Cows, pigs prefer shredded
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Thomas voted president; outlines goals
By MARC HARKNESS
Collegian Staff Writer
Joab L. Thomas, voted Penn State’s
15th president yesterday, does not see
teaching and research as mutually
exclusive objectives and would like to
see them integrated.
During a special session of the Uni
versity Board of Trustees, the 20 board
members present voted unanimously
for Thomas, who was president of the
University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa
from 1981 to 1988.
University President Bryce Jordan
will retire Aug. 31; Thomas will take
over Sept. 1.
Thomas answered questions regard
ing his expectations and goals as pres
ident at a news conference after the
board meeting.
Penn State’s administration must not
neglect undergraduate education in its
eagerness to improve the quality of
research at the University, Thomas
said.
“We must make sure that undergrad
uate education continues to be (the Uni
versity’s) highest quality,” Thomas
said. “We must make sure that the tea
ching and learning environment
remains vital and fresh.”
But Thomas said he would also like
the University to continue its growth in
research - a major goal of the Jordan
administration.
Recently elected trustee Mary Gree
ly-Beahm agrees with Thomas’ philos
ophy. She believes that education could
be neglected while faculty pursue a
place among the top 10 research institu
tions.
“We need to strike a balance between
research and education,” said Greeley-
Beahm, a former student trustee. “It’s
at a critical point right now.”
Bush picks Souter
for Supreme Court
By CHRISTOPHER CONNELL
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON, D.C. - President
Bush said yesterday he will nominate
appellate judge David Souter to a seat
on the Supreme Court. If confirmed by
the Senate, the 50-year-old jurist from
New Hampshire would succeed William
J. Brennan.
“He is a remarkable judge of keen
intellect and the highest ability,” Bush
said. The president went on to praise
Brennan as well, calling the court’s
long-time leading liberal, “one of the
greatest figures of his age.” Brennan
resigned last Friday.
Souter stood at Bush’s side as the
president made his surprise announce
ment at the White House late in the
afternoon. The president said he decid
ed on Souter earlier in the afternoon.
Bush said his quick selection was not
geared to abortion policy or any other
single issue. “It is not appropriate. . .
to use any litmus test,” Bush said. Abor
tion activists believe Brennan’s depar
ture from the court could pave the way
for overturning the 1973 Roe vs. Wade
decision.
“I hope you will understand that I
think I must defer any comments” on
court issues, Souter said, until Senate
confirmation hearings begin. He said it
would take him all night to describe
what an honor Bush had conferred on
him.
The nomination now goes to the Sen
ate where a simple majority is required
for confirmation.
Souter was appointed by Bush earlier
this year to the Ist U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals. Previously, he was a member
of the New Hampshire State Supreme
Court, appointed to that post in 1983 by
then-Gov. John Sununu, now Bush’s
chief-of-staff. Souter succeeded
Sen. Warren Rudman, R-N.H., as the
state’s attorney general.
Brennan, 84, one of the most liberal
members of an increasingly conserva
tive court and one of the most influential
justices of the 20th century, told Bush on
Friday that he was resigning because
of declining health.
He had served on the high court for 34
years. He was appointed by President
Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Brennan’s health started to deterio
rate in the last year. He recently fell at
the Newark International Airport and
struck his head, a Supreme Court
spokeswoman said, and after consulting
with his doctors he decided to step
down.
the
daily
Joab Thomas
Penn State broke into the top 20 uni
versities receiving research funds in
1987. It is currently among the top 10
public universities in research funding,
said Charles L. Hosier, acting executive
vice president and provost.
Hosier predicted that under Thomas
it will achieve a similar rank among all
research universities, both public and
private.
Thomas, currently a biology profes
sor at Alabama, showed his devotion to
instruction when he left the Alabama
presidency to return to teaching. He
brushed aside a suggestion yesterday
that conflict with the Alabama system’s
chancellor, Thomas Bartlett, caused his
resignation.
Disagreement over how Alabama’s
Tuscaloosa campus would be run in
David Souter
Bush acted with unusual speed in
making his choice.
He met twice over the weekend with
his top lieutenants and called the Dem
ocratic and Republican leaders of Con
gress to seek advice.
Bush noted that Souter had won unan
imous confirmation to the appellate
bench earlier this year, suggesting his
hopes that the nomination might not
trigger a political free-for-all in the Sen
ate.
“We’re not bracing for some horren
dous fight with the United States Sen
ate,” Bush said.
“I look forward to a fair and expedi
tious confirmation process.”
Bush was asked if he knows Souter’s
views on abortion or other difficult
issues.
Bush said he felt it would have been
“inappropriate” and that he did not ask
him his views on any specific issues.
“Judge Souter is committed to inter
preting, not making, the law,” Bush
said.
“I have selected a person who will
interpret the Constitution and in my
view not legislate” from the bench,
Bush said.
A questioner noted that Bush and Sun
unu both have widely known views
against abortion and asked why people
shouldn’t think that Souter’s abortion
view was known to Bush through
research or some other method.
“I told you it’s not,” Bush said.
Collegian File Photo
Joab Thomas, right, stops after his first Penn State press conference in Kem Building
to sign autographs for some eager children. Thomas was voted in as the University’s
15th president yesterday.
relation to those at Huntsville and Bir
mingham were speculated to have
caused friction between the men.
“We did disagree on certain issues,”
Thomas said. “But I’ve always main
tained that if two people think exactly
alike, one of them is unnecessary.”
Thomas plans to continue some of
Jordan’s initiatives, including the strat
egic planning process Jordan imple
mented in 1984. Before Jordan’s tenure,
AP Laser Photo
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Right Thing goes on
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Collegian
long-term plans for University needs
were not outlined in great detail.
An important part of strategic plan
ning is securing state appropriations
an area Jordan considers the only
major disappointment of his term here.
The small percentage of Penn State’s
budget coming from state appropria
tions 29 percent shocked Thomas.
Shortfalls in state appropriations have
Please see THOMAS, Page 10.
Academics not sacrificed
for Thomas' athletic love
By TOM ESTERLY
Collegian Sports Writer
Joab L. Thomas, an outstanding full
back while in high school, was offered
a full-ride to play with the Alabama
Crimson Tide. He decided, however, to
go to Harvard for academics.
Even though Thomas, the College
Football Association’s first president,
kept his love of the game, he said at a
news conference yesterday he will not
sacrifice academics to win.
“I have three criteria in hiring a foot
ball coach,” Thomas said. “First, per
sonal integrity; second, commitment to
academics and third, I definitely want
them to win. That’s definitely part of the
formula.”
Thomas’ love for football once left
him lying on the field with Buffalo Bills’
Cornelius Bennett’s arms wrapped
around him.
In 1985, Alabama staged a game
between the current football players
and graduated players. Ray Perkins,
Alabama’s coach at the time, suggested
Thomas suit up and run the first play.
All started well. Thomas took the
handoff from Kenny Stabler for an end
run. Someone, however, forgot about
Bennett, who came across the line unb
locked and nailed Thomas for the five
yard loss.
It was not Thomas’ ball-carrying,
however, that got him noticed while at
Alabama. Controversy erupted when
Thomas hired Bill Curry, who had a los
ing record while at Georgia Tech but
was well-known for his academic integ
COG agrees to form
local consolidation
study committees
By MARK E. JONES
Collegian Staff Writer
Each of the six municipalities that
make up the Centre Region’s Council of
Governments agreed last night to form
committees to consider how consolida
tion would affect local services.
All six local committees, which will
be made up of interested municipality
residents and not more than two elected
officials, will report within one year to
a Regional Study Committee.
“The government study is not
intended to promote or implement
municipal consolidation, but to deter
mine its implications for the Centre
Region communities and whether there
are other alternatives for coordinating
local government services,” according
to the proposal presented to COG’s Gen
eral Forum.
COG Executive Director James
C. Steff said this proposal places less
emphasis on how to implement consol
idation and concentrates more on its
feasibility.
A similar proposal was brought
before the COG Executive Committee
in November, but the committee sug
gested it be revised.
Under the new proposal, drafted by
College Township Council member
Fred E. Smith, the committees would
COG denies CATA funds;
deficit will not cut services
By LISA M. ZOLLARS
Collegian Staff Writer
The Centre Area Transit Authority
will not be receiving the $24,000 it
requested from the Centre Region
Council of Governments, but does not
expect to implement more service
reductions to make up the loss, CATA’s
general manager said yesterday.
The money was requested by CATA
to eliminate a budget deficit, Kevin
Abbey said at the CATA meeting.
At last night’s COG meeting, the gen
eral forum passed a recommendation
that “The Centre Region municipalities
approve CATA’s proposed 1990/1991
budget, less the projected $24,605.00 def
icit amount, which is expected to be off
Weather
A mixture of clouds and sunshine
today, high 81. Clear and cool tonight,
low 61. Mostly sunny and warmer
tomorrow, high 84.
Tuesday, July 24,1990
V01.91,N0.28 10 pages University Park, Pa. 16801
Published independently by students at Penn State
©1990 Collegian Inc.
rity. Thomas even received death
threats for his appointment of Curry.
“Some people thought we were just
starting to stress academics when Cur
ry was hired,” said Wayne Atcheson,
Alabama’s sports information director
during Thomas’ tenure as university
president. “But we already had good
academic programs, and Dr. Thomas
deserves a lot of the credit.”
“One will hope he will remain com
fortable with his stance on intercolle
giate athletics,” said Ellen Perry, Penn
State’s associate athletic director.
Administrators don’t expect a repeat
of the Alabama situation here.
“You’re looking at two different insti
tutions in two different parts of the
country,” Perry said.
Atcheson said Thomas is well-known
for his love of athletics, and his hiring
will be a great benefit to Penn State.
“I think Dr. Thomas is a tremendous
president for athletics,” he said. “His
interest in the athletic program was just
tremendous. He came out on the prac
tice fields, knew the players, the
coaches. He went to the games, not just
football but every basketball game he
was home for.
“He was totally involved in all aspects
of athletics.” *
Perry said he also believes Thomas’
appointment will help athletics.
“It certainly sounds like he has an
understanding of the role of intercolle
giate athletics, as Bryce Jordan did.”
Perry said. “I see us continuing in the
tradition Penn State has made.”
not consider long-range details such as
how to get the consolidation issue on the
ballot as a referendum question or what
to name the new government body.
The committees will consider how
consolidating their services under one
government body would affect the
Please see CONSOLIDATION, Page 10.
set by savings in health and medical
premiums gained by joining State Col
lege Borough’s policy...” according
to COG documents.
CATA currently has 65 employees
under the plan, but if they are incorpo
rated into the borough’s plan - which
would have more than 100 people - the
insurance would be available at a
reduced price, he added.
The COG finance committee has sug
gested using the saving from the
reduced health plan costs for the deficit,
he said.
If those savings are not enough for the
deficit, CATA can ask COG for the mon
ey, Abbey said.
CATA chairman James H. Miller
Please see CATA, Page 10.
- Mike Hopkins
Collegian File Photo
James Steff