CAMPUS/AREA
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Thursday, January 12, 1995
3A
Search process was successful but imperfect
Finalist drops out of running after newspaper prints names
By Matt Hood
Kansan staff writer
The six-month search process that brought KU a new chancellor has been praised as a success, but it wasn't without moments of confusion, some involved said.
The process, which began in June 1994 when Gene Budig was named president of baseball's American League, ended Saturday when University of Kentucky Chancellor Robert Hemenway was named as KU's 16th chancellor.
A 17-member search committee, composed of KU faculty, staff, students and alumni, considered more than 100 candidates for the job and conducted thorough background investigations on 25 candidates. Sixteen of the nominees were interviewed, and five names were presented to the Board of Regents.
T. P. Srinivasan, professor of mathematics and member of the search committee, said that the committee worked well together and was a diverse representation of the University community.
"Initially we had 17 single committee members; there was no cohesion," Srinivasan said. "Soon we had one committee of 17 members glued together."
Despite cooperation and diversity, some committee members said that the process was imperfect.
Virginia Cassmeyer, assistant professor of nursing and member of the search committee, said that the search process was an overall success, but the leak of the names to the Lawrence Journal-World marred the process.
On Dec. 15, the search committee submitted a list of its top five choices to the Board of Regents. On Dec. 21, the Journal-World reported those names, attributing the information to unidentified sources.
Stephen Jordan, executive director of the Board of Regents and a member of the search committee, said the Regents planned to release the finalists names from the beginning, in accordance with their interpretation of open records laws. He added that all of the candidates for the job had been promised anonymity until they agreed to be finalists.
But when the Journal-World released the names, the candidates hadn't yet agreed to be finalists.
Adam Herbert, president of the University of North Florida, was one of the names submitted to the Regents and one of the names reported by the Journal-World. Herbert removed his name from consideration before the Regents released the official list.
Frank Sabatini, chairman of the Regents, said that he was disappointed that Herbert had removed his name and that the announcement in the paper was part of the reason.
"It was unfortunate that the process was interfered with by the Journal-World." Sabatii said.
Dolph Simons, publisher of the Journal-World, defended his paper's actions.
"The entire responsibility lies at the feet of the Regents and their executive director." Simons said.
Simons said that he had opposed making public the names of the finalists, and the Journal-World ran several editorials to that effect. When it was obvious that the Regents wouldn't change their position on releasing the names, Simons felt justified in reporting the list. Had the Regents decided to keep the names secret, then the Journal-World would not have reported them, he said.
Sherman Reeves, student body president and member of the search committee, said that there had always been some confusion about the names and their release.
"The board didn't seem to have a good picture of what the plan was when they had five names." Reeves said. "It didn't seem that they articulated their plans to the committee."
Jordan said the release of the names was all a matter of timing.
"One of the things we were trying to do was balance the board's responsibility to the candidates, to the public and to the institution," Jordan said.
KJHK goes on-line worldwide
By Robert Allen
Kansan staff writer
KJHK fans, turn off your radios and turn on your Macintoshes. Listeners can now tune in to Lawrence's "Sound Alternative" by computer.
Since Dec. 3, the student-run station has been broadcasting 24 hours a day over the Internet, part of the so-called Information Superhighway. KJHK is the first radio station in the nation to be carried on the Internet.
Users can listen to the broadcast, read information about the station and even make requests via e-mail. The broadcast is carried across the world through a system called the World Wide Web, a part of the Internet.
"A lot of people told us you couldn't do it, it wasn't possible," said Gary Hawke, general manager.
"We knew it was going to work," said Rob Burcham, Albuquerque, N.M., graduate student, who created KJHKNet with Matthew Abrams, a communications coordinator for special education.
The radio station has taken advantage of a system developed at Cornell University called CU-SeeM, which was originally developed for video conferencing.
JKH staffers are particularly proud of the e-mail system, through which listeners can send requests to a monitor in the disc jockey's booth. Listeners as far away as Japan can request songs and
"Now JKH is not a little station but is heard worldwide," Hawke said. "We had a response from Australia asking for times to be given in Greenwich Mean Time because our local time means nothing to him."
hear them within a few hours.
One on-line listener, Iain Campbell from Glasgow, Scotland, sent the station an e-mail letter saying, "The sound is great ... However, comparing sound quality, yours seems a little muffled. Perhaps you might want to try and sharpen it up a little."
Getting KJHK online will boost the image of the station and the University, Hawke said.
"Originally, it was to keep KJHK on the cutting edge of technology," he said.
There are other benefits of being online, Hawke said. For example, parents of a student who live outside of KJHK's the reach of its signal can hear their son or daughter while they are on the air. Also, listeners unfamiliar to Lawrence can get a flavor of the area, he said.
To hear the broadcast, users must be at a Macintosh computer with a direct Internet connection. Modems cannot be used to hear the broadcast because they cannot process the audio signal fast enough, Hawke said. But information about the station can be received and requests can be sent with a modem.
E-mail requests can be sent to kjhkrel@ukanai.xc.ukans.edu.
Lisa Perry / KANSAN
Rob Burcham, computer technology director at KJHK, goes on-line to call up KJHK in Dole Human Development Center. KJHK began simulcasting on the Internet Dec. 3 and can now be heard around the world.
KJIK information and the live broad- through the World Wide Web at cast can be accessed by computer http://www.cc.ukans.edu/~khjlhk
Producers seek KU students for Lawrence-based TV pilot
By Paul Todd Kansan staff writer
The pilot episode of a television program featuring college students in their natural environment is set to be taped at the University of Kansas in February.
Theshow'slikelytitle, "Generation Check,"is aplay on the generation X label used to describe college-aged people.
Chris Lazarino, the show's producer, said the show would be a "check" on college-age people.
It's a personal look at lives of college kids in America," he said.
The producers are looking for five to seven students to follow with cameras for about three days.
Ridgee K. Alicer, he said Lazzarino said the show would be a combination of "Cops" and "The Real World," with young people talking about themselves and their college lives in front of a television camera.
"We have one qualification," Lazzarino said. "We want the most interesting people we can find."
"This way we can follow them in their own environment," he said.
He said the producers had originally planned to include people from specific living situations, such as residence halls or Greek houses, but decided that it would be hard to say no to an interesting person who did not fit into a specific mold.
Although the show would depict KU students in everyday life, Lazzarino said the colleges themselves would be featured.
Interested students can fill out a four-page general survey. From the surveys, the producers will pick
"We are hoping to explain the school and what their strengths are, along with whatever makes each campus unique," he said.
"Student life is unique here because of who we are and our traditions."
"Parents could watch this show and decide if they want their kids to attend that school or not," he said. Lazarrino graduated from KU in 1986. Fekas also lives in Lawrence.
Lazzarino said John Fekas, the show's creator and executive producer, wanted to provide snapshots of students and schools.
"That's part of why we chose KU," he said. "It's such a terrific place. It is attractive and interesting. The students have a lot to say for themselves, and the campus has a lot to say for itself."
James Kitchen dean of student life
about 50 applicants and interview them. Jan. 25.
"We don't care about grades or any thing else," Lazzarino said. "We want someone who will be a natural person in front of the camera."
Lazzarino said the show would give people a chance to see life from a college student's point of view.
"This generation doesn't understand how interesting they can be to people outside of a university environment." he said.
James Kitchen, dean of student life, said that he thought the show was a good idea for KU. "Student life is in union here."
Kitchen said he hoped the show would portray the positive side of KU, including academics and social life, as well as a diverse group of students.
"Student life is unique here
student life is unique here because of who we are and our traditions" he said.
Students can pick up surveys with return instructions at the following locations: The Etc. Shop, 928 Massachusetts St.; Cadillac Ranch, 2515 W. Sixth St.; The Yacht Club, 530 Wisconsin St; The Crossing, 618 W. 12th St.; and the 18 Amendment, 1340 Ohio St. Completed surveys must be returned by Jan. 20.
Students scribble at cultural activity Multicultural Resource Center asks students to define multiculturalism
By Eduardo A. Molina
Kansan staff writer
And it was all perfectly legal.
Julius' Williams encouraged students to scribble graffiti in the Kansas Union yesterday.
Four cardboard cubes covered with red and yellow paper were set up in the lobby of the Union by the Multicultural Resource Center Program Committee. Students were invited to write their definition of multiculturalism on the cubes.
"The importance of the cubes is to let people know that the Multicultural Resource Center is here," said Williams, a member of the committee. "We are interested in the feelings and thoughts of how they perceive multiculturalism. We don't want to disengage but to engage the Kansas community with this concept of multiculturalism."
Williams said the committee wanted to get responses in an informal setting where students could express themselves.
One student said that he was concerned about the term multiculturalism because people used it to be politically correct, but they have no idea what it means.
"It is important to find how we define the term," Williams said. "We must not ignore those definitions in discovering the perceptions different people have about multiculturalism."
To answer why he was uniquely multicultural, a student wrote that he was born in Laos, grew up in Kansas City and loved KU basketball.
Another student answered the same question by saying that she was color blind and that each person's uniqueness was a gift to be treasured.
Joshua Stigers, Kansas City, Kan., sophomore, who was writing on one of the cubes, said it was good to have so many cultures represented at KU.
"These activities help to make us open-minded to different cultures," he said. "We have people of many different lifestyles, however we are a community."
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