THE RECORD

September 1, 1977

NO. 44

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

EDITOR Carolyn Moore

 

REGIONAL CHANGE CONFERENCE TO FOCUS ON ECONOMICS, POLITICS

 

A symposium, "Alternatives to Confrontation: A National Policy Toward Regional Change" will be conducted September 23‑27 at the Joe C. Thompson Conference Center.

 

Sponsored jointly by the LBJ School, the LBJ Library and the University of Texas at Austin, the conference will explore both differing regional perspectives and national policies which would unify rather than divide the nation. Governors, U.S. cabinet members, mayors, and other local and national leaders, including several UT professors, will discuss the problems and issues and offer policy prescriptions.

 

President Carter has been invited and plans to attend if his schedule permits.

 

Participants will explore such topics as population shifts, economic growth and decline, energy policy, urban and rural problems, welfare reform, and unemployment in an effort to gain a broader perspective on the conflicts between the older industrialized regions of the Middle West, North and Northeast, and the developing South and West.

 

The first two days of the conference will be a working session for academic and technical economic experts, who will define the issues and outline alternative solutions.

 

The second half of the symposium will be open to the public. These sessions will include open discussion of regional change by regional representatives, national figures, and technical experts.

 

Two publications will develop from the conference proceedings. One will be a textbook, and the other will be taken from the public conference proceedings, presenting papers by Secretary of Labor Ray Marshall and other participants. The publications will be edited by Victor Arnold, coordinator of the conference.

 

For further information on this important symposium, contact the Office of Conferences and Training at (512) 471‑4741.

 

 

ROSTOW WELCOMES NEW STUDENTS

 

Dean Elspeth Rostow welcomed 73 first‑year students to the LBJ School at the beginning of Orientation Week, August 22.

 

The new students come from a variety of geographical areas and backgrounds. Some demographic information on the new class:

 

There are 44 men and 29 women; 41received undergraduate degrees in Texas. There is one foreign student this year. The largest number of undergraduate degrees is in Political Science and Government, but there is also an assortment of other backgrounds, such as history, economics and journalism. Three of the new students and eight second‑year students are in the joint degrees program with the School of Law.

 

With the sixty‑four second‑year students returning to classes, the total enrollment at the LBJ School for the academic year 1977‑78 is 137.

 

 

[news item]

 

An Alumni Social will be held during the "Alternative to Confrontation" Symposium weekend after the Friday evening session, at approximately 10:00 p.m., at Malcolm MacDonald's home, 1706 Rabb Road, in the Barton Springs area of Austin.

 

This will be an opportunity for everyone to meet the new board members and to visit with other Alumni who will be in Austin for the conference. For further information, contact Wilda Campbell at 471‑4177, or Malcolm MacDonald at 443‑1799.

 

 

O'NEILL, WRIGHT TO VISIT LBJ SCHOOL

 

U.S. House Speaker Tip O'Neill and Majority Leader Jim Wright will address LBJ School students on September 10 in the East Campus Lecture Hall from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.

 

 

"On the Record"

 

Just a reminder that the Office of Student Affairs is now known as the Office of Admissions, Counseling, Internship and Placement—the OACIP.

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

Kathy Brown, formerly of OACIP, has joined the Business Office staff as Senior Administrative Clerk. She replaces Cathy Slusser, who was promoted to Business Office Accountant I. Another new member of the Business Office staff is courier Mark Poulos.

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

Dr. Richard Schott attended the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, September 1‑3 in Washington, D.C.

 

Dr. Schott was in a panel discussion on "Science, Technology, and Bureaucracy." Political scientists from across the country were in attendance.

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

Editor Marilyn Duncan and her husband, Steve, became the parents of an 8 lb. girl, on August 12. Julie Ellen and her parents are fine. Marilyn will return to the Publications Department later this month.

 

 

The student handbook will be available in the OACIP or the Office of Publications by the middle of September. We regret the delay.

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

Alumni are encouraged to contribute to the Record for the alumni column. Short articles of an informative or editorial nature (or even a good joke) are welcomed. Contact Malcolm Macdonald for further information at (512) 443‑1799.

 

 

CORRECTION:

 

Alumnus Terry Grogan received his undergraduate degree from the University of Oklahoma, not from the University of Texas as was listed in last month's Record.

 

 

SNOW RETURNS FROM INTERNSHIP

 

Second‑year student Joellen Snow recently returned from a 2 1/2 month internship in Paris.

 

While there, she worked for the Organization for Economic Coordination and Development (OECD). The project dealt with how guidelines for behavior of multi‑national enterprises adopted by OECD relate to the United States' labor laws and practices.

 

The internship was arranged by Dr. Sidney Weintraub.

 

 

ROSTOW ADDRESSES ALUMNI COLLEGE

 

Dean Elspeth Rostow spoke to a group of ex‑students attending UT's first Alumni College, which was held during the week of July 11.

 

The Alumni College was a week‑long program of lectures and informal discussions with some of the University's most outstanding professors.

 

Dean Rostow's topic was "Will Success Spoil the Sunbelt?"

 

 

ANDERSON ATTENDS COUNCIL MEETING

 

Professor Lynn F. Anderson, Director of Conferences and Training, attended a meeting of the National Council on Governmental Accounting in Seattle, Washington, August 18‑19. As one of two educator members of the 21‑person council, his mission is to develop and promulgate authoritative principles and standards for accounting and financial reporting by governmental units. Apart from his participation on Council decisions concerning upcoming modifications in existing principles which will be incorporated in exposure drafts, he has recently served as Chairperson of the Council's Nominating Committee, charged with securing nationally‑known replacements for expiring memberships. He is also Chairperson of the Council's Task Force on Financial Disclosure, a study group charged with improving the quality and level of disclosure of financial operations by state and local governmental entities.

 

 

BENDIX TO VISIT LBJ SCHOOL

 

Dr. Reinhard Bendix, who will be visiting UT Austin in mid‑September for further discussions of the Sid Richardson Chair in the LBJ School, is tentatively scheduled to address LBJ School students on Tuesday, September 20.

 

Dr. Bendix is a professor of political science and a lecturer in sociology at the University of California at Berkeley and, more recently, has been a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center of Scholars in Washington, D.C. He is the author of numerous books and articles, one of the best‑known of which is Class, Status and Power, which he edited with S. M. Lipset.

 

He received his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in sociology from the University of Chicago. A former chairman of the Department of Sociology at Berkeley, Dr. Bendix has received numerous professional honors and awards.

 

It is especially hoped that those second-year students who were unable to hear Dr. Bendix speak last spring, and all first‑year students, will attend.

 

 

MANAGEMENT SEMINAR CONDUCTED

 

The Advanced Public Purchasing and Material Management Seminar, conducted August 29‑31 at the Thompson Conference Center, provided forty‑eight state and local officials an opportunity to experience a brief but intense professional exercise designed to improve their management and operational skills.

 

Instructors at the seminar were Herman Crystal, past President of the National Association of State Purchasing Officers; William Bonds, past President of the National Purchasing Institute and current Purchasing Agent for the Austin Independent School District; Gaylord Jentz, Professor in General Business at UT Austin; and Solon Bennett, Head of Purchasing and Supply, City of Austin.

 

 

SCHOOL AWARDED TITLE IX GRANTS

 

As of this August, the LBJ School has been awarded two grants under Title IX of the Higher Education Act of 1965.

 

One of the grants provides for fellowship assistance, six public service fellows, and general institutional support for the School.

 

The other gives direct support to certain of the School's activities, provides funds for the continuation of the placement activities of the Office of Admissions, Counseling, Internship and Placement, provides for the development of a continuing and mid‑career education program for the School, and provides support for one Policy Research Project and one Topical Seminar.

 

Dr. Richard Schott is the Title IX Project Director for the School.

 

 

COMING EVENTS

 

Saturday, September 3

 

LBJ School picnic for students, faculty, and staff. Zilker Park polo tables, 2 p.m. Supper, 5 p.m.

 

Sunday, September 11

 

Covered dish mixer for students, faculty, and staff. Mrs. Elizabeth Hall's home, 2509 Hartford Road, 6:30 p.m. Sign up on list in OACIP.

 

 

[news item]

 

The library has catalogued and shelved all available IRPs; however, some are missing. If anyone has a copy of a report, the library would appreciate borrowing it for copying purposes. The original will be returned.

 

 

THOMPSON HEADS SCHOOL LIBRARY

 

Linda Thompson is the new head librarian in the LBJ School Library. She was appointed May 1, replacing Kent Talbot, who joined the staff of the Oklahoma City University Law School Library.

 

Ms. Thompson has worked in the library since 1971 and was promoted from assistant director of Policy Reference Service.

 

The library staff will be happy to receive suggestions regarding library operations.

 

Library hours are:

 

Sunday

2 p.m. to 11 p.m.

 

Monday and Tuesday

8 a.m. to 11 p.m.

 

Wednesday and Thursday

8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

 

Friday

8 a. m. to 5 p.m.

 

Saturday

10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

 

 

ANDERSON TEACHES ACCOUNTING SEMINAR

 

Thirty city finance officers attended the "Intermediate Governmental Accounting Seminar," held by the LBJ School on August 15‑17 at the Joe C. Thompson Conference Center. The course work was taught by Lynn Anderson, director of the School's Office of Conferences and Training, and Donald H. Cormi and Kenneth P. Finch, both accountants in San Antonio. The program was held in cooperation with the Texas Municipal Finance Officers' Association and the MFOA Career Development Center.

 

 

ROSTOW ATTENDS D.C. SIGNING

 

At President Carter's invitation, Dean Elspeth Rostow was at the White House on August 25 to attend the signing ceremony of the Executive Order creating the Presidential Management Intern Program.

 

The program is designed to provide internships at the post‑Masters degree level in the field of public management. It is anticipated that the program will attract to the federal service level outstanding graduates of public administration and public policy schools, and of business schools conducting public management reforms.

 

 

POLICY RESEARCH PROJECTS ANNOUNCED

 

There will be ten Policy Research Projects at the LBJ School for the 1977‑78 school year.

 

The projects and their faculty members are:

 

1. Administration of Macroeconomic Policy in the Johnson Presidency

Professor Jared Hazleton (Project Director)

Professor James Anderson (Political Science, University of Houston)

 

2. Public Employment Programs as a Remedy to Unemployment

Professor John Gronouski (Project Director)

Professor Robert Glover (Center for the Study of Human Resources, UT)

 

3. Implementation of PL 93‑641 in Region VI in Regard to Organizational Choices and Outcomes

Professor David Warner (Project Director)

Mr. Dennis Thomas (Associate Director, Texas Office of State‑Federal Relations)

 

4. Policy Issues Affecting Texas' Role in U.S. National Energy Strategy

Professor Stephen Spurr (Project Director)

Professor Marlan Blissett (LBJ School)

Professor William L. Fisher (Bureau of Economic Geology, UT)

 

5. Identification, Protection, and Management of Land Areas Representative of Texas' Natural Heritage

Professor Keith Arnold (Project Director)

Mr. Don Kennard (Texas Natural Area Survey Project)

Mr. Red Oliver (General Land Office of Texas)

 

6. Welfare Reform: Linkage Between Cash Payment and Public Employment Policies

Professor Lodis Rhodes (Project Director)

Dr. Charles Tesar (Department of Human Resources)

 

7. Policy Research: Character, Funding, and Organization

Professor Jurgen Schmandt (Project Director)

 

8. Labor Relations for Federal Employees: The Johnson Period and After

Professor Albert Blum (Project Director)

Professor I. B. Helburn (Management Department, UT)

 

9. Impact of Safe Drinking Water Act on Texas Communities

Professor Gerard A. Rohlich (Project Director)

Professor David Eaton (LBJ School)

 

10. Analysis of Mexican Economic Development

Professor Sidney Weintraub (Project Director)

Professor Vic Arnold (LBJ School)

 

 

STUDENTS RECEIVE FELLOWSHIPS

 

Twenty‑five LBJ School students have been awarded special fellowships for the1977‑78 academic year. Students receiving the fellowships are:

 

Mitzi Newhouse Fellowship: Lynn Belton, Angela Hatton

 

Title IX Fellowships: Benjamin Cole, Mitchell Goldstein, Sharon Slepicka, Harley Duncan, Susan Finnegan, Lee Solsbery

 

Johnson Congressional: Daniel Rabovsky

 

Moody Fellows: James Dodson, Laura Doll, Tony Grigsby, Peggy Hamilton, Lilas Kinch, Chris Kuykendall

 

Governor's Interns: Albert Hawkins, Barbara Kulsrud, Don Preston, Ellen Juran, John Schulze

 

Legislative Interns: Larry Farrow, J.R. Prestidge, James Popp, Mary Kay Stack

 

 

'PRODUCTIVITY' REPORT PUBLISHED

 

"Public Sector Productivity Programs: Background and Analysis with Special Reference to State Governments" has joined the growing list of published policy research project reports.

 

An outgrowth of the School's PRP on State Governmental Operations conducted in 1975‑76, the study explores a variety of issues which surround the design and implementation of productivity improvement programs in federal and state governments. The difficulties of defining and measuring productivity in public agencies are discussed, as are the failures of several such programs to live up to the expectations of their sponsors.

 

Especially problematic, the study concludes, has been the tendency to oversell the potential benefits of productivity programs or to view them as just another administrative gimmick. For productivity programs to have a chance of success, "they must be made an organic part of the management processes of agencies and state government generally. Second, linkages in these processes—between policy decision making, budgeting, planning, personnel, capital improvement, and day‑to‑day operations—must be discovered and strengthened. Third, productivity gain will probably result from the cumulative effect of many incremental improvements . . ."

 

Research for the study was conducted by students Wayne Campbell, Terry Grogan, Richard Ross, and William Stotesbery under the general direction of Professor Richard Schott.

 

The publication can be purchased for $3.00, plus 15 cents state sales tax (where applicable) from the Office of Publications.

 

 

PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT SEMINAR SCHEDULED

 

Personnel managers from various levels of government will be attending the Fourth Annual Public Personnel Management Seminar, September 29‑30, at the Thompson Conference Center.

 

Sponsored by the Office of Conferences and Training, the program will be directed toward current problems facing personnel managers in the public sector.

 

Subjects to be discussed include an update on the use of grievance procedures, a review of EEO policies, an examination of developments in employment benefits related to current fiscal restraints, inflation and employee satisfaction. The program will also include a special focus on the handicapped employee.

 

The featured speaker will be Graham Watt, president of the National Training and Development Service, Washington, D.C.

 

For further information on the conference, contact the Office of Conferences and Training at (512) 471‑4741.

 

 

ALUMNI, INTERNS ATTEND D.C. PARTY

 

On August 11, more than 50 alumni and summer interns in the Washington, D.C. area met for a party at the Dubliner Inn. Also attending the party were several past and present faculty members, including Leigh Boske, Alan Campbell, Kingsley Haynes, Jared Hazleton, Hoyt Purvis, Beryl Radin, Kenneth Tolo and Sidney Weintraub.

 

During the gathering, Civil Service Chairman Campbell announced the latest developments on the Presidential Intern Program and the Graduate Student Co‑op Program. Alumnus Norm Linsky distributed information concerning the organization of an informal D.C.‑area LBJ School alumni association.

 

Arrangements for the party were made by Sarah Cox and Martha Katz, of the Class of 1976.