Weber Dean travels world with conservation message Natural resources must be managed Nations become great because they know how to use the natural resources of the land, a practice that is too quickly disappearing. That was the message told Chinese EE scientists recently by Dr. Cyrus McKell, dean of Weber State's School of Natural Science. According to Dr. McKell, many countries, including the United States, are in the same trouble. “When we discuss environment too often it’s an ‘us verses them’ mentality; environment verses development. But we have to look at the broader issue. We have to look at sustainable development, then it’s not an insult to the environment,” Dr. McKell said. China, for example, could provide food for its population if they looked to the longterm, proper use of the land, he said. “The issues are complex, but if you don't take care of the environment you eventually reduce the ability of the land, air and soil,” he said. Once those are gone business and industry cannot long be sustained. Dr. McKell has been to 52 different countries as a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science encouraging governments to properly manage their natural resources. He also sits on Utah’s State Advisory Council on Science and Technology. “We can harvest the forests of Brazil, but if we don’t replenish them and care for the soil over the long run we will not be able to sustain our world’s population,” he said. “Environmental concerns can’t be pushed off to one side of society,” he added. The technology is there to solve many of the world’s ecological problems, but too few people are aware of the solutions, he said. Dr. McKell’s goal, he said, is to get more students excited about and involved in the sciences, “and that starts in the elementary schools,” he said. The WSC School of Natural Science runs a Science Education Center to help elementary teachers, and on the college level Dr. McKell, who has been at the helm of the science school for the past year, encourages faculty to fine tune their own abilities. “We have the responsibility to stay mentally alert, to do the kinds of things that will serve humanity,” he said. When faculty push themselves by doing research, and professional development they become excited. That excitement is transfered to students who, in their time, help solve some of the world’s pressing ecological and environmental problems. And encouraging faculty growth is where Dr. McKell comes in. “Faculty need someone to champion their causes, and they need somebody to say, ‘Go!’” the dean said. “The problems are so big that many people wonder where we should start. I believe it starts with number one, and I’m willing to work night and day just to make it go. That’s part of the challenge,” Dr. McKell said. Dee Events Center *Building Completed: 1977 *Dedicated November 1977 as a tribute to the Dee family ¢Descendents of the Thomas D. and Annie Taylor Dee family made significant donations to the building as well as to the WSC Library, to academic programs and other capital campaigns. p aA ql , DT State Comment; Winter 1990 PTUTATLATTE MTVU 3 TTT) ] MLN zee c2 ZZ PTT Ps J OR A Mi agape Ll ‘iam e | ee | Enmore “ Wattis Business Building ¢Building Completed: 1983 ¢Dedicated September 1983 in honor of Edmund O. Wattis eDistinguished Utah leader in business and construction ¢Instrumental in developing many construction projects including the Hoover Dam. the Western Pacific Railroad and the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge. eMr. Wattis was born in Uintah, Utah in 1855 and died in 1934. Women’s cross country team places second in Big Sky Conference by Nan Holyoak Assistant Sports Information Director Weber State’s women’s cross country track team ended its 1989 season by placing second behind Northern Arizona at the Big Sky Conference Cross Country Championship meet held in November in Salt Lake City. Weber State’s second place finish is the highest for the Wildcats since the 1984 season when they placed second just one point behind the University of Montana. The Lady Wildcats also placed third in the NCAA District 7 qualifying meet, their bestever finish in that meet. The highest previous District 7 ranking was a seventh place in 1984. “Our team this year is probably the best we’ve had since our first season in 1978,” said Coach Jim Blaisdell. The Lady Wildcats won four of their six meets this year, including wins at the Montana State Invitational in Bozeman, Mont., at the University of Colorado Rocky Mountain Shootout at Boulder, Colo., at the Boise State Invitational in Idaho, and tied for first with Boise State at the College of Southern Idaho Invitational. “A factor that really was a contributor to our success was the absence of injuries or sickness,” Blaisdell said. “It is very difficult to go through a cross country season without some injury or colds or flu. That has affected us in years past.” At their own invitational in October Weber State had a bit of a let down and placed third behind Brigham Young University and Boise State. Two weeks later at the District 7/Big Sky Conference championships the Wildcats came back to score all five runners and take second place in the Big Sky and third in District 7 behind Brigham Young and Northern Arizona. “One of our goals was to finish no worse than second in the conference race, and another was to have three individuals finish in the top 10 for All-Conference honors,” Blaisdell said. ‘“‘We accomplished our goals in that we did finish second and had three runners finish in the top 11; two made All-Conference honors. Placing third in the district meet was an added bonus,” he said. The Wildcats were paced in most of the meets by freshman Michelle Sloan. Sloan, of Aurora, Colo. was listed as one of the best high school distance runners in the western United States. She was joined by three veteran juniors, Karen Packham of Kuna, Idaho, Laura Jensen of Shelly, Idaho and Alydia Anderson of Federal Way, Washington. Sophomore Debbie Howard from Hurricane, Utah, and freshmen Cary Lynn Davis of Huntsville, Utah and Michelle Blaisdell of Ogden round out the team. Parkman finished eighth and Jensen tenth for All-Conference honors. Sloan finished in eleventh place, just two seconds behind Jensen. “This has been a special team this year in that their personalities have kind of meshed, and, with the maturity of the three juniors along with some competitive freshmen, the team really came together,” Blaisdell said. ‘“You’ve got to have a little luck along with talent to be successful, and we had both this year,” he added. ST Year-by-year Lady Wildcats Big Sky Conference results