p inion page 6 Friday, July 24, 1982 The Michigan Daily 4 The Michigan Daily Vol. XCII, Na. 47-S Ninety-two Years of Editorial Freedom Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan Keep BY SUGGESTING that the University's Institute for the Study of Mental Retardation and Related Disorders (ISMRRD) be closed, the review subcommittee has left the door open for the administration to cut a useful and needed facility. ISMRRD's director, Dr. Herbert Grossman, put it best when he said, "They (the review committee) looked at what they saw and said 'this is bad, let's get rid of it' without any thought toward the implications. Frankly, I find that offensive." Frankly, so does the Daily. The subcommit- tee had two choices in its review of ISMRRD: close it or keep it. They decided to close ISMRRD because its quality had declined. What about fixing it? Could structural changes have been made within existing budgetary con- straints to make the institute strong again? We may never know, because the review commit- tee didn't look in that direction. We do know that ISMRRD is the only mental retardation research facility in the state. Its services are duplicated by other organizations in the community, but its research and the in- dividual services that require research are not. We also know that since the committee's decision, ISMRRD has been awarded federal grants totalling more than $300,000. The lack of such funds was a major reason for the decision to cut ISMRRD. ISMRRD plays a vital role in the study of retardation and related disorders. If the present facility is not good enough, the Univer- sity should move to change it, not ignore its responsibilities completely. OYOU MEAN THAT'S NOT PART OF THE TOUR? fiti~f- It's official, tuition to rise by 15 percent 4 WHAT ONE hand taketh, the other hand giveth away. The Regents approved a plan this weekto take a bigger bite out of students pockets with a 15 per- cent tuition incease, but also decidedtogive the first $5 million saved from the University's reallocation plan to a faculty salary program. According to Vice President for Academic Affairs Billy Frye, the tuition increase was necessitated The announcement that the center would be spared came on the heels of the disclosure that another budget review commit- tee suggested the closure of the University's Institute for the Study of Mental Retardation and Related Disorders (ISMRRD). Frye and the Executive Officers are expected to follow that com- mittee's advice as well, but the results, of course, are likely to be different. Same old story IF YOU ARE a woman and a' University faculty member or administrator, you are an ex- tremely rare bird, according to an affirmative actionreport just released by the University. University progress in hiring both women and minorities to faculty and high administrative positions is "so weak as to represent serious concern," said Affirmative Action Director Virginia Nordby to the Regents Thursday. 4 4 by an "expected" decline in state aid to the University. Ap- propriations are expected to remain the same while inflation continues to grow at the rate of 7 to8 percent. Meanwhile, faculty salaries will get a boost in the coming year with the extra $5 million in- crease. Pay increases are needed to "prevent further erosion in the financial position of our faculty" and "sustain their confidence in the future of the University," Frye said. Frye told Regents that if, they did not approve the measure, of faculty members may not receive pay increases unless the state provides additional assistance. That, of course, is just wishful thinking. Axe takes day off THE UNIVERSITY Adminis- tration's budget axe took a day off Monday when Vice President for Academic Affairs Billy Frye announced that the Center for the Continuing Education of Women (CCEW) would not undergo a major budgetary review under the University's five year plan. According to Frye, CCEW will now be categorized with those units not under review, and will be subjected only to an annual evaluation where budget cuts of up to 15 percent will be con- sidered. "It's a very strong report in terms of the quality of the center," he said. Unlike other schools and units under review, CCEW ws reviewed only with regard to the performances and utility of the program. Kunstler: Lockard was denied due process. Is the fair fair? THIS YEAR'S art fair became the focus of a bitter con- troversy as local black-artist Jon Lockard, represented by famed New York civil rights attorney William Kunstler, sought to be reinstated as an exhibitor. After 22 years of exhibiting his work in the fair, Lockard's work was deemed unacceptable by a secret selection committee representing the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair Inc. Mark Gombiner, an associate of Kunstler, argued that the committee violated Lockard's right of due process and charged the organization with racial discrimination. Although Federal Judge Charles Joiner denied the rein- statement request, he said that he felt the group is "somewhat less than completely fair" in not disclosing the identity of commit- tee members or the criteria used to evaluate an artist's work. For Kunstler, the issue was ac- countability. Because the groups used public funds in the form of city services, they should release the information to the public, he maintained. The art fair organizations finally did release the criteria - but only after a City Council resolution forced them to do so. The Week in Review was compiled by George Adams, Lou Fintor, and Kent Redding and is featured every Satur- day. A 4 4 Nordby: Affirmative action progress slow. Although women now account for nearly half of the University's 11,000 employees, the number of women in the faculty has actually decreased by two since 1978-79 to 66, or 5.8 percent of the total. The number of minority full professors actually rose by 8, and now also accounts for 5.8 percent of the total faculty positions. Nordby insists that the Univer- sity has a good system for hiring more women and minorities to top positions. But the main feature of the report was not so much that the University had progressed, but only that it had no slid backward. 4 4