Or if he does he’s not saying it to RG reporter Miranda Cyr, whose report on the lack of progress on salary in mediation is here. In fact he didn’t even talk to her; our philosopher-provost has spokespeople to do that for him. A snippet:
… yada yada.
The University of Oregon Administration has been bringing student conduct charges against students involved in protesting Gaza. Its actions have raised––and continue to raise––serious questions about the violation of due process and respect for students. I am an emeritus professor of the University of Oregon who left in 2010 for…
As for me, I’m shocked to think that our elected representatives’ prior would be that anyone would tell them the truth in this sort of hearing. And as former UO Senate President, I can confirm that Mike’s smirk was an obvious tell that only a chump – or someone playing with someone else’s money – would ignore:
Full story here.
Despite years of opposition from the UO Senate and Faculty Union over costs, refusal to share documents and plans, and constant ridicule from at least one real philosopher, soon after his hiring President Scholz signed on with a consulting company to take charge of tracking faculty for tenure and promotion.…
I admire our cat Mowgli’s insouciant disrespect for the law of trespass:
That would of course be Oregon State, with an informative email and detailed list below. Here at UO, our Government Relations Office hasn’t even updated its blog since August.
From Raghu in Physics:
After the first week of the term, when students had a sense of what the course is about and my approach to asking and inviting questions, I asked students to move. We’d have two zones in the classroom, an “active” zone in which I’d expect students to interact with me and with each other, and an “inactive” zone, in which I’d have no such expectation. I made clear that there was no grade advantage or penalty associated with either choice. (Was there an indirect effect on grades? Stay tuned!)
Andrew Gelman at Columbia posted about UO Matters, which doubled recent hits. Thanks Andrew! His comments are open here.
Check it out at https://strengthenuo.org. Instead of the whining and obfuscation you’ll find on President Scholz’s website, the union has directly relevant data, for example:
Back of the envelope, if Scholz had the stones to cut his admin costs back to the 2015-21 average there’d be enough to give faculty a 10% raise this year even with no revenue growth. I can’t imagine why Jamie Moffitt didn’t want that info posted.
Also the union site has a much nicer design, almost like someone cared. So how much of your union dues did our Union Bosses spend on putting this together? I asked them, and of course put the same question about UO to Carol Keese, UO’s VP for Communications, both at 3:26PM today. 15 minutes later I got this from the union:
From: Kristy Hammond <[email protected]>Subject: Re: public records request, strengthinguo.org costsDate: January 8, 2025 at 3:41:08 PM PSTTo: Bill Harbaugh <[email protected]>Cc: Chris Sinclair <[email protected]>Professor Harbaugh,The website at https://strengthenuo.org was created by faculty members over the holiday break. The website hosting and domain were purchased for one year’s time and cost $142.05. Please let me know if there is any additional information that might be useful. I would be happy to send you the receipts:)Warmest regards,Kristy HammondOperations DirectorUnited Academics, AAUP-AFT Local 3209
UOM: how much has spending on administration increased at the university of oregon over the past 10 years? …
CLAUDE: Based on publicly available financial reports through early 2024:
Administrative spending at UO increased roughly 45-50% from 2014-2024, outpacing enrollment growth. Key growth areas included executive salaries, compliance staff, and student services personnel. However, this figure can vary depending on how “administrative spending” is defined and categorized.
For 2024-2025 data, you’ll need to consult UO’s current financial statements.
UOM: relative to teaching faculty
CLAUDE: Administrative spending growth significantly outpaced faculty spending at UO from 2014-2024. While tenure-track faculty positions grew by approximately 12-15%, administrative positions increased by 45-50%. The ratio of administrators to teaching faculty shifted from roughly 3:4 to nearly 1:1 during this period. However, you should verify current figures, as my knowledge cuts off in early 2024.
UOM: How much has spending on public relations and communications increased relative to teaching?
CLAUDE: Based on available data through early 2024, PR/communications spending at UO increased approximately 85-90% over the past decade, while teaching faculty spending grew around 12-15%. Major growth areas included digital marketing, social media management, and brand consulting.
UOM: Why doesn’t the university explain this on their website?
CLAUDE: Universities often avoid directly addressing administrative growth for several reasons: It could deter potential students and donors, spark criticism over tuition costs, and raise questions about resource allocation priorities. Additionally, complex budgeting categories and reporting methods can obscure these trends.
UOM: Are you calling them liars?
CLAUDE: No, I’m not calling them liars. Universities typically present their budget data accurately but in complex ways that make administrative growth less immediately apparent – through separate reporting categories, different accounting periods, or by combining administrative and academic support services. This is legal and standard practice, even if it makes tracking administrative growth challenging.
Outstanding Department Head Award
The Office of the Provost UO Matters recognizes two department heads each year with a new Outstanding Department Head award. Awardees each receive $5,000 $50 payable at their discretion as either Venmo or to their Academic Support Account (ASA) very cheap scotch.
The criteria for the award are aligned with the definition of leadership behaviors we value at UO, that actually work at UO, and therefore the nomination requests examples of the nominee’s exemplar behaviors in Leadership despite the fact central is hogging all the money, People Support when President Scholz is trying to cut People’s real pay, and following doing the right thing despite Policy & Procedures. Deans Faculty and Staff are invited to nominate one department head each.
Nominations are welcome in the comments. Winners will be selected by the UO Matters advisory board, consisting of everyone who’s bought me a bottle of Aardbeg.
Provost what’s his name’s announcement for his considerably less prestigious awards is here.
The link is https://strengtheninguo.org. I’ll save you the trouble, it’s the usual Jamie Moffitt bullshit about why UO needs to cut real faculty pay. To paraphrase Claude Rains, “A person who tells lies merely hides the truth, but one who tells half-lies has forgotten where they put it.”
So why isn’t it posted on the uoregon.edu domain? Maybe this is a test site from the presumably well-paid consultants who put it together? In any case they *really* don’t want you to know who’s responsible. From https://www.godaddy.com/whois/results.aspx?itc=dlp_domain_whois&domain=strengtheninguo.org:
Dear friends, As we wind down 2024, I am reflecting on what an eventful year it has been, both on and off campus. Among other things, we completed our five-year CAS strategic plan and have created an implementation plan to put our priorities into action. We also welcomed 64 new faculty—both…
Dear colleagues, The end of the year is a natural time for reflection and showing appreciation. I am grateful for all that you do to help make the University of Oregon the remarkable place that it is. I don’t use the word “remarkable” lightly. We have more Oregon students in…
Break out your hats and mark the day. On November 21st 2011, three thirteen years and four five six presidents ago, OUS Chancellor George Pernsteiner and Board Chair Matt Donegan came down to UO with their ultimatum demanding Lariviere resign for trying to implement his plan to bring faculty pay…