Section C·Page 4
The University Daily Kansan
Monday, August 16, 1999
Provost David Shulenburger sits in his office on the second floor of Strong Hall. The provost oversees the academic departments at the University of Kansas. Photo by Lisa John/KANSAN
"No Whining part of provost's office solutions
By Derek Helms
Kansan staff writer
One thing about the University of Kansas Provost David Shulenburger is clear: he loves his work.
"This job is so interesting," he said. "I get to know almost everything that happens on this campus, and this is an extraordinary place."
Bombard him with questions and see what happens.
How has the University adjusted to the system of having a provost?
What about the KU's role in society?
Any thought about being ranked the eighth biggest party school in the country?
Shulenburger is happy to answer.
Any dislikes about the University?
Each question is met with the same welcoming eyes and amiable grin.
Shulenburger slouches back in his chair and crosses his hands while he answers the questions.
The relaxed demeanor of the former North Carolina farm boy is impressive considering that he is in charge of the daily operations of the faculty and the 11 individual schools of the University.
"This is a low-stress environment in a very high-stress office," said Kathleen McCluskey-Fawcett, associate provost. "And that is primarily due to the tone Dave sets."
"He has such a huge job," said Jenette Johnson, assistant to the provost. "He handles it in a relaxed way, yet you know he's working his tail off."
"He also has a great ability to delegate jobs to people he knows will get them done well," she said.
Brower Burchill, former associate vice chancellor with Shulenburger, attributes his ability to oversee the University to Shulenburger's
unique thinking process.
"He has this outstanding cracker jack mind," Burchill said. "He comes up with great ideas, and knows how to make them work."
One of Shulenburger's great ideas came to him when he began the new position of provost on July 1, 1996.
"I heard people complaining about how the old system worked," he said. "I told them that they had the opportunity to change that with the new provost model. So I had 'No Whining' buttons made up."
"Now people don't complain," he said. "They help come up with solutions."
Peter Thompson, former dean of the school of fine arts, said the buttons are just an example of the cooperative relationship Shulenburger shares with the deans.
"He is genuinely supportive and interested in all we do," he said. "You can tell that it hurts him when he can't provide something for us."
His face beams with pride when discussing KU.
Shulenburger speaks about the University's accomplishments with the same passion and conviction that a child tells his parents about summer camp. The topic causes him to set up straighter in his chair and lean forward.
"This is a first-rate university," he said. "The research and education coming from this school is phenomenal."
"Right now lives are being saved in Kosovo because of mine technology that was developed at the University," he said. "Folks in mathematics are reading currents in the body that will help sense seizures. I could go on and on."
So what aspect of Kansas is he most proud of?
"We honest-to-God change lives here," he said. "Every day."
- Edited by Mike Miller
Unions provide fuel; SUA brings the fun
Need to check your e-mail, pick up a bite to eat and mail your overdue bills? Check out the many possibilities that the Kansas and Burge Unions offer.
Kansan staff writer
By Ben Embry
The unions are valuable resources for students, providing services such as a post office, snack bars, ATMs and Internet klosks.
"In many ways, the unions serve as the center of activity on campus," said David Mucci, director of the unions. "The unions have the programs and opportunity to bring students closer together."
The Kansas Union, completed in 1927, was built to commemorate students and faculty who were killed in World War I. Since then, the union has served as the downtown of the University of Kansas, catering to students' needs.
Both unions have rooms for meetings, classes, forums and other special events. They also house KU bookstores, where students can buy text books and other supplies.
The Kansas Union is the home of the Jaybowl, a recreation center with bowling, pool tables and video games.
The Burge Union houses Student Legal Services and University Career and Employment Services, where students can receive help with job searching, preparing a resume and scheduling interviews.
Student Union Activities, which provides social, cultural, educational and recreational programs for KU students, has offices in the Kansas Union.
SUA, a student-run organization, plans events ranging from movie sneak previews and celebrity lectures to live music.
"We are here to bring a variety of entertainment to the student body at the lowest possible cost," said Cameron Popp, SUA president.
SUA has eight committees that schedule events throughout the school year: feature and spectrum films, forums, live music, special events, recreation, fine arts and public relations.
Hawk Week, the week before classes start, is packed with SUA activities — live music, movies and beach parties — all of which are blessed by the absence of studying.
"This gives incoming freshman a chance to get to know each other and the University," Popp said. "It's a lot of fun."
This year's movie on the hill, The Matrix,
will begin at sundown Saturday at
Campanile hill. SUA will also have events,
such as a Jeopardy-style game show at
Alderson Auditorium throughout the week.
Romeo
Official Hawk Week events include Beach- Boulevard, 8 to 10 p.m. tomorrow. Students can participate in sand castle building contests, play in a volleyball tournament, watch the KU Marching Band and enjoy tunes from Sons of Venezuela.
For more information about our
out its Web site at
http://www.ukans.edu/~sua/ or stop by the
offices in the Kansas Union.
Summer in Europe provides real-life lessons
Edited by Derek Prater
By Matthew Friedrichs
Kansan editor
When in Germany, drink the beer.
So say two KU students who traveled to Eutin, Germany this summer on an annual language institute trip. The students were part of a program headed by Frank Baron, professor of Germanic languages and literature.
Baron, a teaching assistant and 17 KU students returned in late July from the eight-week program that gives students the opportunity to learn German, experience European culture and earn language credit from the University of Kansas.
Keith Henderson, Topea senior, had an interesting adventure the first weekend in Germany
Baron took the students to Hamburg to acquaint them with travel and trains and to visit museums, a church and other sites of interest. On the trip back to Eutin, Henderson and two other students were separated from the group.
"They got off and switched trains, and we didn't "see them." Henderson said.
He ended up about 1,000 kilometers south of Eutin, so he and the other two students caught the last train of the night back to Hamburg.
"Of course it started raining," Henderson said. The weekend would be one of many learning experiences on the trip.
They went to a disco named Wall Street where the drink prices fluctuated on a big board like the prices of stocks on the big board in New York. When the bar closed at 4 a.m., they went to a park and slept in a tree.
By the end of the trip, Henderson said his
German had dramatically improved.
"As long as everyone talked slowly and used words we'd never see him."
words we could understand," Henderson said. Erin Simpson, Lenexa senior, also learned something on the trip.
"My German improved considerably," she said.
Among Simpson's cultural experiences were a 20-hour train trek to see American musicians REM in Oberhausen and a trip to Prague, Czech Republic.
Baron said the group traveled to Berlin, Mainz and Munich, in Germany. The group also traveled to Prague, Vienna, Austria and to Budapest. Hungary, where Baron was born.
"The beer's cheaper than water there." Simpson said.
The students stayed in Eutin for about six weeks. living with families.
Henderson stayed with the Schonings, a couple in their late 50s. He's an auto mechanic and she's a housewife.
The arrangement is educational, Simpson said, but students are temporary guests, which can be a tenuous existence as they try to communicate with their families and understand what they have permission to do around the house.
By the end of the trip, Simpson said she was confident in her ability to travel, use the trains and ask directions in German. But, she said, menu reading remained a challenge.
And Simpson had some advice for students who travel abroad.
"Pack your suitcase and then unpack half of it.
Erin Simpson, Leneaxa senior, tastes German culture. Simpson and a group of KU students stayed in Eutin, Germany this summer. Contributed photo
because that's all you need, and you don't want to carry everything you own," she said.
Edited by Derek Prater
Roommates: can't live with or without them
Eugene
Peterson.
Commentary
Those are the first, middle and last names of roommate hell.
Nagar (I mention his given first name earlier to push his buttons) and I lived together for four semesters.
Smelly socks, overflowing trash cans, a lack of general decorum — I blame it all on him.
And that's the thing about roommates. You love 'em. You hate 'em. You usually can't afford to live without 'em.
We had to live together our second semester as juniors because we were elected officers in our living organization.
We were thrust together by the winds of fate (Ragmar loves cliches, and I used to harass him about his favorite phrases).
Two guys, living in a group of 80 — we chose to live together for two semesters as sophomores as a kind of strange social experiment.
And we were forced to live together for a semester as seniors because no one else
Matthew Friedrichs
Kansan Editor
would live with him (or was it me?).
At any rate, roommates can teach many lessons.
our many informative and friendly arguments about issues large and small.
Is rap really an art form? Does religion matter? Whose turn is it to take out the trash?
Ragnar did his Swedish heritage and Viking name proud, standing firm and butting heads with me in
When I dropped my arrogant facade long enough to admit I made a mistake or was wrong in an argument, he wrote the rare event on his calendar so that he would have proof.
When the trash mound above the can would no longer support one more Taco Bell bag, crumpled and carefully placed, one of us would break down and take out the garbage — three days later.
I can only hint how ugly his wooly socks, which he wouldn't wash for weeks, were.
I can, however, express the pride I felt the day I heard he was accepted to KU Medical School (despite his
questionable personal hygiene)
I find myself dialing the phone to reminisce about the days we lived together and to learn about his latest rock climbing trip — a hobby he dreamt about as an undergraduate and finally began pursuing in earnest a little more than a year ago. Occasionally we need for a brief. Oh!
We haven't lived together since December 1995. But some days I actually miss the guy from Lindsborg.
Occasionally we need for a beer. Or we get together with other friends at the bachelor parties and weddings that fill our lives.
Would I live with Ragnar again if he would have me? You bet I would.
I love him. I hate him. I couldn't have lived without him, smelly socks and all.
Friedrichs is a Bremen graduate student in journalism.
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