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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 17, 1989)
C^y ~ _-Daily-_ _ NebraskaN_ Reasons for Roskens’ firing sought Former legislative aide threatens to sue NU regents By Sara Bauder Staff Reporter A former congressional aide to Sen. John DeCamp is threat ening to sue the Board of Regents unless they disclose their reasons for firing University of Ne- • braska President Ronald Roskens. Daniel Meyer, who was De Camp’s aide for seven years, sent a letter to Regents Chairman Nancy Hoch on August 3 informing her of his intention to sue. “The recent action of the Board of Regents terminating the contract of Dr. Roskens and then paying Dr. Roskens a small fortune to complete the termination with the stipulation that neither the Board of Regents nor Dr. Roskens would tell the public the who, what, where, why, or how of his termination appears to me, as a tax payer, to be improper,” Meyer wrote in the letter. “An agreement - conspiracy may be the proper term - to conceal from the public the how and why of the expenditure of the Board’s funds has occurred.” The regents removed Roskens from the NU presidency July 31 by a 7-1 vote. Roskens had two years remaining on his contract and will receive his salary and benefits through June 30,1991. Roskens will receive about $250,000 for that time ■period. Regents eye study ofNU structure »y Laura amitn Staff Reporter University of Nebraska Regent Robert Allen of Hastings said that plan ning a study of the university’s Central Administration will be a top priority at the regents’ Sep tember meeting. Allen and Regent Don Blank of McCook said they believe now is a good time to look at the university structure to see if changes need to be made. Regent Don Blank of McCook said, “Any time you have a changeover in the top position, it s a good time to look at the system.” The regents removed NU Presi ‘We want to get more education for our education dol lar’ -- Allen dent Ronald Roskens from office July 31. Allen said some people have ques tioned whether the university needs a Central Administration. “Nancy Hoch (chairman of the regents) has pointed out that some major universities don’t have a central administration,’’ Allen said. He said he is impressed with the administrators who work in Central Administration, but said he feels the committee should look there to make sure money is not being wasted. Allen said he hopes the study will be able to save money for taxpayers. “We want to get more educa See REGENTS on 4 In his letter, Meyer wrote that under Federal Freedom of Informa tion laws and state open meeting laws, citizens have a right to know the reasons for the regents’ actions. He said because the university receives federal funds, federal laws apply to the case as well as state laws. Meyer said he decided to seek action against the regents after read ing about the firing of Roskens in a newspaper. “I picked up the Omaha World Herald one morning and read an ar - ticle on President Roskens,’ ’ he said. “It kind of upset me when I read it ‘ ‘Then I turned the page and found a little article on the town of Bruno. They needed $250,000 for safe drink ing water, and the state won’t pay for it. I got to thinking about what the taxpayers must feel like in Bruno, when Roskens is going to get $250,000 for not working.” Meyer said he then decided to do something about the situation instead of just complaining about it Although in Meyer’s letter to Hoch he had said the Board had ten days to respond before he sued, he has since extended that deadline. He said he is waiting for the board’s attorney to give the reasons for the secrecy surrounding the Roskens’ firing. Charles Wright, the board’s attor ney, said he is in the process of as sembling information which has been requested by the board. He said when all the information has been re viewed, Hoch would make the deci sion about releasing it. Meyer said he does not think he should have to act at all, but that larger groups should be taking action against the regents. He said students should especially consider taking action. “Isn’t it strange that tuition and fees keep going up, and the board decides to pay someone for not doing a job?’’ he asked. “ A strong student leadership would file a suit.’’ Meyer said students should be collecting money and suing to see that $250,000 is not going to be spent paying Roskens for no longer being the university president. He also said the press should do something about the regents’ refusal to give reasons for Roskens’ firing. In a letter to Jim Raglin, manager of the Nebraska Press Association, Meyer asked the association’s help in learning “what was behind the pay ing of over $260,000 to a dismissed employee.” Raglin said he did not know if the association would take any action or not. “We go to court often for open meeting laws,” he said. “Any time public officials conduct business, it should be done in public.” Raglin said that since the regents’ action already had occurred, there was no need to act immediately to get them to disclose their reasons for fir ing Roskens. “I just don’t know if we will take any action or not yet,” he said. Attorney General Robert Spire said that although generally public See LETTER on Page 2 Burial remains returned By Cindy Wostrel Staff Reporter The University of Nebraska Lincoln will return skeletal remains and burial goods to the Omaha Indian Tribe in accordance with recently passed LB340, said John Wunder, Great Plains Studies director. LB340 allows Native Americans to reclaim skeletal remains and burial goods of their ancestors from public institutions and agencies. Dennis Hastings, tribal historian, said that while the tribe may study the burial goods, which probably date to the Spanish and French eras, it will rebury the skeletal remains. “They’ve been out long enough,’’ Hastings said. Wunder said he believes UNL has had the remains and burial goods since the 1930s, when they were unburied in northeastern Nebraska. Hastings said that in the 1930s, when the remains and burial goods were excavated, the archaeologists did not notify the Omaha Indians that they were unburying the remains and goods. At that time, Hastings said, the Nebraska State Historical Society and the university had reached a “gentleman’s agreement’’ in which all materials unburied in northeastern Nebraska would become the property of the university, and all materials found elsewhere would become the property of the State Historical Soci ety. Hastings said the institutions then hired other people to unbury the remains. Hastings said he was unable to find any record of scientific studies done on the remains. He said it’s ironic that they excavated the re mains without studying them. ‘ ’I think archaeologists should not get away with this,’’ Hastings said. ‘They need to be accountable.’’ Yet, Hastings said, he is not criti cizing the current officials. He said that since the 1930s, archaeologists, UNL and the State Historical Society have developed better relations with the Native Americans. Wunder said negotiations have See BURIAL on Page 4 ■ Al Schaban/Dally Nebraskan Elis© Buchman fishes a juggling pin out of Broyhill Fountain Friday afternoon as her partner, Tom Gellatiy, sneaks up behind her. The two jugglers from the Omaha Emmy Gifford Children’s Theater were only part of the entertainment at the honorary dinner for trustees of the Cedars Home for Children.
