Auburn Board of Trustees establishes new degrees, new department

Article body

The Auburn University Board of Trustees addressed a number of growing needs at its Feb. 7 meeting on the campus of Auburn University at Montgomery.

Officials in the Harbert College of Business requested the establishment of a Department of Supply Chain Management in order to better support the program’s growth and student demand, as well as enhance the visibility and overall national reputation of the program.

The Department of Systems and Technology in the college currently oversees the undergraduate degree and graduate certificate in supply chain management, as well as the Center for Supply Chain Innovation.

In the College of Architecture, Design and Construction, the establishment of a new Bachelor of Landscape Architecture will equip the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture to address the growing need for professionals committed to developing solutions to urban and rural landscape issues.

The degree—the only one of its type in the state of Alabama—will provide students with a curriculum that promotes sustainable and equitable solutions in all areas of the built environment and product development. Graduates will be able to pursue professional licensure as landscape architects and work in either the private or public sectors.

A new Master of Science in Brewing Science and Operations would allow the College of Human Sciences to continue to market a highly desirable academic program via distance education. The college’s Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Hospitality Management has had much success in offering a graduate certificate in brewing science and operations through distance education since 2014.

The non-thesis advanced degree will combine the fields of craft brewing science and business practices appropriate for brewers, managers and executives in the brewing industry.

With the new degree, Auburn becomes one of only two institutions in the country to offer such a degree. It also allows the College of Human Sciences to continue its support of Alabama’s tourism industry by preparing graduates to work in the state’s growing hospitality and restaurant industries.

The board also decided to rename the Department of Psychology in the College of Liberal Arts as the Department of Psychological Sciences to more accurately reflect the department’s current programmatic and research offerings.

In other matters, the board:

  • Removed the “interim” designation from President Jay Gogue’s title and appointed him the 20th president of Auburn University, effective immediately.

  • Offered its collective support for the creation and placement of a commemorative plaque on campus in honor of the late Rod and Paula Bramblett. Also, the board expressed support for a request from the Athletics Department to establish three statues on campus for former football coaches Cliff Hare, Shug Jordan and Pat Dye.

  • Approved a $110 million budget for the Tony and Libba Rane Culinary Science Center.

  • Granted final approval to build out the Leach Science Center basement to accommodate additional research space for the Department of Physics.

  • Named Niles Bolton Associates of Atlanta as the project architect for phase one of the student housing project. The phase begins the process of replacing the Hill residence halls and Cambridge Residence Hall.

  • Set an affiliated housing rate for 320 beds at 160 Ross, effective this fall, which is equivalent to the housing rate at The Village Residence Halls.

  • Initiated a project to renovate an area of Goodwin Hall for the creation of a professional recording studio and selected C. Paul Butler III Architects LLC of Montgomery, Alabama, as the project architect. The project would support existing program and faculty needs, allow the College of Liberal Arts to expand its academic program in the Department of Music and foster collaboration with the Harbert College of Business and the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering.

  • Initiated a project to renovate the Ham Wilson Arena into a training facility for university staff and selected JMR+H Architect of Montgomery, Alabama, as the project architect.

  • Approved annual maintenance projects at Jordan-Hare Stadium, which include the application or replacement of deck coatings with associate joint sealants, extensive expansion joint replacements, concrete repairs, maintenance of steel railings and miscellaneous painting.

  • Posthumously awarded a Bachelor of Science in business administration to Robert C. Watson, who passed away in January before completing his final semester.

  • Set the 2020-21 board meeting dates as Sept. 4, Nov. 20, Feb. 5 at AUM, April 16 and June 11.

Auburn University is a nationally ranked land grant institution recognized for its commitment to world-class scholarship, interdisciplinary research with an elite, top-tier Carnegie R1 classification, life-changing outreach with Carnegie’s Community Engagement designation and an undergraduate education experience second to none. Auburn is home to more than 30,000 students, and its faculty and research partners collaborate to develop and deliver meaningful scholarship, science and technology-based advancements that meet pressing regional, national and global needs. Auburn’s commitment to active student engagement, professional success and public/private partnership drives a growing reputation for outreach and extension that delivers broad economic, health and societal impact.