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Vol. 88 No. 177 USPS 045360 6 Pages
College Station, Texas
- 13Q
uuiy 26,1989
Regents approve $3.7 million research center
Oldest building on campus will come down
UNIVERSITY NEWS SERVICE
l\
V
Goodwin Hall, built aa a dormitory In 1908
and later converted into an office building,
will be tom down by order of the ASM
Board of Regents-
PRAIRIE VIEW - The Texas A&M Board of Rc
grnts paved (he way Tuesday for a new high-tech fa
cility to go up at Texas A&M i'niversitv and (or the old
est building on the state's oldest publk campus to come
down.
Going uo will be a $3,720,500 building for the Off
shore lecnnologY Research Onter in the AicM re
search park. The structure will house the first National
Science Foundation-sponsored engineering research
center in the Southwest, an activity jointly conducted by
Texas AlcM/Texas Engineering Experiment Station
and the University of Texas at Austin
Ckxning down will be (ioodwin Hall, which was con
structed in 1908 at a cost of $53,500. The cost to demol
ish it is $117,111. The one-time dormitory, which was
later converted to office use. has over the vears sus
tained structural deterioration that made restoration
economically unfeasible. University officials said.
The contract for the Offshore Technology Research
Onter building was awarded by the regents to (>amma
CConstruction Co. of Houston, and the (.oodwin Hall
demolition contract went to Southwest-Rathgeber Co.
Inc., of Austin.
The 40,000-square-foot offshore technology build
ing. scheduled for completion in the fall of 1990. will be
the fourth structure in A&M's research park. The park
formally opened in 1986 and is intended to attract pri
vate firms and federal laboratories and related activities
that complement the goals and strengths of AfcM and
its affiliated Svstem agencies.
Activities (or the Offshore Technology Research
(Center will be supported by funds from the National
Science Foundation, major oil companies and other
segments of private industry in a quest to learn more
about building structures and recovering oil and other
resources at deep ocean depths. Funding is expected to
woming down will be Goodwin Hall,
which was constructed in 1908 at a cost
of $53,500 The cost to demolish it is
$117,111.
total approximately $28 million over the next five vears.
The short-term goal of the center is to develop sys
tems that will permit economic ocean operations, such
as oil recovery, at depths greater than 4.000 feet, the
center's director. Distinguished Professor John Flipse.
said at the time the center was announced.
“Our initial focus on the deep ocean resources is
based on strong evidence that there are one or more
very Urge petroleum reservoirs in the tiulf of Mexico."
Flipse said. “The challenge is water depths of 6,000 to
8,000 feet and their location far from snore There is a
prize down there for the United States, but major ad
vances in technology will tie necessary to gain it."
Ilte building's focal point will be a three-dimensional
wave basin with a multi-segment wave generator. The
basin, which is 150 feet bv 100 feet has depths ranging
from 20 to 50 feet with the capalnlitv for prodi
waves up to three feet high and 30 feet king, tenter o(
fkials said
Another constructkin-related item was thg.awajfl of a
$894,118 contract to Diamond ConstructtorTTnc. of
College Station for paving, drainage and grounds im
provements at Prairie View AfcM
Vandiver accepts position on panel
to monitor Louisiana desegregation
By Richard Tijarlna
STAFF WRITER
Former Texas AfcM President
Frank E. Vandiver will serve on a
three-member panel to monitor the
desegregation of l-nuniana's htghet
education system as a result of a July
19 federal court ordei.
The court raled that Louisiana's
current svstem of four higher educa
tion governing institutions perpetu
ates segregation, and ordered them
to be dismantled in 30 days and a
new single higher educatkm board
selected.
The four Lousiana institutions
mentioned in the court order are
Southern University of Baton
Rouge, Southern University of New
Orleans. Southern University at
Shreveport'Bossier City and Gram-
bling University.
Vandiver, currem director of the
AfcM Mosher Institute for Defense
Studies, announced his resignation
from the AfcM presidency in Jan
uary 1988, During his seven-vear
term, the University set consecutive
records in recruitment and retention
of minority students.
In a statement issued by the Uni
versity’s Office of ^*ublk Informa
tion. Vandiver said vie was chosen
because of his knowledge of a large
research-oriented university and a
land grant university.
“I am honored to be appointed
and a little anxious at the enormity
of the task ahead." Vandiver said in
the statement.,..
Joining Vandiver on the monitor
ing committee are Dr. Paul Murill.
former chancellor of Louisiana State
University and Dr. Franklyn Jenifer,
chancellor of the Massachusetts
Board of Regents of Higher Educa
tion
The monitoring committee will
evaluate the progress of a new Loui
siana board of higher education and
all 17 academic institutions in com
plying with the court's extensive de
segregation order
The court ordered the committee,
which can authorize or disapprove
hoard plant, to give the new board
five yean to achieve substantial pro
gress toward “eliminating the racial
tdentifiabilitv of Louisiana's univer
sities."
The court order outlines steps to
be taken, including sc holarships, ad
mission officers and retention ef
forts. at traditionally black universi
ties as well as predominantly white
institutions toward ending segrega-
tion.
* $ i
*;•
A&M Board names new residence halls
UNIVERSITY NEWS SERVICE
PRAIRIE VIEW — The Texas
AfcM Board of Regents named five
new Texas AfcM University’ resi
dence halls in honor of outstanding
Texans past and present.
The five new hails have been
named in honor of (ieorge Eppright
of Manor: Les Appelt of Houston;
the late Clvde H. Veils, formerly of
Granbury; Margaret (Mrs. James
Earl) Rudder of College Station; and
the late Walter W. Lechner. for
merly of Dallas.
Appelt. Glass of '41. has served 14
vears as a trustee of the Texas AfcM
IVvelopnient Foundation and is a
past president of the Association of
Former Students.
A real estate developer in Hous
ton. Appelt was instrumental in de
veloping the idea for and funding
the Informatkm Center located in
the lobby of Rudder l ower and in
founding the University 's Center for
Education and Research in Free En-
of
The residence halls
names of Eppnght. Appelt.
rr are located in th
»8 «
Wells
and Rudder are located in the area
south of the Commons and east of
Underwood Hall on the south side
of the campus. Lechner Hall is lo
cated across from Sbtsa Dining Hall
and east of Haas and McFadden
Hall in the north central area of the
campus.
a rancher and member
lass of *26. has long sup
ported AfcM students and faculty
through gifts of land (hat have been
used to fund endowed academic po
sitions and scholarships. In 1974, he
gave Texas AfcM 1,222 acres of land
adjacent to the city limits of Austin
that is estimated to be worth more
than $16 million.
Iliat gift, which provided both
unrestricted usi>4unds and endowed
positions and scholarships,
lowed in 1988 by an additional land
gift valued at approximately $1.2
million, which endowed two chairs
and provided scholarships for mem
bers of the Corps of Cadets.
Clyde H. Wells served as a mem
ber of the Board of Regents for
nearly a quarter of a century, includ
ing 12 years as chairman o( the gov
erning board
In addition to his long service as a
regent, he served as president of the
Library Development Council, as
councilor for tne AfcM Research
Foundation and as a member of the
AfcM University Press Development
Council. Wells, a Granburv rancher,
died in 1987.
Margaret Rudder, widow of for
mer University President Gen.
James Earl Rudder, has king been a
member of the Bryan-Col lege Sta
tion community. A "the University's
first lady- during her husband's
1959-1970 presidency, she was ac
tive in both university and commu
nity affairs —and that involvement
has continued since his death in
1970.
Margaret Rudder, a native of
Brady, has donated a number of
(ien. Rudder's military decorations
and memorabilia to Texas AfcM.
She also wrote a song that is sung by
the Singing Cadets during the an
nual campus Aggie Muster cele
bration.
Lechner, formerly of Dallas, at
tended AfcM in 1912 and 1913. An
independent oilman, he was one of
the principal discoverers of the
north portion of the giant East
Texas oilfield during the 1920s and
one of the founders of Texas Inde
pendent Producers.
The residence hall that will bear
Lechner's name will house partici
pants in AfcM's Honors Program,
including those students receiving
Lechner Scholarships.
'*SJ*
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Heave ho!
Photo by Kathy Havrtnmn
Nine-year-okj Jean Grader of Sugar!and throws a softball from
home plate to second base during the TAMU Varsity Softball
Camp at Penberthy Field Tuesday afternoon. The practice was
supervised by Bob Brock. A&M women's softball coach
Rains announces entry
into gubernatorial race
FROM STAFF 4 WIRE REPORTS
AUSTIN — Former Secretary
of State Jack Rains. Class of *60.
entered tf^e fight for the Republi
can gubernatorial nomination
Tuesday, becoming the second
Texas AfcM former student to
declare his candidat \ for the
race.
Rains joined Clayton W. Wil
liams. for whom the AfcM alumni
center is named. The two men
are the only declared candidates
for the GOP nomination
kains. 51, began his bid for
governor by urging the death
penalty for drug dealers and
promising to match any oppo
nent’s campaign spending
“I am prepare*! to stand toe-to-
toe and wad up dollar bills and
stan throwing tnem.“ Rains said.
“They’re going to run out of
mooes before all of my friends
and I do."
Clayton Williams, a multimil
lionaire Midland oilman, said he
will spend up to $3 million of his
money to win the nomination.
Rains, a Houston lawyer and
businessman, said he lacks Wil
liams' personal fortune but not
the ability to raise campaign
funds.
“Clayton Williams has more
monev than 1 have, and he'll
spend more personally than I
will." Rains said. “I’ll defeat Clay
ton Williams because I've got a lot
of profile helping me wad up dol
lar bills to throw.
Rams named education im
provements as his top priority
Railroad Commission Chair
man Kent Hance. who lost (he
GOP gubernatorial race in 1986.
also is preparing to run.
Another possible GOP candi
date is Amarillo oilman and cor
porate raider T. Boone Pickens.
House slashes SDI; Senate OKs B-2 budget
WASHINGTON (AP) — The
Democratic-controlled House voted
Tuesday to slash nearly $2 billion
from President Bush's request for
Star Wars, but the Senate over
whelmingly kept the adpintstra-
tion's B-2 bomber plan relatively in*
tact except for a token cut.
By a vote of 98-1, the Senate en
dorsed the costly stealth bomber if it
meets flight testing staadards and
demonstrates that it can perform its
mission of evading radar detection
and penetrate Soviet air space.
Bush administration officials have
expressed hope that the Senate vote
on the bomber in the president's
$295 billion defense buaget would
serve as a counterbalance to ex
pected votes in the House cutting
theprogram.
The House lakes up the issue
Wednesday when it considers
amendments to eliminate or severly
limit the program.
In crafting its defense blueprint,
the House cut $1.8 billion from the
$4.9 billion Bush had proposed for
Star Wars, formally known as the
Strategic Defense Inisiative. Law
makers approved an amendment to
cut $700 million from the program
in addition to the $1.1 billion the
House Armed Services Committee
had trimmed from the program.
The vote was 248-1^5. with 214
Democrats and 34 Republicans vot
ing for the reduction.
"We serve notice on the adminis
tration to bring this futuristic pro
gram down into the world of budget
reality," Rep. John M. Spratt. Jr., D-
S.C., declared just lie fore the House
reduced funds for the anti-missile
shield.
After reducing SDI spending, the
House overwhelmingly approved
using $150 million of the Star Wars
money for other military items.
Air Force looks for cause of B-52 fire
injuring
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A team of Air Force investi-
S ators was en route to Kelly Air Force Base Tuesday to
etermine what caused a B-52 bomber to ignite in a
maintenance runway, killing one person and ir
11 others.
C*en. Alfred G. Hansen, commander of Air Force Lo
gistics Command at W right-Patterson at Dayton. Ohio,
will head an investigation board composed of military
officials from various bases nationwide. Kelly spokes
man Frank Weatherly said.
"They’ll begin doing the investigative work." Weath
erly said, but added a formal finding is not expected for
several months.
A series of explosions ignited the B-52 about 10:35
p.m. Monday as civilian ground crews were fueling the
r grout
Lt. Col. Ed Cooke said the B-52. built in 1958, was
nearly finished with “programmed depot-level mainte
nance," a 3.5- to 4-month process in winch the pbne is
virtually stripped and reassembled.
"Some of the injured workers were inside the air
craft; some were outside," WeatheHv said
Jesus Pedraza. 38, was killed, said First Lt. Dave
Ebner, a Kelly spokesman. Pedraza and the injured
were civilian employees of the protection branch of the
Directorate of Maintenance Aircraft Division.
Herman Morris was in serious condition Tuesday at
Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio where he
was being treated for burns, said Ray Perry, hospital
spokesman.