the Louisville Cardinal
Vol. XLVI No.6 Room 11 i', Otter Hall, Louisville, Ky. 40208 October 4, 1974
Miller: one year after
by Kenny Vandevelde
Tomorrow is the first anniversary of
President James ·Grier Miller's
''Introduction to the Community," which
essentially was his inauguration.
The year has been a tumultuous and
controversial one. Certainly no other
University figure in recent memory has
attracted so much attention as Dr. Miller.
But, paradoxically, he remains one of the
least understood and most aloof
community leaders in Louisville. '
Despite the aura of mystery that
surrounds Miller, both his critics and his
defenders are in remarkable agreement
among themselves in their assessment of
his first year. ·
When asked to summarize his
accomplishments over the past year,
Miller will list, · among others, the
following:
• His chief contribution has probably
been in long range planning. Irl particular,
he initiated a ten· year Academic Master
Plan which will form the basis for
budgetting and the allocation of
resources. ·An accompanying Facilities
Master Plan, also initiated by Miller, is
intended to insure that the physical
development of the campus will be
preplanned, systematic, and responsive to
academic needs. · '
• Miller has begun an ambitious
campaign to raise new money for the
University through private donations
from the government, industry, and
private individuals. '
• Miller has initiated a staff
classification system to guarantee that
staff members in comparable positions
will earn equal pay.
Critics of Miller seem to foe: us on three
areas in particular:
• People at every lev~~~ of the
University complain about incredible lags
in communication between the President
and the rest of the University.
• Faculty and student leaders lament
a strong trend toward centralization of
decision-making in the Universiity, thereby
robbing these groups of their chance to
influence policy.
• Critics frequently refer to a
dimension of Miller's personality which
one faculty member has termed
"naivett." The feeling, essentially, is that
despite all the high-powered thinking and
planning, Miller, at root, may not
understand how the University really
functions nor how to impllement his
programs. '
The above points, of course, represent
neither all his accomplishmeltlts nor all
the cfi:ticisms. But they do present, in
effect, a line drawing of the:: image of
Miller-as-President that emerges during
(Continued on page 2)
Photograph by John Deck man
President James Grier Miller this week celebrates the fi.I"St anniversary of his
inauguration..
Staff Asso(~iation combats inequities
by Kenny V andeveld.e
Linda Hanis (not her real name) was a
secretary at U of L until last Summer.
She had come here after $even years
experience working for tlhe federal
government.
She had just ·been given a raise to
$6,000 a year when she decided to leave
the University for another job which
would pay her $10,400 a year.
Battle
for
Survival
The University
administration, in
another insidious
move to test the
stamina of the
Cardinal staff, has
refused to tum
on the heat in
Otter Hall. :As
temperatures
dropped to below
freezing on
layout night, the
staff struggled
valiantly to carry
on.. '
Explains Harris, ''I liked U of L, but
the pay was just terribleo'' '·
The secretary who was hired to replace
Harris was given a starting salary of
$6,600, which was $1200 more than
Harris was paid when she first took the
job six months earlier, and $600 more
than she was earning when she left.
According to Harris, peculiar salary
situations such as this one are not unusual
at U of L. ''I · think it's terrible.
Everybody does o o • ·But you can't just
speak up for fear of losing your
position," she observes. '
Experiences such as Harris' form part
of the reason behind the success of the
Staff Association. The Association was
formed over a year ago ''to provide a
means of collective action for the
promotion of the welfare, morale, and
mutual interests of the support staff of
the University of Louisville.''
In the first year of its existence, the
Association has enrolled 645 members, or
slightly over 50% of the total support
staff of the University. According to
George Harding, the Chairman of the
Association, the· group is aiming for an
80% membership in the coming yearo
Staff members join by paying $2
annual dues. '
A second organization, the Staff
Senate, represents the staff in the general
decision-making processes of the
University. '
A Cardinal reporter recently met with
Harding and four other members of the
Association's Executive Board to discuss
the problems facing the staff and the
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