Present: Bible, Bourgeois, Caverly, Deduck-Evans, Ford, Hays, Horne,
Pascoe, Sawey, Simpson, Stimmel, Weller, and Winek. Absent: Hunter,
McGee.
Guests: Candidates for developmental leave (see Contents); Ms. Shirley
Pilus, Dylan Sides (University Star), Mike Moore.
CONTENTS:
DEVELOPMENTAL LEAVE APPLICANT INTERVIEWS:
Prof. Karen Ostlund (Biology)
Prof. James Champion (Mod. Lang.)
Prof. Nancy Chavkin (Social Work)
Prof. Xingde Jia (Math)
Prof. John Paul Johnson (Music)
Prof. Frank Josserand (History)
Prof. Bruce McClung (Fin/Econ)
Prof. Albert Milhomme (Mgt/Mkt)
Prof. Jana Minifie (Mgt/Mkt)
Prof. Paul Barnes (Biology)
Prof. Willard Stouffer (Pol.Sci.)
Prof. Sharon Ugalde (Mod. Lang.)
NEW BUSINESS
The meeting was called to order at 4:02, Chair Bible presiding.
DEVELOPMENTAL LEAVE APPLICANT INTERVIEWS:
Each of the twelve applicants presented a brief summary of proposed
work during a developmental leave and answered any subsequent questions
regarding methodology, ultimate importance of and use of findings, etc.
[Secy's note: Length of description does not connote importance.]
Prof. Karen Ostlund (Biology)
Prof. Ostlund has been involved for some years with the GEMS (Great
Explorations in Math & Science) program of the Lawrence Hall of Science at
UC-Berkeley with Nobel Laureate Glenn T. Seaborg as PI on this project.
This program collects, tests, and disseminates materials/methods on
incorporating science and math into the K-12 curriculum to preservice and
inservice teachers. Prof. Ostlund would establish a GEMS center at SWT to
network with schools in Texas to incorporate this information, in addition
to the Center's own testing and development of materials. Science Room 217
has been designated as the Center site. Teachers trained at workshops
return to train others at their own facilities. Our Center may also
attract graduates to our MSIS program and grad students can be active in
research in this area.
Prof. James Champion (Mod. Lang.)
Prof. Champion has been working on bringing our (SWT has one of the
few original copies) early edition of Cabeza de Vaca's _La relacion_ to
scholars in language and history of the period. A CD-ROM interactive
program, with his introduction and bibliography, would be an asset to
scholars and, of course, promote our Southwestern Collection in the Alkek
Library.
Prof. Nancy Chavkin (Social Work)
Prof. Chavkin would do a meta-analysis of evaluations of 20
programs funded by the U.S. Dept. of Ed. regarding family involvement in
education (the majority of recently DOE recently funded projects in this
area). The research would include questionnaires to each program and site
visits to some to determine "best practices" in evaluation, not just (1) We
did we do what we said we would, but (2) What outcomes can we show in
evaluation (the "autopsy report")? Pilot programs tend to say they did
what they expected to do, but the DOE has not analyzed criteria and
outcomes. She said that the DOE would like for someone to do this, but
they cannot afford to do so. The information is all in the public domain,
since it was government funded.
Prof. Xingde Jia (Math)
Prof. Jia will be working with three of the top math brains in the
world to produce a problems-oriented book to introduce students to (1)
combinatorial number theory, and (2) probabilistic theory. While this is
discrete, pure math, the applications are limitless--including their
current application to computer science. Springer Publishers has already
offered a contract for the book, based on the prestige of the authors.
Prof. John Paul Johnson (Music)
Prof. Johnson was invited to write a book on vocal health by Roger
Dean Publishers (Dayton). This presents an opportune moment for our
director of four SWT chorales to do more research (literature from anatomy
to opposing theories and conductor practices) on an area in which he has
long been concerned. There is no current text drawing theory, research,
and practice together.
Prof. Frank Josserand (History)
Prof. Josserand has long been a historian of musicians within their
time-frames, having published much on Wagner. His current project is to
uncover the personal worldview (Weltanschuung) of the 33 or so Romantic
period composers, from Beethoven to Gustav Mahler (1800-early 1900s). The
material would include various composers' opinions of each other, as well
as their surrounding societies.
Prof. Bruce McClung (Fin/Econ)
Prof. McClung pointed out that aggregate level data compares
college grad incomes to high school or dropout income levels. He proposes
to disaggregate the college income levels by pay-back to majors, using data
from the National Longititudinal Survey for Youth data bank. Pay-backs by
major can be useful to both students chosing a major and to universities to
predict possible forthcoming major choices and departmental allocations.
Prof. Albert Milhomme (Mgt/Mkt)
Prof. Milhomme has done previous work on Euro-Disney financial
problems and proposes to do further research on this corporation and
Euro-Channel (Chunnel). Both have come in enormously over-budget and
under-producing, putting banks (50 in the first case, 150 in the second) in
danger, plus individual stockholders. What went wrong and did the
management fib in their projections? Prof. Milhomme hopes that his
analysis of secondary data and his projected interviews with past and
present managers will uncover the story. It's a real who/what-done-it, but
will managers 'fess up?
Prof. Jana Minifie (Mgt/Mkt)
Prof. Minifie has two projects she would like to pursue. (1)
Small business (under 50 employees) in Austin, as to their problems in
getting started, their information sources, the information they wished
they had received, current problems, etc. In this project she would send
out approximately 5,000 questionnaires and follow up with interviews to
firms willing to cooperate (both incubator firms and automous start-ups).
(2) Health care innovations and how these are affecting the health care
providers and their patients.
Prof. Paul Barnes (Biology)
Prof. Barnes intends to study: (1) How ultraviolet rays affect
plants, and (2) How mesquite trees' 100 or so foot taproots bring up water
to nourish small foliage under them--hydraulic lift. Obviously, these
questions have to do with global ecological questions regarding warming,
desertification, water tables, etc. [The research has some impact on
curriculum/research in our new Ph.D. program in Geography, it would seem,
although this was not discussed.]
Prof. Willard Stouffer (Pol.Sci.)
Prof. Stouffer will produce a monograph (and other publications) on
the tax reform options currently facing Texans and which are now being
discussed in the State legislature. He is a representative of various
tax-interested organizations, e.g. Common Cause and The Coalition for Tax
Equity, and has been involved in the State legislative proceedings for some
time. The public needs documentation on what has happened and what is
ongoing, so that they will be aware of options and their impacts. For
example, when lower-income groups are paying exorbitant property taxes (as
they do in Texas), a "circuit breaker" could cut in by law to pick up this
overpayment. Higher income individuals and corporations would take up the
slack. [He noted that the lower 20% in Texas pay 4.7% of income in
property taxes and the top 1% pay 1+%.]
Prof. Sharon Ugalde (Mod. Lang.)
Prof. Ugalde stated that Spanish women poets today (at least 17 of
them) are resurrecting and reconstructing the image of Shakespeare's
Ophelia from Hamlet. This seems odd, given that Ophelia is not exactly the
modern woman's icon. What is going on? Prof. Ugalde intends to find out.
The Senate met in closed session to rank the 12 candidates for
leave. Outcomes will be announced later.
NEW BUSINESS
There will be no meeting next week on Wed. 11/27/96, due to the
Thanksgiving vacation. The next meeting will be PAAG on 12/4/96 at 3:30 at
the University Club. It will be a social and informal discussion with
Pres. Supple and VPAA Gratz. Liaisons are invited to come mingle and
participate in the informal meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 6:25 p.m.
Ramona Ford
Secretary
