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September 30,1997
Volume 20 Number 18
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Enrollment decline prompts new vice president position
By Rachael Hill
StoffWriter
As part of an ongoing effort to bol¬ ster studeni enrollment, UTSA is con¬ ducting a nationwide search to fill a new position: associate vice president for enrollment management.
Dr. Samuel Kirkpatrick, UTSA presideni, outlined thc i^-^—^— basis for the university's enroll¬ menl management plan in his September 1997 State ofthe Uni¬ versity address and in a recent interview. He noted that UTSA's Fall 1997 enrollment rate would be approxi¬ mately 17,400 stu¬ dents. This is a de¬ cline in enrollment for the third consecutive year.
Increasing compe- ^^^^i^wo^ Iition from other higher education in¬ stitutions in the city, especially tho.se in the AlamoCommunity College sys¬ tem, has affected.enrollment. Reten¬ tion of existing siudents has also been aproblem, since many UTSA students drop out during their first year. Cur¬ rently, UTSA has a 43 percent attrition rate of first-year freshman, Kirkpatrick
stated in his address.
Funher, Kirkpalrick explained that when the economy is good, enrollment numbers typically suffer. "With a third of our students working more than half- time, whenever the economy is good, they're lured away to work, and Ihat's really the toughest challenge we have," Kirkpatrick said in the interview.
"We knew that if we were going to be more successful as a truly learner-centered institu tion with a strong intellectual service and moral commitment to students, and if we were going to be successful in garnering additional resources in an enrollment-driven funding system, we had to achieve better results and move quickly." -Dn Samuel Kirkpatrick president, UTSA
Since UTSA's government funding is directly linked to enrollment num¬ bers, developing a strategy to increase those numbers became a priority for the university last year. A yearlong study was conducted by six special committees consisting offaculty, staff and students. The study concluded with several recommendations result¬
ing in the creation oflhe new associaie vice presideni position.
"We knew that if we were going lo be more successful as a truly learner- centered inslilution wilh a strong intel¬ lectual, service and moral commitment lo students, and if we were going to be successful in garnering additional re¬ sources in an enrollment-driven fund- ,^1—,^» ing system, we had lo achieve belter results and move quickly," Kirkpatrick ex¬ plained in his address. Because enrollmenl numbers depend on the recruitment of new siudents, as well as efforts to retain ex¬ isting students, the new associaie vice president for enroll¬ ment management help lo unify the ef¬ forts of differeni ad- „—^^i;^ ministralive offices at UTSA. The restructuring will mean lhal the following offices will report direcdy lo him or her: Financial Aid, Visitor's Cenier, Admissions and Reg¬ istrar, New Sludeni Programs, Coun¬ seling, Testing, Career Services and the Thomas Rivera Cenier.
Continued on page 3
Law professor's remarks spark calls for resignation
College Press Service
AUSTIN, Texas—A law school professor's remarks on race and achievement have prompted criticism and calls for his resignation from the Universiiy of Texas-Austin.
The professor. Lino Graglia, touched off controversy when he told a news conference Sept. 11 that black and Hispanic students cannot compete academically with whiles al selective institutions.
"These cultures do not encourage achievement," he said. "Failure is not looked upon wilh disgrace."
Graglia made the remarks as honor¬ ary co-chair of Sludcnls for Equal Opportunily (SEO), a new campus group that supports the 1996 Hopwood court ruling ending affirmative action
at Texas universities.
Reaction to his comments was im¬ mediate. Chancellor William H. Cunningham issued a statement, call¬ ing Graglia's comments "an insult lo thousands of minority students and alumni associated with the Universiiy of Texas System."
Minority state lawmakers called for his resignation. State Sen. Gonzalo Barricnlos, D Austin, told a press con¬ ference at the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce that Graglia's comments could hurt minority enrollment at the univcrsity.
¦' I don't know this man's mind, bul I think he should take under consider¬ ation what his commentary could do," Barricnlos said. "1 have a feeling that people all over the state are going to be saying, 'Don't go to the University of
Texas.'"
Already, minorily enrollmenl has plummeted wilh the end of affirmative aclion programs. Al UT's law school, only four blacks and 26 Hispanic- Americans are enrolled this year.
The Texas Associalion of Hispanic- American Chamber of Commerce also demanded Graglia's resignation. "It is no secret that Hispanics and African Americans score lower lhan whiles on standardized tests," the group said."Bul this has nothing lo do with intellectual inferiority.
"Il is the resull of historically underfunded public schools...It is the result of years of exclusion from the leaming environment, and this is a problem lhal still exists loday."
Continued on page 3
Parking permit fees among top in area colleges
Tricia M. McElligott
Production Adviser
UTSA is Ihe only publicly funded area university or college that does not offer studenis the option to pur¬ chase annual parking permits.
The university's student parking permit fee when computed on an an¬ nual basis is only $2.00 cheaper lhan UT-Austin, and $ 1.00 more than fac¬ ully and Slaff al UTSA pay for an annual parking permit.
Bill Hamilton, Property and Fa¬ cilities Coordinator, oflhe university police department stales that UTSA does not offer annual permits to stu¬ dents "because wc have such a drastic turnover of siudents in the summer
Continued on page 3
A&E:
Movie review:
"Kiss the Gh Is" starring
Morgan Freeman
See page 6. ^J\v'
Sports:
Cross Country Invitationals
See page 9.
(Jary Wright/ Tht Paisano
UTSA president. Dr. Samuel Klrkpatrick,opens the dedication ceremonies for the Downtown Campus Cept. 26. Later that evening the university hosted a community open house. Guests were treated to tours of the campus and musical entertainment by Mariachi Intemacional and the Ken Slavin Quartet.
student government shows involvement
By Reglna Hurtado
Staff Writer
Student Government has held and participated in numerous activities since the semester began, including a club fair, representative elections and the grand opening of the downtown campus, with a plan lo continue more student-involved activities.
"I could not have asked for a better student government. As president, I can only do so much, but all my mem¬ bers are dynamic. They take their own initiative and follow through with what
they say they are going to do." studeni government president Judy Juarc/said. The club fair was held Sept. 10 and 11. According to Juarez, members from the Government Aids Program (GAP) participated in the club fair as a way for student government to survey the studeni body lodetennine the locus of student government.
"It went really well. Most of our members that we had for our GAP are both from the main cainpus and the downtown campus. Weare inlegralini; both campuses for leadership develop¬ ment. Most oflhe leadership recruit¬
ment thai we did was during the sum¬ mer. nn)stly from (iricntalion sessions, from transfer students and freshmen," Juarez explained.
New members of the siudent gov¬ ernment program have been elecied to be a part oflhe year's upcoming acti vi¬ ties.
Representative elections were held on Sepi. 16 and 17 and Ihe runoff election was held Sept. 23 and 24. Runoff elcctic.n eandidatos were fresh¬ men Alon/o 1 lowers and Melissa Macinlyre. f-loweis look lhe election Continued on page 3
Cowboys look to UTSA
for potential training camp site
Rtatt Golightly
Sports Editor
Representatives from the Dallas Cowboys toured UTS A's campus last Tuesday but were not willing to com¬ ment on the possibility of bringing next season's training camp to the school.
UTSA, Thc University of the In¬ camate Word, and sites in six other Texas cities, including Austin, San Marcos, El Paso, Taylor, Lubbock and Beaumont are currently compet¬ ing to house the Cowboy's nionth- long camp. Team c-ner Jerry Jones has been stressing his desire to keep the camp in Texas since the team'seight- yearpart- nership with St. Edward's University in Austin ended last Fri¬ day. According to Jones, the Cowboys* number one priority is accessibility and the camp will "unques¬ tionably be in Texas,"he said.
According to the Cowboys, the con¬ straints that lead lo the demise of the eight year pannership with St. Edward's included limited parking due to construction and dor¬ mitory space, which the university would
like to use for other groups. Damage to the dormitories during lasl year's camp was not cited as a probable cause for the move.
Parking and dormitories were among the four main things that Tuesday's visitors looked most closely al.
"They looked at four things - din¬ ing services, indoor facilities such as meeting rooms and lockers, David Gabler Directorof Extemal Communi¬ cations said. "Obviously they looked al the fields, and possible residency on campus."
Trinity, a frequent host of Houston Oiler camps was quickly ruled out as a
possible sile after officials from the school made il clear that they were r It interested in hosting another one. "We hosted the Oilers iraining camp for six years, and il was a posi¬ tive experience. They were good ten¬ ants," Ann Noble, The director of continuing education at Trinity Uni¬ versity recalled. '"When we heard they were leaving, we simply pursued olher groups and now our campus ."
The elimination of Trinity leaves UTSA and Incarnaie Word as thc most likely candidates in San An-
Continued on page 8
Pholo courtesy ol ihc l-.\pross News
Bruce Mays, director of Dallas Cowboys operations (shown^and two other Cowboy representatives toured the UTSA campus to evaluate the facilities avaiiabie for a possible training-camp site.
Features:
Revealing Collegiate Sex Survey Inside.
See page 5.
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