2009 Keystone - web download

A Keystone in Building a Better Future for All 1
every
issue
departments
36-37 Curriculum
and Teaching
38-39 Educational
Foundations,
Leadership and
Technology
40-41 Kinesiology
42-43 Special Education,
Rehabilitation,
Counseling/School
Psychology
44 Learning
Resources Center
45 Truman Pierce Institute
46 Office of the Dean
3-10 Education Extra
11 Retired Faculty
and Staff
18-19 University
Highlights
20-27 Student Success
28-29 Awards and
Recognition
30-35 Research and
Outreach
47, 80 College Knowledge
52-53 National
Advisory Council
54-69 Alumni/Alumni Notes
70-80 Donor Recognition/
Development
in this issue
EDUCATION EXTRA
Pilot program works to save
at-risk students | page 3
Truman Pierce Institute’s initiative receives
$400,000 boost from AT&T Foundation
Youthful exuberance | page 6
Helping children lead healthy lifestyles
energizes Dr. Leah Robinson
INTERNATIONAL
A summer to remember | page 12
Four COE alums enjoy Olympic experiences
Everywhere but Antarctica | page 16
Internships, classes abroad offer world of
opportunity for students
RESEARCH AND OUTREACH
Flipping out | page 30
World audience takes note of biomechanics
research about popular casual footwear
KEYSTONE LEADER
Pills of wisdom | page 48
Keystone Leader Brenda Smith Sanborn
knows what it takes to succeed in corporate
America
Alumni
Education sensation | page 54
Suzanne Freeman ’92 garners national acclaim
On the Cover:
Cambre Prater, a senior elementary education major from Hoover,
Ala., and a College of Education student ambassador, helped bring the
Keystone’s cover concept to life. Her footwear pays tribute to the
research done by Dr. Wendi Weimar and doctoral candidate
Justin Shroyer on the orthopedic risks of wearing flip-flops to
their breaking point. Her luggage provides a snapshot of where
College of Education students have been as well as where they
are going on a global scale.

Keystone Volume VI, 20092
This has been a year of significant reflection as our faculty, staff, and alumni came to-
gether to finalize our five-year strategic plan. This plan, which builds on the strategic
plan recently proposed by Auburn President Jay Gogue and adopted by Auburn’s Board of
Trustees, has charted a course for the college as we move toward the completion of our first
century as an entity in the university.
Knowing where we want to be was not enough, however. Paramount in our academic, col-
laborative and scholarly responsibilities is knowing who we are as educators and professionals.
Therefore, in the fall, our faculty and staff worked together to establish a set of core values to
guide our efforts in pursuing our mission, improving society and building better futures for all.
Both documents complement our mission, vision and conceptual framework — not to
mention each other. Strategic priorities at the college level resonate within the university’s
strategic plan. And themes from both of these can be found throughout this edition of the
Keystone. I invite you to pay special attention to:
• programs like Holmes Scholars and expanded efforts to expose students to the world and
bring the world to our college advance our diversity, international and intercultural
programming while teaching our students to respect the concepts of ethics and dignity.
• student accomplishments and alumni success bringing to fruition our emphasis on excel-
lence, student focus and high-quality academic programs.
• enhanced administrative support is leveraging faculty research, exploration and innova-
tion that is also garnering additional financial support and national and international
attention to the college.
• outreach programs that strengthen and create partnerships with and service to schools
and communities and lead to opportunities for financial prosperity.
With all that is occurring in our college, the true challenge we have each year is finding space
to highlight everything in the Keystone. Since we couldn’t fit all our good news in this edition, I
invite you to visit our Web site often to read news and stay informed.
Warmest regards … and War Eagle!
Frances K. Kochan, Ph.D.
Dean and Wayne T. Smith Distinguished Professor
edudean@auburn.edu
Core values
• Excellence
• Ethics and Dignity
• Diversity
• Student Focus
• Collaboration and
Public Engagement
Strategic Plan
• High-quality
Academic Programs
• International and
Intercultural
Engagement
• Financial Prosperity to
Realize College’s
Mission and Vision
• Research, Exploration
and Innovation
• Collaboration and
Partnership Engagement
The full text of our core values
and strategic plan is available at
education.auburn.edu/aboutus.
A Welcomefrom the Dean
Dean’s Welcome

Education Extra
A $400,000 gift from the AT&T Foundation will fund an initia-
tive by the college’s Truman Pierce Institute to reduce the dropout
rate in Alabama high schools, but it also stands as an investment in
the state’s future economic well-being.
According to a recent study by the Southern Educational Foun-
dation, a lagging state economy over the course of the last three
decades stems in part from an alarming high school dropout rate.
The study found that Alabama’s high school dropout rate soared to
39 percent in 2006-07, a statistic that contributes to the state rank-
ing 42nd in the nation in per capita income. The SEF reported that
almost two-thirds of Alabama’s income gap with
the rest of the nation is entirely attributable to
educational shortcomings.
In order to combat the problem, TPI will
use its funding from the AT&T Foundation to
introduce a pilot program, “Building Individual
Capacity for Success,’’ at Opelika High School,
Dadeville High School, Bullock County High
School, a Hale County high school and Lo-
achapoka High School in Lee County. Dr. Cindy
Reed, TPI director, said the program will identify
50 at-risk children each year and assist them as
they make the transition from eighth to ninth
grade. Each cohort will receive services through-
out their high school career. The components of
the initiative include mentoring, leadership training, service learn-
ing, action research, and exposure to a global awareness curriculum.
Dr. Jeffrey Brooks, co-director of the project, and Dr. Lisa Kensler,
evaluator for the project, are both faculty members in the Depart-
ment of Educational Foundations, Leadership and Technology, and
will help Reed implement the program.
“It’s a non-traditional program,’’ said Reed, a professor in the
college’s Department of Educational Foundations, Leadership and
Technology. “We believe very strongly that rather than doing more
remediation with young people, we need to be looking at ways to be
building them up as individuals, to really help them understand the
opportunities they have to be successful and to build from one suc-
cess to the next.’’
Kensler, a former middle school and high school teacher in
urban and suburban settings, said that the students will be inspired
to envision possibilities they might not have previously imagined.
“We’re really trying to connect kids with the world beyond
themselves and help them see and understand how what they have
to contribute to the world is needed,’’ she said.
The $400,000 gift from the AT&T Foundation reflects the com-
munications holding company’s commitment to education. AT&T
Alabama President Fred McCallum said the grant is a byproduct of
the ASPIRE Program, a nationwide philanthropic endeavor that will
provide $100 million to schools and nonprofit organizations aimed
at retaining high school students, preparing them for college and
equipping them for the workforce.
McCallum and Auburn President Jay Gogue stressed the impor-
tance of student retention during remarks at a December reception
hosted by the university at the The Hotel at Auburn University
and Dixon Conference Center to honor AT&T representatives and
highlight “Building Individual Capacity for Success.’’ In its study of
high school students during the 2006-07 school year, the Southern
Educational Foundation labeled the 39 percent dropout rate the
state’s “number one’’ educational and economic obstacle.
“It gets to be a really scary number,’’ Gogue said of the state
dropout rate. “We know it’s important for our state and it’s impor-
tant for our families to know that those kids can stay in school and
they can go to college and they can be successful.’’
Dr. Marvin Lowe, principal of Bullock County High School, and
Darren Douthitt, assistant superintendent of secondary education,
curriculum and instruction for Lee County Schools, said the peer
connection component of the “Building Individual Capacity for
Success’’ program may prove to be its most powerful asset. Students
assisted by TPI will be called upon to act as mentors by sharing les-
sons they learn with future classes in the program.
“It’s going to be a phenomenal experience to work with these
students and watch them grow,’’ Lowe said. “You start a peer connec-
tion that will keep other students in school.’’
Added Douthitt: “If we can save five, six or seven kids a year
with this initiative, it will have a huge impact.’’
AT&T Foundation’s $400,000 gift supports Truman Pierce
Institute pilot program focused on student retention
Education Extra
The AT&T Foundation’s $400,000 gift will enable the
Truman Pierce Institute to reach 50 at-risk children per year.

Education Extra
Carey Andrzejewski
Assistant Professor
Educational Foundations
Educational
Foundations,
Leadership and
Technology
Margaret M. Flores
Assistant Professor
Special Education
Special Education,
Rehabilitation,
Counseling/School
Psychology
Lisa Kasmer
Assistant Professor
Mathematics Education
Curriculum and Teaching
Jeffrey S. Brooks
Associate Professor
Educational Leadership
Educational
Foundations,
Leadership and
Technology
Troy Johnson
Communications Editor
External Relations
Office of the Dean
Pam Hardie
Administrative
Support Associate
Professional
Education Services
Lisa Kensler
Assistant Professor
Educational Leadership
Educational
Foundations,
Leadership and
Technology
In addition to welcoming 13 faculty members during the 2008-
09 academic year, the College of Education solidified its commit-
ment to supporting enterprising research and global learning by
establishing two new offices.
To lead these efforts, the college
welcomed Rodney Greer as
director of the Office of Research
and Innovation and Melanie
Brooks as coordinator of the Of-
fice of International Programs.
Created with the help of a $1
million gift by 1968 Educa-
tion graduates Wayne T. and
Cheryl Glass Smith, the Office
of Research and Innovation
supports faculty research efforts
to identify, cultivate and pursue
state, regional, national and
international funding opportu-
nities. Under Greer’s guidance,
the office also facilitates grant
preparation and completion of funded projects.
Before Auburn, Greer served for four years as the assistant to the
dean for teacher education partnerships, professional development
and technology in Western Illinois University’s College of Education
and Human Services. Previously, he taught courses in educational
psychology, assessment and human development for seven years as a
faculty member in Western Illinois’ Educational and Interdisciplin-
ary Studies Department.
He has also worked as a school psychologist in rural Southern
Illinois. He holds a master’s degree in educational psychology from
Southern Illinois University and a bachelor’s in psychology from
Monmouth (Ill.) College, and is a doctoral candidate in educational
psychology at SIU.
His research interests include the role of educational technology
in the teaching and learning process, learning strategies and tactics,
and systems as related to the
adoption of new technologies
by individuals and organiza-
tions. He has directed more than
$785,000 in state and national
research funding.
Brooks joined the College of
Education faculty through a
joint appointment with Auburn’s
Ralph Brown Draughon Library
to coordinate the Office of Inter-
national Programs. She comes to
Auburn from The Florida State
University, where she worked as
the education subject special-
ist for the main library. In her
current library appointment, she
is a reference and instruction librarian and library liaison for the
university’s UNIV courses that help students transition to university
life and employ successful study habits.
As the college’s coordinator for International Programs, Brooks
will direct the Consortium for Overseas Student Teaching program
(COST), expand study abroad programming and promote research
and service-learning opportunities for undergraduate and gradu-
ate students, not to mention college faculty and staff. She possesses
first-hand international experience having been a student in Rennes,
France, and Perth, Western Australia, as well as a Peace Corps vol-
unteer in Thailand.
Brooks is currently pursuing a doctorate in international educa-
tion from Florida State. She holds master’s degrees in both cur-
riculum and instruction and library science from the University of
Missouri-Columbia.
Her current research is focused on the personal lives and profes-
sional work of American teachers working in international settings.
Her interests also are aligned with international school library
development, information literacy and information equity.
College reaffirms commitment to
research and establishing global reach
New Faculty and Staff

Dr. Marilyn E. Strutchens,
a professor of mathematics
education in the Department
of Curriculum and Teaching,
received a 2008 Distinguished
Diversity Researcher Award from
the Auburn University Research
Initiative for the Study of Diversity and Auburn’s Of-
fice of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs.
Strutchens, who also serves as co-director of
TEAM-Math, and the other award recipients gave a
lecture at the Celebration of Diversity Research in
October 2008. The overarching session was entitled,
“Understanding Differences That Matter: Diversity
Research at Auburn University.’’
Strutchens’ research focuses on factors that affect
students’ mathematics achievement, particularly
among African-American students. She studies such
factors as socio-economic status, access to mathemat-
ics courses, teachers’ beliefs about students, parental
influence and students’ expectations and beliefs.
Through her research, Strutchens pursues ways of af-
fecting positive change in mathematics achievement.
Dr. John W. Saye Jr., a professor in the Department of Cur-
riculum and Teaching, received an alumni professorship
from the Auburn Alumni Association in 2008.
The association sponsors 25 five-year, non-renewable
alumni professorships, which carry an annual salary
supplement of $3,500.
Saye has been among the Curriculum and Teaching faculty
since 1994 after completing his doctorate in social science education at the
University of Georgia. He also serves as the program coordinator for the col-
lege’s Secondary Social Science Education program. Saye, along with Indiana
University’s Dr. Tom Brush, directs the Persistent Issues in History project.
Saye’s list of Auburn accolades includes the 2006 Outstanding Faculty
Award for Research from the College of Education and the 1999 Outstanding
Professor Award from the Auburn Panhellenic Council.
Nominations for the alumni professorships were sought from department
heads through college deans by the Provost’s Office. The awards are presented
on the basis of research, publishing and teaching. The 2008 alumni professors
were honored at a university-wide awards ceremony last fall.
Angela Love
Assistant Professor
Early Childhood
Education
Brian Parr
Assistant Professor
Agricultural Education
Tammy Sanabria
Administrative
Support Associate
Learning
Resources Center
Deborah L. Morowski
Assistant Professor
Elementary Education
Julie Nolen
Director of
Development
Office of Development
John C. Quindry
Assistant Professor
Exercise Science
Kinesiology
DaShaunda
Patterson
Assistant Professor
Special Education
Special Education,
Rehabilitation,
Counseling/School
Psychology
Carolyn Wallace
Associate Professor
Secondary Science
Education
Jonghee Shim
Assistant Professor
Early Childhood
Education
T. Lee Williams
Assistant Professor
Reading Education
Strutchens earns
first university
Distinguished Diversity
Researcher Award
Saye receives
alumni professorship
Education Extra
Did you know?
As of fall 2008, the College employed 121
full-time faculty — including 15 distinguished
professors and one alumni professor — and
58 staff.
New Facult y and Staff
Get to know the College of Education’s new
faculty and staff members by logging on to
education.auburn.edu/facultystaff/newfs

Education Extra
D
r. Leah Robinson’s most effective tools in positively influ-
encing the lives of Auburn Day Care Centers preschoolers
may be her ready smile and an effusive personality that
encourages the children to match her own seemingly inexhaustible
energy level.
“I’m a kid myself, so it’s pretty easy to relate to them,’’ said
Robinson, who joined the Auburn University College of Education’s
Department of Kinesiology faculty in 2007.
Robinson’s enthusiasm for fostering healthy lifestyle habits in
young children may only be rivaled by their willingness to partici-
pate in any activity she leads. When Robinson made an off-campus
visit to the Moton Center in fall 2008 to lead its preschoolers in their
weekly exercise program, Auburn Day Care Centers director Ethel
White couldn’t help but marvel at the hive of activity stirred up by
her presence.
“We don’t have any children sitting down,’’ White said. “We don’t
have any children who are unhappy or who are bored.’’
Robinson, whose research focuses on early childhood motor
skill development, hopes her work translates
into a decrease in the amount of children
who are unhealthy. She derives an
immense amount of satisfaction
from seeing a room full of 3- to
5-year-olds in a running, jump-
ing frenzy because a
consistent routine
of such activities
will shape healthier
lifestyles in adult-
hood. While the
Auburn University
College of Education’s
partnership with the Auburn Day
Care Centers positively affects
preschoolers at the local level,
Robinson’s investigation of physi-
cal and motor competence among
at-risk children could have state-
wide and national implications.
The National Association for
Kinesiology and Physical Education
in Higher Education named Robin-
son as the winner of its 2009 Hally
Beth Poindexter Young Scholar
Award. Robinson, the first Auburn
professor to be selected as a
Hally Beth Poindexter Young
Scholar, received her award
and presented her research on
“Perceived Physical Com-
petence and Actual Motor
Competence in Children Who Are At-Risk’’ at the January 2009
NAKPEHE Conference held in Sarasota, Fla. The Hally Beth Poin-
dexter Young Scholar is selected through a blind review by leaders
in the association and presented to one higher education profes-
sional in his or her first five years of work at the university level. The
award is named after Dr. Hally Beth Poindexter, professor emeriti
and former chair of the Department of Kinesiology at Rice Univer-
sity, who boasts more than 50 years of professional service.
Robinson said receiving such a prestigious award will inspire her
to continue exploring the workings of the human body and seeking
answers to some of the health issues plaguing pediatric populations.
Through her involvement with the Department of Kinesiology’s
Motor Behavior Center, Robinson encourages children to be lifelong
movers. She has worked with Drs. Mary Rudisill, Mark Fischman
and Danielle Wadsworth to positively affect the wellness of young
children from rural, underserved areas. According to recent data re-
leased by the state, 18 percent of Alabama’s young children are clas-
sified as obese. The percentage has risen each year and has grown to
include an especially high number of African-American children in
Alabama’s rural counties.
“All of my research is dealing with populations who
are in need or are at-risk,’’ she said. “I really want
to help those who are underserved, who need
the work and the assistance. “Any time I
see a kid improve in terms of their skill
development or engaging in more
physical activity, that is encouraging.
It might be a small group that I’m
working with and making the change
in now, but hopefully as my research
and lab continue to grow, we can hit
larger populations of kids.’’
Since arriving at Auburn, Robinson
has received the College of Educa-
tion’s Outstanding Faculty Early
Career Award for excellence, research
and outreach and the American Al-
liance for Health, Physical Education,
Recreation and Dance’s Young Professional
Award. Rudisill, a Wayne T. Smith distin-
guished professor and head of Auburn’s
Department of Kinesiology, said Robinson’s
acclaim as a scholar stems from her blend of
energy and authenticity.
“I think she’s so effective because
she’s so genuine,’’ Rudisill said.
“She genuinely cares about the
children she’s working with and
she really wants to help them
meet their full potential. What’s
really driving Leah is she wants
to bring about positive change.’’
Auburn ‘Young Scholar’
demonstrates
wealth of experience

Education Extra
Wayne T. Smith
Professors
Dr. Joseph Buckhalt, 2003
Dr. Mark Fischman, 2004
Dr. Peter Hastie, 2008
Dr. Frances K. Kochan, 2005
Dr. E. Davis Martin, 2007
Dr. Randall McDaniel, 2002
Dr. Mary Rudisill, 2004
Humana-Germany-
Sherman Professors
Dr. Craig Darch, 1999
Dr. Bruce Gladden, 1999
Dr. David D. Pascoe, 2007
Dr. David M. Shannon, 2007
Dr. Bonnie White, 2002
Mildred Cheshire
Fraley Professors
Dr. Glennelle Halpin, 2003
Dr. Marie Kraska, 2003
Emily R. and Gerald S.
Leischuck Professor
Dr. W. Gary Martin, 2008
The College of Education welcomed Dr. Peter Hastie and
Dr. W. Gary Martin to its ranks of honored professors in 2008.
Hastie, a professor and graduate program officer in the Depart-
ment of Kinesiology, received the Wayne T. Smith Distinguished
Professorship. Martin, a professor of mathematics education in the
Department of Curriculum and Teaching, is the inaugural recipient
of the Emily R. and Gerald S. Leischuck Endowed Professorship.
Since their creation, the college’s four endowed profes-
sorships have honored 21 faculty — 15 of whom remain
members of the college’s faculty.
Hastie joined the College of Education faculty in 1994
and teaches pedagogy in the department’s physical edu-
cation-teacher education program. His research interests
include the ecology of physical education settings, as well
as sport education curriculum and instruction model. Last
year, he received the college’s Outstanding Faculty Award
for Research — the second time he was selected for it by
his peers. Hastie has been the author or co-author of six
books and has published his work in numerous practitio-
ner and refereed journals.
In 2002, Hastie was elected a fellow to the Association
Internationale d’Ecoles Superieures d’Education Physicque.
Before coming to Auburn, he served as a faculty lecturer at
the University of Queensland in Australia, where he also completed
his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees.
Martin, a member of the college’s faculty since 2000, serves as
the project director for the National Science Foundation-funded
TEAM-Math program, which bolsters mathematics education in
15 East Alabama school districts. His research interests include
geometric knowledge and problem-based instruction. Auburn
President Jay Gogue recently named Martin the university’s first
presidential faculty fellow, an appointment enabling Martin to
deepen his understanding of higher education administration.
Through the fellowship, Martin developed a proposal to establish a
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics center (STEM)
at Auburn University. Martin has been active in a number of state
and national organizations, serving as chief education officer and
director of research for the National Council of Teachers of Math-
ematics (NCTM) and on the board of directors for the Association
of Mathematics Teacher Educators and the Alabama Council of
Teachers of Mathematics. As a project director and writer, he was
instrumental in the publication of Principles and Standards for
School Mathematics, sponsored by NCTM.
Both professorships reflect the generosity of the college’s alumni
and friends. The newest of the college’s professorships, the Emily R.
and Gerald S. Leischuck Endowed Professorship for Critical Needs
in Education, was established in 2007 by Dr. Gerald and Mrs. Emily
Leischuck, both emeriti Auburn administrators and 1964 College of
Education graduates. The Leischuck Endowed
Professorship has equipped the college to
identify and retain faculty members in the
most critical and understaffed disciplines in
grade levels K-12.
The Wayne T. Smith Distinguished
Professorship was first awarded in 1998
with assistance from the Humana Founda-
tion. Smith, a College of Education graduate
who was serving as chief operating officer of
Humana at the time, recognized the need for
a distinguished professorship to help recruit,
reward and retain outstanding professors for
the college.
Martin and Hastie receive
endowed professorships
Drs. Peter Hastie (left) and Gary Martin are among the
15 faculty members who have earned endowed professorships.

Education Extra
Anumber of College of Education initiatives have captured the
attention and gained the support of state and federal policy-
makers in recent years.
Elected officials at the local, state and national levels have been
involved in a variety of ways — as keynote speakers at College of
Education events, as members of the National Advisory Council and
champions of a number of causes that matter to university and K-12
educators as well as students.
State Leaders as Trusted Advisers
The college’s 33-member National Advisory Council provides an im-
portant service in not only advocating for the college, but advising
those who oversee its academic and administra-
tive efforts. Alabama State Treasurer Kay Ivey
’67, who was among the council’s first mem-
bers and in 2005 was the college’s first female
Keystone Leader-in-Residence, continues to
support the college through her membership in
the Dean’s Circle and 1915 Society.
Appointed to the council in 2007, Dr. Vic-
tor Gaston ’80, representing the 100th House
district (Mobile, Ala.) in Alabama’s House of
Representatives, now lends his counsel as a
retired school administrator.
Benefitting from Experience
Through their work on behalf of Alabama
citizens, state and federal lawmakers can offer a perspective that
directly benefits College of Education students’ efforts to prepare for
their chosen careers and to appreciate the differences among those
around them.
U.S. Rep. Artur Davis of Alabama’s 7th Congressional District,
has long supported efforts by the college’s Truman Pierce Institute
to enhance opportunities for students in his
district — including the state’s Black Belt region
— and throughout Alabama. A frequent speaker
at such events, Davis’ most recent service in
January 2009 as the keynote speaker for TPI’s
Leadership in Action Network Winter Confer-
ence supported initiatives to boost student
achievement in school districts with high poverty rates.
Ivey, a Wilcox County native, has also been a staunch supporter
in the region through her work with the Truman Pierce Institute’s
West Alabama Learning Coalition and Leadership Action Network.
State Sen. Ted Little of Alabama’s Senate District 27 — which is
home to Auburn University — along with leaders of state advocacy
groups, addressed the issue of understanding poverty in Alabama
during “Poverty Awareness Week” (see page 42). The November
2008 effort was an effort led by Dr. Jamie Carney, a professor of
counselor education and adviser of the college’s chapter of Chi
Sigma Iota international counseling honor society.
Higher Education Advocates
Many of the college’s programs not only prepare students to be
professionals, but directly serve Alabama individuals, schools and
communities, are enhanced through the advocacy for and support
of state and federal policymakers. As state and federal lawmakers
look to the college as a source of expertise, the college equally ben-
efits from the time they take to become better acquainted with our
academic, research and outreach efforts — not to mention needs.
State Rep. Cam Ward of Alabama House
District 49 and a father of a child with autism,
has brought much awareness to the serious-
ness of autism in Alabama and the country. His
efforts in 2007 to establish the Alabama Autism
Task Force has elevated the Auburn University
Autism Center’s role in serving and supporting
children and adolescents with autism.
Ward, along with local state Reps. Mike
Hubbard (House District 79) and DuWayne
Bridges (House District 38), toured the college’s
Autism Center and visited with college leaders
to better understand the demand and needs of
families for services.
Autism is not the only area that benefits
from Hubbard’s support. Through his advocacy,
the Auburn Transition Leadership Institute has
been able to help youth with disabilities flour-
ish in post-school educational, vocational and
social roles.
Support of the college’s scholarship oppor-
tunities and educational partnerships has been
at the forefront of Little’s efforts. Recent support
of the college’s K-12 Master’s Instructional Leadership Preparation
Program in the Department of Educational Foundations, Leadership
and Technology, and the Evelyn Moore Endowed Scholarship, will
mean enhanced opportunities for students and professionals alike.
Members of Alabama’s congressional delega-
tion, including Davis, Rep. Mike Rogers, Rep.
Joe Bonner, Sen. Richard Shelby, Sen. Jeff Ses-
sions, former Rep. Terry Everett and members
of their respective staffs met with representa-
tives of the College of Education in June 2008
during the American Association of Colleges of
Teacher Education’s annual“Day on the Hill.’’
College maintains strong relationships
with federal and state policymakers
Hubbard
Davis
Bridges
Rogers
WardIvey
Gaston

Students and educators in the nearby Chambers County school
district will soon receive assistance from the Strategic TIPS in Read-
ing program, a joint project involving faculty members in Auburn
University’s College of Education and College of Liberal Arts, the
Auburn University Montgomery School of Education and the Ala-
bama Reading Initiative (ARI).
The program will be facilitated by a $98,000 grant awarded by
the Alabama Commission on Higher Education in response to Dr.
Edna Brabham’s proposal entitled, “Strategic Teaching for Improved
Performance of Students (TIPS) in Reading.’’ The reach of the
ACHE’s grant will be extended by $25,768 of in-kind support from
Auburn University.
The Strategic TIPS in Reading program will expand the ARI pro-
fessional development model, a statewide K-12 initiative whose goal
is to improve reading instruction and achieve 100 percent literacy
among public school students. The Strategic TIPS in Reading project
will serve Chambers County educators in 2009-10 and, if fund-
ing is available, will be offered to Tallapoosa County the following
year. Both school systems were identified by the U.S. Department of
Education as high-need local education agencies.
Brabham, an associate professor of reading
education in the Department of Curriculum in
Teaching, said the Strategic TIPS in Reading
program will initially reach 50 teachers, para-
professionals and principals from public and
private schools in Chambers County.
“We’re working with research-proven methods
that have been around for some time, but these teachers may not
have had the opportunity to experience them in active, hands-on
ways or to really put them into action in their classrooms,’’ Brabham
said. “We hope that there will be additional funding through the
Alabama Reading Initiative and other sources to make this happen
in many more middle schools and high schools. There is an effort
now to put more funds in those directions and to improve adoles-
cent literacy instruction and achievement across the content areas.’’
Other individuals involved in the collaboration include Dr. Aly-
son Whyte, associate professor of English language arts education,
Dr. James Ryan, associate professor in the Department of English,
Dr. Connie Buskist, assistant professor of reading education at
AUM, and Jennifer Hall, an ARI education consultant.
The ACHE grant will enable the project to focus on accomplish-
ing four major goals:
• providing resources to support a professional learning com-
munity in which educators build knowledge and skill for using
literacy and inquiry as tools for teaching English language Arts.
• engaging teachers and administrators in hands-on experi-
ences with activities, materials and technologies proven to be
effective in improving student learning of core content and text
comprehension.
• increasing student learning in core academic subjects and
improving performance on state-mandated reading and writing
assessment tests.
• providing participants with three options for involvement that
will support and extend adult learning and collaboration —
participation in summer workshops and in-school sessions,
opportunities for teachers to earn continuing education credit
for recertification by completing online assignments and dis-
cussion on strategic teaching, and university course credit that
can be applied toward a graduate degree.
Collaboration, $98,000 grant hold key to
improving reading education in nearby schools
Dr. Gary Martin was among four faculty mem-
bers named Academic Leadership Develop-
ment fellows for the 2008-09 academic year by
the Office of the Provost — part of a program
developed by the Southeastern Conference
Academic Consortium. Martin is a Leischuck
distinguished professor in the college’s Depart-
ment of Curriculum and Teaching and TEAM-Math co-director.
The program is part of an effort by consortium member in-
stitutions, including Auburn, to offer training to tenured faculty
members who are interested in future administrative positions such
as graduate program chair, department head or chair, assistant or
associate dean or other similar roles.
The fellows attended two workshops during the academic year.
The first was in October at the University of South Carolina and the
second was in February at the University of Arkansas.
During the spring semester, Martin served in the Office of the
President as Auburn’s first presidential faculty fellow. There, he
worked on developing a proposal to establish a science, technol-
ogy, engineering and mathematics initiative at Auburn as part of a
nationwide coalition widely known by its acronym, STEM.
He also assisted President Jay Gogue and Executive Vice Presi-
dent Don Large with administrative responsibilities and joined those
executives in meetings with a cross-section of Auburn constituents.
Martin: One of four Auburn faculty selected as
Academic Leadership Development fellows
Education Extra

In February 2009, the College of Education named Dr. E. Davis
Martin as department head for the newly formed Department of
Special Education, Rehabilitation, Counseling/School Psychology.
Martin, who had served as the interim department head since
the beginning of the 2008-09 academic year, emerged as the final
pick after a comprehensive national search. He will lead the depart-
ment that resulted from an August 2008 merger between two previ-
ous departments — Counselor Education, Counseling Psychology
and School Psychology; and Rehabilitation and Special Education.
Merger strengthens enrollment, research
The merger provides for a particularly strong and versatile
department by bringing a balanced enrollment and creating op-
portunities for research and outreach collaborations since faculty
members now under the SERC umbrella often have complementary
skills and objectives.
Before the merger, the former Department of Rehabilitation and
Special Education featured strong undergraduate enrollment, while
the enrollment in Counselor Education, Counseling Psychology and
School Psychology was solely comprised of graduate students. After
the merger, fall 2008 joint enrollment stood at 365 students (122
undergraduates and 243 graduate students).
The combined resources result in a department with 26 faculty
serving students pursuing one of its three undergraduate and seven
graduate degree options — three of which may also be earned
through distance education.
Martin known for state, national service
Martin, a recipient of the college’s Wayne T. Smith Distinguished
Professorship, came to Auburn in 2003 as a professor of rehabilita-
tion and special education. He is a licensed counselor, as well as a
national certified rehabilitation counselor and vocational evaluator.
Martin also holds diplomate status with the American Board of
Vocational Experts and serves as editor of the Journal of Forensic
Vocational Analysis. In addition to those professional credentials,
Martin serves as project director
of $2.5 million grants from the
U.S. Department of Education.
Martin has received a number
of honors for his professional
and academic service, including
recent recognition by the Ala-
bama Rehabilitation Counselors
and Educators Association. The
organization presented Martin
with its Distinguished Service
Award to acknowledge his service
as vice chair of the Alabama State
Rehabilitation Council and chair
of its Program Evaluation and
Consumer Services Committee,
chair of the Advisory Committee
for the Governor’s Office on Disability, his development and pre-
sentation of Certified Rehabilitation Counselor workshops for the
Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services and other presenta-
tions on ethical behavior to rehabilitation personnel.
In 2008, Gov. Bob Riley reappointed Martin to the Alabama
State Rehabilitation Council, citing his “honesty and integrity.’’
“I know that you plan to embody these two virtues while serving
the people of Alabama ,” Riley wrote.
Martin earned his doctorate in higher education administration
from the University of Virginia after completing his master’s degree
in rehabilitation counseling at Virginia Commonwealth University.
He completed his bachelor’s degree at Richmond Professional
Institute of Psychology.
Martin is the author, co-author or editor of five textbooks relat-
ing to rehabilitation counseling and significant disability.
After 11 years of service to the college, Dr. Holly Stadler, profes-
sor and head of the former Department of Counselor Education,
Counseling Psychology, and School Psychology, accepted an ap-
pointment as dean of education at
Roosevelt University in Chicago in
May 2008.
Stadler joined the college in 1995
as professor and department head
following faculty and department
chair appointments in the Uni-
versity of Missouri-Kansas City’s
School of Education and School
of Medicine. She began her career
at the University of Wisconsin-
Oshkosh in 1975 as an assistant
professor remained on the faculty
until 1982.
A three-time Purdue Univer-
sity graduate, she completed a bachelor’s in psychology, a master’s
in counseling and student services and a doctorate in counseling
education, counseling and student personnel services.
College merges two departments,
names Martin as new head
Stadler accepts Roosevelt University deanship
Education Extra
Dr. Debra Cobia (left) presents
Dr. Holly Stadler with a memento.
Stadler, Kochan

Spirit on display
Visitors to the Dean’s
Office in Haley Center
will see the college’s
spirit on display in the
lobby thanks to the
generosity of Dr. Jack
Blackburn.
Blackburn, who served
as the college’s dean
from 1975-90, donated
a framed drawing of an
eagle to the college in
August 2008. It hangs
next to a framed copy of the college’s mission statement and
provides a stunning backdrop for photos taken of special visi-
tors to the college.
“It is a beautiful gift and we shall treasure it always,’’ Dean
Frances Kochan said.
Dr. Philip Browning, Wayne T. Smith distinguished profes-
sor and Rehabilitation and Special Education department head,
retired in August 2008 after a career in higher education that
spanned 40 years.
During his 19-year career at Auburn, Browning was known
for his scholarly works and leadership. He touched many lives as
the director of the
Alabama Transi-
tion Leadership
Institute, which
was created from
conferences initi-
ated by Browning
in 1991. Through
his ATLI contribu-
tions, Browning
helped many of Alabama’s youth and young adults with disabili-
ties — and the many professionals serving those individuals —
make the transition from work to school and community life. His
efforts and outreach through this program have affected the lives
of thousands throughout Alabama and across the nation.
Before joining the Auburn faculty as department head in
1989, he served as a faculty member at the University for Oregon
for 21 years, where he did extensive research. He served first as
training director, then research director, of the university’s Reha-
bilitation Research and Training Center in Mental Retardation,
as well as director of the Department of Special Education and
Rehabilitation’s doctoral program in Rehabilitation Research and
Interdisciplinary Studies.
Among his many
professional ac-
colades and honors
is the college’s
Wayne T. Smith
distinguished pro-
fessorship (1999);
Auburn University’s
Excellence in Faculty
Outreach award (2005); the Distinguished Career Award in Re-
habilitation Education from the National Council on Rehabilita-
tion Education (2003); the College of Education’s Outstanding
Faculty in Research (2000) and Outreach (1994) awards; the
Outstanding Special Educator of the Year award from the Ala-
bama Federation Council for Exceptional Children (1996); and
the Governor’s Certificate of Commendation.
In the last year, the College of Education has mourned the
passing of three former professors — Doug Alley, J. Boyd Scebra
and Earl P. Smith.
Alley, a retired English education professor, passed away
in March 2008 at 83. During the 1980s, Alley, a creative writer,
served as the college’s coordinator for English education for
several years and retired in 1990.
Scebra, associate dean emeritus, died in March 2009 at
the age of 76. He retired in 1989 after serving as a professor in
the Department of Educational Foundations, Leadership and
Technology. After retiring, Scebra worked in Auburn University
Admissions as a part-time adviser who met with prospective
students and their families.
Smith, former faculty member in the College of Education,
died in January 2009. He was 77. Smith taught at the University
of Virginia before joining the College of Education faculty in
1976. He eventually left to become chair of Troy University’s
Department of Arts and Classics and remained there until his
retirement in 1994.
Retired Faculty and Staff
Browning retires after
19 years of Auburn service
Education family grieves loss
of three former professors
Curriculum and
Teaching
Dr. Steve Silvern
Learning
Resources
Center
Yvonne Chamblee
Professional
Education
Services
Sandra Harris
rehabilitation
and special
education
Dr. philip
browning
The College of Education bid farewell to
four of its own during the past academic
year. we wish them well in retirement.

International
After pushing his body to its limits in order to be ready
to swim in three events at the 2008 Beijing Olympics,
Jeremy Knowles ’05 found it being pulled in so many different
directions on his first morning back home.
The tiny hands of insistent fourth graders tugged him this way
and that as soon as he walked through the door at Hickory Grove
Baptist Christian School in Charlotte, N.C.
Come see our classroom, Mr. Knowles!
They led him inside the room that, unbeknownst to the stu-
dents, Knowles had decorated with a poster featuring the Olympic
rings just before leaving for Beijing. They peppered him with ques-
tions about what he did and saw while in China. Nevermind the
fact that Knowles, an elementary education graduate, happened to
be operating on only a few hours of sleep after the 20-plus hours of
travel from Beijing to Charlotte. “Mr. Knowles’ Ninjas,” as the stu-
dents call themselves, were crackling with excitement because their
teacher was back in the classroom after competing for his native
country, the Bahamas.
Knowles, one of four College of Education graduates to partici-
pate in the Beijing Games, left competitive swimming behind in
China and immediately plunged into a new career pool as a teacher
of science, math and religion at the private school.
College of Education
Olympians achieve
excellence in Beijing
and in the classroom
TM
Jeremy Knowles dived into classroom teaching
immediately after competing for the Bahamas in Beijing.
OlympicOdyssey

International
Kerron Stewart (left) and Maurice Smith
contributed to an unforgettable effort by
Jamaica’s Olympic track and field team.
Did you know?
If Auburn University had been classified as a nation in the 2008 Beijing
Olympic Games, its 18 medals would have tied for 14th place with
Canada and Spain. The total haul included three gold medals, 10
silver and five bronze in 13 events.

“That whole week was kind of a blur,’’ Knowles
said of the first week he spent with his fourth-
graders. “It has been an awesome transition. I’ve
been swimming my whole life. I knew I wanted to
be a teacher and was passionate about it, but didn’t
have a whole lot of experience. It helped me to
jump right into it.
“I hit the ground running.’’
Some of his fellow College of Education gradu-
ates who were in Beijing last summer can certainly
relate to that last statement.
Kerron Stewart ’08 and Maurice Smith ’05, a
pair of adult education graduates, helped Jamaica’s
track and field team put together an incandescent
and wholly unforgettable Olympic performance.
Stewart, a sprinter, captured a silver medal in
the women’s 100 meters and a bronze in the 200
meters, while Smith, a decathlete who won a gold
medal at the 2007 Pan American Games and a
silver medal at the World Championships, had the
honor of serving as Jamaica’s team captain.
Meanwhile, Harvey Glance
’91, a gold medalist in the
1976 Montreal Olympics, put
his know-how to good use
in coaching the U.S. track
and field team’s sprinters and
hurdlers in Beijing. Under
the guidance of Glance, a human exercise science
graduate who now coaches the track and field
team at the University of Alabama, the U.S. swept
the medals in the men’s 400 meters and the men’s
400-meter hurdles.
Stewart and Smith help highlight
Jamaica’s historic effort
The medals Stewart carried home from Beijing
serve as symbols of sweat equity. They resulted
from innate athletic ability as well as numerous
hours spent training at Hutsell-Rosen Track, where
she competed as a member of the Auburn Univer-
sity track team and continues to train in prepara-
tion for the international circuit.
Another component of Stewart’s success in Bei-
jing proved to be her ability to learn from her first
Olympic experience, the 2004 Athens Games. That
meant skipping out on the Opening Ceremonies
and sight-seeing.
“In 2004, I experienced everything,’’ Stewart
said. “I decided that at the next Olympics I was
going to be focused, take it seriously and see what
I could get out of it. When you’re at that level, you
have to think twice about what is going to mean
more to you — going to the Opening Ceremonies
or getting a medal.’’
Stewart didn’t spend a moment second-guess-
ing her approach after gobbling up 100 meters
in 10.98 seconds and sharing second place with
Sherone Simpson to round out an all-Jamaican
medalist stand alongside first place finisher Shelly-
Ann Fraser.
“I went there with a mission and accomplished
what I wanted to accomplish,’’ Stewart said.
Besides, most of her fun came on the back end
when she went home to Kingston. The nation’s
capital welcomed members of the Jamaican track
team like royalty because of its unprecedented suc-
cess in the Summer Games. While Stewart found
herself signing plenty of autographs, much of the
buzz was generated by Usain Bolt, a long-striding,
6-foot-5 sprinter who blew away his competition
while setting Olympic and world records in the
100 and 200 meters and teaming up to do the same
in the 4 x 100-meter relay.
Some of the credit for Bolt’s breakthrough
performance may belong to Smith who, as team
captain and Bolt’s roommate, helped inject some
much-needed levity in high-pressure moments.
When they weren’t competing, the duo was often
trolling the Olympic Village and venues in search
of scenes to capture on Smith’s video camera.
“It was a really fun experience,’’ said Smith,
a two-time Olympian who finished 14th in the
decathlon in Beijing. “I was given [the position
of] captain of a team that created history and did
something that may never be outdone. That’s going
to be hard to top.
“The team spirit was there from the get-go. You
could tell everyone wanted it.’’
continued
Jeremy Knowles (right) took in the
Opening Ceremonies with his father, Andy,
who coached the Bahamian swimming team.
Knowles made sure his fourth grade class
learned about the Olympics while
he was competing in Beijing.
Knowles and his wife, Heather, got away
from the pool long enough to see
the Great Wall of China.
OlympicOdyssey

Two athletes look forward
to 2012, one moves on
Smith has an exit strategy when he nears the finish
line to his current career. He comes from a family
of teachers — his mother, Daphne Burke-Smith,
is vice-principal at St. Mary’s All-Age School in
Above Rocks, Jamaica — so he can see himself
coaching track and field one day. Stewart, who
earned one of the College of Education’s outstand-
ing undergraduate student awards in
2008, wouldn’t mind continuing her
education in sports medicine.
Their immediate plans, however, in-
volve events like track and field’s World
Championships — any opportunity to
get a leg up on the competition in prep-
aration for the 2012 Summer Games in
London. After coming so close to claiming a world
championship last
year, Smith wouldn’t
mind crossing that
milestone off his list
before capturing an
Olympic medal.
“I think at the
(2007) World
Championships I was
definitely prepared —
not just mentally but
physically,’’ he said.
“In the decathlon,
you have to be men-
tally strong because
it will break you.
There’s no doubt in my mind that I will be around
for another four years.’’
By the time the 2012 Olympics arrive, Stewart
plans to be even faster than she was in Beijing. Be-
ing separated from a gold medal by a mere fraction
of a second will fuel her preparations.
“I compete for and against time,’’ she said. “My
opponents are just there to help push me, but I
don’t focus on them. I work hard not to stay on
top, but to be one of the best. I train hard to keep
what I have and I train to my limits.’’
Knowles reached his competitive
limit after competing in the 2000, 2004
and 2008 Olympics and undergoing a
rigorous training regimen that some-
times included the unconventional
approach of a catch-and-release chase
of sea turtles in the crystal waters off the
Bahamas. Retirement was not treated
lightly by the 27-year-old since the
Olympics exist as a part of the Knowles family
legacy. His father, Andy, coaches the Bahamian
swim team and once competed for it while his
grandfather and great uncle made multiple
Olympic teams in sailing. Knowles also established
himself as a sporting legend in his native country
as a 16-year-old by becoming the first individual
to complete a risky 30-mile open ocean swim from
Exuma to Nassau.
The thickness of Knowles’ athletic portfolio
made his ultimate decision easier to accept. A little
more than a month before the Olympics, Knowles
accepted a job offer from Hickory Grove Baptist
Christian School.
“I’m completely out of the pool by choice,’’ he
said. “It’s a difficult thing to retire from competi-
tive sports. I wanted to be clear in my plans as far
as what I wanted to happen. My plan was to jump
right into a new career.’’
So there he was in the lobby of his school, fresh
off an airplane after his Olympic odyssey, immers-
ing himself in a new career.
“Now I’m just Mr. Knowles,’’ he said. “That’s
how I want it.’’
His new form of competition, far removed
from the pool and the Olympic stage, involves
winning over young minds.
“I was named the captain of a team that created history
and did something that probably will never be outdone.
That’s going to be hard to top. … The team spirit was
there from the get-go.’’
Maurice Smith,
decathlete and captain of Jamaica’s Olympic team
International
Read more about Jeremy Knowles’
Olympic and classroom experiences at
education.auburn.edu/blogs
Maurice Smith captured the
Southeastern Conference
heptathlon title in 2004.
Kerron Stewart and Maurice Smith (below)
still train at Auburn’s Hutsell-Rosen Track.
Kerron Stewart was named
the nation’s top college
track and field athlete in
voting for the Collegiate
Women Sports Awards
in 2007.

Before embarking on a semester-long teaching
internship, Jenny Sallee knew the age group
of the students she wanted to work with after
graduation. However, the senior elementary edu-
cation major has re-examined where that work
will take place based on her experience teaching
fourth graders at Oakes Field Primary School in
the Bahamas.
Her dream job may exist on Andros, Great
Exuma or one of the other slices of paradise
that make up the 700-island archipelago.
“Originally, I was planning on applying for a
teaching position in Charlotte, N.C.,’’ said Sallee,
a native of Cincinnati, Ohio. “Now I’m interested
in possibly teaching in a primary school on one of
the ‘Family Islands’ in the Bahamas.’’
The sugary beaches and warm crystal water
provide ample incentive to stay, but Sallee said
her epiphany came courtesy of the 34 children she
taught during the internship.
“I wanted to step out of my ‘comfort zone’
and submerge myself into another culture to
gain a completely new perspective on things and
ultimately grow as an educator,’’ she said. “I believe
that experiencing and understanding this diversity
Internships and courses abroad
open up a world of opportunity
College programs take students to every continent except Antarctica
Jenny Sallee’s willingness to step out of her comfortzone extended to local sea creatures.
Read about Jenny Sallee’s internship
and look for updates on future
student travels by visiting
education.auburn.edu/blogs

in general is something that is crucial for every
educator to do in order to work with students from
different backgrounds.’’
Thanks to the College of Education’s efforts
to expand its international partnerships, students
now have a plethora of colorful settings where they
can hone their teaching skills and encounter new
cultures. Melanie Brooks, who coordinates the col-
lege’s Office of International Programs, said such
travel experiences can make future educators more
marketable to prospective employers and better
equipped to lead increasingly diverse classrooms.
“One of the things that is a real focus with edu-
cation now is globalization and the understanding
that we are living in a much smaller world,’’ said
Brooks, who traveled to France and Australia as
a student before heading to Thailand as a Peace
Corps volunteer. “When students go abroad, they
are challenged in ways they have never been chal-
lenged before culturally, socially and analytically.
Their senses are tapped in ways they’ve never been
tapped. They can bring their experiences back.’’
Through its participation in the Consortium
for Overseas Student Teaching (COST), the Col-
lege of Education enables students to take courses
and complete internships in 14 countries. Brooks
said the college is also working to create opportu-
nities in Hungary and the Philippines.
Some locations offer more creature comforts
than others. For instance, Sarah Cooper ’08, now
a graduate student in the English for Speakers of
Other Languages program, will spend the sum-
mer in San Marcos La Laguna, a rural village in
Guatemala, teaching English to children in grades
second through eighth. Cooper, who
completed a bachelor’s degree in Spanish
education, will stay with a host family
that includes eight children.
Cooper offered some advice for current
students who may be on the fence with
regard to international internships.
“Do it!’’ said Cooper, a Summer-
dale, Ala., native. “As an educator it is
important to be able to relate to your
students no matter who they are. Almost
all teachers will encounter students who
have just moved and it’s nice to know what
they feel like. You’ll be like them, in a new
place, new friends, maybe a new language
and culture. You’ll be a better teacher if you
can anticipate your students’ anxieties and
help them relax.’’
Speaking of relaxation, don’t think for
a moment that Sallee’s location affords her
non-stop recreation. Although she couldn’t
have asked for a more picturesque classroom
setting, Sallee said her internship kept her
busy with work — just as she had hoped.
“When I walked in the room on my first day
of teaching practice, I was initially overwhelmed
by the large class size and did not think I would
be able to truly develop relationships with all of
these children, let alone remember all of their
names,’’ she said. “This assumption ended up
being false and I was able to not only learn their
names, but also get to know each one person-
ally within the first week.
“I’m also amazed at how much they appre-
ciate everything I do with them in the class-
room, whether it’s incorporating an activity
into a lesson or raffling off something small
for ‘good behavior.’
“I’ve had such an amazing experience
and would have ended up regretting it if I
hadn’t come.’’
International
Seeing the world
through its participation in the consortium for overseas student teaching (COST), the college
of education enables students to take courses and complete internships all over the globe.
Learn more at education.auburn.edu/internatl.
Corine Lamas and Jasmin Bean recently completed
teaching internships in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

Dear Auburn Alumni and Supporters,
T
he economic downturn is having a dramatic impact on businesses, families and gov-
ernment. The same is true at Auburn University and all of higher education.
Because of the sluggish economy, cuts to the Auburn budget are substantial. Support
to Auburn from the Alabama Education Trust Fund was reduced this year by almost $69 mil-
lion, the steepest cut in our history, and we expect lean budgets again in the future.
Auburn is fortunate in that sound financial management through the years has put us in a
position to thus far avoid severe cost-cutting measures such as employee furloughs or hiring
freezes. Some of the ways we are cutting expenses is by slowing the pace of hiring, reprioritiz-
ing capital expenditures, improving the way we pay for goods, services and travel, and review-
ing ways to decrease healthcare costs.
We also see ways in which Auburn will excel during these tough economic times. For
example, we are reviewing our internal procedures, looking for ways to do more with less, and
embracing sustainability practices, helping to both protect the world around us and cut costs.
Through it all, a key objective guiding our actions is Auburn’s commitment to provid-
ing first-class education. Our budget decisions will minimize impact in the classroom as we
instead cut expenses primarily from administrative and non-instructional areas of campus.
In other news, we welcome Dr. Mary Ellen Mazey as Auburn’s new provost and vice
president for academic affairs after a national search to replace Dr. John Heilman. She has an
extensive background in teaching and administration, most recently as dean of the Eberly
College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University. Dr. Mazey brings to Auburn a vision
in higher education administration, and her expertise in strategic planning will help us achieve
the ambitious goals we have laid out for our future.
On the subject of Auburn’s strategic plan, we are making good progress. If you have not
read the plan, it is available on our Web site at www.auburn.edu/strategicplan. In the upper
right corner of that page is a link to a “report card” detailing the progress that is being made in
each of the initiatives covered in the plan.
Although we face economic obstacles, the strategic plan will keep us focused on enriching
our academic environment, building the foundation for a larger and stronger research enter-
prise and expanding the impact of our outreach activities.
War Eagle!
Jay Gogue
A Messagefrom the President
University Highlights
Strategic Plan
• Elevate academics and
enrich the
undergraduate
experience
• Build the foundation
for a stronger and
larger research
enterprise
• Redesign extension
and outreach for
greater impact
• Support, develop, and
strengthen our people
• Commit to ongoing
improvement of
programs and activities
• Build the financial
resources needed
to advance

University Highlights
Auburn University has hired a new provost, as well as two
new vice presents to oversee development and research.
Dr. Mary Ellen Mazey, former dean of the Eberly College of
Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University, assumed the posi-
tion of provost and vice president for academic affairs. Jeffrey P.
McNeill, formerly president of a South Carolina-based fundrais-
ing and higher education management consulting firm, became
Auburn’s vice president for development. John M. Mason, for-
merly dean for graduate studies, research and outreach at Penn
State University, now serves as AU’s vice president for research.
Mazey was responsible for 28 academic
units, more than 1,000 employees and more
than 50 academic programs at West Virginia
while serving as a professor and dean for
West Virginia’s largest and most diverse
academic unit.
McNeill managed Clemson University’s first
capital campaign and led the development
office to win the U.S. Steel Award for sus-
tained giving in a national competition.
Mason directed the Thomas D. Larson Penn-
sylvania Transportation Institute and served
as executive director of the Mid-Atlantic
Universities Transportation Center.
Auburn University
officially dedicated its
new Student Center in
November 2008 with
a parade led by two
spirited grand marshals,
dean emeritus James Foy
and Aubie.
The $50-million Student Center, which opened in time for
the start of the 2008-09 academic year, offers 185,000 square
feet of space that includes a ballroom, conference rooms, e-mail
kiosks, ATM machines, a copy center, TV and study lounges,
a game room and several food venues. Eateries include Chick-
fil-A, Starbuck’s, Au Bon Pain, Coyote Jack’s, the Chef’s Table,
Mamma Leone’s pizzeria and Outtakes.
The building houses office space for a number of student
organizations and media outlets, including the Student Govern-
ment Association, the University Program Council, Greek Life,
the International Student Organization, the Black Student Union,
IMPACT, WEGL FM radio, the Glomerata, the Plainsman, the
Auburn Circle, Eagle Eye and the Tiger Cub.
The state-of-the-art facility also includes the James E. Foy In-
formation Desk, named in honor of the parade’s grand marshal.
In the past few years, the Foy Information Desk received national
acclaim, including recognition on “The Today Show’’ and in
Oprah Winfrey’s magazine, “O.”
The building’s dedication was celebrated by a number of uni-
versity and student representatives, including Auburn President
Jay Gogue and Dean of Students Johnny Green.
Auburn University ranked 28th nationally among land-grant
universities and in the top 50 of public universities overall for the
16th consecutive year, according to an annual survey released in Au-
gust 2008 by U.S.News & World Report. Auburn placed 45th among
the top 50 public universities.
“The comparison to other land grants is critically important to
us, because land grants share certain common academic qualities,”
said Jay Gogue, Auburn University president. “Our strategic plan
calls for us to steadily increase our measures of quality among this
distinctive group.
“Beyond the specific rankings, having worked in other states
for much of my career, I am astounded at what higher education in
Alabama has been able to accomplish. The state has two universities
ranked in the top 50 of public institutions, and two ranked private
institutions, plus a highly ranked medical school. This is a major
achievement.”
Gogue said that Auburn’s new strategic plan calls for increasing
its selectivity of prospective students and increasing its graduation
rates, both of which could positively impact future rankings.
The undergraduate program of Auburn’s Samuel Ginn College of
Engineering is ranked 51st nationally overall and 28th among public
universities that offer doctoral programs in engineering, moving
up from 57th and 34th, respectively, from the previous year. The
College of Business ranked 30th among public institutions and 52nd
among national universities.
The annual rankings do not score undergraduate education
programs. Auburn’s various national rankings can be found on the
university’s Web site at www.auburn.edu/rankings.
Auburn welcomes
provost, two new VPs
Student Center celebrates
opening with a parade
Auburn maintains status as top-50 public university

Student Success
Given the hectic paces of their internship experiences, elemen-
tary education majors Sarah Anne Wilkes ’08 and Ashley Forster
didn’t have any trouble keeping their energy levels up for a mara-
thon day of job interviews with prospective employers.
“I didn’t get tired because I’m used to keeping up with kids all
day long,’’ said Wilkes, an Andalusia, Ala., native who graduated in
December 2008.
Wilkes and Forster were among the 144 Auburn and Auburn
University Montgomery students who attended the first of two Edu-
cation Interview Day sessions held in during the 2008-09 academic
year. They came dressed to impress representatives of 35 school
systems who came to the October 2008 event looking for potential
educators. Wilkes and Forster were counting on far more than smart
business suits and carefully polished resumes to stand out in the
minds of interviewers. They came ready to discuss the experiences
gained during their internships. Wilkes worked with sixth graders
at Samford Middle School, and Forster, a Hope Hull, Ala., native,
worked with third graders at Ogletree Elementary School.
“I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I’d be,’’ said Wilkes, who is
substitute teaching full-time while pursuing a master’s degree.
“The College of Education prepared us well.’’
Education Interview Day, hosted by Auburn’s Career Develop-
ment Services, has proven to be an essential resource for Auburn
University College of Education students in recent years. By the end
of the fall session, 580 interviews had been conducted. A second
interview day was held in March 2009.
“It gets your face and your name out there,’’ Forster said.
Melvin Smith ’87, special events coordinator for Career Develop-
ment Services and three-time College of Education graduate, said
many of the school systems represented at the fall and spring are
repeat customers.
“We’ve got a lot of school systems interested in filling positions,’’
Smith said. “It’s a very good opportunity for students to come to
one location and network. It’s one-stop shopping for prospective
employers. A lot of Auburn graduates are coming back to recruit.’’
While job interviews can be stressful, Education Inter-
view Day was set up in a manner that calmed nerves. The
lobby in front of the ballroom used as a hospitality area for
employers was decorated with orange and blue balloons, as
well as inflatable crayons and apples.
During their breaks between interviews, students could
retreat to a conference room to prepare themselves for their
next meeting or simply relax by watching a large screen TV.
Wilkes and Forster didn’t have time for lounging or for TV
viewing. Both students each completed 10 job interviews, but the
schedule didn’t seem especially hectic compared to what they had
already experienced in a classroom.
“There aren’t any kids,’’ said Forster, who is currently a senior.
“You just have to take care of yourself.’’

Education Interview Day offers one-stop shopping for
potential employers and graduating students
Learning and Living-Learning
Communities are unique academic
opportunities for first-year Auburn
students. By participating in a Learn-
ing Community, students are involved
in an environment that helps them
transition to college through faculty interaction, which improves
student retention and academic success.
Each Learning Community consists of 20-25 students sharing
several classes. The Education Learning Community offers incom-
ing students opportunities to connect with other students, faculty
and administration within the College of Education.
Courses being
offered for fall 2009
include: “UNIV 1000:
Auburn Experi-
ence,’’ “HIST 1010:
World History I’’ and
“ENGL 1100: English
Composition I.’’ Spring
2010 offerings include:
“UNIV 1050: Success Strategies,’’ “HIST 1020: World History II,’’
“ENGL 1120: English Composition II’’ and “EDUC 1010: Orienta-
tion to Teacher Education.’’
Learning Communities helping prepare
first-year students for long-term success
“It’s a very good opportunity for students to come to
one location and network. It’s one-stop shopping for
prospective employers. A lot of Auburn graduates are
coming back to recruit.”
Melvin Smith ’87, special events coordinator
for Career Development Services

Student Success
TJ Exford, a doctoral candidate in the Depart-
ment of Kinesiology and a Holmes Scholar
in the College of Education, was appointed
mentor liaison for the Harold A. Franklin Sister
Society and Auburn City Schools.
The Harold A. Franklin Society is named in
honor of Auburn University’s first African-
American student. The organization promotes academic and social
advancement, and fosters professional development of underrepre-
sented students. In accordance with its mission, the society employs
a series of community outreach initiatives, including the university
and Auburn City Schools mentoring program.
The mentoring outreach program pairs volunteers with under-
represented middle school and high school students to provide
positive role model support, advice and guidance. Mentors and
mentees build interpersonal relationships by engaging in activities
such as reading together, playing games or doing homework. The
goal is to improve the lives of students in the surrounding commu-
nity while increasing the leadership qualities and communication
skills of Auburn University students.
Exford’s position entails serving as a mediator between volun-
teers, Auburn City Schools and Dr. Johnny Green, Auburn’s dean of
students, as well implementing program initiatives.
Teresa Blevins and Thomandra Sam, doctoral candidates
in the Department of Special Education, Counseling/School
Psychology’s counselor education program, were successfully
matched to an internship site for as part of a one-year, full-time
program beginning in the fall of 2009.
Blevins and Sam competed with more than 3,800 psychol-
ogy students for a limited number of American Psychological
Association-accredited internship positions.
Blevins is interning at Texas A&M Uni-
versity’s student counseling center. The
internship will entail providing counsel-
ing services for groups and individuals,
outreach programming, and supervising
beginning therapists.
She believes that this opportunity will serve
as a career stepping stone by providing comprehensive training
and supervision experience.
Sam is interning at Clemson University
Counseling and Psychological Services
at Redfern Health Center. The internship
will involve working with both individual
and group therapy and Clemson Univer-
sity Cares intervention and prevention
education programs. She believes that this
program will offer her the experience needed for counseling
under-represented groups; including victims of domestic vio-
lence, homeless and minority students.
Blevins and Sam will both graduate in the summer of 2010.
Harold A. Franklin Sister Society, Auburn
City Schools select Exford as mentor liaison
Blevins, Sam to complete
yearlong internships
Phi Kappa Phi welcomed 59 Col-
lege of Education students to its ranks
in 2008.
Founded in 1897, Phi Kappa Phi
is the nation’s oldest, largest and most
selective multi-disciplinary honor so-
ciety. Memberships are extended by invitation-only to the top 10
percent of seniors and graduate students and the top 7.5 percent
of juniors. Faculty, staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly
distinction may also qualify.
The Auburn University chapter was established in 1914 and
initiates more than 400 students annually.
Phi Kappa Phi promotes the pursuit of excellence in all fields
of higher education, recognizes outstanding achievement by
students, faculty and others through various awards and engages
the community of scholars in service to others.
Phi Kappa Phi recognizes
59 students for excellence
Emily Abston
Andrew Barranco
Gary Bell Jr
William Brazelton
Francis Brokenshaw
Whitney Brooks
Victoria Burns
Kimberly Burrell
Kaitlin Costello
Kelli Cox
Bryn Culpepper
Lauren Davis
Danielle Diehl
Jodi Drummond
Whitney Dykes
Elizabeth Eden
Melissa Flowers
Catherine Foster
Dana Freeman
Doris Giles
Lora Haghighi
Meredith Hart
Kendra Haywood
Katherine Henderson
Stephanie Holmes
Kenneth Jackson
Ambra Johnson
Lydia Jost
Kaitlyn Karcher
Lindsey LaMarque
Laura Langham
Ashley Mant
Samantha McClendon
Eleanor McDavid
Brittney McKissick
Matthew McLaughlin
Kati McWatters
Emily Mitchell
Angela Mustain
Christina Nolan
Kathleen Pease
Shannon Perman
Shelby Pope
Adam Powell
Maria Powell
Cambre Prater
Marianna Reynolds
Megan Robertson
Margaret Saye
Rachel Sherbakoff
Claire Smith
Hanna Taylor
Katelin Tyra
Lauren Vercelli
Amy White
Chandler White
Sarah Wilkes
Megan Williams
Cynthia Wyatt

As the first student from the Department of Kinesiology to earn
an Auburn University Undergraduate Research Fellowship, senior
Christina Peoples can’t help but shoulder a sizable load of self-
imposed expectations.
“I feel like I have to set the standard,’’ said
Peoples, an exercise science major from Tusca-
loosa, Ala.
According to one of the faculty mentors who
will help guide her through the yearlong fellow-
ship program, the College of Education would
be hard-pressed to find a better representative.
“She’s very inquisitive and she’s a hard worker,’’ said Dr. Leah
Robinson, an assistant professor of kinesiology. “She really goes
beyond what the typical undergraduate student demonstrates. She
has great qualities as a young researcher.’’
Peoples and 19 other students were selected for the fellowships
sponsored by Auburn’s Office of the Vice President for Research.
The competitive program began summer 2008 and continues
for the entire academic year. The fellowships provide an annual
stipend of $4,400 and $1,400 in project funds for each recipient
while affording students the opportunity to perform research under
the guidance of mentors and provides for a stipend to assist with
projects and related travel.
Peoples’ project relates to the childhood obesity epidemic in the
United States and the sedentary lifestyles that have factored into it.
Because few studies have explored physical activity participation by
preschoolers, Peoples is investigating children’s activity levels dur-
ing the school day. She is also examining the relationship of physi-
cal activity level to gender, motor ability and body weight. Robinson
and Dr. Danielle Wadsworth, an assistant professor of kinesiology,
are providing guidance as her faculty mentors. As part of her de-
scriptive study, Peoples used pedometers to measure the amount of
steps preschoolers took during each of the three daily play periods
held over the summer at a day care center.
“What we’re trying to do is come up with some kind of program
that can be implemented into day care centers and childcare centers
where children are actually getting physical activity that will help
them developmentally with their motor skills,’’ Peoples said.
Ten College of Education students were among the 142
Auburn undergraduate and graduate students recommended by
the Dean of Students office for inclusion in the 2008-2009 Who’s
Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities. Rec-
ommendations are made by institutions based on, among other
criteria, a student’s grade point average, and participation and
leadership on campus and in the community.
Georgia Bennett
senior
elementary education
Mary Lawrence
Chandler
senior
early childhood
education
Kelli Crumpton
junior
business/marketing
education
Kara Delvizis
junior
secondary social
science education
Adam Elder
junior
secondary mathematics
education
Ashley Erickson
junior
early childhood
education
Wendy James
senior
exercise science
Lauren Jones
junior
secondary mathematics
education
Brittney McKissick
senior
elementary education
Myra Minor
master’s student
higher education
administration
Lorie Johnson, a doctoral
candidate in reading educa-
tion, quickly found a use for
the $1,000 Jenice Riley Memo-
rial Scholarship awarded to her
by the Alabama Humanities
Foundation last September.
Johnson, a reading teacher at
Richland Elementary in Au-
burn, channeled her good fortune back into her school. She used
the scholarship to help fund Richland’s Living History Museum
and purchase biographies from the “Alabama Roots’’ series.
Johnson, who earned a master’s degree in reading education
in 2008 and bachelor’s degree in corporate journalism (1999) and
early childhood education (2003) from Auburn, was one of six
Alabama educators selected in 2008 to receive Jenice Riley Me-
morial Scholarships. The scholarship was created in memory of
the late daughter of Alabama Gov. Bob Riley and his wife Patsy
and honors teachers committed to professional development.
Johnson has received a number of honors, including a $2,000
ING Unsung Heroes Award that funded a science lab for Rich-
land, two Foundation for Auburn’s Continuing Enrichment in
Schools grants totaling $1,200, a Sports Illustrated for Kids com-
munity grant and artwork for her school through the “Picturing
America’’ program sponsored by the National Endowment for
the Humanities.
Peoples helping preschoolers follow healthy path
Education students
selected for Who’s Who
Doctoral candidate receives
Riley Memorial Scholarship
Student Success

Student Success
Starla Armstrong, a doctoral candidate in
counseling psychology, will be recognized at
the 2009 American Psychological Associa-
tion (APA) convention as the winner of
its award for outstanding graduate student
paper on psychology and ethics.
Her paper is entitled, “Managing Non-
sexual Multiple Relationships in University Counseling Centers:
Recommendations for Graduate Assistants and Practicum
Students.’’ Armstrong will receive $1,000 and have her expenses
paid to the 2009 APA convention in Toronto. The award is a
national honor bestowed to just one graduate student annually.
The APA ethics committee and the American Psychological
Association of Graduate Students (APAGS) select the recipient.
Armstrong earned her master’s degree in clinical psychology
from Georgia Southern University.
Grad student Armstrong
wins APA award
Tylon Crook, a doctoral candidate in the
Department of Special Education, Rehabilita-
tion, Counseling/School Psychology’s counselor
education program, was selected by the Ala-
bama Association for Counselor Education and
Supervision as an “Emerging Leader.”
The Alabama Counseling Association, a state
branch of the American Counseling Association, is an organization
of counselors who are devoted to the highest standards of profes-
sional development.
The organization aims to promote advocacy, leadership training
and continuing education opportunities among its members. Crook
was selected as an “Emerging Leader” based on his academic con-
tributions, including publications, teaching, supervision, leadership
service, advocacy and membership in counselor education and su-
pervision. He received a stipend to represent Alabama and conduct
a roundtable discussion on the subject of impairment within coun-
selor education or doctoral students at the Southern Association for
Counselor Education and Supervision Conference in Houston.
Crook believes that this experience “will definitely help me to
enhance my own professional development and contribute to the
profession of counseling and supervision now and in the future.”
Crook will graduate the spring of 2010 and hopes to have a
career within counselor education and train the next generation of
school counselors.
Tylon Crook building reputation for leadership
Amber Wright, a senior elementary educa-
tion major from Decatur, Ala., received the
Alpha Delta Annual Scholarship in 2008.
The international teacher sorority awards
a $1,000 scholarship each year to a female
student seeking a degree in education.
Wright serves as a member of the College of
Education Student Council.
Justin Shroyer, a doctoral candidate in
exercise science, was a multiple winner
at the 2009 Auburn University Gradu-
ate Scholars Awards Ceremony.
In addition to being selected by the
Auburn University’s Graduate Council
as one of its 10 Outstanding Doctoral
Students for 2008-09, he received one of four Harry Mer-
riwether Fellowships for 2009-10.
The fellowship was established by an anonymous donor
in honor of an outstanding graduate of the Class of 1943.
Shroyer, a native of Coshocton, Ohio, will receive a $2,000
stipend as a Merriwether Fellow.
Cheron Hunter ’00, a doctoral candidate in
the reading education program, received one
of three Doctoral Student Awards presented
at the 2009 American Association of Blacks
in Higher Education Annual National Con-
ference in March.
Hunter, who followed up her bachelor’s
degree from Auburn with a master’s degree in early childhood
education in 2002, was honored in Atlanta along with Lenwood
Hayman of Wayne State University and Adriel Hilton of Morgan
State University. Auburn University has been well represented
over the years in the AABHE awards program. Dr. Rynetta
Washington ’05 and Dr. Januela Burt ’94 received awards from
the organization in 2005 and 1996, respectively.
Wright receives Alpha Delta
Kappa Scholarship
Shroyer earns graduate
student honors
Hunter receives doctoral
student award from AABHE

The six students recognized by the college at
last November’s Holmes Scholar Induction Cer-
emony have distinguished themselves as principals,
classroom teachers, journal editors, researchers,
organizational leaders and volunteers.
Graduate students Tonja Jacobs Exford, Sydney
Freeman, Cheron Hunter, Sheila Moore, Thoman-
dra Sam and Jennifer Wells each earned recog-
nition as Holmes Scholars by standing out in a
competitive selection process.
The Holmes Scholars Program provides gradu-
ate students from underrepresented ethnic groups
and students with disabilities who aspire to higher
education careers with enriched academic experi-
ences, career training and concentrated profession-
al mentoring. Scholars are selected for a three-year
term that provides resources for networking with
and mentoring by peers through the Holmes Part-
nership network and others within academia. Can-
didates must have a minimum grade point average
of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale.
The selection process involves nomination by
a university administrator, faculty member, staff
member, school personnel or a community leader
and consideration of at least three letters of recom-
mendation, as well as consideration of additional
written material and an interview process.
The Holmes Scholars Program operates under
the umbrella of The Holmes Partnership, a network
of universities, schools, community agencies and
national professional organizations designed to
stimulate professional development and school
renewal while striving “to improve teaching and
learning for all children.’’
Established in 1991, the Holmes Schol-
ars Program is comprised of a select group of
graduate students who are preparing for careers
in the education professorate and in professional
development schools. The program works to ensure
that Holmes Scholar graduates obtain positions
as faculty members, K-12 administrators or with
education policy organizations. The American As-
sociation of Colleges for Teacher Education and the
George Washington University Graduate School of
Education and Human Development assumed joint
management and coordination responsibilities for
the national program in 2001.
Since its inception, the Holmes Partnership has
engaged more than 400 students nationally.
College of Education recognizes Holmes Scholars
Tonja Jacobs Exford, 2008-10
Degrees: Pursuing doctorate in exercise
physiology; master’s in secondary biology
from Alabama State and bachelor’s in
cytology from University of Alabama-
Birmingham
Research interests: The physiologi-
cal and health benefits of mindfulness
training
Work experience: Former science
teacher in Montgomery Public School
system
Organizations: Auburn University Black
Graduate and Professional Student
Association, mentor liaison for Harold
A. Franklin Society/Sister Society and
Auburn City Schools
Objective: Using mindfulness outreach
interventions to positively affect health in
Alabama’s rural communities
Sheila Moore, 2007-09
Degrees: Pursuing doctorate in educa-
tional leadership; master’s and bachelor’s
degrees from Tuskegee University
Research interests: Professional develop-
ment of school leaders, university-school
collaborations and partnerships and
school reform
Work experience: Served as a teacher
and school administrator with the Buffalo
Public Schools system in New York from
1990 to 2001
Organizations: National vice president,
Holmes Partnership
Objective: To become a tenure-track
professor in K-12 instructional leadership
Sydney Freeman, 2008-10
Degrees: Pursuing doctorate in higher
education administration; master’s de-
gree from Auburn University in higher
education administration and bachelor’s
from Oakwood (Ala.) University
Research interests: The preparation
process for college presidencies and its
implications on graduate curriculum in
higher education programs
Work experience: Assistant editor of
the Journal of School Leadership, Center
for Creative Leadership, Mayor’s Office,
Philadelphia
Organizations: Adult and Higher Educa-
tion Graduate Curriculum Committee,
National Advisory Board for the National
African American Student Leadership
Conference, National Scholars Honor
Society
Objective: To become a professor of
higher education administration
Thomandra Sam, 2007-09
Degrees: Pursuing doctorate in counsel-
ing psychology; dual bachelor’s degrees
from Louisiana State University
Research interests: Identity develop-
ment of mental health practitioners,
multicultural competencies, self-em-
powerment, social justice orientation of
helping professionals
Work experience: Clinical intern at
Pastoral Institute in Columbus, Ga.,
instructor, first-year programs, practicum
at Auburn University Medical Clinic Divi-
sion on Student Counseling Services
Organizations: President of the
Auburn University Black Graduate
and Professional Student Association,
college representative for Association
of Counseling Psychology Students,
state representative for National Black
Graduate Student Association, advisory
board member for Office of Diversity and
Multicultural Affairs
Objective: To provide outstanding
clinical service to clients and excellent
contributions to the academic field as
a university professor or researcher/
clinician
Cheron Hunter, 2006-08
Degrees: Pursuing doctorate in reading
education program; master’s and bach-
elor’s degrees from Auburn’s College
of Education and educational specialist
and leadership certificate from Troy
University
Research interests: Early childhood
and elementary literacy, multicultural
literature, instructional conversation
Work experience: Former second grade
teacher in Opelika City Schools
Organizations: National president of
Holmes Scholar program, College of
Education Student Ambassador, former
vice president of Auburn’s Black Gradu-
ate and Professional Student
Objective: To make a difference in the
lives of the elementary school children
and pre-service teachers she instructs.
Jennifer Wells, 2008-10
Degrees: Pursuing doctorate in
educational psychology; master’s degree
from Auburn (human development and
family studies); bachelor’s degree from
Tuskegee University (psychology)
Research interests: Program develop-
ment, implementation and evaluation
focused on human development, family
studies and their impact on childhood
outcomes
Work experience: Parent educator and
case manager with Family and Children’s
Services in Opelika, regional extension
agent for Alabama Cooperative Exten-
sion System who has directed state-level
projects and provided professional de-
velopment for individuals in the areas of
family life and early childhood education.
Organizations: Alabama Cooperative
Extension System
Objective: To join a land-grant institution
as a professor of educational psychology
and a state extension specialist in pro-
gram development and evaluation
To view a photo gallery from the Holmes
Scholar Induction Ceremony, log on to
education.auburn.edu/gallery
Student Success

Student Council
Mary Lawrence
Chandler
President
Senior, Early
Childhood Education
Katie Swanson
Camp War Eagle
Liaison
Senior, Early
Childhood Education
Joanna Everett
Secretary
Senior
English Language
Arts Education
Becky Macintire
Campus Chair,
Committee of 19
Senior
Bria Pete
Vice President
Junior, Early
Childhood Education
Laura Lawson
Activities Chair
Junior
English Language
Arts Education
Caroline Peek
Historian
Senior
Maria Sanders
Service Chair
Senior, Early
Childhood Education
Amanda Gluckman
Publicity Chair
Junior
Brennan Wade
SGA Senator
Junior
Mathematics Education
During the school year, 26 percent of students in Auburn and
60 percent of students in Opelika receive free or reduced-cost
meals. However, when school is out of session
during the summer months, many of these
students are left without nutritious meals.
Becky Macintire, a senior elementary education
major, wanted to help these underprivileged
students. As a future teacher, Macintire felt
personally connected to the cause as she knows
she will encounter children in such situations in her own classroom
one day.
Macintire found a way to make a difference by developing a
partnership with a local church to provide healthy meals to hungry
students. In June 2008, True Deliverance Holiness Church in
Auburn opened its doors three days a week to children looking for
lunch. Church representatives provided children with peanut butter
and jelly sandwiches, lunch meat sandwiches, vanilla wafers, chips,
applesauce, juice and milk. Children were often sent home with
extra sandwiches to eat as a snack later or to share with their family.
Between five and 20 children were served each day.
The program serves as testament to Macintire’s willingness to
serve others, whether it’s in the classroom or at the table. Macin-
tire is the campus chair for the Committee of 19, a campus-wide
student-led group that helps raise awareness of international
hunger and encourages donors to contribute 19 cents a day to help
feed children. As co-committee leader for Domestic Hunger — a
Committee of 19 sub-group concerned with local hunger issues —
Macintire spearheaded the effort to locate an organization in the
Auburn/Opelika area willing to open its doors to underprivileged
members of the community.
Macintire fills critical summer menu gap for area children
C o m m i tt e e s :
Activities
Silver drummond
Laura Lawson, chair
Kalyn Lowe
Mallory Pledger
Hannah Paxton
Karis Anderson
Publicity
Amanda Gluckman, chair
Amanda McClung
Abby Sibley
Service
Ashley Baker
Marlene Barun
Linday Densmore
Drew Morgan
Julia Rusk
Maria Sanders, chair
War on Hunger
Becky Macintire, chair
Amber Wright
Not Pictured: Virginia Collins, SGA Senator
Senior, Elementary Education
Rachel Cummings, Treasurer
Senior, Early Childhood Education
Learn more about the
Student Council and the
Committee of 19 by visiting
education.auburn.edu/
studentcouncil and
auburn.edu/hunger
2008-2009
Student Council

Student Leaders
Exemplary students like Jenna Valaer ’08, Lora Haghighi ’08
and Lisa Vogel ’09 carry the banner for the College of Education
— figuratively and literally.
Each semester, college administra-
tors select a student to carry the College
of Education banner ahead of their
graduating peers at the start of com-
mencement ceremonies.
Valaer, who earned her bachelor’s
degree in exercise science after winning
an outstanding undergraduate award,
served as the college’s marshal in summer
2008. She is currently enrolled in graduate school at Elon (N.C.)
University, where she hopes to eventually earn a doctorate of
physical therapy.
Haghighi, who earned a degree in elementary education,
represented the college at the fall 2008 ceremony. A native of
Pelham, Ala., Haghighi
returned there to teach
fourth grade at Valley
Intermediate School.
During her senior year at
Auburn, Haghighi received
the Patrons of the Key-
stone-Dean’s Circle Annual
Scholarship and served as a member of the College of Education’s
Student Ambassadors. A member of the organization from 2006-
08, she served as the president during the 2007-08 academic
year. As a member of the top five percent of her graduating class,
Haghighi was also a member of Phi Kappa Phi.
Vogel, an exercise science major selected as
the college’s spring 2009 marshal, served on
Auburn’s Student Alumni Board in 2008.
She plans to attend graduate school in the
hopes of becoming a physical therapist.
Vogel studied abroad in Salamanca, Spain,
and earned the Department of Kinesiology’s
Outstanding Undergraduate Student award
in 2009. She was involved in a number of campus organizations,
including Chi Omega sorority, Campus Crusade for Christ,
intramural sports and the Auburn University Physical Therapy/
Occupational Therapy Club.
Gwendolyn Gray ’08, who
earned a doctorate in special
education and rehabilitation,
served as the student marshal for
Auburn University’s Graduate
School in fall 2008.
While the college’s Student Ambassadors organization is
typically led by a single president each academic year, senior
mathematics education major Kendall Griffin and sophomore
elementary education major Rachel Anderson shared the title of
co-presidents in 2008-09.
Griffin, a Hoover, Ala., native, was the fall semester president
before beginning her spring internship at Smith Station (Ala.)
High School. She became an ambassador in 2007 as a junior
already active in other activities, including the college’s Auburn
Mathematics Education Society, the university’s Student Alumni
Association and the area’s Auburn Christian Fellowship. She
graduates in May 2009 and hopes to teach math in Birmingham,
Ala., and inspired by those she’s worked with as an ambassador.
“I have been amazed at the willingness of the Auburn family
and the sacrifices students, faculty, staff and alumni have made to
support our college,” Griffin said. “I was not raised as an ‘Auburn
Tiger’ and never fully understood what the ‘Auburn family’ was
all about. … I am proud that I am now a part of it.”
Anderson, who hails from Oneonta, Ala., is active in a
number of campus organizations — and it’s no surprise that she’s
taken the lead in many of them too. She also serves as vice presi-
dent of the college’s Student Council and activities coordinator
for Alpha Gamma Delta.
“Being an ambassador has gotten me more involved in the
college and more excited about what is to come in the next two
or three years,” Anderson said. “I have learned time management
and how to dedicate myself to what I truly love, which is being an
educator and helping others in all that they want to achieve.”
The Student Ambassadors include undergraduate and
graduate students who represent the college and host events for
alumni, donors, prospective students and other college guests.
Ambassadors are competitively selected through an annual ap-
plication and interview process.
In return for their service, they develop relationships with
distinguished alumni and friends, leaders in education and other
fields and campus faculty and administrators.
More than 110 Education students have served as members
of the organization, now in its sixth year. Find out where many of
our ambassador alumni are today in the Alumni Notes section of
the Keystone.
Stellar students serve
as graduation marshals
Elementary, math ed duo
takes on ambassadors’
co-presidency
Learn more about the college’s
Student Ambassadors at
education.auburn.edu/ambassadors
Haghighi with college’s Kochan, Tullier
Vogel
Valaer
Gray

2009 Keystone - web download

Empfohlen

Empfohlen

Weitere ähnliche Inhalte

Was ist angesagt?

Was ist angesagt? (19)

Andere mochten auch

Andere mochten auch (17)

Ähnlich wie 2009 Keystone - web download

Ähnlich wie 2009 Keystone - web download (20)

Mehr von Michael Tullier, MPA, APR

Mehr von Michael Tullier, MPA, APR (10)

2009 Keystone - web download