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
■ '
