Andrew Gelman at Columbia posted about UO Matters, which doubled recent hits. Thanks Andrew! His comments are open here.
Posts published in “Uncategorized”
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 <kristy@uauoregon.org>Subject: Re: public records request, strengthinguo.org costsDate: January 8, 2025 at 3:41:08 PM PSTTo: Bill Harbaugh <harbaugh@uauoregon.org>Cc: Chris Sinclair <sinclair@uauoregon.org>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
Let’s see how long it takes VP Keese to tell us how much UO spent. An airline bottle of scotch for the best guess. (Sorry Kevin Reed, since you’re in charge of the public records office and get to determine how long they’ll stall, you can’t play.)
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…
In bargaining today. That’s a nominal bird flip, in real dollars economists refer to it as a fuck you.
Zoom into the sessions here. Union is telling the admin team to go back to their imagineers and thought leaders and think again. “Oregon Rising” for JH administrators, Oregon Falling for the faculty.
Scholz’s team is refusing to schedule winter bargaining sessions because they don’t like it when Keaton bullies them in public with numbers and PowerPoints showing that the percentage of the budget going to faculty pay is falling. Wants to do the bargaining behind closed doors to keep us ignorant.
Or maybe he just doesn’t care if his university thinks that he doesn’t. In any case his student interviewer has one, and she makes him look like the terrified brainwashed victim of his PR flack masters. Link here.
Duck football coaches, sure. But the faculty and students? Uncle Phil played us for fools:
And unlike the UO faculty will have to do, they didn’t even strike. From the RG. Note that these 5% COLA raises are on top of the regular step increases teachers get, which if I understand correctly average 2.75% per year, plus other raises for getting a Masters degree, etc.…
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…
I confess I was not a fan of being harassed on my morning walks to Roma. But one day I was taking a visiting speaker for coffee – my grandfather advisor Ted Bergstrom – when Frog interrupted us to ask Ted if he’d ever read the world’s funniest joke books.…
Thanks to a reader for the news. Apparently this has gone viral. There’s a story in the Daily Emerald here:
According to Director of Issues Management and University of Oregon Spokesperson Angela Seydel, the university found Serrato’s statementsin his Instagram video “abhorrent and not in alignment with our values or mission.”
Seydel also said that Serrato has been placed on “administrative leave” and an investigation has been opened.
Administrative leave means that Serrato is taking paid time off, pending a university investigation.
In the post, Serrato said to followers, which included some UO students, to “go f— yourself if you voted for Donald Trump.”
Serrato concluded his story, saying “I hope you go jump off of a f—ing bridge,” with a peace sign.
Seydel said that the university has opened an investigation into the matter and are reviewing it under “university policies and the individual’s role as a public employee.”
According to Seydel, while the university is investigating, they will be providing “support for concerned students and employees, including resources for mental and emotional health.”
That last part seems a bit Orwellian to me. What would the appropriate response be? Perhaps President Scholz should look to Shakespeare:
“We consider it was excess of wine that set him off. … If little faults proceeding on distemper shall not be winked at then …”