Outreach in the College of Liberal Arts

Brain Camp

Jeff Katz, Jennifer Robinson

 Brain Camp  is a camp for high school juniors and seniors as well as rising college freshmen that provides hands-on learning experiences to those interested in neuroscience. Composed of interdisciplinary activities, campers have the opportunity to have their brains mapped using state-of-the-art imaging at the Auburn University MRI Research Center, visit the anatomy lab at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, understand how other animal's brains work by visiting the Canine Performance Sciences Center and get to see different methods of researching the brain.

Model United Nations Invitational

Matthew Clary

Auburn University developed and hosted the  Auburn Model United Nations Invitational  (AMUNI), a high school Model United Nations competition. The AMUNI invites high schools from across Alabama and Georgia to Auburn for a one-day, full Model UN conference. 

AU Music Project

Doug Rosener

The  AU Music Project  provides music lessons for people of all ages from the Auburn-Opelika community, as well as non-music majors from the university. Participants in the program take private lessons from music faculty during the fall and spring semesters. The program also includes a youth string component, where elementary school children can receive instruction on string instruments and present a concert at the end of each semester. The string component of the AU Music Project is the only resource in the Auburn-Opelika area that provides access to instruction for string instruments.

Pre-K Theatre & Dance Tour

Department of Theatre & Dance

Pre-K children from the Auburn University Early Learning Center visited the theatre and dance department and toured the mainstage, black box theater and dance studio. The group also met with multiple staff and faculty members, including a dance instructor, who prepared a special class for them to engage with dance and movement.

High School Honor Choir Festival

William Powell

Choirs from 10 different high schools in Alabama attended the 2023 High School Honor Choir Festival. During the morning session, selected choirs performed with their directors and received feedback from university professionals. During the afternoon session, several high school choirs combined to form the Festival Choir to rehearse and sing two songs led by Drs. William and Rosephanye Powell.

Interprofessional Education

Jeanna Sewell, Jennifer Slay

Auburn offers interprofessional education (IPE) activities to students in nursing, pharmacy, social work, nutrition, speech-language pathology and osteopathic medicine. Students across disciplines learn about, from and with each other to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes during live or virtual patient care experiences. Activities include seminars on interprofessional patient care, health care ethics and communication; an interprofessional poverty simulation; and  interprofessional clinics  where students work as a team to create assessments and plans.

Summer Band Camps

Auburn University Bands

High school students from across the Southeast attend Auburn University Summer Band Camps. Four camps were offered in 2024: Marching Percussion Clinic, Symphonic Band Camp, Marching Leadership Camp and Marching Auxiliary Camp. Participants stay on campus and learn from Auburn faculty, students and invited clinicians. Campers improve their musical skills, gain independence and confidence, and enjoy spending time on Auburn’s campus.

High School Symphonic Honor Band Festival

Auburn University Bands

The Auburn University Bands hosted the 33rd annual High School Symphonic Honor Band Festival in February 2024. Each year, hundreds of high school students audition for spots in the honor band. In 2024, 120 students from eight states spent two days in rehearsals with guest clinicians, including renowned composer Kevin Day. The event culminated in a final concert at the Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center.

Medical speech-language pathology education

Gregory Spray

The Fulbright Specialist Program, funded by the U.S. Department of State, sent Assistant Professor of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences Gregory Spray to Bulgaria to teach medical students how to evaluate and treat motor speech disorders.

As of 2023, there are no medical speech-language pathologists practicing in Bulgarian hospitals. Spray  hosted workshops  at the Medical University of Plovdiv to help train clinical practitioners.

Mediterranean Studies Symposium

Giovanna Summerfield

The  Mediterranean Studies Symposium  invites dozens of faculty members and scholars from across the world to engage in presentations and lively discussions, educational tours, cultural activities and group meals. The symposium supports interdisciplinary work from the arts, humanities, social sciences and more from national and international universities. Work from the symposium also led to the international journal I.S. Med., Interdisciplinary Studies on the Mediterranean.

Giving the gift of hearing

Department of Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences

Since 2009, the Auburn University Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences has taken a team of doctoral students and clinical supervising audiologists to Guatemala City, Guatemala, to provide audiology services to the underserved deaf and hard of hearing children in Guatemala.  In 2022 , the team tested hearing, fit hearing aids and made custom earmolds for more than 60 children at the School of the Deaf and Municipality in the Guatemalan public school system. Each of these children with severe to profound hearing loss received a free pair of hearing aids provided by Auburn donors.

Bright Ideas TBI Camp

Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences

Auburn's clinical programs partner with the Alabama Head Injury Foundation to provide various exercises and treatments for traumatic brain injury survivors during the  Bright Ideas TBI Camp . Graduate student teams work together to provide holistic recommendations to improve quality of life for survivors who are underinsured and their caregivers.

Professional Development at Pebble Hill

Melissa Blair

Associate Professor and Department of History Chair Melissa Blair leads professional development courses on women's history for Auburn City Schools 6-12th grade social studies teachers at the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities.

Effect of Discount Coupons and Education on Healthy Food Purchase and Obesity

Tannista Banerjee

This project designed and tested the effectiveness of targeted intervention in health education and targeted discount food coupons for healthy food. The project benefited 100 low-resource rural families, including minority groups, by improving their healthy food knowledge and food purchase habit. Results of this project helped design fiscal tools to reduce obesity in Alabama.

Reparative Interpretation at the Wallace Plantation

Elijah Gaddis

In collaboration with Klein Arts and Culture, Dr. Elijah Gaddis leads a team of scholars and practitioners of public history and art to think about how we can interpret the past through frameworks of healing and repair. This work is centered at the Wallace Plantation in Harpersville, Alabama.

Memory and the March

Elijah Gaddis

"Oral Histories with Selma's Foot Soldiers" undertakes the identification and interviewing of participants in the grassroots movements of the Black Belt in the 1960s. This project is supported by funding from the National Park Service.

City Year Program creates Historic Interpretation Plans

Rebecca Retzlaff, Binita Mahato

Students focused on investigating and interpreting the history and culture of Montgomery, Alabama, through the creation of  Historic Interpretation Plans . The students closely worked with community members and the Montgomery Planning Department to create individual Interpretation Plans. These plans included the interpretation of civil rights, schools, industrial, civil war/slavery, natural history and Montgomery history.

Alabama Oral Health Report

Zachary Schulz

The Alabama Department of Public Health tasked History Lecturer Zachary Schulz with mapping the burden of dental disease across the state of Alabama. Schulz’s  one-of-a-kind report  will inform state health agencies, dental schools and policymakers on ensuring every Alabamian has access to oral health care. “Oral Health in Alabama: Unveiling the Burden and Pathways to Improvement” was delivered to the  Oral Health Coalition of Alabama  in March 2024 and will be updated every five years.

Bloody Sunday, Selma and the Long Civil Rights Movement

Elijah Gaddis & Keith Hébert

“ Bloody Sunday, Selma and the Long Civil Rights Movement ” invited teachers from across the country to explore understudied people and places of the civil rights movement through tours of Selma and surrounding sites and expert sessions with Auburn faculty. The  workshop  employed place-based learning, which immersed participants at the intersection of race, place and freedom. The National Endowment for the Humanities supported the workshop for K-12 teachers.

City Year Program develops Peacock Tract revitalization plan

Jocelyn Zanzot , Binita Mahato

Students developed a  Neighborhood Urban Design Plan  – Peacock Tract Revitalization on Mobile Street in Montgomery, Alabama. Students worked directly with the City of Montgomery Planning, Economic and Development staff. The students presented their work to the Master of Community Planning faculty and the City of Montgomery Planning, Economic and Development office.

City Year Program develops Affordable Housing Plan for Montgomery

Jay Mittal

Through the Master of Community Planning program’s partnership with the Montgomery Housing Authority (MHA), Auburn students in the Synthesis Studio developed a  2040 housing development plan  for the city of Montgomery to address key challenges faced by residents. Groups studied and analyzed housing, allocation of funding and relocation of residents with the promise of new development. Students presented their findings to the MHA and the mayor of Montgomery.

African American Cultural Heritage in Auburn

Elijah Gaddis

In collaboration with senior citizens from the Boykin Community Center, Auburn students document, interpret and teach about the histories of African American people in and around Auburn. Their work includes oral history interviews, history harvests and community classes offered through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.

City Year Program creates Pedestrian and Parking Management Plan

Students collaborated with the City of Prattville, Alabama, to prepare a  Parking and Pedestrian Management Plan . The plan focused on improving the city’s pedestrian safety and parking utilization as it has been experiencing rapid growth in its urban core. Students also made a presentation to planning faculty and submitted their report to city officials. 

Multilingual Storytime at the Auburn Public Library

Iulia Pittman

Multilingual Storytime promotes and raises linguistic diversity in Auburn. The Storytime event bridges the gap between university and community, exposing the audience to a variety of languages and cultures, and giving minority language speakers an opportunity to share their language with others. Twelve languages are represented, with more than one reader per language for some of the represented languages. These readers read children's books in their native languages to families from the community and university.

Multilingual Game Hour at the Auburn Public Library

Iulia Pittman

Multilingual Game Hour engaged several different languages and cultures through games at the Auburn Public Library. The event hosted 13 language tables, which created a dynamic environment for participants to cultivate language curiosity and appreciation. Organizers Dr. Iulia Pittman and Dr. Jamie Harrison designed the game hour to combine celebrating people’s heritage with valuable teaching moments.

Leftover Materials and Supplies for the Food Pantry

Miriam Wyman

Studio courses taught across Auburn University often have leftover materials and supplies each semester. A student project assessed the amount of studio course supplies left over each semester and assessed available spaces around campus for storage of those supplies between semesters. Students connected with the Food Pantry on campus and stored the studio supplies, providing students with free materials and providing a space to contribute unused studio supplies. The project prevents material waste, helps students who may not be able to afford studio supplies and helps to de-stigmatize the food pantry.

City Year Program develops Downtown Revitalization Plan for Phenix City

Binita Mahato

Students developed three  Urban Design Plans  for the redevelopment of Downtown Phenix City. The area falls between Railroad St. to the north, Dillingham St. to the south, Broad St. to the west, and the Chattahoochee River to the east. The students worked in three teams and developed individual plan proposals addressing connectivity, activity, economic development, riverfront development and event-based development.

Stone Mountain Park Museum Exhibit Redesign

 Keith Hébert

Working with Stone Mountain Park officials and exhibit development professionals, Keith Hébert is helping to tell the whole truth "warts and all" about a site whose origins are connected to the founding of the second Ku Klux Klan. Hébert's research into the long history of Lost Cause lies and white supremacist deceptions are aiding the park to chart a new future that examines the monument's troubled past in the hopes of transforming this site into a space for racial reconciliation, reparation and civic discourse.

Fostering Communities in the Kitchen and Garden

Rosetta Giuliani Caponetto

Fostering Communities in the Kitchen and Garden provides foster youths with cooking skills, nutrition education, horticultural training and digital narrative journalism techniques. Faculty from multiple Auburn programs partnered with the Lee County Youth Development Center to launch the project in spring 2022.

My Green Labs

Miriam Wyman

Auburn students work with Auburn Risk Management and Safety and three laboratories on campus to participate in the national My Green Labs (MGL) certification initiative. MGL provides recommendations on how to reduce water and energy use and waste production. Students review those recommendations and research ways to make positive changes in Auburn labs through case studies, assessments and expert insight.

Historic Resource Survey of African American Schools in the South

Keith Hébert

With assistance from the Organization of American Historians, the National Park Service (NPS) commissioned Hilary Green, Davidson College, and Keith Hébert, Auburn University, to conduct a survey and write a history of southeast region Black school buildings. This report will serve as a resource for NPS units across the southeast as they locate these stories in their vicinity and direct resources toward their interpretation and preservation.

Plant Based Meals at the Edge Dining Hall

Miriam Wyman

Students collaborate with Tiger Dining and Plant-based Plainsman to offer a plant-based protein meal at the the Edge Dinning Hall during Earth Week (April 20), which also showcases student research on environmental and health impacts of animal vs. plant-based protein, as well as the different food sustainability projects Auburn currently has on campus.

Historic Preservation of Selma University

Keith Hébert

As one of the oldest HBCUs in Alabama, Selma University continues to play an integral role in Black higher education. Dinkins Memorial Hall, the university's landmark building, was designed by Robert R. Taylor, the nation's first licensed Black architect and Tuskegee University's chief campus designer. Working with Auburn University faculty, Selma University successfully applied for a $500,000 historic preservation grant from the National Park Service to restore the building. Additionally, Auburn faculty have prepared a National Register of Historic Places nomination on behalf of Selma University to comply with the current grant's requirements and to lay a foundation for subsequent historic preservation opportunities. 

Trash Audit

Miriam Wyman

Academic sustainability faculty and students conducted a campus trash audit this spring in partnership with the Department of Waste Reduction & Recycling. The audit helped provide Waste Reduction & Recycling with quantifiable data (e.g., how many plastic bottles were thrown into the landfill bin instead of the recycling bin) to aid the department in implementing more sustainable means of waste disposal on Auburn’s campus.

City Year Program drives tourism, economic impact in around Lake Martin

Jay Mittal

Dr. Jay Mittal partnered with the Lake Martin Economic Development Alliance to assist with regional and community-level plans for the Town of New Site, Alabama, tourism-supportive plans for the Horseshoe Bend National Military Park area, and for the City of Dadeville, Alabama. Students in Dr. Mittal's Synthesis Studio class worked with these communities through the spring 2023 semester as part of this partnership and community outreach effort.

AUPSC Health Services

Nadia Bhuiyan

The Auburn University Psychological Services Center (AUPSC) is a training clinic that provides therapy and assessment services for children, adolescents, adults and families in the Auburn-Opelika area. The mission of AUPSC is to provide quality mental health services to the community, train future professionals and further knowledge through research. The AUPSC serves more than 200 clients from the East Alabama region annually. With telehealth services, AUPSC outreach stretches across the state. 

City Year Program develops public art masterplan for the City of Auburn

Binita Mahato

Urban Design Studio is working with the City of Auburn Parks and Recreation Department’s Jan Dempsey Community Arts Center (JDCAC) in developing a  Public Art Concept Plan . The project aims to demonstrate how urban design through public art can enhance life in the city. The plan focuses on five specific areas in and around downtown and other public spaces in the city that have the potential to initiate community development through public art in Auburn.

City Year Program develops Corridor plan for MLK Boulevard

Binita Mahato

Students in the City Year Program created the Auburn  Martin Luther King Boulevard Corridor Urban Design Concept Plan . The plan focuses on redeveloping the corridor and its adjacent areas in Auburn. The Auburn Corridor Investment Group is moving forward with this project with a design directly influenced by student input.

City Year Program develops Bike Master plan for City of Auburn

Sweta Byahut

Auburn students created strategies and policy recommendations to help Auburn advance to a silver rating as a Bicycle Friendly Community with their Bike Master plan. Students analyzed community case studies, investigated bicycling conditions, and prepared maps of land uses, economic activities, demographic characteristics and facilities, as well as evaluated communications, marketing and bike safety education and enforcement strategies. Their  proposal  includes improving network connectivity at local and regional levels and identifying new or improved bicycle routes.

Loachapoka comprehensive plan development

Megan Heim-LaFrombois

Auburn students created a comprehensive plan for Loachapoka, Alabama, guided by community input. Students interviewed community stakeholders, including the mayor and town council, conducted a community survey and attended community events to understand Loachapoka residents’ experiences and visions for the area. The  comprehensive plans  and accompanying posters include recommendations on a variety of community aspects.

City Year Program develops downtown redevelopment plans

Binita Mahato

Auburn students worked in groups to identify project areas and scopes within downtown Opelika and  formulated plans  on various key issues concerning railroad reconnection, Court Square redevelopment, Industrialization prospects, public art opportunities and main library improvements. 

City Year Program assesses community health in Opelika

Rebecca Retzlaff

Auburn students worked with the City of Opelika to develop a community health assessment and  produce plans  for improvement. Topics included neighborhood, commercial, downtown, community garden, parks and recreation, housing, transportation, natural hazards, resilience and other plans. Students worked with community members in Opelika, the Opelika Planning Department, and the Opelika Community of Hope Project.

Mosaic Theatre Company

Tessa Carr, AK Murtadha

The Mosaic Theatre Company (MTC) is dedicated to the creation and performance of original works of theatre, which foster constructive community conversations. MTC members work together as an ensemble year-round developing new materials, honing theatrical skills and presenting their work to interested constituencies. The primary purpose of MTC is to foster dialogue and create a more inclusive community and culture.

Alabama City Year program guides brownfield revitalization in Pell City

Jay Mittal

With the support of Pell City Officials, ADEM and the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham, students analyzed Pell City including its larger region, to first identify key planning issues, challenges and concerns that the city faces (both now and potentially in the future), then develop strategies and  action plans for the city  while using the brownfield sites for nodal developments to make the city more attractive and livable for its citizens. 

Auburn brings storyteller to rural school

The Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities supported children’s author Joseph Trimble’s visit to the Monroe Intermediate School (MIS). Trimble, author of “The Fisherman, the Farmboy and the Watermelon Patch,” “Marty Makes a Difference” and “Marty and the Million Man March,” visited Packards Bend students and community members for an hour of storytelling featuring Black History at MIS.

Journalism Professor brings local news to communities

Nan Fairley

The nonprofit Program for the Academic and Cultural Enhancement of Rural Schools (PACERS) Rural Community News Network empowers citizens to create community newspapers. Auburn’s efforts, led by Associate Professor of Journalism Nan Fairley, helped establish the Beatrice Legacy, the Packers Bend Times, the Camp Hill Chronicle and the Pintlala Ledger.

Journalism Professor brings local news to communities

Nan Fairley

The nonprofit Program for the Academic and Cultural Enhancement of Rural Schools (PACERS) Rural Community News Network empowers citizens to create community newspapers. Auburn’s efforts, led by Associate Professor of Journalism Nan Fairley, helped establish the Beatrice Legacy, the Packers Bend Times, the Camp Hill Chronicle and the Pintlala Ledger.

Journalism Professor brings local news to communities

Nan Fairley

The nonprofit Program for the Academic and Cultural Enhancement of Rural Schools (PACERS) Rural Community News Network empowers citizens to create community newspapers. Auburn’s efforts, led by Associate Professor of Journalism Nan Fairley, helped establish the Beatrice Legacy, the Packers Bend Times, the Camp Hill Chronicle and the Pintlala Ledger.

Auburn University class creates resiliency plan for Camp Hill to build for a better future after severe storms

Megan Heim LaFrombois

Second-year Master of Community Planning students spent the spring 2024 semester  developing a resilience plan  for and with the community of Camp Hill, Alabama, as part of the Synthesis Studio course. In addition to working closely with individual community leaders and residents, the class partnered with the leaders of the  Alabama Center for Rural Organizing and Systemic Solutions  and the  Capacity Collaborative . The students organized three community engagement workshops, collected data from a variety of sources and did an in-depth analysis to develop an overarching vision and goals for the community. All this culminated into a resilience plan, which was presented to the community, that focused on three areas: downtown regeneration, economic development and housing. 

Journalism Professor brings local news to communities

Nan Fairley

The nonprofit Program for the Academic and Cultural Enhancement of Rural Schools (PACERS) Rural Community News Network empowers citizens to create community newspapers. Auburn’s efforts, led by Associate Professor of Journalism Nan Fairley, helped establish the Beatrice Legacy, the Packers Bend Times, the Camp Hill Chronicle and the Pintlala Ledger.

Living Democracy Program

Mark Wilson

Living Democracy brings together students and citizens to collaborate on issues of concern to Alabama communities. Coordinated by the  Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts and Humanities  in the College of Liberal Arts at Auburn University and the David Mathews Center for Civic Life, the project prepares undergraduate college students for civic life through living-learning experiences in the summer. In  Elba , Auburn student  Mikailie Caulder  assisted the Elba Senior Center, Restoration154, the Elba Animal Control Shelter and more.

Singers conduct music workshop

As part of a year-long collaboration between the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities and partners in Elba, Alabama, the AU Singers led an all-day workshop for students from several schools in the region. Singers leaders Ben Wilson and Luke Walker organized the agenda alongside Elba High School choral director Jason Tucker, and Singers dance captains taught choreography for three different songs. 

City Year Program develops Highway 84 E. corridor redevelopment project

Sweta Byahut

In collaboration with the City of Dothan’s planning department, Auburn students re-envisioned the Highway 84 E. corridor in the context of connectivity, downtown land use, bike and pedestrian safety, infrastructure and place-making. The  proposed plan  focused on roundabout design, multi-modal connections, pedestrian and bike safety, parking enhancements and recreational trail enhancements. Their roundabout design proposal was incorporated into the city’s plans and now forms a central element in the detailed planning of a major project to revitalize the city center.

City Year Program develops Urban Economic Analysis for the City of Dothan

Jay Mittal

Master of Community Planning Program students  prepared strategies  to attract new businesses and investments, increase retention of new individuals and local families, improve community assets and revitalize areas of Dothan, Alabama. Students applied their economic development knowledge to analyze the history, demographics, socioeconomics, land utilization, zoning and housing markets of Dothan, then made recommendations for improvement. They presented their plans to the Mayor of Dothan and the city’s planning staff.

City Year Program creates plans, reports for City of Dothan

In teams of three, students completed five planning projects for the City of Dothan. Projects focused on land use capacity analysis citywide with particular focus on housing and mixed uses, feasibility of using a form-based code for historic preservation, rental housing study and analysis, rails to trail analysis and impact study, and medical market economic development and land-use study. Students presented these plans to the City of Dothan officials in City Hall.

Theatre faculty, film & TV actor brings voice workshops to Elba

AK Murtadha

Through a partnership with Auburn University, Assistant Professor Adbul-Khaliq Murtadha  gave an acting masterclass  to students involved in the Choral Department at Elba High School. Adbul-Khaliq Murtadha, along with his teaching responsibilities at Auburn University, is both a professional stage actor and TV star with credits including - NCIS:LA, All My Children, and Numb3rs. He shared his acting expertise with EHS students and helped them perfect some of their own skills. 

Living Democracy Program

Mark Wilson

Living Democracy brings together students and citizens to collaborate on issues of concern to Alabama communities. Coordinated by the  Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts and Humanities  in the College of Liberal Arts at Auburn University and the David Mathews Center for Civic Life, the project prepares undergraduate college students for civic life through living-learning experiences in the summer. In  Camden , Auburn student  Kaitlin Stabler  interned at non-profits including the Black Belt Treasures Cultural Arts Center and Wilcox Works.

Living Democracy Program

Mark Wilson

Living Democracy brings together students and citizens to collaborate on issues of concern to Alabama communities. Coordinated by the  Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts and Humanities  in the College of Liberal Arts at Auburn University and the David Mathews Center for Civic Life, the project prepares undergraduate college students for civic life through living-learning experiences in the summer. In  Collinsville , Auburn student  Payton Davis  worked at the Collinsville Public Library and engaged with organizations like the Collinsville Museum.

Living Democracy Program

Mark Wilson

Living Democracy brings together students and citizens to collaborate on issues of concern to Alabama communities. Coordinated by the  Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts and Humanities  in the College of Liberal Arts at Auburn University and the David Mathews Center for Civic Life, the project prepares undergraduate college students for civic life through living-learning experiences in the summer. In  Chatom , Auburn student  Jessica Criswell  interned with the Washington County Public Library.

CSI Auburn Program

Kristrina Shuler

CSI Auburn Program is a multidisciplinary outreach partnership with Auburn University and Alabama public schools that provides students with active learning experiences related to forensic anthropology and criminology. Participants include students in grades 5-12 who are invited to be a forensic scientist for a day as they are guided through a series of active learning stations led by Auburn University faculty and student facilitators. Through CSI Auburn, student participants and volunteers gain insight into potential career fields that they may not have imagined before.

REACH Program

Laura Willis

Speech-Language Pathology graduate students with Laura Willis (SLP Clinical Professor) lead programming for the community REACH (Refresh, Encourage, Activities, Care, Hope) program. This program offers support for for individuals living with dementia and respite for their caregivers. Each Wednesday, students collaborate to engage individuals with dementia in language and cognitive activities for the half-day program.

Political science faculty lead national certification for elections workers

Election Administration

Auburn University’s Department of Political Science worked with The Election Center in 1994 to create the Certified Elections/Registration Administrator, or CERA, program.  The CERA program  is the only of its kind to provide specialized knowledge and abilities training to elections administrators.  CERA courses  include the history of elections, communication, enhancing voter participation, election management, election law and more, taught by the College of Liberal Arts’ expert political science faculty.

Political science faculty lead national certification for elections workers

Election Administration

Auburn University’s Department of Political Science worked with The Election Center in 1994 to create the Certified Elections/Registration Administrator, or CERA, program.  The CERA program  is the only of its kind to provide specialized knowledge and abilities training to elections administrators.  CERA courses  include the history of elections, communication, enhancing voter participation, election management, election law and more, taught by the College of Liberal Arts’ expert political science faculty.

Political science faculty lead national certification for elections workers

Election Administration

Auburn University’s Department of Political Science worked with The Election Center in 1994 to create the Certified Elections/Registration Administrator, or CERA, program.  The CERA program  is the only of its kind to provide specialized knowledge and abilities training to elections administrators.  CERA courses  include the history of elections, communication, enhancing voter participation, election management, election law and more, taught by the College of Liberal Arts’ expert political science faculty.

Political science faculty lead national certification for elections workers

Election Administration

Auburn University’s Department of Political Science worked with The Election Center in 1994 to create the Certified Elections/Registration Administrator, or CERA, program.  The CERA program  is the only of its kind to provide specialized knowledge and abilities training to elections administrators.  CERA courses  include the history of elections, communication, enhancing voter participation, election management, election law and more, taught by the College of Liberal Arts’ expert political science faculty.

Political science faculty lead national certification for elections workers

Election Administration

Auburn University’s Department of Political Science worked with The Election Center in 1994 to create the Certified Elections/Registration Administrator, or CERA, program.  The CERA program  is the only of its kind to provide specialized knowledge and abilities training to elections administrators.  CERA courses  include the history of elections, communication, enhancing voter participation, election management, election law and more, taught by the College of Liberal Arts’ expert political science faculty.

Political science faculty lead national certification for elections workers

Election Administration

Auburn University’s Department of Political Science worked with The Election Center in 1994 to create the Certified Elections/Registration Administrator, or CERA, program.  The CERA program  is the only of its kind to provide specialized knowledge and abilities training to elections administrators.  CERA courses  include the history of elections, communication, enhancing voter participation, election management, election law and more, taught by the College of Liberal Arts’ expert political science faculty.

Political science faculty lead national certification for elections workers

Election Administration

Auburn University’s Department of Political Science worked with The Election Center in 1994 to create the Certified Elections/Registration Administrator, or CERA, program.  The CERA program  is the only of its kind to provide specialized knowledge and abilities training to elections administrators.  CERA courses  include the history of elections, communication, enhancing voter participation, election management, election law and more, taught by the College of Liberal Arts’ expert political science faculty.

Political science faculty lead national certification for elections workers

Election Administration

Auburn University’s Department of Political Science worked with The Election Center in 1994 to create the Certified Elections/Registration Administrator, or CERA, program.  The CERA program  is the only of its kind to provide specialized knowledge and abilities training to elections administrators.  CERA courses  include the history of elections, communication, enhancing voter participation, election management, election law and more, taught by the College of Liberal Arts’ expert political science faculty.

Political science faculty lead national certification for elections workers

Election Administration

Auburn University’s Department of Political Science worked with The Election Center in 1994 to create the Certified Elections/Registration Administrator, or CERA, program.  The CERA program  is the only of its kind to provide specialized knowledge and abilities training to elections administrators.  CERA courses  include the history of elections, communication, enhancing voter participation, election management, election law and more, taught by the College of Liberal Arts’ expert political science faculty.

Political science faculty lead national certification for elections workers

Election Administration

Auburn University’s Department of Political Science worked with The Election Center in 1994 to create the Certified Elections/Registration Administrator, or CERA, program.  The CERA program  is the only of its kind to provide specialized knowledge and abilities training to elections administrators.  CERA courses  include the history of elections, communication, enhancing voter participation, election management, election law and more, taught by the College of Liberal Arts’ expert political science faculty.

Political science faculty lead national certification for elections workers

Election Administration

Auburn University’s Department of Political Science worked with The Election Center in 1994 to create the Certified Elections/Registration Administrator, or CERA, program.  The CERA program  is the only of its kind to provide specialized knowledge and abilities training to elections administrators.  CERA courses  include the history of elections, communication, enhancing voter participation, election management, election law and more, taught by the College of Liberal Arts’ expert political science faculty.

Professor Kelly Krawczyk takes free and fair elections work from Auburn to Africa

Kelly Krawczyk

Associate Professor  Kelly Krawczyk  elevates her expertise in free and fair elections to an international scale with her  research, teaching and outreach  work in Africa. Krawczyk has served as an international election observer for Ghana’s 2012 national election, Nigeria’s 2019 election and Liberia’s 2011 and 2017 elections, with plans to return to Liberia in fall 2023.

Professor Kelly Krawczyk takes free and fair elections work from Auburn to Africa

Kelly Krawczyk

Associate Professor  Kelly Krawczyk  elevates her expertise in free and fair elections to an international scale with her  research, teaching and outreach  work in Africa. Krawczyk has served as an international election observer for Ghana’s 2012 national election, Nigeria’s 2019 election and Liberia’s 2011 and 2017 elections, with plans to return to Liberia in fall 2023.

Professor Kelly Krawczyk takes free and fair elections work from Auburn to Africa

Kelly Krawczyk

Associate Professor  Kelly Krawczyk  elevates her expertise in free and fair elections to an international scale with her  research, teaching and outreach  work in Africa. Krawczyk has served as an international election observer for Ghana’s 2012 national election, Nigeria’s 2019 election and Liberia’s 2011 and 2017 elections, with plans to return to Liberia in fall 2023.

Auburn Eating Disorders Clinic

Tiffany Brown & April Smith

The  Auburn Eating Disorders Clinic  is a training clinic that provides high-quality, low-cost, evidence-based assessments and treatment to individuals struggling with eating disorders, disordered eating and/or body image concerns. Co-directors Drs. Tiffany Brown and April Smith supervise Clinical Psychology PhD students providing empirically-supported treatments for children, adolescents, young adults and adults in Alabama for a variety of eating disorders.

Johnny Ray Rails-to-Trails Master Plans

Sweta Byahut

The Johnny Ray Rail-to-Trail project will convert decommissioned rail lines to ADA-friendly, non-motorized, multi-use trails connecting Chambers, Lee, and Randolph counties in Alabama. The project will support connectivity between schools, trails, parks, points of interest and regional jurisdictions. It will encourage walking and cycling for recreation and transportation, resulting in improved public health, bolstered community quality of life and strengthened local economies.

13th and 14th Street Corridor Redevelopment Plans

Sweta Byahut

The redevelopment of the 13th and 14th street corridor, connecting Phenix City with Columbus, Georgia, focused on proposing a roundabout design, multi-modal connections, pedestrian and bike safety, parking and recreational trail enhancements. As a result of the  proposals , Phenix City received a Transportation Alternative Grant for the addition of bicycle lanes, landscape and pedestrian walkway improvements. This will improve functionality for all modes of transportation, improve the livability of the corridor and increase the economic vitality of Phenix City.

Chambers County Community Health and Wellness Center

Erin Reynolds

The Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences purchased mobile audiometry equipment that allows Doctor of Audiology students and faculty to complete hearing assessments, hearing aid fitting and verification for people who live in Chambers County. Along with hearing assessments, Speech-Language faculty and graduate students will be able to complete assessments and treatments with people in the area who are experiencing speech and language difficulties.

Supporting Alabama Non-profits

Sarah Aghazadeh

Through partnering with Alabama non-profits such as the Lee County Literacy Coalition, students can develop industry skills while giving back to their communities. Students make public relations and communication materials that can help generate ideas and serve as guides for non-profits that often have limited resources for public relations.

Socio Economic Effect of State-Mandated COVID-19 Lockdowns Dates

Tannista Banerjee

Auburn Economics is currently investigating the socioeconomic effects of COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders starting from March 2020. Dr. Tannista Banerjee collaborates with researchers to analyze the effects of those orders in low resource communities, small businesses, the labor market, children’s health and health disparity. The research will contribute to public policy literature, help operational planning for a pandemic and investigate how these lockdowns affected the economy. 

City Year Program guides development of Parkside District Development

Jay Mittal

This  City Year Program project  guided the formation of the Parkside District, a 24-hour, mixed-use district supporting multiple forms of transportation. This will close the gap between the UAB Medical District and the north side of downtown, creating a transit-supportive, walkable and economically viable community.

Supporting Alabama Non-Profits

Sarah Aghazadeh

Through partnering with Alabama non-profits such as One Roof, students can develop industry skills while giving back to their communities. Students make public relations and communication materials that can help generate ideas and serve as guides for non-profits that often have limited resources for public relations.

Expressions of a BraveHeart

Jennifer Slay, Angela Burque 

Expressions of a BraveHeart is a comprehensive fine arts program for young persons with moderate-severe disabilities. The program creates a safe, respectful and understanding setting to develop friendships, explore fine arts and build self-esteem – all at no cost to participating families. An Auburn social work professor and mother of a son with autism created Expressions of a BraveHeart in 2010 to address unmet social and recreational needs for young people with disabilities. For young people who face cognitive, communication and social challenges, Expressions of a BraveHeart improves quality of life.

BraveHeart Center for Place and Purpose

Angela Burque, Angela Powell

The  BraveHeart Center for Place and Purpose  is a health and wellness-based day program for adults with moderate to severe communication and/or cognitive challenges and a professional, person-centered training site for Auburn students. The mission of BCPP is to provide a place where individuals with disabilities are offered comprehensive opportunities for continued growth in the areas of health and fitness, academia, life and job skills, community outreach and creative arts exploration.

Compassionate Community

Jana Kerns

Compassionate Community aims to help Latinx immigrant families integrate into their new environment, supporting a historically underrepresented demographic. Through monthly food/resource distributions, community picnics and online resource development, immigrants are able to receive assistance with navigating American healthcare, education and food security systems.

Culture, Power and the War in Ukraine

Cathleen Giustino

The Department of History organized a series of webinars providing historical and cultural context for the Ukrainian War, featuring Dr. Cathleen Giustino and advance Ph.D. students as content experts. Webinars include discussions of how art, religion and nuclear power all shape Ukrainian understandings of the Russian invasion.

HydroGarden Workshop

Wendy DesChene

The Department of Art & Art History created hydroponic garden workshops to teach communities alternate ways to locally farm fresh food. Workshops instructed the development of a personal vegetable garden based on closed water systems using PVC tubes. Hydroponic gardening is a method of growing plants without soil. This allows gardens to use less space, conserve water and reduce emissions and labor.

HydroGarden Workshop

Wendy DesChene

The Department of Art & Art History created hydroponic garden workshops to teach communities alternate ways to locally farm fresh food. Workshops instructed the development of a personal vegetable garden based on closed water systems using PVC tubes. Hydroponic gardening is a method of growing plants without soil. This allows gardens to use less space, conserve water and reduce emissions and labor.