EUGENE–University of Oregon President Dave Frohnmayer announced in Bend today (Thursday, Oct. 19) the key leadership team that the UO will propose as part of its branch campus plan to serve the higher education needs of Central Oregon.

"The strength of this initial team demonstrates the UO’s commitment to developing an outstanding higher education campus for Central Oregon," said Frohnmayer. "All of the people in these positions of responsibility either are already residents of Central Oregon or are committed to be in Central Oregon during the initial period of the development of this campus. For those who do not expect to reside permanently in Central Oregon, searches will be conducted for people who are fully committed to becoming part of the Central Oregon community."

The proposed leadership positions include:

• Vice Provost for Central Oregon. This campus leader position will report directly to the UO provost and vice president for academic affairs. Initially, this position also will serve as dean of UO’s Central Oregon campus. For the early campus development period until September 2001, UO Provost John Moseley will assume this responsibility. Once funding is assured, Moseley will immediately initiate a national search to fill the post permanently, in cooperation with appropriate representatives of the Central Oregon community.

Moseley holds a Ph.D. in physics from Georgia Institute of Technology and has been at the UO since 1979, serving as a professor and department head of physics, director of the Chemical Physics Institute, and vice president for research. He is a homeowner in Deschutes County and a frequent visitor to Central Oregon.

• Associate Vice Provost for Academic Programs. This position will work with the vice provost and dean in managing the academic programs on the UO Central Oregon campus. John Leahy, UO professor of mathematics and director of general science, will fill this position. Leahy, who earned a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, has been director of the UO’s general science program for 10 years. He established the general science degree program in Central Oregon at Central Oregon Community College (COCC) and has served as its director for the past three years.

• Assistant Vice Provost for External Affairs. This person will work with the vice provost and dean in the areas of community relationships and fundraising. The position will be held by Lizanne Saunders, who also is the director of grants officer at COCC. Saunders received her law degree from Stanford University and is a resident of Central Oregon.

• Director, Division of Science and Mathematics. Leahy also will fill this position until a permanent chair is selected. Discussions are underway to fill the position of site director for the general science program.

• Director, Division of Social Sciences. Patricia O’Neill, the head of social sciences at COCC, also will head up the UO’s Central Oregon social sciences department. She currently serves as Central Oregon site director for the UO’s general social science degree program, initiated in fall 2000. O’Neill holds a Ph.D. from the University of Washington and has worked at COCC since 1985.

• Director, Division of Humanities. John Nicols, director of the humanities program at the UO, will serve initially in this post. A formal plan for the degree program is already in place and an agreement has been signed between COCC and the UO to begin a bachelor of arts degree in humanities in fall 2001. Nicols received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and has been at the UO since 1980. Kathy Walsh, instructional dean at COCC, will serve as site director for the humanities degree program. Walsh holds a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia and has worked at COCC since 1990.

• Director, Division of Education. Nancy Golden, the UO’s director of administrative licensure, will serve initially in this post. Golden, who holds a Ph.D. from the UO, currently directs and teaches in an administrative licensure program in Central Oregon.

• Director, Division of Extended Studies. Richard Markwood, currently director of the Central Oregon University Center, has committed to work with the UO to direct the continuation of the successful programs initiated through the University Center, as well as other extended study programs under consideration.

"We will work with the universities currently providing programs through the Central Oregon University Center to support their efforts to continue these programs and facilitate the progress of students in obtaining these degrees, minors and certificates," said UO Provost Moseley.

Future announcements are pending on other leadership positions.

Concerning campus structure, the UO proposes to initiate a Central Oregon campus with a yet-to-be-named college that will be a part of the university in the same way as its colleges in Eugene. These include the College of Arts and Sciences, the Charles H. Lundquist College of Business and the College of Education.

The Central Oregon college will begin with the five divisions listed above and with a variety of programs within each division.

"The decisions to offer these degrees and programs are the result of extensive discussions with interested parties in Central Oregon, as well as information from surveys conducted by the Oregon University System (OUS), the University Center and COCC," said Moseley. "I personally have met extensively with faculty and administrators at COCC, members of the Central Oregon Regional Adivsory Board (CORAB), business and technology leaders and other interested parties."

Other UO faculty and administrators are in Central Oregon and on the COCC campus almost daily developing and refining the university’s proposal, Moseley said.

Although final decisions are pending about specific programs to be offered in the first biennium, programs such as those listed below are under consideration. The minors listed may depend on courses offered through the Division of Extended Studies by other OUS institutions. An asterisk indicates these.

"We believe our people, our programs and our history in the region position us to provide the kind of excellence in higher education that Central Oregon needs and deserves," said Frohnmayer.

The UO’s history of involvement in Central Oregon includes numerous field programs each year, the Community Service Workshops, the Resource Assistance for Rural Environments program, educational administration and teacher training programs, and the Pine Mountain Observatory.

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