VMI Cadet. August 28, 1981

              Virginia's Last Independent College Newspaper
VOLUME LXXI Virginia Military institute, Lexington, Virginia, August 28,1981 NUMBER 1
Recruiting Faculty For
Engineering Is Difficult
byF. P.Stone
The VMI Engineering Pro-gram
is experiencing a major
problem in recruiting faculty
members to teach at VMI. Col.
Nichols, head of the electrical
e n g i n e e r i n g department,
believes that all engineering
schools are experiencing
similar difficulties, but that
VMI is especially effected
because it is a small military
college.
For this reason, the institute
in the past has relied heavily on
alumni to teach here at VMI,
but now the number of alumni
faculty is down to less than thir-ty
percent. Col. Nichols states
that it has "never been like this
before." But he continues by
saying that when a VMI
graduate "fresh out of school,
makes more money than a pro-fessor,
it is fairly obvious that
recruiting experienced engi-neers
to teach here can prove
difficult.
In the past 11 years, 40
engineering faculty have left
the Civil, Electrical and
Mechanical Engineering
Departments. Most have either
retired or gone into the service,
but 18 of these left to take higher
paying jobs. Historically,
however, engineering profes-sors
have always r e c e i v ^ con-siderably
less than they would
on the "outside". Col. Nichols
states that most teachers could
make "somewhere around 50%
more" than they are making by
teaching.
But salaries are not the only
reason that potential engineer-ing
instructors shy away from
VMI. The Institute doesn't con-centrate
on research programs
that many fresh Ph.D.'s would
like to see here.
In addition, the restrictions,
such as wearing uniforms, get-ting
haircuts, and establishing a
military attitude, discourage
many potential professors.
Teaching classes on Saturdays
is certainly not very appealing.
Yet the entire supply of
graduate students has dropped
to 75% of what it was, according
to Col. Nichols, and the demand
for them is great. But despite
all these negative aspects of
teaching engineering courses,
many simply come to VMI be-cause
they like the "teaching
environment" here at VMI, ac-cording
to Col. Knapp, Head of
the Civil Engineering Depart-ment.
Others still come to VMI and
stay because they are dedicated
to the ideals VMI strives for.
Despite the fact that the situa-tion
has been labeled "critical"
by both departments, Col.
Nichols feels he speaks for the
whole program when he thinks
the future is optimistic. Pay
raises are already in the works
across the board. And an
Engineering Salary Differential
Program is already "in the
mill."
Youth Grants
Vow Available
The Youthgrant Program of
the National Endowment for the
Humanities is alive and well
and will once again offer a
limited number of awards to
young people in their teens and
twenties to pursue non-credit,
out-of-the-classroom research
projects in the humanities. The
deadline for receipt of com-pleted
application forms is
November 16, and funded pro-jects
begin the following May.
Some expamples of college-level
projects funded in this
highly competitive program in-clude:
an annotated exhibition
of 20th century war-time
"home-front" activities in Min-nesota
and Wisconsin; a com-plete
historical survey, presen-tation,
and guidebook on a tra-dition-
steeped small Florida
coastal island; a collection and
study of migrant worker border
ballads in South Texas; and a
film on a small Oregon town's
innovative survival method
—backyard goldmining — dur-ing
the Great Depression.
Up to 75 grants will be award-ed,
offering as much as $2,500
for individuals, and a few group
grants up to $10,000 ($15,000 for
exceptional m^ia projects).
YouUigrants are intended pri-marily
for those between 18 and
25 who have not yet completed
academic or professional train-ing
but can demonstrate the a-bility
to design and perform
outstanding humanities re-search
and translate that into
an end product to share with
others. The humanities include
(continued on page 7)
New faculty and staff at VMI shown above are FIRST ROW : Col. P.E. Gardner, Col. E.L. Claiborn, Gen.
Morgan. Gen. Walker, Col. McDonough, 1st Lt. K.W. Barber. SECOND ROW: Lt. Col. R.A. Erchul, Maj.
W.G. Hughes, J.H. King, Jr., Ms. C.W. Ward, Mrs. Y.S. Emerson. THIRD ROW: W.P. Johnson. W.T.
Nalley, Jr.. Znd Lt, M.J, Colgan. Lt. Col. K.P. PhiUips. Lt. Col. E.V. Daley. FOURTH ROW; Lt. J.W.
Ball. W.H. Craft, Maj. G.P. Bal. G.R. Powley. D.T. White. FIFTH ROW: Capt. E.B. Scheipers. Capt.
S.R. Gray, Lt. W.W. Williams. J.A. Walters. Capt. R.B. James. Jr.. Dr. B.W. Mundy, Jr.
SIXTH ROW: Capt. T.A. Edwards. photo from P.I.O.
Auto Accident Claims Cadet Life
On August 13, 1981, Richard
Wayne Flanner, a member of
the Virginia Military Institute's
Class of 1984, tragically died in
an automobile accident in the
vicinity of his hometown. In his
remembrance an honor guSrd
consisting of his Brother Rats
presented him with a twenty-one
gun salute at his funeral.
Rick's survivors include his
parents, Mr. and Mrs. Roy
Flanner and his three sisters.
Formally from Richmond,
Rick and his family returned to
Tazewell where he resided dur-ing
his high school years. Rick
soon became a leader and a
very highly respected indi-vidual
among his peers. During
his student years at Tazewell
High School, he was captain of
both the football and wrestling
teams while establishing a good
academic record. At VMI, he
continued as an active partici-pant
in the school functions as a
member of the football and
swimming teams. He majored
in Civil Engineering and served
in the Air Force ROTC.
As close friends of Rick, we
can say he displayed aU the
characteristics of a true
Brother Rat. Whenever anyone
was in trouble or needed help,
he was eager to aid in any way
possible. Rick's personality is
truly one that we will miss
because he could always make
the worst situation not seem so
bad. He had a special knack for
cheering someone up during the
hard times in the rat line. Rick
had a unique imagination full of
optimism. He sometimes talked
about being an astronaut, run-ning
a cattle farm, and running
his own business.
The close friends of Rick and
his dyke Robert R. Thompson
'81 will cherish the fond
memories of Rick Flanner
throughout our lives. His fami-ly,
Brother Rats, members of
the Corps, and all thouse who.
knew Rick will miss his
presence. As a devout Christian
and follower of Christ, his soul
will continue an everlasting life.
Ted Comer '84
John Lee Noell '84
Increase In Tuition At VMI
Inflation spares iio one, and
tuition costs at VMI will be
substantially higher in the com-ing
years. Total costs for
Virginia cadets will rise from
the 1981-82 figure of $3,295 to
$4,255, an increase of 30%, while
the costs for Non-Virginia
residents will climb from $4615
to $6,035, an increase of 31%.
Tuition and fees for 1982-83 are
projections based on VMI's pre-sent
budget formula and are
subject to change by the Board
of Visitors and by whatever ac-tion
the state legislature might
take.
Another underlying reason
for the increase in tuitions
stems from the recommenda-tion
of the State Council of
Higher Education to reduce
allocations for state schools
(continued on page 6)