AUBURN – The Auburn Scholarship Campaign, an initiative to build funds supporting and attracting top students to the university campus, has surpassed the $3 million mark.
The campaign, which began in fall semester 2010, offers alumni and friends a unique opportunity to help provide considerably larger scholarships to recipients.
AUBURN - More than 20 family members and friends of Raye T. Benefield have funded two endowed scholarships to Auburn University in his memory. The scholarships are designated for students from Guntersville High School and Marshall County.
Rayes friends chose to remember him in this way because of his great love for Auburn University, his wife Jean Benefield said.
AUBURN - "Beethoven & Me," a music education project designed for elementary students in Notasulga, has introduced music instruction to the students and has earned an award for its creator.
Jane Kuehne, an assistant professor in Auburn University's Department of Curriculum and Teaching in the College of Education, recently received the 2010 Robby D. Gunstream Education in Music Award for her efforts to build the instrumental and compositional skills of elementary school students in Notasulga.
AUBURN – Auburn University President and Mrs. Jay Gogue recently honored the university's Bass Sports Club at the President's Home in recognition of the club's contributions to the Auburn University Foundation.
Since January 2009 the club has presented $44,500 to Auburn from funds garnered in the National Guard FLW College Fishing Series. Teams that finish in the top five of each event are awarded funds which are distributed to the foundation for general scholarships and to the club for expenses.
AUBURN – A $400,000 gift from the AT&T Foundation will support an Auburn University initiative to reduce the drop-out rate in Alabama high schools.
The pilot program involves a partnership between the Truman Pierce Institute in Auburn’s College of Education and five Alabama high schools, which will be announced later. The college’s Truman Pierce Institute focuses on ways to improve schools and communities by creating partnerships, conducting research and providing programs to meet the needs of schools and communities.
AUBURN - On Oct. 17, a group of Auburn students and other concerned citizens will embark on a 60-mile Hunger March from the Auburn University campus to the steps of the state capitol in Montgomery to raise awareness about the issue of world hunger.
Marchers will set out from the Auburn University Medical Clinic on Friday, Oct. 17, at 10 a.m. and travel southeast on College Street until it becomes U.S. 29. They will continue on to Ala. 81 North and conclude the first day, and 20 miles, in Tuskegee. On day two, Oct. 18, a 30-mile walk will follow U.S. 80 and finish in the Mt. Meigs area. On Sunday, Oct. 19, the final 10 miles will take the marchers to the steps of the capitol where they will arrive at about noon.
To better prepare engineers for jobs in the region’s growing automotive manufacturing industry, the 15 credit-hour minor will focus on vehicle quality, logistics, design and planning. This program will provide Alabama’s automotive factories with much-needed employees for mid- and upper-management roles, developing the state’s economy by allowing the plants to become more efficient.
"The minor is designed to enhance students’ preparation for careers in the automotive manufacturing industry,” said John Evans, faculty member in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. “These well-educated graduates will be ready to join the workforce and fill positions that support production processes and improve assembly.”
President of the McNeill Group, a fundraising and higher-education management consulting firm in South Carolina, McNeill has nearly 30 years of experience leading development initiatives at other large institutions, including 25 at land-grant universities.
AUBURN - Auburn University has seen a 25 percent increase in funding for student scholarships this academic year to a record $18.5 million.
Auburn students saw an increase in funding for both need-based and merit-based scholarships. Spirit of Auburn scholarships, a new program of financial assistance for students with outstanding academic records, led the way, with more than $2.5 million in scholarships in its first year.
AUBURN - The Solon and Martha Dixon Foundation has contributed $950,000 to Auburn University’s School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences to help fund additional dormitories at the Solon Dixon Forestry Education Center.
The dormitories house students attending summer practicum programs and continuing education programs that AU sponsors at the center. The foundation’s most recent gift will help fund five cottages housing eight each, almost doubling the existing capacity.
