monday, november 26, 1979
daily nebraskan
page 5
s
Continued from Page 4 ;
I write to commend the university administration for:
showing the regents how budgetary . constraints cart be
accommodated by cutting faculty, library, research and
teaching services, while preserving intact the athletic pro
gram and the central administration. It is clear that the
only way to respond to a decline, real or anticipated, in
student credit hours or inadequate legislative funding is to
remove faculty from the classroom. But how can this be
accomplished? There are obvious answers, such as the re
lease of non-tenured staff and the attrition of the lines of
professors who die or retire.
Since the regents are so wedded to the systems con
cept, there obviously is a need for more administrators to
coordinate the innovative educational experiments being
conducted at Lincoln, Omaha and Wahoo High School.
Even if we confine ourselves to the Lincoln campus, there
is a great need for administrators to guide the students.
Since independent study, self direction, and interdisci
plinary programs are fashionable, while formal classroom
instruction is outmoded, the students need the advice of
persons who are experts at avoiding intellectual content in
wod and deed to counsel them on how to avoid the facul
ty while still obtaining university credit.
As the useful faculty members are phased into admini
stration, those left teaching would obviously be making
far fewer demands upon the students. This could involve
immense savings in both the library staff and the book
budget. If the books were removed from Love North to
make way tor closed circuit' television of the football
games, at even per season ticket this would easily .
gross hundreds of thousands of dollars in a single season, .
; clearly enough to maintain Regents Hall.
There are also advantages to my modest proposal in
terms of the university's relations with the community at
large and in psychological benefits within the academic
community. Since administrators are paidrbughly double-
the salary of faculty members at a cbmrraVablc level, this
solution would end complaints ab6ut- low salaries.-
Furthermore, since most administrators come from
Nebraska or neighboring states, while professors tend to
come from more exotic places with decent doctoral pro
grams community relations would be irnproved with
more administrators and fewer faculty. Administrators are
usually better dressed and less polysyllabic than profes
sors," another advantage in the dealings of the university
with the public."
Most fundamentally, the focal point of virtually all
student discontent is with professors in the classroom who
for one reason or another are considered inadequate to
meet their needs and desires. The fewer professors, the
happier the students, and the better the university's public
image. I hear constant complaints about do-nothing pro
fessors, but scarcely anything except from other profes
sors about do-nothing administrators. We must remember
that a professor who deals with numerous students each
semester while turning out scholarly books and articles is
a deadbeat, while an administrator who has no classroom
responsibilities is a paragon of industry and dedication for
the numerous ardous hours spent in having meaningful
dialogue with other administrators.
l am old enough to remember when the ideal was a
ratio of one faculty member to ten students in small
colleges, and perhaps one to fifteen in the state universi
ties. What is needed to meet the challenge of the 1980s is
a staff comprising ten administrators to one faculty mem
ber. The Board of Regents has obviously realized the ex
tent of the problem. Only when the professional staff is
reduced to manageable proportions, while those of appro
priate inclination and talent become administrators, can
the university strive to fulfill our destiny as members of
the academic community. We shall move toward Excel
" lence. . ' - r : . ; - . ' - ?
David Nicholas
Professor of History
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE
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k Vietnam Spy Trial Defendant
DAVID
TRUONG
speaks on
"The Powers to Spy: Intelligence
Agencies vs. Constitutional Rights"
Tuesday, November 27th 7:30 pm
Nebraska Union Centennial Room
Free Admission with UNL I.D.
General Admission $1 .00
Contributions to the voluntarily funded speakers
program will be accepted.
Talks & Topics
Committee and
Nebraskans for
Peace.-
U CITY
J5ira fllh)
Ulfi)0Wir80tfy pDIT(oInfQ
Applications aro now available for executive
and chairperson positions on U PC-City and
U PC-East. Positions open:
EAST
President "
1st Vice President
2nd Vice President
SecretaryTreasurer
Visual Arts Chairperson
Films Chairperson
Dances & Concerts Chairperson
Recreation Chairperson
Special Events Chairperson-
CITY
President
1st Vice President s
2nd Vice President
Free University Chairperson
Walpurgisnacht Chairperson
Foreign Films Chairperson
Pick-up applications in Room 200, Nebraska Union or
at East Union CAP office, 3rd floor East Union. Dead
line November 29th, Interviews Dec. 1,2, 3.
LJ Ci
ityEast
Tie a gift of mittens,
To our Christmas tree.
Needy kids will love your help,
. . . '
And warm they now will be.
f dic vj
Gifts Distributed by the Welfare Office.
