Sandra Spanier happy to be back at PSU
By Kathryn A. Ratliff
Staff Reporter '.
When her husband accepted a po
sition as President of Penn State Uni
versity last spring, Sandra Spanier
knew she’d be returning to a familiar
community brimming with memories.
Spanier, a former English instruc
tor at the University of Nebraska-Lin
coln and the wife of former chancellor
Graham Spanier, received both of her
master’s degrees from Penn State.
Now, she has returned to her alma
mater — not as a student, but as an
instructor, teaching two American
Literature courses this spring.
“It’s fun to come back to a situation
where former professors are now col
leagues,” Spanier said from her home
in University Park, Penn.
Spanier moved with her family to
Pennsylvania only twoand a halfweeks
ago, she said. But in that time, she has
already started to become reacquainted
with old friends and former students
from her days as a public school
teacher.
“The community is familiar in many
ways and has changed in many ways,”
she said. “It has grown so much.”
Spanier said she interviewed at
Penn State a week and a half after her
husband accepted his presidential ap
pointment March 23, and she accepted
the position shortly afterward.
Now Spanier said she was excited
to continue her growth as a scholar at
Penn State.
“I’m so glad to be part of a depart
ment that’s growing,” Spanier said.
“This is a nice opportunity, a chal
lenge and a fine university that I have
some ties to.”
Robert Secor, English department
chairman at Penn State, said he was
thrilled to have Spanier as part of his
faculty.
“Her addition is terrific for us,” he
said. “She is an excellent teacher.”
But Spanier said she also missed
the UNL English department, being
close to her family and the Lincoln
community.
“I’m so glad to be part of a department that’s
growing. This is a nice opportunity, a challenge
and a fine university that I have some ties to. ”
SANDRA SPANIER
English professor at Penn State University
Spanier has taught American Lit
erature courses at both UNL and Or
egon State University. She specializes
in American ex-patriot writers of
1920s Paris, such as Ernest
Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and
Kay Boyle.
In fact, Spanier is considered an
authority on Kay Boyle, and has re
ceived a fellowship from the National
Endowment for the Humanities to
work on creating a book of Boyle’s
collected letters.
She plans to work on the book this
fall at Penn State, she said. It is a
research project she began while in
Nebraska.
Last January, before her husband
was even a candidate for the presi
dency, Penn State administrators in
vited Spanier to give a spring speech
on Kay Boyle.
During her time there, she said, the
nature of her visit changed from guest
speaker to job candidate.
“Sandra does such interesting
work,” Secor said. “And I’ve said this
before, If I could ever hire a col
league, I’d hire someone like Sandra
Spanier.”
“I’m pleased that things have
worked out so well,” Spanier said. “I
was very warmly welcomed.”
Regents approve
items for UNO,
Medical Center
From Staff Reports
Although the NU Board of Re
gents set aside its meeting Satur
day to address tuition alternatives,
it took time to approve personnel
and business items, for UNO and
UNMC.
For the University of Nebraska
at Omaha, the regents:
•Appointed Don Leahy as ath
letics director at the University of
Nebraska at Omaha.
•Adjusted the salary and title of
interim deans John Flocken, col
lege of arts and sciences, and Judith
Watanabe, college of business ad
ministration. ,
•Approved a leave of absence
without pay for Lydia Dwine, asso
ciate professor at the school of
Health, Physical Education and
Recreation.
For the University of Nebraska
Medical Center, the regents:
•Approved a leave of absence
without pay for Donald
Leuenberger, vice chancellor for
business and finance. Leuenberger
was appointed by Gov. Ben Nelson
to direct the Nebraska Department
of Social Services. -
•Approved the renaming of
South Hall to the Lawrence Bennett
Hall. Bennett taught at UNMC in
1934 as an assistant professor in
the physiology and pharmacology
department. In 1972, he became
professor emeritus of physiology
and biophysics.
The board also went into closed
session to discuss a lawsuit against
the university. No details of the
litigation were revealed.
Regents
Continued from Page 1
the people who were shut out to at
least have access to an education.
“This is the equity of the whole
society,” he said, “not just of the uni
versity.”
While the dinner analogy discour
ages overconsumption, Regent Drew
Miller said educational overconsump
tion could be positive.
Sludents should base their educa
tion on what is best for them, Miller
said, not on their tuition bill.
As more students pay for their own
education, Karelis said, they will be
more concerned about how the classes
they take today affect their tomorrow.
But Interim Chancellor Joan Leitzel
said she suspected tuition would in
fluence a student’s choice.
“Students are not sophisticated
consumers,” she said.
Miller said students, especially un
dergraduates, should be allowed to
treat themselves to a smorgasbord.
“You want to encourage people to
sample everything,” he said. “It’s more
advantageous.”
James Griesen, vice chancellor for
student affairs, said differential tu
ition would be difficult to put to work
at the lower undergraduate levels.
“At the lower levels, instruction is
much more common than different,”
he said. “Freshmen take the same
rounded classes.”
When students are secure with their
majors, he said, they would be wise
enough to see the return on their in
vestment. As a result, he said, cost
would be less of a factor.
NU already charges more for gradu
ate and professional studies, and puts
extra fees on some classes, said Re
gent Charles Wilson of Lincoln, but
that is the extent of differential tuition.
“Where do we go now?” he asked.
“I don’t think Nebraska is ready to
make this step.”
Some universities already use dif
ferential tuition, Karelis said, but it is
up to each university to decide the
time for change.
According to President Dennis
Smith, the NU system is ready for
change — of some kind.
“Cost pressures will worsen,” he
said. “We can’t continue to raise tu
ition, and there’s no doubt we have to
look at alternatives.
“Whether these are the ones or not,
I don’t know.” v