January 25, 1994
University of Nebraska-Li
■4 SPORTS
Tigers Snarl
Nebraska
Missouri uses an early
second-half run to
blast past the
Comhuskers 89-73
Monday night.
Page5
Tuesday
21/5
Today cloudy and
colder...
Vol. 93 No. 89
Nelson stresses record in election bid
Republicans say
leadership lacking
By Jeffrey Robb
Senior Editor __
Gov. Ben Nelson kicked off his re-elec
tion bid Monday by stressing his record
during the past three years in office and
challenging his opponents to match it.
Speaking from the Governor’s Mansion,
Nelson said he and Lieutenant Governor candi
date Kim Robak wanted to build on his admin
istration’s success.
Nelson said his record spoke for itself. His
opponents, he said, didn’t have the gubernato
rial records to fall back on and could tell only
what they could do in a given situation.
The other declared candidates for the No
vember election are Republicans Alan Jacobsen,
Gene Spence and Ralph Knobel. Nelson is the
only Democrat in the race to date.
Former Gov. Frank Morrison, who intro
duced Nelson, said the governor had not prac
ticed strictly Democratic politics. He said Nelson
wasn’t afraid to be non-partisan, even to the
point of appointing a Republican to the Nebras
ka Legislature.
“It’s all right to drink of the Republican
River. It’s all right to bathe in the Republican
River. But don’t let it drown you,” Morrison
said.
Nelson said he wanted to make the state work
for everyone.
“I’ve listened to the voices of all Nebras
kans,” Nelson said.
Nelson said he succeeded in controlling the
budget. He cited a $ 100 million budget cut and
a decrease in the number of state employfees
from one year ago.
He also said he listened to the request for an
income tax cut, and he provided it for 40,000
Nebraskans.
Nelson said the improvements during his
administration helped the state’s economy —
Nebraska has 16,000 more jobs than in 1990.
The market for the state’s products also has
Gerik Parmele/DN
Gov. Bon Nelson and his wife. Diane, are Greeted bv a crowd of »»innnrtora at tho Governor’s mansion.
Nelson, who announced his bid for re-election Monday, said the state could build on the success it has already
achieved.
expanded. Nelson said Nebraska beef was now
being sold to Israel and Taiwan, and more beef
was going to Japan. The grain market, through
the demand for ethanol, is growing. He said
$500 million worth of ethanol-plant construc
tion was in the works.
Nelson said his administration also created
enterprise zones, helped existing business to
grow and recruited new business to the state.
Nelson said Nebraska streets had been made
safer through his administration. Drug arrests
have doubled while law-enforcement officials
have seized $122 million worth of drugs and
$1.5 million in cash from drug offenders.
The state has made much progress, the gov
ernor said — progress that would serve as
See NELSON on 3
Engineering debate persists
Editor’s note: Today begins a
three-part series in which the
Dailv N ebraskan looks at the con
tinuing debate among NU offi
cials on whether to add an engi
neering college, separate from
UNL’s, to the University of Ne
braska at Omaha, v
By Matthew Waite
Senior Reporter
On Aug. 10, 1993, before
the fall semester began, a
debate started that may
have pitted two NU campuses
against each other.
The issue, discussed at a meet
ing that day by private business
interests in Omaha, was about ac
cess to engineer
ing education.
The group, led by
Omaha business
man David
Sokol, wanted a
separate college
ofengineeringat
the University of
Nebraska at
Omaha.
DEBATE
In September, Regent Rosemary
Skrupa of Omaha presented a draft
resolution to the University of Ne
braska Board of Regents proposing
the establishment of a separate, in
dependent engineering college in
Omaha.
The board didn’t immediately
act on Skrupa’s resolution. Instead,
the board hired four consultants to
study engineering education in
Nebraska.
Those events were the official
history of the debate, according to
Stan Liberty, dean of the University
of Nebraska-Lincoln
At a cost of $25,000—a bargain
according to Skrupa—the regents
hired as consultants, Donald
Langenberg, chancellor of the Uni
versity of Maryland system; James
Halligan, president of New Mexico
State University; Charles James,
dean of the College of Engineering
and Applied Science at the Univer
sity oi Wisconsin-Milwaukee; and
John Christian, vice president of
Stone and Webster Engineering
Corporation.
Liberty said his contact with the
consultants had been limited. His
office has provided them basic in
formation—budgets, enrollments,
faculty credentials and other stud
ies, he said.
“We do not disagree over ex
panding opportunities in Omaha,”
Liberty said. “I have not taken the
stand that the independent college
is out of the question.
“I have stated unequivocally that
there is no justifiable rationale for
shutting down the Lincoln opera
tion and moving the resources to
Omaha."
The problem is funding for the
college, Liberty said. He said mon
ey available for engineering educa
tion in Nebraska was low compared
to other states.
Funds for engineering were be
low those in Iowa, Soutn Dakota,
Colorado, Wyoming and Kansas,
Liberty said. To be on a level of
funding with Kansas, whose bud
get is closest to UNL’s, Liberty
said, $1.9 million would have to be
Engineering debate timeline
►Officials on both sides
agree the UNO Engineering
College should be expanded.
► Regent Rosemary Skrnpa
said money was not an issue,
UNL Dean of Engineering
Stan Liberty said otherwise.
► Businessman David Sokol
said Omaha businesses
would pick up most of the
estimated $2 to $3 million tab
for the college.
Wcdncirisy, the Daly Nebraskan
wM explore the effects of the
debate on the "one university
DN graphic
added to the program.
He said there "Wild be three
ways to fund the additional college
— increased taxes, increased tax
base or reallocating funds from
within the university. The resourc
es were not there to be reallocated,
he said, and the tax burden already
is too high.
Skrupa said the money issue
didn't hold water.
“They always raise the issue of
money when there is no legitimate
argument to fall back on," she said.
“You don’t look at the money, you
look at the need."
Skrupa, who called the money
issue the bogeyman, said outside
financial support from Omaha busi
nesses, reallocating funds and reas
See ENGINEERING on 3
U N L teaching method
might be duplicated
By Paula Lavigne
Senior Reporter
The University of Nebraska
Lincoln could be selected to
take part in a 12-university
network program to assess and im
prove teaching methods.
Joan Leitzel, senior vice chancel
lor for academic affairs, said UNL
officials anticipated inclusion in the
American Association for Higher
Education list to be announced Fri
day.
Leitzel said UNL expressed an in
terest in the program and submitted its
reasoning for the AAHE’s approval.
“We said UNL was a strong teach
ing university,” Leitzel said. “We have
already attracted two grants from the
U.S. Department of Education’s Fund
for the Improvement of Secondary
Education.”
Leitzel said the grants had elevated
< UNL to national recognition in the
field of improvements in teaching.
Having UNL linked to the program
would be a source of prestige, she said.
“We’d be pretty pleased to be iden
-u
Not that we think we
know all the answers.
We have things to
share with our peer
universities.
— Leitzel,
senior vice chancellor
-99
ti ficd,” she said. “Not that we think we
know all the answers. We have things
to share with our peer universities.”
Leitzel said grants received by the
AAHE would go to fund the program.
She said the grants would go in part to
finance travel expenses for faculty
members to attend a summer confer
ence at Stanford University.
Four public universities, four pri
vate uni versities and four comprehen
sive universities will be chosen for the
program.
See NETWORK on 3
Bj orklund hearing delayed
From Staff Reports
A hearing for Roger Bjorklund
was postponed Monday after
he refused to appear in
Lancaster County District Court be
cause of an upset stomach.
Lancaster County Attorney Gary
Lacey said the hearing would be de
layed until today at 9 a.m.
During the hearing, Judge Donald
Endacott will consider motions filed
by Bjorklund and his attorney, Chief
Deputy Public Defender Scott Helvie.
Bjorklund was convicted in No
vember of murdering University of
Nebraska-Lincoln freshman Candice
Harms. His sentencing hearing is
scheduled for March 7;
