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monday, September 9, 1974
lincoln, nebraska vol. 98, no. 9
riGQGnlS
3IFC33
osei 975-76 budget; $115 million
The NU Board of Regents met Saturday in
Scottsbluff and proposed a $115 million
budget for the 1975-76 academic year. The
budget will be sent to the Legislature and
Gov. J. J. Exon for approval.
The regents proposed $15.1 of the budget
for capital construction on the UNL campus.
Priority projects include the plant science
building and remodeling for the former law
college, Love Library, Coliseum, Ag Engine
ering Building, Bessey Hall and Lyman Hall.
The budget also proposed $1 million to
improve academic programs at UNL. The
money would develop programs in music,
dentistry, law, architecture, journalism,
library development, science, accounting,
business management, electrical engineering
and home economics.
NU President D. B. Varner noted that this
budget violated Ex'on's request for a budget
that matched last year's $105 million total:
But he said in a period of inflation, Important
University programs would be .cut without
the increase. - ,
The regents also adopted an affirmative .
action policy. The program headed-by
Barbara Coffee, guarantees that the Univer
sity follow U.S. Department of Health
Education and Welfare (HEW) in hiring its
employes.
One HEW stipulation caused controversy.
Regent Robert Prokop pointed out that
according to the HEW guidelines, the
universities could not hire its own graduates.
Varner said he found this requirement
"distasteful." And that HEW was wielding
unjustified power by ''telling us how to run
the university."
Varner said if University officials believed
it best to hire NU-trained graduates "it was
not Washington's business."
In ceremonies earlier Saturday, a building
was dedicated in the memory of . former
regent J.W. Elliot who died last April. Elliot
served 22 years on the Board of Regents. His
wife Camille is finishing her husband's term.
Formerly, the J.W. Elliot Building was the
library-science harl of Hiram Scott College.
The college foided in 1972. This year the
University accepted the building as a gift.
The University plans to use the J.W. Elliot
Building as a panhandle center for continuing
education and as a regional headquarters for
the State University of Nebraska (SUN)
program. The residence halls adajacent to
the Elliot building are vacant.
'"4 u "oj)
SOB building now
called Regents Ha!
After one and one-half years, the Systems
Office Building is clearing its name.
People have been calling it the SOB
Building." , ,
The building, located at 3825 Holdrege,
houses University of Nebraska administra
tion offices. :
Saturday in Scottsbluff, the NU Board of
Regents passed a resolution changing the
name of the Systems Office Building to
Regents Hall. '
NU President D. B. Varner said he had
considered the name Regents Office Build
ing. But then it would be called the R.O.B.
Building, he said.
Seven of the eight regents voted for the
resolution with Regent Robert Prokop of
Wilbur abstaining.
"We could call it Abstain Prokop Hall,"
Regent Robert Koefoot of Grand
siand said.
nge
makes
agriculture
prominent
By Harry Baumert
East Campus doesn't look much
different now than it did a'year ago
with the''new East Campus Union"
not finished and the same build- ,
ings lining the mall.
But whether it is apparent to
students or not, there has been a
big change in the College of
Agriculture and its related func
tions throughout the state. Collect
ively, it now manes up tne
Nebraska Institute of Agriculture
and Natural Resources. ,
According to Duane Acker,
vice-chancellor of the institute, the
administrative change was made in
April 1974 to give agriculture a
more prominent place in Nebraska.
"We want agriculture to be
stronger within the University," he '
said. "With the Institute we have a
louder voice and improved com-,
munication within the Chancellor's
(James Zumberge's) office."
The change makes the agricult
ural part of UNL more accessible to
the rest of the state as well. Acker
said. According to the summer
1974 issue of the Farm, Ranch and
Home Quarterly, the institute
"provides a convenient point of
contact at the Chancellor's level for
agricultural people, where they can
express thoii" problems, sugges
tions and needs to the University."
''Acker's office raises to four the
. number of vico-chanceliors at UNL,
Formerly,. the. highest agricultural
administrator was the dean of th3
College of Agriculture. . .
According to Bruce Anderson, a
senior in ag honors specializing in
ag economics and business, the
change doesn't affect students,
directly but they should be able to
see the institute's importance.1
"As 'far as the (agricultural)
student goes, I don't think he sees
the change' said Anderson, agri
cultural advisory board member.
"But they seo that the ag college is
given a more important view. It
does kind of put agriculture in its
real place as the main industry' of
the state," he said.
Dick Gooding, director cf re
search arid legislation of ins
Nebraska Farm Bureau, said tho
the
prosperity of agriculture and
University go hand in hand.
"To sfee the importance of the
institute,",' you have to start back
with basics," he said. "Neb
raska's (main) natural resources
are soil, air and water. Farming is
the largest industry, and it de
pends on Nebraska's resources. ' '
Gooding said the entire state will
prosper as a result of agriculture's
stronger ties with the university
through more effective research.
The institute is the result of LB
149, introduced in the Unicameral
in January 1973. Originally, the bill
provided for separating agriculture
from UNL and establishing a
"Nebraska Agriculture Center",
according to a January 1973 issue
of the Lincoln Star, ,
Agricultural organizations in
Nebraska, such as the National
Farmers Organization and the
Nebraskans for Nebraska Soil and
Water, favored the original bill,
which provided for establishing the
proposed Center with its own
Chancellor, thus making it a
separate entity with the University
equal with UNO, UNL and th
Medical Center.
- According to Acker, the t
Board of Regents, as well as U
Chancellor Zumberge an;' '
President D.B. Varner wanted
agriculture to remain a part cf
UNL.
Acker said a lot of communiu.
tion between agricultural interests
and the University officials result
ed in a compromise, producing an
amended LB 149 which was passed
by the Unicameral's 1973 session.
The institute was. established ef
fective April 1, 1974.
In addition to the College of
Agriculture, the institute includes
the Agricultural Experiment Sta
tion, the Conservation and Survey
Division, the School of Technical
Agriculture at Curtis, the Water
Resources Research Institute and
the Cooperative Extension Service.
The institute has regional cen
ters throughout Nebraska, as well
as Extension Agents in every
Nebraska county, Acker said.
Daans Acker, v,'C3-4fisr.cci!or cf th3 Institute cf Agriculture
Natural Resources,
rsd
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