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monday, april 17, 1972
lincoln, nebraska vol. 95, no. 9
Committee hears testimony in tenure dispute
by John Russnogle
The Academic Privilege and Tenure Committee
heads into the final day of hearings Wednesday on
charges by UNL Extension Agriculture Economist
Bert Evans that he has been subject to salary and
promotion discrimination within his department.
Evans said he submitted the charges and grievances
reluctantly.
"Taken together, they are most serious and
constitute the destruction of my academic freedom
and have foreclosed my opportunity for professional
development and performance and my personal gain
and satisfaction."
The major charges leveled by Evans are
discrimination in regard to promotion, salary,
regional committee assignments and con sultan tship
work.
Other grievances listed include exclusion from
"all ordinary requests to present seminars, denial of
the opportunity to broaden experience through
teaching andor research, being discouraged from
accepting a request to serve on the Nebraska Power
Review Board, withdrawal of a series of educational
television programs by the "highest University
administrative level," and exclusion from official
participation in all subject matter and administrative
activities related to his work.
Along with the grievances and charges, Evans
submitted the following recommendations to the
Committee.
"I request that the committee investigate then
charges and if they find the evidence supports these
charges that they recommend to the president 1)
that I be promoted to full professor, 2) that my pay
be increased to $19,000, 3) that I be permitted to
attend conferences and serve on regional committees
appropriate to my subject matter work, 4) that I be
considered for adjustment in staff assignment from
extension to full-time teaching and research and 5)
that Howard Ottoson, John Adams, Elvin Frolik,
Glen Vol I mar, Everett Peterson and Edward Janike be
reprimanded for violating my academic and
professional freedom."
The respondents named by Evans presented
Vernon F. Snow, committee chairman, a written
statement denying all of Evans' charges. They
recommended Evans' charges be dismissed and his
requests not be granted.
Evans said being denied the chance to attend
regional meetings, is being closed out of one's work.
"You're done," he said. Evans added committee
meetings are "the lifeblood of research and extension.
Denial of participation in committees is the denial of
progress in that field' he said.
Evans noted he has "four or five times" the
number of credit hours in agricultural economics
than other department faculty did but he is no longer
allowed to teach.
A letter written by John Kenneth GaSbrnth,
Harvard economist, in response to a letter by Evans
on the current proceedings, Galbraith said, "No one
familiar with the past performance of collages of
agriculture and departments of agricultural economics
could overlook the tendency for members to slip into
a cozy conformity with dominant, conservative and
relatively wealthy agricultural groups to the neglect
of hostile ideas or the smaller and less affluent
farmers and their employes."
Galbraith said he was "shocked" that Evans was
still an associate professor.
Paul Gessaman, UNL assistant professor of
agricultural economics, said it is difficult to work
effectively with Evans because of his continuous
recitals of grievances concerning the University.
When he was interviewed for a position on the
UNL faculty, Gessaman said, Evans asked him
questions which were designed to embarrass the
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Evans (ri$rt). . .appealing "destruction" of his academic freedom.
Day-care
centers
ride
financial
see-saw
Rumor has it that the University day-care centers are
folding due to funding problems, but Jack Ritchie says
otherwise.
"We're planning to continue the center next fall," said
Ritchie, assistant financial aids director. The problem b in
trying to nail down the $20,000 needed to adequately operate
the two centers for one school year.
United Ministries in Higher Education and First Plymouth
Congregational Church, sites of the two centers, provide space
rent free. But expenses such as insurance and telephone bills
must be paid every month. And with about 50 children cared
for, the centers are starting to feel a space squeeze, Ritchie
said.
The problem is that too little money is coming from too
many sources. ASUN, student affairs and donations from
parents have helped keep the centers operating this year, he
said.
Financial aids uses work-study grants to help staff the
centers on a part time basis. Soma parents this year have had
to take time off from jobs or classes to work on special
projects to ro uuoni money for & centers. Rife smL
Otherwise there would not have been enough to pay expenses.
"This is a pretty sloppy way of running things," he said.
Since it has not taken any steps to directly apportion funds
for the program, he said, the University administration has
shown a "lack of commitment" to the 5,000 married students
on campus, Ritchie said.
He wrote Chancellor James Zumbarge and Dean of Student
Affairs Ely Meyerson about the need to continue the center.
The two officials "have expressed a desire to keep the center
going," he said.
"But without any money this desire doesn't do much good.
The University just doesn't think the center has enough
priority" when it comes to funding.
Ritchie said the center has never been operated the way it
should be because of lack of funds. For example, he said there
has never been enough money to hire a full-time supervisor for
either center or a coordinator for the program.
He said he is trying to interest the University Foundation in
appropriating money for the program through its general fund.
"But this is not the foundation's responsibility," Ritchie
said. "Any money we got would probably be a one-time thing.
There should be money coming from the University budget."
He said he had contacted the University Women's Action
Group to try to find other ways of obtaining funding for next
year. He said he hopes some Lincoln business firms, including
children's stores, will be interested in helping finance the
program if no University funds are made available.
The center is designed to help lower-income students who
find costs of professional day-care centers prohibitive.
Enrolling a child in a Lincoln day -care center costs between
$75 and $90 a month, Ritchie said. Lower-income parents
with even one child can save about $300 a y jt using the
University care center.
A study in underway to determine how many married,
divorced and unwed students are parents and how many can
make use of the day-care center. The study is being conducted
through the University Health Center, Ritchie said.
Pub board picks paper tigers
Jim Gray, a junior majoring in journalism, Tuesday was
named editor of the Daily Nebraskan for the fall 1972
semester, according to James Horner, Publications Board
chairman.
Although some of the executive positions were filled for
the UNL yearbook, the Comhusker, an editor was not named,
Horner said.
Other selected for Daily Nebraskan executive positions
include: Tom Lans worth, junior, managing editor; Randy
Beam, sophomore, news editor; John Russnogle, junior, east
campus editor; and Jeff Aden, junior, business manager.
Publications Board named sophomore Vickie Horton
assistant editor of the Comhusker. Others selected include:
Sara Trk, sophomore, copy chief; and Greg Scott, junior,
chief artist
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