Western Front - 1982 November 30

              G. Robert Ross tabbed
for presidential hotseat
PHOTO BY GARY LfNDBERG
By MITCH EVICH
G. Robert Ross, veteran administrator and former chancellor at
the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, has been chosen as
Western's next president, Board of Trustees Chairman Curtis
Dalrymple disclosed late yesterday afternoon.
In a statement released to The
Front, Dalrymple said the
trustees unaminously favored
Ross over the other four finalists
for the top job in Western's
administration. The board is
scheduled to formally announce
Ross' selection at a press
conference set for 10 a.m. today in
Old Main 340.
"Dr. Ross' outstanding
leadership abilities and wide
range of experience will be very
valuable to Western in the
coming years," Dalrymple said of
the man who will succeed Acting
University President James
Talbot sometime early in 1983.
Ross' selection, which caps an
eight-month search triggered by
former President Paul J-.-
Olscamp's abrupt resignation last
spring to take over the presidency
of Bowling Green State University
in Ohio, likely won't come as a
surprise to many observers.
Several campus leaders have
pointed to Ross as the odds-on
favorite to secure the presidency.
In an interview last week
Associated Students President
Mark Murphy noted that
whenever people discussed the
candidates, "Ross' name came up
an awful lot." Although Murphy
declined to endorse any of the
five finalists, he lauded Ross for
having impressive style and
manner.
"At first I thought he was too
much of a good ol' southern
gentleman," Murphy said of the
Texas-born administrator. "But
he struck me as being very
friendly, very approachable and
very concerned about the future
of this university."
People's Choice
Ross apparently was the choice
among campus letter-writers
who sent recommendations
about the candidates to the
trustees. Among the more than
100 comments received, "Dr. Ross
was clearly the strong favorite,"
Dalrymple said.
The 54-year-old Ross received
strong words of support from the
local chapter of the American
Federation of Teachers. Local
president Milt Krieger, a liberal
studies professor, earlier this
week labeled Ross the strongest
of the five candidates arid the one
who would require the least "on-the-
job training."
Ross brings to Western an
impressive track record,
highlighted by his 13-year stint at
Arkansas-Little Rock He enjoyed
considerable success in
attracting money and students to
that campus.
During Ross' tenure, enrollment
at the regional university
skyrocketed to 10,000 last spring
from 3,000 in 1969 — an
achievement that flew in the face
of Arkansas tradition. The
University of Arkansas at
Fayetteville historically has
played the dominant role among
the state's public higher
education institutions.
Feud with president
The extra dollars Arkansas-
Little Rock coaxed from the state
Legislature triggered considerable
chagrin among Arkansas-
Fayetteville partisans —
including the state system
president, who eventually
requested Ross' resignation. But
the local governing board at
Arkansas-Little Rock thwarted
that attempt, and Ross
completed his term last June.
He now is an consultant with a
Washington D.C.-based edu­cational
association.
The University of Washington
occupies a position in this state
similar to that of Arkansas-
Fayetteville, Krieger noted. He
added that Ross' record indicates
he may be able to tilt the funding
tables more in Western's favor.
Ross visited Western in late
October, stressing the need to
G. Robert Ross
strengthen ties with business and future — a note that apprently
industry, and expressing rang well in the ears of many
considerable optimism about the listeners. (Continued on page 6)
Grid squad shake-up Head coach Long resigns PHOTO BY BLAIR KOOISTRA
Boyde Long
By MARK CARLSON
After suffering through three
straight losing seasons, Western
head football coach Boyde Long
announced last night he is resign­ing
as the Vikings' mentor.
Long's announcement capped
months of speculation on cam­pus
about his future as Western's
football boss. The Vikes finished
1-9 this season, 0-10 in 1981 and
2-8 in 1980.
The team wasn't helped by a
successful Associated Students
referendum drive last spring that
demanded a cutoff of student
monies supporting the grid pro­gram.
The ballot issue, which
drew emotion-charged debate,
shattered Long's recruiting
efforts this sumer.
"I think it is in the best interests
of the university" to resign as
coach and remain as men's
athletic director, Long told the
Front late last night.
"I've been thinking about it
since the season ended (Nov. 13
against Eastern Oregon Univer­sity)
and I made up my mind
about a week ago today," he said.
Long said he didn't have a
chance to consult with his play­ers
before deciding to step down.
He said he attended the Ever­green
Conference meeting in Port­land
the week following the end
of the football season, and didn't
return to Bellingham until Tues­day
evening.
Long, who was named football
coach here in 1970, now will sit
on a search committee that will
seek out his replacement. Two
other members of the five-person
committee have been named:
Registrar Eugene Omey, who will
serve as panel chairman, and
Michael Seilo of the speech
pathology/audiology depart­ment.
In addition, the committee will
include an as yet unnamed foot­ball
player and a representative
-from the physical education
department.
The new coach should be
"someone who is knowledge­able
about recruiting," Long said.
"We need some good student-athletes
coming in if we are going
to turn things around here."
But no matter who is brought
in to lead the Vikings, at least one
full-time assistant coach will be
needed, he said.
Currently, the team is aided by
one part-time faculty assistant
coach, three part-time student
assistants and one part-time non-faulty,
non-student assistant.
But, he added, any efforts to
hire a full-time assistant may be
hampered by money problems.
One football player, junior
offensive tackle Jeff Kramer,
expressed "mixed emotions"
over Long's departure.
"I suppose I feel mixed emo­tions
about the announcement,"
he said. "Long's always been one
of the good guys. He's treated us
well and he's shown a great deal
of perseverance through some
difficult times. In a sense, I think
he was a victim of circumstance."
Kramer noted that highly suc­cessful
football coaches, such as
the University of Washington's
Don James, "don't have to spend
their springs defending their
football teams against students
and administrators."
Kramer said he hopes the
shake-up will be seen by the
community as a new beginning in
the program, but was quick to
add that any progress can't be
made without a financial com­mitment
by Western's leaders.
The football team's funding for
coaching positions is much
smaller than at some other
comparably-sized schools.
Student assistant coach Rich
Brudwick said, "I'm kind of dis­appointed
it had to happen this
way. I think Western is losing a
good football coach."