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Today at 3PM: Senate on Honors College restart, romantic relationships, multicultural

DRAFT

Location: EMU 145 & 146 (Crater Lake Rooms)
3:00 – 5:00 P.M.

3:00 P.M.   Call to Order

  • Introductory Remarks; Senate President Chris Sinclair
  • Update from Johnson Hall

3:20 P.M. Approval of Minutes, February 14, 2018 & Consent Calendar

3:25 P.M.   Business

  • Clark Honors College; Karen Ford, Divisional Dean for CAS Humanities
  • Discussion: Romantic Relationships; Sonja Boos
  • Motion Intro: Learning Outcomes; Chris Sinclair
  • Multicultual Requirement; Lee Rumbarger, Alison Gash, Avinnash Tiwari and Michael Hames-Garcia

4:50 P.M.   Open Discussion
4:50 P.M.   Reports
4:50 P.M.   Notice(s) of Motion

  • Department Honors

4:50 P.M.   Other Business
5:00 P.M.   Adjourn

And, after adjourning:

Faculty club provides opportunity to buttonhole Banavar, Blonigen, Scher

Last week’s Faculty club sessions with Sarah Nutter (Bus Dean) and Andrew Marcus (CAS Dean) were as close to capacity as I’ve seen the faculty club, although Hal Sadofsky (CAS-Science) blew it off to go skiing – which in my metrics counts as an excused absence.

This Wed we have Jayanth Banavar (Provost), followed Th by Bruce Blonigen (CAS), and Phil Scher (CAS):

Dear Colleagues,

The Faculty Club will be meeting this week, during the usual hours (Wednesdays and Thursdays 5:00-8:00 pm).

On Wednesday the tone will be more literary than ever, as the English Department will be gathering at the corner tables.  Also this week the UO Senate-sponsored “Talk to Your Dean Night” series continues, with key university leaders making themselves available to discuss any and all topics over drinks & hors-d’oeuvres.  Jayanth Banavar (Provost) will be holding forth on Wednesday, and Bruce Blonigen (Dean of Faculty for CAS) will be hosting on Thursday—come chat them up and see what “makes them tick.”

Hope to see you either night, or both nights!

Yours, James Harper
Chair of the Faculty Club Board

+++++++++++++++++++++++

WHO: The UO Faculty Club is open to all UO statutory faculty—tenure-track faculty, career non-tenure-track faculty, and OAs tenured in an academic department, as well as people retired from positions in these categories.  Eligible people may bring anyone they like as guests.

WHAT: Complimentary hors d’oeuvres and coffee; cash bar with beer, wine, liquor and non-alcoholic beverages.

WHERE: The Faculty Club meets in a designated room on the ground floor of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art.  Enter at the museum’s main entrance and turn right; the club room is right off the lobby.

WHEN: Wednesdays 5:00-8:00 pm; Thursdays 5:00-8:00 pm, from through the end of the Winter Term.

7 Comments

  1. A Non 02/27/2018

    They should have a “Bring your Pathetic Unwashed Illiterate Staff Day” once a year. I’d like to attend.

    • uomatters Post author | 02/27/2018

      I’d be honored to bring you as a guest. Hell, I’ve even brought a few journalists.

    • Dog 02/27/2018

      No its just unwashed pathetic faculty that are allowed to hang with the power and provide input from out illiterate point of view

  2. honest Uncle Bernie 02/28/2018

    Three very fraught issues. Let me talk just about the Honors College. It sounds like they basically want to dismantle it and replace it with an “honors program” like most schools have.

    I hope they are very careful. The Clark HC has attracted a goodly fraction of the best UO students, is my understanding. Will downgrading it degrade the draw of top students? I hope not.

    In lowering tuition, are they planning eventually to cheapen the offerings of the HC/HP? I hope not. The differential tuition seemed reasonable to me. It costs more, if you don’t think it’s worth it, don’t go for it. The HC is certainly cheaper by far (to instate students) than most quality small liberal arts colleges.

    The dropout rate a problem? Well, the dropout rate from a lot of majors is high. Is it surprising that a lot of students would try the HC and decide it is not their cup of tea?

    If they do absorb the HC faculty into the regular departments, it will eventually not be the HC experience, whatever it turns into.

    I hear the stuff about insularity, the problems of science students, the possible problems with HC science faculty. But look before you leap, I say!

    There has been little open discussion of the HC, as far as I can tell. Maybe it’s good that it’s getting going with this Senate meeting. I hope the faculty doesn’t leave it all up to the Admin, which, frankly, does not inspired complete confidence.

    Rumor has it that internal politics of the HC, the former Dean, perhaps the UO Board all play into this. If true, not a great basis for major changes in something that, on the whole, I think has been playing a positive role at UO.

    • Dog 02/28/2018

      Yes there are lots of rumors, and yes the former Dean created part of the current problem. Unfortunately, as with all things UO, we will never know the truth behind the current impetus for change, although some of it may be knee jerk reaction to the know public 40% dropout rate number – still over reactions are not a solution.

      For me, the most sensible re-org will bring faculty in the HC and faculty in CAS into a more cooperate and collaborative arrangement that will produce better kinds of classes to teach, in both units, and. more significantly. better kinds of mentor-ship for the HC Sr, Thesis.

      Does the Admin even inspire half-ass confidence?

  3. Andy Stahl 02/28/2018

    Professor Boos says “your adviser keeps having coffee with another student who is competing [for] the same job . . . it’s utterly unfair.” Setting aside that “having coffee” is not “having sex,” why are sexual relations more unfair than golfing, hiking, or dancing relations? Fraternization of any kind between faculty and students can create the appearance of favoritism. Indeed, getting to know a student better can create real favoritism. So don’t stop at banning sexual relations between faculty and students — ban all outside-the-classroom interactions. Only then can the academy be fair, just like real life.

    • Dog 02/28/2018

      Doggie Award for this post – Free Slobber

      Indeed, all of us faculty should teach all of our students in a uniform and inert manner as equal empty buckets so that we
      fulfill the Party Metrics. This is especially true in the case of
      those pesky HC students that want to have coffee with you.

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