Auburn Montgomery

Auburn Montgomery
Motto	Our Standard Is Excellence
Established	1967
Type	Public
Endowment	$23,888,763
Chancellor	Dr. John G. Veres III
Academic staff	318
Students	5,079
Undergraduates	4,300
Postgraduates	779
Location	Montgomery, Alabama, USA
Campus	Urban, 500 acres (2 km²)
Athletics	NAIA Region XIII, SSAC
Colors	Orange and Black
Nickname	Warhawks
Website	www.aum.edu

Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM) is a coeducational public university located in Montgomery, Alabama, USA. It is governed by the Auburn University Board of Trustees, and is a branch campus of Auburn University. It was established by an act of the Alabama Legislature in 1967. AUM offers programs of study leading to bachelor's, master's, and specialist degrees in business, education, liberal arts, nursing, and sciences. The university enrolls more than 5,500 students, with an additional 10,000 enrolled in continuing education programs. In January 2007, the university moved toward branding itself as Auburn Montgomery.

AUM Library Tower (left) and Taylor Center (right)

History

AUM was established in 1967 by Act 403 of the Alabama Legislature. In March 1968, Dr. H. Hanly Funderburk, Jr., was appointed vice president and chief administrator of the newly created university. AUM opened its doors in September 1969 with nearly 600 students in the old Alabama Extension Center on Bell Street, next to Maxwell AFB. Two years later, the university relocated to a 500-acre (2.0 km²) campus on the McLemore Plantation tract, 7 miles (11 km) east of downtown Montgomery. The campus' first two buildings were the Administration/Library building and Goodwyn Hall with classrooms and faculty offices.

AUM has been accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools as an operationally separate institution since 1978.

In January 2007, the university began branding itself as Auburn Montgomery and unveiled a new logo. The redesigned logo incorporates the AUM Library Tower in a style resembling Auburn University’s logo which features the Samford Hall clock tower. While the university’s official name will remain the same, the rebranding aims to increase cooperation between the institutions.

Academics

For the 2008-2009 academic year, AUM enrolled 4,686 undergraduate and 869 graduate students. The student body is 64 percent female and 36 percent male. In terms of racial makeup, 58 percent of students are white, 33 percent are black, 2 percent are Asian and 1 percent are Hispanic.

AUM comprises five schools (Business, Education, Liberal Arts, Nursing, and Science) that offer bachelor, master and specialist degree programs. The most popular bachelor degrees granted are business administration (25 percent), nursing (13 percent), liberal arts (9 percent), biology (8 percent) elementary education (7 percent) and secondary education (7 percent). AUM also offers a joint doctorate program with Auburn University in Public Administration.

AUM also features a continuing education program that enrolls over 10,000 students annually. Continuing Education curricula include certificate programs, corporate education, community education, computer training, languages (including English as a Foreign or Second Language), online training, and youth programs.

AUM's School of Business also ranks in the top 5% of business schools in the world, as accredited by The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International. And it has been rated a "Best Business School" by The Princeton Review.

Lecture series

Annual lectures include the Durr Lectures (since 1992), named for Clifford and Virginia Durr, Montgomery lawyers and civil rights activists; and the Ingram Lectures (since 1989), named for Robert Ingram, noted political analyst and journalist.

Student life

Housing

AUM offers apartment style dormitories in one, two, or four bedroom floor plans. Housing is divided into two sections, West Courtyards and North Commons. The West Courtyards dormitories opened in the fall of 1979 and are made up of seven two-story buildings . 2003 the eight-story North Commons complex, featuring private bedrooms, was opened. During the regular school year, approximately 10 percent to 15 percent of AUM students live on campus.

Athletics

AUM participates in the NAIA since the inception of the athletic department 30 years ago. However, AUM has routinely explored possible future participation in NCAA Division II. Currently AUM participates in men's and women's basketball, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's tennis, baseball and softball. On August 18, 2011, AUM officially changed the name of it's sports teams from the Senators to the Warhawks.

The women's tennis team have won ten NAIA national titles, including a five-title streak (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008). The men's tennis team have won nine NAIA national titles, including a stretch of three consecutive championships (2006, 2007, 2008). They won again in 2010, Scott Kidd being elected as NAIA Coach of the Year.

Notable people

• Keivan Deravi, economics professor
• Alan Gribben, Mark Twain scholar
• Pamela Long, International Studies professor and immigration activist
• Stephanie Reynolds, co-founder of HIP Haiti, a non-profit organization
• John G. Veres III, chancellor
• Barbara Wiedemann, poet and English professor

References

Notes

External links

• Official website