TODAY'S WEATHER: Clear and windy with a high of 65. INSIDE: A man who escaped Auschwitz spoke last night on campus.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
TALK TO US: Contact Kursten Phelps or Leita Schultes at (785) 864-4810 or editor@kansan.com
KANSAN
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER17,2001
WWW.KANSAN.COM
ISSUE 38 VOLUME 112
Recent grant could boost careers in research
By Matt Norton Kansan staff writer
A professor at the University of Kansas Medical Center has received a $6 million grant to establish a research infrastructure network linking all nine Kansas universities.
Joan Hunt, distinguished professor of anatomy and cell biology at KU Med, said the grant, which is from the National Institute of Health, might be the first program linking all nine universities.
Hunt said the grant, titled K-BRIN (Kansas Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network), was designed to accomplish several long-term goals: to identify and attract undergraduates who are potential biomedical researchers, to develop channels of communication between researchers from the various Kansas universities, to build a bioinformatics network that can be used as a research tool on all campuses and to recruit new faculty and give them tools to be competitive for additional NIH funding.
"Ultimately, our goal is that all students will understand that biomedical research is a good career option." Hunt said. "We want to be sure that everyone who really likes science has a lot of information about getting their training here and working here."
Outstanding students in sciences will compete for opportunities to spend a summer or special one- to two-week, intensive training seminars working in labs at the Med Center. Hunt said.
Tim Burnett, Merriam doctoral student in anatomy and cell biology, said his only exposure to the labs at the Med Center was a one-day visit during his interview process for graduate school.
Burnett said spending time working in the labs before committing to enter graduate school would have been beneficial.
been sentenced. "It will be a terrific hook into the field," Burnett said. "It's a lot different doing science instead of reading about it and listening to lectures."
Hunt said the grant would cover a three-year period. Although she did not expect dramatic results right away, she said she had been assured the grant would probably be extended for another three years.
"One of my major headaches is working out ways to assess whether or not the program is a success," Hunt said. "I expect one of those ways will be the GRE scores of the students who apply or the number of students who apply to graduate programs."
apply to graduate programs
Hunt said she ran a lab of 14 people, which was considered large by Med Center standards. This program was designed in part to alleviate a problem she had over the years, she said.
"The one thing that we all know is that it's very difficult to find the highest-quality students and attract them into research," Hunt said. "We need a greater pool of research scientists."
entists. Burnett said when he finished his studies, he planned to teach at the college level. He said the program could give his future students a better understanding scientific research techniques and the thrill of discovery.
niques and "One of the things I really value is allowing students to perform experiments and have hands-on, real-life experiences," he said. "Having this cohesive research group will make that easier."
Contact Norton at 864-4810
ASKING FOR CHANGE
Design students give department poor grade
Toni-Marie Montgomery, Dean of the School of Fine Arts, (right) listens to Kurt Saberi, Overland park senior, as he discusses problems with the art and design facilities, staff and curriculum. "As a senior in graphic design, I would like to see some changes before my graduation date," he said. "With communication and cooperating from the dean, we are hoping to see good results."
By Luke Daley Kansan staff writer
Sarah Bray, St. Louis senior, presented a petition to the dean with the signatures of 148 visual communications students displeased with the School.
Visual communications students gathered last night to inform the dean of fine arts that the school is in dire need of educational improvements.
The main problems outlined in the petition included the lack of a consistent full-time staff, overlapping classes in students' schedules, scarcity of quality computer equipment and a lack of mentors for students.
He said one of the major problems was the lack of full-time professors.
Marc Shank, Liberal senior, said the design department had begun to neglect the students' needs in recent years.
"It used to be that this was a highly prestigious design school where professors wanted to come." Shank said. "I
think it is teering on becoming less and less of a department. You want to be proud of your department."
Toni-Marie Montgomery, fine arts dean, said she already knew about many of the concerns brought up during the meeting, including the need for more full-time professors, an insufficient number of desks in classrooms and needed improvements to computer equipment.
She said the students clarified how big the problems were.
"We are hoping that we can get people with experience and for one of those positions, we have to have experience," Montgomery said. "We're making the commitment."
Montgomery said she was trying to set up fund-raisers to help pay for improvements to the computers and classroom equipment.
She acknowledged that computers available to the visual communications students were in need of improvements.
"I had a visit down there, and I was anpalled," she said.
Patrick Dooley, associate professor of
"It used to be that this was a highly prestigious design school where professors wanted to come.I think it is teetering on becoming less and less of a department. You want to be proud of your department."
Marc Shank Liberal senior
design and the only remaining full-time professor at the school, said that the meeting was constructive. He said he was glad to see that students cared about
SEE ART PAGE 3A
Student visa policy examined
Legislators propose new rules to monitor international students
Paul Smith Kansas staff writer
The attention given to student visis is misdirected, said Lynne Vanahh, associate director of the Office of International
Amid reports that one of the Sept. 11 terrorist hijackers entered the country on a student visa, proposed legislation before the U.S. Senate would strengthen existing policies on monitoring of foreign students.
Bills proposed by senators Pat Roberts of Kansas, Kit Bond of Missouri and Diane Feinstein of California all concern restriction and improved coordination of information about student visas.
Joe Potts, director of the international students office, said it was technically impossible for foreign students to overstay their visas because those visas had no expiration date.
"There's a lot of misinformation in the media about students overstaying their visas," she said.
Student and Scholar Services at the University of Kansas.
"A student visa is like any other visa it gets the person into the country," Potts said.
But not all students from foreign countries fulfill their visa commitment, said Mike Jaromin, deputy district director for the Immigration and Naturalization Services, or INS, in Kansas City Mo.
Once here, foreign students must maintain their student status by being enrolled full-time, Potts said.
"Some of the students never go to
school, or drop out," Jaromin said.
Those individuals may either return home, he said, or "drop into general society and nobody would ever know about it."
Vanahill said she agreed something needed to be done concerning visas, but it made little sense to pick on students
Vanahill said that the proposed changes regarding the student visa program were not innovative and that it was unclear how the Senate proposals might affect KU international students.
According to a press release from the office of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., her proposals would require schools to report all courses taken by foreign students to the INS. They would also include fingerprint and photograph information within the INS Foreign Student Electronic Tracking
SEE VISAS PAGE 34
Fall break will remain on calendar in the future
By Danny Phillips Kansan campus editor
As long as KU students don't abuse their four-day weekend, the University's new fall break policy should be in the schedule for years to come.
But not any time soon.
"If it has a negative affect on the semester, then it's in jeopardy," said Provost David Shulenburger.
The Calendar Committee implemented the Oct. 18-19 break into the academic calendar last year after approval by the Board of Regents, but at least one University official said he hoped students weren't tempted to stretch fall break into a full week by skipping classes.
We wouldn't do anything like that until we had considerable experience with it," he said.
Tom Beisecker, University Council president, said it would take several years of evaluation before the council would even consider removing fall break from the schedule.
Those who were instrumental in getting a fall break for the University stress that no instructional days are lost during the semester. The Calendar Committee also shortened finals week from six to five days, and exam times have been reduced from three hours to two and a half.
Carol Holstead, former Calendar Committee member and associate professor of journalism, said fall break should have been a "nobrainer," but the issue had been politicized.
pondered.
"There's a lot of pressure around this time of year," she said. "Thanksgiving comes too late in the semester to provide any relief."
"It really wasn't that big of a deal," she said.
Speaking strictly as a faculty member, Holstead said the extra time off hadn't created any logistical problems for her class schedule other than the few minor adjustments that were always required.
For other departments, like chemistry, fall break has created a bit more inconvenience. The weekly lab sessions scheduled for this week were canceled because half are on Thursday.
But Alfred Lata, chemistry lecturer, said that wasn't enough reason to give fall break a thumbs down.
"I would like a full week of fall break" he said.
Regardless, many students are making the most of their four-day break by either going home or taking a vacation.
Katy Munch, Bellevue, Neb., sophomore, and two of her friends are going to Winter Park, Colo., to take advantage of her friend's family cabin.
"We have been stressed out with midterms lately, and we decided we needed a break," she said.
"She's been wondering why I haven't been home and when I'm coming home," Reichman said of her mother.
Iana Reichman is returning home to Boca Raton, Fla. — ground zero of the anthrax attacks — to surprise her mother. Reichman, a senior, hasn't been to Florida since last December.
And anthrax isn't much of a concern, she said.
"My mom isn't any more worried then the rest of the country," Reichman said.
Contact Phillips at 864-4810
INSIDETODAY
COMING IN MONDAY'S KANSAN
WORLD NEWS...7A
HILLTOPICS...10A
WEATHER...6B
CROSSWORD...6B
NBA:The Jazz and 76ers play at Allen Fieldhouse during fall break. Watch for photos.
DIVERSITY: There is a new multicultural sorority on campus.
The University Daily Kansan is the student newspaper of the University of Kansas. The first copy is paid through the student activity fee. Additional copies of the Kansan are 25 cents. Subscriptions can be purchased at 119 Stauffer-Flint Hall.
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