8.0MB - College of Education - Auburn University

A M e s s a g efrom the PresidentDear Auburn Alumni and Supporters,The search for Auburn University’s 18th presidenthas concluded, and I believe the search committeeand the Board of Trustees have found and hired theright person at the right time in the history of thisinstitution. His proven record of leadership, his familiarity withthe role of a land-grant institution and his long-time connectionto AU make him an outstanding choice. As a former presidentat New Mexico State and current president of the Universityof Houston, he understands the key issues Auburn willface in the coming years, and I have every confidence that Dr.Jay Gogue will lead Auburn to even greater levels of academicand economic success.Even now, AU alumni and friends have many reasons to lookto the future with great optimism and confidence. In its 2007rankings, U.S. News & World Report ranked Auburn the 39thbest among public universities. This is the 14th consecutiveyear that Auburn has ranked in the top 50. In other surveys,our Department of Rehabilitation and Special Education isranked 17th nationally in Health Disciplines/RehabilitationCounseling by U.S. News & World Report. The AmericanAcademy of Kinesiology and Physical Education rankedthe Department of Health and Human Performance 28thnationally for doctoral programs in 2006, and the college’sgraduate program was ranked 70th in U.S. News & WorldReport’s 2007 “Best Graduate Schools.”And that’s just four areas of academic excellence. For acomplete list of AU’s academic rankings since 2002, I encourageyou to visit www.ocm.auburn.edu/rankings.html.Auburn’s objective is not to be the biggest school inAlabama, but to be the best school. In the fall semester 2006,Auburn set a record for overall enrollment (23,547) and anear record for new freshman enrollment (4,092). And ournew students are not just numerous, but also very bright. Theentering freshman class for the current academic year averagedan ACT score of 24.3 and a high school grade-point average of3.56. Forty percent of our students are from outside Alabama,and these students are willing to pay three times state tuitionrates to attend Auburn.In December 2006, I appointed Larry Fillmer to thenewly created post of executive director for the Institute ofNatural Resources, which comprises the Center for Bioenergyand Bioproducts and the Alabama Water Resources Center.The AU Board of Trustees approved $3 million from theuniversity’s general budget to fund the Center for Bioenergyand Bioproducts, which will coordinate and promote specificagriculture and natural resource-based programs from acrosscampus to benefit the state. The Alabama Water ResourcesCenter has the mission to improve the management and useof water in the state and the Southeast by addressing problemscaused by saltwater intrusion, contamination, weather, lowerwater tables and inadequate distribution systems. More thanany other issue, I believe the quality and quantity of water willbecome critical for the nation in the near future.I am pleased to update you regarding the efforts of the Officeof Development. Private giving to the university broke recordsduring the 2005-06 fiscal year by reaching $105.3 million,which topped the previous year’s record of $101.2 million—representing an outstanding achievement for the “It Begins atAuburn” campaign. To date, the campaign has generated morethan $466.9 million, or 93 percent of the campaign goal and isthe highest level of campaign giving in Alabama history.As we undergo a change in leadership in July, the universityis well positioned to engage and fulfill a strategic vision for the21st century.War Eagle!Ed RichardsonPresident Building A Better Future for All education.auburn.edu