GRAPES OF
WRATH
MARCH 12
The Ridgerunner
The Students’’ Right to Information and Expression
GUEST
EDITORIAL
PAGE 2
Vol. 1 No. 8
Asheville-Biltmorc College, Asheville, North Carolina
March 1, 1966
HUMANITIES BUILDING OPENS
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Homecoming Queen Crowned
Miss Sandy Mastin
DR. NIELSEN, PHYSICIST
DISCUSSES SPECTROSCOPY
Dr. Alvin H. Nielsen, head of the
Department of Physics at the Univ
ersity of Tenessee, Knoxville, served
as a visiting lecturer at Asheville-
Biltmore College last Thursday and
Friday.
He visited under the auspices of
the American Association of Physics
Teachers and the American Institute
of Physics as part of a broad, na
tionwide program to stimulate inter
est in physics. The program is now
in its ninth year and is supported
by the National Science Foundation.
The American Association of
Physics Teachers is one of the seven
member societies of the American
Institute of Physics.
Dr. Nielsen gave lectures, held
informal meetings with students, and
assisted faculty members with cur
riculum and research problems. Prof-
fessor James E. Wills, Division of
Science and Mathematics at Ashe-
ville-Biltmore College, was in charge
of arrangements for Dr. Nielsen’s
visit. He spoke Thursday to Science
students and Friday at an all-college
assembly.
Dr. Nielsen, one of America’s
foremost research specialists in mole
cular sp>ectroscopy, joined the Univ
ersity of Tennessee faculty in 1935,
became head of the department of
physics in 1956, and was appointed
dean of the College of Liberal Arts
in 1963.
A native of Menominee, Dr. Niel
sen holds the B.A., M.S., and Ph.D.
degrees from the University of Mich
igan. In 1951-52 he was a Ful-
bright Research scholar at the Univ-
ersite de Liege, Belgium, and was
designated a National Research
Counil fellow-elect in 1942.
Prior to joining the Tennessee fac
ulty, Dr. Nielsen was a fellow at
Ohio State University. In 1944-46
he served as research associate of the
Ohio State University Research
Foundation, doing war research for
the U. S. Office of Scientific Re
search and Development. He has
been a consultant to the Oak Ridge
Gaseous Diffusion Plant and Oak
Ridge National Laboratory since
1947.
His research work has attracted
grants sfrom various organization
and 300 foundations, including the
American Academy of Arts and
Sciences, Research Corporation of
New York, National Science Foun
dation, and the Tennessee Academy
of Science; and he has held research
contracts with the U. S. Army’s Of
fice of Ordnance and the Air Force
Cambridge Research Center.
(Continued on page 3)
2 NEff^ PROFESSORS
NJMED TO FJCULTY
Two new professors have been ac
quired by Asheville-Biltmore rec
ently, and will begin their duties in
August.
Dr. Bahram Farzanegan will be
Assistant Professor of Government.
He received his B.A. in history from
Lafayette College, his A.M. in inter
national relations from the University
of Pennsylvania, and his Ph.D. in in
ternational relations from American
University in Washington.
He belongs to several political and
social science honor societies and is
a member of the American Political
Science Association and Sigma Nu
Fraternity.
Two of Dr. Farzanegan’s hobbies
are chess and bridge. In addition, he
Poll Finds
New Grades
Unpopular
During the last week at Ashe-
ville-Biltmore, members of the staff
of The Ridgerunner have conducted
an informal opinion poll among the
college’s students. A sampling of one
hundred students were asked their
opinions on the new grading change
that will go into effect at A-B dur
ing the coming year. When it was
inquired whether they approved of
the new system the following answers
were given;
No’s 70
Yes’ 28
Don’t Care’s 2
Out of The Ridgerunner s sample
group then, 70% did not favor the
new “G” grade which will be in
troduced. Most of this percentage
group, however comes from upper
classmen. Among freshmen who were
polled, the split in answers was closer
to 50-50.
The most frequently given reason
for objection to the new change was
that the three letter system did re
move some of |he pressures atten
dant to a system with more divisions.
Also widespread among opinions ex
pressed were feelings that, if a change
was inevitable, then a return to the
A, B, C system was more desirable.
It was noted that many students also
gave a positive response to the col
umn, R.T.W., which appeared in
The Ridgerunner regarding the
change
Among those who sided with the
upcoming grade addition the chief
reason given was for recognition of
those students who are able to do
better than average, but not extreme
ly superior, work. Also mentioned
were the ideas that employers and
graduate schools would better be able
to interpret the newer system of grad
ing.
The two students who expressed
indifference based their opinions
primarily on the fact that they were
so called “C” students, and thusly
any change would not affect them.
has been active in college student
publications.
Dr. Farzanegan is a United States
citizen but a native of Iran. At
the present time his father is the
Iranian ambassador to Norway.
Prior to January eighteenth of this
year he had been in France finish
ing a dissertation. His wife was born
there and grew up in Paris.
Dr. Sidney Mathews, now teaching
at George Mason College in Arling
ton, Virginia, will also join the Ashe
ville-Biltmore faculty in August.
He received a B.A. from the Univ
ersity of Richmond and a Ph.D. from
Johns Hopkins University. He is also
a Phi Beta Kappa scholar.
From 1941 until 1942 he was an
instructor in history at the University
of Richmond; 1943-46 served in the
Army; 1946-1952 was a senior his
torian at the Historical Division of
the War Department; 1952-1961 was
Operations Research Officer at Johns
Hopkins; 1961-1964 was with Re
search Analysis Corporation; and in
the fall of 1964 went to George
Mason College.
Dr. Mathews is a member of num
erous historical and military organiza
tions and has been co-author of a
number of books and pamphlets,
mostly on military subjects. During
the war he was a combat hitorian.
He is a specialist on Soviet affairs.
He is married and has four chil
dren; three boys and one girl, ages
19, 16, 13, and 7.
NOTICE
Additional funds are available
for Work-Study positions during
terms 3 and 4. Employment is
restricted to those who meet the
income eligibility requirements.
Faculty members who can use ad
ditional student help of this type
should contact the Office of Ad
missions. Students who have not
applied for Work-Study employ
ment may check on their eligibili
ty in the Office of Admissions.
CEREMONY
HONORS
CARMICHAEL
Asheville-Biltmore College opened'
the doors of the Oliver C. Carmichael
Humanities Building at noon Feb
ruary 21 with brief ceremonies.
The $550,000 structure, which will
be dedicated later, went into imrrie-
diate use by the college’s Division of
Humanities, largest sequence of
courses in the General Education
curriculum.
The building will house tlie
Departments of Art, History, Foreign
Language, Literature and Philosophy.
Small seminar rooms, medium-sized
classrooms, an art studio and a lan
guage laboratory are included in the
32,000 square foot, two-story struc
ture.
Completion of the building means
that A-B now has facilities for a
student enrollment of 1,200. Present
enrollment is 600.
J. Bertram King of Asheville was
architect and Z. B. Robinson Con
struction Co. was the contractor.
The Carmichael Humanities Build
ing features an eye-catching offset
lecture hall which is octagonal in
shape and has a folded plate roof.
The lecture hall seats 330 students.
On hand for the opening was the
building’s namesake, Dr. Oliver
Cromwell Carmichael of Biltmore
Forest, N. C.
He is a former chairman of the
State Board of Higher Education and
has also served as president of the
University of Alabama, Alabama
College, chancellor of Vanderbilt
University and president of the Car
negie Foundation for the Advance
ment of Teaching.
Dr. Carmichael, one of the South
east’s most knowledgeable educators,
is known as an accomplished elder
statesman of education.
Dr. Roy A. Riggs, chairman of the
Division of Humanities, served as
master of ceremonies for the event
and described the new facility.
(Continued on page 3)
Architect Bertram King speaks at opening ceremonies of the new Human
ities Building February 21.