The Reporter, June 1984

The Reporter is a publication produced by Western Carolina University featuring news, events, and campus community updates for faculty and staff. The publication began in August of 1970 and continues digitally today. Click on the link in the “Related Materials” field to access recent issues.A Weekly Newsletter for the Faculty and Staff of Western Carolina University Cullowhee, North Carolina June 4, 1984 TOP AWARDS GIVEN IN MAY Western presented its top year-end awards May 12 to Marilyn Jody, Frank Prochaska, Cecil Ward, and E. Owen Aldridge. Dr. Jody and Ward were winners of $1,000 Paul A. Reid Distin­guished Service Awards. Dr. Prochaska was the winner of the $1,000 1984 Chancellor's Distin­guished Teaching Award, and Aldridge was selected to re­ceive the first $500 Recogni­tion Award for Outstanding Sup­port Personnel. The awards were announced by Chancellor Robinson at the annual dinner that also recog­nizes WCU honor graduates and Dr. Robinson and honorees Dr. Jody, their families and retiring Dr. Prochaska, Ward, and Aldridge faculty and staff members. Dr. Jody, who received the Paul A. Reid Award in the faculty category, is professor of English. In 17 years at Western, she has served in several administrative posts, including head of the department of English, and has won many awards. She is currently president of the N.C. Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages and immediate past president of the South Atlantic Modern Language Association's Women's Caucus. She coordinated WCU's participation in a nationwide Academic Program Evaluation Project for the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and most recently, while teaching and authoring several successful grant proposals, led a three—year effort that resulted in WCU becoming the first institution in North Carolina to offer an accredited program in teaching English as a second language. Dr. Prochaska, assistant professor in the department of chemistry, won the Chancellor's Distinguished Teaching Award. Since joining the WCU faculty in 1978, Dr. Prochaska has been a leader in research activities. He has secured grants and awards to purchase or construct some $60,000 in apparatus in his laboratory. However, Saturday's award, for which he was nominated by both students and colleagues, was for his classroom teaching. "Chemistry has a reputation among students for being difficult," Dr. Prochaska said. "In all ray classes, I have found that what appear to be 'difficult' topics in chemistry can often be effectively taught by decomposing them into simpler component subjects involving, for example, math, physics, or elementary chemistry. I first review these component subjects separately to refresh the memories -2- of the students. I then combine these topics together to form the original topic. Students frequently tell me they find my reviews of these component areas very helpful, and that understanding chemistry is not at all impossible, as they had feared," Dr. Prochaska said. Ward, director of food service, won the Paul A. Reid Award for administrative staff. Ward began working in food service 27 years ago as a stock clerk and rose through the ranks to head the Western operation which employs 200, has a $3 million budget and serves about 8,000 meals each day in two cafeterias. He is particularly well known for his food service at hundreds of special events held at WCU, such as the dinner at which he won the award. Ward, for example, personally cooks the barbecue that has be­come standard fare at Mountain Heritage Day for its thousands of guests. Dr. Robinson praised Ward, who is also active in community and professional organizations, for his dedication and untiring efforts over endless hours and for his pursuit of excellence. Aldridge, who won the first award for support personnel, is a housekeeping supervisor in WCU's Physical Plant with nearly 19 years service and was nominated for the award by more than nine different people. In the nominations, Aldridge was called "a depend­able person who never asks you to do what he wouldn't do...loyal, obliging, who is always willing to help at any time, whether it's his job or not... encouraging, fair, and respected... and a thoroughbred." Robinson said he was especially pleased to make the first award to Aldridge because he represents the qualities the award seeks to recognize, qualities that "make so much difference, but often must seem unrecognized." CANDIDATES' NAMES SENT TO UNC PRESIDENT Names of two candidates have been sent to President William Friday by the WCU board of trustees. President Friday's choice is subject to approval of the governors. Under the UNC system, Dr. Friday is assist­ed in the selection of new chancellors by a process that provides for a search commit­tee at the local campus level. That commit­tee, including trustees, faculty members, and the student body and alumni association presidents, conducts the initial screening and makes recommendations to the local board of trustees. That board, in turn, must send at least two nominees to Friday, who may accept one or renew the search through the local committee and board. The WCU search committee at one point had 181 names of prospective candidates. Four came to the campus in late April and early May for a series of interviews. They are Myron L. Coulter, president of Idaho State University at Pocatello; J. Wade Gilley, senior vice-president of George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.; E. Walton Jones, UNC system vice-president for research and public service programs; and Roy E. McTarnaghan, vice-chancellor for academic programs of the State University System of Florida in Tallahassee. Recommendations were made to the trustees at their regular meeting May 10 by the search committee headed by Wallace N. Hyde of Asheville, board chairman. Dr. Hyde said neither the committee's recommenda­tions nor the board's final selection would be made public. In other actions, the board approved a capi­tal improvements request for the 1985-87 biennium and heard reports from Vice- Chancellor C.J. Carter on other university business matters (see Announcements, p. 4). Eugene E. McDowell, director of the UNC Graduate Center in Asheville, told the board that President Friday sees the center "as a cost-effective way to bring graduate education to Asheville...." Dr. McDowell said the center is seen by President Friday as the best way to provide programs as they are needed without establishing permanent faculty in Asheville. He said President Friday sees no diminishing of Western Carolina University's role in Asheville "in any way.... Western's role in Asheville will continue as it has in the past." Dr. McDowell said plans for new graduate pro­grams in Asheville currently include bring­ing a field-based doctoral program in educa­tional administration to Asheville in cooperation with Western Carolina and UNC-Greensboro. -3- rCuuomee Musk festiva The 10th annual Cullowhee Music Festival offers a brand new feature, the Young Artists Competition, in addition to the many programs of music daily June 10-24. The program opener will feature the five finalists, singers 21-28 years old. The finals will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, June 10, in the Music-English Recital Hall. Another new feature will be WCU Faculty and Staff Night at the opera. Each faculty and staff member is being given two tickets for the Sunday, June 17, performance of "The Barber of Seville." It will be necessary to exchange the free vouchers for reserved tickets, since all Hoey Auditorium seats are reserved. The performance begins at 8. Other festival programs will include per­formances by internationally recognized pi­anist Enid Katahn, the Smoky Mountain British Brass Band, and the festival orches­tra and chamber ensembles. This year's fes­tival musical is "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown." The new competition, designed to feature young artists on the brink of professional careers, offers a first prize of $1,500 and cash awards to all finalists. The finalists are baritone Robin Rice of Longview, Texas; soprano Myra Vassian of Cullowhee; soprano Jacquelyn Culpepper of Atlanta; coloratura soprano Irene Breitbeck of Massene, N.Y. ; and mezzo soprano Kathryn Hartgrove of Greensboro. They were judged by nationally recognized performers and teachers Walter Carringer, James Dooley, Roger Havranek, Jeanette Lombard, and Tom Tyra, festival artistic director and head of WCU's music department. Dr. Tyra will again be principal conductor for the festival. He has held that post since 1979. In keeping with the festival's tradition of taking music to the people, the 1984 schedule of orchestral concerts, recitals, and stage productions includes performances in Highlands, Franklin, Sapphire, Lake Junaluska, and Cullowhee. Guest artist Ms. Katahn will give three performances in Sapphire, Lake Junaluska, and Cullowhee, including Liszt's "Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Flat" with the festival orchestra. A faculty member at the Blair School of Music in Nashville, Tenn., she has been described as "a pianist of remarkable accomplishment." Her 1982-83 season included performances in London, Brussels, and New York. A Memphis music critic recently described her "sparkling performance marked both by crisp technique and charisma rarely seen on the concert stage." Her Cullowhee performances include a solo concert Friday, June 15, and a concert with the festival orchestra Saturday, June 23, both at 8 p.m. in the Music-English Recital Hall. Several guest artists—including Havranek, Robert Holquist, Rebecca Johnson, William McDonald, William McGraw, and Deidra Palmour—will perform lead roles in Rossini's "The Barber of Seville," which will be performed in a 3 p.m. matinee Saturday, June 16, as well as the following night's special event for WCU personnel. The musical comedy, based on the "Peanuts" comic strip, will be performed June 11-12 and 19-21 in the L ittle Theatre here. All performances begin at 8 p.m. A Young Performers Showcase at 8 p.m. June 18 and June 20 in the Music Recital Hall will feature young professionals in a vari­ety of musical selections. Other Cullowhee concerts include the festi­val chamber ensembles June 19 and 21, and the festival orchestra playing "pops" June 22, at 8 p.m. in the Music Recital Hall. The Smoky Mountain British Brass Band will provide the rousing finale Sunday, June 24. at 8 p.m. in the Music Recital Hall. For more information on times and ticket prices, call ext. 7242. -4- ANNOUNCEMENTS HUNTER LIBRARY IS ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS for faculty study rooms. Faculty members may obtain application forms from their de-parment heads and send them to William Kirwan, University Librarian, Hunter Library. Deadline for receipt of applica­tions for summer session is June 8. EXCEL, THE SATURDAY MORNING EXERCISE CLASS for Elders sponsored by CIML, will begin its fourth summer session June 9 at Re id Gym. It meets from 9 a.m. until noon and is open to adults over 55 who would like to participate in healthy, recreational fun and interaction with others. EXCEL partici­pants and WCU students engage in warm-up exercises followed by activities such as bowling, swimming, and walking. Each meet­ing ends with a short presentation. Cost is $2 per Saturday or $16 for the 8-week summer series which meets June 9, 16, 23, 30; July 7, 14, 21, 28. FACULTY MEMBERS ARE INVITED TO SHARE THEIR special interests by presenting a one-hour program for EXCEL participants. If inter­ested, contact Karen Paquette, student di­rector for the CIML program, at ext. 7492. WCU IS PREPARING A PLAN TO USE ITS REFUND from Nantahala Power and Light, according to Vice-Chance 1lor C.J. Carter. He told the trustees that the plan would provide re­funds to eligible customers and upgrading of the WCU electrical resale system. The latter would be paid for from funds repre­senting overcharges to WCU that WCU did not pass on to its customers. Dr. Carter also said work on the Liston B. Ramsey Regional Activity Center was still behind schedule, with late spring 1985 now projected for its completion. Two shifts are now at work. CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS REQUESTS FOR 1985-87 of between $5.25 million and $6 million, de­pending on yet-to-be-issued budget guide­lines, have been approved by the board of trustees. Included is $739,000 for roof replacement and repair and general renova­tion of Camp Lab School; installation of a broadband cable system, $293,000; renova­tion of McKee, $883,000; completion of Belk, including air conditioning, $755,000; renovation of Breese, $450,000. Also, vari­ous renovations and installations of heat­ing, sewer, electrical, and metering sys­tems, $1,709,800; renovations of the WCU Building at Oteen, $397,000. MEDIA CENTER OPERATING HOURS FOR THE SUMMER are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Those picking up equipment for use over the weekend should do so not later than 5 p.m. Fridays. "TINY TOT" SWIM LESSONS WILL BE OFFERED for children from six months to five years of age June 18-29 at Breese Pool. Each late afternoon class will last two weeks. Class size is limited; call ext. 7332 or visit Room 11 in Reid Gym to reserve space. A parent must enter the water with the child. NAMES IN THE NEWS OTTO SPILKER (Health, Physical Education, and Recreation) helped train 10 candidates May 5-6 for the new national Red Cross Lifeguarding Instructor program. On May 6, he taught a Swimming Pool Operators course at Greenville (S.C.) Technical College with Jim Pope of Clemson's faculty. SCOTT HIGGINS (director, Health Services Management and Supervision) was invited to address the 1984 Annual Meeting of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration April 27 on the "Role of Education in Preparing People for Mid-level Management" in Washington, D.C. He spoke on a similar topic to the Task Force on Undergraduate Education April 28. THOMAS TYRA (head, Music) attended the annual meeting of the N.C. Association of Music Schools at Warren Wilson College April 6. At the meeting he was elected president of the association for 1984-85. DON KELLEY (associate director for human re­sources, CIML) has been elected chairman of the Region A Advisory Council on Aging. The council has 24 members, three from each of the seven far western North Carolina counties and three from the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians. Council members ad­vise on the annual allocation of $570,000 in Older Americans Act funds to benefit the region's people age 60 and older. GLENN HARDESTY, SHIRLEY KOOL, and SUE TANNER (Student Financial Aid) attended the conference of the N.C. Association of Stu­dent Financial Aid Administrators at Wrightsville Beach April 29-May 1. Hardesty served as vice president of the association this year. He conducted a training session for new aid officers. Mrs. Kool presented a workshop on Work-Study. A Weekly Newsletter for the Faculty and Staff of Western Carolina University Cullowhee, North Carolina June 15, 1984 IDAHO STATE UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT NAMED CHANCELLOR OF WESTERN CAROLINA WILMINGTON — Myron L. Coulter, president of Idaho State University in Pocatello, was named chancellor of Western Carolina University last Friday. His appointment by University of North Carolina President William Friday, effec­tive Aug. 1, was approved here at the June meeting of the UNC Board of Governors. Dr. Coulter was selected from more than 180 candidates. He will succeed H.F. Robinson, chancellor since 1974, who retires July 31. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Indiana State Teachers College, Dr. Coulter is widely experienced in regional university ad­ministration, international programs, and public education. He holds both the master*s degree and doctorate from Indiana University. Before becoming chief administrative offi­cer in 1976 of Idaho State, a 7,200-student campus, third largest in Idaho, Dr. Coulter was vice president for administration (1974- 76) and vice president for institutional services (1968-74) of Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. In 1974, he was interim president. Earlier, at Pennsylvania State University, he was a member of the education faculty and director of Penn State's Latin American Education Project, conducted in collabora­tion with the U.S. Agency for International Development. In 1981 he was one of 15 university presi­dents who were delegates to the P eople's Republic of China to negotiate science pro­grams for Chinese graduate students in U.S. universities. In 1976, he was one of several university presidents from the Northwest to serve as official delegates to the Isr aeli Universi­ties Study Group to become acquainted with Israeli leaders and that nation's system of higher education. He was a visiting j professor at the University of Alaska in 1965 and returned to Alaska ; in 1 969 as a spe­cial consultant to ; the Point Barrow School of Eskimo I and Indian chi1- dren, sponsored by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Both of the insti­tutions at which Dr. Coulter has most of his experi­ence have well-developed graduate programs. Idaho State has studies at the doctoral level and at Western Michigan, Dr. Coulter from 1966 to 1968 was associate dean and professor in the College of Education with responsibility for the master's and doctor­al programs. Friday said Coulter's range of experience "provides an unusually close and fortunate parallel to the development of Western Carolina University, with its emphasis on regional service, the p rograms it has developed in international education and service, and its broad array of programs in various fields of graduate work. He is well fitted to provide strong leadership for the continued development of the university." -2- The Idaho State president was one of two final candidates recommended earlier to President Friday by the W CU board of trustees. Wallace N. Hyde of Asheville, board chairman, reported on that search to the Board of Governors. He praised Dr. Friday's and the governors' choice of Dr. Coulter: "We are getting the right man for Western Carolina University. He has an outstanding background of experience. I am very optimistic about his continuing the progress we have had under Dr. Robinson." Dr. Coulter was unable to be at the Board of Governors meeting because of a previous­ly scheduled meeting in Boise of the Idaho State foundation board. In a statement is­sued there, he said "my wife and I are very excited about the prospect of coming to Cullowhee, and the assumption of the chan­cellorship. "Long ago, I made a commitment to the con­cept of regional institutions, because I be lieve that the regional institution is one of the essential parts of our American sys­tem of higher education...Western Carolina is one of those strong regional universi­ties and I commend my distinguished prede­cessor, Chancellor Robinson, and my new col­leagues on the faculty and staff, as well as the governing boards of the university, for developing Western Carolina into a wide­ly known regional institution of good repu­tation." He said "it is my plan and hope that this growth will continue and increase, and that as opportunities arise for innovation in education in North Carolina, our university will be an integral part of those develop­ments." Dr. Coulter served as a consultant to national public schools in Guatemala, Costa Rica, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, countries in an area where WCU has had overseas educational work since the late 1960s. In China, Western has an exchange relationship with the University of Yunnan. A specialist in elementary education and reading, Dr. Coulter has written extensive­ly in both fields. Two of his books, "Sight­ings" and "Soundings," were published as textbooks in 1979 by Rand McNally. He for- STATEMENT BY DR. MYRON L. COULTER, CHANCELLOR-ELECT My wife and I are very excited about the prospect of coming to Cullowhee and the assumption of the chancellorship of Western Carolina University. We have found numerous parallels between Western Carolina University and those institutions in Michigan and Idaho at which we have served. Long ago, I made a commitment to the concept of regional institutions, because I believe that the regional institution is one of the essential parts of our American system of higher education. Indeed, it is playing a distinctive and foundational role in the life of our nation. The regional institution is still going through many of the stages of development that our flagship institutions experienced in an earli­er time. For me, there is a particular excitement in being involved in this evo­lutionary process. It fits well with an educator's background and interests to be building and providing educational opportunities. I see Western Carolina University as one of those strong regional universities. It has shown good, steady growth and I commend my distinguished predecessor, Chancellor Robinson, and my new colleagues on the faculty and staff, as well as the governing boards of the university, for their farsightedness in developing Western Carolina University into a regional institution of widely known good reputation. It is ray plan and hope that this growth will continue and increase, and that as opportunities arise for innovation in education in North Carolina, our universi­ty will be an integral part of those developments. The university has already established itself as a well-known, forward-looking institution and all of our energies and abilities will be devoted to the m aintenance of the high quality that has been established among the faculty, the staff, and the students. -3- merly was a member of the board of direc­tors of the National Clearinghouse on Re­search in Reading, A former high school coach, Dr. Coulter is a member of the Com­mittee on Division I Intercollegiate Athletics of the American Council on Educ