No details, or any effort to explain why he is maintaining the subsidies for Duck Athletics and the law school. Link here:
University administrators have completed the process of identifying $11.6 million in budget reductions to the University of Oregon’s education and general fund.
President Michael H. Schill asked university leaders to make cuts to close a budget gap created by increasing costs due primarily to state-mandated PERS increases, contractually obligated salary and benefit increases, and a drop in international enrollment. The goal was to reduce the impact on current personnel as much as possible, a goal achieved through attrition and other cost-saving measures.
As part of the reductions, Schill identified areas that the provost and vice presidents should shield from reductions to every extent possible. This included programs focused on student success, public safety, revenue generation and the UO’s core mission of academics and research. …
As part of the reductions, Schill identified areas that the provost and vice presidents should shield from reductions to every extent possible. This included programs focused on student success, public safety, revenue generation and the UO’s core mission of academics and research. While a hiring freeze was not ordered, Schill did urge managers to try to preserve people’s positions by not filling vacancies, if possible.
Twenty individuals received notice that their positions will be eliminated and seven people received notice of reassignment or reduction in hours for a total of 27 affected people. Seventeen additional positions were eliminated by vacancies not being filled.
In addition, the university anticipates hiring approximately 10 fewer new, tenure-track faculty members and 25 fewer new graduate employees next year. Units also identified ways to save money by reducing program costs or delaying purchasing, and through other efficiencies. …
Good to know that libraries are no longer considered a part of UO’s core mission of academics and research
I wish I knew how much of the layoffs is due to new Tykeson hires. “Student success.” I have heard millions, maybe five. Does anyone know?
Nobody seems interested, they would rather fixate on athletics, ad infinitum, decade after decade, to no effect whatever.
Another thing. UO has about 7% tuition increase. OSU 4%, WOU 2%. What is the layoff situation at those places, anyone know?
As a wild guess, probably athletics and the law school are favored because donors writing the fat checks like the idea.
More baffling is why the Oregon state government, which has been all but monopolized by the Democrats for decades, is not properly funding the state universities. Back when I was a tyke, the Dems were nothing if not the party of education.
Defunding of public unis has occurred with nearly every state, regardless if they’re red or blue. The question is who benefits from the $1.6 trillion in student loan debt?
Seems true, but not sure that explains Oregon. In red states, conservatives have defunded public universities for pretty clear reasons. Public universities have become largely anti-conservative, so why would conservatives support them?
Not obvious why the blue Oregon government doesn’t put up a fight for higher ed, though.
As for the “who benefits?”, sure, the legislature could be in the pockets of the big banks. But if the Dems have been suborned, what good are they?
But that’s the point. Political affiliations mean nothing because the decision to decrease state funding has been replaced by student debt that’s not finding its way to the classroom. Instead, those loans are used to collatralize the campus building projects taking place across the country. Your UC colleagues did a study on the connection between university construction bonds and student loan collateral for that debt.
They Pledged Your Tuition – The Council of UC Faculty Associations
cucfa.org/news/2009_oct11
If we think about it, whoever invests in those bonds doesn’t need the building to support their investment. What’s a Swiss insurance company, or Asian bank, want, or need, a student recreation center in Eugene, OR? What they want is all that yummy, Federally guaranteed student loan income stream. It’s those institutions, as well as the Wall Street bond palaces, that control universities. It makes no difference what hue the state claims…
Oregon is a hick state as its dominated by rural counties in the legislature – the majority of the population (pdx eug corridor) may be liberal, but our legislature has always been backward – for the record my interaction with oregon legislature goes all the way back to when Tom McCall was governor, a governor that actually exercised leadership.
In the 1980s the Oregon State Legislature was quite supportive of higher ed, then measure 5 happened in 1990 and everything related to higher ed changed for the worse.
For context, here are links for Measure 5 and party control of the Oregon state government over recent decades.
Putting it as charitably as possible, apparently the Democrats have had the state most of the time but only by a razor-thin margin. Thus, any attempt to effect their platform priorities has been stymied by political realities.
Not sure I buy that, but it could be so.
The harsh irony is that measure 5 was passed by majorities in cool places like Portland and coastal cities, not in most of the hick counties.
Without the subsidies for athletics, how could they afford to fill important positions, like the “Director of Creativity for Men’s Basketball” that they’re currently looking to fill?
http://careers.uoregon.edu/cw/en-us/job/524246/director-of-creativity-for-mens-basketball
Stlvestrus – and so my head bangs even harder.
A lifetime of sincere public service I have done.
I despair.