Wednesday, august 24, 1977
page 4
daily nebraskan
opinion
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The screams probably would reach as far as
Scottsbluff:
"Nebraska seventh in the Big 8-fire Osborne,
where's Devaney?"
But the rolling thunder of protest did not reach
Scottsbluff this summer. Nor did Coach Tom get
canned. You see, it wasn't football in which
Nebraska was ranked seventh-it was in salaries
for associate professors and instructors.
UNL is a little better for professors and
assistant professors-it ranks sixth and fifth
respectively in those areas, according to a survey
by the American Association of University Pro
fessors. The survey was released this summer.
Average salaries ranged from $25,300 for full
professors to $1 1,900 for instructors.
True, faculty salary battles rarely draw 76,000
fans-they rarely draw 760. But salaries have
more of an effect on the quality of education at
UNL than football-or should.
The report was not surprising. Salary com
plaints probably date to the founding of the
university.
A December 1976 study in the Chronicle for
Higher Education showed Nebraska ranked 15th
among 22 public universities in faculty salaries.
(Florida was first, Oklahoma last.)
The report is disheartening, though. In 1970,
then-UNL president Joseph Soshnik complained
that exceptional professors were being "hired
away in the national market like crazy," although
a recent salary hike had helped hold some.
More recent salary increases from the NU .
Board of Regents and the Legislature have helped
some-but we come back to that ranking.
Lincoln may be ranked the No. 1 city to live
in, but we wonder if that is enough to draw top
people-and keep them.
There was another report this summer-some
called it discouraging, some encouraging.
It said that in 1973 there were three NU em
ployees paid $40,000 a year or more. In 1 975, .
there were 35, Now there are 101. (Most of those
were at the University of Nebraska Medical
Center. UNL listed 25 in that lofty range.)
We sympathize with taxpayers chafing under
the burden of rising taxes. We sympathize, and
therefore expect top performance from those
paid top salaries.
But we also believe that education is one of
the best investments. Its dividends seem to pro
duce more dividends.
At least UNL is consistent. Tom Osborne's
salary is in the middle rank among Big 8
Conference football coaches.
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HI FOLKS! I'M RALPH CRfiBTREE. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO
OQtfT HM0W ME, 1 THE LOCAL CAMPUS HE0 IVH0 GRACES
THE INTERIOR PAGES OF THE RAG (TEESHMER)', THAfS SHORT
FOR DAILY NEBRASKW) EVEHY DW EXCEPT TUESDAYS UHICH
IS A RELIGIOUS HOLIDAY pOH JOUHAJALsrs, X MILL SRVG
W TO TEARS tOlTH LAUGHTER AS 'you FOUOU) WE ; .
HlMOfiOUS AtVTICS OF ffl FRENPS flW 2 AS ME MAKE ,
LIFE MORE BEmmLE FOU YOU V TRS GAAJT UtJIVERSlfy
lOE MLL LEAVE 100 STQ0ES UAIWRAJED EXCEPT FOR UXMEN
libbers ( they're too aieaaj w MEsstom) . wu i'o lire to
LEAVE THE REST OF TRIG PAjUEL 70 MY FRIEMO WRKlmD FWEAD.
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A LOT,
8LAEBER-MOVfll
vu
Daily Nebraskan extends a monstrous welcome
A note about this, the 101st volume of
the Daily Nebraskan as the semester begins:
This welcome back package of 52 pages is
the largest Daily Nebraskan ever published.
It represents the work of more than 60
student staff members in advertising and
news editorial, ,
It is not easy to produce a monster like
this. Copy was set in type and sent to the
.printers during two days. Reporters gave
up the waning days of summer vacation to
interview souices, dig up stories and write
them.
The work comes with the territory
tnougn.
The Daily Nebraskan is the ninth lar
gest daily newspaper in the state, ac
cording to figures in. the Editor and
Publisher yearbook.. Our circulation is
16,000.
(For those of you who contend we're
not daily since we publish four times a
Ml . -!
7
letters
The Daily Nebraskan welcomes letters
to the editor and guest opinions. Choices
of material will be based on timeliness and
originality. Letters must be accompanied
by the writer's name, but may be pub
lished under a pen name if requested.
Guest opinions should be typed, triple
spaced, on nonerasable paper. They should
be accompanied by the author's name,
class standing and major or occupation. All
material submitted is subject to editing and
condensation and cannot be returned to
the writer.
Depth pieces suitable for the oped page
also are welcome. A variety of types of
work will be accepted, including opinion
pieces on timely subjects and depth
reports.
Material should be brought to the Daily
Nebraskan, Nebraska Union 34.
Free lance work occasionally is ac
cepted. It also should be typed, triple
spaced, on nonerasable paper.
week, only two non daily papers are
larger.)
Our budget is nearing the $300,000
mark-9Q per cent of that comes from ad
vertising revenue.
This year, we will receive. $30,000 in
student fees, down from $37,500 last year.
In an informal bargain struck two years
ago, the student fees were going to pay half
the printing costs.
The $37,500 approached that total. It
would have taken about $43,000 this year
to do the same thing. But, at the direction
of the NU Board of Regents, fees were cut
for most student organizations, including
us.
We hope to continue publishing at the
same rate we have in the past with higher
advertising revenue-but it will be tough.
But, if you had to pick a staff to con
tinue the award-winning tradition, you'd
probably pick this one.
Summer Interns .
. More reporters and editors than you can
shake a stick at served summer internships
with larger city newspapers.
That includes News Editor Larry Lutz
at die Sioux City (Iowa) Journal, Associate
News Editor Janet Fix at the Phoenix
Arizona Republic and Associate News Edi
tor Ann Owens at trie Boise, Idaho States
man Managing Editor Pete Mason returns for
his second semester at the job.
National-award winner Ron Ruggless re
turns to reporting. He won a national
award in 1976 for helping break the story
on the selection of Roy Young as UNL
Chancellor.
He had been associate news editor for a
year, but returns to writing because he says
he wants more time to study this semester.
Mary Jo Pitzl is back to cover the
renents beat.
Paula Dittrick and Marjie Lundstrom,
who covered the Legislature last year, will
be back to cover the police and city beats.
Anne Carothers will cover the Nebraska
Unions. Scott Whitcomb will cover a
variety of student interests.
And that's just a hnadful of reporters
there are bright new face3 and more
veterans returning. And there's more.
A magazine section will appear once a
month. Special Editor Michael Zangari
intends to include depth pieces in what he
calls the new, experiential journalism.
At least four national syndicated colum
nists will be subscribed to by the Daily Ne
braskan so we can offer the best and most
informative reading. We'll pick the best
columns each week.
And then there's the oped page. It
will appear irregularly on the page opposite
the editorial page to provide a different
perspective on the news.
First Down
First Down, the football program, will
return on Saturdays. It will be directed by
former Daily Nebraskan sports editors
Pete Wegman and Dennis Onnen.
We also hope to produce a weekly en
tertainment supplement beginning
sometime in September. It would indude
are you ready-television listings.
We promise our efforts to continue
living up to our responsibility. We can also
promise you a dynamic, growing news
paper whose prime goal is to serve the
readers of this campus.
It is not without some trepidation that
we face this semester and these respon
sibilities, but we are optimistic that we can
continue the award-winning tradition of
the paper.
( But, enough of- this back-slapping-Welcome
back to campus.
Rex Sciine