College of Architecture, Design and Construction

2. College of Architecture, Design and Construction • Andrew Freear, in the School of Architecture, received the 2006 Ralph Erskine Award in recognition of his work as director of AU’s Rural Studio. • Tin-Man Lau, professor, was named one of the Industrial Design Educators of the Year.

3. College of Architecture, Design and Construction • David Hinson, head of the School of Architecture, received the Educator Honor Award at the American Institute of Architecture Students Grassroots national convention in Washington, D.C. • Wei Wang, associate professor in the Department of Industrial Design, was selected to design visual identity systems for Coca Cola and Volkswagen for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, and to design the Olympic Games pin collection.

4. College of Education • Sheri Brock, Department of Kinesiology, has taken more than half of the department’s physical education/teacher education cohort to Camp Abilities in Arizona. Auburn students and faculty, though grant support and fundraisers, have raised more than $15,000 to support the effort. • Mary Rudisill, Kinesiology department head, is in China with a group of U.S. scholars to promote the first motor skills development textbook published in China.

5. College of Education • Jane Kuehne and Kimberly Walls, Department of Curriculum and Teaching, have begun a project that connects AU music education students with students at Loachapoka High School in the Lee County School System. • Dave Pascoe, Humana-Germany-Sherman distinguished professor in the Department of Kinesiology, is using infrared thermography to help diagnose injuries and monitor recovery. He also received the College of Education Outstanding Faculty Undergraduate Teaching Award .

6. College of Liberal Arts • Dr. Steve Brown, Jane Dickson Lanier associate professor in Political Science, was among the 2006 Faculty of the Year awarded by the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. • Dr. Paula Backscheider, English professor and H.M. Philpott West Point Stevens Eminent Scholar, is a 2006 co-winner of the Modern Language Association’s prestigious James Russell Lowell Prize for her book, Eighteenth-Century Women Poets and their Poetry: Inventing Agency, Inventing Genre, published by the Johns Hopkins University Press.

7. College of Liberal Arts • James R. Hansen’s book, First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong, has been named by Choice magazine as one of the Outstanding Academic Books of 2006. • Bert Hitchcock, English professor, was recipient of the 2006 Alabama Humanities Award from the Alabama Humanities Foundation for his exemplary contribution to the public understanding and appreciation of the humanities.

8. Harrison School of Pharmacy • Forrest Smith was awarded the Student Government Association Excellence in Teaching Award. • Dr. Bruce Berger has been awarded the Wiederholt prize by the American Pharmacists Association.

9. Harrison School of Pharmacy • Preceptor of Excellence Awards: • Dr. Kurt Wargo, Huntsville • Dr. Kristi Kelley, Birmingham/Tuscaloosa • Ms. Nancy Kickliter, Auburn/Montgomery • Dr. Karen Marlowe, Mobile/Pensacola/Biloxi • Selby “Susie” Thomas received Hargreaves Faculty Mentor Award

10. College of Veterinary Medicine • Bernhard Kaltenboeck received the 2007 Graduate Instruction Teaching Award, sponsored by Dr. Lauren G. Wolfe to recognize outstanding graduate teaching in the College of Veterinary Medicine.

11. AU Libraries • During the past year the AU librarians taught 11,000 students in 500 class sessions how to use the library effectively and improve their information literacy skills and met with nearly a thousand parents of incoming students to tell them about library services.

12. University Research • Dr. Haroldo Toro, a professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine, in collaboration with researchers at Vaxin Inc. of Birmingham, has developed the first “in ovo,” or egg-injected, vaccine to protect chickens against avian influenza, a virus threatening human health and global poultry populations.  

13. University Research • Researchers in the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering have partnered to develop an advanced electronic voting system that enables people with a variety of disabilities to cast their ballot with ease and privacy.  

14. University Research • College of Human Sciences has received a grant totaling more than $8.2 million to support the work of the Alabama Community Healthy Marriage Initiative.

15. University Research • Mark Byrne, a faculty member in the Department of Chemical Engineering, and his OcuMedic team won $100,000 in the finals of the 2007 Alabama Launchpad business plan competition. OcuMedic is a drug delivery company that creates therapeutic contact lenses to deliver medications more effectively to the eye.

16. University Outreach • Outreach provides academic and athletic camp experiences for more than 5,000 youth per year from around the Southeast. • Auburn’s program for area senior adults has been selected to become one of the prestigious Bernard Osher Foundation’s institutes for lifelong learning.

17. University Outreach • Engineering and COSAM partner in BEST, a national robotics competition for high schoolers, promoting interest in technology and math fields. • Auburn offers training in emergency management to governmental agencies through the Center for Governmental Services.

18. University Outreach • The School of Nursing is improving the quality of life for residents through a health and physical fitness program at the Boykin Community Center. • The College of Education is providing assistance to school systems throughout east and west Alabama, promoting best practices and innovation in teaching.

19. University Outreach • The Economic and Community Development Institute and Extension funded 47 rural development initiatives across the state for educational and community improvement projects. • The Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts and Humanities is Alabama’s Center for the Book and hosts an annual book festival highlighting renowned authors.

20. University Outreach • Architecture’s Rural and Urban Studios are transforming public spaces into beautiful community resources, creating innovative housing alternatives for citizens, and preserving our architectural heritage across Alabama.