the
March 2*, 1977
Asheville, N.C. 28804
Volume XII, No. 15
HEW Investigates UNC-A
for Sex Discrimination
The Atlanta office of Civil Rights,
ULSL Department of Health, Education,
and Welfare, were on the UNC-A campus
last week investigating charges made of
sex discrimination in the promotion and
hiring of females for faculty and staff.
Dr. Mechthild Cranston, associate pro
fessor of French, filed charges of sex dis
crimination when her contract was not re
newed and tenure was denied by the Uni
versity last year. Dr. Cranston’s scholar
ship and teaching abilities were not ques
tioned, but a recommendation against ten
ure was made on the basis of her contri
butions to‘‘tension and dissension within
the department.*'
Ms. Veronica Arzdorf-Fisher also filed
a complaint when she was not hired for the
position of Assistant to the Dean of Stu
dents. 21ollie Stevenson, a graduate of
UNC-A and former S.G. president and
editor of the Ridgerunner was hired for the
position.
According to the tenure document, an
associate professor would automatically
be tenured unless the person were hired at
that rank. In that case the usual probation
ary period would be necessary and the
question of tenure would come up during
the fourth year of the five year contract. At
that time, the person is informed whether
tenure has been granted, and if it was not
granted, one year of the cntract remains as
a “timely notice.”
Dr. Cranston was being considered for
tenure only, and the promotion that tenure
usually involves did not apply, since she
Break-Ins
Reported
On Campus
Two break-ins have occun«d recently
on campus, according to Campus Police
Chief Gene Ray.
The Department of Foreign Languages
was vandalized on March 11. A typewriter
was stolen and the office was ransacked.
The secretary’s desk had been gone
through, and according to a member of the
department, the trash can had apparently
been also.
The break-in occurred while the secre
tary was gone, between 2 and 4 P. M. It had
been noticed by some people in the build
ing that the door was standing open around
3 P.M. but this had not been considered
unusual. The secretary had locked the door
when she left, but found it standing open
when she returned. No signs of forcible
entry were found.
No one was seen carrying anything out.
The Campus Security plans to check the
pawn shops for the typewriter.
On March 15, a Security guard making
his rounds at 10 P.M. surprised a young
man carrying a box out of the ground floor
double doors of the Science Tower. The
young man dropped the box, which con
tained lab equipment from the Science
Building, and got away in a gray Ford.
Nothing else has been reported missing.
was hired originally as a visiting associate
professor, and became associate professor
after one year.
Dr. Cranston’s case was heard by the
Tenure Committee, which was evenly
divided on the question, and twice by the
Hearings Committee, which decided that
she had not presented enough evidence of
sex discrimination and personal malice to
warrant further investigation. The case
was appealed to the Board of Trustees and
is presently being reviewed by a commit
tee of the Board.
Dr. Marcel Andrade, chairperson of the
foreign languages department, refused
comment to the Ridgerunner. Vice-Chan
cellor for Academic Affairs Roy A. Riggs
also refused comment specifically on the
case because it is still being judicated, but
stated that a conscientious effort was being
made by the University to hire women in
accordance with the standards set by Af
firmative Action. He also stated that there
is an official process to be followed in
appeals of decisions concerning faculty,
and that the General Administration had
advised that statements not be released
until the matter is settled.
Dr. Cranston also refused official com
ment, and the investigating team of
H.E.W. could not be contacted for com
ment.
TERRY ROBERTS RECEIVES
$2,000 SCHOLARSHIP
By GARY STONE
Terry Roberts, a senior literature major,
has recently been awarded the Chan Gor
don Memorial Scholarship for post-grad
uate work in Anglo-Irish Literature at
Trinity University in Dublin, Ireland.
Mr. Roberts, a dorm student, is the son
of Mr. and Mrs. Lee Roberts of Oteen,
N.C. He was an early admission student
from North Buncombe High School in
1973. He attended Oxford University last
summer as a part of the UNC-A Program
of International Studies.
The Chan Gordon Memorial Scholar
ship is awarded by Rotary, International to
North Carolina students for study abroad
and to foreign students for study in North
Carolina Universities.
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
MOVIES
The next two
movies will be:
Student Government
March 30—The Assassination of
Trotsky starring Richard Burton and
Alain Delon; Rated PG.
April 6—Night Watch starring Eliza
beth Taylor, Laurence Harvey, and
Robert Lang; Rated PG.
Students are reminded that the movies
are shown every Wednesday night in
Lipinsky Auditorium and that no food or
drinks are allowed in the theatre.
/>: ■
m
m
THE HERMITAGE. Chief of security, Gene Ray discovers hut
across from Botanical Gardens.
HERMIT FOUND ON CAMPUS
A hermit was discovered keeping house
on University property in a rough hut made
of sticks and plastic sheets. The man, ap
proximately 50, apparently spent the most
severe part of the winter in his unheated
shanty.
The hut was found by Campus Police
Chief Gene Ray on March 9, when he was
checking out the area because of reports
that he had received. A man had been seen
dragging a female mannequin out of the
Botanical Gardens about three months
ago, and was apprehended and released.
Since then other calls were received con
cerning a man going into the area but the
Campus Police were unable to find any
thing.
The Campus Police returned to the area
several times, and apprehended James
Beard about 2 P.M. on March 15. Accord
ing to Chief Ray, Beard stated that he was
staying there because he is often arrested
for drunkenness and thought it was a safe
place to stay away from the law. He was
not arrested, but was evicted from the
property and warned that he would be ar
rested for trespassing if he returned. He
was the man who dragged the mannequin
across Weaver Boulevard into the wooded
area opposite the Gardens.
The shanty was about four feet high,
and set in a hole about four feet deep, so
that its roof was about even with the
ground. It consisted of sticks wired to
gether and covered with cardboard and
plastic, and contained an old couch, a box
of clothes, some blankets, and a little
food. A white powdery substance in a
tobacco pouch was found under the
cushion of the couch, and was discovered
by the Narcotics Bureau to be dampened
sugar.
Beard stated to Chief Ray that he had
built the shanty in December, but spent
Christmas in jail. He returned in January
and has spent a lot of time there since. He
stated that he did not have many visitors,
but occasionally someone would pass by.
He also stated that due to the high cost of
living, he felt he could survive this way
and that he would have to find another
place to stay. He does not work regularly.
FACULTY SENATE CHOOSES
SEARCH COMM. MEMBERS
The Faculty Senate voted on the recom
mended members of the Vice Chancellor
Search Committee in their meeting of
March 16.
Six faculty members were selected, two
tenured faculty from each broad division
of the sciences, social sciences, and hu
manities. The six faculty were: social sci
ences—Dr. Ted Seitz and Dr. Ted Shoaf;
humanities—Dr. Christine Gullickson and
Dr. Robert Trullinger; science—Mr.
Joseph Parsons and Dr. James Perry. The
selection was made by ballots distributed
to the Senate by division.
Much discussion centered around the
student members and the method of their
selection. The Senators felt that they did
not know enough about students from
other areas, and that the department chair
persons should rank their two nominations
in the order of first choice and alternate.
TTie student members were to be full
time students with at least a 3. average and
the intention of remaining at UNC-A the
following academic year.
The nominations were: social sciences
—Susan Sport, majoring independently in
education, and Teresa Pike, a psychology
major; humanities—Katherine Nailling’,
an art major, and Mary Beth Penland, a
double major in Spanish and management;
sciences—Phillip Bowers, a triple major
in chemistry, mathematics, and physics,
and Collene Bridges, a double major.
A motion was passed that the depart
ment chairs should rank the nominations,
and that the faculty members of the com
mittee, in consultation with the Chancel
lor, should select one student from each
division.
During discussion prior to the vote. Dr.
Stein asked why the Student Senate could
not select the student members. Dr. Vin
son stated that the Chancellor wanted it
done by the Faculty Senate.
Dr. Howard stated that the student
members should be afforded the same pro
tection as nontenured faculty (i.e., not eli-
See Selection P. 8