Auditors investigating outside earnings of professors
By Carole Long
Start l\nter
Federal auditors are investigating the amount ot money the nation's university professors are receiving as consultants to private corporations and government agencies.
More than 90% ot the professors are engaged in some type of outside work, such as summer teaching, writing books and consulting.
The benefits of serving a« ,i consultant are numerous, said Robert Linnell, direc tor of institutional studies
' Bv working for a private company or a government agency the professor gains valuable real world experience which he can bring into the classroom," Linnell said. "He can also provide contacts for students to get jobs."
Prestige is brought to the university when its professors are in demand and are having impact on national issues, Linnell
said.
"Universities, USC included, do not discourage outside work but rather encourage the activity. The whole reward structure of the institution motivates the professors to do outside work."
University' administrators are concerned with the nature of the outside activities and the risk of neglecting academic duties.
Zohrab Kaprielian, executive vice-president, issued a memorandum in the spring that set limitations on faculty activities. Consulting services were discussed in the memorandum.
"The nature of the consulting work should be evaluated in terms of its worth as a scholarly experience and should in no way detract from the prestige of the university or the professional stature of the faculty member," the memorandum said.
The memorandum also put a limit on the amount of time to be spent on consulting--not more than 39 days during
an academic year.
Universities will have to improve their policies dealing with consulting and other outside activities within the next five to ten years if thev do not want the government to step in and impose strict regulations, Linneil said.
"Congress has already passed a limitation on the amount of money university consultants can .be paid who are working for the Civil Service," Linnell said. "The whole idea is to put a lid on government spending."
Besides placing a limitation on the amount of money earned by professors, a disclosure policy is another proposed restriction.
This policy is imposed in medical schools and in a number of departments at USC, such as the engineering department.
"All this means is that the faculty member reports his outside activities to his department or dean's office. This way
some record can be kept ot how faculty members are spending their time."
Many faculty members, especially those in the University of California system, are opposed to the disclosure policy because they feel it represents an invasion-of privacy, Linnell said.
One of the reasons professors seek outside employment is to gain additional income.
"Many professors claim that university salaries are not adequate but data indicates that it just isn't true," Linnell said.
"On the average, in the past 20 years academic salaries have risen more rapidly than salaries in nonuniversity sectors."
Linnell and Kristine Dillon, a research associate, are doing a two-year study on consulting problems for the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The results of the study will be compiled in a monograph that will be published next fall.
FOR MoMDAY-PAGES I - ZSO
Alarm rings out fun, greets fall confusion
By David Hall
Assistant SoCal Editor
DINGDINGDINGDING.........
What? What's going on? This can't be part of my dream—this wonderful dream where all's right with the world: Muhammad Ali flooring Howard Cosell with a right cross; Debby Boone naming Donnv Osmond in a paternity suit; mv being awarded the Pulitzer Prize for an investigative story connecting the two incidents with the assassination of J.F.K.....
DINGDINGD1NGDINGDING.......
Consciousness. The alarm. Jesus. 7:30 a.m.! What kind of sado-masochist would schedule a class at 8:30 on a Mondav? The only times I've seen the world before 9 a.m. in the past three months was from the other direction—still being awake after one of those long summer nights.
The first day of school. Out of bed, into the shower, into clothes and out the door. Off to the world of higher education after three months of escape.
Let's see. Political Science 437, "Political Thought in the Lesser Antilles," with Professor Misenstein. He's supposed to be excellent; a real charismatic, fire-and-bnmstone type speaker. The most knowledgable in his field.
1 enter at 8:25 a .m ., breaking a tradition of being late for every first meeting of every class and immediately being placed on the black list. (Stumbling in 10 minutes into the class, opening the screeching door as 128 eyes turn in your direction, right in the midst of the professor's speech about his intense dislike for anyone who disrupts the class by arriving late. And, of course, finding the only vacant seat at the far end of a row on the opposite side of the room.
But who is this man, walking up to the podium with a notebook and thick glasses? It isn't Misenstein? the powerful figure who debated on the possibilities of a bicameral government in Curacao on channel 28 two weeks ago. No. This strange little man—wearing a clip-on tie and an ill-fitting Sears suit, which very well could have also clipped-on in some way—certainly isn't Misenstein.
He spoke in a voice that could have been the inspiration behind Jerry Lewis' "Nutty Professor." "Professor Misenstein will not be teaching this class. He has moved to Martinique to do research for a new book. I am Dr. Snodgrass. Now', I will pass out the syllabus."
A hunchbacked T. A. with a wheelbarrow, on cue, enters the room with a massive pile of Xeroxed sheets. Lach student receives 24 of these sheets. The syllabus:
"There will be 15 required books," 10 of which, coinci-
(continued on page 2)
^trojan
Volume LXXV, Number 4 University of Southern California Thursday, September 21, 1978
Gays await before filing
By Robin Oto
Assistant City tditor
The Gay Student Union will wait for assistance from Rep. Yvonne Braithwaite (D-Calif.), a university trustee, before filing a lawsuit against the university.
The union has been trying to convince the university to adopt a policy that prohibits discrimination based on one's sexual preference.
"We're waiting to see what Yvonne Burke can do for us. She's sympathetic to us and we're going to give her a chance," said Rodney Hoffman, spokesman for the union.
Burke has been busy campaigning for the office of state attorney general and will not be able to help the union until after the November election, Hoffman said.
Burke has requested a meeting with Carl Franklin, vice-president of legal affairs, to discuss the union's request but the
Congresswoman’s aid suit against university
meeting has not been arranged, Hoffman said.
The university has not made the addition to prohibit discrimination based on sexual preference because the administration said it does not discriminate against gays, said Donald Knutson, a professor of law at the university.
Knutson said the American Civil Liberties Union, which has agreed to sponsor a possible lawsuit against the university, and the Gay Student Union are waiting for the California Supreme Court to make a decision on a related case.
The case, Gay Law Students vs. Pacific Telephone and Telegraph, will decide if private organizations are exempt lawfully from justifying discrimination against a person on the basis of their sexual orientation.
"UCLA can't discriminate because of a California law which savs that public institutions must
deal with the occupational qualities of an individual onlv," Knutson said.
"They can't say, 'We're not going to hire you because vou're queer,' " he said.
University lawyers have advised the administration and Board of Trustees against adding the union's request to its bviaws because the university is a private institution, Knutson said.
Hoffman said the universitv has been slow in addressing the union's request.
Franklin refused to talk about the union when contacted.
"Gav Student Union? 1 have no comment at all," he said.
"I don't know what he's afraid of. I think he's afraid we might attack him or something," Hoffman said.
The court has had the case for over a vear and Knutson said a decision in the issue mav not come for some time.
CAAB concludes hearings, gives $21,532 to campus organizations
The Campus Activities Allocation Board has allocated $21,532 to nine . campus organizations and has begun making tentative appropriations to 75 other groups.
The board concluded hearings on all funding requests and is currently discussing those proposals in open board sessions.
The board received 74 requests for over $500 and 10 for under $500, amounting to $293, 950.
Seven of the requests for over $500 were received after the Aug. 1 deadline and will probably not be funded. The 67 proposals submitted on time total $254, 236, which exceeds the amount the board has available to allocate.
The board must allocate at least $66,361 and no more than $101,817 each each year, under Student Senate bylaws.
The amount a group will receive is determined by the board following hearings where speakers for the organizations explain how funds will be used. Lach or-
ganization is allowed 15 minutes for its presentation.
After the hearings the board makes tentative allocations to even organization, breaking each proposal down to cost per item. Then the allocations are added to see if the total falls within the board's budget.
It the amount exceeds the budget, the board's budget.
If the amount exceeds the budget, the board reconsiders each proposal in an attempt to reduce the amounts allocated.
The board has made initial allocations for 36 proposals and will deal with the remainder in open meetings ending Saturday.
The nine proposals given early funding were programs going into effect at the start of the semester or future events requiring early contracts. These included a conference on the Bakke decision, AIIUs We (the black student newspaper), Gay Celebration Week, a Jewish law forum, a women's law group activities
and black student orientation.
Most of the proposals submitted ranged 'tween $96 and $9.(XX).
Seven funding requests were for over $10,(XX). MLChA requested $13,557; Graduation Dance committee, $10,(XX); an Iranian students organization, $12,340; Associated Minorities for Prelaw Lducation, $15,514; Disco Assn., $17,850; Think Tank, $16,600: Black Historv Month, $17, 147.50.
The International Students Assn. submitted six separate proposals totaling $18,130.55.
It is unlikely, however, for a group to receive an amount over $10,000, said Stan Kivota, board chairman.
Kivota said the amount given to an organization depends on the organization's past record, how well it has used funds and the benefit to the university at large.