Maroon

              The Maroon ESTABLISHED 1923 VOL. 74 NO. 13 Loyola University New Orleans FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 1996 Board of Trustees to decide fate of Freeport chair By JENNY JOHNSON Business Manager The Board of Trustees meets today at I p.m. to decide if the university will return $600,000 that Freeport-McMoßan donated three years ago to establish an environmental communications chair. Shortly after a protest took place in front of the home of the company's CEO, Jim Bob Moffett, which included Loyola students and faculty members. Moffett requested that the university return the money. Moffett, in an interview with The Maroon after a press conference where he announced his request, said that his decision was based on the fact that the university had not filled the chair after having the money for three years. "Our shareholders put up that $600,000 in good faith, and nobody has done anything with it," he said. Moffett did not return phone calls placed this week. The Board, which currently has 31 voting members, is in charge of accepting gifts on behalf of the university. The Board is the only body that can return donations. Institutional Advancement sent Board members information, including the chronological history of the chair, material provided by faculty opposed to the university's acceptance of the money, information provided by Freeport-McMoßan, and articles from newspaper reports, said Joseph Mansfield, vice president of Institutional Advancement. The Rev. Larry Moore, S.J., secretary and treasurer of the Board and a Loyola law professor, said he thinks it is "unlikely" that the money will be returned. "The Board looks very carefully before it gives up any endowed money. Only for the most compelling reasons would money be returned." Moore and Mansfield said that the university h: never returned monetary gifts. While Moffett has not pressured universit administrators to return the money, according t Mansfield, his initial request for its return remair his formal position. "To the best of our knowledge, he has nt withdrawn his request, nor has he pushed the issu since the first press conference when he asked fC the money back," Mansfield said. Freeport-McMoßan did not put any time lim Sec TRUSTEES. Pp. Dropout rate threatens 1996 budget projections for Loyola By CHRIS BONURA Staff writer During the spring convocation the Rev. Bernard Knoth. S.J., university president, said that he would focus much of his attention this semester on retention, a problem that he addressed during his first convocation in the fall. Knoth asked faculty members at the spring convocation to contribute in any way they could to retain students. A study completed over the summer esiimates that approximately 25 percent of freshmen leave Loyola before finishing 12 months of school. In an interview with The Maroon last semester. Knoth said he would like to see the retention rate in the upper nineties The question of retention takes on a particular significance when considering next year's university budget. The projections for next year's budget are based on the number of full-time equivalent students the university estimates will enroll. Knoth said that the university will be taking "a calculated risk" in its estimation of the number of students expected to enroll next year. "The increased number needs to come in the form of increased retention," Knoth said. "It is something that we all can work for, and it's critical that we do." University budget crunchers base the next year's budget on the projected full-time equivalent, the number of full-time students with part-time students factored in. Knoth explained that although the number of full-time equivalents has not increased drastically, the difference is bigger than it appears. In order to meet the full-time equivalents projected for this year's budget, an additional pool of law school students was admitted last year, which could eventually lead to accreditation problems. Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs Daniel P. Sheridan pointed out four factors that he said contributed to retaining students: the academic compatibility of the student and the university, financial aid, educational programs and cocurriculars.He said that students who are admitted find the curriculum either too difficult or too easy. Sheridan said that increasing admissions standards would help the retention rate. Students without basic skills in English or mathematics have difficulties with the "There are times when we will disappoint a student. Maybe they expect a UT or LSU football environment." —Robert Rowland curriculum, Sheridan said. "The more qualified a student is, the more likely he is to persist and graduate." According to Robert Rowland, dean of Arts and Sciences, students who left his college were sent a letter asking their reasons for leaving. He said most students reported that they could no longer afford Loyola. Rowland said he could not determine if tuition increases "were the straws that broke the camels' backs." He said students often lose financial aid or scholarships and cannot afford to attend anymore. Sheridan said the social environment at Loyola influences whether a student stays. "There are times when we will disappoint a student. Maybe they expect a UT or LSU football environment. We also get students who transfer here who are trying to get away from that kind of environment." Rowland said the social sphere and the academic sphere are connected. "Some students come here and they major in the French Quarter or Waldo's," he said. Unlike other universities at which Rowland has worked, he said, drinking affects class work because students drink a lot of alcohol during the work week "Even if they made the drinking age 30, it would still be a problem. The freshmen who were so inclined would show up with a fake ID, swearing they were 30." Sheridan called the school's low retention rate "a growing pain." He cited the growing numbers of out of state students whom Loyola is recruiting. He said Loyola cannot rely on the metropolitan Catholic High School system the way it once did. "Tuition has increased, and we're in one of the poorest states in the country. At the same time we have been increasing the quality of the student body." Tulane students protest tuition raise By DOMINIC MASSA Staff writer Tulane University's Board of Administrators approved a budget package last week for the coming fiscal year that will bring a tuition increase and faculty and staff layoffs, while sparing the school's athletic program. Drawn up by the Tulane 2000 executive committee, a group comprised of administrators, faculty, staff and students, the approved budget package trims $8.4 million from the university's $450 million 1996-97 budget. It includes a 1.5 percent reduction in the university's work force, faculty and staff salary freezes and a four percent tuition increase. Eamon Kelly, Tulane University president, said the long and difficult budget process, marked by a student protest two weeks ago, has meant a fusion of ideas proposed in several diflerent plans. "We were really pleased to come up with a consensus on a set of proposals that maintained the academic and financial strength of the institution," he said after the Jan. 19 vote. "Although the elimination of any positions is always difficult." The protest march on Kelly's home and office, according to Jacqueline Holmes, student body president, was sparked by Tulane students' dissatisfaction with the proposed cuts in student services and financial aid. 'The protest was to let the Board and Dr. Kelly know how we felt about the cuts and the vision of the university the leaders have," Holmes said. She added that, with a year's tuition and fees currently exceeding $20,000, any tuition increase is unfavorable to students. However, cuts in student services and departments were even more disheartening to students, she said. The proposed cuts included reducing the number By THIBEAUX LINCECUM/ The Tulane Hullabaloo Tulane students protest the university's proposed tuition increase two weeks ago. See TULANE. Pg. 5 WislS-.J ®§iar ' Honor Roll Honors Center opens 1! this semester on the * m fifth floor of Monroe. • J Pg. 5 t .""' g""pg.7 hĝ