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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 25, 1994)
Inside Thursday COVERING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA SINCE 1901 VOL. 94 NO. 5 Sports ■ NU setter aims to lead Huskers, Page 15 Arts & Entertainment ■ Art professor internationally known, Page 18 PAGE 2: Cuban refugees turned away August 25, 1994 Lied search for director almost over By Brian Sharp Senior Repuilor After four months, the search for a new director of the Lied Center for Performing Arts should be decided in the next week to 10 days, officials said. Herb Howe, associate chancellor of theUniversityofNebraska-Lincoln.said the screening committee met withChan cellor Graham Spanier for 1 1/2 hours Monday morning. The committee presented Spanier with four candidates narrowed from a list of seven or eight received from the search firm Management Consultant for the Arts, Howe said. The candidates presented to Spanier were: • Bill Cook, recently at the Wcxncr Center at Ohio State University, where he served as associate director and then interim director. • Michael Goldberg, director of the University of Wisconsin at Madison Art Center. • David Lcvenson, director of the Performing Arts Center at Brooklyn College. • Bruce Marquis.dircctorof the arts center at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. “These arc all highly experienced arts administrators,” Howe said. “The people that we got were all quality candidates. It was a real challenge to , bring it down to those four.” The search firm, hired in April, was the same used in hiring past director Robert Chumblcy five years ago. Chumbley accepted the executive position at the Fine Arts Center at the State University of New York in Buffa lo. Nine people made up the screening committee, Howe said, with represen tatives from Friends of the Lied, the Lied Advisory Board, Educational Tele vision and the University Foundation. Others were a student, two faculty mem bers, Howe and one of the original chairmen from the committee that raised money to build the Lied. Members evaluated candidates on their interest in involving students and the acadcm ic commun i ty, abil ity in pro gramming to provide a broad base of experiences and fiscal responsibility, Howe said, a new one,” he said. Spanicr said he and Howe would be evaluating the information that the search committee provided, as well as feedback from three dozen others who met with the candidates. Those reac tions came from people involved in the See DIRECTOR on 14 Under the big top Jeff Haller/DN Maiic Oliver Gebel takes a look at his eiephants as he waves to the crowd at Omaha Civic Auditorium. Gebel and his Prestigious Pact of Pachyderms performed Tuesday and Wednesday nights for the Ringling Bros, and Barnum & Bailey Circus. See photos and story on page 19. Commission chooses executive director Midwestern work of David Powers touted as benefit By Rebecca Pitmans Staff Reporter The Nebraska Coordinating Com mission for Postsccondary Education unanimously elected David Powers on Wednesday as the commission’s new executive director. Powers, executive director of the Minnesota Higher Education Coordi nating Board since 1989, also has served as senior vice chancellor of the West Virginia Board of Regents. “We are fortunate to have a person of his expertise, reputation, talent, and willingness and excitement to come to Nebraska,” said Eric Scacrest, chair man of the four-member search com mittee. The commission met through a vid eo conference to finalize Powers’ elec tion. Scacrest said the committee was impressed by all four finalists and the decision to hire Powers was not an easy one. “But Powers is bringing a great deal of talent and enthusiasm to this job,” Seacrcst said. The committee also said Powers’ familiarity with Midwestern issues and concerns would be beneficial. The commission was enacted by the Nebraska Legislature to assure there is no duplication of higher education pro grams in the state universities and col leges. Powers’ salary will be about$95,000. -u IVe are fortunate to have a person of his expertise, reputation, talent, and willingness and excitement to come to Nebraska. — Seacrest chairman of the four member search committee. -1» He will be reimbursed for moving costs up to $ 10,000. He will begin his job as director in October. “That’s similar to what most of the final ists were asking for,” Seacrcst said. Powers said in a letter to the commis sion that Nebraska had solid academic institutions in place with good leader ship. He said that the sectors and leaders of higher education in Nebraska know that they have to make coordination work. “I will try to help the commission be a catalyst in making it work", Powers said. Now that the search is over, the commission will start reviewing it's comprehensive plan, said Patsy Martin, commission spokeswoman. Martin said that the commission asked Bruce Stahl, the current execu tive director, to remain on until mid October when Powers will assume re sponsibility. Volunteer discovers miracles endure in Bosnian misery By DeDraJanssen Staff Reporter Abbas AJi believes in miracles. During a recent yearlong slay in Bosnia, Ali said miracles continually saved his life. “It happened to me many times,” he said. Ali, a graduate student in mechanical engineering at the University of Nebraska Lincoln, spent a year in Bosnia starting in late 1992 as part of a volunteer relief cfTort called the Benevolence International Foundation. He also volunteered for the Lincoln-based Al-Nasr International Organization, another relief group in Bosnia. In early 1994, he returned to Bosnia for one month as a volunteer for those organizations. Ali’s work there included opening clinics, managing refugee camps, transporting supplies and moving people from dangerous areas to safe areas. It definitely look a miracle to transport food and people to and from Bosnia, he said. “The main problem is transportation,” Ali said. “Roads are closed. It’s a big problem to take food from one city to another. “A lot of people arc trapped. It’s very difficult to leave and go into Bosnia. It’s almost impossible.” Thai’s why it takes a miracle. For example, Ali said, once when he and a friend were moving two others to Bosnia, officials stopped them at a cheek post. “I told them some blah-blah story,” he said. “I told them in a couple hours, I’d come back.” The officials counted the number of people in the car and let Ali proceed, he said. Determined to complete his mission, Ali left two of his passengers in Bosnia. As he ap proached the same check post on his way back with fewer passengers, Ali said he didn’t know what to do. “I didn’t know what to tell them,” he said. “I was thinking, ‘Oh God, it’s up to you. I’ve done my job.!' When Ali was stopped at the check post, two war planes suddenly (lew over, diverting the officials’ attention from him, he said. “Everybody started looking, and I was free logo.” Ali, who moved to Lincoln from Pakistan four years ago, said he went to Bosnia because so many people there needed help. “It’s a very different world,” he said. “The situation is bad.’’ See BOSNIA on 7 r.OSMA ON Graphic