Daily Toreador The
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 21, 2015 VOLUME 89 ■ ISSUE 61
Roberts to speak in Tech lecture series Cokie Roberts, ABC News and National Public Radio political commentator, will speak at the Texas Tech Presidential Lecture and Performance Series at 7 p.m. Feb. 10. Roberts has won three Emmys during her broadcast career, according to a Tech news release. She was referred to as one of the greatest women in television broadcast history by the American Women in Radio and Television, according to the release. “It is a privilege to welcome Cokie Roberts to Texas Tech as part of the Presidential Lecture & Performance Series,” Tech President M. Duane Nellis said in the release. “Her extensive background in covering the news offers a unique insight into political, national and global affairs. We are fortunate to have a person of her caliber featured in this series.” To attend, general admission tickets cost $18 and can be purchased through Select-A-Seat Lubbock, according to the release. Tech students can receive one free ticket with a valid Tech student ID at the Allen Theatre ticket booth in the Student Union building. ➤➤@dailytoreador
Republican Abbott becomes governor AUSTIN (AP) — Greg Abbott was sworn in Tuesday as Texas’ first new governor in 14 years and promised that the state will stay as defiantly conservative as ever — vowing to battle Washington on spending, regulation and any federal initiative “that uses the guise of fairness to rob us of our freedom.” Fighter jets streaked through sunny skies, ceremonial cannons boomed, the University of Texas marching band blared and the smell of four tons of beef brisket prepared for the inaugural barbeque hung over the steps of the state Capitol, where Abbott and new Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick formally took office. Abbott, who was previously state attorney general, sued the Obama administration around 30 times, mostly for what Texas claimed was overreach on federal environmental regulations. He promised more of the same as governor: “I will continue my legacy of pushing back against Washington if they spend too much, regulate too much, or violate our state sovereignty.” “Any government that uses the guise of fairness to rob us of our freedom will get a uniquely Texan response: ‘Come and take it,’” Abbott said, a reference to a famous battle from the Texas revolution. “We Texans aren’t spoiling for a fight, but we won’t shrink from one if the cause is right.”
OPINIONS, Pg. 4
twitter.com/DailyToreador
www.dailytoreador.com
Serving the Texas Tech University community since 1925
Planning for Progress
Additional infrastructure part of campus master plan By KAITLIN BAIN
TEXAS TECH SYSTEM STRATEGIC PLAN
Senior reporter
As a part of the Texas Tech Campus Master Plan, a prioritized list was made and released to provide a roadmap for future additions and changes that will advance the institution’s strategic priorities. According to the master plan, Tech’s strategic plan includes increasing enrollment and promoting student success, strengthening academic quality and reputation, expanding and enhancing research and creative scholarship, furthering outreach and engagement and increasing and maximizing resources. As a result of those initiatives, Michael Molina, vice chancellor for facilities planning and construction, said plans are made to prioritize infrastructure that will be built on campus to advance the initiatives. “That list of projects and priorities is submitted to the board and that team approves those as one overall growth initiative,” he said. “So the way that goes to a building construction project is one of many ways: one being funds are already available or funds are being raised or funds that come from the state, hopefully in this next legislative session.” The list in the master plan includes the building of phase one of the Research and Technology Park as well as two other research buildings as a part of the park, a new residence hall and a new data center. Once funding is secured, the Tech president, chancellor and the Board of Regents
PRIORITY 1 INCREASE ENROLMENT AND PROMOTE STUDENT SUCCESS IMPROVE STUDENT RETENTION CONTINUE TO SUPPORT TECH WORLDWIDE ELEARNING
PRIORITY 4 FURTHER OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT INCREASE/ENHANCE PARTNERSHIPS WITH INSTITUTIONS INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF THE TECH SYSTEM PROMOTE RESEARCH, INTERNSHIPS AND STUDY ABROAD
PRIORITY 2 STRENGTHEN ACADEMIC QUALITY AND REPUTATION INCREASE NATIONALLY-RECOGNIZED GRADUATE PROGRAMS PRIORITY 3 EXPAND AND ENHANCE RESEARCH AND CREATIVE SCHOLARSHIP PROMOTE CROSS-DISCIPLINARY AND TRANS-DISCIPLINARY RESEARCH
PRIORITY 5 INCREASE AND MAXIMIZE RESOURCES DEVELOP MASTER PLAN REVIEW RESEARCH AND ACADEMIC SPACE RENOVATION NEEDS
GRAPHIC BY LUIS LERMA/The Daily Toreador
will approve the use of the funds for a specific process and the design process will start. An important part of the design process, Molina said, is the use of the Spanish Renaissance architectural style that was laid out in the original master plan for the university. “One of the things we do really believe in is having an integrated, common theme on the campus so that it helps in recruiting and tells the story of this area, but more importantly creates a unified sense across all of our campuses and across the campus itself,”
Molina said. “So we’re not trying to replicate the exact same design, but we are trying to stay within the same design principles specific to each building’s function.” Campus malls are also a part of the original campus concept, he said. The campus mall includes open vistas between buildings in addition to university connectivity, he said, which includes roads, landscape, exterior art and public features. “The reason we injected the mall concept into the master plan is to ensure there was
a really clear playbook and guide for all of our partners and ourselves so in the future if we move on or new players join us,” he said, “then they understand what those principles are and how buildings, landscape, outdoor space and the places in between buildings all connect in appropriate design principles.” All of this adds up to a facility perspective in line with the Tech system and the components of the strategic plan, Molina said. PLAN continued on Page 2 ➤➤
Tech professor’s legacy lasts beyond retirement By JENNIFER ROMERO Staff Writer
In addition to teaching, college professors have the opportunity to impact their students outside of the classroom. Robert Wernsman, a retired professor in the College of Media and Communication, taught at Texas Tech for 20 years before retiring after the fall 2014 semester. “My background was newspapers, so I made connections with mass comm.,” he said. “They allowed me to teach while I was studying in theater. Out of that grew my career teaching in mass comm. Of course, by that time I had met the woman I was going to marry and I married, and that’s another reason I’ve stayed in Lubbock.” His wife influenced him to stay at Tech as long as he did, and Wernsman said prior to his teaching career he usually stayed at a job for only five years
before he found a new one. The first class he taught was News Writing, and Wernsman said it was his favorite class at the time. “Then our dean asked me if I would teach Principles of Journalism,” he said. “Now suddenly I have a contest. Every semester, I would tell them in each class that this is at least my second-favorite class. I just love being in front of a group and sharing my experience with them.” His teaching allows students to do what they never thought they could, and Wernsman said he has had more of an impact on students than he could have ever imagined. Robert Peaslee, the interim department chair of journalism and electronic media and communications, said he met Wernsman in 2008 and learned students and alumni viewed him as a legendary figure. PROFESSOR continued on Page 3 ➤➤
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE COLLEGE OF MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION
DEAN OF THE College of Media and Communication, David Perlmutter, and Robert Wernsman pose for a picture during a retirement luncheon for Wernsman last week. Wernsman taught at Texas Tech for 20 years and retired following the discovery of a large tumor in his brain last October.
Tech student reported missing Students react to State of Union Jacobson: Liberals like Hollywood when suitable
INDEX Crossword.....................5 Classifieds................5 L a Vi d a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Opinions.....................4 Sports.......................5 Sudoku.......................2 EDITORIAL: 806-742-3393
Texas Tech student Gordon FangWong has been declared as missing. On Sunday night, Fang-Wong’s family reported him as missing, according to the Lubbock Police Department. Fang-Wong, 19, was last seen Saturday on Tech’s campus, according to LPD. He is an Asian male with black hair and brown eyes, according to LPD, and was last seen wearing brown glasses, a black cap, a dark green sweater with a white T-shirt underneath and black Adidas tennis shoes. Fang-Wong is described as a six-foottall slim male, according to a missing person flier distributed by his family. Information provided by the family ADVERTISING: 806-742-3384
indicates Fang-Wong was not taken against his will. Fang-Wong might be depressed and headed to the west coast of the United States, according to the flier. FANG-WONG Tech and Lubbock po- COURTESY OF HIS lice officers are working FACEBOOK together on the missing perPAGE son case, according to LPD. Anyone with information regarding Fang-Wong’s disappearance should contact the Lubbock Police Department at 806-775-2865. ➤➤@dailytoreador
BUSINESS: 806-742-3388
FREE
By ALEXANDER NORTON Staff Writer
Tuesday night marked President Barack Obama’s seventh State of the Union Address, and as the 44th president’s second term begins to wind down, he encouraged Congress to build on what his administration has focused on since he took office in 2008. The president focused on a variety of topics during the annual address. Among those issues, Obama said he wants to financially strengthen America’s middle class. “For far too long, lobbyists have rigged the tax code with loopholes that let some
FAX: 806-742-2434
corporations pay nothing while others pay full freight,” he said. “They’ve riddled it with giveaways the super rich don’t need, denying a break to middle class families who do.” Blake Box, a senior wildlife biology major from Dallas, said he was unsure of Obama’s proposition to increase taxes on the top 1 percent of earners in the U.S. “My opinion is that in order to lower the deficit, you should not increase taxation but cut spending in certain areas,” Box said. “You are not providing the same incentives for people to try and earn high wages.”
CIRCULATION: 806-742-3388
SPEECH continued on Page 2 ➤➤ EMAIL: news@dailytoreador.com
Senior Portrait sitting
Jan. 20-23 - Make your appointment online at:
www.meetme.so/TECH-SeniorPortrait
Student Media Office in Media & Communication Rotunda - 13th & Flint We supply cap, gown & regalia. Professional dress recommended.