UB's liaison for Greek affairs urged members of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee at the body's Nov. 15 meeting to consider serving as advisors to Greek social organizations as part of a larger push to revitalize the Greek system and "accentuate the positive."

"We'd like the students to be able to have involvement with the faculty that they spend so much time in the classroom with, in other ways," said Pam Stephens-Jackson. "The advisory role is...someone who'd be there to provide them some sound advice, hopefully guide them down the right path."

Madison Boyce, university ombudsman, explained that supervision of the "Greeks"-as fraternities and sororities are commonly known around campus-has been moved from the Office of Student Life to the Office of the Ombudsman.

"What I thought needed to happen was to do some assessment of what has been happening with the Greeks, and what kind of help the...groups had," Boyce told the committee members. "(We) needed to establish some goals, so we could get started this fall with...making some accomplishments.

"I think that we've made some progress that way," said Boyce, who also serves as director of the Student Judiciary, commending the office for "keeping a tight rein on how the Greeks are doing. I'm happy to say, we haven't had any negative incidents this semester," he said.

The Greek Affairs Advisory Board has prepared a list of goals for 2000-01, which includes improving the overall academic standing of Greeks and increasing membership from its current size of 450 to roughly 550. During the early 1990s, Stephens-Jackson said, UB boasted nearly 1,200 Greeks.

She said the move toward revitalization is important because Greeks "tend to be much more involved in college and campus life" than non-Greeks and also "tend to be bigger givers in terms of giving back to the institution after they leave."

Some faculty members said they were reluctant to serve in an advisory capacity for reasons of responsibility.

"Hazing obviously is an issue of concern," said G. Scott Danford, associate professor of architecture who served as an advisor to a UB Greek organization for five years. He noted that many faculty members "are hesitant to get involved because of the liability issue."

Stephens-Jackson assured senators that serving as an advisor is "not an assumption that you are responsible for (the Greeks') actions."

Dennis Malone, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering, shared his frustrations in having served as a fraternity advisor.

In regard to academics, he said he "used to talk to the guys about time management," noting it was "pretty clear they didn't want to hear that."

Stephens-Jackson said new members must attend workshops on hazing and academic performance. "They don't want to hear it, but yes, they do need to hear it," she agreed.

Noting that the Greek system had atrophied over the past decade, Danford asked what was being done to "foster growth and development."

Stephens-Jackson said her office is working on academic recognition and social programs, as well as building cohesiveness among the separate Greek organizations through the Inter-Greek Council, the umbrella organization for all social fraternal groups at UB; the Panhellenic Association (sororities), and the Inter-Fraternity Council. A forum will be held soon to promote the Greek system as a whole, she said.

In other business, the FSEC discussed the university's guidelines on custody, maintenance and retention of research data, available at http://www.research.buffalo.edu/policies/datapolicyguide.htm.

Noting a "dramatic rise in the number of controversies between students and faculty, among faculty and between outsiders...and faculty," Dale Landi, vice president for special projects and programs, said the university adopted the policy both to inform research participants and curb the "disproportionate amount of...time and resources" used in dealing with such disputes.

FSEC members also received an update on the implementation of OASIS-a SUNY-wide undertaking to replace the Research Foundation's current business system-by Leonard Snyder, senior associate vice president in the Office of the Controller.

The FSEC also heard a report from Provost Elizabeth Capaldi about the possibility of UB working with the Buffalo Niagara Enterprise to market the university's biomedical sciences and technology.

With UB's "great interest in and capability (for) drug discovery," as well as its computer-science research, and the resources of the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Roswell Park Cancer Institute, the university offers great potential to industry, Capaldi said.