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December 15th, UO Constitution Day

December 15 is UO Constitution Day. The UO Constitution lays out the division of responsibilities between the UO President and the UO Faculty, and the procedures for resolving disputes. It was adopted by the UO Faculty Assembly on December 7th 2011, and signed by UO President Richard Lariviere on December 15th.

In honor of the event I am posting a history of the Constitution, from the pseudonymous “Old Man”. As prelude, here is the video from the Assembly meeting. The introduction by Senate President Robert Kyr (Music) is followed by Susan Gary (Law), John Bonine (Law) and Peter Keyes (Architecture) giving excellent explanations of what the constitution means:

Screen Shot 2015-12-14 at 10.13.18 PM

I had no involvement in writing the constitution or its adoption. I would appreciate it if those who did would post comments and corrections.

The History of the UO Constitution

(and the Policy on Policies)

as Recalled by the Old Man­­­

Introduction: This document recounts the loss of the University’s century-old tradition of faculty governance, enshrined in its Charter, and events leading to its recovery through the creation and adoption of the Constitution of the University of Oregon.

University of Oregon Charter

“The President and professors constitute the faculty of the University, and, as such, shall have the immediate government and discipline of it and the students therein…”

Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) § 352.010; originally section 14 of Law No. 9, Oregon Laws 1876

The Good Old Days

Long overdue VPFA office shakeup over AAEO, UOPD, etc

Another positive move by President Schill to address longstanding problems in Johnson Hall. Announcement here: Organizational Changes in Finance and Administration December 10, 2015 Dear Colleagues– I am very pleased to announce a number of changes within the Finance and Administration (VPFA) portfolio, all of which are aimed at improving…

Costs of corruption fall as top Oregonian political reporters leave

You don’t have to be an economist to figure out what will happen to the quantity of political corruption in Oregon without the oversight that these reporters have provided. Nigel Jaquiss of WWeek has the bad news, here: Metro columnist Steve Duin, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Read, senior political reporter…

Public Records Office will slash costs of transparency using Cognos

Great news from “Around the O”! This promises a drastic improvement in public records response time, and big reductions in the delays and fees the university uses to discourage the public from getting information. While Public Records Director Lisa Thornton can be extremely efficient when it’s helpful to Johnson Hall, e.g.…

UO hires Barran Liebman to defend against Morlock retaliation claim

12/8/2015:  Don’t cry for our old friends at Harrang, Long, Gary and Rudnick. They’re still getting their share of billable hours from the long list of law firms making bank off UO’s legal troubles. This is just October: But HLGR was unable to stop the OPBE from proposing a $5K fine for UO Counseling Director Shelly Kerr over…

Black student demands, SCOTUS case on racial preferences, football

This is from 538, here, citing TheDemands.org: The most common demands, according to our analysis, have been for schools to increase the diversity of professors, offer sensitivity training to students and faculty members, and create or expand support for cultural centers on campus. The demands at more than a quarter of…

Kevin Reed’s office wants USA Today to pay for coaches’ NCAA reports

6/24/2019: At least they’ve stoped claiming they are faculty: https://publicrecords.uoregon.edu/content/contracts-and-compensation-2 Requester: Berkowitz, Steve Organization: USA Today Initial Request Date: 06/17/2019 Status: Awaiting Payment from Requester Request Completion Date: Pursuant to the applicable open-records law(s), I am requesting copies of the following: The current contract for head football coach, including all…

UO gives up public records for Lego model of Autzen, stalls other docs

Update: It seems UO did not give Lego Guy the drawings, since the architect held the copyright. I’m surprised, this sure seems like fair use. 12/7/2015: If you want public records to build a Lego model of Autzen stadium, UO’s public records office is there to help: But if you’re looking for something…