1977-09-23; Central Michigan Life

              Abel pledges budgeting changes
Trustees ok tight T977-78 budget
byPAULRAU
LIFE Managing Editor
Central's "razor thin" $38 million budget for the 1977-78 school
year was approved by the Board of Trustees Wednesday. The
University, however, will operate at a slight deficit and carry little
contingency money in the general fund compared to past years.
GMU administrators at the meeting bemoaned the whittling away
of more than $2.25 million general fund surplus which existed in
1968 and also the switching of priorities in Michigan from higher
education to other programs.
President Harold Abel took the opportunity in his opening
remarks to reiterate his belief CMU is underfunded by the state
legislature,
"We all know that CMU is underfunded, but what is less apparent
is the way the University has had to compensate," Abel said,
speaking of the siphoning of the past general fund surplus.
He said there was approximately $2,227,000 left over in the
general fund in 1,968, but that figure diminished to $50,000 by this
year.
"This is not a budget with major contingency funds built in. Going
into this fiscal year, we have a general University contingency fund
"The state has lagged continually year after year
in support of higher education. Michigan Is failing to
support higher education consistent with other
public services. "—Resident Harold Abef
of $50,000. Out of that, which includes the overflow from this fall's
record enrollment, I have already committed $9,000," Abel said.
Abel also criticized state legislators for their approach to higher
education funding. "The state has lagged continually year after year
in the support of higher education. Michigan is failing to support
higher education consistent with other public services," he said.
Although Michigan ranks 16th among other states in registration
at public colleges and universities, Abel said the state has slipped to
21st rank in tax revenue per higher education student.
"Ten years ago, Michigan would have been in the upper third," he
said.
Abel also quoted a recent statement by Gov, William G, Milliken
in which Milliken said he could not in good conscience put higher
Volume 59 No. 11
Mount Pleasant, Michigan 48859
Friday, Sept. 23,1977
education over the needs of Michigan citizens who are hungry or
unemployed.
"It's not that we've moved down in priority, but that others have
moved up," Abel added.
But state-level problems were not the only ones discussed, as
CMU administrators also criticized their own budgeting of past
years.
"Rather than face up to the fact that our state appropriation and
tuition revenues combined were not enough, wc have ignored the
problem in the past by taking the overhead from the Institute for
Personal and Career Development (IPCD) and putting it into the
general fund," Arthur Ellis, vice president for Public Affairs, said.
CMU charges the IPCD for general University services, and when
program revenues pass the break even point, the service charges
are paid back to the University.
"This system has caused problems in the past - if they don't make
money, we don't recover," Ellis said after the meeting.
In this year's budget, expected IPCD revenues were scaled back
from the 1976-77 projection of $602,400 to $550,000,
"Now, with IPCD revenues drying up, we have to pull the funding
base of the University back into line with our appropriation and
tuition revenues," he added.
Ellis said the University used "every little trick going" to balance
the budget this year.
The sentiment of the Board of Trustees perhaps best was summed up by Chairperson Alfred J. Portino, who said, "In any event,
the party's over."
Abel suggested changes be made in budgeting procedures,
saying, "The corrective problem we face is a major one. We've got to
reduce the base of our budget or we can't get to zero-based funding.
"I'm not in a position to say what it is we've been doing wrong,
but we should take this year to stop these practices and do the
things we do extremely well - providing educational services," he
said* (See "Budget—"page 3)
Move surprises petitioners
SA hires Kuderko critics
Frank Zappa, accomplished guitar impressario and recording
artist, cuts a riff during his two-hour Wednesday night concert
in Rose Arena. Zappa, playing many tunes off his new album
along with a few old standards, electrified the half-capacity
crowd throughout the evening. The show ended with two encores.
See story, page 5 (LIFE photo by Mike Thorsby),
by JIM FISHER
LIFE Staff Writer
Two of the 10 students who
petitioned to recall the Student
Association (SA) senior at-large
representative were appointed
Wednesday as salaried election
directors by Steve Trudeau,
student body president,
Ronald Koch and Charles
Rodgersf who signed a petition
Monday demanding the recall of
Jim Kuderko, Howell junior,
were appointed by Trudeau at
the SA Board of Directors
meeting.
The Board approved
Trudeau's choices for election
directors. The job duties are to
organize the ballot, supervise
voting booths and tabulate and
report all student election
results.
Trudeau explained his
selection of the two students
petitioned to recall Kuderko.
"I felt if they (Koch and
Rodgers) were concerned
enough to bring in a petition,
they were interested enough to
work with us,'" Trudeau said.
Koch, Mount Pleasant senior;
and Rodgers, Linden junior, are
former election directors who
resigned their positions in
separate incidents.
Trudeau said he is not concerned his appointed directors
each previously resigned from
the positions.
"My only concern is that they
do a good job. They both have
experience and are eager to
work on the next election im
mediately," Trudeau said. The
fall general election will be Sept.
30.
Koch, along with several SA
officers, resigned during Fall
Semester 1975 after former
Student Body President Doug
Thomas resigned. The
resignations were prompted
upon disclosure Thomas
borrowed money from an SA
discretionary fund for personal
use. •
. "I had planned to quit as
election director all along
because the job was very time
consuming, but when the whole
regime quit, I decided to quit,"
Koch said.
Rodgers followed Koch as
election director but resigned
the second day of a student
election in Winter Semester
1976.
Rodgers said he closed the
voting booths three hours
before the election was
scheduled to end because he
realized some booths were not
staffed.
"The president at the time,
Pam Maxwell, thought the
election should be invalidated
because I closed the polls early,
but I didn't think so, so I
resigned," Rodgers said,
Rodgers said he was
"shocked" when Trudeau asked
him to be an election director.
He said his appointment will not
silence any criticism he may
have for the SA.
Rodgers and Koch have said
they demanded Kuderko's recall
"in the interest of justice and
fair play." (See related story,
page 3.)
The SA Judiciary Committee
recently allowed Kuderko to
retain his Board seat although
he is three hours short of the
University definition of a senior.
A student must have 85 credit
hours to be classified a senior.
The SA Constitution
stipulates a petition signed by
eight SA members, which includes the entire-student body,
may initiate recall of any Board
member. The Board voted
Wednesday not to consider the
petition for a recall vote.
PB security marshal I
tries mellow image
FA, CMU nearing
grievance agreement
byTONYDEARING
LIFE News Editor
Apparently separated for the •
most part only by wording, CMU
and . Faculty Association (FA)
bargainers' left negotiations
Thursday saying they were very
close to agreement on a
grievance procedure for faculty
not "' awarded tenure, reappointment or promotion.
During a session marked by
considerable progress, both
teams coaxed consessions out of
each    other   while    woi
Inside
—Abel warns against
Enrollment com-
pJacency-'pageS
-County facility faces
tight schedule-page 5
-Chips brace for Ohio
grid test-paga 11\,
toward agreement on  a new
proposal offered by the FA.
"We are extremely close in
the way in which a faculty
member would, grieve," Elaine
Daniels, FA team member said
after Thursday's session."But
we must see their responses in
writing."
FA chief negotiator J, Norbert Musto added the FA not
only expected new wording by .
CMU, but also planned to do
some rewriting of its own before
the next bargaining session
' Monday. ^
"Their proposal today was a
real clue," John Weatherford,
chief negotiator, said "It in*
dicated there were areas which
we could agree, t would not be
Surprised if we agreed Monday."
After being pressed, Daniels
said if the FA wak not misinterpreting CMU's position, a
Monday agreement might be
possible,
FA presented the proposal, its
third on grievance for faculty
not awarded tenure, reappointment or promotion, early in
Thursday's session.
CMU had rejected the two
earlier proposals, but after
considering the FA's newest
offer, chief negotiator John
Weatherford told the FA team:
"We regard this as a significant
move."
The FA proposal contained
several consessions and one new
innovation FA bargaing member
Elaine Daniels said was
designed to eliminate the
possibility the grievant might
not get a fair hearing.
The proposal Calls for the
grievant not awarded tenure,
promotion or reappointment to
go first through an informal and
then, if necessary, a formal
meeting with an agent
representing the Ad,^
ministration. At the grievant's
option, a representative of the
FA also would' be present to
represent the grievant.
^     (See "Bargaining—page 10)
by DAVID N.BRABOY
LIFE Staff Writer.
"I don't like to think of myself
as a police authority but as a
friend in a white shirt."
Tim Robisch, Program Board
(PB) security coordinator, was
serious when he made that
statement Wednesday night
while commanding security for
his first time at the season's first
PB concert, Frank Zappa at
Rose Arena.
Robisch, Detroit sophomore,
said this year he is trying to
instill a more calm, mellow
image to PB's white-shirted
security marshals.
"Basically, what I am trying to
get across to everyone is that
we're here to help," Robisch
said. "We make sure people get
to the right places if they need
directions, but we also have to
keep them from smoking and
drinking."
Robisch heads an all-student
team composed of 50 marshals
led by six squad leaders. While
addressing a few marshals at a
northeast entrance, Robisch
said:
"If people start pushing and
shoving through the (turnstiles),
then you push them back and
close down.-Just kick the doors
loose and they'll swing shut on
the people. They'll move."
Robisch, who also is music
director at WCHP radio, has had
previous concert security experience. "I learned ail the ropes
while I was* Working at Pine
Knob. And compared' to that,
working here is pretty easy," he
said.
Because the Zappa show was
not sold-out, Robisch was not too
worried about crowd problems.
But past esperience has taught
him never to be sure, of
anything, especially in a small
crowd.
"I learned my lesson at Pine
Knob when we had the Kinks
playing to a small crowd that got
way out of hand'" he said. "But
my philosophy now is to be
ready for anything because
2,000 people can cause as much
trouble as a full house."
Thursday after the concert,
Robisch Said, "Everything as far
as security goes went well.
There were two minor scuffles
that we expect with any concert.
I had anticipated a few rough
areas, but they never came up."
The sole incident of the
evening was the arrest of a
person charged with being
drunken and disorderly.
Robisch dismissed the arrest
offhandedly, saying, "It happened amazingly quick and I
don't think anyone hardly
noticed it at all. It was a very
minor incident," he said.
. Program Board Security Coordinator Tim Robisch briefs some
of the 50 PB marshals prior to the Frank Zappa concert Wednesday in Rose Arena. Robisch, Detroit sophomore, has gained
crowd control expertise at Pihe Knob,, where he worked last
summer (LIFE photo by Jeff Ellsworth).
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