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Espy surveys faculty, hoping to get OK for more admin bloat

By uomatters on 03/06/2014

I went through the survey in the email below. It reads like an insulting push-poll, designed to collect responses that will justify hiring more RIGE administrators to coordinate research aimed at local businesses, and work with local government development offices. This is not a bad idea, but for the fact that there’s not much trust left in Espy’s ability to administer such an effort, or in Gottfredson’s ability to administer Espy.

A message from University of Oregon President Michael Gottfredson & Vice President for Research and Innovation and Dean of the Graduate School Kimberly Andrews Espy: 

At the University of Oregon, we view promoting Oregon’s long-term economic well-being as a key component of our mission.

To help serve this mission, we are writing to ask you, our faculty and staff, to take a few minutes to complete a survey [link deleted, check your email] that will help us focus on our economic engagement in the community, region, and state.

Continue reading and commentEspy surveys faculty, hoping to get OK for more admin bloat

Scott Coltrane won’t share credit for UO raises with the faculty union? Wow.

By uomatters on 03/05/2014

Either Senior VP and Provost Scott Coltrane has lost his brain, or he thinks UO’s faculty has lost their memory. From Coltrane’s email today (full text after the break):

The UO was able to provide an across the board and merit process for all faculty and officers of administration in FY14. We are providing another across the board and merit process for FY15.

Thanks Scott, we appreciate this statement, really. But the truth is that “The University” fought the faculty union raise proposals long and hard, then bought us off with a $350 goat. And now Coltrane wants to take credit for the little bit of merit Gottfredson, Geller and Sharon Rudnick finally agreed to? Shame.

Really Scott? Not a word about the fact the faculty union contract requires that you implement these raises, or about the fact that the Lariviere plan, which you supported publicly and were prepared to implement as CAS Dean in 2009, and for which you had the funds, and for which you gave me the detailed spreadsheets for (OK, only after a public records request), would have meant raises sufficient to get UO within spitting distance of our AAU peers?

Come on Scott, you’ve got the permanent provost job now, you’re a better person than this, aren’t you? Because “The University” sure needs one.

Coltrane’s full email below:

Continue reading and commentScott Coltrane won’t share credit for UO raises with the faculty union? Wow.

OHSU faculty raise concerns about research priorities, transparency, Phil Knight gift

By uomatters on 03/04/2014

Nick Budnick has the story in the Oregonian, here. If you think UO’s internal fights about Espy and RIGE are bad, read the comments to his story! In other news, Betsy Hammond reports that OSU has hit it’s $1B fundraising target early: The land grant university had set a goal…

Continue reading and commentOHSU faculty raise concerns about research priorities, transparency, Phil Knight gift

Provost Coltrane credits faculty union for raises and UO hiring successes

By uomatters on 03/02/2014

It’s very promising to finally hear some non-confrontational talk from UO’s leadership about the positive effects of the faculty union: UO full, associate and assistant professors make an average of $90,000 — $20,000 less than the AAU average, according to 2012-13 data from UO Office of Institutional Research. … Coltrane said that…

Continue reading and commentProvost Coltrane credits faculty union for raises and UO hiring successes

UO Trustee Sam Dotters-Katz blames Professor Harbaugh for the Duck athletic department’s unhappiness with the fact it has a faculty oversight committee

By uomatters on 03/01/2014

3/4/2014 update: I received an email from UO Trustee and ASUO President Sam Dotters-Katz, asking me to correct this post. Here is the relevant part of his message. Professor Harbaugh, I am writing to ask you to correct your factually inaccurate blog post, “UO Trustee Sam Dotters-Katz blames…”. Below are…

Continue reading and commentUO Trustee Sam Dotters-Katz blames Professor Harbaugh for the Duck athletic department’s unhappiness with the fact it has a faculty oversight committee