The Manchester Guardian has the news here: The former IAAF president Lamine Diack has admitted to police that he asked Russia for €1.5m to run a political campaign in his native Senegal, according to the French newspaper Le Monde. France’s national office for financial prosecutions is investigating Diack, who stepped…
UO Matters
12/19/2015 update:
John Solomon has the latest college football data, on CBSsports. Basketball demand is even lower, in part due to a secular trend, in part because many fans think Knight Arena is a soulless big box, and in part because some fans can’t stomach the sight of Dana Altman after how he handled the rape allegations.
So how are the Ducks going to pay for the admins Alamo Bowl game junkets, and the jock bosses bloated bonuses?
They’ll squeeze our UO students. Since regular fans won’t pay, AD Rob Mullens and AAD Eric Roedl are doing everything they can to extract more money from the ASUO student government, as explained below.
8/3/2015 update: Duck athletics uses monopoly power to discriminate against students
12/18/2015 update:
The DOJ will bill the OBPE ~$500 for having to write this order. All because their Director, Charles J. Hill, spent weeks ignoring a public records request for the rules that he claims allow him to keep the public out of the hearing about the $5K fine that the OBPE recommended for UO Counseling Director Shelly Kerr. Then Hill tried to use a petty $2.75 fee to delay release for two more weeks. Ridiculous.
The documents he’s been trying to hide are the OBPE“Notice of Rights and Procedures” and documents showing this was adopted according to state law. Call me slow, but I’m starting to wonder if it was.
We’ll find out, Hill’s got a week to provide the documents at no charge, and I’ll post them when he does. Meanwhile the Oregon Office of Administrative Hearings is telling me that no hearing on the Kerr fine has yet been scheduled.
The DOJ’s full Public Records Order is here:
12/16/2015: Oregon Board of Psychologist Examiners uses fees and delays to hide public records
Here’s an email exchange with Charles Hill, the Director of the OBPE, in chronological order. Mr. Hill is trying to argue that he can close the upcoming OBPE hearing in front of an Administrative Law Judge about UO’s appeal of the OBPE’s $5,000 fine against Shelly Kerr, who gave the Jane Doe Counseling Records to UO’s lawyers Doug Park and Sam Hill.
I ask Hill for a copy of the rules that allow the hearing to be closed. He waits for 3 weeks to respond, then tries to use a $2.75 charge to further delay release of the records.
I’ve filed a petition with Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum over his office’s use of fees and delays to frustrate the intent of the Oregon Public Records law, saying:
Dear Mr. Hill –
I’m ccing AAG Michael Kron, the head of the DOJ’s Task Force on public records reform, because your use of delays and fees to frustrate the release of public records is so classic that it might serve as a useful example of how state agencies are manipulating current law.
The emails below show a simple request for your board’s “Notice of Rights and Procedures” and documents showing this was adopted according to state law.
You managed to avoid even responding for 21 days, until I filed a petition with AG Rosenblum. Your response proposes an additional delay of 2 weeks, plus the time needed to send you a check for $2.75.
My request asked for a fee-waiver on the basis of public interest. Given that the UO counseling records incident that led to the hearing at question have been the subject of many news stories in the local, state, and national press, and to proposed and adopted changes in state and federal law, I don’t think there’s much to argue there – the interest certainly exceeds the cost of the $2.75 fee you propose. In any case, if you disagree and do not want to waive the fee, the public records law requires that you explain why you think it is not in the public interest to waive the fee. Your letter doesn’t even try.
Given Mr. Hill’s obstinance, I’m also beginning to wonder if the OPBE (sic) actually has the authority to close these hearings.
The AG’s opinion on his $2.75 fee is due Friday.
On Nov 17, 2015, at 10:18 PM
Doug Blandy needs to get with UO’s new transparency and shared governance movement. Here’s the job posting for his new Assistant VP: http://jobs.uoregon.edu/unclassified.php?id=5300: … Academic Affairs has a strong role in advising and communicating with all departments/units and colleges in the interpretation of academic practice and policy. The assistant vice provost supports…
That’s the rumor from Camilla Mortensen in the Eugene Weekly, here: Sources at the Eugene Register-Guard tell EW that an email went out on Dec. 17 informing R-Gstaffers that N. Christian Anderson is no longer editor and publisher of the paper. Anderson started at the R-G June 1, after leaving The…
He just does it. Sara Germano of the WSJ has the story here: The new buildings come at a critical moment in Nike’s history. The company’s co-founder and chairman Phil Knight—who traditionally has had the last word on who receives the honor, according to the person familiar with the process—is planning…
12/16/2015: While Governor Kate Brown has proposed significant reforms to the law for the upcoming 2016 legislative session, such as a public advocate (see below), AG Ellen Rosenblum’s task force is planning a revision of the public records law for the 2017 session. The link to the task force is here.
I’ve been sitting through their 3rd meeting for 2 hours now, and I’d say the jury is still out as to whether the AG’s rewrite of the law will improve Oregon public records transparency, or make it worse.
The editorial pages of Oregon’s newspapers, having been burned by a similar effort from John Kroger, are very skeptical.
12/14/2015:
Governor Kate Brown wants an Oregon public records advocate:
I nominate Steve Duin for the job. The full text of her speech to the Oregon Leadership Summit, in the Oregonian here:
Ken Goe of the Oregonian asks the question, here. The Duck’s new QB is an Econ major at Montana State, and will come to UO as a grad student. As it happens, I have two degrees in economics from Montana State University, a BS and an MS. I transferred there after…
This would be U of Iowa President J. Bruce Harreld, speaking at a staff meeting. The Chronicle has the story here. Apparently Mr. Harreld, a former businessman, consultant, and HBS adjunct, also believes there is only “one way” to prepare lessons. Harreld was brought to Iowa by Parker Search, the same firm…
Bob Keefer had the scoop on the sudden disappearance of Oregon Bach Festival Executive Director John Evans last November, on his Eugene Art Talk blog, here: In a wide-ranging interview last week, Evans said he gave notice on Oct. 4 to the UO’s acting senior vice president and provost, Frances…
Plus a year in jail, and three years probation. His hometown paper has the sad story, here.
December 15 is UO Constitution Day. The UO Constitution lays out the division of responsibilities between the UO President and the UO Faculty, and the procedures for resolving disputes. It was adopted by the UO Faculty Assembly on December 7th 2011, and signed by UO President Richard Lariviere on December 15th.
In honor of the event I am posting a history of the Constitution, from the pseudonymous “Old Man”. As prelude, here is the video from the Assembly meeting. The introduction by Senate President Robert Kyr (Music) is followed by Susan Gary (Law), John Bonine (Law) and Peter Keyes (Architecture) giving excellent explanations of what the constitution means:
I had no involvement in writing the constitution or its adoption. I would appreciate it if those who did would post comments and corrections.
The History of the UO Constitution
(and the Policy on Policies)
as Recalled by the Old Man
Introduction: This document recounts the loss of the University’s century-old tradition of faculty governance, enshrined in its Charter, and events leading to its recovery through the creation and adoption of the Constitution of the University of Oregon.
University of Oregon Charter
“The President and professors constitute the faculty of the University, and, as such, shall have the immediate government and discipline of it and the students therein…”
Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) § 352.010; originally section 14 of Law No. 9, Oregon Laws 1876
The Good Old Days
That’s the word from a colleague down at the faculty club tonight. He was a bit far into the Gluhwein, so this one may not be as credible as the usual faculty club rumor.
Another positive move by President Schill to address longstanding problems in Johnson Hall. Announcement here: Organizational Changes in Finance and Administration December 10, 2015 Dear Colleagues– I am very pleased to announce a number of changes within the Finance and Administration (VPFA) portfolio, all of which are aimed at improving…
That’s the rumor from Bob Keefer’s Eugene Art Talk, here. Also see his post on the closing of the Jacobs Art Gallery, here.