This Week @ AU

"Lights, Camera, Auburn!" Auburn University’s Welcome Week 2009 is right around the corner, scheduled for Aug. 15–22. The Welcome Week team is now accepting event request forms for “encore events” being held the three weeks following Welcome Week. Any event your organization is sponsoring Aug. 23–Sept. 6 is eligible for submission, including tailgates, socials, seminars and more. The submission deadline is Wednesday, July 29.Visit www.auburn.edu/welcomeweek to download the form. For more information, contact Michelle Murphy at murphmi@auburn.edu.

"Fasten your seatbelts—it's going to be a bumpy night." Bette Davis’s memorable quote from the cult film classic “All about Eve,” may apply to this year’s flu season. As Robert Norton likes to say, he would be a wealthy man if he could predict when, where and how widely the next serious flu pandemic will occur. Even so, Norton, a veterinary bacteriologist and Auburn University professor of poultry science, said Americans are probably in for a bad flu season. "It's not going to be a catastrophic flu season, but it’s probably going to be a substantial one," said Norton. He cites several studies that are as interesting as they are disturbing. To read more of this article from the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, visit its News Line.

The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art is currently presenting the works of prints by some of John James Audubon's precursors and contemporaries. These prints are the works of 18th and 19th century European naturalists which feature birds, sea creatures, snakes, insects and plants. Artists included in the exhibition are Eleazer Albins, Mark Catesby, George Edwards, Alexander Wilson and John Gould. The exhibition will continue through Oct. 31. For more information, visit the museum's Web site ( http://jcsm.auburn.edu/index.php ).

ReShonda Tate Billingsley, author of “My Brother's Keeper,” will be the featured speaker during the Sisters of the Academy (SOTA) third Research Boot Camp Community Reception on Aug. 5 at the Auburn University Hotel and Conference Center. Billingsley, a former television and radio reporter, will also sign copies of her books that day from 5 to 8 p.m. at the conference center. Of her many books, “The Devil Is a Liar,” “Can I Get a Witness,” “Let the Church Say Amen;” and her teen-focused “Good Girlz” series, “Friends Til the End,” “Fair-Weather Friends” and “Nothing But Drama” will be available during the book-signing.  Billingsley received the prestigious Gold Pen Award for “Best New Author” from the Black Writer's Alliance and the Nova Lee Nation Award from the Greater Dallas Writing Association. In addition, she is the author of the national bestseller and No. 1 Essence bestseller, “Let the Church Say Amen.” The book-signing and reception are just two of the featured events during the SOTA third Research Boot Camp, offered biennially as an intensive weeklong experience that provides tools to support the development of graduate students’ dissertation research and the development of junior faculty’s manuscripts in preparation for submission to peer-reviewed journals. SOTA implemented the first Boot Camp in 2005 on Auburn’s campus. For more information on the Research Boot Camp or about the book-signing, contact Denise Davis-Maye at (334) 844-2822 or davis4@auburn.edu.

The health administration program in the Department of Political Science in the College of Liberal Arts enjoys a long-standing relationship with Regina Benjamin, President Barack Obama’s nominee for U.S. surgeon general. Benjamin is an internship preceptor for the program, and through the years, numerous Auburn students have gained invaluable experience at her clinic in Bayou La Batre.

The Art of Living Yoga Club of Auburn University will host a free "Yoga of Breath" workshop on Wednesday, July 22, and Thursday, July 23, at 5:30 p.m. This workshop is an introduction to the science of breathing, intended to help students discover the power of breath and their ability to enhance the quality of their personal, professional and social lives through breathing exercises. The workshop will include instruction on breathing techniques and a guided meditation. Wednesday's workshop will be held in room 2227 of the Student Center, and Thursday's will be held at the Auburn University Chapel on College Street. All students are invited to attend one or both sessions of this one-and-a-half-hour workshop.

The Auburn University Bookstore, in conjunction with Ten Speed Press, recently held its first Dirty Bow Wow Dog Toy Drive, raising about two dozen new dog toys for the Lee County Humane Society. The toy drive derived its name from the book  "Dirty Bow Wow: A Tribute to Dogs and the Objects of Their Affection," which features dogs of all shapes and sizes with their favorite toys. Shelter dogs spend days locked in confining cages, and the donated toys can help brighten their days and teach dogs socialization skills that make them more adoptable. Auburn students, faculty and staff all contributed to the success of the drive.

The Auburn University Harrison School of Pharmacy is one of three winners of the inaugural 2009 Award for Excellence in Assessment by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP). The award recognizes outstanding doctor of pharmacy assessment programs for their progress in developing and applying evidence of outcomes as part of the ongoing evaluation and improvement of pharmacy professional education. The School of Pharmacy won the award based upon a portfolio submission describing the school's admissions process. Sharon McDonough, Kristen Helms, Paul Jungnickel, Kelly Hester and Jan Kavookjian will represent Auburn by presenting the winning portfolio submission in a special session at the 2009 AACP annual meeting July 19 in Boston. The title of the presentation is "Beyond Formulas: Enhancing the Selection Process to Improve Assessment of Candidates for Admission to Pharmacy School."

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the launch of the Apollo 11 moon landing mission, Auburn University will present “The Eagle has Landed at Auburn,” a free, public symposium beginning at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 16. The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art will host lectures and book signings throughout the day. A film screening at 7 p.m. in the ballroom of the Auburn University Student Center will include footage of news coverage and a documentary film.The first moon-landing mission was flown by Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins in July 1969. Jim Hansen, an Auburn history professor who organized this commemorative event, said no worldwide celebration of humankind’s greatest adventure should unfold without spotlighting the Auburn community's direct connection to the effort. To see the full story, visit http://wireeagle.auburn.edu/news/1041.

Students have the option of staying fit and discovering nature with summer walks at the Louise Kreher Forest Ecology Preserve, held each Thursday at 8:30 a.m. Enjoy a one-hour walk with a trained naturalist on the preserve's beautiful property; these walks are geared toward exercise. The walks are canceled if it is raining. No registration or fee required. The preserve is located off Highway 147 North across from the Auburn University fish ponds. For more information and detailed directions, visit https://fp.auburn.edu/preserve/.

John C.H. “Jack” Miller Jr., an Auburn University trustee since 2000, passed away Saturday at his home in Mobile. He had suffered from cancer since 2004. Miller was the founder and chairman of the Mobile-based law firm Miller, Hamilton, Snider and Odom, which merged with Jones Walker in 2008. “Jack brought energy, innovation and an insightful focus to academic quality and scholarship," said Auburn President Jay Gogue.
Miller was a champion for many Auburn academic programs and spearheaded efforts to improve students’ writing and reasoning skills. The Auburn Board of Trustees in June named the university’s newly established writing center in his honor. Miller is survived by his wife of 38 years, Susan Ross Miller; his mother, Emily Townsend Miller of Mobile; his children, Emily Miller Washburn and husband, James; John Cleveland Hays Miller III and wife, Julia; and Edward Aubert Roberts Miller and wife, Meredith; and two grandsons, Jackson Roberts Washburn and Jesse Townsend Washburn. A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. tomorrow, July 14, at Government St. Presbyterian Church in Mobile. The Rev. Al Reese, the Rev. Steve Raby and Wade F. Perry will officiate. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Auburn University in care of the John C.H. Miller Jr. Writing Center or the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico.

The July edition of the International News e-newsletter includes stories about a new Africa interest group, the Southeastern Conference Academic Consortium's Global Leadership Scholarship and important reminders for international students. To read complete articles or to submit an international news item, visit http://www.auburn.edu/academic/international/news/.

As a reminder, students who have at least 15 earned credit hours at Auburn University can order 2009 football season tickets today. The remainder of the dates and corresponding number of credit hours needed to purchase tickets are as follows: July 7: 14 hours, July 8: 12, and July 9: 1. Incoming freshmen and transfer students with no previous hours at Auburn will be eligible to order on July 14. To order, have all your accounts cleared with the bursar’s office and have your student user name and password ready. Log on to AU Access, go to the TigerI tab and click on “order student season tickets.” To ensure your order is confirmed, click on the “view order” link. Once you have placed your order, log out, go back into the system and click on “check order.”

The Auburn University community is invited to see the final poster presentations of students participating in the summer program Interdisciplinary Studies for Sensor and Biosensor Development on Thursday, July 30, from 9 to 11 a.m. in the Grand Foyer of Shelby Center. Ten undergraduate students from colleges in Arizona, California, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, New York and Pennsylvania have worked on research projects under the direction of Auburn mentors from the departments of animal sciences, poultry science (College of Agriculture), Materials Research and Education Center, polymer and fiber engineering (Samuel Ginn College of Engineering), chemistry and Biochemistry, and physics (COSAM). The posters will describe the students’ research on sensors for a variety of applications, including the detection of bacteria, DNA and gas molecules. For more information, contact Omar Oyarzabal at 844-2608 or Jeff Fergus at 844-3405.