THE September 4, 1984 Vol. 83, No. 2
,ITISTA
Tuesday Edition
Central State University, Edmond, Oklahoma
Vacant 'frat' house goes on sale block By Traci Baucom Associate Editor In the midst of rumors and mystery, the Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity has closed the doors and boarded the windows of its fraternity house at 321 N. Blvd., Edmond.
a
Boarded doors and windows are visible from the street at the Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity house at 321 N. Blvd., Edmond.
Rumors that the fraternity had its charter revoked, that it did not have enough members to keep the fraternity alive and that the house had been condemned, has plagued Sigma Tau Gamma since the Aug. 1 closing of the fraternity house. Phillip Cox, vice president of finance for Sigma Tau Gamma, welcomed the chance to refute the rumors. "The house was just too old—almost 80 years old," Cox said. "It was beginning to slip off its foundation and the fraternity along with our alumni association
decided it would be cheaper to sell the two lots we own and rebuild at another location than to rennovate." The fraternity owns a smaller house behind the one on N. Boulevard where they plan to hold formal rush and weekly meetings until a new site is purchased. The two houses and the lots on which they sit are part of a four lot package for sale. The fraternity is asking $109,000 for their two commercially-zoned lots. "We don't know when we'll be able to begin building on a new site," Cox said. "We do have a few locations in mind, but we just have to wait until the present lots we own sell." Cox said the fraternity might buy an existing house if a suitable one became available, but felt it was likely they would have to build from scratch.
Research endowed with additional funding
c,
By MaryGaye Franklin Associate Editor While budgets all over campus have been cut back recently, the budget for departmental research has been increased, according to Larry Williams, vice president for administration. "During the budgeting process this past spring, Vice President Perry and I, after discussing it to a great extent, decided to make a firm commitment to emphasize research in every way possible," Williams said. "When making budgeting decisions you must decide what areas are most important and I don't think anyone would dispute the fact that the most important area at a university is instruction," he said. "And reseach is a very important part of keeping the quality of instruction high." Williams said the money for research comes from the General Education budget, specifically the Instructional/Departmental Research Fund and this was increased from 60.9 percent of the budget in 1983-1984 to 62.6 percent in 1984-1985. "The amount for research was increased from approximately $25,000-$30,000 to about $55,000," said Dr. James Perry, vice president for academic af-
fairs. "This is really a mere pittance when you consider that the total budget is $30 million. "Our university, like any other major university has three specific areas of responsibility. They are teaching, research and service. And in a university environment, there is a clear fact that has to be acknowledged and that is: at the university level there is a greater need for faculty members to remain on the cutting edge of their discipline. We can't afford to have faculty members behind the times in terms of comtemporary thought and developments in their functional area." Perry stated that research is very important to keeping professors on that "cutting edge" and in the past, this university has neglected research and emphasized teaching. He feels that it is the responsibilty of the university to ensure that research is also emphasized in order to improve the quality of classroom instruction. The increased emphasis on research, according to Perry, "is like a shot of adrenalin for committed faculty members. It is a chance for them to do something creative and independent in their disciplines and it will definately improve on their classroom performance.
In this issue... Homecoming queen applications...page 3 Student developes training tool...page 4 Movie previews... page 6 Newcomers fill football offense...page 7 Intramural athletics begin Sept. 9...page 8 4
"At CSU, being a regional university, our research responsibility is different from that of a comprehensive university which has programs ranging from bachelors degrees to postdoctorate work. Their responsibility is to extend the frontiers of knowledge while our responsibility is to comment on the existing body of knowledge," Perry said. "We must allow our faculty to comment on these areas of knowledge." Another benefit of research Perry pointed out is that "every faculty member wants a chance for promotion, tenure, recognition and merit. Not everyone can have these things and research provides and opportunity for faculty to standout from others. Dr. Albert Lynd, assistant vice president for academic affairs, pointed out that increased
research hopefully will attract "bright young faculty members" to CSU, stating that the marketplace demands not only teaching positions but also an opportunity to conduct independent research. Perry and Williams agree that some members of the faculty oppose the increased funding for research. "There are some faculty members who don't want research. They contend there is no reason for it because they are classroom teachers and that the money should go for supplies and equipment," Perry said. "If we have professors who only teach in class and use the same information semester after semester, the information eventually becomes outmoded. It is difficult for these professors to admit their neglect in that area." Perry remarked that the procedure for receiving grants for research in the past was cumber-
some and buracratic but that the procedure has been simplified. "We have created a three-tiered decision making process for approval of research funds. Depending on the amount being asked for," Perry said, "the grants for research can be approved by the department chairperson, then the individual college dean and for the largest amounts approval comes from the graduate dean." Currently there are 15 research projects being funded on campus. These include almost every college but according to Perry, it is not reasonable to expect all departments and colleges to participate equally. "There are certain departments more naturally inclined to undertake research," Perry cornmented. "For example in the colleges of math and science, there is a greater responsiblity to conduct research since their disciplines are quickly and constantly expanding in knowledge.
Regents set academic requirements The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education have adopted new admission and retention standards for students attending public colleges and universities in Oklahoma. The Regents' action, taken at an historic joint meeting with the State Board of Education, Aug. 30, culminates some two years of study and review of state system academic standards. As a result of the revised policy on admissions, students seeking to enroll in state system institutions will be required for the first time since the 1940's to have completed an approved high school curriculum. The new policy requires high school graduates to have completed four years of English grammer, composition or literature, two years of laboratory biology, chemistry or physics, three years of algebra, geometry, trigonometry, math analysis or calculus and two years of history, including one year of American history.
In addition, students will be required to have four additional years from any of those areas or from computer science, foreign language, speech, economics, geography, government, psychology or sociology. The retention policy for state universities requires that students have at least a cumulative grade point average of 1.6 at the end of their freshman year in order to continue enrollment. At the end of the sophomore year, students are required to have maintained a 1.8 grade point average, and upper division students with more than 73 semester hours will be required to maintain a 2.0 grade point average to continue enrollment and to graduate. The new policy will take effect in 1985, with the exception of the high school curricular requirements which will be implemented in phases, taking full effect in 1988.