friday
SEPTEMBER 5, 2014 friday High 98, Low 77 saturday High 95, Low 73
VOLUME 100 ISSUE 7 FIRST COPY FREE, ADDITIONAL COPIES 50 CENTS
News Briefs World LIBERIA — The American aid agency announced Thursday it would donate $75 million to fund 1,000 more beds in Ebola treatment centers in Liberia and buy 130,000 more protective suits for health care workers. West Africa’s struggling health systems have buckled under the pressure of an Ebola outbreak that has already killed about 1,900 people.
National CHICAGO— A U.S. appeals court issued a scathing, unequivocal ruling Thursday declaring that gay marriage bans in Wisconsin and Indiana were unconstitutional, on the same day that 32 states asked the Supreme Court to settle the issue once and for all.
Texas FORT WORTH— A jury has found a North Texas man guilty of intoxication manslaughter in the drunken-driving crash that killed a family of three. The Tarrant County jury deliberated for several hours over two days in Fort Worth before finding Benjamon Todd Stewart guilty Thursday of three counts of intoxication manslaughter and one of failure to stop and render aid.
Faculty Senate proposes solutions for OE2C CHRISTINA COX Managing Editor clcox@smu.edu Nearly five months after its launch, SMU’s Operational Excellence for the Second Century (OE2C) is beginning to transition into its second phase: developing solutions to raise the university’s profile across the country. SMU, through its OE2C campaign, is seeking ways to become more efficient, increase productivity, reallocate sources from administration to academics, and slow the growth of tuition rates, which have been rising on campuses across the country. Some of the specific solutions, which were presented at a faculty senate meeting this week, could include streamlining purchasing, centralizing information technology departments, using online software for travel planning and reimbursement, capping new hiring, and even shortening staff hours during the slower summer season. The university hired Bain & Company earlier this year to help. The managing and consulting firm works with institutions, like SMU, to decrease excess costs and restructure operations in order to create sustainable changes and services. “The deans met with the Bain team in the last few days, and there is almost unprecedented collaboration among deans for plans for the future,” Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Paul Ludden said at the meeting. SMU officials working with the Bain team said that some of the changes to how the university
Courtesy of SMU
The ultimate goal of the OE2C campaign is to make SMU more efficient financially and a top 50 university.
operates could result in a savings of up to $30 million to $40 million. All departments around the university could be effected. Marty Sweidel, Meadows associate dean, has been working with the Bain team all summer. “We brought in consultants that we’re paying an awful lot of money to help us through this process,” Sweidel said. “It buys us time […] to be thoughtful about the solution.” Sweidel and Bill Detwiler are co-coordinators of OE2C. The two showed a slideshow to faculty members and stressed that they would be thoughtful, transparent, collaborative and data-driven while making decisions. Universities across the U.S. are facing problems like unsustainable tuition growth and unchecked university costs. One of the most sensitive issues under consideration at SMU is possible staff cuts or reduction in
construction
McFarlin is well on its way to a makeover. The campus’ third oldest building will be opened after phase one of its remodel at the Tate Lecture Series’ first show in late September. “The renovation is going to be eye-opening,” McFarlin Director of Operations Denton Bricker said. “It’s a hidden gem on campus and maybe one of our best kept secrets. It really is the new McFarlin.” The renovation has added all new house lights and added new architectural features on the auditorium walls. Restoration specialists Conrad Schmidt, who painted the Dallas Hall dome and Perkins Chapel, has added incredible painted detail to the walls and existing architecture. “Before, the walls were painted one color, called Aztec Gold. A lot of the relief was just lost,” Bricker said. “It looked flat.” “Now, with the contrasting colors and gold leaf, you feel yourself asking, ‘Was that here before?’,” Manager of Operations Tamera Hurdle said. Over 160 new light fixtures were added to highlight the detailed gold, white and grey paint scheme. In addition, the auditorium, first opened in 1926, is reintroducing some original focal points that were covered up in a previous renovation. Looking at a picture of McFarlin before the last renovation in 1962 that now resides in the lower level of the building, the team realized that the auditorium once featured stained
glass windows. “We believe they bricked up the windows, but there was a McFarlin M in the middle of the stained glass,” Bricker said. “We have been able to reproduce the M on the medallions in the cove of the ceiling.” “We are always conscientious of taking McFarlin back and staying true to its historical integrity,” he added. The cost of the renovation was not made available to the Daily Campus, though Bricker admits it is the “most significant” renovation since the 1960s. This makeover is only phase one as the auditorium’s floors and seats were not addressed. A future update has not been scheduled yet. The renovation will hopefully make the space more appealing to concert and lecture promoters looking for a Dallas venue, he said, but McFarlin will still host Sing Song and the Family Weekend Talent Show. A conversation between former U.S. Secretaries of State Colin L. Powell and Madeleine K. Albright moderated by political commentator and Tate Lecture staple David Gergen will kick off the updated auditorium. Usually the venue’s season begins with Convocation, which was held in Moody Coliseum this year as a result of the renovations. “When students first walk in for opening convocation, it’s one of the first experiences they have on campus,” Bricker said. “I think it will add to the prestige and the wonderful feeling you have when you’re sitting in your seat and realizing that you’re a part of this amazing experience.”
smarter, strategic things. Four vendors presented their software solutions to faculty, staff and administrators this week. Sweidel stated that whatever software is bought will be useful and effective in meeting the university’s needs. One of the major goals under OE2C is to reallocate administrative costs to academics. According to Detwiler, 65 percent of costs have gone to non-teaching and research and administrative overhead. “There’s been this huge growth on administrative costs,” Detwiler said. “I think we need to get some of this 65 and move it over to the academic side.”
Want to read more of this? Scan the QR code to visit our website.
Community
Inside McFarlin’s Makeover MEREDITH CAREy Assignments Desk Editor mbcarey@smu.edu
staff hours. Sweidel noted that SMU is in better shape than many universities so they can take a more thoughtful approach to shifting administrative costs to academics. Possible solutions include not replacing people when they retire, shortening staff hours especially in the summer, allowing people to move to other openings, and consolidating some jobs. “The desperate way of doing things is saying, ‘Yes, you’re right. We have too many people in administrative jobs than our cohorts,’” Sweidel said. “Firing will not fix anything and will lower morale even more.” Another solution is the implementation of software to review travel expenses electronically. This would reduce the amount of paper moving back and forth across the university and, in turn, would free up staff time to be used on
SMU prepares for emergencies Claire kelley Chief Copy Editor News Writer ckelley@smu.edu
Courtesy of SMU
McFarlin will remain under construction until late September of this year.
Courtesy of SMU
New paint and architectural features will make the space more appealing.
September is National Preparedness Month, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, during which SMU will strive to inform students about how best to respond to potentially dangerous campus emergencies. All month long, students, faculty and staff will receive information through emails, websites and social media sites focused on recommended emergency responses to a variety of threats, like active shooters and tornados. In the event of a real emergency, everyone on campus would be instructed through these same channels to lockdown, seek shelter or evacuate. Anyone with a current SMU ID can attend a simulated campus “attack” by an armed assailant Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center Theater. The simulation is designed to instruct participants on what might happen in incidents like an on-campus attack, and to allow them to understand how adrenalin, misperceptions and personal choices can alter the outcome of such situations. “This simulation can be
unsettling, but it’s designed to be,” said emergency management specialist Lisa Morris in a press release. “Participants tell us that the sights and sounds and rush of emotions they experience make them realize just how much they need information on responding to an emergency. Short safety videos and FAQs are available for viewing online at smu.edu/emergency. A Twitter contest will award Starbucks gift cards throughout the month to students who view the videos and are first to answer related questions tweeted from @SMU. SMU community members will also be encouraged to verify their cellphone numbers through my.smu.edu so they can be reached during an emergency. “We take emergencies very seriously on this campus,” said Anita Ingram, associate vice president and chief risk officer, in a press release. “What we know from our experience – our own, and those of other universities that have dealt with emergency situations – is that information, training and practice can save lives.”
Want to read more of this? Scan the QR code to visit our website.