Section A·Page 6
The University Daily Kansan
4.
Tuesday, September 15, 1998
Indigenous Nations Studies Program to begin offering classes in January
By Carolyn Mollett
Karen staff writer
Kansan staff writer
The new Indigenous Nations Studies Program will begin offering classes in January when its director, Donald Fixico, arrives at the university of Kansas.
"We are lucky to find a good leader," said Akira Yamamoto, professor of anthropology and linguistics.
Fixico is a professor of history at Western Michigan University. He said he wanted to help the students he recruited for that university to graduate before he left for the University of Kansas.
The KU program will be interdisciplinary, and it will offer Master of Arts degrees in Indigenous Nations Studies.
"From all angles we are going to be working with students in the program as well as in the community." Yamamoto said.
Fixico said the program would examine different views of the world. He said some indigenous voices were borderline extinct because of the process of global assimilation.
"It's a very important process as we begin to understand the nearidentical experiences Indigenous People have had."
Michael Yellow Bird assistant professor of social welfare
tion.
"The general direction I foresee is to try to explain the unheard national voice in Indian Studies," Fixico said.
Michael Yellow Bird, assistant professor of social welfare, will teach courses in the program. He said the program was unique because it would study and develop contacts with Indigenous Peoples from all around the Western Hemisphere.
"It's a very important process as we begin to understand the near-identical experiences Indigenous People have had," Yellow Bird said.
He said the program's name was a move away from colonizers' terms like Native American. Yellow Bird said anyone born in the Americas was a native to America.
we've taken a 180-degree turn here to say we're Indigenous People. We're nations," Yellow Bird said.
The University of Kansas will further its existing relationship with Haskell Indian Nations University through the Indigenous Nations Studies program, Fixico said.
Graduate students have three track options for studying the nations: general Indigenous Nations Studies, Museum Studies and Sovereignty Development. There also will be core classes required of all students.
Fixico said an admissions committee was being formed to establish admission requirements.
He said the program still had details to be worked out before next semester, so students could not officially be enrolled in the program yet. But he said there had already been a lot of inquiries.
New GTA Coalition union organizer comes to Kansas with Wildcat past
By Julie M. Sachs
Kansan staff writer
The Graduate Teaching Assistants Coalition is concentrating on nurturing new leadership, beginning with a new organizer.
Wes Beal replaced Mark Horowitz as its organizer in late August.
At K-State, Beal worked on organizing a union.
Beal was selected because of his work with graduate teaching assistant issues at Kansas State University, Horowitz said.
fight for the GTAs.
Unlike Horowitz, Beal is not a graduate teaching assistant at the University.
Beal said he decided that although he is no longer a student, he wanted to continue to
The job of organizer, Beal said, is to work on the union's primary goals
"My primary goal for GTAC is to help the u n i o n develop a structure t h a t actively develops new generations of le ad er- ship. "Beal said."
Mark Horowitz:
Steps down as GTAC organizer.
Boosting membership is one principle goal that the union has always focused on, Beal said.
He said he worked about 26 hours a week and considered the position a neat change.
"It's nice to walk into where a union exists." Beal said.
Beal said he is confident in the coalition's future.
"They need to step back and realize just how strong they are," Beal said. "I just want to remind people that GTAC hasn't run into anything they can't hold up to."
Horowitz said he was confident in Beal's ability.
"He is clearly someone who is able to communicate," Horowitz said. "He is a naturally talented organizer."
Horowitz said he thought that Beal would bring strength to the position.
"I hope he nurtures leadership." Horowitz said. "I'm
"My primary goal for GTAC is to help the union develop a structure that actively develops new generations of leadership."
Wes Beal Coalition organizer
confident he will."
Horowitz, who resigned his position because of academic concerns, still is acting as president of the coalition.
"I've been working actively in the graduate teaching assistants union since the spring of '94. I need more time for academic work," Horowitz said.
Donations make it easier to look at Earth
Money bought software to study rock layers, sponsored fellowships
By Liz Wristen
Kansan staff writer
Studying the earth's rock layers will become easier for University of Kansas students in the geology department and geologists at the Kansas Geological Survey.
The University bought seismic software during the summer with a $400,000 donation given in April by Seismic Micro-Technology of Houston. The software is used in petroleum exploration to study underground geology.
Graduate students at the University will have the opportunity to learn more about the software through graduate geology courses this semester, said Tim Carr, senior scientist at the Kansas Geological Survey, at 19th and Iowa streets.
The software gives geologists a picture of the ground below by setting off a vibration at the earth's surface. The vibration sends sound waves into the ground, which reflect off the underground rock layers and then travel back to the earth's surface where they are recorded.
"One of the big things in geophysics is getting a 3-D visualization of the earth," Carr said. "This new software is used for looking at the interior of the earth and allows students to see a 3-D visualization of it."
Rex Buchanan, associate director of the Kansas Geological Survey, said that different rocks reflected the vibrations in different ways and that the results could provide information on the location and nature of underground rocks.
Carr said this information was useful for determining the location of fluids in the earth.
"We shoot energy into the ground which reflects off the layers of the earth, and we use that date for processing and figuring out where the fluids are, like oil, gas and water," Carr said.
The software will be beneficial to students because it will allow them to use similar tools and software applied to gas, mineral and environmental industries, Carr said. By using the software, students will be able to focus on locating gas and minerals in the earth.
The University received a smaller donation of $40,000 in February from Chevron-Mobil to support geophysics fellowships at the University. Rick Miller, geophysicist and chief of exploration services at the Kansas Geological Survey, said the petroleum companies are sponsoring the students to help them learn more about the specialized processing software used in their studies.
"I think that the donations we have received are an external recognition of the level of work we do here," Buchanan said. "I think it's good, because it gives attention to the Survey and the University and makes companies recognize us."
WHERE THE MONEY WENT:
- The University of Kansas geology department and the Kansas Geological Survey received a $400,000 donation in April from Seismic Micro-Technology of Houston to purchase seismic software.
- The software will allow students and faculty to send sound waves into the earth that will reflect off underground rock layers and provide a picture of the underground geology.
- The University also received a $40,000 donation in February from Chevron-Mobil that will be used to sponsor geophysics fellowships for graduate students.
The University of Kansas geology department and the Kansas Geological Survey received a $400,000 donation in April from Seismic Micro-Technology of Houston to purchase seismic software.
The software will allow students and faculty to send sound waves into the earth that will reflect off underground rock layers and provide a picture of the underground geology.
groutha geology.
■ The University also received a $40,000 donation in February from Chevron-Mobil that will be used to sponsor geophysics fellowships for graduate students.
Get Plugged In ATTEND THE 1998 BUSINESS CAREER FAIR All Majors Welcome!
KANSAS UNION BALLROOM THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Dust off your resume and free the moths from that suit in the back of your closet. In today's business world, networking is everything. The Business Career Fair can provide you with the opportunity to meet influential businesspeople and gain information about companies from across the country. Take this important first step toward finding the job you've always wanted!
- Visit with company representatives
- Distribute your resume
- Explore opportunities in business
- Match your career goals with available jobs
- Browse company displays and literature
- Learn about salaries, benefits,and opportunities for advancement
Career Fair maps, detailing company locations and current opportunities, are available in our office. Sponsored by the Business Career Services Center, 125 Summerfield Hall.
Call for more information!!!
(785) 864-5591
The University Of Kansas School of Business
785. 864.3742 - osa@ukans.edu - www.ukans.edu/~osa