SNAPSHOT
lsureveille com Log on to see theatre students posing in the Quad.
NEWS Deadline for bus proposal pushed back until Tuesday, page 3.
TRYING HIS LUCK
Mitchell declares for NBA draft, remains eligible for next season, page 9.
THE DAILY REVEILLE A NEW DIRECTION WWW.LSUREVEILLE.COM
Volume 113, Issue 125
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
FACULTY
Former prof. not sure about firing
Chancellor, provost present University realignment plan
By Joy Lukachick Staff Writer
Ivor van Heerden said he wasn’t surprised when University officials met with him April 3 to say his contract wouldn’t be renewed as a research professor this year. But the outspoken coastal scientist who led the state’s investigation of the levees in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina said he found out he was fired from his position as deputy director of the LSU Hurricane Center through the media — not through the University. “[The University] didn’t have the manners to tell me face to face,” van Heerden told The Daily Reveille on Tuesday. University officials could not legally comment on their decision. “We are not allowed to comment on personnel confidentiality,” said University spokesperson Kristine Calongne. At the meeting, University officials told van Heerden their decision wasn’t performance related and had nothing to do with the budget cuts, van Heerden said. “They didn’t tell me why,” he said. “The letter said, ‘This is to advise you, your contract expires May ’09 and won’t be renewed in May
photos by KIM FOSTER / The Daily Reveille
Chancellor Michael Martin (above) and Vice Chancellor and Provost Astrid Merget (below) spoke at the Faculty Senate Forum on Tuesday in the Howe-Russell Geoscience Complex. They discussed the University’s realignment and answered students’ questions.
By Kyle Bove Chief Staff Writer
Between the biting criticism and outraged rants of several faculty members and students, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Astrid Merget defended the University’s plan on Tuesday to restructure and re-name nearly every academic college on campus. REALIGNMENT, see page 8
lsureveille.com Log on to see what faculty and students think about the realignment.
FIRED, see page 7
TECHNOLOGY
U.S. Sen. John McCain prepares to speak at a conference Friday at the US Embassy in Tokyo, Japan. McCain is one of many politicians using Twitter to communicate.
Twitter keeps politicians in touch
Index
Sen. John McCain has a reputation for liking underdogs. “20 mins to tip off. Butler in an upset over LSU,” McCain wrote in a March 19 tweet on Twitter.com. “The butler didn’t do it...! not a great
Sports ...................... 9 Opinion ................... 16 Classifieds ............... 18
can view, or “follow,” them. Twitter has entered the political sphere, and one researcher says it’s here to stay. In a recent trend, some politicians are taking to their cell phones, creating Twitter accounts and TWITTER, see page 8
7:20 a.m. 8:20 a.m. Noon 3:20 p.m. 4:20 p.m. 5:20 p.m.
Weather
Contributing Writer
start for my NCAA picks!” The updates sent from phones — called tweets — are limited to 140 characters and are part of an up-andcoming Web site called Twitter. Twitter is a “real-time short message service” that allows users to send status updates from their phones to individual accounts where others
Broadcasts
By Nate Monroe
ITSUO INOUYE / The Associated Press
TODAY PARTLY CLOUDY
THURSDAY PARTLY CLOUDY
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