6A
NEWS
BUSINESS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2008
University, Coca-Cola near end of new negotiations
Previous contract expired more than a year ago
BY HALEY JONES hjones@kansan.com
The University is in the final stages of negotiating the renewal of its contract with the Coca-Cola Company. The previous 10-year contract expired June 30, 2007, and the University has been in negotiations with Coca-Cola since then.
Theresa Gordzica, chief financial officer of Business and Financial Planning at the University, said there were no major issues causing the delay, but finalizing the language regarding marketing, logo and licensing issues took some time. She said she expected the contract to be finalized in the next couple of weeks after the final details were worked out.
"It's just a more technical world than it was 10 years ago when we signed the last agreement." Gordzia said.
contract generated about $5 million over its 10-year span, which was allocated to National Merit scholarships, scholarships for dependents of University employees, program funding and Coca-Cola products for University and student group events. She said National Merit scholarships received about $200,000 per year, the employee dependent scholarships received about $150,000 per year and student programming received about $500,000 per year.
"It's taken a while to get the dotted and the 'ts crossed'"
Gordzica said entities such as the Athletics Department and the Memorial Unions, which received profits from the previous contract, did not experience an interruption in funding or profit.
Gordzica said the previous
Gordzica said although the University received proposals from Pepsi and Coca-Cola, it decided to renegotiate its contract with Coca-Cola because of its relationship during the past 10 years. She said the most compelling reason the University chose Coca-Cola was because it worked with the company for so long and because it submitted a strong proposal for a new contract
"It's taken a while to get the i's dotted and the t's crossed."
Funding generated by previous Coca-Cola contract during 10-year contract
THERESA GORDZICA Chief financial officer of business and financial planning
National Merit scholarships: $2 million
Employee dependent scholarships: $1.5 million
products while the University was negotiating the new contract. She said that student groups could apply for programming funds or products through the Vice Provost
Student programming:
$1 million
The University received a payment from Coca-Cola in the final year of the contract, which gave it sufficient funds to continue scholarships and program funding in the period between contracts.
Coca-Cola funding
for Student Success Office. She said she she did not know how many groups had received funding this year.
David Mucci, director of KU Memorial Unions, manages the events and programs in the Unions. He said the previous contract brought revenue to
the Memorial Unions and it was maintained even after the contract expired. He said he was glad the University continued funding the various programs and scholarships affected by the previous contract.
The employee dependent scholarships are awarded to students whose parents are University faculty or staff. Gordzica said the amount and size of the scholarships awarded varied depending on the number of applicants.
Julia Barnard, Lawrence freshman, received a Coca-Cola scholarship because both of her parents are University faculty. She is still receiving the scholarship even though the contract has not been finalized. Her father, Philip Barnard, is an associate professor in the English department, and her mother, Cheryl Lester, is the director of the American Studies program. Barnard said the scholarship prevented her family from having to take out a loan to pay for school.
Edited by Lauren Keith
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN THE SEARCH FOR THE SHIRT ?
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN AND KU ATHLETICS ARE SEARCHING FOR THE NEW GAMEDAY T-SHIRT FOR THE STUDENT BODY.
We Need You
to help us come up with a new gameday slogan. The top 3 finalists will receive
1 $^{\mathrm{st}}$ Place: iPod Touch,
A piece of the Final Four floor
& A 3 pack of posters from the '52, '88 & '08 Championships
2 $^{\mathrm{nd}}$ Place: iPod Nano & 1 EA Sports Game
3 $^{\mathrm{rd}}$ Place: iPod Shuffle & 1 EA Sports Game
HEALTH
Mai Dol, marketing coordinator for the Watkins Heath Center, fills out paperwork to receive a flu shot. Flu clinics start this Tuesday in addition to the standard flu shot, which costs $15, a new nasal mask is also offered this year for $10.
Tyler Waugh/KANSAN
Student Health Services to hold flu-prevention clinics
The bug is back
Flu season is gaining momentum in the United States, and as a response, Student Health Services will begin holding clinics around campus today to help students avoid getting sick.
BY JOE PREINER jpreiner@kansan.com
Watkins Memorial Health Center will offer not only the standard flu shot this semester, but also a new nasal mist. The mist costs $10 and the normal cost shots $15.
Patty Quinlan, nursing supervisor at Watkins, said despite the cost discrepancy, both vaccination methods were equally effective.
In past years, the organizations would narrow the strains down to three main possibilities. They then create vaccines from a combination of these strains and send the vaccines out to pharmacies.
The process for making the flu vaccine has also changed this year. Quinlan said scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization monitor the influenza virus year-round. In doing so, they are able to determine which strains of the virus are the most common and likely to affect the greatest number of people.
Mai Do, marketing coordinator for Student Health Services, said the process had not been very effective during the last flu season.
flu clinics this week
Tuesday — 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.at the Kansas Union (Fourth floor Traditions Area)
Thursday — 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at The Underground (Wesco Hall)
Wednesday — 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at Mrs. E's (Lewis Hall)
Last year, the combination of the three strains left many people afflicted with the influenza virus despite receiving vaccinations because other strains of the virus were more common than the CDC and WHO had anticipated.
The CDC reported this month that several states have already seen cases of the flu this fall. It said the earliest signs showed the vaccine had been effective, matching well with the current circulating strains of the virus.
"It's a guessing game by scientists," Quinlan said.
Though Watkins has not yet seen a single case of the virus on campus this fall, the season is just beginning. Quinlan said getting the vaccine as a preventive measure was a smart
option for students. Even with the vaccine, she said, it was possible to contract the virus. The effects of the virus were not as severe for those with some form of the vaccine, Quinlan said.
The nasal mist, which is a new option for flu vaccines this year, comes at a cheaper price than the normal injection. The mist differs from the standard injection in that it is generally reserved for students who are healthy and well, with no history of asthmatic problems. Though the nasal mist is less expensive, the evaluation process administered by Watkins' nurses takes longer. Quinlan said the side effects that accompany the nasal mist were also stronger than those of the shot.
Pat Peterson, Wheaton, Ill., senior, said he planned to get the flu shot soon. A hectic schedule and demanding class load motivated his decision.
"I'm way too busy with school and extracurricular activities like 'Rock Chalk' to get sick," Peterson said, referring to the Rock Chalk Revue.
Student Health Services will host the flu clinics throughout the rest of October and into late November. The clinic's hours and locations, as well as tips for staying healthy, were sent to all KU students and faculty last Friday via e-mail.
Edited by Andy Greenhaw
NATIONAL
Judge orders 'bubble'to be taken down
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Ten hours a day, every day, Elizabeth Feudale-Bowes confines herself to a galvanized-steel-and-porcelain shed outside her house. Inside are a toilet, a metal cabinet, a box spring with the metal coils exposed, and a pile of organic cotton blankets. Aluminum foil covers the window.
The place is as austere as a prison cell — but it's also her sanctuary from an outside world that she says makes her violently ill.
She and her husband call the structure "the bubble"
This bubble, though, may be about to burst: A judge has ordered it taken down by the end of the month.
Some of the couple's neighbors in suburban South Whitehall Township complained that the 160-square-foot building is unstable and so unsightly it could drag down their property values. The couple also hooked up electrical, water and sewer service without securing permits.
"For the wife's medical problems, there is sympathy. For the owner's defiance of the township's lawful directives, there is no excuse."
Feudale-Bowes, 52, said she was diagnosed several years ago with "environmental illness," described as extreme sensitivity to everyday substances.
Judge Carol McGinley ruled earlier this month.
Some doctors question whether environmental illness is a genuine physical disorder and suggest it is psychological. Feudale-Bowles says she was diagnosed by Dr. William Rae of Texas, who has been accused by the Texas Medical Board of promoting "pseudoscience." He vigorously disputes the charge and continues to see patients.