President Schill’s decision to dename Dunn Hall has been confirmed by the UO Board, as has his decision to delay a decision on Deady until the students are back on campus and can participate.
President Schill’s message to the University community on this subject is here: http://president.uoregon.edu/content/deady-and-dunn-halls-next-steps
We are opening this part of the Senate blog as a place for discussion on the potential denaming and renaming, so please add your comments.
The BOT website is here.
We’ve posted a more convenient version of their agenda below, and have opened up the comments for those with a UO email address.
Academic and Student Affairs Committee —8:30 am – September 8, 2016, Ford Alumni Center, Giustina Ballroom [Materials]
Convene – Call to order, roll call – Introductory comments and agenda review – Approval of June 2016 ASAC minutes (Action) – Public comment
1. Academic Program Review: Scott Coltrane, Senior Vice President and Provost; Susan Anderson, Senior Vice Provost
2. Student Success Initiatives: Scott Coltrane, Senior Vice President and Provost; Lisa Freinkel, Dean of Undergraduate Studies; Ron Bramhall, Assistant Vice Provost for Academic Affairs; Doneka Scott, Associate Vice Provost for Student Success
Finance and Facilities Committee — September 8, 2016 [Materials] 10:00 am – September 8, 2016
Convene – Call to order and roll call – Approval of June 2016 FFC minutes (Action) – Public comment
1. Quarterly and Year‐End Finance Report: Jamie Moffitt, Vice President for Finance and
Administration/CFO
2. Auxiliary Budget Review: Athletics: Rob Mullens, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics; Eric Roedl, Deputy Athletic Director
3. Capital Construction & Planning
‐‐Oregon Hall Renovation (Action): Jamie Moffitt, Vice President for Finance and Administration/CFO
‐‐Pacific Hall Renovation (Action): David Conover, Vice President for Research and Innovation; Bill Cresko, Professor and Associate Vice President for Research
4. UO Buildings – Energy Policies and Programs: Michael Harwood, Associate VP for Campus Planning and Facilities Management
Executive and Audit Committee —1:15 pm – September 8, 2016 Ford Alumni Center, Giustina Ballroom [Materials]
Convene – Call to order, roll call – Approval of June 2016 EAC minutes (Action)
1. Quarterly Audit Report and Amendment to Internal Audit Charter (Action): Trisha Burnett, Chief Auditor
2. University IT and Computing Priorities Update: Scott Coltrane, Senior Vice President and Provost; Chris Krabiel, Interim CIO; Adriene Lim, Dean of Libraries
Meeting Adjourns
Meeting of the Board — September 8-9, 2016 [Materials]
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 – 2:00 pm – Convene Public Meeting
– Call to order, roll call, verification of quorum – Approval of June 2016 minutes (Action) – Public comment
Those wishing to provide comment must sign up advance and review the public comment guidelines either online (http://trustees.uoregon.edu/meetings) or at the check-in table at the meeting.
1. Recommendation re Dunn Hall (Action): Michael Schill, President
2. Seconded Motions and Resolutions (Actions)
–Seconded Motion from FFC: Pacific Hall Renovation (pending September 8 committee action)
–Seconded Motion from FFC: Oregon Hall Renovation (pending September 8 committee action)
3. New Administrator Introductions: Scott Coltrane, Senior Vice President and Provost
4. President’s Report: Michael Schill, President
Meeting Recessed
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9 – 9:30 am – Reconvene Public Meeting
5. Presidential Assessment Report: Chuck Lillis, Chair; Ginevra Ralph, Vice Chair
6. AY16-17 Tuition and Fee Setting-Process: Scott Coltrane, Senior Vice President and Provost
7. Clusters in Focus
–Center for Genome Function: Eric Selker, Professor of Biology and Member of the Institute for Molecular Biology; Diana Libuda, Assistant Professor of Biology; Jeffrey McKnight, Assistant Professor of Biology
–Health Promotion, Obesity Prevention & Human Development: Beth Stormshak, Professor of Counseling Psychology and Human Services and Director of the Prevention Science Institute
8. Federal Funding at the UO: David Conover, Vice President for Research and Innovation; Jim
Brooks, Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Management and Director of Financial Aid and Scholarships
9. UO Portland – Update: Jane Gordon, Vice Provost for UO Portland
Meeting Adjourned
10/6/2016:
From: Angela Wilhelms <wilhelms@uoregon.edu>
Subject: Standing Meeting Reports
Date: October 6, 2016 at 2:08:43 PM PDT
To: Senate President <senatepres@uoregon.edu>, Quinn Haaga <qhaaga@uoregon.edu>
Cc: Amanda Hatch <ahatch@uoregon.edu>, Jennifer LaBelle <jlabelle@uoregon.edu>
Bill and Quinn,
I hope this email finds you both well and enjoying the start of another busy academic year!
Chair Lillis asked me to extend an invitation to both of you to present a standing report at the Board of Trustees meetings, beginning with the next meeting in December.
ASUO and University Senate standing reports were a part of board meetings during the first several meetings. However, they were removed from the agenda in favor of written reports when some presenters used the time to speak to the audience and rally crowds, rather than update the board on the progress and goings-on within the respective organization.
The Chair believes that we are past some of those practices, and he trusts that trustees can resume receiving updates from you (or your designees if you cannot attend) that are informative and insightful.
We ask that you still provide a written version of your report so that trustees can read it in advance and come prepared with any questions. The oral reports are scheduled for 5 minutes each, so you could easily include more detailed information in the written material. These are not intended to be two different reports.
Amanda will be in touch prior to each meeting with the time, and she’ll be your point of contact on logistics and details. Barring some reason to adjust the schedule, these will almost always take place near the very beginning of the meeting after public comment.
Let me know if you have any question!
Angela
P.S. Since the December meeting is in Portland, we will have a live teleconference feed to a room on campus so that the two of you, as well as people interested in making public comment, don’t have to travel to Portland. Amanda will have those details closer to time as well so that you can share it with your respective groups.
Angela Wilhelms
University Secretary
University of Oregon
O: 541.346.5561 | C: 503.931.5426
9/6/2016: Senate Pres Harbaugh letter to Board Chair Lillis
Dear UO Board Chair Lillis, and UO Trustees:
I am writing to you as UO Senate President. Last week the Board Secretary asked me to submit written comments to you for this week’s meeting, and then to answer questions at some point during the time you have set aside on your next agenda “for public comments”.
I refused, because I believe, as have all previous UO Senate presidents since UO independence, that our Board of Trustees should be willing to give the Senate some specific time on their agenda for discussing academic matters with them. I see that the UO student leadership also does not appear on your agenda. Apparently they have also been put in the public comment period.
This is not normal. The boards of governors of other AAU universities regularly set aside scheduled time on their agendas for the representatives of the faculty and the students – and what else is a university about? – to speak, ask questions of the board, and answer the board’s questions. (Besides, the comments from the public are often among the more interesting parts of the board meetings, and I hate the idea that the Senate’s time will take away from the public’s.)
The UO Senate has in past years scheduled time for both Chair Lillis and Trustee Ballmer to speak to us. The Senate made sure these presentations were well promoted, and that everyone understood their importance. Turnout was large and these interactions helped the faculty and the university understand the board, and built some trust in it. As Senate President I welcome requests from any trustee to speak, and I will treat them with the same respect that the Senate has done in the past.
In that spirit, I hope that your next agenda will explicitly schedule time for the Senate leadership to address the board and to ask and answer questions about academic matters. I promise to bring plenty to the table.
Yours,
Bill Harbaugh
Economics Professor & Senate President
University of Oregon
President Schill sent this message to the campus community regarding the potential denaming of Deady and/or Dunn Hall. We will collate and share any opinions expressed here with President Schill regarding this decision or the process to arrive at it.
Dear Campus Community,
The University of Oregon is undergoing a self-examination of its policies and practices with respect to race and inclusion, similar to many other universities throughout the nation. Last year, a group of students under the banner of the Black Student Task Force (BSTF) presented me with a set of 13 demands that ranged from creating new programs and increasing African American enrollment to construction of a Black cultural center on or near campus. We continue to make progress on these issues as outlined in a letter to campus in spring. Today, I am providing new information and asking for input regarding the BSTF’s call to change the names of Deady and Dunn Halls because of the racist views and actions of the men for whom the buildings were named.
Earlier this year, I charged a committee—chaired by Associate Professor Charise Cheney and composed of faculty members, administrators, and students—to provide me with a set of criteria that would guide a decision to dename campus buildings. I considered the committee’s recommendations and, in a letter to the campus dated May 6, announced a set of criteria and processes. I asked three prominent historians to carefully review and investigate the historical records of both Deady and Dunn in relation to these criteria.
These three historians provided me with their report on August 5, which is available here on my website. As I requested, the report does not make recommendations about denaming either building. Instead, it carefully considers each criterion through a painstaking analysis of historical records and archives as well as relevant court cases.
The historians’ report is a sobering account of a tumultuous and difficult period in Oregon’s history. I encourage you to read the report and invite you to provide me with your views on whether one or both of the buildings should be denamed.
I would greatly appreciate it if you would provide me with your comments using this form by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 24. Following this comment period, I will carefully consider the report and all the comments before announcing next steps, including the possibility of taking a denaming proposal for one or both buildings to the UO Board of Trustees at some point in the future.
I would like to thank the three historians for their expertise, time, and attention to this important issue. I also would like to acknowledge that the ultimate decision about whether to dename a building is exceedingly difficult and that the historical record in this case is a complicated one. Reasonable people, ethical people, well-meaning people will disagree about the right course of action. One of the things I have been most proud of during my first year as your president is that our community—led by our students—has approached some of the most painful issues facing our society with a tremendous level of commitment, care, and good sense. I am confident that as we move toward a decision on Deady and Dunn Halls, that level of wisdom and sense of community will continue to be in evidence.
Sincerely,
Mike
See also:
Letter to President Schill from the Executive Council of United Academics
