The Blue Banner
"The ignorant classes are the dangerous classes. Ignorance is the womb of monsters.' -- Henry Ward Beecher
Volume 22, Number 18
The University of North Carolina at Asheville
Thurs., Feb. 24, 1994
Chancellor search committee narrows list of candidates for prospective chancellor
Some speculate search committee is under pressure to seek a woman for the administrative position
Teri Smith
Staff Writer
The UNCA Chancellor Search
Cominittee is narrowing its pool of
candidates and hopes to have finalists
on campus for interviews in late March.
As the search continues, speculation
escalates, both on and off campus,
about whether or not the new
chancellor will be a woman.
“We’ve now narrowed it down to
about 14 or 15 candidates,” said James
Banks, chair of the search committee.
‘About half of those are women,
“Of the original 240 applications and
nominations, we first narrowed the
group to about 50,” said Banks. “Of
those 50, about 40 percent were
women.”
“1 believe we will offer a fair
representation of the most qualified
candidates we can find,” said Banks.
Hit Asheville Citizen-Times reported
last week that a delegation from the
University of North Carolina's board
of governors will visit UNCA and
three other schools looking for new
chancellors to remind them to expand
efforts to seek women for those top
jobs.
Banks said that no one has contacted
him about a visit.
In the same issue, the Citizen-Times
Van Slyke: Campus needs more security
ran an editorial titled, “Needed:
Women Chancellors”.
“The obvious problem is that
universityboardsoftrusteesroutinely
fail to present candidates to the
president who are not men,”
according to the editorial.
“We’ve got to go to the search
committees and say to them, ’You’ve
got to take some affirmative action,
regardless of how much you may not
hke that term,' and go out and find
some candidates,” said Sam Poole,
chairman of the board that oversees
the University of North Carolina,
according to the Citizen-Times.
“1 think every search committee is
looking at that as advice,” said Banks.
Great Decisions
"Within the pool of candidates [for
chancellor at UNCA], we have a good
representation of women candidates,
and the liklihood of us considering
women candidates all the way through
the process is very good," he said.
“1 think people are speculating about
the gender of the next chancellor,” said
Margaret Downes, professor of
literature and one of six women on the
15-member search committee. “But I
think that faculty and students are most
interested in being assured that the
person chosen is the best qualified.”
Downes said that the women
candidates are as qualified as the men,
and the men are as qualified as the
women.
“We have had a high quality of
candidates of both sexes,” said
Downes.
“We’ve received more than 240
nominations or applications. We’re
very pleased with the number and the
interest this job has attracted across
the country,” Banks said.
The criteria for the qualifications for
the next chancellor were developed
after a series of meetings and
discussions with campus and
community leaders.
The CTiteria include: exceptional
leadership and interpersonal skills,
effective communicator, consensus
builder, proven record in effectiveness
of shared governance, demonstfated
comminnent to public liberal arts
values, receptivity to new ideas, and
willingness to take measured risks,
according to the UNCA public
information office.
"Much work still needs to be done
before finalists are brought on campus
for interviews sometime in late
March,” Banks said.
Once the finalists are interviewed,
the UNCA board of trustees will
recommend two or three names to
University ofNorth Carolina President
C.D. Spangler, Jr., who will
recommend a single name to the
University ofNorth Carolina board of
governors.
Plans are for the new UNCA
Kevin Ellis
Staff Writer
UNCA has fewer officers than any of the other 16 members of the University
ofNorth Carolina system, including three schools with fewer students, campus
Public Safety Director Jeff Van Slyke told a Feb. 9 meeting of the Student
Govenunent Association (SGA). The situation leaves campus security
sliorthanded and raises the potential of delays in delivering protection, he said.
“Certain administrations make campus security more of a priority,” Van
Slyke said in an interview with The Blue Banner. “Looking at those numbers,
you can assume they think it more important.”
UNCA has eight full-time officers and one security guard for a total
enrollment of 3,271 students, based on 1990-1991 statistical information.
Elizabeth City State University, with 1,746 students, has nine full-time officers
and one security guard; Pembroke State University, with 3,133 students, has 11
liill-time officers and three security guards; Winston-Salem State University
lias 2,517 students and 10 full-time officers and four full-time security guards
in the dormitories, based on the same time period.
Another statistic weighs more favorably for UNCA. Out of the 16 campuses,
UNCA has the fifth-highest ratio of students housed on campus per security
officers. UNCA has one security officer for each 102 persons housed on
campus. Western Carolina University has the highest ratio of students housed
on campus per security officer at 232-to-l. Of the universities, Pembroke State
University has the lowest ratio at 72-to-l.
The higher number of security officers at other universities does not necessarily
mean they are overstaffed. Van Slyke said. “You could probably ask every one
of the directors, and they’d probably say, ‘Yeah, I could use one more officer
here or there'.”
Van Slyke said he’s not being critical of administration because he knows
budgets are tight at all 16 campuses, yet he doesn't like putting just one officer
on a shift. It’s dangerous for officers and can add to security risks for students
and faculty, he said.
“The two go hand-in-hand. It’s the whole campus community that I’m
concerned about,” Van Slyke said. “You don’t want to have one person on a
See "Security," page 8
Staff Photo By Lat Ray
Jeff Rackham, professor of literature, discussed the political
situation in the former Yugoslavia on Feb. 7.
Report on minorities and
women raises questions
Teri Smith
Staff Writer
At the request of the faculty senate this month, a special task force has been
appointed to review specific issues raised in the Report on the Status of People
of Color and Women at UNCA (RSPCW). The report was completed by the
Minorities Affairs Commission nearly a year ago.
A large portion of the report deals with the diversity and equity of pay and
promotion among members of the faculty and staff, but portions of the report
also raise questions about the student population.
“The most salient fact about the status of people of color at UNCA is their
absence,” according to the RSPCW.
“There is no comprehensive strategic plan for racial diversity on this
campus,” said Dwight Mullen, associate professor of polidcal science who will
chair the task force.
‘The closest the campus has come to establishing a plan was with the Consent
Decree that came out of the federal courts in 1980, ordering desegregation at
universities in North Carolina," he said.
The Consent Decree was a settlement out of court, but it was sanctioned by
the federal courts, according to Mullen.
One provision of this agreement was that predominantly white institutions
were to enroll certain minimum percentages of black students.
“For predominantly white institutions, I think it ranged between 10 and 15
percent,” said Mullen. “And I’m not talking any minority, I’m talking about 10-
15 percent African-American students.”
UNCA has just under four percent African-American enrolhnent at this time,
according to Mullen.
At the beginning of this academic year, copies of the RSPCW were distributed
to three committees within the faculty senate, the Institutional Development/
University Planning Committee, Faculty Welfare and Development, and the
See "Task force," page 8
Inside
Opinions 2
Professors deserve it
S. E. Peak§
Perspectives 3
Where's Dewey?
Stop bickering
Features 4
"Prelude to a Kiss"
"Bigga" review
Sports 5
Basketball team wins
Tennis team loses
Comics 6
Chaos
Off the Mark
Announcements 7
Job opportunities
Events
UNCA to become part of
NC Information Highway
AI4X Eastwood
Staff Writer
Weather Report
Friday
Saturday
Weather Report courtesy of the Nrtional Weather
Service
UNCA Atnxjspheric Science Department oHers
updated forecasts through the 24 hour
Weather1he...251-6435
In the fall of 1994, UNCA will be part of the worid's fastest multi-media
communications network. Traveling at the speed of light over fiber optics, the
North Carolina Information Highway (NCIH) will transmit data, graphics,
television-quality video, and voice communications simultaneously to and
from specialized equipment at UNCA.
The NCIH is a high-tech communications infrastfucture that initially will
connect the N.C. departments of community colleges, public instruction,
correction, and justice.
The University of North Carolina system, many medical centers, four
medical schools, area health education centers (AHECs), and the
Microelectronics Center ofNorth Carolina will be online, as well.
How will the NCIH differ from existing communications systems? First, it
will be faster. Much faster.
In 1980, it took 84 hours to transmit the 33-volume Encyclopedia Britannica.
Today, it takes only 13 hours. Phase I of the NCIH will tfansmit the same
information in just 4.7 seconds.
Second, it will have advanced video capabiUties. PresenUy, UNCA uses
microwave technology to conduct video-conference classes that link other
institutions.
The tower that looms over the UNCA track is such a device. Without one of
these towers, video-conferencing is impossible.
With the NCIH, any state agency may have immediate point-to-point contact
with any other state agency. A group of biology students can schedule an on-
Une interview with an expert at a Triangle Research Park medical center. A
pre-engineering student can sit in on a engineering class at the school of their
choice.
The NCIH will use technologies like fiber optics, asynchronous transfer
mode (ATM) switches, and synchronous optical network (SONET)
transmission systems.
“The NCIH will be the first in the world to employ these advanced
technologies,” said Jane Patterson, technology advisor to N.C. Governor Jim
Hunt.
Fiber optics has the capability to handle the transmission of massive amounts
of digitized information in a very short time.
Staff Ptioto By Russ Reed
Rabbi Robert Ratner discussed the treatment of the Jewish community In American society at the
Crossing Brklges lecture, "The Politics of Hate Groups," on Feb, 16.
Speakers discuss politics of hate groups
Many stereotypers blame Jews for
causing World War II and for killing
“God” (Jesus Christ), he said.
Ratner then talked about the mind
sets of both the haters and those who
are targeted. He said that often the
hating begins when an individual or
group who is experiencing oppression
tries to find an explanation for their
oppression. Often they target other
minority groups because they are the
Rebekah Stivers
Staff Writer
See "Information Highway," page 8
The second session in a three-part
seminar discussing African-American
and Jewish-American relations was held
Feb. 16 in the Owen Hall Conference
Center.
Rabbi Rotiert Ratner, firom Temple
Beth Ha-Tephila, and Robert Smith,
firom the Asheville-B uncomb County
Community Relations Council, spoke
on the politics of hate groups throughout
history as well as within their own
communities at large,
‘The Klan is alive and well,” said
Rainer. He began the session
discussing how two different views of
“hate” can exist within haters’ minds,
and how haters can find any reason
they choose to hold a prejudice against
a group of people.
Ratner discussed specifically some
common stereotypes held against Jews.
Jews are often seen as being wealthy
capitalists who control the economy
and the entertainment industry, he said.
See "Hate groups," page 8