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Show 6 The Signpost - Wednesday, May 17, 1989 f 3 v '.J : . . A.-0. JAPANESE STUDENTS visiting America try out the WSC par course. (The Signpost photo: Robeen Gillcm) ROTC (cont'd from page 2) Lots also mentioned the new ROTC staff as a contribution to the program. Because of recent transfers, the staff will soon be operating with people who have only recently arrived at Weber State. In particular was Captain Jeff Stuart, a Utah National Guard officer on an active duty assignment with the detachment According to Lots, Stuart graduated from Bonneville High School and is a Utah businessman and well known athlete. Each spring Army ROTC invites people who arc interested in becoming officers to attend a six-week, no obligation orientation course at Ft. Knox, Kentucky. Lots said that interest in the program is high this year with eight students already signed up. According to Lots, the cadets are busy and moral is high as they prepare to attend camp at Ft. Lewis, Washington this summer. The cadets will learn fundamental leadership skills from rigorous training using the basic infantry squad and platoon as the vehicle for leadership experience. "They're going to have a great time," he said. Investment (cont'd from page 2) endowment is tied up in off-campus real estate. Diehl asserts smart investing has enabled GW to double the amount of full-tuition scholarships that it awards in memory of an alumnus each year. GW in fact is among the most aggressive investors among American colleges, where endowment managers commit an average of 2.3 percent of their funds to "venture capital" projects like buying parts of companies, NACUBO estimated. Many of those projects, moreover, consist of investing in small firms set up by campus professors who have hit upon a new process or product or in relatively low-risk real estate ventures. Boston University's decision to invest in Seragen jS Farr s. Better Quality . f at a j provoked a wave of questions about whether it was acting wisely. "A lot of people consider it a risky, imprudent thing to do," said William Spitz, treasurerofVanderbilt University in Memphis. "We might do small amounts of money (in a company like Seragen), but we wouldn't bet that much money on one venture." NACUBO's Jenkins cautioned that most schools minimize their risks by putting their money in many different projects, so that if one goes bad the whole school isn't affected. "If they're not sufficiently spread out and if they've failed, yes, there are losses," Jenkins said. Biotech firms, once favored Wall Street investments, have proved to be something of a mirage. In 1988, at least 24 biotech companies filed for bankruptcy, according to Consulting Resources Corporation, a Massachusetts firm that tracks the industry. "Biotech is basically a gamble on future earnings," said Jim Flynn, an investment analyst for Kidder Peabody in New York. "They tend to be very risky." But to BU, which currently is funnelling some $1.2 million a month into Seragen to keep it alive until it finishes developing genetic Guarantee: if your diamond does not appraise in writing (within 30 days of purchase) for AT LEAST 40 more than your purchase price, your money will be refunded. 2434 Washington Blvd. "The Rock" has been found. Congratulations Treavor Moss. engineering techniques that it will someday sell, the payoff could be huge. Seragen hopes to have its first biotechnology products out on the market by 1993. "If they're successful, it's not unreasonable to expect a 30 percent return of each year invested," Flynn said. Success would also mean BU could claim new medical advances in the treatment of cancers, immune-deficiency diseases and organ transplant complications. "The potential humanitarian return is certainly more significant than the financial return," maintained BU spokesman Kevin Carlton. Jenkins agreed BU's plunge into Seragen would have other benefits like creating new research opportunities at BU's University Hospital. "They've created a company that would take advantage of their research, but it can also augment their financial situation." Carlton also stressed the Seragen money is coming not from . the endowment, but from a separate fundraising account. Even so, if Seragen is a bust, that would mean less money for student programs, salaries, renovations and other campus needs. "I wouldn't speculate on the negative side at all," added Tom Cashman, BU vice president for public affairs. "We fully expect to make a profit." . If business officers are hopeful, however, students at BU who would bear the costs if the investment fails aren't so sure. "Everyone seems to admit that the investment is risky," said Dan Bernstein, student government vice president for financial affairs. "But as educators they should know what they're doing." |