The Campus Echo
Number 3
Friday, Oct. 5, 1984
Walker speech stresses
the quest for excellence
By,Valerie C. Skinner
Reach higher levels of motivation, prepare new
programs so NCCU students can compete with
graduates from all other universities, and avoid the
pitfalls of computer-technostress, said Chancellor
LeRoy T. Walker at the annual fall convocation in
McDougald gymnasium Thursday, Oct. 4.
Some 1300 students, faculty, staff, and guests
gathered to hear Walker’s speech, “NCCU: Yester
day, Today, and Tomorrow,” which was filled with
respect for his predecessors and NCCU’s rich
heritage; pride in the status that NCCU has achieved^
CAftOyNA
Chancellor Walker addresses crowd at the convocation. Pictnred
from left to right: the Rev. William Easely; Ben Ruffin, assistant
to the governor; Walker; Roland Buchannan, vice-chancellor for
Student Affairs; Waltz Maynor, director of Summer School;
William Friday, president of the UNC system; George Thome,
director of financial affairs (partially shown); attorney Asa T.
Spaulding; Tyronza Richmond, dean of the School of Business;
and Danise Baynes, Miss NCCU. (Photo by Melvin Walker.)
and determination to see NCCU a parr of the educa
tion mainstreeun.
“As we build on the NCCU of yesterday,” Walker
said, “we acknowledge that our rich history only
proyes that our present is secure and that we deserve
a future.”
During his speech. Walker urged faculty and
students to step toward higher levels of motivation,
saying, “I urge you to plan your future—carefully
write your plans, set your target, decide your plan of
attack, state what you are willing to give up to
achieve your goal, visualize your action, see it hap
pening and make it happen.”
Walker noted that NCCU is now on a course of ac
tion which will allow less well-prepared students to
graduate with the ability to meet “the rigorous stan
dards imposed by a society which has little compas
sion for mediocrity.”
He added that the decision to select 25 percent of
the newly enrolled freshmen from the top 10 percent
of their graduating class was designed to improve the
academic standards of this university. However, he
maintained, the procedure did not prevent entry for
disadvantaged students, “for there is a distinct dif
ference between underprepared and disadvantaged.”
Walker outlined several points which would lead
NCCU into a more successful academic future.
For faculty, he called for an updating of teaching
material to be consistent with the demands of society
and an implementation of assignments that would re
quire greater use of libraries, laboratories and other
resources of the university.
For students, he urged a greater utilization of writ
ten and verbal skills ; the development of a greater ap
preciation of excellence; the ability to do creative
thinking; and more support for university programs.
Walker stated that the Southern Association of
Colleges and Schools will be focusing more attention
on the results of education as a means of improving
education programs and services. Therefore, he call
ed on members of the faculty to improve the level of
teaching excellence and to demand more of students.
Walker added, “North Carolina must come to
grips with its ability to provide support for the six
teen units of the University System and at the same
time respond to the persistent demands of the 38 in
dependent colleges and universities for a larger piece
of the pie to educate North Carolina citizens enrolled
in those institutions.”
Walker also stated that NCCU’s future must res
pond to the mandate of the Consent Decree, which
suggests that our future is tied to its ability to accom
modate all citizens of the state with its offerings and
resources.
Walker warned against the pitfalls of computer-
technostress, saying that despite the value of com
puters, they can cause “a loss of capacity to feel and
relate to others.”
Walker noted that despite his confidence in the
security of NCCU as a part of the Durham communi
ty, he is less confident about “the extent to which our
university personnel and especially our students will
become a significant contributing part of the human
resource pool” if they are not significantly
motivated.
Default rate goes down;
direct loans to students
to begin again in spring
By Darryl E. Williams
The National Direct Student Loan (NDSL) will be available
for students beginning second semester, the Financial Aid Office
reported Thursday.
Students need to sign up in the Financial Aid Office on Oct.
22, from 9:(X) a.m. to 4:00 p.m. according to Lola McKnight,
financial director.
They need to have Need Analysis form on file from the
American College Testing Service (ACT) or College Scholarship
Service (CSS).
Of the students now enrolled at NCCU, 90 percent are on
financial aid.
The NDSL loan has been in exsistence in the past,” said
McKnight, “but due to the high default rate caused by graduates
not repaying their debts, the government discontinued the
loan.”
Students who are granted NDSL loans must begin payment six
months after they graduate, leave school, or drop below part-
time status. One is allowed up to 10 years to repay the loan. A
minimum of $30 a month is the standard payment. However,
there are exceptions made in situations which involve illness or
unemployment over a long period of time.
For further information, contact Lola McKnight inthe Finan
cial Aid Office.
Pictured above
are three cast
members of
“Bubbling Brown
Sugar,” scheduled
to open Oct. 10 in
University Theatre.
Pictured from left
to right are Gregory
Horton, Lisa
Harris, and Raiph
Deaton.
See story page 7.