January 8, 2003

Dear Colleagues:

Welcome back after a holiday season in which I hope you have had a chance for renewal with family and loved ones. The winter term and the beginning of the new year mark the start of what undoubtedly will be a critically important time in the life of the university. In these times, external events will have an even greater than usual impact on our vitality.

Looming on the immediate horizon is a vote of the people of Oregon referred by the legislative assembly on a proposed income tax surcharge. You should already have received your voter's pamphlet, and I hope you will study the Ballot Measure 28 issues carefully. Many experts predict this to be a "low turnout" election. I hope that each one of us exercises his or her franchise according to the dictates of civic responsibility and good conscience. Remember that the last day to return your ballot is January 28. A ballot box is available immediately outside the ASUO offices in Suite 4 of the EMU. In the event that the ballot measure is unsuccessful, a tuition surcharge is slated to be imposed by the State Board of Higher Education. I extend my deep appreciation to the ASUO student leadership for giving us its best advice on how to minimize the financial and enrollment impact of such an event. Students and their families have been informed of these plans in considerable detail.

Irrespective of the outcome of the January 28 election, the next weeks will see the inauguration of a new governor and the convening of the legislative assembly. Under any revenue scenario the prospects for our budget are not good. We are already planning thoughtfully how best to present the urgent needs of the university and the state system and to continue providing the robust and intellectually challenging education for which the University of Oregon is noted. We will work very hard with the legislature in collaboration with Chancellor Jarvis and our sister institutions to enact what we have termed the "New Partnership with Oregon." This initiative, which restates the relationship of the university system to the state, is designed to improve our flexibility and to place our destiny more in our own hands. We have received substantial and important outside endorsements of this new thinking and are encouraged by its legislative prospects.

In spite of the budget cuts and the potential for a tuition surcharge, it appears that enrollment for winter term will remain strong, at about what we would have projected based on past years. This is a testament to the outstanding efforts of all of you in serving, with inadequate funding, our record enrollment. I deeply appreciate your commitment to this university, its students -- and its quality. As you know, we are currently serving about 1,000 resident students for whom we receive no state support.

education for all of our students. At the current and anticipated levels of state funding, that means we will need to hold total enrollment under 21,000 and will have to tie the number of resident students we admit to the number of FTE students the state funds. Even with our increased entrance requirements for new students, we are receiving large numbers of outstanding applications for next year. We expect next year's freshman class again to be the strongest in our history, but the number of freshmen enrolled will be fewer than this fall in order to keep to the number we can serve adequately.

On another front, we are all concerned about the situation with PERS. Because that situation is very fluid, I do not have any definitive information for you. PERS is posting information as it becomes available on its web site, www.pers.state.or.us. We want a strong retirement plan for current and future employees; we remain hopeful that this will be the outcome of any changes adopted. I know it is frustrating to have so many unknowns, particularly for those of you nearing retirement. We will keep you informed as we get reliable information.

I also wanted to bring you up to date with the progress on our comprehensive fundraising campaign. I have been very pleased by the degree to which so many of you took to heart my request for ideas and initiatives. The proposals are thoughtful, imaginative and in many cases the productive result of exciting cross-disciplinary collaborations. The suggestions exceed 500, with an aggregate funding amount approaching $2 billion, well beyond what I believe we can do. The internal campaign advisory committee is at work on the first step of the campaign priority setting process. I will write to you again within the next several weeks to provide you more specific information on that process. Thank you again for your participation and the thoughtfulness of your responses.

These are times which many people find tension filled, given both international concerns and local issues. I believe our role as a place for discussion of all sides of these issues will be of critical importance in the months to come.

In the midst of all this, the good spirit that all of you bring to your work, which results in such important benefits for our students, is heartwarming and inspirational. Thank you again, and please write to me at any time with questions or comments at pres@oregon.uoregon.edu.

Warmest regards,

Dave Frohnmayer President

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