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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2006
STUDENT SENATE
NEWS
Senators pitch new projects at open forum
BY NICOLE KELLEY
nkelley@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Twenty non-Senate affiliated students attended the event and listened to speeches by senators about new projects.
Student Senate held an open forum Tuesday night to allow students to meet and talk to senators about such issues as tuition, parking finances and Senate outreach.
Nolan T. Jones, Pittsburg junior and communications director for Senate, said it was a success in his eyes because only two non-affiliated students attended a similar forum last year.
The two big issues that were focused on during the meeting were a proposed guaranteed tuition plan and the effects of the new Park-and-Ride program.
Nick Sterner, student body president, presented the idea of a guaranteed tuition plan where students would know exactly what they would pay for tuition all four years at the University of Kansas, without the fear it would increase.
He said it was a rare program across the country but that the University was seriously looking into it to avoid making students deal with another big tuition increase, such as the one experienced in the last four years.
Jason Boots, Plano, Texas, senior and Student Senate Executive Committee Chairman, said the parking department was trying to make the new Park-and-Ride program more attractive to students.
It has increased all parking permits, except the Park and Ride permit, by $20, and has added five new buses.
Ashley Coleman, Shawnee sophomore and co-program chairwoman of the Black Student Union, said she thought the forum was a good opportunity for students to talk to the senators, but she didn't agree with the new parking ideas.
She said not everyone was able to afford the increased price of parking permits. Coleman plans to bring up the issue at the general assembly of the next BSU meeting so everyone can be aware of the effects of the program.
— Edited by Lindsey St. Clair
Nicoletta Niosi/KANSAN
An opossum climbs a tree behind Stauffer-Flint Hall Tuesday. According the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, opossums are nocturnal and common in the eastern Kansas with abundant populations near cities and towns.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN 3A ▼ ADMINISTRATION
Ex-director of Spencer sues Shulenburger
BY MELINDA RICKETTS
mrickett@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
The former director of the Spencer Museum of Art, Andrea Norris, is suing Provost David Shulenburger and the University of Kansas.
According to the lawsuit, Shulenburger's termination of Norris, who served as director from February 1988 to March 2004 when she was fired, was in breach of established University procedures and policies for unclassified professional staff.
said it had to be served to the attorney general before it could be served to the University. She said they were in that phase of the process.
The procedures require that the employee to be terminated be notified before Jan. 17 if he will not be employed the following fiscal year. The employee must
The lawsuit includes three counts - wrongful interference, breach of implied contract and breach of good faith and fair dealing.
The lawsuit stated that Shulenburger's five-year review of Norris's performance contained false and inaccurate statements. It stated that she repeatedly requested that they be corrected, and offered alternatives to her
"Ms. Norris served at the pleasure of the Provost...The University is confident that it will prevail in the litigation."
also be given the opportunity to discuss the termination with the next level of management.
Lynn Bretz KU spokeswoman
"Ms. Norris served at the pleasure of the Provost. The dismissal in her case was appropriate. The University is confident that it will prevail in the litigation." Bretz said.
The University has not yet been served the lawsuit. Sarah Brown, Norris' lead attorney,
KU spokeswoman Lynn Bretz said that some of the unclassified professional staff were "atwill" employees, meaning they served at the pleasure of the official to whom they report and could be dismissed at any time without prior notice.
resignation when Shulenburger requested it in February 2004. The lawsuit stated that "the Proovist refused to discuss Plaintiff's proposals in a civil and constructive
manner."
In a March meeting with the Provost, Norris was given three days to vacate her office. When she returned to her office, her computer had been removed. Later that month the University personnel officer informed Norris that there was no recourse she could take.
Norris could not be reached for comment before the time of publication. University Relations said that Shulenburger could not comment because of the potentially incriminating nature of anything he would say.
— Edited by Kathryn Anderson
KG
THE GAMEKILLERS
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