Ei- j : • a
Thursday, March 6, 1986/The Battalion/Page 5
White to try not to cut funds
y for research of agriculture
By SCOTT SUTHERLAND
Assistant City Editor
Gov. Mark White assured the
exas A&M Board of Regents
nd A&M System agriculture of-
kials Wednesday that he would
ry to avoid cutting agriculture
research funds despite the state’s
udget crunch.
White received an in-depth
briefing on the problems of
exas agriculture from leaders of
he Texas Agricultural Extension
iervice, the Texas Forest Service,
nd the Agricultural Experiment
tation.
White said the briefing was
Lplifting and encouraging in the
ace of falling oil prices that are
hreatening the state with a large
udget shortfall.
“We aren’t abandoning the old
conomy, we’re building a new
)ne” he said. “I am uplifted by
he prospects of the new economy
ve’re building, and I have plans
:o find new money for work that
s going on here.”
A&M agriculture experts said
he University is playing a vital
ole in developing new technol-
>gy for Texas. Last year A&M
onducted over $65 million in ag-
icultural research.
A&M agriculture officials told
ins with ^ h' te t ^ ial high technology farm-
^ mg can increase the state’s share
the agriculture market,
his turnl NefiHe Clarke, director of
xrial stud Agricultural Experiment Sta-
I of thed t ’ on ’ sa 'd A&M research gains are
snabling farmers to add value to
their crops — meaning they could
ficeadmirl produce at the same levels but in-
led the d -tease their income,
groups. Si
he studet
1 process
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NM,
tkwoodSS
Hed
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1 the
Photo by SCOTT SUTHERLAND
Gov. Mark White speaks to reporters outside the Texas A&M
Memorial Student Center Wednesday.
He said Texas could increase
its value-added percentage by es
ablishing its own processing
plants rather than exporting raw
roducts to New Mexico and
.ousiana thereby shipping dol-
tive systet lars out of Texas.
In addition, he said, marketing
programs that increase the sala-
lility of previously discarded
iroducts can contribute to raising
he farmer’s income. The average
Foundate added-value of Texas farm prod
i and tro ucts falls well below the national
ent or del| average,
eformity.
Along with increasing profita
bility, Clarke said the extension
service and A&M researchers are
seeking to reduce some of the in
ternal problems that Texas farm
ers must cope with.
Clarke identified dwindling
natural resources, high produc
tion costs that are a by-product of
high energy costs and weather ex
tremes as the biggest internal bar
riers to Texas farmers.
Extension agents, he said, are
seeking to reduce the risk that
these barriers impose by imple
menting programs like A&M’s bi
otechnology program.
Through biotechnology, A&M
has increased farm productivity
by increasing disease resistance
and nutritional quality of farm
products.
Dr. Perry Adkisson, System
Deputy Chancellor, outlined the
research at A&M and emphasized
the University’s role in bringing
Texas agriculture to the foref
ront. Texas ranks second to Cali
fornia in agriculture production.
White’s staff
reviewing
agencies’
planned cuts
Associated Press
AUSTIN — Gov. Mark White’s
staff continued reviewing state
agency budget-trimming plans
Wednesday, while one of the largest
agencies said it could make only
about half the 13 percent spending
cuts the governor requested.
White urged all state agencies and
universities to trim spending by 13
percent to help cover the projected
$1.3 billion budget shortfall brought
on by falling oil prices. Under the
Texas Constitution, White lacks the
actual power to require such cuts.
Marlin W. Johnson, commissioner
of the Department of Human Serv
ices, submitted a spending reduction
plan he said will save $125.9 million
over the next 18 months.
A full 13 percent cut would trim
$245 million, Johnson said, adding,
“We cannot reach that level of re
duction without carving away crit
ical, life-sustaining services to peo
ple, primarily fragile elderly and
vulnerable children.”
Compounding problems is that
some cuts in state spending also
would bring reductions in matching
funds supplied by the federal gov
ernment, officials said.
Although a hiring freeze is being
imposed for non-essential vacant
jobs, Johnson said no layoffs are be
ing considered.
“For the sake of perspective, it can
be noted that even if the entire staff
of the department were to be abo
lished tomorrow, the ‘savings’ over
the remainder of this biennium —in
cluding salaries, travel, rent, utilities
and other staff-related costs —would
not meet our $245 million objec
tive,” Johnson wrote to White.
Cutting further would “raise the
spectre of denying life-sustaining
services for destitute and infirm el
derly people and needy children,”
Johnson said.
William Hamilton, White’s budget
director, said he expected to have a
preliminary total Thursday on
spending cuts proposed by the agen
cies and universities.
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(1
\&M to receive teacher producer honors
ByJO ANN ABLE
Reporter
The Texas A&M College of Edu
cation will be named the number
one producer in the nation of math
and science teachers, according to a
national report on the condition of
education.
A survey conducted by the Na
tional Center for Statistics, to be
published next month, lists A&M as
the institution with the most educa
tion majors in math and science. The
publication is part of a national re
port on the condition of education.
I “They don’t make a big deal of it,”
says the dean of the College of Edu-
Ication. “They just list the numbers;
but it’s a big deal for us.”
Dr. Dean C. Corrigan, dean of the
Tollege of Education, says A&M’s
enrollment in the math and science
teaching majors has increased stead
ily over the past 10 years. But A&M’s
success is in sharp contrast to na
tional averages.
During the same 10 year period,
colleges across the country have ex
perienced a 73 percent decrease in
the number of math education ma
jors and a 64 percent decrease in the
“To me it’s not just being first in terms of numbers. It’s
being first in the quality which is what I think we are
demonstrating (at A&M). ”
— Dr. Dean C. Corrigan, dean of the College of Educa
tion.
number ot students studying to be
come science teachers.
A shortage of math and science
teachers is the number one problem
in today’s schools. In Texas the
shortage has reached a crisis stage,
he says.
He says part of A&M’s success is
related to the nature of the institu
tion in general. A&M has been tradi
tionally oriented around science,
math and agriculture, he says.
“So the general orientation of the
environment has been directed to
ward those particular subject fields,”
Corrigan says.
“In addition to that we now have
over $300,000 worth of scholarship
aid to attract outstanding students
into the fields of math and science,”
he says.
Corrigan says the Math
ematics/Science Teaching Scholar
Loan Program, established in 1983,
recruits high caliber students by of
fering “forgiveable” loans for teach
ing math and science after gradua
tion. Each year the student teaches, a
percentage of the loan is forgiven, or
credited against the amount owed.
“Students in the math/science pro
gram get school aid, but it’s kind of
in the Aggie way of doing things,” he
explains. “It’s really a loan. They
don’t get the aid until they teach.”
Corrigan says the program at
tracts not only outstanding students
but highlights math and science in
general. The number of students
studying to be science teachers has
increased from 82 to 329 in a three-
year period, he says.
“To me it’s not just being first in
terms of numbers,” Corrigan says.
“It’s being first in the quality which is
what I think we are demonstrating.”
Students must have a minimum
2.25 grade-point ratio to be ad
mitted into the college, Corrigan
says. The department also requires a
math and English exam in the soph
omore year, an exit exam and a 2.5
minimum GPR for graduation.
A&M has kept these high stan
dards even though the state has re
duced it’s demand on teacher qual
ifications, Corrigan says.
He says two years ago 1,233 math
and science teachers were hired in
the state and 528 of them were unli
censed to teach those subjects. Emer
gency teaching certificates were is
sued and teachers in other fields
were brought in to cover the short
age, he says.
“And I think that’s the worst thing
that the schools can do,” Corrigan
says.“It just demeans the whole pro
fession.”
The solution to the problem of
teacher shortages can be solved by
offering higher salaries, he says.
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this summer:
June 23-August 15, 1986
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courses, in more than 40 academic fields and pre-professional pro
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fulfilling undergraduate and graduate degree requirements, as well as
programs designed for personal and professional development. The
international student body has access to Harvard’s outstanding librar
ies, museums, athletic facilities, and cultural activities, with the
additional benefits of the Cambridge and nearby Boston communities.
Housing for students is available in Harvard’s historic residences.
Offerings include pre-medical and pre-law courses, undergraduate
and graduate instruction in foreign languages, business, computer
science, visual and environmental studies, anthropology, fine arts,
education, psychology, the sciences and more. We feature a college-
level program for secondary school juniors and seniors, plus special
programs in Health Professions (for minority students). Dance, Drama,
Film Studies, Writing, and English as a Second Language.
Further information is available by returning the coupon below or
by calling: (617) 495-2494 (24-hour catalogue request line), or (617)
Harvard University Siii
Summer School- —
Please send a Harvard Summer School catalogue and application for:
□ Arts and Sciences □ Secondary School Program □ Drama
□ English as a Second Language □ Writing □ Dance
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City
State
Harvard Summer School
20 Garden Street, Dept. 420
Cambridge, MA 02138 U.S.A.
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Tickets
$6 Pre sale at
Blocker & ® Circle K
$8 at the door
proceeds to benefit
United Cerebal Palsy
of Texas
FRIDAY NIGHT, GATES OPEN AT 7:30
• Dancing
• Fajita Sale
• Free Beer and
Soft Drinks
• Featuring
Ultimate Force
For every case of Lite beer Brazos Beverages Inc. sells during the month of March, 1986,
a donation will be made to the United Cerebral Palsy Organization.
mim
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