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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 30, 1987)
Thursday, July 30, 1987/The Battalion/Page 3 State and Local &M recieves $8.2 million grant o aid research in Saudi Arabia uonand ;r sity ''ed into ssed. eady •pence its of t the ie they ture wil hed liture. f nder ) fire >oe and did. And think •port By Craig Eichhorn Reporter Texas A&M has received an $8.2 million grant as part of a three-uni- kersity consortium that will enhance leaching and research programs at King Abdulaziz University in Saudi trabia. King Abdulaziz University, lo- ated near the Red Sea in Jeddah, is he second project sponsored by the oint commission in which A&M is providing technical assistance, said Dr. Dwayne Suter, associate dean of agriculture. “Because of our success at King 'aisal University, the U.S. Depart- nenl of the Treasury requested my ounterpart, Howard Massey ol Vir ginia Tech, and I to make a trip to ing Abdulaziz University to visit vith the dean of meteorology, envi ronment and arid land agriculture,” suter said. A&rM worked with King Faisal Jniversity in A1 Hasa for the past four years in conjunction with Rice Jniversity, Virginia Polytech Insti tute, Cornell University and Har- ard University, Suter said. The programs for the second co- KLperative effort are under the Sponsorship of the United States- gSSaudi Arabian Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation. The funds are provided by the Saudi Arabian government and are administered through the joint commission, Suter said. Suter and Massey met with Dean Omar Ali Sabbak to discuss A&rM’s sortium is that it doesn’t overload any one university,” Suter said. “It provides a greater degree of diver- sitv of faculty expertise.” Suter and representatives from the three universities, including computer experts, visited King Ab- “VPe were able to establish good relations and we pro ceeded with submitting a bid to perforin the requested technical services. ” — Dr. Dwayne Suter, associate dean of agriculture possible participation in the next phase of the King Abdulaziz Univer sity development program, Suter said. “We were able to establish good relations and we proceeded with submitting a bid to perform the re quested technical services,” Suter said. Sabbak, who has visited A&M, Purdue University and Virginia lech, wanted a three-member con sortium and requested A&M to take the lead, the associate dean said. A&M will serve as the prime contrac tor with Purdue and Virginia Tech as sub-contractors. “The advantage of having a con- dulaziz University in September 198(5. The consortium’s first task was to rehabilitate mini-computer equip ment which was installed over four vears ago, but still didn’t work, Suter said. The group developed a plan of computerization with microcomput ers and continued a needs assess ment with Sabbak to provide techni cal assistance necessary for the academic year, Suter said. The con sortium also prepared a manage ment and financial plan. The technical needs for the pro ject, he said, include equipment and long-term technical assistants for a year or more, he said. Short-term faculty will be hired to stav less than a vear, he said, and library acquisi tions also are included as significant components of the project. One of the main projects the con sortium plans to undertake at the university includes development of at least two lysimeters with A&M’s hydrology department. A lysimeter accurately measures moisture re quirements and its utilization by plants in realistic growing situations, Suter said. But the project that will involve the consortium’s largest assistance is the establishment of a four-story phytotron facility. A phvtotron contains several chambers of various sizes in which scientists conduct experiments on plants. The chambers vary air, tem perature, light, moisture and plant nutrients in various combinations. The phytotron should be com pleted in 1989 at a cost of approxi mately $2.5 million, Suter said. North Carolina State University is providing the technical assistance for the phytotron and is expected to join the consortium as the fourth university in 1988, he said. “When completed it will be one of the best, if not the best, phv totron in the Middle East," he said. Officials: Texas courts push up medical costs I AUSTIN (AP) — Spokesmen for the Texas Medical Association said Wednesday medical costs are being driven up because Texas courts won’t enforce state laws. I “The increasing inabilitv for Texans— partic ularly those in rural areas — to receive the medi- Kal care thev need is a problem that could be cured if the Texas courts would uphold the liabil ity laws already on the books,” I MA President K)i . David Vandei pool of Dallas told a news con- iintaim Terence. “ The Texas Supreme Court has it taken upon Hlself to act like a political body,” says Rep. Mike McKinney, D-Centerv ille, a physician. “I think ley hat ithabi e present id; tvea rmeeniv ite.Ii r the new jf the h an eis mnty inlation. , said rtment, nost.” ,vas able t one me sent Is. r(or use two we have to look at some sort of judicial election i eform.” “I can foresee the time when people who need specialized care will go to other states because specialists in this state will not want to undertake some critical procedures because of the threat of malpractice litigation,” says Dr. Denton Cooley, widely known Houston heart surgeon. Vanderpool said a recent telephone survey by the TMA showed that some physicians and hos- pitals in 1 1 TMA county medical societies that in volve 26 counties have eliminated or limited obstetrical care because of the rising cost of pro fessional liability premiums for malpractice in surance. There is no obstetrical care at all in at least 21 counties, he said. “Nearly 40 percent of Texas’ family physicians have stopped or limited what they do best — de livering babies,” Vanderpool says. “ The problem is insidious.” Vaqderpool said state laws passed in 1977 pro vide courts the power to limit malpractice awards, excluding medical, hospital anti custo dial care, but the courts have not used them. “Without reasonable limits and guidelines, as is currently the situation, premiums are expected to continue to go up to cover the increasing num ber and amount of awards,” he savs. Hobby suggests possibility of return to office in 1990 AUSTIN (AP) — Et. Gov. Bill Hobby, joking that it’s too early for his obituary, Wednesday left open the possibility of seeking of fice after 1990 but said his deci sion to sit out that election is final. "Contrary to what apparently is popular opinion. I have not died, Hobby said. “I have not re signed from office. I will be lieu tenant governor for more years.” Professing amazement over re action to his decision not to run for governor or seek re-election. Hobby said he wants to dev ote his energies to work on restructuring the state’s tax system. “I’ve always thought on a scale of news values, when somebody announced they were not run ning for something — on a scale of 10 that may get a one,” he told a news conference. “I just think I can be more ef fective during the next three years if I'm not perceived as someone with political ambitions or partisan motivations and so forth,” he said. Hobby serves on the Select Committee on Tax Equity, which is expected to make sweeping rec ommendations to the 1989 Legis lature for overhauling the Texas tax system. He said that is “a task that comes along about once a generation.” When he steps down, the 55- year-old Democrat will have been lieutenant governor for 18 years. “Yes,” Hobbv said when asked if his decision was final. Asked why he made it. Hobby said the time was right. “The realities of running a campaign in a state as large as Texas are that it’s always cam paign time,” he said. “There are always decisions to be made, deci sions which are important not onlv to the candidate but to many othet people as well. I could not decently defer those decisions any longer.” Hobby denied fearing a chal lenge from Attorney General Jim Mattox or anyone else, although he admitted he prefers holding office to campaigning for it. “I don’t like putting my self for ward, projecting myself ,” he said. “I don’t like to read stories in the paper . . . see myself on telev ision. I'm just not basically that kind of person. I don’t like doing it, but I've done it successfully for 14 vears.” While declining a more elab orate explanation of his reasons, Hobby said he hasn’t tired of public service and believes “I would make a very good gover nor.” Hobby said that except for a 1990 race, “I’m not ruling out anything.” Republican Gov. Bill Clements, in Dallas, said Wednesday that he wasn't surprised by Hobby's move. “I think Mr. Hobby obviously was getting somewhat f rustrated with his position in the Senate,” Clements said. “The legislative session just completed was not satisfactory from his standpoint. He probably recognized that the election process in 1990 would be very difficult for him.” Hobby said he plans no en dorsements in either the gover nor's race or the race for his suc cessor. “I've never done that and don’t plan on starting now,” he said. One official whose name has been the subject of speculation about a race for one of those jobs. State Treasurer Ann Richards, said Wednesday it’s too early to make a decision. "I feel very strongly about this job I have,” she said. “I seriously do not know what I’m going to do next.” hare campus 1 would udentsJ s n, which would k is a resuli > r e woul® a large :ducation e wn vorldr^ 1 ) editkw i , signed^ SS6 lyreP ,hfSo> r: ty or tn e n It isn’t much fun to be called the “tortoise” bank in College Station. But it’s pretty hairy to be the hares in the banking game. It used to bother us when someone called us the “tortoise bank” in College Station. They said we just plodded along, taking care of our customers without much fanfare while others soaked up the glory and the growth. Now that the tough times are nearly over it seems that being cautious isn’t in disfavor by regulators or customers. Homestead Savings came through the market downturn with a profit. We didn’t turn down a single customer who came to us with a reasonable loan request. We gained in net worth at a time when many financial institutions would have settled for holding their own. 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