Dear Senate Colleagues,

I want to wish you a warm welcome back from the holidays. I hope the break provided you some time to catch your breath, visit with people special to you, and – of course! – think deeply about the affairs of the University Senate.

I am, in fact, writing this note to ask that you turn your thoughts to the University Senate. We have an especially important meeting on Wednesday, Jan 12, from 3 -5 p.m. in 182 Lillis. The agenda is posted at: http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~uosenate/dirsen045/12Jan05agenda.html

Three major motions are coming up for discussion and a vote:

1. The Oregon Transfer Module. The Undergraduate Council has recommended that the University of Oregon adopt the Oregon Transfer Module (OTM). The OTM is a center piece of the effort by Governor Kulongoski and the OUS board to make higher education more accessible to Oregon students. This module has been developed through a remarkable collaborative effort that has included input from the Oregon University System (OUS) , the Interinstitutional Faculty Senate, and every public university and community college in the state. A town hall meeting was held on our campus in early October to solicit input on the components of this document and our IFS representatives have informed us throughout the fall about the evolution of the transfer module. The university senates at Portland State University and Southern Oregon University have approved the transfer module in the past week.

Prior to attending, please take time to look over the motion and the many supporting materials available at: http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~uosenate/dirsen045/US045-4.html

2. Reporting to the University Senate on Athletics. The Intercollegiate Athletics Committee (IAC) has moved approval of the President’s Task Force on Athletics recommendations regarding required athletics communications to the Senate. The motion and links to supporting materials are located at: http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~uosenate/dirsen045/US045-2.html

3. Changing the Charge of the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee. The IAC has also moved approval of the President’s Task Force on Athletics recommendations regarding changing the charge of the IAC. The changes consist entirely of additions that increase the authority of the IAC. None of the original components of the IAC charge have been removed or altered. The motion and links to supporting materials are located at: http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~uosenate/dirsen045/US045-3.html

The Athletics Task Force developed both sets of recommendations over several years of intense work. The recommendations are based on a broadly collaborative process that included small group meetings open to all University Senators and members of the IAC in February of 2004. A list of committee members and the full report of the Athletics Task Force is located at: http://uoregon.edu/~vpadmin/finalreport.htm

Because of the full agenda, the importance of these issues, and the many players involved, I am asking that you take time to look over the motions and support materials prior to the Senate meeting. Please feel free to be in touch with me if you have questions about any of the materials.

I look forward to seeing you on Wednesday.

Sincerely,

W. Andrew Marcus

President, University Senate