Last summer they had this to say:
What a board can bring. Autonomy is about leadership, not just governance.
… The board will have authority over such matters as issuing bonds and hiring a president — but its real value will lie in its ability to provide leadership and support. President Michael Gottfredson, who has kept a low profile since arriving at the UO a year ago, will soon be guided and empowered by the new board.
Collectively, the nominees are a dynamo. Among them are top-tier business people such as Peter Bragdon of Columbia Sportswear and Ross Kari, chief financial officer of Freddie Mac. Major donors to the UO were nominated, including Allyn Ford of Roseburg Forest Products and Chuck Lillis of Lone Tree Partners. Several have strong connections to Eugene, including Ginerva Ralph of the Shedd Institute and the members chosen to represent students, faculty and staff. For star power, there’s Ann Curry of NBC.
These people won’t be content to be figureheads. They will expect the UO to perform as the state’s leading institution of learning and research, and as a primary engine for Oregon’s civic, cultural and economic development. All of them have achieved their various types of success through careful investments of their money, time and energy. Now they’re investing a part of their lives in the UO, demonstrating a commitment to the university and a faith in its potential.
A university president can benefit greatly by being able to turn to such a board for counsel. The board will also provide a layer of political insulation, protecting the president against pressure from the Legislature, the governor’s office and the state’s education bureaucracy. The board can provide vision for the UO, reinforce the president’s vision for the university, or both. And if a president proves lacking in either vision of his own or the ability to execute the vision of others, the board can replace him.
Today the editors discuss Gottfredson’s handling of the rape allegations. They don’t go so far as call on the board to replace him, but they go step by step through a few of his many failures of leadership, and of potential non-compliance with federal law. These matters clearly fall under the UO Board’s purview, and I have confidence they will act quickly and decisively when they take official control on July 1. And maybe even sooner. The damage to UO is already enormous.
Dangling loose ends at the UO. Questions abound about school’s early handling of sexual abuse report.
… If Gottfredson, and presumably other UO administrators, received the criminal report on April 24, why did it take nearly another week before Athletic Director Rob Mullens and men’s basketball Coach Dana Altman read the report on April 30?
How is it possible at a university with functioning phone and email systems for Gottfredson to know the identities of the accused players before the NCAA Tournament, but for Mullens and Altman to say they knew only that an unspecified investigation was underway against unspecified team members, and that they did not know their identities before Oregon played in the NCAA tournament? …
Just a few weeks ago, Gottfredson proclaimed that fighting sexual violence was a top campus priority, and he announced several steps that the school was taking to better identify, prevent and respond to cases of sexual assault.
“I write to reaffirm my commitment to ensuring a safe campus for all,” Gottfredson wrote in a campuswide message. “Anything less is contrary to the values of our institution, and to the commitment we make to our students and each other.”
“Anything less” sounds like a pretty good summary of the UO’s response to a March 9 report of sexual assault involving three basketball players.
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