Western Front - 1975 May 16

              V.
western ront FRIDAY, MAY 16, 1975 Vol. 67 No. 45 Ten Cents
Deans plead for six more FTE positions
GREG COHEN
Faced with the nightmarish prospects of neglect­ed
students and enrollment ceilings, Western's
deans were on their figurative knees pleading for
their share of six Full-Time Equivalency (FTE)
positions that the State Legislature is expected to
approve this session.
Meanwhile, the deans of the three cluster-colleges
— Huxley, Fairhaven and Ethnic Studies
— criticized what they called the antagonism
displayed by members of Western's other depart­ments.
"There's a feeling students are being taken away
from other departments," Huxley Dean Ruth F.
Weiner said. /'Departments are jockeying for
students."
The three deans, along with deans from the
College of Arts and Sciences Education and the
Graduate School, met with members of the
Allocation Advisory Committee which will study
their requests and make recommendations to the
acting Vice President for Academic Affairs, College
President Charles J. Flora. (Flora has taken over
the vice president responsibilities since the
resignation last December of Jerry M. Anderson.)
Arts and Science dean James W. Davis
portrayed a seemingly hopeless situation through­out
the college as enrollment continues upward and
the number of faculty remains stagnant.
"We must begin to make subjective decisions
about which departments are more important,"
Davis said.
Temporary transfers of FTEs or limiting majors
might be necessary alternatives in the future if the
Legislature does not increase funding for higher
education, Davis said.
The deans expressed a need for a total of nine
positions to meet minimal staffing requirements,
while only six positions are expected to become
available.
Davis requested at least four of the six FTEs.
The other deans requested one FTE each, with the
exception of Arnld M. Gallegos of Education who
requested two positions.
Huxley's Weiner voiced the feeling of all the
college deans when she said that although her
department needed more positions she could only
in good conscience request one position.
"We are massively understaffed," she said of
Huxley. "The staff is too small to allow for any
flexibility of programs."
Fairhaven is losing the independent study
approach that was the major reason for the
creation of the cluster college, Fairhaven Dean
Kenneth D. Freeman said.
"Reduction-in-force is beginning to erode the
nature of Fairhaven," Freeman said. "We are
having to become more like the rest of the college."
As others did before him, Freeman noted the
number of students taking Fairhaven classes is up
and for the first time in its seven-year existence
there is a waiting list each quarter of students
wishing to take Fairhaven courses.
After listening to the dismal picture painted by
the deans Flora concluded the meeting by saying
"the deterioration of higher education in the state
will continue until the Legislature sees what is
happening."
Goltz report pulls funding
rug from under activities
FOOD FOR THOUGHT - Captain Compost and the Eco-Freaks presented a skit in
Red Square Monday depicting American consumerism. The four Fairhaven students
warned an estimated audience of 300 the dangers of improper American eating
habits. Literature was circulated as the actors brandished signs and threw
high-sugar and high-starch products including potatoe chips, soda pops, breakfast
cereals and candy upon the ground. The actors maintained that the food industry is
oriented toward profit, not toward human health. More skits are planned for the
future including one Sunday evening before the Firesign Theater's performance.
Ed. note: Last fall, College President
Charles J. Flora formed a task force to
look at the distribution of the portion of
tuition which supports services and
activities [S&A]. This is the second of a
three part series which studies the
report. Today's article will look at the
effects the report may have on depart-mentally
related activities.
SCOTT JOHNSON
IF THE RECOMMENDATIONS of
the Goltz report are implemented sever­al
programs currently funded with S&A
monies may be jeopardized.
These programs, including the per­forming
groups in music, the journalism
program in English and theater in
speech have come to rely on the $52.50
S&A fee collected from each student
quarterly. These departments are now
faced with the alternative of finding
their own money for their programs,
dropping the requirement of certain
classes for graduation or cutting out part
of their programs.
The report, authored by Sen. H.A.
"Barney" Goltz, recommends that if an
activity is part of the requirement for a
major, it should not receive S&A
monies.
"All I can say is that it is very very
unfortunate for these students," music
department chairman Edwin LaBounty
said. "I don't know where else we can
get the money.
"The only thing we have ever used
that money for is travel expenses and
food (when the music groups are
traveling). We go all over the state."
To continue the programs currently
operated under the S&A budget, these
departments will be forced to get
funding from the instuctional budget of
the college. And there is no abundance of
dollars within that budget.
THE EFFECT OF the report on
departmentally related activities cannot
be predicted until the status of the
instructional budget is known and when,
and if, the recommendations are put into
effect.
In addition, Flora said the report's
recommendations will probably be start­ed
over the next two years. This would
eive time to plan funding dropped from
departmentally related activities begin­ning
with the next biennium (77/78 and
78/79). The coming biennium (75/76 and
76/77) budget is already too far along to
accommodate major changes.
[Cont. on page 2]