| |
- Residential Services changes housing policy
- Deposit now required before residence hall room can be
reserved
By Jeff Anderson
staff reporter
Students must now pay a deposit before they can sign up for campus housing
following a policy change by Residential Services officials.
Nancy Grieser, coordinator of housing assignments, said students will
be required to pay a $100 deposit before they sign up for housing. The
second policy will require students who move off campus after the fall
semester to completely check out before Christmas break. Students who terminate
the contract, or do not completely move out, will be charged for a semester
of housing, she said.
 The other significant contract change will charge students
for an entire semester of housing if their contract is terminated after
taking occupancy of the room, Grieser said.
Grieser said the purpose of the policy change is to prevent students
from waiting until after Christmas break to move possessions out of the
residence hall. Students not living on campus the following semester must
have their possessions removed at check-out before the Christmas break,
she said.
Dottie Cruz, hall director in Wiggins Hall, said when students do not
check out at the end of the semester it creates a domino effect of problems.
The new resident has to wait for the old resident to move out, and sometimes
the old resident does not return until the last minute, she said.
"It looks bad for transfer students moving in because the other
person isn't out of the room," Cruz said.The new deposit deadline
will help prevent students from signing up for housing and later deciding
they do not want to live on campus, Grieser said. In the past, the deposit
could be paid after students sign up.
"The deadline policy is to meet the requests of students who have
had to take second-choice rooms because the first choice room was reserved
by a student who did not follow through with the deposit and then canceled
housing reservations," Grieser said.
Clint Bolding, a sophomore finance and biology major, said the policy
is good, but he would like to have more time to move out.
"I think they should open up the dorms a few days early in the
spring semester for those who are moving out to get their stuff out,"
Bolding said.
| Residential Policies
Two new policies were passed by Residential Services:
- $100 deposits must be paid before residence hall sign up
- Check out in Fall must be completed before Christmas break or housing
fees for Spring will be charged. Students who terminate contract will be
charged the fee.
Important housing dates:
- Tom Brown/Pete Wright: March 21 through 24
- Other: March 27 and 28
|
The priority deposit deadline is March 10 and final deadline is April 14.
Students who meet the priority deadline will be eligible for the 2000 Housing
Sweepstakes for a chance to win restaurant gift certificates.
Grieser said that in the past, students could live on campus up to four
weeks and then decide to move off-campus and only pay a prorated fee for
housing. The four-week period has passed for this semester and will no
longer be an option, she said.
Chad McBride, hall director in Clark Hall, said the check-out problem
varies from residence hall to residence hall and year to year.
"I think (the policy) is good because it protects the on-campus
people and guarantees them a spot," McBride said.
Grieser said other procedural changes have been changed this spring.
Students wanting to live in the Tom Brown/Pete Wright Residential Community
next fall will have a chance to sign up March 21 through 24 before other
on campus housing sign-up takes place. Students will know if they get a
spot in Tom Brown/Pete Wright so they will have time to decide where else
they may want to live, she said.
Students who lived in Foster Hall Fall of 1999 will have first priority
to move back into Foster for Fall 2000, she said. Registration for former
Foster residents will be March 27 and 28.
Jeff Anderson
jwanderson@delta.is.tcu.edu
-
- Neeley School names new dean
By Courtney Roach
staff reporter
The announcement of the new dean of the M. J. Neeley School of Business
Tuesday has reduced the number of vacant dean positions from four to two.
Robert Lusch, a professor of marketing and accounting at the University
of Oklahoma and former dean of the OU College of Business Administration,
will begin his duties as dean at TCU July 1.
Joseph Lipscomb, a professor of finance and decision sciences and member
of the dean search committee, said Lusch had four qualities that impressed
the committee.
"He had been a dean at OU (a major university) for five years,
he is recognized nationally as one of the top scholars in marketing, he
has the ability to raise funds for the School of Business and he is an
outsider to TCU," Lipscomb said.
 Some business students said Lusch's long list of credentials
in the marketing world, his serving as a consultant to dozens of companies
and his work at OU for 26 years caught their attention.
Judson Martin, a senior finance and marketing major, said he was on
a committee that interviewed Lusch for the dean position and was not surprised
he was chosen.
"The business school wanted to bring in a big name like Lusch,
and plus he's a visionary and very much in tune with Chancellor (Michael)
Ferrari," Martin said.
Shannon Shipp, associate professor of marketing, said he has known Lusch
for sometime and could not be happier that he is coming to TCU.
"He's basically done it all in the profession of marketing, and
he's a great researcher and teacher," Shipp said. "I think it's
a wonderful day for the School of Business and a wonderful day for the
university."
Bill Moncrief, the interim dean of the business school, said he will
be meeting with Lusch Saturday to begin the transition process and discuss
the continuation of programs.
"One of his major functions is going to be to fund raise and meet
the community," Moncrief said. "Lusch is very well known and
very well respected and will bring instant recognition to the School of
Business."
Moncrief said as of now it is too early to tell what he will be doing
when Lusch takes over.
Martin said he would like Moncrief to continue working in the School
of Business if possible.
"I hope Moncrief stays around, he really interacts with the students,
and I know the students feel they can talk to him," Martin said.
Lipscomb said the fact Lusch is an outsider will contribute new ideas
to the School of Business.
"Lusch brings different experiences, different contacts and a different
perspective that an insider might not have," Lipscomb said.
Ally Crossman, a sophomore finance and accounting major, said she was
impressed with Lusch when she interviewed him with the Neeley Associates.
"He is very student-oriented and asked us questions like why we
chose TCU and what our concerns were," Crossman said. "I've interviewed
others for faculty positions in the School of Business, but he was the
only person who asked us questions too."
Courtney Roach
soccourt11@aol.com
- Jenkins vetoes IP resolution
- Computer information 'not altogether accurate,' he says
-
- By Kaitie Smith
-
- staff reporter
-
- Student House of Representatives President Ben Jenkins vetoed a resolution
concerning the Internet Protocol addresses of students and faculty on campus.
-
- "I felt that it had good points but the information was not altogether
accurate," Jenkins said. "I did not want to introduce a resolution
from the House to the administration that was incorrect."
-
- The resolution stated that Information Services should provide random
IP addresses to all students with a TCU dial-up connection. It also stated
that TCU faculty members receive a random IP address every time they log
on.
-
- An IP address is a number given to a computer to allow the computer's
server to access information the user is requesting.
-
- "The truth is Chancellor (Ferrari) even has a permanent IP address,"
Jenkins said.
-
- Jenkins said any person who logs onto their computer is issued a random
IP address the first time they log on. This address is then assigned to
the user as their permanent IP address.
-
- The use of permanent IP addresses allows hackers easier access to personal
computers, said James Gifford, Clark Hall representative and author of
the resolution.
-
- Jenkins gave him several options including resubmitting the resolution
after a revision.
-
- "I am not going to resubmit the resolution because I feel it will
not pass," Gifford said.
-
- A technological forum will be held at 7:30 p.m. March 21 in the Student
Center to allow students to voice their opinions about their current Internet
concerns.
-
- In other House business, TCU LEAPS, a community service organization,
presented a bill requesting $5,500 from the Special Projects Fund. The
money, if granted, will go toward the organization's first Community Service
Saturday. This event will be free to anyone who wants to attend and will
include a motivational speaker.
-
- The bill was tabled to be discussed by the House Finance Committee
and will be debated next Tuesday.
-
-
Kaitie Smith
K14butterfly@hotmail.com
- Administrators, SGA keep communication lines open to
students
By Jaime Walker
staff reporter
The Student Government Association office and the administrative offices
in Sadler Hall are almost within shouting distance of each other. But how
far do the students' voices carry?
When the House of Student Representatives passes a bill, it travels
across the Reed-Sadler mall and lands on the desk of Vice Chancellor for
Student Affairs Don Mills, whose job it is to relay student concerns to
TCU's administrative cabinet.
Students such as Chad Kingsbury, a junior mathematics major, wonder
just how much attention the administration pays to House bills.
"Sometimes, it seems like they put those papers in file 13 instead
of a priority file," Kingsbury said.
SGA President Ben Jenkins said administrators do pay attention to student
issues, but for SGA to be effective, there needs to be a strong line of
communication between administrators and those elected to represent the
students.
"TCU generally does a great job of integrating students into the
things they do," Jenkins said. "But we can always do a better
job of communicating on both sides."
William Koehler, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, said
the student perspectives can be a critical component when making certain
decisions but getting those opinions can be a challenge.
"The student's first priority should be academic," Koehler
said. "All of the meetings and other obligations that go along with
the work we do as administrators should be secondary. We do what we can
to include students when they have the time."
Jenkins said his responsibilities as the SGA president include making
sure he not only listens to student concerns but also that he makes university
officials aware of them.
"I love this job," Jenkins said. "I manage my time so
that those meetings are possible."
Mills said he meets with Jenkins once a week and reports all pertinent
student issues to the administrative cabinet.
"I get a copy of all the bills that go through the House,"
Mills said. "My talks with {Jenkins) and other students really shed
light on the issues concerning the student body."
Koehler said he relies on Mills' reports to understand what is going
on with SGA. He said the cabinet takes those concerns seriously.
"Although we may not act on everything the students think is important,
we do listen," Koehler said.
Jenkins said some students have a misperception of how well SGA and
the administration work together.
"Just because we don't see immediate results in some areas does
not mean that the administration didn't care or listen," Jenkins said.
"Most of the time, there is a lot of work being done behind the scenes."
Koehler said SGA is most effective when it sets specific goals and outlines
how best to achieve them.
"Given their experiences, student leaders do a remarkable job of
articulating the issues to us," Koehler said. "After all, they
aren't professional politicians or administrators. They are students."
Jenkins said that in order for students and administrators to communicate
well, both parties need to keep in mind where the other side is coming
from.
"We need to step out of our shoes and see things from the other
side," Jenkins said. "If we can understand where they are coming
from and vice versa we can accomplish a lot for this university."
Mills said students tend to have a greater impact when they petition
for services that are already being considered by university officials.
He said laundry machines were equipped with swipe card technology because
students demanded it. The remodeling project underway on the Rickel Building
and the Student Center are a direct result of students voicing their concern,
he said.
"Students can and do have a powerful voice here," Mills said.
"Of course, it can always improve, but we do our best."
Koehler said students may feel like their voices are not heard as loudly
as they should be, but they are heard.
"Sometimes it takes a major crisis for students to be outspoken,"
Koehler said. "It's been a while since we have dealt with issues like
significant censorship or something that serious. But, even now, when things
are quiet, we hear the needs of students."
Jaime Walker
jlwalker@delta.is.tcu.edu
- Committee decides to continue Napster block
-
- By Victor Drabicky
-
- staff reporter
-
- TCU's Computer and Telecommunications Committee decided last week to
continue to block the use of Napster from on-campus computers over network
concerns.
-
- Chairman of the CAT committee Art Busbey said the committee had no
choice but to block the use of Napster.
-
- "We spent over 1 1/2 hours discussing what we should do about
Napster," Busbey said. "Napster was using over 55 percent of
the university's bandwidth, and we had no other choice but to shut it down."
- Busbey said in addition to blocking the use of Napster, Information
Services will begin blocking all the ports that people use to access Napster.
-
- "Ports are essentially the mail box of a program," Busbey
said. "Different ports are set aside for different applications. What
we did, is simply block the ports that were assigned for use by Napster."
- Although Information Services blocked the Napster ports Thursday, Busbey
said by Monday the server was overloaded.
-
- "By Saturday, students had found a program that finds open ports
for them to use so that they can run Napster," Busbey said. "So
by Monday, TCU's bandwidth was again saturated."
-
- Busbey said in order to prevent TCU's bandwidth from becoming saturated
again, Information Services is continuing to review which ports are being
used and continuously updating the ports that are being blocked.
- Assistant Provost for Information Services David Edmondson said although
bandwidth problems are his primary concern, he worries that students might
get into legal trouble as well.
-
- "At this moment, my concern is with bandwidth problems,"
Edmondson said. "However, it concerns me that students can get in
big trouble with the record industry due to copyright infringement."
-
- Jeff Becker, chairman of the technology section at the Haynes and Boone
law firm, said MP3s could get students into legal trouble.
-
- "In the past, in order to be prosecuted, you would have to have
made a profit off of the copyrighted material that you stole," Becker
said. "Now, if you have only one piece of copyrighted material in
your possession, you can be held liable up to $100,000 by the person or
group that holds the copyright. However, that number is very likely to
go up in the near future too."
-
- Copyrighted material is considered anything to which the rights are
reserved to a person or group. All MP3s, to which the rights are reserved
to the band or record label, are considered copyrighted material.
- Despite the risk of copyright violations, Busbey said Napster is being
blocked strictly because of bandwidth problems and not because of copyright
infringement.
-
- "(Information Services) want students to know that at some universities,
Napster is being blocked because of copyright problems," Busbey said.
"At TCU, it is a speed problem only."
-
- Edmondson said although some students are angry that they can no longer
use Napster, he has received positive feedback from some students.
-
- "I have been getting positive e-mails from students thanking me
because now they can do their homework without the Internet being slowed
down," Edmondson said. "Because so many students were using Napster,
the Internet was slowed down, and it turned into a case of students hurting
students."
-
- Busbey said the CAT committee is currently working with SGA to find
a more permanent solution to the Napster problem.
-
- "We are currently working with SGA to find other possible solutions
rather than simply blocking Napster," Busbey said. "We have also
scheduled a technology forum for the week after Spring Break. Hopefully,
we will have a better solution when it comes time for the technology forum."
Victor Drabicky
vmdtcu@swbell.net
- Retired English professor dies
- Odom remembered for his kind, gentlemanly personality
By Jaime Walker
staff reporter
Keith C. Odom, retired professor emeritus of English, died Monday night
following a battle of over three years with bone marrow cancer. He was
68.
Odom joined the TCU faculty in 1961 and remained at the university until
his retirement from the English department in 1996.
"My dad loved TCU, and he loved books more than anything,"
said Dennis Odom, Odom's eldest son.
David Vanderwerken, professor of English, said Odom's kind eyes and
kind, gentlemanly personality made him easily accessible to anyone on TCU's
campus or in the community.
 "Keith was unique and special," he said. "I
think he had a way of making literature real. With him, no matter if it
was in the classroom or in his book shop, what you saw was what you got.
He was genuine."
Clayton Odom, who graduated from TCU in 1988, remembered his father
as a man who would do anything to spend time with his family. He said his
dad always watched him pitch for the TCU baseball team.
"My dad never missed a TCU baseball game," he said. "He
may have brought papers to grade, but he never missed a pitch."
Vanderwerken said Odom's contributions to both the field of British
literature and the profession of teaching were known across the nation.
Odom, a long-time member of the College English Association, received their
prestigious Joe Thomas Award for Lifelong Achievement in 1996.
During his tenure at TCU, Odom's influence was felt across the university.
He established the Erisman-Odom Children's Collection which includes young
adult classics such as the "Nancy Drew Mysteries," with the help
of professor Fred Erisman, Sherley chair of English. Odom also played an
instrumental role in founding the Friends of the TCU Library Association,
said Dennis Odom.
"Keith was a great and respected professor, but he was a husband
and father first," said Glenna, Odom's wife of 40 years.
The service for Keith C. Odom will be held 11 a.m. Thursday at Robert
Carr Chapel. Visitation will be held from 6 to 7 p.m. today at Shannon
Funeral Chapel, 3015 Merida Ave. Memorial contributions can be made to
the Mary Couts Burnett Library.
Jaime Walker
jlwalker@delta.is.tcu.edu
- Endowment increases continually but officials have
decreased usage
-
- By Reagan Duplisea
-
- staff reporter
-
- Through oil property gifts and Wall Street stocks, the TCU endowment
has grown to over $850 million.
-
- TCU is ranked 45th in the nation among all colleges and universities
for the size of its endowment, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.
-
- However, the TCU Board of Trustees voted at its January meeting to
decrease the percentage taken out of the endowment that will go into the
university's operating budget.
-
- The endowment is in the $850 million range, said Interim Chief Financial
Officer Ron Clinkscale in January. Clinkscale said he could not comment
on the endowment until the middle of March.
-
- "The endowment is a financial foundation that allows a university
to engage in larger projects than you can do on an operational budget,"
said Mike Sacken, chairman of the Faculty Senate's Budget and Finance Committee.
"It's not the thing that takes care of day-to-day stuff like my salary."
-
- Assistant Treasurer and Director of Financial Services Dick Hoban said
the endowment's two main functions are to provide funds for the current
operating budget and to provide growth in the future savings of the university.
-
| Number crunch
The TCU Board of Trustees passed a motion in January that will lower
the university spending policy to 5.75 percent of the endowment for 2000-2001.
This is down from 5.8 percent for this year.
If the endowment stays in the $850-million range, approximately $49
million will be put into the 2000-2001 budget.
According to the TCU Web site, the university's operating budget is
approximately $165 million. |
-
- Sources of the endowment
-
- Vice Chancellor for University Advancement Bronson C. Davis said a
lot of the endowment has come from gifts and bequests.
-
- "Mary Couts Burnett is more responsible than anything for the
size of the endowment," Davis said.
- Burnett and Milton Daniel left the university oil property in their
wills, Davis said.
-
- Davis said the biggest source of endowment funds in the 1990s was the
stock market.
-
- "Because of the Mary Couts Burnett money, we had the money to
invest in the market in the '90s," Davis said.
-
- Earnings also come from interest, dividends and appreciations in stocks,
said John V. Roach, chairman of the TCU Board of Trustees. Much of the
endowment not used for the operating budget has been invested.
-
- Sacken said the endowment is not all liquid cash.
-
- "The total amount of the endowment is not the same amount available
for use," Sacken said. "Some of it is locked up or earmarked.
For example, a family created an endowment for an endowed chair of education."
- Such money set aside for endowed chairs are part of the total endowment
figure, Sacken said.
-
- The percentage which is taken out for the operational budget needs
to be replaced each year, Sacken said.
- "We can easily raise the 5 percent each year to replace it,"
Sacken said.
-
- "If we weren't so good at finding funds, we'd price ourselves
out of existence, and we'd see a reduction in quality," Sacken said.
-
- "To me, it seems like such a vast amount of money," Sacken
said. "It seems endless."
-
-
- Where the endowment money goes
-
- "The largest percentage of our endowment is in the stock market,"
Roach said. "Over the last few years, it's enabled us to pay a higher
percentage of the operating budget. We're not unreasonably dependent on
the stock market."
-
- Assistant Professor of Finance Mo Rodriguez said investing in the stock
market produces a better long-term value.
-
- "For monies that aren't going to be used in the short term, it's
worth it to take the higher risk," Rodriguez said.
- Davis said inflation has been low, so the endowment has increased.
-
- The money is managed by 10 investment managers, Hoban said. Each manages
a segment of the overall endowment.
-
- Hoban said it is up to the investment manager where to put the funds.
TCU does not give suggestions to the managers.
-
- "We don't get involved in their process," Hoban said. "We're
paying them to do their best job. We can't get involved and tell them how
to do their job."
-
- Parts of the endowment are also invested in foreign stocks and in new
businesses, Davis said.
-
- Davis said they try not to invest in anything specifically to "spread
the risk."
-
- "You try to balance so you don't get killed," Davis said.
-
| Measuring up
According to the Council of Higher Education, TCU's endowment ranked
45th in the nation in size in 1999. Other schools in the listing include:
1. Harvard University
2. University of Texas System
3. Yale University
4. Princeton University
5. Stanford University
10. Texas A&M University
System and Foundations
13. Rice University
20. Dartmouth College
30. University of Rochester
40. University of Cincinnati
45. TCU
50. Southern Methodist
University
73. Baylor University |
- A "prudent" spending policy
-
- Roach said the TCU Board of Trustees approved the percentage reduction
to protect the future financial stability of the university.
-
- "We have adopted a longer-term strategy to try to bring down the
percentage of the endowment to a number closer to what is considered prudent,"
Roach said. "The board is very sensitive to the opportunities we have
to invest in the campus to enhance TCU. That's why we have had a liberal
spending policy. We want to be less liberal, but we will be far from conservative
in our spending policy."
-
- Sacken said he thinks the policy is conservative.
-
- "I've come to see the culture of TCU has always been fiscally
conservative," Sacken said. "To become much more entrepreneurial
would be an enormous change for the university."
-
- Sacken said he can see the pros and cons for using more of the endowment
for the operating budget since he is depending on the university for his
retirement, but he has a student attending TCU.
-
- "For me, I want it to be stable, but for students - they want
to be affordable," Sacken said.
-
- Davis said it is usually seen as a financial problem if a university
spends its endowment. He said the university has to look good to appeal
to lenders and to get a good bond rating.
-
- The strategy of borrowing money is much better than using what money
is in the endowment because the money can be paid back 30 years down the
road, Davis said.
-
- TCU bonds are sold in $5,000 increments, but the market value can vary,
Hoban said.
-
- Hoban said the bonds will decrease in value if more money is taken
out of the endowment. People will be more willing to invest in TCU's bonds
if they see the university is financially sound.
-
- "Our bond holders look at the endowment," Hoban said. "It
gives them the confidence that TCU will be able to repay the money."
-
- Davis said it is fiscally responsible to spend as little of the endowment
as possible.
-
- "The ideal is you don't spend your endowment," Davis said.
"It's like not eating your seed corn."
-
Reagan Duplisea
rlduplisea@delta.is.tcu.edu
|
