Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, February 17, 1994                   TAG: 9402170140
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: STEPHEN FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

PROFESSOR TO BE INTERIM DEAN OF VA. TECH COLLEGE

Wayne Worner, who helped build the college when he came to Tech 23 years ago, will take over leadership of the financially embattled school when Dean James Buffer's resignation takes effect, perhaps as early as next Wednesday.

Buffer said last week that he was leaving the school to head Tech's proposed Center for Organizational and Technological Advancement, a corporate education center to be linked with the Hotel Roanoke and conference center.

Worner, 56, inherits a school that two weeks ago was told to come up with a way to slash 20 percent of its budget.

University Provost Fred Carlisle told the college to look at ways to cut costs, ranging from cutting back programs to considering merging with another college.

"We need to do things differently than we have done in the past," Worner said.

Worner is a professor in the college's administration and educational services division. He was interim dean in 1976, has headed two divisions and has worked as a public school superintendent.

Twice, he said, he has turned down opportunities to apply for the dean's position.

But with restructuring in the works, "I decided that I wanted to be part of the solution," he said. "The closer to the heart of making the decisions, the better off you are."

He has taken the job with the understanding that it will last about 18 months, he said.

During that time, he will oversee a shrinking of the school he helped form, although, "I'm certainly not suggesting that my job is to work myself out of a job," Worner said.

A strategic planning committee within the school has begun working on a plan to deal with that demand. Carlisle has asked for a rough draft by April 15. Worner said the committee broke into several subgroups last week to look at ways to cut costs.

"We don't have the luxury . . . of doing one thing at a time," Worner said.

Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.