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Show March 4, 1988 DIXIE SUN Paee 11 acker INSIGHTS: In the legislative this writing I am sitting in the State Capitol on the last night of the leeislative session. There is yet a long ait until midnight when we will know of key issues. The the final disposition Even though the alls are packed. sai general appropriation bill has passed, k. L mere are still big questions: Will there year'll be a bond? Will tax reform be reviv- ed? There is plenty to keep us here un-- i gOWT til midnight, but there is also time to Con-- ' reflect on these weeks and months of At me uWnf turn legislative process. I ask how Dixie College So through lared this tedious has but process? First, I have to admit that I feel that an enormous load has been lifted from my shoulders because a settlement has been arranged concerning the Dixie Center construction costs. This was a tense political struggle. There was some necessary among many legislators to solution. They wondered the local Dixie citizens had reluctance vote for the whether enough to meet the excess expenditures. We distributed information to show the great response that passed the bond and the many contributions since that time. Legislators wishes that the construction had never been started until all the money was in done hand. have in Many had hindsight that would caused the project to be funded other ways. In the end a as reached, compromise solution leaving the College to see that the State receives full value for the money ow-- I td, but accepting a combination of cash, land, stock and anticipated gifts to cover the sum owed. Though we have to work with state officials to complete the fund raising, we are responsible now seeing light at the end of the tunnel. In my eyes several heroes emerged to reach this solution; it was clear that I could not have fashioned this settlement alone. We are at the tail of the. tiger of Utah politics; there is little we can accomplish alone from our weak position and long distance from the head. So what successes we experienc- ed came in cooperation with many representatives and officials. Ron Halverson, Chairman of the Building Board, and Neal Stowe, Director of the Division of Facilities Construction and Management, extended themselves far beyond anything we could have .requested. They worked for months to create a formula that was passable at the Legislature. They took real personal risk to their own political legitimacy to do so. I will be indebted to them always. We must add their names to the list of farsighted citizens who made the Dixie Center possible. In the final stages of the deliberations, Representative Haze Hunter was especially helpful. As of the Capital Facilities Committee, Haze was at a key point to influence the negotiations. He was an advisor to me all the way. Senator LeRay McAllister is the other Chairman of that committee. Although he was a tough taskmaster for many months, it was he who finally fashioned the language that enabled passage of a compromise. I respect his integrity, though I sweated many months to finally gain his approbation. Representative Ray Schmutz really put himself to the task with zest; we have a close relationship and I must say that he has been a great help. Many times when I was in St. George, suddenly found out that something was happening on the Dixie Center matter in Salt Lake. Ray was just a phone call away; he often called me and sometimes I called him. Then we got throughto others who were crucial. Senator Ivan Matheson often intervened with legislative leadership in our behalf, and Representative Jim Yardley was also 1 on our side. So the Washington County community has benefited from our own representatives. When the decisions were moved up to the top level in the Appropriations Committee and party caucuses, I was happy to be able to work closely with my friend, Senator Lyle Hillyard. Few know the legislative process better or are more influential. He, too, is a tough taskmaster, asking penetrating ques- tions and keeping himself independent from pressures, but he helped us immeasurably. The second benefit of these delicate negotiations is that the Science Building addition will be constructed on the Dune College campus. With that resolved, the science building will go ahead this summer. There is one more important story that made all this possible. It was necessary in the last weeks of 1987 to raise $200,000 quickly to complete the Center payment. After several other options were explored without success, I approached our Dixie College Business faculty with the request that they transfer to the Dixie Center $200,000 they received from Mrs. George S. Eccles for a Business Building. By doing this, they would 1980s is New Age of technology Audrey Shumway exams are over, and many students are working on research papers or projects for classes. As we work with students in the library, we find that seldom are students aware of the many sources of information available and the services the library can provide. The 1980s are a New Age of sharing and cooperation for libraries. Although Dixie College Library has a very good basic collection, no single library can keep up with the explosion of information, with the costs of purchase, and with the technology required to locate this information. Thus, we have systems that enable us to borrow from libraries throughout the United States. If students find a citation for an article that they would like to use, but out library does not carry that magazine, they should ask he librarian to obtain a copy of that arlijle through Interlibrary Loan. It hey do not find information on the subject of research, they should ask the librarian to identify books currently in print on that subject, and by By 1 I ! I means of a computer system called OCLC, locate these titles in other libraries and borrow them by mail. We are no longer bound by the limitations of our own library, and in most cases Interlibrary Loan service is free. The researresponsibility of the student or cher is to get started soon enough on the project to allow time for mailing usually from one to two weeks. In addition, we have in the library a wonderful research tool called find Dialog. If the researcher does not the desired information in our sources, we can do a computer search by subcitations on ject that will give a list of the subject, which can then be ordered in some cases by Interlibrary Loan, or with the they may become conversant - newest form .of information dissemination. source Perhaps the most important of help is Reference Service. We want all students to feel free to ask the in Reference Librarian to assist them their search for information. We are anxious to assist students learning to in- use our online catalog and to locate formation from any available source. We have a fine basic collection at Dixie College and are continually ordering materials that we feel will serve the information and leisure reading needs of our students and faculty. This library exists for students and faculty. Use it! printed out on screen. This online research tool gives us access to over 180 databases, or groups of information. One of these is ERIC, a database that contains information on anything that relates to education. Another is Sports index - a database that groups together citations on sports subjects. There is a charge for Dialog searching, but usually the time and effort saved are well worth the cost. Soon to be installed in the library is Electronic Encyclopedia, with which the students or patrons will be able to use the latest technology of CD ROM to locate information on the computer screen, then print out this information on the attached printer. The library staff is excited to be able to offer this information tool to students so that - hclllS President Douglas Alder make it possible for the $3.5 million Science Building to go forward. Though the Business faculty was reluctant, they agreed to the request which had actually been initiated by Dr. David Gardner, President of the George S. Eccles Foundation. This sacrifice is clear evidence of what Dixie is about. Tough choices and real cooperation are abundant in Dixie. We have seen it in the Spirit of Dixie Committee. Now we see it in the faculty. We also saw it in the Legislature. A few other people deserve credit in benefiting Dixie College in these last weeks. Chief among them is Dr. William Rolfe Kerr, Commissioner of the Utah State System of Higher Education. We all know that Rolfe has a fond spot in his heart for Dixie because of his years as president here. He really spent himself this session for us. Because I am not able to spend every day in Salt Lake during the ses- sion and because Dr. Karl Brooks and I cant get to the Capital as quickly as the leaders of other colleges, we often have to ask Commissioner Kerr to represent us. He does a fine job. Vicki Is At The Snackbar NOW! The First IceCream Bar Good Enough To Called Be ira I Vareja, his press secretary, is also most helpful. Representative LaMont Richards and Senator Richard Carling are the of the Higher Education Committee. They are both helpful, especially Representative Richards, e resident of St. who is a George. They were instrumental in our part-tim- supplemental request for $125,000 for rent at the Dixie Center. Though supplemental are most unpopular at the Legislature, they were able to recommend it successfully. (Senator Carling is a regular early finisher at the St. George Marathon.) Two other people were essential in the tight negotiation for that supplemental; Steve Creamer and Regent Doug Foxley. These two expert lobbyists were great. All these details about requests and appropriations need to be kept in perspective. They enable a great access to higher endeavor-providi- ng education for all qualified citizens. The alternative of maintaining Dixie d College as a private or college would require either very high tuition or enormous county taxes. So if anyone is critical of the legislative action, he should consider the benefits of the present system of State support. I am honored to be president of an institution that has such great support. I know no finer people anywhere and it has taken all of us to get through the narrows of this Legislature. It is a rare opportunity to work in an atmosphere where such respect and talent abound. county-supporte- - P.A.S.S. - credit to other institutions. However, others were concerned that if the program were to be removed or made op- tional, the quality of education would drop and teachers would stuggle with teaching such a wide range of students with varied learning abilities. While many changes were suggested for P.A.S.S., no final decisions were made during the meeting. However, Vice President Max Rose appointed Donna Dillingham-Evans- , (who is head of P.A.S.S.), her department and a selected committee to come up with ideas of needed changes, from which the Council will base decisions on at the next Academic Council Meeting, to be held on Thursday, March 24. Mrs. Dillingham-Evanalong with s, her department, Lowell Hansen, Bill Fowler, Dick Swan, and Rob Lund, will be holding a meeting today to discuss and develop different ideas for future changes in P.A.S.S.. Mrs. Dillingham-Evan- s hopes to find a program that will work well for everyone, she remarked, Our objective is to provide a fair and equidable program for every student. |
