RESEARCH Civil rights after John F. Kennedy pg 17 SPORTS Two men who put the ‘fan’ in ‘fanatic’ pg 24
Biography of a gator lover in south Alabama pg 28
PROFILE
WINTER 2009
The Beat Goes On
Backstage with the AU Marching Band
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Tunnel Vision As their predecessors have done for decades, members of this year’s Auburn University Marching Band help Tigers fans herald the arrival of football players onto the field at Jordan-Hare Stadium and entertain fans at halftime. Auburn administrators are planning a new $15 million band hall and practice field off Samford Avenue. Cover story on Page 34. Photograph by Jeff Etheridge
a u a l u m . o r g Auburn Magazine
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Locate old friends, network with successful alumni in your field, join an online group of Auburn alumni
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Auburn Magazine
For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University
Auburn Magazine
For Alumni & Friends of Auburn University
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Winter 2009
On the cover Photographer Philip Smith chronicles the adventures of the AU Marching Band through all types of weather—including this season’s downpours.
F R O N T
24 Tiger Walk
Hot damn! Robert Hamill ’70 and David Brown take Tigers fandom to a whole new level. Also: the Top 10 things every Auburn fan ought to know.
6 From the Editor
Auburn people have passion in droves—and not just for football. 8 The First Word
We called Selena Roberts the “most hated woman in sports,” and you agreed. 10 College Street
Students battle flu season and administrators struggle with budget cuts, but a red-hot freshman class makes it all worthwhile. MICHAEL KOWALSKI
Time for hoops
B A C K 49 Alumni Center
Started your holiday shopping yet? Give somebody a Toomer’s brick. Also: club members who champion soldiers and our winter calendar of events. Plus: Why you saw AU pennants on “General Hospital” this summer.
Artist Hugh Williams “They say I’m really a teddy bear inside ... or do I have a teddy bear inside?” Meet an alumnus who saves alligators, Page 28.
16 Research
Forty years ago, the Vietnam crisis was overshadowing the nation’s civil rights movement. 18 Roundup
What’s happening in your college? Check it out. 20 Concourse
Oprah’s got nothing on the book clubs in Auburn’s Honors College. Also: social networking takes AU to the masses.
F E A T U R E S
28
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Marching Orders
Singing our song
51 Class Notes 59 In Memoriam
And you think you get hot at early-season Tigers football games? Follow trumpet player Rebecca Lakin and the rest of the Auburn University Marching Band as they prepare their 2009 game-day soundtrack. Ten-hut! by rebecca lakin photographs by jeff etheridge and philip Smith
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Engineers go borderless
Gator Bait
Wesley Moore ’00 struts into a swamp full of reptiles armed with a stick, a sense of humor and a chicken carcass because, well, that’s just his job. Mobile’s own gator saver explains why he turned his family’s land into a safe haven for cold-blooded carnivores. by michael hansberry photographs by jeff etheridge
Auburn’s Attic
Step right up! Take a metaphorical journey through some of the least-known, most exotic and downright odd corners of the AU campus. by suzanne johnson and courtney johnson illustrations by bruce dupree
Missed: Architect D.K. Ruth ’68
64 The Last Word
Pollster David Hill ’70 thinks the H1N1 inoculation campaign could use a shot in the arm.
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From the Editor
The meaning of life BETSY ROBERTSON Editor, Auburn Magazine
The happiest people I’ve ever met are those who have figured out what it is they’re passionate about and then proceeded to do that thing, whether as a career or just a pastime. Here at Auburn Magazine, we’re drawn to stories about alumni, students and faculty whose passions range from raising money for as-yet-incurable diseases to building houses for the poor, conserving wildlife to concocting environmentally friendly fuel. A few will reap personal wealth as a result of attending to some individual muse, but, more often than not, doing what we love fills our hearts faster than our wallets—and that, I think, is enough. Take Tigers fanatic David Brown, for instance. It’s rare that an alumni magazine highlights a non-alumnus in its pages, but when our staff heard about the Columbus, Ga., resident and his imposing attendance record at Auburn football games, we were hooked. Brown has been in the stands for 300 games straight, his enthusiasm for his beloved team having infected dozens of fellow fans. About the same time we were preparing to assign a story on Brown, I met Birmingham resident Robert Hamill ’70, a legacy alumnus who has attended every single Iron Bowl since 1959. Whatever Auburn’s win-loss record in a particular year, whoever is in the head coach’s seat,
AUBURN MAGAZINE (ISSN 1077– 8640) is published quarterly; 4X per year; spring, summer, fall, winter, for dues-paying members of the Auburn Alumni Association. Periodicals-class postage paid in Auburn and additional mailing offices. Editorial offices are located in the Auburn Alumni Center, 317 South College St., Auburn University, AL 36849-5149. Phone (334) 844–1164. Fax (334) 844–1477. E–mail: aubmag@auburn.edu. Contents ©2009 by the Auburn Alumni Association, all rights reserved. ADVERTISING INFORMATION Contact Betsy Robertson at (334) 844–1164. POSTMASTER Send address changes to 317 South College St., Auburn University, AL 36849–5149.
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EDITOR
Betsy Robertson ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Suzanne Johnson CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Shannon Bryant-Hankes ’84
rain or shine, these men show up to support their team and have fun in the process. That’s the Auburn spirit. And then there’s Wes Moore ’00, who traveled the world and worked in broadcasting before chucking the corporate life in favor of creating his own alligator farm. He’ll tell you it’s not a luxurious life—still, he’s doing what he loves, and I like to imagine Moore gazing into a pair of drowsy reptilian eyes, offering hope to a gator fished out of somebody’s fancy-neighborhood lake. For more, see Page 28. Finally, our cover story on the Auburn University Marching Band supports the idea that passion plus dedication can result in pure joy. Less than 15 percent of the 380 students who don shakos and sequins each week are actual music majors: They play for the love of making music and finding friends and being young. Trumpet player Rebecca Lakin takes us behind the curtain during the weeks leading up to the band’s grand game-day performances—the heat of rehearsals, the stress of hitting the right notes, the countdown to kickoff and then: showtime. Nearly every Saturday in fall, their bliss is ours.
ART DIRECTOR
Stacy Wood WEBMASTER
Jeff Hall UNIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHER
Jeff Etheridge EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS
Michael Hansberry ’10, Courtney Johnson ’09, Rebecca Lakin ’10 DESIGN ASSISTANTS
Ashley Hollis Everett ’10, Laura Jordan ’10, Nayeon Kim ’10 Lauren Wright ’09 PRESIDENT, AUBURN UNIVERSITY
Jay Gogue ’69 VICE PRESIDENT FOR ALUMNI AFFAIRS AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AUBURN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Deborah L. Shaw ’84 PRESIDENT, AUBURN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Nancy Young Fortner ’71 AUBURN MAGAZINE ADVISORY BOARD CHAIR
Kay Fuston ’84 AUBURN MAGAZINE ADVISORY BOARD
Maria Baugh ’87, John Carvalho ’78, Susan Dendy ’79, Ed Dickinson ’70, Christian Flathman ’97, Tom Ford ’67, Julie Keith ’90, Mary Lou Foy ’66, Eric Ludgood ’78, Cindy McDaniel ’80, Carol Pappas ’77, Neal Reynolds ’77,
Joyce Reynolds Ringer ’59, Allen Vaughan ’75
betsyrobertson@auburn.edu
LETTERS Auburn Magazine welcomes readers’ comments, but reserves the right to edit letters or to refuse publication of letters judged libelous or distasteful. Space availability may prevent publication of all letters in the magazine, in which case, letters not printed will be available on the alumni association Web site at the address listed below. No writer is eligible for publication more often than once every two issues. No anonymous letters will be accepted. Auburn Magazine is available in alternative formats for persons with disabilities. For information, call (334) 844–1143. Auburn Magazine is a benefit of membership in the Auburn Alumni Association and is not available by individual subscription. To request a membership application, call the association at (334) 844–2586.
Oh come, all ye faithful....
Join us for the 17th Annual Victorian Front Porch Christmas Tour. There may be a lot of places to find Santa Claus, but in Opelika you’ll also still find the true meaning of Christmas. Contact the Auburn-Opelika Tourism Bureau to plan your visit today. Tour of Homes & Nutcracker December 12-13
Christmas in a Railroad Town December 11
Victorian Front Porch Tour December 8-13
334-887-8747 | 866.880.8747 | aotourism.com | info@aotourism.com AU Alumni winter 09.indd 1
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L E T T E R S
T O
T H E
E D I T O R
The First Word THE TOPIC Our fall issue generated a slew of let-
ters from readers, some of whom took issue with our cover story on Sports Illustrated writer Selena Roberts ’88. The most incendiary feedback referenced a 700-word column Roberts wrote in January 2005 while on staff at The New York Times in which she drew a link between the finances of Auburn University trustee Bobby Lowder ’64 and the nonprofit ministry of Tigers football team chaplain Chette Williams ’86. Read on for more, and remember: Auburn Magazine welcomes letters to the editor. Send your thoughts via e-mail to aubmag@ auburn.edu, or write us at Auburn Magazine, 317 South College St., Auburn University, AL 36849. Down with negativity
I was extremely disappointed to pull the latest version of Auburn Magazine out of the mailbox and find Selena Roberts on the cover. Selena Roberts has generated several extremely negative articles about Auburn over the last few years that have shaped people’s opinion of our university on a national level. The slander job she did on Chette Williams was disgraceful, and her conduct during the Duke University lacrosse case was a pathetic display of journalism, as she convicted (Duke athletes) on day one and refuses to apologize and acknowledge their innocence. Why you would decide to prop this person up as someone AU grads should be proud of is beyond me. —Blake Arrington ’93, Auburn, Ala. Offensive cover
Too bad Auburn Magazine didn’t do its homework before wasting our time and even offending many alumni by having Selena Roberts on the cover. I’m baffled that there is no mention in Sally Ann Flecker’s article that Selena Roberts is the reporter who put Chette Williams and the Auburn University Fellowship of Christian Athletes on trial in The New York Times, causing the NCAA to investigate the Auburn athletic department for improprieties regarding brother Chette and FCA donors, primarily Bobby Lowder. As it turns out, the NCAA found there was no impropriety there. This is also the same reporter who was lambasted after it was found that the Duke lacrosse players, though they may have acted in a morally inappropriate way, had done nothing wrong criminally. Auburn Magazine, you should be ashamed. —Steven Hill ’86, Carrollton, Ga. No shame
Your Fall 2009 cover story on Selena Roberts, the unrepentant writer who went after the Duke University lacrosse players—later exonerated on
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rape charges, but forever bruised—shows one thing: The romantic line from a generation ago had it all wrong. Being a highly paid writer for Sports Illustrated means never having to say you’re sorry. No, it “didn’t rise to the level of a crime,” but this “misogynistic culture”—with white boys of privilege attending a prestigious private university, posting “pornographic pictures” (gasp!) and using racist language—had to be exposed. Ignore the fact that the prosecutor in the case was censured and disbarred for misconduct. Forget that the university publicly apologized and awarded the accused players handsome settlements. Just remember U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy, who was also little concerned about what would later be called “collateral damage” as he attempted to expose the traitors in our midst. An acclaimed line from that era seems apropos: Selena Roberts, have you no shame? —James C. Sentell ’61, Opelika, Ala.
Career sensationalist
Who’s next?
Compliments accepted
Thanks for the cover shot and feature article about Selena Roberts in the latest issue. Not! I’d rather it had been (former Tigers defensive back and athletics whistleblower) Eric Ramsey, my second least-favorite Auburn graduate. Don’t get me wrong, I really don’t care what she thinks of A-Rod. Actually, I could care less what she thinks about anything. It’s her negative articles about Auburn and the ridiculous articles about the Duke lacrosse team that make her my all-time worst sports reporter and least favorite Auburn grad. —Robert Cottle ’72, Clemmons, N.C.
I just wanted to let you know how impressed I am with the Fall 2009 issue of Auburn Magazine. From Jeff Etheridge’s fabulous aerial photos to Amy Gesenhues’ “Against All Odds,” this is clearly the best issue I have ever seen, and I have been a life member of the Auburn Alumni Association for nearly 40 years. The profiles by John Vardeman, Sally Ann Flecker and Suzanne Johnson are terrific centerpieces, and the entire issue makes me especially proud to be a member of the association. —Dixon A. Bramblett ’73, Sandy Springs, Ga.
I am curious as to why you would write a feature article on an AU grad who has been nothing but a sensationalistic journalist searching out the negative for all of her career. Selena Roberts epitomizes all that is wrong with today’s media. As an AU grad, I want to read about AU people who have made a positive difference in this world, not one who has taken every opportunity to further her career by taking shots at many, including her own alma mater. —John F. Pack ’70, Dana Point, Calif. Read all over
Until the Fall 2009 issue of Auburn Magazine arrived recently I had never sat down and read one cover-to-cover the same day it came. I did it with this one! This issue was really special, including the article about Selena Roberts, whom I have read in Sports Illustrated. Keep up the good work. —Dave Laney ’52, North Liberty, Ind.
Hold your applause Puff piece
Selena Roberts is not a credit to Auburn University; she is a disgrace upon its good name. I still can’t believe that Auburn Magazine—of all publications—not only brushed over and excused Roberts’ serial abuses as a New York Times reporter, but couldn’t find so much as one paragraph to note Roberts’ slanderous and unfounded attack on the Auburn athletic department and the Rev. Chette Williams in early 2005. And that doesn’t even touch on the article’s airy dismissal of Roberts’ infamous rush to judgment (and subsequent “what, me responsible?” reaction) to the Duke lacrosse hoax. No doubt Roberts’ editors at the arch-liberal Times were more than pleased to read an assault on those redneck rubes and their backwards Christian ways written by one of their own, but under no circumstances should Roberts have received six pages of celebrity worship coverage in the university’s own alumni publication. —Will Collier ’92, Smyrna, Ga.
Your editor’s column, “Beginnings” (Summer 2009), reminded me of a rather jocular “beginning” my best Auburn friend and fellow member of the singing Auburn Octet had when he shook the hand of AU president Ralph Draughon upon receiving his degree. During commencement, all graduates, friends, families and faculty were on one side of the football stadium, and I was alone on the other side, halfway up. My friend Robert J. “Bob” Willingham ’52 and I had a plan. One of the octet’s favorite songs included yodeling. It was a German song: “Ach, the Moon Climbs High.” Bob wanted to yodel into the microphone upon receiving his degree, and he wanted me to echo the yodel from across the stadium! President Draughon handed Bob his degree. Shaking his hand, Bob grabbed the mic and gave a resounding, amplified yodel. After an appropriate two- or three-second pause, from across the field came my responding “echo.” The crowd erupted. —Eugene Guazzo ’52, Chaptico, Md.
Giving Back In A New Way!
OrgAnized in COnjunCtiOn with gOvindA gAllery, wAShingtOn, d.C.
THE AUBURN UNIVERSITY OWNED HOTEL HAS BEEN COMPLETELY RENOVATED, OFFERING TRUE SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY, A GREAT
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Imagine your next business meeting or retreat:
OctOber 10, 2009 – January 9, 2010 Bill l. HarBert Gallery
Jule Collins smith museum
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Come to Auburn Stay, meet and dine with us Walk to Toomer’s Corner Walk to campus and reminisce Golf at AU Club And, come back again.
Art Changes Lives See how at JCSM
www.jcsm.auburn.edu 901 South College Street • Auburn, Alabama 36849 • 334.844.1484
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COLLEGE STREET Q and A AS A WOMAN BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL CAREER IN THE 1970S, WHAT WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST CHALLENGES YOU EXPERIENCED?
We listened very closely to what the minister was saying about women being submissive and took it literally—but couldn’t quite live up to that entirely. It was so ingrained in us to be the nice, quiet Southern lady … You are forever fighting your culture.
Brenda Smith Sanborn ’68
Flu fighters WRITING RIGHT on campus Former Pfizer Inc. senior director of national sales operations
When students flocked back to campus for fall semester earlier this year, university officials figured the H1N1 virus would arrive too—and, as expected, hundreds of folks on campus have been treated for the highly contagious illness. The mutated swine flu bug was declared a global pandemic—the first since 1968—by the World Health Organization in June. As Auburn Magazine went to press, more than 350 students, faculty and staff had tested positive for H1N1 at the Auburn University Medical Clinic alone. Other members of the campus community likely were infected but sought care off campus. Auburn was among the first recipients of the intranasal swine flu vaccine distributed throughout Alabama in early October, said AU medical director Frederick Kam. The university planned to provide free vaccines to all faculty, staff and students—some 27,000 people—but since the initial delivery included only
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4,500 doses, some would-be flu fighters were forced to wait. “I think we are going to plan for chaos. We are planning for a huge demand with a limited supply, and will take it from there,” Kam said. The university requested more than 30,000 doses, and officials expected to receive the remaining vaccines in October and November. Kam said he hoped to have the entire campus vaccinated by the December holiday break, if not before. As the fall semester began, Auburn’s provost’s office asked each faculty member to prepare contingency plans for completing courses in case H1N1 became more widespread—generally by updating class information electronically. Although officials did not expect the university to shut down altogether, faculty were told to expect a large number of absences through the fall and into the spring 2010 semester. For more information on H1N1 at Auburn, see www.auburn.edu/emergency/ flu.html.
After seeking input from faculty, staff, students, alumni and others whose feedback formed an exhaustive “want list,” Auburn administrators recently carved out the university’s strategic plan for the coming years. One specific priority: teaching kids how to write. Higher-education critics have taken American universities to task in recent years for failing to teach students how to express themselves clearly and concisely on paper as a precursor to entering the job market. Auburn’s Writing Initiative Task Force in 2008 formed its own plan to reduce freshman composition class size to 19 students or less and expand the English department’s writing center to provide support for all students. A year later, the writing center has two locations and a growing number of volunteers tasked with helping students improve their communication and reasoning skills. Trained faculty and students tackle everything from comma splices to sentence structure to style: On a given day, about 50 students enter the doors for 30-minute appointments at either Haley Center or Ralph Brown Draughon Library.
N E W S
AUBURN UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES
C A M P U S
Flashback 100 years ago
75 years ago
50 years ago
25 years ago
10 years ago
Winter 1909
Winter 1934
Winter 1959
Winter 1984
Winter 1999
Enrollment at Alabama Polytechnic Institute had grown to 738—35 more students than the previous year. The student newspaper, the Orange and Blue, marked the occasion: “With the increased enrollment, the spirit of fellowship and the old time Auburn Spirit in such magnitude we feel assured that this is to be one of the brightest and most glorious years in the college.”
The School of Agriculture began offering forestry courses to train students to do work for the state of Alabama and elsewhere. Auburn University’s School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences now offers undergraduate majors in forestry, wildlife sciences, and wildlife ecology and management, plus pre-veterinary studies and a track for students interested in combining forestry and biosystems engineering.
Several API art students and faculty received top honors and awards at the Alabama State Fair. Hugh O. Williams, then an associate professor of art, won two first prizes in abstract expressionist oil and painting. He and fellow faculty member Louis Cheney also were selected to show their work at a regional art exhibit in Atlanta; paintings by Williams are now in the permanent collection of the city’s High Museum of Art.
Auburn’s Ralph Brown Draughon Library put its card catalog online and made computers available to students and faculty. Today, the library has added even more services: Students, for example, may “talk” to a librarian and ask questions in a live online chat room, and even access publication databases from their phones.
Students partied like it was 1999, including welcoming the new millennium at Toomer’s Corner by tossing commemorative “Toomers 2000” toilet paper. The “Y2K” New Year’s Eve celebration also included performances by several local bands and a $10,000 fireworks show. More than 25,000 people attended the bash, according to The Auburn Plainsman.
Above: Crowds gather around the only DC-1 jet ever produced. The aircraft had just set a transcontinental speed record of a bit longer than 13 hours in February 1934; nine months later, pilot Eddie Rickenbacker would break that record flying a DC-2. The photo is among Auburn University’s collection of still shots and memorabilia documenting Rickenbacker’s career. For more, see Page 42.
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Still in the building “Elvis at 21, New York to Memphis: Photographs by Alfred Wertheimer” runs through Jan. 9 at Auburn’s Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art. The exhibition includes more than 40 gelatin-silver prints by the German-born photojournalist whose work focuses on the King’s early career.
NEW BUDGET, SAME STORY Auburn University started its new fiscal year with a familiar refrain: proration. Alabama Gov. Bob Riley announced Sept. 29 that the state’s sales tax revenue is not expected to adequately fund the education budget passed by the state legislature last spring and that a 7.5 percent cut in state appropriations is on the horizon. All public education in Alabama is affected, including Auburn. State appropriations account for about 30 percent of the university’s total revenue; the proration will reduce state funding to the Auburn University system by nearly $20 million over the next year. Auburn president Jay Gogue ’69 said no employee layoffs or furloughs are planned and that the university must find less harmful ways to cut costs. AU is weathering the economic woes relatively better than many of its peer institutions because administrators budgeted conservatively in previous years, Gogue added. Before the governor’s announcement, Auburn was already preparing for proration. Vice presidents, deans and department heads throughout the university had been advised to scale back spending during the coming year. “We are trying to cut our operating budget in a rational way that will give us time to do some things gradually and with minimal hardship,” said executive vice president Don Large ’75, addressing the Auburn board of trustees at its Sept. 25 meeting. Auburn employees will not receive salary increases for the second year in a row, and the university still faces increases in retirement and health-care costs. University officials also expect to see continued increases in operating costs for new and existing buildings. The trustees planned to review the university’s longterm capital commitments at its Nov. 6 meeting. “We are trying to move forward in a very tough time,” Gogue said. “In spite of everything, I am very excited about where Auburn is in relation to others. That’s the only solace in this discussion.”
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Bigger and better This fall, Auburn
tive students and their
then gauges academic
this year. The number
University rose in the
parents.
quality by factoring
of minority students,
national U.S. News &
seven categories:
meanwhile, increased
World Report rankings
ratings are based on
academic reputation,
by 15 percent from the
of American universi-
indicators that some
student retention, fac-
same time last year to
ties for the 17th year
prospective college stu-
ulty resources, student
477 enrolled, and the
and recorded its high-
dents may value, such
selectivity, financial re-
number of graduate
est enrollment and test
as general reputation
sources, alumni giving,
students increased
scores ever.
or selectivity,” said
and (for some colleges
nearly 5 percent to
The university was
Drew Clark, director
and universities) the
3,689.
ranked No. 39 among
of Auburn’s Office of
difference between the
public universities
Institutional Research
proportion of students
dean of enrollment
nationwide, according
and Assessment. “But
expected to graduate
management, was
to U.S. News’ an-
Auburn also uses as-
and the proportion that
pleased with the year’s
nual evaluation. Auburn
sessments that provide
actually does.
numbers, which align
ranked 20th among
direct information on
with the university’s
land-grant institutions
equally important indi-
more students—24,602
and 88th nationally on
cators of quality, such
enrolled—than ever
the magazine’s com-
as how much students
before, up from 24,530
graduate enrollment
bined list of public and
are actually learning
in fall 2008. Nearly
at about 20,000
private schools.
and what kind of col-
4,000 entering fresh-
students and overall
lege experiences they
men averaged 26.2
enrollment to 25,000,
sity administrators
have.”
on their ACT college
Auburn continues
have mixed feelings
entrance exams, out-
to advance its top
about the methodology
rankings, U.S. News
pacing last year’s 25.9
strategic priorities—el-
used to develop the
categorizes colleges
record. Undergradu-
evating academics and
U.S. News rankings,
primarily by mission
ate enrollment fell
enriching the under-
the magazine’s lists are
and, in some cases,
slightly, from 20,037
graduate experience,”
popular with prospec-
region. The magazine
in 2008 to 19,926
he said.
While some univer-
“The U.S. News
To establish its
Auburn now boasts
Wayne Alderman,
strategic plan. “By capping under-
Life in Alabama More than 90 percent of Alabama residents agree their state can accurately be described as “friendly” and a “good place to raise a family,” according to a quarterly poll conducted by Auburn’s Center for Governmental Services. They’re less sure about the economic picture, though: Only 63 percent said they feel Alabama is a good place to start a business, and less than half said the state is a good place to find a job.
C O L L E G E
S T R E E T
Auburn and beyond JAY GOGUE ’69
President, Auburn University As most of you know, for 17 years Auburn University has ranked in the top 50 of public institutions in U.S. News and World Report. However, did you know that this same publication also just reported what Auburn residents have known for a long time—that the “loveliest village of the plain” is a great place to live, attend school and raise a family? U.S. News selected the city of Auburn as a top-10 choice among all the places in America, recognizing it as “this diamond on the eastern Alabama plain,” and Auburn University as a major contributor to residents’ quality of life. Two examples of the university’s myriad contributions that go far beyond the city limits are found in bioenergy research and our new Center for Science, Technology and Commerce. In September, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded Auburn a $4.9 million grant to develop new production systems to collect woody biomass from pine plantations for making bioenergy.
This is a very important grant that will allow us to further develop ways of producing more biofuel. It will help our nation find alternatives to oil and will boost the economy in areas of Alabama that rely on forests for jobs. Auburn’s Center for Bioenergy and Bioproducts will lead the project as part of a consortium that includes central Alabama’s Corley Land Services, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and companies from the United States and Canada. Auburn will also receive $14.4 million in federal stimulus funds for construction of a science, technology and commerce research facility in the Auburn Research Park on South College Street. The competitive grant will aid Auburn researchers working on standards, measurements and forecasting related to food safety, bioenergy technologies, aquaculture development and sustainability, and water and environmental quality. The innovations coming out of the new 68,000-square-foot center will advance national priorities that benefit key sectors of the economy and the public in Alabama and beyond. It will feature 21 research laboratories for five major multidisciplinary research groups. U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Alabama, and other members of the Alabama congressional delegation have worked hard to support such growth to ensure that the state plays an important role in achieving federal research goals. Initiatives such as these will further establish Auburn as a major research university, and the fact that we’re part of a community recognized as a great place to live makes such accomplishment even more special for our students, staff, faculty and graduates.
jgogue@auburn.edu
Randy Campbell ’84
B.T. Roberts ’72
TRUSTEE TALK Two Auburn alumni have been nominated to fill vacancies on the university’s board of trustees. A trustee selection committee recommended Randy Campbell ’84 of Birmingham to represent District 6, which covers eight Alabama counties south and west of the city. The position is to be vacated by Paul Spina ’63, whose term expired in September. Board members may serve up to a year after the end of their terms during the search-and-nomination process for their replacements. An Auburn Tigers quarterback from 1981-83, Campbell serves as president of Birmingham-based Campbell Financial Partners and Harlan Partners. He graduated from Auburn with a degree in industrial operations management. The committee also nominated Ben Tom “B.T.” Roberts ’72 to complete the term of the late John C.H. “Jack” Miller, who died in July. Miller represented District 1, comprising seven counties in southwest Alabama. The term runs through May 10, 2012. Roberts is president of Roberts Brothers Commercial and Property Management in Mobile. He graduated with a degree in industrial management and serves on the Auburn Alumni Association board of directors. Both Campbell and Roberts received unanimous recommendations from the trustee selection committee, which includes Alabama Gov. Bob Riley, two members of the Auburn Alumni Association board and two current Auburn trustees. Both nominations are pending confirmation by the Alabama Senate. The next legislative session is scheduled to begin in January.
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S T R E E T
PH ILIP S MI T H
C O L L E G E
Meet the Prof John Saye Professor of social science education, College of Education BACKSTORY An Auburn faculty member for 15 years, Saye co-directs the Persistent Issues in History Network, which advocates the study of history in schools as part of a wider societal effort to encourage “civic competence.” He formerly taught high school history and social studies. COMING SOON Saye and his colleagues received
help after-hours adventurers make it to and from home safely. The service was prompted by parking scarcity and erratic taxi availability in town and sponsored by city leaders, Auburn University students and campus administrators. About 1,600 riders used Toomer’s Ten during its first week running seven routes between AU and off-campus housing every half-hour between 10 p.m. and 2:30 a.m.
Name game When does a street become a way, or a drive become a concourse? Given an address on War Eagle Way, would you know where to go? The AU board of trustees played some name games at its Sept. 25 meetOld
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ing, changing a number of streets and pedestrian areas to conform to the university’s campus master plan. The plan is designed to gradually transform Auburn’s central campus into a pedestrianfriendly zone.
New
Roosevelt Drive, Wire Road to Donahue
Heisman Drive
Donahue to Roosevelt connector
Beard-Eaves Court
Dormitory Drive
War Eagle Way
Unnamed street west of public safety, from Magnolia to The Village residences
Village View Lane
Pedestrian area on Roosevelt from Mell to east of stadium
Roosevelt Concourse
Pedestrian area on West Thach from Ross Square to Wire Road
Thach Concourse
Auburn Magazine a u a l u m . o r g
BEHIND THE SCENES Saye enjoys hiking, garden-
ing and reading. LONG-TERM GOAL “To fundamentally change the way history is taught in the United States, so kids can apply an understanding of history to decisionmaking in order to become informed citizens in a democratic society.” PHOTOGRAPH B Y JEFF ETHERIDGE
TOOMER’S AT 10: Think of it as a late-night limo. “Toomer’s Ten” is a new bus service in Auburn designed to
a $1 million federal grant for a project, “Plowing Freedom’s Ground,” that helps history teachers in elementary, middle and high schools design lessons that will allow kids “to get their hands dirty with history.” The idea is to use interactive learning strategies and a national community of teachers and historians to improve the way history lessons are taught in classrooms across the country. “Students consistently report that history is their least-favorite subject … so we’re looking to change that,” Saye says. The program will focus on pivotal events during five different periods in U.S. history that illustrate the challenges of ensuring fairness and justice for all Americans: Revolution and New Nation (1754-1820s), Jacksonian America (1820-1850), Sectionalism and Civil War (1850-1865), Reconstruction to the Great Migration (1863-1915), and the Civil Rights and Social Movement (1940-1980). A number of Alabama school systems are sharing in the grant.
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Shows your Auburn pride and spirit to the world, or at least to other drivers in Alabama (or wherever the road may take you).
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Buy your tag at the county tag office—make a difference and share the spirit in welcoming new students to the Auburn family by supporting scholarships.
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9/14/09 9:27:37 AM a u a l u m . o r g Auburn Magazine
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C O L L E G E
S T R E E T
Research
Old tunes, new spin PERFECT MATCH Jacqueline Mitchelson
with spouses and/or
is a self-proclaimed
children, Mitchelson
perfectionist. Even as an
discovered that people
undergraduate at Grand
with non-perfectionist
Valley State University
personalities actually
in Michigan, she recog-
have higher levels of
nized the condition and
work-family conflict.
set out to study it.
The data supports the
idea that “positive
Now an assistant
professor of psychology
forms” of perfectionism
at Auburn, Mitchelson
exist; what matters is
has examined women’s
how individuals perceive
perfectionism and as-
chaos and order, a be-
sessed how it impacts
lief that runs counter to
their families and
the widely accepted atti-
professional lives. Her
tude within clinical psy-
findings are surprising:
chology that perfection-
The stereotype of the
ism is negative. “Some
frazzled multitasker is
people can have 18
a myth; working women
kids and are fine, while
who are perfectionists
some have one and can’t
don’t struggle more
handle the stress,” says
than their non-perfec-
Mitchelson, whose work
tionist sisters to bal-
has been reported in
ance healthy home and
the news media and
family lives. In fact, the
published in the Journal
opposite is true.
of Occupational and Or-
ganizational Psychology.
In a four-year survey
of working adults
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—Courtney Johnson
Auburn Magazine a u a l u m . o r g
When a voice teacher melds research with talent, the result is pure music. Rosephanye Dunn Powell, an associate professor in Auburn’s music department, studies classic African-American spirituals, but her musical tastes run the gamut from Verdi to Mahalia Jackson to Earth, Wind and Fire. Put them together and you have Motherless Child, a CD of African-American spirituals with a contemporary twist that Powell released over the summer. “I wanted another generation to embrace these songs,” Powell says. “The whole premise has been: Can these old songs have appeal and connect with this generation? These songs are not dead. They just need to be performed and arranged in a way that speaks to people now.” Powell bought her own recording equipment and learned to play various instruments, then performed, arranged and produced all 10 tracks. The finished CD might be described as an audio autobiography. “It’s not just me singing,” Powell says. “It’s a part of who I am.” Tracks range from the slow ballad “Balm in Gilead” to an urban take on “Ain-a That Good News” to a jazzy “Joshua Fit The Battle.” Powell began performing music at Hall Memorial C.M.E. Church in Valley before earning undergraduate and graduate degrees in music from Alabama State University, Westminster College and Florida State University. She has served on Auburn’s music faculty for eight years and
is a nationally recognized choral music composer. Powell is now composing a sacred choral suite for the American Guild of Organists as well as a Christmas suite for the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, which will include six songs and is scheduled to premiere in December. Powell hopes Motherless Child, which took five years to produce, will help take gospel music out of the academic realm and put the songs into the hands of lay audiences. “I wanted to merge my classical and popular music background with my research in spirituals to create a project that had appeal for academicians and professional musicians as well as mainstream America,” she says. “I want to go out to churches and professional organizations and speak on the wonderful heritage that AfricanAmericans have.” To hear sample tracks, see www.inkhornmusic. com.—Michael Hansberry and Rebecca Lakin
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Wall woes Some drywall imported from China contains fly ash from coal combustion that could pose hazards to both homes and homeowners, particularly in the Southeast, according to Auburn chemist and extension specialist James Hairston. Within humid climates, fly ash can de-gas to release fumes capable of corroding plumbing and wiring, and causing health problems.
TAKING THE HEAT Auburn’s sunny days are heating up the local courthouse and jail—literally.
Researchers from Auburn University’s Space
Research Institute recently designed and installed a solar power system for Lee County’s T.K. Davis Justice Center in Opelika, making it the first public building in Alabama to go solar.
The photovoltaic power system uses 72 high-
efficiency solar panels, eight of which are mounted
Were civil rights a casualty of war?
to a pole in the ground and the rest affixed to the
Although a handful of seminal events in the American civil rights movement get most of the press, the key to fully understanding that period in contemporary U.S. history lies in examining what happened immediately after the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, according to one Auburn historian. Analysts have amply chronicled the impact of Brown vs. Board of Education and the Montgomery bus boycott of the mid-1950s, Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963, and the subsequent passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964. But few academics have looked at race relations during the turbulent latter half of the 1960s, a time period that particularly intrigues David C. Carter, associate professor of history. “After we secured those civil rights victories in the mid-1960s, I knew that with the Vietnam War and the outbreak of a number of urban riots, the atmosphere of race relations changed in a lot of ways—and historians hadn’t devoted a lot of study to that period,” says Carter, whose book, The Music Has Gone Out of the Movement: Civil Rights and the Johnson Administration, 1965-1968 (University of North Carolina Press, 2009), was published in August.
The book focuses on the struggle between U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson and the civil rights activists with whom he butted heads. Johnson thought of himself as a civil rights leader and felt the activists should have been more grateful for what had been accomplished— which, Carter says, turned out to be a bit short-sighted. “Johnson played a central role in helping secure that legislation, but he failed to appreciate how many issues were left unresolved,” Carter explains. “Ultimately, the Vietnam War prevented him from devoting more time to the cause. There were many people angry about the war and angry about what they saw as a failure of resolve on his part.” Carter’s interest in race relations stems from growing up in Atlanta in the 1970s and attending a public school during what he calls an “aggressive” period of desegregation. His social worker mother and historian father were civil rights activists themselves, and their son began learning about social injustice at an early age. Half a century from the movement’s beginnings, a profound racial divide continues to characterize U.S. culture, Carter says.—Michael Hansberry
center’s roof. The system can withstand hurricaneforce winds up to 110 miles per hour.
Institute director Henry Brandhorst and his team
spent months designing the system, reviewing site constraints and studying which portion of the center’s roof receives the most sunlight. Using models based on up to four decades of eastern Alabama weather data, the team was able to predict the system’s performance. Scientists are now monitoring and measuring
wind speed, temperatures and sunlight from the installed system in hopes that the data will eventually benefit consumers interested in harnessing the power of the sun. “We want to show that solar power is successful and to have others invest in it,” Brandhorst says.
a u a l u m . o r g Auburn Magazine
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C O L L E G E
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Roundup COLLEGE OF
Agriculture The college recently earned international accreditation for its commitment to the responsible and humane treatment, care and use of research animals. The endorsement came from the private, nonprofit Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International and covers all farm and aquatic animals, wildlife and other creatures used for research and teaching. The designation applies to research on the AU campus as well as at the seven Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station units where animal research is conducted. The accreditation process spanned three years and involved comprehensive internal reviews of every aspect of animal care throughout the college, resulting in a 457-page supporting document followed by site visits from the accreditation agency. COLLEGE OF
Architecture, Design and Construction The college’s graduate degree program in landscape architecture has a new chair. Rod Barnett arrived at Auburn this fall from Auckland, where he served as director and principal supervisor of the landscape architecture program at Unitec New
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Zealand. He also ran a landscape architecture practice for 25 years and has designed landscapes in China and the Pacific islands as well as New Zealand. A graduate of the University of Auckland, Barnett plans to enhance the AU graduate program’s recruitment and outreach. COLLEGE OF
Business James Barth, Lowder Eminent Scholar in Finance, has been quoted widely in the media since the May release of his newest book, The Rise and Fall of the U.S. Mortgage and Credit Markets (Wiley, 2009). In the book, Barth analyzes the mortgage meltdown and resulting worldwide financial crisis, explaining how Main Street and Wall Street alike took on too much risk and too much debt over the years in their quest for gains. In addition to readerfriendly explanations of complex financial issues, Barth explains the steps the government has taken so far to calm the crisis and argues that public officials have addressed the problem in piecemeal and reactive ways. He posits that the U.S. has yet to
Auburn Magazine a u a l u m . o r g
address the bigger issues of regulation and supervision.
SAMUEL GINN
COLLEGE OF
Auburn University and Siemens Medical Solutions USA are working together to build a magnetic resonance imaging research center at AU’s research park that will house the strongest MRI scanner in the world. The center will take advantage of faculty expertise in engineering, science and pharmaceutics as well as Siemens’ savvy in the MRI field to direct the development of the 7T scanner, the first actively shielded whole body scanner of its kind. The alliance with Siemens, one of the world’s largest health care industry suppliers, is expected to advance Auburn to the forefront of the field of biomedical engineering and has the potential to bring lifesaving technologies to the citizens of Alabama and the region, officials say.
Education Education dean Frances Kochan, who has led the college as dean for the last seven years, plans to retire from her position next summer and return to teaching as an educational leadership professor. Under Kochan’s guidance, the College of Education has asserted itself as a global learning center by establishing a research-and-innovation office and building international partnerships with universities in Costa Rica and Korea. The college this year distributed more than 150 scholarships, fellowships and graduate assistantships among its some 2,700 students. Before becoming dean, Kochan was director
COLLEGE OF
Engineering
SCHOOL OF
of the college’s Truman Pierce Institute, which promotes school improvement, and served as associate dean for administration and research. A committee composed of faculty, students and alumni has begun a search to fill the dean’s position.
Forestry and Wildlife Sciences The study of carbon budgets has paid off for Hanqin Tian, an Alumni Professor in forestry and wildlife sciences. Tian recently won a Ye DuZheng Global Change Science Prize— one of the highest honors in the field of climate research—from the Chinese Academy
of Sciences. The award recognized Tian’s work in quantifying the global and regional carbon budgets and their underlying mechanisms. One of his pioneer contributions to the field was the development and application of a process-based ecosystem model to quantify the effects of climate variability and change on ecosystem carbon storage in the Amazon Basin. His research in the last decade has been published in Nature, Science and the Journal of Geophysical Research.
Graduate School Beginning next year, the Graduate School will designate up to six doctoral students as recipients of its new Distinguished Dissertation Award. The application process, selection criteria and award categories are modeled after the Council of Graduate Schools/ UMI Distinguished Dissertation awards so that AU’s winners may also be nominated for national honors. Work in the social sciences, mathematics, physical sciences and engineering will make up the field of competition in 2010, with students in biological and life sciences, humanities, and fine arts becoming eligible the following year. Winners will be recognized at the Graduate
School’s annual awards ceremony and receive a $500 honorarium. COLLEGE OF
Human Sciences The college will present its annual International Quality of Life Award in December to former U.S. ambassador and breast-cancer awareness advocate Nancy Goodman Brinker. As a tribute to her late sister, who died of breast cancer, Brinker founded Susan G. Komen for the Cure in 1982 with only a few hundred dollars; to date the organization has raised more than $1 billion for breast-cancer research and education in part by sponsoring races annually around the world. In the nearly three decades since the Komen organization was founded, the proportion of women over 40 who receive regular mammograms has doubled, and the five-year survival rate for breast cancer patients with early-stage disease has increased from 74 percent to 98 percent. The International Quality of Life Award honors people and groups who have made significant, lasting contributions to individual, family and community well-being. COLLEGE OF
Liberal Arts Sandra Clark-Lewis ’72, clinical professor of audiology in the
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Top of the charts Modern Healthcare journal has ranked Auburn University’s MBA program designed for physician executives 16th in the nation among graduate programs of its kind. The College of Business celebrated the program’s 10th anniversary this fall.
Department of Communication Disorders, led a group of six audiology doctoral students to Guatemala in August to provide hearing and middle-ear screening to 500 kids attending inner-city schools in Guatemala City. On the first day alone, the group tested the hearing of 92 children. Of those, 14 failed the hearing tests, and three were fitted for hearing aids. The rest were referred for medical intervention. In all, 40 children were diagnosed with significant hearing loss and fitted with digital hearing aids.
Libraries Auburn University Libraries joined the provost’s office in recognizing newly tenured and promoted faculty members at an October ceremony in the Ralph Brown Draughon Library. Faculty members each year are invited to identify a book meaningful to their lives; a copy of the book, along with a commemorative bookplate, is then added to the libraries’ collection. Chosen volumes range from scholarly research monographs to children’s books. SCHOOL OF
Nursing Gregg E. Newschwander, professor and chair of the
nursing department at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise, will take the reins
understand this and are well-positioned to provide students with the best possible start for what will be a challenging and rewarding career.” HARRISON SCHOOL OF
Pharmacy in December as dean of the nursing schools at Auburn University and Auburn University Montgomery. He succeeds retired dean Barbara Witt. Newschwander formerly held administrative positions at the University of Vermont, the Catholic University of America and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. With expertise in pediatric emergency and trauma nursing, he holds a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University, a master’s degree from the University of Colorado and a doctorate from Marquette University. “I’m looking forward to working with the talented faculty, staff and students at Auburn and AUM,” says Newschwander. “There is a lot going on in health care right now, in delivery systems as well as finance. Preparing students for successful practice in the 21st century will require a different approach: one that is more diverse, more collaborative, more multidisciplinary in nature. I believe Auburn and AUM
Five Auburn student pharmacists recently received a surprise from AU alumnus David Darby ’82, who owns and operates Darby’s Village Pharmacy in Andalusia. At his own expense, he took the group on a trip to Washington, D.C., where they attended the National Community Pharmacists Association’s annual conference. Future pharmacists Steven Brindley, Jessica Fowler, Ashley Weems, Miranda Jones and Garrett Aikens met one-on-one with legislators to talk about patients they see as a part of the Harrison School of Pharmacy curriculum. Darby is
a past president of the Alabama Pharmacy Association; in the last two years, he has received the organization’s Lester White Good Government Award and its Distinguished Service Award. COLLEGE OF
Sciences and Mathematics The National Aeronautics and Space Administration awarded $600,000 to the College of Sciences and Mathematics and the Alabama State Department of Education to produce lessons for educators to use when teaching about global climate change. The program, “Bringing Global ClimateChange Education to Alabama Classrooms,” will partner with the Alabama Science in Motion program to train teachers and educate high school students about the changing planet. An
interdisciplinary group of faculty members—Kevin Fielman, assistant professor of biological sciences; Ming-Kuo Lee, professor of geology and geography; Yu Lin, professor of physics; Luke Marzen, associate professor of geology and geography; and Marllin Simon, associate professor of physics—will develop curriculum materials with NASA resources to engage high school students on the changes to the Earth’s climate and their effect on weather, carbon cycle and ecosystems, climate variability, and atmospheric composition. The program expects to have modules in schools throughout the state within three years. COLLEGE OF
Veterinary Medicine Pathobiology professor Mary K. Boudreaux is the recipient of the 2009 Pamela Wells Sheffield Award for service and commitment to Auburn University. Boudreaux received a degree in veterinary medicine from Louisiana State University in 1979 and earned a Ph.D. in the field in 1986. A faculty member of the College of Veterinary Medicine for 23 years, she directs the Veterinary Scholars Program, overseeing the activities of veterinary
S T R E E T
students working in research laboratories during the summer. Boudreaux and husband Calvin Cutshaw have established an award endowment honoring former AU clinical pathologist
Pat Teer ’59, who died in 2003, and recently began to endow an award in honor of the late Joe Spano, another clinical pathologist who served the university for many years. Boudreaux and Cutshaw also have contributed financially to several Auburn programs, including the Veterinary Scholars Program, the pathobiology department’s Graduate-Student Support Fund and a College of Engineering scholarship fund. 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.
a u a l u m . o r g Auburn Magazine
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S T U D E N T
JEF F ET H ERI DG E
CONCOURSE
Interview Shaemun Webster Senior, public administration THE 4-1-1 Leeds native Shaemun Webster—who
became an ordained Baptist minister at 13—started an online student ministry on Facebook called GANG: God’s Anointed New Generation Student Ministries that has grown to 1,300 members and now has moved offline as well. The non-denominational Christian organization holds two “Sunday Night Live” services each month as well as a weekly student Bible study for 200.
WHY DID YOU START GANG? “After visiting and
attending several campus ministries for the first few weeks of my freshman year at Auburn, I noticed many students stopped going to church once they left home. I also noticed a need for a multicultural, non-denominational ministry with a holistic approach.” WHAT SETS GANG APART FROM SIMILAR STU-
DENT GROUPS? “We strive to minister to the holistic
person. We feel that everyone can benefit from GANG regardless of his or her social and economic background or status. GANG welcomes individuals who have no previous denominational backgrounds and individuals who may have had other denominational backgrounds. GANG is not about religion but relationship.”
WILL GANG CONTINUE AFTER YOU GRADUATE?
“I want to build a worship center for GANG in Auburn. I also want members of GANG to have everything they need to succeed, not only spiritually but also academically. I’d like to start a scholarship fund for members of the ministry who are in need. However, I see a future for GANG that isn’t limited to Auburn.” FROM GANG’S TWITTER FEED “Never get tired of doing good or doing what’s right, because it’s what you do today that will determine your tomorrow.”
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L I F E
Auburn Magazine a u a l u m . o r g
Engineers on a mission Auburn students recently formed a university chapter of Engineers Without Borders, a 7-year-old international service organization whose members use their skills to provide people around the world with clean water, power, sanitation, education and other services. Dubbed the “Blueprint Brigade” by Time magazine, the group has more than 12,000 professional and university members nationwide, and 180 chapters on college campuses. Auburn’s chapter, headed by chemical engineering senior Andy Todd and faculty adviser Steve Duke, is taking on service projects locally and in other countries. Greg Ryland ’88, process manager with the Montgomery engineering firm of Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood Inc., visited the chapter this fall to discuss his experi-
ence helping develop, design and build a bridge in Quesimpoco, Bolivia. “Construction of the bridge allowed the residents of communities surrounding Quesimpoco to access the town’s medical, dental and school systems,” Todd says. “Prior to the completion of the project, the only access during the wet season was via a cage-and-pulley system. There is much more that needs to be done in this community.” The Auburn chapter of Engineers Without Borders is open to all students regardless of major, mainly because of the variety of skills needed for individual projects. Locally, the group will work with Jean Dean Reading is Fundamental of Opelika, Servants in Faith and Technology, Tiger Habitat and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
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Bridge over VW An Auburn student-architect team was one of five in the nation chosen to participate in a competition to design a pedestrian bridge for Volkswagen Group’s new $1 billion Chattanooga, Tenn., plant. AU students will vie for the project with teams from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, the University of Memphis and Georgia Tech. The winner will be announced in January.
ALL IN THE FAMILY Public relations students in Auburn University’s College of Liberal Arts took the idea of the Auburn family online this fall by forming a socialnetworking Web site (family. auburn.edu) designed to give teenagers, alumni, parents and others a glimpse at what it’s like to be enrolled at AU. The site, dubbed “Auburn Family,” includes a mishmash of blog posts, videos and photos contributed by students, plus links to the official campus events calendar and The Auburn Plainsman student newspaper. Registration is free, and users can set up personal profiles to communicate with others in the network by posting on a “comments wall” or exchanging instant messages. The network also features news stories about Auburn from students’ perspectives. Recent posts included a video about
Auburn’s traditional “Hey Day,” a blog and a video about the Honors College, and a story about a senior student’s experience at a job fair. “It’s the Facebook model taken to a different level,” says Auburn communications director Mike Clardy. “In addition to the interactive features, Auburn Family gives us the opportunity to place the Auburn story directly before those who want to read it. Prospective students, in particular, want to read more about the campus experience, and this network allows them to do that.” PR instructor Robert French worked with Auburn’s Office of Communications and Marketing to develop the network. Each week, students in French’s “Style and Design in Public Relations Messages” course write and shoot videos about news and events happening in Auburn’s 13 schools and colleges. “For the students, it’s a valuable learning experience,” French says. “For the university, it’s valuable to show ‘This is a class telling the Auburn story, and we want you to participate.’”
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C O N C O U R S E
On the fast track Auburn students will soon be able to accrue hours toward a master’s degree simultaneously with their undergraduate coursework: The university’s faculty senate recently endorsed an accelerated bachelor’s program designed to attract students to graduate studies by shortening the time it takes to earn dual degrees.
ACT right Nearly a million-and-a-half American high school students prepare to take the ACT college entrance exam each year— but only one in 3,300 test-takers will earn a perfect score. Auburn sophomore David Joseph Guthrie, a graduate of Alcovy High School in Covington, Ga., is one of them. Guthrie is among about a half-dozen students currently enrolled at Auburn who scored a composite 36 on the ACT, practically ensuring their acceptance into any number of top-notch universities. Guthrie is now an AU business major. “I am very good at memorizing things, so I used that to my advantage while preparing for this test,” says Guthrie, whose friend had taken the exam before he did and scored a 35. “He scored higher than me on the SAT, so we’re even.” A record 1.42 million college-bound students took the ACT last year, with only 428 students nationwide achieving the elusive 36. Faced with deciding where to continue his education, Guthrie considered the University of Georgia, located just 40 miles from his hometown, as well as Emory University in Atlanta. Then there was Auburn. Now in his second year at AU, Guthrie maintains a perfect 4.0 grade-point average and is considering accounting or economics as a field of study. The College of Business’ commitment to preparing students to compete in a global economy was among the factors in his decision to choose the Plains, he says.—Shameka King/The Shareholder
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BOOK SMARTS Oprah Winfrey brought book clubs into the 21st century; now Auburn University president Jay Gogue ’69 and others are bringing them into the college classroom. This fall, eight present and former administrators, including Gogue, are leading Honors College courses set up like book clubs. Instructors choose books and facilitate conversations about the readings; about 80 students are enrolled in the classes, which count for one credit hour. “These book clubs can give students the opportunity to learn how to discuss issues of contemporary relevance thoughtfully—not just with their peers but also with individuals very senior to them who have a wide range of personal and professional experiences,” says Honors College director and history professor James Hansen. “These folks are highly talented researchers and teachers who normally don’t get to spend time in the classroom. It is good for the students to see that even administrators, deans and their university president care passionately about their education and want to be a vital part of it.” Gogue’s class is reading Travel as a Political Act (Nation Books, 2009) by Rick Steves, who posits that experiencing different cultures allows citizens to better understand the human condition. The course also covers topics such as job outsourcing and globalization. Other course instructors include Daniel Clay, associate dean of the College of Education; George Crandell, associate dean of the Graduate School; Constance Relihan, senior associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts; Patricia Duffy, assistant provost for undergraduate studies; and David Housel, retired AU athletics director. Paul and Paula Bobrowski, dean of the College of Business and associate dean in the College of Liberal Arts, respectively, are teaching a course together. Hansen hopes to expand the book-club course to include notable teachers outside the university as well as other students who aren’t enrolled full time in the Honors College.
Upward bound Auburn seniors Amy Farris of Radcliff, Ky., and Timothy Presley of Birmingham rank in the top 2 percent of all 4,700-plus U.S. Army ROTC cadets in the nation based on their success in academics, physical fitness and leadership. Both are members of the Auburn Army ROTC’s “War Eagle Battalion” and plan to become Army aviators.
TIGER CHOW A recent football
side Thach Concourse
game-day visitor to the
between the Wallace
Auburn Alumni Center
Center and the Village
shook his head in
student housing com-
disbelief. “These kids
plex, opened when the
don’t know how good
residence halls made
they have it,” he said.
their debut in August.
“When I was here, we
It includes a food
had like one place to
court with specialty
eat on campus.”
sandwiches, burgers,
Current students
pizza and pasta, plus a
got an extra helping of
restaurant-style option,
options this fall with
a coffee house and a
the opening of Village
late-night diner. The
Dining in the new dorm
new dining facility seats
complex and a Caribou
600 in small-group
Coffee outlet in the
settings across three
Draughon Library. The
dining areas.
renovated Foy Food
Court is expected to
other larger food venues
open in January.
at the Student Center
and Terrell Food Court.
Village Dining, be-
A dry season
Village Dining joins
Syllabus COURSE NAME COMM 4970 “Death, Dying and
Communication” INSTRUCTOR David Sutton, associate professor of communication and journalism, College of Liberal Arts THE SCOOP Sutton encourages the class to make arguments and counter-arguments about various issues, including the possibility of an afterlife, physician-assisted suicide, resurrection, reincarnation, care of the terminally ill, euthanasia, near-death experiences and public policy. The idea, Sutton says, is to provoke thoughtful rhetoric about different facets of mortality. SUGGESTED READING Better: A Surgeon’s Notes
on Performance (Metropolitan Books, 2007) by Atul Gawande; Communicating at the End of Life: Finding Magic in the Mundane (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2006) by Elissa Foster; Final Exam: A Surgeon’s Reflections on Mortality (Knopf, 2007) by Pauline W. Chen; and How We Die: Reflections on Life’s Final Chapter (Knopf, 1994) by Sherwin B. Nuland
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Auburn University students Michael Nunnelly and Kevin Johnson walked away from Jordan-Hare Stadium after the Tigers’ 41-30 win over West Virginia— happy, drenched with about 3.75 inches of rain and registering a blood-alcohol level of 0.00 percent. Their clothes were soaking wet. Their tailgate was bone dry. Nunnelly and Johnson don’t drink. Neither do the approximately 15 other guys who help set up the “College Kids Tailgate,” a loosely-but-devotedly-organized game-day gathering that is beginning to draw attention—for school spirit rather than spirits—on the Auburn campus. But if not beer, then what? “Have you ever had Cheerwine?” asks Johnson, a member of the nondenominational Auburn Church, referring to the cherry-flavored soft drink. “We drink lots of Cheerwine.” The tailgating began in 2007 with seven friends who lived in Lupton Hall, where the group still sets up camp. The seven friends are Christians, who just, you know, don’t drink. “We just decided to tailgate together, and it just grew into this,” says Nunnelly, a member of Lakeview Baptist Church in Auburn. “The most was 320 (tailgaters) for the Mississippi State game a
couple of weeks ago. Or at least that’s how many signed the guest book. There were probably more.” Since the Tigers’ 2009 football season started in August, more than 1,000 people have stopped by the tents full of Cheerwine, orange cotton candy and guys wearing orange jumpsuits— trademarks of College Kids Tailgate. The group is not affiliated with a specific church, denomination or campus ministry. Still, connections have been made. Lots of hamburgers have been grilled. Relationships have developed. “I just appreciate them hanging out together and providing a place where kids can come hang out and feel safe and enjoy the game,” says Johnson’s mother, Tami, taking shelter underneath one of the tents during a game-day downpour. Tami Johnson and her husband, Kent, members of Shades Mountain Baptist Church in the Birmingham area, drove down for the day. “It’s a place where parents can know their kids are safe and where they would want them to be.” That’s the idea, Nunnelly says: “We wanted to create a no-pressure environment—something fun for everybody, where people of all kinds of backgrounds, both churched and unchurched, lost and saved, can come and build relationships and have a good time.” Johnson agrees. “Hopefully it’s making more of an impact than just not having alcohol—by having people that are here developing relationships with Christians that are doing evangelism with their own lives,” he says.—Jeremy Henderson/ The Alabama Baptist
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TIGER WALK
Monumental streaks AU football fanatics endorse Iron-heavy diet Between the laughing and singing, a man called “Captain Tailgate” offering Jim Beam shots and the band playing next door, having a quiet word with Auburn Tigers football fan David Brown isn’t easy. But if you want to catch him on a Saturday between August and January, there’s no other way. Brown, a bearded, gregarious bear of a man—he’s lost more than 20 pounds but equates it to “knocking a wart off a whale”—puffs Tampa Nuggets, sips a screwdriver and entertains five dozen friends. A life member of the Auburn Alumni Association who is, nevertheless, not an Auburn alumnus, the man has more stories than the Empire State Building. No wonder. Several hours, a ritual Hot Damn toast (more on that shortly) and a wicked lightning storm later, Brown will attend his 293rd consecutive Auburn University football game, this one versus West Virgin-
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ia. A streak that started with the 1984 Liberty Bowl reached 300 at Auburn’s homecoming game on Nov. 7. The Columbus, Ga., resident’s remarkable run has weathered weddings, funerals, sleeping in rental cars, and a bit of trickery to finagle tickets on the road. (His 12 Jordan-Hare Stadium season passes aren’t sufficiently “high dollar,” Brown notes, to secure certain coveted away tickets.) Think about this. As of October, Brown had: tracked the Tigers for 110,000 miles, equal to four-plus trips around the equator and 194 million total yards; visit- Above and opposite: ed 32 stadiums, from Auburn to Syracuse, Sports tailgating N.Y., to Orlando, Fla., to Los Angeles; is believed to have originated with a and cheered for Auburn through five head monumental party prior coaches, five university presidents and five to the first American intercollegiate football U.S. presidents. game between Rutgers There are more famous streaks, to be and Princeton universisure. But it’s a safe bet that baseball icon ties in 1869. Left: Brown attended Joe DiMaggio and even novelty songwrit- David his 300th consecutive er Ray Stevens didn’t have as much fun Auburn game this fall.
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Alumni beat the Fever Former Tigers DeWanna Bonner ’08 and Le’Coe Willingham ’04 became the first Auburn women’s basketball players to win a Women’s National Basketball Association title in October. Both play for the Phoenix Mercury, which defeated the Indiana Fever in game five of the WNBA finals with a score of 94-86.
as Brown does. For home games, the day typically starts at 9 a.m. across from the outdoor pool on the west side of Auburn’s campus. Brown and his wife, Teresa, park their navy-blue van plastered with AU logos, start cooking and party until time for the ritual “Hot Damn.” An hour before kickoff, as reliably as the eagle soars over Jordan-Hare, Brown raises a glass of Hot Damn Cinnamon Schnapps and conjures an impromptu toast “to ward off evil creatures such as bulldogs, elephants, big lizards, hounds, rebels, pigs, purple tigers, ‘mildcats,’ chickens and big-headed boat pilots,” Brown explains on his Web site, aptly dubbed www. war-damn-eagle.com. Brown, a computer network manager, didn’t attend Auburn—at least not for school. His immersion started when his father took him to see Tigers legends Pat Sullivan ’72 and Terry Beasley ’71, Auburn’s most prolific passing combination to date. Brown was smitten. At 15, he wrote a poem to commemorate the Jan. 2, 1971, Gator Bowl victory over Ole Miss. He’s since lived some poetry. Before there was a Hot Damn toast, there was the day-night-day when Brown and his friend, Matt Citrin, attended the wedding of Brown’s business partner in Columbus, flew from Atlanta to Baton Rouge, La., without tickets or accommodations, bummed a ride to the stadium with the daughter of former Auburn president James Martin and watched their beloved top-10 Auburn team lose the famous 7-6 “earthquake game” to Louisiana State University. The crowd’s reaction when LSU won in the fourth quarter was said to be picked up by a seismograph located 1,000 feet from the stadium. Afterward, Brown did what he does—made friends. He and Citrin gabbed and partied all night with a New Orleans sports-radio host they met in an RV parking lot. When the guy finally went to bed, Brown and Citrin caught a cab to the airport, planning to catch a snooze. A cop shooed them out, explaining that the airport was closed. So they tried to catch a couple hours of shut-eye in an unlocked Ford Probe in the adjacent rental car lot. Citrin confirms the story. “You’ll never meet another one like him,” friend Dean Odom says of Brown.
Y
ou won’t meet many like Robert Hamill, either. A 1970 Auburn civil engineering alumnus who lives in Birmingham, Hamill thumbs through the 1898 Glomerata given him by his grandfather, 1900 Alabama Polytechnic Institute graduate John W. Shuff, as he chats about falling in love with Auburn University and beginning a lifelong Tiger Walk of his own. This year, Hamill will attend his 50th consecutive Auburn-Alabama game, also known as the Iron Bowl. “There were all kinds of tales my grandfather told me about Auburn, and I was just fascinated,” Hamill says. Among
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the stories: tales of famed coach John Heisman and the legendary greasing of the railroad tracks that sent the Georgia Tech football team’s train skidding past the station. Today, Hamill, who retired from the Alabama Department of Transportation in 2006, has tales of his own, starting with his first Iron Bowl in 1960. Hamill wedged into sold-out Legion Field, which then seated 50,000, by getting arrested. Actually, it was a ruse: Hamill’s stepfather was an assistant district attorney who knew some of the local police. So after Hamill and a friend staged a fistfight, an officer gave them tickets confiscated from scalpers. A dozen years later, Hamill was in the north end zone for an even more arresting turn: the celebrated “Punt, Bama, Punt” game. “Everything happened directly in front of us,” Hamill says. “I looked at my wife and said, ‘Is this real?’ It was the first college football game that I cried at. The second was ‘Bo-Over-the-Top’.” That was, of course, multi-sport legend Bo Jackson’s heavenly leap in 1982, also into the north end zone of Legion Field, to end a nine-year dark age for the Tigers. Fast-forward seven years to the first Iron Bowl at JordanHare. Hamill most vividly recollects the otherworldly energy. “Your ears ringing the entire two-anda-half-hour drive back to Birmingham, that constant roar in your head. Just incredible. The decibel level was absolutely incredible.” Things were different in 2000. In a frigid rain at Tuscaloosa, the Tigers shackled the Tide, 9-0. Sheets of ice slid off Hamill’s poncho every time he moved. With their team smothered, Alabama fans evacuated the stadium with 10 minutes still to play. In November, Hamill will harvest more memories at his golden anniversary Iron Bowl. “I jokingly call it my monument to stupidity,” he says. “But I’ve enjoyed every single minute of it.” —Charles Davidson ’86
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BYE-BYE BEARD-EAVES
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“It is always great to get that television exposure, and we are really excited about what the fans will see out of Auburn basketball this season,” said women’s head coach Nell Fortner. “We have a great group of players returning from last year’s SEC championship team.” The women will make their first television appearance of the season at 6 p.m. Jan. 7 against the University of Florida on CSS. Auburn then makes its first Fox Sports Net appearance three days later as it takes on LSU at 2 p.m. in Baton Rouge, La. Auburn appears on CSS at 8 p.m. Jan. 21 against Vanderbilt, opening a stretch of four-straight televised games for the women Tigers, who return to the tube at 1 p.m. Jan. 24 at Kentucky on the nationally syndicated SEC Network. The third and final appearance on CSS follows on Jan. 28 as the Tigers head to Knoxville, Tenn., for a 6 p.m. tip against the Lady Vols. The four-game run ends on Jan. 31 as the Tigers host Georgia at 5 p.m. on ESPNU. Viewers can also watch Auburn take on Alabama at 2 p.m. Feb. 7 on Fox Sports Net. The final appearance of the regular season comes on Feb. 14 with Auburn hosting LSU at 3 p.m. on Fox Sports Net. TODD VAN EMST
The Tigers’ men’s basketball team opened its final season in Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum on Nov. 13 with players hoping to build on last year’s 24-12 National Invitational Tournament showing. The women’s team began its last season in the coliseum the same evening. The Tigers are expected to begin playing the 2010-11 season in a $92 million basketball arena now under construction on campus. The men returned three starters in leading scorer DeWayne Reed, leading 3-point shooter Tay Waller and Lucas Hargrove off a team that recorded the second-most wins in Auburn’s history and came within an eyelash of reaching the NIT Final Four. “We have a taste of what it was like to win,” said sixth-year Auburn head coach Jeff Lebo. “I think the way for us was the way we finished. We had so many meaningful games coming down the stretch. Every game seemed to grow with importance, and we handled that very well. “They’re hungry. We had a good offseason, and the kids have worked hard, so it’s going to be very helpful for the guys that played for us last year.” In addition to the senior starting trio, the Tigers have added depth with sophomore guard Frankie Sullivan, 6-foot-10 senior center Brendon Knox, forward Johnnie Lett, Oklahoma transfer Tony Neysmith and a very impressive recruiting class, officials said. Highly rated newcomers will provide Auburn an immediate boost in 6-foot-8 Paris (Texas) Junior College transfer Kenny Gabriel, three-time first-team Class AAA All-State selection Andre Malone, two-time first-team Class 4A All-State pick Earnest Ross, 6-foot-10 freshman Rob Chubb and 6-foot-9 freshman Ty Armstrong. “Defensively, I think Earnest Ross and Andre Malone are physically ready,” Lebo said. “They can shoot the ball from the perimeter, but they have to work on the ball-handling a little bit, and they have to work on defense. “Kenny Gabriel is a guy who was coached well in junior college. He can really shoot the ball, being 6-foot-8. We’ll be able to do some things with him like the ‘pick-and-pop’ and the threepointers. He has a good knack for the ball, but he just has to get stronger. He is long. He has a 7-foot-1 wingspan, so he can get his hand on a lot of balls.” The Auburn men will play 11 games against 2009 postseason tournament teams, including home games against Southeastern Conference champion LSU, Kentucky, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Niagara and Alabama State. Other home games versus Virginia, Alabama, Ole Miss, Georgia and Arkansas are also on tap. Coming off its best season in two decades last year, the Auburn women’s basketball team will appear on television at least eight times during the current season as part of the SEC women’s basketball TV package.
Lowdown roof The roof of Auburn’s new basketball arena is designed to sit intentionally low to create an intense, noisy atmosphere—the better for intimidating opposing teams. The $92 million building will contain a two-court practice facility, a team store, the relocated Lovelace Athletics Museum, two food courts and seating for 9,600 (noisy) fans. The arena is scheduled to be complete in time for the 2010-11 season.
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The title alone may be too good for a Tiger to resist: 100 Things Auburn Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die (Triumph, 2009) attempts to boil more than 150 years of academics, athletics and tradition into a manageable to-do/trivia list. Author Evan Woodberry, who has covered Auburn sports for the Mobile Press-Register since 2004, suggests his Top 10 below. Stumped? Answers follow. 10. This Birmingham football standout accompanied AU head coach Ralph “Shug” Jordan to an NFL exhibition game at Legion Field. When their car overheated, they ended up walking down Graymont Avenue with all the other fans. Sirens flashed as police cars escorted a vehicle past; in it sat University of Alabama coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. Jordan turned to his prospective player and said, “You can either go in the limelight with him or walk with me.” 9. This former football coach got his career off the ground at Alabama and arrived at his interview with coach Bear Bryant wearing a new suit complete with price tags. 8. Born in Bessemer to a large family living in a home without indoor plumbing, this athlete struggled with a stuttering problem. 7. Jordan-Hare is the nation’s ninth-largest campus stadium and, on home-game Saturdays, becomes Alabama’s fifthlargest city. Who made the first touchdown in the stadium, and when?
6. This game engendered the most popular, taunting nickname of any Iron Bowl. 5. Which Tigers team boasted four first-round NFL picks? 4. This coach and academician was the first Alabamian to hold a Ph.D. 3. Former AU athletics director David Housel likened fans arriving at this game to “the children of Israel entering the Promised Land.” 2. Shug Jordan made a surprising personnel move on this team, switching a left-handed halfback to the quarterback position. 1. This coach, snubbed by Auburn on his first application, applied three years later with a onesentence cover letter. THE ANSWERS 10. Pat Sullivan, Auburn’s 1971 Heisman Trophy winner. 9. Former head football coach Pat Dye met Bear Bryant at a banquet shortly after Dye left the Army. He applied for a job on Bryant’s staff, was hired and spent nine years at Alabama before leaving in 1974. He began coaching at Auburn in 1981. 8. Bo Jackson knows: He won the Heisman in 1985 and became a multi-sport legend by playing professional baseball and football after leaving Auburn. 7. Tigers quarterback Dick McGowen ’41 threw to C.H. “Babe” McGehee ’47 to score the first touchdown in Auburn Stadium on Nov. 30, 1939.
TODD VAN EMS T
Trivial pursuit, AU style 6. “Punt, ’Bama, Punt”— the 1972 Iron Bowl, which the Tigers won 17-16 after two “miracle” scores off blocked punts against an undefeated Crimson Tide. Some claim the chants can still be heard echoing through the tunnels of Jordan-Hare on dark and stormy nights. 5. The team that gave Auburn its 2004 “perfect season”: Quarterback Jason Campbell, running backs Ronnie Brown and Carnell Williams, and defensive back Carlos Rogers all played for the undefeated Tigers that year. 4. George Petrie made indelible impacts on both athletics and academics at Auburn. He was Auburn’s first head coach, chose the school’s colors, and wrote the revered Auburn Creed. 3. “The children of Israel had waited 40 years— Auburn fans had waited longer,” Housel said of the 1989 Iron Bowl played in Auburn. The Tigers celebrated a 30-20 victory over the undefeated Tide. 2. Auburn’s 1957 national championship team. According to the player affected, Lloyd Nix ’57: “When Coach Jordan told me I was moving to quarterback, it wasn’t that big a deal. I was getting to play, and that was all that mattered.” 1. Ralph “Shug” Jordan, of course. The quintessential Auburn football coach tried for a job again in 1950 at the urging of then-athletics director Jeff Beard, and remains the Tigers’ alltime winningest coach.
Kicking it
Auburn soccer will kick into high gear next year when the university opens its new $6.5 million soccer and track-and-field facility. Construction began in October. The nearly 22,000-square-foot facility, located between the campus track and soccer field, will be certified as an environmentally friendly building and house coaches’ offices, locker rooms, a separate training facility, team rooms and a video room for analyzing game film. The new building is expected to help coaches in their recruiting efforts, said head soccer coach Karen Hoppa. The facility will also benefit the track-and-field program, which moved into the Hutsell-Rosen track complex in 2005. The new facility will strengthen its reputation as one of the nation’s top track-and-field complexes, officials predicted. “Not only will we have a great facility for our team and coaches, but it also shows a total commitment from the university to the track-and-field program,” said head running coach Ralph Spry. “It will give us a real boost in recruiting, because it will show potential student-athletes that we’re making a commitment to providing them with the best possible opportunity to be successful. Having a showcase facility like this really sends a statement that our facilities will be second to none.”
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Channeling Steve Irwin and P.T. Barnum,
Wes Moore ’00 runs his own reptilian conservation station and tourist attraction. by michael han s b e r ry
Gator Bait Armed with a wooden stick, a frozen chicken and possibly the grace of a higher power, Wesley Moore ’00 confronts a hungry savage. If this were a boxing ring, the prematurely graying 33-year-old clearly would be outclassed: His opponent outweighs him by at least 600 pounds and has much bigger teeth. It’s feeding time at Alligator Alley. Donning a tan farmer’s hat to protect his face from the hot summer sun, Moore engages in a test of wills with one of the 150 alligators living on his property. With every step he takes backward, the gator in front of him crawls forward two. Moore keeps his eyes trained on the reptile; the reptile stares down the man and his poultry. One of them will be lunch. Finally, swiftly, Moore steps toward the leathery creature. The alligator lunges upward, snapping its massive jaws shut on the chicken, twisting and turning, chomping, swallowing. The rapt audience breaks into applause, and Moore takes a well-practiced bow.
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P H OTO G R A P H S B Y J E F F E T H E R I D G E
Notorious for its bone-crunching bite, the American alligator averages 13 feet long and weighs 800 pounds. How can you tell the difference between an alligator and a crocodile? Alligators generally have a wide, U-shaped, rounded snout, while crocs’ noses are usually slender and pointy. Young alligators can be distinguished from adults by the bright yellow stripes on their tails.
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G A T O R
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Known around southern Alabama simply as “Gator Man,” Moore owns the state’s only alligator sanctuary, open to the public and billed as “an adventure the entire family will enjoy.” Located in the small town of Summerdale, near Mobile, Alligator Alley opened five years ago and hosts thousands of visitors annually—ordinary folks anxious to have a look at the 21-acre ranch’s extraordinary residents. All of Alligator Alley’s gators were rescued under the Florida Nuisance Alligator Removal Program; an alligator is classified as a nuisance if it is more than 4 feet long or has lost its natural fear of humans, making it a danger to residents. The law requires nuisance gators to be killed unless a sanctuary is willing to take them. Donors “adopt” gators to help pay for their transport and support the farm. Some of Alligator Alley’s residents arrive as babies, others as adults. Moore and two full-time employees work what he calls an eight-day-a-week job. Really, it’s more of a calling. t 7 a.m. on this particular Friday, Moore heads outside to work; wife Elizabeth ’99, a mortgage broker, has already left home for the day, commuting from the couple’s unfenced property near the Alligator Alley swamp. Passersby often wonder who’s crazy enough to sleep near dozens of man-eating reptiles, and that would be Wes Moore, who describes himself as stubborn, hard-working and trustworthy—but not insane. Most visitors would never suspect the path he traveled to get here. As a student at Auburn University less than a decade ago, Moore studied forest engineering and fisheries science before deciding those fields didn’t play to his strengths. He earned a bachelor’s degree in communication, then he and Elizabeth moved to England, where Wes crafted promotions and sponsorships for an independent FM radio station in Yorkshire. After two years abroad, the couple decided it was time to return home. “We traveled the world, saw everything we could see, went everywhere and experienced some neat stuff,” Moore says. As the pair prepared to leave, he broke some Opposite: Baby gators enjoy eating fish news to his wife. “I told her, ‘Dear, I put and small turtles but my alligator project on hold for a while. eventually graduate to It’s time to do it.’ We packed everything larger prey. The crafty carnivores eat food by up and came down here.” swallowing their prey Moore bought the property for Alwhole. American alligators are indigenous to ligator Alley from his grandfather, the late the Southeast. Ted Childress ’37, who had used the land for a large-scale vegetable farm. It was Childress who gave his grandson a taste for gators: He’d once bought one named Old Joe to keep the farm free of beavers, turtles and snakes. When Moore began his business, Alligator Alley was one of only three licensed alligator farms in Alabama and the only sanctuary for nuisance gators. Unlike in Louisiana and Florida, where public support for gators might be attributed to residents’ swamp smarts and love for reptilian college mascots, the business of saving alligators was foreign to Alabamians. Indeed, a general lack of knowledge about the need for gator rescue represents Moore’s biggest challenge. Freshwater alligators, sometimes described as “living fossils,” have existed for an estimated 230 million years. Hold-
overs from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, alligators not only help control animal populations as predators but also sometimes provide homes and other resources for smaller species by digging or wallowing to create “gator holes” that hold water during dry periods. Gator holes can be important ecological features in the Everglades, for example, because they provide critical habitats for fish and other wildlife, according to University of Florida researchers. Alligators are native only to the United States and China, where they remain a threatened species. Due to protective legislation enacted domestically within the last 40 years, the American alligator was removed from the U.S. endangered list in 1987. (The American crocodile, conversely, prefers saltwater environments, lives almost exclusively in extreme southern Florida and remains threatened.) Moore can tell you whatever you want to know about alligators. Wrangling them, after all, is dangerous but not necessarily lucrative; those who do this sort of work are fueled by passion. “If you do something just because you want to make a lot of money, you’ll be miserable,” Moore says, observing a group of “house” gators—smaller animals with no distinguishing traits such as size or bite. “We could have sold the farm 10 years ago and reaped a substantial financial benefit,” he adds. “But I kind of like alligators.” Moore is a master of understatement: The license plate on his Chevrolet Silverado Z71 pickup (because what kind of alligator farmer would drive a sedan?) reads: GTRMAN. While the bulk of Alligator Alley’s animal population is composed of relatively nondescript house gators, each of the larger reptiles has a name. Because make no mistake: R.J.,
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Chubby, Colonel, Big Easy, Charlie, Stumpy and Hooch aren’t just run-of-the-mill reptiles—they’re celebrities. The newest additions to the farm are Prince Eric, measuring 11 feet long and weighing more than 500 pounds, and Mighty Max, who tips the scales at 700 pounds and stretches to 14 feet. Neither of these, however, matches the star power of Captain Crunch—the Brad Pitt of Alligator Alley—an A-lister whose heavyweight status guarantees him top billing among the farm’s residents. A Tallahassee, Fla., native, Captain Crunch is 38 years old, weighs more than 800 pounds and has his own home page on the Web. He holds a world record in “bite force,” chomping his prey with 75 teeth and nearly 3,000 pounds of jawcrunching strength. Favorite foods: chicken, turtles, dogs, deer and slow swimmers. ust as Moore knows his gators, they know him. They respond to his voice, and he has made it his job to understand all he can about them. When tourists visit Alligator Alley, Moore is part showman, part teacher. He introduces Simon, one of his favorites, a 9-foot-long female. With her long head sticking out of the water, Simon can hear visitors but not see them. She is blind. As Moore tells it, Simon was running with scissors one day, and naturally the escapade ended tragically. The crowd giggles. Rescuers tried to help by getting her a seeing-eye dog; she ate it. Yuk, yuk. Moore travels the farm on a yellow golf cart, baiting tourists with his sense of humor and debunking myths about alligators. “If you pick up a book and it talks about a 19-foot alligator, don’t believe it,” he tells one man. “Alligators don’t grow to 19 feet. They grow to about 14 feet, but finding a 14-
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foot alligator would be about as rare as finding a unicorn with a lottery ticket stuck to its horn.” That’s why, in addition to Captain Crunch, Mighty Max is getting a lot of attention. As Moore crosses his kingdom— which he calls “The Republic of Wes”— he encounters a trio of visitors ogling some gators. “Where we from?” he asks, approaching them. “Fargo, N.D.,” responds a short, pale-skinned woman. Moore smiles. “Welcome to America.” He spends three minutes talking about snow, then issues his standard disclaimer: “Well, enjoy your time at the farm, but we’re serious about no swimming,” he says. It’s his parting statement to everyone. Later, Moore reflects on the idea of being the Pied Piper of gators. “I don’t have a part of my job I don’t like,” he says, traversing the swampy terrain. “People ask me what I would be doing if I had $10 million, and I say I’d still be playing with alligators—with a lot more money in Above: Gator man Wes the bank.” Moore hosts about Eventually, he hopes to add an in- 30,000 visitors a year Alligator Alley. door exhibit designed for the winter sea- at Opposite: No longer an son, when the alligators are less active. endangered species, the American alligator He recently opened a snake exhibit. lives up to 50 years. But now it’s 11 a.m., and tourists are gathering on benches around the feeding area. Moore doesn’t have to say a word—his gators know it’s lunchtime. They slither and glide toward the shore of the pond in a pack, and the audience gasps as they surround Moore and his bright red meat cooler. It’s just another day in the life of Gator Man. Michael Hansberry is a senior journalism major at Auburn. For more on Alligator Alley, see www.gatoralleyfarm.com.
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PH I L I P S MI T H
A trumpet player steps high, counts to the beat and tries not to trip as the Auburn University Marching Band forges onto the field at JordanHare, providing the loud-and-proud soundtrack for another football season. b y r e b e c c a l a k i n
Marching
Orders
Making music can be a sweaty business during the Auburn Tigers’ early-season football games. Katie Morgan waits to take the field with her fellow players. Auburn University’s band program began in 1897 with a single tenor horn and a bass drum.
Standing, waiting, just beneath the stands of Jordan-Hare Stadium, I feel a single bead of perspiration creep down my skull. It’s itchy and uncomfortable and, well, a little gross, but I don’t swipe it because my attention is primarily drawn to two things: a kid about my age from Prattville, dressed entirely in white and clutching a worn black whistle between his teeth, and a regal golden eagle just completing its familiar, artful flight marking the beginning of another Auburn football game. A crowd of 87,000 spectators bellows a thundering “War Eagle” battle cry. That Nova—he makes it look so easy. It’s almost my turn to perform, and all I can think is: Do not fall down. “BAND. TEN-hut.” “One!” The kid in white—a drum major—presses his lips onto the whistle: Tweet-tweet. Tweeeeeeeeeeeeet! It’s time to march. To the rumbling of percussion, the Auburn University Marching Band takes the field and, for the moment, I’m part of something bigger than myself: a group of musicians whose job it is to keep the fans entertained. I clasp the trumpet balanced on my right arm and jog, following the queue ahead to the 20-yard line, breathing out on every count to ensure I halt at the proper spot
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at exactly the right time. My fellow performers and I hit our marks, swelling with heat exhaustion and pride. With rifleline precision, we bring our instruments up to play the first notes of the fanfare announcing the entrance of the Auburn football team.
I JEFF ETHER IDGE
have a lot of company, because this year’s marching band is the largest in university history. Its 380 members form nine brass and woodwind sections, a drum line, a front percussion ensemble, and three visual ensembles. Our director, Corey Spurlin, is in his third year on the job, and it’s my fourth year as a member of the band’s trumpet line. As with each and every season, our music unites the Auburn family on game day. If my fellow bandmates and I have done our jobs, fans will never realize how much hard work and serious sweat has gone into perfecting the show or how that work has united us. Within the AU family, we have a family of our own. Our band year starts in August, a week before classes begin. Preseason “band camp” is hot and grueling and—did I mention hot? We broil. This is where the hard work gets done. “It’s intense, and it’s a lot of preparation,” says drum major James Earl Corley, who is working toward a bachelor’s degree in cell and molecular biology. “It’s not something I don’t enjoy, but it’s the most intense because of the weather, which is out of our control.” During the week of band camp, I begin my morning ritual at 7 a.m., filling a one-gallon blue jug with water and slathering sweat-resistant sunscreen on my face, arms and legs in anticipation of our “three-a-day” practices, during which we rehearse our drill—the formations we make on the field—first in the morning, then during the afternoon and again around early evening. As the temperature inches past 90 degrees, we remind ourselves of the eventual payoff: the privilege of running out of
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the stadium tunnel on game day. We al- Left: Senior communiternate drill practices with music rehears- cation major Rebecca Lakin is in her fourth als, perfecting Auburn’s fight song, “War year on the marching Eagle,” and dozens of other melodies on band’s trumpet line. Opposite: The majorthe director’s playlist. ettes, dance line and Shade is a valuable commodity, so flag line, collectively we cram ourselves under whatever cover known as the Tiger practice routines we can find during our breaks, rendering Eyes, repeatedly during the its cooling power useless. But there’s one weeks leading up to the group that has it even rougher: the tuba Tigers’ first football game of the season. section, also known as “the herd.” Tubas weigh about 25 pounds each, and members of the herd must build up their stamina during band camp. “For most of us, we haven’t had that instrument on much at all during the summer,” says herd leader Shane Haws, a secondary science education, general science and biology major. “The roughest part of band camp is getting used to the weight again and having it on eight-plus hours a day for several days in a row.” I can’t imagine. By the end of band-camp week, even my two-pound trumpet gets heavy as I hold my arms in playing position, blood rushing from my fingertips and shoulders throbbing. The sweat and sunscreen bonds us, though. Like the athletes, we know we have to work as a unit, respecting the rituals and traditions unique to our team. Each night during camp, for example, the “RATs”—Rookie Auburn Tigers, an ancient term used to describe freshmen and other new students—attend an evening social planned by “RAT royalty,” four upperclassmen who serve as freshman advisers. It’s designed to help the RATs and returning veterans get to know each other and relieve stress from a day crammed with drills and practices. First up is a scavenger hunt. We divide into groups that meet each morning throughout camp. Veterans help groups of RATs learn fun facts about Auburn. They also visit key campus landmarks and—most important—learn the alma mater. We sing the familiar lyrics “On the rolling Plains of Dixie …” every day during band camp, again during each game-day rehearsal and at every football game. It’s a way to remind each of us why we’re here. Then there’s “RAT Adoption Night,” during which each RAT is paired with a vet who becomes the newbie’s “mom” or “dad.” Male RATs get moms; female RATs get dads. Each substitute parent is charged with looking out for his or her baby RAT during the first week of classes. My RAT dad was an alto sax player, so on adoption night I was able to branch out of the trumpet section and get to know other musicians. I’m now helping my twin RAT sons— an alto player and a member of the herd—assimilate. At the RAT banquet on the last night of camp, we finally get to see our bandmates cleaned up. Some of us don’t even recognize each other minus a slick layer of skin-on steam. We finish camp with an impressive farmer’s tan and two shows ready to go, one each for pregame and halftime. The RAT tradition is just one link to the band’s history, which extends to 1897. Auburn musicians have made music on game day for more than a century, minus fancy nicknames or high-flown monikers. “Some other institutions need to give descriptive names to their bands in order to praise them,” the late former AU president Harry Philpott once said. “The quality of the music, the precision of its drills and the fine image
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it portrays have made it unnecessary for us to say more than, ‘This is the Auburn University Band.’” The band traces its roots to a 12-member drum corps and a single tenor horn named the “Jenny Lind.” Community members, faculty and students pitched in for instruments to broaden the fledgling band’s repertoire. By 1917, the Auburn band, redubbed the 16th Infantry Regimental Band, marched in Europe during World War I. As they crossed the Rhine from France into Germany, musicians played “Glory to Ole Auburn” to celebrate the Allied victory. By 1945, Auburn University had formed a music department, officially incorporating the band and musical instruction into its academic curriculum. The following year, the first majorette corps formed, although female musicians didn’t join the band until 1950. In 1949, the band traveled to Washington, D.C., to march in the inaugural parade for U.S. President Harry S. Truman; by 1952, its members had made their first recording under the direction of David A. Herbert. As Elvis Presley began dominating the airwaves and hula hoops came into vogue in the late ’50s, two seminal events unfolded that had a lasting effect on the AU band: Its members premiered the brand new “War Eagle” fight song in 1955 and, two years later, dropped their gray cadet uniforms for orangeand-blue suits. The modern AU Marching Band was born.
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nce classes begin, the full marching band meets four days a week for an hour and a half; each section also practices at night once a week. The band’s “visual ensemble,” known as the Tiger Eyes, includes majorettes, flags and a dance line, and has an even busier practice schedule. “We not only have the full band practices, but two days a week we come a half-hour early to start practicing,” says accounting major Melissa Hennessy, a majorette. “On Mondays, we have a two-hour practice. We also meet on Tuesday nights from 8 to 9 p.m. in the coliseum, just to (refine) and work on things as a whole line.” As the first game day of the season approaches, the marching band divides into four groups known as spirit bands. The smaller ensembles conduct pregame performances around campus on game days, including at the Alumni HosThe 25 members of pitality Tent, and play for the athletes as the marching band’s tuba section, also they file into the stadium, a ritual known known as “the herd,” as Tiger Walk. pump brass, not On any given game day, home or iron. The largest and lowest-pitched brass away, we encounter lots of fans for both instrument, tubas apteams. We pose for pictures, return many peared first in Berlin during the 1820s, “War Eagles” and answer random quesdisplacing other wind tions, from “Where are the restrooms?” instruments of poorer to “How hot is your uniform?” We anquality and intonation. Auburn’s marching swer as best we can. band is one of the During one game in 2008, a thirdlargest in the country. quarter thunderstorm soaked the stands for five minutes and, by the fourth quarter, we were miserable. Our polyester uniforms acted like a lid on a steaming pot of broccoli, trapping the heat against our skin. It was one of the most uncomfortable games I’ve ever been through, although
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we did get a laugh out of it: Band director Spurlin had assured us it wouldn’t rain that day. Every band member has a favorite story. Majorette Hennessey remembers a game during which four different LSU fans asked why Auburn girls were prettier than their counterparts on the LSU dance line, known as the “Golden Girls.” Drum major Corley recalls a particular fan encounter as the different sections tried to get to their assigned positions for Tiger Walk. “This mom came running up. We didn’t know who she was, and she grabbed us and turned us around. She almost got on her hands and knees and begged us for a picture with her daughter.” The daughter apparently was a band groupie; the mom was trying to photograph her with all the trumpet players. “It’s amazing that people get that excited about the band,” Corley says. Haws’ most memorable moment wasn’t quite as happy. In fact, the tuba player lived every band member’s worst nightmare. “At the Ole Miss game in 2007, I fell in the pregame tunnel,” he says. “I’m not sure exactly how it happened. I was on the ground with a hundred people jumping over me,” he adds, wincing. “By the time I got to my feet, the band had already started playing, so I missed the entire pregame show. I look back at it and laugh; it was one of those freak accidents.”
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ame days are long, even sans sudden showers. We begin the day with a morning practice timed to the start of the game. The later the kickoff, the later we can sleep. During game-day practices, we do warm-ups for our individual sections and then as a full band. We rehearse portions of both our halftime and pregame shows, then finish with a run-through of both sets. Game-day practices always end with a pep talk and a list of reminders from Spurlin, plus the singing of the alma mater and a single, roaring “War Eagle!” It’s a good way to start the day, and also gives diehard fans a chance to get up close and listen in. Since my parents live in Auburn, they never miss an opportunity to see and hear the band, and bring me an extra bottle of water. After practice, we head to the band Opposite: An iconic hall, uniforms and instruments in tow, figure in most marchto change for the game. Our goal is ing bands, the drum major serves as field to be one of the classiest bands in the conductor on game country: The men must be clean-shaven days. Auburn’s drum majors this year are on game day, and all of us are taught to James Earl Corley remain cheerful no matter what’s hapof Prattville; Stuart pening on the playing field. Daubenmire of Milford, Ohio; and Daniel Toner “It’s tough sometimes, but I always of Marietta, Ga. Right: try to stay positive for Auburn and not Flag corps member be negative toward Auburn, or the ofNayeon Kim puts on her game face. ficials, or the other team,” Haws says. All of us are fans as well as musicians. Of nearly 400 band members, only 48 are actual music majors. Some of us, as the NCAA ads say, “are going pro in something else.” We’re in the band because we want to be and because we love Auburn.
I’m probably typical. As a public relations major, I am not in the band for any kind of class credit. But being in the band has become part of who I am in the Auburn family, and it gives me a chance to give back to the school that has given me lifelong friends and a great education. I know my memories from marching band will be the ones I treasure most. “Our sense of family (makes us different from other bands),” says Haws. “A lot of bands play well and march well, but one thing we do is bring more energy and spirit. We have a lot of fun, because some of the best friends I have are in the band. It’s a lot of hard work, but I do it because it’s so fun.” Adds Corley: “I don’t even know who I’d be without the marching band. I really believe some of the people I’ve met I will talk to for the rest of my life.” Standing in the stadium’s bowels just before kickoff, we wait with our friends—our family—to run out of the tunnel and begin the day’s performance. As I hear the drumbeat, I count my push to take to the field as a personal display of the Auburn spirit. Corley says it best. “Running out of that tunnel with 80,000 people screaming just for you—you feel almost like a rock star.” Rebecca Lakin is an editorial assistant with Auburn Magazine. To read more about AU bands, including administrators’ plans for a new $15 million band hall and adjoining practice field, see www.auburn.edu/auband.
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Ever wondered what’s hiding in your alma mater’s nooks and crannies? Sit back. We’ve done the legwork. b y s u z a n n e j o h n s o n and courtney johnson
Auburn’s
Attic Picture your attic. A squeaky pull-down ladder—or, if you’re lucky, a staircase—leads to a dark, dusty storage area filled with boxes of indispensible stuff. Ancient letters from the days when you wrote to pals using an actual pen. Multiple generations of baby clothing. High school yearbooks full of kids with big hair, Peter Pan collars and innocent smiles. Yellowing photographs of family barely remembered or gutwrenchingly missed. Wedding gowns, mortarboards, outdated furniture, college textbooks, children’s artwork. A Rick Springfield concert shirt from 1982. Memories constructed of paper and fabric and wood and cardboard—the stuff of a lifetime, or several lifetimes. Auburn University’s collection of “stuff” Auburn University’s metaphorical encompasses more “attic” isn’t so different from the one in than 150 years of hisyour home—it just covers more ground. tory extending from the institution’s origin as a Behind the hum of computers, the chatprivate liberal arts colter of students and the shouts of “War lege. Auburn illustrator Eagle” lies a vast world of obscure treaBruce Dupree depicted nine of our editors’ topsures and outright oddities. From pro10 campus finds in his digious pianos to concrete canoes, here watercolor attic at left. Can you spot them? are a few of our favorite things.
ILLUSTRATIONS BY BRUCE DUPREE
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Gray matter About 3 million books fill the shelves of the Auburn University Libraries— and that doesn’t include the more than 5 million microforms and government documents, 10 million archival and manuscript items, and 35,000 current periodicals. At the collection’s helm are the libraries’ elder statesmen, known collectively as incunabula—books produced prior to 1501. In the world of antique texts, they’re the oldest of the old, published shortly after the invention of the movable-type printing press. Auburn owns a pair of texts that are among the world’s existing incunabula: The libraries’ oldest volume, circa 1485, goes by the unwieldy title Opusculum repertorii pronosticon in mutations aeris and is a Venetian mash-up of astrology and meteorology; its younger brother is a 1497 Bible written in Latin whose chapters are denoted by painstakingly hand-tinted initial capital letters. “Practically every page is rubricated,” says archivist Greg Schmidt ’90, referring to the inked-red caps. “Someone went through and filled
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in every letter that could be filled.” The pair of books, housed in the libraries’ special collections and archives department, provides an instant lesson in the history of printing, from the craft of watermarking to the use of certain papers and inks, he adds.
Musical Mises Tucked inside a nondescript building beside Momma Goldberg’s deli on Magnolia Street, a group of scholars works to promote libertarian political theory based on the anarchical ideas of Austrian school economist Ludwig von Mises, who believed that economic and social systems function best without government regulation or manipulation. Established in 1982, the privately funded Ludwig von Mises Institute bills itself as the world center of von Mises’ concepts and has built a 30,000-volume library on classic liberalism and economic thought—one of the most extensive specialized collections in North America. Oddly, the center also boasts a rare 9.5-foot Bosendorfer Grand Imperial piano—known as the world’s largest non-wind instrument—purchased with funds from a musically inclined donor. Made in von Mises’ native Austria by one of the world’s oldest piano manufacturers, the Bosendorfer is characterized by its 97 keys, nine more than on a standard 88-key piano, comprising a full eight octaves. The additional black bass keys were originally created so pianists could play transcriptions of J.S. Bach’s organ works, which require bass pipes. Institute vice president Jeffrey Tucker says the Bosendor-
fer is meant to be played rather than displayed: In what might be termed a harmonious example of the libertarian tradition, local piano teachers use it for lessons and recitals, and students wandering past are often invited to sit at the Viennese handbuilt instrument and channel some Bach or Beethoven of their own.
Wish lists For generations of American kids, the arrival of the Sears department store gift catalog—known as the Sears Wish Book—has heralded the holiday season. In reality, though, the Wish Book represents only a small part of the retail empire begun by entrepreneurs Richard Sears and Alvah Roebuck. Sears, Roebuck and Co. began publishing its product catalogs in 1888, advertising goods ranging from plows to petticoats, haberdashery to house plans. Want a glimpse of U.S. consumer culture dating back to the Industrial Revolution? Check out the complete set of Sears catalogs in Auburn’s Ralph Brown Draughon Library. In the late 19th century, Sears and Roebuck competed with general-store proprietors in cities and townships, offering products with low, set prices and billing their mail-order business as “the cheapest supply house on earth.” By 1895, the Sears catalog had grown to 507 pages, and the company’s sales topped $750,000—a veritable fortune in those days. For more than 120 years, Sears’ catalogs have mirrored the changing tastes and expanding disposable income of American consumers: A doll that cost 19 cents in 1895 was priced at $1 in 1940 and came with a voice box that cried, according to that year’s Wish Book. A 1975 doll priced at $19.99 had the ability to wet her diaper, and by 1988 she’d grown into a $79 talking toddler. Last year, she’d given way—as had most of the Wish Book’s content—to high-tech toys and designer accessories.
Desk set There’s a simple wooden desk in the basement of Draughon Library, among the papers and books and artifacts from times long past. For years it graced the office of World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker, serving as the chief symbol
of a veteran pilot-turned-corporate titan: Rickenbacker headed Eastern Airlines during its growth heyday from 1935 to 1959. Before he became a commercial air transportation magnate, however, Rickenbacker, a former racecar driver, scored a record 26 aerial combat victories Opposite: Austria’s Emperor Ferdinand I as a U.S. Army Air of the Habsburg dynasty Service pilot. Ricknamed Ignaz Bosendorfer “Imperial Fortepiano enbacker died in Purveyor to the Court” 1973, and Auburn in 1839. His fans includUniversity eventued Hungarian composer Franz Liszt. Above: ally acquired his Flying ace Eddie Rickold desk as a result enbacker inked deals of the work of late on a utilitarian desk as Eastern Airlines’ chief. AU history professor David Lewis, who wrote Eddie Rickenbacker: An American Hero in the Twentieth Century (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005), which is widely considered the definitive biography of “America’s Ace of Aces.” Lewis also helped Auburn acquire other Rickenback-
er artifacts, including letters, newspaper clippings, photographs and journals; some items may be viewed online. In photos, the Rickenbacker desk looks deceptively small—but at 400 pounds, it’s no lightweight. It barely fit in the door of Lewis’ former office, his wife, Pat, says with a laugh. Rickenbacker’s desk, plus the original chairs from his New York office, were moved to the library upon David Lewis’ death in 2007.
Making tracks Strapped into tiny dune buggies fitted with big, roaring engines, a hundred drivers approach a boulder-studded, cliffriddled dirt track with abandon, jockeying for position and splattering mud. Welcome to the world of Baja SAE, an off-road intercollegiate racing competition sponsored by the national Society of Automotive Engineers. Auburn boasts
the only dedicated, full-sized Baja track in the country, located on 300 wooded acres near Opelika. Baja racers design, build and race their own vehicles based on SAE specifications. The goal: survival of the fittest on the toughest course in racing. Baja competitions are meant to test students’ engineering and design capabilities. “They start from scratch each year— raw steel and blank paper,” says adviser Peter Jones, who teaches mechanical engineering. “Along the way, they learn a lot of really great engineering skills.” But design, analysis and construction are only part of the deal—participants must also work in teams of 10 or 12 to build a running machine. A Baja competition lasts three days, with events separated into categories. Student teams are judged on vehicle design, drag-style racing, traction, maneuverability, suspension and, finally, endurance: Cars and drivers complete a four-hour, hundred-mile race to the finish. Most Baja competitions are
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turn to Auburn’s John D. Freeman Herbarium. The largest of its kind in the state, the Freeman Herbarium harbors more than 70,000 specimens of dried flowering plants, gymnosperms, ferns, bryophytes, fungi and lichens, some more than 150 years old and most native to the Southeast. Founded as a teaching lab and virtually as old as the university itself, much of the herbarium’s contents were destroyed over the years by a pair of fires, one in 1887 and a second in 1920 that also gutted Comer Hall. The plant collection began to thrive again in the 1960s under the watchful eye of the late professor John D. Freeman, who promoted its value as research resource rather than plant cemetery, and in five years managed to double the number of specimens mounted and shelved. Data obtained by studying plants collected from the same area over time can be used to gauge the impact of environmental changes, says curator Curtis Hansen, and scientists from all over the country visit to examine rare, invasive and endangered plants. “This is a collection that is accessed, researched and studied all the time,” Hansen says. “We have collections from every continent except Antarctica.”
Can you canoe?
held at sites built for other activities— off-roading, for example. Auburn’s Baja SAE track originated as the result of a “perfect storm” of need and opportunity, Jones says. When the SAE began looking for a place to host its national Baja tournament in 2006, Auburn engineering dean Larry Benefield saw the advantages of creating a permanent course. “The difference is that on Auburn’s track, the land is purpose-built for Baja—we don’t have to give it back,” Jones says.
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Herbal essence You may have seen the scenario on “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”: Detectives find a trace of plant matter among the myriad of microscopic clues surrounding a murder victim; further sleuthing reveals evidence of the rare pondberry, which eventually helps police track down the perpetrator. Faced with such a task in Alabama, forensic botanists would likely
Standard recipe for concrete: Stir together cement, gravel, limestone and water. Add a dash of chemicals. Mix well, pour and set. Unyielding and durable, concrete is one of the most ubiquitous man-made substances on earth, anchoring Left: Concrete-canoe homes, supporting competitions date to bridges and over- the 1960s, when colengineering stupasses, propping pe- lege dents began intramural destrians and freeing racing. Today, some early architects from 200 university teams compete regionally and the confines of brick nationally. Opposite: and stone. But can it Land that eventually Auburn’s Lee float? Ask the mak- became County was originally ers of the Bubba ceded to the U.S. by Slump. The Slump, the Creek Indians. which holds a place of honor in AU’s Harbert Engineering Center, is the university’s most recent entry in the annual Concrete Canoe Competition sponsored by the Southeast Student Conference of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Students design, build and race their concrete canoes each year in national and regional competi-
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tions. Not surprisingly, the focus is on flotation, not aesthetics. Concrete is porous, so making a canoe that not only floats but also maneuvers aquatic slaloms is a feat in itself. “The trick is to create a canoe with the right shape and thickness so it can be handled in the water and race in competition,” says civil engineering department head and team adviser Michael Stallings ’81. Auburn students traditionally do well in the competition, finishing second in the Southeast last year. Teams are judged on vessel design, an oral presentation, visual displays and the results of flotation tests— including rugged distance races, slaloms and sprints. Next year’s regional ASCE Concrete Canoe Competition will be held at Auburn in March.
Amber waves of glass An air of peaceful feng shui envelopes the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, which rises from behind a glassy pond on South College Street. Just inside the contemporary building’s lobby, visitors are treated to a three-tiered shower of purple and pink and green and gold glass hanging from atop the rotunda: a half-ton confection of subtle color and intricate movement that belies its behemoth proportions. The massive chandelier, Amber Luster, is the creation of renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly, and it is the pièce de résistance of Auburn’s permanent fine-art collection that also includes works ranging from Audubon prints to Irish Belleek pottery. Chihuly created the chandelier specifically for the Jule Collins Smith museum in his Seattle studio using more than 600 pieces of blown glass in six discrete shapes; his team of workers perched on scissor lifts in order to install the finished 17- by 7-foot piece over a four-day period in 2003. The chandelier was a gift to the museum from the family of John H. Hughes ’50 of Birmingham. “We had seen other Chihuly works that emphasized reds, blues, greens and yellows. Although our chandelier still looked like a contemporary piece, it had a more traditional beauty,” Hughes said on viewing the completed work. “When we first saw it, nobody could say a word for five, maybe 10 minutes.”
Something’s fishy here “Go fish” takes on a new meaning in Auburn’s physiology building, the old vet school lab constructed by students during the Great Depression. But forget the rod and reel, or thoughts of a well-battered filet centered on a dinner plate. These fish are for studying, not eating. Welcome to Auburn’s Natural History Museum Fish Collection, where about 450,000 specimens hover in jars on shelves spanning three large rooms. Another 10,000 await the patient eye of curator Jonathan Armbruster, who meticulously identifies, labels and catalogs each entry. Researchers may borrow samples for genetic research, lineage tracing, and tracking environmental conditions and impact. Most of the dead fish come from the Southeast, but grad students studying abroad sometimes donate samples from their travels. Armbruster’s best find: a 5-foot Venezuelan electric eel, which he caught himself. “A graduate student and I were doing some collecting and spotted this thing moving in the water,” he says. “We debated whether or not getting it was worth the danger and decided it was something we wanted. We placed a net down and it swam right in—while electrocuting everything else in the net.”
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Lee County Historical Society, thumbed through century-old deeds to trace the land’s ownership. “He found that a Jess Carter purchased the land in 1841 from Creek Indians, leading him to believe Carter was the first white man to own the property,” says Lolley, who oversees the preserve. The homestead was built in the mid- to late 1800s; a tour of the property reveals farming terraces, a cotton field and old equipment. The barn and smokehouse still stand, and though the house itself burned down, its foundation is visible and its chimney stones still lay where they fell after the fire. Lolley hopes eventually to restore the place so visitors can get an accurate picture of agrarian life in the mid-19th century. Courtney Johnson ’09 is an intern at Auburn Magazine.
Home sweet homestead Down Canopy Way, around Songbird Loop, past Reptile Rest, through Turtle Pond Way and next door to Butterfly Garden sits one of the oldest homesteads in Auburn. Right now, there’s not much left—the foundation of a house, an old chimney, a barn. If Jennifer Lolley ’86 has her way, there will eventually be much more. The former home and its outbuildings are part of Auburn University’s Louise Kreher Forest Ecology Preserve, a 110-acre nature center on Ala. 147 north of Auburn that serves as a living classroom for students studying forestry and related disciplines. Surveyor Zack Sprayberry, a member of the
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Order Auburn’s Official Calendar Auburn University’s official calendar, Points of View: Jordan-Hare On Exhibit, is a collection of images that feature angles of the sports complex that perhaps have been overlooked. Produced by the Office of Communications and Marketing, Points of View: Jordan-Hare On Exhibit is a 12-month, 11”x14” calendar and sells for $9.95. To order, contact Auburn University Photographic Services at 334/844-4560 or online at auphoto@auburn.edu or www.auburn.edu/photo. The calendar is also available at local bookstores.
Send Auburn scholars
over the top!
Be among the first 100 new Spirit of Auburn applicants to receive a free mini Auburn helmet autographed by Bo Jackson, after qualifying transaction(s).§ This helmet is our way to thank you for helping to send scholarships over the top, since the new Spirit of Auburn credit card featuring the WorldPoints® program contributes to Auburn’s scholarship fund. As you use the card for all your everyday purchases, you share the Auburn spirit by benefiting students who most deserve academic scholarships – at no additional cost to you – and you ultimately help shape the future of Auburn. Enjoy redeeming all the points you earn for cash rewards, travel, or merchandise. And you can proudly display your autographed mini helmet, knowing you have helped send Auburn students over the top.
To apply for the card, simply call 1.866.438.6262 and mention priority code UAA7TD. For information about the rates, fees, other costs, and benefits associated with the use of this card or to apply, call the number above.
1982 Iron Bowl Bo Over the Top This is a one-time offer for new Spirit of Auburn credit card applicants who respond to this offer, are approved and then use the new account within 90 days of the date the account is first opened, to make any combination of purchase, balance transfer, or cash advance transactions totaling at least $100 (excluding transaction fees, if any). All transactions must post to the account within the same billing cycle and the account must remain open for 90 consecutive days from the date it is first opened. If you are among the first 100 new cardholders to qualify for the autographed mini helmet, your helmet will be autographed by Bo Jackson. This offer is sponsored by the Auburn Spirit Foundation for Scholarships. If you meet the qualifications above, but you are not one of the first 100 customers to qualify for the autographed helmet, you will receive an unsigned helmet. Supplies are limited: one (1) helmet per account, while available. Offer valid through 12/31/09.
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The Spirit of Auburn credit card is made possible by the Auburn Spirit Foundation for Scholarships (ASFS), which is affiliated with Auburn University. This advertisement was paid for by the ASFS. This is the only card that directly benefits Auburn University. This credit card program is issued and administered by FIA Card Services, N.A. Bank of America and the Bank of America logo are registered trademarks of Bank of America Corporation. Visa is a registered trademark of Visa International Service Association and is used by the issuer pursuant to license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. Platinum Plus and WorldPoints are registered trademarks of FIA Card Services, N.A. AR87560 08/13/2009 © 2009 Bank of America Corporation
10/8/09 1:11:43 PM
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Calendar
A unity of purpose
Nov. 27
NANCY YOUNG FORTNER ’71 President, Auburn Alumni Association
Did you know that your Auburn Alumni Association membership just increased in value? At the association’s June board meeting, and after years of discussion and months of focused study, your board of directors made a decision to ensure the health of the association for many years to come. Your board unanimously voted to begin implementing a “membership unity” plan designed to eliminate the need for alumni to pay two sets of dues, one to the local Auburn alumni club and another to the national association. Many other universities similar to Auburn have successfully implemented comparable unity plans. Membership unity creates an opportunity for the association to add more events, programs and services as outlined in our strategic plan, as well as continue to provide existing services to our successful local club program—our 99 Auburn clubs across the nation. Auburn clubs are the grassroots connection between alumni and the Auburn Alumni Association, and are the face of Auburn in your communities. Your association is an organization of more than 45,000 members who work together toward common goals. Unity is oneness—a thorough integration of parts through harmonious cooperation. As I write this message, I am reminded of examples of unity in the Auburn family: • teamwork and shared vision of the Auburn Alumni Association’s board and Office of Alumni Affairs staff to provide programs and services that mirror the association’s vision statement: “The Auburn Alumni Association cultivates lifelong relationships between Auburn and its alumni and friends to support the advancement of our university.” • open, collegial dialogue promoting relationship-building between the alumni association and our university stakeholders—
the AU administration, board of trustees, AU Foundation and athletics department.
N E W S
ALUMNI HOSPITALITY TENT
Auburn vs. Alabama tailgate hosted by the Auburn Alumni Association. 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. on the Wallace Center lawn. Admission from $5-$10; association members and children under 4 admitted free. Info: (334) 844-2960 or www.aualum.org/events/tent.html. RAPTOR SHOW
• the unanimous decisions reached by two trustee selection committees comprising the governor of Alabama, two AU trustees and two alumni association board members to nominate outstanding alumni to serve Auburn—Randy Campbell ’84 of Shoal Creek and B.T. Roberts ’72 of Mobile. • the commitment of coach Gene Chizik and his staff, as well as academic deans and faculty, to connect to our Auburn alumni by attending a record number of Auburn club meetings this year. • efforts of the AU Office of Enrollment Management and University Recruiting, Graduate School, and Office of Multicultural Affairs and Diversity to post the highest university enrollment (24,602), highest freshman ACT scores (average score of 26.2), increase in graduate school enrollment (increase of 4.8 percent), and increase in students of color (15 percent increase). And who can forget the unity of Auburn alumni, students and fans as we supported our football team and coaches during the monsoon-like driving rainstorm prior to the Tigers’ game against West Virginia? That signature effort and win in September exemplifies teamwork and what we believe in—hard work, faith in each other for a common purpose and shared vision. An opportunity exists for the Auburn family to continue to not only value but demonstrate unity of purpose. May we always believe in Auburn and love it. War Eagle!
Auburn’s Southeastern Raptor Center will host its birds-in-flight raptor show, “Football, Fans and Feathers,” at 9 a.m. in the Edgar B. Carter Educational Amphitheater on Raptor Road off Shug Jordan Parkway. Education specialists will talk about hawks, falcons and eagles, and their role in nature. Admission is $5 and children under 3 are admitted free. Info: (334) 844-6943 or www.vetmed.auburn.edu/raptor. Jan. 14–30 WAR EAGLE TRAVELERS: PANAMA CANAL
Begin with a stop in carefree Key West, Fla., before settling aboard the Oceania Regatta for a leisurely transit of the Panama Canal. Mexico dominates the second half of this voyage, as Regatta skirts along that country’s western shore. From $2,799. Info: (334) 844-1143 or www.aualum.org/travel. Jan. 16–23 WAR EAGLE TRAVELERS: AUSTRIAN ALPINE ADVENTURE
Geared toward young alumni, this tour allows travelers to conquer the ski slopes of the Austrian Alps or simply explore the sights of charming Salzburg, nestled between the Alps and the Salzach River. From $835. Info: (334) 844-1143 or www.aualum.org/travel. Jan. 17–27 WAR EAGLE TRAVELERS: TANZANIA SAFARI
It’s the journey of a lifetime into the wilds of Tanzania, Africa’s premier safari destination, during the great migration. Here, in one of Earth’s greatest natural spectacles, vast herds of elephant, wildebeest, zebra, gazelle and Cape buffalo roam the savannas, followed by magnificent lion, cheetah and leopard. From $5,495. Info: (334) 844-1143 or www.aualum.org/travel. Jan. 23-30 WAR EAGLE TRAVELERS: CARIBBEAN CRUISE
nancyfortner@auburnalum.org
Designed for singles ages 40 and up, this Crown Princess cruise sails out of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with ports in the western Caribbean islands. From $715. Info: (334) 844-1143 or www.aualum.org/travel.
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Calendar Feb. 5–6 AUBURN CLUB LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
Auburn alumni club leaders from around the nation gather at the Auburn Alumni Center to discuss the implementation of the Auburn Alumni Association’s new membership unity program. Info: (334) 844-1145 or www.aualum.org/clubs. Feb. 7–14 WAR EAGLE TRAVELERS: MARDI GRAS CARIBBEAN CRUISE
Ready to have fun and meet people? Our Caribbean singles cruise on the Carnival Conquest departs from Galveston, Texas, with stops in Key West, Fla., and Freeport and Nassau, Bahamas. Info: www.aualum.org/travel or (334) 844-1143.
Feb. 9–23 WAR EAGLE TRAVELERS: SAMBA RHYTHMS
Uncover the cultural, natural and historical riches of South America’s east coast while cruising aboard the 684-passenger Oceania Nautica. This cruise begins in Rio de Janeiro before sailing to some of South America’s most enthralling ports in Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina. Info: www. aualum.org/travel or (334) 844-1143. March 6 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS BANQUET
Dinner and induction ceremony honoring R. Kenneth Johns ’57, J. Smith Lanier II ’49, Gerald W. Smith ’61 and Kathryn C. Thornton ’74 at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center. 6 p.m. reception; 6:30 p.m. dinner. Black tie. Tickets are $175 each or $2,250 for a table of 10. Info: (334) 844-1150 or (334) 844-1113. March 24–April 9 WAR EAGLE TRAVELERS: ASIAN EXPLORATIONS
Experience the legendary lands of eastern Asia—including China, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan—from the comfort of the luxury cruise ship Oceania Nautica. From $4,399. Info: www.aualum. org/travel or (334) 844-1143.
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Spirit of the season DEBBIE SHAW ’84
Vice President for Alumni Affairs and Executive Director, Auburn Alumni Association I love autumn in Auburn! It is by far the most invigorating time of the year—new students are settling in, and football season brings thousands of alumni and friends to campus to enjoy the ambiance of our small college town and the great memories a visit can bring. While Auburn University is indeed growing, as is the city, you will find that our town can still claim the title of “loveliest village of the plain.” I am proud of our city, and I have loved living here for 28 years. The month of August brought an end to this year’s annual meetings held by most of our 99 Auburn alumni clubs around the nation. Staff from the Office of Alumni Affairs as well as featured guests attended more than 60 club meetings this summer, and almost all of those meetings were attended by a member of the Auburn Alumni Association board of directors—a great example of how our board interacts with alumni near and far. Hats off to each of our club leaders, who work all year to promote AU and to raise money for student scholarships. Auburn clubs raised more than $400,000 in the past year, which resulted in more than 100 students receiving tuition awards for fall semester. These scholarships go to students who live in the areas covered by the clubs that provide the awards. Scholarships continue to be a priority for the alumni association. Sixty-five students received a tuition award this year of $1,500 from the Alumni Scholars endowment. Children of AU alumni who are life members of the association are eligible for scholarships from this fund. Supporting legacies is integral to the Auburn family; your association contributed more than $750,000 to the Alumni Scholars endowment this year through several programs and activities.
One way we raise money for this scholarship endowment is through the Circle of Excellence Society. Life members are encouraged to join this society to continue their support of our great university. Please consider joining so we may continue to award scholarships for future Auburn students. Few people bring a smile to thousands of Auburn people like retired dean of students Jim Foy, who turned 93 on Nov. 7. Though he gets around in a wheelchair these days, with an accompanying nurse or aide, he continues to attend every single home football game to cheer for the Tigers. He was even there when the rain came pouring down at the game against West Virginia in September. His loyalty to Auburn is and always has been unwavering. I believe he makes us all better Auburn men and women, because he serves as such an inspiration to us. Dean Foy is my very good friend. He has taught me to be more positive, more spirited, more forgiving, more compassionate, more loyal, more loving, more grateful. Most of all, he has deepened my love for Auburn University. And I realize I am but one of many, many individuals who can say the same thing. War Eagle, Dean Foy, and we fully expect to see you at the games for at least the next seven years! Spread your love of Auburn by asking a friend to be a member of the alumni association. If everyone got just one person to join, we would not only double our membership, we would raise thousands of additional dollars to support students coming to Auburn. It is an inexpensive way ($45) to make a big difference. War Eagle!
debbieshaw@auburn.edu
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Class Notes GOT NEWS? Auburn Magazine 317 S. College Street Auburn University, AL 36849-5149, or aubmag@auburn.edu Life Member Annual Member
’20–’59 J. Grady Cox ’48 of Auburn is president of the Auburn University Retiree Association for 2009-10. Herbert T. Uthlaut ’50 and wife Mary
celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on June 5. After living in Birmingham for 39 years, they retired to Stone Mountain, Ga., in 2008 to be near son Scott Uthlaut ’73 and his wife, Janet Foster Uthlaut ’72, as well as daughter Karen Uthlaut Patton ’74. Tommy Gordon ’52
and wife Jane celebrated their 52nd wedding anniversary in December. Eugene J. Guazzo ’52 of Chaptico, Md., retired in August 2008 after practicing medicine for 40 years. He is now a substitute teacher for the St. Mary’s County Public Schools.
Williams worked for Harco Drugs from 1957 to 1997, serving as district manager and director of pharmacy. Upon retiring, he helped develop the Good Samaritan Clinic in Tuscaloosa, which serves underprivileged residents. Abe L. Philips Jr. ’57
of Mobile is chair of Burr & Forman law firm’s admiralty/maritime section.
’60–’69
Tuscaloosa in June received the Alabama Pharmacy Association’s Bowl of Hygeia Award recognizing outstanding professional contributions and community/governmental activities.
Ila Mettee-McCutchon ’67 was recog-
nized by Who’s Who of American Women for 11 years of service and achievements. She has served as mayor of the city of Marina, Calif., and was a U.S. Army officer for 26 years. She and husband John have a daughter, Erin.
Emmette P. Waite Jr. ’60 and Janet Smith
Benjamin Spratling
Waite ’59 celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in June. They live in Fort Myers, Fla.
III ’67, an attorney in the Birmingham office of Haskell Slaughter, is listed in the 2010 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.
Roger “Bucky” Allen Jr. ’63 retired in
2006 after 35 years as a mathematics professor and department chair at Francis Marion University in Florence, S.C. The institution has since honored Allen’s service by naming a dormitory after him and establishing an endowed scholarship in his name. Allen and wife Kitty Fairleigh Allen ’63 live in Waynesville, N.C. Katherine Savage Twilley ’63 of Bir-
Wyatt Williams ’53 of
state senator since 2000. He is chair of the Georgia Senate’s Higher Education Committee and vice chair of the Judiciary Committee.
mingham retired as a Methodist missionary, having served in Bolivia until 2008. She also was a hospital pharmacist for 33 years. B. Seth Harp Jr. ’66, an attorney in Columbus, Ga., has served as a
Charles Keene ’68
of Clarksville, Tenn., is a county commissioner for Montgomery County, Tenn. Harold Harmon ’69 received the Ken
Wurster Community Leadership Award from Dublin, Ohiobased Cardinal Health Inc. pharmaceutical company. Harmon owns H & M Drugs in Wedowee.
’70–’79 Catherine Jones
2008. They live in Mobile and Gulf Breeze, Fla. Tim Bishop ’71 of Albertville in June received the Alabama Pharmacy Association’s J. Wayne Staggs Distinguished Service Award. The award recognizes exceptional leadership and service to the organization. A former APA president, Bishop has been an independent pharmacy owner for 29 years, is a certified diabetes consultant and was one of the first pharmacists in Alabama to give vaccinations and immunizations. Sandra Clark-Lewis ’72
received an Auburn University grant for a project to provide hearing and middleear screening to children in Guatemala City. She is a clinical professor of audiology in the College of Liberal Arts’ Department of Communication Disorders.
The Auburn Alumni Association elected four new board members during its annual meeting Nov. 7: VERNELL E. BARNES ’75
owns an architecture and interior design firm in Decatur, Ga. He served a three-year term as a board member of the Auburn University Parents’ Association and has been an active participant in the alumni association’s Minority Alumni Involvement Now program. RANDY J. HAM ’73 of Trussville is a manager with AT&T and formerly served as president of the Greater Birmingham Auburn Club. He is now a member of the club’s advisory council. KATHLEEN M. SAAL ’83
of Acworth, Ga., is a senior producer/writer for Turner Broadcasting System Inc. in Atlanta. She serves as president of the Atlanta Auburn Club and is a former recipient of the alumni association’s Club Leader of the Year award. CYNTHIA A. SAHLIE ’85
building maintenance company and has retired after 34 years of owning the business with wife Joan. They live in Milton, Ga.
of Montgomery is a former public relations and marketing director in the health care industry. She has served as presidentwwof the Montgomery Auburn Club and remains a member of the club’s advisory board.
John Norton ’72 of Auburn was promoted to piano training manager for Los Angelesbased Roland Corp. U.S. He formerly served as Southeastern district sales manager for 13
Auburn’s Student Alumni Association board also elected officers for the coming year. They are: Matthew Cox of Gallion, president; Mitchell Holston of Dadeville, executive vice president; Rebecca Griffith of Athens, vice president of public relations; and Erin St. John of Andalusia, vice president of membership.
Harold K. Cumbie ’72 sold his janitorial/
Algood ’71 is a health
educator and advocate for the Mobile County Health Department’s TEEN Center. She and David Clothier ’73, senior news editor for Elevator World magazine, married in October
Walking on
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Learners’ license A new six-letter AU license plate debuted in Alabama this fall, featuring graduated, horizontal orange-andblue stripes and the familiar interlocking AU logo. Proceeds benefit scholarships for incoming freshmen; the vanity tag program awarded about $1.2 million last year.
Class Notes years and has been honored twice with the company’s divisional Chairman’s Award. James S. Voss ’72
of Houston will be inducted into the Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame in 2010. He is a former NASA astronaut who completed five space missions and spent more than five months living on the International Space Station.
edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Dwight Wolfe ’77
received the Alabama Veterinary Medical Association’s Distinguished Service Award. He has been on faculty at the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine since 1980 and is a member of the Alabama Livestock Hall of Fame. Paul Bowser ’78 re-
Davis Woodruff ’72
was featured in the July issue of Hydrocarbon Processing magazine. He is the founder and president of Management Methods Inc., a consulting firm in Decatur. Harry Spear ’73 of
Hampton Cove was promoted to deputy program manager of ballistic missile defense worldwide deployment with the U.S. Department of Defense’s Missile Defense Agency.
ceived the S.F. Snieszko Distinguished Service Award at the 50th annual Western Fish Disease Workshop and American Fisheries Society Fish Health Section annual meeting in Utah. He is a professor of aquatic animal medicine at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Keith Martin Cox ’79
was elected president of the Brookhaven Rotary Club of Atlanta for 2009-10.
C. Bruce Williams III
’81 of Midland, Ga.,
N.C., participated in a volunteer assignment in Angola for the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit CNFA, which promotes economic growth in developing countries. Williams, who owns a horticultural consulting company, evaluated Angola’s agricultural capacities and needs. He also hosts a local gardening/landscaping show, “Grow your Own with Dr. Bruce,” which airs weekly on WILM-TV.
was elected vice-chair of the National Board for the Certification of Ophthalmic Executives. He serves as administrator of West Georgia Eye Care Center in Columbus, Ga.
MARRIED Elizabeth Burgin Harris ’79 to Philip Young on June 6. They live in Columbus, Ga.
’80–’89 Timothy A. Bush
Robert Williams ’73,
husband Mike live in Huntingtown, Md., with their three daughters, Madeleine, Katherine and Parisa.
Bill Abernathy ’74
O. John Semmes ’79
manages the Fred C. Gragg SuperTree Nursery in Bluff City, Ark.
is the Anthem Professor of Cancer Research at Eastern Virginia Medical School and directs the school’s new Cancer Biology and Infectious Disease Research Center.
Katherine N. Barr ’75, an attorney in the
Birmingham office of Sirote & Permutt, is listed in the 2010
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Caroline Lipscomb Hassanpour ’79 and
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Wade Jeffress “Jeff”
of Carmel, Ind., a global crop protection research-anddevelopment leader for Indianapolis-based Dow AgroSciences, was named a fellow of the Entomological Society of America. He is the first career private-sector entomologist to be named an ESA Fellow since the honor was established in 1934.
the board of directors of Woodstock, Ga.based SERV Ministries International. He owns a construction company in Alpharetta, Ga.
Susan Plummer May
Birmingham office of Sorote & Permutt, is listed in the 2010 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.
Heart (Tiger Iron Press, 2008), a book about her son’s heart transplant. Katherine P. Nelson ’82 of Mobile is a fed-
cating Young Children from Preschool through Primary Grades (Allyn & Bacon, 2005), recently retired from the faculty of Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. Husband Victor Sower ’80 was named Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Management at the university. Steve Snyder ’80 was
installed as president of the Alabama Pharmacy Association in June.
Tampa, Fla., is a novelist and formerly worked as a reporter and editor for the Tampa Tribune from 1987-99. His new book, Gator A-Go-Go, is scheduled to be published in January.
White ’83 was named to
’81 wrote Nick’s New
Judith Carroll Sower
Tim Dorsey ’83 of
Scott Hutchins ’81
’80, an attorney in the
’80, co-author of Edu-
an attorney in the Birmingham office of Haskell Slaughter, is listed in the 2010 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.
Mark H. Holloway
’79 of Wilmington,
eral magistrate judge. She formerly practiced law privately and served as a U.S. District Court law clerk for six years. Dale Williams ’82 of
Nicholasville., Ky., received master’s and doctoral degrees from Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Ky. He ministered in Africa for 14 years, first as a Peace Corps volunteer and later as a staff member of Campus Crusade for Christ. He and wife Lee have three children.
Method: A Pathway to Learner-Centered Instruction (Mathematical Association of America, 2009). He is an associate professor of mathematics at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. Kelly Cutchins ’86 of Roswell, Ga., is vice president of commercial air conditioning for LG Electronics. He is based in Atlanta.
Tom Morse ’84 was named director of residential marketing for Alabama Gas Corp. in Birmingham.
Perry Yaw ’86 of Orange Park, Fla., recently assumed command of U.S. Navy Patrol Squadron 30 based at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, which provides training for naval aviators, flight officers and enlisted air crews. He holds the rank of captain.
James R. Sturdivant ’84,
Mike Beale ’87
an attorney in the Birmingham office of Sorote & Permutt, is listed in the 2010 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.
received a doctoral degree from Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Ky. He serves as pastor of WellSpring Community Church in Millbrook.
Michael E. Baker ’84
is a partner in the Birmingham law firm of Dent, Baker & Co.
Robert D. Grisso Jr. ’85
of Blacksburg, Va., was named a fellow of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. He is a professor of biological systems engineering for Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and serves as a farm equipment and safety specialist for Virginia Cooperative Extension. W. Ted Mahavier ’85
wrote The Moore
William Timothy Mitchell ’87 of Dun-
woody, Ga., received a Ph.D. in business administration from the University of Kentucky last year. He teaches managerial accounting at Georgia State University in Atlanta. Bill Deutsch ’88 ran
the Music City HalfMarathon in Nashville, Tenn., with seven family members, six of whom are also Auburn
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alumni. The run was designed to raise money for childhood neuroblastoma research. Deutsch’s daughter, Mindy Deutsch Sanders ’00, secured more than $10,000 for the charity Emily’s Power for a Cure. Jeff Jakeman ’88
was honored by the Alabama Historical Association for his work as editor of the state’s scholarly historical journal, The Alabama Review. He is an associate professor of history and a College of Liberal Arts’ Engaged Scholar at Auburn University.
pertaining to academic policies and procedures. He oversees the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, the Graduate School, the Office of Information Technology, the English-as-a-secondlanguage program and the Office of International Education. He formerly served as associate dean for curriculum and teaching in Auburn’s College of Liberal Arts. An Auburn faculty member since 1997, he holds the rank of professor in the Department of Communication and Journalism.
MARRIED Dennis M. Moore ’89 to Karen A. Muel-
ler on March 17. They live in Milwaukee. BORN Twins, Charles Werth IV and Maddox Thomas, to Thomas A. Roberts ’87 and wife Christine of Superior, Colo., on Aug. 8. A son, Tyler, to Joseph Jasinski ’88 and
wife Susan of Austin, Texas, on Nov. 3, 2008. Twins, Athanasios Stephanos and Sophia Anastasia, to Rodney L. June ’89 and wife Paraskevi of Honolulu on July 29.
’90 J. Emmett Winn was appointed associate provost for Auburn University, responsible for faculty hiring and personnel, and issues
MARRIED Ginger E. Florey to Norman Powell on May 30. They live in Atlanta, where she serves as credit manager for All-American Capital Group.
’91 Kyle Barnes is a design manager/electrical engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Norfolk, Va. He received a master’s degree in engineering management from Old Dominion University in August.
MARRIED Boo Kirsch to Jeff Hynes on May 31. They live in Suwanee, Ga., where she is a member of the Suwanee Community Garden Founders Committee.
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BORN A daughter, Katelyn Marie Brantley, to Janet Mertz and Ken Brantley of Atlanta on Sept. 1.
’92 Thomas “Lee” King
works for Accenture in Charlotte, N.C., helping electric utility companies to plan and implement grids. He formerly was employed by the Electric Power Research Institute in Knoxville, Tenn.
’93 Keith Lindgren
earned a master’s degree in automotive engineering from Clemson University. He works as a vehicle dynamics and test engineer for Dale Earnhardt Inc. in Mooresville, N.C. BORN A daughter, Ava Ann, to Holly Haskett and husband Jeff of Waxhaw, N.C., on May 8. She joins brother Tyler, 4.
’94 Brian Dobbs received
the “Green Associate” designation from the Washington, D.C.based Green Building Certification Institute. He is a construction attorney with Bass, Berry & Sims in Nashville, Tenn. Kimberly Braxton Lloyd received the Faculty Member of the Year Award from the
Cash for bricks For decades, the mighty oaks gracing Toomer’s Corner at the edge of Auburn University’s campus have served as the meeting place for fans following the Tigers’ sports victories. In those moments, all eyes are on the toilet paper streamers dripping from the trees. As university administrators attended to the trees’ health over the past two years, they noticed what was underfoot—the burnt-orange bricks paving over the oaks’ roots. In an effort to give the trees a bit of breathing room, workers excavated more than 1,000 of the red-clay sidewalk pavers, replacing them with mulch and a pervious sidewalk that allows air, water and nutrients to reach the trees’ roots. And what of the displaced bricks? They’re for sale. For a limited time, the public may purchase authentic Toomer’s Corner bricks as a keepsake from the Auburn Alumni Association for $100 each plus shipping. Proceeds benefit student scholarships. Each brick sports a metal plate marked with Auburn’s familiar interlocking AU logo and the words “Toomer’s Corner.” “We were able to secure the bricks and have the opportunity to not only offer a special piece of Auburn history, but to have the proceeds benefit future generations of students,” says association executive director Debbie Shaw. Huntsville resident Cole Cubelic ’01, who played center for the Tigers from 1996-2000, ordered bricks as gifts for his parents. “I’ve bought three—one for my father, one for my mother, and, of course, one for myself,” Cubelic says. “Some of the greatest memories I have in my whole life took place on that corner, and I think it is so cool to own a piece of it forever. It’s a collectible you can’t get anywhere else and won’t ever be able to get again. I cannot imagine any true Auburn fan not having to have at least one.” The bricks may be purchased online at www.aualum.org, by calling scholarship coordinator Toni Littleton-Rich at (334) 844-7420, or by e-mailing tonilittletonrich@auburn.edu.
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Alabama Pharmacy Association. She is an associate professor of pharmacy at Auburn University.
He is the pastor of WordServe United Methodist Church in Fulshear, Texas.
MARRIED
is a social worker for Big Oak Girls’ Ranch in Springville. She and husband John-Bauer Graham live in Southside.
Mary Ingram Graham Christina Copple
to Michael Mahr on Jan. 23. They live in Rochester, Minn. Kristian Peterson
Tickets for vets The COLUMBUS-PHENIX CITY AUBURN CLUB is offering free AU sporting-event tickets to sick and injured military veterans of the U.S. war on terrorism. The club recently bought six season-ticket books as part of its new community service project, dubbed “Tigers for Heroes.” Ticket recipients are members of the U.S. Army’s Wounded Warrior Program for soldiers who were injured in combat or have become ill as a result of their recent military service. The club’s alumni volunteers also are accepting donations from other Auburn season-ticket holders so that more military personnel can enjoy AU athletic events. So far, the western Georgia/eastern Alabama alumni club has received donated tickets from sports fans as far away as Colorado and Ohio. “Word of mouth has been unbelievable,” says club president Jana Tarleton. “I actually received a call from a Miami Hurricanes season-ticket holder who wanted to buy tickets to send our soldiers to an Auburn game. When I received that call, I can honestly say it is one of the few times I have been speechless.” Tigers for Heroes provided tickets to 21 active-duty soldiers from Georgia’s Ft. Benning for the Auburn vs. Louisiana Tech football game in September. Afterward, military personnel were lining up for the chance to experience Auburn tailgating, Tiger Walk, the traditional pregame eagle flight and AU Marching Band performances, among other game-day activities. Several of the soldiers who attended games in September were later deployed overseas. The Columbus-Phenix City alumni club plans to collect and distribute Auburn baseball and basketball tickets as Tigers for Heroes continues to gather steam, club officials say. For more information, see www.tigersforheroes.com. In other club news: • The Auburn Alumni Association recently chartered two new southern California alumni clubs. The LOS ANGELES and ORANGE COUNTY Auburn clubs were formed from the division of the Southern California Auburn Club into three separate chartered clubs. The SAN DIEGO AUBURN CLUB was chartered last year. • The TAMPA BAY and SEATTLE clubs hosted local food drives in conjunction with the Auburn campus’ annual “Beat Bama” food drive this fall. • The DALLAS/FT. WORTH and the Denver-based ROCKY MOUNTAIN clubs each welcomed more than 100 Auburn alumni and friends for game-watching parties earlier this season. Visit the Auburn Alumni Association’s club game-watching Web site to locate a gathering near you: www.aualum.org/clubs/gamewatch-locations.html. • Looking for members of the Auburn family near you? There are 99 Auburn alumni clubs located throughout the United States; see www.aualum.org/clubs/clubs.html to locate a club in your town.
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to David Miller on July 25. They live in Chicago. BORN A son, Nolan Abbott, to Jeff Henderson and wife Karin of Chicago on June 30. A son, Reid Sims, to William P. “Trey” Ware
and wife Erica Capps Ware ’96 of Birming-
ham on Dec. 31.
’95 Tracie Youngblood of McDonough, Ga., was promoted to senior vice president and controller at Georgian Bank.
BORN A son, Grayson Tennant, to Sharon “Schelly” Tennant
Paxton Heath is a wealth management adviser for Merrill Lynch in Birmingham. He and wife Courtney Apple Heath ’97 have four children: Maggie, 8; Max, 7; Walker, 5; and Winfield Alan, 1. Marcus S. Lawrence
was listed in the 2009 issue of Florida Super Lawyers magazine. He is a founding member of Thorn Lawrence law firm in Tampa, Fla. Trav Wilson received a doctoral degree from Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Ky. He serves as pastor of Moody United Methodist Church.
Marlatt and husband
Adam of Dacula, Ga., on March 12.
’96 Rob Chaney was promoted to athletic director at Tallahassee Community College in Tallahassee, Fla. Nolan Donald
received a doctoral degree from Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Ky.
BORN A son, Caleb John, to Danny Daniele and wife April of Rochester, N.Y., on July 9. Danny and his brother, Anthony Daniele ’93, own and operate three restaurants, a marina and a pasta sauce business. A son, Samuel Marc, to Marc John Huberdeau and wife
Credit consequences Credit card companies are now required by federal law to let consumers know the consequences of making only the minimum payment shown on their statements each month, including the amount of time it will take to pay off the entire balance. For more on money management, see www.aces.edu and click on “Thriving in Challenging Times.”
Huberdeau ’97 of
nary Clinic in Madisonville, Ky.
daughter, Lillian Mae, 1, and a son, Taylor, 4.
LaGrange, Ga. He joins brother Henry, 4.
Jennifer Strickland
Heath Henig was
Marko and husband
promoted to Birmingham branch manager of Scottrade online brokerage firm.
Marilyn McClanahan
A son, James Elliott, to Scott Tippins and wife Abby Bowden Tippins ’98 on April 3. He joins sister Ella Grace, 5. A son, Ethan Robert, to Kristi McCracken Yates and husband David of Smyrna, Ga., on May 26.
’97 Jeffrey Hunter Coats
is dean of students at Enterprise-Ozark Community College. Rob Couch received a
doctoral degree from Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Ky. He serves as pastor of Saraland United Methodist Church.
Adam own Marko Holdings Inc., which sells “Bottle Snugglers,” a product designed to hold a baby’s bottle during feeding time. The couple lives in Jacksonville, Fla. Mathew A. Watson
of Oneonta was awarded the Association of Certified Anti-MoneyLaundering Specialists’ CAMS credential. He is a forensic financial analyst for Regions Bank in Leeds. BORN A daughter, Averi Lauren, to David McGill and wife Jessica of Wadley on May 30.
’99 Amanda Keener
Allen C. Winsor of
Barritt was appointed
Gray-Robinson law firm in Tallahassee, Fla., was listed as a “rising star” in the 2009 issue of Florida Super Lawyers magazine.
to the board of Brightest Horizons Child Development Center, a state-licensed, not-forprofit organization that provides an educational program for lowincome families with children up to 12 years old. She is an attorney for Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt in Fort Myers, Fla.
BORN A boy, Edward Riley, to Julie Coleman Kegley and husband Thomas of Atlanta on April 10.
Benjamin Morris of Jeffersonville, Ind., was promoted to comanager of MedVenture Technology’s research and design department.
’98 Dana Childs opened
Tender Care Veteri-
Wes Gunn has
been employed in the ministry at Landmark Church of Christ in Montgomery for 10 years. He serves as the church’s foreignmissions minister. He and his wife have a
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D.C., office of HOK architectural and engineering firm. She formerly worked in the company’s Georgia and Texas divisions. Alexander D. Wallace
was promoted to U.S. Navy lieutenant commander. He serves in the public affairs office of the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif. MARRIED
Brooke Ulrickson
received the President’s Award of Merit from the Texas Young Lawyers Association. She is an attorney with Brown, Dean, Wiseman, Proctor, Hart & Howell in Forth Worth, Texas. Lisa Guilmet Williams of Cumming,
Ga., was certified as an associate safety professional in February. She is a safety manager for Tyson Foods Inc. MARRIED Kelley Moorhead
to Jamie Gambrell ’00 on March 21. They live in Atlanta. BORN A son, Grayson Ryan, to Justin Isaacs and wife Holly Marie Strong Isaacs ’97
A son, Jacob Lee, to Bruce Whited and wife Becky of Granger, Iowa, on May 16.
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of Chesterfield, Va., on June 8. He joins brother Noah, 7, and sister Tatum, 3.
’00 Shelby S. Guazzo is an interior designer in the Washington,
Paul Norris to Kimberly Campbell on June 27. They live in Montgomery.
BORN A son, William Charles, to Jeff Holoman and wife Katie of Decatur, Ga., on June 19. A son, Copeland Lowell, to Josh McCullough and wife Abbie Carter McCullough
of Mobile on March 6. He joins brother Carter, 3. Josh is vice president of sales and marketing for Software Technology Inc., and Abbie is assistant director of special events for the University of South Alabama’s Mitchell Cancer Institute. A son, Davis Reed, to Michael W. Napp Jr. and wife Susanne Byrd Napp of Chelsea on July 3.
’01 Daniel Bell is an engineer with the U.S. Army Redstone Technical Test Center in Huntsville. He and
SNAPSHOT
Doing time In 1994 while watching TV, John Hendricks ’64 glanced above the set at his family’s old clock. It wasn’t running, and he wondered what it would take to fix it. “I was born on a farm in my mother’s bedroom, and on the mantel was that clock,” he says. “It’s the first thing I heard, so I guess we bonded.” Hendricks, who’d just retired after 30 years in the insurance business, had extra time on his hands—so he set off in search of someone to teach him how to repair clocks. Over the years, Hendricks became passionate about timepieces—so much so that he began a collection of them and now runs his own Opelika clock museum and repair shop. He was certified in 1996 by the Columbia, Pa.-based National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors, a group dedicated to horology—the art and science of timekeeping—and now maintains a waiting list of customers whose clocks have stopped ticking. He’s even taken on an apprentice—granddaughter Lauren Wesley, a senior accounting major at Auburn. The pair works out of the Gingerbread House, a restored 1865 Carpenter Gothic home in Opelika’s historic district. Hendricks owns more than 300 clocks but denies having a favorite—unless it’s his mother’s old clock, which he fixed. It remains in his home, running like clockwork.—Rebecca Lakin
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Class Notes wife Brooke have a 1-year-old daughter, Sydney Leighann. Kathleen “Katie” Burt Connell is an attor-
SNAPSHOT
Auburn on ‘GH’ It was a special evening at Jake’s Roadhouse in Port Charles, N.Y., a small berg upstate from the Big Apple with a thriving medical community and a mafia presence. The club was readying for karaoke night, and fans of ABC-TV’s daytime drama “General Hospital” may remember the scenes because they got to see some of the show’s actors (including Jason Thompson, pictured above) let loose. Auburn fans remember them because two AU pennants hung prominently in almost every camera shot. Credit Andrea Archer Compton ’96, senior production coordinator for “General Hospital.” “I started asking around, wondering if I could get some Auburn pennants for the set at Jake’s bar,” she says. “It got cleared by legal, and when the first episodes of karaoke night aired, lo and behold, the Auburn pennants were in every shot. I thought it was the coolest thing.” Compton’s life has been a soap opera since she left Auburn on Jan. 1, 1996, for an internship on the NBC daytime drama “Days of Our Lives.”
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“I knew I wanted to work in daytime television,” Compton explains. “My first roommate at Auburn was a ‘Days of Our Lives’ fan. She had to be back in our dorm in the Quad every day when it aired—then I got hooked.” Compton snagged a job as an assistant writer on “Days,” later moved into the same position at ABC’s “Port Charles” and eventually landed at “General Hospital,” ABC’s longest-running soap opera. Today, Compton works with the show’s producers, reading every version of the scripts from outline to final copy. “General Hospital” shoots up to 100 pages of script each day, five days a week, to produce 256 episodes a year. By comparison, feature film producers shoot roughly five pages per day. “Not many people can do what we do. It’s one of the hardest-working parts of the industry,” Compton says. It’s also a business in flux. While “General Hospital,” now in its 45th year of production, continues strong, CBS’ 72-year-old “Guiding Light,” TV’s longest-running soap, aired its last episode in September. Compton thinks soaps will survive, though. “Daytime television will still be here,” she says. “People need that escape, even if it’s only for an hour, especially in hard times.”—Courtney Johnson
ney with Boyd Collar Nolen & Tuggle, an Atlanta divorce and family law practice. She is a member of the State Bar of Georgia Executive Committee’s family law section; was named to the 2008 Child Support Commission’s Child Support Electronic Worksheet Task Force; and was a member of the 2008 Leadership Academy for the State Bar of Georgia. Bennett K. Garner
of Acworth, Ga., is a licensed professional engineer with Atlantabased Newcomb & Boyd.
gist, opened Hearing Associates of Dothan with partner Robyn Wilkes in February. She specializes in adult and geriatric hearing loss, hearing aid fittings and aural rehabilitation. MARRIED Brent Grainger to Holley Johnson on May 2. They live in Birmingham.
BORN A son, Daniel Christian, to Bradley McGuffey and wife Julie McGuffey ’02 of Alabaster on May 8. A daughter, Jocelyn Amelie, to Stacey Foster Thomas and husband Chip of Richardson, Texas, on July 17. She joins sister Brooke, 2.
’02 Benjamin D. Brown is the band
Denisha Hendricks
was named director of athletics at Kentucky State University in Frankfort, Ky. She formerly served as senior woman administrator and assistant director of athletics for internal operations at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, N.C.
director at Thomasville High School. Miles Coggins is a missionary for Water of Life, a Christian ministry in Liberia that drills and rehabilitates wells to help provide safe drinking water. Ashley Mosley Walls
Jared Johnson
received the Distinguished Young Pharmacist Award from the Alabama Pharmacy Association. He practices in the Walgreens patient care center in Auburn.
is an assistant principal at Oak Mountain High School in Birmingham. She married James Robert “Bubba” Walls ’96,
head football coach at Ashville High School, on July 5, 2008. They live in Moody.
Jamie Burton Shu-
MARRIED
maker, an audiolo-
Elizabeth Dorlon to
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Pansies! Planting cold-weather pansies too early stresses the plants, according to the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service. Wait until night temperatures begin to hover in the low 60s, experts say.
Class Notes Josh Floyd on June 27. They live in St. Louis.
’04 MARRIED James Edward Gustin
Elizabeth Hartley Griffith to Samuel Travis Winter ’04 on Nov. 8, 2008. They live in Mobile.
BORN A son, Witten Devant, to Walter Devant Crim and wife Jamie Rae Witten Crim
of Huntsville on July 17.
’03 Robby Vinzant, an
agriscience teacher at Lawrence County High School in Moulton, was named a Future Farmers of America district Adviser of the Year.
to Ashley Irwin on Feb. 28. They live in Brandon, Miss. BORN A daughter, Abree Ann, to Adam McGee and wife Sabrina of Bonaire, Ga., on May 11.
’05 Gabriel Carpenter of
Vestavia Hills graduated from Cumberland School of Law on May 16. As a student there, he served as executive editor of the American Journal of Trial Advocacy. He is now pursuing a degree in taxation law at the University of Florida.
MARRIED Kirstin McDuffie
to Roger Jones ’01 on June 27. They live in Atlanta. Juliet de Villiers Miller
to David Harper Milam on Aug. 15. They live in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla. Sarah Pieplow to Matthew Sharman ’02
on Feb. 7. They live in Auburn. BORN A daughter, Mackenzie Lyn, to Matthew G. Allphin and wife Christin Ogletree Allphin of Spring, Texas,
Elizabeth Coder received a master’s degree in higher and postsecondary education from Columbia University in New York in May. Casey Neary received
a doctoral degree from the University of Georgia College Of Veterinary Medicine on May 2. As a student there, he was a member of Alpha Psi professional veterinary fraternity and Phi Zeta veterinary honor society. He was awarded the 2008 Phi Zeta Leadership Award and the David Tyler Award for Teaching.
on July 6. MARRIED A son, William James, to Gus Rios and wife Emily of Atlanta on March 27.
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Hannah Bender to Andrew Thornbury ’06
on May 2. They live in Birmingham.
Auburn Magazine a u a l u m . o r g
Brittany DiVagno to Nathan McCorkle on April 25. They live in Alpharetta, Ga. Jessica Eastman to Jonathon Stewart on May 23 in Alameda, Calif. They live in Oakland, Calif.
Heather Bazemore
They live in Fort Worth, Texas.
to Josh Lee on June 27. They live in Birmingham.
Jonathan Pilkerton ’09
MARRIED
Alesia Bradley to
Ryan Schulz on June 20. They live in Nashville, Tenn.
Lucile Montiel to
on June 27. They live in Auburn. Rachel Stone to Ste-
phen Ryan on Jan. 3. They live in Hattiesburg, Miss.
to George Robert Lee on July 18. They live in Hoover.
Joshua Davison to Jennifer Steiner on April 11. They live in Wilmer.
Patrick Davidson Smal-
Mary Kate Donaldson
David Mastin Jr. on June 7. They live in Montgomery.
ley to Lauren Pearce on March 21. They live in Dallas.
to Eric Long on May 9. They live in Auburn.
’08
BORN A daughter, Adelaide Marie, to Gabriel Carpenter and wife Megan of Vestavia Hills on March 27.
Free to Allan Westen-
Michelle Jamin Romano
Suzanne Victoria
A son, Jayden Amari, to Adrienne Crane Stewart and husband Greg on May 14. Adrienne is a teacher for Harrison School District Two in Colorado Springs, Colo.
’06 Mary Beth Stegall Ely
of St. Louis received a master’s degree in higher education and student affairs from the University of South Carolina. She and husband David Ely have a 1-year-old daughter, Caroline Margaret. Jennifer Holden of Helena works as a transition counselor for at-risk students in Shelby County Schools. She and fiancé Chris Campisi were married in October.
hofer on May 23. They live in Auburn. Theresa Garren
to Kyle Grubbs on April 25. They live in Ames, Iowa.
sistant language teacher in Ishikawa-ken, Japan. Christina Romagosa
graduated from the Southern Regional Education Board State Doctoral Scholars Program. She is a researcher in Auburn’s biological sciences department. MARRIED
Ashley Toellner to
Whitney Dykes to Dustin Bruce ’08 on
June 20. They live in Fort Worth, Texas. Micaela Ellson to
Joseph Brannan is
Paul Burke ’08 on Aug.
assistant general manager at PMB Broadcasting in Columbus, Ga. He formerly was employed as a financial controller at Clear Channel Radio.
1. They live in Kansas City, Mo. Lindsay Nicole Ille
to Bolton Ward Tucker ’08 on Oct. 3. They live in Fairhope.
Andrew Jones to Karen Lail on May 23. They live in Spartanburg, S.C.
Justin Saia was named campaign manager for Ron Sparks’ 2010 campaign for Alabama governor.
Hadley Kelley to Preston Muller on June 6. They live in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla.
Stacie Pritchett
MARRIED
Justin Spencer on June
Ellen Oakes to
to Justin Grifford on June 13. The couple lives in South Korea, where they teach English to elementary and middle school students.
Brandon Haley ’09 on
Elizabeth Racette to
6. They live in Wichita Falls, Texas.
May 30. They live in Lakeland, Fla.
Allison Parker to Nor-
’09
man Haley on June 20. They live in Auburn.
Frances E. “Libby” Christie Simpson to
Christopher Eng on May 2. They live in Brownsboro. Caroline Jones Turner
to James Harpole ’07 on April 18. They live in Baton Rouge, La.
’07 MARRIED Anna Horton to Brad
McDaniel on Aug. 29.
Amos joined the
Stacey Taylor to Chris-
Fox 10 News team as a video journalist in July. The station serves Mobile, Pensacola, Fla., and Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
topher Browning on May 16. They live in Birmingham.
Lauren Culp was accepted to the Tokyobased Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme. She plans to spend a year as an as-
Katherine Whatley
to Thomas Merrill on Aug. 22. They live in Birmingham. Staci Wyland to Bill Conkling on May
30. They live in Orlando, Fla.
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In Memoriam Benjamin Watkins
George A. Cabaniss
Hutson ’34 of Mobile
’39 of New Albany, Ind.,
died June 8. A U.S. Army Air Corps veteran of World War II, he worked for Alabama Power for 35 years. He loved sailing and was active in the Exchange Club of Mobile.
died June 10. He worked as a research scientist at General Tire and Rubber Co. for 26 years. He enjoyed learning about animal behavior, astronomy and the environment, and loved golf, tennis and music.
Ruth Smyth Marrs ’37
of Corvallis, Ore., died June 3. She worked as a laboratory technician at Santa Rosa County Hospital in Milton, Fla., and Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, Fla. She received many awards for her service in the medical field and enjoyed reading, traveling, solving crossword puzzles, and studying conservation and archaeology. James Oliver Turnipseed ’37 of Auburn died June
5. He was a longtime educator, serving as principal of Aliceville High School and later as a language consultant for the Alabama Department of Education.
John William Lovell ’40
of Birmingham died July 14. A U.S. Navy veteran of World War II, he was a retired chemical company branch manager. George Gavin McFaden Sr. ’40 of Montgomery
died June 28. A World War II veteran, he worked for the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services’ Vocational Rehabilitation Service for 17 years as a district supervisor and later as supervisor of service for the blind and deaf. He also served as a department head at the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind in Talladega. William Ross Snel-
Margaret Ruth Postell ’38 of Birmingham died
July 3. She was a teacher at Bush Elementary School for 10 years. Dewitt M. Yost ’38 of
Juno Beach, Fla., died July 6. He worked for Sorg Paper Co. and served on the boards of First National Bank in Middletown, Ohio, Mosinee Paper Corp., the Salvation Army and the National Air & Water Council.
lings ’41 of Augusta, Ga., died July 31. A U.S. Army veteran of World War II, he served as a state representative in Georgia from 1963-64 and as a delegate to the National Democratic Convention in 1964. He was vice president of Sherman & Hemstreet Real Estate Co. for 40 years. William Paul Shealy ’42 of Dothan died
June 4. A U.S. Navy veteran, he worked in sales at Specialty Advertising, which later became W.P. Shealy Advertising Inc. in Dothan. He enjoyed canoeing and traveling the world. James L. Allegood Jr. ’43 of Kennesaw, Ga., died July 20. A U.S. Navy veteran of World War II, he worked as an engineer for Sneeden York Co. and later Celotex Corp., from which he retired as vice president of marketing for the building products division after 34 years. Travis Sisler Berry ’43 of Plano, Texas, died July 19. A U.S. Army veteran, he was a Baptist minister who served as a trustee for Baylor University and as vice president of the Baylor Health Care System Office of Church Relations. He was named Plano’s Citizen of the Year and one of the Plano Independent School District’s “100 Heroes.” Theo H. Coleman ’43 of Millport died June 22. A U.S. Army veteran of World War II, he taught in the animal science department at Michigan State University for 32 years.
fession for more than 30 years and enjoyed gardening and studying Civil War history.
spector of poultry and meat. He enjoyed playing golf and bridge, and volunteering for Meals on Wheels.
John Adam Holman ’43 of Greenwood,
Stanley C. Wasman
S.C., died July 18. A U.S. Army veteran, he worked for Holman Construction Co. He was the first president of the Home Builders Association of Anderson, S.C., and in 1979 was named the organization’s Builder of the Year.
’44 of Bal Harbour, Fla., died July 1. A veterinarian, he was the founder and first editor of the Florida Veterinary Bulletin and served as director of public information for the Florida State Veterinary Medical Association.
George Lowry Mallory ’43 of Belleair,
Sarah Kirkwood Lodge
Fla., died June 23. A U.S. Navy veteran of World War II, he served as manager of operations for Sperry Rand Corp. and later started real estate and development companies. He was president/ owner of Edgewater Construction, Edgewater Century Realty and Edgewater Mortgage Co., and served more than 40 years on the board of the local YMCA. He was a Paul Harris Fellow of the Clearwater Rotary Club.
’45 of South Pittsburgh, Tenn., died Aug. 16. She worked in the Alabama Department of Welfare in Bay Minette and as a student chaplain at the Church of the Holy Innocents in Auburn.
Dorothy Johnson McCarty ’43 of Clifton,
Va., died June 8. She worked for the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. Frank Whitfield
’43 of Fredericksburg,
Va., died July 4. A World War II U.S. Navy merchant marine, he worked in the legal pro-
le, N.C, died June 16. He practiced veterinary medicine for 20 years and worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture as an in-
Albert Jackson Collins ’47 of Columbus, Ga., died June 16. A U.S. Army Air Corps veteran of World War II, he worked in management positions in the mattress and bedding industry, serving as vice president and general manager of Serta Mattress Co. from 1961-69. He subsequently became president of Tyhanic Associates, which later became International Bedding Center. James Harold Watkins ’47 of Fortson, Ga., died Aug. 7. A U.S. Army veteran of World War II, he retired as a division manager for Crown Petroleum Corp.
Clara Slaton Whiton ’45 of Marietta, Ga.,
died July 12. She was a homemaker. John W. Pace III ’46 of Mobile died
May 26. A U.S. Army veteran, he served on the Auburn University board of trustees for more than 20 years. He owned Pace Wholesale Nursery for more than 50 years and was a longtime member of the Alabama Nurseryman’s Association.
Canon ’44 of AlbemarJohn Allen Earnest
ment at Columbia College in Columbia, S.C.
Faye Russell Britton ’48 of Jacksons Gap
died July 19. She taught at New Merkle Elementary School and worked as an office manager for Atlas Metals. Jesse A. Culp ’48
of Albertville died June 13. A syndicated newspaper columnist, he was the first editor of The Sand Mountain Reporter as well as a radio personality on WAVU-AM 630. Leatha Garmany Hale
Cecil H. Bierley ’47
of Gastonia, N.C., died July 2. A World War II veteran, he retired as a professor and chair of the business depart-
’48 of Pensacola, Fla., died July 16. She owned Hale Interiors in Birmingham and served as president of the Alabama chapter of
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In Memoriam the American Society of Interior Design. Fred S. Jones Jr. ’48
of Helena died May 30. A U.S. Navy veteran of World War II, he was a homebuilder for more than 40 years. Daphne Brown Rice ’48 of Gulf Shores
died June 28. She was a member of Alpha Gamma Delta sorority, Daughters of the American Revolution and the Church of St. Andrew by the Sea. Bertram Howard SilSNAPSHOT
Free to play around One sunny day eight years ago, Stefani Beddingfield Busansky ’88 took her 2-year-old daughter, Sarah, to a local park to play. Sarah, who has cerebral palsy, could only look longingly from a distance—because sand surrounded the playground like a moat the toddler’s wheelchair couldn’t cross. After years of strategizing, fundraising and occasionally not knowing where to turn, Busansky founded Freedom Playground Foundation Inc., a Tampa, Fla., nonprofit organization that builds “universally designed” playgrounds to accommodate children with disabilities. Freedom Playground opened its first facility last year at Tampa’s Macfarlane Park, complete with wheelchair-friendly, marine-themed surfaces, activities and sunshades. “We want to normalize the idea of disability,” Busansky says. “Everyone enjoys playing outside—our mission is to build places that everyone can enjoy.” The foundation is now at work on three other projects, two of which involve other Auburn graduates. Both Aaron Morgan ’00, a Jacksonville, Fla., pilot, and Todd O’Donnell ’92, a Tampa
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construction project executive, stumbled across the Freedom Playground Foundation by chance. Morgan first heard about handicapped-accessible playgrounds while watching the evening news. Although neither of his two children have disabilities, he was intrigued by the idea of a playground-for-all. He subsequently began advocating for a Freedom Playground in his own community. O’Donnell, whose daughter Katherine attends LaVoy Exceptional Center in Tampa, Fla., is working with Busansky on a playground for his daughter’s school, which caters to students with autism spectrum disorder, visual impairments, physical handicaps, and emotional, behavioral and severe cognitive disabilities. “When you have a child who has a challenge like my daughter, you become his or her advocate,” says O’Donnell. “Stefani does it out of love, and that’s why I’m doing it too—love for my daughter.” For more information on the Freedom Playground Foundation, see www. freedomplayground.org.—Rebecca Lakin
man ’48 of Birmingham
died July 24. A World War II veteran, he earned five Purple Hearts for military service. William Morris Burleson ’49 of Birmingham
died June 7. A World War II veteran, he worked for Alabama Power for 40 years.
Joseph R. Giardina ’49 of Birmingham died
Aug. 3. He was a U.S. Army Air Corps veteran of World War II. Clinton R. Owens ’49
of Town Creek died July 7. A U.S. Navy veteran of World War II, he taught agriculture at Falkville High School and later served as a professor at the University of Alabama, Columbia University in New York and the University of North Carolina. He also served as Alabama’s state director of special education and was a board member of Alabama Special Olympics and Camp ASCCA. James B. Todd ’49 of Decatur died June 10. A World War II veteran, he retired from the poultry industry, loved to garden and fish, and was an outdoor chef. William T. Young Jr. ’49
W. E. Cheatham Jr. ’49 of Hueytown died
Aug. 8. A U.S. Army Air Corps veteran of World War II, he worked as a civil engineer for Ingalls Iron Works in Birmingham for 38 years. He volunteered for the American Heart Association and Meals on Wheels. Harold Dumas ’49 of Montgomery died Aug. 5. A U.S. Navy veteran, he practiced general medicine in Clanton and psychiatry in Flint.
of Birmingham died July 22. A U.S. Navy veteran of World War II, he was a research biologist for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and later with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He later served as the statewide chief biologist for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Arnold Maurice Berthaume ’50 of Mobile died June 9. A U.S. Navy and U.S. Army veteran of World War II and the Korean
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War, he worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Roy Childress ’50
of Plano, Texas, died June 2. A U.S. Army Air Corps veteran of World War II, he was a regional sales manager for Ralston Purina Co. Ralph Donald Ellington
American Veterinary Medical Association and the Mississippi Veterinary Medical Association. Charles Harold Stallings Jr. ’50 of
Mobile died May 9. A World War II veteran, he worked as a civil engineer for BCM Converse Inc.
’50 of LaGrange, Ga.,
died July 20. He was a pharmacist for almost 60 years. Thomas Hastie Gause ’50 of Stockton died
June 10. A U.S. Army veteran of World War II, he was a logging manager for Bacon McMillan Veneer Mill for 22 years and worked at First National Bank of Mobile for 21 years. He retired as a vice president in the bank’s trust department and director of natural resources.
James B. Walker ’50
of Brooksville, Fla., died June 20. A U.S. Army veteran, he was a retired administrator with Pasco County Schools. Robert Allen Williams ’50 of Auburn
died June 29. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran of World War II, he worked for Beck’s Turf Nursery. He and his wife visited all 50 states in the U.S., traveling in their motor home.
George Guy Heard Jr.
’51 of Huntsville died
’50 of Greensboro,
May 21. A U.S. Navy veteran of World War II, he worked for Monsanto Co. and as a real estate developer and broker. He retired from Huntsville’s municipal community development department and was a charter member of the Tennessee Valley Sons of the American Revolution.
Clyde E. Pilgreen ’50
of Brookhaven, Miss., died July 23. A U.S. Army veteran, he practiced large- and smallanimal veterinary medicine, and was a lifetime member of the
’51 of Ocala, Fla.,
died June 3. He worked for Long Office Supply in Miami for 40 years and was inducted into the Miami High School Football Hall of Fame in 1997. Joseph Lovvorn Holmes ’51 of Woodland died
July 17. A World War II veteran, he retired from the Alabama Department of Education. George Clark Schafner ’51 of Pleasant Grove
died June 23. A U.S. Navy veteran of World War II, he was a retired employee of U.S. Steel and Birmingham Southern Railroad. Sara Elizabeth Beatty ’52 of Pensacola,
Fla., died June 9. She worked as a pharmacist for 41 years. Harvey Eden Clarke
James W. Bragg Jr.
N.C., died June 1. A U.S. Navy veteran of World War II, he worked on the Apollo space program at Marshall Space Flight Center and retired as OSHA coordinator for the University of North Carolina Greensboro.
William R. Hogarth
’52 of Mobile died
June 29. A U.S. Navy veteran of World War II, he worked as an electrical engineer for more than 45 years. Enoch M. Stickney ’52 of Elberta died
June 16. He worked for King Edward Tobacco Co. and later the U.S. Agency for International Development, from which he retired after 21 years.
Julian S. Guarisco ’51 of Daphne died
June 11. A U.S. Army veteran of World War II, he worked for Alabama Power.
Claude Nave Buchanan Jr. ’53 of Huntsville died July 30. A U.S. Air Force veteran, he worked on
C E N T E R
Career fisherman Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu on the importance of fishing: “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day,” he is quoted as saying. “Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” John Richard “Jack” Snow knew about the importance of fish, too. In 1948, he received Alabama Polytechnic Institute’s first Master of Science in fisheries, 22 years before the actual fisheries department was formed. He went on to a successful career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the federal government’s primary conservator of fish, wildlife and plants, and later taught a decade’s worth of Auburn University students what he knew about the subject. Snow died July 27 in Marion. He was 91. Born in 1918 near Jasper, in Walker County, Snow received his bachelor’s in agriculture from API in 1942, after which he entered the U.S. Army as a paratrooper and served in Europe during World War II. After the war, he enrolled in Auburn’s graduate school while he and wife Evelyn began raising a family. According to Inside Ag Hill (Sheridan Books, 2000), API wouldn’t form its fisheries department until 1970, but had begun offering courses in the discipline in 1946 at the request of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service—just in time for Snow. After earning his graduate degree, Snow moved his family to Marion, where he supervised the production of warm-water sport fishes and instructed trainees in fish culture at the Marion National Fish Hatchery. He directed the facility until 1974, when he retired from the federal government and returned to Auburn, serving as an associate professor of fisheries until his retirement in 1984. He was inducted into the National Fish Culture Hall of Fame in Spearfish, S.D., two years later. Throughout his life, Snow was an Auburn man; the Auburn Creed was read at his memorial service. “My father loved the ‘loveliest village of the plain’ only very slightly less than God, family and country,” says daughter Marsha Hinnen. “I couldn’t think of a better tribute, as I have never been able to read or hear those words without immediately recognizing how completely Jack Snow embodied those sentiments throughout his life.” Snow is survived by six children, 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. his family’s farm and owned New Market Gin Co. He was named Alabama Ginner of the Year, Southeastern Ginner of the Year and National Ginner of the
Year. He also served as a delegate to the National Cotton Council for 25 years and was a member of its board of directors.
William A. Screws Sr. ’53 of Columbus, Ga., died June 3. A U.S. Army Air Corps veteran of World War II, he worked in the
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In Memoriam
The people’s architect When longtime Auburn University architecture professor Dennis K. “D.K.” Ruth ’68 died on Aug. 26, his passing was mourned well beyond the campus. Friends, colleagues and former students around the country noted his important contributions to teaching and to the architectural profession, as well as his vibrant personality. Ruth was 65. He hailed from Cleveland, Tenn., and earned architecture degrees from both Auburn and Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. He taught at several schools around the South, including Louisiana State University, Mississippi State University and the University of Tennessee before returning to Auburn in 1989. A few years later, he and his friend and colleague Samuel “Sambo” Mockbee ’74 started Auburn’s internationally admired Rural Studio, a community design/build program in Hale County. “D.K. and Sambo shared a vision of what the Rural Studio could be,” says Lori Ryker, a Montana-based designer, educator and author who taught at Auburn then. “D.K. was the department head at the time, and he was instrumental in taking down the roadblocks in starting something off campus—and there (were) a lot of them.” According to Dan Bennett ’68, dean of Auburn’s College of Architecture, Design and Construction, Ruth ran the Rural Studio for six months after Mockbee’s death in 2001, then started a highly regarded graduate-level design/build program on campus that also focused on architecture for underserved communities. “He grew up in a rural area that didn’t have a lot of economic means,” Bennett says. “It shaped who he was. His whole life, he was devoted to helping his fellow man through architecture and to teaching students (to do the same).” Ruth won many awards for his teaching and public service, commanding the respect of his academic colleagues from coast to coast. “I’ve never seen an individual who had a way with students the way he did,” says Bennett, whose friendship with Ruth went back to their undergraduate days at Auburn. “He was rigorous in
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field of education for 51 years. Charles Robert Wilkin ’53 of Slidell, La., died July 30. A U.S. Army veteran, he bought Catalina Industries, manufacturer of house boats and party barges. He also worked in real estate.
George Wilder Mitchell Jr. ’55 of Columbus,
Ga., died June 7. He owned Valley Fir and Redwood Co. Robert C. Scott III ’55 of Kingsland,
Ga., died June 10. He retired from Lockheed Martin after 30 years. He liked woodworking and traveling.
Cecil Winfield Greene ’54 of Birmingham died
John F. Watt Jr. ’56
June 15. An Alabama Air National Guard veteran, he achieved the rank of major general.
of Marietta, Ga., died May 25. A U.S. Army veteran, he worked for Stein Printing Co. as a staff artist and later as production art director. He eventually ran his own advertising and design firm.
John Thomas Hugghins ’54 of Panama
his demands but had a concern for and love of these kids.” Contextualism was extremely important to Ruth, from both a practical and an intellectual standpoint. He and Mockbee brought to the discipline “a type of approach to architecture that was vernacular in the practice of the craft, but the philosophy was imbued with a sense of understanding the place where the structure was built,” says David Wilson, a former vice president at Auburn who is now chancellor of the University of Wisconsin Colleges and the University of WisconsinExtension.“Also, his legacy has to do with decency. The individuals who are poor and don’t necessarily have the services of an architect deserve to live in structures that are aesthetically pleasing, that are not cookie-cutter, that are examples of community. This whole notion of decency is wrapped around his approach.” Adds former colleague Christopher Calott: “He had a gentle presence. D.K. was a big-hearted gentleman—he was the person everybody liked.”—Meghan Drueding, reprinted with permission from Residential Architect Online
City, Fla., died May 24. A U.S. Navy veteran, he practiced dentistry in Opp for 37 years and served on the board of directors of Colonial Bank. June Long Stephenson ’54 of Birmingham died June 3. She taught math at Vestavia Hills High School. Raymond Davis Downey ’55 of Birming-
ham died June 23. A U.S. Army veteran, he owned Executone of Alabama. While at Auburn, he was a varsity wrestler and held the record for most wins in the SEC for 25 years.
Carey Worth Philpott ’57 of Valley died June 17. A U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War, he played semiprofessional baseball and was an educator for 28 years, serving as principal of Fairfax Elementary School. Jessie Allen Abney Sr. ’58 of Fruithurst died June 6. He was a chemical engineer for Callaway Chemical Co. and Exxon Mobil Corp. and served as a Methodist minister for 23 years. Malcolm L. Gilchrist ’58
William F. McPherson ’55 of Milledgeville, Ga., died June 22. He was the general manager of Enterprise Aluminum and cofounded McPherson Manufacturing Co.
of Gulf Breeze, Fla., died June 12. A U.S. Navy veteran, he had served as a city councilman for 27 years and had held the office of mayor. He also served as president of the
A L U M N I
C E N T E R
HEAT WAVE More than 50 Auburn alumni enjoyed an afternoon of fun and a bite of Dreamland Bar-B-Que at a Minority Alumni Involvement Now end-of-summer picnic in August at Birmingham’s Oak Mountain State Park. For more on MAIN, see www.aualum.org/main.
Fair Point Regional Utility System. Martha M. Feather-
aging Solutions, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based document management company.
ston ’59 of Lexington,
Ky., died June 4. She was a homemaker known for her Southern hospitality and good cooking. Larry J. McKinney ’59
of Mobile died Aug. 16. A U.S. Navy veteran, he was president and chief executive officer of McKinney Petroleum Equipment Inc. in Mobile and had served on the Auburn Alumni Association board of directors from 1977-79. The Mobile Auburn Club awarded him its M.O. Beal Scroll of Merit Award for service to his community. Samuel Josiah Spurgeon Jr. ’59 of
Huntsville died July 10. He retired in 1998 from the U.S. Army’s Redstone Arsenal. Cleve Wester Jr. ’59
of Albany, Ga., died Aug. 3. While at Auburn, he played on the football team that won the university’s first national championship. W. Wayne Davis ’62
of Huntsville died June 17. He worked in the aerospace industry and retired as a contract specialist with United Security Bancshares Inc. Stanley Britt Sikes ’62
of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., died June 17. He helped found U.S. Im-
Michael A. Kronk ’67 of Hollywood,
Fla., died May 15. He practiced veterinary medicine for 42 years.
Thomas Michael McLaney ’64 of Dothan died June 16. An Alabama National Guard veteran, he worked as a mechanical engineer for the federal government in Fort Rucker for 30 years.
Deborah Waldrop Austin ’69 of Alexander City
died June 26. She worked in the archives department and as an academic counselor in Auburn’s College of Business.
Dennis Edward Ether-
Ralph Earl Anderson Jr.
idge ’66 of Birmingham
’69 of Hueytown died Aug. 17. He worked in design engineering and retired after 30 years with Rust Engineering Co. and BE&K Engineering Co.
died June 5. He worked in construction management, estimating and scheduling industrial and commercial projects, for more than 40 years.
George Byars Steven Russell Kohl ’66 of Pass Christian, Miss., died May 13. He was certified as a master automobile technician by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence; served as a volunteer firefighter; and was an assistant scout master. Donald F. Martin ’66
of Minneapolis died June 9. A former journalist for United Press International, he taught English at Tuskegee and Auburn universities, and journalism at Daytona Beach and Central Florida community colleges as well as the University of Florida. He was certified as a master gardener by the University of Florida Agricultural Extension Service.
Anderson ’70 of Rock
Hill, S.C., died June 23. A U.S. Army veteran, he achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel and was awarded the Bronze Star, the Army Commendation Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal and many other citations. Upon retiring from the military, he worked for Chester Building and Loan and in the real estate industry. Linda Downing Blau ’70 of Evans, Ga., died June 19. She was a teacher for 28 years and retired from Lakeside High School. Thomas Ray Etheridge
Ray E. Marlow ’71
of Rock Island, Tenn., died June 7. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, he worked as a civilian air traffic controller for the U.S. Army Space & Missile Command; as a NASA contractor for Sperry Rand Corp.; and as an engineer with Corning Inc. and Superior Essex Inc. An inventor, he held two U.S. patents and was chief dive master for the Kwajalein Scuba Club. Charles Olin Wright ’71
of Columbus, Ga., died June 22. He worked for Aflac insurance company as a computer systems analyst for 20 years and was a scout master. James Berless Holmes ’73 of Wadley died June 24. He worked for Randolph County Schools as superintendent, principal and teacher, and served as pastor of several Methodist churches.
Faculty and Friends
Scott Hallett Page
Gilbert Horace Rollins
’75 of Birmingham
of Auburn died June 23. He retired as an associate professor in Auburn’s animal and dairy science department in 1981.
died June 24. He was Auburn’s director of employee relations and had served as chair of the American Diabetes Association of Alabama. Donald L. Harrison ’76
of Gadsden died June 11. A Vietnam War veteran, he retired as environmental services director from Hurley Medical Center. James Lee Roberts ’76
of Tallahassee, Fla., died June 8. A U.S. Army veteran, he worked for Watkins Engineering and later retired from Culpepper Construction Co. Inc.
died Aug. 23. A U.S. Air Force veteran, he served in the military for 20 years and was a member of the Pershing Rifles fraternity.
Brent Schoening of
Columbus, Ga., a former Auburn baseball pitcher, died Aug. 16 at age 31 after a lengthy battle with leukemia. He played baseball at Auburn University for three seasons, during which the Tigers won a Southeastern Conference championship, made three appearances in the NCAA and earned a trip to the College World Series, before being drafted to the Minnesota Twins in 1999.
Gila Berryhill Harold ’79 of Brewton died July
8. She retired as a U.S. Department of Defense financial manager at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
Walter H. Nolin Jr. ’74 of Niceville, Fla.,
C. Ann Hollingsworth ’79 of Carrollton, Ga.,
died May 17. She owned Better Built Foods, a food safety company.
Charlie Waller of Baker, Fla., died Aug. 30. He served as offensive coordinator at Auburn University under head coach Ralph “Shug” Jordan in the early 1950s and went on to coach in the NFL, including stints with the San Diego Chargers and the Washington Redskins.
Mark Michael Wassweiler ’79 of Montgomery
Jone Perryman Wright
’75 of Sheffield died
died June 21. He was an architect.
June 12. He was a partner in Carter Oil Co.
Heather Coker Davis ’99
of Opelika died June 13. She was a professor of elementary education and taught for more than 35 years at Auburn and at the University of Alabama.
Robert Bowser Carter
’71 of Perry, Ga., died
June 16. He was vice president of operations at Utility Service Inc.
Federal Emergency Management Agency.
William Edward Klein ’75 of Deatsville died
June 16. A U.S. Air Force veteran, he was employed by the
of Mobile died June 15. She specialized in animal and dairy science, and held a degree in veterinary nursing from Sneed State University.
a u a l u m . o r g Auburn Magazine
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The Last Word
Needed: A Shot of PR BY DAVID HILL ’70 One of the dark secrets of the polling trade is that our historical roots are deeply intertwined with the social psychology of propaganda. Many of the first opinion researchers were paid to understand how we could better motivate soldiers and citizens to sustain our nation’s efforts in wartime. Once the war was won, these first “pollsters” were freed up to explore the formation and manipulation of attitudes about everything from politics to toothpaste. Every segment of the opinion research industry has its strengths, but political campaign pollsters have a skill set that public health officials need badly these days. Political consultant researchers understand how to develop a message that penetrates doubt and cynicism, and that’s what the public health community is going to need as it launches the great campaign to inoculate Americans against the H1N1, or swine flu, virus. Public polls are all over the place on what percentage of Americans plan to be inoculated, or to allow their children to get the shot, but there are enough low numbers out there to suggest this campaign could flop. And because the Internet conspiracy–theory crowd is just getting started on its efforts to stigmatize the vaccine, this campaign is only starting to glimpse the challenges ahead. As with a political campaign, I began my investigation of the vaccination campaign by doing some qualitative, focusgroup-like research. Trolling through Web sites where ordinary Americans are discussing the topic, I stumbled on the following comment at the MomsLikeMe.com site for socialnetworking mothers: “You know what I find sad about this whole thing?? Well I will tell you. The reason I feel it’s not safe is because it hasn’t been out there very long and they want to try it on my babies. But all the DR. say it is safe. Now wouldn’t you think you could trust Dr.’s But it seems to me we get lied to a lot and I just don’t believe anything anyone says any more. That’s the sad thing. So I vote NO I will take my chances and not get this shot for me or my kids.” The small community discussing the issue at this site is agreeing with the poster. Sixty-two percent won’t let their children get the vaccine because they don’t believe it’s safe. There are lots of polls quantitatively validating that much of the public is not ready for this. An online study by RAND
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researchers conducted last summer projected an H1N1 vaccination rate of just 49.6 percent; a Consumers Union poll taken in early September found that “nearly two-thirds of U.S. parents say they will hold off having their children vaccinated … or will not get them immunized at all.” A University of Michigan survey found that only 40 percent of parents plan to have their kids immunized. The poll result that particularly catches my eye comes from an August Washington Post survey. It found widespread complacency: “Only about one in eight Americans is very worried that swine flu will affect his or her family, with more than twice as many ‘not at all’ concerned. Overall, more than six in 10 are not worried.” So long as there is no fear of the virus, public health officials won’t get the desired result. Political operatives know that fear is more likely to motivate someone to action than is opportunity. Politics informs us that in a social context where there is both good and bad sentiment, the bad somehow seems to churn to the forefront. Public health officials won’t be comfortable playing the public role of fear mongers. Understood. Politicians don’t like it much either, so the best ones have found ways to leverage fear, but in a more positive way. That’s what this vaccination campaign needs. And the political set knows better than anyone that translating even favorable attitudes about the vaccine drive to action is the greatest challenge this campaign may face. Convincing the public that the threat is serious, that the vaccine is safe, and that it’s the right thing to participate constitute only half of the job. The other half is persuading them to act. Will those with intent actually turn out for their shots? Overcoming cynicism and apathy are talents that pollsters could bring to this enormous challenge. David Hill ’70 is associate director of Auburn University’s Center for Governmental Services. A pollster for more than 30 years, his clients have included former U.S. vice president Dan Quayle, the American Cancer Society, Dell and RAND Corp. A version of this column was originally published in the Oct. 6 issue of the congressional daily newspaper The Hill.
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