley Tant ’08 contributed to this story.

Can’t travel to Auburn? Roll your own live oak at home. Proceeds from the sale of Toomer’s seedlings benefit student scholarships in Auburn’s School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences. https://fp.auburn.edu/sfws/oaks/

Auburn Magazine

For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University

The story of the world’s greatest rocket and the Auburn people who designed it, built it, flew it and are now giving it a new home. by Suzanne Johnson

In the beginning, there was watercress. Then the Germans arrived. Huntsville wasn’t exactly a boomtown in 1950: a northeastern Alabama burg boasting a few remaining ties to the cotton industry, an empty Redstone Arsenal with a “For Sale” sign on the door, and a claim to fame as the watercress capital of the world.

Courtesy of NASA

A few years earlier

The original Apollo 13 crew included Auburn University alumnus T.K. Mattingly ’58, who was barred from the mission because of his suspected exposure to the German measles. He was replaced by his backup, command module pilot John L. “Jack” Swigert Jr., shortly before launch. Mattingly later flew on Apollo 16. Pictured left to right: Apollo 13 commander James A. Lovell, Mattingly and lunar module pilot Fred W. Haise. Opening spread: The Apollo 4, an unmanned mission, lifted off from launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on Nov. 9, 1967. This was the first flight of the United States’ Saturn V, the rocket that would eventually take man to the moon.

and half a world away, a group of German engineers had voluntarily surrendered to American troops, hoping to continue their rocket research in the United States. By 1946, Wernher von Braun and his team were ensconced at Fort Bliss, Texas, developing military rockets. But Texas was hot, and the locals were hostile. Within four years, the German engineers headed to Huntsville’s Redstone Arsenal, which eventually would become part of the Marshall Space Flight Center. Over the next two decades, von Braun and his team took Huntsville on its own rocket ride, growing from 16,000 residents in 1950 to 136,102 in 1970. City schools bulged from 3,000 students in 1950 to 33,000 two decades later. At the center of it all rose the Saturn V rocket, 6.2 million pounds of gleaming aluminum, a technological marvel rising 363 feet and harnessing more power than ever before assembled in one place. It would become an emblem of American ingenuity and technical superiority, arguably the greatest achievement of the 20th century. Fast-forward 35 years. The Apollo era is over, moon landings a distant memory. The world’s three remaining Saturn V rockets are relics. One of them sits tucked away at Huntsville’s U.S. Space and Rocket Center: Its paint is peeling, and raccoons and snakes call it home. And now another countdown has begun in Alabama—not to build the Saturn V, but to save it.

T-Minus-19 Years: The Amazing Race

The year was 1950, and the race to the moon had begun. While America’s Vanguard rockets sputtered on launchpads, the Russians sent Sputnik into orbit on Oct. 4, 1957. Four weeks later, Sputnik II launched with the dog “Laika” on board. The new

“I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” U.S. President John F. Kennedy, addressing Congress, 1961

Winter 2007

www. aualum .org

National Aeronautics and Space Administration, working out of Huntsville, countered with America’s first satellite, Explorer I. NASA developed its Mercury program, sending the chimp “Miss Baker” into orbit in 1959, only to be upstaged by the Russians again in 1961 with the first manned flight in history. U.S. President John F. Kennedy threw down the gauntlet: “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth,” he told members of Congress that year. To meet its growing need for engineers, the space program turned to area colleges. Auburn University was a fertile source of talent, with an aerospace engineering program dating to 1908. Not only did hundreds of Auburn engineers join the effort in Huntsville, but the university expanded its campus programs as well. In his history of aerospace engineering at AU, professor and department chair John Cochran ’66 notes that Auburn expanded its curriculum and added a master’s program in 1961, followed by a doctoral program a few years later. “Funding for Auburn Research Foundation projects in the School of Engineering increased from $35,000 in 1957 to more than $320,000 in 1961,” he says.

T-Minus-6 Years:

Photo courtesy of NASA

Test Patterns

As the 1960s progressed, America’s space efforts moved into high gear with the Mercury and Jupiter programs. Space exploration was the stuff of science fiction, and the engineers at Marshall were building machines that captured the imaginations of young and old alike. Behind the glamour of space flight was the science of propulsion and solid fuels as researchers looked for a way to get man to the moon and back. Ultimately, the system developed by von Braun would be a three-stage vehicle suited for a lunar landing. Mercury astronaut John Glenn called the new Saturn rocket “von Braun’s monster.” Growing up in Huntsville, Keith Starnes ’87 vividly recalls the first time he heard the rocket’s roar. “I remember being in a local grocery store with my family on a stormy spring day. We felt a shaking and rumbling, and thought it was a tornado— everyone started running for the meat locker to take cover.” The noise turned out to be a single Saturn engine being tested, and it became a common occurrence. Windows vibrated in homes and businesses throughout the area. When all five of the powerful F-1 engines were tested at once, it was said to be felt in Birmingham, 100 miles to the south. With an estimated 20,000 private subcontracters and 300,000 people working on the Saturn, the number of AU alumni involved is impossible to determine. But there were a lot. “Many of these fellows had left the farm, joined the service and gone to school on the GI Bill. About that time, their nation was calling on them to build rockets, and they converged on Auburn Magazine For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University

Huntsville,” says Al Whitaker, media relations director at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. “And there were a bunch of Auburn grads who came up here and not only designed the process, but they designed the tools, and they designed and built and tested the hardware.” Between 1961 and 1968, 10 Saturn I and nine Saturn IB vehicles were launched as the Apollo program gathered steam. Tested again and again, the Saturn V finally made its first flight as Apollo 4 in 1967. Former Marshall director William Lucas wrote of the launch: “Saturn was an engineering masterpiece. The ultimate Saturn, taller than the Statue of Liberty, had a takeoff weight that exceeded that of 25 fully loaded jet airliners, and produced as much power as 85 Hoover Dams … It was as if the Wright Brothers had gone from building their original Wright Flyer in 1903 to developing a supersonic Concorde in 1913.”

T-Minus-0: Liftoff

America’s love of the Saturn V had not diminished by the time Apollo 11 launched on July 16, 1969. At 9:32 a.m., America held its breath as three astronauts left Earth for the moon and took that “giant leap for mankind.”

Ironically, the greatest technological achievement of the 20th century had a downside for the schools so solidly invested in the space program. “When the Eagle landed on the moon, the world, including Auburn University, cheered,” says Cochran. “However, as all those in aerospace engineering know, that great achievement meant that the federal government could redirect funds from the space program to other areas, principally the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War and the Great Society.” There were 32 launches of the Saturn in all, the last occurring in 1972. Then America’s engineers and astronauts turned their attention to the next big thing: designing a faster, better successor. And in the fleeting way of profound technological achievements, the original moon rocket became a historical curiosity. Today, only three Saturn V rockets remain, one each at the Marshall, Kennedy and Johnson space centers. Its fate uncertain, Marshall’s hulking Saturn V was located until recently in the outdoor exhibit area at the Huntsville space center, lying on its side, away from the crowds and damaged by wildlife and the elements. This is about to change, and change dramatically.

T-Plus-38:

Resurrection

An LED clock attached to the wall of a construction trailer on

Photo courtesy of Al Whitaker/U.S. Space and Rocket Center

Construction project manager Brent Collins ’02 (below), construction specialist Chris Lopez ’04 and building designer Keith Starnes ’87 (opposite) have spent the past two years building a new home for the Saturn V, the Davidson Center for Space Exploration (far right).

Winter 2007

www. aualum .org

company who have been involved in building the Davidson center, which is named for Huntsville electrical engineer Julian Davidson ’50. The list of other Auburn alumni who have touched the Saturn project over the years is long. Yet when the Davidson center opens there’ll be a single bright star representing them: the restored Saturn V rocket, tall, slender and majestic, the symbol of a country’s determination and the vision of those who made her.

Photo courtesy of Al Whitaker/U.S. Space and Rocket Center

the U.S. Space and Rocket Center campus counts down the time. On this day in early September, it reads 72 days, 15 hours and six minutes until deadline. The trailer fronts a mound of red dirt and a sturdy rectangular building in progress, its glassed-in front revealing a hive of activity. Huntsville’s homage to the Saturn V, the new Davidson Center for Space Exploration at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center is set to open Jan. 31. The debut coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Explorer I launch, an event that effectively marked the United States’ entry into the space race. Inside the construction trailer another generation of Auburn alumni is helping bring the old Saturn V back to its former glory. This time, AU architects and construction managers are carrying the baton in Huntsville, designing and building the venerable moon rocket’s new home. They hope their efforts will help people remember the machine that made science-fiction novels believable. Starnes, now a Birmingham architect, and colleague Robert Murphy ’82, who designed the new building, can tick off every stat of the project that has occupied their time for the past five years: 77,000 square feet, four large glass curtain-wall panels, a 360-seat auditorium and a transportation hub to eventually tie the space center to other Huntsville attractions. The job holds special meaning for Starnes and construction project manager Brent Collins ’02, who also grew up in Huntsville. The two are part of a team of AU grads affiliated with architects Gresham, Smith and Partners and Turner Universal construction

Auburn Magazine For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University

Some call him the anti-coach. Others say heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just a man with a mission. By Betsy Robertson

Winter 2007

www. aualum .org

Chette Williams ’86 starts his workday with Bible study. Later, he’ll share a devotion with Auburn University’s athletics staff and then attend football practice, where he might encourage coaches to refrain from cussing at players. He will meet one-on-one with student athletes, who’ll tell him about their grades and girlfriends. And, should anyone criticize his work, Auburn’s football chaplain will try to turn the other cheek. Like the time nearly three years ago when media giant The New York Times questioned his credibility, linking Williams’ privately funded salary—he is employed as campus director of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes—and the financial backing of his nonprofit ministry to a number of influential Auburn boosters. Such scrutiny “comes along with the territory,” says the former three-year Auburn letterman, who has spent the last nine seasons as the Tigers’ spiritual leader. Williams recognizes the fine line between belief and ambivalence. Twenty-six years ago, nobody thought he’d wind up here. Some thought he might have a future behind bars. “Football is a violent game, and Chette was a violent man—a very aggressive football player,” writes former Auburn head coach Pat Dye in Williams’ autobiography, Hard-Fighting Soldier: Finding God in Trials, Tragedies and Triumphs (Looking Glass Books Inc., 2007). “His effort and personality on the football field were exactly what you’re looking for. But he had that same personality off the field, and sometimes that’s not conducive to getting along.” As a teenager growing up just west of Atlanta near Douglasville, Ga., Williams hoped to follow in the footsteps of brothers Greg and Quency, who played for the University of Georgia and Auburn, respectively. When Chette joined the Tigers, the die appeared to have been cast. The trouble began shortly after Williams

arrived on campus. He drank, smoked pot, broke curfew, made bad grades, developed an ego, picked fights with his coaches and fellow players, and eventually got kicked off the team. Embarrassed and defeated, Williams turned for advice to a teammate, running back Kyle Collins, a “redneck country boy from Gadsden who talked too much about God.” The pair prayed. And talked. And prayed. And read the Bible. And prayed. Williams asked Dye for another chance, and the coach agreed. The former firebrand eventually earned a bachelor’s degree in adult education from Auburn, followed by a Master of Divinity degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. An ordained

minister, Williams pastored two churches before forming a charity ministering to children living in public housing projects in Spartanburg, S.C. Head coach Tommy Tuberville invited Williams back to Auburn in 1999—this time as a mentor to a new generation of student-athletes for whom winning is just about everything. Players tend to share their secrets and successes with the softspoken Williams, who—despite a career record that includes baptizing dozens of college athletes—says he prefers listening to proselytizing. “Listening is very important, because a lot of times when they walk through the door they know the answer,” Williams says. “I don’t try to coach—I’m their chaplain.”

Team chaplain Chette Williams ’86 inspires on the gridiron during the Tigers’ home game against Mississippi State in September. Auburn subsequently lost 19-14. Student-athletes typically take losses hard, especially under the pressure of playing high-stakes SEC football. “They work every day toward that goal of winning, and if they don’t, it hurts,” Williams says. Auburn Magazine

For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University

center From the Auburn Alumni Association president … Auburn University is blessed with a great many timehonored traditions, many involving athletics. The most familiar of these is the rolling of the oaks at Toomer’s Corner. In my mind, these traditions are the glue that holds the Auburn family together. Unfortunately, some of our potential traditions were scuttled due to technological advancements and “cultural evolution.” Specifically, I’m referring to the ballgame-related train trips of the 1950s. Students and fans of that era fondly remember when special trains would take the Auburn team and its followers to Atlanta and Birmingham for games with Georgia Tech and the University of Alabama, respectively. Affectionately and collectively known as “War Eagle Specials,” these trains consisted of a number of Pullman-style sleeper cars interspersed with enough dining and club cars to meet the passengers’ needs. Three or four Pullmans were reserved for the Auburn team and coaching staff, and assorted family and team-support personnel. The remaining cars were fi lled with loyal Auburn fans who would take advantage of these two- to three-hour train rides to “prepare” for the game ahead. The special trains would depart from stations in either Auburn or Opelika during the early morning hours on game day. Along the way, there would be occasional stops in places like Alexander City or LaGrange, Ga., to pick up additional fans. By the time the train arrived in Birmingham or Atlanta, these fans were “primed” and ready for the game ahead. Fortunately for them and the unsuspecting town folk, buses arrived to ferry the team and fans to Grant or Legion field. I can still remember the police escorts provided for the team buses. Believe me, for a highly impressionable 10-year-old these were mighty exciting and educational trips. As the son of a railroad man—his father (James Henry Jordan) having worked as a fi reman and engineer with Southern Railroad for almost 50 years—my dad was especially fond of

these trips. He would always explain to us various aspects of passenger-train operations and seemed to enjoy his conversations with the porters assigned to the team cars. I think the diversion provided some relaxation for him during what must have been a stressful time. The War Eagle Specials were discontinued by the early 1960s, and cars replaced trains as the preferred means of transportation. For me, however, my memory of these trips, along with numerous other events from that era, will forever be part of my Auburn heritage. Never mind that we have altered some traditions—such as the annual “Wreck Tech” pajama parades and “Burn the Bulldogs” pep rallies— and added Tiger Walk and pregame eagle fl ights. In my mind, none of these events will ever quite match the fun and excitement of a ride on the War Eagle Special.

Ralph Jordan Jr. ’70 President, Auburn Alumni Association jrjordan@bellsouth.net

Circle of Excellence donations top $200K More than 120 life members of the Auburn Alumni Association have given gifts totaling $218,000 toward a scholarship endowment fund for the children of life members. For more information on joining the Circle of Excellence Society, see www.aualum.org and follow the “Scholarships” link.

Auburn Magazine

For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Dean Foy When you think of living Auburn University legends, a few might come to mind—but perhaps none as notable for spirit and long-term impact as retired student dean James E. Foy. Born on Nov. 7, 1916, Dean Foy turns 91 this month. Perhaps what makes Dean Foy so popular, even today, is his uncanny ability to remember the names and faces of students from his time as dean of men and later dean of students. Not only that, but he remembers every detail of how he would distract students from embarking on panty raids by staging impromptu pep rallies— which seemed to work most of the time. Thousands of AU alumni remember Foy (pictured below) as “their dean,” and I have heard countless stories of his dedication to and compassion for students. Dean Foy, as he is still known, has continued to live in Auburn since his retirement in 1978. He remains involved in pep rallies, and attends all home football and baseball games, as well as special alumni events. His children recently

established an endowment for student scholarships honoring him and his late wife, Emmalu. We’re grateful for Dean Foy’s continued service to our university: His endearing and contagious loyalty to Auburn truly has contributed to setting it apart from other institutions.

California dreaming I had the opportunity to spend several days this summer in California, and I am happy to say the Auburn spirit is alive and well on the West Coast! My travels took me to the Auburn clubs of northern and southern California, from San Diego to Los Angeles to San Francisco. Leaving the 100plus-degree Alabama heat and arriving on the breezy, cool coast was a pleasure—but meeting our area alumni was even better. Hundreds of AU supporters showed up to let me know just how important the university is to them. Young and old participated in events and tailgating parties. I also visited many other Auburn clubs this summer and have been reminded of the many contributions our volunteers make to further the betterment of AU, which include raising money for scholarships. We are thankful for their countless hours of service.

Auburn University is in great shape in many ways. Former AU President Ed Richardson worked very hard to successfully rectify our institution’s past issues. We feel Auburn is in a great place, with current President Jay Gogue ’69 beginning what we hope will be a long stay. Your Auburn Alumni Association supports AU in numerous ways, particularly by increasing scholarship dollars. You can’t help but be excited about the direction in which we’re going, and we want you with us for the ride.

War Eagle!

Debbie Shaw ’84, Ed.D. Vice President for Alumni Affairs and Executive Director, Auburn Alumni Association

Alumni association honors top-notch faculty Five Auburn University faculty members have been honored as Alumni Professors in recognition of their outstanding teaching, research and outreach: Jonathan W. Armbruster, associate professor of biological sciences; John Gaber, professor of architecture and community planning; Hanqin Tian, professor of forestry and wildlife sciences; Vitaly Vodyanoy, professor of anatomy, physiology, and pharmacology; and Bogdan M. Wilamowski, professor and director of electrical and computer engineering. The Alumni Professors were recognized during a faculty awards ceremony in September.

[ www.aualum.org/scholarships/professorships.html ] WINTER 2007

WWW. AUALUM .ORG

SAA

shrimp boil raises scholarship dollars

About 460 students munched on Frogmore stew during the Student Alumni Association’s sixth annual shrimp boil in October. The event benefited the association’s annual merit-based student scholarship fund for senior SAA members. This year, the SAA awarded four scholarships of $1,000 each to Frances Bishop, Auburn; Angela Capuano, Broadview Heights, Ohio; Matthew Goula, Waterford, Conn.; and Courtney May, Dothan.

War Eagle Bud!

War Eagle Moment Alumnus’ funeral service includes ode to Auburn Edward P. “Bud” Anderton ’53 allowed nothing—including serious ill health—to hinder his support for Auburn University, which is why it seemed only appropriate when a friend shouted “War Eagle” at his funeral service last year. “My father was the very essence of Auburn University,” writes Boca Raton, Fla., resident Aren Anderton Baker ’93 of her father. “He taught his four children, at very young ages, that ‘War Eagle’ is a phrase that demands respect, and that we should mean it when we say it. He taught us not to speak during games so that he could help ‘coach from the couch,’ and that orange and blue are the only two colors on the color wheel that matter. He passed his love for Auburn down to me, his youngest daughter. “In 2005 I decided to bring my eldest daughter up to her very fi rst Iron Bowl. She was a junior in high school, and it was time that she learned where she would be attending college and what all the fuss was about. My

father came with me in spite of his struggles with advanced Parkinson’s disease and dementia—he wouldn’t think of missing an Iron Bowl! “It was one of the best weekends I can remember having with my dad since he had become ill. We met (former AU football coach) Pat Dye at a book signing at Anders Bookstore, then we met (Heisman Trophy winner) Bo Jackson, who helped him get to the elevator as we were going into the stadium. And to top the day, Auburn won in the fourth quarter in a very close match! (My father) looked at me right there in the stadium and said, ‘After a day like today … I could die happy right here.’ Sadly, that was my father’s last Iron Bowl.” Bud Anderton passed away 13 months later on Dec. 15, 2006. “My ‘War Eagle Moment’ was at his funeral,” continues Baker. “My oldest sister, who went to the University of Alabama, gave his eulogy. She spoke about what it meant to really know my father and of my father’s

love for Auburn. She spoke of how anyone who knew my father knew Auburn and the excitement he felt every time he talked about the loveliest village on the Plains. He was buried with an ‘Auburn Grandpa’ shirt so he would know that his love for Auburn will go on. “At the end of the eulogy, there was a brief, awkward moment of silence. And then from the very back of the church: ‘WAR EAGLE, BUD!’ was hollered by one of his dearest friends. It was then that I learned what it truly meant to be an Auburn Tiger: It’s more than just going to school in a town called Auburn. It’s more than being an SEC football fan, and it’s more than a degree hanging on a wall somewhere in an office. It’s a way of life. “This man in the church that day had never stepped foot in Auburn, Ala. But he knew my father and his love for Auburn. He knew and respected ‘War Eagle’ enough to say it in a church full of mourning people and have it mean more at that moment than it ever will again in my life.”

Auburn Magazine

For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University

Birmingham businesswoman receives Pamela Wells Sheffield Award Rebecca S. Hatcher ’72, president and owner of Hatcher Design Associates in Birmingham, received the 2007 Pamela Wells Sheffield Award for service and commitment to Auburn University during ceremonies on Sept. 1. Hatcher is a member of the AU College of Architecture, Design & Construction’s executive campaign steering committee and the college’s Research Advisory Council. She played on AU’s inaugural Lady Tiger basketball team from 1969-72. The Pamela Wells Sheffield Award, sponsored by the AU president’s office and athletics department, and coordinated by the Office of Alumni Affairs, recognizes women who show extraordinary service and commitment to the university and the Auburn family.

You tell us: Survey asks how you stay connected The mission of the Auburn Alumni Association is to cultivate lifelong relationships between Auburn University and its alumni and friends. This fall, association staffers are examining exactly what connects alumni to their alma mater. Please take a moment to share your thoughts on your connection to AU by answering the questions below. Mail, e-mail or fax your responses by Nov. 30 to: Amanda Thomas, marketing director, Office of Alumni Affairs, 317 S. College Street, Auburn University, AL 36849-5149; thomaap@auburn.edu; or (334) 844-5011 (fax). We appreciate your input!

1. Choose the main reason you joined the Auburn Alumni Association:

3. Which member benefit is most important to you: a. Tiger Rags shopping discount

a. To stay connected to Auburn University

b. Auburn Magazine

b. To receive member benefits

c. Being able to display my pin, decal or life certificate d. “Working Advantage” gift card discounts

2. Choose the one image that best evokes a nostalgic feeling for Auburn University:

e. Kaplan test prep discounts f. Free entrance to the ALUM Hospitality Tent at home football games g. Borrowing privileges at Ralph Brown Draughon Library

h. Tiger Cub birth certificates i. ALUM Network deep-search capabilities

4. Please provide the following demographic data: a. Your class year:

d. Aubie

b. Gender: Male

Female

(circle one)

c. U.S. state or foreign country in which you reside: e. Eagle flying over stadium

Winter 2007

www. aualum .org

J&M

BOOKSTORE Your Source for School Supplies and Auburn Souvenirs for 54 Years!

2 LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU!

115 S. College St. • (334) 887-7007 1100 S. College St. • (334) 826-8844 Call Us Toll Free: 1-800-323-1405 www.jmbooks.com email: j_mbooks@mindspring.com

7E "ELIEVE in each other!

For your free brochure detailing Auburn’s diversity initiatives, email your mailing address to diversity@auburn.edu

Did you know? Auburn University students come from every state in the U.S. and 89 countries.*

www.auburn.edu/diversity

*Enrollment for Fall 2006 Auburn Magazine

For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University

Vote now for ‘Coach of the Year’

[ www.coachoftheyear.com ]

Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.’s “Coach of the Year” award is up for grabs again this year, and the Auburn Alumni Association needs your help to float AU head football coach Tommy Tuberville to the top. The honor, which recognizes leaders who best exemplify responsibility and excellence on and off the football field, will go to one coach in each of the four National Collegiate Athletic Association divisions. Should Tuberville win the contest, your Auburn Alumni Association will receive a $20,000 scholarship contribution. Vote by Nov. 27, and again between Dec. 5 and 15. Fans’ votes count 20 percent toward finalists’ total scores. The results will air on ABC’s “The Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year” show at 4:30 p.m. CST on Dec. 29.

Local Auburn clubs to compete in membership challenge More than 6,000 Auburn alumni and friends attended 50 local club meetings around the nation this year and counting. Now we’re challenging club participants to promote membership in the Auburn Alumni Association. Do you have any friends and family who participate in local Auburn club activities but haven’t yet joined the Auburn Alumni Association? All club rosters will be reviewed at the beginning of the new calendar year; the club with the highest percentage of association members wins a prize. Encourage your friends to join by Dec. 31! Every member counts.

[ www.aualum.org/clubs ] GOT NEWS? Drop us a line

at Auburn Magazine, 317 S. College St., Auburn University, AL 36849-5149, or aubmag@auburn.edu. J Life Member N Annual Member

’20 – ’59 J J. Calvin McCulloh ’53 of Birmingham completed a four-year term as Southeastern regent for the American College of Dentists. He was the first Alabama dentist to serve in the position. J Grady Sue Loftin Saxon ’55 of Leeds published her third book of poetry, Sand Between My Toes (Absnth Inc., 2007).

Winter 2007

www. aualum .org

J W.R. “Bill” Klemm ’58 of Bryan, Texas, wrote a history of the armadillo, ’Dillos: Roadkill on Extinction Highway? (Benecton Press, 2007). Klemm is a professor of neuroscience and veterinary integrative biosciences at Texas A&M University.

’60 – ’64 J Hank Miller ’64 is a professional photographer with his own business in Marin County, Calif., specializing in virtual tours of real estate properties. He teaches digital media arts at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. J W. Tobin Savage III ’64 is a project architect with O’Brien/Atkins Associates in North Carolina’s Research

Triangle Park. He is responsible for a $500 million terminal replacement and expansion at Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

’65 – ’69 Adrian Joseph Poitras ’66, a retired telecommunications executive, wrote Capitalist Rising: The Short History of a Long Insurgency (Vantage Press, 2007). The book examines the birth of capitalism and highlights its advocates’ struggle against the traditions of feudalism, mercantilism and religious control. Poitras lives in Arlington, Texas. N Clifford E. Cormany Jr. ’67 is president of Investigative & Polygraph Group Inc., a

Decatur, Ga.-based group of retired FBI agents who conduct private investigations and polygraph exams, and provide security consulting. He married Pamela Rock ’68 on June 9. J M. Lamar Martin ’69 is retiring from his position as vice president and chief financial officer at Caddell Construction Co. Inc. in Montgomery.

’70 – ’74 J Steven H. Stokes ’71 of Dothan was elected chair of the University of South Alabama board of trustees for a three-year term. He and wife Angelia donated $2 million to the Mobile university to be used for scholarships.

256-825-3445 www.lakemartinlodge.com

Spirit in every

WAR EAGLE

Nearly 400 alumni and their families gathered on campus in September for Auburn University’s annual Golden Eagles reunion honoring the class of 1957. Weekend highlights included a class welcome by former Glomerata editor Batey Gresham ’57 of Nashville, Tenn., and a reception hosted by AU President Jay Gogue and his wife, Susie. When 94-year-old George Walthall ’34 (above, fourth from left) graduated from Auburn, the cost of a first-class stamp was just 3 cents. Also pictured: Dan Bennett, dean of AU’s College of Architecture, Design and Construction; James Staggers ’41; Dick Brinker, dean of the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences; and George Walthall Jr. Photo far right: Danny Sue Conner ’50, Elizabeth “Sam” Maxwell Owens ’52 and Chrys Malone Street ’52 remember when the number of students enrolled at Auburn hovered at about 6,000. AU’s enrollment now tops 24,000.

✪ Jim D. Farris ’72 of Prattville is special assistant to the president for intercultural and governmental affairs at the University of Montevallo. Cheryl Morgan ’74 of Birmingham was honored by the Girl Scouts of Cahaba Council as one of its 10 “Women of Distinction.” She is the Gresham Professor of Architecture at Auburn University and directs the College of Architecture, Design & Construction’s Urban Studio. MARRIED: Jennifer Kay Chandler to John Wyatt Stevenson ’70 on May 12. He is editor and publisher of The Randolph Leader in Roanoke.

Winter 2007

www. aualum .org

’75 – ’79 Trina Gordon ’75 was named chairman of the board of Boyden World Corp. executive search firm. She serves as president of Friends of Prentice, a group supporting Prentice Women’s Hospital of Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and is a member of the Northwestern Memorial Foundation’s campaign steering committee. Gordon also is a member of the Chicago Zoological Society’s board of governors. ✪ David Mitchell ’75 of Dayton, Ohio, joined MTC Technologies Inc. as executive vice president and director of modernization and sustainment. He oversees the

company’s work in Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah, as well as a new aircraft completion center in Albertville. ✪ Joseph Howard Newberry ’75 is president and chief executive officer at Achieva Credit Union in Clearwater, Fla. He and wife Marie Carlile Newberry ’76 live in Pinellas County, Fla. Sherrie Haggerty Wiggins ’76 retired after 30 years in the field of education. She briefly served as a speech-language pathologist for Lanett City Schools and later became a guidance counselor for Calhoun County Schools. She and husband Randy Wiggins ’80 live in Jacksonville.

Joe Sumners ’79, director of AU’s Economic & Community Development Institute, was appointed by Alabama Gov. Bob Riley as a special adviser to the Alabama Rural Action Commission. Don Thurlow ’79 was promoted to vice president of pre-construction services and business development for the New Orleans division of Walton Construction Co. MARRIED: ✪ Lori Primm to Ronald K. Outlaw ’78 on July 29. They live in Saraland.

’80 – ’84 ✮ Allen Trippeer Jr. ’83 is an attorney with the Birmingham firm of Haskell Slaughter Young & Rediker. He serves

ALUM CAlendAr

events

2007 november 9-11

februAry 8-9

April 30-m Ay 8

Away-Game Travel: Auburn vs. Georgia Greater Athens Auburn Club Tailgate Party (Athens, Ga.)

Auburn Club Leadership Conference (club officers only)

War Eagle Travelers Tour, Western Mediterranean

november 9-18

m ArCh 1

m Ay 19-27

Lifetime Achievement Awards Banquet

War Eagle Travelers Tour, Ireland

War Eagle Travelers Tour, Egypt

november 24 ALUM Hospitality Tent, Auburn vs. Alabama

deCember 9-17 War Eagle Travelers Tour, Bavarian Markets

deCember 17 Auburn University Commencement

JAnuAry 26-feb. 6 War Eagle Travelers Tour, Panama Canal

for

April 6-14 War Eagle Travelers Tour, Tahiti and French Polynesia

✪ Terry Pamela Hensler ’84 of Marietta, Ga., is a senior manager with Habif Arogeti & Wynne accounting firm. She married Steven Smith on Oct. 7, 2006. ✪ Mike Speakman ’84 of Auburn recently returned from a trip to South Africa with his mother, Genta Sharp Speakman ’60, and son Landon. BORN: A son, William Reagan, to Maurice Davis ’84 and wife Noelle of Charlottesville, Va., on Dec. 15.

www. aualum .org

June 14-24 War Eagle Travelers Tour, Europe

April 9-17 War Eagle Travelers Tour, Malta and Sicily

April 13-25 War Eagle Travelers Tour, Italy

April 27-m Ay 5 War Eagle Travelers Tour, Holland and Belgium

event detAils or to find A loCAl

on the firm’s new whitecollar defense and corporate investigations team.

Winter 2007

Auburn Alumni Association Board of Directors Meeting

Auburn

Club in your AreA, see www.aualum.org.

’85 – ’89

in Alpharetta, Ga., with wife Debbie and son Harrison.

✪ Mark Kantor ’86 is purchasing manager for Briggs & Stratton Corp. in Auburn.

✪ Mark C. McGill ’87 of Powell, Tenn., was promoted to director of pharmacy for Infusion Partners Inc.’s Knoxville, Tenn., market. He and partner Robert Satoloe also run Birchwood Kennels.

✪ Seth Baron ’87 is Southern states area director for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Atlanta. ✪ Cliff Darby ’87 is president of R.G. Darby Co. Inc. door manufacturer, a division of Atrium Companies Inc. His wife, Amy Edington Darby ’89, owns an interior design firm. The couple lives in Florence with their two children, Samuel, 10, and William, 6. ✪ Joe K. Gillis ’87 is a senior transportation analyst with URS Corp. in Atlanta. He lives

✪ Michael Morgan ’87 and wife Meresa Bond Morgan ’92 of Richmond, Texas, completed their second BP MS 150 bike tour, a 180mile ride from Houston to Austin, Texas, benefiting the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. ✪ William Christopher Newton ’87 retired from active duty in June after serving 20 years in the U.S.

Navy Civil Engineer Corps. He is a civil engineer and program manager in the facilities planning department at the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station in Cherry Point, N.C. He and wife Nenita live in Havelock, N.C. They have three children.

’90 ✪ Charles M. Duggan Jr. is city manager for Auburn. He and wife Dara Miller Duggan and their two children, Madelaine and Connor, live in Auburn. Van Allen Plexico is assistant professor of political science and history at Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville, Ill.

Auburn Magazine

For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University

MARRIED: Robin Owens McCown to Mark Stone Ennis ’86 on Feb. 17. They live in Opelika.

’91 Ron Hughes Jr., a financial adviser for Merrill Lynch in Atlanta, was named one of Barron’s “Top 100 Financial Advisers” for the second year in a row. BORN: A daughter, Leah Avery, to James Hamrick and wife Eve of Eufaula on March 23. A daughter, Caroline Lewis, to William Miles “Bill” Hardy and Laura Kay Sanders Hardy ’93 of Auburn on May 21.

’92 James Roger “Jim” Hogan joined the Birmingham office of Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon Inc. as a senior landscape architect. ✪ Ross Mendheim was named a shareholder with Barfield, Murphy Shank & Smith accounting firm in Birmingham. He has worked for the firm since 1995. ✪ Jason Saliba of Smyrna, Ga., is an assistant district attorney for Cobb County, northwest of Atlanta. He and father Richard Saliba, brother Ricky Saliba ’79 of Dothan and nephew Michael Saliba, an AU freshman, vacationed together in Costa Rica in March. MARRIED: Colleen Casey O’Donnell to David W. Holmes ’93 on June 8. David is a senior asset manager for Collateral Real Estate Capital, and Colleen is a Wal-Mart pharmacy manager. They live in Helena. BORN: A daughter, Elizabeth Rivers, to Jason Davis and Jennifer Phelps Davis ’89 of Spanish Fort on Dec. 19. She joins brother Whit. Jason is a commercial marketing manager for Alabama Power in Mobile. A daughter, Fiona Ruth, to Allison Sivells McGoffin Winter 2007

www. aualum .org

and husband Michael of Murfreesboro, Tenn., on Jan. 19. She joins brother Jordan.

of Atlanta on Feb. 24. Doug is director of accounting at Acuity Brands Inc.

A son, William Charles, to Chuck Murphy and Susan Fidell Murphy ’94 of Virginia Beach, Va., on Dec. 11. He joins brother Jack.

A daughter, Caroline Sloan, to Christopher M. Smith and wife Tammy on June 13. Chris is director of operations for AIF Inc. of Ozark.

’93

’95

David Bryan Johnson was appointed associate vice provost in enrollment management at Indiana University. He formerly served as director of enrollment services and programs at the University of Alabama.

✪ Mike Bamman is director of operations for Lifesigns in Memphis, Tenn.

Cheryl Bollie Kidd of Brandon, Miss., started an online business, www. theaccessoryshoppe.com, selling women’s and children’s accessories, and other items. BORN: ✪ A daughter, Ellianna Sophia, to Chris Austin and wife Colleen of Knoxville, Tenn., on April 26. A daughter, Erin Ingram, to Alan J. Ingram and wife Janet of Birmingham on July 5. ✪ A daughter, Katherine Elizabeth, to Deborah Looney Johnson and husband Bryan of Duluth, Ga., on Aug. 5. ✪ A daughter, Emily Claire, to Rebecca Ann Hendricks Pelaez and husband Mark of Marietta, Ga., on April 22. A son, J. Prescott, to Scott J. Rossman and Diana Lynam Rossman ’96 of Americus, Ga., on May 22.

’94 ✪ Derek S. Roh was named the David T. Kearns Public School Chief Information Officer of the Year by the Consortium of School Networking. He is the director of information technology services for Baldwin County Public Schools in Loxley. BORN: A son, Joseph Aiden, to Toby Bernstein Clarke and husband Michael of Martinsburg, W.Va., on May 1. ✪ A daughter, Avery Ann, to Doug Sawyer and wife Molly

Jennifer Reaves Bouani wrote a children’s book, Tyler & His Solve-a-matic Machine (Bouje Publishing, 2006). ✪ Allison McAllister is a team leader for neurology customer support at Biogen Idec, a biopharmaceutical company in Research Triangle Park, N.C. ✪ Juan C. Ortega is a partner in the law firm of Alford, Clausen & McDonald in Mobile. He specializes in complex civil litigation, including hurricane claims, product liability and medical malpractice. MARRIED: Melissa Ann Hill to Mark Dodge Haughery on June 2. They live in Birmingham. ✪ Elizabeth Ann McDowell to Andrew Dean Bauer ’86 on June 9. They live in Helena. ✪ Jennifer Meilan to William Singleton on March 10. They live in Tampa, Fla. BORN: A daughter, Emma Holtzscher, to Matthew A. Holtzscher and wife Jennifer of Prattville on Feb. 20. A son, Brooks MacGregor, to Mandy Beam Pearson and husband Adam of Cordova, Tenn., on April 13.

’96 Andrei Derevianko was awarded a Fulbright grant for physics research at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. Julie Johnson Graves, a math teacher at Centre Middle School, was selected the 2006 Cherokee County Elementary Teacher of the Year.

Adam Piper, a graduate engineering student at AU, won the Public Risk Management Association’s 2007 John Beno Memorial Scholarship for his work on safety training for multilingual and multicultural workforces. MARRIED: ✪ Diane Gibbs to John L. Smith of Mobile on May 5. She teaches graphic design at the University of South Alabama. BORN: ✮ A son, William Andrew, to Bethany Sweeney Arbuckle and husband Andy of Hendersonville, Tenn., on April 4. ✮ A son, Colin James, to Leigh Batemon Brookyser and husband Brent of Montgomery on May 15. ✪ A daughter, Megan Rylee, to Todd Guthrie and wife Christy Spruell Guthrie of Villa Rica, Ga., on May 22. ✪ A son, Ross Tanner, to John R. Jordan and wife Amanda of Vidalia, Ga., on April 22. ✪ A daughter, Katherine Lynn, to Lisa Musselman Pearson and husband Chris of Tampa, Fla., on Jan. 16. ✪ A son, Harper Clements, to Anna Harper Reed and husband Chris of Auburn on Sept. 1, 2006. ✪ Twins, Campbell Cargill and Tatum Kennedy, to Terry Lee Sparks and Anne Menninger Sparks ’97 of Birmingham on Jan. 9.

’97 ✪ Jerlando F.L. Jackson was tenured as an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Todd Lowery is a procurement forester for Lower Dixie Timber Co. in Linden. MARRIED: ✪ Christina Cobb to Jeremy Million on April 14. They live in Irving, Texas. She is alumni association executive director at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Auburn Magazine

For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University

This odd

couple

makes a dynamic

He speaks softly and talks introspectively about his life in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or, simply, “the bureau.” She warmly expounds on the love of people that propelled her climb up the achievement ladder with Mary Kay Inc. They seem an unlikely pair, Martha and Rob Langford—the FBI special agent and the Mary Kay saleswoman extraordinaire. And after 46 years of marriage and a dual-career life that carried the couple across two continents and a good half-dozen states, you’d think they might enjoy a rest. Married between their junior and senior years at Auburn University, the Langfords graduated in 1961 just as the Vietnam War was gathering momentum. After a five-year tour as a U.S. Marine infantry officer, Rob joined the FBI. Life with “the bureau” would take the young agent and his family first to Quantico, Va., for training, then, over the years, to Houston, Detroit, Buffalo, N.Y., Washington, D.C., and, finally, after 32 years, back to Alabama. While in Detroit, Martha began looking for portable work that would also allow her to devote time to Rob and their two sons. In 1973, she discovered Mary Kay, the Dallas-based network of independent beauty consultants founded 10 years earlier by Mary Kay Ash. “I wanted a career that would move with us,” she says. “Mary Kay’s philosophy is God first, family second and career third, and that’s exactly what I was looking for.” Soon, Martha had earned the company’s first-ever signature pink Cadillac—Mary Kay’s trademark performance perk— in the state of Michigan. She’s been driving the distinctive vehicles ever since. “Mary Kay gave me a new Cadillac STS as a retirement gift,” she says. “We’re still driving pink.” Both Langfords pursued their careers at home and abroad. When the FBI chose Rob to attend the Senior Command Course hosted by the British police in Bramshill, England,

Winter 2007

www. aualum .org

duo

Martha, naturally, moved too—and promptly started Mary Kay’s first United Kingdom sales force. Neither ever dreamed they’d work in Alabama again. But the call came in 1993, when Rob was transferred from Buffalo, N.Y., to a new job heading the FBI’s Birmingham office. Back in the South, he reopened the investigation into the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham that resulted in the deaths of four young girls, an infamous hate crime that had never been fully prosecuted. Thirty years later, black community leaders asked Rob what happened to the case. “I didn’t know the answer, so I started to look into (it),” he recalls. He found that the FBI actually had conducted a thorough investigation at the time but believed an impartial jury would be impossible to find. After reviewing the evidence, Rob believed a strong case could be made against two remaining bombing suspects. Thomas Blanton Jr. and Bobby Frank Cherry were charged with the murders and convicted in 2001 and 2002, respectively. Although the Langfords are now retired, they haven’t resigned themselves to rocking chairs—the former power-career couple travel often to visit children and grandchildren in Colorado and Virginia. And while the duo hasn’t been back to Auburn for a while, they still maintain their school ties. “There’s a baby Toomer’s Oak seedling growing in our yard,” the pair says proudly. “So Auburn’s always here with us—War Eagle!” —Suzanne Johnson

Make your kid an Alabama College Kid

Start an Alabama 529 Plan and get a free T-shirt* that lets everybody know your kid is an Alabama College Kid. Getting started is easy. Choosing an investment option is too — all you need to know is your child’s birthdate. With the cost of a four-year education at Alabama’s public schools averaging $18,600, your kid could use a financial head start. So come on Alabama, make your kid a College Kid. To open an account or obtain a copy of the Program Disclosure Statement visit www.alabama529.com.

An investor should consider the investment objectives, risks and expenses associated with municipal fund securities before investing. More information about the Program is available in the Program Disclosure Statement, which contains detailed information about the investment options available under the Program, risk factors, fees and expenses, and possible tax consequences. Please read the Program Disclosure Statement carefully before investing. If you and/or your designated beneficiary are not Alabama residents, consider whether either party’s home state offers a qualified tuition program that provides state tax or other benefits that are not available through the Program. The Program is sponsored by the State of Alabama and designed to be a Qualified Tuition Program under Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code. Accounts and investments under the Program are not insured or guaranteed by the State of Alabama or any other federal or state governmental agency and you could lose money. Van Kampen Funds Inc. is the underwriter for the Program. The Program is offered through independent distributors that have entered into selling agreements with Van Kampen Funds Inc. and, for Alabama residents not investing in the Program through an independent distributor, directly from Van Kampen Funds Inc. *Free “College Kid” T-shirt available to the first 2,000 applicants. © 2006 Van Kampen Funds Inc. All rights reserved. Member NASD/SIPC. RN06-01821P-Y07/06 (C)

Auburn Magazine

For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University

BORN: ✪ A daughter, Aubrey Marie, to Kyle G. Anderson and wife Candance on May 10. She joins brother Luke McKinley, 2. The family lives in Eagle River, Alaska, where Kyle is a U.S. Air Force major and assistant director of operations for the 962nd AACS. ✮ A son, Davis Shane, to Scott Bolton and Everlie Davis Bolton of Dothan on June 30. ✮ A son, William Lee, to Kay Cates Brantley and husband Blake of Albany, Ga., on March 9. A son, Parker Erik, to Melissa Marrow Lindquist and husband Roald of Cumming, Ga., on Oct. 9. ✪ A son, Ford Thomas, to Jon Thomas McCracken and Lori Wilson McCracken ’98 on March 7. He joins sister Ava Barrett. J.T. is a corporate pilot for Cox Enterprises Inc. in Atlanta.

’98 ✪ Mona Brooks is a San Francisco photographer whose work has been published in Marie Claire magazine, the French daily newspaper Le Monde and other publications. She formerly worked as a marketing manager in Dallas. ✪ Rob Calhoun of Round Rock, Texas, received his doctoral degree in chemistry from the University of Texas at Austin. He will serve as a chemistry professor at the U.S. Naval Academy. ✪ Justin Patrick Gilder is a tax manager in KPMG International’s insurance tax practice in Dallas. He and wife Harmony live in Irving, Texas. ✪ Jesse B. Mitchell graduated from the Duke University School of Law on May 12. Blake Nelson was named an associate with CMH Architects Inc. in Birmingham. He joined the firm in 1998. ✪ Jeff Thomas coached the Leeds High School softball

Winter 2007

www. aualum .org

team to the 2007 Alabama High School Athletic Association AAA state championship.

Jim Striplin coaches basketball, baseball and football at Wadley High School.

✪ Michael Tullier of Auburn was named vice chairman of the Universal Accreditation Board, which oversees voluntary professional accreditation in the field of public relations.

MARRIED: Lindsay Marie Bridgford to William Benjamin Jernigan III on May 5. They live in Birmingham.

BORN: ✪ A son, Martin Scott, to Jarrod Scott Foerster and wife Amy of Mobile on June 11. ✪ A daughter, Kelsey Ann, to David Alan Tabor and Joey McCord Tabor on May 22. She joins brother Robby. David works in medical instrument sales, and Joey is a human resources bank officer at Fidelity Bank. They live in Loganville, Ga.

’99 MARRIED: Lindsey Register Ryan to Christopher Lang Harp on March 10. They live in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla. ✮ Sela Elizabeth Stroud to Bryan Douglas Blanton ’98 on Oct. 28. They live in Birmingham. BORN: ✮ A son, Emory Gordon, to John Gordon Carver and Elizabeth Claire Carver ’00 of Hoover on March 26. A son, Hubert Randall III, to Hubert Randall Davis II and wife Kelli of Centre on Jan. 7. A daughter, Mary Elliott, to Kerriann Sparks Martin and husband Chris of Auburn on Sept. 2. ✮ A daughter, Emily Claire, to James Pouncey and Allison Frost Pouncey ’03 of Solomons, Md., on April 27. A daughter, Molly Kathryn, to Cope M. Smith and Lauryn Singletary Smith ’00 of Union Springs on April 10.

’00 Kevin W. Garrison has taught English for three years to more than 300 students in San Marcos La Laguna, Guatemala.

✪ Rebecca Jane Buchanan to John Alexander Williamson III ’99 on Feb. 24. They live in Birmingham. Jennifer Anderson Immel to Seth Wyatt Griffin on April 7. They live in Chicago. Allison Elaine Potter to Kenneth Leverett Barton on April 24. They live in Birmingham. BORN: A daughter, Harper Lee, to Blake Boland and wife Shannon on March 4. They live in Moody. ✪ A daughter, Sienna Marie, to Andrea Shell Broyles and husband Eric of Madison on Feb. 2. ✮ A son, Lane Allan, to Mark Edwards of Arab on Feb. 2. ✮ A son, Ethan Shepard, to Brent Fletcher and Cindy Reardon Fletcher on Jan. 4. They live in Woodstock. A son, Joshua Ian, to Kelly Carroll McDougle and husband Jason on April 18. They live in Florence. A daughter, Melanie Mackenzie, to Karin Jorgensen Normandin and husband Troy on Nov. 30, 2006. They live in Winter Park, Fla. ✮ A daughter, Isabella Magdalen, to Jeffrey Schreiber and wife Joanna on May 6. They live in Clifton Heights, Pa. ✮ A daughter, Hannah Louise, to David Stamper and Carlie Cranford Stamper on Feb. 16. They live in Birmingham. ✪ A son, Walker Charles, to David Stejskal and Mindy Allen Stejskal ’01 on June 4. They live in Montgomery. ✪ A son, Logan Nicholas, to Braxton Underwood and wife Dannie on Feb. 2. They live in Dallas, Ga.

’01 ✪ Mary-Peyton Posey is managing editor of Condo Owner magazine, based in Gulf Shores. James Watson of Arlington, Va., received a master’s degree in transportation policy, operations and logistics from George Mason University in May. MARRIED: Rebecca Lane Campbell to Jason Grant O’Dell on April 14. They live in Trussville. Somer Megan Daniels to Gregory Allan Carr Jr. ’00 on March 24. They live in Montgomery. ✮ Nina Lacy Eason to Jared Daniel Gullage ’04 on July 15. They live in Opelika. Leah Moren Green to Matthew Thornton Dukes in Birmingham on April 21. They live in Huntsville. Caroline Clark Kyser to Davis Houghton Smith on April 21. They live in Montgomery. BORN: A son, Weston Patrick, to Allison Stacker Parker and husband Luke of Cerritos, Calif., on Dec. 27. ✪ A daughter, Summer Faye, to James “Lynn” Shoop and Meredith Rathbun Shoop of Marietta, Ga., on June 25. She joins brother Logan. A daughter, Brooke Stephanie, to Stacey Foster Thomas and husband Chip of Richardson, Texas, on May 20. ✪ A son, Dillon Robert, to Andrea Hovis Tremblay and husband Robert of Tampa, Fla., on March 25.

’02 ✪ Taylor Stewart Dobbs is a Birmingham attorney. She and husband Matthew are planning a move to Nashville, Tenn. John B. Kingsley is a consultant for HA&W Innovative Technologies. He lives in Birmingham.

okd024output.indd 1

Auburn Magazine

For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University

8/31/07 11:09:35 AM

✪ Margie Maddux Newman, a former aide for Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, joined Hall Strategies, a Nashville, Tenn., public affairs firm, in March.

✮ Kelly Jo Kopnicky to Eric Levin Booker on Aug. 5. Kelly is a speech-language pathologist at Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Holland Striplin is a realitytelevision casting director for NBC, Fox and several other television networks in Los Angeles.

BORN: ✮ A daughter, Campbell Collier, to Jeff Moore and Ana Sealock Moore ’01 of Birmingham on Feb. 12.

MARRIED: ✪ Jodi Lynn Cowen to Justin Clay Henley ’00 on July 8. They live in Ada.

’03

✪ Katrina Wojcik to Robert Harden on May 5. They live in McLean, Va.

Jose Acosta of Miami, Fla., is director of engineering at Miller Legg consulting company.

✪ Jordan Phillips of Fyffe plans to marry fiancée Britney Roberts in July. Jordan proposed to Britney on the lawn of Samford Hall. He is a history teacher for DeKalb County schools. Samantha Shelton-Hicks received a doctoral degree in osteopathic medicine and a master’s degree in public health from Nova Southeastern University College of Medicine in May. She began her residency in anesthesiology at the University of Arkansas in July.

Amanda J. Victory graduated from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in May. She entered an obstetrics and gynecology residency at the University of Rochester and Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, N.Y., in July. MARRIED: Kristen Fredrickson to Brian Bailey ’00 on Nov. 17. Brian works for Sanofi Aventis pharmaceutical company. Kristen works for Details Communications. They live in Birmingham.

Sticky fingerS bring SatiSfaction,

38 years later

The impulsive act of a Rolling Stones fan during a wild Auburn weekend in 1969 has paid off in a surprising way for Tommy Glidewell ’73. He and his Stones tour poster from that weekend were featured earlier this year on an episode of the popular PBS television series “Antiques Roadshow.” Tommy Glidewell and his brother, Hugh Glidewell ’71, were among a crowd of Auburn students anxious to see the “world’s greatest rock ’n’ roll band,” which played two November shows in Auburn’s coliseum as part of its 1969 U.S. tour. Hugh Glidewell spotted the poster and pulled it off a telephone pole. After Hugh died in 1987, the boys’ mother gave Tommy a box of his college belongings. “The poster stayed rolled up in the box until 1999, when my wife had it framed for me,” Tommy Glidewell says. The Glidewells suspected the poster had value because

Winter 2007

www. aualum .org

of its age and the nature of the Stones’ tour that year—the first undertaken by the band after the death of guitarist and founding member Brian Jones. Thinking his piece of memorabilia might be worth a few hundred dollars, Glidewell took the poster to a filming of “Antiques Roadshow” in Mobile. To his surprise, appraisers placed the poster’s value at between $5,000 and $6,000. The Stones concert took place on a Friday night, Glidewell recalls. “The concert was delayed because the equipment did not arrive, so the 9:30 show did not begin until around 11:30,” he says. “Afterward, we went back to the fraternity house but had no heat, so we loaded up the car and headed to Athens, where Auburn totally dominated the Georgia Bulldogs, 16-3. What a weekend!” Glidewell, who lives in Jackson, Ga., and remains a Rolling Stones fan, saw the band in concert again eight years ago. The yellowed poster, meanwhile, hangs proudly on the Glidewells’ living room wall. Glidewell says he’s still trying to solve another 38-year-old mystery: the name of the artist who illustrated the poster. The signature appears as if it might read “J. Cox,” and the work, Glidewell guesses, might have been that of either a professional or student artist in Auburn at the time. Know the name of the artist who illustrated the 1969 Rolling Stones/Auburn concert poster? Let us hear from you at aubmag@auburn.edu.

Auburn Magazine

For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University

✮ Katherine Hogan Klepper to Carl Allen Cole III on Feb. 17. They live in Decatur. BORN: ✮ A son, Benjamin Michael, to Matthew Eckley and Emily East Eckley of Huntsville on March 1. ✮ A son, Grayson Christopher, to John C. Gibson and

Jessica Nichols Gibson ’06 of Daphne on April 6. He joins siblings Miles, Riley and Ryan. John is the president of Security 101 in Mobile.

’04 Jessica Hammonds lives in Washington, D.C., where she works as a political scheduler.

MARRIED: ✮ Tiffany Lynn Baker to Keith Marshall Jackson on April 7. They live in Atlanta.

Jessica Hayes Henig to David Matthew Coblentz ’00 on April 7. They live in Montgomery.

Alicia Marie Boykin to Stephen Joshua Searcy on March 31. They live in Santa Monica, Calif.

Shannon Elaine Jeely to Dash Daniel on March 19. They live in Trussville.

Sara Elizabeth Compton to Robert Fred Cothran Jr. ’01 on June 9. They live in Huntsville.

Erica Meehan to Joshua Levi Lindsay on May 12. They live in Cumming, Ga.

[PRINCE CHARMING ] optional

Susan Johnston listened in frustration as a friend’s young daughter interrupted a Barbie-and-Ken play session to confide her life’s ambition: to find Prince Charming and live happily ever after. Johnston, 41 and happily single, posed a question: “Why do you need Prince Charming to live happily ever after?” That query formed the basis of Johnston’s self-published children’s book, Princess Bubble, a tiny, subtly feminist tome that chronicles the adventures of a modern-day princess. The title character lives a perfectly happy life as a flight attendant and illumines a simple message: that single—or even married—women can live fulfilled lives without hanging their identities on a spouse or partner. In the book, Princess Bubble learns that “happily ever after” comes from loving God, helping others and being comfortable with who you are. “We’re not anti-prince,” explains Johnston, a 1988 AU public relations alumna who cowrote the book with best friend Kimberly Webb. “We’re just anti-damsel in distress.” In a society where, for the first time, 51 percent of American women are single, the moral of the story appears to have taken flight. Following local TV interviews in the authors’ hometown of Atlanta, the two

WINTER 2007

WWW. AUALUM .ORG

appeared on the nationally syndicated “Sally Jesse Raphael Show” on TalkNet radio and were interviewed in August by Ann Curry on NBC’s flagship morning show “Today.” Delta Air Lines’ inflight magazine, Sky, featured the authors in its October issue. Both Johnston and Webb have made their careers as Delta flight attendants, Johnston leaving after 18 years to work on the book. Estimating that she’s been a bridesmaid at least 17 times but never the bride, Johnston—whose college nickname was “Bubble”—says the message that women can be strong, confident and happy with or without a man resonates not only with single women, but also women with daughters and even sons. “I have only nephews, and I want them to hear this message,” says Johnston, a fourth-generation Auburn grad. “I want them to grow up not feeling that they have to be responsible for someone else’s happiness.” Even though the book ends happily ever after, the princess’ reign isn’t over yet. Johnston and Webb plan to pen a series of books in which Princess Bubble will travel the world and introduce young readers to other cultures. —Suzanne Johnson

Auburn Magazine

For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University

Former AU president

william walker dies at 69 William F. Walker, Auburn University’s president for three years during a turbulent period in the institution’s history, died of complications from cancer in August. He was 69. “We mourn the loss of an important member of the Auburn family,” said AU President Jay Gogue. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Dr. Walker’s family and friends.” Walker joined the university in 1988 as dean of the College of Engineering and was promoted to provost 11 years later. He was named interim president in February 2001, succeeding William Muse, and elevated to president by unanimous vote of AU’s board of trustees the following year. Walker led Auburn during a troubled time marked by conflicts between trustees, faculty and alumni; state education budget cuts; and an investigation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accrediting agency. His leadership came under particular scrutiny in 2003 when it was learned he had spearheaded a clandestine search to replace head football coach Tommy Tuberville. Walker resigned in 2004. Despite his brief tenure and the controversy that surrounded it, Walker managed to accomplish much during a short time— outlining a vision to ensure the university’s financial soundness, focusing its sense of mission and accountability, and improving communication with students, faculty, staff, alumni and trustees. “I am deeply saddened by the untimely death of Bill Walker, who was both a friend and mentor to me,” said Larry Benefield, dean of AU’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering. “Bill understood what made a great university just that—and had a vision to meet the criteria necessary to greatness. His goal was to recruit faculty who were outstanding both in teaching and research, and to give them the resources they needed to succeed.” Born on Dec. 1, 1937, in Sherman, Texas, Walker earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aerospace engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. He later received a doctorate in mechanical engineering from Oklahoma State University. Prior to his tenure at Auburn, Walker served on the faculty at Rice University in Houston for 23 years.

Winter 2007

www. aualum .org

Carrie Christine Vaughan to Louis Rollins Montgomery on April 28. They live in Vestavia Hills. BORN: ✮ A son, Cooper Marshall, to Tiffany Baker and Keith Jackson on Jan. 16. They live in Alpharetta, Ga. ✪ A son, Brandon Joseph, to Natalie McCarthy Seahorn and husband Steven on June 6. They live in Springville.

’05 Kelly C. Baltes was named chairman and chief executive officer of Cheddar’s Casual Café Inc. based in Irving, Texas. He formerly served as executive vice president for Darden Restaurants, which operates several chains, including Red Lobster, Olive Garden and Bahama Breeze. ✮ Nicole Woerner of Gulf Shores was one of 51 students nationwide who received an Outstanding Student Award this year from the American Institute of Certified Planners. MARRIED: ✮ Janet Kathleen Browning to Foster Daniel Phillips on Aug. 26. They live in Birmingham. ✮ Allison Lynn Farman to Robert Edward Kinney on Aug. 25. They live in Tallahassee, Fla. Lucy Kathleen Kelley to William Marbury McCullough ’04 on Jan. 20. They live in Alexander City. Meghan Lea McDonough to Josh Uday Bhate on April 14. They live in Moody. Lesa Michele Milstead to Jason Ware Kirkland on April 28. They live in Stockbridge, Ga. ✮ Jessica Leigh Pieplow to Matthew Delaplane on March 17. They live in Harvest. ✮ Halie Denise Spivey to Matthew John Sell ’04 on July 22. She works for Merial veterinary pharmaceutical company, and he teaches middle school physical education and health. They live in Cumming, Ga.

’06 David J. Green received the Maj. Gen. Strom Thurmond Leadership Award in February from the Reserve Officer Association of the U.S. Army Reserve. Green is captain of the 12th Legal Support Organization. He is vice president of corporate supply management for Alltel Corp. in Little Rock, Ark. ✪ Gordon Sumner of Springfield, Va., is executive director of the U.S. Department of Defense National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, which provides assistance to businesses employing military volunteers. ✮ Anthony Wright accepted a position as a software engineer at O’Neal Steel Inc. in Birmingham. MARRIED: ✮ Baret Brining to Nick Melton on April 7. They live in Mobile.

’07 Mary Martha Abernathy of Huntsville and Austin Ryan Walsh of The Woodlands, Texas, each received Auburn University’s 2007 Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award. Auburn is one of several Southern universities that present the award to recognize faculty, staff or students who exhibit “excellence in character, service to humanity, scholarship or other activities” or alumni who perform “conspicuous and meritorious service … to humanity.” ✮ Joon Suh of Montgomery is research supervisor for Anzalone Liszt Research Inc. MARRIED: ✮ Kathryn Michelle Chandler to Richard Aaron Chastain on May 19. They live in Nashville, Tenn.

✪ Elizabeth Callahan Stone and John Wilson Nash on June 16. They live in Birmingham.

retired as co-owner of Coca-Cola’s Chattanooga, Tenn., plant.

In Memoriam:

✪ Donald F. Layfield ’48 of Macon, Ga., died Aug. 3. He served as Southeastern administrator for the U.S. General Services Administration.

Marie Kelley Griswold ’37 of Columbus, Ga., died March 12. She worked as a teacher and homemaker, and traveled the world throughout the U.S. Army career of her late husband, Col. George M. Griswold ’37.

✮ Marion J. Johns ’49 of Chipley, Fla., died July 22. He had worked as a pharmacist for Service Drugstore in Graceville, Fla.; founded a local chapter of Habitat for Humanity; and served as a member of the Washington County Literacy Foundation.

✮ John Thomas Nixon ’40 of Mountain Brook died July 24. A U.S. Army major in Alaska during World War II, he worked as vice president of Collateral Investment Co. and New South Federal Savings Bank. ✪ J. Frank Burgess Jr. ’41 of Roswell died June 19. A World War II veteran and U.S. Army War College graduate, he served as a vice president of Consolidated Edison Inc. of New York. ✪ James Auston Green ’41 of Birmingham died July 13. A retired U.S. Air Force Reserves major and veteran of World War II, he had worked for the U.S. Soil Conservation Service. ✪ James A. Warren ’42 of Hilton Head, S.C., died July 5. He served in the U.S. Navy for 30 years, earning the rank of captain in the Supply Corps. After retiring as director of food service in the Pentagon, he worked for Woods Construction Co. ✪ Joe Chester Jones Sr. ’43 of Cary, N.C., died July 30. A U.S. Army veteran of World War II, he served as corporate vice president and assistant to the CEO of Northrop Grumman Corp.’s aeronautical systems division.

✮ Brittany Elise Davis to Timothy Dale Ashley Jr. on Dec. 16. They live in Auburn.

✪ William J. Broughton Jr. ’47 of Pensacola, Fla., died June 17. A graduate of Gulf Coast Military Academy, he served in the U.S. Navy and formed a manufacturing company.

Jennifer Elizabeth Nolen to Aaron Hunter Bridwell on June 9. They live in McCalla.

✪ Benjamin Davies ’47 of Allison, Pa., died Aug. 13. A World War II veteran, he

✪ Walter F. Johnsey ’49 of Birmingham died July 29. He had served as executive vice president, chief financial officer and director at Alabama Power, and also held executive positions at Drummond Co. Inc. and Jasper Corp. ✪ Richard Hilburn Riggs ’50 of Evergreen died June 21. A World War II veteran, he had been a plant manager for BellSouth Corp. ✪ Thomas Dwight Jones ’51 of Huntsville died Aug. 25. A World War II veteran, he worked as a pharmacist for more than 50 years. ✪ Herbert E. Graetz ’52 of Columbus died Aug. 27. A U.S. Army veteran, he retired as vice president and national sales manager of Tom’s Foods Inc. ✮ Robert L. Lynn ’59 of Atlanta died Aug. 1. He had served as president of the Atlanta Saltwater Sportsman’s Club and as a Georgia representative on the International Game Fish Association. ✪ David G. Rushing ’63 of Brilliant died July 24. He was a pharmacist and served on the board of the Brilliant Housing Authority. ✪ Reece McCain ’65 of Orlando, Fla., died July 23. He worked as a manufacturers’ representative for more than 30 years.

Auburn Magazine

For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University

✪ William D. Boyd II ’66 of West Blocton died July 26. He owned The Boyd School Inc. and served on the board of Tri-Wil Inc. ✪ Donald Preston Moore ’68 of Lanett, founder and co-owner of Tenda Chick restaurants, died July 16. A U.S. Army veteran, he was a farmer and entrepreneur who formed one of the first companies in the United States to perform embryo transplants in cattle. A former board member of the Alabama Restaurant Association, he was selected by the group as Restauranteur of the Year in 1998. ✪ Ron P. Gore ’69 of Seattle died June 29. He was owner and president of Gore Electric Co. Inc. for 27 years. ✪ Robert Edward Stricklin ’71 of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., died Aug. 4. He earned numerous outstanding-civilian

awards during his 39-year tenure at Eglin Air Force Base. ✪ Nancy Rimel McLaughlin ’73 of Hoover died July 16. She sang in the choir at First Presbyterian Church of Birmingham and worked as a medical technologist for Greenvale Pediatrics. ✮ Glenn David Rainey ’73 of Asheboro, N.C., died Aug. 4. He managed his own firm, Milestone Computer Solutions, and held several offices in the Professional Engineers of North Carolina. ✪ Kristine S. Cunningham ’75 of Columbia, Mo., died July 5. She served as a counselor at New Haven Elementary for nine years. ✪ Deborah Diane Love ’75 of Piedmont died July 12. She was a teacher for Piedmont City Schools for 25 years and was an elder at Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

✪ Bradley Scott Christian ’80 of Montgomery died July 28. He worked for Alabama Power. ✪ Denzel Harve Carbine ’81 of Franklin, Tenn., died July 27. He was state director for the Home Builders Association of Tennessee Inc. ✪ Anthony E. Brashears ’97 of Pensacola, Fla., died July 24. He worked as a project manager and engineer for International Paper Co.’s Pensacola mill. ✮ Matthew Kyle Stidham ’06 of Hamilton died Aug. 19 while kayaking in New Zealand. FACULTY & FRIENDS: Robert Bernstein of Matthews, N.C., died April 2. A retired AU political science professor, he was a former North American bridge champion.

✮ Donald Edward Phillpott of Simpsonville, S.C., died Sept. 10. He was an active member of the Palmetto Auburn Club in Greenville, S.C.

A gift in memory or honor of a decedent may be made through the Auburn Annual Fund for a specific school or college. For more information, contact Sharon Awtrey at (334) 844-1445 or by mail at Auburn Annual Fund, 317 South College Street, Auburn University, Ala., 36849.

Alabama attorney general worked as racial moderate during civil-rights era Richmond Flowers ’40, who served as Alabama attorney general at the height of the civil rights era and earned a national reputation by challenging the segregationist rhetoric of Gov. George C. Wallace, died Aug. 9 at his home in Dothan. He was 88. After undergraduate study at Auburn University and law school at the University of Alabama, Flowers served in the U.S. Army at the headquarters of Gen. Douglas McArthur and attained the rank of captain before being discharged in 1946. He practiced law briefly in his hometown of Dothan before deciding to enter politics, conducting a successful run for state senate in 1954. Flowers was elected attorney general of Alabama in 1962, the same year Wallace was first elected governor. Recognizing the far-reaching effects of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, Flowers advised against following the governor’s pro-segregation call.

Winter 2007

www. aualum .org

As the state’s chief law officer and legal counsel, Flowers was active in the prosecution of racially motivated criminal cases, including the murders of Southern Christian Leadership Conference volunteers attempting to register black voters in Lowndes County. He also prosecuted four Ku Klux Klan members for the murder of Violet Liuzzo, who was shot while transporting civil rights workers during the Selma to Montgomery march. Though the Klansmen were acquitted by a white jury, they were later tried in federal court and found guilty of violating Liuzzo’s civil rights. Flowers ran in the Democratic primary for governor in 1966, losing to Wallace’s wife, Lurleen. In 1969, he was convicted along with two others for extorting payments from life insurance companies wanting to do business in Alabama. He was pardoned by U.S. President Jimmy Carter in 1978.

Our

culture is 91 years old.

Never been bought, never merged, never sold. Stability is good for Financial Advisors. Stability is good for clients. Stability is how you build a career. To be a true wealth manager, join the true wealth management firm. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re inviting successful Financial Advisors who are looking to relocate to The Loveliest Village On The Plains, Auburn, Alabama, to consider a career as a Financial Advisor at Merrill Lynch Call: Robert P. Kennedy Director Southland Complex Merrill Lynch

1-800-937-0282 334-409-5802 4001 Carmichael Road Suite 500 Montgomery, AL 36106

Total Merrill (design) is a registered service mark of Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. Total Merrill is a service mark of Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. ÂŠ 2007 Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated. Member, SIPC.

Auburn Magazine

For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University

Clockwork Orange

Students turned out right on time for the first “All Auburn, All Orange” pep rally of the academic year on Aug. 31. Hundreds filled the streets at Toomer’s Corner, signs of support in tow, to kick off the 2007 football season with Aubie and the Auburn University Marching Band. Photo by Jeff Etheridge

Give the gift of membership this holiday season. Have friends and family who aren’t members of the Auburn Alumni Association? Members receive insurance, rental car, hotel and online shopping discounts, plus a subscription to Auburn Magazine and more.

You don’t need to be an alumnus to be a member...just a fan of Auburn University.

Call today and finish your shopping early!

(334) 844-ALUM ®

www.aualum.org/membership/gift Auburn Alumni Association Auburn Alumni Center

giftad BIG.indd 1

317 South College Street Auburn University, AL 36849-5150

www.aualum.org

Winter 2007

www. aualum .org

9/21/07 11:55:59 AM