October 2011

Auburn University held its sixth annual Faculty Awards Celebrating Excellence Ceremony Oct. 4 at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center.

The awards presented at the ceremony are the highest honors the university gives to faculty and this year honored the outstanding academic achievements of 20 faculty members. Auburn University Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Timothy Boosinger hosted the event and Bob Howell, WSFA-12 evening anchor, was master of ceremonies.

College of Veterinary Medicine Assistant Professor Dr. Chad Foradori received the External Consulting Award which recognizes outstanding faculty contributions to government, business, and industry through consulting.

A native of Pennsylvania, Dr. Foradori earned his Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.  He continued his training as a postdoctoral fellow at Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.  Before joining the Auburn faculty in 2010, he was an assistant professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix.

His research focuses on the neuroendocrine control of reproduction; specifically, what factors mediate the release of gonadotropin releasing hormone, or GnRH, and the subsequent release of gonadotropins from the anterior pituitary.

Dr. Foradori calls Auburn a well-established and nationally known center for reproductive research and says he came to Auburn because he was eager to work beside respected reproductive physiologists and to further his research in a dynamic environment.

A dedication ceremony for Pratt-Carden Drive at the Southeastern Raptor Center took place Oct. 28. The newly paved road is named for 1953 veterinary medicine alumnus Dr. Bruce G. Pratt and his daughter, Sarah "Tosh" Carden, a 1993 Auburn horticulture graduate, both of Beaufort, S.C.

The mission of the Southeastern Raptor Center is to rehabilitate injured or orphaned birds, and to educate the public about raptors – their habitats, conservation, and ecology. Auburn University President Jay Gogue and members of the veterinary college attended the ceremony in celebration of this important upgrade of the Raptor Center grounds.

Attending the CVM orientation session on Oct. 5 were, front row, Kelley Bourke, clinical veterinary fellow, Equine Source Plasma Project; and Sharon Jones, quality assurance specialist, Equine Source Plasma Project. Back row, Margaret Trudrung, canine instructor, Animal Health and Performance Program; Wayne Eliasek, canine instructor, Animal Health and Performance Program; and Nancy Wagner, client advocate, Clinical Sciences.

On October 7, 16 people from the state of Brandenburg in Germany visited the college. Edzard van Santen (photographed far left) of Agronomy and Soils in the College of Agriculture hosted the group which included farmers and others associated with agriculture. Dr. Fred Hoerr gave a tour of the State Diagnostic Lab and Dr. Thomas Passler, the Large Animal Teaching Hospital. Dr. Haroldo Toro and Dr. Vicky van Santen talked to the group about research efforts at the college concerning poultry disease.

The Beat Bama Food Drive is Auburn University’s annual competition with the University of Alabama to collect and donate food before the Auburn v. Alabama game on Nov. 26. Donations from Auburn benefit the East Alabama Food Bank. Last year Auburn defeated Alabama by donating a record-breaking 234,116 pounds of food which fed 30,000 families. This year the goal is to collect 271,000 pounds of food. Online donations are also accepted: http://foodbankofeastalabama.com/donate.html

The deadline for donating is Nov. 21. To learn more, visit http://auburn.edu/sga/programs/beat_bama_food_drive/

Christine Kneidinger, al.com

Auburn's second oldest historic residency, the Halliday-Cary-Pick home, was officially dedicated as the Cary Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies for the College of Human Sciences at Auburn University. 

The Cary Center, now housed in the historic home, was generously gifted to the college by Frances Pick Dillard (left), a founding member of the Women’s Philanthropy Board, and her family, to promote the expansion of the college’s already successful philanthropic efforts.

Dr. Charles Cary, the founder of Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and its first dean, bought the home from the original owner in 1897. For students and faculty in the College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Cary’s archives and other artifacts significant to the field will permanently remain in his home office.

It's that time again! Annual Open Enrollment gives employees an opportunity to review their existing benefit plans to evaluate any anticipated needs and to make adjustments for the upcoming plan year.  Employees who do not initiate a change during open enrollment for optional health, dental, vision or cancer insurance will automatically continue their coverage as is into the next plan year.  However, continued participation in the Flexible Spending Accounts requires re-enrollment each year.

All eligible employees should have received open enrollment information at their campus addresses. Please visit our website at www.auburn.edu/payroll for additional information.