You can mess with academics, but this university all pulls on the same oar.
Chip Kelly gives President Lariviere the game ball.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Governor backs State Board
From a press release earlier today (Saturday):
"First, let me say that the situation involving the Oregon State Board of Higher Education and Dr. Richard Lariviere has nothing to do with an "ongoing difference of opinion over the future of the University of Oregon," as Dr. Lariviere suggested in an email sent out to faculty and students last Tuesday.
My education strategy includes building a world class, innovative system of higher education that delivers better results for students and serves as an engine for our state's economic recovery. Achieving these goals requires all of our university campuses, the Oregon University System and the State Board of Higher Education to be pulling in the same direction.
While the timing of the Board's action on Dr. Richard Lariviere's employment contract may come as a surprise to some, the possible decision to terminate his contract should not, given his record.
There have been a number of well-publicized incidents involving Dr. Lariviere that have eroded trust and confidence with the Board of Higher Education. He disregarded Board direction on more than one occasion. His decision to bypass the Board and lobby for increased independence for the University of Oregon was a clear violation of policy and made our larger, collective efforts to advance system-wide reform much more difficult. Consequently, Dr Lariviere's employment contract was limited to one year and included specific performance standards in an attempt both to alert Dr. Lariviere to the seriousness of these issues and to create an opportunity to rebuild trust.
But his conduct has not changed.
Most recently, after agreeing face-to-face with the other presidents to limit compensation increases given the state budget's severe revenue constraints, Dr. Lariviere unilaterally granted substantial salary increases to his administrators and faculty. Unlike every other university president in the state, he disregarded my specific direction on holding tight and delaying discussion about retention and equity pay increases until the next biennium to allow for a consistent, system-wide policy on salaries.
His decision not only undermined the Board, it undermined my own directive and the credibility of my administration with the other campuses that complied with the agreement. I am not saying that retention increases are not warranted – they are – but the faculty retention problem is not unique to the University of Oregon. By acting alone, Dr. Lariviere has created significant difficulty for other schools. At Portland State University, the increased pressure on the administration continues to prevent successful conclusion of contract negotiations with its faculty. His actions show little regard for the needs of the rest of the university system, other campuses, and the state.
Dr. Lariviere's popularity in the University of Oregon community speaks for itself. But evaluating his performance requires more. His responsibility to the Board of Higher Education and his contribution to the larger issues and success of the entire system fall short. Indeed, Dr. Lariviere's actions have done damage to our vision for higher education and other institutions of higher learning; and, ironically, have served to undercut his own aspirations for the University of Oregon.
His vision for the U of O ultimately needs the support of the Governor, the Speaker of the House, the President of the Senate and a majority in both chambers of the legislature. That does not exist today. I am personally committed to the concept of local governing boards and seeking new funding sources for Oregon's universities, including consideration of an endowment funding model, but Dr. Lariviere has made the path to reform much steeper. Indeed, the orchestrated media blitz over the past few days has made some of those who are not warm to his ideas even more resistant.
In my opinion, should the Board of Higher Education decide to terminate Dr. Lariviere's contract on this basis, it would be fully justified from an executive management standpoint. Any private sector CEO, faced with a division manager who was totally dedicated to his or her specific department but willfully and repeatedly undermined the needs and goals of the overall company would, I expect, fire the manager – and probably after the first instance of such behavior; not the second. And few would be sympathetic to a call for special treatment.
The Board of Higher Education is a group of thoughtful and dedicated Oregonians – many of whom have executive management experience themselves – and I am confident that their decision will not be arrived at lightly but only after much deliberation. I intend to fully support them as we pursue excellence in higher education across the state of Oregon."
"First, let me say that the situation involving the Oregon State Board of Higher Education and Dr. Richard Lariviere has nothing to do with an "ongoing difference of opinion over the future of the University of Oregon," as Dr. Lariviere suggested in an email sent out to faculty and students last Tuesday.
My education strategy includes building a world class, innovative system of higher education that delivers better results for students and serves as an engine for our state's economic recovery. Achieving these goals requires all of our university campuses, the Oregon University System and the State Board of Higher Education to be pulling in the same direction.
While the timing of the Board's action on Dr. Richard Lariviere's employment contract may come as a surprise to some, the possible decision to terminate his contract should not, given his record.
There have been a number of well-publicized incidents involving Dr. Lariviere that have eroded trust and confidence with the Board of Higher Education. He disregarded Board direction on more than one occasion. His decision to bypass the Board and lobby for increased independence for the University of Oregon was a clear violation of policy and made our larger, collective efforts to advance system-wide reform much more difficult. Consequently, Dr Lariviere's employment contract was limited to one year and included specific performance standards in an attempt both to alert Dr. Lariviere to the seriousness of these issues and to create an opportunity to rebuild trust.
But his conduct has not changed.
Most recently, after agreeing face-to-face with the other presidents to limit compensation increases given the state budget's severe revenue constraints, Dr. Lariviere unilaterally granted substantial salary increases to his administrators and faculty. Unlike every other university president in the state, he disregarded my specific direction on holding tight and delaying discussion about retention and equity pay increases until the next biennium to allow for a consistent, system-wide policy on salaries.
His decision not only undermined the Board, it undermined my own directive and the credibility of my administration with the other campuses that complied with the agreement. I am not saying that retention increases are not warranted – they are – but the faculty retention problem is not unique to the University of Oregon. By acting alone, Dr. Lariviere has created significant difficulty for other schools. At Portland State University, the increased pressure on the administration continues to prevent successful conclusion of contract negotiations with its faculty. His actions show little regard for the needs of the rest of the university system, other campuses, and the state.
Dr. Lariviere's popularity in the University of Oregon community speaks for itself. But evaluating his performance requires more. His responsibility to the Board of Higher Education and his contribution to the larger issues and success of the entire system fall short. Indeed, Dr. Lariviere's actions have done damage to our vision for higher education and other institutions of higher learning; and, ironically, have served to undercut his own aspirations for the University of Oregon.
His vision for the U of O ultimately needs the support of the Governor, the Speaker of the House, the President of the Senate and a majority in both chambers of the legislature. That does not exist today. I am personally committed to the concept of local governing boards and seeking new funding sources for Oregon's universities, including consideration of an endowment funding model, but Dr. Lariviere has made the path to reform much steeper. Indeed, the orchestrated media blitz over the past few days has made some of those who are not warm to his ideas even more resistant.
In my opinion, should the Board of Higher Education decide to terminate Dr. Lariviere's contract on this basis, it would be fully justified from an executive management standpoint. Any private sector CEO, faced with a division manager who was totally dedicated to his or her specific department but willfully and repeatedly undermined the needs and goals of the overall company would, I expect, fire the manager – and probably after the first instance of such behavior; not the second. And few would be sympathetic to a call for special treatment.
The Board of Higher Education is a group of thoughtful and dedicated Oregonians – many of whom have executive management experience themselves – and I am confident that their decision will not be arrived at lightly but only after much deliberation. I intend to fully support them as we pursue excellence in higher education across the state of Oregon."
Buses to Occupy OUS on Monday
Here is the latest on the Monday State Board of Higher Education Meeting via past Senate President Nathan Tublitz (for current Senate Pres Robert Kyr and the Senate Executive Committee). There are only two buses being rented. If people let the Senate know that we will need more transportation, then I'm sure that the funds can be raised to provide it. By the way, it looks like there won't be an opportunity for a stop in Salem on Monday. That will have to wait until later depending on how things roll during the rest of the week.
TIME: 2-5pm. The Board will meet in Executive Session at 2pm. The public part of the meeting will begin at approximately 3pm. Senate President Robert Kyr will speak shortly after the beginning of the public meeting.
LOCATION: OUS Boardroom, 1800 SW 6th Avenue, Suite 515, Portland State University campus, Academic and Student Recreation Center, Portland, OR, 97201
PRE-MEETING GATHERING: The Oregon Business Institute in Portland has generously offered the use of several rooms for us to gather prior to the meeting.
OBI is in the 200 Market Street building. That is between 2nd and 3rd Avenues on Market Street. It is roughly 3 blocks from the OUS Boardroom.
TRANSPORTATION:
By bus: The UO Alumni Association has generously offered to provide two buses for this event. Buses will leave at 12:15 pm Monday from the front of the Ford Alumni Center.
By car: OBI has a parking garage under their building which they have offered for our use. The garage is located on Market Street immediately after passing by 3rd Avenue You will need to pull a ticket and go up to the OBI office to obtain free validation stickers.
Carpooling: Please send a message to N. Tublitz at tublitz@uoregon.edu if you need a ride or have available space in your vehicle.
ATTIRE: Please wear UO colors if possible.
We are hoping for a huge turnout at the Board Meeting in support of our President. Please feel free to pass this on to others.
TIME: 2-5pm. The Board will meet in Executive Session at 2pm. The public part of the meeting will begin at approximately 3pm. Senate President Robert Kyr will speak shortly after the beginning of the public meeting.
LOCATION: OUS Boardroom, 1800 SW 6th Avenue, Suite 515, Portland State University campus, Academic and Student Recreation Center, Portland, OR, 97201
PRE-MEETING GATHERING: The Oregon Business Institute in Portland has generously offered the use of several rooms for us to gather prior to the meeting.
OBI is in the 200 Market Street building. That is between 2nd and 3rd Avenues on Market Street. It is roughly 3 blocks from the OUS Boardroom.
TRANSPORTATION:
By bus: The UO Alumni Association has generously offered to provide two buses for this event. Buses will leave at 12:15 pm Monday from the front of the Ford Alumni Center.
By car: OBI has a parking garage under their building which they have offered for our use. The garage is located on Market Street immediately after passing by 3rd Avenue You will need to pull a ticket and go up to the OBI office to obtain free validation stickers.
Carpooling: Please send a message to N. Tublitz at tublitz@uoregon.edu if you need a ride or have available space in your vehicle.
ATTIRE: Please wear UO colors if possible.
We are hoping for a huge turnout at the Board Meeting in support of our President. Please feel free to pass this on to others.
OUS Ethics Violation Complaint Filed
UO Matters outlines an Oregon Government Ethics Commission complaint that is being filed by more than 50 UO faculty members. The gist of the argument is that the State Board of Higher Education decided to fire President Lariviere in a closed meeting (via phone calls) and have in fact been proceeding as though that is already a done deal, whereas they are required by law to discuss on vote on the situation in a public meeting. Local folks recall the trouble some Lane County Commissioners got into for similar behavior.
Word has it that things may get ugly for the Governor as well, as a group of legislators is very unhappy with this action. The Governor is still above it all at this point, so everyone can save face by a reversal at Monday's meeting. We all need to get along for just seven more months until Senate Bill 909 kicks in. We can do this for the sake of the children of Oregon.
Word has it that things may get ugly for the Governor as well, as a group of legislators is very unhappy with this action. The Governor is still above it all at this point, so everyone can save face by a reversal at Monday's meeting. We all need to get along for just seven more months until Senate Bill 909 kicks in. We can do this for the sake of the children of Oregon.
Football consciousness
Great show of support today for #istandwiththehat at Autzen stadium today. Dozens of faculty members handed out thousands of flyers to largely confused attendees. This was indeed a great opportunity to keep folks informed.
The effort was greatly helped by "We Stand with the Hat" banners at all four corners of the stadium. Good presence there as well as to the TV audience (banner close up here). The President of the Alumni Association did a superman routine with a "hat" t-shirt under his outer shirt, and President Lariviere got a standing ovation from the crowd.
By halftime, many fans were asking what the deal with "We Stand with the Hat" was -- more opportunity for flyers all around.
Here is a bad pic of the stadium banners in action.
The effort was greatly helped by "We Stand with the Hat" banners at all four corners of the stadium. Good presence there as well as to the TV audience (banner close up here). The President of the Alumni Association did a superman routine with a "hat" t-shirt under his outer shirt, and President Lariviere got a standing ovation from the crowd.
By halftime, many fans were asking what the deal with "We Stand with the Hat" was -- more opportunity for flyers all around.
Here is a bad pic of the stadium banners in action.
UO Deans speak out in support of Lariviere
Here is the text of the statement from the UO Deans in support of President Lariviere that appeared in Saturday's Register Guard:
The decision of the Oregon State Board of Higher Education not to renew President Richard Lariviere’s contract is a body blow to the University of Oregon and to the state. The ouster of this visionary, effective president will have a profoundly negative effect on families, businesses and communities in all corners of our state and beyond.
The deans at the University of Oregon urge the board and the governor to reconsider before it is too late.
As deans of the UO schools and colleges, we work closely with faculty and staff who prepare students for success in an increasingly complex world. We work every day with internationally recognized faculty whose research and creative activity have an impact around the world while bringing millions of dollars into the state.
We are charged with assuring that the university fulfills its mission as a public research institution. Despite declining state support, despite economic uncertainty and despite increased competition for the best students and faculty, the UO is a better university today than it was three years ago.
We are poised to make even greater progress, in part, because our president has modeled and encouraged creative, innovative, future-oriented thought and action. We are on a roll, to the benefit of all. Please do not stop us now.
President Lariviere has earned our confidence — not because we have agreed with all of his ideas, but because he is intelligent, creative and bold in the pursuit of excellence.
We are unanimous in giving the president an A+ for his vision, his leadership and his unwavering commitment to public higher education. We are confident that an evaluation of his performance based on appropriate metrics would lead to a similar grade. We can only conclude that the state board and the governor gave him an F in “plays well with state bureaucracies.”
Oregon cannot afford to lose a visionary leader over style points.
This controversy is about the future of Oregon. Without the development of new ways to support and deliver higher education in our state, both our private and public sectors will collapse, leaving us with mediocrity throughout.
At a time when the state is struggling to balance its budget, struggling to build an infrastructure for renewed growth and struggling to compete in an increasingly competitive global marketplace, we must not gamble with our economic and intellectual future.
Our protest is not about protecting our boss; it is about excellence. Twenty-four years ago, UO President Paul Olum was removed from office because he advocated for a new relationship between the UO and the state. Time and again, UO presidents have told the board, the legislature and the governor that the university cannot achieve its full potential without a change in the status quo models of financing and governance.
We are seeing the potentially devastating impact of this decision to change leadership. In the last 48 hours, every dean has had some of our best faculty question whether they can stay. Every dean has had alumni and supporters express second thoughts about investing their time and money in the UO.
Faculty and students come to the UO because they believe in our potential to be bold, creative, imaginative and empowering. Firing our president would send a tragically wrong message.
President Lariviere was hired by the board and supported by the UO community because he promised to lead us in finding a new model for excellence in higher education in Oregon. The UO community challenges the board, the governor and our president to forge a new path so that we can continue to build a great university for the benefit of all Oregonians.
Tim Gleason is dean of the UO School of Journalism and Communication. Others contributing to this statement were Michael Bullis, dean of the College of Education; Frances Bronet, dean of the School of Architecture and Allied Arts; Deb Carver, dean of Libraries; Scott Coltrane, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; Cornelis “Kees” de Kluyver, dean of the Lundquist College of Business; Brad Foley, dean of the School of Music and Dance; David Frank, dean of the Honors College; Sandra Morgen, vice provost of Graduate Studies and associate dean of Graduate Studies; and Michael Moffitt, dean of the School of Law.
Civil War Activism
Today is the best chance to move the publicity meter forward in anticipation for Monday's meeting of the State Board of Higher Education, in which the firing of President Richard Lariviere is the sole agenda item. The Board and the Governor need to know that the political cost of this action is far too high and that the citizens of Oregon demand that the University of Oregon and all of the universities in the be free to seek true excellence in high education. To do otherwise will cause irreparable harm to the state and to its economy (the UO generates $2 billion in economic impact on Oregon each year).
Here is a new and improved flyer for people to distribute: New flyer
Here is a half page flyer for those concerned about being concise and saving paper: Half Page Flyer
Here is a new and improved flyer for people to distribute: New flyer
Here is a half page flyer for those concerned about being concise and saving paper: Half Page Flyer
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