University Daily Kansan / Wednesday, August 26, 1987
3B
Campus/Area
Resources firm honors teacher
By JAVAN OWENS Staff writer
Staff writer
W. R. Van Schmus, professor of geology, was named the University of Kansas' first Union Pacific Foundation distinguished professor.
Union Pacific Resources Co. endowed the Kansas University Endowment Association with $200,000 to establish the position in 1985. William L. Adams, chairman and chief executive officer of the Union Pacific Resources, is a KU graduate.
Chancellor Gene A. Budig named Van Schmus to the professorship over the summer.
"He is a superb teacher and scholar, and we are confident that his scholarship and teaching will result in continued benefits for our students and the people of Kansas," Budig said.
The distinguished professorship brings special recognition to Van Schmus' research of North American land formation. Van Schmus, who has taught at the University since 1967, co-directs the Isotope Geochemistry Lab.
In the lab, he and other KU geologists study one- to two-billion-year-old rocks to piece together the continent's history.
"Understanding the evolutionary picture of North America could have indirect benefits," Van Schmus said.
"It could help us in resource exploration, waste disposal and just give us a better understanding of our environment."
Van Schmus and his partner Marion E. Bickford, professor of geology, began their research of land formations in the 1960s. Their research was concentrated in Canada and the Rockies.
"He's a distinguished scientist who has been a careful and dedicated teacher," Bickford said of Van Schmus. "He has an international reputation for his research and he has been an enormous asset to the University."
Ten years ago, Van Schmus and Bickford expanded their research to the entire United States. Those studies were included in the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Geological Survey program to gather information about the basement of central North America.
Van Schmus said he was able to continue his research through the rock samples donated by oil and mineral companies.
Van Schmus leads the University's participation in the NSF program as a member of the board of directors of DOSECC Inc., Deep Observation and Sampling of Earth's Continental Crust.
Lisa Jones/KANSAN
W. R. Van Schmus is KU's first Union Pacific Foundation/Union Pacific Resources Co. distinguished professor of geology.
Lectures, debates mark Constitution
By VIRGINIA McGRATH Staff writer
The nation is celebrating the 200th birthday of the Constitution this year, and the party has come to Kansas.
The committee has selected three KU professors as STAR scholars. They will join nine other scholars in discussing the discussions about the Constitution.
A series of lectures, book discussions and debates will be presented across the state as part of the STAR (Striving Toward America's Roots) program, sponsored by the Kansas Committee for the Humanities.
Francis Heller, professor of law and political science; Rex Martin, professor of philosophy; and W. Stitt Robinson, professor of history, are the scholars from the University of Kansas.
Robinson said, "The STAR program brings humanities scholars into contact with the adult public." But he also said the presentations had costumes and props that would appeal to younger audiences.
Alanna Preussner, director of programming for the committee, said the purpose of the STAR program was to "examine the core issues of the Constitution by examining, in part, the philosophical debate between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton."
The committee selected eight Kansas communities to host the lectures, discussions and debates. Three weekly book discussions will be held in each community, as well as a seminar and a debate between scholars portraying Jefferson and Hamilton.
Melvin Kahn, professor of political science at Wichita State University, will play Hamilton, and Clay Jenkinson, an independent humanities scholar from Sharon Springs, will play Jefferson. Jenkinson is a Rhodes Scholar and Ph.D. candidate at Oxford University.
The debate does not represent an actual debate that took place between the two, but will spotlight their divergent views. Hamilton was a federalist who favored a strong central government. Jefferson favored individualism and states' rights. Kahn and Jenkinson will dress in costumes of the period and will answer questions in character, using the dialect of the time.
The book discussions will focus on three works, "The Federalist Papers," by Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay; "The Portable Thomas Jefferson," by Merrill Peterson; and "Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Contemporary Political Issues," edited by George McKenna and Stanley Feingold, a contemporary work on the ideas of Jefferson and Hamilton.
The Non-Traditional Students Organization Invites All New Non-Traditional Students
to an
ORIENTATION PROGRAM
Wednesday, Aug. 26 at 7:30 p.m. in the Jayhawk Room of the Kansas Union
The orientation - run by students for students - will cover topics of interest to many non-traditional students; child care, commuting, balancing work and school, managing time, building a social life . . . plus tips on how "the system" works at KU!
Funded by the Student Senate
EDUCATION DISCOUNT
on
$995 Complete
Tandon PCX-2
2 disk drives, 640 K RAM, serial and parallel ports, monochrome display & keyboard.
COMPUTER OUTLET
Your computer connection at 843.PLUG • 804.N.H.
Lawrence, Kansas