Western Front - 1988 June 28

              Locals rally for
Veteran's Peace
Convoy p.3
Western's oldest
alumnus p.6
*—i
Renovation at
Wilson Library
p.4
The Western Front TUESDAY. JUNE 28,1988 WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, BELLINGHAM, WA VOL. 80, NO. 36
Mortimer chosen new president
By Wendy Sawyer
staff reporter
G. Robert Ross will be re­membered
as a man who helped
lead Western into high standing
across the nation as a leader in ex­cellence
in education.
When Kenneth P. Mortimer,
vice president and vice provost at
The Pennsylvania State University
assumes the late Ross' position as
Western's president this fall, ad­ministrators
expect to see him
carry the university into what they
call "the next level of excellence."
"He's the guy who can do it,"
Faculty Senate President George
Mariz remarked confidently about
a man he calls "one of the na­tion's
top educators."
Mariz said reaching this next
level of excellence will be a way of
describing Western as "being in
that handful (of regional univer­sities)
mentioned over and over as
one of the best."
Mariz said he thinks very
highly of newly selected President
Mortimer and mentioned his
broad vision for education, good
grasp of t h e issues, quick-mindedness
and sense of humor
as qualities he hopes will make
him a strong leader for Western.
Mortimer brings with him a
long list of accomplishments, in­cluding
a position as chairman of
a 1983 National Institute of Edu­cation
Committee that analyzed
American higher-education prob­lems
and solutions.
The committee's findings led
Mortimer to write the book
"Involvement in Learning." He
also is co-author of several other
books, including "Accountability
in Higher Education."
Mortimer earned a bachelor's
degree in English in 1960 and a
master's in business administra­tion
in 1962 from the University
of Pennsylvania.
He completed graduate work
in political science at California
State College at Hayward and
earned a doctorate in higher edu­cation
in 1969 from the University
of California at Berkeley.
Mortimer began directing
Perm State's Center for the Study
of Higher Education in 1976 and
continued on at the university to
become vice president and vice
provost in 1985.
Mortimer was chosen West­ern's
president from nearly 200
applicants, said Mariz, who served
on the 13-mcmber presidential se­lection
committee.
This committee made three
final nominations on April 19 that
included Mortimer, William
"Bud" Davis from the Oregon
State System of Higher Education
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and Peter Wagner from Utah
State University.
"Mortimer, 50, was named
Western's new president by the
university's Board of Trustees on
June 9 and will begin his leader­ship
at Western, Sept. 15.
Mariz said the new president
plans to make several visits to
Western's campus this summer to
become familiar with the com­munity.
Mortimer fills the position left
vacant by the death of Ross, killed
in a Nov. 4 airplane crash that
also took the lives of university
vice presidents Jeanene DeLille
and Don Cole and the plane's
pilot, Ty Hardan.
Al Froderberg, special as­sistant
to the president for state
government, has served as West­ern's
interim president since
Ross's death.
.il 7 A'day aftey the^rustetss^an-nouncement,
Mortimer delivered
a speech to Western faculty, stu­dents
and staff in the Performing
Arts Center. Mortimer named
several of the goals he plans to
carry out during his stay at West­ern.
He said his most pressing task
will be to fill the position of vice
president for academic affairs,
Western's primary academic
voice.
This position has been vacant
since Paul Ford resigned in
March, 1987, to return to his fac­ulty
position in the College of Ed­ucation.
John Yost, vice provost of the
University of Nebraska, had been
chosen for the post last August
before Ross' death, but a series of
delays caused his withdrawal in
March.
see Mortimer p.3
Cops seek relief:
safety is concern
By Jenny Shuler
staff reporter
University Police filed a com­plaint
with the Department of
Labor and Industries on May 6,
charging its safety is jeopardized
by Western's no-arms policy, said
Lt. Dave Doughty.
John Ecker, Labor and In­dustries
regional administrator,
notified Western officials at a
June 22 conference that Western
would be cited for violation of po­lice
safety. A notice of general
violation will be sent within the
next two weeks.
Doughty said Western police
have worked to change current
policy since the Board of Trustees
decided in 1980 not to arm the
police.
A petition to carry guns was
presented to the board in Septem­ber
1986, after a Bellingham Po­lice
dog was stabbed by an on-campus
prowler.
The petition was not put on
the board's agenda until fall 1987,
and action was delayed because of
President Ross' death, Doughty
said.
The issue again was discussed
on May 5, but action has been
postponed until December.
Doughty, an officer at West­ern
for 13 years, said police stand
firm on their plea to carry
weapons and w^nt a decision
soon.
"The board just put off thcir
decision so they could study it
some more. I am here to change
this. I would rather face the issue
than walk away from it," he said.
In response to the complaint,
Peter Harris, interim vice presi
dent for business and financial af­fairs,
said Western officials will be
given 90 days to abate the alleged
'see cops p.3 1
Tech building stands as a
lasting memorial for Ross
By Michael Reeves
copy editor
As a lasting tribute to late
president G. Robert Ross, the
engineering technology building
was rededicated in his memory by
members of the university and
business communities June 10.
Interim President Albert
Froderberg opened the ceremony
by speaking about Ross' desire for
a strong technology program.
He said Ross' vision and hard
work made the technology build­ing
the reality it is today. .
"As president of Western, G.
Robert Ross was a strong advo­cate
of Western's engineering
technology program," he said.
"He saw a direct connection be­tween
education and its applica­tion
to improve the quality of life
for everyday Americans."
The key speaker at the cere­mony
was John Fluke Jr., presi­dent
of John Fluke Manufactur­ing
Company, Inc., who spoke
about the advantages the new
building would give to students.
He emphasized the need to
combine technological under­standing
with cultural understand­ing
to be successful in our present
"economic war" with Japan. He
condemned America's strategy in
this war, saying education was the
answer, not closing our borders to
Japanese imports.
Fluke said Japan's success in
technology has come through edu­cation
and praised Western for its
job in education by combining
technology and liberal arts.
Many problems American
companies face while dealing with
foreign competitors stem from
their inability to understand cul­tural
differences. This is where
the liberal-arts training Western
provides becomes important, he
said.
see dedication p.2