1996-09-18; Central Michigan Life

              Central Micmgan LIFE
Volume 79, Number 10
Mt. Pleasant,   MI 48859
©1996 CM LIFE
77 years of serving the community
WEDNESDAY
September 18,1996
16 pages
Library gets tech funds
By Jennifer Ackerman
LIFE Editor	
While tho university's planned
library expansion is awaiting
state approval, CMU is already
setting aside a portion of the student technology fee to finance
the project.
The total cost of the library
expansion is estimated at $50
million. If approved, the state
will contribute $37.5 million and
CMU is required to fund the
remaining $12.5 million, which
"will come from the technology
fee
Beginning this semester, the
university is taking $806,000 out
of funds  generated  by the  stu
dent technology fee each fiscal
year to equal CMU's expected
library contribution.
Keith Nelson, interim assistant vice provost for Information
Technology, explained the reasoning for using a portion of the
technology fee.
"There's a lot of optimism in
the university that the state will
approve (funding for the library
expansion). The states already
given a tentative approval,"
Nelson said.
"And with that level of
approval, the university wants
to start raising that match of
$12.5 million as soon as possible," he said.
According to Nelson, between
$5 and $5.5 million of the university's $12.5 million contribution will be spent on library technology. The rest of the contribution will help offset the cost of
the new library infrastructure.
"WeVe hoping to have (state)
approval by the end of the calendar year," said Thomas Moore,
dean of Libraries.
Moore estimated it would take
between four or five years to
complete the library expansion
following the state's approval.
While many students may be
under the impression the technology fee would be used to purchase technology only, Nelson
said the technology fee model
was   general   and   didn't   specify
how the money would be spent.
"Part of the intent of the model
was to provide PCs for students.
We didn't say where. The library
is technology that benefits students," Nelson said.
"A big part of the library will
be housing the technology. It's
not a far stretch to reason that if
a large part of the university is
to house technology, that a part
of the cost to build the infrastructure is part of technology,"
he said.
Nelson, who learned of the
plan to spend technology fee
money on the expansion project
last    spring,    said    he    doesn't
See PROJECT Page 2	
LOOK
OUT!
LIFE Photo/Bryan Bosch
A downed sign on Washington St. reminds students walking home Tuesday to
look both ways before crossing.
The $50 million library expansion
m   \ will be partially funded by the
State Funding     \ student technology fee.
$806,000 will be set aside
each year for a total
of $12.5 million.
The goal is to pay for
CMU's contrabution
using the technology fee.
$12.5 million
CMU Student
Technology Fees
<JjQ  OOC   millirtrt    Estimated funds to be raised by
S>0.mmmmCO   I IlOll    technology fee for 96-97 school
year.
LIFE Graphic/Jeff Rauschert
Area police prepare
for Central versus
Western weekend
By Dave Borough
LIFE Staff Writer
Area police departments are
asking students to act responsible and enjoy a safe and fun
Western weekend.
According to Andy Mayer,
deputy director of Mount
Pleasant Public Safety, the
department is not looking for
conflict and is expecting a safe
football weekend.
"We are taking measures to
provide a safe weekend for
everyone," Mayer said.
Mayer said residents on Main
and Washington streets have
been cooperative and are working with the community police
officers to maintain a safe weekend.
Officers will be enforcing zero-
tolerance laws, and Mayer said
they will not tolerate loud parties and disruptive behavior.
According to Ron Williams,
associate director of Public-
Safety, the Department of
Public Safety doesn't anticipate
vandalism or rioting.
"We don't expect any major
problems," Williams said.
"Hopefully students enjoy the
game and other festivities, act
in a responsible manner and
have a good time."
At the request of the city,
Michigan State Police officers
from the Mount Pleasant post
will assist safety measures during the weekend, said Michigan
State Police Sgt. Barry Trombly.
Trombly said police will be
enforcing all the liquor laws and
are not going to allow drunken
behavior.
"We will be keeping the
peace," Trombly said. "We will
be enforcing ail the current
liquor laws."
In addition, Trombly said they
will not allow riotous behavior
or destruction of public property.
The state police will have
approximately 50 officers on
hand to keep the peace, he said.
Reorganization task force narrows proposed college models
By Angela Cook
LIFE Staff Writer
The reorganization task force has
whittled down the proposed college
models from four to two, which it presented to the Academic Senate Tuesday.
The first is a five college model
adding a College of Science and
Technology, a College of
Communications and Fine Arts and a
College of Humanities and Social and
Behavioral Sciences.
The additional colleges under this
model are the College of Education,
Health and Human Services, which
would include the School of Health
Professions and the School of Business
Administration.
Currently   the   university   has   three
colleges, the College of Arts and
Science, the College of Business
Administration and the College of
Education, Health and Human
Services.
According to the reorganization task
force report, handed out to the senate,
the advantage of this model is the
increased equality over the current
three college system.
The report stated, another advantage
to this model would be greater representation of departments and programs
within university level decision making
bodies. The report also cited increased
visibility of certain departments as an
advantage.
According to Provost Richard
Davenport, this model has the potential
of turning into a six college model in the
next three to five years with an addition
of a College of Health Professions.
An advantage cited under this model
is the increased visibility of the health
professions through the formation of a
College of Health Professions.
Increased visibility would contribute
to accreditation fund-raising, professional recognition and faculty recruitment,   the report stated.
A school represents a unit of study
and a college represents many units of
study, explained John Dinse, chairman
of Academic Senate and associate professor of political science.
The five college model plan would cost
approximately $300,000 per year and
the six college model would cost approx
imately $700,000 per year.
The   additional   money   needed   was
"I think the task force has
done a good job. We did
have to consider a lot of different ideas."
JOHN DINSE
Chairman of Academic Senate
and associate professor of
political science
sighted as a disadvantage under the six
model plan. These costs stem from hiring new personnel, Dinse said.
The Academic Senate was presented
with the proposed models and each
model was discussed. The task force
fielded questions and concerns of the
assembly.
Sydney Waist on, professor of health
promotion and rehabilitation asked
what would be the advantages of waiting to make the School of Health
Professions a college*.
Walston said he feels in order for
health professions to be competitive
with other schools it needs to become a
college.
"The need is now," he said.
Tim Connors, professor of speech
communications and dramatic arts,
sees no advantage to either model.
He said he sees no academic advan-
SeeTASK FORCE Page 2	
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$300,000 anonymous donation will
help PBS with new technology
By Jeffrey J. Stacer
LIFE Staff Wnter	
CMU Public Broadcasting
will jump into the 21st century
with the help of a recent large,
anonymous donation.
Monte Higgins, director of
television for CMU Public
Broadcasting, said the station
contacted a long-time donator
and asked for money to buy new
technology.
According to Higgins, the
anonymous donation will
amount to $300,000.
"We already have a check for
$150,000, and next August we'll
get $150,000," he said of the single largest donation ever given
to public broadcasting.
Higgins said he wants to use
the money as a "challenge" for
other donors to raise a $600,000
endowment.   They   would   then
use only the interest from the
money to update equipment as
needed.
Randy Kapenga, director of
technical services for CMU
Public Broadcasting, said the
principal will not even be
enough to cover how much the
changes will cost.
Higgins said the Federal
Communications Commission is
creating a new transmission system which would make the old
transmission system obsolete.
The delivery will be changed
from analog to digital, Higgins
said.
Kapenga said comparing the
old analog to the new digital is
like comparing audio cassettes
to CDs
Because the new system of
transmission   holds   more  infor
mation, Kapenga said the new
system will let a person receive
sub-channels to an existing
channel.
A single channel could be
either divided to make more sub
channels with more programs,
or several of these sub-channels
could be combined to make one
high-resolution channel,
Kapenga said.
Kapenga said the changes
made by the FCC will occur
regardless of whether or not
CMU's Public Broadcasting
keeps up.
In 10 to 15 years, the FCC will
make every television station
use this new technology,
Kapenga said.
Higgins said the current
equipment is 15 years old and is
from the Public Broadcasting
station in (irand Rapids
Plachta's signature
finalizes Faculty
Assoc, agreement
By Len Padilla
LIFE Staff Reporter
CMU faculty members are
once again under contract.
The Faculty Association and
the Board of Trustees agreed
upon a three-year deal, finalized by the signature of
President Leonard Plachta
Tuesday.
Members of the FA and
administration bargaining
teams met Tuesday evening to
finalize the contract agreement which was originally
agreed upon Aug. 13.
Plachta said he is pleased
with the contract agreement.
"I am happy that it is now
behind us," Plachta said. "And
I look forward to working with
the faculty for the next three
years.
In the agreement, which
involves 625 faculty members,
there is consideration given to
the issues of salary equity,
retirement incentives, technological privacy and insurance
during possible reorganization.
According to Mary Senter,
associate professor of sociology
and FA president, contract
terms state that faculty members will receive a 3.75 percent
pay raise for the 1996-97
school year retroactive to July
1. For the 1997-98 and the
1998-99 sessions, the faculty
will receive a three percent
pay hike.
According to Senter, some
See FA Page 11