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monday, february 24, 1975 lincoln, nebraska vol. 98, no. 87
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Varner: Exon budget ignores needs
John Newton, above, dean
of the UNO College of
Arts and Sciences and
Kenneth Hubble,
executive director of the
UNL Health Center.
By Gina Hills
NU President D.B. Varner told the NU
Board of Regents Saturday that the
budget proposed by Gov. J. James Exon
"ignores" the development of Areas of
Excellence and trie university's plan to
raise salaries.
"Our highest priority was to get our
faculty salaries up to" the parity levels in
the Big 8 Conference, he said.
In addition, last year's budget
requested that NU "come back with"
areas of academic excellence this year,
Varner said.
He said raising salaries, developing
Areas of Excellence and improving rural
health programs would require $6.2
million more than the governor proposed.
Varner also said Exon proposed $3.4
million for capital construction, while
$12.9 million was requested. The
legislative fiscal analyst proposed $5.8
million.
"We need to trim down our aspiration
of capital facilities. Enrollment may stay
where it is, but there isn't going to be the
growth that there has been in the past 10
to 15 years," Varner said.
"We can't build all the buildings
everyone dreams of," he added. "But
improvements and additions are needed."
Employe file approved
In other action, the regents approved
Varner's recommendation that the
regents cooperate in developing the
proposed Nebraska Employes
Information System, a data file which
would contain personal and budgetary
information on all state employes.
But he said he has "deep philosophical
reservations" about the file because it
would be available to nonuniversity
members and could be used in an
unscrupulous manner if it fell into the
wrong hands.
The Legislature approved the system,
which is being developed and maintained
by the Department of Administrative
Services (DAS).
"Increasingly, the Board of Regents is
losing control of the management
function of the university," Varner said.
And he said this system is perhaps the
first step in taking complete control away
from the board.
The next step would mean noone gets
appointed until someone beyond the
board approves the appointment, Varner
said.
Duplicate information
In addition, he said it would be
unnecessary and time consuming because
it would duplicate information already
kept by the university and would have to
be changed every time there are
alterations.
But Regent Robert Simmons Jr. of
Scottsbluff asked why the public should
be kept from discovering information
about university officials. He said the
public should be allowed to know
. whatever NU knows about its employes.
Varner said the files would contain
much personal information about the
employes, to which only university
officials should have access.
Varner also said he hopes the regents
cooperate "with the understanding that
any additional cost incurred will be
covered by" nonuniversity funds. He
added that the "rights of privacy should
be protected" and that there will be "no
further erosion of the power of the
board."
SUN proposal approved
Varner's proposal that the State
University of Nebraska (SUN) ask the
Unicameral for $157,790 to expand its
college-at-home program in 1975-76 was
also approved.
Varner said he had hoped the federal
government would give money to the
SUN program, but the federal money was
alloted instead to the University of Mid
America, an outgrowth of the SUN
program.
UNL Chancellor James Zumberge gave
a progress report on the East Campus
Union and said bids would be received in
time for the April regent's meeting.
"I'm glad we're making progress.
We've been working on it for 25
years. . .since I was a student here,"
Regent Robert Raun of Minden said.
Zumberge appointment
The board also approved the
appointment of Zumberge to the board
of directors of the First National Bank of
Lincoln.
Varner said it would be good
experience for Zumberge as long as it
doesn't interfere with his job. "It would
be a rich learning experience about how a
business operates," he added.
Other appointments made by the
board included Kenneth Hubble formerly
acting director at the University Health
Center (UHC) and John Newton past
interim .dean of the UNO College of Arts
and Sciences.
Hubble received the permanent title of
executive director of UHC, and Newton
was appointed dean of the UNO College
of Arts and Sciences.
As UHC director, Hubble will make
$39,500 a year while Newton, as dean,
will make $28,000.
Regents:
religious
cards to
remain
The NU Board of Regents decided at their informal meeting
Friday religious preference cards still should be distributed and
collected along with student registration materials.
The board's decision overrides the recent suggestion by UNL
administrators that the cards be eliminated in an attempt to
"streamline" registration procedures.
UNL law student Doug Voegler had called for elimination of the
cards in an ASUN report compiled after two months of research.
The report said including the cards in registration materials
"evidences a less than neutral stance by UNL."
By distributing the cards UNL violated the principle of
separation of church and state, Voegler said.
Regent James Moylan of Omaha said the allegations of
church-state separation were "absolute nitpicking" and that, unless
the cards were illegal, they should be continued.
The Rev. Leonard Kalin of the Catholic Newman Center and the
Rev. Alvin Petersen, pastor of the Lutheran Student Foundation,
favored including religious preference cards in registration packets.
They said they wanted to know how many students were
members of their denominations and added that the cards were
used only for fact-gathering.
The cards are paid for by the Association of Campus Ministers.
When they are delivered to the registration office, machines stuff
them into pre-registration packets.
UNL personnel separate the cards when they are returned and a
member of the ministers' association picks them up. Filling out the
cards is optional, and they are not intended to convert anyone, the
Rev. Mr..Petersen said.
Teacher: UNL students need to
improve reading, study skills
By Paula Damke
Although 1974 NU freshmen scored higher
than the national average on the verbal portion
of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), Kay
Feltcn said she is convinced NU students need to
improve reading skills.
Felton teaches a seven-week noncredit course
in the Extension Division to help college students
improve reading skills. She enrolls 120 students a
year.
See related story, p. 6
Felton was quoted in a Feb. 11 Lincoln
Journal article as saying "the majority of UNL
students cannot read as well as most other
college students."
National mean 438
She said she based her statement on an SAT
national mean score of 500, which would have
put UNL students below the national average.
She has since discovered that the national average
is 438, not 500.
Recent reports released by Al Papik, NU
admission director, show 1974 NU freshmen
with a mean score of 471 on the verbal portion
ol the SAT.
Regardless of the test scores, Felton said, the
lower national verbal score indicates all college
students are having problems with basic reading
skills.
The original mean score of 500 in SAT exams
was developed in 1941 and has declined steadily,
she said.
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Big 8 school to use the SAT. The other six
conference schools use American College Tests
(ACT).
Colorado freshmen score 565
Information obtained from American
University and Colleges, 11th edition, 1973,
shows the mean score of entering University of
Colorado freshmen as 565 on the verbal portion
of the SAT while UNL freshmen scored 473, she
said.
Felton said her main concern now is not
whether "Papik's figures or mine are correct, but
rather the development of reading skills for UNL
students.
"Irrespective of how students score, the majoi
point is that there is much value in a courst
which enhances the reading and study skills o
students," she said.
Felton said all her students have doubled thei
reading skills and some have quadrupled them.
"What we work on is concentration of th
reading," Felton said.
The 120 students come voluntarily to improv
their reading ability. One college dropout wb
enrolled in the course came back to school an
earned straight A grades, Felton said.
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