Character Conference Feb. 27-29

University to Host Ethicist Michael Josephson

By Cheryl Alberts, IANR news

Nationally known ethicist Michael Josephson is teaming with University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor James Moeser and 4-H to promote character to families, students, athletes, government officials and civic groups in a one-of-a-kind conference Feb. 27-29.

The public is encouraged to attend several "Creating a Community of Character" conference lectures at the Cornhusker Hotel or Nebraska Union.

"I have been saying for four years that part of our responsibility as a university is the development of character in our students," Moeser said. "This is a great opportunity to get this discussion and values into the public square of our campus life."

Josephson, who travels constantly giving presentations on character development, said: "I'm looking forward to participating in what looks like the most comprehensive Character Counts conference yet. Chancellor Moeser's leadership will provide an excellent opportunity to build on the groundwork laid by 4-H."

The conference is based on the Character Counts program created by the Josephson Institute of Ethics, which is designed to help focus society's moral energy. The six Character Counts pillars are trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. Since 1996, the curriculum in Nebraska has been taught in public schools through 4-H, an extension program.

Gary Heusel, Nebraska 4-H director, said Character Counts has been well-received and overwhelmingly successful in Nebraska. It results in positive behavior in both youth and the adults who teach it because it goes across economic, ethnic, gender, racial and religious boundaries, Heusel said. Heusel hopes the conference will build awareness about these positive behaviors will extend beyond the classroom, to work and home life.

"We will be most pleased when the program is so pervasive in Nebraska that people just expect their friends and neighbors to practice the six pillars," Heusel said.

"I think there is strong public support for our work in advancing the ideas of character building, based on a nonsectarian set of values to which I believe all Americans can subscribe," Moeser said.

The public is encouraged to attend the following activities, all of which feature Josephson:

Sunday, Feb. 27 - family/community celebration, Cornhusker Hotel. 6:30-8:30 p.m., Moeser and Lincoln Mayor Don Wesely welcome family and community organizations.

Monday, Feb. 28 - UNL faculty/staff lecture and student lecture, Nebraska Union Auditorium, 2:30-3:30 p.m. UNL Associate Vice Chancellor David Brinkerhoff hosts a discussion for faculty, staff and the public. From 6:30-7:30 p.m. the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska and UNL Student Affairs host a presentation for high school and college students.

In 1985, Josephson founded the institute named in honor of his parents, after a career in business, law and education. The institute is overseen by a board of governors, which Moeser joined after participating in last year's Arizona Sports Summit Accord, a statement of principles in character and integrity in sports.

For more information about the national Character Counts program, check the web site at http://www.charactercounts.org .

Dan Siedell, interim Sheldon director, talks about The Rail Joiner. The plaster cast for the sculpture, behind Siedell, has been in the Sheldon's possession since 1996. Once cast in bronze, the work will be placed on South 10th Street near the County-City complex.

Sheldon, City Team to Recreate Rail Joiner

By Kim Hachiya, Public Relations

The Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery and Sculpture Garden has teamed with the city of Lincoln in an unusual public art project that will place a newly minted sculpture of Abraham Lincoln at the doors of the new justice and law enforcement center in downtown Lincoln.

The sculpture will be a second casting of Louis Slobodkin's bronze The Rail Joiner. It will be cast in Omaha by Les Bruning using the original plaster cast of the sculpture, which is owned by the Sheldon. The original piece is displayed in the Department of the Interior building in Washington, D.C.

City officials have announced a fund-raising campaign aimed at collecting $17,500 worth of pennies (and other monetary denominations) to pay for a portion of the $40,000 cost of the sculpture.

At a news conference in the Sheldon Great Hall Feb. 11, Dan Siedell, Sheldon's interim director, said the plaster cast was donated to the Sheldon in 1996 by the son of the late sculptor who died in 1975.

"Because of the Sheldon's strong reputation in American sculpture, we are frequently contacted by donors," Siedell said. "The artist's son was particularly interested in placing his father's works in a public collection and he liked the aspect of putting Lincoln in Lincoln. The donation was also predicated on our recasting the work."

The finished work will remain in the Sheldon's permanent collection but be on permanent loan to the city of Lincoln.

Siedell said this is the first piece of the Sheldon Sculpture Garden collection to be placed completely off the campus proper.

"This is truly the first full-blown communitywide collaboration," he said.

The work is about 7 feet tall and features "young" Lincoln in a somewhat abstracted but recognizable and representational style. Siedell said Slobodkin created a significant body of work that peaked in 1930s and 1940s. His art is characterized has having a heroic regional quality that is popular with public institutions, Siedell said. He called Slobodkin a significant player in helping cities develop public art.

The work will be placed at the western end of Lincoln Mall, which stretches between the Capitol and the County/City complex. The work will face a piece by Daniel Chester French known as the "Gettysburg Lincoln." That piece depicts a much older president in a contemplative pose.

A number of entities are involved in the "Pennies for Lincoln" campaign, according to Margaret Berry, executive director of the Lincoln Arts Council, which is spearheading the fund-drive. Collection jars have been placed at a number of Lincoln businesses.

The campaign runs for about two months. The sculpture will be unveiled at the same time the new city/county complex is dedicated in early May.

Celebrating Success Should Be Our Goal

By Chancellor James Moeser

Editor's Note: The following statement was written by Chancellor Moeser regarding a cartoon that appeared in the Feb. 9, 2000 Daily Nebraskan.

I believe we have a new opportunity for a teachable moment with regard to the way we treat each other on this campus. I refer to the controversy that has arisen regarding a cartoon published in the Daily Nebraskan last week that featured a caricature of student leader Eddie Brown as a campus mascot, along with Herbie Husker and Lil' Red.

The editors of the Daily Nebraskan insist that there was no racist intent in this caricature. No one but the editors themselves can judge their intent, and I take them at their word. However, I do not believe that the matter rests with intent. Nor is this an issue of free expression. No one, certainly not I, has suggested that the Daily Nebraskan be censored or sanctioned. No one is questioning their First Amendment rights. I do, however, question their judgment.

Once again, we have an incident that threatens the fabric of our community. My appeal now is for an atmosphere of compassion, understanding, and consideration of the feelings of others as we debate and discuss this incident. Indeed, the missing element in all of the discussion so far is the impact of this act on individuals and groups on our campus, and indeed, on the climate of the campus itself. Only a few years ago, one of our fraternities engaged in an act that, as they later declared, had no racist intent. Yet, the impact of that act sent chilling reminders through the African-American community of America's ugly history of racism.

Likewise, this depiction of an African-American student as a mascot has a chilling impact on Native Americans, who need no reminders of school mascots with American Indian themes. Setting aside for a moment the issue of racism, no one has mentioned the fact that this caricature constituted a personal attack on an individual student. Therefore, I object to it, no matter the race or gender of the student.

However, the fact remains that this cartoon and much of the ensuing discussion has been hurtful to minority communities both on and off campus. Once again, our values and our commitment to diversity are being called into question. How we respond to these questions are now as important as the original incident itself.

I want to see other minority students aspire to and succeed in becoming campus leaders. Already, these potential student leaders face peer pressure to abstain from working with and in the channels of student organizations dominated by the majority culture. We must work hard to make sure that they do not face an additional hurdle of cynicism and ridicule that will further discourage these rising leaders.

Three years ago, this campus rose above the potentially ugly and divisive impact of a cross burning to develop deeper and more meaningful relationships between minority and majority cultures. I call upon this campus to do that again. Let us all work together to create a campus culture that celebrates successful leadership and accomplishment, irrespective of ethnicity, national origin, gender, or sexual orientation. I believe that the majority of the women and men on this campus subscribe to these values. Now let's act on them.

Richard Durst Takes Post at Penn State

By Tom Simons, Public Relations

Richard W. "Dick" Durst, dean of the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts and assistant to the chancellor for the arts, has been named dean of the College of Arts and Architecture and executive director of University Arts Services at Pennsylvania State University.

Durst, who has been at Nebraska since 1996, will begin his Penn State appointment July 15.

"My time at Nebraska has been absolutely incredible, especially because of the people," said Durst. "The university community has always been so welcoming and I continue to be amazed by the level of support for the arts in a community the size of Lincoln. I've always felt honored to be a part of this place and it's not easy to leave, but the opportunity at Penn State is what is best for my family and me at this point."

Ironically, as arts and architecture dean at Penn State, Durst will fill a position held from 1986 to 1992 by Nebraska Chancellor James Moeser, who later succeeded Penn State President Graham Spanier at Nebraska.

"While we congratulate Dean Durst on his appointment to Penn State, we feel an understandable pang of regret over his leaving Nebraska," Moeser said. "During his tenure, Dick has achieved a remarkable list of accomplishments. The Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts has grown in stature and prestige, and he has left the college on solid financial and academic footing. I consider the naming of the college to be foremost of Dick's accomplishments, but the restructuring of the department of theater, the rejuvenation of the School of Music, and the oversight of the Richards Hall renovation for the department of art and art history also deserve high praise.

"Dick is assuming a position I myself once held at Penn State. I have no doubts about his ability to handle this job with the enthusiasm and professionalism that he has always shown. We wish him the very best."

Durst said he feels pride in the inroads the college has made in diversifying its faculty; its growth in enrollment (an increase of 18 percent in new student enrollment this year); a cooperative design program with the College of Architecture and the department of textiles, clothing and design in the College of Human Resources and Family sciences that he said is "on the leading edge in the country"; and a new program in film and digital media.

"I don't take credit for any of this, however," Durst said. "I can only take credit for helping pave the way for these things to happen."

Richard Edwards, senior vice chancellor for academic affairs, said he will appoint an interim dean of the Hixson-Lied college in the near future and will form a committee to perform a national search for a permanent replacement for Durst.