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Tuesday, September 22,1987University of Nebraska-LincolnVol. 87 No. 19
Community college options weighed
By Mary Nell Westbrook
Staff Reporter
As community colleges lose more
and more state aid, a plan to change
the state’s community colleges’ sup
port from partial to complete state
financing has drawn mixed reviews.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Regent Don Blank said putting all
schools “under a similar umbrella’’
would save on property taxes and
make Nebraska’s post-secondary
education more efficient.
Blank’s idea and others will be
discussed by a governor’s committee
studying ways to finance the Univer
sity of Nebraska School of Technical
Agriculture in Curtis. A date will be
set later this week for the committee to
meet with Gov. Kay Orr.
State Sens. Chris Abboud of
Ralston and Owen Elmer of Indianola
said Blank has a good idea, but im
plementation could take several
years.
Higher education must be better
coordinated and the only way to to
accomplish this would be through
state funding, Abboud said.
“But income and sales taxes would
have to increase to make up for the
nearly $25 million loss in properly
taxes,” he said.
Currently, Nebraska’s six com
munity colleges receive more than
$23 million in state aid.
The income- and sales-tax in
creases would be more uniform and
fair than higher property taxes, Elmer
said.
During the past three years, state
aid has steadily declined each year as
property taxes have gone up, said Tom
Johnston, executive director of the
Nebraska Technical Community Col
lege Association.
All six community college presi
dents said they are opposed to com
plete state financing of their colleges.
The primary reason for this, they said,
is a fear of losing local control.
With local control, a community
college can respond quickly to imme
diate area needs and the needs of local
businesses. These are things state
financed schools can’t do, said Wil
liam Hasemeyer, president of Mid
Plains Community College in North
Platte.
“If a business needs help from an
institution like the university, it gets
caught up in the bureaucracy,” he
]
Source; Nebraska Technical Community College Association
John Bruce/Daily Nebraskan
said. said, they would not be reduced that
As for property taxes, Hasemeyer much.
Hasemcyer said his property taxes
were $1,428 this year and only $83
went to the community college.
John Harms, president of Western
Technical Community College in
Scottsbluff, said he doesn’t want total
state aid, but the college needs more
financial support.
“I don’t think the rural areas and
farmers can keep carrying the burden
of the high property taxes, especially
with the rapid decline in land values,”
he said.
Johnston said community colleges
have tried to keep the burden off
property taxpayers by raising tuition
instead. Between 1976-77 and 1986
87 tuition went up more than 180
percent at community colleges.
Richard Gilliland, president of
Metro-Technical Community Col
lege in Omaha, said the stale funds
would be better used on the univer
sity.
“There should be greater emphasis
on UNL’s research for U S West and
faculty salaries should be priority,”
he said.
The proposal to support commu
nity colleges entirely with stale funds
went before the Legislature in 1984
and it never got anywhere, Gilliland
said.
UNL gets equipment
By Victoria Ayotte
Staff Reporter_
New equipment will make the University of
Ncbraska-Lmcoln “the key place” for extru
sion research, said Steve Taylor, director of
UNL’s Food Processing Center.
Wenger Manufacturing Co. has donated
$150,(XK) worth of equipment, service and
training to the center.
Extrusion is the mixing and forming of food
products under high pressure and temperature.
The technology is used to make snack foods
such as cheese puffs, breakfast cereals and pet
foods.
“We’re very honored and excited to work
with the University of Ncbraskaon thiscxciling
project,” said John Krehhicl, director of sales
for Wenger in Sabetha, Kan. “Without a
shadow of a doubt, we feel the University of
Nebraska will have the finest food service and
food extrusion technology program in the
country.”
Chuck Schrocdcr, vice president of the
University Foundation, said the donation is
actually about 45 percent of the $262,(XX) ex
trusion equipment.
Krehhicl said his company was first ap
proached a year ago by Randy Wheeling, an
assistant professor of food science and technol
ogy, about buying some equipment.
Extrusion techniques make lood processing
“much more efficient in terms of energy, space
and personnel,” he said.
Taylor said installation of the equipment
depends on whether there is a place for the
equipment on East Campus, because it weighs
three tons and requires much electricity. UNL
should have the equipment by mid-1989 at the
latest, when the new food processing center is
scheduled to be completed. The new center will
be the permanent spot for the equipment, he
said.
UNL will have the only twin-screw extruder
in thccountry,creating an “unparalleledoppor
tunity to do research in this area,” Taylor said.
Faculty members will do research with the
equipment, but graduate students may also
have a chance to use it, he said. Taylor said
students with experience in the area will be
“better prepared and more employable.”
Krchbiel said he thinks the equipment will
help the university in “finding ways to add
value to agriculturally raised grains—what the
food industry is all about.”
Gov. Kay Orr thanked Wenger for the con
tribution in a ceremony Thursday, calling the
arrangement “the perfect public-private part
nership.” Taylor said he thinks UNL’s new
research capabilities will “help forge univer
sity-industry relationships.”
Vendor flavors FarmAid
By Amy Edwards
Senior Reporter
Houlogs, popcorn and Runzas arc usual
stadium fare, but people who attended Far
f mAidlllSaturdaycouldtastcaspicysidcof lilc
and promote Nebraska products at the same
time.
Art Jimenez, a senior animal-science major
t at the University of Ncbraska-Lincoln, said he
' used only fresh Nebraska products lor his
Mcxican-food stand at the southwest corner ol
Memorial Stadium underneath the bleachers
Fresh products from family and friends, bee I
from McGinlcy/Schilz. Fecdlot in Brule, and
beans from the Farmers Co-op Association
were donated to make Jimenez’s homemade
Mexican food.
“With fresh Nebraska products and Mom’s
recipe, it’s naturally good,” Jimenez said.
J imcncz said he got the idea to open his own
stand from friends. He said he does catering on
request and is always being asked to cook for
friends.
There woe two openings for vendors in the
stadium. The university awarded the Mexican
stand the first spot and Kentucky Fried Chicken
the other, Jimenez said.
The Legion Club contributed equipment to
the stand to help promote Nebraska products.
Jimenez, who grew up in rural Nebraska,
said he wanted to promote the products because
he had seen the hard times farmers arc going
through.
“1 think this promotion helps more than
people realize,” Jimenez said. “By my small
promotion for Nebraska products, I feel like
I’ve helped.”__
See MEXICANA on 5
‘ Ho^D8lT^Nebrl^^l^5n,
Jim Mischnick of Lincoln runs laps at the Ed Weir Stadium
Monday.
i ■ •
