Illini of the Week: Jesse Delgado scores historic wrestling win SPORTS, 1B
College life crumbles Read the third part of columnist Melanie Stone’s series OPINIONS, 4A
Wednesday March 13, 2013
The Daily Illini www.DailyIllini.com
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
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Vol. 142 Issue 120
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Law ranking drops after LSAT inflation STAFF WRITERS
The University’s College of Law dropped 12 spots to No. 47 in this year’s U.S. News & World Report’s rankings of the nation’s best law schools. Overall, the College of Law has dropped 24 spots since 2011. The college was ranked No. 35 last spring after a November 2011 report revealed that Paul Pless, former assistant dean of admissions, had allegedly manipulated student data to make the law school seem more selective. Pless resigned at the end of the two-month long University-led investigation, in which it was found that he had changed LSAT scores and GPA data for the classes of 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. Following the investigation, the college’s ranking dipped by 12 spots because of a significant drop in peer assessment scores or the ratings of other law schools’ opinions of the college, said Robert Morse, director of data research at U.S. News and World Report. But he said peer assessment scores did not significantly fluctuate this year. Instead, the college dropped in rankings because the College of Law was less selective and because of a change in the way U.S. News calculates its rankings, with more emphasis on graduates getting quality jobs, Morse said. “Previously the data was reported as all lumped together, as full-time, part-time, legal, non-legal, JD needed, JD not needed,” he said. “(This year) each one of those was given separately, so we weighted certain kinds of jobs more than others, and that accounted for the change.” See RANKINGS, Page 3A
How Illinois’ graduate programs stack up
How U.S. News & World Report determines law school rankings: Quality Assessment- 40 percent Q Assessments done by
national law school faculty and legal professionals
Selectivity- 25 percent Q LSAT scores Q GPA Q Acceptance rate
Placement Success- 20 percent
U.S. News & World Report released its 2014 rankings for graduate programs at universities across the nation. The College of Education improved, while Engineering remained steady. The College of Law and the College of Business both fell to No. 47.
Q Employment rates Q Bar passage rate
1
Faculty Resources- 15 percent Q Expenditures per student Q Student-faculty ratio Q Library resources
2010
5
2011
2012
2013
2014
Engineering 5
5
5
5
5
10 15 Ranking
BY JOHNATHAN HETTINGER AND LAUREN ROHR
Law graduates searching for jobs College of Law Dean Bruce Smith said Class of 2011 graduates have had a difficult time finding professional legal jobs post-graduation. Of these graduates, 15.8 percent are unemployed and still seeking employment, according to the American Bar Association. For that class, the college comes in as the school with the 31st highest rate of unemployed graduates seeking work, out of 197 ABA accredited law schools. This was a drop from the class of 2010, in which 6.7 percent of graduates were unemployed and were seeking employment, at the 88th highest rate of the 200 accredited schools that year.
20
23 Law
25
24 Education
21
19 23
22
23 25
30 35 40
35
Busin 38
ess 37 42
45
42
47 47
50
Source: US News & World Report
J MICHAEL MIOUX Design Editor
Sequestration affects campus
Let’s hear it for the dogs
NSF, UI’s largest source of research funding, to scale back on awards BY HENRY DUNN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
KENDALL MCCAUGHERTY THE DAILY ILLINI
Willy, a 2-month-old golden lab, licks Alyssa Elendt, sophomore in DGS, at the Theta Chi and Shi Ai Greek Women's Organization's "Pet a Pup for a Buck" at the Theta Chi Rho on Tuesday. All of the money raised at the event will be given to the Illini Service Dogs RSO to help pay for training, feeding, health and any other canine expenses.
DIA, Nike aim to update Illini athletics gear BY DANIELLE BROWN BREAKING NEWS REPORTER
The Division of Intercollegiate Athletics has begun the process of updating its brand. The DIA is looking to change “logos, colors, terms and fonts,” said assistant athletic director Marty Kaufmann, making up “anything that we can graphically display publicly.” The purpose of the update is to redefine the brand so that Illinois athletics have a more recognizable identity. “When we recruit nationally, sometimes they may or may not know what the orange and blue might mean,” said Kaufmann, who oversees licensing and merchandising for the DIA. “We want some sort of imagery that will become quickly recognizable of the University of Illinois.” Currently, there are several logos the DIA uses. “It has hurt our brand because there isn’t consistency,” Kaufmann said. The last time the DIA updated the brand was during the mid-1990s with the development of the Block-I logo, Kaufmann said.
INSIDE
The DIA decided to work with Nike, a corporate partner of the DIA, on the re-evaluation of the brand. The choice to work with Nike was based on its long-term relationship with the DIA and the company’s experience with athletic design. Nike also volunteered its services, making it “a pretty easy decision for us,” Kaufmann said. Nike is expected to present the DIA with several concepts and ideas for the brand. Once the DIA receives Nike’s ideas, Kaufmann said it will be up to the DIA to make a final decision on how to proceed. As of now, this process is still in the early stage, and there are no official changes being made yet. Kaufmann also said that representatives from Nike and the DIA have only met once face-to-face, but over the next few months expect to meet monthly. The update will not address the mascot debate which has been a major topic of contention at the University. Kaufmann said the athletics department is only taking a look at evaluating the brands they use now. Some changes may include tweaks to the
orange and blue colors. The DIA does not plan on eliminating the iconic colors; however, Kaufmann said the colors are not always produced accurately. “The orange and blue are kind of tough to replicate,” Kaufmann said. “We just kind of want to clean it up.” While Mike Thomas, athletics director, is the leader of the project and the final decision-maker, the DIA has also gotten input from coaches and athletes. After Nike presents its ideas, the DIA will consult with public relations, public affairs and the chancellor’s office, said Kaufmann, and changes will be made from there. “Athletics often is the way supporters first learn of a university,” said campus spokeswoman Robin Kaler in an email. “When DIA strengthens its brand, it reflects positively on the entire campus.” The process of the update is expected to take up to 18 months, with changes in Illinois sports gear and apparel planned to appear by fall 2014.
Danielle can be reached at news@dailyillini.com.
The National Science Foundation, the largest contributor of funding for University research, is cutting back on the amount of awards it gives out to research institutions across the nation. The foundation announced Feb. 27 that it will reduce funding by 5 percent as part of the federal budget sequester that requires the government to cut spending by $1.2 trillion by fiscal year 2021. The University has been among the top three recipients of NSF funding for four years. In its notice to the institutions to which NSF awards funds, the foundation said it hopes to reach the 5 percent goal by distributing 1,000 fewer awards this fiscal year. The University was the largest recipient of NSF funds in fiscal year 2012. Over the course of the year, the NSF contributed more than $218 million in funding to University researchers, spread across 322 projects. The University received 16 percent more funding than the second highest recipient, the Consortium for Ocean Leadership. Although the White House
Office of Management and Budget gave sequestration estimates to agencies and departments, most of the potential effects have not yet reached campus. Melissa Edwards, director of Research Communications, said her department is still compiling information from federal funding agencies. “Right now, we’re just trying to get all the agency updates organized in one place,” she said, The NSF announced the funding cuts just weeks before the launch celebration for the University’s supercomputer, Blue Waters, one of the NSF’s highest-profile projects. The foundation contributed more than $225 million in funding to the project. “As we understand it, Blue Waters funding will not be affected,” said Trish Barker, spokeswoman for the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. Many other federal agencies that fund University research have also contacted the University through letters, warning of potential cuts, including the Department of Energy, NASA and the National Institute of Health.
ROTC civilian personnel to lose work hours to defense spending cuts Despite eminent cuts to defense spending, ROTC administrators’ paychecks will be spared, but non-military personnel will be subjected to fewer work hours. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Budget Control Act requires $454 billion of cuts to defense spending over the next eight years. The Department of Defense announced that it must cut its budget by $46 billion this fiscal year alone. The only category not seeing cuts, according to a press release, is military personnel spending. A large portion of cuts will instead fall on the Department of the Army’s Civilian Personnel. Diane Moncrief, scholarship
and enrollment officer for the ROTC, said it is unlikely, but unknown, if the campus Army ROTC program will incur any major cuts. Lt. Matthew Comer, spokesman for the region’s Naval ROTC programs, said his office does not have any specific figures yet. However, Comer said possible naval ROTC furloughs wouldn’t take effect until at least late April. Active duty administrators will not be affected by the budget cuts, but civilian personnel may have to take furlough days amounting to as much as 20 percent of their pay over a period of six months or 22 workdays.
Henry can be reached at news@ dailyillini.com
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