The Collegian : the weekly newspaper of Behrend College. (Erie, PA) 1989-1993, March 15, 1989, Image 1

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    Wednesday, March 15
Tenure Process Has
Many Elements
by Cindy Craig
Collegian Staff Writer
Editors Note:
"It seems like
professors are no longer
here for students, but
students are here for
professors." More and
more we hear sentiments
like these echoing around
campus. Students want to
know if teaching is being
neglected for research as
faculty struggle to gain
job security. After tenure
is achieved, does it become
a free-ride? In this in
depth look at the faculty
tenure system, Collegian
staff writer Cindy Craig
explores how tenure
works, weighing the
benefits and the problems
for both faculty and
students.
First of all, it must be
understood that tenure is. a
universally accepted concept used
to regulate the relationships
between institutions of higher
learning and the faculty of that
institution. Conventional
wisdom tells us that to be
Tucker
Proposes
Model
School
by Maria Plaza
Collegian News Editor
Dr. Eva Tucker, Behrend
geoscience professor and Erie
School Director, hopes that a
proposed model school program
will prevent students from falling
behind and lower the course
failure rate in Eric schools.
"We believe every child can
learn," Tucker said, and he
believes that a curriculum from
an inner-city school in Baltimore
may help more children reach
their full potential.
The program, called "Success
for All," groups children in
kindergarten through third grade
into groups by reading ability.
The groups, limited to no more
than fifteen students, spend an
hour and half per day on reading.
According to Tucker, Erie
elementary students currently
spend between 30 and 40 minutes
a day on reading.
"It's designed to do two
things: to prevent reading
deficiencies and to give- :
immediate interventionto those::
kids who have problems," Tucker
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competitive an institution has no
choice but to offer a tenure
package. The contents of this
package are generally determined
by the specific needs and goals of
that institution.
The general objective of
tenure, at any institution, is to
guarantee "academic freedom and
to safeguard the right of free
expression and risk-taking
inquiry." Tenure is a state of
being guaranteed a job for as
long as a faculty member wishes
to stay. Without tenure a
university could arbitrarily
dismiss faculty engaging in
unpopular or potentially
embarrassing research or
_writings. Theoretically, without
tenure research like Alfred
Kinsey's on sexual behavior,
theories like Charles Darwins' on
evolution and works of fiction
like the more recent "The Satanic
Verses" would become prey to
the "keepers" of traditional
values. • - _
College faculty utcmbbrs
generally concur it :is with
controversy and questioning of
traditional values that progress is
Cont. P. 3
Tucker said the "Success for
All" program has resulted in
lower course failure rates and
fewer student's in leaining
disabled classes, both serious
concerns in the Erie School
District-In the second reporting
period, black students in the Erie
PENN STATE ERIE'S WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Bernice Sandler Speaks on
'Times That Try Men's Souls'
by Laura Weaver
Collegian Staff Writer
On Wednesday, March 8, the
Behrend Speaker Series continued
in the Reed Lecture Hall with Dr.
Bernice Sandler speaking on
"Women on Campus: These Are
Times That Try Men's Souls."
Dr. Sandler began by pointing
to past , present and future issues
of the Women's movement.
Looking to the past, she noted
several policies now incorporated
including sexual discrimination
laws which are "among the best
in the world."
Sandler also spoke on the
changing role of women in the
workplace. She suggested
women today are still being
unfairly treated in the job market.
"Women are allowed to work as
long as they know their place."
Sandler also noted that "most
women still enter the so-called
'female' fields."
_ "There are no occupations in
which women earn more money
then men," said Sandler, noting
that full-time working women
still make 63 cents on the dollar
compared to men.
photo by . Marybeth Zawistoski
School district had a course
failure rate of 54.5 percent and
white students had-a 40.2 - percent
course failure rate. The school in
Baltimore has about 80 percent
minority students.
Tucker hopes that a program
Contd. P. 13 -
Sandler made . a list of "hostile." Men who have a bad
differences between men and day are said to "blow their tops,"
women as pertains to career - while women just have "that
workers. Men are said to be time of the month." Men are
"assertive" while females are said "go-getters;" women are "un
to be "domineering." Men are
Cont. P. 9
"fun to be with," and women are
Schedulers Face
Limited Resources
Part two in a series examing
Behrend's academic scene
by Bill Warner
Collegian Staff Writer
Despite Behrend's physical
expansion, it does not meet the
standards for classroom space and
availability that have been
suggested by the federal
government for effective
scheduling flexibility. Behrend's
high percentile utilization of
classroom space combined with
its growing student population
make scheduling a difficult and
time consuming task.
In an interview with The
Collegian, Behrcnd College
Registrar Robert Schenker
explained that governmental
agencies concerned with higher
education consider classroom
utilization of 62 to 68 percent to
be ideal.
"In the fall of 1988, our
classroom utilization at Behrend
was in the high 90's (percent). In
many cases 100 percent room
usage was realized, in our
facilities, from eight -in the
morning to as late as nine•or ten
at night. University Park
Volume XXXVII, No. 1
photo by Tracey Cross
probably schedules their facilities
close to 68 percent," said
Schenker.
While the student population
for the spring of 1989 only
Cont. P. 4
What's New?
Call The
Collegian at
898-6488
Inside
Survey P. 2
Police News p. 4
'Love Rob P. 5
Dating Lies P. 9
Tidbits P. 11
March Madness P. 1 4,