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Budget Office releases increase guidelines
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By Lee Rood
Senior Reporter
College deans and department directors can
start dividing their share of the pay-raise pie
now that guidelines for staff and faculty salary
increases have been established.
Included in the guidelines released Tuesday
by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Budget
Office is a 4 percent required pay increase for
all University of Nebraska-Lincoln staff and
faculty members who have performed satisfac
torily.
Kim Phelps, assistant to the vice chancellor
for business and finance, said faculty members
I
will receive an average pay increase of 11.04
percent, and non-faculty members will be
given an average raise of 9.37 percent.
But not all employees will receive that kind
of increase, said Phelps, who is also UNL
budget director.
Phelps said UNL deans and directors were
given an 8 percent increase of the 11.04 percent
for faculty pay raises in their departments. Of
that 8 percent increase, 4 percent will be given
to all faculty with satisfactory performance.
The remaining 3 percent of the 11.04 is an
average amount that will be given to depart
ments to take care of previously-identified
salary problems and discrepancies in pay with
peers at other institutions.
Deans and directors were also given 8 per
cent increases to distribute to non-faculty
employees.
The remaining 1.37 percent of the recom
mended 9.37 percent average for non-faculty
pay increases will be given to UNL. vice chan
cellors who will distribute the money to take
care of inequity situations.
Promotional salaries in the guidelines also
included increases.
Employees promoted to assistant professor
will get $120 more for the academic year than
they would have received last year, on top of the
4 percent recommended pay raise for satisfac
tory performance.
Those promoted to associate professor will
get $820 more per academic year, and those
who become professors will receive $1,520
more.
Phelps said he thinks the guidelines provide
for fair distribution of pay raises.
“I would anticipate after three years of
minimal increases it would be well-received,”
he said.
The University of Nebraska Board of Re
gents will vote on recommended raises at its
June meeting. If approved, the raises will go
into effect this summer.
-1
Director of instrumentation Rich Shoemaker, shows
some of the features on the lab’s largest magnet.
Magnets aid chemical research
By David Uczen
Staff Reporter
Working near very powerful
magnets can cause credit problems,
said Rich Shoemaker, a University
of Nebraska-Lincoln scientist who
has had to replace several credit
cards.
Shoemaker, director of instru
mentation at the chemistry depart
ment, works with two Nuclear
Magnetic Resonance spectrome
ters which contain very powerful
magnets.
“It’s hazardous to Bank in the
Box cards,” Shoemaker said. “I’ve
forgotten to take my wallet out and
butted right up against the thing.
I’ve gone through three Bank in the
Box cards.”
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance,
or NMR, provides a way of pre
cisely identifying the structure of
molecules, an important aspect in
chemical research, Shoemaker
said.
NMR works on the principle that
the nuclei of many atoms behave
like microscopic magnets, and
when placed in a very large mag
netic field, can be made to essen
tially “line up” with that field.
When this happens, the nuclei
can be made to “transmit” a radio
signal by applying a very strong,
short burst of a characteristic radio
frequency.
The NMR instruments excite
atoms in a molecule to “transmit”
their unique signals, and then proc
esses all the unique signals simulta
neously to determine what kind of
signals are present and how muchof
each kind.
Shoemaker has been the instru
mentation director since Feb. 1, just
after he finished his doctoral disser
tation.
“The agreement we had after I
was offered the job was that I would
start full time after my dissertation
was accepted," he said.
Shoemaker worked part time in
the chemistry department as a
graduate student
“I have since finished up my
Ph.D. dissertation and all subse
quent paperwork," Shoemaker
said.
He will be receiving his Ph.D. at
commencement May 7.
Originally from central Pennsyl
vania, Shoemaker went to high
school in Glenview Springs, Colo.,
and then attended Midland Lu
theran College in Fremont where he
received his bachelor’s degree in
chemistry and natural science.
Shoemaker entered UNL gradu
ate school in 1983. Working with
professor Tom Apple, Shoemaker
helped design and build two solid
state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
spectrometers, and then did 4 1/2
years research with the NMR instru
ments.
Shoemaker spends most of his
time helping researchers with using
the NMR instruments and their
data.
“Most of my time is involved
with graduate students and post
docs and professors in applying
NMR in enhancing their research
efforts.”
Most of that time is spent in
education and training graduate
students working for researchers to
find the most appropriate experi
ments to help solve research prob
lems.
But much of that time is spent in
maintaining the NMR instruments.
Shoemaker keeps them running,
makes repairs and troubleshoots
problems as they arise.
“My background in actually
designing and construction of spec
trometers from scratch sort of
comes in handy there,” he said.
“I’m pretty much acquainted with
NMR instruments down to the last
resistor”
Part of the NMR instrument is no
more than a high-tech FM radio
receiver. In fact, Shoemaker once
traced a problem in one of the in
struments by tuning into radio sta
tion KFRX-FM.
Shoemaker traced the station’s
signal through the instrument’s cir
cuits until he found a break.
The magnets in the NMR instru
ments are super conducting mag
nets, and need maintenance fre
quently, he said. Liquid nitrogen
and helium, used to keep the mag
nets cold, need to be replenished
often.
Superconductors allow electric
ity to flow without resistance, arid
after an electric current is estab
lished, do not need a power supply.
But the environment requires
(very cold temperatures, Shoemaker
said. The magnets in Shoemaker’s
laboratory are kept at four degrees
Kelvin.
The combination of liquid nitro
gen and liquid helium keep the
magnets at this temperature.
The liquid nitrogen needs to be
replenished about once every week
to 10 days, Shoemaker said. The
liquid helium needs changing less
frequently — about once a month
See MAGNETS on 3
Suicides decline; help available
By Dan Dwinell
Staff Reporter
The University of Ncbraska-Lin
coln has an extremely iow suicide
rate, said Glenn Gray, complex direc
tor of Cather, Pound and Neihardt
residence halls.
But Gray said dead week and finals
week can be a rough time for students.
“Obviously the pressure of finals
that students receive is a lot,” he said.
Gray added that moving back
home during the summer also con
tributes to stress.
Finals are just one of the things that
can trigger a suicide, said Mary Ken
ning, director of the Psychological
Consultation Center at UNL.
Kenning said that breaking up with
a boyfriend or girlfriend is enough for
someone to consider suicide.
“Over the past four years there has
been an increase among adolescents
and young adults (in suicides),” she
said. Kenning said the peak ages lor
suicide are 24 to 44.
There are several warning signs
associated with people who may be
considering suicide, Kenning said.
If someone talks a lot about suicide
and various methods of suicide, and
says statements such as “I’m better
off dead,” or “After I’m gone
and gives things away, a friend might
want lo find some help.
“These are pretty strong warning
signs,” she said.
Kenning said the best way to help
someone you think is suicidal is to
confront the person directly and show
some concern for their safety.
For a person who has been consid
ering suicide there are many places to
receive help, Kenning said.
One option is to call Lincoln Per
sonal Crisis’ 24-hour hotline.
One of the volunteers, who asked
to be identified as "Rosalie,” said she
has had a couple of calls throughout
the past two years.
It’s a policy of the center to keep
the names of both the caller and the
volunteer confidential.
"Many don’t really want to,” she
said. “They just have those feelings
and I can usually talk them out of it.”
Rosalie said that one of her callers
did “complete the job.”
Another option is the Lincoln/
Lancaster County Health Depart
ment. The center has reduced rates for
.student counseling, Kenning said.
Gray said the university residence
halls are doing what they can to pre
vent suicide.
He said all of the staff members are
trained and students assistants on
each floor are trained to assist de
pressed residents.
Gray said the university also pro
vides programs and gives away bro
chures to help prevent suicide.
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