Month: October 2010

By Courtney Flagg

News Editor

The University will begin construction to establish infrastructure for a new academic building and prepare for new student housing as early as spring 2011.

Academic West is advertised as “a first-class learning, teaching and research facility” that will “mark the extension of the academic life of campus south of the library on the great model of the classic academic quad at the heart of the University,” according to a fundraising booklet from Development and Alumni Relations.

The Board of Trustees approved the University’s decision to proceed with preparations for Academic West in September, said Tom Evelyn, senior director of news and media relations.

The Board’s discussion of Academic West began with the completion of the campus master plan several years ago.

“We will host a groundbreaking for this infrastructure development on Saturday, Nov. 13, during the next Board of Trustees meeting,” Evelyn said.

The total estimated cost of Academic West, based on current tentative construction plans, is approximately $24 million.

“It is the University’s intention that the cost of the building, either in whole or in significant part, will be funded by donors at various levels of giving who invest in this important academic facility,” Evelyn said.

The University has already received a significant gift from a “friend of the University” totaling $6 million that will be applied to construction of the complex.

“The University is currently conducting an aggressive fundraising effort for the remaining costs of the facility, including discussions with a variety of potential donors about ways they may want to fund the building’s construction, including such opportunities that would provide for naming the building itself, various classrooms and laboratories in the building and other spaces that donors can help name with generous contributions,” Evelyn said.

Key features of Academic West include an added 70,000 square feet of space to the University’s catalog of classrooms, offices, laboratories and meeting areas and a three-story building that will form the west side of the new social science quad extending south from Bertrand Library.

Academic West will include a Geographic Information Systems Lab, a Geography lab, a teaching/research lab, an extra-large classroom, three conference rooms, four large classrooms, four medium classrooms and four hearth spaces as well as a needed supply of 59 faculty offices as well as various new classrooms.

“To suit different purposes, several classrooms in Academic West will feature tiered seating that can accommodate a lecture or create an intimate environment for a seminar,” according to the fundraising document.

The construction of Academic West will provide some difficulty.

“Any new construction project unfortunately leads to some inconvenience for people in that area, such as construction noises and interference with parking. The University will do its best to minimize the inconvenience as it develops these important additions to the University’s campus,” Evelyn said.

Two fraternities, Kappa Delta Rho and Lambda Chi Alpha, need to be relocated for Academic West to begin construction. The University is working out arrangements for doing so with representatives of both fraternities, as residents need to be moved to new houses further south of Bertrand Library.

Construction of the new “loop” road, site preparation and fraternity relocation will begin this spring and is anticipated to end late next fall. Construction on Academic West and new student housing is expected to begin spring 2012 and will likely be completed during summer 2013.

Construction dates of Academic East and the new Arts Building have yet to be determined.

The goal is to complete fundraising for Academic West so that the building can open by fall 2013.

By Rob Duffy

Managing Editor

A special committee formed to address the role of athletics at the University reaffirmed a policy of spending $3 of merit aid for non-athletes for each $1 spend on merit aid for athletes.

Provost Mick Smyer presented the committee’s conclusions and sought feedback at a campus forum on Friday in the Elaine Langone Center Forum.

According to Smyer, the three-to-one ratio was created as an “aspiration” rather than a concrete rule. Smyer said the University has now reached that target and will attempt to keep it in place in the future.

The discussion was partially prompted by an ongoing debate within the Patriot League over the advantages and disadvantages of awarding merit aid to athletes. The presidents from the Patriot League schools will meet in December to consider whether to change league policy to allow for merit aid for football players. Currently 10 sports at the University offer merit aid; football does not.

Smyer said the committee aimed to reach general conclusions rather than solve specific issues like merit aid in football, which will be the subject of a separate campus forum in the future.

He said that any changes to the aid policy will not likely affect the University’s “discount rate,” the average student’s reduction from the full price of tuition due to scholarships or other financial aid. According to Smyer, the current discount rate is roughly 30 percent.

“Our projections are not that that’s going to go down at all, but if anything we’ll have to increase that due to the competition of the marketplace,” Smyer said.

The committee’s full report can be accessed from the President’s netspace.

Some audience members expressed frustration with the report’s scope and conclusions.

George Exner, professor of mathematics, questioned Smyer’s claim that the three-to-one ratio had been met. According to Exner, the ratio’s original purpose was to establish a predominance of academics and performing arts over athletics, but since its inception, a disproportionate amount of merit aid has gone to the Posse Scholars. Subtracting the Posse Scholars brings the ratio closer to two-to-one.

Exner also questioned whether credible evidence exists that the University meets the Patriot League’s goal of “having student-athletes who are academically representative of their institutions.”

Ben Marsh, professor of geography and environmental studies, said the report avoided its stated purposes. The report begins with four questions, among them “What role should intercollegiate and intramural athletics play in the life of the University?” and “What are the advantages and disadvantages of participating at the Division I level?,” but it does not appear to address non-varsity athletics or consider any alternatives to Division I or the Patriot League.

“I’m disappointed we lost an opportunity to have a discussion of this promise,” Marsh said.

Prior to the forum, Marsh sent a message to the faculty ListServ criticizing the committee and report.

“The report seems to have been shaped from the start to support illimitable investment in athletics, without consideration of the impact of that investment on the rest of the student body or even on athletics itself,” Marsh said.

Other audience members noted that by failing to truly address the role of athletics at the University, the report failed to recognize one of the University’s greatest strengths.

“Athletics works better here than just about everywhere else,” said Carl Milofsky, professor of sociology. “[Being Division I] gives high-quality athletes an opportunity to compete at a level they want to be at and still be serious students. We should be putting that front and center.”

By Mike McPhee

Senior Writer

For members of historically African American fraternities and sororities, membership is a commitment that lasts a lifetime, said a prominent African American author.

Dr. Lawrence Ross Jr., a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and author of the book “The Divine Nine: The History of African American Fraternities and Sororities,” spoke to a crowd of predominantly Greek students in the Weis Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday night.

“With African American fraternal organizations, it is built to be a lifetime love of activity … Our response will always be I AM a member, in the present tense,” Ross said. “Our leadership cannot stop once we get our degree.”

Ross said the historical origins of National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) fraternal organizations fostered their characteristic lifelong membership. The nine historically African American fraternities and sororities, nicknamed “The Divine Nine” in his book, were a way for African Americans in higher education to develop leadership, become first-class citizens and end discrimination.

Ross said it is the responsibility of fraternity and sorority members to uphold the ideals that their founders laid out for their institutions.

“When you are initiated into your organization, you have now told the world that you are about to follow the principles and ideals that your fathers created over 100 years ago. That means they expect you to actually live up to those principles—and living up to those principles is not a part-time job,” Ross said.

Despite the differences between “The Divine Nine” and other fraternities, Ross had other advice that was applicable to all Greeks. Using his past experiences as a guide, he warned students about the dangers of the “slippery slope” leading to hazing and about the importance of not becoming preoccupied with social events.

“The weak links are the ones who give us our reputations,” Ross said, adding that students should remember that they are constantly representing their Greek organization and must be consistent in their behavior.

“You cannot mold a person; you can grow a person. That’s the beauty of fraternalism,” he said.

Although he was advertised to the campus community as a “diversity speaker,” Ross did not directly speak on the topic of diversity in the Greek system at the University. The only NPHC fraternity with an active chapter at the University is Kappa Alpha Psi.

“My impression of the reaction of many students was that the idea of ‘black’ Greek organizations is racist, and therefore undermined the notion of the lecture as a ‘diversity speech.’ Students should also understand that the existence of historically African American fraternities and sororities stems from a long history of discrimination and the culture has been built up around that history,” Matt Tilford ’11 said. “While Ross’ talk may not have been very equitable in tone, it certainly still accomplished its goal of discussing diversity.”

By Courtney Flagg

News Editor

People need to listen to their inner voice to be successful, said Edward Herrmann ’65 in an interview last Saturday afternoon before his production of “Mazurka: My Friend Chopin.”

Herrmann was on campus for Family Weekend to play the role of August Franchomme in “Mazurka: My Friend Chopin.” Despite his exhausting day, Herrmann took time out of his busy schedule to answer some questions regarding acting, the University and the future of students.

“I honestly don’t remember the last time I was at Bucknell and actually got to experience the campus life. I’ve been back here a number of times. My daughter went here; she was a part of the dance program. My niece went here and she was captain of the rowing team,” Herrmann said.

Herrmann, probably most known by students as the grandfather on the sitcom “Gilmore Girls,” began acting his first year at the University.

“I was asked to take part in a production by some of the guys in my fraternity. I played a soldier in ‘Macbeth.’ Back then the theater didn’t have its own department like it does today; it was part of the English Department. So, after appearing in multiple different productions on campus, I switched my major from history to English,” Herrmann said.

“Theater seemed to be something that I could do. After Bucknell, I applied to Yale [theater school]. I ended up getting a Fulbright scholarship to The London Academy of the Dramatic Arts. In 1970 I went to New York. And that, I guess, that is the story of me,” he said.

Fame did not necessarily come easily to Herrmann, who worked very hard to master his craft. One of Herrmann’s most beloved gifts to the University is a collection books located in the Vaughan Literature Library.

“On the second bay on the left, there are a bunch of books by English authors that I got secondhand. That was my first donation to the University and I was very proud of it,” Herrmann said.

It was hard for Herrmann to name some of his favorite roles and productions because as it soon became clear, he loves acting too much to choose only one role. He did like working on “Gilmore Girls” but felt that, as in most successful television series, actors “can become ‘lazy’ because the writers begin to write your character to your own personality.”

Herrmann said that if students want to get into the business, it is important they receive the proper training.

“Learn how to do it [acting]. Harvey Powers gave me some really great advice when I was studying here. I did a production of ‘Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama’s Hung You in the Closet and I’m Feeling So Sad,’ which is a vicious satire. Everyone thought I did an excellent job and were telling me to go straight into the business. And Harvey…said I needed proper training,” Herrmann said.

“If you want to go into film editing and style, you want to go to a good film school. Some people choose UCLA over Wesleyan (which happens to have one of the best film programs in the country) but this isn’t always a good thing. When you’re surrounded by Hollywood, the business aspect of film surrounds you. It’s hard for you to develop your own voice, to figure out what story you want to tell,” Herrmann said.

Herrmann said it is critically important to find out what you are drawn to, no matter what it may be, and follow that.

“Choose what draws you. What’s the music that sings to you? This school gave me some excellent things. I had some excellent classes, some excellent teachers and professors, each of which, in teaching me about English and history, taught me something about myself because they helped me realize what I love to do. It’s important that you define your own journey. No one else can,” Herrmann said.