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

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ssues Surfaced Which Will Affect Students Aside from problems resulting from the overcrowding of classes due to increased enrollment, professors and department heads cracked down on the grade inflation, and the legislature threatened a tuition hike of one-hundred percent. There were always clouds, it seemed, over some portion of the aca- demic environment. Many students were oblivious to the issues, content in attending classes, Scholz ' s, and going home on the week- ends. 1981 saw many issues surface which would have a profound effect on the way in which students would be educated at the University in the future: Kathleen Kelleher, an assistant instructor in the Department of Govern- ment, was released from her teaching duties because of the nature of her course was considered too controversial by some of her students. Resolution of her case is still pending. Al ' s classes were combined into classes of 300, and taught by a full-time professor after this. Again in the Department of Gov- ernment, indeed, all throughout the Col- lege of Liberal Arts, a furor arose over the hiring and tenure policies in that department. The new Chairman, Charles Cnudde, along with Dean Robert King of the College of Liberal Arts, came under strong attack. The University Council considered extensive alterations in the degree requirements, which included an addi- tional English requirement, and the reinstitution of foreign language require- ments campus-wide. This proposal was opposed by many professional degree programs, the fear being expressed that this would lengthen many courses of study to five years. Campus-wide and state-wide, Teaching Assistants and Assistant Instructors organized to obtain higher salaries, better hours, and more freedom in outlining the topics to be covered in the courses they taught. Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free, said the Tower. 12

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-J, Pursuing the Legacy of Excellence in 1 98 Of the University ' s traditions, one has been so carefully planned, effected, and maintained as the tradition of academic excellence. This was the cornerstone upon which the University was founded. The University, which began with eight professors and 22 I students, has grown to a faculty of 2000, with 10,000 auxiliary staff members, and almost 45,000 stu- dents. And the excellence which its founders opted for has not been compro- mised during this growth. The physical plant and the faculty of the University offer some of the most excellent opportunities for study and research anywhere. Texas is the leading university in plasma fusion, first in research materials in Latin America, Texas and the Southwest. The business and law schools rank among the top five of state-supported schools, and the engi- neering college is in the top ten. The new Reforming Arts Center is among the fin- est in the world. There is also a wide diversity of study programs offered within the University of Texas System. Traditional programs business, law, psychology, medicine are juxtaposed with more unique research projects. Outside of Dilly, Texas, Sobra Noyes conducted research for her Ph.D. This involved field work, not library research, to investigate the social behavior of a troop of Japanese mon- keys. This troop is the oldest and best documented in the country, providing researchers outside of Texas with valua- ble information. The command from the 1881 legisla- ture has been the impetus for much of UT ' s development toward excellence, and it has provided a legacy for the future as UT grapples with the difficult issues which surfaced this year. Their resolution will, in some way, affect academic excellence at The Uni- versity of Texas.

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Jniversity students, whether asleep, playing frisbee or persuing their class notes, cover the lawns of the campus on sunny spring days. 13