auburn magazine spring 2015

Cynthia Hills Double Life

Auburns Best of the Best

AuburnMAGAZ I N E / S P R I N G 20 1 5

Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus

(But Cupids Aim is True)

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SPRING 2015 Auburn Magazine 1

THE CORNER BLOCK PARTY

Auburn University in conjunction with

Auburn AirwavesPresents

A celebration for the new Auburn Oaks including a dedication ceremony, inspiring remarks,

spirit rally, and live concert featuring chart-topping artists.

April 18th

In partnership with: University Program Council Auburn Athletics City of Auburn Auburn Chamber of Commerce

Auburn-Opelika Tourism Bureau Office of Development Office of Alumni Affairs

UPCuniversity program council

by students for students

www.auburn.edu/oaks

A U B U R N M A G A Z I N E . A U B U R N . E D U2

Twilights Last GleamingAs the winter sun sets over the majestic silhouette of Samford Hall, take a moment to enjoy the scenery. The 1888 version was a rebuild of the 1859 original Old Main, which burned in 1887. (Photograph by Jeff Etheridge.)

See more online at www.facebook.com/AuburnUPhoto


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Everyone needs a new look now and then, and a

magazine is no exception. With this issue, the Auburn

Magazine staff rolls out an updated design that has

been months in the planning. Youll find departments

that offer more flexibility in the type of stories we cover

and the way theyre presented, along with the in-depth

feature stories youve come to expect from us.

In the magazines graphic design, youll find changes

both subtle (check out the new fonts) and substantial

(the departmental introductory pages with their own

mini tables-of-contents).

Working with a talented consulting team of editorial

design professionals from Zehno Communications in

New Orleans, we sought to give our magazine a more

contemporary feel while retaining the traditions of the

Auburn Magazine youve supported throughout the

years. We hope you love it as much as we do!

Speaking of love, Id like to offer a big thank you and

War Eagle to those of youand there were manywho

shared personal anecdotes and photos of your own

Auburn love stories for this issue.

From chance meetings at Jordan-Hare Stadium to

Aubie, dressed as a UPS delivery driver, delivering an

engagement ring to the potential bride, your stories

made us smile, brought us to tears, and reinforced our

belief that Auburn University is a special place where

the type of family bonds are forged that last a lifetime.

Only a fraction of your stories fit in the print

magazine, so check out our Auburn Magazine

website at auburnmagazine.auburn.edu for more

Love on the Plains.

FROM THE EDITOR

Love & Looks

Suzanne Johnson Editor, Auburn Magazine

[email protected]

AuburnM A G A Z I N E / S P R I N G 2 0 1 5

FEATURES

28 Cupid Takes AimMaybe an Auburn Woman is trying to find her way through the maze of Haley Center, or

an Auburn Man shows up for a tennis game and notices the cute (but tennis-challenged) girl on the adjacent court. Eventually, at Auburn, Cupids aim will land true.

BY SUZANNE JOHNSON | Photography by Jeff Etheridge

48 2015 Lifetime Achievement AwardsMeet the winners of the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Awards, established in 2001 to honor Auburn University alumni and their extraordinary accomplishments in their

professional lives, their personal integrity and their service to the university. Also, get to know the honoree for this years Young Alumni Achievement Award.

36 The Double Life of Cynthia HillWhen the call came to filmmaker Cynthia Hill that her PBS-TV show, A Chefs Life, had won a Peabody, the broadcast equivalent of a Pulitzer, she was hard at workin the pharmacy of a North Carolina Walmart. Read about her journey from pharm to film.

BY DAVID MENCONI | Photography by Rex Miller, Josh Wall and Michael Loccisano


EDITOR Suzanne Johnson

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Shannon Bryant-Hankes 84

ART DIRECTOR Audrey Lowry 12

UNIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHER

Jeff Etheridge

EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Ashtyne Cole 15 Nick Hines 15

DESIGN ASSISTANTSJenna Ritterling 15, Amanda Jernigan 18

Madison Wooters 15

IT SPECIALIST James Hammond 13

PRESIDENT, AUBURN UNIVERSITY

Jay Gogue 69

VICE PRESIDENT FOR ALUMNI AFFAIRS & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AUBURN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

Deborah L. Shaw 84

PRESIDENT, AUBURN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION Jack Fite 85

AUBURN MAGAZINE ADVISORY COUNCIL CHAIR Neal Reynolds 77

AUBURN MAGAZINE ADVISORY COUNCIL

Maria Baugh 87 John Carvalho 78

Jon Cole 88 Christian Flathman 97

Tom Ford 67 Kay Fuston 84 Julie Keith 90

Mary Lou Foy 66 Eric Ludgood 78

Cindy McDaniel 80 Napo Monasterio 02

Carol Pappas 77 Joyce Reynolds Ringer 59

Allen Vaughan 75

5 From the Editor Check out the new looks and true loves in this issue. CONCOURSE 13 Mixed Media Auburn alumni on screen, on stage, on the page and on the art gallery walls.

14 Students Senior Kyle Marchuck and Active Minds (photo above, right) increase awareness about student mental health.

16 Heat Treatment A betterand quickerway to check airline passengers for Ebola and other potential pandemics.

20 Tiger Walk Everything old is new again as Auburn welcomes Will Muschamp (above, left) back to campus as the Tigers new defensive coordinator. Hashtag? #Guschamp.

22 Philanthropy How we do, and can, give back to Auburn.

THE CLASSES

48 Lifetime Achievement Awards Meet new Auburn Alumni Association president Jack Fite 85 and the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award and Young Alumni Achievement Award honorees.

57 Class Notes

59 In Memoriam

63 Backchat See what your classmates are talking up on social media and remember to tag us in your Auburn pics with #AuburnAlumni!

AuburnM A G A Z I N E / S P R I N G 2 0 1 5

AUBURN MAGAZINE (ISSN 10778640) is published quarterly; 4X per year; spring, summer, fall, winter, for 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 334-8441164. Fax 334-8441477. Email: [email protected]. Contents 2014 by the Auburn Alumni Association, all rights reserved.

ADVERTISING INFORMATION Contact Jessica King at 334-8442586 or see our media guide at www.aualum.org/magazine.

POSTMASTER Send address changes to AU Records, 317 South College St., Auburn, AL 368495149.

ON THE COVER Aubie bravely donned a toga and wings and expertly wielded a bow and arrows for his role as Cupid, drawing quite a crowd of curious onlookers for his cover shot at the Shelby Center with photographer Jeff Etheridge.

DEPARTMENTS


Leaping LIZARDS!

ConcourseAUBURN NEWS & VIEWS

Tegu TakeoverAlabama could potentially be the new home of the Argentine Black and White Tegu, a predatory carnivorous lizard reaching 4 feet in length and weighing more than 10 pounds. Tegus, native to South America, have spread rapidly through southern Florida, where they eat small mammals, birds and other reptile eggsa threat to both alligators and the rare gopher tortoise. Auburn researchers are testing how far north these razor-toothed invaders can thrive. Nineteen tegus are spending their winter on the Auburn campus and, if they thrive in this climate, will rise on the radar of the state conservation and natural resources department.

IN THIS SECTION

News 8

Rankings 11

Students 14

Research 16


CONCOURSE > WORLD HUNGER

In a world where we can make instant connections across the globe, why are children still going hungry? And if our best-educated leaders cant make a contri-bution, who can?

Auburn University has long been recognized as a leader in hunger initiatives with more than a decade of active programs addressing hunger issues. On Dec. 9, AU President Jay Gogue joined 27 university presidents and other senior administrators at the United Nations to sign the Presidents Commitment to Food Nutrition Security (see photo). The goal? Creat-ing a blueprint for higher educations role in fighting hunger and malnutrition.

The intellectual exper-tise of institutions of higher education is greatly needed

to solve the problem of food insecurity, said Amina Mohammed, special advisor to the UN Secretary-General. This partnership is critical.

One of the first action items of the coalition will be to inventory and map food security activities in areas where hunger is histori-cally addressed at academic institutions: teaching, re-search, outreach and student

engagement. Members of the consortium will get together again in 2015 to discuss progress and outline next steps.

By signing the pledge, Gogue and leaders from the

other universities acknowl-edge their commitment to making food security a priority.

Universities have a tremendous role to play in addressing global challenges such as hunger, said Gogue. Our institutions have a deep faculty talent pool, an energetic, innovative popula-tion of students, an unprec-edented commitment from

top leadership, and a staying power from generation to generation that lends itself to tackling long-term issues like hunger.

In Good Conscience

THE 19 CREED

The Committee of 19, a student

group that first led AUs role in fight-ing hunger, has its own version of

the Auburn Creed:

We believe in a world free of hunger.

We believe that every man, woman, and child has a right to the basic human

need of food.

We believe that the skills we learn in the classroom reach

beyond the bounds of our own selves and have the power to influence the lives of

others for good.

We believe that uniting our unique knowledge, talents, and skill sets can produce powerful

cooperation and promote sustainable, effective change.

We believe that collaboration on university, local, regional, national,

and global levels is necessary for reaching universal solutions

in our globalized world.

We believe that a world without hunger promotes

well-being, increases productivity, embraces education, and

proliferates peace.

And because we believe these things, we have no choice but

to take action.

Universities are the moral and social conscience of the world.Alastair

Summerlee, president emeritus of the University of Guelph

and chair of the Hunger Solutions Institute board.


CONCOURSE > CAMPUS NEWS

Rusty Arnold, an associate professor in Auburns Har-rison School of Pharmacy, believes in academic units working together and cross-ing departmental lines to further research.

That collaboration does not stop at the faculty level as Arnold, a recipient of the Presidents Collaborative Units Award, also benefits from the work of under-graduate students such as chemical engineering major Christy Pickering.

Pickering, a senior from Hazel Green, was recently awarded a $5,000 Gateway to Research Scholarship from the American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Educa-tion for her work in Arnolds lab, called Development and Application of Gold Lipidic Nanocomposites to Enhance Chemotherapeutic Delivery and Release. She was one of seven recipients nationally.

The purpose of the schol-arship is to support faculty-mentored research in the

pharmaceutical sciences. For Pickering, an active student who has been a member of the Auburn University Marching Band the last four years, the funding will assist with tuition and research expenses in her final year at Auburn.

Pickering is in her second year in Arnolds lab, com-ing on board shortly after he arrived on campus. For some-one who knew she wanted to work in the medical field, it was a perfect match.

I applied because I thought what Dr. Arnold did sounded really coolworking with cancer, looking at chemoit just sounded like a project I would really be interested in, said Pickering. So I sat down with him and talked about the project, and he took on me and four other under-grads. My project, from the start, was set up to be a very engineering-based pharma-ceutical project. It has been a really neat experience getting to work with him.

Common Ground

Following a national search, Gretchen R.

VanValkenburg has been named vice president

for alumni affairs and executive director of the

Auburn Alumni Association at Auburn Univer-

sity. Her appointment begins March 1.

VanValkenburg, a 1986 graduate of the

Harbert College of Business, currently serves as

executive director of development and alumni

engagement at the University of West Florida.

She fills the position vacated by the retirement

of Debbie Shaw, who had headed alumni affairs

at Auburn since 2006 and worked at the

university since 1983.

Its a pleasure to welcome Gretchen back to

Auburn as our executive director, said Auburn

Alumni Association President Jack Fite 85.

She brings a distinguished career in alumni

affairs and development, and were excited to

work with her to move our association forward

and to new levels of alumni engagement.

VanValkenburg, a native of Montevallo, has

worked in positions of increasing responsibility

at the University of West Florida since 1997,

when she began as a coordinator of alumni

relations. She brings experience in alumni event

planning, donor relations, fiscal management,

volunteer recruitment and public speaking.

She also served as a major gifts officer and led

capital campaign planning efforts.

Prior to her work at UWF, VanValkenburg

worked for the American Heart Association

in Colorado and the American Red Cross in

Florida.

I look forward to the opportunity to

further strengthen the bond between Auburn

University and its many alumni and friends,

said VanValkenburg. Coming back to Auburn

feels like coming home.

COMING HOME


CONCOURSE > FROM THE PRESIDENT

Advancing energy security and conservation research will be the emphasis of the newly created Charles D. McCrary Institute at Auburn University. Through a generous philanthropic investment, the Alabama Power Foundation has enabled the university to fund an entity tasked with providing world-class expertise to address challenging and complex prob-lems and offer timely solutions for the protection and security of energy infrastructure and the conservation and development of natural resources.

Named for the 1973 Auburn University mechanical engineer-ing graduate and current trustee, the gift was made in honor of Charles McCrarys recent retirement as president and CEO of Alabama Power Co., capping a 40-year career. While the amount of the gift is confidential, it is the largest ever given to Auburn University specifically designated for research.

The formation of the institute will begin this year with the es-tablishment of the advisory council and the search for an eminent scholar with a national reputation for excellence and expertise in infrastructure security or industrial systems who will serve as di-rector and oversee and direct the institutes day-to-day operation.

Three leading faculty members will be recruited to endowed chairs in cyber security, power grid design and protection, energy production and energy efficiency.

The new institute will focus on interdisciplinary research and advanced technologies to improve the security and op-erations of our nations infrastructure while valuing natural resources and conservation. The creation of the institute will enable Auburn to attract nationally recognized faculty who are at the forefront of emerging technological issues, while leveraging existing university resources and personnel to broaden the institutes technological impact and to inform policy and practice.

Significant emphasis will be placed on developing part-nerships to expand the breadth and depth of the institutes impact. Potential partners at the federal and state level may include the Department of Energy, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Department of Homeland Security and the Alabama Forestry Commission.

The location of the institutes administrative offices on cam-pus is still under consideration and will depend on a number

of correlated activities occurring this year.The state of Alabama has benefited greatly from the efforts of

the Alabama Power Foundation, which celebrated its 25th anni-versary in 2014. The foundation has been a constant contributor to the states communities, educational institutions, and nonprofits, providing more than $150 million in support through more than 20,000 grants and scholarships since 1989.

Auburn University is grateful to the Alabama Power Foundation for the creation of this institute, which reflects the values of Mr. Mc-Crary and Alabama Power and will serve as a lasting legacy to Mr. McCrarys leadership and vision. War Eagle,

Power to Preserve & Protect

Jay Gogue 69

President, Auburn University [email protected]


DETA

IL: John Him

melfarb, H

ero, 2010. Photo by: William

H. Bengtson

#JCSMTruckStop

JOHN HIMMELFARB: TRUCKS | JAN

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RY 24MAY 10, 2015

JCSM.AUBURN.EDU/TRUCKS

JOHN HIMMELFARB

ONLINE, ON TOP

No. 6: Non-MBA online grad programs, Raymond J. Harbert College of Business.

No. 10: Online MBA program, Raymond J. Harbert College of Business.

No. 8: Online graduate education programs, College of Education.

No. 17: Online graduate engineering programs, Samuel Ginn College of Engineering.

No. 6: Online graduate computer information technology programs, Computer Science & Software Engineering, Samuel Ginn College of Engineering.

From the 2015 U.S. News & World Report

Best Online Programs national rankings:


CONCOURSE > CAMPUS NEWS

The Nominating Committee of the Auburn Alumni Association Board of Directors is requesting nomina-tions from alumni and friends of Auburn University for four new directors. All nominees must be life members of the association and be willing to serve on a volunteer basis. These board positions require travel to Auburn at least three times per year. Successful nominees will be installed this fall; each will serve a four-year term.

Candidates should have a dem-onstrated history of leadership in support of the Auburn Alumni Association and Auburn Univer-sity. Strong consideration will be

shown to those who have actively promoted the association and AU through involvement with local Auburn Clubs. Additionally, persons who have previously contributed both time and resources to AU and the association will be strongly considered. In agreeing to serve on the Auburn Alumni As-sociation board, directors and officers are expected to join the associations sustaining life membership program through contributions to the Circle of Excellence scholarship society.

The Nominating Committee will also consider an individuals accom-plishments, as demonstrated through career development and community service, along with their potential for representing the associations various constituencies. Additionally, an individuals college major(s), profession and the geographic location of his or her residence may influence the commit-tees determination.

The committee encourages all alumni association members to partici-pate by submitting nominations for consideration to Susan Barnes, Office of the Vice President for Alumni Affairs, Auburn Alumni Center, 317 South College St., Auburn University, AL 36849-5149. A nomination form must be submitted, along with at least two letters of recommendation (but no more than four), from life members of the association. Resumes may also be submitted. The nomination form is available for downloading on the asso-ciation website (www.aualum.org), or by contacting Susan Barnes at (334) 844-3820. Completed forms, letters of recommendation and resumes may be returned to Ms. Barnes at the above address or sent to her by fax (334) 844-4003 or as email attachments ([email protected]).

The deadline for receiving nominations and supporting documentation is 5 p.m. CST, Monday, March 23, 2015.

Nominations Open

For more information, see www.aualum.org

LICENSED

Tigers fans will have a new way to display their team pride with the debut of Auburn Universitys new collegiate license plate design.

The new design features the interlocking AU logo on the left side of the tag, a blue bar at the bottom with Auburn in white and Alabama at the top in an orange bar. Six characters will allow for additional personalization options.

Several new designs were considered, but in the end, Auburn alumni voiced their opinions in a survey, and one design in particular was overwhelmingly the favorite.

Proceeds from the sale of Auburn University license plates in Alabama go to the Auburn University License to Learn Scholarship Endowment Fund, a statewide program that raises funds for freshman scholarships. Approximately $1.9 million in scholarships was awarded in 2012-13. The cost of numbered tags and personalized tags is $50 above the normal tag cost of $24.25, and may be purchased at any time, regardless of the individuals tag renewal month.

Auburn tags are also available in Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, Mississippi, South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland and Texas. Tag sales from North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas also benefit scholarships.

Auburn University will start a bicycle sharing program

this fall with smart bikes that will allow students to get to class easier and will be accessible 24 hours a day free of charge.

Auburns Parking Services is partnering with Gotcha GroupGreen Operating Transit Carrying Humans Aroundon the bike

sharing program with the Gotcha bikes. The bicycles can be used anywhere as long as they are returned to their original

bike corral within 24 hours. Bike corrals will be placed in popular places around

campus, such as transit stops, residence halls and the Student Center.


BIG SCREEN

Black or White, a film starring Kevin Costner and Octavia Spencer 94. A grieving widower is drawn into a custody battle over his granddaugh-ter, whom he helped raise her entire life. Release date: Jan. 30, 2015.

GALLERY

Gleanings: A Response to the Journals of Henry David Thoreau. This collection of recent work by artist Billy Renkl 85 reflects visual interpretations of Thoreaus books, letters, papers and postcards. The 30-piece exhibit was featured at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art in November, December and January.

BOOKSHELF

William Spratling, His Life and Art, by Taylor D. Littleton (Louisiana State University Press, 2014). Reissued with a new foreword by John Shelton Reed, this is a lavishly illustrated biography of noted early-century silversmith and graphic artist Spratling 20 (1900-67), who came to inter-national fame in his silversmithing workshop in Taxco, Mexico. He remains one of Auburns most eminent alumni in the arts. Littleton is the W. Kelly Mosley Professor of Science and Humani-ties Emeritus at Auburn.

Cantankerous Bulldogs, Unherdable Cats, Hummingbirds, Jackasses, Raccoons and Bats: The Lord God Loves Them All, by Jean Gay Mussleman 54 and David C. Mussleman 58 (Mindbridge Press, 2014). Coauthored by Jean Mussleman (Potluck, Postscripts, and Potpourri) and husband David, a longtime veterinarian, Can-tankerous Bulldogs offers 50 stories by Jean and 30 historical sidebars from David gleaned from his veterinary practice.

Evolution of the Alabama Agroecosystem: Always Keeping Up, But Never Catching Up, by Eddie Wayne Shell 52 (NewSouth Books, 2013). A 35-year veteran of the Auburn faculty, including 21 years as head of fisheries and allied aquacul-tures, Shell looks at the development of agricul-ture in Alabama since the early 19th century and the effects of increased government involvement on agricultural developmentincluding why South-ern ag has remained only marginally competitive.

MIXED MEDIANow Playing

Billy Renkl, October 24, 1847 (Making room) 2012, Courtesy of the artist


CONCOURSE > STUDENT LIFE

My freshman year of college, one of my best friends I had grown up with since I was 2 years old took his own life at LSU. He was a freshman there, president of his [fraternity] pledge class, played sports, and was in the Marine program. He took his own life on April 21, 2012, and I saw the way that it rocked my community back at home, Marchuck said.

Active Minds labels its mission statement as utilizing the student voice to change the conversation about mental health. Marchuck (in photo at right) hopes Active Minds can continue doing so at Auburn through advocating for mental health, serving as an information resource and planning inspirational events. Dustin Johnson, a licensed psychologist at Student Counseling Services (SCS), serves as the chapters adviser.

One of their largest events held last year was called One Mans War, and featured former Auburn employee Jack Smith. Smith worked for the athletics communications department and had struggled with bipolar disorder, depression and alcoholism. He started writing this blog, which was therapeutic for him. We picked up on it and decided, Hey, we need to reach out to him, Marchuck said.

Smith spoke to about 75 students about his struggles and how he learned to overcome them through mental health treatment. Smith now works as an individual business consultant for his own company, J Smith Consulting.

Active Minds also brought Out of the Darkness to Auburn during the fall semester, a walk to raise awareness for mental health issues that had about 300 participants. The walk was co-

AUBURNS ACTIVE MINDS

Active Minds Inc., a national organization with more than 400 chapters across the United States, is beginning to make strides in mental health at Auburn. Senior marketing major

Kyle Marchuck, Auburns Active Minds president, helped initiate this program on campus last year after seeing how a struggle with

mental illness tragically affected a childhood friend.

hosted by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Student Counseling Services and Auburn Health Promotion and Wellness Services. It was a two-mile walk around campus with displays and memorabilia for those who have lost their lives. When you came to the end, we had a mini concert and butterfly release for survivors and companies who sponsored the event, Marchuck said.

Marchuck sees a promising future for Active Minds during the remainder of the school year. Active Minds and the SGA have already sponsored a Mental Health Week during the first week of spring semester. The news is getting out, people are starting to recognize who we are and were hoping to be here for the long run. Kerry Coppinger

www.facebook.com/ ActiveMindsAuburn


Remember finals weeks filled with all-nighters

and the search for the best study spot? Here are

a few of the perks todays students enjoy at

Ralph Brown Draughon Library:

Open 24 hours a day during finals.

OJ, doughnuts and massages for

late-night study owls, courtesy of the SGA and Student Counseling Services.

Noise-controlled areas, with specific

floors dedicated to allowing different decibels (the fourth floor is the quiet floor

no spirited debates here).

Caribou Coffee, a vendor located at the librarys main entrance, to keep

the caffeine flowing.

The Study E.R., a mini-store selling every necessity, from scantrons to sweatshirts.

A redesign to the Learning Commons included tables and chairs on wheels for easier mobility, and

the construction of power walls providing more than 300 power outlets.

Boomerang-shaped study tables that provide room for laptops as well as (gasp) books.

A PC repair shop on-site that also allows students to borrow laptops.

A security shuttle bus that runs from

6 p.m. to 7 a.m.

Rolling is not permitted for at least a year while the newcomers acclimate to their new environment & establish roots.

M AG N

O LI A

ST R

E ET C O L L E G E S T R E E T

35 ft

30 ft

With love fromMeadWestvaco

in Ehrhardt, SC

2 LIVE OAKSRollini g iiis nn ttttot permitted fowhile the newcomers accenvironment & establish

2 LLLLLIIIIVVVVVVVEEEEE OOOOOOOOAAAAAKKS

Back on the CornerPHASE 1

BEGINS IN SPRING

COMPLETE

SAMFORDPARK

By planting mature oaks, we hope to be able to resume the rolling tradition much sooner than we could if we planted younger trees.

- Dan King, Assistant Vice President

AU facilities management

We planted the descendant trees 12 years ago thinking if anything happened to the Auburn Oaks, we would have offspring to replace them... The offspring trees are too small to go on the corner, but Im pleased theyll be planted in Samford Park where their parents stood for more than 80 years.

- Scott Enebak, Professor in School of

Forestry & Wildlife Sciences

On February 14, 2015 Auburn Universitys

newest citizens took their rightful place on campus, earning the

instant love of the AU community.

The university will plant 30 live oaks, offspring

of the iconic Auburn Oaks, between

Toomers Corner & Samford Hall.

1 YEAR

15 ft

PHASE 2

For more information www.lib.auburn.edu/

Not Your Mamas Library


CONCOURSE > RESEARCH

We need to be measuring a persons core temperature with infrared cameras, which the current screening with lasers does not do, said Pascoe, a kinesiology professor in the College of Educations School of Kinesiology. The current screenings, as shown in the media, are cap-turing a temperature measure taken from various locations from which large differences in temperature are observed over a small surface area.

The committee adopted a measure in 2003 calling for the use of infrared cameras focusing on the full face to provide a thermal image of the skin face temperature. The reading indicates the temperature of the inner canthus, the area between the eyes and above the nose, which is an indicator of the core temperature.

Pascoe says temperature screening for fever cannot distinguish the type of disease, such as Ebola, bird flu, H1N1 or common flu, but is beneficial as a prescreening technique to avoid the spread of communicable diseases.

The Air Up ThereThe United States is not meeting international standards during its airport screenings for pandemics such as Ebola, says Auburn Universitys David Pascoe, who serves as the U.S. delegate on the

International Standards Committee for Thermal Imagers for Human Temperature Screening.

The infrared camera works like a digital camera, but detects the heat emitted from the skin and provides a temperature map of the skin surface. It is not harmful, Pascoe said. Lasers used in current screenings cannot be pointed near the eyes and must be pointed at a place such as the arm. You will get many different readings from one persons skin just by moving the point of aim.

The international stan-dards were developed after a well-publicized, but less than effective, attempt to use infrared cameras to screen for SARS in Singapore in 2003. Pascoe says a problem in accu-racy was encountered, though, because the images were taken of groups of people, not individuals. He says readings are needed for each person, which is done by filling 60 percent of the camera screen with the persons face.

We have had infrared technology since the 1950s and it has become much more advanced, to the point where it is economically possible to have small, handheld infrared cameras in airports, he said.

Pascoe recommends that the U.S. conduct screenings as airline passengers go through Customs, saving both time and money, and providing more accurate screenings.

More online: bit.ly/PascoeImaging



VITAL STATISTICS

Ph.D., University of Michigan, followed by two postdoc fellowships in Canada.

In 2002, named a Chevalier of France, in the Order of Academic Palms.

Spent two summers as an invited professor at the University of Paris.

Appointed director of research in the French National Center for

Scientific Research.

Authored more than 100 publications.

When he was a child, Stephen Dobsons parents gave him some sage advice. They told me I should look for a job where Id pay somebody else to let me do it, and thats exactly the kind of job I have here.

Dobson has been a member of the AU faculty in evolutionary biology since 1988, working in behavioral and population ecology. His main focus is empirical field-work, using small mammals as a model system to study the evolution of behaviors and life cycles of organisms. He has worked extensively with pikas in the Tibetan Plateau, king penguins in the French sub-Antarctic and ground squirrels in Canada.

My career at Auburn has allowed me to take nature into my hands in obscure corners of the earth, both high and low, said Dobson. Working internationally really allows me to form collaborations with people in other cultures and develop new ideas.

Dobson received Auburns 2014 Creative Research and Scholarship Award, which honors the research achieve-ments and contributions of faculty who have distinguished themselves through research, scholarly works and creative contributions to their fields.

After 26 years at Auburn, Dobson says he is most fond of the personal touch that the university possesses.

At many other institu-tions, youre just a face in a sea, but at Auburn, we pay attention to the students, said Dobson. The personal attention shown to students is something we really pride ourselves on and specialize in.

Dobsons fascination with nature and motivation to conduct fieldwork continues to

grow as he shares that passion with his students.

Understanding the evolu-tion of organisms is important because our world is always changing, climates are chang-ing, nature is changing, and our understanding of how nature is making these changes is very primitive, said Dobson.

Expanding our knowl-edge in these areas is vital. Lindsay Miles

JOB SATISFACTION



More than 40 Auburn University faculty have research projects related to one of Americas most chronic health concerns diabetes. The research being conducted at Auburn and at other universities was highlighted at the eighth annual Boshell Research Day on Feb. 13 at the Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center.

Auburn researchers represent a wide variety of colleges and schools, including the College of Veterinary Medicines Ya-Xiong Tao; the College of Sciences and Mathematics Chris Easley; and Michael Greene in the College of Human Sciences.

Ya-Xiong Tao is a professor of physiol-ogy in the Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology in the College of Veterinary Medicine. Tao and his team conduct extensive research into

receptors in the brain and muta-tions in proteins that

regulate appetite.

Proteins are essential for everything that happens in our bodies, including regulating metabolism, Tao said. Sometimes mutations occur in these proteins that would normally regulate your appetite. When this occurs, cells will not allow them outside, and people with these conditions have a difficult time controlling their appetites and are very susceptible to heavy weight gain.

Chris Easley, the Knowles Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the College of Sciences and Mathematics, focuses his research on developing techniques to measure hormones in very small sample sizes. Researchers can then apply these techniques to study how the body reacts immediately following a meal, such as in high fructose diets that can contribute to diabetes. Easleys work has been featured in the Analyst journal, a leading publication that covers

analytical and bioanalytical sciences.Michael Greene, an assistant professor

of nutrition with the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics, and Hospitality Management in the College of Human Sciences, focuses his research on the role of sugar and fructose-laden diets in the development of obesity and exacerbation of metabolic disease.

Greene supports the emerging theory that artificial sweeteners containing fructose are a much greater contributor to obesity and diabetes than normal sugar, which is the most commonly accepted theory. He also believes it is possible that the type of sugarglucose versus fructoseand the form, solid versus liquid, may play a role in the development of conditions linked to obesity. Greene hopes that his research will conclusively prove this theory, and help people to stay informed about healthy dieting.

Sweets Revenge


Cater Hall turns 100 this year, so we brought

out some artifacts to celebrate, including the

photo above, taken shortly after construction,

when it served as the presidents home.

diglib.auburn.edu/

THE ARCHIVESFound in Auburns Attic

Did you know? Original

construction cost for Cater Hall: $17,000


CONCOURSE > TIGER WALK

BACK TO THE FUTURE< Will Muschamp Returns >

Jerraud Powers says Auburns defense is going to get its swagger back with a tough-minded, no-nonsense defensive coordinator that will demand the best of his players.

Welcome back, Will Muschamp.Powers, a defensive back with the NFLs Arizona Cardinals,

was a defensive back at Auburn in 2006-08 during Muschamps first stint as the Tigers defensive coordinator. His memories from those years give a glimpse of what Auburn fans should expect next season with Muschamp, who was hired this time around after the 2014 regular season.

Hell bring back the toughness of the defense the way it used to be, Powers said. I think everybody knows hes a hard-nosed coach. Its going to be smart football with smart football players. Its going to be a defense that is not going to beat itself.

Certainly, head coach Gus Malzahn has praised Muschamp at

every turn, calling his new defensive coordinator the best defen-sive mind in all of college football.

Muschamp knows the SEC, from playing at Georgia, coach-ing at LSU and Auburn, becoming the head coach at Florida. His offenses labored during his four years with the Gators, but his defenses, under his control, finished in the Top 10 nationally every season. He listened to other job offers after Florida, but decided Auburn was the best fit.

For me, its not just about being a head coach, Muschamp said. Id rather be a defensive coordinator at a place like Auburn where you know you can go compete for a championship every year and thats what we plan on doing.

Plus, he knew Auburn.This move was about, No. 1, coming back to a great place, and to

Im just a ball coach, and at the end of the day, thats what I enjoy doing. Im

very thankful to have a great family that understands that.


Bowers was shot five timesnine bullet holes because most went in, then outon Feb. 1, 2011, during an at-tempted robbery near Milwaukee, Wisc. Bad place at the wrong time, Bowers said.

He said he didnt initially feel the shooting, but the realization soon hit home. He feared his career was over. I didnt think I was going to play basketball again, he said.

But Cinmeon Bowers did, and does. The Auburn forward and the No. 1 junior college prospect in the country last year has found a home at Auburn this season with Pearl.

By the grace of God, Im here, Bowers said. He had nine double-doubles after 15 games and was one of only three players from a major conference who could make that claim. By then, he was leading the SEC in rebounding and was 12th in scoring and an integral part of Auburns game.

Pearl has demanded much of Bowers because he thinks he can be more of a complete player. Bowers, at 6-foot-7 and 278 pounds, is big enough to play inside even though hes undersized. Thats why Pearl has told him not to think of himself as an undersized center but as a forward with moves.

FROM THE BRINKwork for Gus, a guy I have a lot of respect for, Muschamp said. This was about my family, hav-ing my wifes parents an hour and a half away, and my mom three or four hours away, and all of our family in Rome, Ga., and Atlanta. It was important.

And it was important to get coaching again.

Im just a ball coach, and at the end of the day, thats what I enjoy doing. Im very thankful to have a great family that un-derstands that. Were looking forward to the next step.

And with that, Muschamp began scheming up another defensive game plan.

I enjoy being back in the meeting rooms more, not that I wasnt before because I was very involved, but to have the day-to-day position meet-ings, defensive team meetings and then get on the field and directly coach guys on the field morethat has been a lot of fun, Muschamp said.

Powers can tell next years Auburn defensive players what to expect.

He was my coordinator the two years he was there, and he just brought a toughness to us and a confidence to us. We thought when we got on the field that there was nobody on the field better than us, Powers said.

He was very demanding. He expects everybody to know their job and do their job, and he holds everybody account-able. He doesnt have favor-ites, and thats what I liked about him.Charles Goldberg

Room with a View In November, a ribbon-cutting marked the official opening of Auburns covered equestrian arena, home to the universitys three-time national championship team. The

arena also provides educational space for the College of Agricultures equine science program.

At press time, the equestrian team ranked No. 4 nationally.

Its easy for Auburn big man Cinmeon Bowers to accept some constructive criticism from Auburn head basketball coach Bruce Pearl. Words are not going to hurt him, considering all hes been through.

See more online at auburntigers.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/011415aab.html

CONCOURSE > PHILANTHROPY

AU B U R N M A G A Z I N E . A U B U R N . E D U22

Philanthropy at Auburn University fuels the engine that propels our univer-sity forward through a renewed commitment to our students, a continued promise to our state and a shared responsibility to the world.

It takes every member of the Auburn Family to achieve our ambitious goals. Generations of Auburn people have been inspired to take action, and show support through their philanthropic invest-ments in our university.

Gifts bolster Auburns academic excellence and provide new opportunities for our students. Gifts fund innovative research in every school and college, and across every discipline at Auburn. And gifts help construct new facilities and renovate existing facilities where this vital work continues.

Philanthropy also increases the value of an Auburn degree, and allows us to establish new endowed chairs and professorships that attract and retain best-in-their-field faculty.

Through philanthropy, the world can see a renewed and strengthened Auburn, an institution with enhanced abilities to shape our world, serve our communities, develop our students and build a better future.

Philanthropy also connects alumni, students, fans, faculty, staff, parents and every member of the Auburn Family to this institution and reminds them what makes it great.

There is tremendous power in each and every gift, and within each person who supports our cause. We envision a very bright future for Auburn University. It is through your philanthropic investment that we can make that vision a reality.

We all know it is up to us. How do we know we will succeed? Why do we believe that our family will rise to the occasion?

Because this is Auburn.

Because This is Auburn

Jane DiFolco Parker Vice President for Development

President, Auburn University Foundation

[email protected]

A new donor society

initiated by Auburns Office

of Development and the

Auburn University Foundation

recognizes donors for loyalty

based on consecutive years of

giving to Auburn.

Named in honor of one of

Auburns most widely known

and beloved figures, the

James E. Foy Loyalty Society

honors donors who have

made a gift to Auburn for five

or more consecutive years.

As Auburns dean of student

affairs for a quarter century,

Foy was one of AUs most

iconic figures.

The Foy Society, launched

in October, has recognized

more than 10,000 alumni and

friends for their consecutive

years of giving. Donors who

give for 25 consecutive years

are recognized as members of

the Foy Societys Cater Circle

and receive a gold lapel pin.

This year, more than 1,100

donors received the Cater

Circle designation, with 15

of those having given for 50

years or more. Visit auburn.

edu/foysociety or contact

[email protected]

or (334) 844-1322.

Get Pinned


A Solid FoundationThe Auburn University Foundation, which receives

all charitable contributions made in support of and to benefit Auburn University and Auburn University

Montgomery, recently appointed four new directors to its board and named a new board chair.

The board elected Thomas Gossom Jr. 75 (above, left) as its new chair. Gossom, who lives in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., is a veteran actor and owner of Best Gurl Inc., which creates, produces and distributes entertainment and corporate communications programs. He succeeds Jeff Stone 79 of Birmingham, who served as board chair from 2012-14.

The new directors are (above, from second left) Cheryl Casey 83 of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., senior vice president at Dreyfus Investments; Melissa Brown Herkt 77 of Austin, Texas, retired president and COO of Process Systems and Solutions, Emerson Process Management; Thomas Randy Campbell 84 of Birmingham, owner and managing partner of Campbell Wealth Management; and Steven Spencer 78 of Birmingham, executive vice president of Alabama Power Co.

Foundation directors are vital partners with the professional fundraising staff in Auburns Office of Development, said Jane DiFolco Parker, vice president for development and president of the AU Foundation. Through their contributions to fostering philanthropic relationships with our alumni and friends, our directors help ensure Auburns development enterprise maintains a high level of performance, effectiveness and accountability.

The Auburn University Foundation was formed in 1960 and is led by a volunteer board of directors composed of no more than 27 voting directors. Directors, elected for a four-year term and who serve up to two consecutive terms, oversee the foundations efforts to manage, invest and steward private, philanthropic gifts. In addition, the AU president, AUM chancellor and the president of the Auburn Alumni Association serve as non-voting, ex-officio members of the board.

The four new members replace those on the board whose terms have expired: Tom Clement 66 of Montgomery; Allen Reed 70 of Johns Island, S.C.; Stone; and Dwight Wiggins 62 of Philadelphia, Pa.

More online: www.auburnuniversityfoundation.org


EXPECTYou might notto find this much varietyin a place called the plains.

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tedAU Alumni spring 15.indd 1 2/5/2015 3:55:15 PM


WHY DO YOU GIVE? TELL US BY EMAILING [email protected].

I give to Auburn because

A STRONG LOVE ENDURES

IN MY HEART FOR AUBURN.

DR. LEAH RAWLS ATKINS, 58ALABAMA HISTORIAN AND AUTHOR, CHAMPION WATER SKIER,

AND RECIPIENT OF AUBURNS FIRST DOCTORAL DEGREE IN HISTORY


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COMING SPRING 2015

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Love on the Plains


For generations of Auburn students, their years on campus meant more

than learning and self-discovery. Many also found their own

happily-ever-afters.

Love on the Plains

BY SUZANNE JOHNSON


LOVE ON THE PLAINS

OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES Gwendolyn Williams & Wallace Gordon 36

Submitted by Stephanie Wallace Renuart 69, Dadeville

My parents had six children, and five of them gradu-ated from Auburn (or API). I am the only one who met my spouse while in college. However, the story I want to share is that of how my parents met while students.

When I was in elementary school one of my Sunday School teachers asked us if we knew how our parents met. I immediately volunteered that they met when my mother was sleeping in my fathers bed. I did not under-stand her shock.

But the story is true; it is just out of context!Both my mother, Gwendolyn Williams 36, and her

older brother, Theron Williams 37, were students at API. My father, Gordon E. Wallace 36, transferred from RPI in upstate New York, arriving on campus with no place to live. My uncle was looking for a roommate and was linked up with my father.

My mother received a letter from home and went to the rooming house to share it with her brother. He was not there at the time so she decided to take a nap. Logically, she used the spare bed as she did not yet know about the roommate.

My father returned to the room before my uncle and the rest is history!

ONCE UPON A TENNIS COURTRita & Gene Chandler 54

Auburn

My husband and I met as freshmen in 1950 and married in the Auburn Methodist Church the day after we received our API B.S. degrees. Several years ago I wrote a story of our meeting for our grandchildren to read and know how their grandparents met. Gene and I have been married 60 years as of June 6, 2014....

Once upon a tennis court in the Loveliest Village, two freshman coeds met two freshman boys. It was a bright, sunny afternoon on Oct. 29, 1950. It was the Sunday afternoon that all the new sorority pledges, dressed in party finery and high heels, were off to their welcoming teas. My friend and I were not of this social

Consider the mating ritual of the tiger.

The female instigates things, roaring at attractive suitors as they pass within earshot. If she captures the interest of more than one male, they might fight over herbut never to the death. Mostly, they hiss and gnash their teeth at each other until one gives up and moves on. (There are other tigresses on the Plains, so to speak.)

Once contact has been made, the tigress goes into flirtatious mode, rolling on the ground and waving her paws in the air while the male watches with disdain...until he finally falls under her spell. Once together, tigers often live in family groups, raising their young.

With an Auburn Tiger, maybe things work a bit differentlywe arent too sure about who instigates what, or how much paw-waving might occur. What we do know is that, for a lot of AU students, the rolling hills of campus provide the perfect setting for finding their own true love.

How many of Auburns quarter-million alumni met their spouses while in college? We dont know for sure, but wed bet at least half. Here are a few of their stories.

(Cant get enough Auburn love stories? Youll find more on our

website at auburnmagazine.auburn.edu.)


LOVE ON THE PLAINS

group since we were lacking in financial backing and probably in social graces and beauty-queen potential.

But with carefree hearts and wearing our high spirits, shorts, shirts, borrowed tennis shoes (which were too small), and, of course, our necessary raincoats and rat caps, we set out for a day that would begin to chart my life course.

My friend and I awkwardly tried to bat the ball over the net and return it in some fashion. Neither of us knew the game. I have been reminded of this frequently over the years. It was a comical and pitiful sight.

Two boys came onto the next court and began their game. They could really play! Soon, they started to call friendly remarks to us, which we properly ignored. They continued to call to us. We continued, in our ladylike manner, to ignore them. We wanted to appear disinterested, but we watched them out of the corner of our eyes and became more aware of our pitiful tennis skills.

My friend and I quit our game, put on our raincoats and headed for a drink at a water faucet (not a fountain) just outside the court on the hillside. We sat down on the grass to rest. The two boys joined us. We knew they had not come to invite us for doubles.

They were gentlemanly and made no reference to our perfor-mance on the court. After exchanging names and friendly com-ments, Gene and Sonny invited us to walk around the campus. They were cute, polite and seemed nice enough. We accepted the invitation and paired off, my friend with Sonny and I with Gene.

We were not long into our walk until we arrived at the north-east end of the football stadium, which was closed off by a brick wall except for the ticket window, which was open.

The dare was before us, and we took it. The boys boosted us up and through the window, raincoats, rackets and all. They fol-lowed. Little did I know, but that ticket window would turn into my ticket to a lifetime adventure. (See the Chandler family, right.)

As we walked across the football field, I dont remember any-thing we talked about, but it was probably about our hometowns and high schools. I remember laughing and enjoying our trek....What a day! A lasting friendship had begun, and the day so much more fun than a Sunday afternoon tea.

LOVE, AUBURN, FATE: WHATS NOT TO LOVE? Anita Hamner 64 & Julian Jenkins 61

Auburn

I was a struggling student of architecture fresh off a Korean War tour of duty with the U.S. Air Force. She was a born-and-bred member of the twelfth man conspiracy,

the daughter of a longtime Texas A&M University engineering professor who was among a group of Aggie educators being re-cruited by Auburn to supplement its engineering faculty. The year was 1959.

To support the cost of my education, I was somewhat success-ful in convincing local homebuilder Jack Bailey 43 to welcome fresh design ideas as he continued new land development in southeast Auburn. Jack was an ag major who began his career as a contractor out of housing necessity following the World War II absence of places to live, and I felt that he and his wife would be receptive to new ideas. They were, and thus began a great relation-ship that lasted many years. Somehow I managed to juggle the amount of time required for architecture in Biggin Hall with the new real-world workload. And Jack Bailey as a benefactor was a real lifesaver in more ways than one.

When the A&M professor began his search for Auburn hous-ing, he was soon drawn to Baileys reputation for quality and I, as the struggling architectural student, was commissioned to design and prepare construction drawings. During this process, I met periodically with the professor and his wife but had not yet met other family members. That came months later, after the family had settled into the new digs.

Late one afternoon, I chanced an unannounced visit with my clients to make sure everything was working as it should in post-occupancy. I was met at the door by a beautiful and vivacious strangerone of their daughters I had never met.


So here we are, 55 years later, just slightly beyond a 52-year wedding anniversary; four beautiful children, all college gradu-ates and productive members of society serving the fields of medicine, architecture and construction.

Love. Auburn. Fate. Anita. War Eagle. Whats not to love?

THIRD TIME A CHARM Emily Hughes 10 and Andy Lawton 11

Sorrento, Fla.

For my first two years at Auburn, I (Andy) was a member of the Auburn University Marching Band as a trombone player (a detail which will be important later) and Emily was a member of the Ti-ger Eyes on the flag team. During our first year, we were content to acclimate to a new way of life as college students, completely unaware of the others existence. Going to class and band practice, attending parties, and making new friends along the way led to a lifetimes worth of stories (a few of which couldnt be shared in this space). Meeting a future life partner certainly wasnt part of the plan at that stage of the game.

In our second year, little did we know that a simple date would transform the rest of our lives. I had begun to notice her at band practice, and I was attempting to figure out ways to talk to her through mutual friends and this nifty new tool called Face-book without seeming overly creepy.

One day after band rehearsal, however, she stole my thunder. As I was strolling across the field on the way to my afternoon phys-ics recitation in Allison Hall, I thought I heard her call my name.

I turned around, slightly stunned, assuming she must have intended to talk to someone else since we had never even said hello. She strode right toward me, and in her typical matter-of-fact fashion, promptly asked if I was available that Friday night to attend her sorority formal.

Flabbergasted, but excited, I said yes while still trying to play it cool, as 20-year-olds often do. We immediately began to discuss logistics, which brought us to what she figured to be the potential deal-breakersecuring a tuxedo in time for the event. It was already Tuesday, and she figured it impossible to make such arrangements in such a short time frame.

Little did she know that as a member of the AU Symphonic Band, I already had that box checked with my $150 JC Pen-ney tuxedo (short on style but high on functionality). With that

settled, she gave me her phone number and told me to pick her up at the dorm Friday night.

We enjoyed our time together at her formal, and she even attended a party that my roommates and I were throwing at our apartment the next day. We continued to see each other and get more serious. The one odd thing I couldnt figure out was the strange looks I would get from other members of the trombone section when she and I were together at band functions.

I found out some time later that I was actually her third choice for that formal. In fact, I was her third choice out of the trombone section of the band. The other two were certainly inter-ested, but had already been taken off the market for that particu-lar event by other girls.

Third time is the charm, I suppose.Our relationship seemed to mirror the fortunes of the foot-

ball Tigers as time went on. We hit a rough patch in 2008 and took some time apart, only to get things back on track for the improvements of 2009. 2010 was a special year for us, our last as students, for obvious reasons. I proposed to her at Samford Hall near the lathe on New Years Eve, and we traveled, newly engaged, to watch our Tigers win the national championship in the desert. We were married in 2012 at the First Presbyterian Church in Auburn, as we couldnt think of anywhere else we would rather celebrate that event than the place that means more to us than any other. (See photo, above.)

LOVE ON THE PLAINS


LOVE ON THE PLAINS

CUPIDS AIM IS TRUE (KLAUS, NOT SO MUCH) Betty Joyce 66 & Klaus Dannenberg 67

Denton, Texas

It was fall quarter 1962 and I was an incoming freshman. Rat cap on, a bounce in my step (really!), and full of myself, I quickly became infatuated with a tall girl in my Basic Design class in the School of Architecture. Alas, she was going through fall rush and was not allowed to talk with the male of our species during that week.

Buthallelujahshe had a friend that was not going through rush, so we communicated through this convenient interpreter. Id speak with her friend, who would relay my message (even though they were standing next to each other) and she would reply, also through our handy interpreter. After trying unsuccessfully for several dates and then strategizing with the interpreter (who, it appears, did not really take my side with regard to making that connection), I finally got a date with the trusty (or so I thought) interpreter instead.

Two and a half years later, when we were juniors, the inter-preter and I married on Valentines Day 1965. When this issue of Auburn Magazine comes out in spring 2015, we will have just cel-ebrated 50 years of marriage marked with two terrific kids and four grandkids. Who could have interpreted then that love happened on the Plainsjust not in the targeted relationship. But its been a lifelong, wonderful relationship that we celebrate every year on Valentines Day and frequently laugh about my erroneous target.

SHE SAYS, HE SAYS Beverly Schneider 74 & James Lakin 90

Auburn

She says:

In June 1971, immediately following high school graduation, I came to AU to begin my studies. I showed up the day before classes started to participate in what we called Drop and Add Day. I was able to get English 101, Biology 101 and History 101. I wanted a full load and was able to pull a card for Psychology 201, which was a sophomore-level course.

On my first day of class, I was trying to find my class-room in Haley Center. I... finally found the room and rushed in. There was only one seat available in the front center of the class, next to a very attractive guy. I quickly and breathlessly took the seat.

In those days, you didnt know which book you would need until you attended the first class. The professor gave us the book title just as class was ending. As I gathered my things, the very nice guy offered to let me accompany him to the bookstore (since I was obviously out of my comfort zone being a new student). We walked together to J&M and purchased the book. He walked me back to Haley to be sure I could find my next class.

When I came out of the history class, he was waiting for me! We then went on a walking tour of Auburn. As things hap-pen at AU, we continued seeing each other and two years later to the day, we got marriedJune 9, 1973! We both later gradu-ated from AU. Now, its 41 years of happy marriage and we still live in our beloved Auburn.

He says:

I had signed up for an elective, Psychology 201. When I arrived at the classroom, I found the desks were rapidly fill-ing as I sat down in the first row in one of two adjacent open desks. I had a clear view down the hallway and saw a pretty girl glancing from her paper schedule at each room number as she passed, obviously looking for her class.

I realized that the only occupied classroom on that side of the quadrant was mine, so I casually placed a book on the open desk next to me. When she got to my classroom door, she had a look of relief and started in the door. I waited until a couple of other students walked past, then I slipped the book off the open desk before she looked in my direction.

She saw the open desk and sat down and the rest is history!


LOVE ON THE PLAINS

ONE GEORGIA TICKET Farrow Wallace 92 & R.W. Bo Burks 87

Montgomery

Auburn, but more specifically Auburn football, brought us together and 20 years later it still rekindles our Auburn marriage every fall. As our graduation classes show, we didnt meet as stu-dents. Farrow and I became an Auburn Woman and Auburn Man in different eras. Im Jackson & Carr and shes Rocker & King.

As a young alumni season ticket holder, I made it to every game, everywhere. Traveling to road games with buddies was essential to my Auburn football passion. In 1991 the Auburn-Georgia game was in Athens and I needed a ticket. Through work I was introduced to Farrow and knew as a senior she might have access to a Georgia ticket. As the game got closer I was chasing every possibility and gave Farrow a call.

The purpose of the call was a ticket but the result of the call was more. Wednesday before the Georgia game I drove to Auburn for a friendly meal and a game ticket. Over dinner at the Hungry Hunter, I bought a single ticket and we parted ways. The following Saturday we both made our separate trips to Athens. At halftime

we bumped into one another at the concession stand under the west end zone. We talked until the second half began and we went back to our friends and seats.

The game ended and my buddies and I headed to Atlanta for the night. Hours later and somewhere in traffic on a Georgia highway, Farrow appeared right outside my window. Fate and Au-burn football put her car right beside the car I was in. We shouted and tried to talk between cars and struggled to communicate.

At the next red light I had a decision to make. In the middle of GA HWY 29, I abandoned my buddies and joined my Auburn Girl in her car. Two weeks later we had a real date to Birming-ham and the Iron Bowl.

After going 0 and 2 in 1991 and finishing 5-5-1 in 1992, I asked her to every Auburn game we had left. Our union started with a 37-27 loss in Athens, and has been through 22 seasons of heartbreaks and championships. Weve always been there and always been together. From the beginning, a love of Auburn, foot-ball and each other has bound our marriage and even produced another generation of the Auburn Family. Our oldest daughter will be a freshman on the Loveliest Village on the Plains in the fall of 2015.


LOVE ON THE PLAINS

SPECIAL DELIVERY: AUBIELaura Jenkins 90 & Luther Richardson 96

Columbus, Ga.

I was attending a football game in the fall of 1995. I brought my sisters over from Columbus for the game and we bought tickets out-side the stadium. Because they were all single tickets, we decided to watch from the ramps, as we often did. When we walked in the east side of Jordan-Hare, I asked which way? The girls didnt care and I felt a sudden draw to go left. I always went right to stand above the visitors but this time I went left to stand above the students.

I walked up and stood randomly in the middle of people already there, including a young man around my age. As the game progressed, we chatted, as people do in public events. By halftime, we were conversing freely about the game and about Auburn. By the end of the third quarter, we were discussing other topics, including his completion of school at Auburn and his work with the physics department, and Id confirmed that there was no ring on his finger. At the end of the game, we walked together out of the game and I gave him my number.

A week later, we had an away game at LSU but I came over to watch it with him at Foy Union. It was our first date. Since he

worked with the football team as a tutor, he took me to the prac-tice field, where he gave me orange roses. It was a nice night.

Fast forward to spring of 1997. Luther Richardson 96 had graduated and was working as a teacher in Columbus and wed been dating almost two years. We planned to have dinner in Auburn with friends who lived there. We drove over, but we were about 30 minutes early for dinner, so he drove to campus and we ended up at the practice fields.

There, he gave me some small purple and gold flowers and said hed planned to give them to his friend but he wanted me to have them. We sat there and talked a few minutes and suddenly he looked over my shoulder.

I looked up and back and who was there? Aubie was walking up in a UPS hat with a box and a clipboard, along with his assis-tant. He made me sign for the box and waited as I opened it.

It was a huge bouquet of orange roses in a gold bow with a ring attached. Luther had planned it all for our engagement. Of course I said yes. I treasure the pictures from that evening and loved that he included even the purple & gold of LSU as a memory.

Heck, even our wedding was blue and orange that fall, and we watched the Mississippi State away-game in the limo between the wedding and reception.

A U B U R N M A G A Z I N E . A U B U R N . E D U36 PHOTOGRAPH BY REX MILLER

by David Menconi

Cynthia Hill thrives within dualities. Shes a filmmaker with an unusual day job, working as a part-time Walmart pharmacist. And within her filmmaking side, her best-known works are Private Violence, a searing documentary about domestic violence currently airing on HBO, and the acclaimed PBS cooking-show series A Chef s Life.

Sometimes those parallel tracks merge. One morning last year, Hill was working at the Walmart pharmacy in High Point, N.C., when her phone lit up with calls and texts from Vivian Howard, her partner on A Chef s Life. Hill tried to ignore them, but Howard was insistent: Take a break, you need to call me now!

So Hill called and got the news that theyd just won a

Peabody Award, the broadcast industrys equivalent of a Pulitzer Prize. That topped a phenomenal run for Hill. A Chefs Life also picked up a nomination for the prestigious James Beard Award, while Private Violence played the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and won a prize at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival before debuting on HBO.

Yeah, Im probably the only Walmart pharmacist who has ever won a Peabody, been nominated for a James Beard and gone to Sundance, all within a three-month period, Hill says with a laugh. Im not positive, but probably.

When Private Violence began airing on HBO last October, domestic violence was a hot topic thanks to controversy over NFL running back Ray Rice. Graphic video

footage of Rice hitting his fian-ce in an elevator brought the issue out of the shadows and into the headlines.

I hate to say this, but the timing on the Ray Rice stuff was really good in helping prepare the country to receive this film, Hill says. Domestic violence is an issue that a lot of people just dont think much about, but the level of outrage over Ray Rice just blew up.

You could see it in the press response. The kinds of questions I was getting in October were very different from what Id gotten earlier in the year at Sundance. I was supposed to be on CNN and MSNBC to talk about domestic violence, too, but got bumped by wall-to-wall Ebola cover-age. I was literally one week too late. The issue of the day switches real quick because thats how the news cycle is.

Walmart pharmacist and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Cynthia Hill 95 embraces her dual nature to

make her own way in the world.

The Road Less Traveled

95CYNTHIA HILL

FILMOGRAPHY

2014

A Chefs Life, Season 2 (director/producer),

docuseries, PBS (14 episodes)

Private Violence (director/producer),

documentary film, HBO

2013

A Chefs Life, Season 1 (director/producer),

docuseries, PBS (13 episodes)

2011

Survivor to Survivor (director/producer), web docuseries


A Chefs LifeCynthia Hill, left, and North Carolina chef Vivian Howard,

go from farm to table to screen with their Peabody-

winning PBS series A Chefs Life.


THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED

The roots of A Chef s Life go back to when Hill and Howard were both growing up in Eastern North Carolina, where their families knew each other. Both women lived in New York for a time before returning home on separate pathsHoward to run a restaurant called Chef & the Farmer in the small town of Kinston, and Hill to make the 2003 documentary Tobacco Money Feeds My Family.

Howard admired Tobacco Money and contacted Hill about documenting some of the food traditions she was reviving with Chef & the Farmer, a Farm To Fork restaurant serving old-school Southern cuisine using produce from local farms. Eventually, that evolved into A Chef s Life, with Hill and her husband/cinematographer Rex Miller working behind the camera.

Now in its second sea-son on PBS, A Chef s Life is equal parts cooking show and documentary series in which Howard revisits the food-prep-aration methods with which she grew up.

Vivian and I both felt it was important to document the foodways of Eastern North Carolina, all the things our grandmothers used to do, Hill says. We were shooting about turnips this season and we went out to Warren Brothers farm. He was in the first season a lot and Vivian likes to get produce from him. He pulled a couple and took them to his house to

cook for lunch. Turnip greens with fatback, turnip roots with sausage, pork chops on the side, who doesnt love that?

Doing this really brings back a lot of warm, fuzzy, nostalgic memories of growing up in my grandmas Southern kitchen.

Its not all warm and fuzzy, however. A Chefs Life doesnt shy away from the harsher side of agriculture, like the season-two episode that included a hog-killing scene.

You dont see it being killed, but you hear it and see peoples reactions, Hill says. The show is all about Eastern North Carolina traditions, and thats definitely part of it. I find it interesting, how squeamish people get about that kind of stuff. Vivians husband Ben said that if you buy pork chops from the grocery store, then you should have to watch this.

Pharmacist seems like an odd second job for an artist, but Hill calls her day job strangely grounding and a perfect get-away from films. Training for the pharmaceutical arts at the University of North Carolina and at Auburn also helped lead

Hill into filmmaking, starting with the videos she made while earning an undergraduate pharmacy degree at UNC.

Hills filmmaking aptitude caught the eye of UNCs pharmacy school dean, who suggested she go to graduate school at Auburn because its

pharmacy school has a large amount of video equipment. Hill started making health-education videos while working on her masters at AU. In 1994, she and other Auburn students and professors teamed up with the ABC networks Primetime Live news show to do a piece on medication-dispensing errors at pharmacies. Hill was one of the undercover patients, which took her to New York City for the first time ever to meet with Primetime Live co-host Diane Sawyer.

Diane Sawyer took one look at me and said, Shes too pretty, better frump her up, Hill remembers with a laugh. Ill take it! But I was completely ruined after that. How could I go back to just counting pills? I couldnt. And it was eye-opening and exhilarating to combine my two worlds together and think maybe there was a role there for me. I was an odd bird because

Im probably the only Walmart pharmacist who has won a Peabody, been nominated for a James Beard and gone to Sundance, all within a three-month period.

JOSH W

OLL/A

CHEFS LIFE



I wanted something where I could do filmmaking and health care together. But theres no playbook for something like that. You just have to figure it out along the way.

With her Auburn adviser Bruce Berger offering encouragement, Hill resolved to pursue filmmaking.

The longer she stayed in grad school, the more I could see that filmmaking was where her passion was, Berger says. Shes a very creative, talented and introspective human being. Those are the best people to work with. Im proud of her and the fact shes stuck with it, and also not at

all surprised that shes been successful.

When they began A Chef s Life, Hill decided that How-ard should be the on-camera star of a show about Eastern North Carolina food traditions because she was doing the equivalent of fieldwork and asking all the right questions about how food gets from farm to table. Initially, she ran into opposition from Howard herself, who didnt like the idea of being the focal point. Howard even indulged in some self-sabotage when they

made the pilot episode.The first time I filmed

Vivian, she was about three months out from having given birth to twins, wearing a maternity dress with milk stains, and shed refused to do her hair or wear makeup, Hill says. We were calling it a test shoot and she didnt know if she could pull it off and be able to engage with the camera. But we both realized that first day that she was really good at it. She even surprised herself. After that, she decided to do her hair and makeup and ditch the maternity dress. That was in the first episode, which she still complains about.

FILMOGRAPHY, CONT.

2006

The Guestworker (director/producer),

documentary film, PBS

2004

Tobacco Money Feeds My Family (director/producer),


2003

February One (producer),


2002

Grace and the New Rules (editor), short documentary film,

Sundance Channel

Hills Private Violence

spotlights the problem of domestic abuse.

More than four women a day in the U.S. die at the hands of a current

or ex partner.

MICHAEL LOCCISANO/H

BO



Howards complaints aside, that first mini-episode was good enough to get A Chefs Life on the air, although it wasnt easy. One friend of Hills at the Food Network told her it wasnt quite good enough for a show starring a non-celebrity, and another at the local public station even called it unpro-grammable. But a third friend at South Carolina Public Television loved the pilot and

brought it to the attention of PBS, which picked up the show.

It was exactly what theyre interested in, Hill says. They struggle to find honest and respectful portrayals of the rural South, so it was perfect for them. It was validating to have people on a national level see and understand what we were trying to do. But I did it the way I do everything else, by

imagining what Id want to watch. Im my own harshest critic. If I can please myself, I figure I can please others, too.

For the past year, Hill has been juggling Private Violence promotion with shooting, editing and marketing for A Chefs Life. Throw in the pharmacy job and her schedules been just a beast, she says. Sometime soon, shell start working on another film, too.

I have one feature brewing, but those take so long, Hill says. I always say theyll take two years, but it turns out to be four or five. Id like to do something that doesnt take so long. So Im looking at the serial format, seeing if we can translate what we do with A Chefs Life to another topic. That would be a way to combine A Chefs Life and Private Violence.

Another duality.

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MICHAEL LOCCISANO/H

BO


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