May 28, 1999
Task forces appointed by President Dave Frohnmayer following a May 18 sit-in at Johnson Hall have begun addressing issues of racial diversity and personal safety raised by students during the peaceful protest.
Dave Hubin, executive assistant president, says the work groups expect to prepare draft materials by the end of spring term and will continue their work this fall as their focus shifts toward longer-term goals of helping to make the university a more safe and welcoming environment for everyone.
The task forces leaders and their assignments are:
In addition, groups of students met May 24 with the Faculty Advisory Council and with the University Senate Executive Committee to present their concerns and enlist faculty support, particularly on long-term goals. On May 27, students were invited to a meeting of the Presidentıs Council on Race.
Frohnmayer and the task force leaders have met almost daily with the student diversity advocates to clarify issues and concerns, set action timelines, develop recommendations for appropriate university governing bodies and, in some cases, draft recommended changes in policy language.
"I am very appreciative of how rapidly and with what caring the faculty and staff responded to student concerns over the past two weeks," Frohnmayer said. "They have succeeded in making sure that an emotionally charged issue became an opportunity to advance some of the universityıs most important goals as identified in the recent Process for Change.
"I firmly believe that the administration and the vast majority of faculty, staff and students are working toward the same end: Building a campus community that represents our diverse society and is safe for all students, faculty and staff. We can work together, and I look forward to doing the hard work of building diversity at our campus."
The Oregon University System (OUS) reports that the UOıs percentage of ethnic students (students of color not including international students) totaled 11.83 percent in 1998, a number that has trended slightly upward at the UO over the past five years. By comparison, the latest (September 1998) Oregon census figures indicate a total of 11.62 percent comparable ethnic population for the state.
The UO, which considers the OUS number incomplete, recently began tracking a new multi-ethnic category for students (ethnic students of mixed race or who consider themselves to fall outside standard categories). OUS does not track multi-ethnic students. Including multi-ethnic students raises the UOıs total student ethnic proportion to 12.60 percent. Add international students (the UO is the nationıs No. 1 public research university in terms of percentage of international students) and you have a significantly more diverse campus than the state around us.
We have more work to do, especially in attracting African-American students, whose numbers at the UO have been essentially flat for a decade.
UO Student Academic Affairs estimates that scholarship dollars targeted specifically toward building diversity at the UO will total close to $1 million for the next academic year. The fund for Diversity Building Scholarships alone is scheduled to double from this yearıs $280,000 level to more than $500,000 next year.
During the four academic years between 1995-96 and 1998-99, more than one in five of the new tenured and tenure-track faculty hires made at the UO have been faculty of color--26 new faculty of color out of 121 total hires.
Improving the universityıs ability to attract high-quality graduate students and providing new resources for the various research cultures on campus are the rationales behind new proposals offered by the Graduate Education and Research Implementation Team.
The proposals are part of the implementation phase of the Process for Change and include the goals of the Graduate Education Subcommittee and the Research Subcommittee.
The Graduate Education Committee proposes two separate tactics aimed at bringing in high-quality graduate school applicants: funding for recruitment, and scholarship or fellowship support for the top applicants. Another recommendation is to offer graduate courses that arenıt mixed with undergraduates to ensure an appropriate level of focus.
"Recruiting the best graduate students is difficult and competitive," says Marian Friestad, Graduate School dean and Graduate Education Committee member. "Other institutions offer some generous packages to attract candidates, and our proposal attempts to increase our ability to do the same."
The Research Committee focuses on expansion of research efforts that provide incentives to enhance the different ways research is conducted at the UO.
Some recommended strategies address sabbatical leaves for new research directions; seed money for high-risk research ventures; providing funding for faculty research programs facing short-term funding losses; graduate student and faculty collaborative research programs; and an undergraduate research program and symposium.
"Along with enhancing UO research programs, increasing interdisciplinary work is a major goal of these proposed changes," says Tom Dyke, vice provost for research and Research Committee chair. "With these proposals, faculty will be able to work on innovative ideas and follow promising new directions, especially in interdisciplinary areas. One particularly exciting idea would provide new resources for graduate students to work directly with faculty on research projects, something that doesnıt regularly occur in some areas."
Subcommittee recommendations have been forwarded to Provost John Moseley who will hold discussions with the deans and Faculty Advisory Council before selecting proposals to implement.
Further information about Process for Change activities is available at zebu.uoregon.edu/p4c .
-- LEIGH FREEMAN, Communications Intern
An eight-foot-wide illuminated clock is about to become the universityıs newest landmark.
The clock was installed March 24 in the east facade of the Student Recreation and Fitness Center on East 15th Avenue. The illuminated clock face, which is 65 feet above the ground, was lifted into place by a 12-ton boom truck.
The $7,300 clock is part of a $20 million remodeling project at the UO recreation center scheduled to be completed by the Spring of 2000. The waterproof timepiece was custom made for the building by the Electric Time Co. in Medford, Mass.
The clock has a 100-year calendar that will automatically reset the time twice a year, at the beginning and ending of daylight-saving time in April and October.
The project, funded entirely by student-generated fees, consists of additions and alterations to existing recreation and fitness facilities in Esslinger Hall. Included are a new entrance, weight room, cardiovascular exercise area, three-court gym with a running track above, rock climbing wall, juice bar, fully remodeled locker rooms and new all-weather playing fields.
General contractor is Hyland Construction of Eugene. Architects are TBG Architects of Eugene, in association with Canon-Parkin of Los Angeles.
The Oregon Bach Festivalıs Youth Choral Academy has received a $9,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for its upcoming season which will bring together high school vocalists from across Oregon for workshops, mentorships and three performances. Anton Armstrong of St. Olaf College is the academyıs chief conductor.
Weyerhaeuser, the same local contractor that Campus Recycling uses to recycle paper, has been awarded a contract to shred and destroy confidential documents from UO offices.
According to the new contract, signed in March, the university will pay Weyerhaeuser to destroy materials by shredding and then recycling them. Oregon Administrative Rule 166-030-0060 requires the contractor to obliterate completely the data contained in the shredded material before passing it on to any third party.
The new pact eliminates the need for shredding on campus, a process that was time-consuming, labor-intensive and costly for the university, according to UO archivist Susan Storch, Library.
"Until July 1, Weyerhaeuser is willing to pick up two or more boxes to assist in emptying departments of confidential materials that accumulated because of the hiatus in confidential recycling and the moratorium on document destruction due to the stateıs tobacco lawsuit," Storch says. "Records should now be destroyed according to the Records Schedule."
After July 1, pick-ups will require departments to collect at least five boxes, a 96-gallon toter or a bag-it full of paper.
Departments that produce a high volume of confidential material can arrange for a regular pick-up by calling Wayne Jackson of Weyerhaeuser Recycling, 744-4102. Departments also can combine their materials if they produce only small amounts. Some 96-gallon toters, which can be locked and are easy for Weyerhaeuser to pick up, are available at cost for UO departments from Weyerhaeuser. Departments must provide the padlocks.
A page of frequently asked questions about the confidential recycling policy is at libweb.uoregon.edu/speccoll/archives/faq.htm on the web. For other questions, call Storch, 6-1899, or send e-mail to sstorch@darkwing.uoregon.edu .
The Network Startup Resource Center (NSRC), based at the UO Computing Center, recently received a $20,000 award from the Organization of American States to provide technical assistance and training to network engineers in the Caribbean and Central America.
For the past decade, the NSRC has provided technical assistance to developing area networks seeking to connect to the Internet, especially to academic and research institutions and to non-governmental organizations. The NSRC is supported primarily by the National Science Foundation and has been collaborating with the UO Computing Center since 1996.
The Faculty Instructional Technology Training Center (FITT), set to open in June in KL Media Services Room 18, will provide personal consulting support for faculty in the use of instructional technology and multimedia.
Workstation improvements head the agenda when the Ergonomic Assessment Team (EAT) meets from noon to 1 p.m. the last Wednesday of every month at Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S).
Team members discuss training issues and share experiences before returning to their respective departments to help fellow employees create ergonomic workstation setups.
EH&S also has a lending library of ergonomic equipment that employees can use to determine whether they want their departments to purchase them. These include wave keyboards, trackballs, mouse bridges and copy holders.
Team members are Kathie Stanley and Kristi Dillon, Student Academic Affairs; Sharon Yarborough, Law; Nola Steadman, Education; Patrick Chinn, Erb Memorial Union; Duane Iverson and Pete Lunger, University Health Center; Robin Drinkwater, University Housing; Steve Pelkey, Facilities Services; Judy Fossum, Business Affairs; Judi Byrum, University Library System; and Michelle Gillette and Kay Coots, EH&S, who cover the rest of campus. For information, contact Coots, 6-5421 or kcoots@oregon.uoregon.edu .
Philip J. Romero, the former top economic adviser to California Gov. Pete Wilson, will become dean of the Charles H. Lundquist College of Business on Aug. 1.
"Philip Romero will bring a new perspective to the Lundquist College and, indeed, to the university. His experience with business, government and Californiaıs RAND Corp. will be very valuable in his effectiveness as dean," said Provost John Moseley.
Romero, 42, graduated in 1980 from Cornell University with dual majors in economics and government. He earned a doctorate in policy analysis in 1988 from the RAND Graduate School.
Romero succeeds Tim McGuire, who left last year for a job in the private sector. Dale Morse served as interim dean while the UO conducted a national search to fill the position.
Geraldine Richmond, Chemistry, has been nominated by Gov. John Kitzhaber to fill an unexpired vacancy on the State Board of Higher Education. If confirmed by the Oregon Senate, she would become the first current faculty member to serve on the board since the Legislature repealed a law two years ago that barred faculty from board membership. A pioneering researcher and national leader in science education and the mentoring of women in the sciences, she will replace Esther Puentes of Salem who vacated her seat recently.
Michael Manga, Geological Sciences, and Erica Bastress-Dukehart, Honors College, are winners of the 1999 Ersted Award for Distinguished Teaching. V. Pat Lombardi, Biology, is recipient of the 1999 Thomas H. Herman Faculty Achievement Award for Distinguished Teaching. On May 19, President Dave Frohnmayer dropped in on classes taught by the professors to hand deliver crystal apples that symbolize the teaching excellence awards. The trio, to be honored June 12 at spring commencement, also will receive $2,000 salary increases.
Laura Blake Jones, Student Life, and Donna Wong, Academic Learning Services, were recognized during Spring Family Weekend as 1998-99 recipients of the D.U.B.S. Award. Established 10 years ago by students Doug Untalan and Brian Sandy, the award recognizes efforts of those administrators who have shown the highest concern and involvement enhancing the education and lives of the student body.
Frank Vignola, Physics, is new director of the UO Solar Energy Center, replacing John Reynolds, Architecture emeritus. A senior research associate, Vignola has headed the Solar Radiation Monitoring Network for many years.
Gerald Albaum, Marketing, has been given the rank and title of professor emeritus in recognition of his three decades of scholarship and service.
Steve Ponder, Journalism and Communications, is author of Managing the Press: Origins of the Media Presidency, 18971933 (St. Martinıs Press, 1999).
When mezzo-soprano Milagro Vargas sang in Carnegie Hall on May 16, she became the third Music faculty member to perform this year in the worldıs most prestigious concert hall. Vargas sang with baritone André Solomon Glover and the American Composers Orchestra, Dennis Russell Davies conducting. Other "Carnegie Ducks" are violinist Fritz Gearhart, who performed with pianist John Owings in January, and pianist Gregory Mason, who accompanied Grammy Award-winning soprano Susan Dunn in March.
Phyllis M. Ford, retired Leisure Studies, died on May 3 in Eugene. A foremost national expert on outdoor recreation and camping, Ford, 71, was a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Arizona State University and Indiana University. She had received 15 distinguished service awards and been an officer of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. A celebration of life will be at 2 p.m. May 30 at Mt. Pisgah. Memorial contributions may be made to Mt. Pisgah or to the Western Rivers Girl Scout Council Endowment Fund.