COLLEGIAN 100 YEARS
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University jumping over courses
By CHRISTINE NICHOLAS
Collegian Staff Writer
, One year it's business. The next, it
may be foreign languages or the
humanities.
But regardless of which major field
of study is popular to college students
at the time, University administra
tors must jump to meet students'
demands.
Anticipating the demands of stu
dents at Penn State is a job undertak
en by three administrators in
conjunction with college deans and
department heads, who pass the word
up from the students and faculty
about what, changes are needed to
meet rising or falling demand.
The team which monitors up
coming educational trends and diag
noses the University's approach to
them consists of William Richard
son, executive vice president and
provost; Carol Cartwright, dean for
undergraduate programs and asso
ciate provost; and Ken Mortimer,
vice president and vice provost.
Assembly faces rebuilding
after year of 'invisible' status
By ROBERT P. KING
Collegian Staff Writer
The Undergraduate Student Gov
ernment's Academic Assembly is try
ing to stage a comeback.
"We're starting from scratch," Me
lissa Lutzko, the assembly's newly
elected president, said Wednesday.
"Some foundations have been laid,
but for the most part we're starting
from the ground and working up."
The assembly, the arm of USG that
deals with academic issues, has been
largely invisible on campus since last
spring, say several current and for
mer USG officials. They blame a
variety of factors, from the structure
of the assembly itself to its leadership
during the past year.
Lutzko and the other new officers
plan to reopen lines of communica
tion with the USG executives, which
became somewhat strained this year,
and use flyers and publicity to give
the assembly a higher profile.
"Academic Assembly has an image
problem nobody knows what it is,"
said Lutzko's predecessor, Debbie
Roberts.
Some critics, who include USG Sen
ate President Joe Scoboria and for
mer USG President Matt Baker, said
Roberts let the organization deterio
rate while missing key meetings and
avoiding the USG office.
She, in turn, said Baker and former
USG Vice President Sue Sturgis
didn't communicate with the assem
bly and also set up outside bodies,
such as the Committee Regarding
Excellence in Education at Penn
the
daily
Their job is vital because "the
people who spot the trends and get in
early are going to be in better shape
when the real crunch comes," Cartw
right said.
The emerging nationwide
"crunch," causing increased demand
for faculty and university programs,
appears to be in the humanities,
liberal arts and languages.
In addition, a number of University
colleges and departments are follow
ing a comprehensive "enrollment
management" plan to keep the num
ber of students in particular fields
within the limits of its class sizes and
number of available faculty.
Enrollment controls now affect:
• All majors in the College of
Business Administration. •
• All majors in the College of
Engineering, except engineering sci
ence and agricultural engineering.
• Hotel, restaurant and institutio
nal management in the College of•
Health and Human Development.
• Advertising in the School of
Communications.
`Academic Assembly has to look at restructuring
and get people there who do want to work.'
—Debbie Roberts, Academic Assembly president
State, to do tasks within the assem
bly's jurisdiction. .
But the assembly also has deeper
problems, including a structure that
promotes weakness, several current
and former members said.
Whatever the reasons, they said,
Academic Assembly's inactivity has
prevented it from being what it could
be one of the most influential
student groups on campus.
Academic Assembly is made of
about 20 voting members, two from
every college on campus. Usually
rules for the colleges vary each
college's members are the vice presi
dent of the college's undergraduate
student council and the student who
represents that college on the Faculty
Senate.
Unlike members of other student
groups, such as the USG Senate,
which can only urge the University
administration to follow a particular
course of action, faculty senators
actually have a hand in making poli
cies that affect students. That, com
bined with the student councils' role
in advising college deans on academ
ic policies, could make the assembly
a conduit for a strong student voice.
The assembly also has conducted
surveys on matters such as cheating,
the academic environment and the
olle • lan
e Computer science in the College
of Science: - :::: - : •-•
• Petroleum and natural gas engi
neering in the College of Earth and
Mineral Science.
Despite enrollment controls 'in
some fields and scrambles to find
faculty in others, not all academic
fields are growing.
Cartwright said fields like comput
er science and chemical engineering
are "softening" from a lessened stu
dent interest.
Today's students are more inter
ested in a computer science back
ground rather than a major in
computer science, and a general de
pression in the oil industry has less
ened students' interest in oil-related
fields like chemical engineering, she
said.
However, in popular fields like
business and engineering, where
more faculty are severely needed,
Cartwright said the University ad
ministration will "go full-board to
find them."
In fact, the University has funds in
plus/minus grading system set to go
into effect next semester.
"Academic Assembly should be
stronger than the (USG) Senate,"
Baker said, adding that the assembly
has "credibility with the administra
tion and the Faculty Senate."
But this year, he said: "It isn't
using it. . . . As far as academics
goes, I didn't see them accomplish
anything."
Roberts said "not as many issues
came up" this year as compared with
1985-86, but she also acknowledged
that "Academic Assembly didn't cre
ate any." She pointed, however, to
accomplishments such as the assem
bly's third annual advising banquet
March 11, which honored a faculty
member selected by students as an
excellent adviser.
Roberts said the assembly's prob
lems included attendance at the
group's meetings, which at times
drew only about half the voting mem
bers.
She said a bigger problem was a
communication gulf between the as
sembly and the rest of USG.
Characteristic of that, Roberts
said, was Baker's formation of
CREEPS. Both agreed that CREEPS
overlaps with the assembly a lot.
Please see ASSEMBLY, Page 5.
,a "teaching workload reserve" to use
- in such situations. Mortimer said the
fund, controlled by Richardson, en
ables administrators to "respond to
anticipated changes in student pref
erence patterns."
Competition for faculty in popular
fields is fierce nationwide, and Car
twright said people in these fields are
difficult to find. Also, a university's
success in gaining faculty may be
offset by the number of faculty mem
bers who retire or are recruited to
other universities.
But Mortimer said Penn State is
usually able to hang on to faculty here ,
who are being recruited by other
universities. This is especially true
with senior faculty members, since
their deans are likely to express
personal interest in keeping them
often by working with Mortimer and
other administrators to encourage
them to stay.
One area where faculty are highly
recruited and difficult to find is busi
ness.
Please see FACULTY, Page 4
Voters like union
By VICTORIA PETTIES
Collegian Staff Writer
Overwhelming support for a refer
endum asking students whether they
support a student-run credit union
moves organizers "a step closer to
their goal."
Head Elections Commissioner Bob
Butler said 89 percent of University
students who answered the question
voted in favor of a federally-char
tered credit union operated by stu
dents.
Co-organizer Andrew Hannah said
the results of the referendum will be
used to demonstrate the economic
feasibility of the credit union to the
University administration and to the
National Federal Credit Union Asso
ciation.
The credit union could begin oper
ating as early as Fall Semester 1987
with some services such as saving
accounts, Guaranteed Student Loans
and automatic teller machines, Han
nah said. By Spring Semester 1988,
the credit union might be operating
full time.
Butler said 3,906 University stu
dents voted in favor of establishing a
Credit union
spot pushed
By VICTORIA PETTIES
Collegian Staff Writer
The University Student Executive
Council presented recommendations
in support of the pullout of Mid-State
Bank on campus if the space is allo
cated to the student-run credit union.
Mid-State Bank has not made pub
lic their decision whether to continue
to conduct business on campus. The
bank's lease expires April 30.
Undergraduate Student Govern
ment Senate President Joe Scoboria
said the services offered to Universi
ty students are too important to lose
unless another student service is
placed in the location.
Earlier, University officials con
tacted USEC for their recommenda
tions for the space allocation.
In support of the credit union, the
recommendation read: "It is suitable
that in this situation, a student serv
ice which has existed for some time is
being replaced by a better student
service."
Also, the recommendations ad
dressed increasing the number of
automatic teller machines on cam
pus. East Halls students have asked
that more automatic teller machines
be set up in that area.
"The sheer number of students in
East Halls guarantees that automatic
teller machines would be both well
received and well used."
Seoboria submitted the report
Town/gown
relations tense
By KARL HOKE
Collegian Staff Writer
Should the University manage to
avoid the proposed business priv
ilege tax, the strain on the already
tense relationship between the
town and the University would
more than likely intensify, people
on both sides of College Avenue
are saying.
Enforcement of the open con
tainer ordinance and underage
drinking laws, police handling of a
recent murder investigation, a
shortage of convenient parking
downtown, have also tested town
gown relations.
news analysis
Michael Groff, borough tax ad
ministrator, said the proposed tax,
as stated, would subject the Uni
versity's non-educational profit
making activities to the 1.5-mill
tax.
However, Groff, State College
Municipal Council members and
business owners believe the Uni
versity will take the issue to court
if the ordinance is passed.
University officials and their
legal counsel would not comment
on the issue.
Mike Goodwin, director of the
Friday April 10, 1987 •
Vol. 87, No. 166 24 pages University Park, Pa. 16802
Published by students of The Pennsylvania State University
©1987 Collegian Inc.
credit union, while 485 opposed the
question.
Not every University student who
voted during the Undergraduate Stu
dent Government elections in March
answered the two questions on a
separate ballot concerning the credit
union, Butler said.
Putting the student credit union in
Mid-State Bank's location at the Penn
State Bookstore on campus if the
bank closes was favored by 90 Or
cent of University students voting.
Out of 4,354 University students
who voted, 3,916 voters favored the
credit union in the Mid-State bank
location if they cease business while
438 voters voted against the question.
Though the referendum was voted
on by less than 20 percent of the
students, the percentage needed for it
to pass, the referendum is still consid
ered valid, Butler said.
Butler explained that the referen
dum was used only as a sample of
student opinion.
The referendum results were two
weeks following the USG elections,
Butler said, because volunteer work
ers had to be recruited to count the
ballots.
along with Dave Hall, chairman of
the Student Organization Budget
Committee; Bobbi Melchiorre, presi
dent of the Association of Residence
Hall Students; and Amy Manderino,
former Undergraduate Student Gov
ernment senator.
In other business, Ken Martin, Uni
versity student representative to the
President's Planning and Budget Ad
visory Committee, presented a sur
vey of student budget priorities.
The report, completed by Martin,
surveyed 286 University students
from the 11 colleges and the Division
of Undergraduate Studies.
The findings of the survey include:
• University students' most im
portant concern is the cost of their
education. However, many viewed
freezing tuition as an unrealistic ex
pectation, and thus become more
attentive to student aid.
• University attempts to gain pre
stige including offering competitive
salaries to recruit star faculty and
upgrading the strongest departments
are viewed negatively by students.
• Funding programs for minority
groups on campus such as black
students, international students and
graduate assistants are not popular.
• Sophomores are consistently in
favor of minimizing tuition increases.
• Seniors and graduate students
suggest higher tuition increases in
exchange for other services.
downtown Student Book Store,
said he is concerned about the
friction between the University
and downtown merchants.
""The tax has put us at each
others' throats, which is most un
fortunate," he said.
Goodwin said the Penn State
Bookstore on campus is providing
unneccessary competition for his
business. The original justification
for building the campus bookstore
was to offer students a lower price
for textbooks, but he said the Uni
versity has departed from that
purpose.
"When should the bookstore be
allowed to go beyond the needs of
its patrons and serve its wants
that has been a bone of contention
of mine for some time," Goodwin
said.
"Of course ( the University) is in
commercial business which they
are making a profit on," said Ken
Kulp, owner of Baskin Robbins,
The Candy Shop and Mister Donut,
all on the 300 block of East College
Avenue.
"It's an unfair advantage over
me if they are not charged the tax.
It's discriminatory," he said, but
added, "I have no axe to grind
with the University. If not for the
University, State College would
not be on the map.
"But it's unfair competition," he
said.
Please see TOWN, Page 2