Clarion 1999-04-29 Vol. 74 No. 13

              A&E:
pages 9-10        Sports:
Reviews of
'God's Favorite'
and 'The
Matrix'
page 12
Men's tennis looks to finish in
MIAC top four
Variety:
page 8
Senior nursing
students: preparing
for life after Bethel
Thursday, April 29,1999
THE AWARD-WINNING NEWSPAPER OF BETHEL COLLEGE
Volume 74 • Number j2
/
Bethel Jazz Band swings with style
Clarion/Photo by Kristen Somody
Sax players sophomore Nate Sundquist and first-year students Haddon Anderson and Carly
Zuckweiler groove with style during the Bethel Jazz Band's weekly rehearsal. This is Bethel's
second year with a resident Jazz Band, conducted by Trygve Skaar. This Friday, Bethel hosts the
"Jazz in the Great Hall" concert featuring the Jazz Band and the Bethel Chamber Choir.
Tuition increases
3-9 percent
Lowest rise in 20 years
By James C. Pittman
Layout Editor
Student tuition, excluding
room and board, will rise to
$15,200 for the 1999-2000 academic year, a 3.9 percent increase. While tuition has steadily
risen each year for decades, the
recent increase is the lowest percentage increase in 20 years.
Daniel C. Nelson, Director of
Financial Planning, has been
keeping track of tuition increases
since 1979. Tuition increased 4.8
percent in 1995-96,6.2 percent in
1996-97, 5.5 percent in 1997-98
and 6.7 percent last year. In 1979,
however, tuition increased by over
14 percent due to the economic
crisis in the United States
economy.
Nelson explained that a leading reason for the low increase for
next year was that external "hard
costs," such as electricity and
other utilities, did not increase significantly over the last year. "We
look a hit last year," he added, "in
technology costs. The reason tuition went up so much last year
was because of a bunch of extra
money spent on technology, and
so thai didn't cany over from last
year. It was a one-time event."
These technology costs, stated
Nelson, were new computer
equipment and wiring of buildings.
The grealesl cost for the institution, Nelson stated, is personnel
costs. "Faculty salaries and staff
salaries arc the biggest percentage
of ourbudgcl," he said, "so, to the
extent that the school wants to increase salaries for people both to
reflect inflation and merit in-
Con tin tied on page 2
PACE celebrates
10 years of service
By Sarah Colbert
Guest Writer
The Bethel College Center for
Graduate and Continuing Studies
celebrated a decade of serving
working adult students through
PACE and masters degree programs on Thursday, April 22.
To celebrate ihis "Bethel milestone" approximately 150 friends,
faculty and administration from
the Bethel community gathered to
honor those who made it possible.
Employees and faculty who
have made a significant impact on
this program were recognized at
the reception. Among those recognized was Dr. Wendy
Wakemann for her vision and
"pioneering" effort to bring quality programs to adult student at
Bethel.
Known as Ihe "Founding
Dean" of the Center for Graduate
and Continuing Studies,
Wakemann was instrumental in
shaping the program into what it
is today. Wakemann stated that
when the program first started,
there was only one major in
PACE. Since then, the program
has grown to three majors with an
estimated number of 750 students.
Wakemann is currently serving as
the Dean of Professional Studies
"This is an ongoing
partnership in what
God is doing at
Bethel through the
Center for Graduate
and Continuing
Studies."
-Dennis Morrow,
Dean of the Center
for Graduate and
Continuing Studies
at Fresno Pacific University in
Fresno, Calif.
Dr. George Brushaber was recognized for a decade of support
and leadership and Dr. Thomas J.
Continued on page 3
Faculty experience overloads
By Peter Rockwell
StaffWriter
"The majority of us carry an
overload, and we are exhausted
from it," said Jill Martin of the
education department. The increasing number of students in
relation to the number of faculty members available has
caused many professors to take
on extra classes.
Taking on extra classes is
not an institutional requirement, bin rather a choice. However, many feel an obligation to
the studenls, Beihel or themselves to take on the extra load.
Biology professor James
Reynhout said, "Some of us are
too kind to the institution, and
too concerned about students,
and haven't yet learned how to
weigh and evaluate the damage
it docs to our own health and
ability to function well in
classes and our personal lives."
Martin asked, "Where is the
line where you serve, because
we are called to be servants?
But where is the line where we
say 'no,' because it's taking loo
much out of me?"
Biology, chemistry, education, biblical and theological
studies and philosophy are specific departments especially effected by faculty overloads. "Il
has been extra work, but in
some ways il has been paid off
"Whenever you extend
yourself from the
ordinary sometimes that
forces you to cut
corners."
- Mel Stuart, professor
of philosophy
financially, and by the people lhat
I have met, that I otherwise would
nol have," said Mel Stuart professor of philosophy. Nevertheless,
Stuart reiterated that overloads
can lead to frustration and disappointment in terms of teaching
goals. "Whenever you extend
yourself from ihe ordinary sometimes that forces you to cul corners," said Stuart,
Cutting corners is the last
thing the administration wants.
Tricia Brownlee said that eight
additional faculty positions will
be offered for next year to help
wilh ihe overload. "I think the
reason we have so many overloads is lhat we're a year behind
in the enrollment. We can'l always guarantee that we're going
to have more enrollment the next
year, so we can't go ahead and
hire a lot of faculty."
Jay Barnes, ihe provost, sees
the problem of faculty overloads
as a top priority. He said the solution to overloads comes from
"finding the right places to plug
in adjunct professors." Barnes
also emphasized Bethel's financial crunch and suggested the
generation of new forms of revenue. "Because we are tuition-
driven, we want to be cautious
that wc don't over hire."
"I don't want our faculty to
be discourage," said Barnes.
"Our faculty is one of our most
valuable resources at Bethel.
There is a real commitment to
sludents here, and that commitment shows through the
mentoring relationships, research and writing projects. I
don't want a work environment
that takes away from the valuable things that faculty do for
students."