1979-08-27; Central Michigan Life

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Vol. 61 No, 1
Central Michigan LIFE
Mount-Pleasant, Michigan 48859
Telephones:    774-3493774-3830
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Monday, Aug, 27,1979
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Dollars, dedication point to'promising, year
by JERRY MORLOCK
LIFE Editor
Much like the countryside surrounding Mount Pleasant, the CMU
campus in late summer shows the green of trees and lawns from
the air.       .
This aerial view looks south on the compact Central campus.
Warriner Hall is in the foreground/ with the University Center
directly behind. In the upper left hand corner of the photograph is
the bright artificial turf of Perry Shorts Stadium.
This serene arid unhurried look of the campus is in sharp contrast
to how CMU looks from ground level today. Classes are back in
session and these 908 acres are teeming with activity.
If you feel good about being a part of CMU
today, you're certainly not alone.
There are about 16,000 other students who like
Central at least well enough to enroll for the first
time or to return for more.^
Central has been turning away applicants while
other state colleges and universities are not
being so lucky with attracting students.
And  the  administrators,  who are  in  part '
responsible for the good feelings of students, are
pleased, too.
For the second year in a row, CMU has been
given what they consider a promising allocation
from the state—a 9.2 percent increase over last
year.
In fact, when administrators drew up the
tentative university budget, there was nearly
$400,000 left over. There are plans for at least
part of that sum, but Arthur Ellis, vice president
for Public Affairs said it was unusual for that
surplus to exist even at the tentative stage.'
That's fine, you say, but what does that mean
for students? Dollars, along with dedicated
.faculty and administrators, a hard working staff,
and eager students make the system work at
universities.
There are limits to the promise in Warriner
Hall, however.
Recession is a reality and because of the state's
reliance on industry, Michigan's economy stands
to suffer more than its share.
And the Headlee tax listing admendment,
which voters approved last November, has not
reared its ugly head high enough for administrators to measure its effect.
. Ellis said that under Headlee, which states that
property taxes cannot exceed the growth rate of
the state's economy, state funding is "a different
ballgame. The rules are different."
CMU President Harold Abel says the administration is "very concerned about the future
years*
"There's no question that higher education is
going to be a lower priority in the future," he
said.
"I don't think we're going to see a 13 or a 9
percent year for a long, long time." Abel said,
referring 'to the increases in Central's state
budget allocations for the last two years.
Despite the double-edged sword of Headlee and
recession, administrators say CMU's future is %
relatively secure.
Enrollment is 'not expected to decline
significantly here until 1983 of 1984," and then
.only 3 or 4 percent per year, Abel said.
"I can't find anyone who is concerned about us
getting smaller. You're not a better university at
16,000 (students), You're a better university at
14,500," Abel'continued.
Abel says CMU can handle the 3 or 4 percent
annual enrollment decline without laying off
teachers. At a rate that small, "normal attrition"*
in the form of faculty retirements and
resignations help drop the payroll to compensate
for declining tuition dollars.
And at the 14,500 level, Abel says the dormitories still can be filled to near capacity.
If money woes are an administrator's number
one fly in the ointment, labor relations and
personnel problems would have to be a close
second.
But, like the double whammy of Headlee and
looming recession, personnel and labor relations
don't seem to be a threat for 79-80.
Central's faculty are in the third year of a
three-year contract. So faculty seem to be contented now, or at ieast waiting until contract
negotiations begin this spring to register their
complaints.
Albert Lewis, president of Faculty Association,
the faculty bargaining agent, says the year will be
spent "creating an atmosphere where those
negotiations can occur."
One of the issues to be bargained next year is
the fact that "all of us are having to deal with
salaries not meeting the inflation rate,"* Lewis
said.
Having reached a settlement with clerical
workers  in August,  the University  has  the
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(See Mood—page 11)
After an idyllic summer
away frOnvtHeTiressufes of
classes^j^GMU faculty and
students will return to a few
changes both on and off
campus, 'From decriminalized
traffic offenses to new administrators and revamped
student identification cards, ,
the University comniunity-
can expect a few surprises.
Gampus/Commurrity
16,000-plus students make .for just about that many
different interests and attitudes. Add a Mount Pleasant
noh-student population of about the same number, and
the result is the need for information about everything
from the Midland nuclear plant to pizza parlors.
Sports
Rade, Savich, four-year
standout' on the Chippewa
football squad returns to
the CMU athletic scene to
put his super toe to use.
Index
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