New Mexico profs move against presidentALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Jan. 31, 2009 -- Professors at the University of New Mexico, upset at salary increases for university executives, have called a meeting to consider a vote of no confidence in the university president and other leaders. Faculty concern erupted after a revelation that university has committed $4.1 million more to executive compensation than it did six years ago -- a 71 percent increase. The revelation came after university President Dave Schmidly had suspended faculty promotions and raises because of a a $450 million shortfall. In the face of the growing faculty dissatisfaction, university President Dave Schmidly, who makes $587,000, now has frozen executive salaries, including his own.
WSU SECURITY REPORT
JAN. 31, 2009
Several students cited for alcohol in the Sheehan dorm at 2:11 a.m.
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| BASKETBALL (MEN'S)
JAN. 31, 2009
WSU 101. Upper Iowa 57 |
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| BASKETBALL (WOMEN'S)
JAN. 31, 2009
WSU 83, Upper Iowa 62 |
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WSU SECURITY REPORT
JAN. 30, 2009
An ambulance was called responded to Wabasha Hall at 10 a.m. for a student with an ellergic reaction and took the student to the hospital.
A student was cited at 1:54 a.m. for a housing violation in the Quad dorm.
Several students cited at 9:26 p.m. for alcohol in the Quad dorm.
Individuals were cited at 8:39 p.m. for alcohol in the Prentiss-Lucas dorm.
Several students cited at 8:29 p.m. for alcohol in the Prentiss-Lucas dorm.
A student was transported to the hospital for a probem reported at 11:48 p.m.
At 5:38 p.m. a student reported breakin a window in the Prentiss-Lucas dorm when opening a door.
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Assault reported outside Schyde's| WINONA, Minn., Jan. 29, 2009 -- A Winona man, Jamie Roy Olsen, told police he was assaulted by two men early Thursday in a parking lot outside Schyde's bar as he and a womanfriend were leaving the bar. Police said they have the names of assailants. Olsen did not require hospitalization, police said. |
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SCHYDE'S
102 Johnson St. |
WSU SECURITY REPORT
JAN. 29, 2009
At 4 p.m. an individual was reported harassing peole in the Library.
A student was cited at 10:30 p.m. for a housing violation in the Quad dorm.
A suspicious individual in the Lourdes dorm at 5:58 p.m. Security guards weres unable to locate the individual.
Several students were cited at 9:35 p.m. for drugs in the Lourdes dorm.
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Drugs found in drunken-driving arrestWINONA, Minn., Jan. 29, 2009 -- A Winona State University Student was arrested for drunken driving and possessing the illegal recreational drug Ecstacy late Wednesday night. police said. The arrest was made after the student, a 20-year-old woman, drove into the ditch at Lake Boulevard and Huff Street, police said. Her blood alcohol measured of .10, which is more than the legal limit. Police said they found six Ecstasy pills.
Senate dawdles on raising student-aid limitsWASHINGTON, Jan. 29, 2009 -- The U.S. Senate is taking its time on whether to increase the maximums for tuition and textbook assistance to needy college students. The House approved new higher maximums earlier in the week, but a Senate bill does not have the provisions written in at this point. College lobbyists, including the U.S. Student Association, are lobbying with the argument that colleges will need to hike tuition unless aid maximums are increased. Also, they argue that there would be more student indebtedness and that some students would be priced of higher education.
The House-approved changes would raise the maximum amounts that undergrads could borrow in unsubsidized Stafford Loans by $2,000 a year. About 60 percent of undergrads graduate with debt. The average debt is $22,700.
Background: House OKs aid for needy college students
Education lobbying cracks $100 million
WASHINGTON, Jan. 29, 2009 -- Colleges and other educational entities spent more than $102 million to lobby Congress and federal agencies last year, topping $100 million for the first time, the Center for Responsive Politics reported. Only six other lobbying categories spent more, the center said. Most of the spending by educational entities came from higher-ed, not el-hi entities. The biggest lobbying spender was the State University of New York system at $1.6 million Next were Corinthian Colleges, $1.3 million, and the University of Texas, $1.2 million.
Police find car on snow bank, drunk studentWINONA, Minn., Jan. 29, 2009 -- A Winona State University sophomore was cited fro underage boozing after she and her father got into a car accident early Thursday morning. Two citations were issued against the woman, one for minor consumption, the other minor possession of alcohol. after police were summoned around 1 a.m. to Seventh and Walnut streets for a stuck on top of a snow bank, Deputy Police Chief Tom Williams said. Although the father was driving, the woman, age 20, was given a breathalyzer test and blew 0.21, just under three times the legal limit,W WIlliam said. Police found several cans of beer and a bottle of rum.
Scandal-racked Oral Roberts names new leader
TULSA, Okla., Jan. 28, 2009 -- Oral Roberts University has a new president, Mark Rutland, who is now president of Southeastern University, to replace Richard Roberts, who resigned 1-1/2 years ago amid allegations of diverting university resources for political activities and an extravagant lifestyle. Rutland has been president of Southeastern for 10 years. Rutland's record at Southeastern, a Christian institution in Lakeland, Fla., includes financial stability and tripling its enrollment 3,000 students.
Background: Oral Roberts president steps down
House OKs aid for needy college studentsWASHINGTON, Jan. 28, 2009 -- The U.S. House passed an economic recovery package that includes a tuition tax break for almost four million low-income and middle-income college students. The provision would allow students who do not owe taxes to receive a refund of as much as 40 percent of the maximum credit -- or $1,000. A similar proposal in the Senate would allow 30 percent -- or $750. The bills are designed to help students who most need financial help. Both the House and Senate bills would also increase the maximum tax credit from $1,800 to $2,500. Course materials and textbooks would be included.
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CAMPUS SAFETY
Tunnels to offer alternative
to crossing the tracks to get across campus
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WSU to build pedestrian tunnels this summerWINONA, Minn., Jan. 27, 2009 -- Despite the state budget crisis that is sequeezing Winona State, the university is proceeding to use earlier-approved federal funds to build two pedestrian tunnels under the Canadian Pacific mainline. University Vice President Kurt Lohide said the $3 million project will begin this summer. The funds were approved by Congrees two years ago in a massive 10-year federal transportation bill. Originally the plan included a highway tunnel under the tracks on Huff Street, but opposition to a new local tax for teh project scuttled forced scaling back to the pedestrian tunnels. The tunels will connect the main campus and new and planned university facilities extending toward Lake Winona.
A tunnel on Johnson Street tunnel will connect the main campus with Maxwell Field and new parking lots. A Winona street tunnel will open into the courtyard of a dorm that is still on the drawing boards.
Both Johnson and Winona streets now dead-end at the Canadian Pacific tracks.
Lohide said the tunnels will be well lit with emergency phones.
Frat brothers freed after prison for hazing
TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Jan. 27, 2009 -- Two frat brothers who spent nearly two years in prison for a hazing incident were excused from more jail time after telling a judge they would not contest felony charges. Jason Harris and Michael Morton, who had been students at Florid A∓M, were given credit for time already served. The charges stemmed from a February 2006 incident in which a fraternity pledge suffered ruptured eardrum and a blood clot that required surgery.
Charges dropped in Obama effigy burningLEXINGTON, Ky., Jan. 27, 2009 -- A grand jury declined to indict two men who hung an effigy of Barack Obama on the University of Kentucky campus during the 2008 presidential campaigns. Both Joe Fischer, a senior, and Hunter Bush, a of Bluegrass Community and Technical College, had expressed remorse, saying they had intended to make only a political statement, not to stir racial sensitivities. The incident prompted university President Lee Todd to apologize to Obama.
Background: Obama effigy hung from campus tree
| GYMNASTICS (WOMEN'S)
JAN. 26, 2009
WSU 177.500, UW-Stout 174.625 |
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Warrior beam work defeats UW-StoutMENOMONIE, Wis., Jan. 26, 2009 -- on the strength of its best balanced-beam performance of the season, Winona State University defeat the University of Wisconsin-Stout 177.150-174.625 in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference gymnastics competition. Recording season highs on the beam was Eileen Strube with a 9.250, Amanda Cotter with a 9.150 and Heather Rummelein with a 9.000. In all, the Warriors recorded six of the top eight scores in the beam competition with four of those scores individual highs for the season. Leading that effort was Katie Gregory, who placed second with a career-high 9.450. Gregory also placed third on the vault with a 9.100. In the rest of the competition, Cotter was second on the uneven parallel bars with a 9.425, Alexandra Nugent came in second in the all-around with a 34.350 and third-place finishes went to Nugent on the floor exercise (9.275) and Baudhuin on the beam (9.425).
Details:
BUDGET CRISIS
WSU TO PUT
MORE PROFS BACK IN CLASSROOM
WINONA, Minn., Jan. 26, 2009 -- Faculty who have reduced teaching loads for special assignments may be put back full-time in the classroom in a redistribution of resources to help Winona State weather a major budget crisis, the university's provost said. In a message to all faculty, Sally Johnstone said that all so-called "noncontractual reassigned time" has been canceled beginning fall semester. Pending a review that will begin in February, some of the canceled non-teaching duties may be restored or perhaps reduced, rather than eliminated, Johnstone said. In all, profs with the nonclassroom assignments total the equivalent of 30 full-time faculty positions.
Johnstone did not list the positions being canceled, but among them is the Mississippi River Studies Center, which operates the classroom and tour launch River Explorer; the Common Book Project, which coordinates speakers, panels and activities around a single issue-oriented book every year; and the American Democracy Project, which arranges programs on voter, constitutional and political issues.
Johnstone said that eliminating non-teaching time for faculty would help the university address a $900,000 budget cut ordered by Gov. Tim Pawlenty two weeks ago and a further budget unallotment expected soon. Also pending is a major budget reduction beginning in the fall. Johnstone did not release the cost-saving from eliminating the non-teaching reassignments, but it is thought to be about $2 million. The savings would accrue by using existing faculty to cover vacancies resulting from retirements, departures and deaths and also reducing the cadre of part-time instructors.
University President Judith Ramaley, to whom Johnstone reports, has been consistent that layoffs are a last resort to deal with te budget crisis. Part-time instructors are contracted mostly for a single course at a time. Not issuing new contracts to part-timers would not be considered layoffs.
Johnstone, whose full title is provost and vice president for academic affairs, gave deans of the university's colleges until Monday to submit rationales for restoring any of the cancelled faculty release time. To faculty, Johnstone said: "I look forward to continuing to work with all of you as we navigate through this time of financial scarcity."
"Non-contractual reassigned time" is terminology in the faculty contract with the state college system for release time granted by university administrators to facultu members for to direct and coordinate program and coordinators and for research and administrative activities. Department chairs have contractual release time depending on the size of their departments. In general, release time for chairs ranges from one-third to two-thirds of a full teaching load. |
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SALLY
JOHNSTONE
Chief WSU
academic officer
RELEASE TIME CRITERIA
Johnsone said these certeria would be used to evaluate whether to reverse any of the cancellations of facuty release time. The criteris, she said, were developed last year in another context by university administators and the Faculty Senate:
• The duties associated with the re-assigned time support the university's mission.
• The re-assigned time activities contribute to student success and retention, and/or faculty success and retention.
• The duties assigned to faculty members are appropriate for highly skilled individuals with advanced academic degrees.
• The activities in which faculty members engage for their re-assigned time are well defined and transparent.
• There is a regular review of any re-assigned time duties.
• The length of term for the re-assigned duties and the selection process for faculty members to perform those duties are built into all assignments.
• Faculty members with re-assigned duties that include activities in multiple colleges must have a clear reporting line for those activities and for the evaluation of their performance of those duties. |
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Background: Verbatim: Johnstone cancels profs' release time
Guilty plea in 2006 bar stabbingWINONA, Minn., Jan. 26,2009 -- A punk who vowed to slice up anybody who got in the way of his birthday binging, Jonathan Hans Minor, pleaded guilty to first-degree assault for a knife attack on a bar bouncer. Sentencing was set for April 23. Under a plea agreement proposed to the judge, Minor would go to prison for six years and two months. The assault occurred Feb. 7, 2006, outside Schyde's bar. A part-time bouncer, former Winona State University football player Steve Adams, took at least five stab wounds in the back from a four-inch blade. Adams has recovered.
Prosecutor Chuck MacLean agreed to drop lesser charges against Minor in exchange for the plea of guilty to first-degree assault resulting in great bodily harm. Among dropped charges: Burglary, assault with a dangerous weapon, and attempted murder. Minor, now 23, was released on his own recognizance pending sentencing. Without a plea agreement, MInor was scheduled for a jury trial beginning Monday.
Minor, at the time living in Anoka, Minn., had driven downriver to Winona to celebrate his 21st birthday the evening of the stabbing. Police quoted his buddy that Minor had shown him a four-inch knife and told a friend that if anyone "fucked with" them he would "carve them up like a turkey." About the stabbing, police said that Minor admitted htp being "too drunk" to remember.
Backgrond: Bar bouncer sues bars for stab wounds
Background: Bar stabbing trial again delayed |
| 
JONATHAN MINOR
Yes, I did it
STEVE
ADAMS
Five knife penetrations
SCHYDE'S DRINKS & WHATNOT
102 Johnson St. |
"Just a lil' rust inhibitor, occifer"WINONA, Minn., Jan. 25, 2008 -- A Winona State University junior was cited for peeing in public outside Schyde's Drinkery and Whatnot, 102 Johnson St., about 1 a.m. The man was peeing on a dumpster in a parking lot, police said.
VERBATIM
THE INDEE IS YOUR NEWS SOURCE OF RECORD |
WSU CUTS DIRECTORSHIPS
OF SPECIAL PROJECTS
WINONA, Minn., Jan. 25, 2009 -- This is a message drafted by Sally Johnstone, provost and academic vice president at Winona State Uuversity, on major cutbacks in release time for faculty to administer special projects:
26 January 2009
Dear members of the WSU faculty,
As you are aware, our university is facing reductions in our budget as are most other state-supported entities in Minnesota. On January 15 the state took over $900,000 from us as a result of the Governor's unallotment. We have been told to expect an additional unallotment soon. We also anticipate major reductions in our state funding over the next biennium.
In her discussions with the university community President Ramaley has continually said we will try to weather this budget crisis in part by examining every substantial expenditure and use the following questions to determine whether or not we continue any investment:
1. Is this something we must do in order to
• Maintain our appeal to prospective students
• Support student success
• Generate additional revenue
• Maintain the integrity of our institution? 2. If this is something we must do, is this the best way to do it?
We currently have the equivalent of about 30 full-time positions in faculty non-contractual re-assigned time. In order to help with the budget reductions, we are recalling all re-assigned time not specifically designated by the IFO contract. This will be for the next academic year.
Last year the Faculty Association and the Academic Affairs office developed a set of principles to evaluate re-assigned time. Those are attached to the end of this message. For those of you that choose to do so, you may ask that your non-contractual re-assigned time be reviewed according to the questions above and the principles below. This can be done by submitting a brief written explanation to your Dean. Your explanation should include concrete evidence that will allow reviewers to easily assess your proposal. After the review of re-assigned time allocations they may be approved, reduced, or discontinued. To be considered for this review, you will need to submit your document no later than 2 February 2009.I look forward to continuing to work with all of you as we navigate through this time of financial scarcity.
Sally M. Johnstone
Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs
Principles to Guide Non-contractual Re-assigned Time
1. The duties associated with the re-assigned time support the university's mission.
2. The re-assigned time activities contribute to student success and retention, and/or faculty success and retention
3. The duties assigned to faculty members are appropriate for highly skilled individuals with advanced academic degrees.
4. The activities in which faculty members engage for their re-assigned time are well defined and transparent.
5. There is a regular review of any re-assigned time duties.
6. The length of term for the re-assigned duties and the selection process for faculty members to perform those duties are built into all assignments.
7. Faculty members with re-assigned duties that include activities in multiple colleges must have a clear reporting line for those activities and for the evaluation of their performance of those duties. |
WSU motorist stopped drunk at wheelWINONA, Minn., Jan. 25, 2009 -- A Winona State University freshman was issued an underage drinking ticket early Sunday morning at 511 Hillburt St. Deputy Police Chief Tom Williams said the woman's blood-alcohol content to be 0.23, nearly three times the allowable max for driving. The woman was released to a sober friend, Williams said.
WSU SECURITY REPORT
JAN. 24, 2009
Security guards found a drunk student in the Tau dorm at 1:24 a.m. Am ambulance was called. Police cited the student as a minor consuming.
Security guards found a drunk student in Memorial Hall at 9:34 p.m. An ambulance was called. Police issued a citation for minor consumption.
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| BASKETBALL (MEN'S)
JAN. 24, 2009
WSU 80, UM-Crookston 53 |
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| BASKETBALL (WOMEN'S)
JAN. 24, 2009
WSU 84, UM-Crookston 59 |
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| TRACK AND FIELD (WOMEN'S)
UW-STOUT OPEN
JAN. 24, 2009
Bethel, Concordia, Northwestern, St. Catherine's, St. Thomas, UW-La Crosse, UW-River Falls, UW-Stout, WSU (team scores unrecorded) |
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Mill site cleared in college cancer deathsSELINSGOROVE, Pa., Jan. 24, 2008 -- A high rate of cancer deaths among young Susquehanna Universialumni appears unrelated to any campus-area contamination, according to the the state health department. A department study, cnfirmed an unusually high cancer incidence among 13,000 alumni who left the university from 1985 to 2004 but that there is no evidence relating the deaths to university attendance. The cancers were among people who lived in or frequented an off-campus area near a contaminated former mill site. Health and environmental agencies examined the soil and groundwater.
WSU SECURITY REPORT
JAN. 23, 2009
A student was cited at 9:03 p.m. for a housing violation in the Sheehan dorm.
A student was cited at 9:17 p.m. for a housing violation in the Lourdes dorm.
Several students were cited at 9:40 p.m. for alcohol in the Prentiss-Lucas dorm.
A student was cited at 9:41 p.m. for alcohol in the Prentiss-Lucas dorm.
A student was cited at 10:01 p.m. for alcohol in the Prentiss-Lucas dorm.
A student was cited at 10:12 p.m. for alcohol in the Quad dorm.
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| BASKETBALL (MEN'S)
JAN. 23, 2009
WSU 83, MSU-Moorhead 62 |
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| BASKETBALL (WOMEN'S)
JAN. 23, 2009
WSU 61, MSU-Moorhead 60 |
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| GYMNASTICS (WOMEN'S)
JAN. 23, 2009
UW-Whitwater 182.300, WSU 179.525 |
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WSU SECURITY REPORT
JAN. 22, 2009
Police notified the university at 2:54 a.m. of a report on a medical problem in the Prentiss-Lucas dorm.
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iPod, X-Box missing from WSU dormWINONA, Minn., Jan. 22, 2008 -- A Winona State University sophomore, Tyler Pouliat,, reported that q iPod and an X-Box controller worth $350 were stolen from his room in the Morey dorm, police said. Deputy Police Chief Paul Bostrack said Pouliot discovered the items missing Saturday. The door to his room had been unlocked, Bostrack said,
WSU SECURITY REPORT
JAN. 21, 2009
An ambulance was called to Howell Hall at 9:47 a.m. for a medical situation. The stricken person was not transported.
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Historian has fresh take on Ecuador leaderWINONA, Minn., Jan. 20, 2008 -- A Winona State University historian, Peter Henderson, whose specialty is Latin America, has written a revisionist account of 19th century Ecuadorian leader Gabriel Garcia Moreno. Henderson argues that Garcia Moreno's mark was less theocratic than pragmatic in reforming political structures in Ecuador. Henderson's book, "Gabriel Garcia Moreno and Conservative State Formation in the Andes," 326 pages, has been published by University of Texas Press. The book retails for $70.
Fellow history profs at Winona State have scheduled a celebratory signing:
Date: Thursday, Jan. 29
Time: 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.
Place: Library 109
Cost: Free
Henderson, at Winona State since 1989, has served twice as acting dean of liberal arts. He holds a doctorate from the University of Nebraska and a law degree from Vanderbilt. His earlier works include "Felix Diaz, the Portirians and the Mexican Revolution" from University of Nebraska Press" and "In the Absence of Don Porfirio: Francisco Leon de la Barra and the Mexican Revolution" from SR Books.
About Henderson's new work, University of Texas Press issued this promotional information:"This book explores the life and times of Ecuador's most controversial politician within the broader context of the new political history, addressing five major themes of nineteenth-century Latin American history: the creation of political networks, the divisiveness of regionalism, the bitterness of the liberal-conservative ideological divide, the complicating problem of caudillismo, and the quest for progress and modernization.
"Two myths traditionally associated with Garcia Moreno's rule are debunked. The first is that he created a theocracy in Ecuador. Instead, the book argues that he negotiated a concordat with the Papacy giving the national government control over the church's secular responsibilities, and subordinated the clergy, many of whom were highly critical of Garcia Moreno, to the conservative state. A second, frequently repeated generalization is that he created a conservative dictatorship out of touch with the liberal age in which he lived. Instead, the book argues that moderates held sway during the first nine years of Garcia Moreno's period of influence, and only during his final term did he achieve the type of conservative state he thought necessary to advance his progressive nation-building agenda.
"In sum, this book enriches our understanding of many of the notions of state formation by suggesting that conservatives like Garcia Moreno envisioned a program of material progress and promoting national unity under a very different formula from that of 19 century liberals." |
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RESHAPING LATIN AMERICA
Revisionist account
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| PETER
HENDER-
SON
WSU history prof |
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WSU SECURITY REPORT
JAN. 20, 2009
An ambulance was called to the Stark engineering and nursing buiding at 2:36 p.m. for a medical problem. The victim was taken to the hospital.
A dorm supervisor reported that a student was receiving harassing emails, but the student told security guards that she had no complaint.
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| FREE INQUIRY / FREE EXPRESSION |
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College censured for slaps at student journalismMONMOUTH, Ore., Jan. 20, 2009 -- The national association of faculty advisers to college newspapers has censured Western Oregon University for reprimanding a student journalist and firing the newspaper adviser after an article showing the institution was lax with Social Security numbers. The organization, College Media Advisers, asked its members to write "letters of concern" to administrators and members of Western Oregon's governing board. The article, published in the Western Oregon University Journal in 2007, was written by Blair Loving, who had found a computer file with 100 names of applicants to the university, including Social Security numbers.
A university vice president, Mark Weiss, has defended the actions on grounds that Loving had violated campus policies by accessing the file with another student's ID and then making a copy of the file. The student paper's adviser, Susan Wickstrom, also violated campus policiers by holding a copy of the file Weiss said. Even so, according to the censure statement from College Media Advisers, university administrators had created an atmosphere of hostility toward the press. The association also noted that the paper's office was searched without informing the students or the adviser.
| FREE INQUIRY / FREE EXPRESSION |
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Canada intercepts U.S. scholar: No speechTORONTO, Ont., Jan. 19, 2009 -- Canadian authorities refused to admit scholar Bill Ayers, of the University of Illinois-Chicago education faculty, into the country to address a conference on inter-city education. The government issued no explanation, but Ayers apparently remains on a terrorist list for his leadership of a home-grown U.S. Communist-driven splinter group, the Weatherman, in the 1960s. He was stopped at the Toronto airport and sent back to the United States. The executive director of the Toronto conference's sponsoring organization , Jeff Kugler, said that banning Ayers constituted a violation of academic freedom. Said Kugler: "There is no one who could have thought it possible there was any danger to Canadians to letting him in."
In the recent U.S. presidential campaign, Republicans unsuccessfully tried to link President-elect Barack Obama to terrorism because of his association in recent years with Ayers. |
| BILL AYERS
THUMBNAIL BIO
Ayers, age 63, is an education theorist known for his work in education reform, curriculum and instruction. At the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, his titles include distinguished professor of education and senior university scholar. In the 1960s and 1970s Ayers was a radical activist. In 1969 he co-founded the militant left organization the Weather Underground, which conducted a campaign of bombing public buildings. Pursued by federal authoritirs, Ayers went underground. In 1973, the government dropped charges against him, in effect conceding there had been government misconduct in the case. |
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WSU SECURITY REPORT
JAN. 18, 2009
Several students were found with alcohol in Kryzsko Commons at 12:25 a.m. One student fled. and police were notified. Police cited a student as a minor consuming.
Several students were cited at 1:40 a.m. for attempting to bring alcohol into the Prentiss-Lucas dorm
Security guards stopped a student at 3:30 a.m. for attempting to bring alcohol in to the Quad dorm.
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| BASKETBALL (MEN'S)
JAN. 17, 2009
Augsburg 88, WSU 72 |
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| BASKETBALL (WOMEN'S)
JAN. 17, 2009
Augsburg 71, WSU 57 |
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WSU SECURITY REPORT
JAN. 17, 2009
A student-tenant and his guest were cited for alcohol in the Lourdes dorm at 1:35 a.m.
A student was cited for attempting to bring alcohol into the Lourdes dorm at 2:45 a.m.
Several students at the Prentiss-Lucas dorm were cited for alcohol at 3:27 a.m.
Several students were cited for a housing violation in the Quad dorm at 5:38 p.m.
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| TRACK AND FIELD (WOMEN'S)
JAN. 16, 2009
WUW-La Crosse 155.20 (1st), WSU 140.5 (2nd), UW-Eau Claire 132 (3rd), St. Thomas 86 (4th), St. Norbert 24 (5th) SMU 9 (6th) |
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| BASKETBALL (MEN'S)
JAN. 16, 2009
WSU 85, Wayne State of Nebraska 76 |
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| BASKETBALL (WOMEN'S)
JAN. 16, 2009
WSU 67, Wayne State of Nebraska 51 |
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WSU SECURITY REPORT
JAN. 16, 2009
Several students were cited for alcohol in the Maria dorm at 9:34 p.m.
Several students cited for alcohol in the Prentiss-Lucas dorm at 10:08 p.m.
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Execution sought for Chapel Hill murderDURHAM, N.C., Jan 16, 2009 -- Prosecutors will seek the death penalty for one of the men accused in the murder of Eve Carson, student body president at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A federal grand jury indicted Demario James Atwater. 22, in October on numerous charges, including carjacking resulting in death. Atwater also faces state first-degree murder charges, as does 18-year-old Lawrence Alvin Lovette. Because Lovette was 17 at the time, he does not face the death penalty.
Police said that Eve Carson, an honors at the university, was taken from her apartment one night last March. She was forced to provide her abductors with her bank card, then shot to death, police said. She was found dead on a Chapel Hill street. An autopsy found six gunshot wounds.
WSU SECURITY REPORT
JAN. 15, 2009
Police responded at 1:45 p.m. to a minor accident near the north Sheehan dorm parking lot.
Several students were cited for alcohol in the Sheehan dorm at 11:22 p.m.
At 9 p.m. a student reported leaving some personal property on the floor in a Somsen hallway and when she returned it was missing.
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WATER EVERYWHERE
DISASTER HITS
REMODELED MAXWELL HALL
$1 MILLION PRELIMINARY DAMAGE ESTIMATE
WINONA, Minn., Jan. 14, 2009 -- An upper-floor pipe burst in subzero temperatures, flooding the recently remodeled Maxwell student services building at Winona State University. The worst damage was in first and second floors on the west side of the building. The west entrances were barricaded. Early-arriving janitors discovered the damage, which had occurred during the night. There as was no immediate explanation from the university of why alarm systems that detect problems either were not activated or went unnoticed.
The building, formerly the university library, was opened only this fall after being closed two years for $11.2 million in remodeling.
University administrators scrambled to relocate affected several critical operations, including the registrar's office that maintains academic records of current students and graduates. Whether records were damaged or lost was not reported by the university. The registrar's staff was located across the street to Somsen Hall. The university communications office said that the registrar;s office, hopefully, wold reopen Thursday morning, Deadlines for students to drop and add courses for the new spring semester, which began Monday, were extended until Tuesday. So was the deadline for paying tuition and fees. There would be no disruption n distributing financial aid to students, which had been scheduled to begin Friday, Jan. 23, the university said.
The Graduate Studies office was relocated to Somsen Hall. So sere the offices of business profs Randy Andre, Bill Higbee, and Dave Plum. The Admissions office and Veterans Services office were moved to conference rooms in the Kryzsko Commons student center. The offices would reopen Friday in the jury-rigged quarters, the university said. Classes that meet in Maxwell, all of the largely unaffected west side of the building, were scheduled to meet as scheduled.
Several Maxwell offices, mostly on the third floor and east end, remained open with access through the east stairway and east elevator:• Advising Services.
• Career Services.
• Disability Services/
• Health, Exercise and Rehabilitative Sciences Department/
• National Child Protection Training Center
• Parking Service.
• Campus Card office. Maxwell is an architectural and structural hodgepodge. The older west section, in a neo-Dutch theme that coincided with historic Phelps and Somsen halls across the street, was built in 1938 as the university library. The east section was added to expand the library in 1967. It us a knock-off of Mies van der Rohe designs in vogue at the time, but clearly a low-budget low-bid project.
The new renovation, completed this summer, was managed by the Holabird & Root architectural and engineering company, which is based in Chicago with a satellite office in Rochester, Minn. The remodeling project was conceived in the early 1990s but postponed when budget priorities shifted to a new science building.
Although the university issued no statement on the extent of damage, several university employees who had been inside the structure called called it a disaster. Their impression was that repairs would take months and cost perhaps $1 million. The university, like other state agencies, does not carry insurance but could look to Holabird & Root and contractors to shoulder the burden for repairs if they were somehow responsible. This winter is the first since the remodeling was completed. Overnight temperatures, below zero, were the coldest of the season.
WSU SECURITY REPORT
JAN. 14, 2009
A student was cited at 11:43 p.m. for marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
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WSU SECURITY REPORT
JAN. 13, 2009
Security guards responded at 6:30 p.m. to g damage to a window at the Prentiss-Lucas dorm. Apparently someone threw an ice chunk at a window.
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$3,000 tuition tax credit proposed in HouseWASHINGTON, Jan 12, 2009 -- A $3,000 tuition tax credit has been proposed for the economic stimulus package being put together in Congress. Reps. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, and Tom Perriello, D-Va., want $3,000 per year for tuition and other eligible expenses for undergraduate education and the first two years of grad school. Under the plan, people who do not earn enough income to owe taxes would be eligible for as much as $1,500. The credit would replace credits of up to $1,800 per year against taxes and a tax deduction of up to $4,000 from taxable incomes. The current Lifetime Learning tax credit, worth as much as $2,000, would be retained.
Doggett expressed confidence that the proposal will end up in the economic stimulus bill.
During the 2008 political campaigns, Barack Obama proposed a new education tax credit. His plan would provide a $4,000 credit in exchange for public service. That credit would also be available to people who do not earn enough money to owe taxes.
Report: U.S. literary reading on rise
WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2009 -- Contrary to current conventional wisdom, more Americans are engaged in literary reading , according to a new study. The National Endowment for the Arts reported that from 2002 to 2008, the percentage of adult Americans who read fiction, poetry, and plays grew from 46.7 percent to 50.2 percent. The data suggest that trend of less reading, dating to 1982, when the endowment began its tracking, has reversed itself. The chair of the National Endowment, Dana Gioia, hailed the change as "decisive and unambiguous. " The increase spans demographic groups but was strongest among Hispanic Americans, The Hispanic increase was more than 20 percent. Young adults, defined as 18 to 24, whose literary reading had dropped 20 percent since 2002, were involved in the reversal with a 21percent increase in 2008.
WSU donates 2,999 pounds of foodWINONA, Minn., Jam. 12, 2008 -- Winona State people donated the equivalent of almost 1-1/2 tons of food in Merchant Bank's 10 Days of Giving holiday fundraiser, said Vicki Englich, the university's community liaison. The Student Senate helped gather 156 pounds of food. The dorms collected 370 pounds. In addition, 1,661 pounds were donated to bins around campus. Cash totaled $400. In all, with the cash converted into pounds, the university donated 2,989 pounds, Englich said. In addition, the Holiday Concert for the Hungry, sponsored by the university Music Department, collected 644 pounds.
South Koreans find U.S. colleges overpricedNEW YORK, Jan. 12, 2009 -- With their home currency plummeting against the U.S. dollar, South Koreans are switching plans for college. The New York Times reported that South Korean students instead are opting for Australia, Malaysia, the Philippines and South Africa, all of which are less expensive. For years South Korea has been the third largest source of foreign enrollment at U.S colleges, after India and China. Over the past two years South Korea enrollment in the United State has fallen 6 percent.
| BASKETBALL (MEN'S)
JAN. 10, 2009
WSU 100, MSU-Mankato 85 |
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Proposal: Prof bonuses based on student evaluationsCOLLEGE STATION, Texas, Jan. 11, 2009 -- Profs at Texas A&M University would be eligible for bonuses of as much as $10,000 depending on student evaluations. University Chancellor Michael McKinney acknowledged that the proposed the bonuses would represent customer satisfaction, not teaching effectiveness. "It has to do with students' having the opportunity to recognize good teachers and reward them with some money." Student rankings would not affect tenure, promotion or status, McKinney said. A pilot program is being set up at the main campus and also at Kingsville and Prairie View campuses. The preliminary plan is bonuses of $2,500 to $10,000 for the top 15 percent of participating faculty.
WSU SECURITY REPORT
JAN. 11, 2009
At 1:17 a.m. security guards called an ambuance for a drunk student outside of the Lourdes dorm. The student was allowed allowed to remain with friends.
A student was cited at 11:19 p.m. for a housing violation in the Prentiss-Lucas dorm.
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| BASKETBALL (WOMEN'S)
JAN. 10, 2009
MSU-Mankato 74, WSU 59 |
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| BASKETBALL (MEN'S)
JAN. 9, 2009
WSU 72, Southwest Minnesota State 69 |
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Winona train stop wins McCollum supportWASHINGTON, Jan. 9, 2009 -- A proposed high-speed rail line between Chicago and the Twin Cities should follow the existing Amtrak river route through Winona, Rep Betty McCollum, D-Minn., said. McCollum endorsed the route after meeting with State Sen. Katie Sieben, D-Newport, a commissioner to the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission. The endorsement was another setback by Rochester, Minn., civic leaders who want the rail line through Rochester. McCollum said that a route via Winona is one of her top priorities. "This connection will be critical to our state's future economic vitality," she said. ABout alternate routes,m McCollum said: "Any efforts to abandon this corridor will cause unnecessary delays and unacceptable costs which I cannot support."
The Winona stop is considered critical for college students who are expected to be driving home to the Cities, Milwaukee, Chicago and intermediate points if the economy worsens further. Also, WInona civic leaders see the current Amtrak depot becoming a regional rail, bus and taxi hub.
| BASKETBALL (WOMEN'S)
JAN. 9, 2009
WSU 68, Southwest Minnesota State 62 |
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California freeze college administrators' pay
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Jan. 9, 2009 -- California's two public-university systems have frozen the salaries of top administrators to cut costs during the state's financial crisis. In the University of California system, the salaries of 285 top administrators are affected. The California State University system did not specify how many adminsitrators would be affected by uts freeze excepting that it would dozens. The Caifornia State system alsois halting most hiring and instituting travel restrictions for employees.
Campus budget crisis: Worse yet to comeST. PAUL, Minn., Jan. 8, 2009 -- Budget cuts for state college system campuses, including Winona State and Southeast Tech, can be expected to be perhaps five times greater than cuts already being made for the remainder of this fiscal year. Russ Stanton, lobbyist for the statewide faculty union, made the projection based on data that are emerging from state budget planners. Stanton noted that $20 million has already been de-allocated from the MnSCU system budget for the current year. If higher-ed is expected to absorb a proportional share of the projected budget shortfall for the next two-year buget period, the cut would be $431 million, Stanton said: "That is more than five times as large on an annualized basis as the current year deallocations."
Although Stanton's assessment was pessimistic, he expresed hope that there may be federal assistanve to states like Minnesota: "The one ray of hope is that the Obama administration may offer an economic bailout of the states as part of the stimulus package it intends to pass soon after it takes control."
Minnesota's shortfall is the biggest in the nation on a per capita basis, Stanton said. There has not been a larger shortfall since World War II, he said.
The scope of the crisis became obvious Dec. 4, when a state economic forecast projected a $426 million deficit for the remaining montths of the current fiscal year and then a $4.8 billion shortfall for the 2010-2011 biennium. To put the numbers in perspective, Station noted that the biennial state budget currently is is about $34 billion. That's 1 14 percent chunk.
In late December, Gov. Tim Pawlenty tried to balance fiscal 2009 budget partly by using up the remaining $155 million in the state rainy day fund. Pawlenty also de-allocating $271 million from state spending. The biggest cuts were $100 million to local governments, $73 million to health and human services, $40 million (10%) to state agencies, and $20 million to the Universty of Minnesota and $20 million to MnSCU college system.
Later in December, MnSCU's cebtral office passed $16.3 of its $20 million de-allocation to individual campuses -- 2.9 percent reduction of budgets for for this year. It was eft to individual he campuses to figure out how the cuts will be absorbed. The challenge was serious because spring semester tuition was already locked in and could not be increased. Further, campuses would have difficulty backing out of contracts with faculty already hired for spring classes, To make matters worse for individual campuses, the central office has barred campuses from using their reserves to solve the immediate problem. |
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| WHAT
NEXT?
Gov. Tim Pawlenty will present his plans for balancing the 2010-2011 biennial budget to the Legislature at the end of January.
So far the governor, a Republican, is steadfastly opposing increasing taxes as a solution.
At the same time, he has talked in vague terms about revenue reform.
The leaders of the Democrat-controlled Legislature are saying all options must remain on the table for solving the budget crisis.
In late February a new revenue forecast is due for the coming biennium.
Most legislators seem to be guessing the projected budget shortfalls for both the current fiscal year and the 2010 biennium will be even greater than what was projected in November.
This can be expected to mean another round of cuts this biennium and deeper cuts next biennium. |
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WSU SECURITY REPORT
JAN. 10, 2009
Security guards responded to the Quad dorm at 1:53 a.m. regarding a drunk student. An ambulance took the student to the hospital.
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Expired tags undo motorist at Schyde'sWINONA, Minn., Jan. 9, 2009 -- After spotting a car wuth expired tags in a parking behind the Schyde's college hangout, police arrested the 24-year-old man behind the wheel. At 0.14 percent, the man's blood-alcohol level far exceeded the legal limit, police said. The man was issued a drunken-driving citation -- and also one for the expired vehicle registration.
Sexual harassment alleged against college presidentALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Jan. 9, 2009 -- The federal government has accused Luna Community College of doing little to stop its president from sexually harassing a subordinate. The accusation is in a lawsuit in behalf of Charlene Ortiz-Cordova. At the time she was the college's academic director. According to the suit, Ortiz-Cordova was subjected to unwanted sexual contact, gestures and comments from Leroy Sanchez, the college president at the time, with a hostile work environment resulting. Ortiz-Cordova said she complained repeatedly to her immediate supervisors, but it was a year before one of them alerted the college's human resources department. Sanchez was told to avoid contacting Ortiz-Cordova but was never disciplined.
WSU SECURITY REPORT
JAN. 9, 2009
Security guards were called at 4:07 p.m. to the Tau dorm, where dog turds had been found on the grounds. The dog catcher was notified.
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Top WSU-Rochester job to GormanWINONA, Minn., Jan. 8, 2009 -- A utility player in the management ranks at Winona State University for years, Ken Gorman, begins as a associate vice president for the Rochester campus Monday. The appointment, announced by university President Judith Ramaley, means that Gorman has delayed plans to retire this spring. Gorman has been at WInona State since 1980, when he began teaching business, He was business dean for 13 years, then acting academic vice president of the university in 2005 and 2006.
Gorman is no stranger to the Rochester campus. He was interim associate vice president in Rochester from 1999-2000. He has held other interim positions in academic affairs, graduate studies, the library, and the College of Education. In announcing the appointment, Ramaley praised Gorman for "a deep knowledge of Winona State." Ramaley said Gorman will implement plans expand WInona State's efforts in Rochester." |
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KEN
GORMAN
Associate vice president |
National kudo to WSU basketball playerATLANTA. Ga., Jan. 7, 2009 -- After racking up 147 points in six games, Winona State University guard Ana Wurtz was named one of two Divison II players of the month by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association for December. Wurtz averaged 24.5 point for the six games. During the process Wurtz set or equaled six individual career highs and was named Northern Sun conference player of the week in back-to-back weeks.
The totals for the month for Wurtz included .515 (50-97) shooting from the field, .558 (29-52) from three-point field goal range, .900 (18-20) from the free throw line along with a 5.2 per game rebounding average. Wurtz also recorded 13 assists, 1 blocked shot and 12 steals.
Wurtz came up with 33 points against Valley City State and 28 points against Lynn of Florifs in consecutive games in the Radisson Hotel Roseville Holiday Classic. Also, she was named the tournament's most valuable player.
The other national player of the month for December was Katie Cezat of Hillsdale College in MIchigan. |
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| 
ANA
WURTZ
High-scoring guard |
R.I.P.: Oletha H. (Schell) ScanlanWINONA, Minn., Jan. 7, 2008 -- A 1939 Winona State Teachers College grad, Oletha Scanlan, died at a nursing home on her 97th birthday. She taught in Winona in the 1940s. She attended the College of St. Teresa and then earned a Winona State teaching degree.
Winona salon to Senate higher-ed postST. PAUL, Minn., Jan. 6, 2009 -- The State Senate leadership named Sen. Sharon Ropes, D-WInona, to its higher-ed committee, which handles state college and university policy and funding. The committee chair will be Sen. Sandy Pappas, D-St. Paul.
State Rep. Tom Rukavina, D-Virginia, was named to chair the House Higher Education and Workforce Development Finance and Policy Committee.
| BASKETBALL (MEN'S)
JAN. 3, 2009
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WSU SECURITY REPORT
JAN. 3, 2009
At 6:12 p.m. a staff member reported having fallen on ice near the theater building.
A parent phoned and asked at 6:36 p.m. for help to locate a son. Security guards contacted the son.
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| BASKETBALL (WOMEN'S)
JAN. 3, 2009
WSU 65, Mary 57 |
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| BASKETBALL (WOMEN'S)
JAN. 2, 2009
WSU 71, Northern State 59 |
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| BASKETBALL (MEN'S)
JAN. 2, 2009
WSU 85, Northern State 75 |
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