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VOIUME 57 Issue 8
University of West Georgia a leader in green technology
Bv Kllis Smith
News Editor
ellistheredQP gmuil.com
There has been much
talk in the mainstream
media regarding the lack
of conservation efforts in
the civilized world and
the coming catastrophe
of global warming. But
ways in which students
are increasingly pushing
parents and friends to switch
to more energy efficient
ways of living, as reported
by The Wall Street Journal,
is beginning to change the
status quo.
While much of
the developing world,
especially China and India,
are building coal-burning
plants and placing millions
of new vehicles the
road, the United States is
beginning to take action
in the fight to conserve
tlie environment. Students
on college campuses, and
tfie University of West
Georgia in particular, are
diking many steps to curb
the energy costs associated
with running a college.
The big question is:
What can students do to
help ? Bob Watkins, director
for Facilities and Grounds on
campus, is excited about the
Hanging with Hynes: an interview with the Vice President for Academic Affairs
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Staff Writer
acarnes I @my. westga.edu
Dr. Thomas Hynes is the
vice president for Academic
Affairs here at the University of
West Georgia. Educated at the
University of Massachusetts
and the University of North
Carolina, he has been an
educator not only at those
institutions, but also at Baylor
University in Waco, Texas and,
more recently before UWG,
the University of Louisville in
Louisville, Kentucky. Hynes
briefly acted as President of
the University of West Georgia
before the return this fall of
President Beheruz Sethna.
The West Georgian
recently interviewed Dr.
Hynes on his role within the
school and his plans for the
future:
Q: What is the role of the
vice president of Academic
Affairs?
A: The vice president of
Academic Affairs is the
chief academic officer of
the institution. All academic
activities on campus, 1 am
ultimately responsible for.
I am responsible for doing
what we can to use resources;
we have to have the best
academic program we can. So
the deans ol the Colleges of
Aits and Sciences, Education,
Business. Honors College,
Graduate School, library,
ITS, continuing education, off
campus programs, all report to
the vice president of Academic
West Georgian
opportunities for students
to assist the university in
emissions reduction.
According to Watkins,
students can help out in a
variety of ways.
"Many students leave
their air-conditioning or
heat on when they leave for
the weekend or even for the
entire day," Watkins said.
"If every student just turned
off their thermostat when
they left for the day, they
w ould reduce their personal
emissions enormously."
Additionally. lights
that are typically left on
can simply be sw itched off
when not in use.
“There is no need to
leave the lights on when
you leave your dorm or
apartment." Watkins said.
"It's a simple thing to do,
once you get into the habit.
I've heard of some students
putting a post-it note on the
door with a little reminder
to flip off the lights written
on it. and in the past we've
actually handed out printed
signs for students and
faculty to place near their
light switches "
Watkins also prefers
that students walk to class
rather than drive.
"Students cannot only
save a huge amount of
/Allan n.
Q: Does your mle as a
professor correlate with your
role as vice president, and if
so how?
A: The university handbook
makes it necessary that
the vice president has the
credentials to be appointed
as a full professor at the
university in a department. So
1 was hired as a professor of
communication when I came
here from the University of
Louisville in 19%, and l had
served also as the Dean of the
College of Arts and Sciences at
Louisville. So we’re required
to have the credentials for
a tenured professor in a
department. The choice that
1 make to teach every year is
a choice that 1 make. Fnt not
required by my administrative
appt untment ti > leach. 1 choose
to teach because 1 like to do
this. 1 do that because my
expertise helps my colleagues
in the department to teach
some classes at the freshman/
sophomore level, which 1 love
doing. So I'm not required to
do so, but I enjoy doing so. It
keeps me fresh, aid it reminds
me that I’m here to help
support my administrative
role as vice president.
Q: We were informed of a
student last week who was
killed dnink driving. How
do you as the vice president
balance the relationship
between having strict rules
aid letting the students have a
full social life?
In News - Page .?
Public Safety improves
emergency call pillars.
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money on gas by walking
around our campus, but
they are also doing their
part to help preserve our
environment and way of
life," lie said.
Students already
know that carpooling saves
gas money and reduces
pollution By carpooling
with only one other person.
A: I am not familiar with the
instant case that you refer
to. 1 do know that one of
our students last night was
involved in a fatal traffic
accident. 1 know none of
the details of that So let me
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Photo by Kim Hahn
sort of draw a line there aid
answer the question about
the relationship between our
academic responsibilities. It’s
a very difficult balancing act
that we at universities have.
And when 1 say balancing
act, we have been limited by
a variety of legal opinions that
universities no longer function
as “parents” or serve instead
In Opinion - Page 4
ill
Democrats fighting for
young people.
students are cutting their
personal emissions in half.
Walking to class, or taking
the bus to campus, or tiny
form of mass transit, can
cut down on the amount of
money students spend on
gas, and also reduce their
emissions.
Many students leave
TVs, computers, stereos.
of the parents < if students that
we have. At the same time
we have a responsibility to
support students growth
from late adolescence to early
adulthoixi. All of us at that
period in tune arc not always
qualified to always make the
best decisions. We have a
delicate balance.
Q: How do you promote
student/teacher relations and
communication?
A: Most of that is done
through tiie deans, but it’s a
framework focus. We work
in tandem with the Dean's
In A&E - Page 7
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UWG Theatre tames
crowd w ith production.
amplifiers. and other
appliances turned on when
they tire either not using
them or w hen they leave the
room
‘Turning stuff off when
you're done with it is one of
the best ways students can
save energy in their own
personal space,” Watkins
said. "Bv doing this thev
I km
< )ffice and share programs
like the LXCLL Center. We
like to create a broad sfructure
for support with programs that
are chaired by a committee of
six people: three teachers and
three students, who decide the
distribution of funds to our
support programs on campus
such as ITS.
Q: What challenges did you
face in school, and did those
challenges have any tiling to do
w ith you wanting to become
an educator?
A: 1 was the first in my family
to graduate college, so it was
all about support and success.
There was no one to tell me
the expectations. Students
don’t always ask for help, so
it’s my goal to provide the help
that they need by just asking.
“How can we help'’’’
Q: Which I guess is the idea
behind the one-minute papers
you give to your class?
A: Exactly. That’s just a little
thing we do at the end of each
section to kind of see if the
class is keeping up, maybe
w hat I need to clarify'.
Q: What is your opinion on
the new changes that have
been made to HOPE?
A: The idea behind H( )PE is to
support students of merit and
keep them in school. There are
some short-tenn pains in the
changes since the eligibility
of students to receive HOPE
went down, but the question
In Sports - Page H
Intramural soccer and
flag football galore.
Wednesday. Oc tober 10. 2007
Photo h\ Tereru t Rushin
reduce the amount of power
they use, saving themselves
money, and also reducing
the amount of power that
must be manufactured
through either coal, nuclear,
or some other form of
energy production.”
See GREEN page 2
is: Will it decline the number
of students who keep it? It
may he a positive thing. We
just don’t know the big effect
yet. Hopefully it w ill lead to a
higher number of graduates,
but it’s going to take a little
while to find out.
( f. We’ve been told that there
is going to be an enormous
increase in the number of
students in the Georgia
University System in the
next several years. How do
you plan on accommodating
these students, especially with
housing and parking?
A: This is actually being
discussed at the moment.
We're working on a support
structure to sustain a grow ill
over time. Our goal is to
manage growth, not be
managed by it. We’re adding
242 acres to the northw est side
of campus to work with, but
as far as parking is concerned,
there are financial strains we
deal with since we don't want
to increase student fees to have
to pay for a parking deck.
( J: What are some challenges
y ou might face in the future?
A: Having sufficient resources
to serve our students well.
We even wonder how we
currently serve the learning
needs of students. Do we have
the right balance ? How do we
improve the programs? We
plan on enhancing the student/
faculty information; there arc
many w ays of learning how to
learn.