At the University of Oregon, student-athletes are known for their ability to balance academic endeavors while devoting large portions of their time and energy to practices and games.

The students of the Clark Honors College put just as much time into academics. A group of about 800, the students in the Honors College represent the university in their academics and work ethic. They balance honors courses alongside their degree requirements, complete a thesis during their senior year and participate in extracurricular activities.

Molly Hover, a senior majoring in advertising, is one of these students. On top of taking 16 to 18 credits for most of her college career, she has been working in the School of Journalism and Communication’s Faculty Services office for three years; was an editor-in-chief for Ephemera, the Clark Honors College Creative Arts Journal; and worked as a copywriter last school year for Allen Hall Advertising.

“The academic responsibilities for the Honors College are pretty heavy for all four years, especially if you have multiple majors and minors, as many students do,” Hover said.

The Clark Honors College has many requirements for prospective students to become a part of the liberal arts college within the UO. While demonstrating their academic success, applicants must write essays about provided topics and are evaluated on their extracurricular activities, among other qualifications, by a panel of faculty members.

Honors students are required to take two years of language classes and four math and science courses in addition to honors coursework.

Casey Smith, a junior majoring in political science and Spanish, said he has successfully acclimated to handling academics, extracurricular and social activities all at once.

“The key to balancing academic responsibilities with the other parts of one’s life is not procrastinating,” Smith said. “I do my reading and homework ahead of time and it leaves me plenty of time to hang out with my friends.”

At the end of this school year, the university plans to begin the renovation of Chapman Hall in order to better accommodate faculty and students’ needs. Dean of Clark Honors College Terry Hunt said that the college is working to ensure that students can continue to succeed in the new temporary location.

“Our top priority for that space is for students to have computer labs, study areas, to have classes in one place. We’re looking at locations to do that,” Hunt said.

The new, temporary space for the college is undetermined, Hunt said.

When compared to student-athletes, honors college students could be seen as “academic athletes” due to their high academic performance and dedication to their learning experiences, Hover said.

“What our athletes do on campus is amazing and they deserve the praise they get, but I think there’s a lot to be said for those who also use the same skills in the classroom,” Hover said.

Smith, however, didn’t think the two groups were comparable.

“If academics was a sport, honors college students would have access to state-of-the-art technology in a new facility similar to the Jaqua Center,” Smith said.

During the 2014-2015 academic year, there were 5,402 domestic minority students enrolled at the University of Oregon, forming 22.3 percent of the student population, according to research done by the UO Office of Institutional Research. Based on research conducted over the past five years, the UO has seen steady growth in minority enrollment, increasing from 16.3 percent in the 2010-2011 academic year. The university’s division of equity and inclusion is continuously looking to maintain this upward growth.

Dr. Sari Pascoe, assistant vice president for campus and community engagement for the division of equity and inclusion, has been an influential figure relating to UO’s diversity increase since she started serving as assistant vice president.

“Recognizing that there is a larger incoming student body that identifies as underrepresented populations is an important factor because we are working campus-wide on the infrastructure to support that larger incoming class,” Pascoe said.

Pascoe’s role in the division of equity and inclusion is critical to the vitality and success of the efforts in the division. She assists the leadership of the programs and services at the university to promote diversity, inclusion and equity; assists the liaison between the campus community and the surrounding community, including cities as far as Portland, to share campus knowledge about these ideals to outside communities; and assists with analyzing and reporting on statistical information about campus and local community changes and trends in order to have a better understanding of what potential incoming and future UO students need to succeed academically and socially.

One of the main projects to which Pascoe contributes much of her time is the IDEAL Framework, beginning in 2013 and lasting for five years until 2018.

“Under the leadership of vice president Alex-Assensoh, the division of equity and inclusion has led a wonderful effort on a framework,” Pascoe said. “It’s called the IDEAL Framework, which stands for inclusion, diversity, evaluation, achievement and leadership.”

Through the IDEAL framework, there’s a strategy and five tactics designed by members of the university’s Diversity Committee, administrators and community members; these strategies focus on the importance of promoting diversity, inclusion and equity at the university. The IDEAL framework includes 18 months’ worth of data, research, feedback and information from town hall meetings and conversations. With over 75 members, the Diversity Committee works to promote equity, diversity and inclusion as prevalent aspects of the university and surrounding community. They support these efforts by providing scholarships and academic and social assistance for underrepresented students, building pipelines for undergraduate minority students to be connected to UO graduate and professional programs, and supporting campus programs such as the Many Nations Longhouse and the Center on Diversity and Community, among many other initiatives.

Despite the increase in diversity at the UO over many recent years and the efforts that have been made to promote and increase knowledge in and acceptance for equity, inclusion and diversity to both students and faculty, Pascoe recognizes that her and her colleagues’ work isn’t finished. However, she says that with the added assistance of students and faculty, the university can continue to close gaps concerning issues with diversity, equity and inclusion.

“We focus on collaboration, so how and what can we collaborate in addressing diversity needs and diversity issues in our community?” Pascoe asked.

She continued, “I definitely find that students and faculty
have a central role, together with our administrators and staff within campus,
to figure out what diversity means, what equity means, [and] what inclusion
means, and to implement policies and opportunities that include everyone’s voice and promote access to everyone.”

At the University Senate meeting in the Knight Library browsing room on Oct. 7, University of Oregon President Michael Schill spoke to the senate during the State of the University address. At the beginning of his speech, he emphasized his excitement to be a part of the UO.

“I’m really pleased and proud to be president of the university,” Schill said. “There’s a huge amount of passion on this campus.”

Schill focused on three main goals that he hoped to attend to while he held the title of president at the university: building tenure-track faculty, maintaining and enhancing affordability for students and continuing labor negotiations with the Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation.

“I need your help rebuilding this university,” Schill said to the senate.

Schill emphasized the importance of building research faculty at the UO, since a lack of research conducted by members of the university community would result in cuts in state funding for the university. He also specified his plan to increase the number of graduate students in programs of excellence that would contribute to the level of research conducted at UO.

When discussing his second goal, Schill said that the university’s four-year graduation rates are at 49 percent for those seeking to obtain a bachelor’s degree, and the university’s six-year graduation rates for a bachelor’s degree are at 69 percent. He expressed his aspiration to improve future graduation rate percentages.

Schill discussed a $3 million fund initiative to improve students’ accessibility to need and merit-based scholarships, and said he hopes to limit tuition increases as much as possible during his presidency. However, he highlighted that tuition increases were inevitable to the university’s future.

“Of course there are going to be tuition increases … but we’re going to do everything we can to keep those tuition increases moderate,” Schill said.

He also discussed a plan to create graduation assistance grants for students that would help subsidize the costs of tuition in order to help them graduate in time, and wanted to financially expand the Pathway Oregon program to further support students with their tuition costs.

President Schill addressed the continuing labor negotiations between the university and the GTFF. He emphasized the importance of greatly increasing university support for graduate students, and Schill also elaborated on a $96 million endowment for supporting those graduate students’ tuition costs.

The senate seemed eager to see how President Schill’s goals would pan out. Bill Harbaugh, senate vice president and UO economics professor, said he looks forward to what the senate can do to achieve these goals.

“I am ecstatic about the chance to work with a UO president who wants to accomplish these goals,” Harbaugh said.

University of Oregon senior Samantha Winfrey is familiar with the struggle to afford an education. If it weren’t for PathwayOregon, a scholarship program that covers tuition and fees for up to four years, she wouldn’t have the money to complete her degree.

“Without this award, I don’t think I would be in college right now,” Winfrey said. “As cheesy as it sounds, without this award I wouldn’t be able to pursue my dreams.”

PathwayOregon began with a cohort of 415 freshmen in 2008. Brooks said the 2015 cohort is estimated to have over 700 freshmen. As of fall 2013, 1,026 of the 1,629 PathwayOregon students identified as first-generation college students and about 39 percent identified as students of color.

The number of freshmen entering the university with a PathwayOregon scholarship has fluctuated throughout the years. While there was a cohort of 415 freshmen in 2008, the year the Great Recession impacted the country, the cohort number increased slightly to 440 freshmen in 2009. After rising and falling for the next few years, the smallest PathwayOregon cohort was in 2012, when only 395 freshmen entered the program.

The scholarship program is funded by federal, state and university grants and scholarships. In November 2014, PathwayOregon received a $25 million donation from Connie and Steve Ballmer, the former a UO graduate of ‘84 and member of the Board of Trustees, as a part of the university’s current public fundraising campaign. The capital campaign seeks to fundraise $2 billion for the university, which includes providing funds for PathwayOregon.

The university has raised $860 million to date for its campaign, according to Mike Andreasen, vice president of university advancement.

Roger Thompson, vice president for enrollment management, said that in addition to the Ballmers’ donation last year, the UO enrollment management department has raised $45 million in additional funds for the program.

But for some students, the award isn’t guaranteed to provide assistance for all four years. The PathwayOregon program is available to low-income Oregon residents who are Pell Grant-eligible, have at least a 3.4 high school GPA and will enter the university as a first-time freshman. As long as these students maintain their eligibility by making sufficient progress toward their degree during their time at the university, they will receive four years of college tuition and fees without paying a dime.

These students are still responsible for other expenses such as textbooks, housing and transportation. And because PathwayOregon’s students must receive a Pell Grant, a federally funded grant for low-income students, some recipients may lose their scholarship eligibility if their documented income on their FAFSA increases enough that they are no longer Pell-eligible.

However, Thompson doesn’t have many concerns when it comes to students losing their eligibility.

“As long as you’re making good progress and your financial situation doesn’t massively change, then you can definitely continue in Pathway,” Thompson said.

Winfrey knows students who have lost their PathwayOregon scholarships for various reasons.

“I have seen people lose the award because their parents’ income has changed, and I have also seen people lose the award due to poor performance at the university,” Winfrey said.

Jim Brooks, director of financial aid and scholarships, said that even if a student becomes ineligible to receive financial assistance from PathwayOregon, they do not lose access to the program’s academic support. Students are paired with an advisor who helps them select courses and plan a course toward graduating in four years. When needed, counselors provide outreach to students if they’re a few credits behind track or need academic assistance.

“To me, it’s an amazing and rewarding position to have,” said Jeff Ransford, one of seven PathwayOregon advisors. “I think one of the things I’ve enjoyed the most is having the chance to work with students and have an impact on their experience.”

Usually, first-year students meet with their PathwayOregon advisor once in the school year to receive academic guidance, Ransford said. If they need help with schoolwork or classes, students can access services such as tutoring resources exclusively offered to PathwayOregon recipients.

“It’s comforting for a lot of students to know that if there’s ever a question about anything, they can start by coming here,” Ransford said.

These resources are still available to students who lose financial aid due to changes in income or academic performance.

“They still remain a part of the program and still receive other support from the PathwayOregon staff,” Brooks said.

If students are not making satisfactory academic progress or lose their Pell Grant eligibility and have special circumstances that caused them to become ineligible for PathwayOregon, they can file an appeal to the Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships to explain why they still need assistance from the program.

Although not every single Pell Grant recipient is guaranteed a scholarship, the program plans to provide assistance in the future to an ever-growing number of Oregon students so they can focus on their academic goals instead of scraping pennies to get by. The program hopes to remove certain eligibility criteria so that all Pell-eligible Oregon residents can receive a PathwayOregon scholarship. One requirement that Brooks considers unnecessary as the program continues to grow is the 3.4 high school GPA.

“We can pull back off of that,” Brooks said. “And we did that this fall because we had additional funds… As we continue to fundraise, we’ll open that up some more.”

As PathwayOregon expands and develops, the future of the program is expected to grow in size and depth as it focuses even more on assisting students in their academic goals.

“Our goal always with PathwayOregon is to expand the number of students that we serve … [and] expand the success of the program to ensure that more students are retained from year-to-year and more students overall meet their goal of graduation,” PathwayOregon Interim Director Grant Schoonover said.

Thompson agreed.

“The future [of PathwayOregon] is incredibly bright.”

After years of work, the University of Oregon is getting a new disability studies minor in fall 2016.

According to the UO Disability Studies Initiative, students can declare a minor or graduate specialization in disability studies next school year through the College of Arts and Sciences. The minor will include courses from various academic fields at UO, such as architecture, education, gender studies and literature. Within the minor, students will have the opportunity to interact and connect with the disabled community both on and off campus, explore how disability is connected to race, class and gender and consider how disabilities have had an impact on past and present human experiences.

The minor and graduate specialization will be the first program at UO to solely focus on disabilities and their diverse roles in society. Multiple universities nationwide already have academic programs that focus on disability studies, such as University of Washington and Pacific University.

“We have been working on this [program] for more than 20 years,” said Deborah Olson, co-coordinator of the Disability Studies Initiative and a UO assistant professor.

According to Olson, the minor and graduate specialization are still under curriculum approval processes that will begin next term, but should be approved before the beginning of the 2016-17 academic year. She’s uncertain of student enrollment estimates, but is optimistic about the program’s turnout.

“It might have to snowball and do a bit more word of mouth, but I think it will eventually be really large,” Olson said.

The disability studies minor and graduate specialization will include courses that introduce what disability studies is, courses that involve field studies and service-engaged learning and elective courses that will fit into students’ career interests. Olson says that the program will be complementary to various majors such as journalism or English and provide perspectives about disabilities that will be beneficial to their careers.

UO English professor Elizabeth Wheeler is heavily involved in the university’s disability studies program and has completed years of work within disability studies. As a person that identifies as someone with a disability, she feels dedicated to spreading the word about disability studies to the campus community.

“Disability is a really important type of diversity,” Wheeler said. “But there isn’t much about it in the U of O curriculum. I think the classroom is a great place to get that kind of grounding.”

Olson agreed, saying, “We finally have a critical mass of people and classes across the campus that can lend themselves to the minor … Its time has come.”

Both Wheeler and Olson hope that the program will have a widespread impact on the campus and local communities. They hope that the program will teach those who aren’t familiar with disability studies about people with disabilities and how they’re represented in today’s society.

“There’s still a lot of oppression and misunderstanding [about disabilities], and I would love to educate a wide range of students about it, to help change that,” Wheeler said.

Despite taking many years to develop, the disability studies program is finally on its way to the university community. Olson gives credit to the faculty on campus who have had an interest in creating new courses related to disability studies. Wheeler agrees, and also gives credit to Dean of Arts and Sciences W. Andrew Marcus and Dean of Humanities Karen Ford for giving the program the green light to move forward.

Both Wheeler and Olson hope that in the future, people with disabilities won’t be viewed with pity or discriminated against, and that the disability studies program will help further educate the UO community.

“I think the message of disability studies is that people with disabilities are just people,” Wheeler said.