University of Texas Austin - Cactus Yearbook (Austin, TX)

Page 149 text:

nt, the Board ol ro, raised the manda- 3 to 70 and reviewed Ike ked lo coordinate anil if the University. 10 Most-Cited W list to which received president, Dr I ' niversity projects, Hi IVuedale restoration he direction of James H. lice department, data . internal audit and the utgoing regent Allan Shivers announces delay of decision on new UT president during a regents meeting. Dr. Peter Flawn was later appointed iron Institute, search units at the Uni- Regent Jon Newton Regent James Powell Regent Howard Richards Regents Vice Presidents 133

Page 148 text:

The University ' s Upper Echelon Three new regents help in presidential selection process The Board of Regents captured more than their usual share of attention in 1978-79 with the appointment of a new Uni- versity of Texas president and three new regents. Dr. Peter T. Flawn was chosen unanimously by the regents to succeed President Lorene Rogers when she retired in August 1979. Regents selected Dr. Flawn over Wayne Holtz- man, president of the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, and Paul Saltman, vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of California at San Diego. There was a feeling that we had three outstanding candidates for this job, with very, very little separating the top two. I wish I could have voted for all three, Regent Tom Law said. Dr. Flawn joined the University in 1949 as a research scien- tist and geologist. In 1970 he was promoted to vice president for academic affairs but later went on to become the first president of the University of Texas at San Antonio. Named to the National Academy of Engineering in 1974, he also served in 1977-78 as the acting director of the Marine Science Institute. Outlining his priorities. Dr. Flawn said he planned to declare a war on mediocracy. It ' s a truism to say we can ' t do third-rate or second-rate work, but the fact is that we must insist on high-class faculty and students, he said. Favoring a broad-based, liberal arts education, Dr. Flawn planned to attract and retain a top-flight faculty, granting tenure only to those professors who were considered excellent. He also supported a strong research program. Research is invalua- ble to tomorrow. Without research, you can ' t expect tomor- row to be any better and it is probably going to be a great deal worse, he said. Describing the University ' s faculty as better than was gen- erally recognized, he concluded by saying, In the 1950 ' s this (The University of Texas) was a very exciting place to be. Everyone was friendly and there was a feeling that it was going someplace. I am not trying to reminisce; I think those times can come again. Before leaving office, Texas Governor Dolph Briscoe appointed three new regents to replace outgoing regents Allan Shivers, James Bauerle and Edward Clark. With these appointments, all nine members of the Board of Regents were Briscoe appointees. The three new regents were former Texas Railroad Commissioner Jon Newton, legislative liaison Howard Richards and West Texas rancher James Powell. Both Newton and Richards were University of Texas gradu- ates. Powell graduated from Rice University but did graduate work at the University of Texas. In addition to choosing the new president, the Board of Regents dealt with issues such as tenure, raised the manda- tory retirement age of faculty from 65 to 70 and reviewed the proposed grading system of adding a plus minus scale to grade points. The Vice Presidents A team of six vice presidents worked to coordinate and control the programs and problems of the University. In charge of academic affairs, Dr. William L. Hayes made the Social and Behavioral Sciences 10 Most-Cited book list with his book, Statistics for Psychologists, which received 1,167 citations during the period 1969-77. As administrative services vice president, Dr. Ronald Brown dealt with many different University projects. He oversaw programs ranging from the Winedale restoration project to intercollegiate athletics. The business affairs office, under the direction of James H. Colvin, maintained the University police department, data processing facilities, business office, internal audit and the physical plant. Dr. James Duncan, vice president for student affairs, was in charge of student services including the Dean of Students office, the office of admissions, the Student Health Center and Texas Student Publications, which included The Daily Texan, The Cactus Yearbook and UTmost Magazine. Graduate Studies were under the direction of Irwin C. Lieb. In addition, he was head of the University Press and publications and the University Research Institute. Dr. Eldon Sutton coordinated the research units at the Uni- versity. Sixty organized research units operated under his office, with 16 directly under his control. He also dealt with outside agencies for research grants and contracts. 132 Regents Vice Presidents

Page 150 text:

A Celebration of UT Excellence Since March 2, 1887, Texas Inde- pendence Day has been a day for Texas Exes to gather and celebrate advance- ments of The University of Texas. In 266 cities around the world and 62 for- eign countries, over 155,000 Texas Exes gathered in 1979 to participate in a cel- ebration of Texas excellence. In Scotland a bagpipe parade played The Yellow Rose of Texas, while a radio station in Italy featured other well known Texas folksongs. Exes groups all over the world celebrated the day in various other ways. Many orange- blooded Exes signed a Declaration of Dedication to The University of Texas. In Austin, Gov. Bill Clements began the celebration by publicly declaring March 2 Texas Exes Day, followed by a parade from the Capitol to the Univer- sity ' s Main Mall. The celebration continued with a cannon salute, the raising of the giant Alpha Phi Omega Texas flag and speeches by Dr. Lorene Rogers and John Ben Shepperd, president of the Ex-Students ' Association. The remain- der of the day was filled with parties, ending with a dance at Sholtz ' . Almost since its formation in 1885, the association has sponsored a schol- arship program. In 1978, during their annual Welcome to Campus Banquet, Texas Exes awarded over 110 scholar- ships, 70 of which were sponsored by Texas Exes clubs. Another annual event sponsored by the Texas Exes was the Football Awards Banquet, held January 28 in the Special Events Center. In addition to honoring football players, the most val- uable player in every sport was also recognized. For the first time, University of Texas Exes sponsored a three-mile, Forty Acres Fun Run on campus. All money raised during the fall run was used for scholarships. As a means of maintaining close con- tact with the needs of students, the association supported the Student Involvement Committee. In the fall, the student group held an open house at the Alumni Center, at which information on scholarships and financial aid was provided. The student committee also helped assemble a presentation con- cerning the Washington Internship Pro- gram, which enabled 25 students to serve in congressional, federal and independent offices as interns. In October, the Ex-Students ' Associa- tion awarded four alumni with the Dis- tinguished Alumnus Award. Those honored were Mrs. Perry R. Bass, Jack Sawtelle Blanton, Kraft W. Eidman and John Randolph Hubbard. The Ex-Students ' Association, inde- pendent from the University, was sup- ported by dues-paying members, all of whom received bi-monthly copies of Alcalde, the association ' s award-win- ning magazine. In 1978, the association numbered 36,000 members in 106 coun- ties, with 116 clubs emphasizing fellow- ship among Exes and support of UT. Student Involvement Committee hosts a Washington Internship Program. John Hubbard. distingui hed Alumnus, shows spirit at Arkansas game. 134 Texas Exes