April 10, 1998
All UO employees will have an opportunity to get a jump on implementing a key element of the Process for Change this spring by taking part in an April 30 workshop and follow-up discussions in May about customer service.
Organized by the University Management Association and Human Resources, the campus-wide event, "Customer Service in Higher Education: Fostering a Student-Centered Campus," is set from 9-11 a.m. in the EMU Ballroom and is open to all members of the campus community.
"The Process for Change is about preparing for the challenges and changes ahead," says UMA Chair Kathie Stanley, Student Academic Affairs. "As we look for ways to become more competitive in a student-centered marketplace, we must not overlook the critical role customer service plays in achieving our goals."
She says the workshop and related discussions are intended to increase awareness that customer service is an important part of every job on campus, to provide a mechanism for institutionalizing the importance and value of customer service in campus departments, and to consider concrete ideas for assessing and improving service.
During the April 30 session, President Dave Frohnmayer will present his thoughts on the relationship of customer service to a student-centered education. In his remarks, he will challenge all members of the campus community to understand their role and the importance of customer service in every job, from custodian to professor.
Then keynote speaker Bernice Johnston, president of Milestone Unlimited, Inc., a Portland consulting firm, will give participants some tools to implement Frohnmayer's vision. Johnston, a UO alumna, will present "real world" examples of good and bad customer service in higher education and will respond to attendees' questions.
The customer service event will serve as a launching point for future round-table discussions of a number of UO-specific customer service issues. Each group will be asked to brainstorm ideas, problems and solutions and to present the results of these discussions as a list of recommendations to central administration staff.
The breakout groups will convene twice during May--from 2-3:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 7, and from 9-10:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 21--to discuss the following topics:
Participants may attend one or both follow-up sessions and may select a different topic for each. Groups will be facilitated by a selected member of the faculty or staff who will receive a one-hour training with Johnston immediately following the April 30 general session.
Ideas generated from the round-table discussions will be forwarded to the university administration, will be posted on the UMA website and will be sent to Human Resources, which may use them to determine the need for and identify additional training opportunities.
To sign up for the April 30 workshop, call Human Resources, 6-3159, by April 28. For further information, browse http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~umac/workshop.html.
If you haven't already checked out the university's next-generation home page on the web, give it a spin at http://www.uoregon.edu.
Launched on March 30, the UO's new "electronic front door" is the product of a review committee appointed by President Dave Frohnmayer that worked for several months on a revised and improved page designed to speed access for visitors.
"The new version loads faster, offers more links and gets people where they need to go more easily than the previous page," says University Computing Center Director Joanne Hugi, cochair of the university committee charged with the redesign.
After taking into account comments from a wide variety of web users, both on- and off-campus, and soliciting design ideas from across the UO, the committee worked with University Computing designer Michael Stearns to finalize the new page. While retaining some much-liked elements of the previous version--especially the ability to run a changing array of news items--the new page speeds users on their way through a much wider choice of links to other sites.
"For instance, those, especially from outside the local area, still may find out what the weather's like in Eugene from an expanded listing linked to the 'Weather' button," Stearns says.
The new version also offers users some new information. A revamped "Welcome" link offers visitors a list of UO achievements as well as direct connections to various schools.
Of special interest to on-campus users is the new "Administration" page. Functioning as a quasi-intranet, this site makes it possible for UO faculty and staff to quickly access information on important internal issues, such as the current Process for Change.
In addition, the page's green banner and overall layout have been designed for easy adoption should other campus units desire a new look for their web pages.
Submit questions or comments on the new design by e-mail to the UO webmasters at www-feedback@lists.uoregon.edu.
Final reports by all 18 Solution Teams participating in the UO Process for Change are now available for review and comment on the Web.
"After reading all of the reports, I was truly impressed with the quality of thought, the commitment, the consistency and the many excellent ideas which are contained in this set of documents," says Provost John Moseley, noting that participants deserve thanks and commendation. "I urge you to review them yourselves and to submit additional feedback."
Moseley says the Faculty Advisory Council, the Senate Executive Committee, the Dean's Council and the President's Small Executive Staff already are using the Solution Teams' "excellent ideas to develop some specific, unified proposals that will be terrific" for consideration and implementation, possibly as early as this spring.
From the UO home page, click on "Administration," then the Process for Change article and follow the link to the Process for Change page at http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~acadaff/change/process.html. You also can link directly to the Solution Teams site at http://pythia.uoregon.edu/~llynch/solutions.html.
Instructional faculty and GTFs who understand the contributions that technology can make to improved teaching, yet consider themselves novices in using the tools of the Information Age, are no longer on their own.
The Teaching Effectiveness Program (TEP), celebrating its 10th anniversary this month, has developed a teaching-with-technology "house call" service to help just such instructors.
"If you would like to discuss trying to improve your teaching with technology, TEP staff will come to your office, listen to how you teach and discuss how technology might help--at your speed, in language you understand and within your time and technology constraints," says Michael Sweet, TEP assistant coordinator. "They will even teach you the computer skills you need, one-on-one, right there in your office."
Sweet says teachers who offer in-class and on-line discussion commonly report that the groups who participate in writing on-line are often completely distinct from those who comment in class. Many professors believe they are reaching students they otherwise would not.
On the other hand, Eric Reimer, English GTF, avoids the slow and difficult process of getting a conversation going in his discussion section by having his students briefly respond to assigned readings via e-mail before each class meets. Once class is in session, he asks individual students to elaborate on, defend or respond to their e-mail views.
For larger lecture classes, Ron Mitchell, Political Science, uses brief questionnaires on his website to determine the unspoken political views of his students. Then he challenges the majority viewpoint by taking an opposing position in his lectures, opening conceptual dialogues when students object to his statements.
To learn more about these techniques or to schedule a teaching-with-technology "house call," call Sweet, 6-2123, send e-mail to mssweet@oregon or visit http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~tep/artt/house_calls/.
A generous contribution has helped to rejuvenate an "aging" classroom in the Education building.
Named the "Amy-Dor Room" at a March 13 ribbon-cutting ceremony, the fully refurbished classroom is located in a building that has not had much remodeling since it was the University High School many years ago.
The renovation was funded by a $20,000 gift from Dick Becher of Portland, matched with funds from the Education Deans Fund for Excellence.
The classroom was re-designed with the needs of today's education student in mind. Included are multiple chalk boards, ceiling-mounted projection systems and wiring with direct connections to the UO computer network. One of the fundamental changes is that it has adequate electrical wiring to handle the technological equipment, something that most university classrooms still don't have.
The room's old standard desks also were replaced with newer, more comfortable furniture that is easier to use for small-group work during class.
Becher learned of Education's need to remodel the classroom through his friendship with Dorothy Jernstedt, a UO Foundation trustee, leadership gift donor, chair of the Dean's Advisory Council and an Education alumna.
Becher didn't seek name recognition for his contribution but instead suggested that the room be named "Amy-Dor" to honor his daughter Amy Becher, an Education graduate, and his close friend, Dorothy Jernstedt, who most people know by her nickname, Dody.
WE'VE SEEN THE ERROR OF OUR WAYS... Two errors slipped past the eagle eyes of our proofreaders on page 2 the March 13 issue. We'd like to claim it was a test to see if our readers were alert ... and several of you jumped right on it, so you are! Anyway, we do know how to spell "recommend" and that one of the six barriers to progress is budget processes that obscure what specific services the state is buying.
IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING why the mature tree at the northeast corner of Chapman Hall is no longer there, the red maple was removed during spring break before the added weight of leaves sprouting from its branches caused a limb to break off or the entire tree to blow down in a future storm. A recent routine inspection revealed two large cavities in the trunk and two significant cracks in the main limbs. What the inspection hadn't revealed was a squirrel nest in the tree, which was relocated successfully to a nearby tree before the hazardous tree was removed. Campus and grounds supervisor Tim King says the red maple will be replaced within a year so the impact on the appearance of campus, with its arboretum of 4,000 trees, should be short-term.
UO RESEARCH IS IN THE SPOTLIGHT FOR ALL THE WORLD TO SEE. Through April 13, the Science Coalition is featuring a web page showcasing Oregon researchers. Check it out at http://www.sciencecoalition.org/oncampus/oregon/oregon.htm.
IF YOU HAVEN'T YET SUBMITTED YOUR NOMINATIONS of faculty for the Ersted and the Thomas F. Herman awards for distinguished teaching, you still can suggest someone for these significant awards, to be bestowed June 13 during Spring Commencement, if you get your nomination to the Provost's Office by Monday, April 13. For information, call 6-3081.
TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY is the subject of a Teaching Effectiveness Program short course scheduled Aug. 17-28. Faculty interested in learning about how instructional technology could have a positive impact on student learning may submit a one-page proposal by April 15, to Academic Affairs. For information, call Georgeanne Cooper, 6-2177, or Michael Sweet, 6-2123.
GRADUATE TEACHING FELLOW AWARD NOMINATIONS are due April 20 at the Graduate School. Two $500 awards recognize excellence in teaching and academic guidance by GTFs involved in classroom or laboratory teaching. For nomination forms and information, call 6-5129.
In the spotlight
Elected to the new Undergraduate Council, created by the University Senate in November 1997, are Arts and Sciences members Henry Alley, Honors College; Dan Pope, History; Dick Koch, Mathematics; Jack Watson, Theater Arts; and Jim Long, Chemistry. Members from professional schools and colleges are Kathleen Nicholson, Art History; Megan Partch, Finance; Mary Gleason-Ricker, Special Education and Community Resources; Stephen Ponder, Journalism and Communication; and Robert Hurwitz, Music.
Nine recipients of Classified Employee and Officer of Administration Recognition Awards were honored April 2 during a campus reception. Classified staff recognized for their outstanding service were Sharla Davis, Knight Library; Bonnie Faulk, Career Center; Tim Hehn, Law; Suzanne van Kleist, Business Affairs; and Stephen Willow, Facilities Services. Recipients of the new officer of administration awards were Stephanie Carnahan, Student Life; Ronald Finley, Intercollegiate Athletics; Joanne Hugi, Computing Center; and Joan Nelson, Printing/Mailing Services.
Jim Brau, Physics, is a member of the National Research Council Committee on Elementary Particle Physics and the Department of Energy Subpanel on Planning for the Future of U.S. High Energy Physics which called in February for building one of three colliders so physicists can assemble a complete picture of the particles and forces that constitute the world.
On the move
Joining Business Affairs since last fall are Paolina Toncinich and Kristen Wilson, Perkins/NDSL Loan account representatives; Susan Nguyen, a Payroll Office retirement specialist; Sharon Trigg, a Payroll Office student payroll specialist; Terrie Penfold, a new PSS buyer; Cindy Early, quality assurance coordinator in Financial Management; Yvonne Bouchard and Thomas Morter, tellers in the Cashier's Office; JoAnn Keel, Payroll Office accounting technician; and Ruth Backer, vendor coordinator in Accounts Payable. In addition, Josh Moore has moved from Student Payroll to GTF Specialist in the Payroll Office.
Eric McCready rejoined the Development Office on April 1 after several years as chief fund-raiser for the High Desert Museum in Bend. He will direct the Portland Development Program, with some assignments in Bend and eastern Oregon as well.
Joan Nelson, Printing and Mailing Services, retired in March after more than 25 years at the university.
In Print/On Display
Oklahoma University Press will publish as a book the doctoral dissertation of John Shurts, History alumnus, about a key 1905 Supreme Court decision that guides water law in the 20th-century west.
Guntis Plesums, Architecture emeritus, contributed eight entries on Latvian and Japanese vernacular architecture to Volume 2 of The Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World (Cambridge University Press, 1997).
On the podium/stage
Gaylene Carpenter, Academic Affairs, presented "Programming for the New Millenium" at the Administrator's Academy sponsored by the International Northwest Parks and Recreation Association in British Columbia.
Wayne T. Westling, Law, will present two workshops at the Worldwide Advocacy Conference scheduled June 29-July 3 by Inns of Court School of Law in London.
In memoriam
Beverly Fagot, Psychology, died March 27 in Eugene of complications from breast cancer. A major figure in developmental psychology, Fagot, 60, conducted pioneering studies of gender typing and of the development of children's behavior problems. A graduate of Occidental College and the University of Oregon, she had worked on campus since 1965, first in Academic Advising which she directed from 1969 to 1977, then in Psychology since 1978. A memorial service is planned at a later date. Memorial contributions may be made to Birth to Three, Planned Parenthood and the Eugene Relief Nursery.