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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 26, 1988)
Weather: Tuesday, mostly cloudy with a few Hurries, high in the low 20s. Tuesday night, not as cold, mostly cloudy with a low around 10, Wednesday, partly cloudy and warmer, high around 30. ! A&E: Validinc refined —Page 5. I Sports: Three UNL stu i dents compete in a sports trivia contest—Page 7. Doug Carroll/Dally Nebraskan State Sen. Jerry Chizek of Omaha questions a proponent of LB890. LB9890 supported I Bill could lessen nursing shortage By Amy Edwards Senior Reporter A bill to grant community colleges asso ciate degree programs in nursing was given a lengthy shot of support from the public Monday. Seven supporters of LB890 spent about 1 1/2 hours testifying Monday, and time constraints forced several others to submit their statements in writing. No one spoke in opposition to the bill. LB890, introduced by Sens. Arlene Nelson of Grand Island and Jacklyn Smith of Hastings, was read for the first time Jan. 6. Nelson said the bill would amend sec tions of the Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, 1943, to relieve the University of Nebraska from sole responsibility for asso ciate degree programs in nursing. In 1984, the NU Board of Regents voted to begin phasing out the university's associ ate degree program in nursing. The program ended in 1986, leaving no public programs for nursing associate degrees in Nebraska, Nelson said. With current legislation, community colleges offer only one-year programs for licensed practical nursing. Nelson said the bill would upgrade and standardize nursing programs in Nebraska. Smith said the bill is necessary to allevi ate a shortage of nurses in both urban and rural areas of the state. Joe Proshere, president of Central Com munity Colleges, said establishing two year nursing programs in community col leges would be the “quickest and most efficient way” to meet nursing demands. Proshere said programs in community colleges would attract older, non-tradi tional students who cannot attend the uni versity because of lack of access, time and money. Maiy Lou Holmberg,director of nursing education at Platte Technical Community College in Columbus, said the programs would provide a good location add low cost for students who come from lower-income families and would create more independ ent practitioners for the state. The Columbus college has a practical nursing transfer program with the univer sity and already has “a core of individuals who are ready for this program,” Holmberg said. Rosclee Yeaworth, dean of the Univer sity of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing, said that while she supports the bill, she is concerned about the quality of education if RN programs are taught in community colleges. Yeaworth said technical and community colleges have the responsibility to help faculty prepare for the programs. She said the university could assist associate degree programs at these schools. “We do not want to see programs created dial are not credible,” Yeaworth said. Downtown project stalled; would cost too much money By Larry Pierce Staff Reporter Lincoln’s downtown redevelopment project was stalled but not scrapped Monday after the City Council heard a report from the developer. Robert Larson, president of Taubman Company Inc., told the council the project is financially impossible. “This project, as conceived over the past two years, is not feasible at this time,” Larson said. ‘This project, as con ceived over the past two years, is not fea sible at this time.’ —Larson Larson said Taubman would invest a maxi mum $45 million to $50 million and the city would match that amount, totaling $90 million to $100 million. However, Larson said, the total cost of the project was estimated at $120 million to $130 million. “The gap is simply too large to be closed in a reasonable time frame,” he said. Lincoln Mayor Bill Harris said other compa nies have expressed interest in the downtown project, such as the J.C. Nichols Co. in Kansas City. However, he said, the downtown project would be changed to make it economically feasible. For example, Harris said, there should be a mixture of businesses, instead of only a “mair of retail stores. In his report to the council, Larson said four development costs were previously underesti mated: land acquisition, demolition and prepa ration, subsidies to attract retailers, and park ing. Larson said the retail climate has hanged over the past 12 to 18 months becai ,c of the “merger mama” in the retail community. The stock market crash caused many retailers to be conservative, he said Larson said the city could consider a project requiring less public and private involvement. Lincoln also could consider value retail busi nesses in its plans, he said. Value retailers are businesses whose primary emphasis is on price. Larson listed changes that are necessary before a redevelopment project can be started, including improvements in parking. He said market-rate housing for downtown areas would be good for retail business. “People shop where they live,” he said, “not where they work.” Is it needed? Curtis school reassessed By Jamie Pitts Staff Reporter Although several state senators support keeping the Nebraska School of Technical Agriculture at Curtis open, some members of the University of Nebraska Board of Regents question its need. “The board probably feels we don’t need Curtis,” Regent James Moylan of Omaha said. Regent Donald Fricke of Lincoln said he hasn’t seen any information showing a need for Curtis. But, he said, “if there’s a study that shows it’s needed, then OK.” “I think it’s going to be lough to get good faculty and a quality program,” Fricke said. Regent Robert Kocfoot of Grand Island said the regents made the right decision last spring when they cut Curtis in an effort to scale down the university’s budget. He added that the program at Curtis should not duplicate programs at the University of Ncbraska-Lmcoln’s College of Agriculture. But Regent Don Blank of McCook and some state senators favor allocating money to save Curtis. “The need for that type of education is growing every day,” Blank said about Curtis. Sen. Owen Elmer of Indianola said Curtis “will really fill a need that the state has.” Curtis provides rural Nebraska with the middle-level management it needs, compared to UNL’s College of Agriculture, which pro vides the upper-management level, Elmer said. Sen. Rod Johnson agreed. “I’m very much in favor of it because it is both an educational issue and an economic development issue,” he said. But “it’s going to be a tough fight,” Johnson said. “We’ve got a long ways to go.” If the Legislature approves LB i 042, the bill to finance the school, the regents will again govern Curtis. The senators and the board are waiting for the results of a study evaluating Curtis’ curricu lum and mission. The study by SRI-Gallup, a division of Selection Research Inc. in Lincoln, is scheduled to be completed by Feb. 1. Johnson said Curtis’ curriculum probably won’t change until after the bill is passed. Sen. John Wcihing of Gcring said changing the mission of Curtis will update Curtis’ cur riculum for future needs in agriculture. If LB 1042 passes, the regents will be allo cated $350,000 for 1988 and $1.4 million for 1989 to keep Curtis open. In addition to giving the regents responsibil ity for Curtis’ direction, LB 1042 also requires the regents to pay for Curtis’ utilities. The bill states the money will come from the utility budgcLsof the UNL Institute of Agricul ture and Natural Resources. If LB 1042 is not passed, Curtis is scheduled to close in June. Commission to investigate minority recruitment By Gretchen Boehr Suff Reporter The University of Nebraska-Lin coln hasn’t progressed very well in recruiting minority staff and students, according to Miqucl Carranza, chair man of an 11-member commission investigating the problem. The commission was appointed last fall by UNL Chancellor Martin Massengale. It will provide advice, counsel and feedback concerning racial and ethnic minorities at the university, said John Peters, associate to the chancellor. Carranza, who is also director of the Institute for Ethnic Studies, said the commission will begin looking through available data about UNL minorities to find out if discrimina tion problems exist Other issues the commission will investigate include the recruitment of minority staff and students, Carranza said. Peters said it is difficult for many campuses to rec/uit minority profes sors because they are in demand. Recruitment is very competitive, he said, because few minority graduate students become professors. Sheila Perry,commission member and secretary for the dean of the College of Journalism, said UNL definitely needs more minority fac ulty. “We need more minority teachers as role models for minority students,” she said. UNL employs 84 minority faculty members, said Colleen Daniels, equal employment opportunity specialist at Affirmative Action. Perry said the commission will talk with other colleges to determine whether UNL’s numbers are low. Carranza said the commission also will find out if minority faculty members feel comfortable at UNL. The dropout rate of minority stu dents and financial aid will be issues for the commission, Carranza said. “We need to contact the UNL Foundation to recruit donors for more minority scholarships," he said. James Smith, commission mem ber and director of Multi-Cultural See MINORITY on 3
