Newspapers / University of North Carolina … / Feb. 17, 1994, edition 1 / Page 1
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The Blue Banner "To be loved is to be fortunate, but to be hated is to achieve distinction," -- Minna Antrim Volum^2^lun^ The University of North Carolina at Asheville Thurs., Feb. 17, 1994 Three faculty members take over duties of vice chancellor Kevin Ellis Staff Writer Three UNCA professors will serve in administrative positions while the university seeks a new chancellor. The university is making the changes due to the recent appointments of Vice Chancellor Larry Wilson to interim chancellor and Associate Vice Chancellor Thomas R. Cochran to interim vice chancellor. The two moves left university administration shorthanded, Cochran said. The (iiree professors will work as a team to fulfill administrative chores while icaching half-time. Margaret “Peg” Downes, professor and chairwoman of the literature and language department, will coordinate faculty development activities; Alan Hantz, professor and chairman of the mass communication department, will coordinate curriculum and planning; and Merritt Moseley, a literature and language professor, will coordinate public service and special products for the university. The administrative appointments take three of the university’s best professors out of the classroom, Cochran said. The university is replacing them in the classroom with adjunct professors in some cases whil^using other professors for some teaching duties, he added. “We can find someone else to teach the courses but whether or not someone else can meet the quality that they bring to the classroom will be hard tojudge,” Cochran said. “They are very good faculty, but for a semester we think it’s worthwhile to have that kind of trade-off.” The change will last through the spring semester, Cochran said. The university system has sought a new UNCA chancellor since August 1993. Samuel Schuman left the position of chancellor in December 1993 The UNCA Chancellor Search Committee has reportedly developed a short list of chancellor candidates for reconmiendation to the University of North Carolina board of governors, Cochran said. Concerning the administrative changes, Cochran said the three faculty members will work well in promoting the university in their respective project areas. “They are some of our best faculty. They’re very experienced, and they’ve all had leadership roles on the campus at varying times, so you know they’ll just do a first-rate job for you,” Cochran said. Downes, who also serves on the Chancellor Search Committee, will add emphasis to faculty development, something the university has not promoted as much in the past, Cochran said. For example, in March she will take a group to Philadelphia for a seminar on introducing multi-cultural issues into the curriculum sponsored by the American Association of Colleges.. “Faculty development is an on-going concern, but when you’ve got 10, 000 other things to do, itnever gets as high priority as it probably should,” Cochran said. “At least for the next few months, we’ll have someone who can at least devote most of their time to it.” Hantz, former chairman of the University Planning Council, is working in a familiar area, Cochran said. He will work in various curricular activities, including the first-year experience’s program and continued efforts in campuswide retention. Moseley will work on summarizing what faculty members are currently doing in the community in regard to volunteer work or community service, Cochran said. He also will help define the university’s public role as a liberal arts college and be involved in writing grant proposals for UNCA. Cochran was uncertain whether the university will reward any of the three faculty members with temporary salary increases for their added duties. However, he said he expects all three will find the experience gratifying. “This gives us a chance to take advantage of some of the interests these three have and get some things moving that we just haven’t had the time to develop,” Cochran said. In other university announcements, Dwight Mullen, associate professor of political science, will continue coordinating cultural diversity activities for the university. He will also develop an Africana Studies program, Cochran .said. On Vacation J Staff Photo By Annemarie Riley Bill Catcher from''KISS FM held a drav^^ing In the Highsmith Center on Feb. 15 for a seven day spring break Daytona Beach vacation. The vi/inner was Christie Milsaps, Professor attends meeting on future of science in post-Cold War America Alex Eastwood Staff Writer More than 200 leaders in the field of science gathered at the White House last week to discuss a new framework for maintaining America’s pre eminence in the post-Cold War world. The meetings were designed to assemble a written collection of goals for the scientific community, based on the input of special representatives. John G. Stevens, UNCA chemistry professor, attended the two-day event as a representative for the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR). Stevens' role was to provide information on the importance of scientific research at the undergraduate level. Stevens said that underneath the inspired intellectual exchange at the conference was the genuine concern for the future distribution of government funds. “The concern stems from the passing of the Cold War era,” he said, “to an era faced with overwhelming social problems and astronomical debt. But the answer to those problems does not lie outside the realm of modern science.” The future of the nation still resides in the hands of the scientific community, said Stevens. And, he added, the future of the scientific community resides in the hands of young research scientists. “The core of the scientific community, as a nation, is resting heavily on our colleges and universities. You are .seeing, over the last decade, industrial research laboratories being closed down left and right. We are relying more and more on our basic research needs coming from the academic community,” said Stevehs. The framework developed at the conference will land on the desk of the White House Office of Science and Technology. In the future, when policy suggestions are made by White House advisors, this framework will provide guideUnes to assist the distribution of government funds to the scientific community. Stevens, the national executive officer for CUR, wants to ensure that Inside Opinions 2 Take a break Susan Hanley Lane Perspectives 3 Christian world view Poor access to gym Features 4 In the Name of the Father Macbeth review Sports 5 Tennis preview On Deck Comics 6 The Far Side Off the Mark Announcements 7 Job opportunities Events Speakers discuss separatism in lecture Rebekah Stivers Staff Writer Weather Report Friday Saturday HI 64 Lo38 Hi 66 Lo40 Weather Report courtesy oi the National Weather Service UNCA Atmospheric Scienc* Department oHers updated forecasts through the 24 hour Weatherline...251 *6435 The first session in a three-part seminar discussing African-American and Jewish-American relations was held Feb. 9 in the Owen Hall Conference Center. Dwight Mullen, associate professor of political science, and Alan Saxe, a sociologist, spoke on the existence of separatism and assimilation within individual groups as well as within their own communities. Mullen began the session by commenting on the existence of assimilation within the African- American community. He said there is a tendency for individual members of the community to concentrate so heavily on identifying with the whole of the community that they lose the individual self. He said assimilation is not necessarily synonymous with integration, and that it is not the only goal aside from segregauon. Assimilation has a flawed objective, he said. Mullen said if this is a “means,” what is the “end,” or the futuregoal, fortherelations of African- American communities with the “majority” community. He later responded to an audience member’s question on the importance of this issue within the African- American community. He said the question of whether to assimilate was a sensitive one, and that different levels of it exist in the community. One example he gave was the issue of color stratification (light-skinned vs. dark-skinned prejudices) within the community. He said he is not convinced that these issues will ever be completely resolved , no matter how much change occurs. “I am not motivated at all by idealism,” said Mullen. Different communities will have to independently choose their own motivations for assimilation, he said. Mullen also said separatism is not the same as segregation, and that he refuses to accept this as the only alternative. He said he sees this association as a challenge to build a society which is free of separatism, and that the basis of the society should be focused on relationships between groups. Saxe then spoke on assimilation and separatism within the Jewish community by presenting significant biblical characters who dealt With these issues as examples for how present individuals and communities should seek to operate. Saxe said that the goal of the Jewish community is to respect all cultures. “We seek universality,” and have always been taught to respect diversity, he said. The first biblical reference he made was to Abraham, the fu'st Jew. He said Abraham was a non-judgmental character who worked to establish the values of love, justice and charity. He was an example of someone who was respectful of diversity. Saxe also said Abraham questioned authority and cultural assumptions, and taught his followers to learn from the past. Saxe referred to the life of Abraham as an example to show that marginality, rather than an extfeme of either assimilation or separatism, may be the goal for which to strive. Saxe said the biblical character undergraduate research programs receive their fair share. The conference divided into small groups to focus on individual aspects of the framework. These meetings were not an attempt to secure immediate funds. Their purpose lies in defining for future policy makers the expectations of what each group hoped to accomplish, and how each group fits into the big scientific picture. Within his group, Stevens hoped to hear a sense of continued support for academic research, an area not for its ability to play political hardball. In what was considered the most significant talk at the two-day meeting. Vice President A1 Gore attributed the remarkable success of American science since World War II to the policy of awarding funds on the basis of scientific merit. That statement implied a determination by the administration to put an end to appropriators of funds dealing in pork-barrel politics, according to Stevens. > See “Meeting," on page 8 Joseph represented the movement of the Jews from the past traditions of oral history into a more progressive, agricultural society. Joseph showed that Judaism can be enriched even as the world is constantly changing, he said. Saxe said Joseph embraced humanity, sought justice and held onto his values in a changing world. He said Joseph’s message was to encourage the love of humanity and to not separate the community according to race or creed. Moses was the final example given by Saxe. He said Moses was almost completely assimilated, and that throughout his life, he was forced to face himself, and he did this by seeking out a culture opposite to the one he had known. Saxe said that assimilation is complicated, and that people can learn who they are often by learning about other cultures and other individuals who are unlike themselves. He said that Jews should “steep” themselves in their own culture while learning about other ones. Saxe also said that Jews have a clearly- defined tradition, whereas a lot of that has been broken down within the African-American conununity. “Assimilation and separatism is a process along a continuum,” he said. A discussion of assimilation must include both individual and institutional behavior, and “the answer will come when we get serious about creating a just society,” he said. The ideas discussed in this session were motivated by those of J ulius Lester, author and civil rights activist, who spoke on the basic similarities and differences among these two groups in the keynote lecture on Feb. 2. Staff Photo By Chan Carter Carolyn Briggs presented a program called "Spiritual Leadership" on Feb. 16 as part of the IMPACT Leadership Series. i
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