CAMPUS/AREA
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wednesday, March 6, 1996
3A
Professor fights illness
KU artist's work will be displayed in design gallery
Nick Vaccaro, professor of art, has Lymphoma Non-Hodgkin. He is on sick leave this semester.
By Stephanie Fite
Kansan correspondent
Nick Vaccaro's colleagues and students cannot resist calling him a master because of the way he crafts works with flawless grace.
On September 4, 1995, Vaccaro, professor of art, was diagnosed with Lymphoma Non-Hodgkin and was forced to take sick leave. He still is on leave this semester. The disease injured Vaccaro's spinal cord, leaving him partially paralyzed. Before his illness, Vaccaro was an active faculty member.
"He always had a lot of energy in what he was doing," said Amy Tomson, Olathe senior. "It shows that he really cared about his students."
Partial paralysis has not kept Vaccaro down. He has taken an active role in organizing a retrospective of his work, "Made in Kansas," which opened in the Art and Design Gallery Sunday, March 3 and ends March 15.
For Vaccaro, the creation of art is the expression of honesty, emotion, intelligence and life.
"He is extremely intelligent in how he puts his works together, and he always has information to share because he is always thinking," said Richard Dishinger, associate professor of art. "Ask Nick about anything and you'll get a great conversation, but ask him about art and you'll learn about history."
Vaccaro demands that students use art and its history as an influence, not as a strict model.
"Every idea has its own medium," Vaccaro said. "Some ideas need to be sung, while others need to be danced, sculpted or painted."
He is primarily an abstractionist whose works contain geometric shapes and bold colors.
His insight into art and life has made him a consumate artist and has left an indelible mark on his colleagues and his students.
teaching and his art because he is tremendously connected to both" said Gerald Lubensky, professor of art.
"He is someone I admire for his
Judith McCrae, associate professor of art and art department chairwoman, agreed.
"Professor Vaccaro is knowledgeable and tough minded. He has asked valuable and tough questions that prepare his students for a professional art career."
KUTVstation to get turned on
John Katch has worked hard to bring Channel 14 to Mount Oread.
"The day I got here, people were asking me to help with the proposal," he said.
Katich, associate professor of journalism, said that in order for broadcast journalism students to truly learn, they needed a medium where they can put their lessons to work.
Kansan staff writer
By David Teska
"After teaching the theory, and in order for our students to be good journalists, they need to apply the theory," he said.
"At times, that seemed like an awful lot of money," he said.
Obstacles such as the station's $125,000 cost worked against the project, he said.
Katich said the University applied for a construction permit from the Federal Communications Commission in 1989 but soon exhausted all its renewal options. It took the support of University administrators like David Shulenburger, vice chancellor for academic affairs, to intercede on behalf of the station by helping find money to finish the project. The station is expected to begin broadcasting early next month.
Day-to-day station operations will go to Gary Hawke, who will become general manager of the station, Katich said. Hawke credits Katich as the driving force behind the station.
SenEx unhappy with linear tuition
"David Shulenburger said, 'Look, we can't lose this,'"
Katich said.
Although the implementation of linear tuition at the University of Kansas seems to be a done deal, some members of University governance hope it's not too late to make some changes.
"He's been the real ramrod, or we wouldn't have it," he said. "He's pulled his hair out on several occasions."
But Case said it was important for members of University governance to voice their views and to try to make a change.
In order to learn what it takes to produce a nightly newcast, Hawke said students in the Advanced Broadcast Reporting class have been producing a daily newscast. Although it is not broadcast, the students go through the routine of developing the newscast.
Last spring, the Board of Regents voted to change the University's flat tuition rate to a linear rate, which would require students to pay tuition by the credit hour. But some members of University Senate Executive Committee and University Council say the proposal was pushed through the Board of Regents with little or no input from the KU community.
The 15 students enrolled in the class have a lab where they rotate between the positions of reporter, producer and photographer, said Tiffany Alaniz, Tulsa, Okla., junior, who is enrolled in the class.
Case wrote that University Council had two primary concerns with linear tuition: the lack of input solicited and the potential linear tuition has to focus course selection on economics rather than on education and
"For one reason or another, it was not given sufficient discussion or publicity," said Jack Davidson, SenEx chairman. "That's my problem with it."
Although linear tuition is scheduled to be implemented when students enroll for Summer and Fall 1996, SenEx and University Council members want to express complaints to the Board of Regents and explore options other than the approved linear tuition plan.
Alan Black, University Council president and SenEx member, said that he thought SenEx's efforts likely would be futile because Chancellor Robert Hemenway has said he supports the linear tuition plan.
Reflecting on the effort it took to get the station started, Katich seemed optimistic about television's capacity to teach and its place in society.
Yesterday at the SenEx meeting, Stevie Case, SenEx member, presented a draft of a letter that expressed faculty and student concerns about linear tuition.
By Colleen McCain Kansan staff writer
"We're producing every day, and we meet the 4 o'clock deadline," she said.
"It doesn't have to be a conduit of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll," he said. "It can be a medium for good."
"Unfortunately, members of the University community did not have the opportunity to voice their concerns before a decision had been reached." Case wrote. "The Council is greatly frustrated by the lack of student and faculty input on such a drastic policy change at our University."
"I think that it's important to let them know what we think about it and that we're pretty much disgusted by it," Case said.
Jason Angilan, SenEx member, said SenEx members were not suggesting that the Regents completely discard the idea of linear tuition. One option would be to modify the plan by implementing a cap so that students would not be assessed fees by the credit hour beyond a certain number of hours.
Case's letter will be edited by other SenEx members and presented to University Council at its meeting tomorrow. If the letter is approved, it would be sent to the Board of Regents. University Council also has appointed an ad hoc committee to formulate alternatives to the current linear tuition plan.
"They present it like it goes on the air even though it doesn't," he said.
enrichment.
KU and its peers
By 1998, the University will have reduced its overall number of departments from 69 to 62.
University: Number of Departments
Kansas 69
Iowa 54
North Carolina 50
Oklahoma 49
Colorado 48
Oregon 47
Source: Board of regents, Office of Academic Affairs
Noah Musser/KANSAN
School of Education still working on reducing number of departments
Education task force examining options
By David Teska Kansan staff writer
The School of Education will lose two departments. What isn't as clear is how the school will do it.
In 1992, the University of Kansas pledged to the Board of Regents to reduce its number of departments from 72 to 62. So far, the University has eliminated three; the remaining seven will be eliminated by 1998. David Shulenburger, vice chancellor for academic affairs, said more was involved than simply reducing the number of departments.
"The focus of this was to reduce administrative costs and increase efficiency," he said.
As the school faced having to reduce the number of departments, Karen Gallagher, dean of education, formed a Reorganization Task Force in October and charged it with developing a proposal for reductions.
Initially, the task force developed four models. Tom Skrtic, professor of education and chairman of the task force, said the task force had revised its initial proposal of four models down to two after it had gathered opinions by those directly affected by the change and submitted the first proposal to Gallagher on Feb. 8.
"Revisions were made based on feedback from faculty, students and consumers," he said. Skrtic said consumers included public schools, education professionals and parents.
Once she received the proposal, Gallagher said she distributed the document to staff members and gave them until Feb. 29 to get feedback to her. She then returned both her and the staff's comments to the task force for more review.
Gallagher said the school's reorganization was part of a growing national trend toward reducing departments in schools of education.
"We are in the midst of change
that's going on at other state institutions," she said. "The trend is to have fewer units, not more."
Because the change will not affect academic programs or students, the task force did not have student members. Once Gallagher has approved a plan for reorganization, students will be included in the implementation phase, she said.
On a philosophical level, Gallagher said the school would have to deal with the loss of department chairman status, new department names and emotional issues that arise when change is discussed. The school's structure has existed for more than 20 years, and people have become used to it, she said.
"It those issues that keep people from making changes," she said. "They might not have liked the old way, but they knew it."
The task force will finish revisions by March 22. After gathering feedback, Gallagher said she would announce the new structure on May 3.