AUBURN - Auburn University will host the Alabama Gubernatorial Forum 2010 on Tuesday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. in the Student Center Ballroom.

All gubernatorial candidates who declared candidacy prior to Sept. 25 were invited to participate in the forum. Participating candidates are Robert Bentley, Bradley Byrne, Artur Davis, Kay Ivey, Tim James, Bill Johnson and Ron Sparks. The moderator for the event is Jeremy Campbell of ABC 33/40 in Birmingham.

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AUBURN - Auburn University's Center for Governmental Services has unveiled its analysis of newly released U.S. Census Bureau data showing that during the current recession Alabama's tax revenues have declined slightly less than the 14.2 percent average falloff for the nine Southeastern states.

The most recent data show that Alabama's total tax revenues in the second quarter of 2009, collected from all sources, declined by 13 percent versus the same quarter in 2008. Alabama's falloff was greater than that of Arkansas at minus 5 percent; Mississippi at minus 9 percent; Tennessee at minus 11 percent; and Florida at minus 12 percent. Alabama's decline in tax revenue was exceeded by those of Georgia at minus 17 percent; Louisiana at minus 18 percent; South Carolina at minus 21 percent; and North Carolina at minus 22 percent.

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AUBURN - The Chinese Ambassador to the United States, Wenzhong Zhou, will visit Auburn University Oct. 20-21 at the invitation of Auburn President Jay Gogue to promote international education partnerships.

Ambassador Zhou will give a public presentation, "China's Development and China-U.S. Relations," at 2:30 p.m. Oct. 21 in the Auburn University Student Center. His visit also will include campus tours as well as gatherings hosted by President and Mrs. Gogue, the Chinese Professional Association and the Chinese Student Organization.

Governor Bob Riley will host the ambassador at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 21 in Montgomery.

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The Committee of 19, Auburn University's leadership team for the War on Hunger, has designated Oct. 12-16 as Hunger Awareness Week at Auburn University. This annual event highlights the plight of the one billion chronically hungry people throughout the developing world and draws attention to the needs of individuals and families in the local community.

Events begin on Monday, Oct. 12, at 5 p.m. with the Student Government Association's 16th annual Beat Bama Food Drive. For more information, go to http://www.beatbamafooddrive.com.

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AUBURN - Alabama's green industry has stretched its lead as the state's number-one cash crop and now injects $2.89 billion into the state's economy annually, as shown by an economic analysis of the industry conducted by agricultural economists in Auburn University's College of Agriculture. That represents a 52 percent increase from 2003, when the industry's overall economic impact was $1.9 billion.

The latest study, based on 2007 data that agricultural economist Deacue Fields collected in a statewide industry survey, also indicates that the horticultural industry now accounts for 43 percent of Alabama's total crop sales, compared to 38 percent in 2003. Cotton comes in a distant second, at 18 percent of cash receipts, down 6 percent from 2003.

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AUBURN - Analysts in the Center for Governmental Services at Auburn University say U.S. Census data released in September include some encouraging results for Alabama.

The state's rate of persons without health insurance coverage in 2008, 11.9 percent, was the lowest rate recorded for Alabama in this decade. Alabama also has the lowest rate of uninsured residents in the southeastern states, besting Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

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AUBURN – Researchers in an Alabama educational alliance have received a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation to help Alabama students with disabilities earn college degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and, ultimately, enter the workforce.

The funding was granted to the Alabama Alliance for Students with Disabilities in STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – which is a collaborative effort involving Alabama State University, Auburn University, Auburn University Montgomery, Tuskegee University, Central Alabama Community College, Southern Union State Community College and the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind. The alliance also includes six school districts in Lee, Chambers, Elmore, Montgomery, Macon and Tallapoosa counties and has an outreach component that covers the entire state.

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AUBURN – “Cry, the Beloved County,” the 1995 film adaptation of Alan Paton’s 1948 novel, will be shown Thursday, Oct. 1, at 7 p.m. in the ballroom of the Auburn University Student Center. Critics have described the movie as illuminating the rigid and racist structures of society in South Africa that would later give rise to apartheid.

Overtoun Jenda, a native of the African country of Malawi and head of the Auburn’s Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, will offer brief introductory remarks. There will be an opportunity for group discussion following the film. Sponsored by Auburn’s Honors College, the film is open to the public and admission is free.

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AUBURN – Foreclosed homes and unsustainable growth can wreck the tax base of local governments. That’s the warning being issued by Auburn University’s Center for Governmental Services following its study of newly released U.S. Census Bureau data on housing unit growth.

Auburn researchers compared housing data from the states of Alabama and Georgia to gauge the effects of the recession and its real estate bubble on property taxes that fund local governments and their services.

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AUBURN - Auburn University's College of Sciences and Mathematics, in collaboration with the Alabama Department of Education, has been awarded $600,000 from NASA to produce modules in the varying science focus areas of global climate change. The program, "Bringing Global Climate Change Education to Alabama Classrooms," will partner with the Alabama Science in Motion, or ASIM, program to effectively train teachers and educate students in grades 9-12 about the changing planet.

Steve Ricks, director of the Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative, said the partnership with Auburn University will allow Alabama's teachers and their students to experience first-hand how scientists investigate global change. Teachers and students will gain unique insight into the science behind one of the most prevalent scientific issues of our time – the environment and its effect on our lives.

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