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UO Matters

Smoke your O at the Phildo

The Olympic torch lighting signifies the start of the games, but when track and field events are underway for the World Athletics Championships this summer at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field, a new tradition will spark. The tall tower outside of Hayward Field, long called the “Phildo,” will be…

President Schill and GC Kevin Reed’s work sets important legal precedent on equal pay for faculty

And fortunately that precedent is the exact opposite of what they’d hoped for when they spent UO’s money on a losing fight against Professor Jennifer Freyd’s equal pay lawsuit. Some snippets from Law 360 below. My favorite part is “Counsel for the University of Oregon did not respond to an…

In the name of equity, UO Admin forbids faculty from requiring masks in their classes

Equity. You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means. Some faculty are young, single, low risk. Others have unvaccinated kids, are immunocompromised, taking care of someone who is, or are just plain old. Our administration wants to treat them all the same:…

UO Trustees meet to accept big Ballmer gift, cut real tuition, & replace Chuck Lillis with another Uncle Phil lackey

Yeah sorry this is late but I really don’t care much either. Board Chair Chuck Lillis is finally stepping down – so far without any of the bankruptcies, lawsuits and pension money raids that marked his service on the WaMu and other corporate boards. I’m sure Uncle Phil has another…

UO Policy revision will allow Pres Schill & Trustees to expel students & fire faculty for failure to “Honor the rights, dignity, essential worth, and well-being of all individuals.”

It appears to be a flagrant violation of the First Amendment and the Oregon Constitution, but presumably our leaders think they can use it as a threat against troublesome faculty and students until FIRE brings a lawsuit. My first reaction to this was disbelief, and in case yours is the…

Massive strikes at UK universities over ‘unsustainable’ working conditions

From Nature (thanks to a generally reliable correspondent): … Staff risked their personal safety to teach in person during the pandemic, and many have reported frequently working weekends, says Jo Grady, general secretary of the UCU. “The fact that we love what we do makes us easily exploitable,” adds Leach.…

Pres Schill calls for raises for underpaid UO faculty to increase excellence!

In a bold move, President Schill took to the RG Op-Ed page today with data showing that UO’s faculty are underpaid relative to their peers, arguing that pay increases would improve UO’s teaching and research performance. 2020-21: But of course I’m kidding about what Pres Schill wrote. His op-ed below…