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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 21, 2001)
sr Daily Nebraskan Dofrt stand by me: Dan Leamen ' expounds on the Importance of restroom etiquette In Opinion/4 Francis Allen, men’s gym nastics coach, is an unquestioned expert on all tilings gymnastics In SportsWednesday/10 The Oscars are more open than they seem In Arts/8 Nate Wagner/DN HIGH FLYIN': Erin Williams, freshman music major, flies a butterfly kite Tuesday afternoon near the Harper-Schramm-Smith triangle. Students came out of their rooms to enjoy the warm weather. Commission embraces priority list ■ Chancellor Harvey Perlman presents UNL's pri orities to a state-wide education commission. BY JILL ZEMAN Members of the Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education on Tuesday had their first taste of UNL’s lengthy, sometimes over whelming, prioritization list. UNL faculty members and administrators have had the chance to-examine the document detailing more than 100 programs for the past two months. University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Harv ey Perlman presented the university’s priori tization process to the commission in its monthly meeting Tuesday. The commission consists of 11 members and oversees the University7 of Nebraska, state colleges and community colleges. The university7 s prioritization process identi fies the top 25 percent of UNL’s academic pro grams. The priorities list, which includes 102 pro grams, is still being revised. The programs are divided into four categories: graduate/professional education and research/creative activity; life sciences, health and natural resources; undergraduate education; and outreach. Commissioner Marshall Borchert, who was appointed in February, said he was impressed with Perlman’s presentation. “I think he is very7 bright and articulate and has a good understanding of how th/ university works,” he said. / Borchert said because he was/a “brand-new commissioner,” he wasn’t completely familiar with all the details relating tojme prioritization process. / Regardless. Borchert said he thought it w7as beneficial for the university to evaluate itself and its programs. -1 Please see COMMISSION on 3 New chancellor's wage hike vexes some professors ■ Administrators say the salary hike is inline with peer institution salaries. BY CHARLIE KAUFFMAN Some faculty members are angry at Chancellor Harvey Perlmans pay raise now that the "interim" has been dropped from his title. Perlman's salary was raised 22 percent - from $180,000 to $220,000. “It has nothing to do with the person in the office," Mary' Beck, co-chairwoman of the Faculty Women’s Caucus, said. Beck said some faculty mem bers’ needs are going unfilled, even though the university is raising Perlman’s salary. Beck said several other faculty mem bers share her opinion. “It’s the principle of the thing, raising the salary' 22 per cent, especially with the large perks that go with it,” Beck said. She said faculty issues such as the number of women faculty and the improvement of domes tic partner benefits could be addressed for less money than it would take to raise Perlman’s salary by so much. “It would appear on the sur face that some things are out of whack," she said. Craig Lawson, a professor in the College of Law, where Perlman taught and was dean for 15 years, said the raise was con current with the need to be com petitive when hiring administra «* * tors. “I think we should be com petitive and pay our chancellor at least at that level, maybe more,” Lawson said. Lawson said the money going toward Perlman’s salary increase is a drop in the bucket when it comes to solving larger problems some faculty' say need to be solved. NTU Board of Regents Chairman Dr. Charles Wilson said the chancellor’s salary was raised to keep the university competitive with peer institu tions. "If we want to be a better uni versity. we have to pay better salaries,” Wilson said. "It’s a reflection of how much we were underpaying our top adminis trators." Wilson said Perlman's new salary is still below the midpoint of the salaries of chancellors in peer institutions - similarly sized institutions in the Midwest. Wilson said faculty salary raises are also on the way, they just haven’t happened yet. He said the Regents made a com ymitment to higher salaries for faculty' at their meeting last July. “The faculty salaries will be as close to the midpoint of their peers’ as it is possible to predict,” Wilson said. He said a concrete midpoint is difficult to establish because other institutions could also raise the salaries of their own faculty'. Please see SALARY on 5 Census figures call for redistricting ■ me Redistricting Committee strives for equitable changes, but small districts in western Nebraska risk elimination. BY GEORGE GREEN The political version of musical chairs is set to begin. When Census 2000 figures landed in the capital city last week, state senators began jostling for seats hoping that when the music dies they will still have a district to represent. Robert Sittig, a UNL political science pro fessor, said the great dance could breed conflict amongst lawmakers. “It's a potentially explosive process," he said. The fresh Census figures could turn heads because a special committee of lawmakers has to digest the numbers and redraw’ the bound aries of various government districts including congressional and legislative districts, he said. Senators have to refigure boundaries because the state constitution mandates that each district contain approximately the same number of people, he said. “It's a one-person, one-vote standard,” he said. This year, the ideal legislative district will contain 34.924 people and 570,421 people for congressional districts. Problems arise when population shifts force senators to eliminate districts in one region to make room for new districts in anoth er part of the state, he said. The census figures revealed last week show during the last 10 years more Nebraskans shuf fled east - to Lincoln and Omaha -forcing sen ators to geographically expand districts in die West and shrink districts in the Hast. The process of pinching and ballooning districts, Situg said, will cause a more “unpleas ant situation" for,state senators than congres sional representatives "It'll be more anguishing for the state leg islative districts, he said. Sittig said senators will have to move con gressional lines but won’t be forced to remove entire districts to establish new ones in differ ent parts of the state. On the other hand, Sen. DiAnna Schimek of Lincoln, who is the vice chairwoman of the Redistricting Committee, said up to two incumbent state senators might get lumped into the same district because of the popula tion shifts. Specifically, she said, those shifts could force her committee to get rid of one or two dis tricts in the West, making room for one or two more in die densely populated East. “At some point, you have to remove an entire district,” she said. Because the West is predominately rural and die East is predominately urban, the prob lem could pit the two groups against each odier. Please see DISTRICTS on 6 This week's meetings seek Fulbright scholars BY SHARON KOLBET Students interested in studying abroad can learn more about the Fulbright scholar ship in workshops held today and Thursday. The Fulbright Program, instituted by the U.S. Congress in 1946, was designed to foster cultural understanding and international research. The program offers scholarships to study in 140 countries. Robert Stoddard, a UNL geology profes sor and a speaker at the upcoming work shops, said this week’s events are designed for junior and senior students. "The Fulbright program is an excellent resource. 1 wish more students knew about it,” Stoddard said. The scholarship is designed to give recent college graduates, professionals and artists the opportunity' to study in the coun try' of their choice. Those selected generally receive round-trip transportation, language courses, tuition and a stipend to cover living expenses. V1 The national program offers a limited amount of scholarships for each participat ing country. Students who want to increase their chances for acceptance may benefit from researching the number of scholarships available for their destination of choice, he said, as well as those in less popular destina tions. Last year, about 100 students applied for 14 scholarships in Australia, he said, while only six applied for the five openings in Bulgaria. There were no applicants to fill the three spots for study in Ukraine, he said. Stoddard said applications need to be filed in October and the selection is finalized in May of the following year. With five UNL students receiving Fulbright scholarships for the 2000-2001 academic year. Stoddard said he hoped Nebraska students would continue to apply with success. “Last year was a good year for us,” he said. “We had students go on to India, '•» > ‘The Fulbright program is an excellent resource. I wish more students knew about it." Robert Stoddard UNL geology professor Sweden, Turkey and France." Darlene Esser, assistant to the dean of International Affairs, said the workshops will give students who are interested in the pro gram more information. For those who plan to fill out an applica tion, a faculty committee is available to help the student prepare a proposal before it gets submitted to the Fulbright office in Washington, D.C., Esser said. The Fulbright Scholarship student work shop will be held today at 3 p.m. in the Nebraska Union and again at 3 p.m. Thursday in the Nebraska East Union. v V vW *
