The Los Angeles Loyolan, Volume 76, Issue 17 - February 11, 1998

A look at LMU’s continuing education classes Features, Page 8 Sphere’s mediocrity saved by stars A&E, Page 10 Men’s Volleyball loses to 5th ranked Hawaii, 4-1 Sports, Page 15 February 11,1998 L О Y О L A M A R Y M О L N T LT N i V E R S I T Y Volume 76, No. 17 NASA Chooses LMU Professor To Work On Physics Project by Christina Thomas Asst. News Editor He may not be the newest addition to the space program, but NASA has taken an interest in LMU physics professor Jeff Sanny. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has awarded Sanny a $64,160 grant to con¬ tinue funding his studies in solar-terrestrial physics, which focuses on the sun's influences upon the Earth. The three-year grant was awarded by NASA's program for supporting research and tech¬ nology in magnetosphere physics. 67 proposals were sub- ■ ■ . . . . . . 3 DON ZACHAR1AS / L0Y0LAN Physics Professor Jeff Sanny received a grant from NASA for his research in solar physics. W.M. Keck Foundation Awards Grant to Biology Department ■ Science Grant: $1 mil¬ lion donated to renovate laboratories in Seaver Hall. by Roy Rufo, Jr. Asst. News Editor “Improved facilities equate to improved education,'' said Dr. Gerald Jakubowski, dean of the college of science and engineer¬ ing. For this reason the depart¬ ment of science and engineering is renovating four biology undergraduate research labora¬ tories. The vision of improved facil¬ ities will turn into a reality with the generosity of the W. M. Keck Foundation of Los Angeles. The foundation has awarded Loyola Marymount University a $1 million grant which will enable the university to pursue the reconstruction of the science and engineering department’s undergraduate programs. Jakubowski notes that the chemistry labs have already been taken care of, and that it is time to focus attention toward the biology laboratories. The remodeling is said to begin in the summer and will continue on through several summers. The site of the planned reconstruction will take place in the university’s Seaver Hall of Science.' Scheduled renovation plans include expanded research facil¬ ities, replacement of old-style work benches with work sta¬ tions, upgrading air flow and ventilation and electrical capac¬ ity, and multiple Internet con¬ nections. “These improvements will not only enhance the quality and quantity of research train¬ ing in the biology department,” said university President Rev. Thomas P. O'Malley, S.J., “but will prepare our students to be formidable and respected com¬ petitors in professional and edu¬ cational arenas.” LMU students have recog¬ nized the need for the long awaited renovations. “[The biology laboratories] could use a RONY DIAZ / L0Y0LAN Senior Brian Coffman experiments in labs in Seaver Hall which will be ren¬ ovated through a grant from the W.M. Keck foundation. lot of improvements,” said Erin Lopez* a first year biology major. “If we had better resources available to us, we would be able to do different labs which will better explain different concepts that are important for biology majors.” Shianne Mendoza, first year biology major, said, “not every¬ thing in the labs works, such as the faucets and the gas valves. The inadequate materials often times slows down our perfor¬ mance.” Stephen Scheck, biology pro¬ fessor and assistant dean of the college of science and engineer¬ ing, points out that new tech¬ nologies and emphases on expe¬ riential, hands-on and collabo¬ rative efforts among students Keck : page 2 LMU Recognized for Multicultural Development mitted by American scientists and researchers, and Sanny’s was one of only 18 selected to be funded by NASA. Sanny’s project will study the results of solar wind on the Earth’s magnetic field. “Solar wind is one of the sun’s more profound influences on the Earth,” he says. “It’s a continu¬ ous stream of subatomic parti¬ cles which bombard the Earth at supersonic speeds.” Sanny explains that the field of magnetosphere physics focus¬ es on the Earth’s magnetic field. The field normally protects Earth from the solar wind, but in the midst of a lot of solar NASA : page 3 INDEX News 1 Perspective 4 Features 8 Arts & Entertainment 10 Sports 1 4 Classified 17 О n th_e W_e b : vHw.lfflu.edu/sfujff/ioyolan ■ Award: Promotion of diversity in staff and student body praised. by Jasmine Marshall News Editor and Roy Rufo, Jr. Asst. News Editor In recognition of a commit-; ment to help overcome racial and ethnic divisiveness through a diverse faculty and student body, LMU was awarded the 1998 Theodore M. Hesburgh Award for Faculty Development to Enhance Undergraduate Teaching and Learning. The award is sponsored by TIAA- CREF, a nationwide pension fund for higher education, and was presented to university President Rev. Thomas P. O’Malley, S.J. , on Feb. 9 at the 80th annual meeting of the American Education Council in San Francisco. In addition to LMU, Brooklyn College of the City University of New York also received the award. LMU will garner $15,000 in award money from the honor. John Briggs, chairman, president and CEO of TIAA- CREF, said “Loyola Marymount University has demonstrated successful innovative faculty development programs that enhance undergraduate stu¬ dent learning. Their efforts serve as an inspiration to the growth of similar initiatives at America’s colleges and univer¬ sities.” In citing why LMU was cho¬ sen for the honor, TIAA-CREF noted the university’s appoint¬ ments of a multicultural facul¬ ty, support of minority doctoral candidates, and infusion of the university’s core curriculum with comparative multicultural courses. Also lauded was the fact that two-thirds of the minority students at LMU graduate in a five year period. The man responsible for writing the proposal that won LMU the Hesberg Award is Herbert Medina, an asst, pro¬ fessor of mathematics. In the award proposal, Medina describes how the 1992 Los Angeles Riots effected the fac¬ ulty and staff of LMU and the changes the university has made in response to that event. “The award is important because it shows Fr. O’Malley and the administration’s com¬ mitment to diversity,” Medina said. “The curriculum and fac- Hesberg : page 3 African- American 7% Caucasian 50% LMU's Eth n ic Diversity