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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 6, 1981)
daily^emerald Vol. 82, No. 126 Euftene, Oregon 97403 * Monday, April 6,1981 m: W :: m jMr, Photo by Steve Dykes New University Pres. Paul Olum, following the announcement of his appointment: “I don't intend to do anything different. " Promises to fight for funding Olum wins University presidency By SALLY HODGKINSON Of the Emerald Paul Olum anxiously paced his office Friday morning, wait ing for the announcement he knew was coming. When the word came that he was offically president of the University, Olum grinned and hugged his secretaries. “I can’t think of anything more profound to say than I'm delighted," he said. A five-minute conference call meeting of the State Board of Higher Education was all it took to end a nine-month search and unanimously appoint Olum pre sident. Soon after, Olum was facing 14 microphones and tape recorders as the press waited expectantly for quotes from the 62-year-old president. Olum spent most of the im promptu press conference ex tolling the virtues of the Univer sity. Although the institution has a few internal "nagging prob lems” such as athletics, Olum said he rates the Unversity among the top 20 public institu tions in the country. Olum said his general goal is to "take a very good university and make it into a great univer sity.” Although the quality of the faculty and academics is good, Olum said he’d like to boost the quality of University students. He wants to attract Oregon s best students by offering excel lent academic programs. But the quality of the institu tion “hinges on a reasonable level of support” from the Legislature, Olum said, citing studies that show the University, when compared to schools with the same general quality, is 20 to 30 percent underfunded. One of his responsibilities as president will be to secure sup port for the University by im pressing the people of Oregon with the school's quality, Olum said Olum took over as acting pre sident last July when William Boyd left the presidency to head the Johnson Foundation in Racine, Wise. Making it clear from the beginning that he would like to drop acting Trom nis pre sidential title, Olum then said "I don’t intend to be a caretaker president. I expect to act like I'm going to be here for a long time." Now that he is president, Olum said, "I don’t intend to do anything different. The only thing different is that I can relax now." Olum said he enjoys the chal lenge of the presidency. “I like to fight. And fortunately I already know what the pres sures are," he said. As the 13th president of the University, Olum will receive a yearly salary of $61,368 and an expense allowance of $4,068. He will also be offered re sidence in the home the Univer sity maintains for its presidents. Before becoming acting pre sident, Olum was vice president for academic affairs for four years. Olum was dean of the natural sciences at the Univer sity of Texas at Austin from 1974-76. He was also professor at mathematics at Cornell University for 25 years. Olum said he plans to stay at least five years in the pre sidency. "Less than that isn’t fair to the University "I want to look back and say, 'That’s a terrific place. I helped build that, and it made a differ ence that I was there.' ’’ Harter blamed for slush fund Former University basketball coach Dick Harter* may have been involved in a secret travel agency account used to bring player Felton Sealey from Boston to Eugene In viola tion of NCAA rules, according to court tes timony Friday. The possible connection of Harter to the secret fund — set up without University admin istration knowledge - surfaced during the trial of former assistant basketball coach Ron Bil lingslea on theft charges. Billingslea is charged with stealing $1,680 in state funds through a Bronson Travel agency account in his name. Harter left the University in 1978 to become head basketball coach at Penn State. According to testimony, Sealey apparently received an extra flight from Boston to Eugene during efforts to recruit the basketball player. Sealey ended his University playing career last month. The travel account was funded with refunds from unused airline tickets purchased by Billingslea for recruiting travels and charged against the athletic department ac count, officials have said. Lane County assistant district attorney Darryl Larson contended that the account had been set up to finance improper recruiting practices and was a "laundering" operation in which unused airline tickets were turned into money. Biliingslea’s defense attorney Larry Roloff did not dispute the fact that the former assis tant coach received two checks in April 1978 from the travel account totaling $1,680. But Roloff told the jury Billingslea had no Intention of laundering money, and that he felt the checks had been authorized Billingslea was quoted in court by police investigator Roy Foster as saying that he did not open the travel account in his name Billingslea told investigators that it is con ceivable Harter and a travel agency employee set up the account without telling him, Foster said. Revelations of secret travel accounts are not new to the University. Several football players were penalized last year by the Na tional Collegiate Athletic Association and Pacific-10 officials for receiving airline tickets from another secret travel agency account set up by University football coaches Biliingslea’s trial will continue at 10 a m. Tuesday
