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The Blue
Banner
Sports
“Bulldogs track places well in Boone”
■ see page 6
Also inside:
Features
“UNCA remembers Holocaust week”
■ see page 4
Opinions
“Finding the perfect roommate”
by Margaret Lee
■ see page 2
Volume 35 Issue 10
The University Of North Carolina At Asheville
UNCA prepares for impending budget cut
Stuart Gaines
News Reporter
UNCA presented a number of
budget reduction scenarios for the
2002-2003 academic year to the
state governor’s office. The pro
posed cuts are the most recent step
UNCA has taken to address the
state’s billion-dollar budget crisis.
“Statewide, it is serious,” said
Wayne McDevitt, vice chancellor
for administration and financial af
fairs. “There is a budget deficit, and
there are a lot of ways the state can
deal with that. Budget cuts are one
of those.”
The projected state revenue short-
all is estimated to be between $1.8
billion and $2 billion, according to
McDevitt.
The governor’s office asked other
state institutions for budget cut sce
narios as high as 11 percent. The
governor is committed to minimiz
ing the effect of the budget crisis on
classrooms at all levels, according
to McDevitt.
“At three percent (budget cuts)
and higher, there is more and more
impact,” said McDevitt.
UNCA presented four scenarios,
ranging from one percent to four
percent permanent budget reduc
tions, according to McDevitt.
The budget reductions will affect
six areas: instruction, which includes
operating and personnel costs, the
Center for Creative Retirement,
Ramsey Library, distance educa
tion, administrative services and in
formation technology.
The combined cuts for these ar
eas, a four percent reduction, total
$944,728, according to McDevitt.
Instruction monies are spared in
the one percent and two percent
scenarios, but a four percent cut
would result in $220,000 in per
sonnel cuts and $135,000 in oper
ating cuts.
While operating cuts will affect
supply purchasing and travel bud
gets, personnel cuts will result in
the elimination of several adjunct
teaching positions next year at
UNCA, according to Richard Maas,
director of the environmental stud
ies department.
“What we’ll have to do is cut 75
2002-03 Areas for Budget Reductions
,000,000
000,000
000,000
700.000
600.000
500.000
400.000
300.000
200.000
1 00,000
0
r
-
Q 1%
■ 2%
□ 3%
□ 4%
oP
>
^4^
5^
GRAPH COURTESY OF J. P. AMMONS
UNCA presented possible budget reductions, ranging from one to foiu' percent, for the 2002-2003 fiscal year to the state governors office.
adjunct courses, and then, have
regular faculty teach more to pick
up those 75 courses,” said Maas.
“The administration has to go
through and find the adjunct
courses that are expendable (or) can
be taken over by regular faculty.”
Professors with special expertise
teach some adjunct courses, and
those courses would be spared first,
according to Maas.
“Adjunct positions should not be
eliminated because the full-time fac
ulty already have enough work to
do,” said Chris Thuot, a senior
literature major. “They (UNCA
faculty) already have a bigger load
than most professors in the univer
sity system. They can’t publish and
do other things that they want to
do, and this is only going to keep
that process going.”
Department heads were briefed
on the budget cuts at a recent meet
ing with Tom Cochran, the acting
vice chancellor for academic affairs.
A new position, which was going
to be open to a new full-time in
structor next year, would also be
eliminated at the higher percentage
cuts, said Maas.
“Departments will have scientific
equipment budget cuts,” said Maas.
“That’s pretty serious, given that
it’s on top of a lot of cuts that we
already had. But, we’ll function.
We just won’t be able to provide
quite as good of a curricular experi
ence for the courses.”
While UNCA has only provided
budget reduction scenarios up to
four percent, the governor’s office
or the legislature could still ask to
see scenarios up to six percent, ac
cording to McDevitt.
“In times of budget cuts, as in
times of plenty, it is most impor
tant to remember who we are,” said
Ken Betsalel, chair of the political
science department, in an e-mail.
“What comes first is our students
and making sure our courses are
taught well. All the rest will fol
low.”
The office of financial affairs pre
pared the budget reductions in con
junction with the chancellor’s cabi
net, the university planning coun
cil, academic department chairs and
some students, according to
McDevitt.
“If you’re going to start taking
away from faculty salaries, then
that’s not going to be attractive to
new faculty that may want to come
and teach here,” said Cat Canady, a
senior sociology major.
“We shouldn’t penalize our fac
ulty because they’re doing a really
good job, and we wouldn’t be able
to have the small class sizes where
you can really work one-on-one
with your professors,” said Canady.
The Center for Creative Retire
ment will suffer a $50,000 perma
nent reduction in all four scenarios,
while Ramsey Library’s budget will
shrink between $36,000 and
$139,000, according to the budget.
Administrative services, which
includes monies for staff develop
ment, equipment and services, will
be reduced by $250,000 at four
percent.
April 18, 2002
SACS
reevalutes
UNCA
Stuart Gaines
News Reporter
Representatives from the South
ern Association of Colleges and
Schools (SACS), a regional accred
iting agency for Southern schools,
visited UNCA March 24-27 to
evaluate the university for official
re-accreditation, which takes place
in December.
“One of the best parts was the
degree that faculty, staff and stu
dents were willing to contribute,”
said Dr. Marcia Ghidina, chair and
associate professor of sociology. “A
lot will come out of the enhance
ment recom
mendations
(from SACS).
We received a
lot of terrific
insights.”
The visiting
SACS team
was divided
into
two
each
COURTESY OF
SACS.ORG
groups
examining
one of two
self-studies
conducted by
UNCA over
the past three
years, accord
ing to Shirley Browning, co-direc-
tor of the self-study executive com
mittee.
The first self-study was a compli
ance study, which ensures the uni
versity is in compliance with the
SACS criteria for continued accredi
tation. The second, conducted vol
untarily, and in addition to the
compliance study, focused on stu
dent development at UNCA.
“We did quite well. The most
important thing is that the institu
tion received commendation (from
SACS),” said Browning. “That’s
the sign of a really strong under-
See SACS Page 8
Former director to relocate and manage Pegasus Press
Lana Coffey
News Reporter
RACHEL CRUMPLER/ NEWS EDITOR
^lario and Lee DiCesare bring their dog, Judith, to work with them
the press.
Mario DiCesare, former director
of Pegasus Press, accepted an offer
made to him March 8 by the Pe
gasus Press Board of Directors to
take over the press for the second
time, according to DiCesare.
“The morning afi:er I met with the
chairman of the board, he made it
clear that I could make an offer, and
I had five days to do it,” said
DiCesare. “I was agonizing over it,
and Lee (his wife) came up. I told
her what my inner conflict was and
she (said) ‘Nonsense, you did it
once, you can do it again,’” said
DiCesare.
The press will no longer have any
affiliation with UNCA, according
to Tom Cochran, acting vice chan
cellor of academic affairs and a
member of the Pegasus Press board
of directors.
“We’re now separated from
UNCA by the Chancellor’s wish, at
least that’s my understanding,” said
DiCesare. “Pegasus Press was affili
ated with UNCA loosely. The ad
ministration does not want to have
any further connection. Maybe,
eventually, it will go back to its
academic roots. It will continue its
academic character, I guarantee
that.”
Pegasus may still publish some
books for UNCA, according to
Cochran.
“If we deal with Pegasus, it will be
as we do with any outside vendor,”
said Cochran.
After listening to proposals from
both DiCesare and Neil Evans, a
former employee of the press, the
board of directors decided to offer
the position to DiCesare, accord
ing to DiCesare.
“What I also learned was that a
businessman had made an offer to
take over the problems,” said
DiCesare. “He intended to pay off
the debt, sell off the inventory and
then do something else with the
press.”
Both Evans and DiCesare agreed
to assume the remaining debt owed
to UNCA, according to Cochran.
Both also agreed to disassociate the
press from the university. These
conditions were the same for both
proposals.
“The board decided to select Mario
DiCesare’s proposal,” said Cochran.
“The primary reason was because
he is, in fact, the founder of this. It
was his project, so we thought he
had the most connection to the
press and what it was about as a
medieval and renaissance press,”
said Cochran.
The entire Pegasus staff, consist
ing of Evans, Dave Mahaffey and
Steve Kerback, quit after DiCesare
accepted the position as executive
director of the press, according to
DiCesare.
“Both of the young men that were
working for the press quit the day I
See PEGASUS Page 8
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