Custodian Michelle Nickels, right, looks on as Chancellor Harvey Perlman is introduced as the 19th UNL chancellor March 16, during a news conference in the Nebraska Union. Perlman succeeds James Moeser.

Perlman Named UNL Chancellor

Harvey Perlman, who has served an interim UNL chancellor since July 2000, was named permanent chancellor March 16 by NU President L. Dennis Smith.

Perlman will be the 19th chancellor of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, subject to approval by the Board of Regents.

Smith said the high qualifications demonstrated by both finalists for the position - Perlman and University of Minnesota Regent and business owner William E. Hogan II-made for a difficult choice.

Smith cited Perlman's experience as a faculty member and dean of the NU College of Law, and his service

as interim chancellor as important factors in his selection for the chancellor's post.

"Harvey Perlman has demonstrated a combination of effective teaching, distinguished scholarship, and outstanding leadership that will serve UNL well as it seeks to move to the front ranks of American research universities, Smith said. "He has been extremely effective as interim chancellor. He clearly has impressed members of the faculty and staff as well as the student body with his keen intellect and his grasp of the essential role of the chancellor as campus leader."

Perlman expressed pleasure at his appointment. "I have devoted most of my career to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. It is a strong university with a history we all can and should cherish," Perlman said. "More importantly, however, it is a university that has identified clearly the path it should take into the future. I'm excited about being chancellor, and I look forward to working with the faculty, staff, and students to achieve the vision we've all helped define."

Charles Wilson, chair of the Board of Regents, applauded Perlman's selection. "I am delighted that Harvey Perlman will be the new chancellor," Wilson said. "He has already demonstrated his skills in several key roles, and he is well positioned to lead UNL. It is evident that the campus community is ready to move to a new level of quality, and Harvey will be a tremendous asset in that process."

Perlman has served as UNL's interim chancellor since July 2000. A professor of law, he was dean of the College of Law for 15 years. He served for two years as acting senior vice chancellor for academic affairs. He was a member of the University of Virginia Law School faculty for eight years and was a distinguished visiting professor at the University of Iowa College of Law for two years in the early 1980s. His legal specialties include torts, intellectual property, unfair competition, patents, construction law, and cyberlaw. He earned his juris doctor and bachelor degrees from the University of Nebraska.

The new chancellor's salary will be $220,000 annually. That salary is based on results of a study conducted recently by the firm of Ernst and Young for the University of Nebraska Foundation. The study examined factors involved in hiring and retaining university chancellors and presidents, and showed that the average annual salary for chancellors of comparable university campuses is $230,999. The same Ernst and Young study revealed that presidents of universities comparable to the University of Nebraska earn an average annual salary of $277,963. An adjustment of Smith's salary to $245,000 will be acted on by the Board of Regents at its April meeting.

Harmonious Moonlighting: UNL astronomer Martin Gaskell spends his free time composing classical music.

The (ongoing) Quest for Parallel Universes

By Scott Franzen, Public Relations Intern

UNL astronomer Martin Gaskell has found an interesting parallel universe. It's not inhabited by Mr. Spock but more likely by Mr. Bach. Johann Sebastian, that is.

Gaskell composes classical music as a method of relaxation. Right now, he spends his free time tweeking his "Fantasia for Viola and Orchestra," and trying to secure funding to record it. UNL viola professor Clark Potter premiered the piece at a recital in Kimball Hall last March.

"It's fun for the composer to hear their piece played," Potter said. "His music is beautiful and easy to listen to."

Last fall, four UNL School of Music students performed the premiere of a woodwind quartet that Gaskell began writing in the 1970s while he was in graduate school.

"It was delightful to hear after all those years," Gaskell said. "The players gave a wonderfully sensitive performance of the quartet."

"It was a nice performance," said Dave Baker, a senior bassoon performance major, who was one of the performers of the quartet. Each of Gaskell's movements was different; developing from a classical theme in the first, Baker said. The second movement had a slow impressionistic feel, the third had a dance-like sound and the quartet ended with a hymn-like feeling in the fourth movement, he added.

Gaskell said there is little connection between his career as an astronomer and his avocation for composing.

"Curiously, although astronomy provides little inspiration for my music, people tend to read astronomical associations into it," Gaskell said. Most of his composing ideas come from feelings, events and places, he said.

For instance, the frequent walks he took with his wife during graduate school inspired portions of the woodwind quintet.

Gaskell's passions exist harmoniously. Manila folders filled with musical ideas and composition sketches sit on a shelf in an office filled with numerous astronomy research folders and classwork. Two landscape paintings done by his mother of the Cornwall countryside hang on the east wall of his Ferguson Hall office and suggest a family appreciation of the arts. He doesn't share his mother's talent for painting, but enjoys the art of creating sound compositions, he said.

Over the years, Gaskell has found several parallels between his astronomy and composing pursuits. Technically, they are vastly different but in structure and planning they have many similarities, he said. Scientific research and writing a scientific paper are similar to composing a piece of music, Gaskell said. Both begin with sketches, ideas and notes, then are developed through research and a lot of revisions to produce a finished piece, he said. In both cases, there is a need for being thorough, he added.

"I think the level of mental effort in understanding Einstein's general theory of relativity and Bach's writing is roughly comparable," he said.

Citing Einstein's violin playing, Gaskell said there has been fascinating research in the past decade that classical music enhances IQ and learning in other subjects.

There have been several famous scientists who share musical interests in the past. The Russian composer and organic chemistry professor Alexander Borodin has provided a role model for Gaskell.

The connections carry over to his lectures. He confesses to teaching a class as though he's composing or conducting a symphony. Teaching is more of an art, he said; classroom instruction needs balance, variety, interest and clarity.

On a recent class meeting, he played Pink Floyd's Dark side of the Moon to tie-in the day's lecture topic while his students filed to their seats. He uses the astronomer Johannes Kepler as an example of someone who tried to use music theory to explain astronomical concepts.

He holds no regrets about not having a career in music. "It's a fascinating hobby," he said. He grew interested in composing soon after he began piano lessons when he was 9 years old; he recalls thinking, "I can do this." He didn't start doing much of it till he was 12 years old. And it wasn't until the end of high school that he became serious about it.

"I thought about a career in music but you have to be really good at performing," he said. Deciding that he was not cut out as a music performer, he pursued astronomy and physics in college. He took one class in orchestra conducting in college and continued composing during his free time.

Orchestral music is his favorite, but he also works in other genres, such as chamber music. He describes his music as accessible or lyrical music that's easy to listen to, as opposed to atonal music written in the 20th century.

While the keyboard remains his favorite instrument to play, he has also given performances as a vocal soloist and on a variety of ancient and modern wind and string instruments. They include 16th century instruments such as the viola da gamba, recorder, crumhorn (a bent reed wind instrument) and the rauschpfeife (a windcap reed instrument). He says he usually performs music of the 16th and 17th centuries.

As he finishes up changes on the fantasia, he's also working on finishing a symphonic poem that may go on the same CD. In the crystal ball, he's got ideas for a string orchestral suite. He hopes to compose one major piece annually, but doesn't worry about it.

"The main thing music contributes to my life is relaxation," Gaskell reiterated, "it balances my life."

Three from UNL Snare U-Wide Awards

Three professors associated with UNL received universitywide awards for outstanding research and outstanding teaching.

Gary Moulton, professor of history and editor of the Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and Brett Ratcliffe, professor and curator of insects at the State Museum, each received the Outstanding Research and Creative Activity Award.

Daniel Bernstein, professor of psychology, received one of two Outstanding Teaching and Instructional Creativity Awards.

A Universitywide Departmental Teaching Award was given to the Division of Medical Technology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Robert Rycek, professor of psychology at UNK, also received an OTICA award.

The ORCA award recognizes individual faculty members for research and creative activity of national or international significance. The OTICA recognizes meritorious and sustained records of excellence in teaching by individual faculty members. Each of these awards is accompanied by a $3,500 grant.

As in past years, the Scarlet will in future editions publish feature stories about the winners associated with UNL.

Speakers Bureau Gigs More than Flights of Fancy

By Scott Franzen, Public Relations Intern

One day after Missouri's governor and three others died in the crash of a small plane, Tom Workman found himself aboard the small aircraft that usually carries Nebraska's governor. It was a bumpy ride, said Workman, communications coordinator for NU Directions and member of the UNL Speakers Bureau.

"The automatic pilot wasn't working and the plane kept suddenly lurching up and accelerating," Workman said. "The pilot told us we weren't in any danger, but that he was disappointed he wouldn't get any reading done!"

Ultimately, the flight ended without incident, as did Workman's presentation on high-risk drinking. He showed high-school students how they are commercially targeted as future alcohol buyers.

"Students got the message and I could literally see them becoming more empowered as media consumers," he said.

Workman is one of 17 members of the 2000-2001 Speakers Bureau, a group that has traveled Nebraska speaking on topics ranging from high-risk drinking to E-business and global warming.

Both high school and community groups appreciate having a UNL speaker visit their community, said Barb Bowers, speakers bureau coordinator. Audiences often comment on the speaker's expertise in taking abstract information and presenting it in a humorous and understandable way.

"They make their subjects fascinating," Bowers said.

Larry Routh, director of career services, said speaking to Nebraska high schools and employers on Nebraska's "brain drain" increased his appreciation for the variety of diverse attitudes and interests in the state.

"Employers saw that they need to be much more energetic and creative if they want to successfully recruit Nebraska graduates," Routh said.

Tom Clemente, assistant professor of agronomy, spoke on genetically enhanced crops. He said most of his audiences were well informed but he also engaged in some good conversations that helped clarify information and change some misperceptions audiences members already had.

All of the speakers claim they brought home something useful for themselves.

Workman said he most enjoyed his interactions with high school students in Sidney and Norfolk.

"It's always a learning experience to sit and talk with people. I always learn more about how people relate to alcohol and to the many issues surrounding it," Workman said.

Routh plans to take feedback he received to heart by redesigning some of UNL's career services to make them more effective for both employers and students.

Clemente notes that most scientists don't frequently talk to the public about their work, so it's a challenge to step back and converse in lay terms. Consequently, he says his speakers bureau experience has made him better able to communicate with the public at large.

Nominations for the 2001-2002 academic year speakers bureau are being accepted through March 30. Potential nominees are faculty or administrators who speak on timely issues such as health and lifestyle trends, diversity, motivational or humorous topics, business trends, arts and humanities, educational trends, natural history and what the university offers to the citizens of Nebraska.

Speakers will be asked to make presentations across the state to civic and professional groups, high school students, and occasionally to out-of-state Nebraska alumni groups.

For a nomination form, contact Barbara Bowers at 472-8396 or download at http://www.unl.edu/pr/ speakers/nomform.html.

Perlman: Thanks for Input into Prioritization Process

Then-Interim Chancellor Harvey Perlman sent the following email message to the campus community on March 8.

Dear Colleagues:

I want to thank those of you who participated in the forums focused on our prioritization process and those of you who communicated to us in other ways. Your comments were very helpful and are currently being considered in our efforts to formulate a final report.

Because this issue is obviously of such real interest to members of the university community, I thought I should report on our current thinking and our response to some of the concerns expressed.

First, let me remind you of the process out of which the current list surfaced. Deans were asked to identify 25 percent of their academic programs that had priority claims for investment. Faculty were to be involved in this process. The initial submission was a "king's X," a submission to which the dean was not bound, in order to make visible the strategies and approaches each dean intended to take. A second "final" list was then submitted. The campus administration reserved the right to identify additional programs that were campuswide in their impact. It was this list that we provided to you.

Many expressed concern with the difference in approach taken by the various colleges. Arts & Sciences, for example, listed several discrete programs while the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the College of Engineering & Technology formulated their priorities toward general objectives without describing specific programs. General objectives are much easier to fashion for units such as professional programs that are more homogeneous and more difficult in a college like A & S, which is more diverse. That aside, let me assure you that no unit will be disadvantaged based on the number of programs listed or the way in which they were expressed. Although the administration of the institute continues to believe that its approach is right for the institute, Vice Chancellor (John) Owens has agreed to reexamine those listings to see if they can be described in a way that more accurately and more specifically reflects what was intended.

A number of you pointed out listed programs emerging from separate colleges that might profitably be combined into more general and more effective initiatives. Many of these suggestions looked good to us and we have directed the appropriate deans to make an effort to develop an integrated program listing.

A few additional college-based programs were proposed for inclusion. At this point the campus administration is reluctant to second-guess the deans and the faculty who have participated in fashioning the existing list. However, we have sent those new proposals back to the relevant dean with the invitation to reconsider the omitted program. We are also considering whether one or two campuswide initiatives might be added to the list.

Some suggestions raised an issue that has troubled us from the start. What should we do with programs that can be viewed as supportive of other programs or are part of the basic infrastructure of the academic enterprise? These included such units as the University Libraries; Information Services; the museums, such as Sheldon and the State Museum; and some of the science core facilities. We have tentatively decided not to include these items in the list of priorities but rather to suggest in our final document that they are important resources upon which other priorities depend. It is certainly contemplated that these infrastructure units will be targets for strategic investments.

Let me take this occasion to repeat what I reported to the Academic Senate and to the forums about what happens next. Specifically, the list revised as noted above, will be assessed in light of the regents' criteria, submitted to the Academic Planning Committee for its recommendations, and then reported to the president. What then?

I believe our final report will be the beginning of a process, not a culminating event. Obviously, not all of the programs listed will be immediately targeted for increased investments. These programs will be required to demonstrate that additional investments will produce substantial returns to the university, either by improving the quality of one of our missions or enhancing our national reputation. Investments, at least from the campus level, should reinforce the efforts of the program to improve, and should be based on a clear articulation of the returns to be expected from increased investment, and the methods of measuring success.

Individuals or programs who are not on the current list will continue to have opportunities to demonstrate that they should be recognized as a priority. It is contemplated that the university priorities will evolve because of changing circumstances, unexpected opportunities, or the development of better information. It may be that programs currently identified may not be able to demonstrate that they can produce sufficient returns to justify an additional investment. Moreover, there are many ways in which unlisted programs can readjust their direction in order to become part of one of the listed priorities. I mention, only by way of example, that the priorities relating to the Honors Program or the Comprehensive Education Program, are broad enough to embrace almost every faculty member on this campus.

I firmly believe that the prioritization process can become the start of a major effort to enhance this university if we recognize it as an opportunity and not a threat, if we commit ourselves to it, and if the decisions we make are consistent with the priorities we establish. At the same time I am not so naive as to think that this will be easy or that everyone will gladly embrace this process so that we will all march, singing, into the sunset. Nor do I think the current list is perfect. It's a good start. The most I'm prepared to say at this point is, "Not bad for a bunch of interims in a very short period of time."

I hope you will continue your efforts and your counsel to make this process work.

Thanks,

Harvey Perlman

Chancellor