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 – The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University will throw its sixth annual Birthday Bash on Sunday, Oct. 11, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. This year’s celebration will revolve around the “Elvis at 21” exhibition, opening Oct. 10, and will feature music by an Elvis tribute band, “Young Elvis and the Blue Suedes.”

Clips from 1956 films, advertisements and television appearances will be on display in the museum auditorium. Children will have the opportunity to take part in art projects related to 1950s technology, view the Joni Mabe exhibition, “Elvis and Friends,” and learn dance moves made famous by Elvis.

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AUBURN - John C.H. "Jack" Miller Jr., an Auburn University trustee since 2000, passed away Saturday at his home in Mobile. He had suffered from cancer since 2004. Miller was the founder and chairman of the Mobile-based law firm Miller, Hamilton, Snider and Odom, which merged with Jones Walker in 2008.

"Jack brought energy, innovation and an insightful focus to academic quality and scholarship," said Auburn President Jay Gogue. "He will be missed. The thoughts and prayers of the Auburn family go out to his family and many friends."

Miller was a champion for many Auburn academic programs and spearheaded efforts to improve students' writing and reasoning skills. The Auburn Board of Trustees in June named the university's newly established writing center in his honor.

Miller is survived by his wife of 38 years, Susan Ross Miller; his mother, Emily Townsend Miller of Mobile; his children, Emily Miller Washburn and husband, James; John Cleveland Hays Miller III and wife, Julia; and Edward Aubert Roberts Miller and wife, Meredith; and two grandsons, Jackson Roberts Washburn and Jesse Townsend Washburn.

A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Tuesday at Government Street Presbyterian Church in Mobile. The Rev. Al Reese, the Rev. Steve Raby and Wade F. Perry will officiate. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Auburn University in care of the John C.H. Miller Jr. Writing Center or the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico.

Contact: Deedie Dowdle, (334) 844-9999 (dowdldk@auburn.edu), or
Brian Keeter, (334) 844-4650 (bkeeter@auburn.edu)

AUBURN – Students from the Auburn University choirs will perform at New York's Carnegie Hall on Sunday, June 14, at 2 p.m.

A group of 23 Auburn students will participate in the performance. Together they represent each of Auburn's six choral ensembles: Chamber Choir, Women's Chorus, Men's Chorus, Gospel Choir, Vocal Chamber Ensemble and the AU Singers. William Powell, director of choral activities at Auburn, will direct them for part of the performance.

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AUBURN - Auburn University awarded approximately 1,195 academic degrees at its summer commencement ceremony at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 9, in Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

Of the degrees Auburn awarded, 840 are bachelor’s degrees, 265 are master’s degrees, 86 are doctorates, two are specialist degrees and two are professional degrees (one each from the College of Veterinary Medicine and the James I. Harrison School of Pharmacy).

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AUBURN - An Auburn University research and outreach project is moving from the laboratory into the mainstream market this month and for the first time ever, gardeners in parts of the United States will have the opportunity to buy spectacular lotus already in bloom.

Lotus, ancient aquatic perennial plants that are native to China, have been used for centuries throughout the world as food, medicine and ornamentals. Since 2001, AU horticulture professor Ken Tilt and a team of scientists from Auburn, Georgia, Mississippi and China have been exploring the possibility of growing lotus in the Southeast, particularly in Alabama’s Black Belt region, as a potential double-cropping option for west Alabama fish farmers.

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AUBURN-William F. Walker, who served as Auburn University’s president from 2001-04, died Tuesday of complications from cancer. He was 69.

A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 10, at First Presbyterian Church in Auburn. A reception will follow in the church’s fellowship hall. In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations to be made to the First Presbyterian Church Community Ministry, the East Alabama Food Bank, or the William F. and Myrna Walker Family Endowment for Scholarships.

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