Marcilynn Burke limits herself to one cup of coffee a day — one large cup. After all, being Dean of the University of Oregon School of Law is no easy task.

One way she deals with those stresses is her enjoyment of the arts.

She said she would never quit her day job to sing but has been privileged to sing with Grammy award winning artists Richard Smallwood and V. Michael McKay. Before she was a lawyer, Burke was a junior company member of the North Carolina Repertory Ballet Company.

UO’s reputation, and the aesthetics of the campus, attracted her. She spent time in Oregon when she worked in the Bureau of Land Management and imagined she would enjoy life here.

“I thought, ‘this would be a great place to live,’” she said. “It’s an exciting place for business. There’s something for everyone here.”

An exciting place incorporates everyone according to Burke, UO’s first Black woman to be dean of the law school, she said the law school will be just that.

Despite her own ideas about what she would like the school to be Burke kicked off her “learning and listening tour,” two months ago when she officially started her tenure.

“I think it would be foolhardy on my part to say ‘This is the course we are going to chart now,’ without knowing more than I do,” she said. “The big goal for the first year is to figure out what our strategic goals are going to be.”

Those goals, as of now, include improving nationally ranked specialty programs in legal research and writing, as well as environmental law — Burke’s own area of expertise.

Burke took a leave of absence from her teaching position at the University of Houston Law Center to join the Bureau of Land Management in 2009. She was prompted to apply for the position by a professor she said she only knew “casually.”

Burke served as the Deputy Director of Programs and Policy at the BLM for two years before being appointed as the Acting Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management by then President Barack Obama in 2011.

In her short time at UO, Burke said she hasn’t had much time to talk with students, but is aware of concerns they have about passing the bar and getting a job after graduation.

The job market for law school graduates appears to be improving, according to a 2016 NALP report, but improved percentages mask that 2,000 fewer jobs were filled by 2016 graduates than their 2015 counterparts.

Passing the bar exam concerns deans at Lewis and Clark Law School and Willamette Law School, which in conjunction with UO, signed a letter requesting the passing score of the exam to be lowered.

“I believe that every student that is admitted to the UO is fully capable of passing the bar,” Burke said. “So we want to make sure we are marshalling resources to help students get to where they want to go.”

Besides concerns, students have talked about potential new programs. Burke said that intellectual property, business, corporate and energy law are areas she would “certainly be pursuing.”

Burke wants UO to accomplish a long list of things, and while she wouldn’t say she believed she was the only person who could get it done, she was well suited for the role.

While she worked for the BLM, she explained she worked with a myriad of stakeholders and managed a budget of more than $1.7 billion. The Bureau, which is responsible for 245 million acres of public land in the West and across Alaska is responsible for managing and regulating countless projects. She said that learning to balance all of the people and interests at the BLM are skills that are “directly translatable to being Dean.”

“I think that I’m not a stranger to making difficult choices and I think I can do it in a way that still fulfills our ideals about community and the idea we are all in this together,” Burke said.

Difficult decisions will be in store for Burke who takes over for Michael Moffitt who stepped down at the beginning of the summer. Moffitt served as dean of the law school since 2011. He watched the school’s national rank fall from No. 77 in 2011 to No. 100 in 2015 before eventually rebounding to No. 78 in 2017.

While the school’s rank fell it operated in a budget deficit, spurring a transitional support budget from the university to help stabilize it.

According to the plan, UO will subsidized the law school to the tune of $3 million in fiscal year 2017. The amount will drop over the next two years until fiscal year 2019 when it is expected the school will be able to return its margins to positive. When the school manages to normalize, it will begin to pay back the university.

Despite budget concerns, and decreased enrollment — there were 346 law majors enrolled last year, the lowest in the last 10 years — the hiring plan awarded the school two new tenure track position hires.

Burke cautions students to work hard but to enjoy their time in law school, that three years will go very fast, even if it doesn’t always feel like it.

“I want to tell students that an education from the UO School of Law opens the world,” she said. “The possibilities are quite boundless. With legal training you are welcome into every circle of life and we have everything here you need to launch yourself on that path.”

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The University of Oregon announced Tuesday morning that David Wineland, a 2012 Nobel Prize winner, will join the university in this fall.

Wineland comes from the University of Colorado Boulder where he is an adjoint professor of physics. He will join UO’s physics department as a Knight Research Professor.

In addition to teaching, Wineland has written extensively for the National Institute of Standards and Technology out of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

His work has included laying the groundwork for quantum computers, creating some of the most accurate clocks in the world and improving GPS systems.

“He’s going to really help us move our scientific program ahead by quantum leaps,” UO President Michael Schill said in a video released with the hiring announcement.

Hiring Wineland comes in preparation for breaking ground on the Knight Campus, a venture that UO hopes will vault it to national and worldwide research prominence.

“David Wineland embodies the essence of the Knight Campus,” Jayanth Banavar, UO provost said. “What he does is precisely the kinds of thing we want to do with the Knight Campus, which is to work on grand challenge problems and really make an impact on society.”

“There are very few people in the world of his caliber in terms of intellectual achievement,” Banavar said about Wineland. “He will help us do great things here at Oregon by recruiting others … it’s huge for our university and we are very fortunate that we were able to convice [Wineland] to join us.”

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The University of Oregon announced Tuesday morning that David Wineland, a 2012 Nobel Prize winner, will join the university in this fall.

Wineland comes from the University of Colorado Boulder where he is an adjoint professor of physics. He will join UO’s physics department as a Knight Research Professor.

In addition to teaching, Wineland has written extensively for the National Institute of Standards and Technology out of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

His work has included laying the groundwork for quantum computers, creating some of the most accurate clocks in the world and improving GPS systems.

“He’s going to really help us move our scientific program ahead by quantum leaps,” UO President Michael Schill said in a video released with the hiring announcement.

Hiring Wineland comes in preparation for breaking ground on the Knight Campus, a venture that UO hopes will vault it to national and worldwide research prominence.

“David Wineland embodies the essence of the Knight Campus,” Jayanth Banavar, UO provost said. “What he does is precisely the kinds of thing we want to do with the Knight Campus, which is to work on grand challenge problems and really make an impact on society.”

“There are very few people in the world of his caliber in terms of intellectual achievement,” Banavar said about Wineland. “He will help us do great things here at Oregon by recruiting others … it’s huge for our university and we are very fortunate that we were able to convice [Wineland] to join us.”

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The University of Oregon is preparing for this week’s blistering forecast by asking buildings to take certain precautions. Some departments and units will struggle with the heat more than others.

Temperatures in Eugene will peak on Wednesday, rising as high as 108 degrees according to Weather.com.

Those without air conditioning will struggle to escape the heat according to Northwest Weather Services. A tweet sent out Monday afternoon suggested the only time that open windows would provide solace would be between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m.

An email sent to residents of the EMU instructed that all windows and blinds should remain closed for the week in order to maintain a cool environment.

According to the email, the EMU is designed to offset the outside temperature by 20 degrees. This process “functions well when when the outside temperatures are around 85 degrees,” the email read, but the projection of four consecutive days of temperatures of 100 degrees or more is causing complications.

“We will do everything we can to control the temperatures inside the building,” the email read, but the system will be taxed trying to deal with the heat and no specifics could be offered as to what other steps are being taken.

Last year PLC residents were sent a list of tips to stay cool. Some suggestions included sitting forward in chairs and turning off overhead lights.

UO sent out an alert for faculty and staff early Monday evening with instructions concerning the heat wave. Faculty teaching classes in rooms without adequate air conditioning will attempt to change locations for the week.

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The post Triple digit temperatures set to take a toll on UO buildings appeared first on Emerald Media.

The University of Oregon is preparing for this week’s blistering forecast by asking buildings to take certain precautions. Some departments and units will struggle with the heat more than others.

Temperatures in Eugene will peak on Wednesday, rising as high as 108 degrees according to Weather.com.

Those without air conditioning will struggle to escape the heat according to Northwest Weather Services. A tweet sent out Monday afternoon suggested the only time that open windows would provide solace would be between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m.

An email sent to residents of the EMU instructed that all windows and blinds should remain closed for the week in order to maintain a cool environment.

According to the email, the EMU is designed to offset the outside temperature by 20 degrees. This process “functions well when when the outside temperatures are around 85 degrees,” the email read, but the projection of four consecutive days of temperatures of 100 degrees or more is causing complications.

“We will do everything we can to control the temperatures inside the building,” the email read, but the system will be taxed trying to deal with the heat and no specifics could be offered as to what other steps are being taken.

Last year PLC residents were sent a list of tips to stay cool. Some suggestions included sitting forward in chairs and turning off overhead lights.

UO sent out an alert for faculty and staff early Monday evening with instructions concerning the heat wave. Faculty teaching classes in rooms without adequate air conditioning will attempt to change locations for the week.

Follow Max on Twitter @Max_Thornberry

The post Triple digit temperatures set to take a toll on UO buildings appeared first on Emerald Media.

The University of Oregon is once again ranked in the top 10 most sexually healthy universities in the country.

STDtestexpress, an online clinic focused on providing easy, affordable STD tests is releasing its top 25 healthiest colleges and universities. UO came in at number 8, four spots lower than on Trojan’s 2016 Sexual Health Report Card.

According to the new list, UO scores well thanks to efforts by the University Health Center “supplying students with as much information about sexual health as possible.” STDtestexpress lauds the Health Center’s testing services as some of the most comprehensive in the country.

In addition to the comprehensive screening for STDs ranging from chlamydia to trichomoniasis and HIV, the Health Center also offers contraception, HPV vaccines, pregnancy testing and counseling.

UO sits one spot ahead of Oregon State University which ranked No. 2 on Trojan’s 2016 list.

UO has continued to climb up lists in terms of sexual health. In Trojan’s 2013 study it ranked No. 48, the university then jumped to No. 17 in 2014 before cracking the top 10 in 2016.

Trojan’s report card will be released in October.

The post UO ranks in top 10 of another sexual health survey appeared first on Emerald Media.

The University of Oregon is once again ranked in the top 10 most sexually healthy universities in the country.

STDtestexpress, an online clinic focused on providing easy, affordable STD tests is releasing its top 25 healthiest colleges and universities. UO came in at number 8, four spots lower than on Trojan’s 2016 Sexual Health Report Card.

According to the new list, UO scores well thanks to efforts by the University Health Center “supplying students with as much information about sexual health as possible.” STDtestexpress lauds the Health Center’s testing services as some of the most comprehensive in the country.

In addition to the comprehensive screening for STDs ranging from chlamydia to trichomoniasis and HIV, the Health Center also offers contraception, HPV vaccines, pregnancy testing and counseling.

UO sits one spot ahead of Oregon State University which ranked No. 2 on Trojan’s 2016 list.

UO has continued to climb up lists in terms of sexual health. In Trojan’s 2013 study it ranked No. 48, the university then jumped to No. 17 in 2014 before cracking the top 10 in 2016.

Trojan’s report card will be released in October.

The post UO ranks in top 10 of another sexual health survey appeared first on Emerald Media.

About 20 SEIU members marched in front of the University Health Center Thursday afternoon. They carried signs calling for a change in the treatment of health center employees, a battle that has taken place for years and was aired publicly in a letter earlier this week.

Louie Vidmar and other union members are concerned for employees and students at UO (Phillip Quinn/Emerald)

“We are standing up for the rights of nurses who have been facing discrimination — racism, sexism, ageism and bully boss situations,” Louie Vidmar, a local area contact for SEIU said. “People have a right to work in a dignified environment and be respected in the workplace.”

In a recent survey distributed to health center employees, over half of the employees who responded said they didn’t think supervisors apply rules and policies “fairly and consistently.”

One anonymous comment from the survey, which the Emerald obtained a copy of, read that, “management has ignored reports of harassment, sexual harassment and stalking, and has refused to act to provide a safe work environment.”

Vidmar said that there have been “several steward cases from this worksite,” referring to the health center.

Stewards are members of the union responsible for enforcing contracts, reading contract language and ensuring that it is being adhered to.

John Taylor, a chief steward said that these issues have been going on for years and in the last year but the conversations haven’t gained any traction.

“We’ve been met with a more or less dismissive attitude so we decided to was time for direct action,” he said.

While SEIU represents university and public employees, they are concerned for the impact these practices are having on students.

“This is something that affects the entire university,” Taylor said, “especially the student populous who rely on a functional medical center to have adequate health care.”

Union members hope that their vocalizing will draw greater attention to the issue and result in actions by the university.

“This situation is optional, it’s something we can change,” Taylor said. “If we stand up and let our voices be heard we have the power to make this university live up to the standards of inclusiveness and diversity it claims to stand for.”

The Emerald reached out to the health center for comment on the claims made by the union.

“The university takes very seriously claims of discrimination and leadership in the health center and student services are committed to ensuring that all UHC employees have a healthy work atmosphere free of discrimination,” the health center said in an email through a university spokesperson. “While we cannot comment on individual personnel matters, we have robust procedures in place relating to reporting, investigating and remedying claims of discrimination to ensure that our employees are protected from discrimination.”

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The University of Oregon Board of Trustees, minus three who could not be present at the meeting, unanimously approved to reduce the amount in-state undergraduate students will pay next year.

The Board approved a 10.6 percent increase in March as a result of no increased state funding for higher education. But with the approval of Senate Bill 5524, the Board was able to change course. In-state students will pay $13 more per credit hour next year as opposed to the $21 per credit hour set forth in the original increase.

A reduction plan that was included with the Board’s original decision laid out a path to lowering tuition based on state funding. The plan was based on $20 million increments — for every $20 million the Public University Support Fund (PUSF) received, tuition would be reduced 1 percent.

The original Governor’s Recommended Budget (GRB) allocated $667 million to the PUSF.  The new senate bill increases that amount by $70 million, to $737 million.

Because the PUSF level doesn’t fit into the $20 million increment formula provided by the Board, tuition will increase 6.56 percent next year — in line with the formula and requirement laid out in the bill.

Board Chair, Chuck Lillis, started the meeting by recognizing the efforts made by members of the Board and students advocating for lower tuition in Salem.

In his opening statement, UO President Michael Schill said he was delighted that the state legislature provided the additional $20 million but there are still battles the university must face.

“Even though we got the tuition down to 6.56 percent, we haven’t solved the problem,” he said.

As state funding levels increase, university spending cuts will decrease. Schill said that substantial cuts will be made, in addition to the $4.5 million made earlier this year, but the number had fallen. He said the exact number has not been determined. It is likely the scope of the cuts will be determined this summer.

“We are in an uncertain world because we don’t know our tuition revenue yet,” Schill said. “We have to do our best to estimate what the amount of those cuts are, but they’re substantial and we will have to make those decisions.”

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Last week, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce named Dr. Ron Jarmin as the interim leader of the U.S Census Bureau.

The former director, John Thompson, retired on Friday, prompting Jarmin’s promotion. Because the position is normally presidentially appointed and Senate confirmed, Jarmin’s leadership is limited to the “non-exclusive functions and duties of the Director,” under the Vacancies Reform Act according to the Secretary of Commerce website.

Jarmin received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Oregon in 1992. He has worked at the U.S. Census Bureau for his entire career, holding positions ranging from an Economist at the Center for Economic Studies, to the Associate Director for Economic Programs.

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