14 Auburn Magazine a u a l u m . o r g

C O L L E G E S T R E E T

THAT’S THE WORD: Archivists are displaying part of Auburn University’s collection of rare and historic Bibles this fall

to mark the 400th anniversary of the first publication of the book’s King James translation. The exhibit includes a fac-

simile of the 1525 Tyndale translation along with original printings of King Henry VIII’s Great Bible, the Geneva Bible, the

Bishop’s Bible, the Rheims New Testament and a 1613 printing of the King James Bible. Patrons may view the free exhibit

through Nov. 30 in the special collections and archives department of the Ralph Brown Draughon Library on campus.

Meet the ProfChris LockeAssistant professor of social work,College of Liberal Arts

BACKSTORY After earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, Locke switched fields, receiving his master’s and doctoral degrees in social work, a dis-cipline that examines the concepts of social justice, social welfare and social change. He joined the College of Liberal Arts faculty last year and was chosen in November as one of the country’s most influential young social-work professors by the Masters of Social Work’s Social Betterment Blog. Locke has worked in various areas of the mental-health field, including conducting outpatient therapy for sex offenders and domestic-violence offenders. His research interests include the stigma of mental illness and the treatment of domestic-violence perpetrators.

IN CLASS Locke teaches “Introduction to Social Work,” which, ironically, tends to attract majors from other disciplines. “I hope that they leave with an understanding of what social workers actually do,” Locke says. “The field is broader than just child-welfare workers. You can work in the govern-

ment, in nursing homes, as a thera-pist, in mental health—the list is endless.” Students who take

the class often end up changing their majors to social work.

OUT OF CLASS Locke plays tennis daily and has a first-

degree black belt in karate and taekwondo. He

even fought for Team America in

Dublin in 2003 and received a bronze medal in weapons. “I’m so laid back in the

classroom that I don’t think

the students would expect that out of me,” he notes.

Auburn University workers prepared to demolish three campus buildings over the summer as administrators began to pursue a location for at least one classroom facility to replace Haley Center and several other buildings. Dan King, assistant vice president for facilities, told Auburn’s board of trustees in June that Mell and Sewell halls and the old Alpha Psi fraternity house were projected to come down by the end of the summer. Mell Hall was constructed in 1925 and named in honor of Annie White Mell, a campus and community social leader in the early 20th century. The building is in such poor condition that renovation would be too costly, King said. Sewell Hall, built in 1962, served as Auburn’s athletic dormitory for about 30 years. The building was named for West Georgia clothing magnate and philanthro-

pist Roy Sewell, who commissioned the cre-ation of Auburn’s fight song, “War Eagle,” in 1954. Auburn trustees voted earlier this year to build a new dorm in the vicinity rather than renovate the old building. The old Alpha Psi fraternity house west of the new Village resi-dence halls also dates from the early 1960s and has fallen into disrepair. The organization’s cam-pus chapter has relocated to Lem Morrison Drive. Trustees authorized AU ad-ministrators to develop a large classroom facility in the core of campus. Subject to the availabil-ity of funding, Haley Center leads the list of buildings targeted for replace-ment over the next decade or longer, along with Parker, Funchess, Upchurch and Spidle.—Roy Summerford ’73

They all fall down