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Monday, May 2, 1994
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Creating a blueprint for progress at KU
POSITION AND INFLUENCE:T
2. Ed Meyen
Executive Vice Chancellor
17 of 21 votes
salary: $104,564
People in his office say Ed Meyen shows up for work every day at 6:20 a.m. — never later.
Meyen's work ethic and his familiarity with the campus and its people set the executive vice chancellor apart from others in the Kansan's power study.
Meyen was appointed executive vice chancellor in April 1992, coming from the education school, where he was dean. Running Bailey Hall proved to be good experience for his current job.
Meyen runs the day-to-day aspects of the University; he is the campus' CEO. All decisions coming from University governance go through him before they make it to the chancellor..
"He had a great deal of energy as dean of the education school," said Del Brinkman, former vice chancellor for academic affairs. "Ed Meyen may be the hardest working person at the University of Kansas."
Richard Devinki / KANSAN
And Meven's fast pace is something
"He is well respected for being driven and demanding and getting the most out of people," said David Hardy, acting director of the Organizations and Activities Center. "But he is extremely interested in getting quality out of everything that is done."
he demands from people around him as well. He can push people and bend them to their limits, and he almost always gets what he wants.
Meyen's power comes from his office, a kind of Grand Central Station for the University.
"His office is going to be involved with virtually anything that goes on at the Lawrence campus," said Caryl Smith, former dean of student life.
Even students can point to Meyen's interest in issues that affect them.
Meyen initiated the Blueprint for Diversity, a program to bring together different minority and cultural groups into KU's mainstream.
It is his efforts for diversity that Meyen wants to continue working hard for in the future.
"He is very open-minded and serious about implementing the diversity issue," said Octavio Hinojosa, former president of the Hispanic American Leadership Organization. "If I had a concern, he would be the first person I would try to get a hold of."
"I want to work to enhance our capa-
Devoting time to issues of higher education
3. David Shulenburger
3. David
Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
13 of 21 votes
salary: $102,000
With basketball, bars and all the other extracurricular activities distracting students, it is easy to forget that people come to the University of Kansas to get an education. David Shulenburger uses his power to see that happens.
Richard Devinki / KANSAN
Shulenburger, the vice chancellor for academic affairs, has been in the job for only a year, but his influence has been felt.
Shulenburger usually has the final say when a dean is selected. He has given his stamp of approval to four this year. He works to determine budgets for every school and to ensure that the academic mission of the University is preserved.
"Seventy percent of everything at the University is under his authority," said Ray Moore, professor of civil engineering. "That is an incredible responsibility when you think about it."
But what sets Shulenburger apart from others in the administration, it
seems, is his academic dedication. He likes to learn.
"Dave Shulenburger is a Renaissance man," said Del Brinkman, former vice chancellor for academic affairs and the person Shulenburger succeeded. "He does his homework and knows the issues of higher education."
Understanding those issues is important for a person who is responsible for working out budgets in the days of constricting state support.
Shulenburger was involved in program review, a process the University underwent to determine which programs still fit into the school's academic mission.
When the decisions upset some within the University, Shulenburger took the heat, conducting meetings to justify the decisions. All this by a man who was "new on the job."
"Being associate vice chancellor under Del Brinkman gave Dave Shulenburger a tremendous opportunity to understand how things happen," said Tom Hutton, director of University Relations. "Brinkman gave him a lot of authority as associate vice chancellor, so he isn't like someone who is new to the school."
Shulenburger says he understands
the issues that lie ahead for higher education: Learn how to do more — or at least the same — with less.
"We need to change the way we receive money from the state," he
said. "We can grow a half percent in enrollment, incur $600,000 in cost and not receive any more from the state. The challenge to higher education is finding a way to finance it."
Administrator values student input in policy-making
4. David Ambler
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
12 of 21 votes
salary: $94,020
If the student body wants something from the administration, the first person they turn to is David Ambler.
The vice chancellor for student affairs has been in his position longer than any other top administrator, and he has built a confidence level with students that most other administrators could only dream of having.
Ambler swings both ways, answering concerns the administration has with student proposals and often being the students' best voice within the administration. If David Ambler likes an idea, it has a good chance for success.
"David Ambler's support is essential when dealing with issues that concern students," said Pat Warren, former student senator, Student Executive Committee chair and undergraduate representative on the University Senate Executive Committee. "He is always willing to give advice. Students would have no power at the University without him."
Amber's self- effacing skills has made him popular and powerful within the University. While others
might tire from countless sessions with students who rattle off complaint after complaint, Ambler shows just as much enthusiasm for the first student he talks to as the last.
"His personality is flexible and easygoing," said Octavio Hinojosa, former president of the Hispanic American Leadership Organization. "He is more in tune to student concerns and issues."
However, Ambler is not afraid of laying down the administration's line on actions that Student Senate takes.
In the Fall 1992, Senate passed a number of measures to extend the power of the Legal Services for Students, including a provision to allow the legal service to represent students against the University. The administration disagreed with legislation passed by Senate, and Ambler announced an administration veto.
Having to announce a veto of a Student Senate bill puts Ambler in the worst position he can be as an administrator, said Caryl Smith, former dean of student life. She said he would much rather be the problem solving end of the stick.
"He is an extremely creative administrator, and people, whether students or administrators, are remiss if they don't include David Ambler in their discussions," she said.
Richard Devinki / KANSAN
When you think of power at the University of Kansas, you probably do not think of students. And, based on the results of the Kanan's survey on power, you would be right. Only one student made the top 10 list: the editor of the *University Dotty Kansan*.
The answer to this lack of power is simple: students graduate. They don't have enough time to make their way up the power ladder to positions that would allow them to make broad, unchecked decisions.
Students find influen
But that does not mean they do not try.
"Students like to get involved and make a difference in the process," said Pat Warren, a third-year law student who has served as a student senator, Student Executive Committee chair and an undergraduate representative on University Senate Executive Committee. "However, students think they have to take the most radical stance to get to the middle ground, and they take the radical stance and find out that they get nothing."
Students also suffer from high turnover in Student Senate and take a long time to learn their new positions once elected. Warren said,
That often plagues their efforts.
Students can, and often do, offend faculty and administrators who are sympathetic to their causes, he said.
"Students can alienate because
Richard Devinki / KANSAN
Drumming up alumni support
5. Jim Martin
President of the Kansas University
Endowment Association
9 of 21 votes
salary: $113,967
If power is money, then Jim Martin carries it in his hip pocket.
As head of the Kansas University Endowment Association, Martin is responsible for evaluating needs at the University, making contact with alumni and encouraging donations to the KU endowment. He sends millions of dollars every year back to the University.
Founded in 1891, KU's endowment is the oldest of any public school's endowment association. Its market assets as of June 30, 1993, were more than $445 million dollars. It returned more than $40 million back to the University in just one year, between June 30, 1992 and June 30, 1993.
Supporting the University through contributions, Martin said, is the purpose of the organization.
The Lied Center and the more than $8.4 million in scholarships and fellowships are examples of the endowment association's contributions,
"Private dollars should never supplant public funds," he said. "But the Endowment Association recognizes needs in the University and attempts to address them."
Martin said.
"As the University becomes more state-assisted than state-supported, the endowment's role becomes more crucial," said Del Brinkman, former vice chancellor for academic affairs. "Jim Martin is a low key, behind the scenes kind of guy, but his role is important as he sets goals, opinions and priorities."
The endowment association, observers say, will become more pivotal in the life of the University in the future. And, they say, so will Martin.
Martin's banker demeanor matches up well with the mission of the endowment and its place at the University.
"He has a lot of potential power," said Burdett Loomis, professor of political science. "He runs an extremely conservative force that won't go out on a limb to embark on any major change, but the endowment will be there if the University really needs it."
Campaign Kansas highlighted the resourcefulness of the endowment association. Injust five years, it raised more than $265 million, the largest single fund-raising campaign in the school's history.
"He is very much a team player," said Tom Hutton, director of University Relations. "He has a straight-shooter, no-nonsense approach, which is good for the image of the Endowment Association.
The survey participants
Randy Attwood, director of University Relations at the University of Kansas Medical Center
Tim Bengston, associate professor of journalism and faculty representative on SenEx
Jill Bechtel, Hutchinson junior and undergraduate representative on the University Senate Executive Committee
Del Brinkman, former vice chancellor for academic affairs, former dean of School of Journalism and, at present, program officer for the John L. and James S. Knight Foundation;
Joyce Hammond-Perry, associate director of the Office of Affirmative Action 1265.
Octavio Hinojosa, Hutchinson senior and former president of the Hispanic American Leadership Organization
Nancy Dahl, professor of physical and cell biology and former head of SenEx
David Hardy, acting director of the Organizations and Activities Center
Rick Harman, former member of the Kansas Board of Regents.[157-17]
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