Although some people may forget the part of the Creed that says "And because all of these things are true, I believe in Auburn and love it," and every other part of the Auburn Creed immediately after kick-off, plenty of Auburn students remember it throughout life. Fortunately for those who may have forgotten the Auburn Creed as soon as they received their diplomas, there are 22 Auburn alumni who remember what the Creed means to them. Those 22 alumni are the members of the Auburn Alumni Association Board of Directors and they met for their quarterly meeting last Saturday.
The meeting began with a University update from Auburn University President Jay Gogue, who said Auburn performs $150 million in research every year, which is only half the amount of research the University needs in order to compete with the top universities in the nation.
Gogue did highlight specific areas of research the University is currently excelling in, such as Auburn's detection dog program and the work being done to improve American soldiers.
Gogue emphasized the importance of research at Auburn by noting the amount of money brought in by the research conducted by the University is twice the amount of what the athletic department generates every year.
The board of directors also heard updates from each of the student alumni association's committees.
Ben Thomas Roberts, head of the student alumni association scholarship development committee, said half of the endowments the alumni association pays out are currently "underwater."
Roberts said the organization is currently facing tough financial times, but that is to be expected with the country's current economic climate.
According to Large, only the University of Florida's alumni association suffered less loss than Auburn's. Roberts said even though the Student Alumni Association was short on their earnings in the previous year, he was happy to see Student Alumni Association voted to fund the shortfall to pay out at least 10 scholarships the organization normally awards.
"This shows the importance the board normally puts on scholarship," Roberts said.
The board also addressed the importance of membership in the Student Alumni Association.
Matthew Cox, sophomore in accounting and president of student alumni board, said the student branch of Auburn Alumni Association is approaching 3,700 members and want them to stay involved.
"We're trying to improve retention, and we want our members to be more involved with the legislative aspect of SAA," Cox said.
Debbie Shaw, the vice president of alumni affairs, said overall the meeting was a success and is thankful to all members.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
