Oregon daily _ _
emerald
Wednesday, October 6, 1982
Eugene, Oregon
Volume 84, Number 24
Bad times halt high-tech dreams
By Sandy Johnstone
Of the EnwraM
Third in a three-part series
examining the role of the
University and high-technology
industry, what advances are
being made and what problems
the University and Eugene face
in making a high-tech dream
become reality.
Several economic barriers
are blocking high-tech's path to
Eugene, according to some
University officials
"The anti-development men
tality or attitude that used to
prevail in Lane County — the
no-growth syndrome — dis
couraged a lot of companies,-'
says Robert Berdahl, dean of
the College of Arts and
Sciences. "I know Hewlett
Packard considered moving
here but decided not to come
into Eugene at this time ."
Berdahl says the no-growth
climate is changing
Theodore Palmer, math
department head, blames high
interest rates
"No matter where a company
relocates, it must borrow mon
ey So most companies are
staying put,'1 Palmer says
He also cites geo
graphical remoteness
from centers of com
merce and industry as
another obstacle to
high-tech develop
ment
Inadequate funding
keeps the University
from realizing its full
potential, says Frank
Stahl, biology pro
fessor
It's shortsighted
that the University is so
low on the priority list.''
Stahl says "High tech
will not come to the
state if they (the state)
continue to treat the
University badly "
• The fundamental
problem is we are so
seriously under
funded." agrees Ber
Udiu. i r»t? uuuyci nad uccru tui
so radically in the last three
years it is very difficult to build
up departments like computer
science that are important to
high-tech."
He estimates that the Univer
sity loses the equivalent of a
medium-sized department each
year
High-tech:
finding
(he future
Pari 3
u a up iu me oiaic oyoic111 iv
decide whether they want
quality education in Oregon
They must realize it requires the
same type of funding it requires
elsewhere," Berdahl says. “I'm
not bellyaching These are the
plain facts — not excuses "
Salaries are the crux of the
matter
"The trouble is the
salary scale is not
keeping up with salary
increases elsewhere
Under such circum
stances people who
leave are the good
people," says Palmer
‘ The best people in
any department can
get a job elsewhere for
considerably more
money ''
Better facilities
would help the Univer
sity hold on to its facul
ty and attract new
professors, says Art
Farley, head of the
computer science
department.
"It's very hard to get
people — although the
quality here is very
high," he says. “We
iicuvj a i ic*y oiait- wi ii iu ui v
to do quality research We've
never had that.”
Farley says his department
faces different problems than
other University departments
"We have not actually lost any
faculty but we have double the
enrollment in undergraduate
classes ''
The department already is
seeking a new department head
for Fall 1983. but locating the
right person may be difficult
Farley says although there are
about 600 jobs available for
computer science Ph D s na
tionwide, only about 150 people
are qualified to fill them
Research nationwide has ex
perienced tightening purse
strings, but University research
hasn't been hit as hard, says
Berdahl
‘ The reduction of federal
dollars for research has been
very critical nationally," says
Berdahl "Sciences at this un
iversity have been of such a
quality that they have not really
lost out They are competing
successfully even in the declin
ing support for research at the
federal level."
Increasing red tape forces
professors to spend more time
filling grant applications and
less time conducting research,
says Stahl
The biology department has
been able to get federal money,
but “when a lot of people want
money they spend too much
time fighting for the money and
too little time actually working."
Emerald photo
This Eugene postal carrier might be delivering an award letter to a student who moved and forgot to tell the
University
Moving? Leave an address
By Doug Levy
Ot th* Emerald
Each year, hundreds of University students make
the dean's list, but as many as 50 of them never find out
Each year, several students are selected for mem
bership in the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa, but some
never learn of their selection and consequently don't
become full-fledged members
Each year emergencies arise that require a
student's attention, but he or she cannot be contacted
Why? Because students fail to update their ad
dresses with the registrar's office, says Bob Bowlin,
dean of student affairs.
"There are always a significant number of people
who don’t find out about these honors," Bowlin says.
“There is no way these people can become aware of
their honors if we don't have their current address "
Approximately 400 students make the dean's list
each term, and Bowlin estimates that 30-35 do not find
out about (or gain first-hand knowledge of) their selec
tion. He adds, "That is a conservative estimate I would
say the number is more like 50.
"When students make the dean’s list, we send a
letter out to their parents, a letter to their high school if it
is in Oregon and a letter to their community college of
transfer. When a student has to find out about his
selection from one of those sources, he'll usually say,
What are they doing over there?’ ”
A Phi Beta Kappa membership, Bowlin says, is a
significant achievement and the University is the only
state institution associated with the organization.
Yet many students do not receive a letter acknow
ledging their membership, and they lose out on that
membership by not responding to the letter.
But the biggest hazard of not updating an address,
says Bowlin, is an instance where a student must be
Continued on Page 2A
U.S. court jury
convicts pacifist
CLEVELAND (AP) — A federal court jury on
Tuesday convicted Mark Arden Schmucker, a
Mennonite college student, of failing to register
for the military draft. He was the third person
convicted of the charge in trials this year.
The eight women and four men on the panel
deliberated one hour and four minutes before
returning the verdict in the courtroom of U.S.
District Judge Ann Aldrich.
Schmucker, a 22-year-old student at Goshen
College in northern Indiana, was allowed to
remain free on the same $2,000 bond set at the
time of his arraignment.
Sentencing was set for Oct. 19. The maximum
penalty is five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
He testified he could not register for the draft
because his religious convictions and upbringing
conflicted with the law.
The Mennonite church, which came to the
United States in 1870, historically has been
known as the "peace church," Scnmucker said
Mennonites are pacifists who do not believe in
military service.
Part of his motivation in not registering was to
impair the government’s ability to prepare for
military involvement, Schmucker said.
Schmucker is the third man in the nation to be
tried for failing to register for the military draft
Benjamin Sasway, the second to be tried, was
sentenced Monday to 2Vi years in a federal facili
ty.
Sasway was convicted of failing to register
under the law signed by former Pres Jimmy
Carter
Enten Eller, the first to be tried, was convicted
in Roanoke, Va., on Aug. 18. The 21-year-old
Laverne, Calif., native was ordered to perform 250
hours of community service and to register within
90 days.
Sasway received no order to register from U.S.
District Judge Gordon Thompson, and Sasway’s
attorney said that his client might be charged all
over again under the government's theory that
failing to register is a continuing offense.