CAMPUS/AREA
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wednesday, February 12, 1997
3A
GR Gorden Ross / KANSAN
Jason Head, professor of LAw, recently traveled to Micronesia to help write and implement legislation for the country's officials who wanted to clarify the procedures for foreign investment.
Professor helps Micronesia draft economic legislation
Proposal balances foreign investment country's culture
Ann Premer
Special to the Kansan
Micronesia, a country scattered like seeds in the Pacific ocean, found help in drafting economic legislation from the University of Kansas.
John Head, professor of law,
spent the first two weeks of
January in Micronesia drafting
legislation because officials of
the country wanted to clarify
the procedures for foreign
investment.
Mark Hirschey, professor of business, said that developing countries invited foreign investment to create capital and provide jobs. For example, the United States was built on capital from Europe, he said.
Angle Kuhn/KANSAN
"It was just a question of rationalizing the system," Head said. "The aim that the government officials had in mind was to increase the economic activity. The economic benefits will come from that."
The Federated States of Micronesia, a sovereign nation since 1991, that was formerly known as the Caroline Islands, sought to strike a balance between permitting foreign investment and maintaining the sovereignty and culture of its
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people.
Head's job was to draft a foreign investment document to produce a piece of legislation that would create this balance.
"It is important, I think, to protect the language and culture to give some diversity to the world," Head said. "It was a challenge to write legislation that would protect their culture."
The Asian Development Bank, which delegated Head, was commissioned by Micronesia to draft a foreign investment bill. It is an international development institution fashioned after the World Bank. Head said.
In the mid-1980s Head worked for the Asian Development Bank at its headquarters in Manila. Head practiced his legal expertise in developing economic legislation.
Head's work in Micronesia required him to draft foreign investment legislation so that if
someone from Kansas, for example, wanted to start a business in Micronesia, there would be set guidelines to follow, he said.
"I was writing the actual language that was proposed to appear in the statutes that Micronesia would enact in the legislature," Head said. "I was working on both the national legislation and model legislation for each of the states."
Head, who earned law degrees from both Oxford University in England and the University of Virginia, said that he knew early in his career that he wanted to be involved in international law. As a professor and a scholar, he uses his practical experiences to teach and write.
"I don't take on these assignments unless I can make a connection between my classes or research," Head said. "It keeps me connected with the real world in areas that I work in at KU."
When the Micronesian legislature convenes in March, it is expected to discuss the legislation that Head produced, he said.
"I had a meeting near the end of my stay with a couple of government officials. One was the Minister of Development and Resources, and he had looked over the work that I had done and thought that it fit what they wanted," Head said.
Residence halls not students' number one choice of habitat
Kansan staff writer
By Harumi Kogarimal
The number of students living in University of Kansas residence halls has been decreasing for the last ten years.
According to a University profile, 4,521 students lived in residence halls in fall 1985, but that number dropped to 3,132 in fall 1996.
Stoner also said that the increase in single room occupancy affected the decline.
Kenneth Stoner, director of the Department of Student Housing, said that the decline was caused by factors such as a drop in undergraduate enrollment and the shutdown of Templin Hall for renovations.
"I see a trend that more students want to live in single rooms over the past several years," Stoner said.
Stoner said that since the University started allowing students to live in single rooms in the mid- 80's, more students have requested those rooms.
Randy Timm, assistant director for the housing department, said when he was a student at Kansas in 1984, he lived in a double room because he did not have an option for a single room. He said students nowadays are not used to sharing rooms.
"The longer they live in residence halls, the more likely they change to single rooms, unless they find roommates," she said.
Michelle Milburn, complex director for Lewis Hall, agreed that more residents in Lewis have opted to live in single rooms.
"I shared my room with my family." Timm said. "The society has changed. Students are given their own bedrooms and bathrooms and they are not used to
Residence
Housing patterns
By Department of Student Housing, 1997
The number of students in residence halls
Fall 1990 3,938
Fall 1991 3,682
Fall 1992 3,352
Fall 1993 3,368
Fall 1994 2,951
Fall 1995 3,120
Fall 1996 3,132
sharing a room with somebody."
While fewer students choose to live in residence halls, the number of students in apartments and rooms at private houses in 1995 has increased by 1,741 since 1984.
SOURCE: Office of Institutional Research and Planning
Corey Farley, Wellington sophomore, said because he wanted to have privacy, he rented a room from a woman in Lawrence. He said the room is separated by the wall from her house and it is almost like an apartment.
Farley said he never thought of moving a into a residence hall.
University recruiting students in Thailand
"I'd rather pay a little extra money to get a private room," Farley said.
Rick Gwynne, Shawnee junior,
said he lived with his roommate
in a residence hall, but he wanted
to switch to a single room.
"My roommate studied all the time and lights were on at night, and I hated it," Gwynne said. "I think a lot of people are trying to avoid hearing roommates."
by Mark McMaster
Kansan staff writer
Robert Weaver tried out his skills as an ambassador last week.
Weaver, associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, went to Bangkok to recruit students selected by the Thai government for graduate-level study abroad.
The government not only identifies these students but gives them full scholarships," Weaver said. "So they pay their whole way if they get chosen by a university here."
The Thai students are selected for scholarships after taking a national examination. Weaver said.
Representatives from the University of Kansas and other U.S. schools were invited to Bangkok where they met with the students, introduced their programs and answered the students' questions.
International recruiting efforts such as Weaver's trip are rare, said
Gerald Harris, director of International Student Services. However, they are becoming necessary to compete with other schools.
"The competition is very strong out there, and the major universities are mounting recruitment efforts," he said. "If we want to maintain a good pool of international talent, we've got to get into the market — and that means recruiting."
Weaver said that the students plan to attend here if they are admitted.
This is the first time the University has participated in the Thai program. Weaver was selected by associate provost Kathleen McCluskey-Fawcett.
Weaver took applications from nine Thai students during his trip, eight of whom were sponsored by the government.
"They sounded like good candidates," Weaver said. "Some of them had a little trouble with English, as you might imagine, but I talked to all of them with little difficulty."
The students are interested in a variety of subjects, including business, English, nursing, physics and electrical engineering.
While in Bangkok, Weaver also spoke at a KU alumni dinner. There are more than 300 University alumni living in Thailand, he said.
Angle Kuhn/KANSAN
KU Hispanic organization starts sorority, fraternity
By Umut Bayramoglu Kansan staff writer
Kansan staff writer
The greek system at the University of Kansas is becoming more multicultural diverse with the upcoming addition of a Hispanic sorority and fraternity.
Sigma Lambda Gamma will become the first Hispanic American sorority to have a chapter at the University. Until it receives a chapter title, it will be sponsored by the Kansas State University chapter.
"We wanted a sorority with people from the same background," she said.
She said that academics and community service would be the main focuses of the organization.
"This is what the Hispanic community needs to work on, so this will be our goal," Garcia said.
Garcia said that it would be a while before members of Sigma
Lambda Gamma sorority had a house.
Garcia said that the sorority would go through pledging for the next eight weeks and would gain a chapter title next fall.
"It's going to be a support system for women," she said. "We are really close to each other and we wanted to pave the way for Hispanic students of the future."
"We will be little sisters until we do enough fund-raisers and community service to prove ourselves to our host chapter at K-State," Garcia said.
Angela Valdez, Kansas City,
Kan., junior, said that the biggest
fund raiser would be the Latino
Expo in Mav in Kansas City, Kan.
"We need to raise a lot of money in order to get a house," Valdez said. "The Latino Expo is a good opportunity for that."
Male members of HALO are trying to set up a Sigma Lambda Beta fraternity. But Norm Sadillo, Santa Fe, N.M., junior, said that the men were slower than the women in the induction process.
"The women are way ahead of us," Sadillo said. "We are still trying to get more people."
"We would like to promote cultural awareness," he said.
"Latin American studies majors, Spanish majors or anybody interested in learning about the Hispanic culture is welcome," he said. "We want to learn from other cultures as much as we want to promote ours."
Sadillo said that the goals of the fraternity would be similar to those of the Sigma Lambda Gamma women.
Sadillo said the fraternity would also be open to non-Hispanic students.
Greg Gonzales, Topeka senior, said he liked the idea of having a Hispanic fraternity on campus.
For more information about Sigma Lambda Gamma and Beta call Garcia at 864-6441 or Sadillo at 832-9122.
"It will help recruit more Hispanics to KU as well as providing a social outlet for ones that are already here." Gonzales said.
The interest group for the fraternity meets every Tuesday, and the sorority meetings are every other Wednesday.
Instructor salaries
SOURCE: Office of Institutional Research and Planning
Angle Kuhn/KANSAN
Faculty salaries low,but increase may happen if Regents has its way
By Ann Marchand
Kansan staff writer
Faculty salaries at the University of Kansas are scraping the bottom of the barrel. KU compensation levels are last — or close to last— in most studies comparing similar institutions.
Some departments in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences have been harder hit than others.
"If your department has been historically poor, then you're going to stay poor," said Robert Antonio, professor of sociology. "Those who have been able to leave and who have wanted to leave have been rewarded with a lot more than they got here."
The amount of annual faculty salary increases is decided by the legislature.
Provost David Shulenburger.
"The state of Kansas just hasn't been able to, or has chosen not to, devote money to salaries," said
But Regents administrators worry that the governor's recommendation would not be enough.
This year, the Board of Regents requested a 4 percent raise for unclassified employees. All state agencies requested a base of 2.5 percent, but the Regents asked for an extra 1.5 percent raise. They hoped that the extra increase would give the state universities a chance to catch up with their peers, but Gov. Bill Graves, shaved a half percent off their request, leaving the Regents with a likely 3.5 percent increase.
"Our increases in the recent years have been fairly modest, and this represents an opportunity for the board to request some additional
Mike Matson, press secretary to Graves, said that the Regents should be happy with the governor's recommendation because there has been a much greater disparity between the two numbers in the past.
In surveys of all faculty salaries, including tenure and non-tenure-track faculty, the University ranked 8th when compared with all Big 12 schools for fiscal year 1996. The American Association of Universities 14-member comparison group ranks Kansas last. And in the AAU 30-member comparison group, the University ranks 29th, surpassing only the University of Oregon.
funds to bring them to a level comparable with other universities and other states," said Barbara Conant, Director of Communications for the Board of Regents.
But even if granted in full, the Regents' request may not be enough to stop potential and existing faculty members from thinking twice about a career at this University.
"We haven't had a large increase in faculty turnover, but we are really concerned about some of the faculty members that we have lost," Shulen-burger said.