The Towerlight, September 22, 1983

tl19830922-000 "The Towerlight The days and nights of the living dead have returned: The Congress of the United States is back in Washington . �Editors of the Wall Street Journal Vol. 77 No. 3 PUBLISHED BY THE STUDENTS OF TOWSON STATE UNIVERSITY TOWSON, MARYLAND 21204 September 22, 1983 Smith delivers address to faculty Presidentforecasts changes, competition for University in the 'information age' By James Hunt ""The information age is bringing about significant changes .. (which) will transform both soc-iety and the University ,"" Towson State President Hoke Smith said Thursday. Smith, making his Annual Fall Faculty Address, outlined the changes brought by the recent, computer-aided ""information explo-sion and telecommunications revolu-tion."" He also emphasized the Univer-sity's need to adapt to those changes and the competition they may pre-sent. ""The information revolution is creating a society in which informa-tion is a commodity that is increasing-ly being traded to make a profit,"" Smith said. This may change the educational pattern of our society and may foster the growth of new com-petitors to higher education, who, although they could not duplicate the whole range of university activities� ""Could compete effectively in specific areas or fields."" There will also be a change in the meaning of productivity, Smith said. ""Productivity will be defined by the effective use of information, not its Production and processing."" Thus, in the academic world, ""real productiv-ity is determined by what happens to the learner and the length of time that change takes."" If higher education is unable to match ""the increase of other segments of the information industry"" it may Smith warned, become obsolete or too expensive for those seeking an education. The task for this University, then, Smith said, is to ""relate to this new competition by focusing on our areas of competitive advantage."" Towson State not only offer a ""distinctive learning environment"" but it also of-fers� in a manner that its competitors cannot�a variety of skills and perspectives on the use of informa-tion. ""Only by insuring that our graduates have a firm base in the liberal arts can we provide them with the breadth of perspective to under-stand the limitations of the informa-tion age."" The University will not only have to maintain its standing as a liberal arts based university but also concentrate on the social impact of new technologies and their long-term ef-fects on this region and higher educa-tion. ""The true impact of the electronic technology will be on the structure and functioning of our culture . . . as a liberal arts-based university, we are in an excellent position to study and evaluate such cultural changes."" Smith acknowledged that there were many issues regarding the infor- See SMITH, page 4 Dr. Anthony named to minority post By Jim Schoettler To many people at Towson State, Dr. Julius Chapmans' twelve-year tenure as the Dean of Minority Affairs will be a hard act to follow. Chapman, who left his position in September of 1982 to become executive vice presi-dent of Voorheese College in South Carolina, was a controversial but hard-working man who was respected and supported by many who knew him. The selection of Dr. Lillian D. Anthony, in June of 1983, to assume the post of Minority Affairs Director, brings a woman to the University whose experience and energy could fill the gap left by Chapman's depar-ture. ""I am impressed with this Univer-sity,"" Anthony said. ""There is a sense of affirmation for the students here that I feel intensely that I have not felt at other institutions."" Anthony has been a teacher and ad-ministrator at such institutions as the University of Nebraska, the Univer-sity of Minnesota, and George Mason University in Virginia. She was also Director of the Minneapolis Civil Rights Department under the late senator Hubert Humphrey from 1967-1969 and is found-er/ editor/publisher of the national journal Aware, which publishes research by and about black women. Lillian Anthony at het desk in the University Union. Anthony's top priorities will be uni-ty and equity for minority students. She wants to alleviate the traditional misunderstanding that people have toward black students. ""What I think is'a national concern is that black students are the victims of a tradition which says if you are black you are underprivileged, . . . or deprived, . . . or not intelligent like By Edvins Lagzdilis the others,"" Anthony said. ""I don't want anyone coming (to Towson State) thinking that either blacks are necessarily facing a problem or that I'm here to be a problem solver. That's the kind of thing I'm concerned about, so what I'm going to be work-ing for on this campus is that black students have educational equity."" See ANTHONY, page 4 By Stephen Hyde The facade of the newly-renovated east wing of Smith Hall. ``Westlight"" This prism sculpture entitled Westlight' is on display in the lobby of the Fine Arts Building. `Westlight' was commissioned by the Maryland State Arts Council and was placed on permanent display last summer. Music department draws Texan Rothlisberger strikes up the band By Marty Kerr After a long summer, it takes a tough person to whip a marching band into shape. Someone like John Phillip Sousa, Dana Rothlisberger . Dana Rothlisberger? Rothlisberger recently became Towson State's director of the symphonic band and the marching band, taking over the position vacated by Robert Dorster, whose ""contract with the University was not renewed,"" according to David Marchand, director of the music department. As the new guy on campus Roth-lisberger feels that ""the students have made the transition from direc-tors pretty well. From all I can see, the response has been positive."" ""It'll take awhile to get every-thing to be as smooth as we want it, but by and large I feel that the students are adjusting very well and that morale is high in the group, said Rothlisberger. This year the marching band will be performing at all the home foot-ball games and hopes to travel to an away game in Delaware. Also, a German festival in Philadelphia is planned for a small group of students. ""We've had a lot of positive com-ments from across the University campus and from within the depart-ment that they're pleased with what's happening,"" he continued. Each show that the band will perform this year is different ""There is a different show for every football game, but we do keep one thing from show to show the same,'' he said. One song or routine from previous shows is carried onto the next week's show and added to two more routines. Rothlisberger believes, ""We're out there to entertain the audience at halftime during a football game, and many people will just come to see the marching band perform and then leave after halftime. We're not out there competing with anything except their interest."" The marching band is larger this year than in past years and ""we're still growing and have positions open,"" said Rothlisberger. Rofhlisberger heard about the vacancy at the University because it had been publicized throughout the country. ""I've never been on the East Coast before, other than to visit. The culture's a little different, but the attitude of the people is friendly,"" said Rothlisberger. He graduated from Franklin High School in Texas, went on to East Texas State University where he majored in music education and earned a master's degree in trom-bone performance. He's also taught high school in Utah and most recently taught at the University of Arizona for three years as assistant band director. CONAMS get s the cramps out as Smith Hall's east wing reopens By Chuck Jones After almost nine years of planning and construction, the $5 million ren-ovated east wing of Smith Hall reopened last month, to the relief of science faculty and administrators now unburdened of their cramped quarters in the west wing. Dr. Robert L. Caret, dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics�which occupies most of Smith Hall�last week recalled the plan changes, construction delays and sundry other headaches that were a part of the renovaton of the east wing of Smith since plan-ning first began in 1975. And he spoke with obvious enthu-siasm about moving back to the ""new"" old wing after six years. The move from the east wing to the west wing began in 1977 when the physical renovation was to start. Caret explained, however, the move was not completed until 1978 because of delays in the planning stages. Vacating the east wing was a ""monstrously difficult problem,"" Caret said, although, he noted that students lessened the burden by tot-ing their desks into the west wing at ""checkout time"" and the building staff put in a lot of overtime to speed up the moving process. For the next six years the faculty, staff and students were crowded into the west wing. During this time, he recalled, the west wing of the science and math building was in a constant state of confusion. Halls became faculty offices and classrooms that were chemistry labs one semester were broken down, packed away, and were hastily made into biology labs for the next semester. There was a ""tremendous waste of effort converting and reconvert-ing the labs"" for various courses, Caret said. ""We had to build up, tear down and build up again"" labs and classrooms. Converting research labs into faculty offices was not the only problem the science faculty had to face; some courses had to be ""bumped"" from the department's curriculum because of space and time considerations, Caret said. He added that only upper level electives were dropped and that required courses were always avail-able, though not all were offered every semester. Caret said that construction on Smith Hall took two years to com-plete and because of delays and false starts renovation ""went way over the scheduled time of completion."" In fact, construction did not begin until October 1981, although the entire east wing had been vacated three years earlier. Also, alterations in the reno-vation plans made necessary by structural changes had to dance through the bureaucratic shuffle before gaining approval, further slowing the process. If a change in the basic plans had to be made, such as relocating vari-ous electrical outlets, a change order in the project's budget had to be submitted, Caret said. Richard Auth, deputy director of Physical Plant, explained that a change order is required by the state before any alterations of an approved plan can be made on a capital project. Final approval of the renovation plans was made by the Maryland Department of General Services and any change orders had to be submit-ted to them for approval before any alterations could be made. He noted that the scheduled date of completion was March 15, 1983, but pointed out that even with the extended period of construction the renovation is still not entirely finished. ""A lot of minor things still need to be done ... cosmetic things,"" he explained, such as adding shades and blinds on some windows and trash cans and ashtrays in the class-rooms and offices. ""Money from the department budget will cover these small things,"" he noted, but added that a few major problems still exist. For example, a few details need to be worked out before the building's greenhouse can be turned over to the departments that use it and because of a planning oversight, a federal alcohol room will have to be built on the fifth floor of the east wing. Construction on the alcohol room will begin in 60 to 80 days, Caret said. Auth said the original fixed bid, made by the W. Gonnson Construc-tion Company, was for approxi-mately $4,250,000 but Caret said that, because of change orders, the actual cost was slightly higher; he also added that the budget had about $1 million ""in reserve .. . but all of it wasn't used so I know we stayed within the money allotted."" Caret explained that planning for the renovation started in 1975 when the new west wing had just opened. ""They knew then that they needed another building."" He said that there were three steps to the Smith Hall renovation. Setting up a program in which to finance and organize the project, planning the structure with a team of architects and contractors, and then construction began. "