Thursday, April 28, 1933
8
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Operating expenses, such as postage
an J phone charges could be cut, but that
would cause some difficulties, Luckner
said.
Luckner said his department could
handle an increase in class size without
hurting the quality of education.
Introduction classes now have 30 students;
tliis could be increased to 40, he said.
"The economy has adversely impacted
a lot of factors of life, and the university
has suffered," Luckner said.
In the future, Luckner said, he hopes
his department can continue to attract
and produce the same high quality of
students it has been producing for the last
few years.
In the Institute for International
Studies, reducing the budget means less
information and services for students who
go abroad to study, Roberto Esquenazi
Mayo, its director, said.
Hsquenazi-Mayo said the institute has
no direct teaching assignments, because
all of its teaching is done through academic
departments such as history or political
science.
The Institute for International Studies
works through departments to coordinate
various learning experiences, such as
overseas graduate study in Europe, Latin
America and other countries.
To cope with last year's budget cuts,
the institute reduced operational funds.
Thus, the number of scholarly services
and information on grants were reduced.
Although about 800 university students
apply and qualify for international studies
tiuough the institute, the staff consists
of just two full-time staff members and
some work-study employees, Esquenazi
Mayo said.
"We need more support assistance and
personnel in the office to prepare proposals
and provide necessary information on a
day-to-day basis to students and faculty,"
he said.
Esquenazi-Mayo said the institute will
have an expanded role in the future
because the dean of the College of Arts
and Sciences has asked his office to
coordinate ail international activities.
hi addition, he said, the chancellor has
asked that an advisory council for all
international programs within the city
work through the Institute for
International Studies office.
The only way the work can be done
with the small staff is through the
dedication of some students and the
selfless dedication of faculty members,
Esquenazi-Mayo said.
"We need to think about the future
of the state, and the university is it,"
he said. "In the 20th century, our
students will have to compete with all
others. It behooves each one of us to
provide the best institution and education
for students."
Esquenazi-Mayo said UNL students
have been successful in national
competition for Fulbright Grants, which
offer students the opportunity to study
abroad. The Fulbright grants cover costs
of transportation, tuition and fees and
health insurance, and includes a monthly
allowance for each student, he said.
Like the Institute for International
Studies, the ethnic studies department
is affected directly by what happens
in other departments because the classes
are taught by joint appointment. For
example, the faculty salaries are paid
40 percent by the ethnic studies
department and 60 percent by another
department, such as history.
Ralph Grajeda, director, said that
although the Ethnic Studies department
has very small equipment expenses, they
w ere cut like those of oilier departments
last year. For example, the amount spent
on long distance telephone calls, travel
expenses and copying was reduced.
Enrollment also has been affected by
budget cuts, Grajeda said. Most ethnic
studies courses are cross-listed under
another department, such as English or
liistory. Since ethnic studies courses are
of a service nature, the number offered
lias decreased in the last few years.
However, Grajeda said, the number may
increase because new general requirements
will include three hours of ethnic studies.
"Students now are more professionally
oriented, and a lot are business majors,"
Grajeda said. "A lot of people sec arts
and sciences as kind of extras, additions
to the real thing of getting a degree. But,
without the College of Arts and Sciences,
the university would just be a technical
school."
Grajeda said he believes the college's
financial problems come from the upper
reaches of the state's tax structure.
"State legislators identify the university
with a larger state budget. They
immediately identify it as a place to
knock off a bunch of waste," he said.
"There comes a point where it's no longer
waste, but flesh. The quality of education
is affected."
The priorities set by the university are
sometimes rather short term, but they
should be long term, Grajeda said.
hi the future, he said, the ethnic studies
department desperately needs to have
black studies faculty members.
In the sociology department, enrollment
has increased considerably, in the past
five years, while the budget has either
stayed the same or been reduced, chairman
Jack Siegman said.
"Our class sizes have always been big,
and they haven't reduced," Siegman said.
"Last year we cut out our graduate student
teaching assistants, and we also offered
fewer courses."
However, Siegman said, the department
did get some graduate teaching assistant
money from the dean's office, so the
situation was not as bleak as had been
expected.
Besides lowering funds for staffing,
the sociology department has reduced
the operating budget, which finances
things such as paper, pencils, machinery
and films.
"We have shown fewer films in the last
three years than ever before," he said.
"These are award-winning films, and we
are not able to show them."
Siegman said the department also has
put a limit on phone expenses and
restricted copying and mailing.
The financial problems are not a
result of mismanagement at the college
level, Siegman said. The budgets are
meager to start with, he said, adding that
the administration is doing an excellent
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job with declining resources.
Cutting peripheral university programs
is not the answer to the problem, Siegman
said. Most peripheral programs, such as
the urban studies program, are offered at
little or no cost because faculty from
various departments participate in them.
"There are places to cut," Siegman
said. "There is duplication of some of the
things we do in Arts and Sciences. For
example, English is taught in other parts
of the campus."
Siegman said the issue is the amount
of resources the state allocates to the
university. Money is not spent foolishly
or extravagantly, he said.
"There is a political mess in the state.
It's the inability of the elected officials
to plan and develop a structure of support
for the university," Siegman said.
In the sociology department, starting
salaries are considerably lower than those
at other universities, he said. This could
lead to a decline in the quality of
applicants for faculty openings.
In the geology department, enrollment
has more than doubled and the budget
has decreased slightly, Chairman S.B.
Treves said.
Treves said his department did several
things in response to last year's budget
cut :
stopped buying office supplies for
instructors
charged fees for field trips
- restricted use of Xerox machine
-eliminated most class handouts
-increased lab and class size limits
-found it impossible to replace mineral
and rock samples
assigned three or four students to
share the same map, rock, mineral or
fossil
- used funds donated by industry and
alumni to cover operational costs.
Treves said the geology department
is important to the future of Nebraska
because it teaches classes about water
resources, the use of which is becoming
a major issue in the state.
"We have the people, the expertise
and the potential to help, but it requires
money investments," Treves said.
Treves said the geology department has
1 2 faculty members, nine of which are
full time. Given the budget situation,
he said, he does not expect an increase
in the number of faculty members.
With the larger class sizes, students
get less individual attention, he said.
Treves said this is a very good time
to hire professors, because the economy
and business opportunities force people
to leave professions.
MILLION DOLLAR
"GEMSTONE COLLECTION"
Beginning May 5th, for six special days, we will
have our first public showing of this special collec
tion. Come and see the most coveted types of gem
stones on earth in every conceivable cut, color, size
and price range. Each stone is beautifully cut and is
backed by Sartor Hamann guaranteeing its authen
ticity. Don't miss this opportunity to choose from
hundreds of the world's most precious gems.
Kirn Adams, a sophomore majoring in art education, finishes a bust Monday she has
been working on for the past two weeks in Richard's Hall.
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