PAi^AnO
Serving tfie UTSA community
TUESDAY AUGUST 30, 1983
Volume 3, Number 10
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UT and A&IVI Eat the PUF Pie
Imagine a Taxaa Harvard or a Sun- Bait Yale - a t>aatlon of acadwnlc execllanca equipped with tha physical wherawitlwl to deliver Lone Star Ignorance a reaounding i>low. Imaoine a aute alipportad Universi¬ ty that could offer unparalleled research facilities, libraries overflowing with constantly upgrad¬ ed Information, consummate ciaaaroom facilities. Imagine a kind of academic mecca.
For most universities such a no¬ tion Is little more than erudite fan¬ tasy. After all, money doesn^t grow on trees. Money Is, however, pumped to the surface of the earth from huge reserves deep underground. Nolx>dy Is more aware of this fact than the University ot Texaa and Texas A & M., co- l>eneflciaries of the PUF or Perma¬ nent University Fund. PUF haa im¬ bued their two schools with the power to transform imagination into reality.
U T and A & M were established before the turn of Ihe century, by Stale Constitutional decree. In order to provide thenn with a permanent source of income. Article VII. sec lion 11 of the Texas constitution stales the following:
all lands and other property heretofore set apart and ap¬ propriated for Ihe establishment and maintenance of the Universi¬ ty of Texas, together with all the proceeds of sales of the same, heretofore made or hereafter to be made, and all grants, dona- lions, and appropriations that may hereafter be made by the State ol Texas, or Irom any other source, except donations limited to specific purposes, shall con¬ stitute and become a Permanent University Fund
Included in this generous package of property was about two million acres ol semi-arid West Texas land The land was lo be sold or   leased,    wilh    the   proceeds
directed   into   a   sacrosanct   fund which could not itself be spent.
The fund was designed instead to be reinvested according to constitu¬ tional guidelines Earnings from these investments could then be spent     on permanent      im¬
provements   for U.T and A&M,
Initially the profits realized Irom this scheme were modest at best Before the turn ol the century, land was valued for Its potential to sus¬ tain crops or grass for grazing
Despite Its questionable value in historical terms, however, enough of this property was sold or leased to provide for the establishment ol U T and A & IVI.
Fortunately for these schools, the two million acres of West Texas land remained state property. Whether through loresight or seren¬ dipity. Ihe land was never sold and, proved profitable beyond the wildest imaginations.
The wildest imaginations ol the day, ot course, could not conceive
Mini-lots Attract Small Cars
by Chris Turner
Cries of more parl<ing" trom UT¬ SA students have landed what is called an appropriate solution" With the addition of 397 parking spaces
However, before everybody drives to Lot 1 North or Lot 6 with eager an¬ ticipation to attain a parking space, .each must own a car 15 leet or less
The two mini-car" lots, con¬ structed by reslriping, occured after ths heavy spring load of students had dissipated, idaving the campus with a 1,196 capacity parking divi¬ sion,
Margaref Tucker, University Police Chief assistant, said, "There was some question last year as to whether or not the heavy morning hours of classes and early afternoon classes had sufficient parking In some of the lots, because students wsre tiaving to park on the service drives,
"The survey that Chief Chavez made of some other campuses and other institutions," Tucker con¬ tinued, "was one of the determining factors in trying to increase the parking lacilities and still have enough spaces in general parking to accommodate that need too."
The mini-car parking solution is a preliminary run to see it the idea is actually going to be beneficial in in creasing parking spaces. Therefore
only two lots were redesigned at the present rather than spacing more section in every lot.
Fees to park in these areas are $10. Any person who has an addi¬ tional vehicle that qualifies as a mini-car need only pay $1 for an ad¬ ditional permit. If that vehicle does not qualify, they must pay Ihe dif¬ ference between the general parking and the mini-car fee, which Is SS, plus SI for an additional permit. In addition, students owning a mini-car sticker should not park In general parking.
S.R.A. Vice-president, Karen Schiller, said that the S,R,A. had met with Chavez and the administration, Schiller concluded tha minl-car Idea was the "only fssslbis, immediate solution," The S,R.A, had also sug- .gasted a shuttle system down 1604 and 1-10, The response by the ad¬ ministration to additional parking was "no" because tha system could not provide the money.
S.R.A. president, Joey Villarreal, feels that it is a good idea consider¬ ing the monetary circumstances sur¬ rounding the issues.
Tucker added that "it seemed the most appropriate method at the time — due to our limited ground space." She continued, "But the conve¬ nience ol the students is what we're trying to accommodate."
UTSA Student, Oaryl Hill, waa critically bumed over summer vacation.
UTSA Student Listed in Critical
by MIchela Salyards
Daryl Hill, a UTSA student, la atill listed In critical condition at the Brooke Army Miadical Center Burn Ward after suffering burns over 80% ot hia body in early Auguat.
Hill waa apparently siphoning gas to use In a lawn mower, aaid witneases. However, Mrs. Hill, Daryl'a mother atated later, "We're really not quite aure how it happen¬ ed, all we really know la that gasoline waa splattered ahd th^n It Ignited."
Hill was saved by neighbors who rolled him In the grass, and Is still undergoing grafting surgery. Accor¬ ding to Mrs, Hill, "It won't be a cou¬ ple of montha yet until Oaryl will be off the critical liat. The threat now ia infection."
Mrs. Hlil explained that while Daryl ia unable to sea visitors, "prayers are what he really needs."
Carda can be aent to Daryl care of Brooke Army Medical Center, Burn Ward 14C, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, 76234.
the value ot oil and natural gas. both ol which were discovered in copious quantities beneath PUF territory ¦ This discovery and the subsequent staggering demand lor that oil and gas set the stage Texas would have ils   University ol the first class
Oil and gas revenues from leases and royalties began pouring into the PUF and was reinvested accordmg to constitutional guidelines. The el- fect has been a linancial snowball.
PUF investments are as diverse as they are substantial A glance at the annual financial report prepared by the U.T. Systems Olfice ot In¬ vestments and Trusts reveals a PUF finger in every conceivable pie.
University monies are invested in to stocks (everything Irom Aetna to Xerox), bonds (U.S. Government and Corporate). I^ortgages. Treasury bills, etc. The PUF backs oil. steel, chemical, insurance, financial in¬ stitutions such as American Ex press, communications, utilities, and even shipping ventures.
This diverse and solid investment strategy earned Ihe U.T. system {primarily the Austin campus) and A & Ivt a nilly $143,418,831.35 last year, according to Ihe Office of In¬ vestments and Trusts. Two-thirds of this money belongs to UT, and the other one-third to A & 1^,
This kind of money builds awesome campuses and slocks Ihem wilh books, microscopes, computers, lasers, cryogenic Ireezers, and maybe even cyclotrons This kind ot money is also the stulf people squabble over.
Ever since PUF coffers swelled beyond original intentions, every stale supported institution ol higher learning has claimed a need for a slice ol this awesome petrochemical pie. Everyone but UT and A & 1^ IS forced to grovel a little at legislative sessions in order to solicit state allocations for per¬ manent improvements. Conversely, UT. and A&lvl sit pretty on their $1.8 billion and  request only operating
expenses,   -
The logic that the state legislature has used to defend this exclusive PUF participation is lundamentaily sound. To open PUF pockets tor other slate supporteo .schools would compromise the development ol our liagship inslilutions. U T and A & 1^.
However, iust how many millions (or hundreds ol millions! can two schools spend in one year, jusi lor their physical plant, before imagina¬ tion becomes ostentation''
After fnuch harangue over this question, the Texas Legislature has finally made an important decision regarding the PUF
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Gonzales Names Director of Engineering Division
Raatrlping two lota created 379 "minl-apaeea" giving UTSA a total of 1,196 mini-apaces.
Dr. Mario Gonzales. Jr. has been appointed director ol the Division of Engineering at The University of Texas at San Antonio effective Sept. 1,
Dr, Gonzalez brings to the posi¬ tion a record ol academic and pro¬ fessional achievements. He receiv¬ ed his bachelor's, master's and doc¬ toral degrees in electrical enginner- ing from the University ol Texas at Austin, He IS a prolessional registered engineer, a title bestow¬ ed upon him because ol his proles¬ sional engineering experience.
The division director began his career as an applications program¬ mer for The Boeing Company in Seattle, Wash. He was part of a leam responsible for designing the thrust reversers for the Boeing 727 and the main landing gear for the Boeing 737 — a task which combined his knowledge in engineering and com¬ puter programming He gained fur¬ ther professional experience as an officer in the U,S, Army Corps of Engineers in Vietnam.
In addition, his knowledge in¬ cludes expertise in distributed and multi-processor systems which he gained in his position on the technical stall of Texas Instruments in Austin, It was this position that sparked Dr, Gonzalez's current research  interest  in  computer ar¬
chitecture — the study of ho.v the building blocks of a compuler system interconnect to satisfy a par ticular problem Currently he is researching ways of using a col ec lion of microcomputers that work together dividing problems among themselves to produce the sane results as a larger computer He is working lo demonstrate that a distributed system of small com¬ puters can perform the functions of a large computer with greater reliability and lower costs,
Dr, Gonzalez has served as acting director of the UTSA Division o< Engineering since the division ^viis established in January 1982 and as assistant dean of the College of Sciences and ivlathematics smce January 1981 In the capacity of ac ting director Dr Gonzalez nas played an active role m the develop ment of UTSA's undergraduate engineering program.
He taught for four years al Nor thwestern University and has been teaching al UTSA for six years As a result ol his teaching ac compiishments at UTSA. he was recognized as the university s outstanding professor for 1982 witt^ the prestigious Amoco award
Dr. Gonzalez is married, he and his wile. Shama. have one daugher. Raquel, 15.
Dr. Wayner Receives Grant for Research
Dr. fviatthew Wayner. Blumberg Professor and Director ol the Divi¬ sion of Life Sciences at The Univer¬ sity ol Texas at San Antonio, has received a National Science Founda¬ tion Grant to support collaborative research between UTSA and the Na¬ tional University ol Mexico in the biotechnological area over a two- year period.
Dr. Wayner and his colleagues at UTSA and Drs. Rosalinda Guevara- Aguilar and Hector Ulisses Aguilar Baturoni and their colleagues in the Department of Physiology at the Medical School of the National University of Mexico, Mexico City, will be investigating how the brain
controls appetite and thirst and, in¬ directly, body weight.
The grant will pay travel and living expenses for Dr. Wayner and his col¬ leagues t«. visit and work in Mexico. Other fundin^'has been provided so that Drs. Guevara-Aguilar and Aguilar-Baturoni and their associates can travel to UTSA lor research.
The "Hypothalamic-Ollactory In¬ teractions in Ingestion " will "deal with how olfactory and taste sen¬ sory information from the nose and mouth interact with lullness in the stomach and the absorption ol food materials trom the intestines into the blood, " Wayner explains
"We II deal with how neural infor¬ mation Irom the nose, mouth and stomach, associated with olfaclum, taste and lullness of the stomach, interact in the brain with changes in blood composition due to absorp¬ tion of food materials from the in¬ testines, " he says.
The investigation will seek to determine how all these factors in¬ teract to produce eating and drink¬ ing, Dr, Wayner adds
The collaborative research will in¬ volved the use ol elec¬ trophysiological, neurochemical and neuroanatomical techniques to investigate how certain parts of the brain control appetite and regulate
body vi/eight.
Prior lo his appointment at UTSA in December 1982. Dr Wayner was a Prolessor at Syracuse Unrvers' and Director ol the Brain Researcn laboratory there. He has also served . as a visiting prolessor at several universities in the Unite.d Slates, Japan, Australia and the Republic of China He received his bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College, a master of science degree from Tufts College and a doctoral degree Irom the University ol Illinois,
Villarreal Resigns From S.R.A. Presidenc
by Chris Turner
At Its first meeting, the S.R.A. ac¬ cepted the resignation of President Joey Villarreal.
Villarreal made a formal an¬ nouncement at the August 24th meeting stating that, "1 feel that the prealdent has to be an Initiator." Due to scheduling problems, Villar¬ real felt he "couldn't function well as a good prealdent," adding that he would not be able to devote as much time aa he would like to the S.R.A.
S.R.A. vice-president, Karen Schiller wlll take over the presiden¬ cy. "Karen has had a lot of S.R.A. ex¬ perience," explained Villarreal, and added "she Is always on top of things, i think we have a very capable preaident in Karen."
The vacancy for vice-president will be filled within the S.R.A. The resulting vacancy will be filled by a student not currently in the S.R.A.
Other items discussed during the meeting included the rate Increase of the Student Services Fee. Jr. Representative, Sam Laskowski voiced an opinion that the fee was > unfeaaible and quite expensive.
Schiller explained that during the summer President Wagener asked Villarreal to appoint a committee to refer approval on the proposed hike. According to Schiller, who was on the committee, "The legislature would have voted the hike in anyway. We were there only becauae the lagialature required a student oommlttae to act aa a voice of the
student body '
Schiller added, "If they hadn't passed it (the bill), all senrlces like your health center and financial aid centers would have been cut." I think what looked so bad," she con¬ tinued, "Is that people were billed after the fact—but two years ago, student services fees were doubled, nobody noticed then."
In addition to the student services fee, The S.R.A. discussed plans to attend a Leadership Conference Seminar September 9 and 10. The assembly's seminar will focua on parliamentary procsdurea, organiza¬ tion and communication between membera, enthuslaam within the group and the definition of goala, of¬ fice reaponalbllitles, and limitation of the S.R.A.
Karen Sclilller