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monday, january 14, 1980
lincoln, nebraska vol. 104 no. 1
: " ....." ,'".-'..
Administrators, budget request supported
By Michelle Carr
The NU Board of Resents SaturHav
reaffirmed its faith in the university's pro
posed 15 percent budget increase and the
NU central administration.
Resolutions approved by the regents
support a 15 percent budget increase,
which is more than Gov. Charles Thone's
proposed 8.57 percent increase, and
support the central administration, which
has come under fire by several UNL faculty
groups calling for its dissolution.
The regents adopted a resolution
praising Thone's flexible budget, but some
expressed disapproval of the amount
requested. V
Thone's budget would provide the
university system with a lump sum general
fund appropriation of $125.9 million and
a $1 millionfdiscretionary fund in the
capital construction budget for extra
ordinary expenses.
Earlier, Scottsbluff Regent . Robert
Simmons introduced a budget resolution
opposed by several regents. Simmons said
Thone should be commended fqr giving the
university "more than we expected" and
said the regents should ask Thone to adopt
the 8.57 percent budget increase.
Simmons criticized
Regent Robert Koefoot of Grand Island
criticized . Simmons and said he was
"violently opposed" to the resolution.
"I expected him (Thone) to give more,"
Koefoot said. ,
Regent Ed Schwartzkopf of Lincoln
said that he was opposed to any resolution
dealing with the budget. He said the
requested 15 percent increase is tthe
minimum amount needed by 'the
university, and that the regents should be
committed to the increase "just to stay
even.'
"We can't afford to yield at this time,"
he said.
Regent Kermit Wagner of Schuyler said
Simmons resolution will "put a lid on us."
He said such action would "preclude the
Legislature from swinging out a little
more.''
The resolution was tabled, with
Simmons and Regent Robert Pro kop of
Wilbur voting against the tabling motion.
Administration supported
The central administration resolution
was created by a committee appointed in
December to examine the UNL faculty's
criticism of the administration structure. It
said the regent's support the central
administration structure and the structure's
present administrators.
Regent Koefoot Hansen of Omaha, who
presented the resolution, said that the
annual evaluation of the central
administration personnel will continue to
be the sole responsibility of the regents.
The regents recognize and reaffirm the
"right of the university community to
voice objections and concerns to it,"
Hansen said.
"The plea' for a greater role by the
faculty in budget preparation is
understandable and efforts will be made to
improve this," the resolution said. "How
ever, the budgetary process in any organi
zation must have one focal point of final
decision and this always leads to choices
and compromises. The final decisions will
continue to be made by the chief executive
officer and the board."
Hansen stressed that the university
community should uphold the image of a
quality faculty, convince taxpayers and
elected officials of the value of the
university, and work together.
Misunderstandings
William Campbell, president of the UNL
Faculty Senate, said there have been mis
understandings about the faculty's feelings,
but it would be "a mistake to entirely
dismiss the reaction of UNL faculty solely
because of that."
Campbell said the faculty has "long
term feelings and deep concerns" about the
central administration structure and the
university budget. However, he said faculty
members want to work with administrator's
in a more constructive way "to figure out
what is best for the university."
NU President Ronald Roskens
commended the university faculty, calling
them "first-rate-performers."
Roskens said the faculty might have
gotten the impression from past comments
that they are unappreciated. This
assumption is false, he said, for the faculty
is "deeply appreciated."
For more on the NU Board of Regents,
turn to page 3.
II
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XI
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Photo by Collin Hackley
Elaine Rod, UNL speech teacher, gives a hug to 17-month-old daughter Abby,
a victim of Down's Syndrome. Rod chain a program that offers support and
information to parents of handicapped children. See story on page 6.
Thone plan forNU budget
is 'disappointing' officials
By Gordon Johnson
Several Lincoln state senators, NU
administrators and ASUN president Bud
Cuca expressed disappointment Friday
concerning what Gpv. Charles Thone de
scribed as his "austere" budget recommen
dation for NU. '
Lincoln State Sen. Shirley Marsh, a
member of the Legislature's appropria
tion's committee, said the governor's pro
posed budget is not large enough and does
not meet NU's needs.
Fair share
"I think' they (the university) should
have a fair share of the increases in the
state budget," Marsh said. "I do not think
that 7 percent (increase in faculty salaries)
will do."
Many state senators feel that a 10 per
cent increase in faculty salaries would be
fair, Marsh said, but added that she did not
think a 10 percent increase would get final
approval.
Thone recommended an 8.57 percent
increase in the NU budget which includes a
7 percent increase in faculty salaries. In
cluded in the recommendation is $1.2
million for extraordinary utility costs.
In addition to the 8.57 percent increase,
Thone recommended that $1 million be
made available to the NU Board of
Regents. The Regents will have wide discre
tionary powers over uses of the money.
State Budget Director Don Luenberger
said the extra $1 million could be used to
pay energy costs which exceed the $1.2
million recommended to cover extraordi-
nary energyxosts.
Total budget
The governor recommended an NU
budget of $126 million for 1980-81, up
from $116 million appropriated for 1979
80. The university requested $1333
million.
The governor said in his state of the
state address Thursday that the university
must "prudently manage" its resources and .
that the university should not depend on
state support when federal dollars are shut
off. " :
Decreased state support of the univer
sity will definately hurt the quality of edu
cation, said Sen. Don Wesely, of Lincoln.
Wesely said recent cutbacks in the uni
versity budget have hurt the quality of
education at the university and could lead
to a poor academic climate. ,
When faculty and students are worried
about the intent of the state to support the
university, the result can be demoralizing,
Wesely said.
"I want economy and efficiency, but at
the same time it can go too far and in the
long run can cost more", he said.
Level of excellence
In order to keep the long-run cost of the
university down, the state must maintain a
high level of academic excellence, instead
of letting it run down and then trying to
catch up, Wesely said
Continued on Page 15
Tractor tug-of-war: The director of UNL's
Tractor Testing Laboratory said the order
to quit testing Soviet tractors will have
little effect Past 8
Sell, spot, sell: The making of local com
mercials is explored Page 10
Mizzou massacre: UNL's basketball team
dropped to 1-1 in the Big Eight after fac
ing nationally-ranked Missouri in Lincoln
Saturday . Pa-t 12