1996_01 The Daily Collegian January 1996

              News
THE DAILY
COLLEGIAN
Monday, January 29,1996
President greets new semester with optimism
Welty balances budget problems, low enrollment and higher
student to teacher ratios with a student fee freeze and the
possibility of increased state funding        _^
By Majthew Hart
Senior Staff Writer
Unlike past years. President
John Welty's address to the Faculty
and Staff Assembly last Friday had
an air of optimism and confidence.
For approximately an hour Welty
put a silver lining on the past five
years of budget clouds.
Faculty and staff filled the Sat¬
ellite Student Union at nine in the
moming to listen to Welty expand
on the ideas sent forth in his letter
that was issued January 22.
Welty's speech stressed that now
is a time of transition for the uni¬
versity. He said that since the funds
of six years ago are no longer a re¬
ality, the need for efficiency is more
important and that the staff has done
a good job of working towards
greater productivity.
The major emphasis in the let¬
ter and the speech was the budget.
Welty highlighted die last five years
and how they compare to this year.
Welty said that although over the
five years purchasing power has
declined, enrollment has dropped
and $1 million dollars in deferred
maintenance has occurred, the fu¬
ture does look brighter.
One point of optimism is that the
governor's budget for this year will
not increase student fees, and that
if the university meets certain re¬
quirements, like increased atten¬
dance, then there will be extra
money available.
Welty said that the extra money
could be used to expand technol¬
ogy on campus. In the letter a strong
need was expressed for a new pro¬
gram to handle student records and
evaluations. The current system
will not be able to operate past the
year 2000, due to date-management
limitations. The letter lists the costs
for upgrading at $1-2 million over
three years.
The extra money could also be
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that 3,500 people will read every
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the campus.
PREREQUISITE: ADRENALINE
Drive. Intensity. Those aren't words you're likely to see in
many course requirements.Then again, Army ROTC is unlike any
other elective. Its hands-on excitement.
ROTC will challenge you mentally and physically through
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seldom use. But they're the credits you need to succeed in life.
Find out more. Co nt act Captain Jon Buonerba at North Gym,
Room 211 or call 278-5458/2887.
ARMY ROTC
used to expand technology in other
areas, such as the library and
teacher workstations.
On the darker side of Welty's
semester-opening remarks, are the
recognition of problems in federal
government and me implications of
cuts in federal aid for students.
Welty also said that the state of
California has not focused on sev¬
eral major structural problems.
Other problems Welty cited
were the decline of tenure track fac¬
ulty and student enrollment. The
number of administrators has also
declined by 23.9 percent due to re¬
structuring.
However Welty made sure the
audience saw the high points of the
year to come. High expansion and
increased revenues have had their
effects. Welty said nearly $51 mil¬
lion has been raised in private sup¬
port.
Welty said that with faculty
numbers dropping faster than en-
Welty's
speech to
the faculty
and staff
presented
both
positives
and
negatives
rollment numbers, the ratio of stu¬
dents to teachers has resulted in
larger classes. While complaints
have been made about this, Welty
said it was a transition into greater
'productivity' and efficiency.
Welty also made the point of rec¬
ognizing faculty and staff efforts.
He cited several students and
alumni who testified that people on
campus had changed their lives for
the better.
The speech also put emphasis on
other projects that need looking at.
Reviewing the needs of the library
and its future requirements was one.
The work of the General Education
Task Force was also citecCand
Welty mentioned the need to revise
the GE structure sometime in die
next few years.
Another point made was the is¬
sue of remedial education and the
attempts to reduce the number of
classes aimed at making students
ready for college level work. Un¬
der-educated students at the high
school level were singled out for
needing improvement, and Welty
pledged a desire to help schools in
the area to get students ready for
college.
One last point Welty made was
the need to increase morale on cam¬
pus. He said a sense of community
was needed, and that he wanted to
foster a feeling mat 'we are in this
together.'
Director of Disabled Student
Services Robert Lundal said the
president's speech reflected opti¬
mism for the coming years.
"We've been down so long, it
looks up from here," Lundal said.
Lundal also said he was happy
at Welty's recognition of the prob¬
lems that the CSU system has suf¬
fered through the past few years.
Health counselor Sam Gitchel
said he was happy to see increased
funding from the state legislature
and that die plans for staff support
were encouraging.
PROV'
WARDS
FOR
Call for Nominations!!!
NCE
The Committee for the Provost's Awards for
Excellence in Teaching is announcing the call
for nominations/The deadline for nominating
a faculty member is February 15, 1996.
Nomination forms are available in Department/
School offices and should be turned in to the
Office of the Provost before the deadline.
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