Auburn celebrates newly promoted and tenured faculty

At its reception for newly tenured and promoted faculty on Sept. 12, the Provost’s Office recognized 127 distinguished faculty scholars from across the university who achieved the career milestones of tenure and promotion during the past academic year. The event featured remarks from Auburn University Trustee Elizabeth Huntley, President Christopher Roberts and Provost Vini Nathan.

“The granting of promotion and tenure at Auburn symbolizes two important things,” Huntley said. “It honors your prior contributions to our mission and anticipates your future achievements through your teaching, research and service.”

The annual reception honored faculty members from all 12 colleges, reflecting a diverse range of academic programs from mechanical engineering and communication to nutrition and accounting. In addition to faculty colleagues, members of the university’s leadership including department heads and chairs, were in attendance. Echoing Trustee Huntley, President Roberts congratulated the faculty on their significant achievements and highlighted their milestones as opportunities for both celebration and reflection.

“For many of you, I imagine that tenure and promotion are significant milestones that prompt consideration and raise the question of what comes next,” said Roberts. “This kind of question certainly invites reflection, and I know that many of you are taking this time to ponder the next steps on your journey or embark on new collaborations and projects with your colleagues.”

Hosted each fall, the event invites faculty honorees to each select a book that has profoundly influenced their personal and professional journeys. The books, each adorned with a unique bookplate commemorating the faculty honoree, were accompanied by personal statements that provided poignant insights into each selected work's influence on their life and career and offered a unique look into Auburn's academic community. Following the event, the books are added to the University Libraries’ permanent collection.

Among this year’s selections was Because I Had a Teacher, authored by Kobi Yamada and chosen by Jason Bryant, who was promoted to clinical professor in the Department of Educational Foundations, Leadership and Technology. In addition to the text’s impact on his role as a teacher, Bryant reflected on the meaning of Yamada’s work as a “heartfelt reminder of the vital and lasting contributions that all my teachers and professors have made in my life. It reminds me of the importance of teachers in our world and the honor I have had of being a teacher to so many as well.”

Like Bryant, several faculty chose books with deep personal significance, while other honorees selected textbooks and scholarly works that influenced them early in their academic careers and continue to influence their teaching and research.

Cathleen Erwin, who was promoted to full professor and currently serves as chair of the Department of Political Science, chose The Social Transformation of Medicine: The Rise of a Sovereign Profession and the Making of a Vast Industry by Paul Starr to represent her academic and professional journey. Sharing how the book profoundly influenced her early views on the societal factors shaping healthcare delivery and policy, Erwin indicated that, “Starr’s insights into the historical context of healthcare reforms and the intricate relationships between medicine, economics and politics have shaped my understanding of healthcare and how I teach.” Beyond Erwin’s courses, Starr’s text is widely utilized in health administration programs nationwide.

Offering closing remarks, Provost Nathan praised those family and friends in attendance and offered additional words of congratulations. “You are just the beginning of what promises to be a continued journey of excellence,” said Nathan. “Your achievements are a source of pride for all of us, and we are honored to have you as part of our academic family. Thank you for your dedication, passion, and unwavering commitment to excellence.”

A full list of faculty honorees is available on the Promotion and Tenure website.

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