Auburn University’s fall semester enrollment hit a record high, and the university’s freshman class boasts the highest average ACT score of any class at AU, according to numbers released by AU’s Office of Institutional Research and Assessment.

AU enrollment stands at 24,137 students with all student groups - undergraduates, first-professional and graduates - seeing an increase in enrollment numbers.

Read more @ AU’s Wire Eagle

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.

“We mourn the loss of an important member of the Auburn family,” said AU President Jay Gogue. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Dr. Walker’s family and friends.”

Read more @ AU’s Wire Eagle

The AU Board of Trustees will meet Thursday and Friday at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center. Committees will begin meeting at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, followed by the full Board meeting at 4 p.m. It will reconvene at 9 a.m. Friday.

Agenda (Link):

THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2007
I. Committee Meetings (Ballroom B, AUHDCC)
**Committee Meetings will begin at 9:30 a.m.– all other meetings are subject to change in starting time, depending upon the length of individual meetings.

A. Student Affairs Committee/Chairperson Franklin/9:30 a.m.
1. Student Affairs Update [For Information Only]

2. Enrollment Management Update [For Information Only]

B. Joint Committee Meeting/Agriculture & Property and Facilities Committees/ Chairpersons Rane and Blackwell/10:00 a.m.
1. Annual Forest Lands Report [For Information Only] - Joint Item

2. Basketball Arena: Facility Program, Budget, Funding Plan, Site and Schematic Design

3. Auburn-Opelika Robert G. Pitts Airport: Terminal Building Facility Program, Budget, Funding Plan and Schematic Design

4. Equestrian Center - Schematic Design, Budget and Funding

5. Duggar Pedestrian Walkway: Facility Program, Budget, Funding Plan, and Schematic Design

6. Walker Pharmacy Building: Phase II Pharmaceutical Research and Development Center, Approval of Project and Initiation of the Design Consultant Selection Process

7. Cary Hall Renovation - Clinics: Proposed Budget Increase

8. Real Estate Report: Annual Report to Committee [For Information Only]

9. Current Status of New Construction/Renovation/Infrastructure Budgets of $750,000 and Greater [For Information Only]

10. Key Projects Memo [For Information Only]

C. Joint Finance & Compensation Committee Meeting/Chairpersons Lowder and Ginn/11:00 a.m.
1. Budget Guidelines (For Information Only) - Joint Item

2. Appointments and Contract Approvals - Compensation

3. Reimbursement Resolution - Bond Issue - Finance

4. Proposed Campus Dining Alternatives and Contract - Finance

11:45 A.M. - LUNCHEON - BALLROOM A, RIGHT (AUHDCC)

D. Academic Affairs Committee/Chairperson Miller/12:45 p.m.
1. Interim Faculty Dismissal Policy - Misconduct

2. Improving Writing Skills
E. Audit Committee/Chairperson Thompson/1:45 p.m.
1. Receipt of Code of Ethics Compliance Documents

F. Executive Committee/Chairperson Spina/2:15 p.m.
1. Posthumous Awarding of the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a Major in Finance for Claude Edward Reese

2. Posthumous Awarding of the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a Major in Economics for James Dean Zickler

3. Strategic Plan (For Information Only)

4. Research Park (For Information Only)

5. 2007-2008 Proposed Meeting Dates

6. Election of Officers

7. Proposed Awards and Namings
.

II. REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES - 2:45 P.M.

A. Proposed Executive Session (Meeting Room A)

FRIDAY, JUNE 29, 2007
I. RECONVENE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES - 9:00 A.M. (Ballroom B)

(Agenda items are determined primarily based upon committee actions.)

LUNCHEON - 11:30 a.m. (BALLROOM A, RIGHT, AUHDCC)

Jay Gogue, president of the University of Houston and chancellor of the UH system, was named Thursday as the 18th president of Auburn University. The AU Board of Trustees unanimously selected Gogue after a two-year national search. Gogue, who received two AU degrees in horticulture, spent the last two days on campus talking with faculty, staff, students and alumni.

“The Auburn family found the same exceptional qualities in Dr. Gogue that we discovered during an exhaustive and comprehensive search for Auburn’s next leader,” said Charles McCrary, chairman of the presidential search committee. “He is a visionary leader who is committed to academic excellence. We welcome him back to campus as Auburn’s new president.”

Gogue is expected to start in mid-July, replacing Ed Richardson, who has held AU’s top position since 2004. Richardson was first selected on an interim basis and later named AU’s 17th president in recognition of his service and performance.

“We cannot thank Dr. Richardson enough for his straight-forward and steady leadership,” said Earlon McWhorter, president pro tem of the AU Board. “He focused resources on academic progress, strengthened recruitment of Alabama’s brightest students, reinvigorated Auburn’s research mission, and set the stage for the new president to continue moving Auburn forward.”

Gogue, a native of Waycross, Ga., received a doctorate in horticulture from Michigan State University in 1973. After working at the U.S. Department of Interior, Gogue served in a variety of research and agriculture positions at Clemson University.

Gogue became provost of Utah State University in 1995 and was selected president of New Mexico State University in 2000. In 2003, he was named to the top position at the University of Houston.

Link: AU Daily Archive

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
**All forums are open to the public**

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2007
5:00 p.m. - 5:45 p.m. Executive Committee Meetings
(Includes Executive Committee of University Senate & AU
Chapter of the AAUP)
Room E of The Hotel

6:00 p.m. - 6:45 p.m. Meeting with Provost & Deans
The Governor’s Room at The Hotel

7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. University & Community Reception and Forum*
The Alumni Center
317 South College Street
(Parking available at the rear of the building)

THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2007
8:00 a.m. - 8:45 a.m. Meeting with the President’s Cabinet
Ballroom B of The Hotel

9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Open Forum*
(Faculty, Staff, A&P and Students are encouraged to attend)
Ballroom B of The Hotel

10:30 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. Meeting with Individual Trustees
(non-members of the Search Advisory Committee)
Meeting Room A of The Hotel

11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Lunch and Travel Montgomery

1:00 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. Meeting with Governor Riley

2:00 - 2:45 p.m. AUM Forum
Faculty/Staff Dining Room
Taylor Center Room 214

The AU presidential search advisory committee is encouraging faculty,
staff, students, alumni and the general public to meet the finalist for
AU’s 18th presidency during a series of meetings and forums on
Wednesday and Thursday. Dr. Jay Gogue, president of the University of
Houston, is the candidate selected today by the committee who has also
agreed to publicly visit campus, a requirement for further consideration
for the position.

Those unable to attend the forum or meeting scheduled for their group
are invited to attend other forums. To see the schedule, visit the Web
site, http://www.auburn.edu/administration/trustees/search/index.html,
where you can also review the candidate’s curriculum vitae and offer
signed or anonymous comments to the presidential search advisory
committee.

The committee will reconvene at 3 p.m. on March 22 to consider public
response to the candidate and provide a recommendation to a special
called meeting of the AU Board of Trustees at 4 p.m. Meetings of the
search committee and Board of Trustees will be held at The Hotel at
Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center. For more information on
the forums, call (334) 844-4866.

The AU presidential search advisory committee will meet Monday, March
19, at 2 p.m. to select candidates for further consideration for the
University’s top executive position. The committee will then announce
a schedule of public forums, based on the number of candidates selected,
to be held March 20 through March 22 that will give faculty, staff,
students, alumni and the general public the opportunity to meet those
candidates who agree to visit campus. In addition, an interactive page
on the AU web site will be available for individuals to review candidate
biographies and offer comments. The presidential search advisory
committee will reconvene at 3 p.m. on March 22 to consider feedback
about finalists and potentially provide a recommendation to a special
called meeting of the AU Board of Trustees at 4 p.m. Meetings of the
search committee and Board of Trustees will be held at The Hotel at
Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center.