This Week @ AU

The public is invited to attend the Alabama Gubernatorial Forum 2010 on Tuesday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. in the Auburn University Student Center ballroom. Gubernatorial candidates participating in the forum are Robert Bentley, Bradley Byrne, Artur Davis, Tim James, Bill Johnson and Ron Sparks. All candidates who declared candidacy prior to Sept. 25 were invited to participate. The moderator for the event is Jeremy Campbell of ABC 33/40 in Birmingham. Sponsors include the League of Women Voters of East Alabama, Auburn Chamber of Commerce and Opelika Chamber of Commerce. The event is hosted by the Center for Governmental Services, a division of Auburn University Outreach. Complimentary tickets for admission to the forum are available through the sponsoring organizations. Parking is available in the parking lot between the stadium and the Petrie Annex, or in the stadium parking deck.

Five College of Liberal Arts undergrads and a host of community partners are on a journey to find out what it takes to make democracy work as it should in Alabama. The project, cosponsored by the David Mathews Center for Civic Life, pairs students with citizens who share the same passion: to increase civic engagement and build capacity for innovative public decision making where they live.

In addition to understanding the best research on what citizens can do to address public problems and build on community assets, students will develop and understand skills to moderate deliberative public forums, leading participants to weigh carefully the attractions, weaknesses, costs and consequences of differing perspectives on how to approach an issue. The project will utilize the National Issues Forums issue book “Democracy's Challenge: Reclaiming the Public's Role.” Students will also work with local teenagers in a PhotoVoice project, an internationally acclaimed methodology used to engage groups in the democratic process.

The project is an offering of the Community and Civic Engagement Initiative in the College of Liberal Arts, which seeks to expand civic engagement opportunities for students and faculty. For more information, visit www.auburn.edu/cce.

The Mathews Center is a non-partisan, tax-exempt entity for the purpose of fostering public deliberation and innovative community decision making. For more information, visit www.mathewscenter.org.

Provost Mary Ellen Mazey will hold an open forum at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21, in 1106 Ralph Brown Draughon Library auditorium. She will be discussing the Lecturer and Senior Lecturer positions. The forum is open to anyone interested in attending.

There will be a forum to discuss health care reform at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20, in the Student Center ballroom. Alabama legislators representing both Democratic and Republican opinions on the issue and a panel consisting of
health advisers, employees and constituents will be attending. A question-and-answer session will be held afterward.

All students are invited to attend the Philosophy Club's meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 5 p.m. in the Gnu's Room located next to Amsterdam Cafe.

The topic of the meeting is “Free Will: Are we, human beings, free, or are we necessarily determined by nature, culture and other factors? What does freedom mean anyway?" The meeting will start with a panel of philosophy faculty members and students, who will discuss those questions and some other related questions. It will conclude with an open discussion.

The Philosophy Club has a series of monthly meetings about broad
philosophical topics that are likely to be of interest to non-philosophers. All the meetings are taking place in the Gnu's Room Cafe located at the intersection of Samford Avenue and Gay Street.

The inaugural European University Hunger Summit will be held in Rome, Italy, April 23-24. Conference sponsors are Universities Fighting World Hunger (UFWH), the American Association of College and University Programs in Italy (AACUPI), the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and Sodexo, one of the leading international food and facilities management services companies with operations in over 80 countries. The theme for the two-day event is “Universities Fighting World Hunger: New Directions for Students around the Globe.” Summit highlights include a visit to WFP headquarters and a debriefing by WFP staff on Thursday afternoon. Jay Gogue, Auburn University president, and June Henton, dean, Auburn University College of Human Sciences, will be participants in the opening session. In attendance will be students, faculty and administrators from AACUPI-affiliated universities including representatives from Joseph S. Bruno Auburn Abroad in Italy and the Auburn School of Architecture Study Abroad program. In addition, several universities across Europe and beyond will participate. Partnered with the World Food Programme, Universities Fighting World Hunger is an alliance of more than 80 higher education institutions around the globe committed to implementing short-term grassroots approaches and long-term solutions academic solutions to ending hunger. The inaugural European hunger summit is being held in conjunction with the 30th anniversary celebration of AACUPI. For more information, visit www.universitiesfightingworldhunger.org.

The Auburn University Graduate Student Council and Graduate School are hosting the 19th annual Graduate Scholars Forum. The Forum will begin Monday, March 9, with a keynote address and continue Tuesday and Wednesday, March 10 and 11, with presentations conducted by students. This event is held to provide graduate students at Auburn University an opportunity to practice their presentation skills and share their scholarship (research, music or artwork) with the university and the Auburn community. The forum is a professional conference with both oral presentations and poster sessions. All entries will be evaluated by a panel of faculty judges with the best entries in each class selected for award recognition. Auburn University students, faculty, alumni and others are invited to participate in the forum. For more information or questions concerning the event, please contact Jessie Wiggins at wiggijk@auburn.edu.

The Auburn University chapter of the Association of American University Professors is sponsoring a forum on "Academic Freedom in the Classroom" Thursday, Nov. 6, from 3:30-4:30 p.m. in 2116 Haley Center. Speakers will include Jim Bradley of Biological Sciences; Ruth Crocker of History and Women's Studies; Susana Morris of English; and Leanna Pepper of the Honors Congress. The event is open to the public. Recommended reading is the AAUP report, "Freedom in the Classroom," available at http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/comm/rep/A/class.htm. For more information, contact James Goldstein at goldsrj@auburn.edu.

The College of Liberal Arts, Department of Art announces ARTXTRA, a forum for discussion beyond the classroom. On Thursday, Oct. 30, from 6-7 p.m. in room 005 Biggin Hall, three Department of Art professors will present talks on their recent scholarly and creative research. While ARTXTRA forums are designed for students, all are welcome to attend. Joyce de Vries, assistant professor of Art History, will provide an overview of her research on gender and material culture of Renaissance Italy, and in particular, outline the ideas and methods related to her new project regarding domestic decoration in Renaissance Bologna. Associate Professor of Art Christopher McNulty will discuss recent directions in his creative research. Associate Professor of Art Barb Bondy will present the results of her recent 30-day summer studio residency, "Night Tracks, Day Tracks" at Columbus State University where she lived and slept in a gallery for 30 days for the purpose of exploring thought processes of wakefulness and sleep through drawing and photography. ARTXTRA is free and open to the public; students and faculty are encouraged to attend. For more information, contact Barb Bondy, exhibitions and lectures coordinator, 844-3483 or bondybj@auburn.edu.

Hazing. You've probably heard the term, but do you know what it means?
The Office of the Dean of Students will host an anti-hazing forum on
Thursday, Sept. 4, at 6 p.m. in the Student Activities Center. A panel
discussion will address the issue of hazing and its impact on student
life from the panelists' perspective. You'll learn what hazing is and
how to stop it. Panelists will include: President Jay Gogue, Dean of
Students Johnny Green, Athletics Director Jay Jacobs, Director of Bands
Rick Good, Director of Student Counseling Services Doug Hankes, SGA
President Lauren Hayes, Director of Club Sports Dianne Harper, Director
of Student Development Programs Jamie Mantooth, Director of Greek Life
Paul Kittle and Jim Hardin, Director of Student Judicial Affairs. The
event is open to the public, and students, faculty and staff are
encouraged to attend. The forum will follow an open format and will
include questions from the audience. For more information contact Bo
Mantooth at 844-1989. Click here to review a brochure specifically
designed to educate and inform students, faculty/staff and parents about
hazing and how to report it.

The Undergraduate Research Forum is a venue for Auburn undergraduates to present their research and creative projects to the broader academic community. Undergraduates from all disciplines are invited to present their current work showcasing the diversity of topics, approaches and interests at Auburn University. The forum will be held April 21-22 in the Forestry and Wildlife Sciences Building. Abstracts (350 words or less) of completed projects, presentations of initial results, research project designs, field experiences, etc., are due Friday, April 11. For more information, see www.eng.auburn.edu/undergrad_symposium/. If you have questions, contact Leanne Lamke at 844-3231 or lamkelk@auburn.edu.