Thursday, February 5. 1998
The University Daily Kansan
Section A · Page 3
Kansas State publication adviser removed
Board dismisses Collegian instructor by just one vote
By Laura Roddy and Marc Sheforgen
lroddy@kansan.com
msheforgen.com
Kansan staff writers
In an action that has potential ramifications for student press organizations, the Kansas State University Board of Student Publications removed the student publications' adviser yesterday morning.
The board declared Ron Johnson's position as director of student publications vacant in a 6-4 vote. The vote means Johnson remains under contract with the university but the student publications will no longer recognize him as director.
"It's really the age-old battle between university student government and administration and the student press." Johnson said.
Johnson said that administrators consistently had tried to control the university's publications. He said that Robert Krause, Kansas State's vice president for institutional advancement, demanded that he pull an advertisement for the University of Kansas Division of Continuing Education.
"It asks me to violate my ethics and to violate student-press law as I know it," Johnson said.
He said student politicians and administrators should not be able to influence the student newspaper.
"You have student politicians who are obsessed with power. They think their fees can dictate
the content of the newspaper," he said. "In this case, student politicians have been working behind the scenes against me."
School Publications is an independent corporation partially financed by student fees. It publishes the Collegian, which is the campus' newspaper, the Royal Purple, which is K-State's yearbook and the campus phone book.
Kelly Furnas, Collegian editor, said the staff would continue production as usual.
"We will not be censored by any government bodies. We're not going to change our production by any means," Furnas said. "The Collegian itself is not taking any stance on the issue."
Bill Feyerharm, assistant dean of Kansas State's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and student publications' board member, voted to remove Johnson.
with its lack of control over Johnson's position because it contributed $33,249 to the director's salary but had no control over the contract. The board's vote eliminated this financing.
He said the board was frustrated
Johnson said that he still was under contract with K-State through the next academic year as the publications adviser and an assistant professor of journalism.
"This move was an attempt to work around that contract, and it was also a very unsubtle attempt to avoid giving me due process." Johnson said. "I'll try to honor my contract and serve the students of Kansas State University."
Johnson, who has been the news director at K-State for nine years, received his master's degree from the School of Journalism at the University of Kansas.
Ted Frederickson, professor of journalism, had Johnson as a student.
"He's an absolute first-rate college adviser," he said.
Frederickson said Johnson should be commended for his hard work in attempting to screen the Collegian from administration and political influence.
"I think it's awfully difficult for a paper to do its job if politicians interfere," he said. "Imagine Bill Clinton being able to somehow fire the publisher of the Washington Post."
John Ginn, chairman of the University Daily Kansan Advisory Board, said the K-State publication board was an entity of the university. The Kansan's board operates independently from the administration and is less susceptible to actions of this kind.
Todd Simon, director of the School of Journalism at K-State and the chairman of the 11-member board, opposed the board's decision.
Johnson: Removed from his position as director of student publications at Kansas State University
"If there are complaints about an employee, you sit down and talk to them," he said. "If they are serious enough, then you dismiss them."
Navy ROTC presents fall awards
Academic, military community service lauded in ceremony
Matt Chambliss, Hattiesburg, Miss, senior receives a commendation award at the KU Naval ROTC awards ceremony. The core mony, held yesterday in Wescae Hall, recognized outstanding performance by ROTC officers. Photo by Corie Waters/KANSAN
By Laura Bokenkroger
Kansan staff writer
The candidates received awards for fall semester academic achievement, military excellence and community service. The ceremony was held in 3139 Wescoe.
University of Kansas Navy ROTC midshipmen and officer candidates received achievement awards yesterday in Wescoe Hall.
Students with a 3.5 or higher grade point average received the the Academic Achievement Award. Students with at least a 3.75 GPA, an A in naval service and at least a 3.5 GPA in military aptitude received the All-Around Performance Award. Awards for excellence in community service and physical fitness also were given.
As the awards were announced, recipients walked across the stage and received a certificate.
The Midshipman Award and the Officer Candidate of the Semester Award honor the top performers of each class. Honorees receive a certificate, a $100 savings bond and their names added to a plaque.
Top honors went to Midshipman 1st Class Shaw Malone and Sgt. Fred Keeney. Malone received the Admiral Halloway Award, and Keeney earned the
General LeJuene Award. Both awards recognize military performance, academic achievement and military aptitude. Students
compete nationally for the awards.
Malone said one goals for the recipients was to develop into
professional officers.
"The awards are meant to recognize more than just academic achievements," he said
Software to simplify KU financial system
By Gerry Doyle
By Gerry Doyle
gdoyle@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
The University of Kansas' financial system is taking a leap toward the year 2000.
New system software, produced by California-based PeopleSoft, was installed on the University server in early January. The new software replaces a system used since the early 1970s.
The University needed the capabilities of the new system, said Associate Provost Lindy Eakin.
"It's a 30-year leap in technology," he said. "It's mind-boggling to me. With the new system, hopefully people won't have to deal with the shortcomings of a system from the '70s."
The old system was adequate for purchasing but ineffectual for tracking records, said Diane Goddard, director of purchasing.
"It pays our bills really well, but it doesn't help manage funds, she said. "It will impact every department, letting them do more with their information."
The new software, which the University of Kansas Medical Center also purchased, cost about $600,000 and was part of a $2 million software package from PeopleSoft that included human- resources and academic-tracking programs.
The old system required a typed form to be sent to the purchasing office. Each department had its own spreadsheet program with which it tracked expenditures. Although a department could track its own information, it could not access another department's information, Goddard said.
Besides allowing University departments to access more information, the new software is also year 2000-compatible. Unlike some software not programmed to handle dates beyond 1999, the PeopleSoft software will function after 2000.
University faculty and staff now are being trained to use the new software, Goddard said. PeopleSoft offers both on- and off-site training, allowing University employees to learn more about the software.
The software should be in use University-wide by December.
The full capabilities of the software are untested, but it already seems superior to the old system, said comptroller Mel Klinkmer. The software is intended to enable departments to better share information, which will allow for better treatment of student concerns, Klinkmer said.
"I'm just in the process of getting training," he said. "I'm not up to speed yet. But it will be good to give better service to departments. The ability to retrieve data at a department level will only result in more convenience for everyone."
New software will help KU accounts
Departmental systems to be adapted to program
By Aaron Knopf
aknopf@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
The new financial software system at the University of Kansas will allow for greater integration of University accounting processes and provide campus departments with reporting tools.
The University purchased PeopleSoft Financials and PeopleSoft's student administration package from PeopleSoft, Inc. during the fall of 1997 for more than $2 million. PeopleSoft Financials will replace an older set of mainframe-based accounting systems.
"There will be for many departments a significant amount of change involved here," Doug Tilighman, University financial systems administrator, said.
Tlighman said he hoped everyone agreed that change would be good for the University, especially since the system had not changed much for more than 21 years.
Tilghman is working with University departments and software developers from Computing Services to determine the nature of the changes.
The representatives of the different departments, along with the developers, comprise 15 fit-analysis teams that examine how the new software will handle University procedures. There are fit teams for purchasing and payments, asset management, general-ledger functions and other procedures.
Grace Schroer, Computing Services assistant director, said one of the main goals of the fit teams was to find a way to redefine University accounting processes
to fit the new software.
"We have an overriding mandate to find a way for PeopleSoft to be used off the shelf," Schroer said.
She said modifying the software was not desired because those modifications would be lost when it came time to perform an upgrade to the system.
Tligman said two of the fit teams, the purchasing and payment and internal sales teams, had been working since summer. The purchasing and payment team's goal is to determine how to make external payments an electronic process while still satisfying state purchasing-form guidelines.
Tilghman said he expected the software to work without modification.
"I think we're going to be able to do just about everything we want to do with it," he said.
Schroer said the University did not make any payments itself because the state generated checks and electronic fund transfers. When a department purchases goods and services from an external vendor, the department fills out a state form that is changed to an electronic format and sent on to the state, resulting in payment to the vendor, she said.
Tilghman said a fit team would work to see how these departments could use the new system, even though there was no mandate to make these departments give up their systems.
"You would find anything from pencil and paper to very elaborate software systems," Tlighman said.
Another challenge is replacing a wide range of accounting systems in place throughout the campus.
"Hopefully, most departments will not have to keep a separate accounting system, and they will be able to use this central PeopleSoft accounting system to meet all their needs," he said.
Financial software
PeopleSoft Financials for the Public Sector, a new financial system, will replace the University's existing mainframe-based financial systems.
The new product will allow the University to bring several of its manual accounting processes online. The product also will feature ad hoc reporting tools.
The target date for use of the general ledger, purchasing and payable modules is during the last three months of 1998.
The University has three major systems from PeopleSoft: financial, student administration and human resource/payroll management.
"Rather than departments receiving standard monthly reports for their accounts on paper, they will be able to .. make queries and extract information the way they want to see it ... whenever they wish," Tilghman said.
Tilghman said the target date for using the general ledger, purchasing and payment modules of PeopleSoft was during the last three months of 1998. He said that migrating to the new software would not take place at a single day and time, but that it would be an ongoing effort.
"It won't be something that happens all at once on a certain date. It will be a continuous process. It won't stop with the year 2000," he said.
Climbing high
Greg Drum trims branches on a tree at West Campus. Drum, who works for University Landscaping, was trimming trees on Tuesday. Photo by Geoff Krieger/KANSAN