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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 5, 1993)
inds on the campus of what is now epresents sometimes feel as k UNL or the (University of Nebraska Medical Center) can shave their bud gets through reduced research, and it won'taffect the students all thaimuch. But money here is going to end up coming out of classes, teachers’ sala ries and so on. “These cuts are going to hurt us much worse than people seem to real ize.” McCully said the impending bud get cuts could be devastating to UNK. “If the senators on the Appropria tions Committee would take a look at the actual numbers,” McCully said, “they’d see that we have a legitimate argument for not being included in the across-the-board cuts. But the real question is, why should we be spared cuts? “I guess if we’re going to reap the benefits of being part of the NU sys tem, we’re going to have to learn to take a kick in the pants now and then too.” Slock said he didn’t have any spe cific plans to combat the cuts, but that he and other UNK students would attend the committee hearing next Tuesday at the Legislature, where concerns will be voiced from admin istrators, faculty, staff and students from all four NU campuses. “I guess at this point, all we can really do is make sure we’re heard,” he said. ~ x: McCully said he believed the big gest problem facing UNK was its demographics. “We’re all the way out here, two hours from Lincoln and the central administration!and it seems like we’re kind of forgotten,” he said. “Heck, some people sti 11 don ’ t know we’re no longer Kearney State College.” - By Jeff Zeleny Senior Reporter Kearney —unk admin * istrators say they have no . regrets about joining the University of Nebraska system, even though massive proposed budget cuts loom over the institution. Chancellor William Nestersaidhe was completely content with the Uni versity of Nebraska at Kearney since its transition from Kearney State Col lege in July 1991. “We were a university without a name prior to the decision,” Nester said. “Integration into the university was almost flawless.” If the proposed $13.98 million in NU budget cuts are approved, UNK will take a $1 million hit. The cut would be devastating to UNK, Nester said. Programs would not only be cut but eliminated, he said. About 30 upper-level faculty positions would be eliminated to com ply with the cuts. Faculty members already arc re quired to teach 12 hours a semester, said Gene Kocpke, vice chancellor for academic affairs. Some faculty j ii as 9 £• ><A r . Wfe ’ll take whole programs, rather than weaken existing programs. ® ^ J ’a #,lf .BFV ^ ^ . JC_. W j4m|M ^ —Koepke UNK vice chancellor for academic affairs *msterS als° advise up 10 70 sl“ oth'f„endre Programs were cut, and Others reduced, tl would increase an than weake^rw0 programs>rather look at v«*VC ,nvokc a Process to i2Sf£2f,tty 0f P^rams (to cause tonal prS"l0fdama8C“c<lu“' finan^? take p|ace, Koepke sard a £t UNK ™ CrgCncy wil1 “ declared facuto'<,?!? emcrgcncy will involve AH wdi haaCntS and ^ministration. »kL i have ,nPul »n finding where done 3Sl amount of t^mage would be Koepke would not comment on which programs might be cut. Nester said the NU budget needed to be supplemented, not reduced. UNK is suffering from nearly a decade of not enough funding. To compensate for the lack of fund ing and rising costs, tuition has gone up lOperccntannually since Kearney State College was granted university status, said Earl Rademacher, vice chancellor for business and finance. Tuition is now $49.75 per credit hour. “It’s not that our students are pay ing a higher tuition percentage than other campuses,” Rademacher said. Housing rates have increased 4.6 percent, he said, but the rates still are William Neater, chancellor of the University of Nebraska at . , Kearney, said UNK’s integration into the NU system was “almost flawless." lower than other colleges and univer sities. The benefits of being part of the university system far outweigh the budget-cutting threats, Rademacher said. Being part of a university system makes faculty recruiting easier be cause of name recognition, Koepke said. Nester agreed. The university title opened the door to a campus-wide emphasis on teach ing, he said. “It tells the faculty member that ‘this is the place to be,’” Nester said. Another benefit of being in the NU system is the objectivity shown by the NU Board of Regents and the central administration, Nester said. “We’re very pleased with the re sponse of central administration,” he said. Koepke agreed and said UNK was treated better than other NU cam puses. “From the first day, we were taken into the university, we were treated fairly and as equals,” Koepke said. I By Chuck Green Senior Reporter 1/^ EARNEY — In the summer of 1991, the marriage of Kearney State College and the University of Nebraska changed the lives of almost 9,000 administra tors, faculty, staff and students. - _ A year and a half later, many of the students are questioning whether it was for better or for worse. With impending budget cuts and growing restraints orr student activi ties from the NU administration, some studentsatthe University of Nebraska at Kearney arc beginning to wonder who their friends are outside their city. Or if they have any. Many students were concerned that UNK’s inclusion in the NU system would mean more budget cuts for the school — budget cuts that would be ill-afforded to an institution that al ready trails all other NU campuses in funding. Kris Van Egan, a senior political science major from Grand Island, said she thought budget cuts would be aimed primarily at UNK. “I think because we’re the new kids on the block, we’re going to get hit hard,” Van Egan said. “I don’t think the rest of the schools (in the NU system) have a lot of respect for us, like we’re not really a university or something, and I think that will show when it comes lime to make the cuts.’’ The Legislature’s Appropriations Committee has proposed a $14 mil lion cut for the NU system’s budget. Van Egan, who expects to gradu ate next December, said she had not considered transferring to another campus, although she worried that budget cuts could keep her at UNK longer than anticipated. “I just hope I can get all the classes I need next fall so I don’t get stuck here longer,” she said. Jim Stauffer, a senior English ma jor from Kearney, said he also wor ried about what effects the budget cuts would have on UNK. He also questioned whether the school had benefited from becoming part of the NU system. “I don’t see any cyidcncc that it’s benefited os,” Stauffer said. “Our tu ition is going up fast and they’re taking money away from us even faster. “I’m not sure if we would be belter off now if we were still Kearney State College, but it seems like they de cided to fix something that was work ing just fine.” Brad James, a sophomore art ma jor from Lincoln, said that although he was still in high school when Kearney State merged with NU, he could tell things had changed on cam pus. “I’ve heard about how things used to be here before we joined the uni versity,” James said. “It’s not that everything is that much different, I. guess, but it’s like we don’t have as much say in what we do and don’t do anymore. “All the decisions come from the top.” James said he didn’t know if stu dents and faculty at other campuses in the NU system respected UNK. “I don’t know if we’re respected or not... but we already have budget problems,” he said. “If we have to take more cuts, we’re all going to be in a fix. Culling what little we have will hurl quite a bit, I-think.” --- - - - ■-»-■■■■■ -- • ‘ »^ -- —.. .Jt ..^ ! a ■ ■ Members of the UNK Antelope basketball team practice Tuesday in Cushing Coliseum. Photos by Robin Trimarchi ■ '