August 23, 1996

When In Nebraska . . .

. . . do as Nebraskans do, including singing Nebraska fight songs, as demonstrated by Chancellor James Moeser and members of the UNL Marching Band at the annual new faculty picnic Wednesday at Maxwell Arboretum on East Campus. The picnic topped off a day of orientation activities for 100 new UNL faculty members. Moeser was later joined at the podium by the new dean of the Division of Continuing Studies, Donald Swoboda, who seemed to be the only one present who actually knew the words to "Hail Varsity." (Photo by Tom Slocum)

Free Marching Band Performance Tonight

The first flare-up of Husker fever will erupt Friday night (Aug. 23) at Memorial Stadium when the 1996-97 Cornhusker Marching Band offers a free performance at 6:30 p.m.

The pre-season performance attracted about 10,000 people last August and has been a tradition at UNL for at least 15 years. It will feature the 1996 pre-game show and music-the same program scheduled for the first half-time show for the champion football team's first game Sept. 7.

"It's like photo day for the football team," band director Jay Kloecker said of the annual performance. "It's been wildly successful. We have band members who say as children they came to this and ever since, wanted to join the band.

"A lot of people who don't have tickets to the games come to see us play and be in the stadium," Kloecker said. The festivities are particularly popular with children often seen frolicking on the field afterward emulating marching band members or "scoring" dramatic game-winning touchdowns in the end zone.

The band performance will last about one hour and features a "drill down" of the 264-member band and three drum majors. During the drill-down, members march in formation and respond to marching commands. They are eliminated one by one as errors are made until only one member remains and is designated the winner.

Earlier this year, the band won the 1996 Sudler trophy, the band-world equivalent of a national title administered by the John Philip Sousa Foundation in Chicago. The band also played in the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Dublin, Ireland this year. Nearly 119 years old, the Cornhusker Marching Band is the oldest college band west of the Mississippi, Kloecker said.
Those attending Friday's free performance may enter the stadium through the southwest and northwest gates. There are no parking fees and seating is available in the lower level of the west stands.

'Big Red Welcome' is Aug. 25

New UNL students will have the opportunity to get acquainted with the campus Aug. 25 at "Big Red Welcome." Activities include class schedule tours from 1-3 p.m., the new student convocation in the Lied Center for Performing Arts at 4 p.m., and the all-university welcome festival from 5-7 p.m. at the Nebraska Union. Faculty and administrators will serve traditional picnic fare at a 5:30 p.m. picnic at Memorial Plaza north of the Nebraska Union.

The class schedule tours depart from the north side of the Nebraska Union and from inside the Nebraska East Union. Students should bring their class schedules to the tours. Tours will also be offered Aug. 24.

The new student convocation is the first meeting of the incoming UNL class of 2000. The program features the Cornhusker Marching Band, video presentations, and talks by Eric Marintzer, ASUN student government president and UNL student regent, Tom Osborne, head football coach and associate professor of educational psychology, Paul Kelter, associate professor of chemistry, Lisa Schmidt, director of admissions, and Chancellor James Moeser. All new students are expected to attend the convocation.

The all-university welcome festival will feature activities such as bouncing boxing, human bowling and performances by the UNL yell squad, the Scarlet Sensations and the Scarlet and Cream Singers.

Communication Seminar Offered at Mahoney Park

Recognizing and overcoming the barriers to effective communication will be the focus of a management seminar offered by UNL's College of Business Administration Sept. 6 at Mahoney State Park.

The seven-hour seminar, "Organizational Communication," will begin at 9 a.m. and will be taught by Ann Burnett, associate professor in communication studies and director of speech and debate at UNL.

"An overwhelming percentage of a manager's daily effort is taken up communicating with others and very few managers are as effective as they would like to be in this crucial management task," said Sandra Cowley, director of business seminars at UNL. "All too often, problems in the workplace can be attributed to ineffective communication."

Cowley said the seminar will help managers identify some typical organizational communication problems, learn how to deal with 'difficult' people in the organization, discover the power of nonverbal communication and learn how to be a better listener.

The seminar is part of UNL's management development certificate program developed by CBA's management department for new and inexperienced managers who have not had formal management training. For more information on the Sept. 6 seminar and a free brochure on the management development certificate program, call (800) 203-1524 or 472-0860 in Lincoln.

Magazine Highlights Economic Forecast

Survival strategies for small retailers and Nebraska's revised economic forecast are the subjects of the July/August issue of Business in Nebraska, the publication of the UNL's Bureau of Business Research.

In the magazine's lead article, Professor Ray Marquardt and doctoral candidate Tim Burkink of UNL's marketing department argue that small retailers don't need to surrender in the face of competition from Walmart, K-Mart and other national discount chains. They concede that small operations can't compete price-wise with the chains, but say small retailers can compete by offering services customers want but chains don't have.

Marquardt and Burkink list several strategies small retailers can use to enhance storewide commitment to customer service and effective merchandising, marketing and store operations.

They back up their advice with a quote from the late Sam Walton, founder of Walmart: "If (the small retailer) gets the assortment right and makes sure his salespeople have excellent knowledge of the products and how to use them, and goes out of his way to take care of his customers, he can keep plenty of business away from us."

Elsewhere in the magazine, John S. Austin, research associate in UNL's Bureau of Business Research, updates the Nebraska economic forecast issued in January by the bureau's Nebraska Business Forecast Council. Among the highlights:

Airline Antitrust Suit Expires for UNL

The 10 percent airfare "Multistate" (MS10) discounts from the settlement of the antitrust class action lawsuit expired Aug. 17 for all governmental entities, including state universities.

Originally, the 10 percent discount was offered until Feb. 9, 1997, or until discounts totalling $40 million (for the entire country) had been reached. That total has been reached nationwide.

This settlement has also awarded UNL a limited supply of $25 coupons, to be used separately from the original 10 percent discount. These coupons have been distributed to each of our four contracted travel agencies to be used on a first-come, first-serve basis. Travelers should be aware that there is a limited supply of these coupons. When they have all been used, UNL will no longer qualify for any discounts under this settlement.

If you have any questions, or need further information, contact Kathy Bacon, Purchasing, at 2-6305.

New Environmental Health and Safety Program

Environmental Health & Safety, the Hazardous Materials Program and the Radiation Safety Office have merged into one operation under a single leader, and is now called Environmental Health and Safety (EHS). The purpose of the merger was to consolidate services, resulting in greater efficiencies and improved coordination of the unit's activities.

James Rhone, former director of the Hazardous Materials Program, will serve as the acting director of the new Environmental Health and Safety organization. Larry Grimm, as in the past, will carry out the duties of radiation safety officer and Del Weed will continue to serve as UNL's safety official and biological safety officer.

As part of this consolidation/reorganization, Weed has relocated to 3630 EC Loop (Ag Warehouse 1), EC-0824. His phone number will remain 472-9551. Shortly, all members of EHS will be relocated to the above address.

If you have any questions, or need further information, contact Rhone at 472-4925.

Nelson-Hagel Debate to Air on Nebraska ETV

The 1996 Nebraska U.S. Senate race will hit high gear when Omaha businessman Chuck Hagel and Gov. Ben Nelson meet in "The Nebraska Senate Debate" airing at 6 p.m. Aug. 25 on the statewide Nebraska ETV Network.

Hagel, the Republican nominee, and Nelson, the Democrats' standard bearer, will meet in the Open Air Auditorium at Nebraska State Fair Park in Lincoln for the campaign's first formal debate. They will answer questions posed by the debate's two moderators, veteran journalists Ed Howard and Gary Kerr.

Nomination Packet to Arrive in September

A packet containing Nomination Materials for the Outstanding Research and Creative Activity Award (ORCA), Outstanding Teaching and Instructional Creativity Award (ORTICA), and the University Wide Departmental Teaching Award will be sent to all full-time faculty in early September. Deadlines for nominations are as follows: ORCA nominations, Nov. 18 into the Office of the Provost; OTICA and UDTA nominations, Dec. 2 into the Office of the Chancellor. Questions should be directed to Gail Crowder, Office of the Provost, 472-7117.

Chamber of Commerce Offers Town Hall Video Conference

The Lincoln Chamber of Commerce and UNL will host a downlink site for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's nationwide satellite town hall video conference on Sept. 12 to review the results of the U.S. Chamber's nationwide survey on public policy issues of concern to business. Forecasts on the 1996 election and predictions on how business issues will fare next year will also be discussed.

The program will be hosted by U.S. Chamber President Richard Lesher and will feature two renowned political analysts, Doug Bailey, chairman of the American Political Network, and Chris Matthews, CNBC host, as well as prominent legislative strategists who will forecast the 1996 elections and discuss the future of business issues in the 105th Congress. Topics to be reviewed include labor reform, regulatory reform, the federal budget, and trade issues.

The video conference will begin at noon and end at 2 p.m. in the Ballroom of the Nebraska Student Union. For more information and reservations, contact Carolyn Gill at 472-2116 no later than Aug. 26.

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