May 19, 1998
Assembly to hear Frohnmayer's Process for Change report May 20
All members of the university community are invited to hear President Frohnmayer when he presents a report on the yearlong Process for Change project to a special meeting of the University Assembly set for 3-4:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 20, in 150 Columbia.
"As we look toward the 21st century, we recognize a new series of challenges which call the university to higher accomplishment, to renewed commitment to our core educational mission and to service to the state, and to the continuous improvement of the university in all of its aspects," the president wrote in a report on the major ideas and recommendations coming from the Solution Teams.
The president's report includes a set of proposals outlining new initiatives that are needed to meet these challenges. The proposals are taken from the "excellent work of those who have participated in the Process for Change," Frohnmayer said.
The full report, "The University of Oregon in the 21st Century: Reaching Higher--Reaching Out," is available from the UO home page at http://www.uoregon.edu. Additional Process for Change reports are available at the Administration button on the UO home page.
Key points that the president will introduce--and that will frame campus discussion and implementation in the coming months--are:
He said that broad participation in the Process for Change is a strong indication of the commitment of the UO community to excellence in education and in service to Oregon.
"Although much work remains to be done to turn these ideas into new achievements for the university, we are committed as a community to succeed in these achievements," he said. "With our best and most creative efforts, and support from the State of Oregon, the end of the next decade will find the University of Oregon to be not just a `rising star' among public research universities, but to be a university recognized as one of the very best in the world."
Open enrollment is underway for the domestic partner benefits approved unanimously April 21 by the Public Employees' Benefit Board (PEBB).
Faculty and staff employees who already have a PEBB medical and/or dental plan may obtain enrollment packets from PEBB, 1 (800) 788-0520, or by sending e-mail to Inquiries.Pebb@state.OR.US.
To qualify, the PEBB-covered member must complete, sign and return the required Affidavit of Domestic Partnership and enrollment forms no later than May 31 to Human Resources. Coverage will be effective June 1. For information, call PEBB or Human Resources Benefits, 6-3085.
Bruce Mason was planning to spend his birthday night kicking back and spending time with his wife. Instead, he spent it saving lives.
The coordinator of the Outdoor Program was at home on the evening of April 21 enjoying a quiet moment at his McKenzie River-front home, when he witnessed a two-person raft float by, filled with five, life-jacketless teenagers dressed only in swim suits and equipped with two small plastic paddles.
Thinking correctly that the scene was an accident waiting to happen, Mason jumped into action. He ran down the road paralleling the river and, upon hearing screams coming from the raft, quickly borrowed a neighbor's bicycle and peddled home to get his rescue gear.
"When I returned, the raft had run into trouble, three of the boys were out of the river on a small island and one was in the river, snagged on a branch," said Mason. He swam to the island and released the trapped boy, then heard screaming from another small island 80 feet down the river.
"This island was pretty inaccessible, so I had to swim out to him with the rope in my teeth and was able to tow him in using their little raft. It was a close call because he was starting to get hypothermic," said Mason.
Mason was able to bring all the teens to safety, a rescue mission which took one-and-a-half hours and was beyond the capability of a local emergency crew that responded to the scene but didn't have appropriate river rescue gear.
"Afterward, I gave the boys a talking to about water safety, the importance of being prepared and the dangers of a deceptively calm looking river. I hope they learned their lesson," Mason said.
Despite his actions, Mason doesn't consider himself a hero.
"I just did what anybody in my position would have done under the circumstances," he said.
A UO committee charged with reviewing the present status and future prospects of the Riverfront Research Park is seeking comment from the public.
"The committee wants information, suggestions and reasoned arguments about how best to shape the future development of the Riverfront Research Park," says panel chair Theodore Palmer, Mathematics.
A public forum is set for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 28, in the EMU Fir Room.
In addition, the committee encourages sending written comments by e-mail to rrpreview@lists.uoregon.edu or by campus mail to: Riverfront Research Park Review Committee, c/o President's Office.
Palmer emphasizes that this is not any kind of public poll, but rather an opportunity for community members to present written comment on matters connected with the Riverfront Research Park. The 67-acre park north of campus is on the south bank of the Willamette River.
The committee, recently appointed by President Dave Frohnmayer after consultation with the Faculty Advisory Council and the University Senate, consists of Palmer and Paul Engelking, Chemistry; Debbie Gautelli-Steinberg, Anthropology graduate student; Eugene attorney Tom Hoyt; Dave Hubin, President's Office; Joanne Hugi, University Computing; Michelle Johnson, ASUO student senator; and Marian Smith, Music.
In appointing the committee, Frohnmayer stressed that there had not been an outside review of the research park for a decade, and that he wanted candid advice on the subject. The review panel expects to submit a report to Frohnmayer by mid-September.
As the July 1 start of a new fiscal year nears, Susan Storch, the university archivist, wants to be sure that the thousands of records created by campus offices find a suitable resting place. In most cases, round-filing them is NOT an option!
"Right now, the university is prohibited from destroying any university records due to the lawsuit of the State of Oregon v. The Tobacco Industry," she says. "However, non-record material may still be destroyed."
Non-record material includes photocopies of records kept by staff for their own use; reference materials collected by employees for their own use, including magazine and newspaper articles; and university publications which are not produced by the department or which are not the record copy.
She advises using the Records Schedule, available from Archives, to identify which department holds the record or an official copy of university records.
Storch also reminds all campus employees that the Records Schedule is still in effect.
"No university records included in the schedule can be destroyed before their retention period has expired, except non-records as defined above," she stresses. "The schedule, however, does not overrule the prohibition on records destruction which we are under right now."
She advises being very careful about disposal of materials which contain confidential information.
"Any piece of paper which contains confidential material about any individual must be confidentially destroyed even if it is not an official record," she says. "Currently, Archives is working on the issue of confidential destruction. You should not send any confidential material to University Recycling unless you have first obliterated the information."
Storch, a graduate of McGill University and the University of Massachusetts-Boston who succeeded long-time archivist Keith Richard after he retired in October 1996, suggests that offices wanting to make space in their filing cabinets should consider sending some records to archives for storage.
"You should only send materials that you will not need to access more than once every six months," she says. "Transmittal forms, lists of the files and proper storage cartons are required. Archives will provide boxes, transmittal forms and instructions. You can also get the instructions and fill out the forms on-line."
For instructions and on-line and Microsoft Word versions of the forms, visit http://libweb.uoregon.edu/speccoll/archives/form_intro.html. For boxes and to arrange box pick-up, call Sharla Davis, 6-3077. For other information, call Storch, 6-1899.
Three Institute of Molecular Biology scientists--Frederick Dahlquist and Tom Stevens, Chemistry, and Eric Selker, Biology--have been elected fellows of the American Academy of Microbiology. More than 1,300 fellows from 27 countries have been honored for their demonstrated scientific excellence, originality and leadership; high ethical standards; and scholarly and creative achievement.
Nancy Heapes, Physical Activity and Recreation Services, has received the Ray Heidenrich Honor Award for Exceptional Volunteer Service from the Lane County Chapter of the American Red Cross.
In December, Tom Mills, International Education and Exchange director, served on the selection committee for administrative Fulbrights to Japan. Last spring, Mills accompanied President Dave Frohnmayer on a trip to international exchange universities in Japan and Korea. He also traveled to France for the Northwest Council on Study Abroad to establish a program for UO students at the Catholic University of the West, Angers.
Ginny Stark, International Education and Exchange associate director, is one of six people invited to review applications of students from the Newly Independent States (former Soviet Union) who have applied to study in the United States under the federally funded Freedom Support Act Undergraduate Program.
Jack Rice, Academic Affairs, has been designated the university's advocate for classroom space development. With assistance from Greg Bothun, Physics, he will seek faculty input on the condition of classrooms and will provide information and recommendations to the Space Committee.
Heidi Baer-Postigo, overseas study coordinator for the past three years, is replacing Peter Briggs as an international student adviser in International Education and Exchange. She also will direct the International Cultural Service Program and will coordinate orientations for international students. Replacing her is Rebecca Easton, a two-year Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras and resident director of a study abroad program in Botswana. Easton will coordinate UO overseas study programs in Spain, Mexico, Ecuador and Ghana.
Kelli Cole has joined the Arts and Sciences development staff as executive assistant and office coordinator. She previously worked for United Way of Lane County, Aster Publishing and Family Resources, Inc.
Three faculty members--Daniel Goldrich, Political Science; Frank Okada, Fine and Applied Arts; and Philip D. Young, Anthropology--have retired after distinguished careers and been given the title of Professor Emeritus.
Exile and Return: Ernst Neizvestny and the Politics of Art in the USSR and Post-Soviet Russia by Albert Leong, Russian, has been accepted for publication by The University Press of America.
Tom Hager, Communications, is the author of Linus Pauling and the Chemistry of Life (Oxford University Press).
Members of the university community are invited to join in celebrating the life of Susan Trevitt-Clark at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 4, in the Hendricks Park shelter. A Map and Aerial Photography Library technician, Trevitt-Clark died April 15. She had worked in the Condon Hall "Map Room" for nearly 30 years.