Volume 124 Issue 18
kansan.com
Thursday, September 15, 2011
IFSSICA IANASZ/KANSAN
CUTTING CLASSES
PLAN DECREASES GEN-EDS
Chancellor Gray-Little speaks to faculty and staff about the strategic plan Bold Aspirations. "We want to raise our stature nationally and internationally, as these aspirations will help us to fund our investments in the future," Gray-Little said. The event took place in the Bruckmiller Room of the Adams Alumni Center Wednesday afternoon.
Bold Aspirations. That's what the Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little calls the new six-part strategic message, which aims to spur excellence at the University. The plan contains several aspects that will directly affect future students.
LUKE RANKER
lranker@kansan.com
One part of the plan includes cutting course requirements for undergraduates.
"We wanted to streamline the
number of general education requirements so that students have more flexibility," Gray-Little said after unveiling the plan on Wednesday.
Vitter
The Chancellor said it has been more than 20 years since the University has revised its undergraduate requirements.
Specific details about the strategy's initiatives had not been released as of Wednesday. Tim Caboni, vice chancellor for public affairs, said the public can expect to see the full plan within the next few days.
"It would make taking a double major, for example, much easier," Gray-Little said.
Provost and executive vice chancellor Jeffrey Vitter said the curriculum cut will help students take advantage of opportunities like study abroad, research and service learning. He said an immediate effect students will see is a significant improvement to advising.
"Students will seamlessly move from their initial year or two into their major and then on to graduation," Vitter said.
Gray-Little said students can
expect the changes in core requirements to take effect in 2013.
The plan also highlights an increase in the University's community involvement. Gray-Little said the school should not only provide services to the community through research but also through more specific and concrete interactions.
"We want to make sure there is a connection between what is being learned in class and what is being done in the community so that experience informs classroom work, and classroom work informs experience," Gray-Little said.
Student Body President Libby Johnson is optimistic about where the University is headed and the improvements students will see.
"There's a lot of room here for a lot of good changes." Johnson said. "The biggest thing, I think,
SEE PLAN 13
STUDENT SENATE
TRAVIS YOUNG/KANSAN
Student Body President Libby Johnson handing on board changes Wednesday night in the Kansas Union. The first Student Senate meeting was held that night and positions were the first order of business.
Assistant treasurer suddenly resigns
JESSIE BLAKEBOROUGH jblakeborough@kansan.con
To the surprise of senators, student body assistant treasurer Courtney Sheldon resigned her elected position at the first full-senate meeting of the academic year.
Sheldon notified Student Executive officers of her resignation decision Sept. 13. When addressing full senate, Sheldon cited reasons of time management and previous commitments.
"I realize that I cannot devote the time my position deserves and while it has not been an easy decision, I think that it will be best for both myself and Senate in the long run," Sheldon said.
Student body president Libby Johnson says that resignations at this time are highly irregular for positions of such magnitude.
"The treasurer and assistant treasurer positions are unique in that these staff members have to handle a $20 million budget for what is essentially a 30,000 person organization," Johnson said.
Treasurer David Cohen, who worked closest with Sheldon throughout the summer months in student executive training sessions, and essentially serves as a mentor to the assistant treasurer position, expressed his frustration with the
sudden loss of a great resource and asked for support in the upcoming months.
"Yes, it's a really shiny situation we find ourselves in, but please have patience with my office as we make up for lost time as we train another assistant." Cohen said.
In an effort to fill the position as soon as possible, Cohen announced that the job application will be posted on the jobs.ku.edu website until 2 p.m. Sept. 16. Candidates will be interviewed Saturday and Sunday. Cohen says his goal is to fill the position by Sunday night.
"Typically the assistant treasurer moves into the treasurer position because it takes a while to build up the necessary skills and knowledge the position requires;" Johnson said.
The assistant treasurer position is a two year time commitment and an up to 23 hour week work schedule.
"Fortunately its only September so we have time to adapt and react." Johnson said. "Everyone is taking it all in stride, which is part of what makes them such a great staff."
Because of special circumstances the appointment will go into effect before approval by full senate.
- Edited by Alexandra Esposito
ENVIRONMENT
Keeping campus clean and green
MARSHALL SCHMIDT mschmidt@kansan.com
At least once a week, the University of Kansas's Environmental Stewardship Program picks up recyclables from every building on campus, which amounts to nearly 1,000 bins. The 24 students employed by the program collect, sort, and bail the materials. This results in 42,000 pounds of recyclables sent out every two weeks. That is nearly one and a half pounds of material per student.
The program has been managing recycling and redistributing furniture on campus as part of the greater campus sustainability initiative, outlined by Chancellor Gray-Little last fall.
"The program was started because we were putting so much stuff into the waste stream," said Aileen Dingus, program coordinator. "When you think about it, we send out 20 tons that can be reused instead of just taking up space in a hole in the ground."
Erik Crawford, a senior from Wichita, has worked as a recycling technician for the past two years. His duties include on-campus collecting from every building and sorting the material in the Facilities and Operations warehouses on West Campus.
"It's rewarding in the sense that you go home at the end of the day with the sense you've done a small part in making your community a better place." Crawford said.
However, some students are not aware of the program, resulting in many recyclables being thrown away. A recent waste audit on Jayhawk Boulevard found as much recycling material in trash bins as there was in recycling bins.
The bulk of the recyclables that the program receives and redistributes consists of paper products, but it also collects cardboard, aluminum and steel cans, plastics, printer cartridges, steel, furniture
"A problem is that students don't know we're here and don't know all the services we provide," Crawford said.
TRAVIS YOUNG/KANSAN
SEE RECYCLING 13
Erik Crawford, senior from Wichita, and Steven LaCour, senior from St. Louis, dump the paper bin for recycling.
Steven LaCour, a senior from St. Louis, helps Aileen Dingus, the program coordinator for KU Recycling, lift the rear tailgate to get trash into the back of the recycling truck.
TRAVIS YOUNG/KANSAN
CLASSIFIEDS 9 CRYTOTOQUIPS 4 SPORTS 10
CROSSWORD 4 OPINION 5 SUDOKU 4
n contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2011 The University Daily Kansan.
Don't forget
Bring a jacket to class. It's getting chilly outside.
Today's Weather
Forecasts done by University students. For a more detailed forecast, see page 2A.
Hi: 63
Ln: 42
Baby Wiz cold side.