Why This Site Has Almost No Graphics

• Download times rule the Web, and since most users have access speeds on the order of 28.8 kbps, Web pages can be no more than 3 KB if they are to download in one second which is the required response time for hypertext navigation. Users do not keep their attention on the page if downloading exceeds 10 seconds, corresponding to 30 KB at modem speed. Keeping below these size limits rules out most graphics.
• I am not a visual designer, so my graphics would look crummy anyway. Since this website is created by myself (and not by a multidisciplinary team as is recommend for large sites) and the university doesn't provide web designers to help faculty make pretty pages.
  
• I have to maintain the site myself and a simple text-only web site can be maintained with free easy-to-learn tools such as Mozilla Composer.
  
• In the opinion of many usability experts, most fancy animations and graphics found on the web do not increase comprehension or usability. For example, Google is enormously popular in part because of their no-frills page displays.