Senators hear arguments
for school-incentive aid
■ Unicameral Education
Committee considers
money for good teachers,
and assistance for schools.
By Brian Carlson
Staff writer
The Legislature’s Education
Committee on Monday heard bills pro
viding incentives for schools that hire
highly qualified educators and adjust
ing the cost-per-pupil factor to assist
small schools hurt by changes in school
finance.
LB646, sponsored by Sen. Ron
Raikes of Lincoln, would provide pro
fessional-staff-incentive aid for schools
that hire highly qualified educators.
Schools would be eligible for addition
al state aid based on the amount of
experience and number of advanced
degrees among faculty members.
Jim Griess, executive director of the
Nebraska State Education Association,
said schools too often must hire die best
teacher who could be hired most cheap
ly. To continue attracting outstanding
educators and providing quality educa
tion, the state must provide financial
incentives, he said.
“If we can’t, high school graduates
will choose other careers, and teachers
college graduates will go ter other
states,” he said. “We must address this
critical problem now if we are to attract
and retain the brightest and best into the
teaching profession.”
A1 Inzerello of Westside
Community Schools said the bill would
allow schools to innovate as they
attempted to meet new educational
challenges.
“This has the potential to do a lot of
good things for education,” he said.
LB668, sponsored by Sen. Bob
Wickersham of Harrison, would adjust
the cost-per-pupil ratio for schools with
250 to 900 students under the state’s
adjusted formula.
Smaller schools face greater per
pupil costs, putting a squeeze on many v
districts, Wickersham said.
“This impinges hardest on schools
with under 900 pupils,” he said.
Brad Cabrera, superintendent of
Sutton Public Schools, said his school
system would see a sharp drop in state
funding in coming years unless a bill
like LB668 were passed.
“Next year, my concern is that the
cuts we’re going to have to make are
going to harm our students,” he said.
Jack Moles, superintendent of
Nemaha Valley Schools, said his school
system had provided quality education
but needed increased state funding to
deal with high per-pupil costs.
“By passing LB668, the
Legislature would make a strong state
ment in support of rural schools,” he
said.
In other Education Committee
action Monday:
■ The committee advanced the
Student Freedom of Expression Act to
die floor on a 5-4 vote. The bill would
allow high school students greater free
dom of expression in school publica
tions, allowing only their adviser to edit
material.
■ The committee heard LB329,
which would end the requirement that
school districts provide information
about the parental-notification law for
minors seeking abortions. Instead,
school districts would be required to
post a toll-free telephone number to the
Department of Health and Human
Services; students could call this num
ber to receive information on the
parental-notification law.
Management department
ranks among top 52 in nation
ByIeva Augstums
Senior staff writer
The* many hours students spent
waiting in line trying to override into
UNL College of Business
Administration’s management class
es may have been worth it, manage
ment department faculty members
said.
The college’s management
department has just been ranked
among the top 52 in the nation.
“This recognition will be great for
us,” said University of Nebraska
Lincoln Management Department
Chairman Sang Lee. “And it will help
us attract excellent undergraduates,
because people pay attention to this
kind of thing.”
UNL’s management department
was listed among 31 departments
nationwide as “middle status,” for
overall course instruction, faculty
research publications and graduation
and doctoral student recruitment
rates.
Twenty-one schools were classi
fied as high status, while 53 schools
were classified as low status.
Out of hundreds of top universi
ties, 105 met the study criteria, which
was published in the December issue
of the prestigious Academy of
Management Journal.
The study compiled 18 different
studies regarding college deans’ and
department chairmen’s perceptions
and the reputation of faculty mem
bers, as well as faculty research in
top-tier publications.
Two of UNL’s peer institutions,
Ohio State University and the
University of Illinois at Champaign
Urbana, were placed in the high-sta
tus group.
The university’s remaining peers,
except for the University of Colorado
at Boulder, which was placed in the
low-status group, were placed in the
middle group.
Fred Luthans, George Holmes
Distinguished Professor of
Management, said UNL’s placement
was superior, even when compared to
its peer institutions.
“The schools rated above us have
an advantage,” Luthans said. “They
are at least twice as big as we are, and
they have twice as many faculty.”
Lee agreed.
“Our management department is
one of the best among state universi
ties,” he said. “I believe our rating is
accurate.”
Luthans said the department
would continue to expand its scope
from a local and regional level to
national and international levels.
The recent ranking would help, he
said.
“The key here is the value added
to our university and the students at
Nebraska,” Luthans said. “We want a
quality program for everyone, univer
sitywide.”
At the beginning of the semester
the department saw a large increase in
students wanting to take management
information systems courses.
Management information sys
tems courses teach students how to
make an organization, like Microsoft,
for example, more effective and
responsive through information tech
nology. The college has about 400
management majors, with hundreds
of CBA students taking management
courses every semester.
Students who finish the manage
ment program usually receive five to
seven job offers and have a beginning
salary of $60,000 or more per year
after graduating, he said.
“It’s good publicity for the college
and the university,” Lee said. “The
ranking is something to be proud
about.”
fcfc
The schools<mted above us have an
advantage. They are at least twice as big as
we are and they have twice as many faculty
Fred Luthans
management professor
Questions? Comments?
Ask for the appropriate section editor at (402) 472-2588
or e-mail dn@uni.edu.
THE DAILY NEBRASKAN
r . , _ \
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a * ' ;
Week’s events observe
women’s history month
■ Programs will include
speakers, workshops and
an art display.
By Veronica Daehn
Staff writer
Starting Monday, women at the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln will
get an entire week all to themselves.
Women’s Week,* a week chosen to
celebrate March as National
Women’s Month, began Monday and
runs through Friday.
Tolandra Coleman, Women’s
Center resources coordinator, said
' events were planned for all five days.
“I’m truly excited for every event
we’re going to have,” Coleman said.
A women’s faculty reception was
held Monday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in
the Nebraska Union Heritage room.
“Not only do we celebrate stu
dents, but also faculty,” Coleman
said. “We wanted to say thank you to
the women faculty.”
A panel discussion by women in
nontraditional occupations will be
held today from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in
the Nebraska Union Heritage room.
Titled “Glass Ceilings and Sticky
Floors,” the discussion will center on
ways women can break the barriers
that prevent them from advancing in
society, Coleman said.
Panel members will include an
architect, engineer, computer pro
grammer, funeral director, fire fight
er and truck driver.
Another discussion will be held
Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Nebraska
Union Auditorium titled “Becoming
the Womyn We Admire.”
Coleman said two of the featured
speakers will be Venita Kelley, pro
fessor of communications and
African American studies at UNL,
and Francine Blythe, a woman active
in both the performing arts and
American Indian community
“Venita is a dynamic speaker and
a dynamic woman,” Coleman said.
“Raising Voices, Raising Hope”
is the title of a benefit concert to be
held Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the
Nebraska Union Crib.
Coleman said the event offers a
“coffee-house environment” and fea- ;
tures Pheromone Pholk, Nancy j
Marshall, and the Afrikan People’s
Union Gospel Choir.
These acts will be followed by an
open stage for anyone interested.
Coleman said a $3 donation was
requested at the door and money
raised would be given to the new
Lincoln Children’s Museum per
forming arts area.
“We want to give back to the chil
dren of tiie Lincoln community,” she
said.
The Sixth Annual Women’s
Studies Regional No Limits
Conference is scheduled for Friday.
Carole Levin will speak about
medieval images of women at 11:30
a.m. in the East Campus Union.
Judith Oritz Cofer will present a
reading of her literary work and hold
a discussion about it at 7:30 p.m. in
the East Campus Union. Women stu
dents’ artwork is being displayed
through March 10 in the Women’s
Center, 340 Nebraska Union.
Coleman said 11 pieces of art
work were being shown, including
paintings and photos.
“There are so many women in
today’s society that I admire,”
Coleman said.
“These events will give them a
chance to be seen.”
Lincoln organization aids
international students
By Veronica Daehn
Staff writer
A program designed to promote
understanding between cultures has
taken hold with some Lincoln resi
dents.
Lincoln Friends of Foreign
Students seeks to promote friendship
between University of Nebraska
Lincoln international students and
members of die community.
With the help of the International
Affairs Office, LFFS pairs interested
students with community members
who serve as a “friend” to them while
they are away from home.
LFFS Board of Directors
President Shirley Deethardt said it
was always overwhelming for a new
student to arrive on a college campus.
“As a foreign student, the first
time away from their homeland can be
even more overwhelming,” she said.
LFFS attempts to alleviate that
nervousness by providing foreign stu
dents with someone to talk to and a
house to visit
While LFFS sponsors five or six
group activities a year, volunteer
friends are expected to interact with
their foreign students at least once a
month.
Judy Wendorff, UNL liaison to
LFFS and student adviser in
International Affairs, said all volun
teers were welcome, though most are
religious people with families.
“They see this as fun and also
good,” Wendorff said. “The one
requirement, though, is that friends
are not to evangelize.”
LFFS, which was started 40 years
ago, is governed by a Board of
Directors and assisted by a student
workteam.
The work team, composed of for
eign students and one American,
started five years ago when a group of
foreign students wanted a more active
role in the organization.
While only one American student
is involved now, Deethardt said the
group would like to see more of them.
“We encourage all students to be
involved,” she said. “What a great.
time.”
Wendorff agreed that the program
was beneficial.
“It’s a good education for every
one,” she sa|d. “It’s really fun to go to
an event where the whole world is
there.”
London legislators vote to lower
consent age for homosexual acts
LONDON (AP) - Legislators
voted to lower the age of consent for
homosexual acts by two years to 16
on Monday, but die House of Lords is
expected to block the measure.
In the third and final reading of
the controversial bill in the House of
Commons, lawmakers voted 281-82
to make the consenting age for homo
sexuals the same as that for hetero
sexuals, three decades after gay acts
between adults ceased to be illegal.
The bill, which would bring
f Britain in ling wit)i most othgr
_ ' * '
European Union nations, now goes to
the House of Lords, where opposition
leaders in the conservative controlled
chamber have said they will defeat
the bill, as they did last summer.
Members of the largely heredi
tary House of Lords said their deci
sion echoed the feelings of most
Britons.
Speaking in the Commons, Home
Office Minister Paul Boateng said the
bill was about “equality before the
law, respect for vulnerability and
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