Auburn University's Beat Bama Food Drive and the University of Alabama's Beat Hunger campaign start their annual seven-week competition today, Wednesday, Sept. 30, with a 10:30 a.m. kickoff at the Governor's Mansion in Montgomery, WSFA reported. Gov. Kay Ivey is scheduled to proclaim Sept. 30 "Beat Bama Food Drive and Beat Auburn Beat Hunger Day" across Alabama and to make the first donation to both schools. Student leaders and mascots from both campuses are expected… Read More
Category: Auburn
Opelika Vietnam Veteran Finds a Boyhood Friend’s Name on the Wall During the Wiregrass Honor Flight
This is a brief follow-on to a story first reported by The Observer , Opelika's community newspaper. Read their full story for complete coverage. Two Opelika veterans, Vietnam veteran Wilbert D. Payne Jr. and three-time Purple Heart recipient James Hughley, were part of the Sept. 15-17 Wiregrass Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., The Observer's Michelle Key reported. At the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Payne found the name of Milton Hunter, who grew up next door and… Read More
Auburn Council Members Join Tenant Union Meeting as Lemans and Chateau Residents Face Displacement
The Auburn Tenant Union held its first meeting Monday night for residents of Lemans Square and Chateau apartments, two low-rent Auburn complexes that are set to be torn down and redeveloped. City officials are still looking for ways to help residents who will have to move, The Auburn Villager reported. At last week's council meeting, Mayor Ron Anders said he and city staff had met with local affordable-housing developer Fred Bennett, founder of Bennett &… Read More
Auburn Cracks the U.S. News Top 100 at No. 100; Nursing Jumps 13 Spots
Auburn University rose two places to No. 100 nationally and three places to No. 46 among public universities in the 2027 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings released Tuesday, staying Alabama's highest-ranked university. The biggest program gain came in nursing, where the undergraduate program climbed 13 spots to No. 27 nationally and No. 19 among publics. Undergraduate engineering rose five places to No. 52 overall (No. 30 among publics, fourth among the SEC's… Read More
Homecoming Parade Friday Closes Downtown Auburn Streets; Cars Left on the Route Will Be Towed
Auburn University's Homecoming Parade rolls through downtown Auburn on Friday, Sept. 25, and the city is warning drivers well ahead of time. Streets along the route close at 4 p.m., and the parade begins at 6 p.m. Every vehicle parked in on-street parking along the route must be moved by 5 p.m.; anything left after that will be towed at the owner's expense. Parking spaces will be coned off gradually beginning at 3 p.m. to… Read More
Auburn Reports Record 35,733 Students, a 94% Retention Rate and an 84% Six-Year Graduation Rate
Auburn University set enrollment and student-success records this fall, reporting 35,733 total students — 29,693 of them undergraduates — in figures released Monday. The class arrived out of an admissions cycle that drew more than 67,000 undergraduate applications. Auburn enrolled 6,485 first-time freshmen, up 6% from fall 2025, and 3,286 of those freshmen qualified for Alabama resident tuition, up 1.5%. Counting the whole student body, 59% of undergraduates and more than 38% of graduate and… Read More
Union-Backed Faculty Win the First Seats on Auburn’s New Advisory Council
AUBURN — The first results are in from elections for Auburn University's Presidential Academic Advisory Council, the body the Board of Trustees created in June to replace the dissolved University Senate — and candidates endorsed by the campus AAUP chapter took five of the seats. The Auburn Plainsman reported 793 votes cast in the first round, seating faculty members from 12 colleges and the university library. The union said its endorsed winners include Justin Benefield… Read More
Opelika Nonprofit Will Name New Training Center for Fallen Auburn Graduate Maj. Alex Klinner
OPELIKA — 2nd Mission Alliance, the faith-based nonprofit that serves veterans and first responders at its 26-acre Selah property in Opelika, will build a training center named for Air Force Maj. John "Alex" Klinner, the Auburn University graduate killed in a KC-135 crash in Iraq earlier this year. The Maj. Alex Klinner Leadership & Training Center will add about 5,000 square feet of covered space for the organization's K9, equine and veteran programs, according to… Read More
Auburn Parks & Rec Marks Member Appreciation Week Sept. 19-25
AUBURN — Auburn Parks & Recreation will hold Member Appreciation Week from Sept. 19 through 25 at Lake Wilmore Park Recreation Center, Frank Brown Recreation Center and Boykin Community Center. Members who scan in at any of the three centers are entered into a drawing for one of seven fitness prize packs valued at roughly $275 each; each visit is another entry. Complimentary grab-and-go breakfasts are planned for Tuesday, Sept. 22 at Lake Wilmore and… Read More
Auburn Removes LGBTQ Student Resource Pages From University Website
AUBURN — Auburn University has removed a section of its career-services website that collected job-search resources aimed at LGBTQ students, 1819 News reported Wednesday, a day after the outlet published a story about the pages. According to the report, the deletion covered the "affinity/identity groups" subsection under the site's "Who We Serve" tab, which had linked to outside guides on topics including career advancement for transgender and non-binary workers. The change follows a broader reshaping… Read More
Longtime Toomer’s Corner Street Preacher Arrested on Disorderly Conduct Charge
AUBURN — A woman who has preached and shouted on Toomer's Corner for years was arrested Tuesday afternoon and charged with disorderly conduct, Auburn police said. Tian Guihua, 59, is known to students and downtown regulars simply as "Ruth." She is a familiar sight several days a week on the corners around Toomer's Drug Store, holding a sign and calling out to passers-by. The arrest drew a mixed reaction downtown. Several students told WTVM they… Read More
