THE RECORD

DECEMBER 12,1975

VOL. 1, No. 15

LYNDON B. JOHNSON SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

EDITOR Hoyt H. Purvis

EVALUATIONS END SEMESTER; CLASSES RENEW JAN. 19

The final day of classes for the semester at the LBJ School will be Tuesday December 16.

On Wednesday December 17, the LBJ School faculty will meet to assess student progress during the fall semester.

As noted in the Student Handbook, each student is to arrange to meet with his or her adviser on December 18 or 19 to discuss the faculty's evaluation of the student's fall semester work. It is the responsibility of each student to arrange this student-adviser session.

Spring semester classes at the LBJ School will begin on Monday January 19. Some Policy Research Projects may arrange for students to work on the projects prior to the beginning of classes, however.

The next issue of The Record will be published during the week of January 19.

Dean and Mrs. William B. Cannon are hosting the annual LBJ School Christmas celebration for students, faculty, and staff at the Thompson Center from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday December 16.

Dean Cannon will leave the LBJ School at the end of the year to become the University of Chicago's vice president for business and finance, professor in the Graduate School of Social Service Administration, and member of the University of Chicago Committee on Public Policy.

Kent Talbot, head librarian of the Public Affairs Library, announced these library hours for the period between semesters:

The Library will be closed December 20-28, and will reopen December 29-31 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

From January 1-4 the Library will be closed once more, before reopening January 5-9 on an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule.

The Library will be closed on the weekend of January 10-11 but will be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday through Friday, January 12-17. Although closed on Saturday January 17, the Library will be open on Sunday January 18 from 2 to 10 p.m. for returning students and will then begin its regular, hours on January 19.

FEDERAL OFFICIAL TO SPEAK HERE ON AGING

Bertha S. Adkins, chairperson of the Federal Council on Aging and adviser to the President, will be the keynote speaker at a day-long workshop Friday on "The Older Texan and Government Agencies." The workshop is cosponsored by the LBJ School and the Governor's Committee on Aging.

At noon on Friday Adkins will speak at an LBJ School brown-bag luncheon in the Student Lounge.

She earlier served as an undersecretary of Health, Education, and Welfare during the Eisenhower Administration and has been active in the women's movement.

The workshop at the Thompson Center begins at 9 a.m. Friday. "The idea," according to Dr. Jurgen Schmandt of the LBJ School, "is to get different state agencies that deal with problems of the elderly in one way or another to exchange views on new legislation and program evaluations."

The workshop also is designed to aid officials of Texas programs for the elderly Anne T. Kohler, project director for research utilization in the committee, said.

Other speakers include Howard Gelt, assistant to the governor of Colorado, speaking on legal rights of older persons, and Raymond W. Vowell, commissioner of the Texas Department of Public Welfare, on alternate care for the elderly.

Dr. James F. Garrett, Health, Education and Welfare Rehabilitation Services administrator, will speak on the elderly handicapped. John Holden, administrative assistant to the commissioner of the State Board of Insurance, will speak on insurance and future health care for the aged.

ARNOLD TO BEGIN TERM AS FORESTRY SOCIETY HEAD

Keith Arnold, associate dean and professor at the LBJ School, takes over as president of the National Society of American Foresters on January 1, 1976. The 75-year-old society has 20,000 members. It is governed by a council of 11, which includes the President, as a policy-making body. A staff of about 30 people headed by an executive vice president is headquartered in Washington, D.C.

The Society of American Foresters is subdivided geographically into some 24 sections and 24 scientific working groups in major areas of science.

Arnold said the travel and responsibility involved would require him to be away from the School a little more often than in the past. He noted that, "Since the Society of American Foresters deals heavily with national and international issues of forestry and resources policy, the professional activities in connection with it are not foreign to the mission of the LBJ School."

"On the Record"

. Professor Albert Blum of the LBJ School appeared on the radio series, 200 Years, for a discussion on "The American Worker." Other panelists on the program were Vernon M. Briggs, professor of economics, and Joe B. Frantz, professor of history. The program will be broadcast on KUT-FM on December 12 at 6:30 p.m. and is also heard on a number of other stations.

. Howard Gelt, assistant to the Governor of Colorado, will meet with LBJ School students at 2 p.m. Friday December 12 in the Student Lounge. Gelt will discuss current governmental affairs in Colorado and the first 10 months of the Lamm Administration there. Gelt, an attorney, was previously in charge of clinical legal problems on aging at Duke University. He will also be taking part in the panel discussion at the workshop on problems of the aging at the Thompson Center on Friday.

. Lee Jones of the Austin bureau of Associated Press spoke at a brown-bag luncheon at the LBJ School on December 5. Jones discussed the organization and function of the AP. He contrasted the AP organization, with member newspapers and broadcasting stations, to United Press International which sells its service on a "client" basis. Jones also talked of his experience in covering Texas state government. The program was moderated by Rick Gentry, second-year student.

. Final guest speakers of the semester for the topical seminar on Government and the Media were Neal Spelce of Neal Spelce Associates and James Fallows, an editor of The Washington Monthly and Texas Monthly. Spelce, a former radio-TV news director, has also had extensive experience in dealing with the Federal Communications Commission and in political campaigning. Fallows spoke primarily on the role of the press in national affairs.

. A number of LBJ School students attended the Southwest Conference on Alternative Local Public Policies at St. Mary's University in San Antonio, December 5-7. The conference brought together persons involved in government, including a number of elected and appointed officials, to exchange information on and proposals for alternative public policies. The conference was a regional follow-up to the National Conference on Alternative State and Local Public Policies held in Madison, Wisconsin, last summer. Hoyt Purvis, LBJ School director of publications, was a panelist for a workshop in "Public Development and Control of Cable Television and Communications" at the San Antonio meeting.

. Gerald Connolly, executive director of the American Freedom From Hunger Foundation, spoke at a brown-bag luncheon at the LBJ School on November 21. Connolly, who was at the University for the National University Conference on Hunger, discussed international food assistance programs and the increasing interdependence of nations. He said, "If we had one-half the effort that is going into the arms buildup in both the Third World and the developed nations, we wouldn't have nearly such serious problems with food." The program was arranged by Herman Schwarz, second-year student.

ASSESSOR'S INSTITUTE HEARS OREGON OFFICIAL

A tax administrator from Oregon told Texas tax assessors the computerization of county assessment and taxation procedures may one day make the assessor's office "the data storage bank for all local government."

"Appraisal duties will be a side line," added Donald M. Fisher, administrator of the assessment and appraisal division of Oregon's Department of Revenue.

He was the opening speaker on December 8 before the 17th annual Institute for Tax Assessors at Thompson Center. The Institute is sponsored by the LBJ School in cooperation with the Texas Association of Assessing Officers and the Texas Municipal League.

Regarding the potential applications for computerized records, Mr. Fisher said "one must realize we are only on the threshold."

"Future computerized applications include land-use planning, zoning, mail address controls, sewer permits, dog licenses, voter registration, elections, road departments, county payroll, county property controls, and mapping," he said, "let alone uses by other agencies such as cities, towns, service districts, and schools."

He cautioned counties, however, not to rush into computerization.

"It may be glamourous and prestigious to push buttons and view screens with visual, instant responses but the cost-benefits and actual need are not the same for every county," he said. "After you once start down the road to computerization, there is no return."

More than 400 persons attended the Institute. The participants were welcomed by Dean William B. Cannon of the LBJ School.

The program was organized by the School's Office of Conferences and Training.

[news note]

Robert J. Macdonald, associate director, Office of Conferences and Training, has been appointed by City Manager Dan Davidson to the Emergency Medical Services Committee which will assist in developing and monitoring the city's new emergency medical care program. The appointment will continue Macdonald's interest in the field of emergency medical services policy which began with his participation on the planning group which developed the system now used by the City of San Antonio.

LBJ SCHOOL FOLLIES: A SMASHING HIT

by Joe Murphy

The Total Institution Follies Revue layed low all the sacred cows that could be herded into a half-hour performance November 21 at the Alumni Center.

With theatrical professionism the Follies Revue satirized the LBJ School's myths, nuanances and reputation by smashing them into comical bits and skits.

Performing such bits as, "Everything is coming up memos"; "I'd do anything for you Emmett"; and "Keep your old brown nose to the grind-stone" was a cast of Dan Casey, Mary Ann Coursey, Sarah Cox, Rick Gentry, Martha Katz, Chris Klauser, Melanie McCoy, Frank Sturzl, and Fran Zorn.

Individual performances by McCoy, Gentry, and Sturzl posed this question to inmates of the Total Institution: What's a dog like you doing in a place like this?

McCoy recited the poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade into the Valley of Frustration," in which the Class of '76 meets Cannon to the left, Cannon to the right, Cannon everywhere.

Gentry soloed singing "Chicago, Chicago," and performed a Schott bit titled "Yes I was once a young Turk, member of the SDS, who never used words with less than six syllables."

Also, as part of the Revue, Reverand Sturzl conducted ministerial $ervice$ at the 4th annual GAO religious revival. During the revival the three ways to salvation were revealed to those gathered as cash basis, accrual, and modified accrual.

At the conclusion of the revue, awards for outstanding accomplishments were given to the faculty, staff and other members of the asylum. It is obvious though one award should be given to the Total Institution Follies Revue—The best laugh of the year award.

COMMENT ARTICLE ASSESSES NEW SCHOOL FINANCE BILL

The November issue of Public Affairs Comment, the quarterly publication of the LBJ School, contains an evaluation of Texas' new school finance bill by Daniel Morgan Jr. and Robert Brischetto.

Morgan, professor of economics at UT-Austin, and Brischetto, assistant professor of sociology at Trinity University in San Antonio, analyze the provisions in the bill and the developments since the Rodriguez school finance decision by the Supreme Court.

The thesis of the article is that the new law will not bring about genuine equity reform of school finance.

The authors write, "Nothing of the sort has occurred. Equalization under H. B. 112 6 is slight. "

They also suggest that other features of the bill "are proving to be much less salutary than citizens and educators had been led to expect."

Copies of Comment are available in the Office of Publications.

SUE PATRICK SPEAKS ON FOREIGN RELATIONS

Sue Ford Patrick, a U.S. Foreign service officer who has served in Southeast Asia, spoke at an LBJ School brown-bag luncheon on December 9.

Ms. Patrick, who will soon be assigned to the Nigerian desk in the State Department in Washington, discussed recent trends in foreign relations and diplomacy, focusing in particular on Thailand and on U.S.-China relations and President Ford's recent trip to China.

She also discussed the role of foreign service career officers and the opposition of FSOs to large numbers of political appointees to ambassadorial posts.

NOVAK VIEWS SPORTS AS AMERICAN RELIGION

Author and political activist Michael Novak spoke to a group of LBJ School students and faculty on December 1.

Novak, executive director of the Ethnic Millions Political Action Committee (EMPAC), was at the University to deliver a lecture on "The Fate of the Gods in a Strange New Land: Religion and American Life."

Novak discussed his view of sports and politics as American religions.

Novak, who was introduced by Tom Howarth, second-year student, also discussed urban ethnic politics and reiterated his opposition to busing of school children, which he called "a racist practice."

In his analysis of sports as religion, Novak contrasted different popular sports in the country and the special appeal they have for segments of society. He referred to sports stadia as "the American cathedrals."

He called baseball "the athletic version of the Federalist papers" and said it embodies law, order, and patience. He said it was also a highly developed mathematical expression.

He commented, "It is important to learn how to lose as well as to win. That is vital in a democratic society."

Novak called football "the socialist sport which must be played as a team."

SCHMANDT ATTENDS PARIS SYMPOSIUM ON SCIENCE POLICY

An international symposium on the present state and future of science policy was held in Paris, December 4-6. Professor Jurgen Schmandt of the LBJ School attended the meeting and presented one of 17 invited papers. The meeting was organized by the French government.

In addition to the American contingent (three from Cambridge, Mass. and one from Austin), foreign participants came from the United Kingdom, Germany, Israel, and India. Several representatives from Communist countries were expected, but did not show up.

It was surprising to witness, according to Schmandt, how much of the science-society relationship is nowadays discussed in Marxist terms. For many participants the model of the future seems to be the Chinese attempt to create a "peoples' science" under which scientists are both "red and expert" and live in close contact with the masses.

Another major theme was the dissatisfaction of third-world countries with "Western" science. As for the West itself, there was widespread agreement that scientists need to develop standards of social and moral behavior which traditionally have not been part of the scientific ethos. Copies of the Schmandt paper are available from the author.