Day one

The full meeting of the University of Oregon Board of Trustees kicked off Thursday morning. The meeting started off with high attendance, a similar crowd to Wednesday’s emergency senate meeting, and the audience was mostly made up of Graduate Teaching Fellows and university senate members. Several audience members provided public comments, most of which were about the about the GTFF strike and shared governance.

Public Comment

Carla McNelly, the Service Employees International Union president, was visibly shaking when she addressed the board.

“I just got reamed by one of the deans,” McNelly said.

In her statement McNelly addressed the UO’s treatment of graduate students, misinformation that was spread about the strike and the potential of an item removed from the board’s agenda to supersede the UO constitution. McNelly affirmed that she, the classified staff and the senate are committed to the university and to shared governance.

“We are here to work together,” McNelly said. “Please, please let us be successful.”

There were many pleas for shared governance and transparency throughout the public comment portion of the meeting.

“Your board is called the Board of Trustees…” said UO assistant professor of philosophy Mark Alfano. “Please, show us that we can trust you.”

Reports

ASUO Vice President Tran Dinh and Student Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Ramos delivered the ASUO President’s report to the board in the absence of Beatriz Gutierrez. Ramos said that during fall term the ASUO worked on five different campaigns for free STD testing, a student tenant association, food security for students, cultural competency and raising awareness for the services offered by the counseling center. Ramos also said that the ASUO have been in full support of the GTFF.

University Senate President Robert Kyr asked the board to join the senate for healing. “We have to have a process of healing,” Kyr said. “Trust has broken down.” Kyr also told the board about two senate motions to investigate grading irregularities and potentially retaliatory disciplinary procedures during the strike.

Board of Trustees member Mary Wilcox gave a special report from the President’s Review Panel, which presented its report to the president on Tuesday. The panel examined the university’s handling of sexual misconduct and presented recommendations for UO to improve prevention and response efforts.

President Coltrane thanked the panel for its report and said that winter term there will be more discussion on campus using the reports of the President’s Review Panel, the Senate Task Force to Address Sexual Violence and Survivor Support and a gap analysis by the division of student life.

Board of Trustee member and head of the Presidential Search Committee, Connie Ballmer, gave an update on the committee’s progress.

Ballmer reaffirmed that there is no timeline for the presidential search but did say that all the search firms that the committee interviewed recommended a concentrated search. The search will officially begin in January and, according to Ballmer, search firms said that the final interviews could be done by April. Ballmer emphasized that there is no definite timeline.

Resolutions

The board approved several resolutions at it’s Thursday meeting. A resolution that could potentially supersede the UO constitution was removed from the agenda on Tuesday.

The board voted unanimously to authorize the creation of a Sport’s Product Management Program, which still needs to be approved by the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission.

The board voted unanimously to amend a UO policy on required reporting. UO Ombudsperson, Bruce McAllister, can now maintain confidentiality in regards to sexual violence except in cases where consent is given to release information or there is an imminent risk of serious harm. Both the Senate Task Force and the President’s Review Panel recommended in their separate reports that that Ombudsperson be exempt from mandatory reporting.

The board also voted to approve a new residence hall project south of the Global Scholars Hall.

The Board of Trustees meeting will continue Friday, December 12 at 8 a.m. in the Ford Alumni Center. The meeting is open to the public. This post will be updated.

The University of Oregon Senate held an emergency meeting on Wednesday to address academic integrity and shared governance.

Lawrence 115 erupted in applause when University of Oregon Senate President Robert Kyr entered Wednesday’s emergency meeting.

As of Wednesday morning the Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation strike has ended, and a controversial item on the Board of Trustees’ December agenda was removed.

Today’s Senate both praised and criticized UO’s administration and for their handling of the GTFF strike.

In the wake of the strike, issues including academic integrity and the Senate’s responsibility to preside over academic matters were brought to the surface.

Bonnie Mann, head of the philosophy department, said that it was hard to take all the “happy duck talk” at the meeting in light of recent events surrounding the GTFF strike.

“We just went through something where the administration marched ahead with a grading plan and a grading policy and they did not stop when the faculty senate spoke,” Mann said. “They continued with that grading plan up until today. As we are trying to restore these relationships, which we have to do and which I am totally behind, I want us to remember that something really egregious happened. We need to be careful as we proceed not to be too happy too fast.”

Mann was visibly supported by today’s attendee’s and received a standing ovation. Throughout the remainder of the meeting, she continued to contribute her concerns about academic integrity. Mann wasn’t the only one.

“There’s a huge concern that academic integrity has not been maintained at all,” Jane Cramer, associate professor of political science, said. “A lot of students were issued final grades, not provisional grades, based on part of their class with tremendous grade inflation. And those are final. I don’t know if that’s integrity.”

The Senate also addressed shared governance during the two hour emergency meeting. Michael Dreiling, a member of the Senate Executive Committee, addressed the postponement of a Board of Trustees resolution.

“There is a time to celebrate and there is a time to mourn, ” Dreiling said. “…We cannot mourn it if we don’t remember it and we cannot heal it if we cannot mourn it.”

An item that had potential to supersede the UO constitution and would affect the senate’s ability to make policy was removed for Wednesday’s agenda earlier that day. University of Oregon Interim President Scott Coltrane addressed the issue online. Coltrane was at a board committee meeting during Wednesday’s Senate emergency session, so Kyr read a statement on Coltrane’s behalf:

“The University of Oregon lived up to its reputation as a place of lively debate and passionate discourse this week in our discussion of a policies proposal before the UO Board of Trustees,” Coltrane said. “I have heard your concerns and, as President, have carried your voice forward to our Board of Trustees. The board graciously responded by postponing consideration of the policies proposal at the December meeting, but charged us to work expeditiously towards a revised process that allows the university to review policy efficiently and collaboratively. The Board would like to see a new resolution in time for consideration at its March meetings.”

Follow Alexandra Wallachy on Twitter @wall2wallachy and check out the senate live tweet feed here.

When The Emerald spoke with Interim President Scott Coltrane in November, he said that University of Oregon would determine how to move forward against sexual assault pending analysis. Today part of that analysis, the recommendations of the President’s Review Panel, were released.

Former President Michael Gottfredson announced the formation of the President’s Review Panel in May of 2014. The panel was tasked with examining UO’s handling of sexual misconduct and drafting a report. That report was released today and is available here.

The report will be used in conjunction with the report of the Senate Task Force to Address Sexual Violence and Survivor Support, and the upcoming gap analysis by the Division of Student Life to create a comprehensive plan, according to Coltrane.

The panel created its report through research and public forums with members of the UO community. There are seven members of the panel including UO’s former Interim President Bob Berdahl, current Board of Trustee member Mary Wilcox and is chaired by Mary Diets.

The panelists were all offered a $10,000 honorarium for their work.

The 65 page report assesses UO’s sexual misconduct prevention and response recommendations, makes recommendations for specific campus communities and the changing campus culture.

General Prevention and Response Recommendations include:

1. Develop and implement a comprehensive campus-wide strategic plan to
address university prevention and response efforts.

2. Demonstrate sustained and visible senior leadership commitment to
addressing this problem.

3. Create a central office or designate a senior executive with the responsibility
and sufficient authority to plan, coordinate and oversee the development and
sustained implementation of a comprehensive strategic plan.

4. Create a permanent advisory group to assist in the development of the
program structure and provide ongoing advice, guidance, and support to the
president and senior executive.

5. Dedicate sufficient resources to reflect institutional commitment and to
achieve the prevention and response goals.

6. Institute ongoing monitoring and evaluation of university programs and
their effectiveness in preventing and responding to incidents of sexual
misconduct.

7. Participate in well-designed and responsibly administered campus climate
surveys.

Follow Alexandra Wallachy on Twitter @wall2wallachy

Beyoncé says that girls run the world but, unfortunately the University of Oregon doesn’t praise Queen B like many college students do, so the Board of Trustees runs this campus. The board is UO’s new governing board, but what does that mean? Here’s what you should know about the UO BOT:

・Before 2014, the Board of Trustees UO was run by the Oregon University System. OUS used to run seven colleges, but, in 2014, Oregon State University, Portland State University and the University of Oregon left the system.

・In 2013, Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber signed Senate Bill 270 into law. This bill allowed UO and other schools within OUS to establish their own independent governing boards.

・The governor makes nominations for members of the board and the Oregon Senate votes to approve the nominations. Recently, the governor nominated Helena Schlegel to the student seat on the board.

・The board chair is Chuck Lillis. He is the only member that can speak for the board.

・Chuck Lillis appointed board member Connie Ballmer head of the presidential search committee.

・The BOT includes a faculty representative, Susan Gary and a non-faculty staff representative, Kurt Willcox.

・The BOT will have the final vote to approve the next UO president.

・The BOT has final approval over the student conduct code, tuition and other major decisions at UO.

・Students and community members can speak to the BOT through the public comment portion of its regular meetings.

University Senate has called an emergency meeting for Wednesday and may be at risk of losing its power to the University of Oregon Board of Trustees.

The agenda for the upcoming Board of Trustees meeting was released Friday, Dec. 5, six days before the Board’s Thursday meeting. Seven pages into the agenda is a resolution that some say violates the UO constitution, University of Oregon School of Law professor John Bonine told the Register Guard.

The Senate Executive Committee met Monday to discuss details of the academic contingency plan in the wake of the strike, but mostly one item on the Board of Trustee’s agenda.

While a resolution titled ‘Adoption of a Policy on the Development and Revision of University Policies’ may sound innocuous, the resolution would have a major impact on the University of Oregon Senate. As it currently operates, the University Senate, which is made up of faculty, student and classified staff, has the power to make legislation, resolutions and policies.

The resolution would “supersede all related and existing university authorities, policies and procedures.” Those procedures are clearly outlined in the Constitution of the University of Oregon.

Section seven of the current constitution gives the senate and the administration the power to propose policies. The constitution also says that all new or revised policy proposed by the administration be sent to the Senate President and reviewed by the Senate Executive Committee, which decides if the proposal will be brought before the University Senate. Essentially, the constitution gives shared power to create and edit policy to the University Senate and administration.

The Senate Executive Committee voted unanimously to approve the convening of a special session of the entire senate to make a motion related to the constitution and the policy on policies. The motion will be drafted Tuesday and voted on by the senate Wednesday. The meeting will be open to the public.

“We are currently in a productive conversation with President Coltrane and the Board regarding shared governance,” University Senate President Robert Kyr said. “The University Constitution, and the newly proposed ‘Policy on Policies.’ I anticipate that we will have some positive news to report at our Emergency Senate Meeting about our discussions. We are committed to working in a cooperative and collaborative way with Chuck Lillis and the board.”

Kyr will present the will of the senate to the board on Thursday. The senate isn’t the only group concerned with the potential changes to the Board’s resolution. The United Academics of the University of Oregon Facebook page invited students to Thursday’s Board of Trustees meeting. The event description describes the resolution as a pivotal decision that would give, “ The Board and a new centralized administrative body sole authority over all policies.” So far, the event has over 100 attendees.

Stakeholders in the Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation strike returned to the bargaining table with University of Oregon earlier than expected, according to Around the O.

As finals week begins, the GTFF and UO administration are going back into negotiations. Negotiations between the administration and the Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation were scheduled to continue on Tuesday, but the union requested that negotiation continue, according to Around the O.

Monday marks the first day of finals week and the fifth academic day of the strike. Besides negotiations, the GTFF continued picketing, held a silent march and a rally at 4:15 p.m.

For more updates and information on the GTFF strike check out the Emerald strike coverage here.

Hillary Clinton hasn’t declared whether or not she’s running for president in 2016, but that hasn’t stopped political action committees from campaigning on her behalf or detractors from making their voices heard.

The Ready for Hillary campaign visited the University of Oregon campus Sunday afternoon bringing with it a cavalcade of supporters and opponents. Several students flocked in front of promotional buses holding signs sporting slogans such as “Ready for socialism,” and “Life’s a bitch, so why vote for one?”

The students did not specify an affiliation to any group at UO.

Ready for Hillary is a political action committee that supports a Hillary Clinton 2016 presidential bid. The committee arrived near UO campus on 15th Avenue and Kincaid Street Sunday from 1-2 p.m.

Taylor Allison, former ASUO presidential candidate and former ASUO senator, was among today’s crowd.

“I think that the sign that says ‘Life’s a bitch, why vote for one?’ is disgusting republican rhetoric that is being spewed at students here at the University of Oregon,” Allison said.”They have the right to free speech, but sexism doesn’t have a place on campus.”

Erin Horwitz, junior and public relations major at UO,  helped bring the bus to campus by tweeting at the “Ready for Hillary” campaign.

“It’s fun that a national political movement is coming to Oregon,” Horwitz said. “There are obviously more people supporting Hillary.”

Many attendee’s posed for pictures with the Hillary bus and received free promotional posters and stickers.

The next stop for the campaign bus will be at University of California, Davis.

The GTFF strike could result in a quite stinky campus. If an agreement isn’t reached between the Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation and the university, University of Oregon’s garbage will not be collected.

The Teamsters Local #206 union, which includes Sanipac drivers, issued a 72-hour notice that it will not cross the picket lines.

“The union has notified members and employers of the strike where necessary,” said #206 representative Leonard Stoeher. “We stand in full support of our brothers and sisters of the UO teaching fellows.”

Representatives from the Teamsters union could not comment on other companies represented by its union at the time of this post. If the strike is not settled by the 72 hour deadline, Teamster #206 services could be affected.

“The university understands and respects the decision by the teamsters to honor the GTFF’s strike,” Tobin Klinger, UO senior director of Public Affairs and Communications said. “This is not the first time a situation such as this has come up and alternative arrangements are being made for outside unionized service providers who are uncomfortable crossing the picket line to ensure the needs of campus are met.”

The GTFF strike made center stage at Wednesday’s University Senate.

Undergraduates held cardboard signs with messages like ‘Occupy Johnson’ and ‘Don’t Fuck w/ My Education’ in Lawrence 115. University Senate President Robert Kyr opened the meeting by reminding the senate to be respectful. He reiterated this throughout the meeting, reminding the senate that once the strike is over, “we will be left with each other.”

Interim President Scott Coltrane addressed several issues, including the UO’s participation in the AAU climate survey, strategic planning as well as academic continuity plans during the current strike.

“I think it’s fair to say that the GTFF strike is hard on everyone,” Coltrane said. “No one really wanted things to get to this point. Frances Bronet and I and our team certainly hope to reach an agreement and we work day and night to do it. No one wants to see the GTFFs we value so much on the picket line, but we certainly respect their right to be there.”

During the question and answer portion of the meeting professor Michael Dreiling discussed grading without the GTFF.

Without GTFF to determine student grades the university may have to enter X grades, which present issues for student financial aid and students graduating fall term. At one point during the discussion Coltrane said, “we’re all in this together” which was greeted with laughter from several members of the audience.

The meeting ended with a statement from GTFF member Jonathan Turbin. Turbin is a fourth year PhD student in anthropology and the vice president of organizing for the GTFF. Turbin thanked the senate for their support of the GTFF and expressed his willingness to return to his duties if the bargaining teams reach an agreement on Thursday.

“The university still has a chance to allow GTFs to make up for lost time and lost work,” Turbin said. “All we need is a fair contract and my fellow GTFs and I will happily walk back to our classrooms, offices and labs.”

Directly after the meeting, the GTFF held a rally outside of Lawrence Hall with chants of solidarity.

Besides addressing the GTFF strike, the senate also passed legislation that had been on the senate’s agenda for several weeks. The senate passed legislation proposing revisions to UO’s student conduct code to address sexual assault. Members of the senate have been working on the legislation since last spring.

The Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation is striking after being engaged in contract negotiations for months. Here’s a timeline of major events in the bargaining, vote and decision to strike.

See anything missing from the timeline? Email awallachy@dailyemerald.com with details. Emerald staff will continue to update the timeline as bargaining continues.