Classrooms, law center top building list
To help meet the growing need for classroom space due to enrollment increases, the university has moved new classrooms and teaching facilities for Arts and Sciences, Business and Law to the top of its annual wish list for capital construction projects.
This time, "pending favorable action by the 1997 legislature, it looks as though these projects are going to happen," says Christopher Ramey, University Planning director and architect.
The university took the first of many steps toward breaking ground for this long-awaited construction and renovation project when the State Board of Higher Education on April 19 approved UO plans for the $36-million campus development project.
The three-phase project is the first priority on the UO's list of 12 capital construction projects for the 1997-99 biennium.
Included is the addition of a 40,000-square-foot general classroom wing to Gilbert Hall, set to open in Fall 1998. The new 120,000-square-foot law school will open in 1999 at East 15th Avenue and Agate Street. The existing Law Center will be renovated by the year 2000 for use, primarily by Arts and Sciences, as general university classrooms and faculty offices.
In all, the project will create 3,000 new teaching stations to accommodate an anticipated increase in UO enrollment to 21,000 students by the year 2003.
University officials are not waiting for the state to finance the entire campus development project, Ramey says. The project will use $10.4 million from the sale of bonds to be repaid by the state, $19.9 million from gifts and grants, and $5.7 million from bond sales the university will repay.
Second on the priority list is renovation of Allen Hall, home of Journalism and Communication. If funded, the project would complete the current renovation of the basement and provide an additional 7,500 square feet for classroom space.
The remaining capital construction priorities, in order of rank, are:
Also proposed is to partially fund a Recreation and Fitness Center from the OSSHE system-wide student building fee fund. Students voted in 1995 to fund $9.36 million of this $18.370 million project.
Additionally, University Housing is requesting approval to repair Bean and Carson halls and to create a food court for Carson Hall for a total of $2.9 million. Funding for these projects would come from the sale of bonds to be repaid from housing income.
The UO capital construction list is the product of an extensive review. Originally, deans and directors submitted 43 proposals. The provost and vice president for administration reviewed these and identified the top 12 projects. Then, they screened the rest for placement on lists through the year 2003 and circulated the draft. After receiving comments, the vice presidents passed the list to President Dave Frohnmayer for final acceptance on behalf of the university.
The Oregon State System of Higher Education will review wish lists from the state's seven universities and colleges, then send its priorities to the governor's office which will pass them to the legislature.
--BARBARA GUARDINO, COMMUNICATIONS INTERN
Students, officials meet on racial issues
President Dave Frohnmayer and Provost John Moseley headed the roster of key university administrators who met April 24 with 40-50 students of color in a forum designed to air student concerns, increase understanding and strengthen dialogue about ways to make the UO a welcoming campus that honors diversity.
The two-and-one-half-hour facilitated discussion at the ASUO Multicultural Center covered a wide range of topics and concerns, including five recommendations delivered to the President's Office by Students Against Hate and Discrimination following a rally April 18.
Frohnmayer explained that officials are looking at what resources are available to establish a full-time paid race relations advocate position. If resources can be found, then he pledged that students of color will be invited to participate fully in creation of the post.
Moseley announced that the Arts and Sciences curriculum committee has given unanimous approval to a proposed Ethnic Studies department which, if it continues to move successfully through review processes, could open as early as fall 1997.
Vice Provost Lorraine Davis reviewed the Target of Opportunity program and other efforts, which in the past four years have helped the university recruit and retain a dozen faculty and administrators of color. Ken Lehrman, Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity director, updated the group on the services and assistance his office offers with hiring and with discrimination complaints. He agreed that his staff would meet more often with members of ethnic student unions to help students become aware of those resources.
Stan Reeves, Public Safety director, reported that his multicultural staff is sensitive to diversity issues and responds to reports of racial and other hate crimes as soon as they learn of them. Acknowledging that administrators have not always learned of hate incidents as promptly as they would like, Dean of Student Life Wes Morrill told of efforts to speed notification and provide feedback to victims and support groups.
Frohnmayer and others said the university and its students share responsibility for educating themselves and others about matters of race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation. Besides the planned Ethnic Studies department, possible venues for such educational efforts include IntroDUCKtion and New Student Orientation.
The Race Task Force and the Advisory Council on Racial Issues hosted the forum. Mark Harris, a Lane Community College counselor, facilitated the session with assistance by Donna Wong, Academic Learning Services, and Gwen Tistadt, Counseling Center.
It's about making changes
Emilio Hernández Jr., director of the High School Equivalency Program, enjoys making impressions on how young people think and act.
"Confusion is good. I think that is why I like working with youth. If I can confuse them a little about what they have been brought up to think with regard to women or the disabled or people of color, I have a 50 percent chance of changing the way their phobic behavior will come out," he says.
In his fifth year as director, Hernández instills the importance of positive self-esteem in his students. "My father was adamant about education. He did not want me to end up working in the fields or on the railroad or some physical job the rest of my life.
"Well, that is the same stigma attached to these kids," he continues. "I want to equip them with as much as I can, so they realize they are somebody who can have a say in their future and in society."
A memorable realization of Hernández's goal came in his first couple of years as director.
"We had some students for whom HEP was their last stop before heading for two years of lock up. But these kids thought they were going to enjoy nonstop partying here at the university.
"Once we laid the rules down on them," he says, "they did not think they could control themselves because everything they had done before was run by the gang, and they always went with the gang. But I told them they were starting over, on their own, with an opportunity to leave all that behind."
Not only did they complete the program but they also said it was the best thing to have happened to them because it showed them somebody cared. "These are things that let me know we are working and making some changes," he says.
Hernández does find time for himself. He enjoys the gym, spends time with friends and reads. He and his son do a lot of mountain biking and hiking "to get my strength and energy back," he says.
"Life gives you beatings, but you have to get back up. That's what I tell my students. Everybody gets knocked down. But if you do not help yourself get up to at least one knee, nobody is going to help you get up all the way," he says.
-- COURTNEY HEDBERG, COMMUNICATIONS INTERN
Volunteers sought for University Day
More than 1,800 students, staff and faculty will join hands Thursday, May 16, to clean, paint, plant flowers, spread bark dust and complete other beautification jobs as part of University Day.
For the seventh year since the tradition was revived in 1990, diverse groups of volunteers will work together not only to improve the campus but also to break down barriers by finding common ground through teamwork, says student director Joann ZumBrunnen, Psychology.
"We encourage participation based on UO pride, but what we really want is for everyone to have a good time and enjoy the festive atmosphere of University Day," she says.
This year's special projects are a tree planting at noon by President Dave Frohnmayer in honor of Michael Casey and Frank Allard, the UO students lost in the Three Sisters Wilderness Area last November, and installation of a bench north of Gilbert Hall at 12:30 p.m. in honor of the UO Bookstore's 75th anniversary.
At 1 p.m., workers also will install a pole on each side of East 13th at University Street to simplify and reduce the costs of hanging banners for major campus events across the street. The Lane County UO Alumni Chapter is providing the poles.
The clean-up effort will begin at 8:30 a.m. and continue until 4:30 p.m. Participants will sign in at the Pioneer Father statue on East 13th, and those working at least one hour will receive a free commemorative T-shirt when they sign back in.
Faculty and staff are encouraged to participate with students or to undertake projects relevant to their department. For special department arrangements, call Tim King, 6-5256, or Greta Pressman, 6-2275.
University Day is organized by ZumBrunnen and a committee of students in conjunction with the Student Life staff. Besides Facilities Maintenance and Service, groups involved in arranging the event include Mortar Board, ASUO, Student Alumni Association, fraternities and sororities, Psi Chi Honor Society, Student Development, Public Safety, Erb Memorial Union, University Housing and the Office of the President.
For information, call Mary Hudzikiewicz, 6-1148.
Ed Artzt to receive UO Pioneer Award
Edwin L. Artzt, who rose through the ranks to become chief executive officer of one of the most successful companies in the world, will receive the University of Oregon Pioneer Award at a black-tie gala May 4 in Portland.
A 1951 UO journalism graduate, Artzt, 66, served as chief executive officer of Procter & Gamble from 1990-95. He now chairs the Procter & Gamble Board of Directors Executive Committee and is executive director of the board of the Barilla Group, an Italian food company.
Bulletin Board
Child-sitting, summer camp guides out
Directories listing students available for part-time or short-term child-sitting and summer opportunities for the children and youth of UO faculty, staff and student parents are just off the presses. Both guides, compiled by Child and Family Services, are free, and copies of each have been sent to departments campus-wide. For additional copies or more information, call Karen Logvin, 6-2962.
Have you re-programmed your cell phone?
When the permissive dialing period ends June 30 and you can no longer use the 503 area code in areas outside of northwestern Oregon, you won't be able to place or receive calls on your cellular phone unless you reprogram it. Lois Schmid, Telecommunications Services, says it's very likely you can program your phone yourself. With your cell phone in hand, and from a phone other than your cellular, call 1-800-260-9772 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. In a few minutes, an AT&T Wireless Services representative will talk you through the reprogramming process. If this doesn't work, call Schmid, 6-1017, who will arrange for someone from AT&T Wireless to visit your office to program the phone for you.
Football season ticket sales kick-off
Sales of 1996 Oregon football season tickets for faculty and staff are underway, with re-orders by those who purchased season passes last year due by Monday, May 6, to retain priority. Full-time employees may purchase up to two reserved season tickets for $115 each, a discount of $23 apiece from the regular price. General admission season tickets and a family plan covering two adults and three children also are available. To order, complete the ticket application recently mailed to employees and pay by check, VISA, MasterCard or payroll deduction. Return forms to the UO Ticket Office at the Casanova Center. Orders will be filled according to priority and postmark date, with Duck Athletic Fund members receiving top priority for Autzen Stadium seating. For information, call 6-4461.
Postage costs to climb July 1
Roy Lisi, University Mail Services, warns departments that postage costs will increase by 10-12 percent beginning July 1, thanks to a mail classification reform plan that reduces discounts for presorted mail. Lisi is exploring ways to take advantage of greater automation discounts and expects to hold campus meetings during May to describe the changes.
Our People
In the spotlight
Three Biology faculty members--Philip J. DeVries, Russell Lande and Janis C. Weeks--are among 158 artists, scholars and scientists selected as 1996 Guggenheim Fellows for their "unusually distinguished achievement in the past and exceptional promise for future accomplishment."
Peter Sercel, Physics, has been named recipient of an Army Research Office Young Investigator Award. Worth $50,000 a year for three years, the award will help fund Sercel's research on "Optical Spectroscopy of Quantum Dots."
Seven faculty members have been selected 1996-97 Oregon Humanities Center Teaching Fellows. They are Susan C. Anderson and Zoe P. Borovsky, Germanic Languages and Literatures; Carolyn Cartier, Geography; Jacqueline Cruz and Monica Szurmuk, Romance Languages; Kenneth Liberman, Sociology; and Gordon Sayre, English.
Greg Ringer, Recreation and Tourism Management adjunct, is the recipient of the Award for Best Dissertation 1993-95 from the Environmental Perceptions and Behavioral Geography specialty group of the Association of American Geographers.
Richard W. Castenholz, Biology, recently was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology for his outstanding contributions to the science and profession.
George Hecht, Campus Operations, has been selected to serve on the Oregon Quality Initiative's Quality Award board of examiners.
The Oregon Council of Career and Vocational Administrators presented the Oregon Career Information System staff headed by Cheryl Buhl with the Darrell Ward Professional Technical Education Service Award at their annual conference on April 8. This award recognizes the staff's quarter century of contributions to career and professional technical education excellence.
Blake Gillespie, Molecular Biology graduate research assistant, is the recipient of a Predoctoral Fellowship for Minority Students from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.
Barbara Y. Welke, History, was honored recently by the Organization of American Historians for the best doctoral dissertation in U.S. women's history, "Gendered Journey: A History of Injury, Public Transport and American Law, 1865-1920."
Lani Loken-Dahle, Physical Activity and Recreation Services, has been named coordinator of athlete services in the diving venue for the 1996 Olympic Games. A former 10-meter platform diving national champion, she was coordinator of athlete services for the Diving World Cup Championships in September 1995 in Atlanta.
On the move
Judith L. Musick is the new Center for the Study of Women in Society research and development coordinator. She will assist the center's research interest groups and affiliated scholars. A 1975 UO master's degree graduate, she received a doctoral degree in sociology from the University of California, San Francisco, in 1983 and has led and raised funds for issues of central concern to women.
In print
Richard Bear, Admissions, has published an electronic edition of Edmund Spenser's Complaints (1591) at http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~rbear/complaints.html In addition, 21 of the 23 poems in Bear's 1995 book, Desire for the Land, will appear in the next three issues of Bellowing Ark, a Seattle literary magazine.
Lawrence Crumb, Library, has published "John Henry Hobart and England: Two Unpublished Letters" in Anglican and Episcopal History, Vol. 65, No. 1 (March 1996).
Lani Loken-Dahle, Physical Activity and Recreation Services, is the author of "Olympic Educational Programs" in the January/February 1996 issue of Inside USA Diving.
On the podium
Steven Deutsch, Labor Education and Research, will give an invited keynote address on "The Future of Industrial Society" to the Friedrick-Ebert Stiftung Conference on May 8 in Cologne, Germany. Also in May, he will give two invited presentations on occupational health and safety to the Swedish Institute for Working Life in Stockholm, and he will present research seminars at four universities in Germany and Sweden.