TO CLIPS INDEX - Clips for April 16, 2008

Our Turn: Advocates for tax-rate cut disregard state’s future
The Arizona Republic - April 16, 2008
Election-year politics are trying to edge out sound planning for the long-term, critical infrastructure needs
of our great state. Some special-interest and business groups are clamoring for a permanent cut of the
state equalization rate of property tax for business and residential properties. However, there is no plan
for or a consideration of the future needs of Arizona. In response, we ask: Would permanently cutting the
equalization rate actually result in a long-term tax cut, or will the tax burden be shifted to other state and
local taxing sources? This critical question has not yet been answered. Despite the political pressure
that is being exerted on us, we voted “no” on the legislation to cut permanently the equalization rate
property tax.

Campaigns to Overrule Campus Gun Bans Have Failed in Many States
Arizona Republic & USA Today - April 16, 2008 12:00 AM
A year after Va. Tech, campuses more wary
In the year since a troubled man killed 32 fellow students and faculty at Virginia Tech, colleges have dramatically
expanded efforts to catch dangerous students in a safety net before they crash and take innocent victims down
with them, school officials say. "It's a different world since Virginia Tech," said Gwendolyn Dungy, executive director
of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. Colleges are trying to reduce the chances of
violence by creating or beefing up "risk assessment" teams that typically include faculty, residence advisers,
psychologists, administrators and police, college administrators say.

ASU's 'Dr. B' named professor of the year
The Arizona Republic - April 15, 2008 11:13 PM
More than a decade ago, Arizona State University Professor Jim Blasingame was a school principal in Iowa
and found he was tired of dealing with the negatives of being a high-school administrator. He decided to
earn his Ph.D. Eight years after receiving it, he has earned the title of professor of the year from the ASU
Parents Association.

5-year-old gene-based research institution fights for funding
The Arizona Republic - April 16, 2008 12:00 AM
University of Arizona and Arizona State University have longer track records and deeper pockets. The Mayo
Clinic is among the nation's most respected clinical and medical research groups in the country. But no
group symbolizes Arizona's gamble to build a research-based economy as much as the Translational
Genomics Research Institute. Arizona's public and private-sector leaders pledged $100 million to launch
TGen on the bet that it would spur medical treatments to save lives and create high-wage jobs to drive the
state's 21st-century economy. Leaders sought to create a gene-based research institution that could
capture the medical and economic promise of new scientific discoveries stemming from the sequencing
of the human genome.

Colleges paid to teach Ayn Rand
Arizona Republic & Bloomberg News - April 16, 2008 12:00 AM
BOSTON - Ayn Rand's novels of headstrong entrepreneurs' battles against convention enjoy a devoted
following in business circles. While academia has failed to embrace Rand, calling her philosophy simplistic,
schools have agreed to teach her works in exchange for a donation. The charitable arm of BB&T Corp., a
banking company, pledged $1 million to the University of North Carolina Charlotte in 2005 and obtained an
agreement that Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged would become required reading for students. Marshall
University in Huntington, W.Va., and Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, N.C., say they also took grants
and agreed to teach Rand.

Cancer-drug trials show promise
The Arizona Republic - April 16, 2008 12:00 AM
Ariz.-based studies have early favorable results
Scientists at Translational Genomics Research Institute and Scottsdale Healthcare reported that two early-
stage clinical trials conducted in Arizona show promise in treating patients with two types of cancer. A potential
drug effectively shrank tumors in eight of nine patients with advanced basal-cell carcinoma, a skin cancer. The
Phase 1 trial showed the patients responded to the drugs with limited side effects such hair and weight loss,
and the loss of taste.

Protest seeks to save ASU day care center
The Arizona Republic - April 15, 2008 08:36 AM
A rally to protest the closing of a highly acclaimed preschool at Arizona State University at the West Campus
will be held at l p.m. Wednesday on the lawn in front of the Fletcher Library on the campus at 4701 W.
Thunderbird Road. The privately run ASU West Child Development Center & Family Studies Research Lab is
to close in June.

Lawmakers seek power to override mandated spending
East Valley Tribune - April 16, 2008 - 2:51AM
A Senate panel agreed Tuesday to ask voters to give lawmakers the power to alter the provisions of some
ballot initiatives. HCR2044 would partly overturn a 1998 constitutional amendment which precludes law-
makers from tinkering with any law or spending requirement which voters themselves have enacted. The
measure, which already has been approved by the House, now goes to the full Senate. But the final word
of whether voters are willing to rescind the protections they approved a decade ago would be up to them:
The change could take place only if it's ratified in November.

Editorial: Open dialogue is the loser in KTAR-ASU bus fracas
East Valley Tribune - April 16, 2008 - 12:19AM
Valley news radio station KTAR (92.3 FM) is milking the station’s ban from Arizona State University shuttle
bus radios for all it’s worth and then some. The station is still trailing KFYI (550 AM) in the ratings despite
shifting its talk-radio format to the FM dial. So naturally the station’s on-air employees are trying to shore
up its conservative credentials by hyping the fact their station was booted off eight shuttle routes among
ASU’s four campuses late last week.

Editorial: Our Opinion: U.S. high-tech innovation hindered by H-1B visa limit
Tucson Citizen- April 16, 2008
Among the many aspects of immigration reform bollixed up in Congress is a measure that would boost
the ability of the United States to compete technologically. H-1B visas allow U.S. companies to hire skilled
foreign workers for certain jobs that cannot be filled with American workers. But there is a limit of 65,000
such visas each year, not nearly enough to meet the demand from U.S. companies and universities. U.S.
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a Democrat from southern Arizona, is among members of Congress sponsoring
legislation that would double the number of such visas. Although we wish Congress would deal with
immigration issues comprehensively, this is hurting U.S. businesses and must be addressed.

Guest Opinion: Media taking low road in Olson saga
Tucson Citizen - April 16, 2008
My father gave me some great advice when I entered public life more than a decade ago. He told me the
media always have the last word. I have personally experienced that reality many times and have seen it
exhibited recently in the media versus Lute Olson drama that has unfolded like a soap opera. It may be
true Olson was a little "grumpy" during his recent news conference and wasn't available for comments
throughout the basketball season. But what do we make of the media's behavior during the season, the
news conference and afterward?

Proposal to suspend some voter-approved laws near final vote
Tucson Citizen - April 16, 2008
PHOENIX - A proposal to let legislators cope with budget deficits by suspending voter-approved laws such
as mandates for health care and education spending is limping toward the finish line at the Legislature.
The resolution to put a state constitutional amendment on the November ballot was endorsed Tuesday
by the Senate Appropriations Committee on a 6-3 vote. Approved by the House, it goes to the full Senate
after a legal review. The committee approved the resolution (HCR 2044) after changing it in response to
previously voiced concerns that it was too open-ended and could open the door to legislative mischief.

College access center having an impact
Tucson Citizen - April 16, 2008
The Metropolitan Education Commission hit the ground running with the opening of the Regional College
Access Center on Jan, 16. It is clear within the first 60 days of its existence that under the leadership of
Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup and chair of the Pima County Board of Supervisors, Richard Elías, we have
created a unique system providing an effective delivery of services tailored to the consumer's needs. The
center emphasizes collaboration as the key to a low-cost system with highly effective results. Collaboration,
connectedness and cost-effectiveness characterize this initiative that enhances Tucson and Pima County's
economic and workforce development.

Editorial Opinion: Lest we forget
ASU Web Devil - April 16, 2008
One year ago, we sat dumbfounded, staring at television sets with blank expressions of utter disbelief
and disgust. How could it happen again? That morning, in Blacksburg, Va., a 23-year-old by the name
of Seung-Hui Cho fired upon dozens of students and staff in the heart of Virginia Tech's campus. Just
as Cho wished, we couldn't look away from the coverage. We needed to watch — or to confirm — that
another surreal incident had put our peers in peril. We needed to be reminded of the worst that
humanity has to offer, if just to be re-energized to fight against it.

Opinions: Student loans a train wreck
ASU Web Devil - April 16, 2008
The economy is very much like Britney Spears: train-wreck after train-wreck. For fear that we will fall into a
recession, the federal government has issued tax-rate cuts and literally bailed a company out of bankruptcy.
But we're still in a recession, and it's going to hurt us, degree-seeking students, the worst. I say this
because right now, as you sit in class reading The State Press, our federal representatives are failing to
create any sort of tangible program that will solve the ever-growing problem the student loan industry is
facing.

Remembering Virginia Tech
ASU Web Devil - April 16, 2008
One year later, officials cast a sharper eye on ASU safety
April 16 marks the one-year anniversary of the Virginia Tech shooting, and many ASU students are reflecting
on their own campus safety. One year ago, Seung-Hui Cho, a 23-year-old student at Virginia Polytechnic
Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Va., shot and killed 32 people and himself in the deadliest mass
shooting in U.S. history. Although some students questioned the effectiveness of the safety procedures ASU
implemented after the Virginia Tech shooting, ASU Police Cmdr. Jim Hardina said the University is prepared
to handle an emergency event of the Virginia Tech magnitude.

Dome still without a home
ASU Web Devil - April 16, 2008
Landmark's plans hazy after a year
A former Tempe landmark that was displaced last year is still homeless, and plans for its future are up in
the air. University officials looking for a new home for the gold-domed roof of the former Visitor Information
Center at the University have begun eyeing the new Vista Del Sol residential community currently under
construction. The University preserved the dome after the building, formerly at Rural Road and Apache
Boulevard, was demolished in February 2007, despite the protests of community members and historic
preservationists. The University announced at the time that it had plans to incorporate the dome into the
design of the new honors college facility but earlier this year looked to the new luxury residences at Vista
del Sol to include it.

New feature added to course evaluations
ASU Web Devil - April 16, 2008
Once again, the College of Human Services (CHS), College of Teacher Education and Leadership (CTEL),
and New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences (NCAIS) at the West campus will be stressing to
students the importance of participating in online course evaluations. All three colleges have piloted the
online administration of instructor/course evaluations previously, but none of these pilots has been
conducted using a system specifically designed for online instructor/course evaluation administration.

Shelton pushes stimulus package
UA Daily Wildcat Online - April 16, 2008
$1.4B proposal would add science building, upgrade Centennial
PHOENIX - An economic stimulus plan proposed by the state's three university presidents is gaining steam as
Southern Arizona business organizations profess support, but some believe the plan is far-fetched given the
state's budget deficit of more than $1 billion. The Stimulus Plan for Economic and Educational Development
would allow the three universities to sell more than $1.4 billion in bonds for new buildings for science and
technology, and also to make repairs to existing buildings at the UA, Northern Arizona University and Arizona
State University.

Greener UA to see STARS
UA Daily Wildcat Online - April 16, 2008
Ratings part of efforts to make campus more sustainable
The UA is taking part in the development of a college sustainability rating system that school officials said will help
reach the broader goals of creating a more environment-friendly campus. About 100 schools across the country are
set to take part in the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System, known as STARS. STARS is being
developed by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, with which the university has
been involved since the beginning of this semester, said Kevin Burke, graduate assistant to the UA's new Campus
Sustainability Committee.

ASU symposium to focus on how technology is changing businesses
The Business Journal of Phoenix - April 15, 2008 - 1:00 PM MST
The W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University will host a symposium looking at ways technology is
changing how businesses operate and innovate. Presented by the school's Center for Advancing Business through
Information Technology, the symposium will feature technologically savvy business leaders discussing ways that
technology-enabled collaboration, such as social networking, is helping to change overall business operations.

Campaigns to Overrule Campus Gun Bans Have Failed in Many States
Chronicle of Higher Education - April 16, 2008
In the aftermath of the shootings one year ago today, colleges nationwide have made changes in how they
identify and handle threats to campus safety. Ethan Elliott was a corporal in the Marine Corps when 32 students
and professors were shot dead at Virginia Tech. Now he's a freshman at Pima Community College who wants
to protect himself and others from a similar incident — by carrying a gun on the Tucson, Ariz., campus. "I see no
reason I shouldn't be able to carry in class," he says, "just like I carry in the mall, and just like I carry everywhere
else." Mr. Elliott feels safer with his Springfield 1911 pistol close at hand. People can bring guns most places in
Arizona, but the state's Board of Regents has long banned all weapons from public college campuses. Now
some lawmakers are trying to change that.

Nouveau University Granted Conditional License
PRNewswire-USNewswire - April 16, 2008
New Scottsdale Online University Teaches Business Success Principles
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., -- Nouveau University (NU) has received a conditional degree-granting license from the
Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education to offer associate of science and bachelor of business
administration degrees. A conditional license allows NU to begin marketing programs and offering courses. On
February 1, Dr. Jennifer Scott was appointed president and chief executive officer of the university. The university
is finalizing all internal operations and support systems to prepare for the launch of its academic programs,
which are expected to begin in fall 2008.

Students Press for Guns on Campus
Kansas City infoZine News - April 16, 2008
A day after the April 16, 2007, massacre at Virginia Tech, where a troubled student gunned down 32 people
before killing himself, a student at the University of North Texas started a group on the social-networking Web
site Facebook to rally support to allow those with concealed weapons licenses to bring their guns onto college
campuses - possibly to defend themselves in a similar attack. Stateline.org - infoZine - Almost a year later,
Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC) boasts more than 25,000 members at more than 300
chapters in 44 states. Their efforts encouraged lawmakers in 15 states this year to debate whether to allow
citizens with firearms permits to bring guns onto public college campuses.