Likins to ask regents for Union architect

Wildcat File Photo Arizona Daily Wildcat "There will not be the $50 million to $60 million Student Union we are all dreaming about without a student contribution," - UA President Peter Likins

Likins said he hopes to "dodge" usual procedures that stipulate conceptual approval of a project before drawing up plans.

"I can't hire an architect without approval by the regents," he said, adding he wants University of Arizona students to see a model of a renovated Memorial Student Union before he again asks them to contribute to the project.

"There will not be the $50 million to $60 million Student Union we are all dreaming about without a student contribution," he said.

UA students rejected a proposal two weeks ago that would have helped fund Union renovations through a $40 per semester fee. Nearly three-fourths of student voters were against the idea.

"I can't ask (the regents) for conceptual approval because I won't get it," Likins said.

President Likins, who said asking the regents to approve the Student Union concept would cause the UA "distress and embarrassment," also disagreed with Associated Students President Gilbert Davidson's claim that the Arizona Daily Wildcat's coverage of the Student Union referendum was stilted against the fee.

"We were given a curve ball, but not by the Wildcat - it was by a member of the student body," Likins said, referring to the "Union Yes, Fee No!" committee led by political science senior Jeff Schrade.

Davidson said earlier in the meeting, "The Wildcat took their editorials and put them on the front page," attesting the referendum failed because of Wildcat editorials and the failure of ASUA to take more time educating students about a "complex issue."

He suggested the UA administration go to the regents, select an architect and let students know what a renovated Student Union would look like.

"It's going to be a very long process," Davidson said.

Likins, who said Davidson and ASUA did all they could do to educate the students, added the regents do not fully understand what the students meant by killing the fee.

He said some regents believe the students voted without fully understanding the issue, whereas other regents believe the students don't want a Student Union.

Sen. Donald Myers, a mathematics professor, asked Likins about the possibility of going to the state legislature to ask for Student Union funding.

"In general, it is pretty clear that we can't receive millions and millions of dollars from the state," Likins said.

In other business:

The Senate was concerned that some of its members were excluded from an October Tucson hearing where state legislators heard gripes from university employees and discussed proposed changes in the state whistleblower law.

The state whistleblower law shields employees from retaliation for disclosing information in matters of public concern. The UA is exempt because it has its own system in place.

Faculty Chair Jerry Hogle said the Senate should look into a plan to amend current law put forth by Carol Bernstein, a professor at the UA medical college and president of the American Association of University Professors' Arizona chapter.

"It seems to me the Faculty Senate has a right to look at the issue and decide whether or not to support it," Hogle said. "It's bothersome to me to enact a position that has not been through us."

The Senate also approved three curriculum policy changes including a joint doctoral program between UA and Arizona State University in the Theory and History of Art.

The program, which took six years to create, is the largest Art History doctorate faculty west of the Mississippi River.

"Seeing something like this (the program) really gives me hope," Likins said.

Senators also discussed changing policies that govern student withdrawal from class.

Students withdrawing from a class will now receive a W/P or a W/F, indicating whether they were passing and failing before they quit.

The new grades will appear on student transcripts, but will not alter grade point averages.