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A2322
105 YEARS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
MONDAY
May 31, 1999
Volume 105 • Issue 143 • 6 Pages
College Station, Texas
PAGE 4
today’s issue
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egents select Graves
s chancellor finalist
BY NONI SRIDHARA
The Battalion
I The Texas A&M University Board of Regents
Elected retired three-star Gen. Howard Graves
B the finalist to become the Texas A&M Uni
versity System Chancellor.
Robert Allen, a Board of Regents member
Dm Houston, said the selection process began
ne months ago. He said the Board of Regents
red the world-renowned search firm Korn
^Krry to look for the most qualified candidates
of' tl fill this position.
what™ “We told them we were looking for some-
it ihaiWie with diversified and vast management ex-
ihat tfrBrience, experience dealing with government,
d reguBid we wanted them to have high academic
IBedentials,” Allen said. “We were particularly
id noi Bterested in finding someone who had some
llsfrorBperience in corporate management.”
I Graves graduated from West Point in 1961
lones&Bhere his studies focused on the hard sciences,
fth-veaBcluding math, engineering and physics. He
ihletic Boved on to Oxford University, where he was
he v.. ' a Ithodes Scholar and earned bachelor of arts,
faster of arts and master of letters degrees.
Graves said when he was attending West
int, 60 percent of his curriculum was math
d sciences and 40 percent was liberal arts.
“I did very well in the math and sciences
it not as well in the liberal arts areas,” Graves
id. “This is why 1 decided to round out my
®ucation by earning my bachelor of arts in
litics, philosophy and economics and my
asters of letters degree in modern history.”
Graves was assistant to Adm. William
owe and Gen. Colin Powell when they
wed as chairs of the U .S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.
He served as superintendent of the Army
r ar College and later became Superintendent
o West Point.
“This is the equivalent to being the CEO of
a corporation,” Allen said.
Graves said his duties when he becomes
chancellor will be equivalent to being in charge
of a multifunctioning corporation.
“You have to work the boundaries,” Graves
said. “I will be responsible for strategic plan
ning concerning public affairs, legislative affairs
and relationships with people that will affect
our welfare. ”
He said some of his other duties will include
resource management and allocation of funds
to try to balance the needs of the flagship and
regional universities.
Graves said upon becoming chancellor he
would like to develop and maintain close per
sonal relationships so that he and others can
work together for a shared vision.
“IPs important to
me to get a a lot of
insights and ask a
lot of questions of
the people who are
leading and working
the A&M System..."
GEN. HOWARD
GRAVES
“It’s important to me to get a lot of insights
and ask a. lot of questions of the people who
are leading and working the A&M System be
fore I make any decisions about actions which
need to be taken,” he said.
“I want to find out what has been done,
is being done and ought to be done from
outstanding people who are wrestling with
certain issues before developing firm opin
ions of my own.”
Allen said Graves was also assistant to for
mer Secretaiy of State James Baker during the
latter part of the Cold War and Operation
Desert Storm. Graves is currently a visiting pro
fessor of World Peace at the LBJ School of Pub
lic Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.
He has taught international politics and is cur
rently teaching personal ethics.
University President Dr. Ray M.Bowen said
he has heard great things about Graves’ and
looks forward to working with him.
Graves said he has no specific plahs as of
yet for the System.
“I have principles of operation which I’m
sure are being practiced already, such as the
pursuit of excellence, honesty and integrity
above all, but I do not come with an agenda
for dealing with current issues,” he said.
In a press release, Gen. Colin Powell said,
“His judgment is consistently sound, he is
smart as the devil and gains peoples’ confi
dence rapidly. He was one of the Army’s fore
most educators.”
Dionel Aviles, a member of the Board of Re
gents, from Houston, said Graves’ selection will
be posted with the Secretary of State’s office
because it is required by law that the Board
must post finalists at least 21 days before final
action is taken.
In other business, the regents also ap
proved a proposal for the dismissal of A&M
computer science professor Dhiraj Prad-
han, to be effective July.l. Pradhan was
found guilty of misappropriating Universi
ty funds for personal use. Pradhan has
filed counter law suits. Pradhan was out of
town and unavailable for comment.
Other items approved by at the Board of
Regents meeting included:
•The preliminary design for the Coastal
Engineering Lab at the Texas Engineering
Experiment Station in College Station
• The schematic design for the O.R.
Simpson Drill Field Reviewing Facility
• For the Master of Agriculture Degree Pro
gram to be offered through distance education.
ANTHONY DISALVO/The Battalion
Pallbearers carry the casket of former Texas Sen. William T. Moore Sunday. Moore
was entombed in a mausoleum at Restever Memorial Park in Bryan.
A&M remembers
efforts of Moore
Senator led push for women’s admission
BY VERONICA SERRANO
The Battalion
“He was determined and persistent,”
A&M President Dr. Ray M. Bowen said of
former State Senator William T. “Bill”
Moore, Class of ’40. Moore, nicknamed
the “Bull of the Brazos,” died last Thurs
day in Bryan at the age of 81.
One of Moore’s contributions to the
University was the fight he lead in the
Senate to allow women to be admitted to
Texas A&M.
Bowen said Moore believed admitting
women to the University would “better
A&M and Texas.”
Moore and then-University president
Earl Rudder “caused it [the admission of
women to the University] to happen,”
Bowen said.
Moore’s first step in his fight for
women to attend the University wqs to
propose legislation in 1953 to the Texas
Senate, and it was passed without debate
or objection.
According to an Associated Press ar
ticle published in The Battalion in 1953,
Sen. Searcy Bracewell of Houston, Class
of ’38, and other senators had been ab
sent when the vote had been taken. Af
ter Bracewell heard the bill had been
passed, he engaged in a debate with
Moore, and for more than an hour, the
former A&M students argued back and
forth.
An Associated Press reporter quoted
Moore as saying, “Why should we deny
girls the right to attend that college
see Moore on Page 2.
A&M tops
’49ers in
Regionals
BY DOUG SHILLING
The Battalion
Coming into Sunday’s championship
I round of the 1999 NCAA Regional at Col-
I lege Station, the Texas A&M Baseball
I Team faced the daunting challenge of
I having to win twice against Long Beach
I State University with a depleted pitching
I staff to advance to the NCAA Super Re-
I gionals.
On the strength of an outstanding
I pitching performance by freshman
I Khalid Ballouli in the afternoon and an
I offensive outburst in the evening, the Ag-
I gies (50-15) turned the trick as they de-
I feated the ’49ers (35-25) to move on to
I the Super Regionals, where they will face
I Clemson University.
“Obviously I’m very proud of the
| team,” A&M coach Mark Johnson said.
“We did it the hard way, but this team
has a strong resolve. KB (Ballouli) gave
us a great outing this afternoon, and
Chris Russ bulldogged it through for us,
and our hitters stepped up for us.”
In the deciding game, the Aggies put
up 17 runs, including eight in the third
inning, to clinch the regional title 17-7.
The 17 runs off four Long Beach
pitchers were the second most allowed
by the ’49ers this year.
Long Beach State coach Dave Snow
said the onslaught of runs was due to
their lack of pitching depth.
SALLIE TURNER/The Battalion
Texas A&M juniors Courtney Weller (28) and Dell Lindsey (16) and senior Matt Ward (far right) celebrate with teammates
at Olsen Field Sunday night after the A&M Baseball Team’s 17-7 victory over Long Beach State University to capture
the 1999 NCAA Regional crown. The Aggies will face Clemson University in Super Regional competition Friday.
“What hurt us was our starting pitch
ing,” he said. “We were never able to get
more than five innings out of our
starters. They (A&M) just really swung
the bat well.”
Regional MVP Steven Truitt led the
way for the Aggies in the championship
game going 2-for-5 with a grand slam in
the pivotal third inning.
In the tournament, TTuitt was 9-for-
23 with four home runs, 11 RBIs and 11
runs scored.
Johnson said Truitt seemed to be “in
a zone” during the tournament.
“This is as comfortable as I’ve seen
Steven in the box since he has been
here,” Johnson said. “I don’t think they
thought they could get him out and I
don’t think he thought they could get
him out.”
All-Tournament performer Daylan
Holt also had a great game at the plate
for A&M going 4-for-6 with a home run,
three doubles, four RBI and three runs
scored.
see Aggies on Page 3.
Friends mourn
student’s death
BY VERONICA SERRANO
The Battalion
Friends of 19-year-old John Earl Willard said
they will miss the intelligent and caring Texas
A&M sophomore who was killed in an automo
bile accident.
Willard, a computer science major from Fair-
field, was killed Thursday af
ternoon when his truck struck
a tree on Highway 6.
Eric Peterson, Willard’s
roommate and a junior com
puter science major, said, “He
[Willard] was a saint.”
Kristin Byers, who will be
attending Blinn College in the
fall, said Willard could make
anyone happy.
“He was a really strong person,” she said.
Tim Sherber, a Fairfield resident who grew up
with Willard, said he was an outgoing person
who concentrated on his schoolwork.
“He was one of the smartest people I know,”
Sherber said. “He was a real caring person. If
you made a friend with John, you made a friend
for life.”
Byers and Sherber said Willard’s goal in life
was to become a millionaire.
“He even had a license plate border that said,
‘Millionaire in Progress,”’ Byers said.
Trooper Robert Turner of the Highway Pa
trol, who was at the scene of the accident,
said Willard’s vehicle was headed north on
Highway 6 when it crossed the southbound
lanes and veered into a ditch, where it hit the
tree and caught fire at approximately 12:05
p.m.
Turner said the cause of the accident is pend
ing autopsy results.
Willard’s funeral was held Sunday in Fair-
field.
WILLARD