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.