Purely Academic

Sisters in Agriculture Form AU Chapter

A chapter of Sigma Alpha, also known as Sisters in Agriculture or SA, has been founded at Auburn and is open to any female who is interested in agriculture and natural resources and who has a 2.5 GPA or better.

The national SA organization consists of more than 60 chapters with more than 4,000 undergraduate and alumnae members. SA’s national service project is Ag in the Classroom, which encourages children to learn about agriculture and how it affects them directly. Auburn SA’s service project is Storybook Farm, a unique program of therapeutic horseback riding and creative activity for children with disabilities, life-threatening diseases or those who have suffered a loss. SA has also reached out to the community by hosting a petting zoo at the annual Syrup Sopping event in Lochapoka as well as volunteering to work with Michelle Elmore at the Beef Cattle Improvement Association bull sales.

All of this service work still leaves Auburn’s SA members time for fellowship: each semester they have a picnic, two swap socials with other organizations and a formal.

Auburn’s SA organization was recognized by the national organization as a Sorority in Development chapter in August 2005. Members are currently working.

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Academic Honor Societies Induct New Members

Two preeminent honorary organizations—the Honor Society of Agriculture-Gamma Sigma Delta and Phi Kappa Phi—recognize the exceptional academic accomplishments of CoAg students and a new set of CoAg students have been inducted into both.

The Honor Society of Agriculture-Gamma Sigma Delta was founded at The Ohio State University in 1905 and has been active on the Auburn University campus since 1916. Its objectives are the improvement of all phases of agriculture, including production agriculture, biology, environmental studies, agribusiness and other related sciences.

High standards of scholarship and outstanding achievement in career pursuits are encouraged. Senior students elected to membership must rank scholastically in the upper 15 percent of the class and they must show promise of future leadership in some phase of agriculture in its broadest meaning. Graduate students of outstanding ability in the various fields of agriculture or closely related sciences and alumni and faculty who have shown outstanding achievement in agricultural pursuits are also eligible for election. Faculty members are eligible after at least three years of service. Alumni are eligible for election not sooner than five years after graduation.

Phi Kappa Phi is the nation’s oldest and most selective academic honor society dedicated to the recognition and promotion of academic excellence in all fields of higher education. The initial chapter was established at the University of Maine in 1897. The Auburn University chapter became the 13th chapter of the society with its founding in 1914.

The quota for student membership for each of the academic colleges and schools at Auburn is the top 5 percent of the graduating class. Graduating seniors are considered eligible for membership provided they have at least 45 semester hours completed in residence at Auburn University with a minimum overall GPA of 3.395 on all courses attempted at Auburn University. No student with a GPA of 3.595 or higher will be excluded by virtue of the 5 percent quota. Graduating seniors are elected in the semester that they are to be awarded degrees. Juniors are considered eligible for membership provided they have completed a minimum of 75 semester hours, 38 of which must have been in residence at Auburn University with a minimum overall GPA of 3.795 on all courses attempted at Auburn University. Graduate students are eligible for membership if they have a cumulative GPA of 3.695 or better on all graduate courses. Graduate students are elected in the semester they are awarded degrees.

New members of The Honor Society of Agriculture-Gamma Sigma Delta are:
Seniors
Taylor Boozer (Agronomy and Soils)
Kiley Harper (Agricultural Communications)
Nick Williams (Horticulture)
Graduate Students
Elkin Amaya (Fisheries)
Joseph Ballenger (Fisheries)
Susan Fogelson (Fisheries)
Robbie McKinney (Fisheries)
Tri Nhu Nguyen (Fisheries)
Harvey Pine (Fisheries)
David Saalfeld (Fisheries)
Ling Tang (Animal Sciences)
Katherine Whiting (Agricultural Economics)
Yinfeng Zhang (Fisheries)
New members inducted into Phi Kappa Phi are:
Seniors
Taylor Boozer (Agronomy and Soils)
Kiley Harper (Agricultural Communications)
Nick Williams (Horticulture)
Juniors
Christopher Bagents (Horticulture)
Kyle Creamer (Horticulture)
Alyson Johnson (Agricultural Economics)
Mary Katherine Krothapalli (Animal Sciences)
Josh Smitherman (Horticulture)
Sara Tatum (Agronomy and Soils)

In addition, four CoAg students were recognized by Phi Kappa Phi for their outstanding academic accomplishments during their freshman year. They were Kimberly Cline (Animal Sciences), Mark Duroh (Agronomy and Soils), Amy Klinner (Animal Sciences) and Jordan Towns (Animal Sciences). Mary Katharine Krothapalli (Animal Sciences) was recognized for her exceptional academic accomplishments as a sophomore.

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And More Winners Are…

In addition to the other honors bestowed on CoAg students recently, several students received special college awards.

Kiley Harper, who graduated magna cum laude in December with her bachelor’s degree in agricultural communications, was recognized for her outstanding contributions to the College of Agriculture and Auburn University through receipt of the Dean’s Award for Academic and Professional Excellence.

Harper was an active Ag Ambassador and was one of the founding members of the Auburn University ALFA Young Farmers organization. She was a member of Collegiate 4H, Collegiate FFA, Block and Bridle, Alpha Theta Chi and Sigma Alpha. She was recognized for her academic accomplishments through membership in Alpha Lambda Delta, Gamma Sigma Delta-The Honor Society of Agriculture and the University’s highest all discipline academic honorary, Phi Kappa Phi.

Harper was also designated as a member of Who’s Who Among College Students and as a member of the National Dean’s List. She has taken a position with the Florida Farm Bureau in Dade County prior to continuing her graduate education.

Taylor Boozer, who graduated cum laude in December with a degree in agronomy and soils, was selected to be the College of Agriculture Graduation Marshal in recognition of her outstanding academic accomplishments and contributions to her curriculum and College.

She was a member of Alpha Zeta and the Agronomy Club, holding leadership positions in both organizations. She served as a member of the awardwining Soil Judging Team, was recognized by her department as the Outstanding Senior in Agronomy and Soils and was recognized by Gamma Sigma Delta-The Honor Society of Agriculture as an Outstanding Freshman. In recognition of her continued academic excellence, she was inducted into the organization as a senior. In addition, she was recognized with membership in Phi Kappa Phi.

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Dean’s List Fall Semester

College of Agriculture students continued to perform very well academically during fall semester. A total of 63 (7.1 percent of our CoAg student body) achieved Dean’s List recognition (a grade point average of at least 3.7 with a minimum of 14 credit hours). Twentyfour of these had a perfect 4.0 grade point average with four being first semester freshmen and eight of our continuing students having cumulative grade point averages of 4.0. Those who made the Dean’s List are:

Ag Communications
Devin Dotson
Jennifer Himburg

Ag Economics
Jessica Braswell
Robert Herndon
Alyson Johnson

Agronomy and Soils
Jonathan Bailey
Mark Doroh
Michael Gunn
Brad Kirkland
Joshua Martin
Hunter Stone
Amy Weaver

Animal Sciences
Rachel Bearden
Brittney Blakney
Kyle Carpenter
Kimberly Cline
Adam Cooner
Jeffrey DeFoor
Jessica Futral
Sara Graham
Amanda Hibbert
Ashley Jones
Ashley Keating
Mary Katherine Krothapalli
Emily McIntire
Charity McNutt
Sarah Merck
Nick Patterson
Gary Perkins
Robin Pumphrey
Jenniver Saunders
Elizabeth Scholl
Christy Scokel
Rachel Smith
Patrick Sullivan
Crystal Terrill
Taylor Towns
Jill Ward
Drew White

Fisheries
Sara Rademaker

Horticulture
Christopher Bagents
Andrew Bice
Loreal Brooks
Zack Casey
Tracy Cook
Kyle Creamer
Ross Hornsby
Travis Lacy
Megan Leach
Rita McCutcheon
Alex Moore
Melissa Orange
Adam Sleeper
Josh Smitherman
Jessica Vining
Nick Williams
Amber Young

Poultry Science
Toni Deason
Maggie Jordan
Josiah Roberts
Sam Rochell
Clint Shumate
Zane Thompson

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