The Rambler Vol. 93 No. 15

Page 1

wednesday

September 8, 2010

Vol. 93 • No. 15

www.therambler.org

Chuck’s Cheap Thrills does Fort Worth. A&E, page 4

The Rambler The voice of Texas Wesleyan University students since 1917

Military professor leaves to serve in Iraq. College Life, page 6

Presidential search will end this year Jonathan Resendez

jlresendez@mail.txwes.edu

The Wesleyan presidential search committee continues to whittle down the list of applicants with hopes of appointing a president by the end of the calendar year. After Dr. Harold Jeffcoat resigned from the presidential post June 1, 2010, the university began advertising the position in scholarly journals such as The Chronicle of Higher Education. After trimming a list of more than 60 applicants, the committee hopes to make a cut by Sept. 15 and a final decision in the upcoming months, said committee member Dr. Marcel Kerr, associate professor of psychology. “[We need] someone who is going to be a public voice; someone with a proven financial record who will take our story and sell it,” she said. The 14-member committee meets once a month and may meet more often as the process nears completion. Kerr said the search has been a “smooth, enjoyable and positive” process considering the number of applications the committee is looking through. Committee members agree that financial responsibility and image preservation are top priorities in choosing a new president. “We want somebody that embraces our history but is very forward thinking,” said Beverly Volkman-Powell, chairwoman of the presidential search committee. “Over the past 10 years and under Dr. Jeffcoat’s leadership, we’ve developed strong fiscal principles for our university, and we want to continue that.” Student Government Association president Heath Scott, the only student on the search committee, said Wesleyan’s next president needs more than enterprise-oriented goals. “We need a president who can raise money for the university, but we also need a president who values the student,” he said. “All of our money is off tuition dollars. We need a president who understands this and who takes care of the students.” The board of trustees appointed Dr. Lamar Smith as interim president while the committee continues its search. Tied with Wesleyan for more than half a century, Smith has known seven presidents. He said Wesleyan needs a president who has the person-

Photo Illustration by Meisa Keivani Najafabadi

Professor explores listeria outbreak Shauna Banks

sbbanks@mail.txwes.edu

Meisa Keivani Najafabadi | Rambler Staff The search for Wesleyan’s next president began June 1. The board of trustees appointed Dr. Lamar Smith interim president while the search committee examines applicants from across the nation.

ality, skill, energy and ideas to raise money. “We have the best board of trustees we’ve ever had,” Smith said. “We have more people of class, culture, education and interest in our school. We’ve got more supportive people on our board

than we’ve ever had.” The board of trustees is working on a strategic long-term plan with multiple goals to be in place

Parking remains the same, despite recent construction Melissa Bates

mdbates@mail.txwes.edu

Campus parking was redistributed although some students believe it has decreased. Ken Dunson, director of facilities, said Wesleyan lost about 75 parking spots due to the construction of the Mor-

ton Fitness Center but those spots have been moved to other locations on campus. “We built a parking lot on Avenue D just west of the Baker-Martin House,” Dunson said. “We added 15 spots there.” Polytechnic United Methodist Church is allowing stu-

dents to use 55-60 spaces in the east side of its parking lot across Collard St. from the church, Dunson said. Some students are unhappy that the fitness center has replaced their previous parking spots. “I like the fitness center; I’d just rather they hadn’t put it

there,” Evoni Darling, senior biology major, said. Wesleyan parking is closer to the buildings compared to other higher education schools in the area such as the University of Texas at Arlington and Texas Christian

  parking, page 3

Online classes give students flexibility Rachel Peel

rlpeel@mail.txwes.edu

Imagine if students attended class without leaving their bedrooms. For some students this is an everyday occurrence. Wesleyan offers various undergraduate and graduate classes online. “Eight percent of three and four credit courses for grad students are offered online and 4 percent of undergrad classes are online this fall,” Wesleyan registrar Sherri Caraballo said.

Online classes aren’t for everyone, although they do offer some students a costefficient way to get college hours under their belts. “I think online learning can be a real opportunity for the right student,” Dr. Price McMurray, associate professor of English, said. For some students online classes allow an opportunity to adjust their class schedules to fit around their lives outside of school. “I choose to take all my

  class, page 3

Online Class Availability

  search, page 3

  Listeria, page 3

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Security increases enforcement

Wesleyan security is cracking down on students and faculty who ignore parking rules and regulations. Director of security Felisa Barnes said security aims to hit hard the first time so everyone learns where to properly park. “Faculty wants to complain, but they won’t get the free stickers,” she said. • Security issued about 60 tickets the first week it started its enforcement.

Illustration by Rachel Peel

Students and faculty may soon think twice before biting into a hotdog or turkey sub. Assistant professor of biology Dr. Angela Roberts said the food borne pathogen listeria monocytogene, is most commonly found in ready-to-eat foods such as hot dogs and deli meats. The U.S. Department of Agriculture continues to issue recalls due to possible listeria outbreaks. Roberts has researched listeria since graduate school at Cornell University in New York, where she did her dissertation on the bacterium. “I started my undergraduate program interested in medicine, and then I had a summer research opportunity where I worked on a research project studying the bacterium that causes ulcers in humans, and that really turned me on to research, and I just really love the whole process,” Roberts said.

• All parking spaces, except for handicap, are available to everyone after 5 p.m.

• The library offers parking decals for faculty and students free of charge.


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