The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, November 16, 1993-3
Faculty survey shows favorable rating for vice provost's office
N Review of administrative office is first in a series to be
conducted by members of Senate Assembly
By JAMES CHO
DAILY STAFF REPORTER
"The Office of Vice Provost for Academic
Affairs serves an essential role in the Univer-
sity community ... we recommend that this
office be continued," read the faculty evalua-
tion, presented at yesterday's Senate Assem-
bly meeting.
Mathematics Prof. Peter Hinman, a mem-
ber of the faculty subcommittee charged with
evaluating the office, presented the report.
The committee was instructed by the Senate
Advisory Committee on University Affairs
(SACUA) in April to assess the focus, rel-
evance and efficacy of the office.
"I believe in faculty reviews of adminis-
trative positions," said John D'Arms, vice
provost for academic affairs and dean of
Rackham. "I'm well disposed to this activity
and how the faculty reviewers thought the
office was going."
The vice provost largely serves the Uni-
versity as a representative of the provost's
office. This includes attending fundraisers
andcoming totherescueduring crises, Hinman
said.
Hinman added that the evaluation was
difficult due to the absence of any written job
description for the office.
The report stated that many members of
the University community were unaware of
the existence of this position.
"The office serves in an important advi-
sory capacity to the provost," the report said.
The committee recommended that the central
administration compensate Rackham forcosts
incurred by the office and provide D'Arms
with a discretionary account. Currently, the
office has no staff and all expenses related to
the office are absorbed by Rackham.
This review of the vice provost's office is
the first in a series of evaluations by faculty
members of administrative offices. The next
office slated for evaluation is the Office of the
Vice President for Student Affairs.
SACUA Chair Henry Griffin said, "With
1,300 staff members, this office is a very
major part of the University. I'm particularly
interested in determining the relations be-
tween student affairs and academic issues."
The decision by the Senate Assembly to
evaluate administrative offices began earlier
this year in an attempt to stimulate communi-
cation between faculty and administrators.
Griffin added, "Faculty learns more about
the office and provides feedback. We become
aware of the structure of the office and the
people in the structure, and this is beneficial to
everyone."
Tour, vigil
illustrate
homeless
problem
# 0 Homeless Action
Committee puts
emphasis on issue of
affordable, low-
Income housing
By WILL MATTHEWS
DAILY STAFF REPORTER
It was cold last night. Ungloved
hands became rigid and numb. In the
context of the homeless vigil held on
the Diag, the symbolism is inevitable.
The vigil commenced with a walk-
ing tour of downtown Ann Arbor con-
ducted by several members of the
Homeless Action Committee (HAC).
The tour illbstrated the intercon-
nections of city government and local
business, and their role in the probem
of homelessness.
* Throughout the vigil and tour, the
issue ofaffordable, low-income hous-
ing waspredominant. The tour showed
how the creation of retail and office
complexes, as well as the revitaliza-
tion of such areas as Kerrytown, re-
sulted in the leveling of large areas of
such housing.
Among other examples of
gentrification, guides pointed outhow
abakeryanda 14-unitboardinghouse
were demolished to make way for
office and retail space.
"I think the real theme ofthe walk-
ing tour is kind of the title of the guide
(that accompanied the tour), which is
'Whose Downtown Is It?"' explained
HAC member Corey Dolgon. "The
question we want to ask ourselves is
Duderstadt tells
plans for third
century at 'U'
By JAMES CHO
DAILY STAFF REPORTER
Cyberspace University - a uni-
versity that spans the world as a ro-
bust information network linking to-
gether students, faculty, graduates and
knowledge resources.
This was one of the ideas Univer-
sity President James Duderstadt pre-
sented at yesterday's Senate Assem-
bly meeting during his hour-long talk
on "Vision 2017: The Third Cen-
tury."
Change and leadership were the
buzz words that echoed throughout
his presentation, which focused on
the status of the University in the 21st
century, to the faculty government.
"The greatest challenge is change,
but the greatest opportunities lie in
leadership," Duderstadt said.
One aspect of change at the Uni-
versity has been increased diversity.
"The Michigan Mandate has been the
farst of these efforts," he said.
In a press conference this after-
noon, the University will release a
report summarizing the impact of the
Michigan Mandate on the University
community.
Duderstadt boasted that the Uni-
versity has a minority student enroll-
ment of 23 percent, and added that the
minority faculty has increased 60 per-
cent in the past five years.
"Our goal is to provide education
of the highest quality to the broadest
segment of society," Duderstadt said.
"Our latest initiative is to address the
role of women at the University," he
added.
Later, Duderstadt outlined the
changes to the physical structure of
the University, most noticeably on
central campus.
He said it had been decades sinc4
the last major renovation on central
campus. "Next year, we will hav4
$500 million worth of construction
activity on central campus."
Despite all the progress the Uni}
versity is making, Duderstadt rex
minded the faculty members of post
sible financial woes.
"State support is less than 40 per:
cent of the general fund and accounts
for less than 12 percent of our operat-
ing budget," he said, adding that the
University continues to face furthey
funding cuts by the state.
Because the pace of change is sq
great, Duderstadt warned, "We can-
not stand still. Laissez-faire is not the
Michigan style."
He added, "To lead, you need to
have some vision as to where you
want to go. ... The vision for the
University is to make Michigan the
leading university in America. That's
some combination of quality, size
breadth and diversity and innovation,'
he said.
Henry Griffin, chair of the Senate;
Advisory Committee on University
Affairs (SACUA), the executive
branch of the Senate Assembly, agreed
with Duderstadt's emphasis on
change.
"It was ahelpful presentation. The-
issue of change was an appropriate
underlying theme," he said. Griffin
added that SACUA would have to go
over the details of those changes as
they occur.
Volunteers spoon hot soup to an attendee of the homeless vigil on the Diag last night.
what are our priorities and whose
interests are being served. What we
try to point out is that city government
is in league with business and devel-
opers, sometimes in a kind of sinister
way.
Dolgon added: "But most of the
time it's in an ideological way that
sees economic growth as a savior
for the community, and when you
realize that the whole philosophy of
economic growth is flawed - that
'trickle down' doesn't work - then
you realize that the whole way
they're framing their decision-mak-
ing through the paradigm of eco-
nomic growth is responsible for
these kind of problems."
Dolgon said when people are con-
vinced that economics need not be
handled this way, they also learn that
problems such as poverty and
homelessness are neither natural nor
necessary.
A series of speakers from commu-
nity organizations, including a city
governmentemployee, spoke after the
tour.
Michael Appel, development spe-
cialist for Avalon Housing, a non-
profit group that rents homes to low-
income families and individuals, em-
phasized affordable housing as fun-
damental to the problems of
homelessness and the cycle of pov-
erty.
He related Avalon's goals: "We
try to provide affordable housing for
a community's lowest-income
people," he said. "We do that by own-
ing it, managing it, keeping the prices
low using subsidized money and non-
profit ownership. ... Costs are being
covered but no profit is being made."
Attendance at the vigil was slim,
though curious strollers and passersby
often stopped, stayed and became in-
volved.
A sign on the Diag read, "End the
Indifference." The undivided atten-
tion of the crowd attested to the idea
that awareness of and interest in
homelessness is the first step towards
fulfilling that slogan.
Bosnian editor describes horror of current events
New TV station may air student
news, soap operas, game shows
By SCOT WOODS
DAILY STAFF REPORTER
Nineteen months of violence in
Bosnia-Herzegovina has not killed
the optimism of Kemal Kurspahic.
The editor in chiefof0slobodenje,
Sarajevo's daily newspaper, held an
informalquestion-and-answersession
last night in the Osterman Common
Room in the Rackham Building. Sev-
eral University groups sponsored the
meeting to provide a forum for first-
hand education on events in Bosnia.
Kurspahic spoke about current
conditions in the city, forecasting
thousands of deaths in the coming
winter. He said temperatures have
already fallen below freezing several
times. He said Sarajevo may be "a
city condemned to die."
He also called the United Nations'
negotiations for peace a "blackmail"
of Bosnian citizens.
"What is called a peace process
regarding Bosnia is found to be a
practical blackmail on the part of the
international community to legalize
crimes committed in thatcountry," he
said.
He said at least 90 percent of the
150,000 to 200,000 dead in Bosnia
were unarmed civilians, calling it ter-
ror, not war.
"For war, you need two armies
confronting each other," he said. "In
Bosnia's case, you didn't have two
armies on the day which it was at-
tacked. Bosnia didn'thaveany army."
ButKurspahic stated several times
that he did not blame all Serbs for
Serbian violence. "I don't accept the
concept of collective responsibility,"
he said.
Kurspahic said Bosnia can be
saved if the international community
acts now. He said the United States
should bomb Serbian artillery posi-
tions around Sarajevo.
Most of the 60 people at the infor-
mal event had connections to Bosnia
and supported Kurspahic's positions.
Several said they have relatives in-
side the city of Sarajevo.
"I thought (Kurspahic) did a very
good job of presenting a very objec-
tive view of what's going on," said
Engineering doctoral student Damir
Juric, who attended the discussion.
Juric, who has relatives in
Sarajevo, said it is important to get as
much information as possible about
Bosnia. "What you hear on the news
is sort of a distortion. When you hear
bits and pieces it's very easy to distort
the news."
Naza Tanovic Miller, who also
attended last night, was born in
Sarajevo. She and her husband, a vis-
iting professor at the University, are
hosting Kurspahic in Ann Arbor.
"I think that the American public
... should not support the ethnic divi-
sion of Bosnia," she said.
History Prof. Sabine McCormack,
one of the event's organizers, agreed
with Kurspahic that the United States
should use air strikes against Serbian
positions to bring peace. "In Bosnia,
there is a functioning political society
there," she said. "I think that's a big
difference with Somalia."
By KATIE HUTCHINS
DAILY STAFF REPORTER
Next semester, students will be
able to turn on the TV and see fellow
University students reporting news,
displaying talents and maybe even
acting outsoap operas orhosting game
shows. This is the result of anew club
that makes it possible for students to
have their own station.
The idea came from Kinesiology
sophomore Dan Schwab, who brought
the concept here when he transferred
from Franklin and Marshall College.
"I came here wanting to be in-
volved in the same type of club," he
said. Learning that the University has
no such opportunity, Schwab said he
"took the initiative and started one on
my own."
Dan Kier, a Communication lec-
turer, is serving as faculty adviser for
the project.
The station, called WOLV-short
for Wolverine - will hopefully be
taping and airing shows by February,
Schwab said. The next step is to hold
workshops to introduce club mem-
bersto the community access channel
studio and show them how to use the
equipment, he added.
The club is currently planning sev,
eral shows and taking ideas for new
ones. "The more ideas that people I
work with can come with the better...
The more, the merrier," Schwab said.
Ideas include a news show, a vari-
ety show, a sitcom, a soap opera and
a sports show, he said.
Sixty people showed up at the first
mass meeting last Wednesday. "Any-
body can join and we emphasize that
they do notneed experience," Schwab
said.
The next mass meeting will take
place next Monday at 6 p.m. in the
Frieze Building.
Scott Doyne, a first-year Kinesi-
ology student, is assisting Schwab in
the project. "I was really excited.... It
sounds like a lot of fun and maybe
good experience," he said.
Student groups
Q Adult Daughters of Alcoholics
and other Trauma, meeting,
Michigan Union, Room 3200,
7:30 p.m.
U Arab-American Students As-
sociation, Arabic conversation
hour, Arabic House, Oxford, 7
p.m.
U Christian Science Organiza-
tion, weekly, meeting, Michi-
gan League, checkroom at front
desk, 7 p.m.
U Gospel Chorale Rehearsal,
School of Music, North Cam-
pus, Room 2027, 7 p.m.
U Hellenic Students Association,
general meeting, Michigan
Union, Room 2209, 8 p.m.
o Indian American Students As-
sociation, board meeting,
Michigan Union, Room 4202,
9 p.m.
and the Environment, Rackhan
Amphitheater, 7 p.m.
U Blood Battle, sponsored by Al-
pha Phi Omega, Michigan
Union, Pendleton Room, 1-6:30
p.m.
U Brown Bag Lunch Series, spon-
sored by the Center for Chinese
Studies, Forms of the Distance,
speaker: Bei Dao, Lane Hall,
Commons Room, 12 noon.
U Disigualdas y Pobreza en
Puerto Rico, sponsored by the
Puerto Rican Association,
MLB, Room 2011, 6:30 p.m.
U Dreaded Discussion: Ten Ways
to Start, LS&A TA training
program, 2553 LS&A Build-
ing, 3-5 p.m.
U Emotional Dimension in
Learning and Teaching About
Diversity, LS&A Training Pro-
gram, Michigan League,
Placement, Michigan Union,
Room 1209, 6-8 p.m.
Q International Forum, Tuesday
lunch, Prospects and Problems
for Peace Accord Between Is-
rael and Palestinians, speaker:
Elizabeth Barlow, International
Center, Room 9, 12 noon.
U Issues Facing the Native
American Women, sponsored
by the Office Of Multicultural
Initiatives, Michigan Union,
Anderson Room, 7-9 p.m.
U Summer Job and Internship
Search, sponsored by Career
Planning and Placement, 3200
Student Activities Building,
4:10-5 p.m.
U Was there and Alternative to
Stalinism in the Soviet Union?,
sponsored by the Workers
League, Michigan League,
Room D, 6:30 p.m.
Jr":1
U I
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