Letter from UO President Frohnmayer to the UO Community January 4, 2008

January 4, 2008

Dear Colleagues:

"It is worthy to perform the present duty well and without fail; do not seek to avoid or postpone it till tomorrow. By acting now, one can live a good day."

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery and today is a gift; that's why they call it the present."

The first quote is from Buddhist teachings; the second attributed by some to Eleanor Roosevelt. In recent days, in quite separate contexts, I was struck by the symmetry of these observations. The first was the product of accidental browsing; the second came as words of encouragement to my youngest daughter from a wise senior citizen. When something is said well, it moves beyond a spur to momentary reflection and becomes a renewed motivation to take up the day's work. In the dark of winter, we sometimes need that.

I cannot remember a fall term in my experience as president that has been this busy or charged with as much urgency. Happily the challenges are positive. We exulted in the breathtaking philanthropy of Lorry Lokey and the equally stunning generosity of Phil and Penny Knight as we saw additional indications of the transformative nature of Campaign Oregon that has now exceeded $740m. With private funding the new Fund for Faculty Excellence entered its second cycle of acknowledging and supporting the very best among this faculty who form the core of our university. We presented a comprehensive residential housing plan to help set the future directions of the university's undergraduate and graduate student experience. We accepted and met the challenge of presenting to the OUS board both the sterling achievements of its AAU flagship university and the perilous underfunding of our mission through decades of neglect or inattention. We felt the community's Ðindeed, the nation's Ð support and anguish both before and after injuries affected the outcome of the intercollegiate football regular season. Increasing numbers of us watched the progress of our new Portland presence in the White Stag Building with great anticipation as well as pride. And, of course, we are working diligently to prepare for the upcoming February supplemental session of the Legislature.

Last week, we announced PathwayOregon, a pledge to the people of Oregon that academically qualified students of all economic backgrounds will have access to the UO's world of academic achievement. PathwayOregon students will have their full tuition and fees paid while also receiving comprehensive guidance and academic support that improve retention, academic progress and graduation rates. I encourage you to learn more about this innovative cornerstone of our commitment to keeping the university affordable by going to the PathwayOregon website at http://pathwayoregon/.

As you receive this letter, key faculty, administrative and University Senate groups will be reviewing financial plans for the new arena. Contemporaneously, we will continue meeting with people from the adjacent neighborhoods and elected officials to assure that our plans are both thoughtful and timely given the financial imperative to proceed as rapidly as possible. While we know this is a very complex financial transaction, we and state system officials are heartened by the recently concluded consultants' report that reassures us that the annual incremental net revenues of the arena, together with other resources, will allow us to finance the new arena prudently.

More specifically, I believe that the arena construction will help ensure a self-sustaining financial future for the athletic department. Beyond that, the arena will provide part of a dramatic gateway to the university, indeed to the community. The new arena will serve as an assembly place for academic convocations and commencements; and a community facility with uses as important and varied as its distinguished predecessor, McArthur Court. Former AAA Dean Robert Melnick has agreed to chair the advisory group that will consider the best uses for McArthur Court and its footprint after its retirement. Appointments to this important study group will be announced shortly. At its recently concluded January meeting, the OUS Board noted with approval the forthcoming gift of an Academic Learning Center for Student Athletes, the integration of this center in a gateway "learning neighborhood" and specifically commended the University of Oregon for its efforts to maintain a financially self-sufficient athletic department.

Our recent accreditation review by the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges included a requirement that we develop a plan to assess student learning outcomes. As you know, attention to student learning outcomes has become a focus nationwide and received specific attention during reauthorization of the Federal Higher Education Act. On our campus, with the leadership of Provost Linda Brady, we will develop a plan that builds on the disciplines themselves and on the considerable thought and attention our faculty have paid to "what our students are learning." This plan for assessing student learning outcomes at our university will reflect in a meaningful way our mission as a major AAU university.

Our alumnus Nancy Golden, superintendent of the Springfield School District, and her colleagues have chosen the themes, Powerful Teaching and Powerful Learning, for the year ahead. I would like to think these have always been central to our calling but the second part of the couplet reminds us that the most artful teaching performance comes to naught if the student fails to have a transformative experience in learning. I have been thinking about this more pointedly as I prepare to reopen the books Ð and hopefully my own mind Ð in my winter term freshman seminar on "Theories of Leadership." I recently received a postcard from a former student who is studying intensively and joyfully in Seville, Spain. His reference to seminar material of some years past in the context of his continuous learning experience was a reward in itself for the time we had spent in the classroom together. I know that each of you who labors here takes joy in similar experiences touching the lives of others. I wish each of you the continuing pleasure of those encounters and thank you once again for your daily efforts to make this university a better place.

As always, I urge you to contact me at pres@uoregon.edu with your concerns or comments. I assure you that I read each message with care and respect for the continuing thoughtfulness of the effort you take in making your views known to me.

I hope, indeed, that you "live a good day."

Warmest regards,

Dave Frohnmayer President Dave Frohnmayer President