TO CLIPS INDEX - Clips for April 26, 27, & 28, 2008

Editorial: Growing problem
The Arizona Republic - April 28, 2008 12:00 AM
If you ignore a leaky roof, you'll end up spending big bucks to replace it. If your family grows,
you'll need a bigger house. The basic math of homeownership is the same for Arizona's
universities. They've postponed too much maintenance work for too long. They must find
space for an ever-expanding number of students. The three universities have come up with
an answer: a $1.4 billion construction plan. It would be funded with bonds over 25 years.
Since Arizona faces a massive revenue shortfall in fiscal 2009, the plan is constructed to
phase in the state's interest payments starting in 2010. And the universities would foot 20
percent of the bill to repay the bonds.

Viewpoint: Ex-radical sows Marxist seeds in education's fertile soil
The Arizona Republic - April 27, 2008 12:00 AM
A few years ago, I came across an academic "paper" by a trio of California education-school
professors. Yes, I fritter away time in strange ways. As I remember it, the profs interviewed
two of their students who became in-service trainees to a high-school mentor. The little
darling trainees had concluded that their mentor was not in tune with the totems of modern
teacher preparation. Didn't genuflect deeply enough to the principles of "social justice." Or
multiculturalism. Or something.

High altitude, facilities draw world's best
The Arizona Republic - April 27, 2008 12:00 AM
FLAGSTAFF - So there you are at Biff's Bagels on Beaver Street near Route 66, digesting your
Wednesday breakfast. Then the runners show up. Big-time runners. Some living in town. Some
from countries far away. They gather inside, then go run for an hour or so before returning to
eat whatever elite athletes allow themselves. "It makes you feel a little lazy," said Mitch Kramer,
a Biff's Bagels manager. "It's usually around 9 a.m. when they swamp us. The folks that eat
around that time are surprised, but they really like it. For the ones who know what's going on, it
gets them motivated to do stuff."The top athletes at Biff's are just one sign of Flagstaff's evolution
into one of the world's premier locations for altitude training.

Forum to focus on recruiting, keeping good teachers
The Arizona Republic - April 27, 2008 12:00 AM
150 leaders to take part in Arizona Town Hall
The challenges of recruiting and retaining quality teachers is the focus of the 92nd Arizona Town
Hall being held today through Wednesday in Prescott. About 150 Arizona community leaders will
participate in the "Who Will Teach Our Children?" forum, which aims to propose solutions for
improving Arizona's ability to attract the best educators.Gov. Janet Napolitano and Arthur E. Levine,
president of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, will address Arizona Town Hall
participants at noon on Monday, Levine is a past president and professor of education at Teachers
College, Columbia University.

ASU may limit enrollment if budget cut
The Arizona Republic - April 26, 2008 12:00 AM
Arizona State University President Michael Crow warned Friday the state's largest university may have
to limit enrollment if the state Legislature imposes double-digit cuts this fall. Crow said a 10 percent
cut to the university's budget, or $50 million, would be the equivalent of wiping out funding for 6,000
students. University officials are considering enrollment limits as one option for dealing with the loss
of revenue. "That's not an option we want," Crow said. He added that officials have not determined how
much they would have to limit enrollment if the double-digit cuts occurred.

Living dangerously: ASU off-campus housing risky
East Valley Tribune - April 27, 2008 - 12:51AM
A 20-year-old college student was held down by a group of men and raped inside her Tempe apartment.
ASU student raped in Tempe. Tempe woman bites attacker, averts sex assault. Another student bit an
attacker who climbed on top of her as she slept in her bed, and a third pushed a would-be rapist off her
body and ran for help. The three women are among thousands of Arizona State University students who've
left the security of homes or dorms to live in off-campus apartments - housing they thought was safe.
Instead, like many college students nationwide who choose to live away from school, they became victims
of crime. According to public records, four out of the 10 Tempe apartment complexes where police are
called the most cater to ASU students, and one of them - where the most horrific crimes have occurred -
is actually recommended by the university.

Commentary: Thanks to feds, search for internships tougher
East Valley Tribune - April 27, 2008 - 4:17AM
It's that time of year when college students are on the hunt for those all important internships and jobs.
Thanks to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, their job search just got a whole lot tougher.
Effective as of April 8, a new regulation to extend the Optional Practical Training program was initiated
by Chertoff, who was acting at the behest of a group of senators calling themselves the Republican
High Tech Task Force. This bureaucratic fiat was pulled off without a vote or public debate, so the
senators involved won't be held responsible for this mean-spirited attack on college-age students and
young professionals; no public voting record means no accountability.

O’Connor’s former home to be relocated
East Valley Tribune - April 27, 2008
Philanthropists step in to save adobe house from demolition, arrange move from P.V. to Tempe
Sandra Day O’Connor’s Paradise Valley home was once the place where seemingly unsolvable disputes
were mediated while O’Connor, then a state lawmaker, cooked for the warring sides, calmed them down
and got them talking. Legend has it that state laws were written after such meetings in her simple adobe
home, but it had since been destined for demolition by a builder who planned to replace the 50-year-old
house with a mansion. But philanthropists and activists have stepped in to save the home and move it to
Tempe for preservation in honor of the nation’s first female Supreme Court justice. By this time next year,
it should open in Tempe as the O’Connor House and Center for Civic Discourse and host various events
that aim to resolve tough problems.

OUR VIEW: Repairs fine, but wait on construction
East Valley Tribune - April 26, 2008
Due to state budget crunch, universities should focus on maintenance
Arizona’s three public universities have joined with some of the state’s leading business associations to
pressure the Legislature into funding a $1.4 billion package for repairing existing buildings and launching
new construction. In the middle of an economic slowdown and a potential $1.8 billion budget shortfall next
year, it would be easy for lawmakers to throw up their hands and say the universities are asking for the
impossible. But lawmakers can show a little courage and wisdom if they dissect the proposal and approve
the most critical projects needed to maintain the state’s current capacity for higher education.

Opinion by Greg Hansen: Olson is way out of character
Arizona Daily Star - April 27, 2008
Bitterness on talk radio, axing loyal aides, blackballing an agent: Where will it all end? Never thought I'd see
the day you could listen to Tucson radio and hear image-conscious Lute Olson and his estranged wife,
Christine, firing bitter salvos at one another. Never thought it possible that Olson would betray two loyal
assistants, Jim Rosborough and Kevin O'Neill, and force them into administrative positions. Who's next to
be canned from the Olson basketball family, 1997 Final Four MVP Miles Simon? I'm not predicting Simon's
exit, but at this stage, in this crazy soap opera, it's almost inevitable.

Double-digit budget cuts could force ASU to limit enrollment next year
The Associated Press - Arizona Daily Star - April 27, 2008
PHOENIX — Arizona State University may have to limit enrollment if state lawmakers impose double-digit
budget cuts this fall, according to school President Michael Crow. Crow said Friday that a 10 percent cut to
ASU's budget, or $50 million, would be the equivalent of wiping out funding for 6,000 students. University
officials are considering enrollment limits as one option for dealing with the loss of revenue, but "that's not
an option we want," Crow said.

Regents OK $90M for UA computers, ask $6M cut
Arizona Daily Star - April 26, 2008
The University of Arizona will spend close to $90 million upgrading several central computer systems that
will control student records, class scheduling and payroll, according to a plan approved by regents Friday.
Also on Friday, the Arizona Board of Regents asked the UA to trim close to $6 million from its current budget
to meet state budget cuts. The UA has needed to replace its aging computer systems — some of them at
least 30 years old — for some time, as several components risk failure and no longer have outside technical
support, according to a report prepared by Michele Norin, the UA's chief information officer. But perhaps most
critical is the possibility that the UA could lose millions of dollars in grants if it doesn't upgrade its systems.

2 teachers leave $2.5M to UA for research
Arizona Daily Star - April 26, 2008
Two retired teachers have left $2.5 million of their estate to the University of Arizona to found two research
chairs. Murray and Clara Walker, both of whom taught at Phoenix high schools, endowed chairs in emphysema
and ophthalmology research at the UA's College of Medicine, according to a Friday news release from the UA
Foundation. The money donated to the foundation, the university's nonprofit fund-raising arm, will be invested
to produce annual payouts that will support the chairs and increase research in the two areas, Keith Joiner, the
medical college's dean, said in the news release.

Our Opinion: UA's Shelton in fiscal coup
Tucson Citizen - April 28, 2008
Credit University of Arizona President Robert Shelton once again for keen management. He is the reason that the
impact of a spending cut this late in the academic year will be a little less painful. The Arizona Board of Regents
doled out spending cut targets to the three universities last week. UA's share is $5.9 million or 2.5 percent of its
budget. Because Shelton has been preparing for it all along, he has passed along the need for only $2.5 million
to make the spending target, having squirreled away $3.4 million in savings already.

D.C. touchdown for Mars Lander model
Tucson Citizen - April 28, 2008
Display will be set up Thursday near the U.S. Capitol
The Phoenix Mars Lander will set down Thursday in Washington, D.C. Not the real Lander, traveling 45,463 mph
toward a May 25 landing on Mars, but instead a quarter-scale model of the spacecraft that is 29.5 million miles
short of completing its 423-million-mile journey that began Aug. 4. The $420 million University of Arizona-led
Phoenix Mars Lander mission will seek evidence of water and the elements of life by analyzing soil and ice
samples scooped from the planet's northern arctic region.

UA med school in Phoenix will have its own dean
Tucson Citizen - April 26, 2008
University of Arizona President Robert N. Shelton said Thursday that his leadership plan for the UA College of
Medicine-Phoenix includes hiring a dean who would work collaboratively with the Tucson College of Medicine
dean, but be independent of him. The Arizona Republic reported Monday that UA had announced that Edward
"Ted" Shortliffe would resign from his position as dean of the new medical school in Phoenix, effective May 2.

UA's budget hit could top $11 million
Tucson Citizen - April 26, 2008
Shelton warns staff layoffs possible next year
Academic units at the University of Arizona have been asked to return half a percent of their budget to pay for
the UA's portion of the $26 million budget cut required of the state university system last week by the
Legislature. Non-academic units will be returning 1 percent of this year's allocated funds. The Arizona Board
of Regents Friday unanimously approved a proportional share distribution of a $14.7 million segment of the
$26 million that must be shared by the three state universities. UA's portion is $5.9 million, which is 40.2
percent of the $14.7 million total.

85 years fail to dim Steward's vision
Tucson Citizen - April 26, 2008
Monday lecture scans its 'Past, Present, Future'
In Roger Carpenter's 1940s childhood home, the telephone frequently rang in the middle of the night. Callers
interrupting the peaceful sleep inside the cozy two-bedroom near the corner of Cherry Avenue and Helen
Street wanted to know one thing: What's that up in the sky? Carpenter's father, Edwin, was director of the
University of Arizona's Steward Observatory from 1938 until 1963 - a time when university professors were
local celebrities and there were no unlisted phone numbers. "Back then, professors with a high profile on
campus were well known in town," said Carpenter, 72.

University unveils MU renovation plans
ASU Web Devil - April 28, 2008
Changes include a sustainable restaurant, shaded outdoor seating area
When ASU students return to the Tempe campus next fall, they will not find the same Memorial Union they
remember. Construction to repair the damage to the second floor caused by the Nov. 1 fire will take place
over the summer, and University officials have decided to update the building at the same time. "Our efforts
will focus on four major projects designed to enhance student engagement," said MU Director Kellie Lowe.
"It's going to be really exciting when this opens in the fall." At the Thursday meeting for the Arizona Board of
Regents, the governing body of the state's public universities, the board approved $53 million for renovations
on the 255,000-square-foot building, a $13 million increase over what was previously approved in December.

Regents approve $26 million in budget cuts
ASU Web Devil - April 28, 2008
ASU president Michael Crow said Friday that enrollment limitations, job losses and reduced student services
would be the results of proposed legislative budget cuts next year. A suggested 10 percent, or $50 million,
University budget cut for fiscal year 2009 would remove funding for 6,000 students — nearly the entire student
population of the West campus, Crow said. Crow's comments came after the Arizona Board of Regents, the
Arizona university system's governing body, approved a $26-million budget cut to state universities at their
meeting at UA on Friday.

Company accused of scamming students similar to one now hiring
ASU Web Devil - April 28, 2008
When several Valley college students were approached with the opportunity for fame and fortune after a
summer of hard work last year, they went for it. But after the hard work turned into hardship, and the promise
of wealth and fame left them with debt and regret, they said they quickly learned that they had been conned.
And now past employees of the same business many students called a scam last year are back on ASU
campus recruiting students for a similar endeavor this summer.

Olson soap opera hits the airwaves
UA Daily Wildcat Blog - April 27th, 2008
Just when you thought the Lute Olson saga could not get any weirder, Olson called into 93.7 FM KRQ’s “
Johnjay & Rich and ALL THE HITS!” radio show Friday afternoon to clarify newspaper reports concerning the
latest wrinkle of his divorce proceedings. And in typical soap opera fashion, Christine Olson, who Lute has
filed for divorce from, followed suit a few minutes after he hung up.

Regents approve cutbacks
UA Daily Wildcat Online - April 28th, 2008
The UA will have to reduce its budget by nearly $6 million to help meet the state Legislature's $26 million
budget cut for the 2008-2009 fiscal year. The Arizona Board of Regents unanimously approved budget cuts
totaling $14.7 million for the state's three universities at their meeting Friday. UA students will likely feel the
brunt of those cuts in 2009, when university officials anticipate more extreme losses. Officials have been
preparing for the 2008 cuts, and they're "something that good managers can deal with," said UA President
Robert Shelton. "I'm comfortable with how 2008 is, but I'm wary of 2009," he said.

ASU, Walter Cronkite to honor Robert MacNeil and Jim Lehrer
The Business Journal of Phoenix - April 25, 2008
Walter Cronkite and Arizona State University will honor PBS news anchors Robert MacNeil and Jim Lehrer
with this year's Cronkite Award, university officials announced today. Cronkite will present the award to
MacNeil and Lehrer on Nov. 21 in the 25th annual ceremony staged by ASU's Walter Cronkite School of
Journalism and Mass Communication. "Jim and Robert represent the kind of journalism that is too often
missing from television news," Cronkite said in a university statement. "Their brand of probing, in-depth,
sophisticated and nuanced journalism stands in stark contrast to the shrill and superficial reporting some-
times found on TV today. It will be a great honor to give them our award."

Is business community to blame for state budget mess?
The Business Journal of Phoenix - April 24, 2008
So, who is to blame for Arizona's massive budget deficit? For most of its current session, the Legislature
has been dealing with a two-year, $3.1 billion budget deficit. A recent accord between the governor and
lawmakers erased the current fiscal year's $1.2 billion shortfall, leaving $1.9 billion to be dealt with for the
upcoming year. Some say Gov. Janet Napolitano, state legislators and ballot measure-approving voters
have navigated the financial course that has increased government spending while cutting taxes. But
others are pointing the finger at the business community, which in recent years has advocated a series of
tax breaks -- property and income tax cuts, tax breaks for Intel Corp. and other high-tech manufacturers,
and movie producers -- while supporting spending increases for state programs (such as all-day
kindergarten), transportation, universities and biotechnology subsidies.

You ain’t seen nothin’ yet
Arizona Capitol Times - April 25, 2008
Lawmakers say ‘perfect storm’ brewing for 2009 budget
All eyes at the Capitol have turned to addressing a deficit in fiscal year 2009 that might climb as high as
$2 billion, after lawmakers on April 17 approved an emergency plan to bridge a $1.2 billion gap in fiscal
year 2008.But lawmakers also fear a prolonged fight over the 2009 budget, as leaders opted to separate
the two budgets after months of trying to deal with them simultaneously. Some lawmakers said the
Legislature might lack the motivation to deal with next year’s budget any time soon now that they’ve plugged
the most immediate gaps and there’s no danger of running out of money this year. “(Fiscal year) ’09 is right
around the corner and we should be busy like little beavers right now,” said Rep. Pete Rios, a Hayden
Democrat. “There’s no urgency around it.” Legislative leaders and Gov. Janet Napolitano broke off budget
talks in early April, and negotiations have not resumed and are not scheduled for the immediate future.

Funding, recruiting continues to be challenge for Tucson’s remaining Level 1 trauma center
Inside Tucson Business - April 28, 2008
Level I trauma centers are not only expensive to operate, they’re difficult to staff, which says a lot about why
Tucson now has only one — at University Medical Center (UMC). But a number of factors — including a
potential $6 million loss in public support - have made even the sole remaining top level (Level I) trauma
center into a fragile operation, as members of Metropolitan Pima Association learned at their monthly break-
fast meeting last week at the Viscount Suite Hotel. The first floor of the six-story Diamond Children’s Medical
Center building will house a larger trauma center at UMC. Dr. Peter Rhee, UMC’s recently hired medical
director of trauma and critical care, and Eileen Whalen, vice president of trauma and peri-operative services
at UMC, said they want the entire community to understand the challenges of running a top trauma center
and rally support for funding.

14 neuro specialists join to open $8 million ‘comprehensive’ center
Inside Tucson Business - April 28, 2008
Fourteen neurology specialists have opened an $8 million freestanding medical center they say offers a
unique combination of professional elements as well as technology not duplicated elsewhere in Tucson.
The 30,000 square-foot Center for Neurosciences, 2450 E. River Road, was designed specifically to be a
patient-friendly haven, said Dr. Abhay Sanan, president. Outside the new 30,000 square foot Center for
Neurosciences on River Road. The specialists practicing there say they have technology no one else in
Tucson has.

Where Pell Falls Short
Inside Higher Ed - April 28, 2008
In the last year, Republicans and Democrats embraced budget plans to provide more funds for Pell Grants,
and elite colleges captured considerable attention with a flurry of plans to expand aid to students. But a
report being released today has a sober message: For the students at the bottom of the income ladder, all
of these well meaning changes have failed to make a dent in underlying problems. The report, “Window of
Opportunity: Targeting Federal Grant Aid to Students With the Lowest Incomes,” argues not surprisingly for
increased support for Pell Grants. But the report also argues that the way grants are awarded needs to
change in ways that would favor the students from the poorest families. Currently, formulas for determining
aid eligibility are based in part on an appropriate family contribution, with the lowest income students ending
up with zero as the expected contribution.

Maintain State Spending. Or Else.
Inside Higher Ed - April 28, 2008
You college presidents out there likely know this: Legislators don’t much like to be bossed around. And they
are not happy. They and other state policy makers are pushing back hard against a provision in the U.S.
House of Representatives’ version of legislation to renew the Higher Education Act that would require states
to maintain their fiscal support for higher education or otherwise risk losing a slice of federal funding. The so-
called “maintenance of effort” provision requires that states finance higher education at or above average
funding levels over the preceding five years. States that don’t maintain the minimum spending levels could
forfeit a specific portion of the monies provided through the Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership
(LEAP), a need-based aid program that, nationally, is funded to the (relatively) modest tune of about $64
million.

Lawmakers find $1.2B to cover budget deficit
AzBiz.com - April 28, 2008
State government will take $487 million from its emergency rainy day fund, cut $311 million in state spending
and divert $297 million from specialized funds to bridge the estimated $1.2 billion deficit in this fiscal year’s
budget. The proposal (HB 2620) was approved April 17 by a 24-5 vote in the state Senate and 53-3 vote in the
House. Gov. Janet Napolitano signed it the next day.

Self-Healing Computer Systems: Coming Soon to a Spacecraft Near You
hardocp.com - April 28, 2008
A professor and some students at the University of Arizona are working on a project to build self-healing computers
to be used on spacecraft. The theory is that these systems can catch and fix errors before they compromise the
entire mission and save millions of dollars. Their work has garnered funding from NASA and support from the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory. Akoglu, an assistant professor in electrical and computer engineering, is using Field
Programmable Gate Arrays, or FPGA, to build these self-healing systems.