UO Northern California Connection

Get ready, this is a long one! It’s been a year to remember…

2013 marked my five-year anniversary at the University of Oregon. I’m amazed at the progress we’ve made in this relatively short period of time. This year in review highlights many of the year’s triumphs, but only scratches the surface of the success we achieved over the last several years.

I also write to say that this will be my last and final post, for a while, perhaps indefinitely. I’m retiring the UO Northern California Connection blog to make way for new communications and new partnerships with the UO Alumni Association, Duck Athletics, and the greater university community. We are moving toward an integrated model of external relations and outreach. Advancement 2.0, as we’re calling it, will bring us all closer together as we advance the mission of this great university.

And without further ado, here is your 2013 year in review:

The Big News!

First and foremost, the Oregon legislature passed a groundbreaking bill, Senate Bill 270, allowing the University of Oregon to establish an independent institutional governing board and assume greater control and responsibility for day-to-day operations and future directions. Read more about this game-changing bill and get to know our newly appointed Board of Trustees!

A big second, for only the 2^nd time in UO history we raised over $200 million dollars in a single year! Remarkably, donors in the Northern California region contributed over $17.1 million, accounting for 8.6% of total dollars raised. More than 41,460 individuals, companies, and foundations contributed to our banner year. THANK YOU!

Athletic Highlights

• 2013 started and ended with a BCS bowl victory! At the beginning of the year the Ducks sent Chip Kelly out in style with a Fiesta Bowl win and at the end of the year Mark Helfrich achieved his first victory at the Alamo Bowl. Of course, we also waved a sad but glorious goodbye to long-time defensive coordinator, Nick Aliotti.
• Oregon men’s basketball made it to the Sweet Sixteen!
• We wowed the world of collegiate athletics with the opening of our new football building, the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex (read more or watch a video).
• The 2013 Oregon men’s and women’s track and field recruiting seasons were each ranked No. 1 by Track and Field News (read more).
• Duck football raised $218,075 for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund with their bright pink helmets!
• Oregon’s cross country teams returned to the NCAA Championships and Edward Cheserek was named the National Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (read more about this outstanding athlete).
• Seven women’s soccer players earned Pac-12 academic recognition (read more).
• The Ducks ranked No. 6 in a collegiate baseball preseason poll. Get ready to “play ball” in 2014!
• Oregon secured a long term agreement to host the NCAA Track and Field Championships for the next eight years. Go TrackTown USA!
• Women’s golf rose to No. 17 and placed 5^th at the inaugural Pac-12 Preview, achieving a historic season (read more).
• Oregon women’s volleyball coach Jim Moore and freshman Amanda Benson were named as part of a 2014 Pac-12 all-start team. The team will compete in China in June of 2014!

Academic Highlights

• School of Architecture and Allied Arts Dean, Frances Bronet and landscape architecture instructor, Anne Godfrey were named amongst DesignIntelligence’s 30 Most Admired Educators of the year!
• The Center for the Study of Women in Society (CSWS) celebrated 40 years of feminist scholarship at the UO – a timely anniversary as Sheryl Sandberg and others challenged us to “Lean In” and redefine feminism for the modern age. Watch the CSWS “Agents of Change” documentary.
• We read a lot about the microbiome and its effects on our health in the news. UO researchers received one of two national grants to establish a research center in the area of systems biology. The new Microbial Ecology and Theory of Animals (META) Center for Systems Biology puts the UO on the map as a nationally recognized leader in host-microbes systems biology (read more).
• The Warsaw Sports Marketing Center celebrated its 20^th anniversary (read more) and announced the development of a new Master’s in Sports Product Management degree program (follow the program’s development on Facebook).
• The College of Education and School of Law achieved several Top 10 spots in the 2014 U.S. News & World Report ranking of graduate programs (read more).
• The Oregon legislature launched a new partnership anchored by UO and OSU to spur innovation and support economics development. The Oregon RAIN (Regional Accelerator and Innovation Network) (read more) will provide the fuel turn our emerging Silicon Shire into a hotbed of invention, a new Oregon Valley of innovation stirs!
• The UO Chamber Choir placed 1^st in a major international competition in Ireland (read more and watch a video of their performance).
• UO biologist Jessica Green was named a Guggenheim Fellow for her work on the ecology of the built environment. She became the 61^st recipient of the esteemed award in UO history (read more). Watch Green’s TED Talk on health and the built environment.
• UO faculty received grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for the first time in UO research history – Biologist Janis Weeks (read more) and Chemist Richard Chartoff (read more).
• The Lillis Business Complex, the first sustainably built business school in the nation, celebrated its 10-year anniversary!’
• A number of new faculty were inducted into prestigious academies such as Jon Erlandson in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (read more).
• The award winning Sustainable Cities Year Program announced the city of Medford, OR as their next subject of study (read more).
• Dean Tim Gleason received the Charles E. Scripps Award as journalism and mass communication administrator of the year!
• The UO Opera Ensemble placed second in the National Opera Association’s annual Collegiate Opera Scenes Competition.
• The UO Investment Group (UOIG) earned more than 48% in the market putting the UO portfolio well ahead of other schools that offer this kind of experiential learning opportunity (read more).
• UO’s Yong Zhao and Helen Neville topped Ed-Scholar’s third annual Public Presence rankings moving ideas “from the pages of academic journals into the national conversation.”

Other Highlights

• The U.S. Secretary of Education praised the UO’s innovative PathwayOregon program for Pell-eligible Oregonians (read more).
• Again ranked one of the most military-friendly college campuses, the UO opened the doors of a brand new Student Veteran’s Center (read more and watch a video of the grand opening).
• The Dalai Lama packed the Matt Knight Arena on a visit to Eugene! (Read about it in the Oregon Quarterly).
• We began renovation on a new Erb Memorial Union and Student Recreation Center (read more). Don’t worry, we’re keeping the fishbowl! Check out “Meet Me at the S.U.” a video on the history of the EMU.
• We celebrated the grand opening of Allen Hall (watch Allen Hall 3.0 video).
• We welcomed the most academically talented, most diverse entering freshman class in Oregon’s history hailing from all 50 states and around 100 countries (browse freshman profiles at Celebrating Champions)
• We celebrated incredible success of outstanding students like Priscilla Dantas (read more), Katelyn Occhipinti (read more), and Benjamin DoVale (read more).
• The UO acquired the collection of cultural icon and literary legend Ken Kesey (read more). There is still work to be done, donut by donut (thanks Voodoo Donuts!) and beer by beer (thanks Rogue and Ninkasi!). Grab a donut, drink a beer, and join the cause!
• We survived record rains in September (sorry ‘bout that Cal – payback is a, well you know) and record snows in December (sure, the football players got a little carried away, but snow in Oregon is such a rarity it’s hard not to get excited!). View photos of Autzen in the snow, read more, view photos and watch video via the Daily Emerald.
• Founder Helmuth Rilling celebrated his last year at the Oregon Bach Festival (read more).
• The UO rose in the rankings to the top 8% of U.S. universities (according to U.S. News & World Report rankings).
• UO students’ anti-rape video “A Needed Response” in response to the Steubenville case went viral and caught national attention. Watch the video on YouTube.
• The UO Alumni Association revamped their brand, launched a new Duck Alumni Career Network, hosted events and watch parties across the country and around the world and all-in-all did some pretty amazing work to grow our alumni community in support of the University of Oregon. Visit the UOAA on Facebook to check out their year in review.

And more! 2013 has been a truly incredible year! A special thanks to our donor and volunteer communities for helping us realize these and many other great achievements in 2013. With your help and with all the positive momentum built throughout the course of the year, we’re sure to witness many new victories in 2014.

Resolve to join us in 2014!

To add to your New Year’s resolution list, I invite you to deepen your connection with your University of Oregon on the rise. The strength of the university is ever more dependent on the strength and support of our alumni and friends. Join us today…

1. Become a member of the UO Alumni Association! Consider a life membership for a life-long relationship with your great university!
2. Give to join a group of donors who are shaping the future of the university, the UO President’s Society. And enjoy all the benefits of being a part of our inner circle of philanthropic Ducks.

Thank you for being a part of the UO!
Wishing you abundant blessings in 2014!
Happy New Year! And Go Ducks!

Legislation that authorizes an institutional governing board for the University of Oregon is on its way to the governor for his signature, after the Oregon House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favor of the bill on Saturday and the Senate concurred with the amended version Monday morning.

House members approved Senate Bill 270 with a vote of 44-15, three days after the Oregon Senate passed the bill with a 23-7 vote. Gov. John Kitzhaber – who has been a strong proponent of the legislation – is expected to sign it into law.

The bill authorizes institutional governing boards for the University of Oregon and Portland State University and the option for Oregon State University. Members of the public boards are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the State Senate.

The legislation also allows Oregon’s other public universities the option of seeking their own governing boards in the future.

“Local governing boards at our public universities will produce increased transparency and public accountability, while at the same time leveraging increased private investment and community engagement,” Kitzhaber said in a statement issued July 3.

UO President Michael Gottfredson, who has advocated an institutional governing board for the university, said the bill’s passage signals “a time of great opportunity, as well as great responsibility” for the UO.

“I have every confidence that in the years ahead, Oregonians will experience the benefits and enjoy the results of the combined leadership of an institutional board dedicated to the interests of this university, and an outstanding faculty and staff committed to education and research at the highest levels,” the president said.

“Together, we will work every day to earn and keep the trust that has been placed in us by the people and communities we serve,” he said.

The UO’s institutional board will be authorized to issue revenue bonds to be repaid from UO resources, to pay for facilities. The board will develop and approve each year’s university budget and will have the authority to hire and fire the president.

The new board will independently set tuition rates, but approval of the legislature or the Higher Education Coordinating Commission will be needed for any increase of more than 5 percent in resident undergraduate tuition.

The UO’s institutional board will have between 11 and 15 members. The approved legislation requires designated seats for a student, a non-faculty employee and a member of the faculty. The student will be a voting member, while the governor will determine at appointment whether the faculty and non-faculty members are voting or non-voting members. The university president will be an ex-officio, non-voting member of the board.