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Lewis denies charges of attrition
By Chris Hays
Editor
Recent reports from the Young
Democrats claiming 21 Arts and Sciences
professors will soon be fired or dismissed to
provide more positions for the Business
School are just ‘‘pure nonsense”, according
to Dr. John Lewis, vice president of West
Georgia College.
“I don’t know where they’re getting that,
where they got such grossly distorted infor
mation,” Lewis said. “All we’re talking
about is shifting financial resources within
the institution.”
For the last few weeks members of the
Young Democrats of Carroll County,
through flyers passed out on campus and
letters to The West Georgian, have accused
The West Georgian
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Policy labeled vague
Faculty say policy lacks academic freedom
By Joe Callahan
News Editor
The new retrenchment policy
issued by the Board of Regents is
extremely vague, according to
West Georgia College
administrators.
Dr. Ann Richards, chairman of
the American Association of
University Professors Ad-Hoc
Review Comittee on Retrench
ment Policy, said, “There are two
main concerns. One is the docu
ment is so vaguely worded
throughout, it is hard to know ex
actly what it would mean if (West
Georgia College) got into this
Group holds forum
to discuss policies
By Frank Pritchett
Staff Writer
In an effort to better understand
the Board of Regents’ proposed
retrenchment policy, the Young
Democrats, without the presence
of three top WGC administrators
they had invited, sponsored an
open forum for students Thursday.
President Townsend, who had
entertained as few as six students
the week before at his presidential
forum, along with Dr. Bruce Lyon
(vice president of Student Ser
vices), and Dr. John T. Lewis,
(vice president and Dean of
Faculties), had been invited by the
Young Democrats’ President,
Denice Fulcher, to help answer
any student’s questions.
A panel made up of two WGC
professors Dr. Ben Kennedy
(professor of history) and Dr.
Anne Richards (professor of
Former hostage to speak Friday at WGC
CNN’s Levin will speak about being kidnapped in Lebanon
Jeremy Levin, the CNN Bureau
Chief who escaped Arab terrorists
in Beirut after eleven months in
captivity, will speak at WGC
Thursday and Friday about his
experiences.
Levin, 54, was kidnapped by the
Arab terrorists while walking to
work on March 7, 1964, and for
almost a year the world anxiously
awaited word of his fate. Then, on
Feb. 14, 1985, Levin managed an
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Jeremy Levin and his wife Lucille became in
ternational celebrities after Levin was kidnap
ped in Beirut, Lebanon in 1984 while working
Braves fall to Florida Southern to end dream season, pg. 8
“I don’t know where (the Young Democrats) are getting that, where
they’re getting such grossly distorted information...AH we’re talking
about is shifting financial resources within the institution.”
Dr. John Lewis
vice president of WGC
the administration of formulating an attri
tion policy to beef up the business faculty.
The flyer, later rebuked by a member of the
Business School faculty, said at least 21
members of the Arts and Sciences faculty
would be fired or leaving for the express
purpose of transferring those positions to
the Business School.
In addition, the Young Democrats held an
situation.”
“And the second thing is that
there is a statement in the policy
that is vaguely worded,” she add
ed. “It indicates that the exsisting
policy would be overruled by or
superceded by the rentrenchment
policy.”
According to Richards, the
policy was first discussed in 1980
and again in 1982.
In the latter part of Janurary,
President Maurice Townsend re
quested to see West Georgia Col
lege professors Don Wagner, pro
fessor of Political Science and ex
ecutive secretary of the AAUP,
psychology) —as well as Fulcher,
answered questions from about 50
students and some faculty
members.
The proposed policy makes it
possible for the Board of Regents
to close certain institutions if the
state cannot afford to operate the
college or university as a result of
a drastic reduction in enrollment
This would give the Board of
Regents the opportunity to fire
non-tenure and tenured faculty,
according to Fulcher.
After being told her editorial in
last week’s West Georgian con
tained some serious flaws —one
being her statement that faculty
could be fired for arbitrary
reasons such as race, sex or
political views Fulcher said she
was going to have to stand behind
her statement.
Please see FORUM, pg. 5
incredible escape by slipping his
bonds, tying blankets together and
lowering himself to the ground. He
made it to Syrian Army lines
where he feared being shot as an
infiltrator. But the Syrians, after
learning his identity, helped him
return to freedom.
After returning to the U.S.,
Levin and his wife, Lucille (Sis)
Levin, who became active in the
hostage-awareness movement,
for CNN. He will speak at WGC this week about
his experiences.
West Georgia College, Carrollton, Georgia 30118
and C.G. Sanders, chairman of the
Faculty and Administration Staff
Personnel Comittee, to discuss the
policy as outlined by the Board of
Regents.
Townsend asked Sanders to get
faculty imput for some revisions
and suggested modifications of the
document.
“Don Wagner and I thought the
most effective way of getting this
out to the most amount of people
was to get a copy of the proposed
document issued to every depart
ment chairman to dispose the
policy to their department,” said
Sanders.
After approximately two weeks,
Sanders’ 19-person comittee
recieved 43 pages of criticisms
from faculty members. He labell
ed some as intelligent responses,
while others were classified “im
mature” responses.
The policy defines retrenchment
as “reductions, modifications,
closings, or exigencies requiring
the layoff of faculty, including non
tenured faculty (before the expira
tion of the contract) and tenured
faculty...(it) may occur in the
System, or within academic units
of an institution.”
The retrenchment definition, ac
cording to Wagner, is “so loose
that concievably 22 out of the 34 in
stitutions could have been retren
ched last year because they just
had budget cuts. It is loose to the
point that almost anything can
constitute retrenchment. Once
retrenchment is declared under
these procedures, if adopted, then
tenured faculty could be dismissed
without the protections they now
have.”
Richards’ committee, which in
cludes faculty members Ben Ken
nedy and Henry Setter, believes
Please see POLICY, pg. 5
were seen by millions on television
calling for the release of other
American hostages in the Middle
East. Levin gave credit to the U.S.
government, but it is reportedly
clear that he believes more
publicity should be focused on the
plight of the American hostages
still in captivity.
Levin has a career in journalism
spanning twenty-five years. After
working for various radio and
open forum last week to discuss the alleged
attrition by the school (see related story this
page).
Lewis adamnantly denied these reports
and said only seven positions would be
trasnferred to the Business School. He add
ed that these positions would be vacated
soon by faculty members retiring or leaving
the school for other reasons.
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This bird’s-eye view of the area surrounding
Front Campus Dr. highlights the beauty of the
campus which attracts so many students to the
school every year. The photo, taken in an
television stations in Houston, Bir
mingham, Chicago, and New
York, he joined CNN (Cable News
Network) in 1981 as Washington,
D.C. Bureau Chief, moving to
Chicago as Bureau Chief and Cor
respondent in 1962. He was ap
pointed Middle East Bureau Chief,
with headquarters in Beirut,
Lebanon in December 1983. He is
now assigned to the Washington,
D.C. Bureau.
Levin also participates in
several civic and professional ac
tivities. He is a member of Sigma
Delta Chi, the National Press Club,
and the Chicago Press Club.
Levin and his wife now actively
seek improved relations with the
Arabs. “Because of his experience
he’s developed some very firm
convictions about what we need to
do to develop relations with the
Arabs,” said Dr. Huey Owens, pro
fessor of English at WGC.
Levin will speak Thursday in
Lab D of the Education Center at 9
a.m. and at the BSU at 7:40 p.m.
He will also speak at Carrollton’s
Central High School 11 a.m. Fri
day and in room 137 of the
Humanities building at 2 p.m. on
Friday.
As of press time, the identities of the
seven faculty members and their reasons
for leaving were not available.
“All we’re talking about is taking a posi
tion of a person that is retiring or moving
and shifting that financial resource within
the institution,” Lewis said.
According to Lewis, the School of
Business and the School of Education are
seriously understaffed by Board of Regents’
standards. The Board uses a “very com
plicated formula” involving credit hours
earned to determine how many faculty
members are needed in a specific school at
each institution.
Lewis said the School of Arts and Sciences
is overstaffed by as many as 14 to 20
Please see LEWIS, pg. 4
Retrenchment, parking
hot topics at luncheon
By Daphne Rhodes
Staff Writer
Retrenchment and student
faculty parking problems were the
hot topics at Wednesday’s
Presidential Lunchon, in which
student organization represen
tatives questioned President
Maurice Townsend and Dr. Bruce
Lyon, vice president of Student
Services.
According to Torri Hornsby,
assistant director of Student Ac
tivities, the luncheon is an open
Registration schedule
♦Registration by SS# ends on Thursday, March 12.
♦Students who did not register on the assigned day
may register on March 13.
♦Students may change their spring schedules on
March 13.
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Dr. John Lewis, vice president of
West Georgia College, denied
allegations that the school is
releasing 21 liberal arts
professors.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 1987
airplane, offers a different perspective of such
landmarks as the Infirmary, Mandeville Hall,
and the Business building. (Photo by Lorelle
McAvoy)
forum for discussion held once
each quarter. Hornsby, who ar
ranged the luncheon, specifically
invited representatives from 13
organizations, and anyone else
who wanted to attend was
welcomed.
The retrenchment policy was
one of the main issues brought up
for discussion. According to Presi
dent Townsend, last year several
institutions had a reduction of
Please see LUNCHEON, pg. 4
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