Section A · Page 6
The University Daily Kansan
Wednesday, February 24, 1999
KU police captain reflects on career
By Katie Burford
Kansan staff writer
Pieces of University history that Captain Vic Strnad has witnessed litter the space around his desk—a fragment of a tombstone found on campus but never identified, a bent nail intended to puncture the tires of patrolling officers' vehicles during the unrest of the early '70s, an aerial shot of the old KANU radio tower, felled by vandals in 1981, and so on.
Captain Vic Strnad works with a computerized polygraph machine. Strnad has been involved with law enforcement for nearly 30 years. Photo by Joseph Griffin/KANSAN
Nearly 30 years of experience in law enforcement are represented in these mementos. They tell the story of a man who was barely older than the students he was in charge of protecting when he started as a patrolman in June 1969.
Before arriving in Lawrence, Strnad had spent most of his life in Central Kansas, farming the land his family had worked since it emigrated from Czechoslovakia in the late 1800s.
In February 1969, he married his high school sweetheart. After passing a civil service test, he got a call from the University of Kansas to interview for a position in the Traffic and Security department.
His wife, Colleen, interviewed in the Comptroller's Office the
same day. Strand remembers Traffic and Security Director E.P. Moomau telling him, "They told me they hired your wife, so we might as well hire you."
Both started their new jobs on June 1,1969.
For the newlyweds, it was the beginning of a new life. For Colleen, Lawrence was the biggest city she had ever been in. And the pay wasn't bad, either.
"We thought we were making all kinds of money." Strnad said.
But there were storms building on the University horizon. On the national front, civil rights and the Vietnam War issues had exploded. The University wasn't far behind.
"It was a bad time in Lawrence." he said.
With Strand working around the clock and bombs exploding around campus, it was a difficult time for Colleen.
"I was always worried about Vic's safety," she said.
The events gave Strnad a new perspective on his place in the world.
"Before, I didn't care what happened in Salina, much less in Cambodia," he said. "After the '70s, I understood how it affected me directly. I grew up a lot."
to investigations, an area that became his favorite aspect of police work.
In 1984, after having experienced the frustration of being unable to schedule a suspect in the 1981 KANU radio tower incident for a polygraph test, the department sent Strad to San Diego for two weeks to be trained to perform the tests himself.
In 1978, he moved from patrol
Strnad attends yearly conferences to remain current in his training. He was president of the Kansas Polygraph Association in 1991-92 and 1997-98 and still performs an average of 30 tests monthly for the KU Public Safety Office and other area agencies in cases ranging from theft to homicide.
Mike Reiner, a detective with the Public Safety Office, recalled working with Strnad.
"Vic expects a lot out his people but not more than he expects of himself," he said.
Part of Strnad's job in investigations entailed providing security for visiting dignitaries and celebrities.
"He had to foresee anything that could happen," Reiner said. "He was organized to a fault."
supervising all uniformed patrol.
superintendent, assistant director of security with the Public Safety Office, started two years after Stradr.
"Vic's been just about everything twice," he said.
In 1990, Strad moved back to the patrol side of the department. He is currently in charge of
In the early years, Mullens and Strnad were a study in contrasts. Mullens, a Kansas City native, had experienced urban life while Strnad's background was rural. To Strndr, the protests were foreign, but Mullens had attended
the University prior to joining the police force and was familiar with the dissidence.
Nonetheless, the two men were a source of companionship for each other during the late night hours of the early '70s and throughout the intervening years.
- Edited by Jon Campbell
Bill hopes to scrap state architectural reviews
Bv Katrina Hull
Special to the Kansan
When KU architects design a new building, the state of Kansas is looking over their shoulders and billing the University for the review.
The state's architectural review process has nothing to do with lack of trust in the University's registered architects and licensed engineers and is a tradition that has become costly and inefficient, says a Kansas legislator.
State Rep. David Adkins, R-Lea-
wood, who is a former KU student
body president, said his bill would
permit architectural plans to be
approved by a university employee, eliminating the need for approval by a State Architect.
Adkin's proposal would allow the University to rely on its own team of architects and save the 1 percent of the cost of the project that goes to the state architect's office.
Adkins said the bill primarily would affect the University of Kansas, the University of Kansas Medical Center and Kansas State University, although all Regents schools are included in the proposal.
Warren Corman, University architect, and Adkins said the money the state architect received could be used better for further educational
renovations.
Adkins said it made sense to let the University approve its own architectural plans because it had capable, licensed architects on staff who knew the University and that they would have to live with what they built.
Mostly, Adkins said, the bill would improve overall efficiency in developing state universities without risk.
"Government should run like a business and be more flexible," he said. "Yet at the same time it can't compromise quality or safety."
State's review
Anytime a Kansas Regents University wants to build a structure, the state requires that 1 percent of the total cost be paid to the state for a licensed review. Here is a breakdown of what each University has paid in the past three years.
— Edited by Melody Ard
School Amount
KU $591,011
KUMC $40,482
KSU $313,505
WSU $61,686
ESU $69,500
PSU $105,421
FHSU $137,192
Kyle Ramsey/KANSAN
Program links KU students with alumni
By Amanda Kaschube Special to the Kansan
When Troy Dinges, Victoria senior, has a question about his future in the law profession, he has a friend to talk to, courtesy of the University of Kansas Alumni Association.
More than 400 alumni and 120 students are involved in the year-old program, said Sheila Immel, senior vice-president of external affairs at the Alumni Association.
'Hawk Talk is a professional networking system developed by the organization to connect KU students with volunteer mentors in various career fields.
Dinges has been a part of 'Hawk Talk from the beginning.
"It's not so much about job connections, but you get a lot of insight into what you do in the real working world." he said.
the Alumni Association pairs up students and mentors according to career interests and similar geographical working areas. For example, a pre-pharmacy student wanting to work in the Midwest might be paired with an alumnus working in Chicago as a pharmacist, Immel said.
To join 'Hawk Talk, current KU students must join the Alumni Association as a student member and pay the $15 membership fee.
"Students can certainly use 'Hawk Talk as they try to figure out more about their career,' Immel said. "The mentors are experienced professionals in the student's field."
Alumni work in such fields as law, pharmacy and real estate have joined the organization.
Students who are paired with alumni living in Lawrence often develop a closer relationship with their mentors, Immel said.
Bernie Nordling, a partially retired lawyer and KU alumnus, dedicates his time to helping future lawyers adjust to the field.
"I meet with my students at least two or three times a month," Nordling said. "I feel really comfortable helping all of them."
Nordling helps Dinges learn more about law.
"We meet for lunch often, and I tell him the advantages and disadvantages to being a lawyer," Nordling said. "Troy also asks me questions about the profession."
Dinges said he felt lucky to have such a helpful mentor.
"Bernie has taught me so much about the law profession and its applications," he said.
Dinges will continue his education in the KU law school next fall.
Alumni who live outside the Lawrence area contact students via e-mail and telephone.
— Edited by Keith Burner
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