ACADEMIC LIFE SECTION L SECTION 43tU1 i!1aii4 ACADEMIC LIFE SECTION Seventy-Three Years of Editorial Freedom LXXIV, No. 1 ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 1963 TEN P Y New Center Strives To Improve Teaehing Unit Attempts To 'Bridge Gap' Between Theories, Classroom The improvement of college teaching and student learning is the goal of the Center for -Research in Learning and Teaching, established last September. Prof. Stanford C. Ericksen, director of the center, explained that it is working to "bridge the gap" between the human research I laboratory and the classroom. "We want to make available to Uni- versity faculty members the accumulated knowledge of experimental I esearc fort 0' I' '' t :; ,1 ROGER W. HEYNS ... academic affairs OAA Rules ; Academies Academic affairs at the Univer- sity are directed from one office. In 1962 the administration of .academic affairs had become so cumbersome that then Vice-Presi- dent and Dean of Faculties Mar- vin L. Niehuss was promoted to executive vice-president and dean of the literary college. Dean Rog- er Heyns was named to the newly created post of vice-president for academic affairs. The Office of Academic Affairs is the result of a splitting of Nie- huss's old duties of being the ad- ministrative vice-president and su- pervisor of academic affairs. Governmental Relations Niehuss handles most of the University's relations with the state and federal governments, aids in ceremonial functions and ? serves- as acting president when- ever President Harlan Hatcher is out of town. As vice-president for academic affairs, Heyns has the general re- sponsibility 'for the faculty and academic programs of schools and colleges. " This involves supervision over the hiring of faculty, their salary and fringe benefits levels and the retaining of faculty in the face of competition from other institu- tions. State Coordination Heyns' office will also partici- pate in University coordination efforts with other institutions both on the state and regional levels. The Office of Academic Affairs also received the Offices of Regis- trations and Records and Admis- sions from the Office of Student Affairs as a result of the recom- mendations of the OSA study com- mittee. Heyns' position tends to be a more functional and clearly out- lined one than the one Niehuss holds. His major concerns have been "the size and the complexity of the University and coordinat- ing different activities for a bet- ter education." Negotiate with Others Nwegotiating with Delta College officials, consulting extensively with faculty on a new literary col- lege, helping to shape the new University Senate Committee on Conditions for Staff Excellence, talking with professors on appoint- ments and promotions-these are some of the time consuming as- pects of his work. In addition, he has formed an 1 "Academics Affairs Advisory Coun- cil"-informal meetings with the deans to improve communications and receive advice on problems such as the "baby boom," in- crease in admission applications and plans for and growth in de- partments and schools. iI 'U' Rents Prints ' __ . ._,. T Tom.. 'psychology, the behaviorial sciences and educational re- search," he explained. Begin Programs The center has begun a num- ber of programs divided into two broad areas: 1) Service programs designed to aid faculty members improve the quality and effectiveness of teach- ing methods; and 2) Research programs in all phases of learning and teaching. Start Projects Several projects to aid faculty in teaching have been under- taken. The center is working with members of the medical and den- tal schools on individual teaching projects. It also sponsored a-series of 10 lectures on learning and teaching for the Medical School faculty. These talks are the first step in a broader programs of improving instruction in that school. The faculty will consider the meaning of these lectures at a conference this fall and will decide whether to undertake a more extensive program with the center. Other schools and colleges are considering similar programs but nothing has gone beyond the pre- liminary discussion stage. Plan Series The center is also planning a series of workshops and symposia on programmed learning. These sessions will help assess whether. this teaching method is relevant in the various schools and col- leges. It will hold discussions on clos- ed circuit television and its use in the classroom. Another area under study is the training and orienting of new teachers within individual depart- ments. "Every department owes its graduate students some respon- sibility in preparing him to handle future classroom responsibilities," Prof. Ericksen declared. Clearing House The center will serve as a clear- inghouse for literature on all as- pects of University teaching. Prof. Ericksen said that he "hadn't realized that so many dif- ferent teachers in so many differ- ent areas would be so anxious to investigate any and all methods of improving their teaching." The center's services are offered "on a purely voluntary basis," he said. Tight Squeeze Its efforts, Prof. Ericksen com- mented, will be concetrated on "those areas where the squeeze is tightest," in the freshman and sophomore distribution courses. The center, established upon the recommendation of the University Senate Committee of the Improve- ment of Instruction, is attached to the Office of Acadeiic Affairs. The committee acts as the center's advisory board. Prof. Ericksen came to the Uni- versity two years ago from Van- derbilt University where he had served as psychology department chairman for 15 years. Currently, there are only two full time mem- bers of the center-Prof. Ericksen and Frank Koen, also from Van- derbilt. Uses $3 Millio1 Sponsored Funds Support Studie In Physical, Life, Social Science The University handled approximately $36 million d Mars in sponsored research last year and this figure is expec to possibly reach $100 million by 1970. "Research expenditures at the University have t doubling every four years recently. If they should conti to grow in this way, in 1965 they would be $50 miflion and 1969 they would be $100 million," Vice-President for Resea Ralph A. Sawyer said last January. Approximately 55 per cent of sponsored research fu goes into engineering and the physical sciences. Health biological sciences come next, followed by the earth and social sciences. 1s Research Squeeze STUDENT THEATRE-The University Players not only present plays by famous authors, but also provide an opportunity for student playwrights to demonstrate their talent. Students bear a major portion of the responsibility for the production, serving as actors, scene, and costume designers and stage hands under faculty direction. "Land Ho" by Jack O'Brien, Grad., is virtually an all-student production with the exception of a faculty director. Speech DepartmentGuides Student Actors Theatre on campus has long been supported by the University's speech department, which estab- lished the University Players 658 productions ago to present an an- nual season of plays. Once again film classics will be available for student viewing. The Cinema Guild, a related board of Student Government Council, has prepared a fall pro- gram of films ranging from "The Mouse that Roared," a modern British comedy classic, to "Grapes of Wrath," an American master- piece. Foreign language classics and silent films are also scheduled. Two programs are scheduled each weekend. One is usually shown 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Thurs- day and Friday nights in the Architecture Aud. The other is scheduled for the same time Fri- day and Saturday nights. Programs for the Cinema Guild are selected by a Student Govern- ment Council-appointed board composed of both experts on films and student connoisseurs so that all possible interests are represent- ed. The Cinema Guild wll resume its polity of allowing student or- ganizations to sponsor guild show- ings and share some of the per- foriance's profits. The organiza- tion petitions the board for this privilege and must supply ticket sellers for the nights it sponsors. This policy had been abandoned last year because the guild had been losing money. Directed and designed by facul- ty members, the plays are pre- dominately student-cast and have student crews. The plays have a four-night run. The faculty directors choose the plays, cast them and oversee the production. Students handle back- stage mla n a g e m e n t, theatrical makeup, lighting, and costume and. stage changes. Thus students have a chance to apply what they learned in the classroom in a semi-professional atmosphere. Four Comedies The fall-spring 1963-64 season will be unusual for the Players in that four comedies will occupy the first four positions in the season. Moliere's "The Miser'' will open the playbill Wednesday through Saturday, Oct. 16-19. It will be directed by Prof. William Halstead of the speech department. Second on the playbill will be' Jean Anouilh's "Thieves' Carni- val," Nov. 13-16. It is a mixture of f a n t a s y, farce and straight comedy. Another s o r t of "civilized comedy" moves to center stage Dec. 4-? in Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest," to be directed by Prof. Claribel Baird. Biedermnann, Firebugs' The Swiss playwright M a x Frisch will be represented on the playbill in his "Biedermann and the Firebugs," directed by Prof. Jack E. Bender. A biting social and political satire, the tite char- acter is a hair-tonic manufacturer living in constant fear of arson- ists. He can't help 'ending a hand when he is actually beset by them. A premier production of a new play by a University student, pro- duced in cooperation with the English department playwrighting classes taught by Prof. Kenneth Rowe, wi21 be selected for present- ation. It will be free to buyers of season tickets and will be pre- sented April 2-4. Shakespeare's "Henry V" will appear April 22-25. The only play not presented at the Lydia Men- delssohn Theatre, "Henry V" will take place in the Trueblood Audi- torium at -the Frieze Building, which contains a semi-Elizabeth- an stage. Prof. Halstead will be the director. The playbill series will conclude. May 8-13, as the music school and speech dc;artment present a full- length opera., which will be an- nounced during the second semes- ter. Directors for the opera will be Prof. Ralph Herbert of the music school, a leading baritone with the Metropolitan Opera Company, and Prof. Joseph Blatt of the music school, the University's con- ductor of orchestras. Season tickets for the fall-spring playbill are being sold by mail order at $6.50 and $4.50, with additional charges for Friday and Saturday performances. Brochures are available by writing the Uni- versity Players, Speech Dept., Frieze Bldg., Ann Arbor. Students ordering tickets during the sum- mer and early fall are free to change dates for individual pro- ductions as long as tickets remain available, Last year's playbill included the Italian commedia dell'arte style production "The Servant of Two Masters" by Goldini and Jean Gir- odoux's "The Madwoman of Chail- lot." Last summer's opera production was Puccini's "Madame Butter- fly." The Players' productions are presented -in Trueblood Aud. or the Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre at 8 p.m. Mendelssohn has just been reconditioned, including the addi- tion of air conditioning and the enlargement of the wing area ' to allow use of modern staging de- vices that allow whole sets to be wheeled off the stage. A rt M useum A large variety of periods and styles in art has been featured in both special displays and the permanent collection at the Uni'. versity art museum. An Art Nouveau sampler was at the museum by the students in History of Art 607 last December. In it, samples from the various forms of the Art Nouveau, such as architectural and interior design, glass and ceramics, paintings and graphics, and metalwork were dis- played. A change of pace was last year's exhibition of paintings by Chi- kwan Chen. Contemporary Art Another loan collection included the widely-differing trends in contemporary American painting. Selections from the Neuberger Collection reviewed such works as Willem de Kooning's "Marilyn. Monroe," I. Rice Pereira's "Deep Vision," and John Marin's "The. Harbor." The permanent collection of the art museum contains samples from Byzantine bronzework to the rich and detailed works of the Flemish masters. Modern pieces such as Picasso's "Horse" and sculptures by Jean Arp are also a part of the collection. The University art collections See ART, Page 7 These figures bring up the question in the minds of many faculty members of whether or not research in the humanities is be- ing slowly squeezed out. Although much work is done. in this field, the heavy emphasis on defense and technical research is over- whelming the arts, and in the be- lief of these faculty members, converting the University into .a giant scientific factory. However, University officials are aware of this problem. Vice- President for Academic Affairs Roger W. Heyns noted that the, University follows an "elevator" policy pumping University funds -such as the Rackham Fund- into research in less prosperous areas to equalize federal or pri- vate support in other areas. Prof. Rensis Likert, director of the Institute of Social Research and chairman of the University Senate committee on research, said that his group also keeps close watch on research balance. Federal Funds Most of the funds come from the federal government. The de- fense department being the largest single contributor, with the Na- tional Science Foundation, the National Institute of Health, the National Areonautics and Space Administration and the Atomic' Energy Commission also serve as' large sponsors of University re- search activities. In its bid to attract the new' NASA space center to Ann Arbor, the University lost out this year to the Boston area. The amount' of money spent by NASA at the University is $4 million dollars. However, the agency has granted the University $1.75 million for a building to house its research. Top Rank' Concerning the large federal allocations here, Sawyer said, "These are large figures and they place the University in the very top rank of American universities in the amount of research which is being done for the federal gov- ernment. Our defense. contracts place us probably fourth or fifth among the universities of the na- tion, and in research done for the National Institute of H e a 1 t h, fourth or fifth. The University is certainly not lagging in research or research in new areas." Michigan is also looking to the University and other educational institutions in the state for a help- ing hand through research. Automation, Change Autornation, decentralization and the change in the type of growth industries h a s- robbed Michigan of much of its economic vitality. Political leaders of both parties have seen the need to en- courage research to aid technolog- ical development of industries within the state. The new House Committee on Economic Growth has sought to encourage research projects. A state $750,000 research fund is a result of this committee's early efforts. The University's main institu- tion for stimulating * research is the Institute of Science and Tech- nology. Created in 1959, IST See 'U', Page 8 . Discuss Policy RALPH A. SAWYER ....research WILSON: .dmissions PLicyCtee The University w i11 rede approximately 3200 new freshn this fall, Gayle C. Wilson, as ciate director of admissions, announced. He added that about one tQ of these new students will be fi out-of-state. Wilson said that the Univers in looking for a very special t of student, is very selective a: whom they admit. For exam 80 per cent of this fall's freshn class were in the top fifth of tl high school class. In the' liter college, Wilson noted that student must have a B average academics. Extra-curricular ac ities' are also highly regarded the search for well-rounded dents, who have better char of being selected. This year ends a two year ploratory period" in which Mi igan high school applicants a required for the first time to t college board examinations. examinations, it was deci would now be a permanent quirement for all prospec freshmeh, not limited to out. state students as in the past. Major Factor However, Director of Admiss' Cylde Vroman said recently 1 the major factor in admissior freshmen would continue to their high school records. On the other hand, it is no be disregarded that the col board exam is one of the best v of identifying a student's caps Ities and advising him on whel he is wise to come to the I versity, Vroman added. In addition to the college be exam, scholastic aptitude tests required ,of out-of'-state stud before they are admitted and in-state students as a requ ment for final enrollment. Transfer Students Transfer students are requ to present a C-plus average f their previous schools to be c sidered for admission. Thirty cent of all transfer stidents from outside the state of M igan with preference given children of alumni. There are two types of trar students: the transfer from REPETOIRE THEATRE: APA Company To Present Fall Drama Festival G> / The University Professional Theatre Program will present its second Fall Drama Festival with the Association of Producing Art- ists this fall. The APA, the PTP's resident company, was founded in 1960 by Ellis Rabb, who is now its artistic director and president. The dra- mas to be presented in this sea- son's Fall Festival have not yet been announced. Last year the APA presented Eva LeGallienne in Henrik Ib- sen's "Ghosts" as its special guest in the Fall Festival. 'Historic' Linkage. "For her to join the APA rep- resents an historic dramatic link- ing in-the evolution of the Amen- Grass," the drama was the winner of the PTP's playwright-in-resi- dence project. Written mostly in verse, "We, Comrades Three," is a "re-creation of Whitman's ex- periences in the Civil War and the moral corruption of the recon- struction period," says author Bal- dridge. He was in residence on campus under a special grant from the University and co-directed the play with Ellis Rabb. The play was chosen from nearly 300 en- tries in the newly-instituted play- wright project. Varied Career Baldridge was producer-director for the Brattle Theatre Company at Cambridge, Mass., and has also directed operas for the Lyric United States, the Civic Repertory Theatre in New York. Rosemary Harris played Lady Teazle, the role she played in' the New York production. Will Geer, featured performer at the Ameri- can Shakespeare Festival at Strat- ford, Conn., recreated his role of Sir Peter Teazle. In addition to Miss LeGallienne and Miss Harris, the APA com- pany featured three other Broad- way leading women in last fall's season. Anne Meacham, a star of last season's Broadway production of "A Passage to India," is the. recipient of critical awards for her portrayals in both "Hedda Gabler" and the original Cathy in "Sud- denly Last Summer." Enid Markey was the original -C'~6. '~~82&