The mission of the Auburn University Gulf Scholars Program, or GSP, is to prepare undergraduate students to become change agents for inclusive Gulf sustainability and resiliency. As change agents, our students will learn to work across disciplines and engage diverse communities with cultural competence to solve the complex and multi-faceted problems impacting sustainability in the Gulf region.
The Auburn Gulf Scholars Program is a partnership with the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine. Students in the Auburn Gulf Scholars program will receive prestigious national recognition from the National Academies.
The Sustainability Compass is the guiding framework for the Auburn Gulf Scholars Program. The Sustainability Compass—which lines up with the four directions of a compass, N (nature), S (society), E (economy) and W (wellbeing)—provides a whole-systems framework for addressing sustainability.
Leadership Committee
Rebecca Retzlaff, Ph.D.
AICP: GSP Director, Director, Academic Sustainability Program and Professor, Community Planning Program, Department of Political Science, College of Liberal Arts, Auburn University
Contact: rcr0001@auburn.edu
Natalia Ruiz-Junco, Ph.D.
DEIJ Lead and Core Class Professor, Associate Professor, Sociology Program, Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work, College of Liberal Arts, Auburn University
Contact: ncr0007@auburn.edu
Christopher Anderson, Ph.D.
Co-Curricular and Gulf Speaker Series Lead, Professor, Natural Resources Management Program, College of Forestry, Wildlife, and Environment, Auburn University
Contact: andercj@auburn.edu
Jose Vasconcelos Neto, Ph.D.
Interdisciplinary Scholarship and Research Partnerships Lead, Associate Professor, Civil Engineering Program, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, Auburn University
Contact: jgv0001@auburn.edu
Amna Salman
Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Student Organization Lead, Assistant Professor, McWhorter School of Building Science, College of Architecture, Design, and Construction, Auburn University
Contact: azs0072@auburn.edu
Lisa Kensler, Ed.D.
GSP Evaluator, Emily R. and Gerald S. Leischuck Endowed Professor for Educational Leadership, Department of Educational Foundations, Leadership and Technology, College of Education, Auburn University
Contact: lak0008@auburn.edu
Malorie Hayes, Ph.D.
SUSCC Lead, Biology Professor, Southern Union State Community College
Contact: mhayes@suscc.edu
Hailey Davis
Graduate Research Assistant, Graduate Student, Master of Community Planning Program, Auburn University
Steering Committee
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Wendy DesChene, Jane Dickson Lanier Professor of Art
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Joan Harrell, Director, CLA Inclusive Excellence
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Mike Kensler, Director, AU Office of Sustainability
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Charlene LeBleu, Alumni Professor, Landscape Architecture
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Layli Miron, Associate Director, University Writing
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Linda North, Dean of Academics, Southern Union State Community College
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Mark Wilson, Director, Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts and Humanities
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Dale Speetjens, Co-Owner and CEO, Ship Shape Urban Farms
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Rob Holmes, Associate Professor, College of Architecture, Design, and Construction
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Dan Eckenrode, Executive Director, PCI Gulf South
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Dale Speetjens, Co-Owner and CEO, Ship Shape Urban Farms
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Moises Bernal, Assistant Professor, College of Science and Math
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Anna Linhoss, Associate Professor, College of Agriculture
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Mark Barnett, Professor, Samuel Ginn College of Engineering
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Dianne Kim, Lecturer, College of Human Sciences
Academic Partners
The Auburn Gulf Scholars Program is an interdisciplinary, university-wide effort with assistance from the following units on campus:
Gulf Faculty Fellows
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Allie McCreary, College of Forestry, Wildlife, and Environmentt
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Rick Mattson, Raymond J. Harbert College of Business
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Brian Hunter, Raymond J. Harbert College of Business Ann Ojeda, College of Sciences and Mathematics
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Matthew Spencer, College of Liberal Arts
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Miriam Wyman, University College
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Allison Vandenberg, College of Liberal Arts
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Wesley Anderson, College of Forestry, Wildlife, and Environment
