THE COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS is the intellectual heart of the university, pursuing knowledge and creative expression…

LETS GO RACIN'#NASCARNOISE

WHAT'S YOUR LIBERAL ARTS DEGREE WORTH?

CREAM AND PHILOSOPHY WITH YOUR COFFEE?

STROLL DOWN MEMORY LANE WITH JOE KICKLIGHTER

14th editionPerspectives

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6STUDENTS RESEARCHFrom the NASCAR racetrack to the science of music, our students are continually innovating in and outside of the classroom.

33FACULTY RECOGNITIONOur distinguished faculty have received prestigious awards, undertaken significant research, and influenced the world around them.

11NEWS & EVENTSCatch up on major renovations, summer outreach, thrilling events, and other happenings in the College of Liberal Arts.

42GIVING CAMPAIGNLearn how you can be a part of the success of the College of Liberal Arts through giving to the “Because This is Auburn” campaign.

22ALUMNI ENTREPRENEURSChicken salad. Wedding invitations. Custom drapes. Just a few ways our entrepreneurial alumni are creating successful businesses with their degree.

18THE VALUE OF LIBERAL ARTSBy debunking the myths, we show how the liberal arts have always been imperative for understanding and contributing to society.

perspectives · 14th edition

Joseph A. AistrupDean

Paula BobrowskiAssociate Dean for Research

& Faculty Development

Charles IsraelAssociate Dean for Academic Affairs

Giovanna SummerfieldAssociate Dean for Educational Affairs

Wendy BonnerChief of Staff

Vicky SantosDirector of External Affairs

Adriene C. SimonSenior Art Designer

Austin Lacy Digital Content Producer

Bethany BroderickGraduate Assistant

Kristen KeeterPublic Relations Intern

Lauren Frankle & Summer McKelvey Student Videographers

Designed and produced by the College of Liberal Arts Office of External Affairs, November 2015.

Auburn University is an equal opportunity educational institution/employer.

www.cla.auburn.edu

DEAN’S OFFICE

EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

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1. Presidential Pin BoardDean Aistrup started “pinning” way before Pinterest became popular. When he moved into his office at Kansas State University, the office resident before him left behind a corkboard with presidential campaign pins. Aistrup continued to add to the pin collection, accumulating older pins from candidates like Franklin D. Roosevelt (1940) and George Wallace (1968) and newer pins from candidates in the 2012 election, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.

2. Kansas State Football JerseyA frequently asked question by those who walk into Aistrup’s office is, “Did you play football?” Aistrup will quickly say “no” and show you the authentic purple football jersey given to him as a going away present from his colleagues at Kansas State University, where he was

the Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. The number six stands for the sixth Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Auburn University.

3. Metal ArtworkNicole Degree’s “Self-portrait” was the first recipient of Aistrup’s “Dean’s Choice Purchase Award” at the annual Juried Fine Art Student Exhibition. If you look closely, you can read statements the artist believes have helped define her. Because the words are written in rust, the piece is constantly changing just like a person constantly changes. Aistrup thought the piece’s poignancy would be a good start to his Auburn art collection.

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A DEAN'S HABITAT

PERSPECTIVES 05

BY | BETHANY BRODERICK

5. Flower PaintingAistrup has carried this painting from office to office for the past twenty years. The masterpiece, a painting of a flower by his daughter in second grade, has always been his favorite piece of artwork. He liked it so much that he framed it and has proudly displayed it in every office since, reminding him of his daughter and the innocence of childhood.

6. Alabama State MapOne of Aistrup’s first requests as dean was for a map of Alabama. As he met students, Aistrup wanted to be able to locate their hometown and county in order to better understand his students. The college gave him this 1911 reproduction Alabama map now displayed above Aistrup’s computer, a continuous reference for the Dean as he gets to know his students.

A DEAN'S HABITAT Two years after beginning his tenure as the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, Joe Aistrup continues to work toward advancing the mission of the college—and settling into his office. Here’s a glimpse at the natural habitat of Dean Aistrup, including some of his prized possessions and unique collections.

4. Robert L. Lineberry AwardA culmination of years of research and hard work, in 2014 Aistrup won the Robert L. Lineberry Award for best paper published in Social Science Quarterly 2012 for his article, “Structural partisan competition: A vote shares model of party alignments and realignments.” Presented by the Southwestern Social Sciences Association, the award represents the pinnacle of academic achievement for Aistrup.

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Last fall, College of Liberal Arts public relations professor Brigitta Brunner and representatives from FOX Sports University, a national program focused on bringing the real world into the classroom, collaborated on a project challenge for Brunner’s campaigns class. The project involved NASCAR, social media, and a whole lot of noise.

Throughout the fall semester, the students worked with Kaitlyn Beale, Erik Arneson, and Megan Englehart from FOX Sports on campaign ideas to generate NASCAR fan engagement across all different platforms of media. At the end of the semester, and in competition with each other, Brunner’s students pitched their campaign ideas to FOX Sports and later discussed these ideas with NASCAR executives.

FOX Sports University announced the winning group of the competition after the presentations were made, congratulating public relations majors Whitney

Jones, Lillian Parker, Chelsea Roadman, Catherine Watson, and Chelsea Zillner last December. A component of their campaign, #NASCARNoise, debuted for the 10 Days of Thunder and the All-Star races in May. NASCAR and FOX Sports University officials brought the winning students and Brunner out to Charlotte, North Carolina, to experience #NASCARNoise first-hand at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“We wanted the students to see their idea being brought to life in real time,” Beale, manager of marketing and strategic partnerships at FOX Sports, said of the campaign implementation. “And coming to the track in Charlotte and being able to see full-circle how an event of this caliber is produced while observing how we brought their ideas to life gave them the full behind-the-scenes experience.”

Students Jones, Parker, Roadman, Watson, Zillner, and Professor Brunner were given the ultimate experience

START YOUR ENGINESSTART YOUR ENGINESSTART YOUR ENGINESSTART YOUR ENGINES

PERSPECTIVES 07

by NASCAR and FOX Sports. In addition to witnessing the promotion of #NASCARNoise and fans engaging with their campaign and meeting several executives, production crews and on-air talent, the students were also given pit passes at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which means they were in the pit when the drivers came in.

“Charlotte was fascinating,” Watson said. “After spending an entire semester researching NASCAR, fans, venues, drivers, and the general culture of the sport, we were able to see it in the flesh. It was an unforgettable experience.”

“Our trip to Charlotte was an absolute blast,” Parker said. “We had a wonderful time seeing our ideas brought to life and learned so much about the personality of NASCAR and FOX Sports.”

Beale, Arneson, and Englehart of FOX Sports said that each of the campaigns presented by the students were impressive, but they chose #NASCARNoise as the winner because they felt the campaign and ideas presented connected organically to the theme and social strategy for 10 Days of Thunder, a two-weekend block of FOX Sports 1 programming and track activity built around two of NASCAR’s most popular events, the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600.

“NASCARNoise is the sound of the cars, it’s the sound of the fans, it's the sound of everything,” Beale said. “We launched the campaign through social and digital platforms and found fans really connected with it. We received some great fan-based engagement and interactions through NASCAR and pit teams, and anyone you can imagine talking about who they cheer for.”

Along with experiencing the noise of a racetrack, the students got an up-close look at public relations work in the real world. Brunner said that the trio from FOX Sports encouraged the students to work harder so that their ideas were focused and polished.

“I believe and hope that my students were able to better understand what it is like to work in the field of public relations from this project,” Brunner said. “They gained perspective on what kinds of tasks are assigned,

the significance of deadlines and time-tables, time-management skills, the need for creative solutions, and the process of constructive criticism.”

The campaigns class is a senior-level class in which public relations students use the skills and knowledge gained in their previous coursework to work with community partners, or clients, on public relations challenges. The course helps students to develop their creativity and critical thinking, problem solving, writing and presentation skills.

The collaborators from FOX Sports said they enjoyed the process and were impressed by the students.

“The strength of this entire project revolved around each group’s willingness to listen, make changes, and evolve,” said Arneson, FOX Sports vice president of media relations. “It was incredibly rewarding to come back to the class after offering early critiques and to see what each group did to incorporate suggestions and direction. There are going to be several rock stars to emerge from this Auburn program.”

Fox Sports University and #NASCARNoise BY || VICKY SANTOS

Public relations students traveled to Charlotte Motor Speedway to promote their winning campaign, #NASCARNoise.

START YOUR ENGINESSTART YOUR ENGINESSTART YOUR ENGINESSTART YOUR ENGINES

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Auburn-native Sarah Stevenson’s undergraduate research fellowship includes a heart-racing, heavy- breathing, sweaty project. What does she study? Music.

This past year, the College of Liberal Arts received a grant from the Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities (SENCER) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) to unite the liberal arts and STEM disciplines. They did this by creating an innovative and interdisciplinary learning, teaching, and researching experience through a Music and Science class. Undergraduate students in the class, taught by Dr. Ann Knipschild, professor in the Department of Music, learned about and researched the psychological and physiological affects of music.

For the research project, students were asked to listen to two different songs—one upbeat and loud and the other calm and relaxing—while attached to a respiration belt, ECG, and galvanized skin test (measuring respiration, heart rate, and skin conductance, respectively). They also completed a survey after each song, giving feedback about their emotional response. The students then conducted background research about the science of

THE SCIENCE OF MUSIC Uniting the liberal arts with STEM disciplines

music and presented their research and data to the class. Stevenson, a senior in the College of Liberal Arts

double majoring in psychology and Spanish, played a special role in the research project. A member of the Honors College preparing for optometry school, Stevenson received an Auburn University undergraduate research fellowship to oversee the student research conducted in the biofeedback lab. She processed and analyzed the data they collected, explained the results to students in the class, and helped them integrate the data into their presentations. She says the results surprised her—showing significant differences in the physiological and psychological responses to the two types of songs.

“When I’m doing the test, I can hear the music. I’ll hear a loud point in the song and watch on the computer a huge spike, though the student doesn’t appear to react at all,” Stevenson describes. “Our bodies really do react to what’s going on outside of us, though we may not realize.”

CLA Associate Dean of Research and Faculty Development Paula Bobrowski coordinated the research project and the high performance teams in the class. She says the students were amazed when they saw the results.

BY | BETHANY BRODERICK

Stevenson prepares a student research participant in the biofeedback lab.

PERSPECTIVES 09

Though they had been learning about the effects of music in the class, it became more real when the students saw their own unconscious physiological reaction.

“They were quite shocked because it’s something you don’t really notice. You don’t feel like your heart is racing, and you don’t see moisture on your skin,” says Bobrowski. “They were really surprised to see those physiological responses because you can’t detect them naturally.”

Finally the students applied their findings to different healthcare industry settings. They studied how music could improve high-stress environments in healthcare, such as hospital waiting rooms and operating rooms, to result in better health outcomes or how music could be used in children’s physical therapy to help decrease recovery time. Students were challenged to invent new ways music could impact healthcare.

Bobrowski and Knipschild plan to use the data the students collected and publish their findings about the science of music—including Stevenson as a co-author. Because of her experience, Stevenson says she encourages all students to take advantage of research opportunities while at Auburn to make them stand out from their peers when applying for graduate school or jobs.

“My research project is more science related even though it’s within the College of Liberal Arts, and that’s really beneficial and makes me a really unique candidate,” Stevenson says. “It looks good that I’ve already done research.”

She also believes that doing research helps forge strong relationships, both professional and personal, with professors. Timid at first to approach professors, Stevenson has found she turns to them more for guidance and networking. Further, she thinks that doing research teaches liberal arts students the skills

of critical and methodical thinking.“Doing research combines everything you learned

in these various different classes into one thing,” Stevenson says. “You have to apply the knowledge you’re learning to something very specific.”

Bobrowski, who presented about the innovative class with Knipschild at a SENCER conference this past July, found significant advantages to including an undergraduate research project with the course. Students were more likely to have higher integration of learning, have a better attitude towards the class, and learn more skills.

“The undergraduate research project itself helped them to take the concepts that they were learning and understand them better through the data they were collecting on themselves,” says Bobrowski. “Experiencing it and reading about it are two different things.”

FULBRIGHT AWARDSThe Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the US government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.

Tyler Look ’15 (Houston, Texas)Major: German-International Trade & Aviation Management Purpose: To examine public transportation systems at the Technical University of Berlin

Matthew Goforth ’15 (Huntsville, Alabama)Major: Physics, Minor: German Purpose: To continue his research on complex plasma experiments at the Technical University of Munich, Germany

Matthew Pollock ’15 (Port Orange, Florida)Major: English Literature & Spanish, Minor: German & Linguistics Purpose: To teach high school students in the northern German village of Trittau

Steven Vickers ’15 (Mobile, Alabama)Major: History Purpose: To teach English to high school and middle school students in Riga, the capital of Latvia

GILMAN SCHOLARSHIPS The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship program, a nationally competitive scholarship program, is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the US Department of State and offers grants for US citizen undergraduate students to pursue academic studies around the world.

Shannon Bewley, sophomore (Birmingham, Alabama)Major: Studio Art & Art History, Minor: German Purpose: To study in Rome

Braxton Nelson, sophomore (Lilburn, Georgia)Major: Biomedical Sciences, Minor: SpanishPurpose: To study in Madrid

Sarah Grace Simpson, sophomore (Russellville, Alabama)Major: Chemical Engineering, Minor: Asian StudiesPurpose: To study in Shanghai

Catherine Tabor, sophomore (Centreville, Alabama)Major: English & German-International TradeMinor: Psychology & Community and Civic EngagementPurpose: To study in Vienna

PERSPECTIVES 10

Two things happened to make PhD candidate Lydia Ferguson want to explore the issues of elderly slaves in the post-Civil War era: 1) In talking with one of her committee members about American literature in the late 19th century, she found a crucial component was missing when discussing the slave narrative. So she asked, “Where were all the older slaves?” Ferguson said that they likely didn’t go anywhere after the abolition of slavery in case their family members came looking for them; and 2) While researching aged slaves online, she came across a daguerreotype (pronounced: dah-gare-o-type) on eBay of an elderly female slave who was holding a white child. The daguerreotype, which is a photo treated on a mirror-like surface, sold for $1,900, and Ferguson was struck by the thought of how this woman was bought and sold on the auction block during her life and now again, 150 years after her death.

“I originally wanted to explore Victorian literature,” Ferguson recalls. “But I kept getting pulled back into American literature, and that’s where I found my niche.”

Ferguson, a graduate student in the Department of English, specializes in 19th-century American literature, slave life and culture, and representations of slave life after the war in print and media. She is also the first recipient of the Bert Hitchcock Award in Southern Studies. As part of the award, Ferguson presented her research to an enthralled audience at the Ralph Brown Draughon Library in May.

Ferguson captivated the group and talked about the importance of how the elderly slave was portrayed in

popular American culture. She spoke of plantation myths and the story-telling uncles depicted in literature like Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

“There was a huge wave of reactions to Uncle Tom’s Cabin in 1852,” Ferguson said. “In pro- and anti-slave literature from the 1870s to the 1890s, the literature focuses on trying to keep the myth of the happy slave alive and well. Authors did a really good job of it because that myth extends even into 1940s.”

Ferguson explained how Uncle Tom’s Cabin was one of the first books to be adapted to film in 1903, 1907, and

again in 1910, and how versions of the book and film transitioned into cartoons and performances called “Uncle Tom’s Cabana” and “Uncle Tom’s Bungalow.”

While the titles may change, Ferguson said the portrayal of Tom is similar. “They share the same story of Tom where he’s this doddering old man, which is not true in the novel. He’s a middle-aged man, but so much of 19th-century American culture springs from Uncle Tom’s Cabin, that it’s undeniable the impact it had on American culture, and of

the world culture because it was adapted for stages across the world.”

Ferguson said much Southern literature of the 19th century depicted slavery as “desirable;” that it propagated a message that things were so much better before the war for slaves because slaves “knew their place.” The literature depicts slaves becoming lost while trying to figure out where they fit in society after the war.

Ferguson continues to explore these issues and is creating a virtual underground railroad, as well as digital humanities projects as part of her dissertation. To follow her research, please visit www.lydiaeferguson.com.

Exploring the elderly slave in print and media

BY | VICKY SANTOS

The daguerreotype Ferguson discovered on eBay.

PEBBLE HILL ADDITIONPebble Hill is an 1847 cottage that serves as home to the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts and Humanities in the College of Liberal Arts. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it has recently been renovated to honor its mid-1800s origins. A companion building designed to complement the main building was added and includes an assembly room and office space. The renovation and building project allows Pebble Hill to resume its on-site programming of conferences, exhibitions, book talks, lectures, and other events. The Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts and Humanities strengthens the bonds between the College of Liberal Arts and the public by creating and implementing arts and humanities programs that explore our individual and collective experiences. Based on the extension ideal of our land-grant institution, the Center was established by Auburn University in 1985 to develop and offer programming in Alabama schools, towns, and communities.

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Authors of great novels can never fully understand the impact their works will have on culture. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has, for the last two hundred years, shaped many different schools of thought. Frankenstein follows the consequences a young doctor experiences after creating life with a questionable experiment. Not only is the story a morally complex one, it also speaks to the relationship that humankind has with itself and the world around it. I sat down with Emily Friedman, associate professor of English, to discuss the planning process for the bicentennial anniversary celebration of the completion of the novel and the narrative that Frankenstein continues to tell.

Celebrating 200 years of FrankensteinBY | KRISTEN KEETER

PERSPECTIVES 13

KK: FRANKENSTEIN WAS PUBLISHED IN 1818, WHY CELEBRATE IN 2016?EF: For the purpose of our conversation, when we talk about Frankenstein, the most important date is the day that she writes the first draft. This first draft happens in the summer of 1816, which was important not just for Mary Shelley, but for the entire globe as we know it. It is known as the year without a summer. Basically, there was a volcanic eruption the year before in what is now known as Indonesia. It sends up a huge ash cloud and changes the climate of the Northern Hemisphere, making it unseasonably cold. I am really interested in telling the story of the summer of 1816 because it’s the story of an amazing climate change. A lot of what interests Mary Shelley in Frankenstein, and her later books, is this fear that we’re at the end of the world.

KK: WHAT KIND OF STORY DO YOU WANT TO TELL?EF: What we’re interested in doing, and what we started off our research with, is thinking about the way Frankenstein has been used as a way for pop culture to think about science. We’re sowing seeds at this point in the development, but the idea is that we want to tell the story of how the humanities can talk to other disciplines in the university, especially the College of Sciences and Mathematics (COSAM). This is a book that people love and know about in some way, from reading it or seeing adaptations. You can tie this in to the fact that we just had an enormous number of leaders from all walks of the world come together on the world stage and say that what we do to the world around us is an immediate and pressing ethical concern. And that’s part of the Auburn Creed, how we treat the world around us. So yeah, we’re reaching to COSAM, but this is something that everyone, no matter the college, should care about.

KK: WHAT KIND OF ACTIVITIES DO YOU HAVE PLANNED TO COMMEMORATE THE FIRST DRAFT OF FRANKENSTEIN?EF: What I’ve been trying to do for the fall of 2016— especially October because of Arts and Humanities Month and Halloween—is to plan more than events, but to encourage incorporation of what faculty are already teaching to include thematic elements, and involve people from across campus, COSAM in particular. I will be teaching a class this fall (2015), and those students will

be asked to do final group research projects that are connected to one of the events we’re doing. We’ll also be doing a 24-hour playwriting fest.

KK: WHY IS FRANKENSTEIN STILL IMPORTANT?EF: As someone teaching in the core, if you look at the text of Frankenstein itself, it’s sort of this perfect crystallization of all of these different disciplines coming together to produce a single text. I teach a lot of literature classes where my students are not English majors and therefore may not necessarily care about the deeper underpinnings of the history of the book. But with Frankenstein, it’s a universally appealing text because it really gets at the heart of what makes life worth living. How do we understand life? Is it through scientific processes? Is it through our relationships with each other? Or is it through this higher relationship with God? I think it blurs the line between all of those things. So as a text, to bring an entire university together, I can’t think of one that is more widely appealing.

KK: WHY TALK ABOUT IT NOW?EF: I think it’s really valuable to have a kind of opening salvo about this project to get the word out that we’re thinking of this. We’re looking for people to participate; we’re looking for folks all across the community to think about how they would contribute to the conversation. Because that’s what we want it to be.

Friedman and the other members of this research team, Lindsay Doukopoulus (lecturer of English), Chase Bringardener (associate professor of theatre) and Steven Winters (recent CLA/COSAM graduate, undergraduate research assistant to Freidman) have envisioned a multi-disciplinary collaboration where the humanities and the sciences pair up in a number of unique ways to address the many facets and complexities Frankenstein introduces. Many of the details will be revealed as the collaborations are established, so be sure to sign up for the College of Liberal Arts e-newsletter by contacting us at emailla@auburn.edu.

Dr. Emily Friedman Assistant Professor of EnglishDepartment of English

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summer camp

dance intensive camp musical

theatrecamp

au brain camp

creative writing studio

For many people, summer means vacation, relaxation, or rejuvenation. At Auburn University, however, campus is still bustling not just from Camp War Eagle and summer classes, but also from numerous camps. The College

of Liberal Arts sponsors camps in multiple disciplines to engage with high school and middle school students during their summer break. Not only do these campers have a unique introduction to the college experience, but they also

learn skills that will help them throughout their life.

June 6–121In its first year, the Dance Intensive Day Camp introduced a fresh way

of learning the basic styles of dance to campers ages eleven to nineteen.

The campers were taken through the same exercises that college students

enrolled in the dance program perform. The camp students learned new skills in areas of dance like jazz and tap, and aerial silks. Along with these dance specific experiences, the campers learned the importance of

teamwork, nutrition, and how to be a family.

Instructors: Adrienne Wilson, associate professor Department of Theatre; Jeri Dickey, instructor,

Department of Theatre

July 5–112 For six years, the Musical Theatre Camp

has allowed high school students to experience a more intensive instruction

to musical theater. Not only were the students participating in workshops aimed at music, dance, and acting, they learned what it meant to be a

professional in the world of theatre. The workshops were also used to prepare a

final showcase presented to the campers’ families on the last day of camp.

Instructors: Jeri Dickey, instructor, Department of Theatre; Chase Bringardner, associate professor, Department of Theatre; Elizabeth Kling, assistant

professor, Department of Theatre

July 12–173 For the fifth year, a group of high

school students dedicated a week of their summer solely to writing. The

Creative Writing Studio gave students prompts to cultivate their writing skills and time to take part in peer revision

sessions. The students practiced writing in memoir, fiction, and poetry formats while immersed in thought-provoking environments around Auburn, such as Pine Hill Cemetery, Chewacla Nature Preserve, Jule Collins Smith Museum

of Fine Art, and the Auburn University Arboretum. They also had the

opportunity to dine with Alabama authors and read their work for

an audience.

Instructors: Angela Jordan, English Ph.D. student; Michelle Hopf, English teacher, Drake Middle School

July 26–314 Brain Camp, in its second year, gave high school students a fun, interactive experience using advanced

technology and learning about the field of neuroscience. They practiced techniques used in the field, such as Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), which showed them the brain’s neural tracks and helped them construct 3D replicas

of the brain. At the AU MRI Research Center, students were also able to get an fMRI brain scan, analyze the data, and map out their motor cortex. More than anything, Brain Camp taught students how to be better consumers of

information about the brain whether from academic sources or public media.

Coordinators: Jeffrey Katz, alumni professor, Department of Psychology; Jennifer Robinson, assistant professor, Department of Psychology; Kathy Dodgen, psychology teacher, Auburn High School

BY | BETHANY BRODERICK & KRISTEN KEETER

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Twitter is a customizable, continuously updated feed of 140 character snapshots from the profiles of individuals and organizations a user follows. This platform has been most successful as a news platform because of the conciseness and speed of the messages that get posted. The introduction of hashtags, short phrases or words that follow a pound sign, allows Twitter users to group their thoughts and connect them with other users’ conversations. The hashtag becomes a hyperlink within the post to direct the reader to more posts containing the same hashtag.

Dr. Sally Ann Cruikshank, assistant professor of journalism in the School of Communication and Journalism, uses Twitter to research press freedom in developing countries that have a history of conflict. Cruikshank uses her findings to teach her students the critical information they need to be successful journalists in the digital age.

“My research looks at how people use hashtags related to an event to come together,” Cruikshank said. “It’s really fascinating because people create online communities where they can get a lot of their needs met.”

Cruikshank recently completed research on “Rwanda Day,” an event held most recently in Atlanta, Georgia, where diaspora from Rwanda came together to celebrate their culture and discuss progress, even though they no longer live in their home country.

In her Rwanda Day research, Cruikshank was surprised that most of the messages connected with this event were positive ones, and any negative or attacking tweets came from accounts created for that specific purpose. “For some people, Twitter is a place to

critique the things happening in their country. People naturally group themselves on social media to be able to discuss what they want to talk about.”

Auburn students are exposed to social media research and concepts because it has been incorporated into the curriculum for journalism, public relations, media studies, and communication programs. Cruikshank brings her research and findings back to the classroom where she discusses the difference between tweeting personally and tweeting as a journalist. She also encourages her students to be conscientious about what they are posting.

“You have to think about your approach, because students come into class thinking, ‘I already know how to tweet. I already know how to post to Facebook.’ But it’s about learning how to do that as a journalist. Which is a completely different animal,” Cruikshank adds.

Because of its informal nature, Cruikshank explains that social media has dissolved some of the boundaries between journalists and the public.

“It’s a way to kind of create a relationship with the public. It’s also an opportunity for journalists to be more transparent. I don’t think people understand how much work goes into being a journalist. They think you call a couple people and write up a story, whereas the finished product on the page can be days, weeks, even months of work. We talk a lot about ethics, and we talk a lot about being careful with what you tweet and understanding that there’s no such thing as privacy when it comes to what’s online.”

Social media has changed the game for how information spreads. The flow of information used to come from reporters gathering information and

#NEWS: THE NEW APPROACH TO INFORMATION IN THE DIGITAL AGEUnlike the media of old, news today spreads in seconds not days. In the first five minutes after something happens, there is a tweet about it. Twitter has become the platform that people use and turn to for breaking news stories.

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SURVEY SAYS

TOP NEWS SOURCES

consulting with their editors before a story was published. This way, those newspapers and newsrooms could control the message that was sent out. Now, anyone can report on an event or controversy without checking facts, and these messages are broadcasted almost immediately. With the increasing availability of smart phones and other gadgets, it’s difficult for people or a nation to remain isolated.

The reach of the Internet and social media is global. However, Cruikshank points out that just because people are aware of something happening, doesn’t mean that anything will be done to help.

“You can see that over and over with social media campaigns. It’s the difference between awareness and action,” says Cruikshank, “So, it’s kind of finding that balance, and I think that’s one of the most difficult challenges facing nonprofits and organizations that do want action to take place. How do you get people to not just tweet about this, but actually do something about it? It’s a question of how do you turn awareness into action.”

Cruikshank explains that it is ultimately up to an individual to decide how and what they post. The fact remains that Twitter and other social media platforms are serving as news sources, and it’s up to journalists and reporters to balance traditional practices with new technology. And it's up to consumers of social media to spread information responsibly.

The following statistics have been gathered from a survey completed by the College of Liberal Arts Student Eminent Society.

Dr. Sally Ann Cruikshank Assistant Professor of JournalismSchool of Communication and Journalism

BY | KRISTEN KEETER

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m

64%

7%

29%

STUDENTS TRUSTTHE NEWS SOURCES THEY ACTIVELY FOLLOW

STUDENTS FOLLOW 1–3 SOURCES

STUDENTS FOLLOW

STUDENTS FOLLOW NEWS SOURCES WITH A VARIETY OF VIEWPOINTS

81%43%37% 5 OR

MORE

60%

#NEWS: THE NEW APPROACH TO INFORMATION IN THE DIGITAL AGEUnlike the media of old, news today spreads in seconds not days. In the first five minutes after something happens, there is a tweet about it. Twitter has become the platform that people use and turn to for breaking news stories.

PERSPECTIVES 18

LET'S SET THE RECORD STRAIGHTTelling your next-door neighbor you graduated with a liberal arts degree can

elicit a myriad of responses. “I thought you were Republican.” “Would you like fries with

that?” “What in the world can you do with a degree from the College of Liberal Arts?”

Yet above the confusion and stereotypes about liberal arts, our graduates find success in

countless industries. Though liberal arts programs are not always directly connected to a

specific profession (like nursing, engineering, or medicine), alumni have found the value

of their liberal arts degree enables them to follow their passions, achieve their goals, and

enter into any field or position to which they aspire. What is it, then, about the liberal arts

that make CLA alumni thrive in an ever-increasing technical world?

BY | BETHANY BRODERICK

THE VALUE OF LIBERAL

ARTS

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The liberal arts have been around since the classical Greeks believed the social elite should have an education that prepares them to lead their democracy—an education consisting of grammar, logic, rhetoric, music, arithmetic, geometry and astronomy. Throughout every era, a liberal arts education consisted of similar core subjects necessary to be an informed, thoughtful citizen—the fine arts, humanities, and social sciences. More than subject matter, a liberal arts education is a way of viewing, understanding, and contributing to the world.

Dr. Charles Israel, associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Liberal Arts, says, “While the specifics have changed over time, the basic idea behind a liberal arts education has remained the same throughout history: you need to understand and appreciate how society operates in order to participate, communicate, and become a leader in your world.”

Professional education programs are often popular because of the high demand for jobs in those areas. But these “hot” jobs are in demand because society didn’t see them coming; today’s up-and-coming jobs in technology

didn’t exist twenty years ago. Since a liberal arts education relies on timeless, humanistic principles that can be diversely applied to different eras and industries, it prepares you for jobs that don’t exist yet.

“A liberal arts education empowers individuals and prepares them to deal with complexity, diversity, and change,” Israel quotes from the Association of American Colleges & Universities’ (ACC&U) definition of liberal arts. “This approach emphasizes broad knowledge of the wider world (and ways of knowing it through the study of science, culture, and society) as well as in-depth achievement in a specific field of interest.”

Consequently, liberal arts graduates do not stand in opposition to technical and scientific professionals, but work alongside them to help determine how science and technology affect society. They are able to see progress within the broader picture of history and culture. Liberal arts graduates are distinct because they have a sense of social responsibility that arises from their understanding of the world through the lens of their specific discipline.

CLA alumni contribute to countless industries because their liberal arts education gave them more than field specific training in subjects like economics, sociology, and art. They have transferrable skills that are valuable in a variety of positions—the ability to find information,

THE HISTORY OF LIBERAL ARTS

weigh the value of that information, and apply that information to real-world situations. They can communicate, whether oral or written, in various cultural and social environments. They have critical thinking skills that allow them to identify a problem, set the

THE TRANSFERABLE SKILLS

* http://www.forbes.com/sites/georgeanders/ 2015/07/29/liberal-arts-degree-tech/

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problem in its larger context, find the resources to solve the problem, and gather a team to fix the problem. Regardless of whether liberal arts students learn these skills by analyzing Chaucer, directing a theatre production, or writing a news article, these skills are needed by almost every industry—making liberal arts graduates highly sought-after employees.

A recent Forbes magazine article* describes a liberal arts degree as “tech’s hottest ticket”. Slack Technologies, one of the fastest growing tech start-up companies, is led by a philosophy graduate, Stewart Butterfield; its prize invention, the Slackbot, was created by a theatre graduate, Anna Pickard.

“Studying philosophy taught me two things,” says Butterfield, cofounder and CEO of Slack Technologies. “I learned how to write really clearly. I learned how to follow an argument all the way down, which is invaluable in running meetings...I learned about the ways that people believe something to be true.”

With the rise of technology and the boom of the Silicon Valley, Forbes reports, “software companies are discovering that liberal arts thinking makes them stronger.” Engineers, scientists, and programmers need liberal arts thinkers to communicate to the public the importance of technological progress and to connect with customers and their needs. So as the demand increases for more software engineers to invent, there is an even higher demand for liberal arts graduates who discover the technological needs of society and who run the businesses that produce the solutions.

THE EMPLOYABILITY Michael Watkins, professor and former chair of the Department of Philosophy, often comments to parents of incoming philosophy students, “I’ll be frank, there aren’t a lot of jobs in philosophy, but there’s a whole lot of jobs for philosophers.”

While there may not be many classifieds that boast “historians needed,” the skills a liberal arts graduate brings to the table are constantly in demand. The AAC&U recently published a report from an online survey asking four hundred executives what college learning outcomes they think are most important to succeed in today’s economy. Their answers overwhelmingly recognize the significance of a liberal arts education.

96%

Four out of five employers rate oral communication, teamwork, written communication, ethical judgment, critical thinking, and application of knowledge to real-world situations as very important.

Three in five employers believed that both specialized knowledge/skills and broad knowledge/skills are necessary to achieve long-term success.

These skills are at the core of a liberal arts education, giving graduates the ability to enter into any field and succeed at any job. (Full report found online at http://www.aacu.org/leap/public-opinion-research/2015-survey-results).

87%86%86%

Look for the ability to problem solve with people who have different views

Believe an understanding of democratic institutions and values is necessary for success

Want employees with civic knowledge, skills, and judgments

Value knowledge of liberal arts and intercultural understanding

OF THE 400 EXECUTIVES SURVEYED

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Jenni Watts, a 1999 philosophy graduate and supervising producer at CNN, believes that no other degree could have better equipped her for her career. Watts has produced various documentaries and feature shows about events such as the earthquake in Haiti, Arab Spring in Syria, and the tornado outbreak in Central Alabama. She believes her liberal arts foundation prepared her for success by teaching her analysis of difficult arguments, persuasive techniques, creative production, and clear written communication.

“I would not trade my philosophy degree for anything. I think it has helped me so much for what I do today,” says Watts. “It gave me the foundation on which to build my entire career.”

The College of Liberal Arts wants to increase its outstanding record for alumni success by giving students the tools to market their valuable skills to potential employers—training them to show what they’ve accomplished by reading Shakespeare and playing the violin. To do this, CLA leadership is designing a class that intentionally prepares CLA students for life after graduation. Sophomore CLA majors will be given opportunities to have conversations about the practical aspects of professional success—creating a resume, finding internships, searching for jobs, interviewing, and conducting themselves in a business environment. They will be shown how their skills in subjects like art, sociology, and communication have prepared them for their ideal career path. The class will introduce students to the wide variety of careers that their liberal arts degree prepares them for—careers they may not have known even existed.

“We need to not let students just wander into success; we need to make explicit to them early on how to prepare to be successful,” says Israel.

The inaugural class will be held in fall 2016, with the intention that it will be the signature program of the college. Ultimately, the goal of the class is the same as Aristotle’s classroom in ancient Greece—to prepare liberal arts student to critically, positively, and powerfully influence culture.

“Liberal arts students are able to understand and assess society. Modern liberal arts education isn’t just about appreciating society, but being critical of society and understanding where we’re doing things well and where we can improve,” Israel says. “Society is not just inherited and celebrated, but is up to us to sustain and improve.”

THE SUCCESS OF OUR GRADUATES

Dr. Charles IsraelAssociate Dean for Academic Affairs College of Liberal Arts

BY | VICKY SANTOS

Entrepreneurshow liberal arts prepares you for

the future you want

®

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Students often choose a degree that is designed to help them be successful in a specific line of work,

but liberal arts graduates have found that their degree enables them to be successful in any profession

they pursue, especially in entrepreneurship. Liberal arts students consume a multitude of subjects that

encompass the arts, communications, health and social sciences, and the humanities. Because of this

highly-structured exposure, liberal arts graduates are prepared not only for a job, but for a career. In

this context, not every entrepreneur we interviewed for our feature “knew” they wanted to start their

own business, but they discovered they were prepared when the time came. For some of our graduates,

starting their own business was not necessarily a “want” so much as a need.

STACY BROWN, FOUNDER OF CHICKEN SALAD CHICK

“I would put my kids to bed and then cook all night,” Brown recalled. “I would go to sleep around two or three in the morning and then get up around six or seven with my kids (who were ages two, three, and six at the time). I’d take care of them and then run around and deliver chicken salad all day.” This was Brown’s

schedule in Auburn while trying to make ends meet after she and her first husband separated. She wanted the ability to be with her children as much as possible, while providing for her family. Famously, Brown was “turned in” to a local health inspector for cooking and selling chicken salad out of her home. As a result, she was forced to make a decision, either stop everything for good or open a shop. She and her current husband, Kevin, together with their family, decided to take the plunge and open the first Chicken Salad Chick restaurant on Opelika Road in Auburn.

“We made forty pounds of chicken salad for that first day, and it was a crazy day,” Brown said. “There were all these friends and family who showed up to wish us well, but not a single customer was there. It was awkward. And then the first customer came in at 11:15 am, and we just attacked her. And after she came in, people just started piling in, and

we sold out in two hours. The next day, we made eighty pounds of chicken salad, and all those people came back and brought a friend, and we again sold out of chicken salad in two hours.” And it hasn’t stopped since. From those hard-working days and nights to the current forty Chicken Salad Chicks (and counting) throughout the country, Brown has kept her Auburn roots. “This town showed up for us,” Brown said. “We are so thankful for what this community did, and I think we have a duty to give back. It’s a great place to be.”

Brown graduated with a degree in communication and a minor in psychology in 1999. While her talents, dedication, and willingness to work hard would appear to be the most important roles in her success, Brown also gives credit for her success to her background in liberal arts. “I’ve always been fascinated by people and our differences and how we communicate and how we bring every one of our experiences with us to every conversation,” Brown said. “It’s just amazing that we can all even get on one playing field, because we are operating through all these different life experiences. So I really enjoyed my studies because I love people and I really

Chicken Salad Chick Trio

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study people. It was the right fit for me.” Brown said that understanding that people

want to be heard and feel validated led to another reason Chicken Salad Chick is so popular—great customer service. “It was Kevin and I in this little shack on Opelika Road, and I heard someone say that it’s not just the food, it’s that the service is just as good as the food is,” Brown said. “Making people feel like they matter and make an impact on your day is so important. My parents raised me that way, and my understanding of people reinforced it.”

Brown offers words of wisdom to future professionals, “You have to work with and hire people who have different passions and strengths and weakness than you do. That way you cover all your bases. It can be difficult for people to hire someone who is so different from you because we are naturally drawn to those who are similar to us. Be honest with yourself about what you’re good at and what you’re not.”

TIFFANY DENSON, CREATOR AND OWNER OF T.LISH SALAD DRESSINGS AND MARINADES

Tiffany Denson, who now resides in Opelika with her family, graduated with a degree in radio, television and film in 1995 and never thought owning her own business would be something she would pursue. “We moved to Birmingham and my husband bought a real estate company in 2006,” Denson recalls. “We

had two little ones at the time, and I think we can all remember when the real estate market crashed in 2008, and it was at that time that things had to change in my household.”

Prior to the collapse of her husband’s business, Denson was staying at home with their children and “loving life.” “But I had to do something, so I worked four jobs, ‘jobettes’ as I liked to call them,” Denson joked. T.Lish Salad Dressings and Marinades was borne out of one of those jobs where Denson was making salad dressing in her home and selling it at The Pants Store in Birmingham. “After about seven or eight months, I was selling seven to

nine hundred jars of salad dressing a month, and a grocery store called me and asked if I wanted to get serious about making dressing so I took the leap.”

Denson believes that her studies in liberal arts have served her well. “Liberal arts is good for anyone,” Denson said. “It teaches teamwork for collaborative efforts, the ability to be creative in classes, those sort of things fostered where I am today and helped take me on the right path after college.” To Denson, Auburn is not only where she received an education, it’s a resource she urges other graduates to network with. “Auburn has been terrific to me since I graduated—I can pick up the phone and call someone and find someone who is always willing to help. Don’t underestimate what Auburn can do for you, post-graduation.” Denson’s advice to future entrepreneurs, “Don’t get down on yourself—we dream big, this is who the liberal arts graduate is. Probably our graduates have the most tenacity compared to others.”

SARAH MORRISS RAGAN, FOUNDER AND OWNER OF RAGAN HOUSE LETTERING

Sarah Morriss Ragan graduated in 2012 with a studio art degree and began her business of wedding calligraphy, design, and custom lettering in Birmingham in hopes of obtaining a singular client. “I remember starting this as an Instagram account. I posted maybe three pictures, and I told my husband, ‘If I get

T.Lish Salad Dressing and Marinades

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one wedding this year, it will be a success, if I could just get one!’” After launching her site, Ragan did indeed get a client. “I got a wedding, and then I got another, and another,” Ragan said. “Now I book two weddings a month, every month. And it’s crazy how fast it’s happened!”

Ragan made the switch to printmaking while attending Auburn. She originally wanted to be a veterinarian. “I knew I wanted to be a vet ever since I knew what an animal was, for as long as I could remember,” Ragan recalled. And yet, she felt a different calling during her studies. “I realized this is a huge passion of mine and I really want to pursue art. I needed that creative outlet and made the difficult decision to change my major.” Now that Ragan’s dreams have come true, she gets to make brides’ dreams come true.

“We discuss what they love, what they want to change, and we will go back and forth until they are pleased. I love to work with the couple from the engagement to the wedding day and to make their dreams come true on paper. They know they can trust me and things will be done on time. I love serving brides that way,” Ragan said. Ragan and her husband reside in Birmingham, and their house serves as the base of operations for Ragan’s business, hence the name “Ragan House.” Ragan has had to make a business plan and navigate software for things like billing her clients, but she believes her liberal arts education has taught her to think critically and approach obstacles with confidence. “Sometimes it feels like a running train, and we are just hanging on because it continues to grow and change and develop.” Ragan is thankful for not only the growth of her business, but for the people involved. “It’s amazing how many people believe in Ragan House like we do.”

AMY HUNLEY, OWNER AND CO-FOUNDER DRAPE 98 EXPRESS

Some people become entrepreneurs because they see a need and are able to invent creative solutions. Amy Hunley decided to go into business after experiencing frustration when trying to find affordable, high-quality window treatments in Florida. “My family and I were investing in resort rental properties

on the Gulf Coast, and we could not get good window treatments in a reasonable amount of time for affordable prices, that looked good, with decent quality customer service,” Hunley said. “I thought to myself, if I’m having this problem, surely other people are too.”

Hunley, who has a degree in theatre, decided to contact her mother-in-law, who had been in manufacturing and sewing for thirty years, as well as her now business partner Chris Harrellson, and asked what they thought about starting a business, and Drape 98 Express was formed. “We got together and pulled together some hardware, some fabrics, and some basic designs and just went out there and started selling the product,” Hunley recalled. “It was immediately successful. We went from being a small operation and just servicing that area, and expanded from there.”

Hunley says they started off in a space of about eight hundred square feet and have grown to over five thousand square feet and six to twelve employees. “This business was just a little idea, but people found out about our product line, our customer service, and our quality, and the business took off.”

Drape 98 Express is located in Atlanta, but they service high-end residential and commercial designers all over the Southeast, including Charlotte, Charleston, Nashville, and even boutique hotels in cities outside of the US. “It’s fun. We’ve been in magazines, and we’ve won the Window Treatment Designer of the Year Award in 2015, which is a huge honor because it’s voted on by our peers,” Hunley said. “We’ve gone from a very small to a thriving business in eight years. Just the other day I was working with a client and she opened up a national magazine and pointed to a photo and said, ‘I want drapes just like that, can you do that?’ and I said ‘Yes, because we Examples from Ragan House

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DID do that!’ We were in that magazine, and we’ve come such a long way.”

When she graduated from Auburn in 1989, Hunley said she wanted to be an actress. And while she enjoyed some success in acting, she said she seemed to gravitate towards design. “I’ve always been interested in looking at how spaces are put together to set a mood and makes you feel a certain way,” Hunley explained. “Now I get to be a part of that.” Having a liberal arts degree, Hunley says, is still necessary in her day-to-day work.

“The thing is, as an entrepreneur, you wear a lot of hats,” Hunley said. “You have to have confidence when you present yourself to people, and you have to collaborate with all different kinds of people with different backgrounds and that foundation was provided to me by my theatre background.” Hunley believes knowing your market, and having a business plan, doing all your research is imperative for starting a business. “If you feel like you can do something, be smart about it, but then go do it. And whatever you end up doing, own it and be good at it, be the best at it.” WADE PRESTON, FOUNDER OF PREVAIL UNION CRAFT COFFEE AND MARKET

There are, of course, businesses that were dreamt of and made into a reality by their owners. Such is the case with Wade Preston, a 2006 philosophy graduate who owns Prevail Union in Auburn. “We had this crazy dream to own a coffee shop one day, and four years

ago we just decided to move on it,” Preston said. “Shortly after that, we found out we would be having our first child. With my wife eight-months pregnant and a West African refugee living in our basement, I quit my job and became a barista. Now here we are. It’s been a really fun ride, and it’s really good to be back in Auburn”

Preston speaks highly of Auburn and his philosophy pursuit. “I took a couple classes that were electives in philosophy and really had an interest in it,” Preston said. “I didn’t really know what that meant career-wise, but I got some really good advice. A professor told me to choose something that you feel you are passionate about, that you feel you can study for four or five years. If I would have gone into another field, I could have easily gotten bored, but philosophy is just this very deep rabbit hole that splinters off into many different directions. I never found it boring. Philosophy was the only thing that could hold my attention for four years.” Preston believes

that philosophy, at its core, is a study of critical thinking and that skill has served him well as a business owner. “I am constantly faced with decisions, and to be able to have the skills to think through those things critically and assess the whole of the situation is invaluable.”

Preston and his wife have recently opened a production roastery in Opelika. The roastery branch of the business carries a similar name, Prevail Coffee Roasters, a name Preston says he plucked out of William Faulkner’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech, which they thought was fitting. “Faulkner says, ‘I refuse to accept the end of man. I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail.’” Building their brand from that quote, Preston is excited to get back to roasting coffee, and for this new chapter in his life and business.

PRESTON’S PHILOSOPHY ON SELF EMPLOYMENT: I THINK THE IDEA OF “I'M GOING TO BE AN

ENTREPRENEUR AND THEREFORE BE MY OWN BOSS” IS A MISNOMER. MY WIFE AND I OWN A CAFÉ AND WE HAVE 200 CUSTOMERS COME THROUGH OUR DOORS EVERY DAY. THAT MEANS WE NOW HAVE

ABOUT 1,500 BOSSES A WEEK.

2015 Enision Design Competition Designer of the Year, Amy Hunley

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STEVE STROTHER, PRESIDENT OF MYTRACKPIX.COM

Steve Strother, a 1982 psychology graduate, did not set out to be an entrepreneur but discovered it to be his calling and is now on his third successful business. While the energetic and engaging Strother seems to be a natural entrepreneur, he said the thought hadn’t crossed his mind until working in corporate

America for some time. After graduation, Strother began working with the organization Big Brothers, Big Sisters, when a mentor there put an idea in his head that he just couldn’t get rid of. “My mentor at the time, Helen Zucker, said to me, ‘I think you could do really well in corporate America, and I’ll write a letter of recommendation.’” Shortly after hearing her say that, he began a ten-year career at IBM working in various positions—including systems analyst. “That became my focus, so I looked for those opportunities and was open to them,” Strother recalled.

Strother is originally from New Rochelle, New York, and said he chose Auburn University after being recruited by two-time Olympic track and field coach Mel Rosen. During his time at Auburn, Strother became a four-time NCAA Track and Field All American (NCAA Division I) and an 11-time All SEC Track and Field Performer.

“Auburn prepared me really well,” Strother said. “And entrepreneurism has a tie to athletics. As an athlete you have an opportunity to create your own world, whether you’re into gymnastics, tennis, swimming, track and field, etc. You have control over your world; entrepreneurship is a lot like that. Self-discipline and stamina are required in the solo sports, and the same is

very valuable in terms of how you look at the world.” In his first venture into the arena as an entrepreneur,

Strother ran an online workshop company and created a proprietary review and webinar application that streamlined processes for entertainment execs to scout, review, and license music. A&R Music Live was an entertainment packaging company that did web packaging for performers such as Usher’s world tour website, and his company photographed the music trio TLC, which was featured on “Behind the Music,” on VH1. A&R Music Live ultimately turned into an online music education company where he did more than 2,900 workshops in a ten-year period. In 2010, Strother sold A&R Music Live to a US based Russian tech firm and was hired as president to run acquisition for two years. His company became the top revenue producer of companies acquired by the firm.

“Entrepreneurs have the ability to reinvent themselves,” Strother said. “After my two year employment contract was up, I reinvented myself to focus on my passion. I loved track and field and loved photography, so I created this company called MyTrackPix.com and went from shooting my sons track and field meets to shooting the

STROTHER'S ADVICE TO FUTURE DREAMERS: LISTEN, OBSERVE, AND FULFILL A NEED. YOU MAY HAVE A GREAT IDEA, BUT IF IT DOESN'T FULFILL A NEED, IT WILL BE

DIFFICULT TO MAKE IT SUCCESSFUL.diamond league, and an outdoor national championship in Des Moines.” Strother also just put together a photo and web package on Candice Hill, a 16-year-old in Conyers, Georgia, who has a GPA of 4.50 and is ranked #1 in the world in 100 and 200 meters (under 18). “She is definitely an Olympic hopeful, and my company created a whole site for her,” Strother said and added, “She will be a household name.”

true for entrepreneurs.” Strother believes the classroom component of his

Auburn experience also gave him the training he needed to pursue, and achieve, success. “The liberal arts education I received provided a lot of variety that remains very helpful.” Strother said. “A big part of the liberal arts education, particularly psychology, is the ability to put yourself into another’s place, and that’s where a liberal arts education is

Strother edges Calvin Smith at the tape in the 100 meters

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BY | BETHANY BRODERICK

“I live in a world of ideas,” says Wade Preston, a 2006 philosophy graduate and owner of Prevail Union Craft Coffee & Market (formerly Wake Up Coffee Company) and Prevail Coffee Roasters. “I’m very grateful that my formal training allows me to live there without losing my mind—or maybe mitigates the losing of my mind.”

Located across from Samford Hall, Prevail Union is a favorite coffee shop and fair trade store in downtown Auburn. More than your average latte, Prevail Union offers customers a variety of brewing methods for unique coffee grounds from around the world.

“I get a lot of satisfaction in a new crop of coffee coming to the bar. To see what that black coffee tastes like—that probably excites me more than putting together some seasonal specialty drink,” Preston remarks. “I get to grind it and brew it right there and taste it for the first time and see what it’s about. It’s like meeting a new person. I think that’s why coffee has drawn me in so much.”

Preston believes his philosophical background set the stage for innovation in the coffee shop and roasting industry. In fact, as he continues to study philosophy, new ideas affect the way he lives life, runs his business, and drinks coffee.

CRITICAL THINKING AND THE NUANCED COFFEE INDUSTRY

At its core, philosophy is the study of critical thinking, weighing the

value of ideas. Like the world of philosophy, there’s not a lot of

black and white in starting a business. The ability to think critically and holistically has helped Preston as an entrepreneur wear different hats and make decisions by accessing the whole of the situation and not taking

problems at face value. Even when it comes to coffee,

Preston admits there’s a lot of subtlety to what’s poured in

your cup. “Coming from that philosophy

background, I exist in a realm of nuance. There’s shades of grey that I really want to explore,”

says Preston. “And coffee is very nuanced. There are 135 different base flavors within the coffee taster’s flavor wheel.”

But Preston’s capacity for teasing out complex situations goes beyond flavors of coffee and daily

The Philosophy of Coffee

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business operations. Having worked in the nonprofit sector before entering the coffee industry, Preston wanted to transform the way people alleviate worldwide issues like hunger, poverty, and sickness. More than just a coffee shop, Prevail Union is a thoughtful endeavor and revolutionary approach to world relief.

Serious about their sourcing, Prevail Union only purchases coffees and teas with very high traceability in the supply chain to ensure farmers, pickers, and producers receive fair wages. In addition to drinks, Prevail Union also maintains a collection of artisan retail items produced in economically vulnerable parts of the world. Through this business model, they hope to help create sustainable economic growth opportunities and long-term change in communities.

“Traditionally we think that the best way to solve a problem like hunger, poverty, orphans, or these big societal problems is through charity or nonprofit,” Preston says. “We firmly believe in the idea of creating equitable supply chains and that, in the end, that’s what’s going to be the long-term solution to poverty. A charity has its place, but we feel this is the space we want to be in—creating a sustainable economic structure to lift people out of poverty.”

MINIMALISM AND NEW BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIESBecause of Prevail Union’s success in the community, opportunities to expand are constantly knocking on Preston’s door. Until September of this year, Preston’s coffee shop went by the name of Wake Up Coffee

Company, part of a Georgia-based coffee chain. Though he is thankful for the start the chain gave him as a coffee entrepreneur, Preston decided to set out on his own and launch his own brand. Prevail Union gets its name from William Faulkner’s Nobel Prize speech, “I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail.” With this name in mind, Preston believes the new branding will further the local and global impact of his coffee business.

Yet with every new project Preston says “yes” to, he says “no” to dozens of others. His philosophy of minimalism has helped him to focus on the things that he is most excited about and have the most promise. Preston admits that he’s often quick to say “yes” to things, having the same energy level as his three-year-old daughter, but has learned that running a successful coffee shop requires focus.

“Separating the trivial many from the essential few has been a big theme in my life lately,” Preston comments. This past summer, Preston debuted a new facet of his coffee venture located in the old train depot in Opelika—Prevail Coffee Roasters, a coffee roastery open to wholesale coffee roasts, coffee cuppings, and public tours. Additionally, in the last year, Prevail Union has increased its on-campus presence through the Paper Cup Espresso Van. They are also helping create a patio seating area in between the coffee shop and Ingram Hall and a co-branded coffee for the university to be served at various on-campus restaurants.

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AESTHETICISM AND THE SUBLIME CUP OF COFFEECoffee is a sensory industry—the smell of fresh grounds, the taste of a creamy latte, the comforting atmosphere of a local coffee shop. Preston is constantly concerned about aesthetics (the appreciation of what is beautiful or pleasing) because his industry revolves around the ideal of a good cup of coffee. As he chooses new flavors of beans and recipes for drinks, he’s on the search for not just what is good, but what he calls sublime, or universally good. His decisions aren’t based on what will be the quickest hit but on what will bring real pleasure to his customers.

“I can make you a drink that’s loaded full of sugar and all these things that are going to hit primordial trips in your brain that say, ‘That’s good,’ but it’s not sublime,” Preston says. “I want a cup of black coffee to drink that’s like a really great vintage wine, where you sit back in your chair and really breathe it in and enjoy it.”

Preston’s philosophy of a “sublime” cup of coffee makes his menu stand out in a city full of chain coffee shops. Whereas chain coffee focuses on volume, uniformity, and speed, Prevail Union focuses on creating a community aesthetic and a drink that exceeds the customer’s expectations. With every drink crafted by the hands of skilled baristas, Prevail Union lacks the large automated machines that separate the barista from the customer.

“We always choose quality over consistency. We’d rather have variances in the realm of excellent than consistency in the realm of average when it comes to

our drinks,” Preston says. “We want to craft an experience that goes beyond the exchange

of currency for product.” More than just a monetary

transaction, ordering a drink at Prevail Union is a community experience.

Through Preston’s philosophical approach to his coffee business, students and community members alike are drawn to the exceptional coffee, social justice, and communal atmosphere all served at the bar of Prevail Union.

Prevail Union on South College Street

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BY | KRISTEN KEETER

In support of Auburn University’s emphasis on providing global experiences to its students, the College of Liberal Arts has established two international student exchange programs with universities overseas that redefine the meaning of study abroad. Students are able to fully

immerse themselves into French or Italian culture while attending a regular semester schedule of classes, all for about the same price as Auburn tuition. In turn, students from the two universities, University of Catania (Italy) and the Université Paris Ouest (France), are allowed to study at Auburn.

Alessandra Abate, from Sicily, Italy, is studying a variety of English and Spanish literature courses during her semester at Auburn. Abate has a few goals for herself during her time here.

“I really hope to improve my English. After that, I don’t know. The way you study literature here is so different from the way we study it back home. Like, you actually read the books, which seems kind of funny, but we don’t. In Italy, we just study the context. Here, you read the book and the professors ask you what you think about it. I’m really interested in that because I love literature, whether it’s Italian, English, or Spanish, and I love the way you do it here. Maybe I can start to develop a more critical mind. After I finish my graduate classes back home, I want to pursue a career in academics, either in Italy or abroad.”

Embracing the life of a typical American college student, Abate is making friends with other Auburn

students who live in her apartment complex and getting involved on campus.

“I wanted to get involved in an organization,” Abate explained. “I thought it was a really American thing, so I walked through the tables last week (at Organization Days). I interviewed for the Humans of Auburn. I think there were like forty people, and I thought there was no chance they would take me, but I got in. I’m really happy about it. I really like photography, so I think I’ll be taking the pictures.”

As far as the differences between Auburn and the University of Catania, Abate thought she knew what to expect. However, in the town around University of Catania, everything is centrally located in a downtown area. She was surprised that it wasn’t the same here.

“When I think about a town where there’s a university, everything is downtown. Here, everything is large, and you maybe need a car to move. I wasn’t expecting that. That was the main thing,” said Abate. “Other than that, I think I was expecting something different with the assignments. I was really nervous about it, but I’m enjoying it. It’s hard, but I like a good challenge.”

An abroad experience was a goal for Abate, and it motivated her to complete her undergraduate program in Italy so she could have this opportunity. She also had some advice for students considering the exchange program to study in Italy.

“Forget everything you’ve learned about school so far. In Italy, everything is different, and if you start comparing you’ll go insane. Everything from the food to the way you study will be different. But I think you’ll enjoy it.”

To learn more about the study abroad opportunities, please visit www.cla.auburn.edu/cla/cce/abroad-opportuni-ties/

The World on the Plains

Alessandra AbateInternational Graduate studentSpanish & English

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PERSPECTIVES 33

History Professor James Hansen knows a lot about golf. His passion for the

sport began with a vision of vibrant greens against a backdrop of wilted brown. Hansen recalls riding his bike with neighborhood friends, and when they reached the end of a cornfield delineated by a chain-link

fence, a whole new world appeared to Hansen.“I had never really seen a golf course up close before,”

Hansen recalls. “When we came up to the edge of the golf course, and I looked over the fence to this gorgeous landscape—verdant green with brilliant white sand traps—I was just captivated by that moment. I remember it with crystal clarity, and I think I always will.”

That first view of the oasis at Orchard Ridge Country Club in Indiana and a subsequent summer spent at Fairview, a local public course, solidified Hansen’s love of golf.

“I started golf young because of a family tragedy,” Hansen said. “My father died as a very young man, and my mother had to find something for me to do as she had to go off to work for the first time. So my mother dropped me off at Fairview, which was a public golf course on her way to work. She arranged it so I could play for the entire summer for thirty dollars, and it was really that opportunity that gave me a chance to learn the game and meet senior golfers and how to interact with other golfers. Here I am—a young kid who just lost his father—and I got to play golf with a lot of retired gentlemen, who served in WWII just like my father had.”

Although most of his previous scholarly work has dealt with aerospace history, Hansen has also made his mark on the field of golf course history by teaching it and publishing numerous articles in golf magazines. Hansen has also given scholarly and public presentations on the

history of golf course architecture in the United States, Canada, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and England. His most recent work, the authorized biography of Robert Trent Jones Sr. called A Difficult Par, is about the eminent American golf course architect whose work came to define many features of American golf. The book received the 2014 Herbert Warren Wind Award.

“Herbert Warren Wind is considered the greatest American golf writer,” Hansen said. “And when the USGA was putting together its award to honor the best golf book of the year, they put his name on it. For me, winning that award was like winning the US Open. It was fabulous.”

A Difficult Par is on the forefront of golf again because of the recent championship held at Grand National in Opelika. “My book generated a lot of interest in the golf world again as the Barbasol Championship was played for the first time here at Grand National this summer,” Hansen said.

Hansen says his book wasn’t the only thing people noticed as the Barbasol Championship made its debut at Grand National. “It’s brought a lot of attention and focus on Opelika and to the entire Alabama Robert Trent Jones trails complex—which is a phenomenal development that has raised Alabama’s international image for it being one of the world’s superb golf

destinations,” Hansen said. Scott Gomberg, director of golf at Grand National,

agrees that hosting the Barbasol Championship brought interest in the Auburn/Opelika area.

“We have a wonderful community in National Village, and the Marriott resort is an amazing addition to the golf course,” Gomberg said. “Tourism travel increased based on the four-day production, along with awareness of what the trail is, which can help the entire state.” As for Hansen’s involvement with the championship, he watched some of the world-class golfers take on the challenging course, and was available to sign copies of A Difficult Par.

For the Love of the GameBY | VICKY SANTOS

PERSPECTIVES 34

BY | VICKY SANTOS

Our faculty are more than just teachers. They continue to make strides in their field of research. From India to Charles Barkley, learn what they’ve been up to.

Awards, Professorships & Research

PERSPECTIVES 35

Paula Bobrowski Paula Bobrowski, professor of Political Science and associate dean of research, was appointed as a Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities (SENCER) Leadership Fellow by the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement. Bobrowski is one of three educators selected from a pool of more than three thousand faculty members and academic leaders. SENCER Leadership Fellows are distinguished educators whose leadership and commitment to the improvement of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics education is exemplary. Fellows are appointed to an eighteen-month term during which they work to expand on their existing campus work, mentor colleagues, and disseminate results regionally and nationally.

Kelly Alley In India, Hindus worship rivers as a source of life. Kelly Alley, Alma Holladay Professor of Anthropology, describes the Ganga as a particularly sacred river for Hindus, a “mother, goddess, purifier, and sustainer of all life.”

Yet rivers in India, especially the Ganga, have been dying at a rapid rate—powerful sources of spiritual learning and healing now polluted and receding. Alley has researched public culture and environmental issues in India for more than twenty-five years, writing and contributing to books focused on the condition of India’s rivers. Alley’s research is more than just words on paper, though; she has actively pursued change in Indian public policy through developing an online map of all hydroelectric projects in the Himalayas and working with organizations around the world to advocate for India’s rivers and the people affected by them.

In March, Alley joined other experts from around the world at the U.S. Consulate in Kolkata, India, for the Building Pan-Asian Connectivity Conference, an event to discuss Pan-Asian security, environmental, and trade issues. Alley, the only American on the environmental panel, spoke about the importance of rejuvenating the Ganga and how the river impacts the culture and economy of India.

“A careful constitution of engineering and remediation agencies accountable to residents…can help reform the system,” Alley says. “This cause runs deep in the hearts of many living across India.”

Tiffany Sippial Tiffany Sippial, associate professor of history, was selected as a one of only two recipients of the Auburn Alumni Association’s 2015 Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Awards. Sippial received her award at a luncheon at the Auburn Alumni Center on September 10 and was recognized at the football game on October 3. She will also be honored at the provost’s Faculty Awards Banquet and Ceremony on February 2, 2016.

PERSPECTIVES 36

2015 Liberal ArtsProfessorships

Kelly Alley –Anthropology – Alma Holladay Endowed Professorship

Jill Crystal – Political Science – Curtis O. Liles III Endowed Professorship

James Ryan – English – Jean Wickstrom Liles Endowed Professorship

James Salerno – Economics – John V. Denson II Endowed Professorship

Miriam Clark & Tracy WitteMiriam Clark, associate professor of English, and Tracy Witte, associate professor of psychology, were named as two of the Graduate Student Council’s 2015 Outstanding Graduate Mentors. The winners were selected from a pool of more than forty nominees for the awards, which recognize graduate faculty members who go above and beyond their duty as teachers, advisers, and mentors. A committee of graduate students reviewed the nominations and picked the winners based on the strength of the nominees’ letters of support.

Chris Newland Chris Newland, alumni professor of psychology, received a National Institute of Health (NIH) grant for his research, “Behavioral Epigenetics of Methylmercury Exposure.” With the grant award of $269,000, Newland will examine a potential mechanism by which exposure to methylmercury during crucial developmental periods disrupts the brain and has behavioral consequences. This work will take his research on the behavioral effects of contaminants into a couple of new directions. One component involves exposure during the adolescent period—an under-investigated developmental period especially in environmental health but one that is important to brain development. A second direction lies in attempts to reverse, or rescue, methylmercury’s neurotoxicity either by using environmental enrichment or by using a drug, sodium butyrate, that can reverse certain epigenetic changes. Newland’s collaborator, Jeremy Day, from the department of neurobiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, is a former Auburn undergraduate who received one of the first Undergraduate Research Fellowships sponsored in his laboratory.

Barry Burkhart Barry Burkhart, professor of Pyschology, received the 2015–16 Distinguished Graduate Faculty Lecturer Award from Auburn University. He presented his lecture on September 22. The annual lecture honors a faculty member who has made significant contributions to graduate education at the university. Burkhart is the 41st lecturer in the Distinguished Graduate Faculty Lecture series, which is jointly sponsored by the Graduate School and the Auburn Alumni Association. He received his award at a luncheon at the Auburn Alumni Center on September 10 and was recognized at the football game on October 3. He will also be honored at the provost’s Faculty Awards Banquet and Ceremony on February 2, 2016.

PERSPECTIVES 37

Dr. Rosephanye Powell, professor of voice in the Department of Music, has been selected as a Charles W. Barkley Endowed Professor. In this role, Powell serves as a diversity faculty mentor in the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs. The Charles W. Barkley Endowed Professorships are funded by former NBA professional and Auburn basketball star Charles Barkley to support underrepresented minority professors at Auburn with superior credentials in teaching, research, and service in their disciplines and a demonstrated commitment to promoting diversity. The Charles Barkley Endowed professorships create vital resources to recruit and retain exceptional faculty members through salary enhancements, research support, and professional development.

“When I received the news that I had been selected, I was ecstatic!” Powell recalled.

Powell said she was aware of how competitive the professorship is having applied for it previously, and she says she is looking forward to representing the College of Liberal Arts in this capacity.

“Most recently, as I have pondered what my duties may entail and whom I may serve, I am overwhelmed at the thought of what such a professorship represents,” Powell said. “Without a doubt, I am truly humbled to have been selected to serve the university and represent the College of Liberal Arts in this manner.”

The professorship is a five-year appointment and

Powell says she plans to collaborate with the Office of Multicultural Affairs to foster an enjoyable and collegial experience for all members of the Auburn family.

“Since beginning my tenure at Auburn, I have enjoyed opportunities to mentor undergraduate students both within and outside of my field. As well, I have appreciated opportunities to listen to, encourage, and provide guidance to graduate students and colleagues,” Powell said. “Now, as a Charles W. Barkley Endowed Professor, I look forward to serving in the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, under the leadership of Dr. Overtoun Jenda, including mentoring underrepresented faculty and students that are participating in the Provost Leadership Undergraduate Scholarship (PLUS) program and President’s Graduate Opportunity Program (PGOP).”

Powell has been hailed as one of America’s premier women composers of choral music. She holds degrees from The Florida State University (D.M. in vocal performance, University Fellow), Westminster Choir College (M.M. in vocal performance and pedagogy, with distinction), and Alabama State University (B.M.E., summa cum laude). Powell served on the faculties of Philander Smith College (AR) and Georgia Southern University prior to Auburn University.

For more biographical information on Powell, including a catalogue of her works and song demos, visit www.rosephanyepowell.com

Rosephanye Powell, Charles W. Barkley Endowed Professor

DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC For more information call (334) 844-4194. All events are $10 general admission and $5 for students with ID.

Performing and Fine ArtsDECEMBER 2015 THROUGH MAY 2016

DECEMBER 201512/4 AU Singers Show, Telfair Peet Theatre @ 7:30 pm 12/6 AU Singers Show, Telfair Peet Theatre @ 2:30 & 7:30 pm

MARCH 2016 3/8 Auburn University/Community Orchestra Concert, Telfair Peet Theatre @ 7:30 pm

APRIL 20164/12 Symphonic Winds Concert, Telfair Peet Theatre @ 7:30 pm

DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE For more information call (334) 844-4154. All shows are $15 general public; $10 seniors/AU faculty and staff; free for Auburn University students. Shows start at 7:30 pm except for the matinee performances which start at 2:30 pm.

4/14 Opera Workshop Performance, Goodwin Music Building, Recital Hall @ 7:30 pm 4/15 Opera Workshop Performance, Goodwin Music Building, Recital Hall @ 7:30 pm 4/20 Jazz Band and Jazz Combo Concert, Goodwin Music Building, Band Hall @ 7:30 pm 4/30 AU Singers Show, Telfair Peet Theatre @ 2:30 & 7:30 pm

MAY 20165/1 AU Singers Show, Telfair Peet Theatre @ 2:30 pm

FEBRUARY 20162/25–27 Assassins, Telfair Peet Theatre 2/28 Assassins, Telfair Peet Theatre, matinee

MARCH 20163/1–4 Assassins, Telfair Peet Theatre 3/5 Assassins, Telfair Peet Theatre, matinee & night performance3/6 Assassins, Telfair Peet Theatre, matinee 3/31 Dancing on the Edge, Telfair Peet Theatre

APRIL 20164/1–2 Dancing on the Edge, Telfair Peet Theatre

4/3 Dancing on the Edge, Telfair Peet Theatre, matinee 4/14–15 The Integration of Tuskegee High School, Telfair Peet Theatre 4/16 The Integration of Tuskegee High School, Telfair Peet Theatre, matinee & night performance4/17 The Integration of Tuskegee High School, Telfair Peet Theatre, matinee 4/18–22 The Integration of Tuskegee High School, Telfair Peet Theatre 4/23 The Integration of Tuskegee High School, Telfair Peet Theatre, matinee & night performance4/24 The Integration of Tuskegee High School, Telfair Peet Theatre, matinee

DEPARTMENT OF ART & ART HISTORY For more information call (334) 844-4373. All events and exhibitions are held in Biggin Gallery.

ELANA HAGLER: NEW PAINTINGSDecember 7, 2015 – January 27, 2016Artist lecture & closing reception on January 27, 2016 @ 5:00 pm

AMERICAN ABSTRACT ARTISTS PORTFOLIOFebruary 1 – March 4, 2016Opening reception on February 1 @ 5:00 pm

2016 JURIED FINE ART STUDENT EXHIBITION & THE JOYCE AND ROGER LETHANDER AWARDS IN ARTMarch 28 – April 8, 2016Juror’s presentation & opening reception on March 28 @ 5:00 pm

BFA CANDIDATES SENIOR PROJECT EXHIBITIONApril 18 – April 29, 2016Opening reception on April 18 @ 5:00 pm

AN EXHIBITION BY ADRIAN HATFIELDMay 9 – August 25, 2016

PERSPECTIVES 39

The Department of Art and Art History received a generous donation from Ginger Stern and her brother, J. Stern, both natives of Opelika, in memory of their mother, Roslyn Brock Stern. The gift honors Roslyn Brock Stern’s commitment to the local arts community.

“Our mother was the first art teacher in Opelika, and she would go around to each school to teach children art,” Ginger Stern said. “She also founded the Opelika Arts Association. She dedicated her life to art.” Ginger Stern said that her mother would be very pleased about the gift being made in her honor.

Gary Wagoner, former chair of the Department of Art and Art History, said the donation will help to establish a new scholarship, a lecture series that honors Roslyn Brock

A Gift in Remembrance: Honoring Roslyn Brock Stern

Stern, and create opportunities for travel. “All of us in the Department of Art and Art History are very grateful for this wonderful gift, which will enhance our students’ experiences in a number of important ways,” Wagoner said. “We'll also now have a way to support some of our best students’ travel to present their scholarship and creative accomplishments at professional conferences. Each of these opportunities represents great new potential in our program.”

Roslyn Brock Stern graduated from Auburn University in 1959 with a bachelor’s degree in education. During her lifetime, she was the recipient of numerous awards and honors. She helped create the Opelika Historic Preservation Society and Keep Opelika Beautiful. She

BY | VICKY SANTOS

was a founding member of the Delphi Study Club and served on the Alabama Council on the Arts, participating in many projects throughout the area. In 2002, she was presented the Spirit of Opelika Award by the Opelika Chamber of Commerce. She taught in the Opelika School System for twenty-eight years.

“The impact of this generous contribution in loving memory of Roslyn Stern goes beyond our institution’s walls,” College of Liberal Arts Dean Joseph Aistrup said. “It enables our students to explore new horizons and realize the importance of finding a way to give back to a community they love, the way the Sterns have.”Siblings J. Stern (in hat) and Ginger Stern (in blue) made a donation to the Department of Art & Art History

in loving memory of their mother, Roslyn Brock Stern.

y

PERSPECTIVES 40

One of my assignments for this issue of Perspectives was to highlight the changes that

Auburn has gone through over the course of the last few decades. It’s not a distant train of

thought considering the renovation and construction progress currently masking some of my

favorite buildings on campus. I wanted an insight of how Auburn used to be and couldn’t

think of a better person to ask than Dr. Joe Kicklighter, beloved history professor who is

retiring after forty years of service.

Remembering Auburn’s History with Joe Kicklighter

When I met Dr. Kicklighter in his office for the first time, I immediately understood why so many of his colleagues and previous students respect and admire him. I was there to interview him, and yet he was asking me questions about my life and experiences. I was a stranger to him; nonetheless his sincerity left its mark on me.

While we talked about his memories of campus life and Auburn as a city some forty years ago, he took me on a photographic tour of the 1980 issue of the Glomerata he had in his office. Amid his memories, he often stopped on various students featured in different sections of the Glom and mentions the kind of student they were, their major, how they did in his class, and where they are now.

Kicklighter came to Auburn in 1975 and became tenured in 1980. He shares his first impressions of Auburn:

Kicklighter was on staff when the College of Liberal Arts was borne out of the College of Arts and Sciences in 1987. He also remembers when all of Liberal Arts fit inside Haley Center.

“These two buildings (Thach and Tichenor) were the business buildings. In 1990, Mr. Lowder

BY | KRISTEN KEETER

Kristen Keeter

Students lined up outside of Langdon Hall for a movie night, 1980 Glomerata.

Kicklighter during a lecture, 1980 Glomerata.

“I grew up in Atlanta. So you can say it was a shock, but I liked it. Auburn was even smaller back then, both the town and the university. When I came for my interview, it was in Haley Center, and it was so glossy and new. I can’t tell you how different the campus is now. The library is so much nicer; it’s a research library now, one of the great libraries of the South, if not the United States.”

over Thach and communication and journalism took over Tichenor. We were a much smaller school then, about sixteen thousand students, so we could get all of Liberal Arts and all of Education into Haley Center.”

Kicklighter’s Recollection of Campus Life: “Langdon Hall was huge because Thursday through Saturday nights, they had free movie night. So then people

gave the money for Lowder Hall. They left these buildings, and we were bursting over at Haley Center. So in 1994, we and psychology took

PERSPECTIVES 41

without money, to include many students, would go to the movies, and then take their best girlfriend/ boyfriend to get ice cream. Only in the late 1970s did they allow bars in downtown Auburn; the churches didn’t want them close. As a matter of fact, you couldn’t even get beer in local grocery stores; you had to be out of city limits. Auburn had been such a strict place for a public school, and I came in just as all of that was coming to an end.”

baskets to parents for parent’s weekend. So they called the admissions office and asked for the names and home numbers of all the female students. You couldn’t do that today.”

Another defining change Kicklighter says he saw of student life was the introduction of Title IX. Before then, student organizations were separated. Men and women reported to different deans, and women were required to live on campus unless they had special permission for other arrangements.

The Legacy: Kicklighter says that while so many things have changed in the last forty years, certain traditions are so rooted in Auburn history they will never fade.

“Auburn is such a family school. You would not believe all of the families that I have taught. You know I’m teaching second or third generations? If I’m at a football game, I could walk around and just be speaking to people I’ve taught or worked with of all ages. Everybody who knows anything about Auburn knows about the spirit and the friendliness.”

This idea of family and a connecting spirit is something every single student, alumnus, and faculty member contributes to. Auburn University

Haley Center, 1980 Glomerata.

Haley Center Concourse, 1980 Glomerata.

A key point that Kicklighter mentions is that the atmosphere was more conservative than we see it now, but the students still let loose. One of the student organizations raffled off dates with the SGA president and Miss Auburn. Students would drive to Columbus for alcohol until they started selling it in town. On-campus parties weren’t as closely monitored because the legal drinking age was eighteen. There was also a large focus on beauty pageants; there was Miss Auburn and Miss Homecoming, but also Mrs. Auburn, Miss Fall Rush, and Miss Glomerata. The fraternities and sororities hosted events and parties that we wouldn’t today.

“It was just different back then. No one gave much thought about whether or not we should do things like we do now, they just did them. For example, one of the fraternities was doing a fundraiser and wanted to sell gift

continually grows, and within that development the university finds more ways to connect to the world at large.

“Another special thing about Auburn is the connection of the town to the university. I don’t think you can find that with many other places. I’ll never forget the first time my sister-in-law came to visit me and she said, ‘Why are people here so

friendly?’ and I told her that’s just the way Auburn people are. I don’t know if it’s something they learn once they get here or what. It’s absolutely amazing. And that has not changed, and it will never change. It was here before I came all these decades ago and will still go strong long after I’ve left.”

PERSPECTIVES 42

VS: How did you choose to attend Auburn?SF: I’m from Bear Creek (northwest Alabama); we’re farmers, and even though we’re near Tuscaloosa, I just felt a pull toward Auburn. I think it was always in my DNA, that tie to Auburn. I came to my first football game in Auburn when I was three years old, and I swear I remember the bass drum to this day. In my senior year of high school, I received a really good scholarship to go to the University of Tennessee and didn’t receive one from Auburn, but I decided to come here anyway because it was the place I really wanted to be.

VS: How did your liberal arts background prepare you for you success? SF: When I was in business at Auburn, I’d go to these classes, and it was this very homogenous group, but then I would leave class and attend band practice. There were majors from all over campus, and I dealt with such a broad mix of people. Even with that incredibly diverse group of people, you still had to come together and become this one cohesive organization. Fast-forward twenty-five or thirty years, and the company I work for today wants to make loans available to anyone who can possibly afford a house. The best way to do business is to understand different people and work together. Let’s just say that if we only made loans available to people who looked like me and talked like me, we’d only be serving a tiny slice of society. Even when hiring, I don’t want to hire people who are exactly like me because that’s not what society is. Even though I have a business degree, I think the liberal arts exposure I received while at Auburn made my business degree significantly more valuable. The Auburn seal says for the “advancement of science and art” so I consider my business degree the science—it had rules and theories. Whoever came up with the science and art

Here’s an understatement: Steve Fleming loves Auburn. It all started when he was a child growing up in Bear Creek, Alabama, and has transcended the decades. After attending Auburn and playing baritone in the Auburn University Marching Band (AUMB), his love has only grown stronger, and he hasn’t missed a home football game since 1976. A CLA Dean’s Advisory Council Member, AUMB alumnus, and dedicated fan of the College of Liberal Arts and the Auburn Tigers, Fleming recently established an endowed professorship in the Department of Music. Fleming, who is president of mortgage banking of National Bank of Commerce, also a College of Business graduate, he graciously hosted us in his downtown Auburn condo to talk about his connection to the College of Liberal Arts, his favorite memories, and his love of travel.

STRIKE UP THE BAND:why steve fflleming loves Auburn

BY | VICKY SANTOS

PERSPECTIVES 43

statement didn’t say “or” for a reason. To get the most from your education, you’ve got to be well rounded. You have to have diversity, and you have to be exposed to different people.

VS: Why do you stay involved with Auburn, and why is it important? SF: First of all, I feel like it’s incumbent upon me to give back to Auburn. I wouldn’t be where I am today if my parents hadn’t worked hard to send me to school at Auburn and if Auburn hadn’t had the infrastructure in place to provide me with the education both in science and art that allowed me to be where I am today. Part of giving back is just what I think we should all be doing.

Secondly, it’s been fascinating to understand the infrastructure and hierarchy of the university, but it all comes back to the kids. It comes back to providing an opportunity for someone else to come and experience what I had.

In my estate planning, I am leaving a sizeable part of my estate to an endowment for scholarships. I’ll be dead and gone, and I’ll never get a thank you note, but it makes me happy that in perpetuity some person somewhere will come to Auburn who probably wouldn’t have had a chance to otherwise. And that’s just an endless circle that I hope will keep on giving. I hope that the person who receives a scholarship will see the need to give back and the next, and it becomes a self-perpetuating thing.

VS: What are your favorite Auburn memories? SF: In May 1979, when I walked through those gates at Auburn and went to Langdon Hall for orientation. And then fast forward to March 1984 when I graduated and was leaving and I was incredibly sad. I pulled over, parked, and walked back to Langdon and then reversed back out those gates and cried halfway to Birmingham because I didn’t want to leave. Those two are my biggest memories, the first day and the anticipation of wanting to get here, and then my last day and not wanting to leave it. There are a million memories in between with the band and classes, but those two days stand out the most.

VS: If you could go back to school, what would you study and why? SF: I memorized history while in school, but I didn’t learn history. Now that I’ve had the chance to travel internationally, I’ve seen some things and learned some

things. I would love to go back and really immerse myself in history. When you’ve been to these places you have a different understanding, and it makes it more real. It’s so much more fascinating.

VS: What are some fun things on your bucket list? SF: My bucket list revolves around, almost exclusively, travel. I’ve been to forty-five of the fifty states, and I’m trying to get to the other five fairly quickly. I’ve been to thirteen of the fourteen SEC football stadiums, (haven’t been to Missouri yet). I recently went to Cuba, and I’ve probably been to thirty countries. Every year I travel with my nephews on a trip to expose them to the huge world out there and all the different foods and cultures. I want to go to Macchu Pichu, the Great Wall of China—if I could double the number of countries I’ve been to, that’d be great.

VS: Tell us about your trip to Cuba—what was your experience like? SF: We were picked up by a bus when we arrived at the airport in Cuba. When we were driving to our hotel, we passed block after block of buildings that have nothing on the ground floor. It’s not like they were only in disrepair, there was just nothing there—no stores, no restaurants, no shops, nothing. Imagine driving through a major US city, like Chicago, and there is nothing on the bottom of these high-rise buildings. There was a couple visiting from California, and no one could find them a pair of scissors for six days. People pack duffle bags with stuff because there are no stores to buy what you need. It’s fascinating to see what they don’t have. It’s hard to imagine. We were told to pack all our toiletries because there would be no opportunity to purchase anything. But the Cuban people were very pro-American and tourism has been de-regulated. Everybody ought to go at least once and experience the different lifestyle and culture.

Vicky SantosDirector of External AffairsCollege of Liberal Arts

PERSPECTIVES 44

There are many children in Lee County who would benefit from a good role model.

There are many excellent role models enrolled at Auburn University.

Back in 1973, someone saw these two parallels and put them together to create Project Uplift, a volunteer-based organization whose main goal is to help the children of Lee County develop constructive, happy lives and to reduce the delinquency rate in the county by pairing them with a mentor.

According to Chris Nunn, program coordinator for Project Uplift, families are serviced through Project Uplift at no cost, thanks to an ad valorem tax and partnerships with the Lee County Youth Development Center, the cities of Opelika and Auburn, the United Way of Lee County, and the Department of Psychology in the College of Liberal Arts at Auburn University, which provides in-kind services and office space.

Project Uplift volunteers work as mentors and role models for underprivileged children around the Lee County area. Each volunteer is assigned a child with

An “Uplift”-ing Experience

whom he or she is responsible to spend time. Elizabeth Tiller, a senior who double majors in history and biomedical sciences, is a volunteer and Vincent is her little brother through the program.

“My little brother, Vincent, has been one of the biggest blessings I have received at Auburn,” Tiller said. “Hanging out with Vinny is the best part of my week. He is always happy, despite his circumstances, and his positive attitude is infectious even when I’m having a bad day.”

Tiller has been with Project Uplift since she first came to the Plains. “I heard about Project Uplift during Panhellenic recruitment my freshman year, and I knew it was something I had to be a part of. I love children and hope to be a pediatrician so I can work with them every day. Aside from my love of kids, I joined because I wanted to make a tangible difference here at

BY | VICKY SANTOS

Auburn and be involved in volunteer work that didn’t feel like a chore. I feel like I have made that difference in my little brother’s life, and he has made an equally important difference in mine,” Tiller said.

Volunteers establish strong relationships with at-risk and disadvantaged children through one-on-one weekly visits and activities designed to teach children character, responsibility, and confidence. According to Nunn, almost nine thousand volunteers and children have participated in Project Uplift since the doors opened in 1973. They currently have almost six hundred people in the program. And if you’re wondering if the program works, Nunn says it absolutely does.

“Only a small percentage of the children have entered the juvenile court system during the time they were involved with the program,” Nunn said.

Sarah Doyle serves as the family support manager at Project Uplift. Doyle was a social worker for the Lee County Youth Development Center before coming to work for Project Uplift. “[Social work] was hard because we were dealing with an older [child] population and a more troubled population. They had already been through more, and you’d see a lot of older kids you felt were harder to get through to. Project Uplift is a program that focuses on prevention; it focuses on helping kids that are having trouble before it becomes a big issue,” Doyle said.

“Project Uplift really does make a difference,” Tiller said. “Since I have spent time with Vinny, his grades have increased and he talks about goals he has for his future. I’ve talked with other volunteers who have similar stories. Chris Nunn and the whole Project Uplift staff are amazing and genuinely want to help you as much as possible. They are always letting us know about local activities we can take our children to and planning fun on-campus events. Project Uplift has leadership that cares and is a program that directly impacts the lives of local children.”

“ASIDE FROM MY LOVE OF KIDS, I JOINED BECAUSE I WANTED TO MAKE A TANGIBLE

DIFFERENCE HERE AT AUBURN”

PERSPECTIVES 46

GREETINGS CLA FAMILYThe previous pages have shown you just a few of the impressive achievements by our faculty, students, and alumni in the College of Liberal Arts. Our programs are robust; our students are ambitious; our faculty are dedicated; and our alumni are successful. As we enter the final two years of the Because This Is Auburn $1 billion campaign—$22.9 million of that earmarked for CLA—we are deeply grateful to those who have already supported us during this pivotal time in Auburn’s history. There have been over 80 new scholarships, 10 new professorships, and 13 new funds for excellence established since the campaign began in 2008. We thank you for investing in our students, faculty, and programs.

I ask those who haven’t contributed to consider how you might be a part of this momentous campaign. Every gift makes a difference and will profoundly shape our college’s future. Our development staff members will help align your philanthropic goals with our academic goals, transforming the College of Liberal Arts into the preeminent college on Auburn’s campus.

War Eagle!

Joseph A. AistrupCollege of Liberal Arts

Pictured bottom left to right, Carrie Carpenter (Director of Development), Mary Baird (Executive Director of Development), Melissa Hage (Development Coordinator); Top left to right Vivian Langley (Director of Development), Joe Aistrup (Dean), Allyson Dozier (Development Coordinator), Suzan Syler (Development Support Associate)

PERSPECTIVES 47

FUNDS ESTABLISHED DURING THE BECAUSE THIS IS AUBURN CAMPAIGN APRIL 1, 2008 TO AUGUST 31, 2015

Annual Scholarships and AwardsRoger W. Allen and Margaret C. Allen Annual Memorial ScholarshipBert and Jeanne Bradley Undergraduate Excellence Award in CommunicationsM.B. Clad Annual ScholarshipCorporate Community Outsourcing Annual Award in Communication and JournalismDaniel Reese Farnell, Jr. Annual Memorial Fellowship in History Fesperman Family Annual Voice Scholarship in the Department of MusicGlisson Family Annual Scholarship Lacey Annual Scholarship in the Department of MusicMedical Group Management Association Annual Scholarship in the Health Administration Program Robert Marshall Mitchell Annual Memorial Scholarship in Communication Dr. Walter H. Moore, Jr. and Mrs. Joanna Moore Graduate Award in the Department of Communication DisordersEmmett Reeder Annual Scholarship in the Department of Philosophy Ben Wehtje Bassoon Annual Scholarship in the Department of Music

Endowed Scholarships and AwardsSarah Darelle Anderson Endowed Memorial Scholarship for the Band Program Auburn University Alumni Band Endowed ScholarshipCalvin and Peggy Baird, Jr. Endowed Scholarship in the Department of Music Betty & George Barker Endowed Scholarship*Batson Family Scholarship for the Marching BandJosephine Fountain Baxter Endowed Scholarship in History Linda P. and P. Stacey Berthon Endowed Scholarship Bigbee Scholarship Endowment*Birmingham Pledge Foundation Endowed Scholarship Bradley Communication AwardFred O. and Virginia T. Braswell Endowment for ScholarshipsWilliam T. Brooks Endowed Scholarship in Public RelationsElizabeth Grace Byrd Endowed Memorial Scholarship in the Social Work Program Christopher C. and Margaret P. Collier Endowed ScholarshipBen F. Crabbe, Jr. and Ben F. Crabbe, III Endowed Scholarship in the History Department*Dr. Donald H. Cunningham Endowed Graduate Award in Technical and Professional Communication Thomas E. Dautch Memorial Scholarship in the Auburn University Marching BandJohn V. Denson Endowed Scholarship in the Department of Economics Department of Music Double Reed Scholarship*Laura Grace Duke Endowed ScholarshipElizabeth and Ernest Edgar Endowed Scholarship in the Sociology Program

PERSPECTIVES 48

English Department Alumni Endowed ScholarshipJosé A. (Pepe) Escarpanter Memorial Endowed Scholarship in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures Steven D. Fleming Endowed Scholarship for the Marching Band Steven D. Fleming Endowed Professorship*Frederick Endowed Scholarship*Martin Moss Freeman Endowed Scholarship in the Public Administration Program Lt. Col. Harry L. and Barbara C. French Endowed Scholarship Reginald D. and Laurie H. Gilbert Endowed Scholarship in the Department of Economics Reginald D. and Laurie H. Gilbert Endowed Scholarship in the Department of English Thomas Gossom, Jr. Endowed Scholarship in Public RelationsAnne-Katrin Gramberg Endowed Scholarship James P. Hammersmith Memorial Endowed Graduate Award in the Department of EnglishHerring Family Endowed ScholarshipBert Hitchcock Endowed Graduate Award David E. Housel Endowed Scholarship in the School of Communication and Journalism Tim and Kim Hudson Endowed Scholarship Chris Huggins Endowed Scholarship Honorable Kenneth F. Ingram Endowed Scholarship in the Pre-Law ProgramProfessor Oliver Turner Ivey Scholarship Johnston-Whaley Endowed ScholarshipJolly Family Endowed ScholarshipMr. and Mrs. David D. Jones Endowed Scholarship*Tami Merriman Johnson '81 and Martin L. Ondrejko French Studies Scholarship in the Department of Foreign Languages & Literatures*Bette Chancey Keeter Endowed Scholarship in the Department of Communication and Journalism Julia Margaret Kerlin '82 Study Abroad Endowed Scholarship Kerlin Endowed History ScholarshipWilliam Robert Killingsworth, Sr. and Frances Smith Killingsworth Endowed Scholarship in the Department of English Keara A. Kroelinger Endowed Memorial Scholarship in the Department of Psychology Lacey Endowed Scholarship in the Department of Music Braxton B. and Sara W. Lee Endowed Scholarship Jennie Belle Lombardo Endowed Graduate Award in the Speech-Language Pathology Program*Long-Sockwell Endowed Scholarship Christine Walker Magrega Endowed Graduate Award*Colleen B. Maruster Endowed Scholarship in the Department of Political Science Robert A. Maruster Endowed Scholarship in the Department of Political Science John Maschoff Endowed ScholarshipMcKenna Family Endowed Scholarship John and Drue Miller Endowed Scholarship in the Department of EconomicsMilton Family Endowed Scholarship Maju Mohan Memorial Endowed Scholarship in the Sociology Program Mohan Family Endowed Scholarship in SociologyPatrick E. Molony Endowment in Economics Dr. Wesley Phillips Newton, Jr. Endowed Scholarship in the Department of HistoryP. L. A. C. E. Endowed Scholarship

PERSPECTIVES 49

Glenda Moseley Potts Endowed Scholarship in the Department of MusicPublic Relations Advisory Council Endowed Scholarship in the Public Relations Program Regan Family Endowed ScholarshipReid Family Endowed Scholarship in the College of Liberal Arts and McWhorter School of Building ScienceElla Saunders Scott Endowed Scholarship Dorothy Norman Sherling Endowed Scholarship Anne and Heyward Siddons Endowed ScholarshipSnider-Champion Endowed Scholarship Stevenson Endowed Scholarship*Carolyn Loyd Stewart Endowed Scholarship for the Auburn University Marching Band Edward B. and Helen B. Taylor Memorial Endowed Scholarship J. Scott Vowell Endowed Scholarship in the Pre-Law Scholars Program Lesley A. Warren Endowed Scholarship in the Department of HistoryJames E. and Sharon Williams Endowed ScholarshipRev. Chette Williams Family and Joseph, Samuel, and Luke Smith Endowed Scholarship for the Gospel Choir Winne Endowed Scholarship*Michael M. Young Endowed Scholarship in Department of TheatreCorryn M. Zimmerman Endowed Scholarship in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures

Fund for ExcellenceLeah Rawls Atkins Endowed Fund for Excellence in Programming for the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & HumanitiesRichard Ault Fund for Excellence in the Department of Economics Sandra Clark-Lewis Endowed Fund for Excellence in Audiology Outreach in the Department of Communication Disorders Linda S. Glaze Endowed Fund for Excellence*David L. Kaserman Endowed Fund for Excellence in the Department of Economics John and Drue Miller Endowed Fund for ExcellenceDr. John C. and Mrs. Elizabeth D. Morris Endowed Fund for Excellence in the Public Administration ProgramDaniel E. Phillips Fund for Excellence in NeuropathologyWalter Howard & Mary Lynn Porter Fund for Excellence*Scott Family Endowed Fund for Excellence for the Auburn University Singers in the Department of Music Lee Spruiell Annual Fund for Excellence in the Health Services Administration ProgramRoslyn Brock Stern Annual Fund for Excellence in the Department of Art and Art HistoryRoslyn Brock Stern Endowed Fund For Excellence in the Department of Art and Art HistoryWomen's Leadership Institute Endowed Fund for Excellence

ProfessorshipsMary Bernice Mills Carter Endowed Professorship in the Department of History Castanoli-DaVinci Chair of Italic Languages*John V. Denson II Endowed Professorship in the Department of Economics Robert B. Ekelund, Jr. and Robert F. Hebert Endowed Professorship in Cultural and Applied Microeconomics in the Department of Economics Alma Holladay Quasi ProfessorshipLloyd and Sandra Nix Endowed Professorship in the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Sciences and MathematicsMike and Leann Rowe Endowed Professorship

* Established through a planned gift

PERSPECTIVES 50

DEAN’S CLUB MEMBERSThe College of Liberal Arts gratefully acknowledges the generous annual support of our Dean’s Club members. Dean’s Club funds provide essential resources for student scholarships and programmatic support.

LEVELS OF SUPPORTSUMMITDean’s Summit members commit at least $5,000 annually. A minimum of $2,500 must be designated to the Dean’s Unrestricted Fund. The remaining balance may be earmarked for a specific department or program within the college.

PYRAMIDDean’s Pyramid members commit at least $2,500 annually to the Dean’s Unrestricted Fund.

CIRCLEDean’s Circle members make a commitment of at least $1,000 annually to the Dean’s Unrestricted Fund.

ASSOCIATEDean’s Associate members commit at least $500 annually to the Dean’s Unrestricted Fund. Membership is open to alumni who have graduated in the past 10 years.

COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS DEAN'S CLUB MEMBERS

SUMMIT Dr. Joseph A. and Dr. Shelley AistrupDr. and Mrs. Neal C. DavisMr. Javier C. GoizuetaMr. and Mrs. Kenneth L. HendersonMr. and Mrs. Timothy L. KirkpatrickDr. and Mrs J. Patrick O'Brien

PYRAMIDMr. John M. Cole Mr. William F. Faulk Mr. and Mrs. Thomas K. Gambill, Sr. Mrs. Carol Sue NelsonMr. Bob O'NeillMr. Guy M. Spearman, IIIMr. Ronald E. Wenzler, II

CIRCLE Honorable Spencer T. Bachus, IIIDr. Nicholas and Dr. Paula BackscheiderMr. Paul Gervais Bell, IV Mrs. Linda Berthon Ms. Joyce Bigbee Mr. Frederick O. Braswell, III Mr. Curtis A. Brown Jr. Mrs. Dannis Salter Byers Mr. Steve M. Callaway Ms. Carrie G. Carpenter Mrs. Frances C. Chancey Mr. Sonny ConeMr. John Word Crabbe Ms. Aimee Davis Mr. Armand DeKeyser Honorable John V. Denson Mr. and Mrs. Dewey Destin Mrs. Elizabeth B. Edgar Dr. Chenavis Cook EvansMr. John FespermanMs. Shannon D. Folgmann

Mr. Richard H. FrederickMr. Jerry L. Gentry Mr. Joseph R. GilchristMr. Robert A. GreulichMrs. Windy Hillman Mr. and Mrs. Michael S. Jackson, Sr. Mr. Rhon E. Jones Mr. Brian C. Keeter Mrs. Randy P. KendrickMrs. Catherine Land-WatersMr. and Mrs. Timothy J. LockhartMr. Wayne D. Lutomski Dr. and Mrs. Stephen C. McCutcheonMrs. Madelaine O. McCrorie Dr. Kathleen Ramsey McGowen Mr. Ed Milton Mr. and Mrs. David MorrisMr. James NakosMs. Laura Y. PalmerMr. Adam PeaseMr. Mark Alan Peycke Mr. William Smith Poynor, IV Mr. Parker Rains Ms. Kathleen R. Ray Mr. James Chadwick Reams Mr. John Daniel ReavesMr. Robert Payne Reynolds Mrs. Nancy Roberts Mr. John A. Roberts Jr. Mr. and Mrs. David Rumbarger, Jr. Mrs. Cynthia Ayers Sahlie Mrs. Rhonda H. Scott Honorable William J. Smith Honorable Steven D. SmithMr. and Mrs. Milton W. Williams, IIIMrs. Gail D. Yates

ASSOCIATE Mr. William L. Holley Ms. Anne Womack

For more information about becoming a Dean’s Club member please contact:COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS OFFICE OF DEVELOPMENT334.844.1403 | cladeansclub@auburn.edu

PERSPECTIVES

PLAN FOR AUBURN’S FUTURE. Consider establishing a charitable gift annuity. Not only will it provide income for your life, a portion

of which is tax free, but it will also fund future scholarships for students like Chasity Burney. We encourage you to learn more about this option and see if it’s right for you.

For example – at the age of 78, if you were to set up a $25,000 charitable gift annuity with a payout rate of 6.4%, you could be eligible for the benefits in the chart below:

to learn more, contact:AUBURN UNIVERSITY OFFICE OF GIFT PLANNING334.844.7375 | plannedgiving@auburn.edu www.auburn.edu/plannedgiving

*Once all tax-free portions have been distributed, the entire annuity will become ordinary income. Payment schedule is annual; annuity rate is from ACGA 2012 table.

charitable deduction

$11,875 $1,600(fixed)

$1,249.60for 10.5 years*

$350.40

annual payout

tax-freeportion

ordinary income

WHO WE ARE TOMORROW

WILL DEPEND ON WHAT we do today

@AULiberalArts

College of Liberal Arts735 Extension Loop

Auburn, AL 36849-7350

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