At the meeting of the Auburn University Board of Trustees, Friday, Nov. 15, both Auburn University and the Auburn family continued to grow. There was a dedication ceremony at the new multimedia studio, the product of a partnership between Raycom Media and Auburn, and its opening was announced to a positive reception. “We have tried a couple of times over the years to make a connection with Auburn,” said Paul McTear, Raycom Media CEO. McTear said because of proximity, John Stein’s, chairman of the board of directors for Raycom, Auburn ties and mutual interest the partnership is a logical. “It could be something mutually beneficial,” McTear said. “It gives the students an opportunity and selfishly it helps the company.” He said equipment and facilities will allows students to learn and work with professional quality materials, and Raycom will learn about the future of the news and media from students. Joe Aistrup, the new dean of the College of Liberal Arts, was also introduced at the meeting. Aistrup spoke glowingly about Auburn. “I’ve just finished my tour of Alabama and Auburn University and I’m very pleased by what I see,” Aistrup said. He praised Auburn’s facilities, students and even the weather. “I thought I would be forever warm here, but it did get cold,” Aistrup said. “Then I saw it was 10 degrees in Kansas, and I felt better.” Aistrup also heaped superlatives on the new multimedia studio, which will be used by many CLA students. He said opportunities to apply knowledge and creativity in creating these opportunities are important. “We look for an opportunity that is directly applicable to some kind of job,” Aistrup said. “The Raycom partnership is an outstanding example.” Aistrup said the Raycom partnership is just a beginning, and a college-wide emphasis on providing applied-knowledge opportunities is imperative to allowing students to succeed. “It’s the liberal arts equivalent of a learning lab,” Aistrup said. “(Employers) want to know when a graduate arrives they can apply their knowledge.” There were also significant approvals and authorizations that will allow Auburn to literally grow during the Property and Facilities Committee meeting. A new master plan for the University was proposed, and the new plan focuses on future expansion. “For the first time we incorporated, and will be able to use from now on, a space planning model,” Dan King, assistant Vice President of facilities said. King said it would become dense, but there is room for 2 million more square feet of facilities in the core of campus. A proposal to demolish the current food service warehouse and build a new recycling and support facility was approved. “By doing that we allow for the future expansion of Harbert College of Business,” King said. A new food venue and courtyard renovation for Foy Dining Hall, a pavilion roof structure for one of the riding areas at the Equestrian Center, a commemorative marker for the Phi Kappa Phi honors society and step one to creating a new aviation education facility were all also approved.
A correction has been made to the above article to change Paul McTear's name which was mistakenly attributed as Pat McTear. The Plainsman apologizes for the mistake.
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