Campus closer to choosing provost/dean "PROVOST," continued from pg• 1 presidents," Graham said. can didates came from approximately 36 states and two foreign countries. The committee expects to sub mit a final list of names to Dr. Bryce Jordan, Penn State Univer sity President, by the first of January, according to Grahain. Graham chaired the selection committee in 1978 when Dr. Thedore L. Gross was . selected provost/dean to replace Dr. Robert E. McDermott, who served in that capacity before him. Graham said the propor tion of women and black can didates was higher for this selection. The Provost/Dean Search Com mittee is responsible for providing the president of the university with names of those applicants who are, in the opinion of the committee, best qualified to serve as provost/dean. This is ac complished by reviewing each ap plicant and conducting interviews to narrow the pool to "five or six," according to Graham. Cure in sight for transition ills? By Linda McCarty The pangs of semester transi tion felt by many students this fall have been diagnosed. Possible cures are in sight. The Student Government Association (SGA) recently form ed a committee to determine students' most common ailments caused by the transition and to take measures to alleviate the problems. A survey of various students from each division revealed com mon problems to be: overwhelm ing workloads; course paces "We were able to make the division heads aware of problems...." Brian Burdette SGA Comm. Chairman which are too fast; tests which seem to fall at the same time, or are too long for a 50-minute period; and professors keeping students overtime. On November 13, armed with evidence of student displeasure, SGA representatives from each division attended an Ad- Interviews were held in Chicago, New York and Washington D.C., to review ap plicants and choose finalists. Once finalists are chosen, they are brought onto campus to meet "One of the things we are looking for is a leader who will be his or her own person." Dr. Robert Graham Chairman Provost Search Comm. with the campus community. The committee then chooses a smaller number of names of candidates to submit to the president, using the reactions of the campus com munity as well as the results of additional research as a basis for decision making. According to SGA secretary Sue Rogers, a committee of six ministrative Council meeting, ac cording to committee chairman Brian Burdett e . Dr. Stanley Miller, acting pro vost/dean, Dr. Jerry South, direc tor of student affairs, and the heads of each division were pre sent at the meeting. "We were able to make the division heads aware of problems they were not aware of," Burdette said. "Drs. Miller and South were strongly in favor of changes. They suggested heads of each division sit down with pro fessors and figure something out." South said, "Steps taken by faculty and division heads were fairly clear. Adjustments are dif ferent for the individual divisions, so faculty must be made aware of student concerns." Building Construction Technology engineering major John Coukart noted his workload has increased, causing greater stress than when the term system was in use. "It's tough to keep up with five courses with almost the same amount of work per course as three. I don't think instructors have had a chance to reestablish their syllabi," he said. Head of the Division of Science, Engineering and Technology Dr. William Welsh SGA representatives volunteered to attend a meeting with the finalists. Rogers said that the questions asked at the meeting were "very constructive," but believed some students were timid about interviewing someone who might later be their superior. "One of the things we are looking for is a leader who will be his or her own person," Graham said, "and we will hope that that leader will have his or her own directions in which to guide us." "The realities of higher educa said he has written two memos to the engineering faculty informing them of difficulties expressed by students. "There will be problems while people are learn ing to adjust," Dr. William Welsh Division Head Sci., Engr., and Tech. "They (faculty) must learn to reorganize, and the first time is not the smoothest. There will be problems while people are learn ing to adjust," he said. Welsh said he put together an average student schedule and calculated the number of hours in and out of class to analyze a typical student load. Concerning the overall cur riculum for engineering students, Welsh said the reorganization of the three course sequence into two course periods has worked smoothly. Acting Head of the Division of Business Administration Dr. James McKenna said transition problems for business students aren't much different than those faced by other students. "We've passed along student tion today, where administrators are extremely mobile, lead us to be interested in people who will stay four to five years or more," he said. Applicants for the position were from a wide variety of disciplines, according to Graham, and from every region of the country. Graham said the committee will be checking references very closely both those cited by the applicant and additional ones contacted directly by the committee. "The most critical thing (for the new provost) is to continue the momentum that Dr. Gross established." Students who have concerns about the new provost are en couraged to contact their student government representative and suggest questions that could be raised during the meeting with the candidate. Graham said he anticipated much participation from the various factions of the campus community because "they are always interested in who the chief officer will be." comments, but many of the facul ty were already aware of dif ficulties caused by the transition. For many, it only heightened their awareness," he said. McKenna said, however, that students with full loads, in some cases, are not budgeting the minimum of thirty hours of study outside class. "Under the term system it may have been easier to budget time," he said. Not everyone has expressed displeasure over the change. Don Alexander, coordinator for undergraduate education pro grams, said he's had very few complaints from students in the education department. "Our program is special in the sense that we have a tightly prescribed relationship between courses. And because of its small size, the student body within the education department is a tight bunch. If there's a problem, the faculty meet with the students." While curricula may vary, the approach to solving transition problems may not. "We need to have a continuing Discussion and solve problems as they crop up. If students have problems, they should contact their program chairmen or go a a group to their instructor," Welsh said.
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