Author Archives: uomatters

OPB has the story here. Get your tickets at GoDucks.Com, and help UO spread that Delta variant!

Act quickly, tickets are going almost as fast as local ICU beds.

Dear University of Oregon community members,

It is our fervent belief that it is only through vaccinations that our nation and our university will find a way out of the pandemic. Although vaccines may not eliminate COVID-19 entirely from our campus, if we can achieve a high enough rate of vaccination among our students, staff, and faculty, we can better protect the health and well being of the members of our community and ultimately drive down the transmission rate of the disease. It is for that reason that on May 10, we announced a vaccination requirement for the University of Oregon.

Under state and federal law we were required to make it possible for people to claim an exemption based upon three criteria. Most people on campus have until September to let us know their vaccination status, but the early signs are very, very promising. Based upon folks who have reported to us thus far, the vast majority of our community is coming together to protect each other.

The first vaccine deadline was last Friday, August 13, for the School of Law’s faculty and staff. We are thrilled to report that of the 93.6 percent of the law school community who met the deadline for reporting, 97.6 percent report that they have been vaccinated.

With respect to the entire campus, thus far 52 percent of our students have reported their vaccination status. Of these students who have reported, 96.4 percent have been vaccinated. Similarly, 69 percent of our faculty and staff have told us whether they have been vaccinated. Over 96 percent have answered in the affirmative.

There is no guarantee that this extraordinarily high level of vaccination will persist as the remaining members of the UO community report their status. But we are very happy with the early results.

We know that these figures are of great interest to many of you. Our decision making throughout the pandemic has been driven by the science, and understanding community vaccination rates is a critical component of this. From the beginning of the COVID-19 nightmare we did everything we could to be as transparent as possible and we are committed to that principle going forward. Therefore, we created a dashboard tracking our vaccination rates across campus. The dashboard will be updated every week.

We would like to close by thanking everyone for your commitment to protecting not just yourselves, but for protecting our entire community. Toward that end, please encourage your friends and your co-workers to get vaccinated.

Sincerely,
Michael H. Schill
President and Professor of Law
Patrick C. Phillips
Provost and Senior Vice President

The RegisterGuard has the good news here:

South Eugene High will not field a football team this fall, the school announced Friday via email and a message posted to the ParentVUE website run by the Eugene 4J School District.

A lack of student participation in football will prevent the Axe from bringing back a team Monday, the first day OSAA-sponsored fall sports are allowed to report for practice.

“It’s a hard thing to put into words,” South Eugene football coach Kenny Koberstein said. “There are a lot of things to consider, but number one is that we want to have a football team but we just don’t have the numbers.

“Everybody’s really disappointed. Nobody wanted this to happen.”

Actually it seems everybody got exactly what they want, except Coach Koberstein and the 19 kids who did sign up.

Mink Anti-Vaxxers, that is. The OAR is here:

Rule 603-011-0680
Mink Vaccine Surveillance
(1) DEFINITIONS
(2) As used in OAR 603-011-0680 (Mink Vaccine Surveillance) through 603-011-0685:
(3) “Captive mink” means any animal of the species Neovision vision or any other animal belonging to species of the family Mustelidae held in captivity for the purpose of fur production as provided in ORS 596.020 (Duties of the State Department of Agriculture in protection of people and livestock)(2).
(4) “Approved vaccine” means a vaccine approved by the State Veterinarian and registered with the Department according to ORS 596.100 (Registration of products used for treatment of animals).

(5) VACCINATION OF MINK AGAINST SARS-COV-2 VIRUS
(6) By August 31, 2021, any person holding captive mink in Oregon must vaccinate all captive mink on their premises against the SARS-CoV-2 virus using an approved vaccine according to all vaccine manufacturer instructions. Any captive mink born or imported after August 31, 2021 must be vaccinated within 120 days of the birth of any captive mink, or within 60 days of the date that any captive mink are imported into Oregon.

(7) SURVEILLANCE TESTING FOR SARS-COV-2 IN MINK
(8) Any person holding captive mink in Oregon must participate in surveillance testing for SARS-CoV-2 according to guidelines established by the Oregon Department of Agriculture in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In the Daily Emerald here. Some snippets:

I think by allowing exemptions other than medical, the school has defeated the purpose of the vaccine mandate. If someone’s personal reason not to get vaccinated is that they don’t believe in COVID-19 then they are endangering the lives of other students on campus. If this is UO’s policy then the school shouldn’t say it’s requiring all students and faculty to be vaccinated because clearly they aren’t.”

“I feel that a religious or philosophical reason to not get vaccinated is not good enough. If they don’t want it, fine, but they cannot attend classes on campus. It’s not fair to the thousands of other students and faculty who have gotten it to try to get back to a normal life.”

Our last raise was in Jan 2020. Since then the CPI has increased 6.4%. Average US wages have increased 6% (unadjusted). Meanwhile UO’s office of Institutional Research has stopped updating the comparison of UO faculty salaries to comparators. They also haven’t updated the listings of UO salaries since October – these were posted quarterly until President Schill put a stop to that during his first year. Now they’re only posted when IR gets around to it, and they no longer include coaches bonuses etc.

Just kidding, this is the usual rubber stamp for whatever Phil wants. I’m sleeping in but you can find a link to the charade here if you wade through the search info for a replacement for his Board Secretary Angela Wilhelms: https://trustees.uoregon.edu/

https://kpic.com/news/local/lcc-puts-up-150k-in-lottery-prizes-to-promote-vaccine-requirement-for-fall-term

EUGENE, Ore. — Lane Community College says students and staff must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before arriving on campus September 27 for fall term.

LCC stepped up the push this week by announcing that 300 fully vaccinated students will receive $500 prizes for their effort.

The money is part of a $150,000 lottery funded by the federal Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund.

“It’s all-hands-on-deck time,” LCC President Margaret Hamilton said. “As a community, we need to get out the message that vaccinations are safe and effective. They save lives and will help turn this pandemic around.”

According to LCC:

The vaccine lottery is open to all credit and non-credit students. No application is needed. Winners will be drawn at random from registered students who upload proof of vaccination.

Contrast UO’s policy of letting students (and faculty/staff) opt-out by just checking a “philosophical exemption” box, with West Virginia’s Wesleyan market based approach. Not sure that $750 fully captures the external costs, but it’s a start:

At This West Virginia Campus, There’s a $750 Fee for Unvaccinated Students

By Oyin AdedoyinAUGUST 9, 2021

Rather than offering a reward for students to get vaccinated, one college in West Virginia will charge a $750 fee to those who don’t.

West Virginia Wesleyan College announced last week that students who do not submit proof of vaccination or are not vaccinated will be charged a nonrefundable $750 fee for the fall-2021 semester. Students have until September 7 to provide proof of full or partial vaccination.

Meanwhile cases among UO students and employees (gray) have begun increasing again:

FIRE has some details on what’s been going on at RPI here. Their president is now leaving, and apparently VP’s too. They paid Ms Hunter $367K according to the 2020 data. UO paid our old chief flack Kyle Henley, $278K. I’m guessing the new one’s job duties will be the same as Henley’s: branding, strategic miscommunication, and maintaining UO’s abysmal transparency record and lack of trust with the state government, press, and public.

Dear Colleagues,

I am thrilled to announce that I have named Richie Hunter as the new vice president for University Communications. 

Richie comes to us from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the nation’s oldest technological university, where she serves as vice president of strategic communications and external relations. While at RPI, Richie rebuilt and strengthened their brand, communications, and marketing portfolio to expand local relevance, increase national competitiveness, and build global name recognition. Prior to RPI she held executive communications positions at the University of Houston, the University of Houston System, and for-profit healthcare organizations. She holds a bachelor of science in Business Administration from the University of Southern California and a master of science in Business Administration from Lamar University.

Richie will lead the UO communications efforts at an exciting time. When I changed the institution’s organizational structure to create an independent University Communications division six years ago, one of my top priorities was to strengthen our capabilities to promote the university―specifically related to academics and research. We have come a long way in doing just that. Now, with the continued growth of the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact; advances in our schools and colleges; progress in our academic initiatives in data science, diversity, environment, innovation, and sport and wellness; and many student success achievements, among other advances on campus, we have many rich and substantial stories to tell. I am confident we will benefit from Richie’s experience in building and strengthening teams to communicate and market these stories to a wide variety of audiences.

I would like to thank the search committee, chaired by Juan-Carlos Molleda, dean of the School of Journalism and Communication. The committee’s hard work and commitment provided us with an outstanding group of candidates.I am also grateful to Jennifer Lindsey, who has led the division as interim vice president for the past several months. Jennifer and the entire University Communications team have continued to carry out critical communications work throughout this interim period—to strengthen our reputation, keep the campus informed about COVID regulations, and address and respond to issues as they arise.I am delighted to have Richie come on board to lead this talented team. Her first day will be September 13. Please join me in welcoming her to the University of Oregon.

Sincerely,Michael H. Schill
President and Professor of Law

Recent UO History hires earn $73,200. PhD required, which typically takes 8 years. Here’s the latest job post:

Position Announcement
The Department of History at the University of Oregon seeks to hire a tenure-track assistant professor specializing in African American history, beginning fall 2022. Time period and research subfield are open. The successful candidate will demonstrate a record of, or strong potential for, high-quality scholarship and student-centered teaching. The department is especially interested in candidates whose teaching, research, and community engagement would complement and support the UO’s new Black Studies minor. Applicants should submit a letter describing their research and teaching interests, a curriculum vitae, a chapter/article length writing sample, and the names and email addresses of 3 professional references. They must also submit a statement outlining their commitment and contributions to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Priority will be given to applications received by October 1, 2021, but the position will remain open until filled. PhD in hand at time of appointment (Sept. 16, 2022).

For comparison, we’re paying $48K for a “Coordinator for Frat and Sorority Life“. Requirements?

One year of professional experience with a fraternity/sorority headquarters or in a role working with fraternities and sororities on a college campus or two years in a comparable college unit:

Thanks to an anonymous reader for forwarding this email from Prof Freyd to her Psychology Department colleagues, sent out today:

Dear Colleagues,

I’m pleased to share with you this statement issued jointly by the UO and me:

Professor Emerit Jennifer Freyd and the University of Oregon are pleased to announce that we have settled our lawsuit after more than four years of litigation. Under the settlement, the University will pay Prof. Freyd and her attorneys $350,000 to cover her claims for damages as well as attorney’s fees over the four years of litigation. In addition, the University will make a $100,000 donation to the Center for Institutional Courage, the foundation founded by Prof. Freyd dedicated to scientific research and action promoting institutional courage.

We are pleased to put this litigation behind us and together affirm our continued commitment to uncover, acknowledge, and address gender inequity and other forms of discrimination.

Additional information is posted here: https://www.jjfreyd.com/equalpay

I am glad to have the case settled for several reasons. One is the time and freedom it provides me to pursue my work on institutional betrayal and institutional courage. I am also glad for the financial support for the Center for Institutional Courage – a research and education nonprofit I founded in early 2020.

By preserving the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision regarding my lawsuit, the greatest value of the settlement for me is what it can mean for equity and equality in academia and beyond.

The Ninth Circuit’s decision establishes important precedent in two ways. It affirms the applicability of the Equal Pay Act to academic and professional jobs. The Ninth Circuit opinion also affirms that when employer practices like retention raises result in lower salaries for women, these practices may violate the law, even if the discriminatory outcome was unintentional (Title VII, disparate impact). The importance of this appeals court precedent has been noted in over two dozen publications.

I am grateful to my attorney Jennifer Middleton and her team who showed such dedication to equity and justice. I am also grateful to the many other attorneys and organizations around the country that supported, through amicus briefs and other mechanisms, our efforts to pursue justice and equity for women in this country.

I am also deeply appreciative of the support from my students and colleagues at the University of Oregon and more around the country, who have provided me much support while courageously speaking out about and confronting inequity and injustice.

In the years ahead I look forward to continuing to advance scientific research and education regarding institutional betrayal and institutional courage through the Center for Institutional Courage, with the goal to create more accountable, effective, and equitable institutions for everyone.

With my best wishes,

Jennifer Freyd

Jennifer J. Freyd, PhD
Founder and President, Center for Institutional Courage
Professor Emerit of Psychology, University of Oregon
Affiliated Faculty, Women’s Leadership Lab, Stanford University
Editor, Journal of Trauma & Dissociation

Earlier today: UO GC Kevin Reed brought to his senses by persistent Professor Freyd?

After more than 4 years of bad publicity for the UO, and who knows how many billable hours for outside attorney Paula Barran and her ilk, it appears UO has finally caved and settled Jennifer Freyd’s gender discrimination case, rather than take it to a jury or the SCOTUS. At least I think that’s what this means, clip posted below. Despite the claims by UO and Barran that the 9th Circuit’s decision to support Freyd would destroy the national academic labor market, in the end Reed, Barran, and Schill were able to find just one supporter willing to file an amicus brief.

Hilariously, that friend was Miles K. Davis, President of Linfield university and the Oregon Alliance of Independent Colleges and Universities. Davis is best known for firing tenured professor professor and Shakespeare scholar Daniel Pollack-Pelzner. Davis’s brief – actually written by Barran et al. – is here, and is notable for claiming that academic freedom gives universities the right to pay less than competitive market wages. These arguments did not convince the 9th circuit, and UO’s pro-wage discrimination argument is no longer precedent. The details of the financial settlement for Professor Freyd will presumably become public eventually.

Matthew Kish has the story here.

Dear University of Oregon Community,

Please join us for a special celebration and announcement of a $500 million gift from Penny and Phil Knight.This morning at 11:00 a.m., the University of Oregon will host a livestream event at the Knight Campus.

• What: Knight Campus Announcement and Celebration
• When: 11:00 a.m., Today, Tuesday, July 6
• Where: View the livestream by visiting this website

If you are not able to join the livestream, we will be sharing additional information and a video on the same page shortly after the event later today.

Sincerely,Office of the President