Theodore Becker
Alumni Professor - Political Science
College of Liberal Arts

Ted Becker is the author of 12 books on the fields of law and politics, American government, and teledemocracy. A former chairman of the Department of Political Science at the University of Hawaii, Becker earned his J.D. from Rutgers and his doctrate from Northwestern. He has served on the staff of the Attorney General of New Jersey as a consumer research analyst for Benton and Bowles Advertising Agency in New York City, and in Military Intelligence in the United States Army. He has also served on the faculties of the University of Maryland, Northwestern, Hawaii, New York University (Department of Politics and the School of Law), San Diego State, Cal State at Los Angeles, Wayne State University, Community College of New York, Brooklyn College and Victoria University of Wellington, NZ, and as a department head at Auburn. 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." Becker has lectured at Harvard, Brown, Pembroke, Oberlin, Reed, Bowdoin, The University of West Indies (Trinidad), Seoul National University, Technology University of Sydney, Salzburg University, Turku School of Economics, the University of Stockholm, and others. He is currently the editor in chief ofThe Journal of Public Deliberation, which he considers a labor of love.

Carolyn Robinson
Assistant Professor - Horticulture
College of Agriculture

Carolyn Walton Robinson is a native of Akron, Ala. She received her bachelor of science in horticulture from Auburn in 1996 and a master of science in environmental horticulture from the University of Florida in 1998, and a doctorate in socio-horticulture from Texas A&M University in 2001. While at TAMU, she was a contributing author to the Junior Master Gardener Level 1 curriculum. She worked for the University of Florida Mid-Florida Research and Education Center until joining the faculty at Sam Houston State University in 2002. At SHSU, she was the advisor of the Horticulture Club and began the SHSU Student Chapter of the Professional Landcare Network. In 2006, she returned to Auburn as an assistant professor. Her teaching responsibilities at Auburn have included instruction of intermediate landscape design, interior plants and floral design, and the development and implementation of a new computer aided landscape design course. She is a co-advisor for the Auburn Student Chapter of the Professional Landcare Network, advisor to Auburn Christian Fellowship, and typically advises some 35 undergraduates. Her research focuses on the social and economic benefits of horticulture.

Shari Park-Gates
Assistant Professor - Consumer Affairs
College of Human Sciences

Shari Park-Gates is a dedicated learner. Although she has received an undergraduate degree in psychology from West Virginia University, a second undergraduate degree in interior design from Interior Design Institute in Denver, an MBA from the University of Charleston, and a doctorate at Virginia Tech, she is currently working toward an undergraduate degree in fine arts. Gates practiced interior design for approximately 20 years, working on commercial, healthcare, and hospitality design projects, then returned to school to earn her doctorate. She has taught at Georgia Southern, West Virginia, and Auburn University, and has served on the Board of Directors for Interior Design Educators Council, from whom she received the service award in 2009. Gates is serving on the Board of Registration for Interior Design in Alabama and co-authored the textbook,Designing Your Future, published in 2007, and is a recipient of the Women's Philanthropy Board scholarship award. Her research focuses on creativity and the profession of interior design. Gates has also focused on drawing as a method of discovery and dissemination with an emphasis on visual recording of vernacular architecture and interiors for study and exhibit. Her work has been featured in exhibits nationally, and she was first author of A Position Paper: The Value of Including Creative Endeavors in the Tenure and Promotion Process.