1997-04-28; Central Michigan Life

              Central Michigan LIFE
Volume 79, Number 86
Mt. Pleasant,  MI 48859
©1997 CM LIFE
77 years of serving the community
MONDAY
April 28, .1997
18 pages
Board adds $15,000
to Plachta's salary
By Jennifer Ackerman
LIFE Editor
The Board of Trustees approved a 9 percent
pay raise for University President Leonard
Plachta at Friday's early morning meeting.
The raise, effective July 1, will increase
Plachta's compensation from $160,000 to
$175,000 a year. At his current pay level the
president is the second lowest paid of 10 MidAmerican Conference schools, but this raise
will boost his salary' among
the top three highest paid
MAC presidents, based on
1996-97 compensation
rates.
Of the 15 Michigan universities, Plachta's raise
will move him from the
eighth lowest to the fifth
highest paid based on the
current salaries of other
Michigan university presidents.
"It was agreed at our committee meeting
last night that we would propose an increase
for our president,*" Trustee David Brandon
said Friday."
Brandon offered two primary purposes for
the pay raise: to compensate Plachta for his
leadership   and   "outstanding  performance,"
PLACHTA
and to increase CMU's market competitiveness for a future time when the university
will be recruiting candidates to serve as president.
"I am pleased to have the board think well
of my service," Plachta said about his raise. "I
think they are responding to the market
place."
When asked if the board's aim to increase
CMU's market competitiveness is somehow
tied to his future as president, Plachta said,
"I think the board is cognoscente of my
advancing age. but no. I don't have an immediate plans (to retire)."'
In other business.
•The board approved a $5 student organization levy increase. The mandatory tee will
increase from $5 to $10 per student per
semester and will be effective beginning next
fall. The fee was initially approved during the
spring 1994 student government elections,
when the student body approved a $5-fee to
raise operational funds for student organizations. The $5-levy was then approved by the
board in July of 1994 and replaced funding
previously provided from the general fund.
The collected funds will be distributed as
follows: 35 percent to Program Board, 12.5
percent to the Student Government
Association and 52.5 percent to the Student
Trustees pass room
and board increase
By Jennifer Ackerman
LIFE Editor
Budget Allocation Committee for distribution
to student organizations through a funding
request process.
•While CMU is still waiting for legislative
joint capital outlay subcommittee approval to
move forward with the $50-million library
addition and remodeling project authorized
by Michigan Public Act 480 of 1996. the board
authorized the president or his designee to
contract, subject to approval from the state,
for the planning, design, architectural/engineering and associated costs for the library
addition and remodeling at a total cost not to
exceed $3 million.
Funding will be from general revenue bond
proceeds.
•A resolution was passed to authorize the
president or his designee to spend up to
$485,000 to upgrade Unix workstation
upgrades   for   the   College   of   Science   and
See RAISE Page 9	
Rate Increase
CMU's Board of Trustees approved a 3.5 percent increase in student room and board rates for the 1997-98 school year at
Fridays board meeting.
The board voted to increase room and board fees to $4,320 for the
standard room and 19-meal plan, which is $144 more than last year's
$4,176 rate.
Trustee David Brandon said the board based its decision on a trend
comparison of room and board costs and described the increase as a
"prudent approach."
Brandon said. "We think all
things considered we did the right
thing."
"Even with this increase, CMU's
room and board rates will remain
among the lowest of Michigan's 12
residential universities," said John
Fisher, director of Residences and
Auxiliary Services, in a news
release. "This increase will help us
maintain the quality services and
comfortable living environment
that we provide for our students."
According to the board proposal,
CMU expects to have the 10th lowest room and board rates of 12
Michigan colleges and universities.
Only Northern Michigan University and Michigan State University are
expected to have lower housing costs than CMU.
Approximately 5,270 students are expected to live in CMUs 17 residence halls when classes begin Aug. 25.
•Room and 19 meals/wk
*96-'97
•97-'98
$4,176
$4,320
•Room
and 170
meals
96-'97
*97'98
$4,022
$4,160
♦Room and 125 meals
'96-'97
'97-'98
$3,866
$3,980
•Room
and 100
meals
'96-'97
«97-'98
$3,556
$3,680
Tuition rates have not been set for the 1997-98 school year.
President
attempts
to add
funding
By Jennifer Ackerman
LIFE Editor	
w~Tn *** ®ffort *©■ drum-up-leg-
1  islative   support  for   CMU
JLand obtain increased funding from the state, University
President Leonard Plachta testified Friday morning before the
Senate Appropriations Higher
Education Subcommittee.
During the hearing in Grawn
Hall, which was briefly interrupted by sounds of Gentle
Friday coming from Warriner
Mall, Plachta highlighted
CMU's strengths for the panel
consisting of Sen. Jon Cisky, R-
Saginaw; Sen. John Schwarz. R-
Battle Creek; and Sen. Don
Kovisto, D-Ironwood.
"Central Michigan University
is extraordinarily successful . . .
in spite of the fact that our students have been historically
underfunded by the State of
Michigan when compared to
their peers at other public universities," Plachta said.
He pointed out that CMU is
the first university in Michigan
to offer a guaranteed four-year
degree. He also noted that CMU
was recognized by U.S. News
and World Report as one of the
Best Values in the Midwest, and
is the only Michigan school listed in the publication's ranking of
most efficient schools.
After mentioning a number of
successful programs operated by
CMU, Plachta discussed the
need for more funding.
"This is why it is so difficult to
reconcile the quality of work we
do on behalf of the state and its
students. . . with a state funding
structure   that   has   historically
See FUNDING Page 15	
I N S I D E
LiFb Photo/Carol Nelson
(above)With weather in the mid-sixties and sunny skies, Saturday's Rock-n-Reggae Festival had a successful turnout. Music lovers
and good time seekers gathered in Oil City from noon to midnight, enjoying food, souvenirs, and music from seven different bands.
ROCK
CITY
LIFE Photo/Corey Hendricks
{left)Roots Rock Society was one of the several groups
of artists who performed during Saturday's Rock-n-
Reggae Festival in Oil City. Other groups included Knee
Deep Shag, Perplex, The Ark Band, Flex Crew and
Botfly.
Training for
SAP will
begin this
summer
By Dave Borough
LIFE Staff Writer	
CMU's finance and human
resources departments are moving along with implementation
of the SAP software system.
The initiative was appropriated up to $4 million at last year's
Board of Trustees meeting.
CMU signed an official contract with SAP, a German company with an American base in
Philadelphia which provides
hardware and training, in
March.
Jerry Scoby, assistant vice
president of Business Affairs,
said the SAP program was initiated to deal with the year 2000
problem and the university
wanted to step up the quality of
management information.
"We were looking to equip
managers with useful information to make better decisions,"
Scoby said
Scoby is overseeing the implementation of the human
resource department.
The human resource side of
implementation is dealing with
payroll, personnel and position
control.
The software that is being
used will make data entry more
efficient and it has the capabilities of decentralizing operations
that will allow transactions to
be done electronically instead of
filling out forms.
"The whole concept is related
to the paperless office," Scoby
said.
The human resource implementation team has seven full-
time employees and several
part-time employees who work
in certain offices as needed, he
See SAP Page 2	
With this issue CM
LIFE will cease
publication
until May 14
Classified
17
Crossword
17
Et cetera
12-13
Sports
10-11
Voices
4-5
Judge will make decision on three motions in Ziemba case
By Emily Gerkin
LIFE Staff Writer
Three motions will be heard before
the case against Ron Ziemba goes to
trial next week.
The motion for a change of venue, filed by
the defense April 3, will be heard today
before Trial Judge William Rush. In his
motion, Ziemba's attorney David Kramer
said too many slanted articles have been
written and circulated throughout the county about the case and his client.
Specifically, Kramer said at least two articles mentioned evidence that was later suppressed from the trial and two further articles said the suppression of such evidence
was unjustand unfair.
Defense requests non-local jury
Kramer is asking for the case to still be
tried in Isabella County, but to take the jury
pool from a neighboring county. Kramer said
he does not know which county would be chosen if his motion is granted.
Senior assistant prosecutor Robert
Holmes said the bottom line is whether a
juror can sit and judge the circumstances
fairly despite having read articles about the
case.
Rush is expected to deliver his decision
today.
Ziemba's trial is scheduled to begin
Monday, May 5. He is facing a 15-year felony
charge of operating under the influence of
liquor causing death. Ziemba, Troy sophomore, was the driver involved in an accident
Oct. 31 in which fellow CMU student
Michael Kirkpatrick died.
Two additional motions regarding evidence and testimony will be heard before
jury selection begins May 5.
Kramer filed a motion April 3 to exclude
irrelevant and prejudicial evidence, including photos of Kirkpatrick and Kurt
MacDonald, the driver of the other car who
was seriously injured.
The motion stated such photos would be
"highly prejudicial and not probative to the
case.
According to the Michigan Rules of
Evidence, relevant evidence may be excluded
if its probative value is outweighed by its
prejudicial effect.
Holmes said if he is permitted by the court,
he plans on using the pictures during the
trial.
The other motion Kramer will be arguing
has to do with the testimony surrounding
Ziemba's blood alcohol level and his statements made at the scene of the accident and
later at the hospital.
Rush will deliver his decision Monday
morning and jury selection will follow immediately. Holmes said he expects the trial to
start by mid-afternoon.
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