THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 5, 1995 TAG: 9511040011
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 43 lines
In your Oct. 28 issue, Frank Slayton, candidate for the 18th Senatorial District, made some erroneous statements relating to the employment of state Sen. L. Louise Lucas at Norfolk State University.
Mr. Slayton stated that Senator Lucas is earning more than $72,000 for a part-time job from a state university and that the senator is not teaching any classes while posing as an associate professor.
For the record, Senator Lucas is employed as assistant professor/federal liaison coordinator. She also assists in recruiting and occasionally teaches a class. Senator Lucas assisted the university in receiving a $10.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy in 1994. She was scheduled to teach a class this fall. However, due to the small number of students who enrolled, the class was not held.
Her annual salary is not $72,000. While the university will not state her specific salary, I can say she is compensated in a range between $50,000 and $60,000. However, she requested and was granted an unpaid leave of absence from the university between Sept. 15 and Nov. 15. She also is on unpaid leave while serving in the Virginia General Assembly during the legislative session.
This correspondence is not to endorse either of the candidates but rather to uphold the integrity of the university, which has been called into question by misleading statements. The university's integrity cannot go unchallenged even in the midst of a political campaign.
We also would like to reassure our faculty, staff and students that Senator Lucas is treated in the same manner as any other member of the faculty.
We regret that the university has been drawn into this political campaign.
JESSE C. LEWIS
Vice president for academic affairs
Norfolk State University
Norfolk, Nov. 1, 1995 by CNB