On November 9, 1989, jubilant crowds gathered on both sides of the Berlin Wall to celebrate the opening of border crossings between the eastern and western parts of the city. Germany's postwar division was over and national unity came less than a year later. Dr. Gorgens will talk about the two decades following this historic occasion and a question-and-answer session will follow. All students and faculty are welcome to attend. The lecture is being sponsored by the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures in the College of Liberal Arts. It will be held in Eagle's Nest South (located on the top floor of the Haley Center) and delivered in English.

SEMESTER IN TAORMINA, ITALY
FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES
(up to 12 credits)

Fall 2009: August 30th to November 22nd
Spring 2010: January 10, 2010 to April 4, 2010

1.  Study with a Buddy - Students who enroll in pairs (sharing a double room accommodation) will receive a 1000,00 Euro discount each.

2.  Three 500 Euro scholarships are available for the Spring semester for Auburn University students or students enrolling through Auburn University (one 500 Euro scholarship per student)

Students can take advantage of either the Study with a Buddy or scholarship, but both offers cannot be combined.

APPLICATION DEADLINES: for Fall, JULY 20; for Spring OCTOBER 10, 2009.
If interested, please consult the program website.
And contact DR.  GIOVANNA SUMMERFIELD at summegi@auburn.edu

Caroline Gierke and Michael Ross Harper II received the only two French Goverrnment Summer Scholarships, Rencontres internationales de la Jeunesse, available in the six-state area of the French Consulate General in Atlanta. Caroline will attend the Cannes Film Festival (May 14-23), while Michael will discover the city of Paris on foot, roller skates and public transportation (July 20-27).

Ruth Ann Brown Graham will complete an internship at the house of Ungaro in Paris (June 27-August 3).

Michael Ross Harper was selected in Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges, was also the President’s Student Award Winner of the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Prize for the College of Liberal Arts, and the recipient of a French Government Assistantship. In 2009-2010, he will serve as a teaching assistant of English in schools in the Académie de Caen region.

Elizabeth Guerra recently accepted a position with Louis Vuitton in Nashville, TN.

George Mitrevski, an associate professor in Auburn University's Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to study in Macedonia.

Mitrevski, who leaves in August, received a nine-month appointment and will be conducting research on an electronic collection of Macedonian texts at the Academy of Sciences and the Arts and at the Macedonian Language Institute in the Republic of Macedonia. He will also be working at the Pedagogical Faculty in the city of Bitola where he will teach English essay-writing and American literature.

At Auburn since 1983, Mitrevski teaches courses on Russian language and culture and an introductory World Literature course through the English department. He recently developed a set of distance learning courses for Russian. He obtained his doctorate and master's degree in Russian/Slavic from Ohio State University and received his bachelor's degree from Stony Brook University.

Originally from Macedonia, Mitrevski was born in the village of Podmochani in the Prespa region. "My family emigrated from there in 1966 when I was 15 and I've traveled there quite often," he said.

In 1997, Mitrevski was awarded a Fulbright scholar grant to study in Macedonia at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, and he was given a Fulbright-Hayes grant to conduct research in the country in 2002-03.

"It is always rewarding to work in Macedonia," he said.

For this trip, Mitrevski said he was also contacted by the rector, or president, of a new university that is being built in the city of Ohrid to help design some of their academic programs. "What is so unique about this new school is that the language of instruction will be English and at least half of the faculty will be from other countries," he said.

The Fulbright Scholar program is governed by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, a 12-member board appointed by the president of the United States that is responsible for establishing worldwide policies for the program and for the selection of Fulbright recipients.

The award is given by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars in cooperation with the United States Department of State and is provided through funds that are appropriated annually by the U.S. Congress, and in many cases, by contributions from partner countries and the private sector.

The mission of Fulbright recipients is to increase the mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of the more than 150 countries that currently participate in the Fulbright program.

Dr. George Mitrevski - Foreign Languages and Literatures - has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to lecture at the Pedagogical Faculty in Macedonia for one year where he will teach English essay-writing and American literature while conducting research on an electronic corpus of Macedonian texts at the Academy of Sciences and the Arts in the Republic of Macedonia.

The J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FSB) is the Presidentally appointed 12-member Board that is responsible for establishing worldwide policies for the Program and for selection of Fulbright recipients. Dr. Mitrevski's awarded grant is made possible through funds that are appropriated annually by the U.S. Congress, and in many cases, by contributions from partner countries and/or the private sector.

The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures annually awards the Castanoli Abroad Scholarship, the Castanoli Young Scholars Award, and the Wiatt Achievement Award to students majoring or minoring in a foreign language offered at Auburn University. We are proud to announce the recipients of the 2008-2009 awards.

The recipients of the Wiatt Achievement Award for academic excellence in a foreign language include, Shelby Cook, Stephanie Cox, Amanda Crawford, Natalie Crowe, Kyle Cummins, William Docimo, Erika Gam, Michael Ross Harper, Virginia Henderson, Sarah Hulls, Alexa, Kern, Ashley Kovaleski, Samantha Lamere, Caitlin Moulton, Katherine Norton, Linnea Pepper, Jon Schein, and Anne-Marie Settine.
The recipients for the Castanoli Abroad Scholarship to reward excellence in a foreign language and to encourage abroad experiences include, Amanda Crawford, Denise Kelley, Alexa Kern, Ashley Kovaleski, Samantha Lamere,  Anne-Marie Settine, and Brandon Tate.
The recipients of the Castanoli Young Scholars awarded only to freshmen who are excelling in the study of foreign languages include, Hanna Gordon, Jordan Luke, David Osborn, and Carolyn Snipes.

The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures expresses its profound appreciation to the Wiatt and Castanoli families for their generosity and support in making these scholarships possible.

Information provided by Paul A. Harris, Ph.D., Associate Director for National Prestigious Scholarships in the University Honors College, Auburn University

The following students within the College of Liberal Arts were recognized for their outstanding achievement at the 6th Annual Undergraduate Research Forum which was held on Monday and Tuesday, April 6th & 7th 2009.

2009 Sigma Xi Best Overall Poster Presentation Award - Annie Gilbertson, 2nd Place, Senior, Department of English. Faculty Advisor: Dr. Alicia Carroll.

2009 Office of Undergraduate Studies Award - Sarah Teague, 1st Place, Senior, Department of Psychology. She is also the Spring 2009 CLA Graduation Marshal. Faculty Advisor: Dr. Adrian Thomas.

2009 Office of Undergraduate Studies Award - John Johnson, 2nd Place, Senior, Department of History. Faculty Advisor: Dr. Jennifer Brooks.

Other award winners and runners up are:

Lauren Roddy, a senior in English, is a finalist for the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Fellowship. Less than 40 students nationwide are selected to receive the award. Ms. Roddy is one of two Auburn undergraduates who are representing Auburn at the national level competition. If awarded, the scholarship will pay $90,000.00 for law school. Final decisions will be mady by end of May / early June.

Katherine Davis, a junior in political science, was a finalist for the highly competitive Truman Scholarship. Each year 50 students are selected to receive the award. Ms. Davis was the only Auburn undergraduate - and one of 600 students nationwide - who was invited to the day-long interview held on the campus of Georgia Tech on Thursday, March 5th.

Chantel Smith, a graduate student in The Department of Foreign Languages (Hispanic Studies), has been awarded a Rotary Cultural Ambassadorial Scholarship to pursue French language studies in Tours, France during academic year 2009-2010.

Rebecca Ludvigsen, a senior in biomedical science, (minor: German) received a Fulbright Scholarship to study in Germany, 2009-2010.

Other outstanding College of Liberal Arts students include: Ross Harper, a senior in French, is the CLA's Presidential Award and Algernon Sidney Sullivan Award Winner and has applied for a Fulbright Scholarship; Natalie Crowe, a senior in English who applied for a Mitchell Scholarship to study in Ireland; and Christopher Thompson, a senior in History who applied for a Marshall Scholarship. These students exceeded eligibility expectations and put in hours upon hours of work on their respective applications.

Congratulations to our outstanding students!

Hayes is no stranger to the politial world and her internships in Washington, D.C. undoubtedly helped prepare her to lead the Auburn student body. She interned in the offices of Senator Elizabeth Dole in June 2006, and with Senator Richard Shelby in May 2006.

As you'll read in our interview below, Hayes comes from a small town, is close to her family, loves Auburn, and somehow manages to excel in absolutely everything she sets out to accomplish. In fact, Hayes was nominated by Dr. Paul Harris, Associate Director for National Prestigious Scholarships in the Honors College, to the USA Today National College Academic Team, to which Lauren was named to the second team: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-04-29-college-allstars-second_N.htm

"Lauren is a model student. She gives graciously of her time, she builds coalitions among disparate groups and she communicates a clear vision for a better Auburn," Harris said in his nomination letter, "And to top it off, she is a kind, caring and conscientious individual who incidentally, maintains a stellar 3.93 grade-point-average."

Here's an excerpt from our interview with Lauren Hayes:

VS: Lauren, tell us a little about yourself - where you're from, what your major is, what you'd like to do career-wise, etc....

LH: I am from Abbeville, a very small town in southeast Alabama. I graduated with a class of 31 students at Abbeville Christian Academy. I always knew that I would be involved on campus at Auburn. Since coming to Auburn, I have realized my passion for working within service organizations such as SGA and Habitat for Humanity. I would ultimately like to serve in the public sector, whether that is within our government, higher education, or a non-profit organization. I choose the major Public Administration so that I could gain a broad-based education of these areas. I also decided to double major in German so that I could have options to work abroad or to work on international policy issues.

VS: Why did you decide to attend Auburn?

LH: I grew up an Auburn fan so I always considered it when thinking of which college I wanted to attend. Most of my family attended Auburn and my brother was a junior here when I was a senior in high school. I considered being rebellious and going to UGA, but in the end Auburn won out. No (other) school's features could compare with Auburn's incredible community, academics, sports, and spirit. Auburn ultimately possessed every quality that that was important to me.

VS: Other than SGA, which we know takes up a LOT of time - what (if any) other organizations have you been involved in?

LH: I am a member of a sorority, Alpha Gamma Delta, and am a member of a few honor societies such as Phi Kappa Phi, Omicron Delta Kappa. I also have been very involved with our campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity "Tiger Habitat" and served as its president during my sophomore year.

VS: Do you think it's important for students to be active in government or other organizations? If so, why?

LH: One of the first pieces of advice that I give to incoming freshmen is to find organizations on campus. While the educations we gain in the classroom are invaluable, I believe we can learn just as much in organizations out of the classroom. The experiences I have had and the challenges I have faced in SGA and in other organizations have made me more confident about entering the working world.

VS: Can you walk us through some of your responsibilities as SGA president?

LH: Serving as SGA President is pretty much a full-time job that has a completely unpredictable schedule. I usually spend about half my day meeting or corresponding with administrators, faculty, and students.

VS: Which of these responsibilities do you like the most, and why?

LH: I have most enjoyed having the opportunity to work with our administration. I have learned just how passionate they are about Auburn University and Auburn students. Our administration is truly committed to providing the best for us and continuing to strengthen our academic quality as well as the overall Auburn experience for students. I was also very pleased to see just how receptive our leaders were to student initiatives and concerns. They would always make the time to meet with me to discuss any student issue as well as reach out to me to ensure that the students were taken care of.

VS: Do you feel your classes as a CLA major have prepared you for the working world? If so, how?

LH: Many classes I have taken have prepared me for this position and for the working world. The one that stands out the most is Local Government, during which we simulated a real town and acted as the city council. This class not only helped me understand the complicated issues and decisions that public leaders must make, it also forced me to think outside of my ideology and decide how my character- who had different opinions and beliefs than my own- would act. This taught me the importance of understanding all sides of an issue and has helped me to become more open-minded. It also helped me to learn the most effective ways of presenting arguments which will be necessary formulating and implementing policies in my future career.

VS: What words of wisdom/advice would you give to your successor as SGA president?

LH: I have told Jacob Watkins, our new SGA President, to get ready for the most exciting and challenging year of his life. I have most encouraged him to reach out to students and administrators early and often in his term. The SGA President cannot accomplish anything alone, but he has the ability to accomplish great things for the students if he is assertive and wise in bringing the right people together.

VS: Overall, how has the experience as SGA president been?

The following faculty members received promotion and/or tenure in 2009:

Associate Professor and Tenure

• Jennifer Wood Adams, Communication and Journalism
• Judith Blumsack, Communication Disorders
• John Carvalho, Communication and Journalism
• Joyce de Vries, Art
• Hollie Lavenstein, Communication and Journalism
• Giovanna Summerfield, Foreign Languages and Literatures
• Jonathan Sutton, Philosophy
  

Professor

• Rosephanye Dunn-Powell, Music
• Richard Good, Music
• Donald R. Wehrs, English
  

Tenure

• Jennifer Brooks, History
  

Associate Clinical Professor

• Angela Burque, Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work

by Ashley Pastor

Since the 1990s, the demand for Italian language and culture courses in universities has steadily grown throughout the United States. The Italian government has been contributing to the promotion of Italian language by financially supporting American secondary schools and universities and Auburn can now count itself among those institutions.

Thanks to a grant of 10,000 Euros (approximately $12,000) from the Italian embassy, the Auburn University Department of Foreign Languages & Literatures in the College of Liberal Arts will be able to provide more on-campus courses in Italian studies, as well as online advanced courses for Italian teachers and students pursuing a teacher's certification. This grant has allowed for the hiring of a part-time lecturer together with two tenure-track positions already in place in Italian studies.

Auburn is one of only seven universities in the country to receive this grant, thanks largely in part to Dr. Giovanna Summerfield, Assistant Professor of Italian and French and Undergraduate Advisor of Italian, and to Dr. Pietro Floris, the educational officer for the Italian Consulate in Miami, who presented Auburn as a grant candidate to the Italian Embassy in Washington D.C. During his visit to Auburn to evaluate the program and environment, Dr. Floris met with Auburn faculty and students, as well as local educators. Renewable for up to five years, the grant will allow the 20-25 students minoring in Italian studies to take a wider range of classes including Italian Composition, offered in the Fall 2009 semester.

"As an Italian citizen, I feel honored to have the help of my country for all our endeavors in promoting the Italian language and culture, and feel privileged to have such an interest within the student body of Auburn University," said Dr. Summerfield.

Any undergraduate or graduate student enrolled at Auburn University is eligible to submit a video. Only one video may be entered per person or group.

$500 will be awarded to the creator(s) of the video selected as the first place winner. The creator(s) of the second and third place videos will receive $250 and $150, respectively. Prize money is sponsored by Auburn University's College of Liberal Arts.
The three winning videos will also be showcased on the CLA website.

To submit a video, upload your video on YouTube and then email its url to Christa Slaton, Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at ccepc@auburn.edu. Emails must be sent from an Auburn University email account. Please type "CLA YouTube Contest" in the subject line of your email, and include in the body of the email the names of the person, persons, or group submitting the video. The College of Liberal Arts will make your video available for viewing on the contest website. You will receive confirmation email from the College of Liberal Arts indicating that your video entry has been received.

In the event that you are unfamiliar with how to upload a video to YouTube, directions are available at http://www.google.com/support/youtube/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=57931.

Videos need to be between one and five minutes in length.

The deadline for submitting videos is March 27, 2009. Videos received after the deadline cannot be considered.

Between April 1 and April 5, students are invited to vote for their favorite contest video by sending an email to Christa Slaton, Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at ccepc@auburn.edu. Emails must be sent from an Auburn University email account. Please type "Vote CLA YouTube" in the subject line of your email and indicate the title of the favorite video in the email's body. Only one vote per person will be tallied.

Videos will be judged by members of the College of Liberal Art's Civic Engagement Planning Committee. Videos will be judged based on the five criteria outlined below:

• Relevance to the contest theme
• Extent to which the video provokes productive reflection, discussion, debate, and/or critique regarding civic responsibility as a feature of learning and living at Auburn University
• Creativity
• Originality
• Number of student votes

Contest winners will be notified via email on April 10, 2009.

View the Video Entries

• Submitted by Amanda Morris
• Submitted by Ashley Nunn
• Submitted by John Anderson
• Submitted by Griffin Limerick and John Collins
• Submitted by Jillian Clair
• Submitted by Mallory Rice

Please join us to celebrate Charles Darwin's 200th birthday and the 150th Anniversary of On the Origin of Species by Natural Selection or The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life.

Speakers and topics include:

Chris Qualls, Theater, A Dramatic Reading

Elizabeth Brestan Knight, Psychology, Mate Selection and Darwin's Theory of Evolution

Giovanna Summerfield, Foreign Languages and Literatures, (R)evolution of Man, Pinocchio:  From Wooden Puppet to Real Boy  

Brigitta Brunner, Margaret Fitch-Hauser, Robert French, Communications and Journalism, Technology and the Evolution of Public Relations 

All Events in the Charles Darwin Commemorative Celebration will be in 112 Rouse Life Sciences Building. For information on other events please see the program.

Co-Sponsored by the Colleges of Sciences and Mathematics and Liberal Arts and the Outreach Committee, Biological Sciences. Commemorative bookmarks with a copy of the image of Darwin and the Galapagos finches in the frieze outside the entrance to the Science Center Classroom will be given to all event attendees. And Darwin will appear to award door prizes.

The Hispanic Film Series present titles (both from Spain and Latin America) that are usually hard to find in the US and that may generate an interesting discussion after their viewing. All genres are included in the series and most films are subtitled. Everybody is welcomed to attend these showings. The movies will be introduced by Dr. Pedro Cebollero and/or Dr. Jorge Muñoz. A brief Q&A session will follow each showing.

Flyer with schedule .pdf

The Chinese Film Series presents Chinese movies that may generate an interesting discussion after their viewing. All genres are included in the series and all films are subtitled. Everybody is welcome to attend these showings. The movies will be hosted by Professor Carolyn Fitzgerald. A brief Q&A session will follow each showing.

Flyer with schedule .pdf