Engineering decision frustrates faculty
By Elise Henshaw
Some UNCA faculty members re
acted \vith anger and frustration to
the manner in which plans for the
proposed industrial engineering pro
gram were conceived and developed.
Institutional policy set in a docu
ment adopted by the faculty senate
and signed by the Chancellor, calls
for faculty review of policy, planning
and initiatives in regard to institu
tional development.
Without consulting the faculty
senate or its committees, the board
of trustees added an amendment to
the Long Range Plan for the univer
sity, recommending the establish
ment of a degree program in in
dustrial engineering at UNCA. The
board of trustees took this action at
a meeting attended by legislator
Robert Swain, a supporter of the
program.
Dr. John Stevens, professor of
chemistry and chairman of the facul
ty senate, saw the action as “a
runaway game taking place off cam
pus with pushing by legislators and
corporation managers in this part of
the state. The whole planning pro
cess involving faculty wSs being
made a mockery.”
Dr. Shirley Browning, chairman of
the economics department, said, “I,
personally, became very upset be
cause the chancellor knew full well
that it was a runaround of proper
channels and at that point could
have gotten things under control.
All of this mess could have heen
avoided as well as the ill will of the
faculty. It was a terrible mistake
and contributed to cynicism among
the faculty.” Dr. Browning serves
as chairman of the University Plan
ning Council and the Institutional
Development Committee.
Browning said he believes the ad
ministration could have informed
the legislators that there were cer
tain established procedures to be
followed and that a faculty review
was necessary before further steps
could be taken. “If the legislators’
support was that shallow (that they
could not wait the short period of
time required), then I am nervous
about the depth of support they’ll
give us.
Stevens and Browning voiced con
cern to the administration that the
faculty was not going to review the
matter. At their meeting
Dec. 9, the faculty senate instructed
the executive committee to meet
with the chancellor and “address the
whole problem of where this thing
was headed with the board of trus-
continued on page 8
serving the students of the University of North Carolina at Asheville
Volume 2, Number 2
Thursday, February 3, 1983
Humanities building
hinders handicapped
“I just want to be an active part of things,” said student Susan Banks,
shown here in the lobby of the Carmichael Humanities Building.
Staff photo by Pam Walker
By Leigh Kelley
“It is financially impossible right
now to make the Carmichael Hu
manities building more accessible to
the handicapped,” said plant
engineer Sam Millar.
“We’ve already put ramps and
restroom facilities for the handi
capped in the building, but an
elevator would give accessibility to
the second floor,” Millar said.
“We’ve got the drawings for it, but
the money is holding us back.”
How do UNCA handicapped stu
dents handle this situation? One
student, Greg Wright, said it is a
real problem when classes meet on
the second floor. “The instructor
has to move the class down to the
first floor. It’s a real inconvenience,
so an elevator would be great,” he
said.
The Carmichael building is one of
three buildings at UNCA without
second story access for the handi
capped. The other two buildings are
the Phillips’ Administration build
ing and Justice Gym. Justice_Gym
is a five level structure.
“We’ve already spent $7,000 in
upgrading the campus with widened
sidewalks, ramps, and restrooms. A
capital improvement grant must
come from Raleigh before we can do
anything else,” he said.
Non-handicapped students also
think an elevator in the Carmichael
building is a good idea. “There’s ob
viously a need for it,” said Michelle
Vaden, a UNCA language major.
“We would probably have more han
dicapped students if they could get
around.”
Getting around is still hard, accor
ding to Wright, because the campus
is hilly. “As far as pushing goes, it’s
still rough,” he said.
Wright praises Millar for the im
provements already made. “Sam
and the maintenance people have
done a real good job in making the
campus accessible,” he said.
Millar says a new elevator will
cost about $60,000. “The state is so
short of money, they’ve stopped tak
ing our requests as of a year ago,” he
said.
What do UNCA students, espe
cially the handicapped do in the
meantime? Millar said he would
like to put an elevator in the Car
michael building, but for now,
“We’ll just have to wait and see.”
Assault
investigation
compieted
The Asheville Police Department
has dropped its investigation of a
rape reported Jan. 25 at UNCA, ac
cording to Detective Nancy
Penland.
When asked about the investiga
tion, Dr. Eric lovacchini. Vice
Chancellor of Student Affairs, said
the investigation was not dropped
on campus.
lovacchini said, “The inyestiga-.
tion is completed. We are now deter
mining whether or not disciplinary
action will be taken here on
campus.”
lovacchini did not release any fur
ther details concerning the in
vestigation.