11/2/2014: The most striking part of the story is the news that half our peers give their grad students the sick leave benefits our administration has been refusing to offer ours, “because of the principle”. Huh? Diane Dietz has the story in the RG. (link fixed). It’s a good sign…
Posts published by “uomatters”
September 5th announcement: Less than two months later: PORTLAND, Ore. – With just a few games left in the season, the Madison High School Varsity Football team will forfeit its remaining games. The varsity team started out with 72 players but those numbers have dwindled to 27, due to injuries…
The rest of the day seems to be none of the public’s damn business though: Still it’s a stark contrast with former President Gottfredson. While Dave Hubin made me pay him $108 dollars to see Gottfredson’s calendar, Coltrane has Greg Rikhoff post his schedule on the web – or at…
10/30/2014: About $800 per officer per game. Does this encourage them to go easy on lawbreaking Ducks, as apparently happened in Tallahassee with FSU? John Canzano raises the question in the Oregonian, here: I write this knowing that three UO men’s basketball players faced a sexual assault investigation that got tangled and…
What are the chances they’ll cut Shelton’s bloated salary to reflect his decreased responsibilities? The job ad for the permanent Dean of the Grad School is here: Note: UO Employees only The University of Oregon invites internal nominations and applications for the position of Dean of the Graduate School. This…
The budget for VPSA Robin Holmes’s office has grown from $2M to $5.5M in five years. Seems like a good place to find the funds for the Senate Task Force on Sexual Assault Prevention’s recommendations: Perhaps the overhead rates for Athletics and Greek Life should also be increased to reflect…
10/28/2014: The Senate Intercollegiate Athletics Committee voted today to approve the following resolution, over the objections of Professors Margie Paris (Law) and Kim Sheehan (Advertising):
Resolved:
The IAC affirms its support for the Senate Task Force on Sexual Assault Prevention recommendation #1.4, and will work to interpret and implement it.
[That recommendation states:
1.4. Empower the Senate Intercollegiate Athletics Committee (IAC) so that it can address
sexual violence issues as they pertain to athletics:
The elected Senate Intercollegiate Athletics Committee (IAC) is key to implementing education
about sexual violence. The 2014 NCAA report “Addressing Sexual Assault and Interpersonal
Violence: Athletics’ Role in Support of Healthy and Safe Campuses,” emphasizes the
importance of Athletics’ collaboration with the rest of the campus. The policy and practice of
faculty legislative involvement in oversight of intercollegiate athletics at the University of
Oregon date back to October 5, 1895. At that time, the Faculty Assembly, meeting with the
University President, voted to create the University Committee on Athletics. In September 1902,
the faculty added undergraduate students and alumni to the committee.24 The Intercollegiate
Athletics Committee of the University Senate operated in its current form for several decades
until former UO President Michael Gottfredson announced that the Athletic Department would
no longer meet with the IAC. Shared governance, an ideal and policy of the University of
Oregon since the adoption of its charter nearly 140 years ago, is essential to the adoption of
policies and practices that will reduce sexual violence at UO. It is essential that the University
President instruct the Athletic Department to cooperate with the Senate IAC on this important
matter. This cooperation must include a willingness to provide requested information and
cooperate with suggested programs, particularly on matters that can reduce instances of sexual
assault perpetrated by, or on, student athletes as well as promulgating more generally values and imagery regarding gender and sexuality that may promote or reduce sexual violence. The goal of a safe education for students, in a university that is free of the scourge of sexual violence, can only be achieved if all parts of the University are told that they must engage with the shared
governance structures that are dedicated to that education.]
This recommendation requires cooperation with the Athletics Department. The Athletic Department is currently not cooperating with the IAC.
Therefore we request that the Senate pass our charge, after review, as legislation. [Legislation would require that Interim President Coltrane accept, or explain his objections, potentially to a faculty assembly].
Given the urgency, we ask that the Senate Executive Committee work to get this done by November 19th, 2014.
KMTR TV has a report on the meeting here:
Paris was Senate President last year, and Sheehan is the chair of the “President’s Advisory Group on Intercollegiate Athletics” which President Gottfredson established the day after he finally picked up the EPD report on the basketball rape allegations. The timeline is here:
April 14: The EDP tells UO that their investigation is complete. Under the Clery Act UO was required to begin its own investigation “immediately” after learning of the allegations, but certainly no later than the conclusion of the police investigation. Any UO investigation would have started with the EPD report. But despite EPD requests, UO did not even pick up a copy of the report until April 28. (April 24 in some reports.) That’s 50 days after Gottfredson knew of the alleged rape.
April 21: UO General Counsel Randy Geller tells President Gottfredson he is resigning. The campus is not told until May 5.
April 25: Deadline for basketball season tickets and donations.
Season ticket application deadline & half of DAF donation is due.
Priority points calculated for season ticket and single game benefits.
April 28: UO finally picks up its copy of the investigation from the EPD. (April 24 in some reports.)
April 29: UO’s official “Around the O” blog reports that UO Professor and co-founder of the UO Coalition to End Sexual ViolenceJennifer Freyd (Psychology) has gone to the White House for the announcement of new Title IX rules strengthening universities sexual assault reporting and prevention efforts.
April 29: President Gottfredson suddenly announces he will not require AD Rob Mullens or other athletic department employees to meet with the UO Senate’s athletic oversight and advisory committee, the IAC. Quoting a report by IAC chair Rob Illig (Law) that was never approved by the IAC or the Senate, Gottfredson says he will establish his own “Athletics Advisory Council” and make his own appointments.
The UO Senate Executive Committee declines to cooperate with Gottfredson’s request for nominations to his AAC, until further discussion. Details and documents here.
Sheehan and Paris had the opportunity to speak at length and explain their opposition to this motion. [A recording is available on request, if I can figure out how to get it off my phone]. After more than an hour of discussion, the IAC voted to end debate and then voted to pass the resolution.
10/27/24: IAC to hold emergency public meeting on athletics and sex assault prevention
10/28/2014: The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education has the news, here: NEW YORK, Oct. 28, 2014—In a victory for free speech, New Jersey’s Bergen Community College (BCC) has rescinded its punishment of an art professor it placed on leave and forced to undergo a psychiatric evaluation for posting a…
Francesco Fontana has the story in the Emerald, here.
10/28/2014: Fascinating story by Risa Doherty:
During fall or winter rush, sororities court starry-eyed freshmen. They showcase their joyful conviviality with skits and serenades. They stress the benefits of joining, and brag about attracting the prettiest, smartest or most athletic. At many traditional sororities, however, not much energy is spent explaining what is expected, leaving many pledges unaware of the considerable time commitment and costs.
Do the math: Official charges include Panhellenic dues, chapter fees, administrative fees, nonresident house/parlor fees, a onetime pledging and initiation fee and contribution toward a house bond. Members must also buy a pin (consider the diamond-encrusted one) and a letter jersey. Without housing, basic costs for the first semester (the most expensive) average $1,570 at University of Georgia sororities, $1,130 at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and $1,580 at Syracuse University.
But such fees are only a portion of the real cost. Add in fines, philanthropy and the incidentals that are essential to participate in sorority life and the total spirals upward, especially when a closetful of designer party dresses is part of the mix.
10/20/2014: Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life in denial
Step one is to admit you have a problem. Despite that fact that five of his students ended up in the hospital with alcohol poisoning after last year’s “bid day”, Mr. Shukas thinks maybe the problem is that regular students may have mis-reported they were in chapters, inflating the greek life rape numbers in Jennifer Freyd’s survey report. The ODE has the story:
… Justin Shukas, Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life at UO, has made sure that there are a number of programs in place to make students feel safe in terms of sexual assault.
“We do a new member orientation program that happens within two to three weeks of when new members receive their bids,” he said. “We cover sexual assault prevention and alcohol abuse prevention.”…
Shukas said that many FSL members were surprised by the results of the study. “I think a lot of the students’ reaction is that they weren’t aware,” Shukas said. “The data was also self reported, and it’s unsure if those students were actually in chapters, so there are still a lot of questions about that.” …
UO FSL saw first hand how individuals’ poor decisions can lead to an unsafe environment after five sorority women were hospitalized due to alcohol poisoning following Bid Day 2013.
10/15/2014: Fraternity members 3x more likely to commit rape – UO Dean Shang says don’t forget about their community service
To: University of Oregon Campus Community From: Robert Kyr; President, University Senate RE: Report of the Senate Task Force to Address Sexual Violence and Survivor Support—Seeking Your Feedback (Deadline: Monday, November 3, 2014) I am writing to strongly encourage you to read the Report of the Senate Task Force to address Sexual Violence and Survivor Support, and to offer your feedback through the survey vehicle that can be accessed through the link under #2 below. Please participate by offering your feedback to the report in whatever ways you prefer, as follows: 1) TO READ THE REPORT—The Report of the Senate Task Force (“Twenty Students Per Week: The Final Report of the University Senate Task Force to Address Sexual Violence and Support Survivors”) may be accessed through the following link, which may also be found at the top of the Senate website homepage (senate.uoregon.edu): 2) TO OFFER WRITTEN FEEDBACK (Deadline: Monday, Nov. 3rd by 6:00 pm)—If you wish to offer feedback, please do so through the following link (also provided at the top of the Senate website homepage at senate.uoregon.edu: https://jfe.qualtrics.com/preview/SV_3O5IpkvAdfP7tHf?Preview=Survey&BrandID=oregon Please note that there is a space for you to offer feedback for each recommendation, so please focus your efforts on specific items, rather than writing all of your comments in a single space. The deadline for submitting your feedback is 6:00 pm on Monday, November 3rd. The Senate Task Force will meet on the next day to discuss your comments and to consider revisions for its report. 3) TO OFFER FEEDBACK IN PERSON (Campus Forum, November 3rd)— If you would like to offer feedback in person, please participate in the Campus Forum that is scheduled at 4:00-6:00 pm on Monday, November 3, 2014, in the Ford Alumni Center Ballroom (first floor). In particular, students are encouraged to attend and participate, since the Task Force would like to receive their feedback, both through the online vehicle (#2 above) and/or through the Campus Forum. 4) SENATE DISCUSSION & VOTE (Senate Meeting, November 5th)— The November 5th Senate meeting (3:00-5:00 pm in Lawrence Hall 115) will feature an open public discussion on the Senate Task Force Report followed by a Senate vote to affirm the recommendations. I hope that you will participate in our open public process for the consideration of the Senate Task Force Report. The issues that it addresses are of the utmost importance to all of us and to the future of our university. Nothing is more important than the safety and well-being of each and every member of our community, especially our students. In closing, I would like to thank the Senate Task Force (and especially its Co-Chairs, Carol Stabile and Randy Sullivan) for its superb work on behalf of us all. We are grateful for their expertise, commitment and dedication in addressing these crucial issues. We look forward to working with Interim President Coltrane and his administration to implement the recommendations in a sustainable way that will be for the highest good of all concerned. All the best, Robert Kyr Philip H. Knight Professor of Music President, University Senate |
10/22/2014: 3PM Today: UO Senate Task Force on sexual violence prevention recommendations
No, I’m not talking about Mike Gottfredson’s self-appointed “Presidential Sex Assault Review Panel”. That group will apparently have its final meeting Nov 21st in Portland, of all places. Presumably so they can stay in a nice boutique hotel, while avoiding any awkward questions about how much of their ~$150K report was actually written by Jane Gordon (Law).
This is the report from the all volunteer UO Senate Task Force, which has been working all summer, holding public meetings, running a survey, and trying to get info from the athletics department and greek life. Their initial recommendations will be made to the UO Senate this Wednesday, there will be a town hall later, and the discussion and voting will begin at the November 5th Senate meeting.
Subject: [UO Senate 2014/15] [Senate:] Wednesday (Oct. 22)‹Important Senate Meeting!
To: University Senate &
University Campus Community
Francesca Fontana has a well researched article in the ODE, here: … The GTFF asked for a 5.5 percent raise for two years for all GTFs. According to Bronet, the university offered two proposals: a 6 percent raise per year for two years to level one GTFs and 3 percent to levels two and three,…
Rumor has it that some Johnson Hall administrators – and perhaps a few members of our new Board of Trustees – still dream that the civility restrictions on academic free speech that Mike Gottfredson tried to enshrine in the faculty union contract will someday come to pass. Meanwhile The Daily…
9/25/2014: Another $35M to $100M for sports pork, bribes?
The jocks don’t even have the goddam common decency to give the academic side a reach-around, and pay off the Matt Court land and Jaqua tutoring first. Chris Hansen has the report in the RG on the latest duck-pork, here:
In the Albany Democrat-Herald, here: One of the worries we had regarding these governing boards was that they would feel no particular allegiance to the idea that the public’s business needed to be conducted in public. These early moves by the University of Oregon’s board have done nothing to ease…