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Show !MONDAY, MARCH 27, 2000 UNIVERSITY JOURNAL (AMPUS MEWS PAGE 3 SUU employs fewest adjuncts in the state BY NADINE BELL JOURNAL STAFF WRITER Of all the colleges in the Utah higher education system, SUU employs the fewest number of adjunct faculty to teach classes, Provost Ray Reutzel said. Adjuncts are .....-----professors and instructors who are employed part-time on an as-needed basis to teach specific classes. Most adjuncts work in the field in which they teach and offer their students "real world experience· that these students might not get in the same class taught by a full-time professor or instructor, Reutzel said. A number of urban universities utilize adjuncts because they are less expensive to hire than are regular full-time faculty and they do not receive a benefits package from the school. Benefits account for about 40 percent of a full-time teacher's salary, SUU Public Relations Director Neal Cox said. However. Reutzel said he believes students who attend SUU are looking to build personal relationships with their instructors and professors. He said he believes these students want their instructors to be available. Because adjuncts typically are employed at other jobs and do not have offices on campus, the only time the adjuncts may have to meet with their students is during the scheduled class. Cox said SUU has a commitment to provide a personalized learning environment to its students and the best - - - - - - . way to do that is by employing full-time faculty members. As SUU's student population grows, it may become necessary for the university to employ more adjunct faculty. However, Reutzel said hiring adjuncts is not the only solution available to SUU. He said another option is to increase some class sizes and have professors and instructors teach more classes. "You need to give a little to get what you want,· he said. Cox said anywhere from 12 to 15 of the general education classes offered could be taught with an increased number of students and still be nowhere near the class sizes of general education courses taught at the University of Utah. Reutzel said increasing freshman class sizes will not really take away from the desire to form personalized relationships with instructors because most relationships between students and professors develop during the junior and senior years. 'A number of rb · ·t · u an un,vers, ,es utilize adjuncts because they are I . ess expensive to hire than are regular full-time . fa culty .. ' ~ ...I w ~ Bishop says: J~in the party! ·Rob Bishop, who is serving his second term as State Republican Party Chairman, recently spoke to students at the "Come Join the Party" meeting held Tuesday for anyone who was interested in learning more about political party involvement. Communication to move to different college BY RHIANNON BENT SENIOR STAFF WRITER The communication department will officially move from the College of Business, Technology and Communication to the College of Humanities and Social Sciences in July. Neal Cox, SUU director of public relations, said the Board of Trustees approved the request made by the communication department on March 3. Frain Pearson, communication department chair and professor of communication, said he thought the move would be consistent with the mission of the university and research in the social science areas. "I think it will be very good [for the communication department]." said Pearson. He said it's not as though the department didn't enjoy its stay with BTC, but the change was logical. Cox said he hoped the communication department didn't feel "on the outs" with business or slighted by BTC Dean Carl Templin, but HSS was a natural fit for communication. He added it makes sense because the communication department and social sciences department are housed together in the Centrum and it would be more convenient. Also, Cox said more demands have been placed on Templin due to the new Master's of Business Administration program. While Templin is losing communication, he's gaining the MBA. · we have valued having the department . of communication in the college. We're losing a significant portion of our college, one that I have loved to be associated with , so it's bittersweet. It's better for the faculty and clearly I will support that,· said Templin, associate professor of management. HSS Dean Rodney Decker, professor of political science, said he was very excited. · 1 believe the current HSS faculty is looking forward to many opportunities. We've received a lot of support.· Decker said some advantages of the change are cpmmunication complements the current disciplines in HSS; it brings a larger number of qualified faculty and majors, which "will be an opportunity and a challenge;· and it adds diversity. Cox said it will benefit the whole university by creating a better balance in workloads and programs in each college; continuing the strong advocacy in the communication department; and a continued opportunity for communication to grow and flourish. rhere is potential for challenges to arise, Cox said. Because there will be a 30-35 percent increase in faculty and students in the HSS College, resources may be an issue. "It will take creativity on part of the faculty to prioritize [the resources].· However. Cox said budgeting was assigned by weighing the requests from each department and each department is not competing for funds. Decker also said the change has potential to affect class sizes and teacher to student ratios, but there should be no major changes in communication major or minor requirements. There would be no organizational or personnel changes and there is no proposed name change for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Cox said. On April 7, another request will be made to the Board of Trustees that the business areas be renamed the School of Business. If approved, that change would take effect in 2001 . Meanwhile, the new BTC name will be the College of Business and Technology. Cox said most higher education institutions have schools of business and it's symbolic of the quality of the program. Don Blanchard , chair of the technology department and professor of electronics, said the technology department is also looking at the possibility of moving. He said the department has been working this semester on a plan to relocate as an intact body into the College of Science . · we do have some courses in common , plus lab facilities and equipment. We're in closer alignment with science than business,· said Blanchard . Blanchard added there are plans to build a full-fledged engineering program and to upgrade the two-year preengineering program already available at SUU. Blanchard said he thought the technology department had the facilities and expertise to work together with the science departments in this endeavor. According to Blanchard , criminal justice will no longer be part of the technology department. Its new home is being discussed and yet to be determined. "I've had some great years here. I really believe the administration has the best interest of the university at heart. I hope the faculty will support [the administration] in their attempts to make [SUUJ a more viable institution," said Blanchard. College of Science Dean Harold prnes, professor of biology, said the transition would probably take at least a year. He said each technology program needs te be analyzed to see which ones should grow depending on audience size and which ones should be remoyed from the curriculum . "I am very pleased and anxious for [the merging of technology] to occur. We want technologies to stay healthy and grow. I don't see it as a take-over or negative at all,· said Orn es. He added that it was too early to say if the College of Science would receive a name change with the addition of the technology department. \ I . |