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Salem College, Winston-Salem, N. C., Thursday, November 20, 1975
Number 4
Dean Somerville Resigns;
Selection Committee Picked
By Margaretta Yarborough
Two weeks ago many students
ceived a jolt with their morning
iffee: the front page of the
orning paper announced Dean
imerville’s impending resigna-
m. Her resignation in June will
11 at the end of her third year
; Salem’s academic dean.
The decision stems from per-
)nal reasons. Dean Somerville’s
ither died earlier this year, and,
3 her mother is in declining
ealth, she may need to relocate
loser to her home. As she puts
, she doesn’t see herself moving
ack to RD#3, Muncy, Penn-
ylvania, but she needs greater
exibility in her life at this point.
Secondly, Dean Somerville feels
need to work on her doctoral
lissertation at a livelier pace. For
everal years she has been work-
ng on her Ph.D. from Duke Uni
versity on the philosophy of
'eneral education. No one had
vritten a dissertation on this
iubject in some time, but for
iome reason the topic has sud-
lenly grown quite popular in the
ast year or so. Jan Somerville
row finds herself in the predica-
nent of getting her dissertation
inished before someone else says
it for her.
The philosophy of general educa
tion examines the education
which should be common to all
liberal arts students. At Salem,
“general education” is covered
by basic distribution require
ments. This topic brought Jan
Somerville to Salem in the first
place. When she became Assistant
in Academic Affairs during the
summer of 1972, she coordinated
a curriculum study for the Insti
tute of Undergraduate Curricular
Reform. Upon Ivy Hixson’s retire
ment she became academic dean
in July, 1973.
The academic dean, aside from
the president, fills the most im
portant administrative position
for the college, yet Salem Col
lege never had an academic dean
before Ivy Hixson accepted the
post. When Dean Somerville
came there was still much to be
done in the way of organizing and
making the administration of the
dean’s office more systematic. In
a sense, with Dr. Hixson’s recent
death, Salem has lost both of her
deans in two weeks.
The committee which will select
Dean Somerville’s successor has
already been chosen. It consists
of eight faculty members (two
from each division), one adminis
trator, and one student, with
Dr. Chandler an ex officio mem
ber. Those on the committee are
Mary Hill, Errol Clauss, James
Edwards, Mary Homrighous,
David Kurtz, Alphonso Villarino,
Robert Wendt, Anne Woodward,
Virginia Johnson, and Lucy Rose.
Dr. Hill has been appointed chair
man.
The committee should hold its
first meeting shortly, and, judg
ing from the 400 applicants for
a similar position at Randolph-
Macon, it will be the first of
many meetings. Once applications
are received, the list will be nar
rowed, and those who will be
invited to visit the campus should
come early in the spring term.
Dr. Chandler feels that the final
decision will be made the first
of March at the latest. Student
opinions are welcomed — anyone
who desires to make suggestions
should contact a member of the
committee.
Got Any Gripes or Suggestions?
See Student Affairs Committee
By Peggy Erickson
At Salem we have many com
mittees designed for interaction
between students, faculty and
administration. Too often, unless
she is a member of a committee,
a student’s ideas and opinions
are never heard at these meet
ings. Students elected to a com
mittee are supposed to “repre
sent” their classmates, but many
times only reflect the interests of
a certain group within their class.
In order for people to come to
these student representatives with
their ideas, they need to know
what committees exist and who
serves on them. I will start by
telling you about the committee I
know about.
I am a member of the Board of
Trustees on Student Affairs. Be
sides members of the Board (in
cluding chairman E. Sue Shore),
the committee includes faculty
members Dr. Lazarus and Dr.
Gilliland, students Zel Gilbert,
Patrice Mann, Missy Binkley and
myself, and Dean Johnson. We
meet four times a year to discuss
anything that concerns and affects
the students at Salem College. At
our first meeting last week we
talked about everything from
more student voice in the tenure
process to Founder’s Day. I was
pleased to find the atmosphere a
free and open one — the Trustees
want to know what is going on
here and how they can help. (It
was a member of this committee
that set up the alternative beach
trip during IRS weekend last
year.) There can be no action
until those with the power to make
change are made aware of the
problems. They also want to know
what we like about Salem. So
next time you feel like complain
ing about some aspect of campus
life, or feel excited about the
success of a certain Salem policy
or tradition, tell one of us so we
can be truer representatives of
YOU.
Energy Crisis Hits Salem
By Ellen Johnson
Stop and Think: How many
nes have you walked out of
ur room and left a “Chicago”
3um blasting at full volume?
Dw many times have you had
e sudden urge to indulge your-
If with a chocolate-chip ice
■earn cone and left all the lights
aring in your room? How many
mes have you left your fan on
linking your room might be a
ttle cooler when you returned
rom an all day shopping trip?
Everyone is aware that there is
1 energy crisis “somewhere in
le world” (as one student aptly
at it), but have you ever con-
idered the long range effects on
ven as small a community as
lalem College? That’s right —
hat so-called energy crisis which
s “somewhere in the world” sud
denly hits home! You might say
“Well, big deal . . .” and rightly
so, for it is a “big deal” in which
we all are participants.
As Director of Institutional Ser
vices, Bill Talbert is one of those
most concerned about the conser
vation of energy at Salem. He
was particularly emphatic about
“turning off those lights, stereos,
and hot water when they’re not
needed.” He said that Salem is on
an “interruptable schedule
which means that at anytime we
may be asked to switch from
natural gas to fuel oil in storage
in tanks beneath the hockey
field. Twice this year, it was
necessary to make the change,
and Mr Talbert predicts the
possibility of our running on fuel
oil most of the cold season from
November 15 to April 15. We are
required to use this alternate
source of fuel because of the
shortage of natural gas in North
Carolina. There is no foreseeable
problem in maintaining full tanks
of it; however, because fuel oil
costs’ much more than natural
gas, the utilities’ budget has been
greatly increased.
‘Ralph takes time out for lunch during Interclub Weekend.”
Salem Students Participate
In Exciting January Programs
This summer, in an effort to
further the conservation of energy
at Salem, the maintenance de
partment installed new heat con
trol radiator valves which will
enable students to regulate the
amount of heat in their rooms.
Also, new showerheads installed
in some of the showers will cut
down on the amount of water
used through more force and
less water.
Utility costs have increased
about 73% since 1972! This is
illustrated in the following chart:
1972-73 $107,000
73- 74 120,000
74- 75 146,000
projected 75-76 185,000
Mr. Talbert hopes that the 75-
76 utilities — electricity, water,
fuel — will not come to the total
projects. He believes that we,
as students, can help, that if
everyone pitches in, the results
will be successful in the end.
By Rhett Huber
The mini - mester, or January
program, is designed to give stu
dents time to do those things that,
during the hectic regular semes
ter, they usually cannot find time
to enjoy.
Planning for January involves
looking at campus classes, think
ing about some exciting place to
go, or working out an interesting
independent study.
This year, even though students
are involved in a busy semester,
they somehow find time to think
about January. As a result, some
people have some very interesting
plans.
Katherine Skinner, a senior
from Williamston, N. C., is going
to California for January. She
plans to travel with friends, and
as her academic offering for the
month, she is doing a self-directed
study of John Steinbeck. She
chose to study Steinbeck because
she needed an author who was
“pertinent to California.” She
chose California because that is
“where my friends are.” In her
own words, she is “going for the
location, then for the project.”
Katherine said another reason
she is going to California is be
cause, in her opinion, the pro
grams offered on campus are not
very good. She wanted to do
something she had never done be
fore, and she wants to be with
her friends, she said. In order
to finance her trip, Katherine is
working week-day afternoons in
the technical processing depart
ment of the library.
Although Ms. Skinner found
nothing to interest her on cam
pus, Ann Lafferty, a sophomore
from Charlotte, N.C., did. Ann
signed up to take Jim B r a y’s
course called “Explorations of
Creativity.” She is fascinated by
creativity because, she said, she
is not even sure she knows what
it is. She said that she feels like
she is not creative, and hopes
that through the course she “may
discover something creative I can
do that I haven’t done before.”
An interesting combination of
on-campus and off-c a m p u s
January planning was concocted
by Betsy Leach, a junior from
Bradenton, Fla., Betsy has plan
ned an independent study under
a Wake Forest professor to learn
to read, write, and speak the
Chinese language. Studying under
Dr. Spear from Wake, and spon
sored by Dr. Lazarus from Salem,
Betsy will supplement this in
credible undertaking by doing
self-directed study of Chinese
philosophy under Mrs. Laura Ed
wards. She is doing all this so
that she wilT'be able to read Ezra
Pound’s Cantos and Confucious.”
Betsy is an English major.
Moving from the purely acade
mic to the practical, Darcy
Camp, also a junior, from Ft.
Lauderdale, Fla., is planning to
go to Washington, D. C. to work
for her representative, Mr. Paul
Rogers. Darcy will be giving
tours of the FBI, the White House,
and the Capitol, as well as go
ing to Congressional hearings,
(continued on page 4)