Auburn University signed a Memorandum of Understanding, or MOU, with Lurleen B. Wallace Community College, or LBWCC, on Thursday, Dec. 15. The MOU formalized a partnership to expand Auburn’s Path to the Plains program, extending the institution’s pathway program to students across LBWCC’s four sites.  

Open to first-year Alabama resident students, Path to the Plains provides both discipline-specific and exploratory pathways for students who have a goal of transferring to Auburn. In addition to reinforcing both institutions’ commitment to access and affordability, the program allows students to enroll at LBWCC for up to two years while they complete courses at both institutions at the LBWCC tuition rate.

Read more about the MOU to expand the Path to the Plains Program.

In accordance with Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’s recent executive order requiring all state-owned networks and devices to block access to and from the TikTok social media application, Auburn University’s Office of Information Technology began blocking TikTok on campus via wi-fi access on Dec. 13.

Efforts are underway to remove TikTok from all state-owned devices provided by Auburn. Note also that the new policy recommends removing TikTok from personal devices to protect a person’s privacy there as well. The governor’s order addresses the growing risk of intrusive social media applications harvesting data totally unrelated to business use of the platform. For more information, including Ivey’s order, visit OIT’s webpage. Any questions regarding this order and how Auburn is responding are to be referred to Auburn Chief Information Officer Jim O’Connor via email at joconnor@auburn.edu or Chief Information Security Officer William Miaoulis at bill.miaoulis@auburn.edu.

The garden on the rooftop of the Tony and Libba Rane Culinary Science Center does more than provide food and adornments for guests of its signature restaurant, 1856 – Culinary Residence, The Laurel Hotel & Spa and Ariccia Cucina Italiana.

In fact, the 4,400-square-foot garden on the Walt and Ginger Woltosz Rooftop Terrace, named through a generous gift from the couple, is a collaborative work space for the College of Human Sciences’ Horst Schulze School of Hospitality Management and the College of Agriculture’s Department of Horticulture, as well as Ithaka Hospitality Partners.

Read more about the education opportunities abounding from the garden on the roof of the Tony and Libba Rane Culinary Science Center.

Auburn University is one of three universities sharing a $28 million grant award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, or NIFA, to establish an Institute for Rural Partnership to research the causes and conditions of challenges facing rural areas.

Auburn University’s project is an inter-disciplinary effort involving the College of Agriculture, the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, the McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security and the Interdisciplinary Center for Advanced Manufacturing Systems, or ICAMS.

Read more about Auburn University sharing a $28 million grant to meet rural challenges.

While many on the Auburn University campus will slow down over the holiday break, the Harrison College of Pharmacy’s Rusty Arnold is gearing up for a trip to Israel to collaborate with peers in science and technology. Selected for the competitive Faculty Fellowship Program sponsored by the Jewish National Fund, USA, Arnold will travel to Israel from Dec. 26-Jan. 8.

“I am excited to learn more about Israel and the different research programs that complement our research strengths here at Auburn University,” said Arnold, a professor in the Harrison College of Pharmacy’s Department of Drug Discovery and Development.

Read more about Arnold being selected for a fellowship in Israel.

Auburn University is partnering with Spin, a leading micromobility company, to offer electric bike and scooter transportation for students, faculty, staff and visitors on campus starting Jan. 16.  

The new modes of transportation offer an eco-friendly option for traversing campus, and they incorporate such safety features as “no ride zones” and “slow ride zones” at various locations. The zones are visible within a Spin mobile phone app that is used to book and pay for the use of the e-bike or e-scooter and that can slow or redirect the e-bike or e-scooter involving “no ride” or “slow ride” zones.

Read more about Auburn University partnering with Spin.