Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 12, 1975)
t Sample: NU not one of top-ranked academic schools By Deb Gray For Steven Sample, lunch is a can of diet drink sandwiched between a daily agenda of appointments aimed at improving higher education in Nebraska. Things had been somewhat hetic for administrators that week in Regents Hall where Sample's office is because "the Xerox machine broke down and the central bureaucracy came to a halt," he said. Sample, 34, joined this "central bureaucracy" as vice president for academic affairs in July. A doctoral graduate from the University of Illinois in electrical engineering, he is now NU's chief academic officer, working to improve academic programs at the NU Medical Center, UNO and UNL. Last Thursday, Sample described the role of NU within the state and its status in the country. His verdict: While Nebraska is "underperceived" as an academic center nationally, it still is a long way from being one of the country's top-ranked institutions. "I like administration a lot," Sample said. "It's my career and objective." But, he said, he hopes to teach in the future, maybe one class a year in the electrical engineering department. Multi-campus concept This semester Sample returned to the classroom, not as a teacher, but as a student enrolled in a senior level engineering course. He needed to revive information clouded by his years away from research, he said. And, he said, this class gives a boarder knowledge of engineering branches outside his specialized field. Sample said he moved from his last job for the Illinois Board of Higher Education to the NU heirarchy because he was attracted by the multi-campus university concept. "The multi-campus university could be a new thing to education, or it could be a passing temporary phenomenon. I thought a multi-campus has a larger personality than each individual campus. I wondered, 'Is a multi-campus personality exceeding the simple sum of the parts?' " Sample believes it does, and that NU's character is unique. NU plays a major role in the state's economy, he said, for it is Nebraska's largest employer and uses the biggest chunk of the tax budget. Variety of interests "Other .states spend more money for their universities dollar-wise, but it is a smaller portion of their public budget. The university doesn't loom as large in the state," he added. si 1 i I! 1 - t' lit I ' (? """ " , , f Hi il l Ittlk mMm Ulttlrtfci MMMMRIMMNnM phoio by Kevin Higley Steven Sample, NU vice pre sident for academic affairs Sample said he came here because D. B. Varner, president of the NU system, was here. "I believe the . quality of your experience varies enormously by the person you are working under," Sample said. Sample's career spans a variety of interests. lie was a tympanist for three years in the St. Louis Philaharmonic Orchestra. He owns three patents for electronic circuiting devices. He has published articles in eight scientific and educational journals. The academic quality of the university is measured nationally by its research and graduate strength and since graduate research is published nationally, he said it's the only measurable quality control. A & S ranks low In the most recent national study, which rated Arts and Sciences programs in American universities, NU ranked very low, barely rating at all, he said. "I think we were ranked lower than' we should have been," Sample said. "But, on the other hand, I don't think we should have been ranked in the top 30." Sample said he has "high hopes" that the Legislature will appropriate enough money to expand faculty programs. "I think the Legislature realizes increasingly that the main asset of the university is its faculty. It's the hardest asset to build and also the most fragile," he said. "The amount of money we have in buildings on this campus is a drop in the bucket compared to the amount wrapped up in our teachers. Once you build you have that building. But keeping faculty is a 100 per cent-plus investment. You have to keep investing money and even then, it's easily lost." One effort to improve the academic climate is the Programs of Excellence, schools the NU Regents designated to receive funds to improve their cirricuJum. The term "Program of Excellence" doesn't mean these schools are excellent now, but that they have a high potential, he said. K2 o CD 3 cr CD b o f Servizio X" gratuito L di libretto ) . d'assegni "a A per voi. j da noi -J Get Right Down to the Mtty Gritty m'm mv to I fvlSliiine QffiSfSX ProfIlS: You've" had a lot of experience in managing yourself. Now it s time to think in terms of projecting those abilities to the manage ment of others. How far and how fast is up to you. But if youre looking for challenge in that direction, keep read- ing. 1b liilfllllSL You want to be a leader of men? Prove it. In a 'WWM'M twelve week test at Quantico, Vir- j ginia. Show us youve got it, and I you 11 earn a commission as an f .rr: f: orricer 01 iviaiiiicij. 2. Ail1. One. out of three Marine officers fc M lit is in aviation. We fly up a storm in aircraft like the new Harrier VSTOL iet. Well teach vou to lead, and then to fly 1 ILiO- If youre ft-w: . y 0 (if 1 1 headed for law school, you can earn a com-j mission now, ana begin active duty as a iaw- l ;V(t I I iiii vl It 1 l l 11.1.11 A 1 11 1.. sm Mur.. 1 'A :A f ! I i 1 & f wn K tr kit at" ilia Quality, not quantity. Men who want to lead other men. Men A who are looking for a challenge jfO L and are just about ready to prove it. HE MAIH1I3 CORPS OFFIC321 SELECTIOII TEAM VJILL BE IN THE PLACEMENT CENTER FROM 10:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M. ON 12 & 13 MARCH 1975 TO ANSWER QUESTiaJS ABOUT THE OFFICER PROGRAMS. Main Bank 14th & M Drive-up20th & O Wednesday, february 12, 1975 daily nebraskan page 1 1