Texas Tech University - La Ventana Yearbook (Lubbock, TX)

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policy the state. Tech should claim the same responsibility to its students as well. Other students had differing opin- ions. Scott Thompson, a sopho- more in the College of Arts and Sci- ences, wrote a letter to the editor of the University Daily that appeared on the Viewpoint page of the paper. Personally, 1 find it hard to be- lieve that 40 percent of the faculty plan to seek other employment if the tenure policy is not changed. If I were a member of this university ' s administration, I would take this statistic as a serious indication of the faculty sentiments and. there- fore, treat them with more respect than they have recently been shown, wrote Thompson. Despite the protests of many fac- ulty members, the Board of Regents approved the proposal, but only af- ter certain revisions were made at the request of the faculty on the morning before the vote. One such request was that an insert be made to include a due process clause that would apply to the termination of employment action and causes of dismissal. The new clause allows a tenured faculty member to be dis- missed only for good cause, with the burden of proof resting with the university. Yet, even with specific revisions made, many faculty members still were not pleased with the wording and content of the policy. Faculty Senate President Evelyn Davis spoke during the committee session to request additional changes in the revised tenure policy. Much to the dismay and disappointment of the faculty, Regent Jerry Ford ex- plained to Davis that it would not be appropriate to edit and re-edit the policy at this stage. The board went ahead with its plans to pass the new tenure policy. By spring, the issue had been pushed aside temporarily as faculty and administration tried to cope with looming budget cuts. — Jane Qiiinn Faculty members show concern in poll No confidence Though the Board of Regents passed the controversial tenure pol- icy on September 28, the cold war between Tech faculty members and administrators was by no means over. Faculty members continued to fight by showing rebellion against the main administrator whom they felt brought about their defeat, university President Lauro Cavazos. Almost immediately after the de- cision was made to pass the tenure policy opposed by most faculty members, the Faculty Senate began planning a campuswide faculty vote to determine the extent of the facul- ty ' s confidence in Cavazos ' pres- idency. I hoped the time would never come that the faculty of a university would have to vote on the com- petency of their president. This is the most somber occasion in my ser- vice at Texas Tech University. said Henry Wright. Horn professor of range and wildlife management. Faculty members said the vote was taken in response to several campus issues, of which tenure was only one. In the resolution voted on by the faculty, Cavazos was said to have intervened inappropiately and subsequently failed to resolve problems in the administration of a faculty research project in the de- partment of electrical engineering. resulting in loss of morale, faculty, and research funds. The resolu- tion also stated that Cavazos re- fused to adhere to established te- nure procedures, precipitating the series of events that led to the te- nure controversy. According to the faculty, Cava- zos twice sought adoption of tenure policies against the interests of both faculty members and students. The faculty ballot also pointed out that Cavazos rejected repeated solicita- tions by the faculty to meet faculty or its representatives to discuss the faculty ' s views. The results of the faculty ' s vote of no confidence were announced less than a week after the tenure policy passage b y the Board of Regents. Of 672 voting faculty members who re- turned ballots, 81.1 percent indi- cated that they did not have confi- dence in Cavazos as president. Only a little more than 12 percent of the faculty indicated they did have con- fidence in Cavazos. and 6.2 percent of the faculty abstained from voting. No major outcome was the result of the no confidence vote by the faculty, but the vote itself was just one of the many defiant actions taken by the faculty to show discon- tent with the approval of the tenure plan. — Donan Young Tenure Policy — 25

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Heated debates between staff and admin istrators make headlines Controversy on tenure The 1984-85 school year was barely getting started when a heated debate over faculty tenure sparked into a flame between faculty mem- bers and administration officials. The debate made the headlines almost every morning of the first month of school and left many in- coming freshmen running to their dictionaries in hope of learning what tenure meant. Tenure is a system set up to en- sure that experienced faculty mem- bers gain job security without fear of dismissal at the discretion of their superiors. Faculty members usually must serve for a period of several years to be eligible for tenure, and once a faculty member becomes te- nured, he can be terminated only under specific circumstances that usually involve lengthy proceed- ings. The controversy began in 1982 with a series of proposals for revis- ing the university ' s tenure policy. In April 1984, a revised proposal final- ly was released after long hours of work and discussion by university FYesident Lauro Cavazos and an ad hoc committee. The reasons for revision of the old policy included facts and statistics that showed that under the old poli- cy, nine out of 61 departments at the university were 100 percent te- nured. Reports also showed admin- istrators that three of the seven col- leges in the university were more than 90 percent tenured, putting the overall tenure figure at 58 percent. In the June 29 issue of The Uni- versity Daily, Cavazos stated that the design of the proposed tenure policy was intended to prevent Tech from becoming over-tenured. According to Cavazos, a high num- ber of the tenured faculty would cause the university a loss of creativity as well as preventing the school from being flexible. Cavazos also was quoted by re- porters as saying, Tf we don ' t hire another person in the next seven years, and if we were to have all people in tenure tracks approved, we ' d be 76 percent tenured in less than seven years. Upon the release of the April proposal, temperatures began ris- ing, and two very different and yet well-defined positions on the tenure issue arose. The controversy was so intense that the Board of Regents tabled the proposal at its May meeting, leaving the policy open for discussion and revision by administrators during the summer months. As soon as the fall semester started, the tenure issue again stir- red controversy between adminis- trators and faculty. The faculty ' s primary objection to the tenure poll- ing faculty members, 596 responded to the ballot put out by the senate. Of the respondents, 524 dis- approved of the proposed policy and only 53 approved of the docu- ment. Nineteen faculty members ab- stained. The great majority of faculty feel this document will not help us make Tech the best possible univer- sity. said Ernest Sullivan, vice president of the Faculty Senate. This proposal would make it har- der for us to do our jobs. It would compromise our ability to do our research and to teach what we think is right. cy concerned the lack of a prob- ationary period in which a faculty member would have a specific amount of time to prove himself worthy of tenure. Faculty members also contended that the renewable term contracts would restrict facul- ty recruitment. September 28 was the day the Board of Regents was scheduled to decide once and for all on the tenure proposal. In a last-minute effort to sway the board, the Faculty Senate conducted a faculty vote that showed that the majority of the fac- ulty opposed the administration ' s tenure proposal. Of 802 eligible vot- Some Tech students also got in- volved in the controversy over te- nure. One student ' s response to the question was one of disappointment in the faculty for their childish atti- tude toward the situation. The stu- dent, u ho preferred to remain anonymous, said it disturbed him to see the faculty so up in arms over an administrati e decision v hich is in the best interest of the universi- ty. He went on to say, In public elementary, junior high, and high school there is no tenure because they must maintain a standard of quality education for the youth of Q 24 — Tenure Policy

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AAB offers seminar to help control stress without drinking Betty Ford speaks out You ' ve got a history test at 7:30 the next morning. Apartment rent is due and your checking account is just about empty. What do you do? Some students might be tempted to drini their trou- bles away. A better choice, howev- er, might be Valerie AverilTs M M — DQ relaxation method. Averill, Doak Hall director, ex- plained M M — DQ as mood and music, darkness and quiet. People can take a particular song or a particular environment and key in to it as a relaxer, she said. Averill presented a Moans, Groans and Alternative Relaxation Techniques seminar during Drink For Your Health week in February. The Dean of Students Office and the Texas Tech Alcohol Advisory Board coordinated the event. Averill ' s main point was that trying to make good grades, work- ing 15 to 20 hours a week and main- taining a social life can cause stress. And stress can lead to over- consumption of alcohol. Many students say, I can ' t make my problems go away, so I ' m going to drink and forget about them , said Averill. She said there are bet- ter ways to relax. At the seminar, Averill turned off the lights and instructed partici- pants to take off their shoes. Listen- ing to music from the movie Some- where In Time. the small group performed stretching exercises while lying down, sitting and stand- ing. As a final treat, the participants paired off and gave each other back rubs. Averill said the trick to giving a good back rub is to not expect a back rub in return. I can give a back rub for more than an hour if I ' ve got good music on, she said. Averill said an occasional drink is not harmful. The problem arises when a stressed-out student takes that occasional drink more .Sludenls from various organizations were reprcsenled on the board, where they met bimonthly to make students more aware of responsible drinking. and more. The use of alcohol doesn ' t have to turn into the abuse of alcohol, she explained. Steve Powers, another speaker, described how a person can help an alcoholic friend. Powers, from LISTEN Seminars, presented I Think My Friend Needs Some Help and Listening To Your Neighbor ' s Heart. He stressed that students need to help and confront an alcoholic friend. He said overdrinking in col- lege too often is applauded. We give them awards in fraternities, Powers said. We ' re reinforcing this guy ' s alcoholism — it ' s crazy. Powers said the antics of an alco- holic never should be laughed at. For example, the student who blacked out at a party the night be- fore and then can ' t remember throwing the punch bowl when he wakes up the next day should not be reinforced with laughter. Powers also emphasized the im- portance of not tempting an alcohol- ic friend with a drink. If you were my friend and you knew I was a diabetic, would you take me to Swenson ' s? he asked. The week ' s keynote speaker was Betty Ford, wife of former Presi- dent Gerald Ford. Ford describes herself as a re- covering alcoholic who had trouble admitting she had a drinking problem. Ford emphasized that alcoholism is a disease; the American Medical Association and World Health Organization recognized it as such about 30 years ago. Yet alcoholism is not like most other diseases. The symptom separating alcoholism from other diseases is the concept of denial, said Ford. And believe me, it ' s spelled with capital letters. Ford said she denied her problem with alcohol until her family and two doctors confronted her at home one day. She said her first thought was, What a wonderful surprise! Everyone ' s come home together! At her family ' s bidding. Ford then entered Long Beach Naval Hospital as an alcoholic patient. Ford said the professional help she received at Long Beach Naval Hospital was essential. An indi- vidual can ' t beat his alcoholism alone, she said. It ' s not a sin to be an alcoholic, said Ford, but it is a sin to not do something about it and not go look for help. Ford now helps other alcoholics. She is especially interested in treat- ing female alcoholics, and about 50 percent of the patients at the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif., are women. — Camille Wheeler 26 — Alcohol .Advisory Board