Year in review a Brag Book 2012–2013

Cover image is taken from first place winner in the Dean’s Choice

Purchase Awards, Justine McConnell. McConnell is a senior candidate

for the BFA in Studio Art. Her work, “State-Sanctioned Humour,” is an

animated video about the deaths met by famous women in history.

a colorful peek at our biggest and brightest moments

College of Liberal Arts

used with permission by artist

More than 60 students from the College of Liberal Arts participated in a collaborative event at the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama in Montgomery based on the theme of active citizenship. Students attended a naturalization ceremony and the Mock Trial Team practiced a trial, while art students practiced courtroom sketches.

Honorable Judge J. Scott Vowell ’59, from

Birmingham recently donated $125,000 to

support the Auburn University Mock Trial Team and to

establish the J. Scott Vowell Endowed Fund for

Excellence in the Pre-Law Scholars Program.

The College of Liberal Arts Development Office recently won a Soaring Eagles Award from the Office of the Vice President for Development for the largest percentage over goal by a development unit. Team members are Mary Baird, Vivian Langley, Carrie Carpenter, Melissa Hage and Suzan Syler.

For academic year 2012–2013, the College awarded 298 scholarships to 253 students totaling $491,445. In addition, 40 Dean’s Club Annual Scholarships were awarded and totaled $84,000.

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research & supportCLa By the numBers

283outreaCh instruCtionaL aCtivities & Presentations

283researCh ConferenCe Presentations & LeCtures

672researCh Creative Works & exhiBitions

106 Book Chapters

4 Textbooks

24 Books or Monographs

192 Peer-Reviewed Articles

91 Non-Peer Reviewed Articles

mock trial team

development surpasses goal

Auburn University will begin using an on-line scholarship application and management system called academicworks. Liberal Arts students will be able to easily search and apply for scholarships online. The system will be piloted in selected units in 2013–14 and fully operational campus-wide beginning in Fall 2014.

$904,842Gifts & ContraCts $2,130,671

ExtErnal CompEtitivE rEsEarCh Grant fundinG

$317,767intErnal CompEtitivE

rEsEarCh Grant fundinG

$433

,615

in outreach G

rant funding

The Department of Philosophy’s annual conference on topics

intersecting the philosophy of mind and the philosophy of

value attracted participants from around the world,

including faculty from Harvard University, the

University of Chicago, the University of London and the University of North Carolina.

Jinyan Fan, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology, is one of two recipients of the 2013 Jeanneret Award for Excellence in the Study of Individual or Group Assessment, sponsored bythe Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Fan and his research team are recognized for a new procedure they have developed that may mitigate faking on personality tests within personnel selection contexts. His work was recently published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, a top-tier journal in his field. Dr. Fan will be honored at the upcoming annual conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology to be held in Houston.

Lee Spruiell donated $500,000 to establish the Lee Spruiell Annual Fund for Excellence in CLA’s Health Services Administration Program. Spruiell graduated

from Auburn University with a bachelor’s degree in Health Services Administration in 1983 and a Master of Business Administration in 1987. The annual fund will be used to expand international opportunities for students in the program and provide

support for research for advancement of the program. Students will also receive support from the annual fund to attend and participate in the

Spruiell Smart Training Lab at Baptist Medical Center in Montgomery.

psYchologYmatters

Psychology faculty members are active in multidisciplinary research at the Auburn University MRI Center. Professor Jeffrey Katz, in conjunction with Professor Thomas Denney (College of Engineering), has received support from federal sources to investigate the effects of post-concussion syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder using MRI brain imaging techniques. This research supports the need of our armed forces to understand the effects of service in combat areas on military members.

Derek Pope, a graduate student in the Department of Psychology, received a $20,000 fellowship from the Association for Behavior Analysis International to support thesis and dissertation research on drug effects on impulsivity and self-control in laboratory models.

Brian Christens ‘02, psychology graduate, won the Michele Alexander Early Career Award for scholarship and service from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues. Christens is an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research focuses on civic participation in community and organization settings.

mind & value

training with an edge

Troy Rosser, a 1989 health administration graduate and Vice President of Sales for Computer Programs & Systems, Inc. (CPSI), came to campus to train health services

administration students and faculty on the information system software CPSI donated to the Health Administration Program. With the software being used in over 650 hospitals and over 700 clinics across the country, students’ experience with this software allows

them to enter the job market with real-world skills employers prefer as well as an edge in providing vital patient care.

Psychology Professor Chris Newland received the “Distinguished Contribution to Basis Behavior Analysis” Award from Division 25 of the American Psychological Association. This is an annual award that has been given since 1999.

Art Professor Allyson Comstock was selected for a National Science Foundation Antarctic Artists and Writers grant to travel to Antarctica and create a series of drawings exploringenvironmental issues and ways of seeing the natural world.

Kelly Alley, Alumni Professor and Director of Anthropology, gave a presentation on the plenary panel at an international conference entitled “Water Resources in South Asia: Conflict to Cooperation” that was held at Dhaka University in Bangladesh.The conference was organized by two active environmental groups, the Bangladesh Environment Network and the Bangladesh Poribesh Andolan. Alley also made a presentation to the Forum of Environmental Journalists at the National Press Club of Bangladesh in Dhaka.

Associate Professor of Theatre Fereshteh Rostampour and theatre student Spencer Hrdy recently traveled to Beijing, China, to take part in an invited exhibition and seminar at the National Centre for the Performing Arts.

Ric Smith, Director of Experiential Learning in the Department of Communication and Journalism, is creating a multimedia history of the Chattahoochee Valley as a class project. The Chattahoochee Heritage Project is a web-based news and information service high-lighting the people, places, history and culture of the Chattahoochee River Valley. Students produce multi-platform content that focuses on significant areas of interest to the Chattahoochee River region.

Theatre faculty have recently worked professionally in national and international venues, including the Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Goodman Theatre, the Prague Quadrennial, World Stage Design, and Organisation Internationale des Scenographes, Techniciens et Architects de Théâtre (OISTAT).

explore

capturing nature

stepping out

dig

ital r

iver

For the past five years, Sylacauga, Alabama, has hosted an annual Magic of Marble Festival celebrating the rich heritage of marble in the community by hosting an Italian sculptor for two weeks to mentor international and national visiting artists from all over the country. This year’s Global Citizenship Project Retreat will be a day-long excursion to Sylacauga to explore first-hand this unique experience right here in Alabama.

global retreat

au accomplished LiBeraL arts soars

Three professorships were established to recognize excellence in teaching, research and service in the Department of Economics. The professorships honor former faculty members David Kaserman, Robert Ekelund and Robert Hebert and alumnus, John V. Denson, II.

Mitchell Brown, an associate professor in the Department of Political Science, was appointed by Alabama Governor Robert Bentley as a member of the Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention “Children’s Trust Fund” Board to represent the Third Congressional District.

Paul Bergen ’12, was awarded a Gates Cambridge Scholarship for graduate study and research at the University of Cambridge. Bergen graduated from Auburn with a 3.97 GPA and earned degrees in both German and microbiology. He is currently a Fulbright Scholar at the Technical University in Munich, Germany, where he is continuing research that he began as a student.

Jeffrey P. Jones, television scholar and author, will become the new director of the University of Georgia’s George Foster Peabody Awards in July 2013. The Peabody Awards are the oldest in broadcasting and are considered among the most prestigious and selective prizes in electronic media. Jones received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science from Auburn University in 1985 and 1993 and his doctorate in radio-television-film from the University of Texas at Austin.

Marian Royston, a senior majoring in history with a double minor in political science and community and civic engagement, was honored as Auburn’s first Mitchell Scholarship recipient. The scholarship program, named in honor of U.S. Sen. George Mitchell’s contribution to the Northern Ireland peace process, selects students for their commitment to community and public service. After graduating in May 2013, Marian will pursue a master’s degree in leadership for sustainable rural development at Queens University of Belfast.

Sally Jones Hill ’63, (history) and General Ronald L. Burgess, Jr. ’74, (political science) were selected to receive 2013 Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Auburn Alumni Association. Hill and Burgess were recognized for their accomplishments during a black tie ceremony in March.

The Department of Political Science recently awarded its first Political Science Leadership Award to Emily Scammell, a senior from Daphne, Ala., majoring in political science and minoring in hunger studies. She is a student in the Honors College, won the Phi Kappa Phi First Year Award, and is a recipient of the Spirit of Auburn Founder’s Scholarship and the Academic Enrichment Scholarship. Rep. Mike Rogers recognized Scammell with remarks in the Congressional Record and presented Scammell with a framed copy of the document. She has recently been accepted into the MA program at Johns Hopkins’ Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies.

Mary Afton Day, a junior majoring in public administration and minoring in community and civic engagement, won the Award for Outstanding Student Contributions to Service-Learning and Higher Education from the Gulf-South Summit on Service-Learning and Civic Engagement through Higher Education in February 2013. Day was a 2011–12 Living Democracy Fellow and currently serves as a CCE Fellow and as the CCE Club president.

Associate Professor of Philosophy Keren Gorodeisky received a $50,000 grant from the National Humanities Center where she is currently a Fellow. energY relations

political leadership

Students in Dr. Brigitta Brunner-Johnson’s Public Relations Theory class won first place at

the America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA) Collegiate Energy Challenge in Washington,

DC. Rebecca Orr, Matthew Ingram, Julia Watterson, Trevor Hannum and Sarah

Mather formed an in-class marketing agency, Auburn Communication Solutions, to research,

implement and evaluate an integrated marketing campaign designed to educate and

inform people about the benefits of natural gas as an energy source.

peabodY

College of Liberal Arts faculty are involved in a broad range of research. In 2012, faculty from a number of departments were published in The Oil Spill of 2010 as part of the Auburn Speaks initiative and will contribute to the next Auburn Speaks which is focused on water. Auburn Speaks is an annual peer-reviewed publication showcasing research and creative scholarship by Auburn University faculty, students, staff and alumni.

pen to paper gettin’ PuBLished

Kathleen Hale, an associate professor in the Department of Political Science, was honored in 2012 by practitioners and academics for her book, How Information Matters: Networks and Public Policy Innovation. She received the National Media Award from the National Association of Drug Drug Court Professionals. Hale was also named a College of Liberal Arts Engaged Scholar, a three-year appointment which recognizes excellence in teaching and research related to community and civic engagement.

Randy Beard, a professor of economics, recently published a book, The Global Organ Shortage: Economic Causes, Human Consequences, Policy Responses, with German economist Rigmar Osterkamp and the late David Kaserman. Kaserman was a Torchmark Professor of Economics at Auburn University until his death in 2008. The book, dedicated to Kaserman, provides the first extensive analysis of the organ shortage worldwide.

Harvard University Press recently published Associate Professor of Philosophy Eric Marcus’ book, Rational Causation, which has been referred to as the best book on the philosophy of action in 20 years.

Assistant Professor of History Rupali Mishra earned a highly competitive postdoctoral fellowship at the Huntington Library. She will spend 2013–14 at the prestigious California institution revising her book manuscript on early modern Britain, A Business of State: the East India Company and early Stuart politics, for publication.

Associate Professor of English Chantel Acevedo was awarded an Alabama State Council of the Arts Fellowship and her new novel, A Falling Star, won the 2012 Doris Bakwin Award.

lectures &sPeCiaL guests

In November, the Women’s Leadership Institute held “An Afternoon with Maya Angelou,” at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center as part of the Extraordinary Women Lecture Series. Angelou was greeted by the Auburn University Gospel Choir and introduced by Auburn University Trustee Sarah Newton. The article generated by our external affairs office went on to be one of the top 5 stories at Auburn for 2012.

The Department of Music hosted a variety of guest artist performances and master classes this year including an appearance by the MoscowString Quartet. The Moscow String Quartet has emerged as one of the major Russian chamber ensembles of today and are known as passionate promotersof twentieth century Western music in Russia and contemporary Soviet music in the West.

In conjuntion with No Impact Week, which brought chef and sustainable foods activist Michel Nischan to campus, the Department of Communication and Journalism hosted the Blue Ocean Film Festival. The festival featured film screenings and discussions led by renowned filmmakers and conservationists, including a keynote presentation by French explorer, environmentalist and film producer Jean-Michel Cousteau.

the caged bird sings

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earth saves

Assistant Professor of History Aaron Shapiro’s students are working on a project to record oral histories with some of the oldest living veterans of the US Forest Service. Shapiro is a former historian for the service and has consulted on recent work related to the centennial of the service’s creation.

The Health Services Administration Program will send its first group of interns to the UK this summer. Made possible by a generous gift from alumnus Lee Spruiell ’83, eight Spruiell Scholars will be based in London and conduct their internships primarily at two leading health care institutions with the British National Health Service—Kings College Hospital and the University College Hospital.

Assistant Professor Susan Waters will teach International Public Relations in

London in May. The program will take students from all disciplines to London,

where they will visit international public relations firms and media organizations.

beYond the classroomCommunity aid & study aBroadThe Auburn University Singers have been invited to embark on a performance tour of Europe with stops in Strasbourg, Brussels, Paris and Munich in May 2013. Forty students will experience the culture of these European cities and represent Auburn University with performances and ambassadorship.

The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures continues to offer study abroad opportunities in Austria, China, Costa Rica, France, Italy and Spain. The department will be sending its first group of students on a new faculty-directed internship program in Seville, Spain during Fall 2013. This semester long credit-earning internship program allows students to continue taking classes and use the target language while gaining work experience in health professions, education, business management and marketing, fine arts, and more.

Michael Gutierrez, a junior in communication, is completing an internship in London with Latimer Creative Media. Latimer uses creative technologies as a platform to motivate and inspire young people to engage with social issues.

Each year, audiologists in the Department of Communication Disorders travel to Guatemala City to conduct remote-hearing tests with hundreds of children. Equipment purchased with the help of an Auburn University Competitive Outreach Award ensures that these children are monitored throughout the year and no longer have to wait for the annual trip to see an audiologist. The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures helps the initiative by providing Spanish interpreting and translation on the annual trips and during the remote testing.

tour de europe

london relations

communitY writing

English faculty are helping to build literacies through the establishment of The Community Writing Center, which offers various free writing,

coaching and resume-building workshops to community members of all ages. Three of our faculty recently received engagement grants for their continued work (Tricia Serviss, Derek

Ross, and Lindsay Walker).

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The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures offered distance education courses in Elementary Spanish I & II for the first time in Fall 2012. Distance courses will be offered in Accelerated German during Summer 2013. The Accelerated German course is a great way to jump start into a German major or minor and is ideal for those who have had 1-2 years of German in high school and are not comfortable diving into the intermediate level.

Dr. Martha Wilder Wilson, a clinical professor in the Auburn University Speech & Hearing Clinic; Dr. Rick Good, director of Bands; and Dr. Corey Spurlin, associate professor and director of the Auburn University Marching Band have collaborated to join the Adopt-A-Band Program sponsored by Etymotic Research, Inc. to educate musicians about the importance of wearing hearing protection during practice and performance. With financial assistance from the Departments of Communication Disorders and Music, all members of the Auburn University Marching Band have been provided with high-fidelity earplugs.

The Department of Art has announced a new art minor open to all non-art students at Auburn University. The 18 semester-hour minor in studio art will be offered officially beginning Fall 2013.

Dean Anna Gramberg recently named Jeremy Arthur president of the Dean’s Advisory Council for the College of Liberal Arts. Arthur, who is president of the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama, received his BA in political science in 1999 and his MA in public administration in 2001. The Dean’s Advisory Council is a select-member group who assist the dean in key areas important to the strength of the College, such as providing guidance on strategies and opportunities for improving programs.

Rob Maruster ’93, Chief Operating Officer of JetBlue Airways, is the 2013 spring graduation

commencement speaker. Maruster graduated with a degree in Political Science and serves on

the Dean’s Advisory Council. Maruster attributes much of his success to a liberal arts curriculum.

He believes in the importance of always trying new things as a student.

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graduation speaker

art courses open for all

dean’s advisorY councilon board with

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Produced by the College of Liberal Arts Office of External Affairs, April 2013.

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Biggin Gallery recently hosted the Dean’s Choice Purchase Awards which promotes excellence in art and recognizes outstanding artworks by students.