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IIIEVISTA
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
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THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2003
IMO logo to get facelift by Jim Epperson III Senior Writer UCO President Roger Webb said a new logo, signifying a changing UCO, will be presented this month by the administration. "New logo, new UCO," Webb said. He said UCO has always been known as a teacher and commuter school.
"We're transforming from a drive-thru college to one where the campus is a place for learning and study but also a place for entertainment and activities," Webb said. UCO is like a mosaic, he said. Student living conditions, good places to eat, interesting places to hang out and a maintained landscape are all part of it. For the past two years, Webb has worked on the."branding or
imaging of the campus," he said. "That image is a place where there is a great tradition for quality learning and, also, an image that people think of as beautiful," Webb said. He said the "mosaic" could be finished within two years. Once it is finished more students will choose UCO over the other big universities, Webb said. During this time of year Webb looks through his Rolodex
"We're transforming from a drive-thru college to one where the campus is a place for learning and study but also a place for entertainment and activities."
to go over his priorities. He said developing the campus population and making it a place of community is one of them. "I believe that UCO will very soon reach the tipping point that will result in a huge groundswell of student interest," he said. With the Wellness Center, Jazz Lab and the renovated football stadium, UCO is on its way to being a place of community, he said.
— Roger Webb President of UCO
Local museum displays WWII propaganda posters
1924 Franklin
by Rod Jones Staff Writer An exhibition of 32 World War II propaganda posters is on display at the Edmond Historical Society Museum until July 19. Brenda Granger, executive director of the museum, said the posters were used to raise money for the war effort and to raise morale at home while soldiers fought overseas. She said the posters portray soldiers as strong and noble heroes while the enemy is shown as a menacing evil. "They use images that pull on your heart strings," Granger said. "They say things that wouldn't be considered politically correct today." The display is split into different categories including religious freedom, war finance, revenge, ideology and the battle for greater production. A poster in the morale boosting section says, "Reach your boys overseas by vmail." V-mail, or victory mail, was a mailing system used to save space in mail transport. Photo by Tina Fowble
LlbertyFest began June 28 with the Classic Car Show held on campus. One of the featured cars was this 1924 Franklin. See related stories on page 4.
UCO cuts 14 jobs in physical plant deal by Caroline Duke Copy Editor Fourteen jobs in the university Physical Plant were cut July 1 as a result of the university's second contract with Johnson Controls Inc. With the contract, the university will outsource all heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) operations, saving the university $200,000 a year, said Steven Kreidler, vice president of Administration. He said the entire HVAC division of the Physical Plant was eliminated, including the jobs of supervisors and other personnel. Kreidler said the severance package includes accumulated vacation leave, health insurance for six months and a week's pay for every year of ser-
vice. For example, twelve years of employment would result in three month's worth of pay. Employees affected will also receive placement assistance. In the mid-1990s, the majority of its custodial positions were cut, leaving only four custodians on the university payroll. Those
cut in the lawn care and food services divisions, as well as in the university bookstore. Kreidler said the cutbacks are necessary due to the recently approved fiscal year 2004 budget, which will result in a "nearly 10 percent" cut from last year's budget.
Photo by Tina Fowble
UCO Central Plant positions are now being cut as a result of the university's recent cost-cutting measures in association with Aramark Inc., a facilities management service. Within the past several years, other positions were
"That's a very painful cut," he said. He also said no additional reductions are planned "at this time." "We're having to find every way to save money," Kreidler said.
Photo by Tina Fowble
A traveling exhibit of posters from World War II will be on display at the Edmond Historical Museum until July 19. "file soldiers received a scaled-down photo of the original letter. A poster promoting the conservation of resources shows a painting of a lady's hand pouring grease from a frying pan. The caption says, "Save waste fats for explosives...Take them to your meat dealer." "They used recycled grease to make grenades," Granger said. The posters are part of TRACKS, a traveling exhibit service run by the Oklahoma Museums Association with support from the Oklahoma Humanities Council. TRACKS is funded by Sonic, Union Pacific Foundation, the
Kirkpatirck Family Fund and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Harold Stumpf, a Central State graduate who fought on the front lines in World War II and now guards the front desk of the museum, said the use of posters was more common during the second World War than the first. "They used to hang them in banks, post offices, public buildings all over town," he said.
Regents hike tuition; UCO to increase 18.8% OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)--The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education on Monday approved a $1.3 billion budget, which includes tuition and fee increases for colleges and universities. As much as $82.2 million could be raised with the increases, which administrators say is needed to offset declines in state funding. On average, resident tuition and fees will increase $430 for a fulltime undergraduate student and $1,087 for nonresidents taking 30 credit hours. At UCO, the hike amounts to 18.8 percent. Northwestern Oklahoma State University's Woodward campus will see an increase of 40.7 percent. At Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma, resident students will pay an average of $805 and non-residents will pay $2,119 more for tuition and fees. Tuition at the state's regional four-year universities will go up an aver-
age of $429 and there will be a $270 increase at twoyear colleges, said regents' spokesman Harve Allen. State regents approved the increases without discussion after listening to a detailed presentation by Maryanne Maletz, vice chancellor for budget and finance, on the proposed increases and their effect. Even with the higher tuition and fees, the regents' staff is projecting a 3.2 percent increase in enrollment throughout the higher education system. The higher education budget is 2.3 percent higher than last year's budget of $1.275 billion. Expenditures on salaries and wages will go down by $19.1 million, while money spent on scholarships will increase by $11 million and money spent on property, furniture and equipment will go up by $15.6 million. Maletz told the regents the amount budgeted for scholarships will go up by 18.1 percent as a way to keep low- and middle-
income families from being priced out of the higher education market. Students likely will need to take out more loans than in the past, she said. Interest rates are at historically low levels, she said. Higher tuition for nonresident students, along with an outbreak of Sudden Acute Respiratory Synd-rome, or SARS, and increased government scrutiny over student visas could result in lower international student enrollment, Maletz said. Tom Guild, chairman of Higher Education Association for Reform, asked to speak to the board to oppose to the increases but was turned down because no time was set aside on the agenda for that purpose. Guild, a professor of legal studies at the University of Central Oklahoma, gave reporters handouts expressing his group's opposition. Among other things, Guild's group contends part of higher education's funding crisis was "artifi-
cially created." Guild contends there has been wasteful spending on administrators' salaries and that the use of the Big 12's average tuition as a target for tuition increases by Oklahoma officials is illconceived. The average income in Oklahoma is considerably less than for the other Big 12 states, he noted. Per capita income in Oklahoma is 8.4 percent to 25.5 percent less than other Big 12 states, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
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