Minutes of the University
Assembly October 25, 2002
Note: Beginning in Fall 2002, President
Frohnmayer indicated that the fall meeting of the University Assembly would be
held in conjunction with Fall Convocation.
President
Frohnmayer welcomed all the assembly and convocation. Prior to welcoming remarks from others, the president noted the
names of several faculty members who were known to have passed away during the
past year, including:
Following
the president’s remarks on the years of service, dedication, and many
contributions these faculty made to the university, he asked for a moment of silence
in their remembrance.
President
Frohnmayer spoke about the place of a university to foster open exploration of
challenging concepts and ideas through a spectrum of voices, but in so doing,
not to be captured by any of those voices against another. He went on to say that challenges facing the
university are real – underfunding and increasing enrollment, among
others. The years of disinvestment in
the university coupled with the recession have continually challenged us to do
more with less. As a result, efforts
have been made, along with the other OUS institutions, to develop a new
partnership, a “new deal” with the state and the public that will enable us to
meet our responsibility of providing a quality education. Further, the university has begun the first
stages of the Comprehensive Campaign, an ambitious campaign to raise funds in
support of programs and initiatives based on their importance — that is, effect
on the institution; impact – effect on society; and feasibility – ability to
achieve outcomes within the given time frame.
The
president indicated that building anew and stoutly facing what often seems like
overwhelming odds against finding success really does matter; it is important
as is our duty educate. Our challenge
is to overcome seemingly bad odds with opportunities that we can create – or
suffer the consequences that could set the university and the state back
decades to come. The president
concluded with a comment that it is sometime difficult to know or fully
understand the importance of what we do; but if we teach as best we can, engage
our minds with others, and open ourselves to questions that promise no ready
answers, such efforts will help to determine our success or failure. In the end, President Frohnmayer suggested,
it comes down to how individuals turn their time and efforts into meaning. (Full text of the president’s address may be
found as Attachment A with these minutes and may be viewed at http://president.uoregon.edu/Convocation_2002.htm.)
INTRODUCTION
OF NEW FACULTY MEMBERS
Provost
John Moseley remarked about the high quality of the newest additions to the
faculty and lauded their exceptional credentials. The provost then directed everyone’s attention to a handout
listing new faculty members with a brief description of their areas of
expertise, and turned to the various deans and department heads to make the
introductions (see Attachment B).
The
meeting concluded with the Convocation recession.
Gwen
Steigelman
Secretary
of the Faculty
============================
STATE
OF UNIVERSITY/CONVOCATION 2002
Friday,
October 25, 2002
2:30
p.m. – Beall Concert Hall
Dave
Frohnmayer, President
University
of Oregon
“The Thirty-Fourth Name”
“Convocation” is defined by Webster’s New
World Collegiate Dictionary as “a group of people called together by summons; especially
an ecclesiastical or academic assembly.”
I
want to thank you all for answering the summons . . .
Truly,
it is good that we come together, reminding ourselves by our presence and our
vestments of the meaning and tradition of a university. It is our annual –
though I sincerely hope not only – time for personal and institutional
reflection.
The novelist Saul
Bellow wrote: “The quest is one and the same . . . we are all drawn toward the
same craters of the spirit – to know what we are, and what we are here for, to
know our purpose . . . “
A
few weeks ago I attended my 40th Harvard reunion. In the midst of
the usual reacquaintances, assurances of “looking as good as ever,” and
questions about work and family, we attended a chapel service for the members
of our class who had died.
It
was a classic New England setting in that spacious, white, unadorned
Congregational church that marks the east boundary of Tercentennary Theatre in
Harvard Yard – . . . an 11 a.m. service
in straight-back pews. We were there in dark and dignified colors . . . paying
respects . . . each in his or her own way quite seriously remembering our
classmates and pondering the hugeness and the reality of lives concluded…work
unfinished… mortality.
Each
of us there held a program of sorts, and on this paper were listed, in three
rows the names of those gone – roughly 10 percent of us. . . three rows – two
rows of 34 names each . . . and one row of only 33 – space for one more name.
There
was no thunder and lightening – no beam of sunshine or voice from above . . .
but it struck me profoundly that that space on the third column could have been
filled with my name.
When
my heart stopped three years and three days ago – not that I’m counting - it
could easily have stayed stopped, and the printer of that Harvard College
memorial program for the Class of ‘62 would have added that 34th
name to the third column.
Let
me tell you about that 34th name.
I am
a father and husband – a son and friend – a student and teacher – a citizen
and…at least by formal title…a leader.
I
was educated at Harvard, Oxford and Berkeley – but also at my parent’s home in Medford
- in my own home now by my loved ones - and here with you by each new challenge
and opportunity we confront together.
Though
I have traveled many parts of the world – I am an Oregonian. And though my
credentials hold the names of universities from afar – I am a Duck – I am proud
to be President of the University of Oregon
I
am proud to be working with each of you to strengthen our university – a proud
exemplar of one of this civilization's last surviving medieval institutions
and, when it rises to its calling, truly our most revolutionary modern one.
I
am determined, then, to carry on my part of the mission that this university
has delivered for the past – now - 126
years.
Here
in this convocation, you are men and women who also carry this same hope, this
same ideal that lives in the classrooms and hallways, laboratories and
auditoriums of this university.
We
are surrounded today by the faces of faculty and staff who have been with us
for many years. But this is our annual
occasion also to greet and welcome new faces into our ranks.
We
are blessed by teachers who truly understand the ideal that higher education
makes real – the transformation of lives through knowledge.
Our
classrooms today, creaking to their limits because of record enrollment, are
filled with those who teach and those who learn. And an excitement cracks from
those classrooms even more noticeably than the cracks on the plaster walls.
Cranes
and fences – debris and dust are everywhere – but they are the transient signs
of something solid and long-lasting being built.
In
these buildings, veteran faculty join with new - rich in numbers and
unbelievably talented in skills and scope. The learning here truly does
represent a universe of knowledge – an excitedly growing universe of knowledge.
It
is visible over in business and at the Museum of Art, at the new fMRI facility
that explores and explains the mysterious unity of brain with mind, and the
Green Chemistry lab that speaks of our commitment to a livable planet. I see it
in Communications and Education, in languages, the arts, music and drama,
architecture and law and history – it is visible all across this campus.
Together,
through the amazing creativity of our individual minds, and the strengthening
power of our community – together we are meeting the many challenges that face
us.
It is
the place of a university to throw open the gates of speech and discussion, of
opposing ideas and vigorous debate. That is a part of our heritage.
It is the place of a
university to stand on principles of open exploration of the best knowledge and
thought – the most challenging concepts and ideas – and the often disturbing
process that exploration entails. We do this confident that out of such efforts
chaos may evolve into the more livable semi-chaos that is the lifeblood both of
democracy and of intellectual inquiry.
This is our role.
It is not the
place of a university – this university – to be advertently or inadvertently
captured by any of those voices against another.
Our
challenges here are real – underfunding; increasing enrollment; an economy not
conducive to educating for the needs of the 21st century; the challenge,
in the midst of this, not to relax standards, but to raise them to the
world-class standards befitting our advertisements. These challenges are real.
They affect our work today and tomorrow - and they affect how we affect the
things that matter to us.
Students,
colleagues and parents, alumni and friends of this university, know that these
challenges affect your classrooms and research – know that they also affect the
ability we have to teach the old and create the new knowledge capable of transforming
lives and enabling us to keep our promise.
They
affect who we can attract as faculty members, and how we can compensate so as
to keep the excellence that we attract.
Some
of these challenges come in our university relations with the external community,
as so sadly exemplified in the mindless, nihilistic riots that were joined by
some university students.
We
are not an island – we are not a special people separate from the laws and
expectations of our broader community.
If
anything, we are the ones who go beyond upholding the law to uplifting the law
so that it better serves all people in that community.
If
anything, we are the ones who raise those expectations to higher levels,
through the inspiration of literature, the lessons of history and the knowledge
of humanity.
If
anything we find – and we will find – ways to assure that our community meets
its responsibilities to the community at large.
A CHANGE
We
are doing things that can make a difference, that can transform lives.
After
years of disinvestment in higher education coupled with a recession that
reaches all regions of our nation and further impoverishes our state, we find
ourselves again facing the challenge of doing more with less – or so the
options have seemed.
We are
not alone in these problems, as many, if not most, other public institutions
across the nation are feeling the same impact of cuts and recession.
But
there is a change here. Starting earlier this year with our own recommendations
for a New Compact With Oregon, and now with what is being called “The Deal, ”
Chancellor Jarvis and the State Board of Higher Education are making bold
proposals to turn this disinvestment around.
By
whatever name it ultimately is known, it should combine all the sister institutions
in a redefinition of the powerful role we play in shaping the current and
future welfare of our state.
It
is a “deal” that overtly asks the state to rewrite the rules of engagement and
commitment so public universities can better do the public’s business.
It
is the premise of this proposal to the people, the legislature of Oregon and
the governor that our destiny is in our own hands. This proposal – this “Deal,”
– will redefine the relationship with the state and the public so that we might
effectively embrace a 21st Century vision, with essential control
both of our revenue and our expenses.
We
have a responsibility to our state to maintain the quality education that will
prepare this generation and future ones for the ever-shifting economic,
political, international, technological, scientific and moral challenges that
inevitably lie ahead. We did not sign on to be party to mediocrity and we will
not succumb to it.
We
can be leaders in a pioneering effort. As the rest of nation struggles for
solutions, we can supply them. Instead of suffering the dubious horror simply
of experiencing adversity and slogging numbly onward, we can shape ourselves
into a new example of creativity and partnership – a new example of
transforming ourselves so we can better transform the lives of others.
As
an institution – as a source and lifeforce of knowledge, we can keep this
university from becoming that 34th name.
To
do this we also must address the great challenge of accessibility. If Oregon
students cannot afford to attend the University of Oregon, it has, in one
sense, ceased to be the University of Oregon. We cannot allow that to happen
either.
With
this recognition, however, I cannot promise there will be no increases in
tuition. I can, however, promise that the quality of the education will
increase, as will the availability of classes, making possible not only an
education of higher quality, but also one that can be achieved in a shorter –
and thus less expensive – time span.
I can
promise, as we have done with our “hour of day discounts” that we will search
for creative ways to keep costs under control, as well as means to aid
qualified students in attending the University of Oregon.
And
I can promise that I will lead the most ambitious effort in the history of the
state to secure new and significant scholarship endowments for students.
We
want you here.
One
means of assuring the quality of our programs, as well as accessibility for Oregon
students is through our Comprehensive Campaign
This
campaign will be without question the most ambitious in the history of Oregon.
Overall,
we will be looking for initiatives that are both internally and externally
compelling, and that reflect objectives within the strategic directions we have
outlined.
More
specifically, the criteria that will be used to evaluate the proposed campaign
priorities fall into three major categories:
•
Importance – The effect the initiative has on the institution.
•
Impact – The effect the initiative has on society
•
Feasibility – The realistic ability to achieve outcomes within our given time
frame
Much
of its success depends on you – on faculty members participating in the call
for proposals as to how money raised can best be invested. Each of you has the
opportunity between now and January to help determine the direction this
university takes in the coming decades. Now is your chance to be a key part of
this and to enable us to provide a focused investment in the future.
Bursts
of energy – ideas and the passion to grind them into reality – generally do not
come from outside. They are kindled and forged out of determination and steely
resolve, as well as joy and the sense of creation – the existential ability to
do something that matters in this moment.
I
believe building anew does matter. I also believe that you believe it matters.
I
believe it is right to ask what will be said of our resolve? Our focus?
Will
our petty quarrels be seen as markers for lost opportunities? After all, by abandonment of resolve, by
loss of energy, one can become the 34th name without a cardiac
arrest or its equivalent.
Or will, instead, our
vision and determination be seen as a turning point – a revival in its most
literal sense.
We
have a deep responsibility to the future – not only to rise above petty
disputes and daily distractions – but also, at times – to rise above even our
most firmly-held convictions because they themselves can, without reflection
and vigorous re-examination, become traps of stereotype and self-deception.
We have something more
important to do than preach the call of our own cherished beliefs – our own
sense of righteousness – regardless of how we envision that – regardless of how
vital those beliefs may seem.
We do have the duty to
educate – to open the doors, and even on judiciously chosen occasions, to
breakout the windows, blast off the roofs and walls so that the questions and
the ideas and answers may fly freely where they may. This is what we do, and we
do it best.
Today,
October 25, is the anniversary of two famous battles fought by the English.
I’m
not particularly a student of war or battles, not one of those people who know
the date and placement of every army that ever set foot on a battlefield from
Thermopylae to Verdun.
But
the fame – or infamy - and lessons of those battles that took place on this day
in history struck me as relevant to our discussion.
One
was the 15th century Battle of Agincourt, fought and won by Henry V
against overwhelming odds, and made even more famous by Shakespeare’s version
of Henry’s speech to his troops – that “band of brothers,” those “happy few”
who stand “o’tip toe when this day is named.”
The
other battle was the disastrous – at least for the British - 19th century “Charge of the Light
Brigade,” also made famous by a writer, Tennyson, in his poem of the same name.
I
will not attempt to rise to the great rhetoric of Shakespeare nor to the poetic
waxings of Tennyson. Their words, not mine, have passed the test of time.
In
reply to: will, however, note that the challenge we face – and the
opportunities we can create - offer to us the choice of overcoming what might
seem to be overwhelming odds – or the option of disastrously, passively
blundering into a defeat that could set this university and this state back for
decades to come.
Our
battle, our struggle and mission here at the University of Oregon – here at the
start of the 21st century – is not a struggle between armies over
land or nations over pride.
It
probably will not inspire writers to great verse or dramatic scenes.
But
it is a struggle just as important and in many ways more so – and one in which
we can win or lose.
I
could have been that 34th man, my name at the bottom of that third
column.
But
instead, I am here with you.
We
are here together in a place where we need to ask ourselves:
Will
this class be the best I can teach?
Will
my mind be engaged so that it engages the minds of others?
Will
I open myself to the questions that promise no ready answers, just for the joy
of meeting them?
Will
I finish the book, pursue the definitive experiment, push the limits of my
imagination to rival the world’s best?
The
answers to these and other questions of their like will determine our success
or failure.
It
is difficult at times to know, to understand fully the importance of what we
do. I think each of us, caught up in the day-to-day struggle to keep up, often
do not see fully the extent of our capacity to affect dramatically the lives of
others.
In
just the last week an evening of tribute was held on this campus for one of our
long-time educators and scholars – and person after person rose and spoke at
this gathering of how this woman changed his or her life – how she made a vital
difference – how she directed them with her life into a greater richness for
their own.
This
is not a small accomplishment. In fact, when coupled with the knowledge that is
created and communicated , it is a great accomplishment – an accomplishment
worthy of a lifetime.
It
always comes down to each of us and how we turn our precious moments into
meaning.
So
long as our name is not on that third column, now is our time – now is
our moment- our moment “to know what we are, and what we are here for, to know
our purpose . . . “
New Tenure-Related Faculty Members
University of Oregon, Fall 2002
Shannon M. Chase,
assistant professor (music education choral). B.M., 1993, Southern Maine; M.M.,
1999, Maine; Ph.D., 2002, Florida State. Assistant Professor of Choral Music
Education, holds graduate degrees from The Florida State University (Ph.D.) and
the University of Maine (MM). She is
active in the Music Educators National Conference (MENC) and the American
Choral Directors Association (ACDA).
Areas of research include teacher/conductor effectiveness, foreign
language and ensemble diction, computer and online technology for the
enhancement of choral music teaching and learning, and multicultural choral
music education. She has presented
research projects at the divisional and national conferences of ACDA and MENC.
C.
Brad Foley,
professor and dean, B.M., 1975 Ball State; M.M., 1977 Michigan; D.M.A., 1983
Michigan. Brad holds degrees in both
music education (magna cum laude, honors program) and performance. In addition
to serving as professor of saxophone and chamber music, Dean Foley’s tenure at
East Carolina State University included terms as Acting Dean, Assistant Dean,
and seven years as Dean of the School of Music. While at EU, he played saxophone and oboe in more than 350 solo
and chamber music performances, held several editing and adjudicating
positions, and had several articles published in professional music journals.
Eric
Mentzel;
associate professor of voice; B.M., 1980, Temple; M.F.A., 1983, Sarah
Lawrence. For the last 15 years Eric
has been based in Germany and has performed extensively in Germany, Holland,
Belgium, Switzerland, and France. AS a
singer, he has worked primarily in the fields of early music, oratorio and new
music, and has more than 40 CD recordings to his credit. He also directs his own ensemble, Vox
Resonant, which he founded in 1998.
Since 1999 he has been a guest teacher in the early music department at
the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, Netherlands.
Joseph Metcalfe; Assistant Professor; B.A., 1988, Stanford; J.D.,
1992, Harvard; District of Columbia bar, 1992. Joseph is a cum laude graduate of
Harvard Law School. He comes to the
university from the US Department of Justice's Criminal Division, the Computer
Crime and Intellectual Property Section.
His teaching, research and publication include cyber law, privacy and
the Internet, trial advocacy, evidence and criminal law.
Robert Tsai; Assistant Professor; B.A., 1993, California, Los
Angeles; J.D., 1997, Yale; Georgia bar. Robert served as editor of The Yale Law Journal
before graduating with honors from Yale Law School. His teaching and research include privacy and civil liberties,
constitutional law, civil and criminal procedure, and free speech. After clerking with the First Circuit of the
US Court of Appeals, Robert spent the past three years as Staff Attorney with
the American Civil Liberties Union in Atlanta, Georgia.
Kyu Ho Youm; professor and Jonathan
Marshall First Amendment Chair; B.A., 1980, Konkuk; M.A., 1982, Ph.D., 1985, Southern
Illinois; M.S.L., 1998, Yale. Kyu comes to the university
after teaching at Arizona State University for 11 years. He holds an M.A. and
the Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University and a Master's in Legal Studies
from Yale Law School. He has published more than 80 articles in journalism and
law journals in the United States and abroad since 1985. His writing on freedom of expression has
been cited by American and English courts, including the House of Lords. Youm
serves on the editorial boards of a dozen major law and communication journals
in the United States and England.
Linda
Mae Forrest,
Professor; B.A., 1971 Willamette; M.Ed., 1973, Ph.D., 1978 Washington. Linda comes to the university from Michigan
State University, where she was assistant chair, program director, and director
of training of the Counseling Psychology program. Having earned her doctoral
degree at the University of Washington, she brings a distinguished national reputation
for her seminal integrative research syntheses related to feminist theory and
counseling, and student/practitioner impairment. Her highly active and visible national leadership within the
American Psychological Association has brought national attention with her to
the University of Oregon. Linda’s acceptance of the position of Area Head of
Counseling Psychology and Human Services has catapulted this program into the
national spotlight.
Juliet
Alice Baxter; Assistant
Professor; Ph.D., 1987 Stanford. Juliet
comes to the university having earned her doctoral degree in educational
psychology from Stanford University.
She brings an impressive track record of scholarship and funding from
NSF and U.S. Department of Education related to science and mathematics
education. Her primary research
question has been to identify the most effective teaching and learning supports
which help all students achieve the elevated understanding and problem solving
skills reflected in national subject matter standards.
Ronald
A. Beghetto,
Assistant Professor; B.A., 1993, B.A., 1995, M.S., 1998 Wyoming; Ph.D., 2002,
Indiana. Ronald comes to the university
from Indiana University Center for Evaluation, having earned his doctoral
degree in educational psychology. His
scholarship focuses on the critical understanding of teacher development and
their acquisition of pedagogical knowledge and disciplinary knowledge to
effectively teach to national and state heightened accountability for student
learning performance and progress.
FINANCE
Woodrow Johnson, Assistant Professor; B.A., 1992, Utah State;
M.S., 1999, Tennessee. Woodrow graduated with distinction
from Columbia University's Graduate School of Business this year. His research interests are focused broadly
on financial intermediation and capital markets. His current work explores how mutual fund returns are compromised
when investors within the fund differentially trade shares. He is teaching the undergraduate investments
course this term.
John C. Goodale; Assistant Professor; B.S.,
1988, Michigan State; M.B.A., 1991, Ph.D., 1996, Utah. John’ B.S. is in mechanical engineering from and advanced
degrees are in operations management. He
spent the last seven years working for Ball State University and has been an
active member of INFORMS, Production and Operations Management Society, and the
Decision Sciences Institute. John's
research is focused on scheduling and quality in service operations, and recent
projects have appeared or are forthcoming in Production and Operations
Management, Journal of Operations Management, Cornell Quarterly,
and other journals.
Michael Pangburn; Assistant Professor; B.S., 1990,
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; M.S., 1993, Ph.D., 1997,
Rochester. Michael completed his doctoral
degree in business administration from the Simon School of Business at the
University of Rochester. Earlier, he
earned a B.S. in engineering mechanics from Virginia Tech, and worked on design
projects at General Electric's Corporate Research & Development Center. His current research interests pertain to: product versioning and
pricing for digital products; capacity planning for high tech products;
stochastic models of consumer choice; and logistics, both inventory and
distribution models. Since completing
his Ph.D. in 1997, he has taught a variety of MBA and undergraduate courses at
both Penn State University and the University of Oregon, primarily in areas
relating to MIS and supply chain management.
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
ANTHROPOLOGY
Philip Scher, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., M.A., University of
Pennsylvania, 1997, 1991; B.A., Brown University, 1987. Phillip conducts research
in the Caribbean focused on national identity, popular culture, migration and
transnationalism. His forth coming book is titled, Carnival on the Road:
Culture, Migration and the Formation of a Caribbean Transnation.
BIOLOGY
Joseph Thornton, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., M. Phil., M.A., Columbia
University, 2000, 1998, 1997; B.A., Yale University, 1987. Joe is
an evolutionary biologist with a strong interest in environmental issues. He
studies the evolution of the endocrine system, with an emphasis on proteins
called nuclear receptors that mediate the body's response to hormones such as
estrogen or thyroid hormone. He also studies the science and politics of global
chemical pollution, with a focus on persistent organic chemicals that can serve
as disruptors of the endocrine system.
Craig Young, Professor and Director of Oregon Institute of Marine
Biology; Ph.D., University of Alberta, Canada, 1982; M.S., B.S., Brigham Young
University, 1978, 1975. Craig Young's research focuses on the reproduction,
development and larval biology of marine invertebrates. He specializes in
reproductive ecology, systematics, and functional morphology of deep-sea
animals, including those at hydrothermal vents and cold seeps.
CHEMISTRY
Marina Guenza, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Consortium of the
Universities of Genoa, Italy, 1989; Laurea in Chemistry, University of Genoa,
Italy, 1985. Marina uses sophisticated theoretical methods to understand the dynamic
properties of polymers. Her work has important implications for the design
of synthetic polymers with new properties as well as for understanding the
functional properties of biological polymers such as proteins .
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE PROGRAM
Leah Middlebrook, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., M.A., University of
California, Berkeley, 1998, 1991; B.A., Columbia University, 1989. Leah
is preparing a book manuscript on the “soldier poets” of sixteenth-century
Spain. She has published En Arcadia Betis: The Imperial Lyric of Gutierre de
Cetina (Bulletin of Hispanic Studies, July 2001) and, Tout mon office:
Body Politics and Family Dynamics in the verse epîtres of Marguerite de Navarre
(Renaissance Quarterly, 2001). Her research and teaching interests include
issues in early modern literature and politics, with emphasis on court culture,
gender and power, and the early modern subject. She is also interested in the
contemporary institution of comparative literature, psychoanalysis, and the
history of Spanish cinema.
COMPUTER AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
Jun Li, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., M.S., University of
California, Los Angeles, 2002, 1998; B.S., Peking University, China,
1992. The Internet is rapidly becoming part of the crucial communication
infrastructure of the U.S. and the world, raising concerns that it may be vulnerable
to a variety of security threats. Jun is pioneering approaches to
securing the Internet without sacrificing the attributes of scalability,
openness, and robustness that make the internet so attractive in the first
place.
Reza Rejaie, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., M.S., University of
Southern California, 1999, 1996; B.S., Sharif University of Technology, Tehran,
Iran, 1991. Reza is internationally known for his work on transporting
media streams, such as video, over the Internet. The Internet cannot
provide a guaranteed transmission rate, so Reza’s methods adapt the quality of
the media stream to fit the available transmission rate.
ENGLISH
Anthony Foy,
Assistant Professor (Acting); M.Phil, M.A., Yale University, 1998; B.A.,
University of California, Los Angeles, 1994. Just prior to joining our
faculty, Anthony held a Kenyon College Fellowship and a Ford Foundation
dissertation fellowship, and he has also held a Thurgood Marshal Fellowship,
and a Mellon Humanities Fellowship. His research focuses on the
relationships among autobiography, ideology, and fiction in Black writers of
the 19th and 20th centuries.
Cynthia Tolentino, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., M.A., Brown University, 2001, 1993; B.A.,
Hampshire College, 1992. Cynthia’s field is Asian-American and
African-American literatures; her research interests include a comparative
approach to the study of ethnic writers and in particular the relationship of
Black and Asian writers in the 1940's to sociological discourse relating to
race. Prior to coming to the UO Cynthia held teaching appointments at
Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, and Vassar College.
EXERCISE AND MOVEMENT SCIENCE
John Halliwill, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Medical College of Virginia,
1995; B.S., Ohio State University, 1991. John 's research relates to how
the human cardiovascular and respiratory systems adapt and respond to exercise
and other stresses encountered during everyday life. He is currently funded by
grants from the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart
Association; he has presented his research in numerous national and
international conferences and has received awards from the American
Physiological Society.
Andrew Karduna, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., University of
Pennsylvania, 1995; M.S.E., The Johns Hopkins University, 1991; B.S.,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1989. Andrew's research interest
is in the area of shoulder and spinal biomechanics, with an emphasis on motion
analysis, computer modeling and occupational disorders. He has received funding
from the National Science Foundation, Centers for Disease Control, Whitaker
Foundation, Arthritis Foundation and the Foundation for Physical Therapy.
GEOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Ryosuke Motani, Assistant Professor; Ph.D.,
M.S., University of Toronto, 1997, 1994; B.S., University of Tokyo, 1991.
Ryosuke's research focus is in the general area of vertebrate paleontology with
a specialization in the evolution and biomechanics of the marine reptiles known
as ichthyosaurs. His approach is multidimensional, combining classical studies
of fossil material with sophisticated three-dimensional imaging and numerical
modeling techniques.
HISTORY
Karl Appuhn,
Assistant Professor; Ph.D., M.A., Northwestern University, 1999, 1995; B.A.,
University of California, San Diego, 1994. Karl is a specialist in the history of
Renaissance Italy. His research is concerned with the political,
economic, and technological dimensions of state-sponsored attempts to control the
environment.
Ina Asim,
Assistant Professor; Ph.D., M.A., Würzburg University, 1993, 1982. Ina's areas of research are
history and archaeology of the Chinese dynasties Song and Ming (10th - 17th centuries),
with a focus on non-official historiographical sources.
Ian McNeely,
Assistant Professor; Ph.D., M.A., University of Michigan, 1998, 1993; A.B.,
Harvard University, 1992. Ian is a specialist in European history during
the ages of Enlightenment, Revolution, and civil society. He has authored books
on the role of writing in German political culture and on the liberal physician
and medical reformer Rudolf Virchow. His current projects center on the modern
research university and its historical alternatives, and on the organization of
knowledge from Alexandria to the Internet.
ROBERT DONALD CLARK HONORS COLLEGE
Roxann Prazniak, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., University of California, Davis, 1981;
M.A., San Francisco State University, 1973; B.A., University of California,
Berkeley, 1970. Roxann is an important scholar of comparative
history. Her three books are major contributions to her field: Dialogues
Across Civilizations: Sketches in world history from the Chinese and European
Experiences; Of Camel Kings and Other Things: Rural Rebels Against Modernity in
Late Imperial China; and, Places and Politics in an Age of
Globalization, with Arif Dirlik.
LINGUISTICS
Melissa Redford, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., M.A., University of
Texas at Austin, 1999, 1995; B.A., University of California, Berkeley,
1992. Melissa is a psycholinguist interested in explaining language sound
structure according to articulatory, perceptual and cognitive constraints on
language use.
MATHEMATICS
Peng Lu,
Assistant Professor; Ph.D., SUNY at Stony Brook, 1996; M.S., Nankai Mathematics
Institute, Tianjin, China, 1988; B.S., Nanjing University, China, 1985.
Peng is well known for his earlier work on quantum and equivariant cohomology
on symplectic manifolds. His recent interests involve questions arising
from the use of Ricci flows in the theory of Geometric Analysis. This
research has important applications in mathematical physics.
Dev Sinha,
Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Stanford University, 1997; B.S., Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, 1993. Dev works in two closely related and central areas
of topology. He has made contributions to the computation of equivariant
cobordism theory, where two manifolds are cobordant if they jointly form the
boundary of some other manifold. He also studies the spaces of embeddings
of low dimensional manifolds, for example knots.
POLITICAL SCIENCE
Jane Cramer,
Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2002; B.A.,
Oberlin College, 1986. Jane specializes in international relations. Her dissertation research concerned
national-security panics, such as the atom bomb scares of the early 1960s.
Leonard Feldman,
Assistant Professor; Ph.D., M.A., University of Washington, 2000, 1995; B.A.,
Yale University, 1993. Leonard works in the field of contemporary
democratic theory, with a specific focus, in his dissertation, on homelessness.
RELIGIOUS STUDIES
Timothy Gianotti, Assistant Professor;
Ph.D., M.A., University of Toronto, 1998, 1990; B.A., University of Notre Dame,
1988. Timothy is the author of a recently published book, Al-Ghazali’s
Unspeakable Doctrine of the Soul, a study of doctrines concerning the soul
and the Afterlife held by Al- Ghazali, one of the most influential scholars in
all of Islam’s 1400-year history. He is currently working on a second book
entitled, Walking the Way of the Afterlife: al-Ghazàlï’s Introduction to the
Jurisprudence of the Heart (fiqh al-qalb).
ROMANCE LANGUAGES
Gina Herrmann,
Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Cornell University, 1998; M.A., Columbia
University, 1993; B.A., Cornell University, 1990. Gina specializes in
contemporary Peninsular narrative and cultural studies. In her teaching and
scholarship, she focuses on four main fields: The literature and history of the
Spanish Civil War and the post-Franco era (1970s-present); Autobiography theory
and "testimonio"; Postmodernism and the Spanish novel; oral histories
of political movements.
Analisa Taylor,
Assistant Professor; Ph.D., M.A., Duke University, 2002, 1996; B.A., University
of Oregon, 1992. Analisa specializes in contemporary Mexican cultural and
literary studies. In her teaching and scholarship, she focuses on the unique
relationships between literature, visual art, film and society in the Americas.
She is particularly interested in constructions of gender, class and ethnic
identities in literary and anthropological texts in Post-revolutionary Mexico.
SOCIOLOGY
Richard York, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Washington State
University, 2002; M.S., Bemidji State University, 1997; B.A., Southern Oregon
University, 1994. Richard’s areas of interest include environmental
sociology, human ecology, science technology, and the political economy of the
world system. His most recent research focuses on the environmental
impacts of population, affluence, and technology.
WOMEN’S AND GENDER STUDIES
Elizabeth Reis, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., University of
California, Berkeley, 1991; M.A., Brown University, 1982; A.B., Smith College,
1980. Elizabeth is an accomplished teacher and scholar. Her
areas of interest include the history of women, sexuality, and religion in
America. She's the author of Damned Women: Sinners and Witches in
Puritan New England, and the editor of two anthologies: Spellbound, and
American Sexual Histories.
SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
AND ALLIED ARTS
Colin
Ives, Assistant
Professor; B.A., 1987 Cornell College; M.A., 1992, M.F.A., 1994,
Iowa. Colin is
a new member of the Multimedia Design Program. His digital installations and
web projects have appeared in a number of venues, including Tools as Art: The
Hechinger Collection (Smithsonian National Building Museum) and The Digital
Salon (NYC). He draws from fine art’s examination of viewer participation to
raise questions about interface design, approaching digital arts from the
standpoint of installation and events arts. Under the conceptual framework of
interactivity, his work ranges from sculpture and installation to CD-ROM and Internet projects.
Janice Williams Rutherford, Assistant Professor; B.A.,
Oregon; M.A., Portland State; Ph.D., 1996 Louisiana State. Janice holds graduate degrees in history and
is active in the fields of museum studies and public history. She will be
coordinating the Museum Studies area of concentration within the Arts
Management graduate program. Her book, Selling Mrs. Consumer: Christine
Frederick's Gendered Modernity, will be published by the University of
Georgia Press in 2003.
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Faculty Personnel Committee
2001-2002
The Faculty
Personnel Committee (FPC) has just completed its work for the 2001-2002
academic year. This committee is staffed by 10 elected faculty members and two
students selected by student organizations. The faculty on this year’s
committee were: Michael Bullis (Education), Jeffrey Cina (Chemistry), Howard
Davis (Architecture), Mark Johnson (Philosophy), Eugene Luks (Computer and
Information Science), Margaret Paris (Law), N. Christopher Phillips
(Mathematics), Janet Wasko (Journalism and Communication), Jeffrey Williams
(Music) and Wesley Wilson (Economics). None of the students selected by student
organizations attended the meetings this year.
During the
2001-2002 academic year, we advised the Provost on 54 cases involving tenure
and/or promotion. The breakdown of the cases is as follows:
Promotion to Associate Professor with Tenure 22
Tenure only 10
Promotion to Professor 19
Professor with Tenure 2
Senior Instructor and Tenure 1
We held 19
meetings during the current academic year, each lasting from about 45 minutes
to about two and one-half hours. We estimate that members spend four to six
hours each week during the Winter and Spring terms reading files to prepare for
meetings. For each case, the chair assigned one member of the committee to
summarize the case to the committee and to prepare and, in most cases, revise a
written report for committee approval. This report was then forwarded to the
Provost. The member assigned to the case often spent a full work day in
preparing for the presentation to the committee and in writing and revising the
report. In light of the workload involved in this committee, we continue to suggest
that academic units grant some relief from other committee work or courses.
Although the
workload of the FPC is heavy, it is inspiring work in that it reveals the
quality and breadth of the considered faculty. These individuals often have
developed a national or international reputation in their fields and bring
considerable recognition to the University of Oregon.
In most cases,
candidates were well served by the academic units, various committees, and
administrators who prepared the files for consideration. We do have a number of
suggestions that may streamline and improve the review process. We encourage
committees and units to review carefully and adhere to the University
guidelines found in Timetable and Guidelines for Recommending Promotion
and/or Tenure for Faculty Members prepared by the Office of Academic
Affairs (http://academicaffairs.uoregon.edu
/guidelines.html). We also
encourage candidates to review carefully the publication Faculty Guide to
Promotion and Tenure prepared by the Office of Academic Affairs (http://www.uoregon.edu/~acadaff). This
publication offers invaluable advice about career development and success at
the University of Oregon, and we encourage departmental units to bring this
publication to the attention of new hires as part of their orientation process.
Our work this year pointed to a number of areas in which improvements can be made. Many of these have been presented in previous reports of the FPC to the University Senate. We su