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The Battalion
State/Local
Pierre sets goals
after Prairie View
By Kelly S. Brown
StafT Writer
When Dr. Percy Pierre per
ceives his goals to be achieved and
his job completed, he pushes for
ward to a new challange and does
not look back.
It was with this attitude that
Pierre came to Prairie View A&M
in 1983 as president, and it’s the
outlook he'll be packing up with
him when he leaves office this
May to be the first holder of the
Honeywell Professorship in Elec
trical Engineering..
Pierre proposed certain goals
when he first arrived at Prairie
View six years ago. and now that
his objectives have been accom
plished he wants to serve the uni
versity in another capacity.
A&M System Regent Dr. John
Coleman said although he’s dis
appointed that the president
chose to retire, he understands
why Pierre is doing so.
“He still has much more to of
fer this institution with his con-
tacts in government and indus
try,” Coleman said, “and at the
same time he can pursue some
thing he really loves — research.
The good he accomplished will
alwavs be with the university.’’
The good of the university is
what Pierre had in mind in the
beginning when., he set out to
maxe a drastic change in the stat
ure of Prairie View A&M.
He established a new college of
engineering technology, elimi
nated programs that had few stu
dents and worked to upgrade the
quality of faculty bv requiring all
new faculty members to have
earned the highest degrees in
their field.
And that was in his first year as
president.
While Pierre was president the
enrollment of Prairie View A&M
increased by more than 25 per
cent. Presendy, 5,607 students
are enrolled. Grade point aver
ages were higher than ever be
fore. and average Scholastic Apti
tude Test scores for entering
freshmen had increased by 100
points.
The endowment of the 111-
year-old college northeast of
/
Dr. Percy Pierre
Houston increased from
$500,000 to more than $3 million
{luring IJierre’s presidency. „
Pierre’s most visible achieve
ment was the establishment of the
Benjamin Banneker College,
which was named after one of
America’s first recognized black
intellectuals.
The residential college, which
is basically a college within the
university, selects academically
motivated students in the sciences
and applied sciences. It provides
an emphasis on the academic
strength of the entire student
body, enhances the qualitv of in
struction and research and im
proves the quality of the universi
ty’s graduates.
Pierre’s involvement in educa
tion has spanned decades.
The duration of Pierre’s presi
dency has been one of im
provement and growth for the
school, and he hopes the success
continues after he leaves May 31.
“Prairie View has so much po
tential. and it will take years for
everyone to realize that poten
tial,” Pierre said. "It’s also going
to require strong support from
the Board of Regents and the
chancellor. But most of all, it's
going to take everyone buying
into the vision of the college."
Dr. Coleman said a search ad
visory committee will be ap-
•inted this weekend during the
ird of Regents meeting to se
lect the next president.
A&M moves up in national rankings
of schools attracting merit scholars
By Melissa Naumann
Reporter
Texas A&M moved up to No. 8
nationally last year in new enroll
ment of National Merit Scholars.
A&M is one of the three schools
in the Top 10 that increased its
number of the honor students.
Dr. Dale T. Knobel, director of
the University Honors Program,
said that one reason for the in
crease to 113 National Merit
Scholars is A&M’s improving aca
demic reputation.
“Texas A&M has always drawn
a healthy share of National Merit
Scholars in engineering and sci
ences,” he said. “There was a
large pool of these students inter
ested in humanities and many
hadn't recognized our strength in
the liberal arts. Since we’ve be
come more prominent in the lib
eral arts fields, students have no
ticed.”
Another reason more National
Merit Scholarship students are at
tracted to A&M is the growing
availability- of honors classes. As
the University Honors Program is
expanded, Knobel hopes to at
tract more top students.
“In high school most of these
students were in advanced place
ment or accelerated classes, he
said. “When thev get to college,
they expect this to continue.
“Their college decision is based
on where they Ml have the oppor
tunities to be involved in honors
classes.”
Financial concerns also can
bring these students to A&M.
Since the National Merit Schol
arship is prestigious but involves
little money, A&M offers a num
ber of other scholarships to
supplement it.
Recruiting also is responsible
for A&M’s jump into the Top 10.
“Weir have been aggressive in
getting the word out," Knobel
said ‘”Mv office has been going
on the road around the state to
high schools. We think we have
turned the corner and know what
to do to attract National Merit
Scholars."
Harvard ranks at the top of the
crowd in recruiting National
Prterit Scholars with 315. The
Number of New National Merit Scholars
U of Chicago
U of Florida
Texas A&M
Georgia Tech
Yale
Princeton
Rice
Stanford
Uo( Texas
Harvard
■ 108
■ 109
■ 113
9
202
■ 218
I 3 1 S
100
200
300
University of Texas is second,
with 218. Rice University is
fourth, recruiting 179 scholars
for last year.
The importance of attracting
National Merit Scholars involves
the University’s image to poten
tial students, Knobel said.
“If you have a substantial num
ber of them," he said, “the word is
out that you, have academic qual
ity and that’s what students are
looking for."
Senator: Clements’ choice of regents
shows lack of minority representation
AUSTIN (AP) — Gov. Bill Clements came un
der attack Thursday from a state senator who
charged that Clements’ appointment of three
new University of Texas regents slighted South
Texas and Hispanics.
“He has left us with a board of regents which
has no Hispanic member," Sen. Carlos Truan, D-
Corpus Christi, said.“There are'no blacks, no
women; simply put, there are no minorities at all
on the boaro."
Earlier this week, Clements named as new
members of the nine-person panel former C»OP
congressman Tom Loeffler, former state GOP
chairman Chester Upham Jr. and Houston law
yer Robert Cruikshank.
Among those replaced was Mario Yzaguirre of
Brownsville, the board's only Hispanic member.
T^ruan, chairman of the Senate Hispanic Cau
cus, said the Republican governor’s action
showed a lack of recognition of the needs of
South Texas residents.
“Governor Clements has given us a board with
no representation at all by anyone who resides in
South Texas, the region ot the state which histor
ically has been the most severely deprived in the
allocation of educational resources," Truan said
The senator also noted that the appointments
came at a time when the UT system is consid
ering a merger with Pan American University, in
t ' , -nburg, and the state is trying to expand
Edin
higher
lucation in South Texas.
“There are no blacks, no women;
simply put, there are no minorities
at all on the board. ”
Sen. Carlos Truan
D-Corpus Christi
"It takes someone who really knows the prob
lems confronting young Hispanics struggling to
get a college education to relate that experience
to someone who has never lived south of the af
fluent -enclaves of San Antonio's north side,"
Truan said.
Clements wasn't available for comment. He
was in Washington. D.C., attending president
elect Cieorge Bush's inaugural ceremonies.
A spokesman for the governor, deputy press
secretary Jay Rosser, defended the most recent
appointments and denied that (Elements' isn’t
concerned about South Texas.
"UT is a statewide system. The governor’s ap
pointees reflect geographic diversity." he said.
Rosser also noted that Clements had ap
pointed regent Sam Barshop, a San Antonio resi
dent. in 1987, and said the governor has ap
pointed Hispanics to numerous offices, including
the Higher Education (aiordinating Board.
Asked about the Truan charges. University of
Texas System Chancellor Hans Mark said, "In
order to be a good representative, it’s not nec
essary that you actually . . 4 be a woman, or be
black, or Hispanic or anything else. I don’t think
that’s a necessary condition.
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