9/8/2017: Some light live-blog below on Friday’s Board meeting. Page down for Th committee meetings. Live video here. Some highlights from today: – President Schill gives his definition of excellence in his remarks below. – Biology Prof Karen Guillemin gives a fascinating talk on the importance of bacterial diversity. My…
UO Matters
More good news for UO’s efforts to increase retention, as our students won’t be thinking about leaving the couch, much less Eugene. The Street has the report here: Based on Baker’s data, the colleges ordering up the most ‘dro to their dorm rooms come from the University of Colorado, followed…
Thanks to an anonymous Harvard Man for the Crimson report. The news on Trump’s decision is not yet up, but I’m sure smart people like these professors must have done the backwards induction, and how else could he possibly react?
9/20/2017: I don’t know. Here’s his job description, explaining that his duties are split between the Ducks Department of Athletic Medicine, and the University Health Center, followed by his salary report showing all his pay comes from the UHC, which is funded by student health fees:
But at least he’s board certified in Sports Medicine. In fact it was a requirement for the job, although his boss doesn’t have it.
9/7/2017: Duck Director of Athletic Medicine Greg Skaggs is not board certified in Sports Medicine
The American Medical Association / ABMS website notes:
My Doctor is Board Certified. Is Yours? You want quality care for your family. That’s why choosing a Board Certified doctor is so important.
Board Certification is a voluntary process that goes above and beyond licensing requirements – it’s a commitment to continually expand knowledge in a medical specialty.
Presumably that knowledge would include concussion treatments, rhabdo, exercise during low air quality, and perhaps some CTE on medical ethics and conflicts of interest while working as a team doctor. This 2010 UO job announcement for a University Physician notes:
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Graduate of accredited medical school
M.D. or D.O. Licensure by the Oregon Medical Board – (or license eligible)
ABMS-approved board certification in Internal Medicine, Family Medicine or Pediatrics
Successful Completion of Sports Medicine Fellowship
Board Certified or Board Eligible in Sports Medicine
Dr. Skaggs’s Sports Medicine certification lapsed in 2009: https://www.theabfm.org/diplomate/find.aspx?ts=636403559
9/2/2017: Duck Physician Greg Skaggs delays Utah game over unhealthy smoke levels
Alisha Roemeling in the RG, with the results of a survey of 1120 North Eugene public school parents:
Gordon Friedman in the Oregonian, here:
Update: I think a nephelometer measures fine particulate pollution, but I suppose these time-series data from the LRAPA website would also be consistent with recent Oregon Bach Festival complaints: Eugene air particulates hit record 381, vs. 57 in Beijing. Eugene: Beijing: Yesterday’s HR letter: Dear Colleagues, Wildfires around the Willamette Valley and…
9/4/2017: The full text of President Schill’s message here includes links to UO resources and the UO Dreamers website, here.
Members of the University of Oregon community,
President Trump this week is expected to make changes to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals immigration policy, also known as DACA. I join hundreds of university leaders as well as local, state, federal, and business leaders in strongly urging President Trump to continue this program. I also write to let our students know that we support them, and to provide information about where our students and their families can go for assistance, should the need arise.
In a world full of ambiguities, there is no ambiguity for me about the importance of continuing DACA. My view of morality dictates that young people, many of whom were brought here as infants or toddlers, must be allowed to remain in the United States to learn, work, and make a life for themselves. The United States is their home. To uproot them would be wrong. Period.
But the argument for DACA doesn’t just rest on principles of morality; it is also good for our country. One of the reasons the United States became the greatest nation in the world is because it was founded, built, and shaped by immigrants. Millions and millions of people, including all of my grandparents, risked everything to come to the United States to escape religious, ethnic, and political oppression or to seek out a better life for their children. The very act of coming here showed grit and determination, the willingness to assume risk, and courage—just the skills necessary to build our nation. …
The UO Senate resolution from last November, written by Prof. Lynn Stephens and other members of the DACA and Undocumented Students Working Group, with cooperation from the UO administration, is here. The video of the Senate meeting is here. Minutes:
4.4 Vote: US16/17-09: Declaring UO a Sanctuary Campus; Lynn Stephen (Anthropology) et al. Lynn Stephen read the motion. She thanked President Schill and Provost Coltrane for their statement on immigration earlier in the day and for working together with the Senate. She noted that over 200 local jurisdictions throughout the United States, though not Lane County, have expressed their unwillingness to help ICE enforce immigration laws.
Motion to adopt. Presented by: _______________. Second: ________________.
Craig Parsons expressed his concern about the Senate addressing issues like this one, which asks the UO to take a position on how it will deal with federal agencies. The previous resolution focused on the university’s own values, but this one requires a political stance from senators who were not elected based on their political beliefs. Jane Cramer said this resolution will make many students she knows feel safer. Chris Chavez said it is important for the university to speak up at critical moments like this.
Vote to adopt. No – 2. Yes – all other votes. Moved/Seconded/Carried.
9/4/2017: Miserable old man finds brief joy in punishing innocent children
Politico has the news on Donald Trump’s decision to repeal the Obama directive that gave temporary residency and a path to citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants, here. Congress will have 6 months to decide to reinstate it, or not.
Sept 5 downtown Eugene rally against DACA/Dreamer repeal:
By some of the same people who organized the excellent Eugene Anti-Hate march. On Facebook here.
8/14/2017 update: Peaceful Eugene Anti-Hate march from EMU to downtown
From former Daily Emerald reporter Gordon Friedman, now at the Oregonian, here.
The campus community is invited to join Jessie Minton, Vice Provost for Information Services and CIO, for the next IT town hall meeting: When: Thursday, August 31, 1pm-2pm Where: Knight Library Browsing Room White Stag 149 via video conferencing
At first I read that as “Brain Awareness Study”, but no such luck. VP of Communication Kyle Henley is going to commission a phone survey of 1900 random people and ask them if they think UO is excellent: Full RFP/RFQ on the PCS website here. Apparently this is follow-up on a previous study…
The only information the administration gives to the UO Board of Trustees, here, is rudimentary data on past expenditures with no long term year-over-year comparisons. Apparently the board does not see any budget priorities plan for the future, just projections for spending for the upcoming FY. UO’s VP for Finance…
The OSU Board of Trustees finance committee is meeting in two weeks to prepare for their full set of Board meetings Oct 18-20 – when their students are actually on campus. You can find all their public meetings notices, agendas, and minutes from their many substantive meetings (10 so far…
8/25/2017: While the Ducks are so broke they can’t pay for tutoring their student-athletes, they’ve got no problem paying Southern Utah $500K to show up and lose the football season’s opener next weekend. The contract is below.
10/13/2015: It’s not really a fair contest. While for years the UO administration has used its Public Records Office and their $300K budget to delay, redact, and charge excessive fees to frustrate the intent of Oregon’s public records law, the PRO’s at most other universities are in the business of making public records public. Here’s the latest example.
Monday morning I emailed identical public records requests to UO and Southern Utah University, asking for copies of the contract for the football body-bag game scheduled for September 2017:
Date: October 12, 2015 at 10:14:21 AM PDT
To: Lisa Thornton <[email protected]>
Subject: public records request, football game contract with SUU
Dear Ms Thornton –
This is a public records request for a copy of the football game contract between SUU and UO, for the game to be played in the fall of 2017.
A sample of the sort of contract I am looking for is here: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/971644/uomatters/IAC/Football%20contract%20-%20Georgia%20State%20(Final%20Executed%20Version).pdf
I edit a news and opinion blog about the University of Oregon, and I ask for a fee waiver on the basis of public interest.
I would appreciate it if you could send a pdf copy of this contract to this email address.
Thanks for your assistance
This sort of request typically takes UO a week or two. But SUU responded in less than 24 hours:
From: Jennifer Oberhelman
Date: October 13, 2015 at 9:13:01 AM PDT
To: [email protected]
Subject: GRAMA Response
Good morning Mr. Harbaugh,
Attached is the contract between Southern Utah University and University of Oregon for a football game set for 9/2/17 in Eugene, OR requested 10/12 in the form of a GRAMA request.
Please contact me if you have any additional questions.
Thank you.
Jennifer Oberhelman
Exec. Asst. for Administration
“We don’t quit playing because we grow old, we grow old because we quit playing.”
Not bad, though the record is still the 50 minutes it took Georgia State to provide their contract, and Eastern Washington’s General Counsel only took 3 hours.
So Rob Mullens will pay SUU $500K to come to Eugene. Presumably AAD Eric Roedl will get the cash by raising the price he charges ASUO for “free” student tickets to these body-bag games:
…
9/14/2015: Georgia State Panthers whip Oregon Ducks in football public records release
Reporter Ryan Dunleavy has the scoop here.