Democrat and Chronicle from Rochester, New York • Page 7

Un REACHING FOR THE TO? 7A DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE. ROCHESTER. N.Y.. SATURDAY. APRIL 19.

1986 SPRING CLEARANCE BEDDING SALE one week only I yoURs Local colleges likely to reap some benefits in the long run LOWEST PRICES IN TOWN ON SEALY AND KING KOIL Free frame with purchase of any 1986 bedding set. Bedding priced take-with By Jim Myer Democrat and Chronicle The University of Rochester's plans to make it one of the top universities in the nation will help all the area's colleges, the president of St John Fisher College said yesterday. The Rev. Patrick 0. Braden said the UR effort will help his college and others because they all belong to a consortium that allows students to attend classes and use library facilities at schools other than their own.

"There's a saying, 'A rising tide raises all he said. "We're fortunate to share the advantage of being in a town with an institution like the University of Rochester." Higher education experts yesterday said the UR's plans make sense. Observers said spending money to attract and keep top professors one of the key points of the UR proposal is one basic way schools put themselves on the map. "What you do is hire top-notch people, and they recruit their colleagues," said Beverly Watkins, an editor with The Chronicle of Higher Education, which reports on college and university news. Several years ago, Stanford University helped build its reputation as one of the top schools in the country this way, she said.

More recently, the University of Southern California and the University of Texas have instituted strong hiring programs, Watkins said. The UR's plans appear to fit a school that does not have the advantage of being in one of the nation's major metropolitan centers, said Lewis Solmon, dean of the Graduate School of Education at UCLA, who conducted a 1981 study of undergraduate departments. "In Rochester, although there's a lot of industry, it's still not a New York, Los Angeles or Boston. For that reason, Rochester has to go that extra step to get those excellent people," he said. John Vaughn, senior federal relations officer with the Association of American Universities, said schools often think that if an outside source will invest enough money, they will move up in the rankings.

"I think it's good that Rochester is making its commitment out of These buttons were passed out after the president's speech. its own funds," Vaughn said, referring to $50 million in endowment money that will be used to implement much of the plan. Rutgers University, a state-supported school in New Brunswick, also recently made an effort to enhance its programs and reputation, including a $350 million building program helped by a $50 million state bond issue for high-technology facilities. So far, much of Rutgers' effort, which includes projects in partnership with New Jersey industries, has gone into industries such as ceramic engineering, fiber optics, food science and robotics, said Jose Steinbeck, Rutgers' assistant vice president for public affairs. Steinbeck said the effort is already deemed a success.

"But the hard thing in seeking a better reputation," she said, "is that it takes 10 years for reputation to catch up with reality." CLEA ANLt 1 tmt cm, I eir lr inzr CENTER QUALITY FURNITURE AT CLEARANCE PRICES WED SAT 1 0-5 248-9063 140 DESPATCH DRIVE, EAST ROCHESTER Community leaders call plan a positive step Early American Styling at its Best Six comfortable all wood high back side chairs with gracefully turned back spindles and legs around a 42x66 in. high pressure laminate table top (containing two 12 in. removable leaves). Perfect for a family of 4 or 6, this distinguished dining group will add warmth and beauty to your home. mm to develop the river from Ford Street to Elmwood Avenue.

Mayor Thomas P. Ryan Jr. also gave O'Brien credit for UR's "change in attitude" and newfound energy to reach out to the community. But residents also must take it upon themselves to initiate activities with the UR, said William A. Johnson Urban League of Rochester president Johnson remembered an occasion about eight years ago when he asked the dean of the UR School of Education to participate in a symposium on financing quality public education.

The dean, Johnson said, replied that the school's faculty many of them experts in the field of education "go all over the country consulting with local communities and local school districts and this is the first time I've been asked to do that here. We would be delighted to do that." Monroe County Executive Lucien A. Morin welcomed the announcement of the five-year plan, saying the university's efforts to propel itself to the forefront of the nation's academic elite would benefit the entire community. Morin said any plan to further enrich the university's program "goes hand in glove with what the city and county are trying to do in terms of economic development." Reporter Kinsey Wilson also contributed to this story. By Andy Pollack Democrat and Chronicle Community leaders hope the University of Rochester's ambitious plans for the future will enhance recent efforts to chip away at the barriers between town and gown.

"The encouraging thing is they are recognizing what is good for the university can also be good for the community surrounding the university. That way of thinking, quite frankly, is very new and very refreshing," said Donald Pryor, president of the 19th Ward Community Association. The 19th Ward is across the Genesee River from the UR campus. "I think there clearly is a sense that the university is trying to be more community-oriented in its approach. "So far, at least, I think it's not just words.

It seems to be a genuine commitment on his (UR President G. Dennis O'Brien's) part and has seemed to have affected others within the university hierarchy," Pryor said. As a way of literally building bridges between the university and the community, a pedestrian span is proposed from the campus on the river's east bank to a commercial area at Brooks Avenue on the west "That means they're saving to the 19th Ward, 'C'mon over. We're your neighbors. C'mon said Thomas Frey, head of a citizens committee working ZJ Vzy Reg.672 NOW The Family will gather on any occasion around this 42x60x75" dining table.

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Reg. 559 NOW By Robert V. Palmer Democrat and Chronicle music critic A performing arts center proposed as part of the University of Rochester's five-year plan was greeted with cautious enthusiasm yesterday by artists and arts organizations. "When I came here, actors weren't afforded so much as a Christian burial," says Eastman Opera Theatre director Richard Pearlman. "Anything that says 'Yes, actors and theater are to belong is a big step, and I thank President O'Brien for taking it" UR President G.

Dennis O'Brien said the center would likely seat 900 to 1,300, falling between the Eastman Theatre (3,094) and Kilbourn Hall (459) in size. The school owns both facilities. It may also include a "black box" theater a small theater-in-the-round with black walls and would be situated next to the Medical Center parking lot on the River Campus. Because Kilbourn Hall is heavily booked and the Eastman Theatre is too large, Pearlman has been forced to stage student opera productions in Cutler Union, which does not have an orchestra pit, and in Strong Auditorium, where, he says, "working backstage is like operating in a medieval monastery." Eastman School of Music Director Robert Freeman, who will work closely with O'Brien on the project, said that if the facility is developed it will likely be a setting for both opera and musical thea-, ter activities by Eastman. Major arts institutions such as the Opera Theatre of Rochester and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra have often bemoaned the lack of a mid-sized performing space in town.

They applauded the proposal yesterday with varying degrees of enthusiasm, pending its availability, its exact size and whether or not it is to have an orchestra pit. (The recently built GeVa Theatre does not.) "It would be a marvelous thing especially in that it's to be in an area where people enjoy going" said Cynthia Auerbach, director of the Opera Theatre of Rochester. "Convenience, parking those things make going to arts events a pleasant affair and encourage participation accordingly. "Most exciting, though, is the prospect of a hall more appropriately scaled to the human voice." Auerbach, whose company has been searching for a mid-sized concert hall, said she thought the ideal size was between 1,500 and 1,800 seats. She said she would strongly consider taking opera performances there if the space was available, large enough and had an orchestra pit.

"I agree the U. of R. needs a good performing space, and I agree that a medium-sized space is needed in the city," said Tony Dechario, executive director of the RPO. "We've toyed with the idea of matinee concerts for some years. But you can't put events that might attract only 500 people at first in a auditorium." Dechario said that Nazareth Arts Center had been considered for the matinees, but that the space wasn't particularly adapted for musical purposes.

"And if it (the new center) would provide for events that don't attract more than 1,000 people to be pulled from the Eastman, freeing up its schedule, we might consider other events." How's this for a great buy? A classic 42" square-round Royal Oak mica inlayed table with solid oak base and aprons. Plus four Breuer-style chairs with a gleaming brass finish, cane backs and comfortable deeply upholstered seating.AII for only. 51(5195 A MTf 1 mm Reg.634 NOW This set will sweep you off your feet. Right into the welcome comfort of this stylish Cal-Style solid oak contemporary chair. Table has a resistant formica top and measures 42x60.

OB UR's name to stay the same FROM PAGE 1A "Comfort and durability are the pluses in this fine set. This 5 pc. contemporary has a formica top that measures The swival caster chairs are covered in a high grade material." 'Ambitious' plan for UR unveiled FROM PAGE 1A cal theater. Erecting new dormitories for the Eastman School of Music students near the Prince Street campus. Proceeding with plans to close off Wilson Boulevard and develop the banks of the Genesee River, creating a kind of "park campus." Forming a new Division III athletic association with other national research universities.

Filling the newly created position of vice president for research with someone who will vigorously pursue additional research financing. The debate over a possible name change had upset students, faculty and alumni. Researchers said one reason for considering a name change was that "Rochester" conjured up images of "a cold and distant outpost" in the minds of prospective students. O'Brien said a trustee told him, "I think you may have solved the problem by raising it." and alumni, O'Brien said. Of all the items in the survey, "the name change issue came out to be more negative than anything else on the sheet," he said.

Still, if changing the name was a lemon of an idea, O'Brien appeared to turn it into lemonade. When he first uttered the words "University of Rochester" in his speech yesterday, the student audience cheered, whistled and clapped. His second use of the words a few moments later making it clear that the name would stay the same were greeted with cheers. "U-R! U-R! U-R!" students chanted. O'Brien called on students to harness the same enthusiasm to help the school build its reputation and raise money in the coming years as it pursues the five-year plan.

As he concluded his speech, O'Brien echoed a student chant that had greeted him when he entered the auditorium. "Yes indeed," he said. "We are UR." It was a closing that guaranteed him a standing ovation. picked up by papers in San Francisco, New York and even the International Herald-Tribune in Paris. University spokesman Robert Kraus dismissed those suggestions.

So did O'Brien. "I really wish we were that smart," he told a news conference after his speech, as Kraus handed out white buttons saying "Forever yoURs." O'Brien said the name change was seriously considered but was never a foregone conclusion. He cited a poll of prospective students conducted by the Boston-based Enrollment Management Corp. that showed 41 percent thought the UR was a public university rather than a private one. But those findings, along with the connotation of Rochester as "a cold and distant outpost" that was cited in a letter to alumni about the idea, were outweighed by results of a survey of staff, students Reg.

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