The Reporter is a publication produced by Western Carolina University featuring news, events, and campus community updates for faculty and staff. The publication began in August of 1970 and continues digitally today. Click on the link in the “Related Mate

• Creator
  • Western Carolina University
• Format
  • Newsletters
• Type
  • Text
• Date
  • Date original: 1981-05
  • Date digitized: 2017-09-01
• Extent
  • Dimension: 11" x 8.5"
  • Pages: 10 pages
• Subject - Topic
  • Western Carolina University -- Periodicals
• Location
  • Jackson County (N.C.)
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Source Collection
  • The Reporter, Western Carolina University
• Identifier
  • HL_Reporter_1981-05
• Related material
  • Https://news-prod.wcu.edu/the-reporter/
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library

A Weekly Newsletter for the Faculty and Staff e or of Western Carolina University Cullowhee, North Carolina Kay 1, 1981 LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR TO SPEAK AT GRADUATION Lt. Gov. James c. Green will give the com­mencement address at Western's spring graduation exercises May 10. More than 840 students are candidates for degrees. The ceremonies will be held at 10:20 a.m. in E.J. Whitmire Stadium. Long active in North Carolina political and governmental affairs, Green is the first person in this century to hold the lieutenant governorship for two successive terms. He was first elected in 1976, and afte'r a constitutional amendment permitted the governor and lieutenant governor to serve two successive terms, was reelected in 1980. Green is frequently mentioned as a likely candidate for governor in 1984. His political career traces the upward as­cendency of legislators in a state whose General Assembly is regarded as one of the most powerful legislative bodies be­cause the governor has no veto power. Green was elected to the State House of Representatives in 1961 and served in the sessions of 1961, 1963, 1965, 1969, 1971, and 1973, culminating his House career in 1975 as Speaker. In that 14-year period, the only year in which he did not serve in the House--1967--he served in the State Senate. A native of Virginia, Green makes his home in Clarkton. He attended Washington and Lee University and was in the Marine Corps in World War II, seeing action in the in­vasion of Iwo Jima. A former member of the Bladen County Board of Education, Green also formerly was a ~rustee of the University of North Caro-lina. As lieutenant governor, he is a member of the State Board of Education. Chancellor H.F. Robinson will introduce Green and preside. Dr. Robert E. Stoltz, vice chancellor for academic affairs, will preside as the candidates are presented for degrees. Dean John D. McCrone will present 128 candidates from Arts and Sciences, Dean John F. McCreary 185 from Business, Dean Betty L. Siegel 199 from Education and Psy­chology, Dean Thomas F. Connelly, Jr. 91 from Nursing and Health Sciences, Dean Walter E. Thomas 107 from Technology and Applied Science, and Dean Aaron Hyatt 133 from the Graduate School. In the event of rain, the commencement pro­gram will be held in Reid. Saturday's commencement activities include the distribution of rain tickets from 2 until 3 p.m. and commencement rehearsal from 3 until 5 p.m. The annual Awards and Recognition Dinner, in Brown at 6:45 p.m., will honor retiring faculty and staff and honor graduates. Also announced then will be the Paul A. Reid Distinguished Service Awards. Sunday's activities begin with the Chan­cellor's Breakfast at Dodson from 7 until 8:30 a.m. Community-wide church services will be held in the Music-English recital hall at 8:30. Students will begin lining up for the processional at 9:30. WCU's Symphonic \o~ind Ensemble begins to play at 10 and the processional begins at 10:20. After commencement, there will be a commis­sioning ceremony for military graduates at 2 p.m. in Forsyth Auditorium and a pinning ceremony for nursing graduates at 3 p.m. in the Music-English recital hall. A re­ception for the nursing graduates will follow on the lawn at Moore Hall. ROBINSON BRIEFS FACULTY ON STATE OF WCU Financing university functions and continu­ing to improve Western's academic quality were the major areas of discussion April -2- 22 as Chancellor H.F. Robinson delivered his annual spring address to the General Faculty. "There are two major budget complexities facing state government and the Legisla­ture," Robinson said, "and both could have wide-reaching effects on our institution. First, there is the possibility of Federal reductions to the state of as much as $300 million, and secondly, there is the problem of the department of transportation's bud­get need of $200-$300 million. "It appears we will lose some of our fed­eral assistance in such areas as the National Science Foundation Education Pro­gram and service-related programs, but the situation may not be as dark as first in­dications appeared," Robinson said. "We are, of course, concerned about the finan­cial aid situation since more than half of our students require aid." Looking at alternative sources to bolster the university's resource base, Robinson said WCU already has begun to increase its efforts to obtain additional grants and con­tracts and increase development. "Our requests for competitive grant funds are up 30 percent from last year. Our development foundation has had an excep­tionally good year. We had a 15 percent increase in Patrons of Quality contribu­tions, a 200 percent increase from our alumni phonathon which will help generate some $40,000, and a 30 percent increase in our Big Cat Club contributions," Robin­son said. He also noted programs such as ROTC, which last year brought some $137,000 to the Western campus. Western, Robinson said, is "preparing it­self to advance in the face of an uncertain future." In the face of diminishing num­bers of "high school graduating seniors, he said that "Our 1980-81 enrollment is up about two percent, retention rate is in­creasing, and our early registration is up about seven percent from last year. It appears our freshman class will be about the same this fall, but our number of up­perclassmen and graduate students should increase." Noting that merit scholarship money for new students had grown 350 percent in the eight­year period from 1972-73 to 1980-81, Robin­son went on to say: "And, very importantly, the quality of our merit scholars increased dramatically--from an average SAT score of 1013 in 1975 to an average SAT score of I 170 in 198 I • " He said the university's Cooperative Educa­tion Program had tripled the number of placements in its second year and doubled them in its third year. "The response from employers," he said, "has been very favor­able. They are pleased with the performance our students are exhibiting and the 175 · students who will be in the Cooperative Education positions this year underscore that point." Western now has a total of 85 formal trans­fer agreements with 20 of the community and technical colleges in the western half of North Carolina, Robinson said, and a large project is under way to aid in the upgrad­ing of vocational and technical instructors in two-year institutions. Instructors are currently enrolled in that program in Cullo­whee, Asheville, Morganton, Hickory, and Shelby. In closing, Robinson challenged the faculty to continue the emphasis on institutional stability and quality, to develop plans to meet the problems of the '80s, to continue to push for improved financial support at all levels, and to strive to strengthen themselves to reach the university's goals and objectives. CHORUS TO PRESENT BLOCH MASTERPIECE The Western Carolina Community Chorus, un­der the direction of Dr. James E. Dooley, will present Sacred Service (Avodath Hako­desh) by Ernest Bloch May 4 and 5. The first performance will be Monday at 8 p.m. in the Music-English recital hall on cam­pus. On Tuesday, the chorus will perform at the Jewish Community Center in Asheville at 7:30 p.m. Both are free to the public. The liturgy the Sabbath morning service as used in Reform temples forms the text for Bloch's work, composed 1930-1933. The cantor's verses are answered by choral re­sponses. Dr. Robert Holquist, baritone soloist, will sing as cantor and Dr. Betsy Farlow will accompany at the organ. Both are on Western's music faculty. · -3- ARTS COUNCIL PRESENTS WILDER CLASSIC Thornton Wilder's Our Town will be present­ed by the Jackson County Community Players the week before commencement. It opens Monday, May 4, and runs through Saturday, May 9, with shows nightly at 8 in the Little Theatre. Many WCU people are working with the pro­duction. Sponsored by the Jackson County Arts Council, the Community Players are funded by the Jackson County Board of Comy missioners and the Grassroots Arts Program of the N.C. Arts Council, a state agency. h Dr. Tom Turrentine, spokesman for the thea-tre group, said, "We picked Our Town be­cause it is one of America's favorite plays. It tells a story we all know--what it's like to live and love and die in a small town." With this, its third annual pro­duction, the group hopes to raise enough money to become self-sustaining. The play concerns the average lives of people in the small town of Grover's Cor­ners. The Gibbs and Webb families are a focus that reveals the range of life, from small routines to a glimpse of the eternal. Terry Nienhuis, WCU professor, plays the Stage Manager. Other major roles are played by Beth Bakerman, Steve Torgoman, Steve Eller, Carol Bellamy, Newt Smith, and Wanda Crawford, many of whom are fa­miliar to WCU theatre-goers. A support­~ ng cast of 18 fills out the bill, with WCU Speech and Theatre Arts s·tudents giv­ing technical assistance. Alex Norris, a senior drama major, is director. Cost is $3 for adults and $2 for students {$.50 less for Arts Council members). ANNOUNCEMENTS THIS SUNDAY, MAY 3, THE MOUNTAIN HERITAGE CENTER will be open from 1 until 5 p.m. as part of the Family Week Celebration in Jackson County. Members of the WCU faculty and staff who have not been able to view one or more of the current exhibits in the Center may wish to do so and bring the family. Currently on display are major ~xhibits on Hazel Creek, rural dentistry, Joyner Building, and Earl Palmer (photog­rapher), and Appalachian quilts. A slide­sound show on Hazel Creek will be shown in the Center's auditorium. PICTURED WITH PLAQUES FROM THE WCU NCAEOP chapter are Dr. Donald Loeffler (Speech and Theatre Arts), "Boss of the Year," and Ann L. Ball (Military,Science), "Education­al Office Person of the Year." A LIMITED SUPPLY OF DISCOUNT TICKETS FOR SIX FLAGS OVER GEORGIA are available for university employees. Come by the Univer­sity Personnel office, UA/MHC 330, between 8 and 5 weekdays or call 7218. WESTERN'S BOARD OF TRUSTEES WILL MEET on Thursday, May 7, at 10 a.m. in UA/MHC 510. COMPUTER CENTER DATA STORAGE: The Computer Center announces that all class accounts and faculty accounts will be removed for the close of the academic year. During. the week of May 11 all class and faculty ac­count data on disks will be removed to tape to be saved for one year. If needed in that · time, it can be restored to the disk. All faculty requesting summer use of the computer should submit an applica­tion for account authorization; those not returning till August should wait to re­quest account authorization the~. The Computer Center operations staff has begun to identify the owners of individual special data volumes stored in its tape library. Much of the data are no longer valid, but the users have failed to return the tapes for general use. The data needs to be converted for a new machine before July 1982. "We are trying to get an early start on identifying those which need not be retained before the crunch of program conversion starts,11 says a , c~nter spokes­person. "Please help us by identifying what is needed and what is not. 11 59 EMPLOYEES WITH SERVICE RANGING FROM 5 to 30 years will be honored Wednesday, May 6, at a 12:30 luncheon and awards ceremony where Chancellor Robinson will preside. Everyone is welcome to attend the luncheon in Dodson Cafeteria; honorees are guests of the University and the cost for others is $3. -4- THE MIDNIGHT BREAKFAST FOR SPRING 1981 will be held Monday, May 4, in Dodson from 9 until 11 p.m. This campus community event enlists university administrators in helping to cook and serve this meal for the students and to wish them well on their exams. Its success depends upon a con­centrated volunteer effort by faculty and staff personnel . If you want to volunteer, please call John McCracken at 7322. REVISED RULES FOR BUYING STATE RETIREMENT SERVICE CREDIT; Under certain conditions, state employees may purchase credit for periods when state retirement accounts are closed. If you are a former employee of another state, a former North Carolina re­tirement member, or a military veteran, you may purchase credit for the time you were not in the state system. A legislative amendment has extended the time period when you may opt to purchase from three to six years, but it's still less expensive to buy credit within the first three years after you are first eligible. You are first eligible when you have com­pleted 10 years of state service. Within the first three years after this, you pay only the employee share of the state retire­ment for the years you were not in the sys­tem, unless you are buying credit based on prior out-of-state employment, in which case you pay both the employee and employer share. In the next three years, you may still purchase credit by paying both shares (for former employees of other states, it costs a little more after the first three years because of the way it is figured). Thus, if you completed 10 years of state service on or after June 30, 1978, and are otherwise eligible to buy some-time toward your state retirement, you've got until your anniversary date of 13 years of N.C. state service in 1981 to purchase credit without extra cost. You can still do it at the higher cost if you completed your 10 years of state service on or after June 30, ~· For more details, call 7261. NAMES IN THE NEWS DAN SOUTHERN and NORMA COOK (Medical Tech­nology) each delivered a paper at the two­day meeting of the Education Scientific Assembly of the North Carolina Society for Medical Technology, at Quailroost near Durham March 23-25. Southern spoke on "Landsteiner's ABO Discovery" and Mrs. Cook spoke on the "Cost of Clinical Edu­cation." M.S. ARRINGTON, JR. (Modern Foreign Lan­guages) presented a paper, "The Rassias Method: Theory and Application," at the spring meeting of the state chapter of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. The meeting was held at Guilford College April 4. J. ROGER BACON, FRANK T. PROCHASKA, and GENE MORRIS (Chemistry) accompanied chemis­try majors Scott Rhoney and Cindy Fulcher to the 13th annual Southeastern Regional Conference of Undergraduate Student Chem­ists, held at Middle Tennessee State Univer­sity in Murfreesboro April 2-3. The under­graduates presented these papers: "Argon Resonance Photolysis of C02, COS, and CS2 in Solid Argon at 12 K" by Rhoney and Pro­chaska, and "Preparation of a Chelating Ion Exchange Resin Based on 2-Hydroxy Propylene­diamine Tetraacetic Acid" by Fulcher and Bacon. HOWARD ABADINSKY (Criminal Justice) has been named director of a curriculum and course development project of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. The project will develop model syllabi for general use in courses in criminal justice throughout the country; results will be published in February 1982. At the Academy's annual meeting March 12 in Philadelphia, he pre­sented a paper, "Researching Organized Crime: Methodological Problems," based on his own research into organized crime. That research will be published by Praeger in September in The Mafia in America: An Oral History. VIRGIE M. MciNTYRE (Elementary Education and Reading) presented a program "You Don't Have to Be a Genius to Promote Better Atti­tudes and Skills in Reading" to teachers in the Greater Cincinnati area on March 21. At the N.C. International Reading Associa­tion meeting in Charlotte March 4-6, she presented "Five Specific Strategies to Motivate Reluctant Readers."