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February 16, 1987 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Vol. 86 No. 103
V
Eric GregoryDaily Nebraskan
NU President Ronald Roskens listens to testimony on the
proposed UNL recreation center at Saturday's NU Board of
Regents meeting.
Sports center threatened
Devaney, Bryant object
to Rosken's planned cut
of state athletic funds
By Eric Paulak
Staff Reporter
Athletic Director Bob Devaney and
other athletic-department officials Fri
day presented their cases against a
proposal to cut $390,000 from the
athletic department budget.
NU President Ronald Rosken's pro
posed cut would, in effect, take state
funds of $165,000 from athletic pro
grams and $225,000 from the Bob Deva
ney Sports Center. The move could
prove costly for the university in a "very
sports-minded state," Devaney told the
Athletic Budget Review Committee. A
projected athletic department surplus
of $9,551 is figured into the current
athletic-department budget, Devaney
said. Any cut in the budget, he said,
would result in a deficit for the year or
cuts of some programs.
This year, the athletic department
was budgeted $165,000 in state funds,
and the sports center $225,000. Except
for those allocations, Devaney said, the
athletic department is self-sufficient.
With the proposed cut, the depart
ment would be totally self-sufficient.
Devaney said the department can't do
that.
The athletic department's budget is
more than $10 million, of which $390,000
goes to support the sports center.
Gerald Lott, sports-center superin
tendent, said the sports center is a
state building, and as such should be
supported by the state.
X
Some of the committee members
suggested how to generate more income.
Rene Gellatly, an administrative as
sistant in the department of animal
science, suggested using the sports
center for student recreation and pay
ing for it with student fees.
Devaney said it is not feasible to
include recreation programs there be
cause it was not built for that purpose
and it is too difficult to schedule stu
dent recreation around the varsity ath
letic teams' practices.
In 1972, when the idea of a sports
center was presented to the Legisla
ture, Devaney said, the director of the
campus recreation turned down an
offer to be a part of it because he
wanted a separate recreation center.
Assistant Athletic Director Don Bry
ant said the athletic department is the
biggest public-relations agent the uni
versity has, and the sports center is
part of that.
"In the eyes of the fans, it (the
sports center) is a university building,"
Bryant said, "but not in the eyes of the
Legislature."
Ninety-five percent of the athletic
department's income comes from foot
ball and men's basketball, Devaney
said. Their income supports the rest of
the varsity athletics, as well as bring
ing millions of dollars into Lincoln and
the state, he said.
The budget-review committee will
meet Wednesday and Thursday in closed
session to decide where to cut the $1.5
million midyear reduction the Legisla
ture made in the NU budget.
Board of
plans for
By lichael Hooper
Senior Reporter
After much deliberation and testim
ony, the NU Board of Regents Saturday
unanimously approved construction and
financing plans for the $16.6 million
campus recreation and athletic center,
which includes renovation of the UNL
Coliseum and an addition of about
136,000 square feet.
Funding includes $3.5 million from a
student-fee surplus fund, $3.5 million
in private donations (about $1.5 mil
lion has already been raised) and $9.6
million in revenue bonds. Four dollars
of each $5 surcharge on per-game foot
ball tickets will be used to repay the
bonds and the student-fee surplus fund,
and $1 will be held for athletic depart
ment general funds.
If the project is approved by the
Legislature, construction will begin in
April and could be finished by July
By Dorothy Pritchard
Staff Reporter
UNL should eliminate the colleges of
architecture and dentistry to compen
sate for $3.1 million budget cuts made
by the Nebraska Legislature, Regent
Robert Koefoot of Grand Island said
Saturday.
Koefoot said eliminating UNL's
College of Architecture's $1.4 million
budget and UNMC's College of Dentis
try's $3.5 million budget would meet
the $3.1 million cut and leave $1.8
million for "program enhancement."
Koefoot said Nebraska does not need
two dental colleges and suggested the
university work out an agreement with
Creighton University's College of Den
tistry. Regent James Moylan of Omaha
objected to Koefoot's proposal.
"We can't approach it h this
fashion," Moylan said.
UNL Chancellor Martin Massengale
said the $1.8 million leftover from the
Journalism school avoidls cmts
Enrollment boom increases demands on faculty
By Natalie Weinstein
Staff Reporter
Although the College of Journalism's
budget has not been cut in recent
years, an enrollment boom of 150
percent in the last five years has
greatly increased demands on the
college's faculty and facilities.
Currently 950 undergraduates and
85 graduate students are enrolled.
Within the same five years, only one
faculty position has been added, bring
ing the college total to 18 full-time and
20 part-time faculty members. This has
resulted in heavier teaching loads,
bigger classes and heavier advising
schedules, said R. Neal Copple, dean of
the College of Journalism.
The student-adviser ratio is 1:60 -
about twice as high as other Big 8
Regents approves
recreation center
1989. Financing and construction plans
will be submitted this week, said Kim
Phelps, assistant to the vice chancellor
of business and finance.
Phelps said the $740,000 to $840,000
a year needed for operation and main
tenance will be supported by a $30 to
$35 per-year student-fee increase. Fa
culty and staff users will pay $120 per
year.
The project was approved with an
amendment sponsored by Regent Ker
mit Hansen of Elkhorn that requires
the $3.5 million in private funds be
pledged before the $9.6 million in
revenue bonds are issued. The amend
ment also asks for a study on student
recreation use at UNL to be submitted
to the board within 60 days.
About 100 students, some encour
aged to attend the meeting by ASUN
members, were at the meeting.
"This is probably the largest group
we've ever had here," Hansen said. He
lie
program eliminations wouldn't reflect
net savings. The tuition lost from
eliminating the colleges would have to
be subtracted, he said.
UNMC Chancellor Charles Andrews
said he was surprised by the proposal
because the regents said they wouldn't
cut entire colleges at their last meeting.
"I've got a considerable management
problem if you are telling me that the
medical center is going to make up the
$3.1 million deficit," he said.
NU President Ronald Roskens said
four of the last six years have been
difficult "reducing the whole oper
ation." "We are not talking about something
that will go away," he said.
The governor and the Legislature
assume that $3.1 million will be
reduced by June 30, Roskens said.
"We have to get that behind us," he
said.
Roskens said when he made recom
mendations to compensate for the $3.1
schools, he said.
Weekly student-contact hours, or
the amount of time a professor spends
in the classroom, is about 16 hours for
the College of Journalism compared to
a campus average of about 9.6 hours a
week, Copple said. This has more than
"stretched" the faculty.
"We're the 'journalism bargain,' and
I'm not sure if I like to be called that,"
he said.
Alfred A. Pagel, Gannett professional
lecturer in the news-editorial depart
ment, said, "We need more faculty, a
new computer system, broadcasting
and photography equipment and
nationally prominent people in here."
The computer system used by stu
dents is about seven years old and
showing its age, according to Patti
Miklos, a junior advertising and history
major. "It's pretty outdated," Miklos
said.
Rick Alloway, broadcasting instructor
and KRNU station manager, said the
broadcasting department has to rely
somewhat on "hand-me-downs."
"Broadcasting technology has taken
off geometrically in the last 10 years,"
he said. The equipment budget, on the
other hand, has not. Many TV and radio
stations donate used equipment.
.U. JO.
asked where the students were the last
five years when the university absorbed
about $12 million in academic cuts.
Nebraska coach Tom Osborne and
UNL Athletic Director Bob Devaney
said they supported the campus recrea
tionathletic center.
Osborne said the department is wil
ling to charge customers more as long
as the stadium is kept full.
Allen Blezek, UNL Faculty Senate
president, said faculty members sup
port the campus recreationpractice
facility.
"When you need something badly
. . .stop finding excuses and go for it,"
Blezek said.
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
Jim Griesen said the project has been
given new life bcause of the students'
willingness to tax themselves and inter
collegiate athletics' support.
See REC CENTER on 5
era
million in budget cuts he considered
programs he thought "would least
damage the core of UNL"
"We're making value judgments, and
those are tough," he said. Roskens said
the regents should ask themselves, "If
not this, what?"
Roskens said final action on the
budget cuts would be made at the
regents' April meeting.
In other business, the regents
approved the increase in room and
board rates for the residence halls,
which will pay for cable TV, computer
transmission from each room and an
optional meal plan.
Regents also approved the appoint
ment of Kunle Ojikutu as director of
the UNL Health Center and the appoint
ment of Clarence Ueda as dean of the
College of Pharmacy at UNMC.
The regents also approved renovation
of UNO's Arts and Sciences Hall and
the commissioning of Doug Tyler to
design artwork for the UNO Science
Building.
"We live off it. We encourage it,"
Alloway said. "But it's donated because
it's not the best. If it was in great
condition, it wouldn't need to be
replaced."
But, within the last month, there is a
bright spot in the broadcasting depart
ment's operation. KRNU, UNL's non
commercial broadcasting lab station,
increased from 10 to 100 watts and
switched to stereo.
Larry Walklin, broadcasting depart
ment chairman and journalism profes
sor, said his department doesn't have
enough money. "But with grants, gifts
and good people we've been able to
overcome many deficiencies."
"If they keep on doing it, we're fine,"
said Walklin. "It would be better,
though, if we had a more realistic base
to deal with."
Michael Goff, assistant professor of
advertising, said his department doesn't
have enough manpower, but the faculty
is trying to maintain quality and
improve where it can.
The advertising department has two
or three positions open, which should
be filled by the beginning of fall
semester, Copple said. Beginning Jan.
See JOUPJ1ALICM on 5