_
MONDAY
June 5, 1999
Volume 105 • Issue 163 • 6 Pages
College Station, Texas
sports
• A&M archery coach Frank
Thomas will be an assistant
at the Pan-American Games.
PAGE 3
today’s issue
News 6
Battalion Radio
Tune in to 90.9 KAMU-FM at
1:57 p.m. to hear how a local
project is helping Bosnian
refugees in Bryan-College Station.
opinion
• R.C. Slocum’s new contract
is an example of how schools
favor athletics over academics.
PAGE 5
10.6
Gabriel Ruenes/Thi. Battalion
Market drives Slocum deal
BY CARRIE BENNETT
The Battalion
R.C. Slocum’s acceptance of a 7-year, $7 mil
lion contract means the Texas A&M’s head foot
ball coach will now earn the same amount per
year as the University of Texas’ head football
coach Mack Brown.
see Related Column on Page 5.
Texas A&M President Dr. Ray M. Bowen
said the decision to raise Slocum’s salary was
similar to the decision to raise the salary of a
person in any field. He said Slocum’s salary
was judged against those of his peers to en
sure his salary was comparable to those of
other coaches at schools in the Big 12 and Big
10 Conferences.
Slocum’s income includes a base salary of
$300,000 a year, money from TV and radio
appearances, a housing allowance and shoe
contract.
Last year the A&M football program generat
ed more revenue than that of the University of
Texas and drew in additional funds through ad
vertisements, sponsorships and donations from
the 12th Man Foundation.
Don Powell, chair of the Texas A&M Board of
Regents, said the decision is based on the coach
ing market, and the market sees a head coaching
position as valuable.
“It is critically important that you have head
coaches, whether it be basketball, baseball or any
woman’s sport, that represent A&M in both wins
Faculty raise promotes teaching
BY CARRIE BENNETT
The Battalion
As part of Texas A&M’s Vi
sion 2020 goals which stress
the importance of teaching, all
A&M faculty, excluding associ
ate provosts and anyone of a
high rank on the administra
tion scale, have received a 6 -
percent salary increase and the
staff has received a 1-percent
increase.
Because of the lack of funds,
there were concerns that deans.
administration, and possibly re
searchers would not receive the
raise, but Texas A&M President
Dr. Ray M. Bowen provided an
average 6-percent increase to
faculty to promote teaching as
well as research.
This salary increase was
provided by state funds and
the additional $4 extra per se
mester credit hour added this
year to tuition costs. However,
there was not enough money
in this pool for all faculty to re
ceive the 6-percent increase.
which applied to every faculty
member on payroll by June 1,
1999.
Janis Stout, dean of faculties
and associate provost, said the
6-percent pool will provide
raises to deans and associate
deans and administration un
der them, but will not include
administration ranked higher.
Stout said provosts and associ
ate provosts will not be includ
ed in this salary increase.
see Faculty on Page 2.
and losses, but also in their character and atti
tude,” Powell said.
Wally Groff, athletic director for A&M, said
A&M is expected to earn $10.6 million in rev
enue from ticket sales for the 1999-2000 A&M
football season. He said additional income will
come from TV advertisements, sponsorships
and $3.5 million in contributions from the
12th Man Foundation.
For the 1997-1998 fiscal year, The University
of Texas brought in almost $7.8 million in ticket
sales. An additional $473,000 was earned from
“game guarantees,” payments made to the visit
ing team for expenses incurred at away games.
Texas Tech University brought in approxi
mately $4 million in revenue from ticket sales in
the 1997-1998 fiscal year, as well as bowl-game
revenue in excess of over $1 million and televi
sion revenue of about $5 million.
Bowen said A&M’s football program brings in
75 percent of the total revenue of the A&M ath
letic department.
see Slocum on Page 2.
j/Thk B'
ump stiot
jnesday^ 1
Aggies to assist
with Mexican
agriculture plan
BY SUZANNE BRABECK
The Battalion
11 In an effort to improve the
agricultural conditions in the
^ Eross-border region of Mexico
fend Texas, the faculty of the Uni-
■ -*4/)J/ersidad Autonoma de Tamauli-
I w* as ' nv ' te d Texas A&M Universi-
py and numerous universities in
Vlexico to work together to cre-
2spion$ ite a cooperative project to both
weapons! reserve natural resources and
;ecurity j! mprove livestock conditions,
ities 3$ | In 1992 the Univerisidad Au-
acongtf :onoma Agriculture department
to surf# md the Texas A&M University
• secretst' System collaborated with the
to the College of Agricul-
itensified ;ural Systems to
^ichardsf ievelop a strategy
;cientist‘to improve agri-
ultural conditions
n the Lower Rio
rande Valley.
The project in-
olves the
amaulipan Biotic
rovince, which
xtends into three
*1 fetates in Mexico
and is dependent
i-^Mpn cattle.
I In Texas, 30
j^)/i|l^nilli° n acres of ———————
[h e Rj 0 G ranc i e plains and
ausefot Coastal Prairies are the site of the
n flight project.
I Wayne Hamilton, director of
the Center for Grazinglands and
Ranch Management at A&M,
said the Rio Grande River sepa
rates these areas them political
ly but does not separate re
sources.
Dr. Manuel Pina, Texas-Mexico
Initiative project director and a pro-
iy
^estigalu
ice 1996
has not
ie and M
rets toan f
“There can be
an improvement
of the quality of
people's lives on
both sides of
the border."
— Dr. Manuel Pina
Project director
inch oft
is taken:
t: stiffen
th parts
years d
Jed Junf
—ce’s dei
aircraft ^ .
ttheeis lessor of agricultural education at
I’tbenet A&M, said since the initial meet
ings,representatives from both
h buffet countries have attended work-
R. Esnt shops on such topics as Manage-
ationsc ment of Grazinglands in South
theB-2t Texas and Northern Mexico.
“Overall, collaborative efforts
have been extremely good, al
though they have been relatively
uncoordinated and marginally
supported with funds earmarked
specifically for these purposes,”
Pina said. “There can be an im
provement of the quality of peo
ple’s lives on both sides of the
border.”
So far, there have been three
conferences which revolved
around topics such as beef pro
duction systems, reproduction,
range animal nutrition, health
ranch administration, brush and
weed management, drought
strategies and economics of
range manage
ment.
The workshops
also provide input
which is being
compiled to put
together a draft
proposal for long
term funding for
the project.
The workshops
are offered in both
Spanish and Eng
lish.
“There is a 150-
year history of in-
teraction among
people in this region.,” Hamilton
said. "You could almost say they
speak the same language.”
Pina said the costs of the
workshops are covered by vari
ous donors.
“We anticipate that no one
donor will be able to support the
entire thing, but may be willing to
support part of it,” he said.
W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the
Rockefeller Foundation and the
Inter-American Development
Bank are a few of the public and
private institutions which have
shown interest in the goals of
these programs.
see Mexico on Page 2.
Rockets’ red glare
BRADLEY ATCHISON/The Bai talion
Spectators view the fireworks display at the George Bush Presidential Library Complex Sunday. Visitors who braved the rains were treated
with the display, which was delayed for over an hour.
Community celebrates 4th of July with fireworks display
BY VERONICA SERRANO
The Battalion
The College Station Noon Lions Club’s
39th Annual “I Love America Celebration”
on the grounds of the George Bush Presi
dential Library Complex was plagued by
rains throughout the course of the event,
delaying the fireworks display and forcing
some visitors to leave early.
However, the occasional rumble of thun
der or ribbon of lightning did not deter
hundreds from gathering to hear the live
music or participating in games.
John Happ, chair of the Noon Lions
Club’s “I Love America Celebration” com
mittee, said the rain effected the number of
people at the celebration, but the event was
still a great success judging by concession
sales.
Happ said both Bryan and College Sta
tion contributed funds for the $12,000 fire
works display. The display originally was
scheduled for 9:40 p.m. but did not begin
until 10:30.
He said the celebration usually is held at
Olsen Field, but the new tennis courts pro
hibited the use of fireworks.
The George Bush Presidential Complex
provided the organization with a solution
when library officials expressed interest in
hosting the celebration.
The celebration began at 6 p.m. with a
presentation of the American flag by an
Army Reserves Color Guard as storm
clouds gathered in the distance.
Throughout the day visitors flocked to
the George Bush Presidential Library and
Museum, which did not charge admission
and extended its hours until 8:30 p.m.
The library also provided shelter for
drenched revelers when one of the first
showers hit at 7:30 p.m. Many hid be
neath the roof of the Complex, while oth
ers took the opportunity to tour the mu
seum.
Elaine Nelson, an admissions clerk for
the museum, said library officials had ex
pected 10,000 visitors to the museum. She
said the clerks were not equipped to esti
mate the number of visitors.
Other “freebies” available at the event
included watermelon and small American
flags.