Pictured above from left: Mitchell Brown, Political Science; Barry Burkhart, Psychology; Constance Relihan, Senior Associate Dean; Paula Bobrowski, Associate Dean; Anna Gramberg, Dean; Ted Becker, Political Science; and Morris Bian, History.

Written by Lori Woods

On October 27, 2009, four professors from the College of Liberal Arts were honored at the 4 th annual Faculty Awards Celebrating Excellence ceremony at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon conference Center. These awards are the highest recognition the university gives to its faculty. This year the ceremony also included professors recognized by the Auburn Alumni Association with funds endowed from the Auburn Annual Giving. We are proud to introduce this year's distinguished faculty:

2009 recipient of The Alumni Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award
Theodore Becker
Alumni Professor - Political Science

Ted Becker is the author of 12 books in the fields of law and politics, American government, and teledemocracy and one of this year's recipients of the Alumni Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award. Becker's latest book, The Last, Lost Empire: Why America Flounders in Early Post Imperial Times, was published by National Social Science Press in 2009 as an online digital and "endless book." Dr. Becker earned his J.D. from Rutgers and his doctorate from Northwestern and has taught at universities around the globe. In addition to his teaching and research, Dr. Becker is currently the editor in chief of The Journal of Public Deliberation, which he considers a labor of love.

The Alumni Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award recipients are nominated by students, alumni and colleagues for their quality of teaching, knowledge of their subject matter and availability to students. Recipients are honored each year and receive an honorarium award of $1,000 and a plaque.

2009 recipient of the Creative Research and Scholarship Award
Morris Bian
Associate Professor - History

Morris Bian, associate professor in the department of history has received the 2009 Creative Research and Scholarship Award. Professor Bian's research focuses on 20 th century Chinese political, economic and institutional history. His first book, The Making of the State Enterprise System in Modern China: The Dynamics of Institutional Change, was recognized in 2005 by Choice Magazine as an Outstanding Academic Title and in 2007 the International Convention of Asian Scholars named his book one of the top ten social science books in Asian studies. His current research explores the formation of China's regional state enterprise system during the 20 th century.

The Creative Research and Scholarship Award recognizes the research achievements and contributions of Auburn faculty who have distinguished themselves through research, scholarly works and/or creative contributions to their field. This award includes a $5,000.00 cash presentation, a plaque and a photographic portrait permanently displayed in Samford Hall.

2009 recipient of The Distinguished Diversity Researcher Award
Mitchell Brown
Assistant Professor - Political Science

Mitchell Brown, assistant professor in the political science department, is this year's recipient of The Distinguished Diversity Researcher Award in the category of Early Career, Innovative diversity Researcher. Professor Brown's research studies the common theme of how government helps or hinders marginalized groups of individuals. She is conducting a cross-national, quantitative analysis of the factors that lead to differing reproductive rights policies and is a co-principal investigator evaluating one of the Bush administration's faith-based initiatives, The Rural Domestic Violence and Child Victimization Enforcement Grant Program Special Initiative. Dr. Brown is the director of research at the Institute for Community Peace, a national advocacy organization devoted to building safe, functioning communities in violent areas. As a component of this award, Brown lectured on her research during the Celebration of Diversity Research conference.

The Distinguished Diversity Researcher Award is given by the Research Initiative for the Study of Diversity and the Office of the Vice President for Research to celebrate and showcase the best diversity research being done on campus. The recipient receives a $2,000 check and a plaque.

2009 Award for Excellence in Faculty Outreach
Barry Burkhart
Professor - Psychology

The Award for Excellence in Faculty Outreach in 2009 was presented to Professor Barry Burkhart of the Psychology department. Dr. Burkhart's outreach focus is violent crime, its prevention, and its aftermath, and provides intervention for area youth-at-risk, counseling to victims, treatment and rehabilitation of offenders, as well as policy consultations to youth development and law enforcement agencies across the state and region. Part of the Auburn faculty since 1974, Dr. Burkhart has lectured at dozens of major universities and is nationally recognized for his expertise.

Auburn University's Award for Excellence in Faculty Outreach, is sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for University Outreach. The award, and a $5,000 honorarium, is presented to one exceptional AU faculty member per year.  This award honors the recipient's overall academic merit and impact on outreach.

Video profiles of Auburn University faculty award winners are now available online. The segments were produced by the Office of Communications and Marketing and shown during last week's fourth annual Faculty Awards Celebrating Excellence Ceremony.

The Gerald and Emily Leischuck Endowed Presidential Awards for Excellence in Teaching, the university's top teaching honors, were presented to Sushil Bhavnani, professor of mechanical engineering, and Mary Mendonca, associate professor of biological sciences. Morris Bian, associate professor of history, received the Creative Research and Scholarship Award, while Barry Burkhart, professor of psychology, accepted the Award for Excellence in Faculty Outreach. A complete list of award recipients, along with photographs and biographical information, can be found on the 2009 Faculty Awards Web site.

Written by Lori Woods

Chinazo “Chi Chi” Anachebe, a senior majoring in political science and the president of the Student Eminent Society (SES) for the College of Liberal Arts, had her sights set on Auburn University ever since high school in Atlanta when her favorite math teacher and one of her best friends sold it well to Chi Chi and her parents. In her four years here, she’s never regretted it for a moment. “The Auburn experience is all about relationships, cultivating relationships,” explains Chi Chi.

As a Political Science major Chi Chi loves politics, and John F. Kennedy was her favorite president. “One of my favorite quotes is ‘Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.’ That’s the philosophy I try to live by. What can I do for others?” One way Chi Chi gives to others is her work with the SES. As the organization’s president, Chi Chi spends a great deal of her time leading and coordinating the officers and student members to provide services for, and promote pride in, the college and the university. “We’re the faces, the ambassadors, of the College of Liberal Arts.”

Chi Chi is also active in volunteerism, the Auburn University College Democrats, the University Pre-Law Club, and the Atlanta based, Nigerian Youth Alliance. “My parents were both born in Nigeria and although I was born in Atlanta, I’m very in touch with my roots, my origins, and my culture.” Chi Chi considers herself Nigerian-American and her name means “God protects” in Igbo, the language of her tribe.

After graduating from Auburn this coming May, Chi Chi plans to attend law school, hopefully at the University of Miami. “I’d like to go into sports entertainment law. I love Florida and the law school at the University of Miami has a great sports and entertainment law program. I’d like to stay in the south so that I can be close to family.” Chi Chi is very close to her family and credits her grandmother as an inspiration and source of strength. “Even though I lost my grandmother when I was a sophomore at Auburn, when I’m faced with a difficult situation, I always ask myself, ‘What would grandma tell me?’ That always gives me the strength to get through it.”

Although Chi Chi has her sights set on the University of Miami, she says she wouldn’t mind doing an internship in Washington DC before beginning law school or even work for a sports agent. “What I have learned from Auburn University is to always challenge myself, learn something new, and to always do my best, because God will take care of the rest. I believe this is what Auburn instills in us, to be standout leaders no matter where we go in life.”

Shawn Erik Schooley, assistant professor of political science in the College of Liberal Arts, will visit the University of Hong Kong in November to deliver a paper on the "The Art of Democracy: An Interdisciplinary Approach for Scholars to Engage Communities." His research is part of the College of Liberal Arts Civic Engagement Initiative.

The Art of Democracy project was created by the Montgomery Director of Elections, and it brings together local artists to create paintings of their choosing at the polls on Election Day. The paintings are used to create community, inform the public, and educate primary and secondary school children about the democratic process.

"I have not been to Hong Kong before but I will be there the entire month of November, and I feel it is an honor, privilege, and fantastic opportunity to work with the international community and to educate others about American democracy and Auburn's civic engagement outreach efforts; especially, in an Administrative District, Hong Kong, in communist China," Schooley said.

Schooley's trip to Hong Kong falls directly in-line with Auburn University President Jay Gogue's Strategic Plan. Recently Gogue stated the importance of this kind of outreach in an announcement about the visit of Chinese Ambassador Wenzhong Zhou to Auburn where Gogue said that international education and involvement are paramount for our faculty and students.

Schooley will also present on the work of CLA's Community and Civic Engagement Initiative, which since 2006 has identified engaged scholars, created a civic engagement committee, and held two summer civic engagement academies. For more information on the initiative, visit www.auburn.edu/cce.

The CLA Student Services Center (this includes all Advisor and Administrative offices) is moving to 321 Tichenor Hall. We hope to be open for advising in our new offices on Aug. 26. We will be closed on the afternoon of Aug. 21 and all day Aug. 24 and Aug. 25 in order to make the move. Please keep checking your email for updates--as with all moves, there may be some last minute changes to the schedule.

The Department of Communication and Journalism will also be moving back to Tichenor. Please look for more information from the Department.

In The Public Manager: the Quarterly for Practioners, Spring 2009 issue, the publication is devoted to such matters as advancing trust in government, transforming bureaucratic cultures, and other change management topics. Dr. Cal Clark and Dr. Don- Terry Veal, both of Auburn University collaborated to write the introduction to the magazine’s forum on trust, performance management, and the public trust. According to the authors, promotion of greater transparency and measuring performance could restore America’s trust in the public sector.

Clark, a professor of political science and program director for the Master of Public Administration, earned his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois in political science. He teaches the Seminar in Research Methods in the MPA program. In an academic career spanning more than 30 years, he has authored or edited 17 books and published more than 300 publications His recent publications include the co-edited Beyond the Developmental State, Democracy and the Status of Women in East Asia, Globalization and State-Local Economic Development Policy, and The Health Care Financial Crisis. The last two won awards from the Policy Studies Organization for the best annual symposium in the Policy Studies Review in 2001 and 2002. In 2004, Cal won the College of Liberal Arts Excellence in Advising award; he is the 2007 recipient of Auburn University’s Minority Achievement Award for mentoring minority students and faculty. He is also a past winner of the Pi Sigma Alpha Award for the Outstanding Political Science Professor. He has served a two-year term as president of the American Association for Chinese Studies.

Earning his Ph.D. in areas of Public Administration/Public Finance from Northern Illinois University, Veal is currently the director of Auburn University’s Center for Governmental Services. He has published several articles and books on issues dealing with public finance, and is a founding member of The National Endowment for the Public Trust. He serves as chief administrator of several statewide governmentally mandated and professional credentialing associations. He speaks nationally and internationally to public and private organizations on issues dealing with excellence in government and on entrepreneurship.

Dr. Mitchell Brown, Assistant Professor of Political Science in the College of Liberal Arts, has been selected by Auburn University to receive one of the 2009 Distinguished Diversity Researcher Awards.

The awards are given by the Research Initiative for the Study of Diversity and the Office of the Vice President for Research at Auburn University. As a component of this award, Dr. Brown will give a lecture on her research during the celebration of Diversity Research conference in late October. She will also be presented with a $2,000 check and a plaque during the conference.

By Tressa Sloane

MariAnna Jones, a senior in Health Care Administration in the Department of Political Science, has received the Public Health Summer Fellows Program award. The award is a collaboration between Morehouse School of Medicine, the Center for Disease Control, the Office of Minority Health and the Emory Rollins School of Public Health. The award is given to 10 minority students who are pursuing a degree in the field of public health.

Jones said she was surprised and honored to receive the award.

"I didn't expect to get the award," she said. "Over 100 students applied and I was one of the 10 that was chosen. I am excited to get to see if this is what I really want to do."

Jones said that the program is scheduled for June 4 to August 7 and during this time she and the other students will be staying in Atlanta, GA, where Morehouse, the CDC and Emory are located.

Jones said the students will be doing research, attending symposiums and taking classes on Epidemiology and Introduction to Public Health. She said the students will also be paired with a mentor with whom they will complete a research project with and present at the end of the program.

"All of the things we will be doing are so that we can get a kind of orientation into the public health sector," Jones said. "Working and researching with other students will help us learn more about the public health field."

Dr. Rene McEldowney, associate professor in the Department of Political Science, said it says a lot for a student to be selected for this highly sought-after award.

"The competition for this fellowship has always been stiff, but with the ensuing poor economy, this year was even more competitive than usual," McEldowney said. "So it really is a great honor for MariAnna, our program and the College to be selected."
McEldowney also said that the award is important for the Health Administration Program at Auburn.

"We are on track for making this program one of the best in the nation by focusing on factors that go beyond just the financial and business model of health care," she said.

Jones will graduate from Auburn in August shortly after the program ends. She said she is not sure of her plans immediately after graduation, but that she hopes that the program will help her.

"I hope the program gives me a lot of contacts and opens a lot doors," she said. "I hope it will give a jumpstart to my career."

Jones said her interest is to work in the public health sector for the government and also to work on health policy issues. She also wants to do research on minority health and why there is a disparity that occurs with minorities in health.

"I am also really passionate about STD and AIDS prevention as well as insuring that everyone has access to healthcare," Jones said. "There are a lot of things I want to do, and I hope this program will help me out with all of my interests."

Beth Chapman, Alabama's Secretary of State, has chosen Dr. Christa Slaton to receive the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) Medallion. This national award is designed to recognize outstanding service and dedication to furthering NASS's mission: fair and honest elections, civic education and service to state government. There are only five NASS Medallions per Secretary of State awarded each year.

Dr. Slaton was formally recognized in an awards ceremony on Wednesday, May 6 in the Old House Chamber of the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Slaton on receiving this prestigous award!

Pictured from left in above photo: Christa Slaton, Beth Chapman, and Cal Clark

Beth Chapman, Alabama's Secretary of State, has chosen Dr. Christa Slaton, College of Liberal Arts Associate Dean and Political Science Professor, to receive the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) Medallion.

This national award is designed to recognize outstanding service and dedication to furthering NASS's mission: fair and honest elections, civic education and service to state government.

There are only five NASS Medallions per Secretary of State awarded each year.

Dr. Slaton and her colleagues were honored at an awards ceremony on May 6, 2009, at the Old House Chamber of the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery.

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?

Political Science Professor Dr. Clif Perry will be teaching a new course for county and city election lawyers at the Election Center Special Workshop Event in Denver, Colorado, April 15-19, 2009. Perry will be teaching "Supreme Court Review of Election Law." This course will examine federal court cases dealing with election law and their potential impact on election and voter registration administration. This is an excellent opportunity for those providing legal advice on elections to maintain their legal education. Enrollees in the course will gain credit from Auburn University and potentially Continuing Legal Education credit from individual states as well.

Other courses offered by College of Liberal Arts faculty at the conference will be "Leadership in Election and Voter Registration Administration," taught by Dr. Christa Slaton, " The Law of Elections and Voter Registration," taught by Dr. Steve Brown, and "Training in Elections," taught by Dr. Robert Montjoy.

The Professional Education Program is a joint effort of Auburn University's public administration faculty in the College of Liberal Arts, and The Election Center, a nonprofit that is dedicated to improving the administration of elections in the United States. Auburn University leads the nation in professional development for election and voter registration administrators and vendors. The twelve-course certificate program, designed and taught by College of Liberal Arts faculty, has certified more than 600 election officials nationwide.

For more information on the Election Administration Program at Auburn University, visit www.auburn.edu/eap or call Tracy Snoddy at (334) 844-6123. To learn more about The Election Center's Professional Education Program, visit www.electioncenter.org.

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

The Department of Political Science held an election watch party in the Student Center ballroom, where students, faculty, and friends gathered together to track the progress of the election as the results rolled in throughout the night on November 4, 2008.

"Watching the election results at the student union was exciting not only because we were witnessing history, but because I feel like our vote and age group had actually made a difference in the outcome," said Liz Hollis, a second-year master's student in the English Department.

Andrew Lyons, a sophomore in horticulture, added, "I haven't felt more proud to be a citizen of this country in quite some time. And it was more than just Obama winning. To me, McCain's somewhat early concession shows how greatly he respected his opponent."

Gerry Gryski, head of the political science department, was pleased with the number of students who came out to watch the election results, play electoral college bingo, and enjoy the food, beverages, and camaraderie of the evening.
The department partnered with the International Student Association, Black Student Union, Latino Student Association, Asian American Student Association and Student Life to bring this event to campus.

More Pictures

View Gerry Gryski's interview from Thursday, October 23, 2008.

Go to the video online.

Cynthia J. Bowling, Associate Professor in Political Science, received her BA in Political Science from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and her MA and PhD from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Since 2004, she has been the co-director of the American State Administrators Project, a national survey of state administrators in its fifth decade of research. Since coming to Auburn in 1998, she has enjoyed teaching courses in public administration to undergraduates, MPA and PhD students. Her research focuses on American state governments, particularly the executive branch, state budgeting and public finance, and women in state administration.