By Amy Cyphers, News & Information
Once considered an indulgence associated largely with spas and the rich and famous, massage therapy has gained respect as an important part of a total fitness program. In keeping with this trend, the UNL Campus Recreation Center launched a massage therapy clinic last fall.
The clinic, which opened with limited hours in October, has been well received by the UNL community, said Brian Herbin, assistant director of injury prevention and care at Campus Rec. He said the clinic's initial popularity was better than expected and the program has been expanded to accommodate a growing list of clients.
"Our response has been truly amazing," he said. "It's been a worthwhile experience knowing that our limited hours were a negative, but still having the response that we did. We know people really want this and it really can be a benefit to the faculty and staff at UNL."
And students. Although the clinic was founded primarily to serve UNL faculty and staff members, Herbin said a surprising number of students have indulged -- making up about 40 percent of the clinic's client list. Even though Rec Center massage rates are among the cheapest in town, the $15 to $25 price tag still takes a hefty bite out of a tight student budget.
"We have a law student that comes in over from East Campus every two weeks," Herbin said. "He's on a very tight budget and economics is a very big factor to him. But he says he can cut down on Burger King two or three times a week and that's his massage therapy money."
Massage appeals to a wide variety of people, said Joel Richardson, Campus Rec's licensed massage therapist. And nearly everybody can benefit physically and mentally from different kinds of massage.
"People who are hurting, who are in pain, can come and get some relief," he said. "People who are interested in relaxation can get a massage and beat the stress of the world for a while. And athletes can come and get some specialized attention."
Many of Richardson's clients have sought his help to relieve a variety of ailments such as sports injuries and excess stress. Massage is also a good tool in promoting overall health, he said.
"Massage therapy will help increase circulation. It will increase blood flow to the muscles. It helps with circulation of lymphatic fluids," Richardson said. "It can either calm or excite the nervous system, depending on your intent. It can play a role in stress reduction. It can keep muscles in good working order by breaking up adhesions of muscle fibers. It can aid in healing and repair of muscle and tendon tissue."
In addition, massage can alleviate chronic pain and discomfort -- common conditions among people who work at their desks for extended periods of time, he said.
"(Massage) can also be useful in interrupting pain spasm, pain cycles," he said. People who work in front of computer terminals a lot often suffer from neck, shoulder and back pain, he said, and are prime candidates for massage therapy.
For those of a proactive nature, regular massage can be an effective tool to prevent injuries, Richardson said.
"It can keep your body in a better working condition and keep tissues in healthy working order."
Massage prices for Campus Rec members are $15 for 25 minutes and $25
for 45 minutes; non-members pay $25 and $35. Clinic hours are from 11:30
a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; 3 to 6:30 p.m. Monday through
Thursday. For more information, call 2-3467.
C. Bruce Marquis has resigned as executive director of the Lied Center for Performing Arts effective May 31, 1996. Marquis has directed the center since Oct. 10, 1994.
"In recent months, it has become apparent that my artistic and institutional visions for the Lied Center have differed from those envisioned by the university and the community. These are honest differences and I respect their positions," he said. "However, given the magnitude of these differences, I thought it best for all concerned that I offer the university and the community the opportunity to have a director whose goals and values were more attuned to theirs."
Herb Howe, an associate to the chancellor who has administrative oversight of the Lied Center, said Marquis has had a strong impact on outreach education and audience development during his tenure at the Lied Center. He said Marquis leaves the Lied on solid financial footing and Marquis will continue to plan and program the 1996-97 season prior to his departure.
Howe said Marquis' term as director should not be viewed as unusually short. "Turnover in performing arts administration is quite rapid," Howe said.
The search for a new director will begin soon, Howe said, and a professional executive search firm probably will be used to expedite the national search.
Marquis praised the Lied's staff and community advisory groups.
"I have been honored to work with a superb staff and dedicated advisory board, as well as an exemplary friends organization. The Lied is a marvelous center, one of which the state of Nebraska can be proud and I offer my best wishes for its continued success.
"I am pleased that during my administration, the Lied has seen its audiences grow, setting new attendance records for the 1994-95 season, and has become more financially secure," Marquis said. "Coming out of debt, the Lied generated a significant surplus last season and we project another surplus this year.
"Equally important, I have been pleased to begin new initiatives which have increased the cultural diversity in the Lied's programming, expanded the Lied's educational outreach program and attracted new and younger audiences to the Lied.
"I am very encouraged by the initial success of these programs and hope that they continue," he said.
Marquis said he plans to pursue other opportunities in performing arts
management. Prior to directing the Lied Center, Marquis was director of
fine arts programming at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Marquis'
salary at UNL was $71,400 annually.
Library faculty will decide by Feb. 1 whether to internally restructure or to conduct a national search for a replacement for Kent Hendrickson, who has resigned as libraries' dean.
Harvey Perlman, acting vice chancellor for academic affairs, said Hendrickson wishes to concentrate his time as associate vice chancellor for information services. Hendrickson submitted a letter of resignation as dean of libraries last semester, indicating his desire to resign as of Jan. 1. That date has been delayed, Perlman said.
"There are resource implications for the libraries," Perlman said. "Faculty need to determine where their priorities lie. It is more expensive to conduct a search rather than reorganize."
Perlman said he would lean toward restructuring "until it is clear
that it's not a workable solution."
People with access to the Internet can find information about Nebraska Public TV and Radio and the educational and media services offered by NET through the organization's new home page on the World Wide Web, according to NET General Manager Jack McBride.
"NET's home page enables users to search for, view and download a variety of information about NET and its many services and to link with PBS and NPR Web pages," said McBride. "This new Web site is consistent with our educational and public information mission. It's important additional pipeline through which we can share resources with Nebraskans."
The address for NET's colorful, user-friendly Web site is http://net.unl.edu. Included on the site are broadcast schedules for the Nebraska ETV Network, Nebraska Public Radio Network and EduCable, plus information on how to purchase videotapes, become a member of NPTV or PRNF, or find out about any of a variety of production and educational telecommunications services available through NET.
In addition, the NET home page includes links to PBS Online and access to the more than 50 other public broadcasting stations and networks that have home pages on the Web. A second phase of development will include additional layers of detail about each of the services and more links that can take a user to related topics around the world.
As the NET home page becomes more sophisticated in the months to come,
additional features will enable a user to become a member of Nebraskans
for Public Television or the Public Radio Nebraska Foundation simply by
completing an on-screen form. Or a viewer who wishes to purchase a
videotape of a favorite local television program would be able to simply
complete an online order form and send it, electronically, to GPN, NET's
marketing agency, for processing.
Two UNL faculty members are editors of two recent books published by Oxford University Press in its series, "Women Writers in English: 1350-1850."
Sharon M. Harris, associate professor of English, was editor of "Selected Writings of Judith Sargent Murray," one of America's earliest feminist writers and a gifted satirist. The selected writings collects a number of Murray's essays, selected correspondence, a play and her only novel, The Story of Margaretta. Murray (1751-1820) was the first woman to have a play produced on the Boston stage and the first woman to have her own literary column.
Harris is the author of an earlier book, Rebecca Harding Davis and American Realism, published in 1991, and was editor of Redefining the Political Novel: American Women Writers 1797-1901, and the Oxford anthology, American Women Writers to 1800.
The other book in the Women Writers Series edited by a UNL faculty member is Prophetic Writings of Lady Eleanor Davies, edited by Esther S. Cope, professor of history. Davies was one of the most prolific women writers early 17th century England. This volume includes 36 prophetic tracts inspired by a visionary experience in 1625. In showing how England's history was fulfilling Biblical prophecies, Davies commented about the political and religious controversies of the turbulent period preceding and during the English Civil War and Revolution.
Cope's most recently published book was a study of Davies, Handmaid
of the Spirit, published in 1992.
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