MSU Faculty News Vol. 2, No. 14 --------------------- Michigan State University Jan. 26, 1971 Sigma Xi award will go to Hafs One of the University's highest the Junior Sigma Xi scientific honors - Award for Meritorious Research - will go to Harold Hafs, professor of dairy and of physiology. The date for formal presentation of the award has not yet been announced. Gordon Guyer, chairman of the Sigma Xi awards committee, said Hafs is "highly respected internationally as a basic reproductive physiologist." Hafs' research contributions to the dairy and cattle industries include studies on how sperm is made ready for entrance into the egg for fertilization, studies on the environment of the uterus, studies of reproductive hormones and other hormones necessary for milk sperm production, and studies on freezing and artificial insemination. His research on deep - freezing of sperm led to this country's first successful use of frozen sperm for artificial insemination of cattle. The awards committee noted that Bafs' work on factors affecting sperm production has prompted animal breeding cooperatives to increase the sperm output of their bulls by as much as 40 per cent. Since the supply of sperm from genetically superior bulls is limited, his findings have had a big impact on cattle improvement. CHARLES A. Lassiter, chairman of dairy science, said that Hafs "is destined to become one of the international authorities on animal physiology." A colleague, Louis J. Boyd', extension dairy specialist, described Hafs as "that rare combination of good researcher and teacher ," whose undergraduate course in animal reproduction has had consistently high emollments. Hafs is also chairman of the teaching and curriculum conunittee in his department, a representative to the Academic Council and a member of the conunittee on committees. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, he holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Cornell University. He has been a member of the faculty since _ PInLLlP E. MILLER 1959. Harold Hafs: A researcher cited. Topics asked for campus opinion poll The flIst campus - wide opinion poll has been schedul~d for Feb. 23-24, the MSU Opinion Poll Committee announced today. It asked members of the University community to submit suggested topics for ballot questions. Robert Perrin, vice president for university relations and chairman of the committe, said plans called for the ballot boxes to be available for parts of two days to take advantage of campus traffic patterns and enable a maximum number of persons to vote. All persons formally located at the MSU campus - students, faculty and staff - will be eligible to vote. Voting instructions will be detailed later, but it is expected that students will utilize their ID cards for identification, while special voter permit cards will be issued to faculty and staff. The Opinion Poll Committee - made up of representatives of undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, administrative -professional, clerical-technical and service employes - urged interested persons to submit one or more topics they would like to see used in the poll. ' The committee will screen submissions and select those with the greatest currency and interest. Expert help will be utilized to properly phrase the questions that will appear on the ballot. SUGGESTED questions may deal with University issues or matters of national or international concern. They should be directed to the MSU Opinion Poll Committee, 474 Administration Bldg. It is expected that the ballot questions selected will be publiCized at least a week prior to the voting so that individuals or groups wishing to provide information on various issues will have an opportunity to do so. Results will be made public as soon as possible following the balloting. While the results will not be binding, Perrin said he believed they would serve, at least on local issues, as an important indication of campus attitudes and as a guide in decision - making. PERRIN SAID the first poll was an important experiment necessary to help perfect a mechanism which would then be available for periodic campuswide use. "We undoubtedly will make mistakes," he said, "but we need to find out where the rough spots and problems are so that they can be corrected in the future. There are many details involved such as the acquisition of ballot boxes and their placement, hiring poll workers, selection of topics and their publication, printing of ballots, etc. Of primary concern is protecting the integrity of the balloting process." ' Members of the Opinion Poll Conunittee are: Gwendolyn Norrell and Max Mortland, faculty representatives; Jeffery Frumkin and Thomas Berlin, student representatives; James Brock, graduate student representative; Miss Elizabeth Adams, administrative - professional representative; Miss Betty Rideout, clerical - technical representative; Eugene Taylor,service employes representative; and Miss Terry Sullivan, Presidential Fellow, who is assisting Perrin. AAUP to seek faculty views toward collective bargaining A "ballot of sentiment" soliciting attitudes toward collective bargaining is expected to be distributed this week to the some 450 MSU members of the American Association of University Professors. interested in collective bargaining? If so, what group or groups do they think would adequately represent them? And do they want the AAUP to get involved in bargaining? The ballot will seek the members' they to three areas: Are responses Bargaining is topic Keith Groty, assistant professor of labor and industrial relations and of administration and higha education, will speak at today's noon luncheon in the Faculty Club. His topic: "Prospects for Collective Bargaining in Michigan Higher Education." is "THE EFFORT (to organize) here," MSU's AAUP President Sigmund Nosow told about 50 persons at the AAUP meeting last week. Nosow, a professor of labor and industrial relations, posed several questions: What is the AAUP's position? Is this the time for collective bargaining? Will the AAUP enter as an adversary if some other group tries to organize the faculty? (Continued on page 3) 1. 2. 3. MSU Opinion Poll We need your ideas for the new campus-wide opinion poll to be held Feb. 23-24 in which all MSU students, faculty and staff will have an opportunity to vote. List your suggested questions below or on a separate sheet and send to: MSU Opinion Poll Committee 474 Administration Bldg. Campus Student Faculty Staff MSU Faculty News, Jan. 26, 1971 . Bylaws changed; next stop: After more two years of than deliberation and debate, the report on student participation in academic government has been approved by both the Academic Council and the Academic Senate and appears on its way to the February meeting of the Board of Trustees. A strong majority of the 427 faculty attending last week's Senate meeting voted in favor of increased student involvement in the Academic Council and committees, from the department to the University level. Relatively little debate occurred prior to passage of the document. Most changes in the report were editorial in natuIe, but three amendments were proposed: Allan B. Mandelstamm, professor of economics, proposed an addition to the section of the reI?ort dealing with faculty prerogatives. His motion stated that "any faculty member who feels his rights under (the prerog!lt~ve section) have been abridged by any pro~dure a1 the department, college or U.niversity . level, shall have the right 'to appe¥f 'io I~ the Acad~n;ti professor of philosophy (now at the University ofPittsbUIg). October, 1969 - The Massey Report is reported to the Academic, Council for consideration. Five special meetings produced action on only three of the report's 15 r~mmendations. The report is referred back to committee on Oct. 28, 1969. 'November,1969' - A reconstituted committee, headed by James McKee, professor. of ' sociology, is formed and instructed to report recommendations back • t tile Council in two months. Fetiruary, 1970- The McKee Report is released publicly. March,1970 - The McKee Report is presented to the Academic Council, beginning a series of debates in weekly meetings and the establishment of The Ad Hoc Committee on Minority Student PartiCipation, headed by Hideya Kumata, professor; of communication. (,I! 1.~ptiJ;, 191.0 - The Kumata Committee reports to the Council and its recommendations are accepted. Discussion of the McKee Report continues for two meetings, and the report is passed by the Council at the second. A committee is established to put the report into bylaW form. May, 1970 - The bylaw changes for student participation are okayed by the CounCil. June, 1970 - In the aftermath of a student strike, the Senate meets and rejects(427 to llI ) the McKee Report, while approving a res~lution endorsing greater student involvement. 0c:t0ber,19~0- A t~ee - man panel, headed by John F. A. Taylor, professor of philosophy IS established to "achieve reconciliation and creative compromise" betweem what the Council had_approved in the McKee report and what the Senate had objected to. . November, 1970 - The Taylor Report is presented to the Council, with sections ?n facul~ pr~rogatives and a new concept of student representatives - at - large to Ulclude mmonty students. The report is passed 'by the Council on Nov. 17. January,1971 - The Academic Senate approves the Taylor Report on student participation. Trustees The amendment failed. * * * MOORE also moved to delete a section in the docu~ent which provided the philosophy behind the provision for minority representation. That section reads'; "The purpose of , these provisions is not"to dignify our separations or to make permlihent our division, but to affum the pluralism that is indispensable to our form of community. Our purpose is to ~nstitute a guarantee, to ensure a result not certified by the ordinary processes of election .... " Moore's second amendment was also / defeated, but a substitute motion was accepted, deleting the last sentence in that section, which read: " 'Not more than six' is the imposition of a quota; 'at least six' is, on the contrary, the acknowledgement of a right." ONLY TWO comments were made on the report as a whole. Sigmund Nosow, professor of labor and industrial relations and president of the MSU chapter of the AAUP, expressed that group's approval of the document. Anne C. Garrison, professor of business law and office administration, spoke against the report. She said faculty were "voting out of sheer frustration and boredom." Mrs. Garrison spoke against the minority provisions; against the "chaotic" methods by which student representatives were to be chosen; and about the diffuiculty in defining such matters as the "quota system." And, she said: "We are blurring the distinction between faculty and students as entities." The Senate also approved bylaw amendments for: * Creation of a standing committee on campus planning and buildings. * Creation of a University Committee on Fac'ulty Affairs and Faculty Compensation to be part of the trustees' February agenda. -~ - - BEVERLY TWITCHELL - Passage came easier than some expected Reactions to passage of the Taylor Report, from a few of the faculty members closely involved in the past year's debates on student participation in academic government: The than raised JOHN F. A. TA YWR, professor of philosophy and chairman of the panel ' which prepared the fmal (third) version of the report, expressed gratification. He said the report "went through. (the Senate) more I had easily anticipated it would." objections were antiCipated, however. He said he feels strongly that passage of the document did not come because faculty are tired of talking about it. "You can be sure that the great majority of the faculty is not fatigued, and it was wrong to suggest (It was suggested by Anne ' Garrison, professor office law business of and the Senate administration, during discussions last week.) they were." that Taylor did express concern that the minority provisions within the report are not completely understood. To have nonwhites elected by the student body at la.rge allows a nonwhite to sit on a body and yet speak for the total student group, he explail!ed. This gives "the benefit of the community - issues in invoking pluralism in deliberate on general general interest, yet minority views." the to the the of and chairman sociology the committee whose report was rejected by the Senate last spring, said: "Obviously, I would have much preferred something like our committee proposed, but I am pleased faculty chose to pass what they did." He said he thought there might be more debate, but he sensed early in the meeting that "the mood was to pass the thing and get it out of the way." Most people favored it, he said, and there was "just no desire to put on a big fight." He said that "one remaining issue I don't think will die, the issue that has been defined for the first time on campus, is the relationship of faculty to students in terms of professional prerogatives." Though he said he didn't know what would actually happen with the issue, he referred to a "reluctance of students to accede to the notion that professional rights give faculty exclusive control of what they define as faculty affairs. That asserts an incompetence on the part of students." CHARLES C. KILLINGSWORTH, labor and leading . opponent of the McKee Report last University professor of industrial relations, and spring said: "I'm glad that the long struggle is, over. I thought it was very likely to pass, though I thought there might be a chance of passage for some of the amendments being offered." JAMES B. MCKEE, professor of He said that while strong feelings were aroused during the debates over the document, he didn't think any permanent division has been created, either among faculty or between faculty and students. but had expected more debate and invective. He said he read the attitude of the Senate members as one of: "This seemed to be the best we could get, for both groups, so let's get it done." "It's useful to remember," he said, "the opposition the Academic to Freedom Report from ASMSU and the State News a few years ago. Some of the same things were said then that have been student about participation report. But now students its (Academic Freedom Report) are strongest defenders." said the WALTER F. JOHNSON, professor of administration and higher education and vice chairman of the Faculty Steering Committee expressed appreciation to all those involved in developing the report. "There has been a lot of acrimony and debate, but both sides were sincere; On there was deviousness. no are an overall basis, the vast majority of faculty increased favorable student participation. The question has been one of extent and natUIe of the participation. " to Johnson, who has worked with students thinks in the past, said he faculty "will find that students will mOre as responsible, reliable and intelligent in their involvement. They do their work at least as well as, or better than, faculty." themselves prove than He said he ~ had been cautiously optimi~~ic, ,~b9.~~ ! 2t~e Seriate outcome, ALTHOUGH no systematic study has been made as to how MSU would rank nationally with other institutions on the degree of student in academic government, two spokesmen made estimates based on personal acquaintances at other institutions. involvement Killingsworth guessed that passage of the document would put MSU ahead of the majority of other universities. For example, he said, "there is nothing like this at the University of Michigan, Harvard or Yale." McKee said that MSU would fall in the middle - with some about stronger ins titu tions representation; for example, students sitting on bodies which make decisions regarding tenure, such as at the State UniverSity of New York at Albany. having M§llJ Faculty N~w§ Editor: Gene Rietfors Associate Editor: Beverly Twitchell Editorial Offices: Rooms 323 and 324, Linton Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing 48823. Phone: 355-2285 .. Published weekly during the September - June the Department of academic year by Infonnation Services. Second - class postage p3i.d at East Lansing, Mich. 48823. . . . I· How to print (literally) a book MSU Faculty News, J~. 26,1971 -- ADVENTURES AMONQ the TOROIDS , . a. :;tud~ of QUASI-CONVEX. APLANAR. . TUNNEJ,.£D ORIENTABLE POLYHEDRA of POSI;rIVE GENUS Mvil'l8 REq-ULAR.. FACES witl1. DISJOINT INTERIORS ~il19 Q1\. .. Ld6ordt~ D1;:SCRIPTION dM INSTRUCTIONS for tli.o CON'STRUCTION of QI'\ mDMnOI46 _~r of 114'" aM jQ6dlul COLLEq-IATE. to J)£SIqNERS, ENqlNEERS cmd ARCHITECTS, to tfw SCIENTIFIC AUDIENCE ~w!tK MOLECULAl\. Id. otfIar STRUCTURAl. PROBLEMS , o.M to MATHE:MATICLANS • 6ot1\ profus/O>lu1 cill .. tttll\h wltK Iisotdreda of EXERCISES G>Id. SEARCH PW:lJECTS 1O\Cm.~ com.pl .. tczl1:f "",U i"ed, , for SELF- INSTRUCTION WRITTEN, ILLUSTRATED "'M HAND-LETTERED ~ B. M. ·STEWART Professor, Michigcm State tbtivczrsity Pti.. D., U,uversitH of Wi6C~il'l. NUMBER ONE TAIL SEARCH BOOK When mathematics professor Bonnie M. Stewart began to write his latest book, he wanted "to produce something unique." And by the time Stewart's manuscript was completed, a representative of the Lansing firm that printed the book said he "couldn't believe it." To Stewart, "something unique" meant his new 206-page mathematics paperback, "Adventures Among the Toroids," which contains not a single character of machine .. set type. The illustrations, the cover and - most remarkably - all the lettering for the text were done by hand by the author. Meticulously dipping pens, and lettering in a 15th Icentury Chancery Script, Stewart spent two years - including most of a one .. year sab~aticalleave - completing his unusual work. Stewart recalls that some of his friends figured he was "like some monk in his cell" producing the book. THE BOOK "runs the gamut," Stewart explains. He deSCIibes it as "a refe5ence for the area of three - dimensional Euclidean geometry and a contribution to the literature of mathematical recreations. Its intended audiences range fro~ high school students looking for "science fair" topics and "educated laymen" to professional mathematicians interested in topology and _ group theory. Stewart says that the material is "80 per cent new." Given the book's unusual content and the author's hand lettering, ~mmercial publishers weren't very receptive, Stewart admits, so he published the book himself. (An earlier work, ''Theory of Numbers" has been published in two editions by MaCIDillan.). The press run of 2,000 copies was ' completed in December. STEWART'S BOOK contains hundreds of drawings of three .. dimensional shapes, and it includes instructions on how to use rubberbands and cardboard to build models of them. Stewart did the original plates in lavish watercolors, but since the book is not in color, he advises that "the AAUP seeks VIews • • • • reader try his fortune with some colored pencils to point up features of the drawings," Stewart developed lm interest in art and lettering in high school when he was taking a correspndence course in commercial art. He has sustained his interest by designing and lettering displays for his stamp collection. He illustrated and lettered his book on lO-inch by 26-inch sheets of paper that were photographically reduced by one - half for printing. The result is a tall, thin publication that Stewart calls the "Number One Tall Search Book." Jaime Aranguren, sales manager for the John Henry Company (the book's printer), said that in his 18 years ill graphic arts, "it was the flIst time 1 had seen a book that was hand .. lettered." Aranguren describes it ' as the "work of a man who immensely enjoys not only the mental exercises of toroids (a· class. of. geometric shapes and figures) but th.e labor of . love of hand .. lettering.'" . Stewart agrees that despite the long hours (and lots of ink) spent, the job never became tc;ldious. "I was too interested in the intellectual adventure:" A potential problem in hand .. lettering an entire book is the possibility of mistakes: How do you correct a typographical error in hand .. lettered Chancery Script? "You write an apo~6~ 'OJ;! ,~e ~ack page," Stewart answers. ' :lqqM •• , 1,_. , And he .did, telling readers 'that "only 'in' 'desperate momelits did·we destroy a page and begin agltin. .. " . He adds (employing. the editorial "we"): " . . . the re!J.rrangements and the rewriting which are a normal part of producing a typewritten and typeset work, say, just nevert.wem~))ione for this book. Our determination to prQllttttl ,ai~ly hand ~ Written boolc ::.... unique in' form and geometric content - . coupled with the long period of production and the continued discovery of new results - has trapped us into presenting the disorganized volume now in your hands." - GENE RIETFORS (Concluded from page 1) Would a coalition of organiza~ions be the answer? The ensuing discussion produced a variety of other questions, with the topics including: · Alternatives to collective bargaining; the need for material describing the situation on other campuses where faculties have organized; the procedures in organizing and selecting a unit; the effects of bargaining on faculty bylaws. Ivey to leave dean's post The number of search missions for college deans has expanded to three. John E. Ivey Jr., dean of the College of Education since 1962, announced last week that effective Aug. 31 he will return to teaching and r~search. Already underway are efforts to find successors for Deans Jack M. Bain, communication arts, and Jeanette A, Lee, human ecology . . Ivey joined the University in 1960 as professor of education and consultant to President John A. Hannah, He became dean two years later. IN ANNOUNCING his decision to faculty in the College of Education, Ivey said that becoming dean had meant that for all practical purposes, "I had to postpone my teaching and research interests to a future period. "For some time 1 have felt that if I am ever going to get back into this area of' professional activity, I must do it soon; so, after nine years of service as dean and extensive consultation with the provost, the president and many colleagues of the College of Education, I have dec~~ed to move my activities in, this direction." Jack Stieber, professor of labor and industrial relations, said that there is nothing short of collective bargaining other than the faculty governance system the University now has, . "You have no teeth beyond recommendations and consultation." Concerning the current faculty bylaws, Stieber said that if the faculty chose collective bargaining, the University by law could deal only with the collective bargaining agent. . Thomas Greer, professor of humanities, suggested a "holding position" for about a year to allow for observing the situation at other universities whose fa~ulties have organized. BUT, THE question was asked, isn't a move going to be made here soon? Yes, answered a representative of the Michigan Education Association. He said that the Michigan Association for Higher Education, a branch of the MEA, is seeking a University .. wide coalition of organizations to pursue collective bargaining. , . , The president of MEA, Melvin Leasure, later addressed the meeting. He encouraged the faculty to take a long .. range view of the situation and suggested that they could benefit from the experiences and mistakes of public school teachers by merging with them to bargain collectively, not only with their own institutions, but with the state legislature, By asking for a committee on faculty affairs and faculty compensation, he said, the faculty is now in a collective bargaining situation, "but without the force oflaw." "There seems to be a hesitance about acquiring the force of law," Leasure said. "Teachers went through that too," • .. And so does a new group A new group called the Council of College Faculties (CCF) has been e sta blished to "determine the immediate and long .. range concerns of the faculty with regard to professional negotiations and collective action." The CCF is the result of action taken last week by the MSU district of the Michigan Association for Higher Education (MAHE) , an agency of the Michigan Education Association. MAHE's executive board voted to establish the CCF and to provide it with " an initial life" of 30 days. During that ' to develop time, the council is recommendations concerning the faculty's "needs and wishes" on collective bargaining, and concerning the scope, organization and sponsorship of any formal organization: The CCF will ; bl.'; "lidvised of MSu/MAHE ~e¢betkhl~ " 'f)eliefs;;' through a steering committee to be named this week by the executive board. The new council will be made up of "not more than two voting members from each college at MSU" and of "as many other faculty members at large" from each college "as wish to participate. " The MARE board stipulated that persons who join the CCF will be . encouraged to become members of the MSU district of MAHE as well. The CCF chairman will be appOinted by the MAHE executive board. have A spokesman for the campus MARE district said that while several ad hoc groups here discussed faculty collective act-ion, the MARE board wished to "create an organization with a limited life and obtain a clear .. cut stance which th'e entire faculty can perceive," , . . WIISI Friday, Jan. 29 - 7 p.m.: Astronaut James Lovell discusses the U.S. space program with "Assignment 10" anchorman Craig Halverson (originally scheduled for Jan. 22). . Saturday, Jan. 30 - 12:30 p.m.: In its Irrst show of the season, "Soul!" salutes Black women. Sunday, Jan. 31 11:30 a.m.: The - marriage oi John and Sarah Churchill is featUred" in < , this segment of ''The First Churchills." 1 p.m.: "Thirty Minutes with .•• " focuses on Sen. Edmund Muskie. 1:30 p.m.: ''TIle Great American Dream Machine." 4 p.m.: A two· day, nonstop encounter group is the topic on "Realities." 10 p.m.: "Orpheus, Then and Now" is a dual presentation of works spanning more than 300 years. 12 p.m.: "An Ideal Husband" by Oscar WiJde is on "NET Playhouse." IDBRR Tuesday, Jan. 26 -7:55 p.m. (FM): MSU Notre Dame basketball from South Bend . Wednesday, Jan. 27 :- 1 p.m. (AM): ''TIle Creation of New Human Values for a Technological Age," lecture by James Trosko, assistant professor in human development and Justin Morrill College. 8 p.m. (FM) : Shakespeare's "Love's Labour's Lost" is on "BBC World Theatre." Friday, Jan. 29 - 10:30 a.m. (AM): "Torch to Overlord" is the episode on "The Eisenhower Years." Saturday, Jan. 30 - 2 p.m. (FM): ''TIle Masked Bull" by Verdi is featured on the Metropolitan Opera, live from NilW York. 7:25 p.m. (FM): MSU - Ohio State basketball from Columbus. ' MSU Faculty News, Jan. 26, 1971 COGS surveying -assistantship status is The Council of Graduate Students (COGS) graduate departments on the status of graduate assistantships' for the next academic year. surveying A subcommittee of COGS will seek statements from graduate department chairmen on whether assistantships are being the University's financial problems. cut back because of The subcommittee plans to report to Jazz fest set Jazz bands from six Michigan and Ohio universities will take part in the sixth annual Intercollegiate Big Band Jazz Festival in the Erickson Kiva this Saturday. Jazz aggregations from Michigan State, the University of Michigan, Flint U-M, Western Michigan University, Cen tral Michigan University and Case Western Reserve University will present public performances at 1 and 7:30 p.m. the special attraction at performances will be the appearance of the Interlochen Arts Academy jazz ensemble. A COGS at its next meeting, Tuesday, Feb. 2, at 338 Natural Resources. includes: For president Election of COGS· officers will also occur at the next meeting. The slate of - officers William Greene, Department of Secondary Education and Curriculum; vice president- for university affairs - Phil Steele, forestry; vice president for internal affairs - Kim Wilson, dairy; vice president for graduate student welfare - Jo Lynn Cunningham, human ecology; secretary - treasurer - Robert Menson, biochemistry; corresponding secretary - Sandi Thompson, counseling, personnel services and educational psychology. Other COGS members may be nominated for office from the floor. * * * IN OTHER action last week, COGS: - Approved a finance committee proposal to send a newsletter to all graduate students once or twice a term, and into a graduate student loan program should COGS at any time be dissolved. to direct COGS funds - Approved the document on graduate rights and responsibilities. Two MSU burial plot established at East Lawn Memory Gardens A burial plot has been established for persons who have willed their bodies to meni.ca\ ~i.ence at Michigan State. The vIDt i.s \oca.ten at 'East Lawn Memory (;atGens, on ~nnett Road south of Okemos. It was dedicated recently in an interfaith ceremony. Except when families prefer other sites, the plot will receive the remains of persons who will their bodies to the University. The plot was landscaped with the help of Milton Baron, director of campus park and planning. It is marked by a small granite monument with the a and seal, caduceus MSU an inscription: ~'ln memory of persons who gave their bodies to Michigan State University for the advance of medical science and the good of their fellow man." Provost John K Cantlon reported recently to the Board of Trustees that a growing need exists for wider public participation in the program of willed bodies for medical education and research. Bodies willed to MSU contribute to the instruction provided to medical and graduate the anatomy department. students by concerns expressed during the meeting will probably be presented separately as additions to the document, according to COGS president Peter Flynn. These relate to the availability of student records to students, and to notification of the conditions of termination of student status. to - THE REVISED constitution for the is still being discussed. A council representation base proposal proportionately within departments will be considered at next week's meeting. COGS is also considering a group for graduate insurance plan term students. Stipend ranges listed Listed below are the range of graduate assistant stipends, as issued through the office of the Provost. There have been some questions raised in the Council of Graduate Students about whether graduate assistants in some departments were receiving the minimum stipend to which they are entitled. The Provost's office explained that confusion could stem from the fact that some assistants are paid through research grants, and the University stipend increases reflected in the ranges below pertain to stipends paid from the University's general fund .. Some departments may have held back all increases until research grants run out, Assistant Provost Herman King suggested, so that graduate assistants have equal pay. University money may not be added to the research grants, King said. GRADUATE ASSISTANT STIPEND RANGES Nine Honths Honthly Level I 1/4 time 1/2 time 3/4 time Level II 1/4 time 1/2 time 3/4 time Senior Level $1,300-1,700 2,600-3,400 3,900-5)100 S144.44-188.88 288.88-377.77 433.33-566,66 $1,400-1,800 2,800-3,600 4,200-5,400 $155.55-200 311.11-400 466.66-600 1/4 time 1/2 time 3/4 time $1,500-2,500 3,000-5,000 4,500-7,500 $166.66-277.77 333.33-555.55' -833.33 500 Mink plus ferret : ? • Fink coat, anyone? That's fight. Fink. Michigan State scientists are going to try mating minks with ferrets, a weasel like relati¥e to the mink. Here's why: Mink, with all their beautiful fur, are tempermentat" - even vicious - and, therefore, expensive to raise. Ferrets wear a homely, cheap coat that varies from yellow to black. But they are calm and easy going. Ideally, we'll get an offspring with the disposition of a ferret and the fur quality of the mink," says Richard Aulerich, who heads MSU mink research. "If it works, we'll call the offspring a merret. If it doesn't, we'll call it a fink." AULERICH will try mating minks and ferrets this spring - some artificially and some naturally. "I don't know if the mink will tear the ferret apart in the 'natural' mating process, but we're going to try it. Frankly, the combination is a little doubtful. The odds are greatly against us. I'll be surprised, but pleased, if it works. . "We might get an offspring with the fur of the mink and the disposition of the ferret - or we might get just the opposite." Aulerich and his colleagues are a little nervous about this mating game. For one thing, mink ordinarily are mated in March; ferrets, normally in April. So the two might not be brought together. For another, the scientists expect to get a little kidding from other scientists and the people who read or hear about their research. MSU scientists have been trying to calm down the mink for years. First they tried tranquilizers. These worked, but not well enough. The latest success has been with artificial breeding. In fact, Aulerich and Robert Ringer, MSU professor of poultry science, were the first in the world to successfully artificially breed mink. Natural mating would probably be better, says Aulerich, if tHe mink can be calmed down enough to de~dably .mate in a more relaxed fashion. Even if the mink - ferret combination doesn't work, Aulerich believes that ferrets will still have a place in mink research. Since they are close relatives, scientists can run many of the same experiments on ferrets and relate the results to mink. And that's not a bad idea. because the mink will cost $50 to $150 ; the ferret, about $6 to $8. - . JOSEPH J. MARKS Richard Aulerich: Trying to match mink with ferret.