May 8, 2003

Carolyn Ducey, right, curator of UNL's International Quilt Study Center, and graduate assistant Janneken Smucker measure the number of quilting stitches per inch on one of the quilts from the Jonathan Holstein Quilt Collection and the Holstein Collection of Archival Materials on April 30 at the quilt center on East Campus. The collection of more than 400 quilts and other items is valued at more than $2.2 million.

Valuable quilts donated to center

By Carolyn Ducey, International Quilt Study Center

The International Quilt Study Center at UNL has received a donation of the Jonathan Holstein Quilt Collection and the Holstein Collection of Archival Materials. Valued at more than $2.2 million, the collection includes more than 400 quilts, many quilt-related items and hundreds of documents.

The gift of the Holstein Collection to the University of Nebraska Foundation is a joint venture between Jonathan Holstein, collector and author, and Ardis and Robert James, benefactors of a collection of nearly 950 quilts given to the university in 1997 that inspired the formation of the IQSC.

The collection is one of the most historically important collections in existence, and the quilts represent the most exhibited, reproduced and seen of any American quilts. It includes a group of 60 quilts shown at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City in 1971, more than 100 Lancaster County, Pa., and Midwestern Amish quilts and additional pieced and applique quilts and related quilt materials. Holstein's extensive research materials cover the period from the late 1960s when he first began to collect and study quilts, to today.

The quilts assembled for the Whitney exhibition, "Abstract Design in American Quilts," is regarded by most quilt scholars as instrumental in igniting the quilt renaissance of the 20th century. By exhibiting them in an art museum and comparing their graphic qualities to those found in modern abstract art, the exhibition brought quilts to the attention of an audience that had never before considered them in this context.

In addition to the Whitney group, the Holstein Quilt Collection also includes the collection of Lancaster County Amish quilts collected by Holstein and Gail van der Hoof in the 1970s. Lancaster Amish quilts occupy unique positions among America's design masterpieces. Distinctive in design, colors and materials, they are among the most "modern," in terms of art history, of any American quilts.

The Amish quilts in the Holstein Collection are the last large, comprehensive collection of prime quality and condition classic Lancaster Amish quilts in private hands. This well-known group fills a gap in the International Quilt Study Center's collection and gives the center a vital resource for both public exhibition and scholarly study.

International Quilt Study Center director Patricia Crews acknowledged the importance of the gift, including Holstein's archives.

"(Jonathan Holstein's archives) document the worldwide quilt-making revival of the late 20th century and enhance our resources for the study of American quilt-making traditions," she said.

The addition of the Holstein Collection to the International Quilt Study Center's permanent collection will provide scholars, students and quilt aficionados an opportunity to study the entire panorama of quilt making in America, represented by examples in depth of all categories and eras of quilt making. The center's collection now numbers about 1,650 quilts.

An exhibition of quilts from the Holstein Collection is slated for February 2005 as a part of the International Quilt Study Center's second biennial symposium, "Collectors and Collecting." The exhibition will be at Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery.

Van Etten elected to science academy

James Van Etten, William Allington distinguished professor of plant pathology at UNL, has been elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences. Membership to the academy is considered one of the highest honors that can be accorded a U.S. scientist. Van Etten's NAS election is thought to be only the third in the history of Nebraska.

The election, on April 29 in Washington, D.C., during the business session of the 140th annual meeting of the academy, added 72 new member scientists from the United States in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.

"This is one of the highest recognitions that a faculty member in science or engineering can attain," said UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman. "We are delighted for what this says about Professor Van Etten and for what it says about the University of Nebraska."

Van Etten, together with former UNL faculty member Russ Meints, discovered a new family of viruses called Phycodnaviridae, which is one of only about 60 recognized families of viruses. The discovery in 1981 has resulted in international research collaborations now involving about 20 labs in the United States, Europe and Japan. Van Etten has worked in plant pathology at Nebraska since 1966, earning the Allington distinguished professorship in 1986 and the Outstanding Research and Creative Activity Award in 1992, the highest research award from the University of Nebraska system.

Van Etten's nomination was spearheaded by Myron Brakke, an academy member since 1974 and a retired UNL plant virologist. Van Etten said he was thrilled upon hearing news of the honor.

"Obviously it's something you don't expect, and I was surprised!" he said. "To be honest, it hasn't settled in completely yet. It's a fantastic honor, and obviously a lot of people went to a lot of work to forward my nomination. I have a lot of people to thank for this.

"Since to my knowledge only three people have been elected to the academy in the history of the state, it's not a very common occurrence, and I'm certainly proud of the fact I was elected."

In addition to Brakke, the late J.M. Daly, a UNL professor in biochemistry, was a member of NAS from 1984 until his death in 1993. Bill Splinter, George Holmes professor emeritus in biological systems engineering, has been a member of the associated National Academy of Engineering since 1984.

"The fact that all UNL faculty members elected to the highly esteemed National Academy of Sciences are from the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources demonstrates the strengths of IANR programs, which are so important to our state," said John Owens, NU vice president and vice chancellor of IANR. "This brings tremendous national recognition to Professor Van Etten, Nebraska and our great land-grant university."

Plant pathology chair Anne Vidaver pointed out the significance of Van Etten's continuing research.

"Dr. Van Etten's work on viruses of primitive green plants - algae - has shown new properties, such as sugars and certain types of enzymes associated with viruses," Vidaver said. "Some of these properties may be useful in understanding diseases of plants, animals and humans. He joins an illustrious pair of previous National Academy members from the Department of Plant Pathology, the late Dr. Mike Daly and Dr. Myron Brakke."

NU President L. Dennis Smith said, "This is a singular honor, and I am exceptionally proud of Dr. Van Etten's accomplishment."

Van Etten earned his doctoral and master's degrees at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, both in plant pathology, and his bachelor's in biology at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn. He did post-doctoral work in the department of genetics at the University of Pavia in Italy before coming to Nebraska.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private organization of scientists and engineers dedicated to furthering science and its use for the general welfare.

Perlman asks Assembly to vote

This e-mail was sent to all faculty and staff by Chancellor Harvey Perlman on May 5.

Dear Colleagues:

As you know, there is pending in the Academic Senate a resolution of "no confidence" in your campus administration. An effort to declare the motion an emergency so that a vote could have been taken was declared "out of order" even though a similar motion last month to declare an emergency on the motion to declare a moratorium on firing tenured faculty was permitted and voted upon (and defeated). I have been told that some within the Senate believe these events were choreographed to assure the motion would not be voted upon. The "no confidence" motion was preceded by an inaugural address of your new president accusing me of "assaulting" faculty, "brutalizing" cooperative extension and being "inhumane" in my approach to these very difficult budget issues. On the other hand, numerous faculty have sent me resolutions of support and encouragement.

It is obvious that allowing the "no confidence" motion to fester over the summer will continue to divide the campus at a time when we will have to make important decisions. This is very unfortunate. From interactions over the last few days, I have discovered there are many people outside the university who believe that the faculty at large, rather than a few individuals, has, in fact, expressed a lack of confidence in me. This has the potential for undermining our attempts to recruit both students and faculty, will make more difficult our efforts to interact with external constituencies, and will put in doubt any decision that will necessarily have to be made.

Accordingly, I am calling for a vote of the membership of the UNL Assembly on whether I have sufficient support to proceed as your chancellor. I recognize this is not an official referendum of the Assembly in accordance with its rules, but it will be an expression of the will of its membership. I also acknowledge that reasonable people can disagree with the approach I am taking toward budget reductions. If there is not a workable majority of faculty who can support what we are trying to accomplish, then you deserve new leadership. While I value the effort and opinions of non-faculty employees, in my view of a university, the chancellor cannot lead without the support of the faculty. Thus, I have initiated the steps to conduct a secret ballot of all members of the UNL Assembly on this question:

"In general, I support the actions of the UNL administration in addressing the budget reductions facing the University and I have confidence in its continuing ability to lead the University. (Yes) (No)."

Voting will be conducted this week under the supervision of the Lancaster County Election Commissioner. If you are a member of the Assembly (generally all tenure track faculty, equivalent rank faculty, and non-tenure track faculty with at least three years of continuous service), you will receive an e-mail on May 5 with instructions on how you may cast your vote.

If there is not a workable majority of support, I will:

1. Rescind all of the budget reductions I have proposed in this round and the terminations of the tenured faculty and will allocate to each dean their proportional share of the reduction for implementation as they determine in the best interest of their college.

2. Inform the president of the university of my resignation as chancellor effective when my successor is appointed, but not later than May 2004.

Let me emphasize that I would not resign out of any resentment over your disagreement with my decisions, nor would I take such an outcome personally. These are difficult issues, and there can be reasonable disagreement on the choice of direction. The path I have chosen has resulted in a significant share of the reductions being imposed on administrative and service units. Through now almost $23 million of cuts, I have sought to protect undergraduate programs and the academic colleges and important service programs. Additional cuts may very well be required, and my intention would be to narrow the university rather than diminish the quality across the board. If tenured faculty are implicated, I will continue to do everything within our resources to provide them with support. As to the eight tenured Museum faculty, we have located tenured positions for five of these individuals in other academic departments, two are eligible for early retirement, which will provide employment with the university for three years and full medical benefits, and one has been offered a generous retraining package. Other options are being explored. This is, of course, not what any of us would have wanted, but I believe we are trying to honor our commitment to those who have tenure.

As I have indicated in the past, I cannot bring myself to pursue a course that would reduce the quality of broad segments of the university or would interrupt the extraordinary achievements that so many of you are making. I am deeply pained by each and every cut I have had to recommend, by each and every individual whose life I have had to disrupt. But in the end, unusual times often pose the central questions facing an institution and this is an unusual time for us. Although others may disagree, for me, the central question is this: Regardless of the circumstances we face, will this institution commit itself to, in the words of the recent report from the Blue Sky Committee, "an uncompromising pursuit of excellence"? I will await your decision.

Harvey

To participate Members of the UNL Assembly should have received e-mails on May 5 with personalized instructions on how to participate in this vote. The deadline for voting is noon May 9. If you believe you are eligible to vote but have not received an e-mail with instructions, e-mail Rebecca Carr at <rcarr2@unl.edu>.

Cronin to speak at graduation

James W. Cronin, who shared the 1980 Nobel Prize in physics, will give the address at UNL commencement exercises May 10.

UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman will preside over the ceremony, which begins at 9:30 a.m. in the Bob Devaney Sports Center. About 2,100 students will receive diplomas, including 113 at separate commencement exercises for the College of Law, which begins at 3 p.m. May 10 at the Lied Center for Performing Arts.

A hooding ceremony for those receiving doctoral degrees will begin at 3:30 p.m. May 9 at Kimball Recital Hall. Doctoral degree recipients will receive their diplomas at the May 10 commencement exercises.

Cronin is a leader in ultrahigh-energy cosmic-ray astronomy. He recently returned from Argentina, where he and 160 scientists from 18 countries are building a $150 million observatory to discover the source of cosmic rays.

Now a faculty member at the University of Utah, Cronin shared the Nobel Prize in 1980 with Nebraska native Val Fitch for work the two did at Princeton University. The pair described CP Violation, a phenomenon that explains why the universe is mostly matter rather than equal parts matter and antimatter.

Cronin left Princeton for the University of Chicago in 1971. He joined the faculty in Utah in 2001 to work on the Cosmic Ray project. Cronin earned a B.S. from Southern Methodist University (1951), and an M.S. (1953) and Ph.D. (1955) from the University of Chicago. He also will receive an honorary doctor of science degree at commencement.