Archives

AUGUST 20, 2008

Good morning! Here's a look at news from the College of Agriculture:

HEADLINES
* Plenty of events to welcome students back
* Get involved at O-Night
* Mulvaney earns national grad student award
* Duffy to split time between Comer Hall, Quad Center posts
* Shaw named 2008 Alumni Professor
* International ag study opportunities abound
* Career counselor to visit Ag Hill monthly
* Poultry Science Club to host barbecue Sept. 6
* Horticulture gearing up for 2008 Welcome Day
* Form available to request Ag Ambassadors' assistance
* Flight from mother goose yields good photo op

Plenty of events to welcome students back
Fall semester 2008 at Auburn University is in full swing, and the College of Agriculture has its welcome mat out to all new and returning Ag majors. Sure, with students back, parking spaces are a bit more difficult to find now than they were over the summer, and the traffic through town is almost bad enough to justify a case of road rage, but other than that, it's great to have you back. Be sure to take advantage of Welcome Week 2008 events that are going on all over campus. You'll find a complete schedule at http://www.auburn.edu/welcomeweek.

Get involved at O-Night
If you're a new student in the College of Ag this year, make plans now to head to the Ham Wilson Livestock Arena Wednesday, Aug. 27, at 7 p.m. for ag's annual O-Night. At the event, which is sponsored by the Agriculture Student Council (aka Ag Council), each student organization will set up a table in the arena with information about who they are, what they do and how you can get involved. Of course, free food and refreshments will be served to all who attend. The Ham Wilson Arena is located at 650 S. Donahue. If you need more details, contact Rejeana Gvillo at gvillrm@auburn.edu.

Mulvaney earns national grad student award
Agronomy and soils doctoral candidate Mike Mulvaney has been selected as the 2008 recipient of the Soil Science Society of America's Division S-6 Graduate Student Award. S-6, the SSSA's Soil and Water Management and Conservation Division, presents the award annually to a graduate student who uses creative approaches to gain understanding of and develop solutions for soil and water conservation and management problems. Mulvaney's research focuses on finding sustainable methods to feed an expanding population. Specifically, he is studying organic mulches and high-residue cover crops in no-till systems; peanut residue decomposition and nutrient release rates under conservation tillage; and alley cropping for soil conservation. Mulvaney was nominated for the award by his major professor at Auburn, Wes Wood. The division will present the award to Mulvaney in October during the SSSA's joint annual meeting in Houston, Texas.

Duffy to split time between Comer Hall, Quad Center posts
For at least the next year, ag econ alumni professor Patricia Duffy will be spending half of each day in Comer Hall, teaching and conducting research as she has done since joining the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology in 1985. The other half, she'll be working at the Quad Center, in her new role as AU's assistant provost for Undergraduate Studies. In that new role, which became effective Aug. 6, Duffy will be providing leadership to the Special Lectures Committee and working to develop interdisciplinary program initiatives. Duffy has a strong track record of being involved on campus, including serving as secretary of the University Senate, chair of the Student Academic Grievance Committee, a member of the College of Agriculture Diversity Committee and the undergraduate program coordinator in her home department. Duffy will provide leadership to the Special Lectures Committee and in the development of interdisciplinary program initiatives through the Office of Undergraduate Studies. Duffy says the new one-year, half-time position may be renewable. She will be working with Associate Provost Linda Glaze in the Office of Undergraduate Studies. In her role as professor, her major area of interest is farm management and policy.

Shaw named 2008 Alumni Professor
Congratulations are due to agronomy and soils professor Joey Shaw, to whom the Auburn Alumni Association has awarded a five-year 2008 Alumni Professorship. Shaw was nominated for the honor by department head Joe Touchton and earned the award on the basis of his research, publishing and teaching accomplishments. It was the third high honor Shaw has received this year. He was also named the 2008 Agronomy and Soils Teacher of the Year Award and the 2008 Auburn Alumni Association Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award. Shaw, a soil scientist, earned his Ph.D. from the University of Georgia in 1998 and moved to Auburn for a position as an assistant professor of agronomy and soils. He was promoted to associate professor in 2003 and full professor in 2007. Shaw's research at Auburn has focused on basic pedological research and the use of geospatial applications in soil science and agronomy. He also coaches the Auburn Soil Judging Team, including the 2003 National Championship team.

International ag study opportunities abound
College of Agriculture faculty and second-year graduate students who are interested in traveling to developing countries for research, outreach, specialized studies, teaching or cooperative work experiences can apply for funding now through the York International Scholars Program. Go to http://www.ag.auburn.edu/oia/faculty/york.php for a complete description of the program, program guidelines and instructions on submitting a proposal. The deadline for turning proposals in to the Office of International Agriculture for fall semester travels is Sept. 15. Also on the OIA site (http://www.ag.auburn.edu/oia), learn about the new possibilities for graduate students to study in China, upcoming undergraduate study tours to Sicily, New Zealand, Switzerland, Costa Rica and Greece and more. Questions? Contact OIA coordinator Joe Molnar at molnajj@auburn.edu.

Career counselor to visit Ag Hill monthly
College of Ag students who could use a bit of guidance and assistance in choosing a major, developing a personal career plan, learning job-search skills or finding employment have a new service available to them this semester. The first Tuesday of each month, from 1 to 3 p.m., Phyllis Bickers, a career counselor with the university's Career Development Services, will be in Room 103A Comer Hall to help ag majors with resumes and cover letters, to distribute Career Development Services handbooks and other information, and to help freshmen and sophomores explore the job opportunities available to individuals who earn degrees in their majors. Bickers' first visit to Ag Hill will be Tuesday, Sept. 2. For more information, contact Deborah Solie at das0002@auburn.edu.

Poultry Science Club to host barbecue Sept. 6
The Poultry Science Club is hosting its 9th annual Auburn University Poultry Science Department Alumni, Friends and Recruiting Barbecue Saturday, Sept. 6, immediately following the Auburn vs. Southern Miss game, which kicks off at 11:30 a.m. The post-game gathering, which will feature the club's famous barbecue chicken and all the trimmings, will be on the front lawn of the Poultry Science Building. Deadline to sign up for the barbecue as well as a $40 football ticket (you pay) in a block seating section, is today. For more info, contact Ashley Sears Gilliland at ajs0022@auburn.edu or 334-844-4133.

Horticulture gearing up for 2008 Welcome Day
The Department of Horticulture will host its HORT Welcome Day 2008 Friday, Sept. 5, from 4 p.m. until dark at the Paterson Greenhouse Complex. The annual event, which is held come rain or come shine, gives new and returning undergraduates and any family members who might be in town for the football weekend the opportunity to meet and be greeted by the department's faculty, staff and graduate students. There'll be great food, great conversation and lots of fun and games. Oh, and did we mention door prizes? For more details, call 844-4862.

Form available to request Ag Ambassadors' assistance
If you're planning an event this 2008-09 school year, and you'd like to have one or more of the college's Ag Ambassadors attend, or speak or just help out, here's what you do: At least two weeks before the event, go to http://www.ag.auburn.edu/goplaces/ambassadors and click on "request." That takes you to an online Ambassador request form that can be filled out, printed and submitted to Ambassador adviser Deborah Solie in 107 Comer Hall or filled in, saved and e-mailed to her at das0002@auburn.edu. A form that can be submitted online will be added to the site later this year.

Flight from mother goose yields good photo op
This week's Picture This! winner comes from Carolyn Robinson, assistant professor of landscape horticulture and sociohorticulture at Auburn. She took the photo in May when she, her husband (Mike) and son (Gabriel) visited Ag Heritage Park. Father and son had walked down to the pond to see the geese, where they encountered a hissing mother goose, on the far right of the picture, who was protecting a nest full of eggs. Gabriel was fascinated, but Dad eventually succeeded in luring him from the nest. Check out the photo, "Father, Son and the Mother Goose," at http://www.ag.auburn.edu/PictureThis.