The following document has been converted from the original document originally
sent to the UO community. While every care has been taken in the conversion,
errors are always possible and thus the original hard copy must be regarded as
normative.
Letter from UO President Frohnmayer to the UO Community April 26, 2001
April 26, 2001
Dear Colleagues:
We now have a healthy start on spring term as our campus blooms into its
full glory. If youÕre like me, youÕve been alternating between "sun guilt," a
worthy phrase coined by Bob Welch of the Register-Guard, and being grateful for
the occasional rain. While the early bountiful sunshine has been unexpected,
one familiar ritual has returned.
We are again engaged in our biennial quest for public support in the Oregon
Legislative Assembly. My personal thanks to each of you who attended the
statewide rally in March to support higher education. University of Oregon
faculty, staff and students comprised by far the largest groups at the Salem
event. We will now wait to see if our message was heard. We have already made
significant progress, and, as I write, we just concluded several weeks of
budget hearings before the attentive and supportive Education Subcommittee of
the legislatureÕs Joint Ways and Means Committee.
A quick update on other issues:
Our work to establish a branch campus in Central Oregon resulted in a
decision by the Oregon State Board of Higher Education to mandate collaborative
efforts in the region. Overall management will be handled by Oregon State
University, but other state universities, including ours, have the capacity to
offer their own degrees and programs. We plan to continue our successful
degree programs in General Science and Social Sciences and are moving ahead to
offer others that match our mission, including one in the Humanities. We
should look forward to a vigorous and growing presence in the region to reach
out to underserved populations.
The Oregon State Board of Higher Education voted to establish
contracting guidelines that, according to the systemÕs legal counsel, will
prevent us from joining either the FLA or WRC, as presently constituted. You
can see the language the Board adopted at the February 16, 2001, meeting at
http://www.ous.edu/board/minutes.htm. At its April meeting, the University
Senate received the report from its Review Committee, after consideration of
the report by the Senate Executive Committee. I thank the members of the
Review Committee for their probing and diligent efforts. Although the process
was affected by Board action, the concerns about global working conditions are
real and can be addressed by other means, including the invigoration of our
curricular and visiting lecture offerings.
Among our many fine teachers and scholars, one has been singled out as
Outstanding Scientist for 2001 by the Oregon Academy of Sciences.
Congratulations to chemistry Professor Geri Richmond. And an unprecedented
three of our number won coveted Guggenheim awards. We commend the outstanding
work of Ehud Havazelet and Dorianne Laux, associate professors in the Creative
Writing Program, and Monte Westerfield, professor of biology.
By this July we will have a new vice president to replace Duncan
McDonald, who after a very successful stint in administration is returning to
teaching in the School of Journalism and Communication. News of DuncanÕs
successor will be announced in the immediate future.
Next fall marks the UOÕs 125th birthday. Some 70 faculty, staff,
officers of administration, students and alumni have been planning a number of
special projects to commemorate the event. You will hear much more about this
anniversary celebration during the course of spring and summer. We expect also
to announce a healthy private fundraising campaign to mark the anniversary with
philanthropic success as well.
Our diversity efforts continue as well. As those of you know who have
followed the excellent series in The Oregonian on the new demographics of our
state and region, we could not be more timely in forming the universityÕs new
Center on Diversity and Community, CODAC. CODAC is being developed by a
campus-wide committee that has worked over the last two terms. The Center will
focus on the UniversityÕs research and service commitments on this critical
agenda. All those who have worked hard on this project have my deep
appreciation.
On a related note, we are joining with a number of universities on a
national diversity assessment project. If you are one of the recipients of the
survey instrument, I urge you in the strongest possible terms to respond
promptly. This is one of the best ways to discover where we stand.
A number of faculty have asked, appropriately, where matters stand on
salary enhancement plans. The short and candid answer is this: barring a
catastrophic May revenue forecast, we expect to continue the objectives of the
University Senate Budget Committee "White Paper." The Committee continues to
work closely and collaboratively with Provost Moseley. We will keep you
abreast of all new developments.
An administrative reorganization will be announced shortly. The plan
largely represents recognition of existing responsibilities but title and
function changes are also in order. I thank the Faculty Advisory Council, the
Council of Deans and members of the University Senate for their extremely
helpful comments on various drafts of the proposal.
On a positive note, I welcome the strong interest in the University of
Oregon by hundreds of highly qualified prospective freshmen. Enrollment
numbers next fall should be very strong. On a more worrisome note, I am
concerned about steeply increasing energy costs and the continued
sustainability of some features of our PEBB health benefits package. On these
latter topics, I will keep you informed.
As always, I welcome your comments and information about your concerns.
Please contact me at pres@oregon.uoregon.edu.
I wish you a bountiful and productive spring term.
Best regards,
Dave Frohnmayer
President