Mirror - Vol. 08, No. 01 - April 19, 1984

              'The Image
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Volume 8, No. 1 Friday, April 19, 1984 Fairfield University, Fairfield, Connecticut 06430 Incorporated 1977
President Ford Delivers
Tenth Olin Lecture
by Thomas P. Moore
and David M. Rothbard
Speaking before a capacity Oak Room crowd
of faculty, students, and invited guests, former
U.S. President Gerald R. Ford delivered the tenth
Oiin lecture, Thursday April 5th.
His formal topic of discussion for the evening,
"Elections and the Economy in 1984," touched
upon the upcoming presidential race and the im-pact
of the national economy on the Presiden-tial
campaign. In addition, Ford asserted his sup-port
for President Reagan's re-election bid and
said that he will be working in some capacity for
Reagan/Bush '84.
Ford, the 38th President of the U.S., looking
healthy and relaxed, commented on such varied
topics as the War Powers Act of 1974, past
presidential campaigns, the present state of the
economy and the federal deficit.
Concerning America's defense budget, Ford
candidly affirmed, "I am a hawk, I was a hawk,
and I always will be a hawk," adding,"l don't
apologize for it."
Ford voiced his approval of President Reagan's
defense budget increases but noted that he
would like to see the increases stretched out over
a longer period of time. He explained that a six
year plan would lessen the burden on the
economy and would still accomplish the same
goals.
"I don't believe that the size of the federal
deficit will have a bad impact on the Reagan re-election
bid," he noted. "As long as the economy
is healthy and getting better." Ford stressed the
importance of a healthy economy on the out-come
of a presidential campaign and said that
the "bread-and-butter" issues usually determine
the outcome of an election.
Discussing the power of the presidency, Ford
declared his opposition to the War Powers Act
and said that he was against it when he was in
the House of Representatives and in the White
House. "Congress should not have the respon-sibility
of forming foreign policy," he explained,
"and the President's action in Grenada was
precisely the right action at the right time."
Turning to the question of Central America,
Ford pointed out, "It is not an academic problem,
but rather it is a problem on our doorstep." He
also discussed his support of the Kissinger Com-mission
report on Central America and stressed
that the bipartisan nature of the commission
gives even further credibility to its findings. He
called for our continued economic and military
support to the region.
Addressing the current status of the budget
and President Reagan's proposed budget, Ford
explained that only a handful out of some 350
government programs have actually been cut
from the previous year's budget. "What President
Reagan actually did was to reduce the growth
rate of these programs," he declared. "The reci-pients
of these programs got less of an increase
than they thought they would get," he added.
Ford stated that the greatest accomplishment
of his administration was his attempt to heal the
public's adverse perception of the U.S. Presiden-cy
following the Watergate scandal.
Closing his remarks, the former president
alluded to his days as a football player at Univer-sity
of Michigan and said, "One's prowess in-creases
as time passes." He also made a plea
for the nations of the world to find lasting peace.
Ford's lecture and informal discussion with
selected faculty and students was sponsored by
the School ofj.Business under a grant from the
John M. Olin Foundation.
Former President Gerald Ford fields reporters' questions in a pre-lecture press conference held
in the McElaney Room. [Photo by David M. Rothbard and Chris Chomyn]
Emerich Loses Directorship
by Deborah A. Nanfeldt
"They are weighing my artistic abilities against
my possible fundraising activities. What does
that mean when my artistic abilities are of a high
standard? The almighty dollar is more important
than what is the creative end of it." So com-mented
Professor Robert G. Emerich, Artistic
Director of the Fairfield University Playhouse, in
an April 10,1984 Mirror interview concerning the
termination of his duties as Artistic Director of the
Playhouse.
Alumni Recognize Outstanding Seniors
by Denise Murphy
The Alumni Association recently recognized
six members of the senior class for their outstan-ding
leadership and service efforts on behalf of
both the university and the community at large.
The five students chosen to be recipients of Stu-dent
Achievement Awards and the winner of the
St. Ignatius Loyola Medal were congratulated on
Saturday evening April 14, at a dinner and
awards ceremony held in the Faculty Dining
Room. The event was attended by parents and
students along with alumni from the Board of
Directors and several key administrative person-nel
involved in the selection process.
This effort to recognize volunteerism is the
primary program organized by the Alumni
Association. Alumni from the Board of Directors,
the governing body of the association and several
members of the university community compris-ed
the selection committee. Father Carr S.J., Fr.
Cullen S.J., Fr. Higgins S.J., and James Fitz-patrick,
Director of the Campus Center were
among the university administrators who par-ticipated.
Helen Boland, Assistant Director of
Alumni also advised the committee as a non-voting
member.
Ellen Gallagher, Jane Conover, Kerrie Boyhan,
Bryan LeClerc, and Joan Watt were those
students singled out for their individual achieve-ment
in particular areas. Helen Boland stressed
that selection was based upon significant con-tributions
to a specific area of interest. "A sim-ple
title does not qualify a student for recogni-tion.
It is what is done while serving in a given
position which merits attention," she stated.
Mary Margaret Walsh is the winner of the St.
Ignatius Loyola Award, the oldest medal given at
Fairfield and as well the most prestigious. In-stituted
in 1952, it was intended to recognize an
individual's "inherent qualities of leadership and,
of most importance the desire to make a success
of the particular activity and to make a success
of Fairfield: to make Fairfield University a truly
great university, revered by us of Fairfield;
respected and admired by all not of Fairfield."
This medal is presented at graduation to the stu-dent
who sets an extraordinary example of a Fair-field
University scholar. It is given to that student
whose leadership and accomplishments have
been deemed praiseworthy in a variety of areas
and is in this manner different from the Student
Achievement Award. "By her interest in cultural
and literary events, Mary Margaret has greatly
contributed to the quality of life as well as the im-age
of Fairfield," commented Mrs. Boland. Mary
Margaret was also recently bestowed with the
Gerard Munley Hopkins Poetry Award.
Nominations for both awards are made on the
part of three groups. The senior class, members
of the faculty, and staff administrators all take part
in recommending candidates to the committee
for consideration. Mrs. Boland explained, "The
nomination on behalf of the senior class is the
most important in that it is a judgement by the
peers of the individual." She remarked, "G.P.A.
is considered, but a greater amount of emphasis
is placed on significant service contributions."
Professor Emerich, a 27 year servant of Fair-field
University Theater founded the University
Playhouse 21 years ago after using Gonzaga
Auditorium, Sacred Heart University and the
Shakespeare Festival Theater to present Univer-sity
performances. On January 16 of this year
Professor Emerich was informed by Dean
Stephen L. Weber, Dean of the College of Arts
and Sciences, that his services as Artistic Direc-tor
would no longer be needed after this season.
According to Professor Emerich, "Nothing was
made very clear about why. It came as a total
shock and surprise."
Dean Weber, commenting on the role of an Ar-tistic
Director at Fairfield University said, "The
demands of the job have changed and evolved
through time." Weber stated that discussions are
under way concerning the possibility of a new
Performing Arts Center but nothing has been
decided as of now. He cited the possibility of a
new Performing Arts Center as demanding more
of the Artistic Director. Weber also cited the Ad-ministration's
interest in developing more student
involvement in the Playhouse.
According to Dean Weber, Professor Emerich
was not dismissed from his duties as Artistic
Director, rather his yearly appointment as Artistic
Director was not renewed. University policy in-dicates
that the position of Artistic Director is a
one year renewable appointment which is paid
by a stipend above the normal salary a professor
receives. In this case the university has decid-ed
not to renew Professor Emerich's
appointment.
Professor Emerich who is 61 years old feels
that his age was not a factor. However, he
believes that his termination has to do with the
new ushering out the old. In his conversation with
Continued on page 2
Koppel To Address Graduates
Senior Achievers gathered at awards dinner here include Kerrie Boyhan, Ellen Gallagher, Mary-
Margaret Walsh, Joan Watt, and Bryan LeClerc, surrounded by Francis Zaino, Alumni Associa-tion
President and Rev. Aloysius P. Kelley, S.J. Missing from photo is Jane Conover.
[Photo by Chris Chomyn]
by Chris Tyler
Fairfield University announced that newsman
Ted Koppel would be this year's Commencement
address speaker at the graduation ceremonies.
In addition, a committee has been formed to
evaluate twenty speeches that were submitted for
selection as the Valedictorian Address.
The Public Relations Department made a for-mal
announcement of Mr. Koppel's selection on
April 11. Mr. Koppel is presently the anchor on
ABC's late news forum program "Nightline." Mr.
Koppel is to receive an honorary doctor of
humane letters. His escort during the com-mencement
exercises is Dr. James A. Keenan,
of the Department of Graduate Communications.
The news release from the Public Relations
Department also announced three other
honorary degrees that are to be awarded at
Gratuation. Robert M. Hayes will receive an
honorary doctor of laws. Another honorary doc-tor
of laws is to be awarded to Lawrence A. Wien.
Martha Rodger will receive an honorary doctor
of science.
"A committee of seven members has been
selected to determine which of the twenty
speeches, submitted by students with a 3.5 GPA
or better, is most suitable," according to Arthur
Riel Jr., Professor of English. Said Professor Riel,
"We will be looking for the best speech on the
basis of content and audience."
The committee is comprised of three faculty
members, three students, and one Dean. Rev.
Lynch, Dean of the Graduate School of Cor-porate
and Political Communications, was
chosen because he is somewhat removed from
the University's undergraduate students. This
decision was made in an effort to be as impar-tial
as possible in judging the speeches.
The faculty members include; Lisa Mainiero
from the School of Business, Arthur Riel Jr. from
the College of Arts and Sciences, and Susan de
Brun from the School of Nursing. The students
selected for the committee are William Lynch,
Rich Fahey, and Tim Martin.
The committee is now reviewing the twenty ap-plications
and plans to meet again on April 26
to narrow the field down to ten. At that time they
hope to rank the speeches and work towards
selecting the best address.