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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 30, 1979)
. n n thursday, august 30, 1979 Nncoln, nebraska vol. 103 no. 5 UNL research damaged by budget cuts By Mike Sweeney Research at UNL will suffer this year from major reductions in its Research Council and equipment budgets, officials said Wednesday. "That's how bad our budget is," School of Life Sciences director Russel Mcints said, pointing to a "Furnished Room" advertisement on his office door. Meints said budget reductions will make it impossible for the school to buy research equipment this year, and make it difficult for advanced science students to win re search grants-in-aid. The budget cuts also will drastically reduce the number of faculty summer research fellowships and faculty research leaves, according to Henry F. Holtzclaw, Jr., dean for graduate -studies and executive secretary for the Research Council. The council provides grants-in-aid of up to $1,000 for university students and instructors, as well as faculty fellowships, leaves and money to bring research scholars to UNL for lectures. The junior and senior faculty summer research fellowships for the summer of 1980 have been suspended, Holtzclaw said, but seven or eight Maude Hammond Fling fellowships will be awarded. FACED WITH the budget cutbacks, Holtzclaw said the Research Council will concentrate on travel-sending UNL profes - sors to scholarly meetings and bringing other scholars to campus. But even these areas will be cut back, he said. UNL faculty members may receive funds for only one research trip per year, down from two last year, he said. The council will support only two visiting scholars per department for fiscal 1979-80, he said. Holtzclaw said UNL administrators reduced the council's state financing by $140,000 this year, from $272,854 to $139,360. Although the council will receive about $170,000 from trust funds and the NU Foundation-the same amount it received last year. State financing losses have reduced the overall council budget to almost one-half of what it was two years ago, Holtzclaw said. 77777777777 H iHYiYi tu Catchin' rays Photo by Tom Gessner Allison Srb, Chi Omega sophomore, soaks up sunlight on the sorority house's sun-deck. "OUR BUDGET was cut very tight this year," he said. "We can survive, ay ear t but iwehave Qne year of research uinding cutbacki isn't a crisis, Meints said, but continued cutbacks could interrupt several research experiments. "We're not going to slide five years backward in one year, but you can bet the effect will be substantial," he said. Holtzclaw said the pressures of inflation add to the council's troubles. "It all adds up to we're in a desperate situation this year, but we hope to recover next year," Holtzclaw said. He said the administration is committed to trying to increase the Research Council budget, but everything depends on winning the approval of the Legislature. HE SAID more research funds may be available this year if the university saves money on heating costs this winter or a faculty member resigns. In view of the recent Regental Role and Mission statements proposing a major emphasis on research and graduate studies, the Research Council has written to NU President Ronald Roskens recommending that a prime goal of the 1980-81 budget be restoring the council's budget to 1976-77 levels, plus an adjustment for inflation. He said the budget was reduced to help the university keep its commitment to raise salaries 7 percent. "The university was committed to a 7 percent increase, and in order to meet that 7 percent, they had to commit, other areas of die budget. There is a relationship there," he said. He said the budget cuts wouldn't have been necessary if the Nebraska Legislature had approved the university's budget as it was submitted earlier this year. "WE ASKED for a realistic budget," Holtzclaw said. "We didn't ask for the sky." He said 79 percent of the university's budget is allocated to personnel salaries. By raising salaries without a corresponding increase in the NU budget, administrators had to take money out of the remaining 21 percent of the budget to pay for the increases, he said, resulting in some "pretty tough cuts." , The Research Council budget was cut because it had funds available, he said. "They were available for cutting. But if you have a certain amount of faculty members hired, the only way you can save money is to have some of them leave." The university's equipment budget also was reduced by more than one half to help defray the cost of salary increases, he said. The equipment budget is distributed to academic departments to help pay for scientific equipment, such as microscopes "Mdtesttubeis. Meints called the process "stealing from Peter to pay Paul." HE SAID salary increases may have been necessary to improve faculty morale, but the budget cuts will hurt machinery maintenance and young scientists interest ed in research. This year, Meints hasn't yet received even the $40,000 the department needs to repair the equipment it has , he said . "I can't afford to repair the equipment, much less buy it," Meints said. David J. Sellmyer, physical department chairman, also said he has received no equipment funds this year. He said the department may repair its equipment with . the overhead rebates it receives for generat ing $700,000 in grants. "We're certainly squeezed," Sellmyer said. "We had a big budget deficit last year. Vice Chancellor (Ned) Hedges was there, able to help out. If we don't get help like that this year-and indications are we won't-we'll have a terrible time just operating the place." Continued on page 7 Alleged TONE newsletter found in ASUN photocopier: A letter containing a racist term believed to be written by Theta Nu Epsilon, a secret fraternity, was found in an ASUN copy machine Aug'. 13, according to ASUN senator Jim Davidson. v- r ' Although Davidson declined , to' say who found the letter,' tie told the senators during last night's ASUN meet ing C it a senator did not find the letter. ; "The rcws that it was found in the copier of ASUN is -somewhat startling to me," First Vice President Hubert Brown told the senate. V "There are questions that need to be answered - like what the hell was it doing there, how much student money was spent copying it, and how did it get there? "The issue is that student fees were used to run off the letter, Davidson said. "The problem is not TNE-the issue is that it was found in the ASUN office," senator Dale Wojtasek said. -The letter has proved its point, it's splintered us into groups.' Senior Larry Novak, who was observing the meeting told the Senate that this summer. he remembered seeing the letter otfthe ledge feythe copier. ' "There's the chance that someone found it .and brought it and wanted copies of it, Novak said. "No one can say or prove that this letter came from TNE," senator John Kelly said. "This is par for the Greek system, senator Doug Novak said. The senate referred the incident to the internal affairs committee. - ' . Reporting on the proposed million dollar alumni cen ter, Jim Davidson told the senate that he heard from John Duve, parking coordinator for UNL, that if the alumni center is built the chancellor will be presented with a pro posal to build a new parking structure east of the city Union. Duve told. Davidson that the structure has three possi ble financing methods: by the sale of bonds, by renting the spaces'for $50 a month; or by doubling the price of student parking permits. Davidson said that Duve told him increasing the park ing permits is the most probable method of financing the structure. ; - . . "if the alumni center places such a financial burden on the University of that magnitude, we should emphatically ' stop it, Davidson said. "Z Senator , Renee Wessels said she was not against the building but was against the parking structure. ASUN has named Saturday, Oct. 27, as the Second Annual Student's Day. In their proposal ASUN has asked for the help of all student organizations. - A resolution calling for the reconsideration of the 10 percent tuition hike, which was passed by the Board of Regents during their August meeting, was referred to the RiiH fret and Fees rnmmittee - An organic act establishing the Government Liaison Committee as an agency with full accountablity to ASUN was referred to the Special Topics Committee. , Five student court justices, Mike Brogan, Bob Gleason, Dave Hartmann, Marl Lane and Joe Nigra were sworn into office during the meeting. Student newspaper trouble: Minnesota newspaper Li trouble I pzt 3 Flayfair Photographer gives view of UNL Hayfair 4?::; 1 D Hh- hopes: UNI womens track has great recrultl-j yeirV,v..v,y.V.. . ....... .... ... . ps 12