Volleyball profile ...PAGE 8
The students’ voice since 1901 • Vol. 111 No. 11 • Thursday, November 3, 2011 • Check us out online.
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Tuition to fund higher president salaries S usan W elte welte@esubulletin.com
Inforgraphic by Ellen Weiss
Effective January 2012, some presidents of regent universities will receive “market adjustment” pay raises, ranging from 12.2 percent to 14.7 percent. While not every president will receive this increase in salary, all will see a 1.8 percent cost of living increase. “(The Kansas Board of Regents) annually reviews the salaries of the CEOs of colleges and conducts an analysis of how they should be compensated,” said Ed McKechnie, chair of KBOR. KBOR approved both the market adjustments and cost of living increase with a vote of 8-1 on Oct. 20. Regent Tim Emert was the lone dissenter. Since public funds will not be allocated to fund the pay increase, McKechnie said the money will
come from student tuition fees. In an article by the Lawrence Journal World, Emert said the raises should be paid with state dollars, not through tuition and foundation funds. “The state Legislature and governor, for some reason, refuse to step up to the plate and reward excellence,” Emert said in the article. Emert also said he was concerned about “the people keeping the
Photo Illustration by Jenny Pendarvis/The Bulletin
engines running,” who will not be receiving any pay increases. But McKechnie said the salary
raise “reflects the current market.” “We will have to have the compensation set for regional CEOs to be reflective of our recruiting for Emporia State University,” McKechnie said. McKechnie said the cost of living increase did not detract from the market adjustment raise and that KBOR wants the salary changes to be in effect once a president is appointed for ESU. The reason for the raise was partially based on a review of pay for presidents at peer institutions in neighboring states during their annual review of presidential performances and salaries, McKechnie said. Vanessa Lamoreaux, spokesperson for KBOR, said the board
See SALARIES...Page 7
Sharp-witted Shonrock strategizes for ESU’s future C harlie H eptas news@esubulletin.com
Michael Shonrock, the first presidential finalist to be named, speaks during the open forum in Webb Hall yesterday at 4 p.m. Shonrock said he would aim for more involvement in student events to make connections between the president and students. Yiqing Fu/The Bulletin
Emporia State’s first presidential finalist, Michael Shonrock of Texas Tech, spoke at an open forum yesterday in Webb Lecture Hall, showcasing a sharp wit and a charming personality in his responses to the crowd of faculty, students and community members. “I’m very strategic,” Shonrock said. “When you’re a strategic thinker, you think big picture. I have great vision, I think that’s important… but when you’re a futurist you have to learn a sense of patience.” Shonrock is the first of four presidential candidates who will visit the campus throughout November. Once all candidates have been introduced to the Emporia community, the search committee will make its final recommendation to the Kansas Board of Regents. KBOR plans to appoint the next president and have them in office by January. The candidate’s names will only be released one at a time, the day before their respective campus visits. “There are several reasons (for releasing the names individually),” said Vanessa Lamoreaux, spokesperson for KBOR. “The first is to protect confidentiality for as long as possible and the second reason is that this is the process we (KBOR) follow for
other (presidential) searches.” Shonrock, who was introduced as the senior vice president of auxiliary services, enrollment management and student affairs at Texas Tech, said he is actually an associate professor of educational psychology at the university. His administrative position was eliminated last spring due to budget cuts. Shonrock said he interested in becoming ESU’s next president because he felt it was time to move on and he desires a presidential position. He said he has a “real passion for higher education” and that he wants to be in a place where he feels he can make a difference. He also said he wanted to be part of an institution that someone could return to in 10 years and be proud of what it had become. Some of the students in attendance said they felt Shonrock had the right ideas about school improvements as well as the right idea about what a president should be. “He has the tools and resources to make the improvements that we need to see made at our university in order to keep growing and retain students,” said Manny Requenes, sophomore music major. “I think he is a great candidate,” Samantha Atwell, junior secondary education major, said she liked Shonrock’s
See FUTURE...Page 7
Teach to the Test
Intellectual property bill stalls, some faculty wary of search methods American education system lacks creativity
Students of Ms. Frass’ class at Emporia Middle School prepare for a practice test on Monday. Two practice tests are given to gauge competency before the official test is given. John Henningsen/The Bulletin
R ocky R obinson robinson@esubulletin.com Is this going to be on the test? The aforementioned is a question heard in classrooms at any grade level and is a question that John R. Schrock, professor of biology, said is becoming
more common. “It is getting to the point that if it isn’t going to be on the test then it is not going to be taught in the classroom,” Schrock said. “The American teacher isn’t really a teacher anymore – they are an assembly line worker. They are handed the test and then are told what they will teach each day to prepare for the test.” Schrock, who has written several articles over teaching to the test, said it should be a part of a teacher’s academic freedom to be able to choose the way they teach their classes. It is the students who are hurt when teachers must follow the same syllabus. “When you educate, when you train and when you are teaching, it is all about how to get the right answers on a test, it focuses you straight in on memorizing,” Schrock said. “Then the American teachers stopped doing what they are suppose to do, which is trying to teach you to apply what you learn in the classroom to new things outside the classroom.” Schrock said that teaching to the test is a reaction to the No Child Left Behind Act, which requires all schools receiving federal funding to take part in standardized testing. Student scores on the standardized tests are supposed
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T ianhai J iang jiang@esubulletin.com
The amendment of a Faculty Senate bill regarding the intellectual property policy was the focus of debate at the meeting on Tuesday in Webb 2 Lecture Hall. “The reason I put (the amendment) together is because this doesn’t reflect a good balance between the university’s rights and the faculty member’s rights who might create it (an intellectual property),” said Michael Morales, associate professor of physical sciences department. Morales said some of the original policies, like “the university shall have the right to revise (mediated courseware) and decide who will utilize the mediated courseware,” were fairly strong. “What I tried to do then was to go through (the amendment) and make it more balanced,” Morales said. “For example, in most places where the university was deciding an issue, I thought that should be mutually agreed upon by the creator or creator’s courseware and the university.” Marian Riedy, assistant professor of business administration and education, said she agreed with some of the amendment, but thought there was some confusion remaining about the meaning and intent of the proposed policy. “I think the amendment was directed
Michael Morales, associate professor of physical science, makes a proposal for the intellectual property bill during the Faculty Senate meeting in the Kanza room Tuesday afternoon. Morales pushed for this bill to pass, which would give the university’s professors recognition for their creative property. Julie Thephachan/The Bulletin
to the part of the policy dealing with delivery methodology,” Riedy said, “but I think the main concern, which is addressed in the proposed policy, is the ownership of course materials, which is in another part of the policy.” She said she was also concerned that some parts of the amendment might conflict with the Kansas Board of Regents’ intellectual property policy. Two motions were made. One passed
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