--
—
! Department
facing ax
supported
by letters
By Jeremy Fitzpatrick
Senior Reporter
The proposed elimination of the depart
ment of speech communication has
evoked an outpouring of letters aimed at
saving the department.
Bill Seiler, chairman of the department, said
his office has received copies of letters that
colleges, professional or- RMnOFT
gamzations, citizens and DUUVJCJ
University of Ncbraska
Lincoln faculty have sent
to UNL administrators voic
ing concern about the pro
posed cuts.
The speech communication department was
slated to be cut in budget-cutting proposals
submitted by the Chancellor Sept. 9 to the
Budget Reduction Review Committee. Last
spring, the Nebraska Legislature mandated cuts
of 3 percent over the next two years in UNL’s
budget.
Members of speech communication depart
ments from about 48 colleges have sent copies
of letters, Seiler said.
Northwestern University, Ohio State Uni
versity, Cornell University, Purdue University,
the University of Southern California, all Big 8
and Big 10 schools and many others have sent
letters supporting speech communication pro
grams, he said.
Seiler said he also has received letters of
support from the Teachers College, the Law
College, the departments of civil and electrical
engineering, the English, history, modem lan
guages, theater, geography and geology de
partments at UNL.
In addition, he has received about 102 let
ters from concerned parents, letters from some
slate senators and a letter from Ted Sorensen, a
UNL graduate and a former speech writer for
President John Kennedy.
Seiler said the letters he had only accounted
for those people who sent him a copy when
they sent them to UNL administrators. More
letters had probably been sent, he said.
“It’s heartwarming to know that many people
think what you are doing is important,” he said.
The letters aic important, Seiler said, be
cause they show the BRRC that there is a wide
base of support for speech communication.
William Lauer/DN
Robert McGeorge, an assistant professor of law, will travel to Warsaw, Poland, in mid-October on a federal grant.
‘Middle-agedcrazy’ , nj^L
Law professor continues stressful life as educator, trade expert \
By Lori Huff
Staff Reporter
The name on the door reads Robert
McGeorgc. The man himself, how
ever, may be hard to find under- .
neath all the paperwork.
But there he sits, arms folded, with a
calm smile and a re
laxed demeanor.
McGeorgc is an as
sistant professor of law
and the executive di
rector of the Center for
International Trade
Policy at the Univer
sity of Nebraska-Lincoln. He said it was a
“variation of middle-aged crazy” that
brought him here.
And, he said, it will take a dose of
“old-aged crazy” to drive him away.
Three years ago, McGcorgc and his
family moved here from Washington D.C.
There he had a private legal practice that
thrived for 15 years before he decided that
he needed to move on.
“I never envisioned that 1 would be
doing the same thing all my life,”
McGcorgc said. “When you get to be 40,
you realize it’s time to do something with
your life. I was offered a job that I felt I
was ideally suited for and I look it.”
McGcorgc grew up in El Paso, Texas,
and later attended the University of New
Mexico as an undergraduate. He began
college as an architecture student but one
year later transferred out of architecture.
“I really liked it, but it was a very diffi
cult field, and I had to think in terms of
what I was able to do,” McGcorgc said.
He transferred to the business college
and graduated in 1967. In 1971,
1 McGcorgc graduated from the Jaw college
at the University of New Mexico.
“The intermingling *of business and law
helped me a great deal,” he said.
The.combination helped McGcorgc to
establish himself in private practice in
Washington D.C., where travel was an
important part of his job, he said.
“When I was in private practice, I had
a fair amount of travel to places like
Nigeria, Taiwan and China, but (lawyers)
don’t travel as much as people think we
do,” he said. “Travel is a lot less glamor
ous than people think it is.”
McGcorgc’s desire for a slower pace
brought him to Nebraska.
But, he said, “1 enjoyed the Washing
ton practice. I wasn’t driven from it, I was
pulled to another opportunity.” *
See MCGEORGE on 6
Administrators,regents sued by ex-employee
By Michael Hannon
Staff Reporter
former university employee
is suing UNL administrators
and the University of Nebraska
Board of Regents on grounds of dis
crimination.
According to the complaint filed
in U.S. District Court, John C. White,
the former exhibits supervisor at the
University of Nebraska State Museum,
was wrongfully fired on the basis of
his dyslexia.
In the complaint, dyslexia is de
fined as difficulty in written commu
nication.
According to thccomplaint, White
is entitled to protection under the
Equal Opportunity for Individuals with
Disabilities Act.
The complaint states that White
performed his duties “at a satisfac
tory or belter level,” and that While
informed museum director Hugh
Genoways about his dyslexia before
he accepted the position.
In a letter to White, Genoways
staled that While was fired for “ina
bility to perform as required.”
The defendants named in the
complaint were Genoways, Interim
Chancellor Jack Goebel, Director of
Operations Analysis Paul Carlson,
Director of Human Resources Bruce
Currin and the NU Board of Regents.
The complaint charges that White
was denied due process by Goebel,
Carlson and Currin, who turned down
the grievances filed by White after he
was fired.
In the suit. White is seeking the
return of his position, back pay, lost
benefits, attorney’s fees, compensa
lory damages of 550,000 or more and
exemplary damages of 550,000 or
more.
White was employed at the Uni
versity of Nebraska State Museum
from Oct. 5,1989, until he was fired
Feb. 27,1991.
The complaint stated that White
has had 16 years of experience in
museum exhibit design.
John Wiltsc, associate general
counsel to the University of Nebraska,
said he has yet to respond to the
complaint.
The Soviet Union responds
to weapons cut proposals. Page
Hog heaven.
Page 7. 0V0
The Huskers win over the
Jayhawks. Page 15.
'NDEX . 2 -
Opinion 4
Diversions 7
Sports 15
Classifieds 17
• • ' .1FWT
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•, ■, ■
UNL code violations decline
By Kara Morrison
Staff Reporter
The decline in the number of students vio
lating the Student Code of Conduct at
the University of Nebraska-Lincoln may
not necessarily be a good thing, a UNL official
said.
Linda Schwartzkopf, director of Student
Judicial Affairs, said she hopes that numbers
will continue to decline only if the smaller
numbers mean that fewer students are commit
ting violations.
“I hope that the declining numbers are not
just an indication that fewer of the infractions
are being reported,” she said.
With the exception of 1989, numbers of
^>tudent violations have decreased steadily,
according to Judicial Affairs reports.
Schwartzkopf could not speculate on the
reason for a significant increase in 1988-89,
when violations jumped to 495, more than
double the year before.
She said that a decline in enrollment could
possibly account for the declining trend in
recent years.
The Student Judicial Affairs office takes
formal complaints from faculty, students and
$ee VIOLATION on6