Wednesday, May 2, 2001
The University Daily Kansan: GRADUATION ISSUE
Section B · Page 11
Miami student ready to graduate
82-year-old man waited 63 years to get his degree
Tribune Media Services
So what track are you on, young student? Are you actually graduating college in four years, or are you a seven-year plan kind of student? Eight years? Nine years?
How about 63 years? That's the story of 82-year-old Quentin Pearson, who next month will become the oldest graduate in the history of the University of Miami.
Pearson's college career might have ended decades ago, but his participation as a pilot in two major wars — World War II while a student at the University of Washington and the Korean War after he had transferred to Miami — twice put his plans on hold.
Nevertheless, despite having some unfinished business with the university, Pearson was only nine credit hours shy of a degree upon embarking on his second return to
the school, according to associate education dean Shawn Post, who said that deciphering Pearson's transcript was hardly a run-of-the-mill task.
"They didn't exactly have computers back then." Post said with a laugh. "It basically consisted of searching through the old filling cabinets. The fact that he didn't lose any of his credits after all this time is pretty amazing."
In an interview with the Miami Herald, Pearson, who originally enrolled at the university in 1950, said that "I just decided that I wanted my degree" after being inspired by his daughter, who had recently returned to school to get her master's degree.
The education major said that he has modest plans for his degree.
"I keep reading in the paper that schools need substitute teachers and teacher's aides." Pearson said. "I might be pretty good at that."
In an interesting twist, according to Post, Pearson completed his student teaching duties, required of all education majors at the University of Miami, some 50 years ago.
Medical residents seek work hour limit
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Medical residents are pressing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to set limits on the hours they may work each week.
The physicians-in-training say they regularly clock 95 hours a week and sometimes as many as 136 hours, increasing their risk of auto accidents, depression and other health problems.
"Any system allowing its workers to be subjected to such direct threats to their well-being is seriously flawed," said a petition filed Monday by medical residents and health advocates.
"For OSHA not to regulate resident work hours is to abdicate its responsibility to protect the health of those who care for the nation's sick and dying."
The petition asks OSHA to:
- Limit shifts to a maximum of 24 consecutive hours.
- Limit on-call shifts to every third night
Require a minimum of 10 hours off between shifts.
Require at least one 24-hour off-duty period per week.
Limit shifts to 12 consecutive hours for emergency room residents who work in the busiest hospitals — those with more than 15,000 unscheduled patient visits a year.
However, a problem the effort faces is that the law by which OSHA regulates — the Occupational Safety and Health Act — does not address the issue of work hours.
OSHA received the petition and is reviewing it, said representative Susan Fleming.
Utah company attempts to attract engineer majors
CLEARFIELD, Utah — Futura Industries is one company that would save potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars should Utah institutions find a way to turn out more graduates in engineering fields.
Tribune Media Services
A $4 million package set for approval by the executive committee of the Utah Board of Regents Monday is designed to bolster Utah's offerings in engineering and computer science.
It's a needed effort said Susan Johnson, president and general manager of Futura Industries.
"Three years ago we were desperate to hire engineers," Johnson said. "It took us a while to find them."
Her company has paid as much as $10,000 to recruiters who found the needed engineers in far-away places like Minnesota, Washington and Indiana and also has doled out as much to fund relocating the new hires.
Johnson said hiring local people would not only save these costs but she'd also likely have a happier work force with employees that wouldn't have to relocate.
Johnson, a member of an industrial advisory board, appointed by Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt to suggest ways the Regents could dole out the $4 million, Thursday met with the committee to modify suggestions it offered last week, which were to send all the money to only three of Utah's higher education facilities — Weber State University, Utah State University and University of Utah.
While board members argued last week that the money would be better spent in existing successful programs, representatives from Utah's other six institutions said it wasn't fair for them to be excluded.
"It looked like the bottle necks were at the four-year programs at the universities," said board member John Sutherland.
Johnson said last year 680 qualified students were turned away from University of Utah engineering-related programs and 300 were turned away from Weber
"Three years ago we were
desperate to hire engineers. It took us a while to find them."
Susan Johnson president of Futura Industries
State computer engineering programs.
Where such programs did not currently exist, educators said they had planned to use their share of the money to start programs.
Johnson declined comment about what compromise the board may have reached Thursday. She said board members opted to wait until Monday's public meeting to make statements.
The controversy seems to be just the latest chapter in an ongoing debate in Utah about how to stretch limited education funds effectively.
The $4 million was granted to the Regents through Senate Bill 61, sponsored by Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, as part of Leavitt's initiative to double in five years and triple in eight years the number of graduates in engineering, computer science and related technology programs.
But Mike Petersen, associate commissioner for higher education, said $4 million is far too little to start meeting the governor's goals.
He said an extensive analysis indicated about $23 million would be needed to double the number of graduates.
The governor's initial budget request was for $11 million - $5.5 million in on-going budget support for two years, Petersen said. With this money matched by the schools, it would total $22 million.
This initiative only includes $1 million in on-going funds with $2.5 million funding equipment and $500,000 paying for a student loan forgiveness program.
"Clearly with $1 million, it's just not realistic to talk about doubling and then tripling your programs," he said.
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