Thursday, February 18, 1982
Eugene, Oregon
Oregon daily
Volume 83
Number 105
emerald
Two interviewed at PSU
Chancellor hopefuls speak
By Ann Portal
Oi the Emerald
PORTLAND —State regulations may be hampering
higher education's ability to operate efficiently, a
candidate for chancellor of the state system of higher
education said Wednesday
The need to hire state classified staff and follow
state spending and purchasing limitations can impede
public colleges and universities from effectively using
state dollars, said George Weathersby, currently In
diana's commissioner of higher education
Weathersby said he is not advocating that higher
education play "fast and loose ' with state money State
productivity standards should be met by all institutions,
but unnecessary regulations can add to education
costs, he said
Weathersby was one of two candidates interviewed
by the State Board of Higher Education at Portland
State University Wednesday afternoon
He and the other candidate, Henry Koffler,
chancellor of Amherst College in Massachusetts, spoke
with the board at the end of a three-day visit to Oregon
During their visits, the candidates stopped at several
campuses, including the University
Weathersby, whose present job is similar to being
the head of Oregon's Educational Coordinating Com
mission, has five degrees including a Ph D in decision
and control from Harvard and a master s degree in
nuclear engineering from the University of California at
Berkeley
Following a two-hour interview with the board,
Weathersby declined to comment on the strengths and
weaknesses of the Oregon's higher education system
I “
"I think that’s a dangerous thing to do” after only
spending a few days in the state, he said
Weathersby said he did not apply for the chancellor
position, but that he came for an interview because he
was ‘ intrigued'' by some of the key people and
institutions in the state
He said he told the board that he could be "per
suaded'' to talk with them about the job, but he said of
his visit and meetings with faculty and administrators,
"It's interesting — nobody's tried” to be persuasive
Weathersby said he might favor moving the
chancellor's office to Portland to better serve what he
sees as higher education’s primary constituency —
citizens and organizations of the state
The chancellor’s office is an important symbol to
legislators and citizens, and probably should be located
in the economic, political and cultural center of the
state, he said
Although only 39 years old and the youngest
candidate for chancellor, Weathersby said he sees
himself as being "terribly traditional, in a sense ”
'There's really a very basic set of values that I
share, embrace and endorse,” he said
Henry Koffler, who has worked as an administrator
at three colleges and universities said that his first
impression of Oregon's higher education system is
very good
I think Oregon is getting an excellent bargain for
its money.” Koffler said, adding that the attractiveness
of the state seems to draw people in spite of lower
salaries and fringe benefits
Koffler has been chancellor of Amherst (similar to a
Continued on Page 2
Atiyeh wants
state agencies
safe from cuts
By Ron Hunt
Of th» Emerald
SALEM — Gov Vic Atiyeh did not ask for more state
agency cuts to evaporate the extra $99 8 million deficit
projected for Oregon's 1981-83 budget
Instead, in a Wednesday evening press confer
ence, the governor recommended replacing the
standard personal income tax exemption with a tax
credit and consolidating the state s two property tax
relief programs into a "Super HARRP” program to help
balance a state budget faced with a $337 million
shortfall.
"This will be the fourth budget cut since I took
office and any easy answers have been squeezed out of
the budget,” Atiyeh said
Atiyeh recommended the same level of state
agency cuts as he did Jan 4 - $120 9 million. He also
asked the Legislature to reduce spending in basic
school support and the emergency board by $5 million
each.
"Some legislators have recommended an increase
in income taxes to help meet that deficit I am now
advising them that if they will accept my budget reduc
tions, I will accept their proposal to raise more money —
but I am not going to do it exactly their way,” he said.
Establishing a personal tax credit for one year will
actually help low-income taxpayers, Atiyeh said " Even
though it will increase income tax revenue by $37
Continued on Page 2
Sweet as honey
Things were buzzing at the EMU child care center Wed
nesday, as children were treated to a lesson in beekeeping —
and to a little honey as well.
Kids swarmed around Bill Muir, a Pleasant Hill man who
owns five bee hives, and listened to his advice on how to handle
bees.
The adult pictured is Dennis Reynolds, who helped chil
dren try on beekeeping paraphernalia and administered fin
gerfuls of honey to the smallest. The situation got a little sticky
for one youngster, but she had it licked within moments.
Muir also brought a hive along, but left his bees at home
Photos by Bob Balter