8.0MB - College of Education - Auburn University

O f f i c e o f t h e D e a nNew StaffMary Katherine LoweDevelopmentCoordinatorElizabeth PonderDevelopment OfficerColleen TrentCommunicationsAdministratorTo learn more about thecollege’s diversity initiatives, visiteducation.auburn.edu/diversity-commitmentEducation faculty, staff exceeduniversity-wide giving benchmarkAt the conclusion of the 2006 Faculty Staff Campaign, the first faculty-staff fundraisingeffort of its kind in recent years that started in March 2006, Auburn University employeesreached a record giving level of 43 percent—a sharp increase over the previous level of 9percent among the university’s faculty and staff.College of Education faculty and staff contributed greatly to that success, as more than61 percent of college personnel participated in the campaign. The college ranked thirdin its giving among the university’s 14 colleges and schools. Two departments—CounselorEducation, Counseling Psychology and School Psychology; and Health and HumanPerformance—reached the 100-percent participation mark, and the Learning ResourcesCenter staff reached 90 percent.In all, more than 1,840 faculty and staff from across campus participated by givingmore than $500,000 in current-use contributions.The campaign among faculty and staff is part of the university’s $500 million “It Beginsat Auburn” fundraising effort. Dr. Bob McGinnis, AU’s vice president for development,said both the campus campaign’s success and the sense of unity it demonstrates toalumni added to momentum that followed the kickoff of the national campaign’s publicphase in February 2006.“This is an astounding record and a success that the faculty and staff deserve to be veryproud of,” McGinnis said. “The dramatic rise in participation among the faculty and staffover a two-month period is almost unheard of in a fundraising campaign.”The nationwide “It Begins at Auburn” campaign has raised more than $466.9 million,or 93 percent of the total goal. The campaign encompasses all AU colleges and schoolsas well as AU libraries, museums, athletics and Auburn University Montgomery. Endowmentsfor students, faculty, programs and unrestricted dollars make up 58 percent of thecampaign’s goal.Education appoints Wattsas acting diversity directorIn February 2007, Education Dean Frances Kochan announcedthe appointment of Dr. Ivan Watts as the college’sacting director of diversity, recruitment and retention.Watts, an associate professor in the college’s Departmentof Educational Foundations, Leadership and Technology since1999, will serve on a part-time basis while maintaining his regularfaculty duties.In this capacity, Watts will oversee the college’s efforts tofocus on recruiting and retaining students and faculty fromtraditionally underrepresented populations. He will also workwith faculty, staff and students in fulfilling the college’s overalldiversity goals, which include increasing faculty and studentdiversity; practicum and internship placement diversity; faculty involvement in internationalstudy and research; and employing approaches to foster an understanding andsensitivity to diversity issues.Watts joined the Auburn faculty in 1999 as an assistant professor and was promotedas a tenured associate professor in 2004. He received his Ed.D. from theUniversity of Cincinnati, a master’s in public policy from the University of Buffalo,and a bachelor’s in criminal justice from Ohio State University. Watts’ teaching andresearch interests include social justice, youth and school violence, school desegregation,structural and institutional violence, and critical social theory.30 Building A Better Future for All education.auburn.edu