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Tuesday, September 30, 1986 / University Daily Kansan
Profs' leaving could hurt department
By ATLE BJORGE
"It's the small things in life that count."
A small plate with this inscription balances on the edge of a crowded bookshelf in Robert Beer's office.
For Beer, KU professor of entomology, the small things often have several hairy legs, wings or tentacles.
Beer, 68, has studied insects and taught KU students about them for 36 years. But he said yesterday that his own impending retirement and those of two others might jeopardize the quality of education those students received.
Education studies class. Beer and two of his colleagues in the department of ontology plan to retire within the next three years — two because of the state's mandatory retirement at age 70 for University faculty, Beer said.
George Byers, 65, chairman of the department, plans to retire at the end of this year to devote more time to research. Charles Michener, professor of entomology and systematics and ecology, plans to retire in two or three years.
retiring to do research and help students.
to have to retire in two or three years.
All three said they planned to stay around after
Bee said he was worried about the future of the department and felt ambivalent about retiring.
partment and tell him anything. Although he's looking forward to having more time for his research, he said, he would teach beyond 70 if he had a choice.
"I'll miss teaching formal classes," he said.
"Given a choice, I'd continue until someone pointed out to me that I was losing my ability to teach effectively."
teach effectively.
"But it'll be nice to go trout fishing in Colorado without having to worry about getting back in time for classes."
for classes
These retirements are problematic for a small department that has maintained a high national reputation with only eight faculty members, Byers said.
Seven of those eight faculty members do not work full time in the department, but hold joint appointments with the entomological museum or other departments in biology, he said.
University of California at Berkeley, Byers said. The department has 24 graduate students this semester.
other department does not have an undergraduate program, but it attracts graduate students with bachelor's and master's degrees from schools such as Harvard University, Cornell University, and the
In a 1969 survey of science programs conducted by the National Academy of the Sciences, the department ranked fifth in its field, Byers said. Five years later it ranked eighth.
State law mandates retirement at 70 and permits retirement with full benefits at 65, be said.
James Carothers, associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, wasn't optimistic about the University's ability to replace the retirees.
The ability of the college to replace lost faculty is seriously constrained because of a lack of money, he said.
The department is competing with far larger departments in other schools, Beer said. For example, the ontology department at Berkeley has about 65 faculty members.
In addition, Carothers said, the Board of Regents two years age approved a phased early-retirement program, under which faculty members could take a 50 percent reduced workload from age 60.
Social welfare majors work for credits
By PAMELA SPINGLER
Three times a week, six KU students drive to St. Francis Hospital in Topeka work, but not for money.
The students at the Topeka hospital are part of a program in the School of Social Welfare that sends about 300 students a year to state agencies and private businesses for on-the-job training.
Students earn five credit hours a semester for two or three eight-hour days of work each week.
The students work mostly in the Kansas City and Topeka areas, but some students commute to cities as far away as Wichita, Salina, Garden City and Hays.
Lisa Medlin, a graduate student who works at St. Francis, said she went into health care social work because she enjoyed interacting with the patients.
Medlin worked as a nurse, but found the work too restrictive and technical, so she decided to do graduate work in social welfare.
"It's a more humanistic approach." Medlin said. "It deals with the whole person, not just the medical aspects."
medical aspect.
Laura Nelson, another graduate student participating in the practicum, said she worked with patients and their families to help them find the best way to recover after the patient was dismissed from the hospital.
"A lot of the work you do is with the family," she said. "I was always interested in medical social welfare because it has a different aspect of helping someone."
Jan Jess, director for the St. Francis program and assistant director of practicum for the school, said seniors and graduate students had to com-
pite the nine-month program before they could receive a degree from the school.
Undergraduates must work 180 hours at their practicums during the year, Jess said. Graduate students must work 600 hours.
"We try to be flexible," she said.
"This is not for money. This is an opportunity for students to get some outstanding experience in the field."
The practicum also makes students more employable, Jess said.
perience in that field of social welfare, the students have a head start on other applicants," Jess said.
"When people look at a resume and they see the student has the ex-
The program also gives the students the opportunity to work with diverse populations that they haven't had the chance to work with before, Jess said.
For example, if a student hasn't been in a hospital environment, then the health care social welfare program offers that experience, she said.
Candidate advocates stiff export penalties
Phill Kline, Republican opponent of U.S. Rep. Jim Slattery, issued a press release yesterday that praised the bill but said that severe penalties should be added immediately.
By KAREN SAMELSON
a candidate for the Kansas 2nd District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives said yesterday that he would like to see tougher penalties on a grain quality bill co-sponsored by his incumbent opponent.
DECISION'86
The bill prohibits the addition of impurities into grain shipments. It was approved recently by the U.S. House of Representatives and is expected to gain Senate approval soon.
Among the bill's 14 original co-sponsors were three Kansas representatives: Dan Glickman, 4th District Democrat; Pat Roberts, 1st District Republican, and Slattery.
Under the bill's provisions, grain handlers would not be allowed to mix foreign materials, such as dust and rocks, into overseas grain shipments. Exporters sometimes add impurities to the grain to increase the weight, and thus, the profits.
Kline, a third-year law student at the University, suggested that
for a first offense, the shipper be forced to forfeit the profit from the shipment. For a second offense, he said, the exporter's license should be revoked.
Roger Chaassen, a legislative aide to Slattery in Washington, said yesterday that the bill didn't stipulate any penalties. But he said he thought that the Department of Agriculture or other official agencies might revoke the licenses of exporters who weren't following the regulations.
Claassen said that until Dec. 31, 1987, the bill would allow exporters to add grain particles that farmers had removed during cleaning.
Fred Zillinger, Roberts' press secretary in Washington, said the bill would prohibit exporters from adulterating the grain even if it met the official requirements on grain quality or the terms of the buyer's contract.
"We're guaranteeing the quality of our grain," he said, adding that consistency would help protect and expand export markets.
Some foreign buyers prefer grain that is 10 to 20 percent impure because they can get it at a cheaper price. Zillinger said.
The bill passed easily on a voice vote early last week, Zillinger said. The Senate is expected to pass the bill before the end of the session in mid-October.
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