■ A refurbished Bezanson Recital Hall set to reopen, page 4 Inside ■ Nurses should be politically active, says alumna, page 5 The Campus Chronicle Vol. XVIII, No. 24 March 7, 2003 for the Amherst campus of the University of Massachusetts News Briefs President’s Office says Faculty forum on war in Iraq scheduled cuts may cost 1,500 jobs Faculty members are in- Daniel J. Fitzgibbons across the higher education sys- vited to present their views CHRONICLE STAFF tem also would be shared region- on the impending war in Iraq ally. at a forum Tuesday, March Gov. Mitt Romney’s proposal The plan also targets the Uni- 11, in 101 Lincoln Campus to reorganize the state public versity President’s Office for clo- Center. The 12:15 p.m. gath- higher education system would sure, a move Romney says would ering is being sponsored by cut the University’s funding by save $14 million, and places all Faculty Senate secretary $65 million and force the layoff of public campuses under a new Ernest May and Massachu- 1,500 employees across the five secretary of education, Peter setts Society of Professors campuses, according to analysis Nessen. president Ron Story. The by the President’s Office. The President’s Office study senate’s presiding officer, According to the analysis, says Romney’s plan will add two Jerry Mileur, will moderate called a “best case scenario,” the layers of “administrative bureau- the discussion. plan would cut funding for the cracy” to higher education by es- Interested faculty may UMass system by 15 percent, tablishing the secretariat of edu- present their view for up to some $15 million more than the cation and seven regional coun- five minutes. The meeting is two previous years combined. cils, which, the report notes, open to the public. The Amherst campus would lose would all require staffing. $30 million, followed by Boston In addition, the President’s Of- Faculty Senate to hear ($10.5 million), Lowell ($9.1 mil- fice contends that the new orga- from Tocco, discuss Tried and true lion) Dartmouth ($6.3 million), and nization would create a “top- science library plan the Medical School ($4.6 million) down management structure” that Students in professor Alan Lutenegger’s Civil and Envi- under the Romney plan, says the Massachusetts Board of ronmental Engineering 121, “Measurements,” use instru- would eliminate campus au- report. Higher Education Chairman ments from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance to tonomy. Each state and commu- Stephen P. Tocco will ad- measure the height of the Du Bois Library. Top, Jill Budget officials say the nity college currently has its own dress the Faculty Senate at Russell and Patrick Langmaid use shepherd’s staffs, and governor’s proposal would also board of trustees, which share its March 13 meeting in 227 Wilfred Morin uses a cross. Below, graduate teaching as- eliminate funding for Common- some governance with the Board Herter Hall and will take sistant Chris Lillis (left), Zach Westgate, and Mike wealth College and the $2 million of Higher Education. questions from the audience. Visniewski employ a quadrant. endowed chair matching funds This week, as Romney admin- Also at the meeting will be program. istration officials began pitching a special report from the Re- The $22.86 billion fiscal 2004 the budget to taxpayers around search Library Council con- state budget filed last week by the state, Nessen said the higher cerning its recommendation Romney calls for $150 million in education system must save $150 to merge the science librar- savings in public higher educa- million and reorganization is the ies by next fall. The senate tion through a combination of re- only road to follow. will hear gional mergers, tuition hikes, fi- He also denied that plans for other spe- nancial aid reductions and the the Amherst campus call for cial reports, gradual elimination of state sup- privatization, the term used by the including port for some schools, such as President’s Office to describe the one from the Medical School, Massachu- plan. the nominat- setts College of Art and Massa- The Romney plan, which ing commit- chusetts Maritime Academy, lead- Nessen told the Springfield tee for sec- ing to their eventual privatization. Union-News that “people are in- retary of the The Amherst campus would terpreting without understand- Stephen P. Tocco senate and become a free-standing, research ing,” has been greeted with skep- one from the Computer and university with its own president ticism by lawmakers and higher Stan Sherer photos Electronic Communications and board of trustees, according education officials. Last week, Committee concerning the to the Romney blueprint. The pro- Rep. John H. Rogers, chairman of implementation of the stu- posal calls for maintaining state the House Ways and Means dent portion of PeopleSoft support for the campus and al- Committee, questioned whether systems. MISER shares trade data lowing the school to retain tu- Romney’s streamlining plans for The meeting is scheduled ition, which would be set to “mar- state government could save to commence at 3:30 p.m. with World Trade Centers ket rates.” The plan also calls for more than $100 million. Rogers, increasing enrollment by 15,000 however, did not rule out consid- No Chronicle during The campus-based Massachu- its comprehensive online trade students over the next few years. eration of any of the governor’s setts Institute for Social and Eco- database, Misertrade. With de- Meanwhile, the Boston, spring break week proposals, including elimination nomic Research (MISER) is sup- tailed date reports, charts and Dartmouth and Lowell campuses of the President’s Office. The Chronicle will not pub- plying trade data information to maps, MISER’s user-friendly would become regional institu- As the state budget process lish during the week of spring the membership of the World online software helps potential tions with strong ties to nearby continues, Rogers’ committee will break, March 16-22. Trade Centers Association exporters locate the best foreign businesses and industries. That develop its own version of a Any notices or items for (WTCA), a New York-based not- markets for their products. move, says the President’s Office, spending plan, which must be ap- that time period should be for-profit organization. “Our new relationship with would diminish the missions of proved by the House before the submitted by 5 p.m. on Fri- Under the agreement, the MISER allows the WTCA to offer the three campuses by making Senate proposes its own budget. day, March 7 for publication WTCA and MISER will cooperate its membership a world-class da- them part of regional “K to job” After both chambers approve in the March 14 issue. in promoting the use of an up-to- tabase management system at a training consortiums. budgets, differences in the two Weekly publication will re- date, comprehensive trade data- discounted price,” said Bob The proposal also would con- bills must be resolved by a joint sume on March 28. The base within the World Trade Cen- DiChiara, executive vice president solidate several state and commu- conference committee before final deadline for that issue is Fri- ters, and connected offices and of the WTCA. “The TradeFlow nity colleges, including Berkshire approval by the Legislature. day, March 21. organizations throughout the Data system is the most compre- Community College and the Mas- Once the measure is passed by News can be sent by e- world. hensive data available to date and sachusetts College of Liberal the Legislature, the bill goes to mail (campus.chronicle@ MISER’s research involves we are pleased to be affiliated Arts; Greenfield and Holyoke the governor, who can veto sec- urd.umass.edu) or fax planning, strategy and forecast- with this organization.” community colleges; and Mount tions, propose changes or sign (7-0044). For information, call ing, with a focus on social, eco- Founded in 1981, MISER is an Wachusett Community College the measure as written. Vetoes are 5-4818. nomic and demographic issues. It interdisciplinary research institute and Fitchburg State College. subject to override by both cham- aids organizations globally with SEE NUMBERS, PAGE 3 Some administrative functions bers. 2 March 7, 2003 The Campus Chronicle Letters ‘Build UMass’ teach-in set for March 11-12 On March 11-12, faculty and graduate provide talking points for use in class dis- students will take part in an in-class “Build cussion. UMass” teach-in. Instructors will take 15 We urge anyone who teaches on Tues- minutes or so of class time to discuss with day, March 11 or Wednesday, March 12 to students the importance of affordable, volunteer to help in this important initia- high-quality public higher education, with tive. Last year’s “Save UMass” effort did manageable fees, an adequate library, and definitely work. While we experienced mid- competitive rates of pay, in the Common- year reductions, the ’03 budget was more wealth of Massachusetts. or less flat in a difficult year. We can do the Participants will invite students to regis- same this year in spite of the tough times. ter to vote, using materials that the gradu- This is a grand venture in practical civic ate students organization will make avail- participation. We hope this effort succeeds able in the classroom. We will give stu- this year. We also hope it encourages stu- dents an opportunity to write to their state dents to be lifelong advocates for this cam- representative urging adequate funding for pus. the campus, using legislative lists and writ- We are inviting President Bulger and his ing materials available in class. We will sug- staff, Chancellor Lombardi and his senior gest that students write home to urge fam- administrators, and officers of the Alumni ily members to write or call their representa- Association to assist the teach-in effort by tives on this important matter, again using attending classes themselves and encour- materials (including stamps) provided free aging students to register to vote and make of charge.