THE
UPDATE

Summer 2001
Vol. XXI * * * NOTES FROM THE DEAN * * * The Palio

This summer it was my good fortune to accompany my wife to Italy for her performance with UNOmaha's Moving Company at a dance festival. After the festival we had a wonderful time traveling in northern Italy, capping in off with a stay in Tuscany near Siena. Siena is not only home to one of the oldest universities in the world, but also home to one of the oldest continuing horse races in the world-the Palio. The Palio is held in Siena's Campo, its beautiful main square. They haul in dirt to create a track. The competition in each race is among 10 of the 17 contrade or neighborhoods of the old city. There are a number of fascinating aspects about these races. Horses are selected in attempt to have 10 of approximate equal speed and randomly assigned to the competing contrade . The rules of the race and the events surrounding the race are ancient complex and to a large extent subverted by bribes, schemes, and all sundry of chicanery. The jockeys ride bareback, there are no rules regarding interfering with other riders or horses, and the first horse across the finish line after three times around the square is the winner, regardless of whether on not the horse still has a rider. The only prize is the "palio" a religious banner. However, the pride of winning and the terror in losing are so intense the race consumes the city's interest and emotions all year long.

For the Palio we attended it was rumored that a contrada which had not won in over 30 years was spending over a million dollars in partiti (bribes) in attempt to assure a winner this year. As I learned more about partiti, what immediately came to my mind was strategic planning. There are so many contingencies to be addressed. Jockeys are bribed and double-bribed. Other contrade are bribed to instruct their jockeys to accommodate or interfere with other horses. There are of course attempts to drug competing horses and who knows what chemicals might be put into one's own horse. In addition, divine intervention is sought. Each competing contrada brings its horse into its church to be blessed. In one contrada there is a cloistered order of nuns whose members normally have no communication with the outside world. However, when they have a horse in the race, they allow the women leaders of the contrada to come into the convent to pray with the nuns for a winner. Of course, given all these countervailing bribes and schemes, combined with a race that once started is without rules, the outcome of the race is completely a matter of chance. In the race we saw the horse of the contrada rumored to have spent so much money had an early lead, but lost strength after one lap. To our excitement, the horse from the contrada with which we had had dinner the night before took the lead. Meanwhile one horse threw its rider into the crowd. In the end the riderless horse nosed out "our" horse to win. A rare event in Palio history but far from unheard of.

Surely the Sianese have learned over the years they cannot really control the outcome of the horse race. So why are they so consumed with trying to do so? What became apparent was the social and communal value of planning. It gave me a new insight into the value of our own university planning exercisers. The outcomes we seek may be more easily predicted than the outcome to the Palio, but they are without certainty regardless of the care and thoroughness of our planning. In my brief exposure to the Sianese I gained a sense of something more important that may be gained from planning. It is a sense of communal effort and a socialization that binds people to mission. Siena has one of the lowest crime rates in the world. A fact often attributed to the strength of community created by the activities associated with the Palio. I would encourage us to recognize the associated social value of planning and the strengths that such a culture might bring to our institutional enterprises.

As I watched that riderless horse win the Palio, I also thought of my leaving the position of Dean for Graduate Studies and Associate Vice Chancellor for Research. It was never my intention to leave this job after just one year, but as with the Palio, plans are not controlling. When I started in this position I immediately realized I had inherited a fabulous staff in the Office of Graduate Studies and in Sponsored Programs and Research. I also quickly recognized that the faculty with whom I worked on the Graduate Council, the University Committee on Research, and as chairs of graduate programs were dedicated, competent, and of good will. One of my mantras became, "try not to screw up to good things you inherited." Like that riderless horse, the graduate college and the research enterprise at UNOmaha are on courses that will not be deterred by disruptions in leadership. Unlike the Palio's tolerance for a riderless horse, a deanless college will not be allowed for very long. I am sure that an outstanding successor will be identified and the course set by this institution and its faculty will be followed. For my part, in my new role as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, I will continue to have a strong interest in and provide support for graduate education and research and creative activities at UNOmaha. I thank all of those who have been supportive and/or tolerant of me during this past year.

Shelton Hendricks

* * * RECENT ACTIONS BY THE UNO GRADUATE COUNCIL * * * Since the last issue of the UNO Graduate Update , the following actions have been taken by the UNO Graduate Council:

1. Approved the joint UNO/UNMC Master of Public Health.
2. Approved the Human Resources & Training Certificate.
3. Approved the Graduate Certificate Procedures .
4. Approved revisions to policies to include Certificate programs .
5. Approved applying the current general admission requirements for graduate students to certificate programs.
6. Approved changing the name of the graduate certificate "Teaching English as a Second Language" to "Teaching English to Speakers of Others Languages"
7. Approved revisions to the Policy on Incompletes ; departments/schools can pass stricter policies.
8. Approved revisions to the six-year time limit on thesis hours. IPs on thesis hours have a ten-year time limit.
9. Approved revisions to the readmission and admission policies .
10. Approved revisions to the policy governing graduate assistantships . NOTE: Further revisions were made at the November 13, 2001 Graduate Council meeting. The link takes you to the policy as approved on November 13, which includes all changes.

    October 9, 2000

11. Approved the addition of a non-thesis option to the MA program in Sociology.
12. Approved the addition of a thesis option to the MS in Management Information Systems program
13. Approved the revisions to the MS in Urban Studies program.
14. Approved the appeal process for certificate programs: Students within a graduate certificate program should follow the "General Appeal Procedures for Academic Matters" and "Appeal of Grades in Graduate-Level Courses" as if they were a graduate student admitted to a degree program.

    November 13, 2000

15. Approved allowing one dissenting vote on a thesis; however, this will not be designated in the bound copy of the library.
16. Approved revisions to the "Special Permission to Register for Graduate Credit: Seniors at an Accredited Institution policy"

    Seniors at an Accredited Institution

    Seniors at an accredited institution (including UNOmaha) who have obtained, in advance, the approval of the appropriate campus Dean for Graduate Studies may receive up to 12 hours of graduate credit for courses taken at any campus of the University of Nebraska in addition to the courses necessary to complete their undergraduate work, provided that such credits are earned within the 12 months prior to receipt of the baccalaureate degree and that the student must have at least a "B" average in the undergraduate major. Graduate course work taken prior to receipt of the baccalaureate degree may not always be accepted for transfer to other institutions as graduate work or for completion of degree requirements at UNOmaha.

    January 8, 2001

17. The Graduate Council approved the Instruction in Urban Schools Graduate Certificate.

    February 12, 2001

18. Committee A clarified that all requirements, including comprehensive examination results, must be completed within 10 years.

    February 19, 2001

19. Approved the Scope & Nature of Thesis & Dissertation Project Guidelines
20. Approved the Outstanding Graduate Faculty Mentoring Award
21. Approved the Office of Graduate Studies Strategic Plan
22. The Council made a statement that they were generally in favor of awarding "-" grades since we already award "+" grades.

    March 5, 2001

23. The course descriptions be deleted from the hard-copy of the graduate catalog, but the course names be left in the hard-copy of the graduate catalog.
24. Approved the revisions to the Regent's Tuition Waivers .
25. Approved endorsing the draft proposal for intellectual property.

April 9, 2001

Elton S.Carter Award for Excellence in a Thesis

1. The Office of Graduate Studies has temporarily moved to Eppley Administration Room 207. Early within the Fall semester, the office should be moved to our new permanent location, Eppley Administration Room 202.
2. The Executive Graduate Council approved the consolidation of the following 5 UNOmaha Special Education & Communication Disorders Master's degrees into a single unified Masters of Science in Special Education:
   • Master of Science Behavioral Disorders
   • Master of Arts: Mental Retardation
   • Master of Science: Resource Teaching and Learning Disabilities
   • Master of Science: Teaching the Hearing Impaired
   • Master of Science: Teaching the Mentally Retarded
3. The Executive Graduate Council approved the name change for the UNL Master of Arts in Journalism to a Master of Art in Journalism and Mass Communication.
4. The Executive Graduate Council approved the proposed addition of minus grades to the grading system.
5. The Coordinating Commission approved the UNOmaha Human Resources & Training Certificate and the joint UNOmaha/UNMC Masters of Public Health degree on July 17, 2001.

Randall Adkins, Political Science
Nora Bacon, English
Candice Batton,Criminal Justice
Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado, Political Science
Frank Bramlett, English
Catherine Yap Co, Economics
Ellen Jacobs, Special Education & Communication Disorders
James Jones, Marketing/Management
Deepak Khazanchi, Information Systems & Quantitative Analysis
Melodee Landis, Teacher Education
Valentin Matache, Mathematics
Sheryl McGlamery, Teacher Education
Donald Rowen , Biology
Scott Tarry, Aviation Institute/Public Administration
Franklin Thompson, Teacher Education
Lauree Tilton-Weaver, Psychology

Karen Dwyer, Communication
Deepak Khazanchi, Information Systems & Quantitative Analysis
Valentin Matache, Mathematics
Owen Mordaunt, English
Stephen Paige, Psychology
Pamela Smith, Goodrich
Nicholas Stergiou, Health, Physical Education & Recreation

NEW GRADUATE COURSE SYLLABI

ART 4700/8706, Cross-cultural Art History for Teachers
ART 4720/8726, Women in Ancient & Medieval Art
BIOL 4570/8576, Paleobotany
CJUS 9700, Teaching Criminal Justice at the College Level
CSCI 4560/8566, Number Theory & Cryptography
CSCI 8620, Mobile Computing & Wireless Networks
CSCI 8960, Thesis Equivalent Project in Computer Science
ENGL 4820/8826, Autobiography
ENGL 4840/8846, Travel Writing
ENGL 4880/8886, Community Service Writing
ENGL 8750, Seminar: English Discourse
ENGL 8870, Seminar: Publishing Non-Fiction
HED 4950/8956, Public Health Leadership & Advocacy
ISQA 3520/8525, Graphical User Interface
ISQA 8530, E-Commerce Security
ISQA 8540, Computer Security Management
ISQA 8560, Information Warfare & Security
ISQA 8990, Thesis
PA 9900, Advanced Topics in Public Administration
PA 9970, Directed Research in Public Administration
PE 8310, Athletic Training Techniques
PE 8360, Advanced Orthopedic & Medical Aspects of Athletic Training
PE 8900, Management & Leadership Skills for Fitness/Wellness Managers
PSCI 8250, Seminar in Global Politics
SPED 4530/8536, Introduction to Augmentative & Alternative Communication
SPED 4540/8546, Autism
SPED 8860, Functional Behavioral Assessment
STAT 3800/8805, Applied Engineering Probability & Statistics
TED 3690/8695, Applying Reading & Writing in Secondary Schools
TED 8700, Action Research for Educators
TED 9200, Critical Pedagogy: From Theory to Practice
UBNS 8980, Thesis

Graduate Council Members
2001-2002

COMMITTEE A - Committee on Policy and Planning

Akers, James - SPED
Barnett, Alva - SOWK
Bruckner, Martha - EDAD
Dufner, Donna - ISQA
French, Jeff - PSYC
Lewis, Darryll - FBL
Low, David - MUS
Mande, Vivek - ACCT
Smith-Howell, Deb - COMM
Graduate Student - TBA

COMMITTEE B - Committee on Courses, Programs, and Evaluations

Armitage, Jack - ACCT
Flocken, John - PHYS
Harrington, Judy - GDRCH
Marshall, Gary - PA
Mitchell, Carol - TED
Ostler, Elliott - TED
Serenco, Henry - ART
Squires, Sandra - SPED
Valle, Angela - FLANG
Zand, Mansour - CSCI
Graduate Student - TBA

COMMITTEE C - Committee on Faculty and Student Affairs

Bragg, Tom - BIOL
Cederblom, Jerry - GDRCH
Day, Gary - ART
Harland, Lynn - MKT/MGMT
Hill, John - SPED
Khazanchi, Deepak - ISQA
Kuhlman, Wilma - TED
Mitenko, Graham - FBL
Prisbell, Marshall - COMM
Graduate Student - TBA

CHAIR OF THE GRADUATE COUNCIL

Derek Hodgson - Dean for Graduate Studies