February 22, 1999
Volume 51, No. 21

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CAMPUS NEWS Next year's budget allots much of excess income to salaries and faculty additions Candler Dean LaGree resigns to become college president First person: Amid 'rescue' drugs and disaster relief, one learns much Chace responds to letters regarding Lullwater road Alan Pogue documents past, present and future on film Guinier to give Women's History Month keynote address A little food, a little wine, a little talk about vaccines Wellness: A stealth disease, high blood pressure contributes mightily to cardiovascular conditions Issues in Progress: Employee Council Faculty Council Risen and Thomas report from 'abortion wars' to Emory audience Pitts Library widens access to rare book collection Early admission decisions at all-time peak Emory early-decision applications are up 40 percent and at an all-time high this year, thanks to a second round of early decision admissions. By the early application deadline the University was projected to have 435-440 slots filled--about 37 percent of the freshman class. Admission Dean Dan Walls said demand spurred the addition of the second round, as students around the nation are looking at colleges earlier and many are ready to commit to Emory in the fall of their senior year. Students who applied under the plan are highly qualified, with average SAT scores of 1300 and average GPAs of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. Early admission both takes pressure off the students and helps Emory. "In some ways students become like recruiters," Walls said. "After all, it can't hurt to have hundreds of admitted students in high schools around the country talking about Emory to their friends."   PCSW seeks nominations The President's Commission on the Status of Women is soliciting nominations for the 1999-2000 academic year. The commission has several open positions, including eight student openings (four undergraduate, two graduate and two professional), four faculty slots and three staff appointments. Faculty and staff appointments are for three years, student slots for one. Nomination forms are distributed to all divisions and are also available through the Women's Center, the Office of Equal Opportunity Programs and the Office of Campus Life. The deadline for nominations is March 16. New members appointed by the president are invited to attend the last spring meeting on May 6. Next year's meetings will be held the first Thursday of every month from September to May from 3:30­5 p.m. Nomination forms can be returned to Catherine Howett Smith at 208 Carlos Museum. For information call Smith at 404-727-6117.

SCHOLARSHIP & RESEARCH Adding up preoccupations about color, race in literature Worm's gene map a boon to study of human genetics Find out more about proposed road at lunchtime meeting President Bill Chace will attend a "brown bag" lunch-time forum for information and questions regarding the Lullwater shuttle road on Feb. 24 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in WHSCAB auditorium. All interested members of the Emory community are invited to attend. Among the topics to be discussed: current information on shuttle road options and design; the status of Lullwater as a 'sacred place' and the Emory Forest Policy; tree replacement at the park and at other locations on campus; and alternate locations for parking decks. PA program earning high marks Health science's physician assistant program is scoring high on measures both subjective and objective. The program was rated No. 2 in the country recently by U.S. News & World Report, but perhaps even more importantly, the program's class of 1998 achieved a 100 percent pass rate on the national physician assistant board exam, tops in the nation. The class average was at least five points higher than any other school's, marking the second time in three years the Emory class has averaged the highest score nationally.   Rape study seeks volunteers Psychologists in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences are seeking volunteers to compare the effectiveness of two established, short-term psychotherapy treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder in rape survivors. Both therapies help survivors work through the assault experience, allowing them to become more comfortable with assault memories and helping to promote emotional resolution of the memories. The researchers are seeking women over 18 who experienced a sexual assault (other than ongoing childhood abuse and occurring at least three months prior to the study). Participants will receive nine psychotherapy sessions over five weeks and psychological assessments for a year. "We are comparing the two treatments to see if one is more effective or works more quickly," said principal investigator Barbara Rothbaum, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences. All sessions will be conducted by female, licensed clinical psychologists with extensive experience working with sexual assault survivors, and all information and treatment records will be confidential. For more information, contact Millie Astin at 404-778-2206.