The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 04, 1985, Page Page 5, Image 5
'Officials apathetic
By College Press Service
WASHINGTON, I).C. ? William Bennett, President
Reagan's Jan. 10 nominee to become the next U.S. Secretary
of Education, can't seem to get education off icials around the
country very excited.
While there's no violent opposition to Bennett, who made
headlines late in 1984 by releasing a report decrying the deficiencies
of college humanities courses, there is little unqualified
support for him.
One of Bennett's former teachers, for example, distrusts the
^ nominee's tendency toward "moral bludgeoning."
SOME FORMER colleagues wonder about Bennett once
holding teaching positions on two different campuses at the
same time without letting his immediate supervisors know
about his moonlighting.
Bennett, moreover, never did lead a class on either campus.
Nevertheless, most of the educators around the country
contacted by College Press Service to assess Bennett's probable
impact on federal college programs and the Department
of Education displayed a "wait and see" attitude.
But some worried about the nominee's commitment to
equal opportunity because Bennett refused to establish racial
^ hiring quotas during his three-year stint as chairman of the
National Endowment for the Humanities.
WHEN IT comes to the biggest challenge likely to face the
new secretary ? protecting education programs from the
radical cuts weighed by the Reagan administration itself ?
most of those who know Bennett arc confident.
"Dr. Bennett has a great stare-down capacity," said Robert
Bryan, philosophy department chairman at North Carolina
I
Yow'iv I fit' man in charge. And you can
L i.wlL. if ltiii>!inci> t(w> Nl:iw irivoit vi
tin* management and technical training
get thejoh done.
Thirty men report to you. And what y
do includes t he care and responsibility li
(Millions ofdollars worth of sophisticate
e<|iiipment
At age 22 you can he a leader in the
Navy. With all the decision-making
9 NAVY OFFICERS GET I
on nominee for edu
"There is a philosophic concern that professional
hiring practices should not be made on nonprofessional
grounds."
Rogers Adams
Former NEH consultant
Stale University, who met Bennett when lie was associated
with NCSU. "He'll fight."
He'll probably have to fight merely to keep his department
open.
In announcing Bennett's appointment, While House
spokesman Larry Spcakcs said Reagan remains "committed
to the goal" of abolishing the department, and has directed
Bennett to recommend how to do it.
"I DON'T think Bennett will dismantle education," said
Roger Abrams, Clarcmont (Calif.) College professor and a
former NLH consultant.
"The history of Reagan making statements about education
is an interesting one," he said. "He's been talking about that
for years, and (the education department) is still there."
"It's hard for me to understand how a person could preside
over the interrment of (his) department by taking the
(secretary) position," said President Walter Waetjen of
Cleveland State University. "Why take the post?"
"I can't imag.ne someone of Mr. Bennett's stature taking
ESS'
I iMcce
authority you need to help you match ou
up to your responsibility.
; to The rewards match up, too. A solid
starting salary of'$17,700, and up to as
ou much as ,000 in (our years wit h
or regular promotions and increases.
I Responsibility and rewards. Its the
way you measure success in the Navy
See vour Navy Recruiter or
CALL 800-327-NAVY.
RESPONSIBILITY FAST.
cation secretary
the post to take the agency apart," said Dean Thomas Clayton
of Iowa Weslcyan College.
PRESIDENT REACiAN also dircctcd Terrel Bell, the current
secretary, to dismantle the department. But Bell, who is
leaving to resume teaching at the University of Utah, did not
push abolition very hard in Congress, which would have to approve
junking the department.
II" Bennett docs preserve the department, observers believe
his humanities background could change its direction.
Before his 1981 NHH appointment, Bennett headed the
North Carolina-based National Humanities Center.
Me also was an adjunct philosophy professor at the University
of North Carolina-Chapel Mill and North Carolina State
University.
UNTIL REPORTERS told them last week, officials at
IJNC and NCSU didn't know Bennett held the positions at
both schools simultaneously from 1979 to 1981.
Both officials note that, while Bennett was free to teach or
advise at either school, he consistently turned down the
opportunity.
"Dr. Bennett was entitled to the amenities of the department."
s:iid NCSIJ Philnsimliv f Mi.-iii m:m Pnlii'it Hrvrui
"Though lie was cxcilcc! about teaching courses, he never
did."
A UNC spokeswoman speculates Bennett was too busy at
the National Humanities Center to teach.
"THERE IS a philsopliic concern that professional hiring
practices should not be made on nonprofessional grounds,"
C'laremont's Abrams said.
USC Faculty & Staff
Deserve a Good Time,
and Scarlett's is &ivin&
it to them.
7v
FREE DRINK SPECIAL each I
Monday and Friday in February, s
5:30-6:30, USC ID required. j
Scanerrjs
C SPIRITS SUDS )V"^
Holiday Inn-City Center - Across from Coliseum
Announcing Our
ALL YOU CAN EAT
Ssr\ticrVi??tti Dinnnv
m , v. *
Wednesday Night.
Spaghetti /fo ?*g| g\
Salad or Soup
French Bread 1 ^ ^
only
I WITH A I)
10"/o discount void
on this special
I I II f * _^IIOIU Assembly St.
II 11 (international! across from State
lifts HOUSE f*?" also
I I II RESTAURANT 44(>7 Devine St.
.Hi * g I'l*? ?
Gamecock Room available for Students