Weather Thursday September 11, 2003 @2003 The Michigan Daily Ann Arbor, Michigan an ads One-hundred-twelve years ofeditonarlfreedom TODAY---- Sunny during the day and mostly clear at night with winds at about nine miles per hour. Tomorrow: 8062 Vol. CXIII, No. 8 wwwmichigandallycom I:Iilllil Pill: Engin dean receives bad marks on survey By Aymar Jean For the Daily A confidential survey conducted by the Faculty Senate Office indicates tensions between the College of Engineering faculty and their dean, Stephen Director, who has held his post since 1996. The survey's results were originally released only to the engineering fac- ulty, provost and the dean. The release of this document comes at an inopportune time for Director, as he implements new initiatives to improve the school's academic environment and as the college celebrates its 150-year anniversary. Also this year, the undergraduate engineering program has fallen one more spot on the U.S. News and World Report rank- ings. The survey of 125 faculty members indicates that Director's rela- tionship with the faculty is strained. The survey was obtained by the Daily on Monday. "There have been some contentious issues in the college, but, in fact, I think he has taken information from senior faculty members and made decisions from knowledge he obtained. He's made some decisions that I would have made differently, and I could understand why some individuals are very upset," said a biomedical engineering professor who wished to remain anonymous. Director said he was concerned by the unsolicited release of the survey. "This is a confidential survey, and it is voluntary. It's a mecha- nism that people use to express their views. I think people partici- pated in it under the assumption that it was confidential. If they knew the results were to go public, I don't think they would have responded similarly," Director said. "It's input that I will take into consideration, including the input that I received from a very com- prehensive strategic planning activity that included input from a Dean places appropriate emphasis on research In consideration of tenure/ promotion/merit raises s% 14% 14% 6 Strongly Agree EAgree ONeutral dDisagree I Strongly Disagree 0 Unable to 3udge a Blank Dean appropriately weighs the opinions of all segments of the facilty Dean's communication style promotes open communication with faculty 10% 5 17% 30% 4% i Dean consiers faculty views Dean strives to raise the vilblity contrary to his/her own and reputation of the College 39% 8% large number of participants, both students and staff." Members of the faculty referred to a specific electrical engineer- ing professor who has allegedly been vocal in his dislike for Direc- tor. Several professors in the electrical engineering department - See DEAN, Page 7A RYAN WEINER/Daily An Ann Arbor resident walks past National City Bank's sign, which recognizes the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York City. en tiCments vary from nostalgic to -moving on Bill may penalize colleges for raising costs of tuition By Karen Schwartz Daily Staff Reporter Two years ago today, campus was filled with people trying frantically to get in touch with loved ones and students glued to their televi- sions watching a tragedy unfold. LSA junior Sara Rapoport, of Westchester, N.Y, remembers being shaken when she heard planes had crashed into the World Trade Center, where "To me, it' her senior prom was held. She remembers running reflect on' back to her residence hall world's lik and trying to reach family members, including her what I mig father, who often goes into to do abou Manhattan for work. This year, Rapoport said she plans to contin- ue with her usual rou- tine, going to classes and doing what she would be doing otherwise in what she feels is a statement that daily life has not been interrupted. "It should be in everyone's mind but at the same time if no one goes to class or does any- thing, then it's like people are saying that terror- ism won out," she said. Kira Lesser, an LSA freshman from Birm- ingham, said she feels this should be a normal day but was still surprised to find out that a stu- S W :e ;h it dent group she is interested in joining will be holding a meeting today. She added that today is about following the usual schedule but also taking time to consider the state of affairs and the role individuals can play in them. "To me, it's a day to reflect on what the world's like now and what I might be able to do about it," she said. "It was a tragic event, really scary. It's really scary a day to because it's kind of a wakeup call that that kind hat the of thing can happen in now and America." Lesser added that she hopes to attend a it be able vigil this evening as well. - n In addition to attending it a vigil in an act of remem- - Kira Lesser brance, LSA junior Matt LSA freshman Wasserman, of Pleas- antville, N.Y., said he also plans to do favors for peo- ple today, doing random acts of kindness to brighten up other people's day. "It was a tough day two years ago, it's the least I can do," he said. "If everyone would just go up to one person and help them out ... that'd be a whole lot of good vibes." Wasserman added that everyone from his hometown knew "someone who lost someone" on Sept. 11, and that he is grateful to have not See MEMORIAL, Page 3A By Tomislav Ladika Daily Staff Reporter Colleges raising their tuition at excessive rates would face federal government sanctions, including restric- tions on federal aid, under a proposed bill that aims to increase the accountability of higher education institu- tions. The proposal comes on the heels of "The College Cost Crisis," a report presented last week by two U.S. House Republicans who criticize colleges for repeated- ly increasing tuition more than the percent rise in the rate of inflation and the Consumer Price Index. But critics of the proposed Affordability in Higher Education Act said it would lead to a decrease in the quality of higher education institutions, and that public schools would be hurt most by the proposal. U.S. Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon of California, a sponsor of the proposed bill and one of the cost report's authors, said colleges that have not controlled their budgets efficiently are primarily to blame for cost increases that have "been going up at twice the rate of family income." The bill - which McKeons spokesman Vartan Dji- hanian said is still being finalized but will be intro- See TUITION, Page 5A Teaching and research square off Profs often budget their time for more research rather than teach extra classes By Jeremy Berkowitz Daily Staff Reporter Anthropology Prof. Roberto Frisancho easily acknowledges what many other department heads readily deny - certain professors broker deals to get out of stan- dard teaching requirements of their departments. "Unfortunately this practice is heavily used in many departments," Frisancho said, adding that he could not give any specific details. "Many of these professors because of such agreements teach very little and their salaries are much higher than those who teach and do not have these special privileges. Life is not fair." The University, like many high-profile research colleges, struggles to maintain a balance for its faculty between allowing professors time for research and maintain- ing rigorous teaching requirements, which are necessary for a Big Ten school. In the Physics Department, for example, the regular teaching load for a professor with an active research project is one course per semester. If a professor is not working on such a project - only 5 per- cent of the department in the past two years fell into that category - their teach- ing load increases to two courses a semes- ter. In rare instances of large research funding, a professor can pay the depart- ment to have a replacement teach their class for a semester. "At most, a professor can be without teaching for one year. This combines his or her sabbatical leave (one semester) and a buy out from teaching (one semester)," Physics department chair Ctirad Uher said. The history department issues even more rigorous criteria, requiring faculty to teach four classes - two large and two small. Three of those classes are expected to be at the undergraduate level. Yet, a traditional way to get exempt from regular loads is to belong to a campus research institution. Frisancho, a senior See FACULTY, Page 5A 'U' creates new position, elevates housing director [Bomb threat fizzles out By Jeremy Berkowitz Daily Staff Reporter The University recently decided to expand the role of the next housing director by adding "assis- tant vice president for student affairs" to the title. This change comes due to University housing's importance-' 98 percent of freshmen live in res- idence halls. In the eight months since Housing Director Bill Zeller's abrupt departure, Vice President for Stu- dent Affairs E. Royster Harper consulted with members of the campus community about rewrit- ing the director's job description. Harper said the changes come in anticipation of alterations to housing in the next decade. "The modified role will allow the University to look more closely at campus residential neighbor- hoods and to consider collaborations already underway between the University, city of Ann Arbor, community groups and private develop- ers," Harper said. The new director's salary will depend on expe- rience, and the office will remain in the Student Activities Building. Zeller made $118,085 in his last year. Harper recently formed a 14-member search advisory committee, expected to meet for the first description, establish a list of criteria and start looking at resumes of potential candidates. After- wards, they plan to interview candidates by tele- phone and invite three or four finalists to campus for public presentations. Harper said she hopes to make a final decision by February 2004. "The whole process is pretty transparent," Nafranowicz said. Although only three members of the committee are currently students, Nafranowicz said that excluding her, students account for almost 25 per- cent of the committee and represent many con- stituencies including the Residence Hall Association and the Michigan Student Assembly. She added that she expects them to contribute much to the committee's work. "I expect everyone's voices on the committee to be heard," she said. Harper added that there is still room for student involvement in the process. "There will be opportunities for candidates to meet with students and for students to provide feedback on the candidate." University Housing is currently on the brink of significant changes. A new residence hall on North Campus has been on the drawing board for several years, and there is a movement to mod- ernize many of the arcane residence halls. Last year, the University hired a consultant to talk with - I ~ l A canine unit was sent into the University Health Services building on North i