Editorial:employ rights pg:2
00 MM.
THE
Thursday Edition
July 5, 1990 Vol. 88, No. 59 Central State University, Edmond, Oklahoma
Regents study metro colleges By Kurt Koenig
Student Writer
The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education is conducting a feasability study to consider merging junior and community colleges within the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. The institutions are Central State University, Rose State College, Oklahoma State University—Oklahoma City Branch, Oklahoma City Community College, and El Reno Junior College. Dr. Dale Parnell, president of the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges, conducted the study, which is due
Wert named acting dean for business
to be completed sometime in August. "The whole notion was to try to examine the manner in which lower division coursework is delivered or to see if there is a viable option of perhaps merging the junior and community colleges in the metropolitan area," said Dr. Clyde Jacob, vice president of academic affairs. A similar multiple-campus system now exists in Tulsa, and could possibly be considered as a model, Jacob said. Tulsa Junior College has four campuses in different locations in the city. Parnell visited CSU June 21, meeting with Jacob and several
By Jana Potts Staff Writer
Please see STUDY on page 8.
Dorm blaze blamed on unattended iron By Linda Morgan
Student Writer
A Murdaugh Hall fire Thursday morning, contained to one room, resulted in less than $10,000 damage, said John Gibbon, Edmond Fire Department battalion chief. The fire started about 9 a.m.in Room 143, which was unoccupied at the time.
Although officials said the majority of the damage was due to heat and smoke, they could give no exact damage total. "We believe the fire was caused by an iron," Gibbon said. The call came in through the alarm system set up by the smoke detectors. Although the fire itself was small, it was a two- station call, Gibbon said.
Rhythm and blues Art Dawkins, front, Howard University Jazz Studies director; and Frank Mantooth, author of the album "Suite Tooth," perform at a Clark Terry All-American Jazz Camp faculty concert last week. Related article page 8. (Photo by Ken Freeman)
Please see FIRE on page 8.
Campus employees question policy By Keith Purtell
Staff Writer Central State University rules for employee conduct have not been fairly applied, allege several physical plant employees who claim that Rodney Roy, supervisor of the plumbing/welding crew, has been abusive and violent yet kept his job. Roy said a recent fight with former CSU employee Phil Pennington was the result of a racial insult Pennington made as Roy drove by in a university vehicle. Although six physical plant employees spoke to The Vista, most
said they would not go on record due to fear of losing their jobs. Electrical supervisor Michael Freeman said that in early 1989, he made a formal complaint to administration about an incident involving Roy. "He came in one morning and forearmed me and got ready to smash me in the face and I got away from him, in front of a witness," Freeman said. "At the time we were under the impression that you would be fired if you fought out here but since then we've seen it's not true, evidently." Freeman said that Blanche Washington, director of Personnel Services, sent him a letter stating
action had been taken, but did not disclose specifics. "Of course I was never told what, and it didn't seem to do any good if it did, because he continues with this beligerence," Freeman said. "He's done this for years. "I tried to no avail to get a determination from personnel as to what they did and I was told that things like that were not going to happen again. They might as well throw the book away. "He's bullied quite a few people down here actually. I think he's got some kind of problem communicating with people, or socializing. He seems to be a real loner.
No one seems to oe aoie to cornmunicate with him very well," Freeman said. Roy said the conflicts stem from the circumstances of how he was hired, racism and the nature of
his management style. "I've had problems ever since I've been out there, because of the way I came into the job," Roy said. "When I first came there, they believed that I was a personal friend of Nimrod Chapel (former Physical Plant director), or that Chapel gave me the job because of friendship. The day I met Chapel was the day I went to work out there." Please see POLICY on page 8.
Dr. Frank Wert, economics chairman, was approved June 15 as Central State University's College of Business interim dean by the Board of Regents of Oklahoma Colleges, a position he began Monday. Former Dean Joe Kinzer was named President of Northern Oklahoma College in April, but remained dean until Sunday, the beginning of the fiscal 1990-91 year. President Bill Lillard and Dr. Clyde Jacob, vice president of academic affairs, announced the interim dean position opening for any full time College of Business faculty April 23. By the closing date, May 4, two faculty members had submitted resumes—Wert and Dr. Herbert Giles, associate professor of marketing and faculty senate president. The decision for the intern dean was based on input from faculty and students and an interview with each applicant, Jacob said. "There were a number of letters in favor of both candidates," Jacob said. Wert received his bachelor's degree from The University of Iowa in 1967, his master's degree from Colorado State University in 1970 and his Ph.D. from Colorado State in 1972. He has served CSU 18 years, Jacob said. The CSU Meritorious Award was honored to Wert in 1983 and 1984. Wert was a Fulbright Scholar at Yarmouk University in Irbid, Jordan, in 1981, and a visiting economics professor at Huanghe University in the People's Republic of China. Wert has a remarkable reputation as a scholar, Jacob said. "He has very strong support from the faculty of the College of Business and will do an outstanding job providing leadership in the college," Jacob said. "Our hope is to come back in the fall sometime and open a national search for the deanship."