This Week @ AU

An Auburn University professor in the College of Agriculture who was on the ground during the massive earthquake that devastated Haiti and who provided medical care to many of the victims presented a seminar about his experience on Friday, Jan. 22. This seminar is available for viewing at AU iTunes. Dennis Shannon, professor of agronomy and soils, arrived in Haiti the day before the earthquake struck and was standing in his hotel lobby when the tremors began. Shannon, a U.S. Department of Agriculture economist and two University of Florida agronomists were in the country to work on a food security initiative for the U.S. Department of State. The details of his experience in Haiti, as well as his thoughts on what should be done in the immediate and long-term future to help the Haitian people recover, were included in his presentation.  You can find Shannon's seminar by following these steps: Click this link, click on Distance Learning and Outreach Technology, select Presentations, select Faculty Presentations and there you will find Shannon's seminar. If you have questions, contact Leslie Keeler in Distance Learning at lak0007@auburn.edu.

Alabama’s largest and most diversified farm organization has awarded its highest honor to Richard Guthrie, dean of the Auburn University College of Agriculture and director of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, in recognition of the outstanding contributions Guthrie has made to Alabama agriculture throughout a 45-year career that includes 26 years at Auburn.

The Alabama Farmers Federation presented its Service to Agriculture Award to Guthrie on Dec. 6, during the organization's 88th annual meeting in Mobile. From 1985 to 1988, he served as acting dean of the College of Agriculture and then was named associate dean of international agriculture programs, a position he held until his first official retirement in 2003. In fall 2005, Guthrie came out of retirement to assume the dean and director positions he now holds, but from which he has announced, he will permanently retire in May 2010.

The Farmers Federation Service to Agriculture Award is the latest on an impressive list of honors Guthrie has received, including being inducted into the Alabama Agriculture Hall of Honor in 2009 and, in 1996, he won the Auburn University Athletic Department's Walter Gilbert Award, which recognizes Auburn athletes who have distinguished themselves through achievements after graduation.

Students from Auburn University's College of Architecture, Design and Construction will light up the courtyard of Dudley Hall with the glow of more than 400 jack-o-lanterns at the 21st annual Pumpkin Carve on Friday, Oct. 30. The event, sponsored by the Auburn chapter of the American Institute of Architecture students, will begin at 9 a.m. as pumpkins go on sale for $4 for festival visitors and as students begin to create their jack-o-lanterns for the evening's competition. Other activities will include a visit by Aubie from 9:30 a.m until about 11 a.m., the student costume contest at noon and the childrens costume contest at 6 p.m.

Food and drinks, including hot dogs, burgers and chili, will be available for purchase. The public is invited to carve pumpkins from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Also during that time there will be face painting, cookie decorating, games and other community activities.

At 6 p.m., pumpkin carving by students from the College of Architecture, Design and Construction will end and the pumpkins will be lit. At 6:30 p.m., these pumpkins, many with intricate designs and current event themes, will be judged based on creativity, appearance and craftsmanship. Awards will be presented at 7 p.m., and the carved pumpkins will be available for purchase for a minimum donation of $5 to American Institute of Architecture Students beginning at 7:30 p.m.

For more information, read the news release.

The summer fruit and vegetable season is well under way, obvious by the  ever-expanding selection of locally grown produce and other products at The Market at Ag Heritage Park. Among the items expected this week at the market are Asian vegetables, Auburn University pond-raised shrimp, baked goods, blackberries, blueberries, cantaloupes, goat cheese and soaps, grass-fed beef, honey, plants, peaches, squash, stone-ground grains, tomatoes and much more. The market is open to the public from 3 to 6 p.m. each Thursday from now until Aug. 27. It is located at the corner of Lem Morrison and Donahue drives in Auburn; the entrance is on Donahue Drive near the Alfa Farmers Pavilion. For more information, call 844-2783, send an e-mail to mjcreamer@auburn.edu or visit the market’s website at www.ag.auburn.edu/themarket.

Paul Patterson, Auburn native and 1985 Auburn University College of Agriculture alumnus, has been named associate dean for instruction for the College of Ag, effective June 8. He comes to Auburn from his position as professor and dean of Arizona State University's Morrison School of Management and Agribusiness. Patterson is the son of R.M. and Jean Patterson of Auburn. The elder Patterson was a long-time College of Ag faculty member who served as head of the Research Data Analysis statistical support department until his retirement in 1985; Mrs. Patterson was the Auburn High School librarian for many years. The incoming associate dean, who was awarded his bachelor's degree from Auburn in agricultural economics, earned his master's in agricultural economics from Purdue University in 1987 and, after working two years as a cotton analyst for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agriculture Service, returned to Purdue to pursue his doctorate. He achieved that goal in 1995 and joined the faculty of ASU's Morrison School of Management and Agribusiness. He was named interim dean of the school in 2006 and, in 2007, became permanent dean. Patterson replaces Dave Williams, Department of Horticulture head, who in October 2007 was named the college's interim associate dean for instruction until the position could be filled.

The Market at Ag Heritage Park will kick off its sixth season Thursday, May 21, at 3 p.m. and will be held every Thursday, from 3 to 6 p.m., through Aug. 27. This year, the open-air, growers-only farmers' market will move from its traditional site on Samford Avenue across from the Athletic Complex to a greenspace on the opposite side of the park's pond near the Alfa Farmers Pavilion. The entrance will be on Donahue Drive. Ag Heritage Park director Robert Hensarling said the slight change of venue will give customers easier access to the weekly event and help them avoid summer construction projects on Samford. As in previous seasons, Market shoppers will find a wide variety of locally grown, fresh-from-the-farm fruits and vegetables as well as other local products ranging from honey and goat cheese to hanging baskets and homemade cakes. For more information, contact Market Manager Dani Carroll at 749-3353 or carrodl@auburn.edu, or visit ag.auburn.edu/themarket. The Market is hosted by Auburn's College of Agriculture and cosponsored by the college, the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.

An Ag Hill picnic featuring fried catfish with all the trimmings is set for Wednesday, April 8, on Comer Hall's front lawn as one of several activities the College of Agriculture Student Council will host April 6-9 during Ag Week at Auburn. The picnic lunch, which costs $7 per plate, is first-come, first-served, and all students, faculty and staff are welcome. Also that day, the Red Cross Bloodmobile will be in the Comer parking lot from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Other Ag Week events include a volleyball tournament and cookout April 7 and a barn dance on April 9 with music by the Wayne Mills Band. Both events will be at the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity house and are free and open to everyone. See the complete Ag Week schedule at http://www.ag.auburn.edu/adm/student/services/eventspage.php. For more information, e-mail gvillrm@auburn.edu.