This Week @ AU

Students in the Harrison School of Pharmacy can help individuals who are dealing with chronic health conditions and need assistance in dealing with both their conditions and medications. In routinely scheduled visits, student pharmacists can take blood pressure, check blood sugars, fill pill boxes and respond to questions or problems the participant may have with his or her condition or medications. In addition to the benefits the participant receives by having students monitor medications, participants are afforded the opportunity to mentor students and expose them to situations that will enhance their learning. For more information about this free service, contact Kathy Kyle at 844-8345 or kylekat@auburn.edu.

Rita Kemp, of the Auburn Birding Club, will host a bird identification program Saturday, Feb. 6, at 2 p.m. in the Louise Kreher Forest Ecology Preserve. Learn about  The Great Backyard Bird Count, identifying the most common birds found in the area, and some feeding tips to attract birds. After quick lesson on using binoculars and scopes, guests will head out for some birding on the preserve trails. You will go home with a bird ID sheet and some confidence to participate in the count or enjoy birding on your own.  Admission is $2 and all proceeds will go for bird seed for the preserve feeders. For more information, call Jennifer Lolley at 707-6512 or visit the preserve Web site.

Associate professor Mark Bertus of the College of Business died Tuesday, Jan. 26. Bertus was born Dec. 21, 1971, in Bartlesville, Okla. He earned his Ph.D. in finance from Oklahoma University and taught finance at Auburn University, where he received multiple teaching awards. With his outgoing personality and love of life, he worked to further collegiality within the department and College of Business.  Donations are being accepted for the Mark Bertus Scholarship Fund and can be made at any Auburn Bank location or mailed to P.O. Drawer 3110, Auburn, AL 36831.

Watch 14 beautiful and talented contestants compete for the title of Miss Auburn University 2010 on Friday, Jan. 29, at 7:30 p.m.  in the Student Activities Center. You can purchase your boarding pass for $5 at the door or by contacting the Auburn University Student Government Association at 844-4240.

This February, almost 4,000 Auburn students in 30 residence halls will compete in this year's Sustain-A-Bowl Championship, Auburn's annual resource competition. Beginning on Feb. 1 and ending four weeks later on Feb. 28, Sustain-A-Bowl will put halls against one another to see which is the most sustainable.  The competition challenges residents to reduce their electricity, water and waste and increase their recycling over the course of the four weeks and to live more sustainably as a community. But the competition is not just about using less, it is also about learning more. It is not just about turning off your Wii at night and taking shorter showers, it is also about knowledge and participation. Throughout the month of February, residents and Residence Life staff can earn points for their halls by participating in events that promote the competition and educate other residents about sustainable living. For a complete list of events see this link.

Also starting Feb. 1 is RecycleMania, a national competition for college campuses to minimize waste and increase recycling.  Last year during Sustain-A-Bowl, students managed to save $5,506 in electricity and $2,785 in water, for  a total of $8,291 over the course of the month. Over the last four years the Auburn campus has recycled thousands of tons of materials that would otherwise have gone to the landfill. This event is being hosted by Residence Life with the help of all their staff and the Eco-Reps, the Office of Sustainability and its interns,  the Auburn Recycling Program and Ken Martin and Rob Rodiek in Facilities.  For more information e-mail sustain@auburn.edu or visit this link.

What does the Chia Pet have to do with sustainable living? Can grain crops be an art form? Jeff Schmuki, visiting artist in the Auburn University Department of Art, challenges viewers both to confront and to collaborate on these and other issues in “agritecture.” Schmuki’s exhibit is on display through Feb. 26 in 101 Biggin Hall.
Schmuki received his master of fine arts degree from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University and his bachelor’s degree from Northern Arizona University. His approach combines environmental, social, economic and aesthetic concerns with a nomadic sensibility developed after Hurricane Katrina. Whimsically functional yet serious hydroponic plant growth systems such as mobile garden machines, botanic "enhancements" and "portable fields" often begin as a response to a specific place and are fashioned to mutate and adapt to new situations and environments along the way. Schmuki often encourages the audience to consider art-making a collaborative research laboratory, empowering the community and promoting a more accountable use of natural resources.

The Graduate Student Council is presenting a competition for graduate students to submit research in several categories. Poster presentation categories are design, science and engineering.  Oral presentation categories are design, science, engineering and humanities. Proposals for poster and oral presentations can be submitted online at this link.  Submissions are due by Feb. 12. Monetary awards will be given in each category and presented at the Graduate School Forum Saturday, March 6, at Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art.

The annual Springer Yellow Sale of math books at the Auburn University Bookstore in Haley Center is ending. From Monday, Jan. 25, to Friday, Feb. 5, the remaining books will be reduced 30 percent less than the sticker price.  For more information contact Margaret Hendricks at 844-1365.

The Diversity and Tolerance Organization is offering free Turkish language classes to all interested students, faculty and staff. Classes meet once a week in the Student Center. Class schedules are flexible in order to satisfy the attendees' needs. For additional information or if anyone is interested in attending classes, e-mail dto@auburn.edu .

Bicycle racks will be upgraded on Thursday and Friday, Jan. 21-22, around the Student Center, stadium parking deck, Parker Hall and Roosevelt Concourse. Bicycles attached to the old racks in these locations should be removed by the owner before Wednesday night, Jan. 20. Any bikes still attached to the old racks on Thursday morning, Jan. 21, are subject to removal by Parking Services (844-4143). The new racks should be complete by Friday afternoon, Jan. 22.

Students can now print PDF or TXT files on the networked printers in the Ralph Brown Draughon Library from anywhere on campus. Log in and select the desired printer (black-and-white or color) from the drop-down menu. Standard printing fees will be applied to your eBill account: Black-and-white printing is 6 cents per page and color printing is 50 cents per page. The printers are located in the Learning Commons on the second floor and in the Office of Information Technology computer lab on the third floor. Go to www.auburn.edu/tigerprint to start printing or for more details.

Auburn University will be participating again for 10 weeks in the statewide weight-loss program, Scale Back Alabama. The goal is to get each individual on a team to lose one pound per week for a total of 10 pounds during the contest. For each individual who completes the 10-week contest and loses at least 10 pounds, his or her name will be placed in a drawing for one of 50 statewide prizes of $100 each. For the team that maintains all of its original team members throughout the contest with each team member losing at least 10 pounds, the team name will be placed in a drawing for one of three grand prizes: The first team drawn will win $250 per team member; second team drawn, $500 per team member; and third team drawn, $1,000 per team member. To participate, go to one of these locations between Jan. 25-29: 204 Student Activities Center, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Auburn University Pharmaceutical Care Center, 9 a.m. to noon; or Auburn University Medical Clinic, 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Each person's beginning and ending weights will be kept confidential, as well as the weight of each team. Classes on nutrition, exercise and healthy habits will be offered during the 10 weeks and will be announced later. For more information, contact Jenny Swaim at 844-9142 or swaimje@auburn.edu. For information on the statewide contest, along with weight-loss tips and other resources, go to this link.

The Miller Writing Center provides tutoring services for students enrolled in university-required core courses. It will open on Tuesday, Jan. 19, in two locations. The hours of the first location, 3183 Haley Center, are 9 a.m. until 5 p. m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. until noon on Friday; the hours of the second location, the RBD Library Learning Commons on the second floor, are 2 p.m. until 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. on Sunday. Students can either walk-in or make appointments through the Web site.

Designed by you, for you and funded by EBSCO Industries, the Learning Commons is now open on the second floor of Ralph Brown Draughon Library. After gathering student input over the last three years, the Learning Commons features an additional 300 power outlets, 10 group study areas, movable whiteboards and 415 new seats all conveniently arranged in one space with the Miller Writing Center, Study Partners, an Office of Information Technology HelpDesk and library reference services from RBD subject specialists.

Last fall, Department of Art Professor Barbara  Bondy asked students in her drawing class to create  pieces on the theme of agriculture. Their ensuing work caught the eye of College of Ag Associate Dean Paul Patterson who realized that the assignment not only provided art students an opportunity to learn more about Alabama agriculture, but their work also gave College of Ag students, faculty and staff a chance to see agriculture through new eyes.  The drawings are now on exhibit in Comer, Funchess, Swingle and Duncan halls and in the Poultry Science Building where they will remain through the end of February. A guide to the Art Walk trail, complete with the drawings' locations, the artist's names and brief descriptions of each piece, is available at this link.

The College of Liberal Arts has announced a new undergraduate minor in community and civic engagement. The 15-hour, interdisciplinary minor is comprised of courses that provide context for understanding public issues, skills to become more effective and responsible global citizens and service learning opportunities to apply theory to practice. Advisors are Chris Qualls, Department of Theatre, and Giovanna Summerfield, Department of Foreign Languages. For more information and a list of approved courses, visit this link.

The Inaugural Green and Blue Conference will be held Jan. 27-29 in Auburn to promote and recognize innovation and leadership in sustainable practices and materials in residential building. The conference is hosted by the Alabama Association of Habitat Affiliates in partnership with the Home Depot Foundation, Auburn University College of Architecture, Design and Construction, the Auburn University Office of Sustainability, the U.S. Green Building Council Alabama Chapter and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The conference will host five track areas: water, residential building strategies, neighborhood development, emerging research and building codes and systems. Speakers presenting include representatives from the Auburn University School of Architecture, Florida Solar Energy Center, U.S. Department of Energy, Nature's Tap and Habitat for Humanity. Auburn University faculty and students who provide their Auburn e-mail address may register for the conference at the reduced price of $50 per participant. The Auburn University Outreach Program Office is providing pre-conference administration. For more information on the Green and Blue Conference, visit the Web site.

Auburn University's Bass Sports Club is ranked second among bass fishing colleges in the nation in the January/February issue of FLW Outdoors Magazine. FLW surveyed all 2009 National Guard FLW College Fishing anglers in the country about their clubs, their schools and their fishing lifestyles. They scored their findings based on factors they thought as most important to a college angler, including proximity to bass fisheries, tournament opportunities and club activities. They also interviewed club officers and tournament winners from each college. They combined all their results to create the "editor's rankings" and ended up with the top 25 bass fishing colleges.

Auburn University College of Agriculture agronomist Dennis Delaney and Auburn University Libraries' archivist Dewayne Cox will be featured on cable and public television stations nationwide beginning Wednesday as part of the national farm and ranch show, "America's Heartland." The show, which focuses on agriculture across the United States, came to Auburn last fall to do a piece on the Old Rotation on Lem Morrison Drive. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Old Rotation is the oldest continuous cotton rotation experiment in world and the third oldest ongoing field crop experiment in the United States. During the interviews, Delaney and Cox explain the Old Rotation's scientific and historical significance to Alabama and the region and its contribution to long-term crop research and advancements nationally and worldwide. The show, episode 519, will air on cable station RFD-TV on Wednesday, Jan. 13, at 7 p.m. and again on Saturday, Jan. 17, at 5:30 p.m. Clips from the show will be available early next week at this link under stories: Episode 519.

Auburn University will host a weeklong tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from Friday, Jan. 15, through Friday, Jan. 22, with the theme "Inspiring the Strength to Love: One Auburn, One Community." Highlights include an oratory contest, a scholarship breakfast, guest speakers, lectures, student performances and community service projects. All events are open to the public. The week's events begin with an evening with the Rev. Joseph Lowery, who will speak at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center on Friday, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m. Lowery delivered the benediction for President Barack Obama's inauguration as the 44th president of the United States, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama in 2009. On Sunday, Jan. 17, the "Word from the Mountain Top" oratory contest will take place at 5 p.m. at the Auburn Chamber of Commerce. Middle school through college students will address the question, "How can we rise above the confines of struggle and conflict within our society to inspire a greater love for humanity?" To read more and to see a complete schedule of the week's events, see the news release or the King Week page. This year's King Week activities are being coordinated by Access and Community Initiatives, a unit of the Auburn University Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs.

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Auburn University, or OLLI at Auburn, will host a meeting featuring Alabama author Kathryn Tucker Windham on Monday, Jan. 11, at 10 a.m. in the second floor ballroom at the Lexington Hotel, 1577 S. College St. The public is invited to attend the presentation by Windham. The meeting marks the beginning of the winter term 2010 for OLLI at Auburn, a non-credit, peer-led learning program. For more information, contact the OLLI office at 844-5100 or go to this link.