AUBURN – The Board of Directors of the Solon and Martha Dixon Foundation has pledged $200,000 to the Auburn University College of Business in support of flight education. The gift will be used to purchase a glass cockpit flight training device and create an endowment to support proper maintenance and upkeep of the equipment throughout its useful life.

A 1926 graduate of Alabama Polytechnic Institute, Solon Dixon was a leader in the forestry industry. Dixon began his career, however, in the aeronautical engineering and flight education programs at Auburn, instructing student pilots for nearly a decade.

"We know that the glass simulator will improve the training for students and enable them to be more competitive as they pursue career opportunities and that it will be a reminder of Mr. Dixon's role in the formulation of the earliest flight programs at Auburn University," said Doris Tyler, president of the Solon and Martha Dixon Foundation.

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AUBURN – Auburn University's Reserve Officers' Training Corps received more than $1.6 million from the estate of U.S. Army Lt. Col. Henry Earl Turner through the Auburn University Foundation.

The gift will be divided among the Army, Air Force and Navy ROTC programs at the university. It will be used to support an endowed fund for excellence at the departments' discretions.

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AUBURN – Ted and Alice Mallory have donated a condominium in their hometown of Fayetteville, Ga., to the Auburn University Foundation. Most of the profit from the sale of the donated property, appraised at $111,000, will be used to establish the Ted and Alice Mallory Endowment for Scholarships in Aviation and Supply Chain Management. The rest will be used to establish an endowed scholarship for an Auburn majorette and to provide unrestricted gifts to the College of Education and the College of Liberal Arts' Women's Leadership Institute.

"We are delighted to provide this gift for scholarships," said Ted. "The education and experiences we received at Auburn provided us with outstanding opportunities. These scholarships are a way for us to say thank you for what Auburn has given to us."

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AUBURN – Mike and Jane McLain of Atlanta have increased an existing pledge to the Auburn University College of Business in support of the university's efforts to recognize and retain exemplary faculty through its endowed professorship program. Their commitment of $150,000 is the second secured by the College of Business in less than two months in response to President Jay Gogue's challenge to create 81 new professorships across campus for existing faculty with exceptional merit.

When fully funded, the McLain Family Endowed Professorship will be awarded by the dean of the college to a professor who exhibits a strong commitment to students and a high quality of instruction, research and service. The donors requested that preference be given to a faculty member in finance or marketing. To make the endowment one of distinction, the university will match the annual spendable amount which is available for distribution with $7,500 in perpetuity.

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AUBURN - Carolyn Brinson Reed, Auburn University class of ’65, along with her sons Randy ‘89 and Scott ’90, recently established a $1 million planned gift with the Auburn University Foundation to honor the memory and legacy of a devoted husband, father and community leader.

The donation will establish the Robert E. Reed Memorial Scholarship Endowment in the College of Liberal Arts and will benefit honor students from Mountain Brook High School in Birmingham. Mr. Reed was a 1965 graduate of Auburn.

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AUBURN - Auburn University alumni Mike and Jane McLain of Atlanta have pledged $100,000, in honor of Mike’s father, to establish the Andrew Carrol McLain Endowment for Scholarships in Auburn’s College of Business.

“Jane and I are very pleased to honor my father with this endowed scholarship,” said Mike McLain. “My father has always believed in getting a good education and in working hard to achieve your goals. We are happy that we can pass this legacy on to deserving Auburn students.”

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AUBURN - The Alabama Prison Arts + Education Project, an outreach program in Auburn University’s College of Liberal Arts, has received a grant of $14,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts to teach art, photography and creative writing in Alabama’s prisons.

Project director Kyes Stevens said the grant will support additional educational programs and materials in correctional facilities and will fund a pilot project with Space One Eleven, a non-profit community arts organization in Birmingham, to offer studio instruction for both previous participants and those now participating in community corrections in Birmingham.

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Arthur Ducote, Regions Central Alabama area executive (on left), presenting a bright green Regions Cruiser bicycle to Auburn University President Jay Gogue.

“Regions is proud to support Auburn University,” said Arthur Ducote, Regions Central Alabama area executive. “Helping our communities to expect more is a vital part of the Regions mission, and, through our support of Auburn University, we’re able to help fulfill that mission for the students and faculty at Auburn, as well as the local community.”

According to the Alabama Forestry Association, forestry generates approximately $13 billion for Alabama and an additional $4.2 billion in wages each year, making it one of the leading industries within the state. The new distinguished forestry professorship will focus on product development and research, identifying creative additional markets for the use of trees. Coupled with the scholarships for the College of Business, Regions’ contribution emphasizes the importance of education to drive the economic engine in the communities it serves.

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James McManus

The Energen First Scholarships will benefit first-generation college students residing in central Alabama. “This scholarship won’t be limited to 4.0 students, as we aim to serve students who meet the university’s enrollment requirements and need a helping hand,” said James T. McManus II, chairman and chief executive officer of Energen Corporation.

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AUBURN - Auburn University’s Department of Building Science, in the College of Architecture, Design and Construction, has received a tuition endowment of $150,000 from Bailey-Harris Construction Company to establish a presidential scholarship.

Bailey-Harris had already provided an initial contribution toward creating the presidential scholarship endowment. The endowment brings the CADC fundraising total to nearly $23 million in its “It Begins at Auburn” Campaign, which had a goal of $20 million.

“We are tremendously appreciative to Bailey-Harris for their most recent and very generous gift to our Department of Building Science scholarship program,” CADC Dean Dan Bennett said. “We are particularly pleased that they have decided to make an endowment gift, as that decision ensures that the scholarship will serve deserving students for generations to come.”

The scholarship will be awarded to a junior or senior in the Department of Building Science with a minimum 3.0 grade point average. The scholarship may also be retained for a senior planning to earn a graduate degree from Auburn.

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