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About Us

History of the Center

Based on the extension ideal of our land-grant institution, the Center was established by Auburn University in 1985 to develop and offer programming in Alabama schools, towns, and communities that strengthens the bond between the academic community, the arts, and the general public. Its overarching goal is to help create both appetite and capacity for cultural and educational programming in communities of all sizes and resources.

In 1988, the Center received its first major National Endowment for the Humanities grant to conduct statewide reading-discussion programs. “Read Alabama!” set a standard for impact and outreach. In the years since, the Center has conducted three more NEH-funded statewide programs and created dozens of smaller series on state and national history, culture, and literature. It has also sponsored hundreds of one-time programs featuring writers, artists, and scholars in schools, libraries, and communities throughout the state. Thousands of Alabamians of all ages and backgrounds have come together at Center programs to learn, experience, and share.

In 2000, the Center became home to the Alabama Center for the Book, the state affiliate of the national Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. This signature program is a model of the goals and ideals of the Center, and with support and participation from numerous state organizations and agencies, it exemplifies the Center's commitment to partnership. Center programs are designed to be offered in the community by the community, and being a contributing member of the wide Alabama community of arts and programmers is at the Center's heart.

Commemorating the life and work of a beloved first lady of Auburn University, the Center was named in honor of Caroline Marshall Draughon in 2007. Born in Orrville, Dallas County, Alabama, in 1910, Draughon came to Auburn with her husband, Ralph Brown Draughon, in the fall of 1931 when he accepted a position in the Alabama Polytechnic Institute history department. From 1947, when Dr. Draughon was named acting president of the Alabama Polytechnic Institute, until his retirement in 1965 as president of Auburn University, "Miss Caroline" was a familiar and welcoming figure on campus.

The Center's home in Auburn is the historic 1847 Scott-Yarbrough House known as Pebble Hill. Given to the university through the generosity of AuburnBank and the Auburn Heritage Association, the building houses an outreach effort shaped by the leadership of founding director Leah Rawls Atkins, subsequent directors Bert Hitchcock, Allen Cronenberg, and current director Jay Lamar.