A nurse at the University Health Center is suing the University of Oregon and two former UHC leaders for racial discrimination, among other things. In a ruling this month, a judge found that some of the claims can proceed toward a trial, while others were dismissed due to technical issues that could be amended.

In the complaint filed in October 2017, Dylan Blanks, now the nursing team lead in the UHC, claimed that Lorretta Cantwell, then the UHC director of nursing, treated her differently than other employees and created a “hostile work environment” on the basis of Blanks’ race.

Specifically, the claims state that Cantwell reduced or interfered with Blanks’ responsibilities, “micro-monitored” her work and excluded her from activities she was normally a part of, as well as other things.

The complaint states that the conduct worsened after Blanks reported vaccine handling violations and due to Cantwell’s misunderstanding of “diverse ways of communication.”

After Blanks reported the behavior to the university’s Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity, which oversaw complaints of racial and employment discrimination, the AAEO investigated the claims.

A June 2017 report from the office found that Cantwell’s behavior “more likely than not” violated UO’s policy against discriminatory harassment and Community Standards Affirmation.

The report continues that, “Cantwell engaged in conduct toward [Blanks] that was at least in part based on [Blanks’] race, was unwelcome and sufficiently pervasive that it created an intimidating and hostile working environment for [Blanks] and interfered with [Blanks’] work.”

The lawsuit also named LeAnn Gutierrez, the former executive director of the UHC, as having enabled Cantwell to discriminate against Blanks. The AAEO report did not address claims against Gutierrez.

Neither Cantwell nor Gutierrez are still employed by the university. Gutierrez left the UO in May 2018 for a position at Florida Atlantic University. Cantwell left the university in early October to “pursue other opportunities,” according to university spokesperson Tobin Klinger.

In its legal arguments, the university did not address the question of whether the alleged discrimination took place. Rather, it argued that the suit should be dismissed for technical and procedural reasons.

In addressing that argument, District Judge Ann Aiken dismissed Blanks’ claims about violations of her free speech rights, employment discrimination rights and whistleblower’s rights. Aiken allowed two claims about racial discrimination to proceed.

The next step in the suit is for Blanks to amend her complaint to fix the procedural issues that got the three claims dismissed, according to Beth Creighton, Blanks’ attorney.

The post Nurse sues UO for racial discrimination appeared first on Emerald Media.

Voters in East Lane County will decide the fate of the Board of County Commissioners this November. Newcomer Heather Buch is challenging current Commissioner Gary Williams for the fifth seat on Lane County’s governing body.

Although the board is technically nonpartisan, the seat will shape the balance of the Board between liberal or conservative-leaning commissioners. After the May primary, the Board was left with two of each, with the remaining seat up for grabs between Williams, endorsed by the Lane County Republicans, and Buch, endorsed by the Democratic Party of Lane County.

Williams has held the seat since he was appointed in 2017 to replace Faye Stewart after he stepped down from the Board. Prior to his appointment, Williams served in a number of elected positions in Cottage Grove and the county, which he points to as his most important qualification.

“I have 20 years of local, elected experience,” said Williams in an interview. “I have a great deal more elected public service. She has really none.”

While Buch has never held an elected office, she said she believes her business background and her community leadership experience are what voters in East Lane County need.

“I come with a lot of other experience that people are really looking for nowadays,” Buch said in an interview. “They’re tired of the way the government has been working over and over and feeling like nothing is getting done.”

One experience Buch points to as a sign of her preparedness to serve the county is her work in the real-estate industry. Housing affordability, according to Buch, is the biggest issue the county faces and requires someone with a professional background in housing to make improvements.

“We are in the second-largest housing crunch in the nation,” Buch said. “People are really feeling it here all over the county.”

In response to the housing challenges in Lane County, Williams cites his experience on the board as a sign of his readiness to continue to take on the challenge. He said the county board  is working with partners to reshape land use and zoning laws to make building new homes easier.

One of Williams’ main messages has been surrounding the county’s timber industry which, he says, provided economic stability to the county and its residents until “the spotted owl and radical environmentalists killed that industry.”

According to Williams, the timber industry has supported western Oregon communities for 150 years, and he wants the county to take advantage of changing federal forest rules and increase timber harvests.

Buch, while recognizing timber’s significance to the region, encouraged ensuring sustainable management of the county’s timber resources. County officials and timber companies, she said, should come together on agreements for sustainable business.

The theme of coming together was prevalent for both candidates: while the two may differ in experience and priorities, both can agree on the importance of bridging divides and reaching beyond political affiliations while on the board. Buch and Williams both expressed their hopes that their service on the board would bring representation to all viewpoints in East Lane County.

The post County Board hangs in balance of East Lane seat appeared first on Emerald Media.

Voters in East Lane County will decide the fate of the Board of County Commissioners this November. Newcomer Heather Buch is challenging current Commissioner Gary Williams for the fifth seat on Lane County’s governing body.

Although the board is technically nonpartisan, the seat will shape the balance of the Board between liberal or conservative-leaning commissioners. After the May primary, the Board was left with two of each, with the remaining seat up for grabs between Williams, endorsed by the Lane County Republicans, and Buch, endorsed by the Democratic Party of Lane County.

Williams has held the seat since he was appointed in 2017 to replace Faye Stewart after he stepped down from the Board. Prior to his appointment, Williams served in a number of elected positions in Cottage Grove and the county, which he points to as his most important qualification.

“I have 20 years of local, elected experience,” said Williams in an interview. “I have a great deal more elected public service. She has really none.”

While Buch has never held an elected office, she said she believes her business background and her community leadership experience are what voters in East Lane County need.

“I come with a lot of other experience that people are really looking for nowadays,” Buch said in an interview. “They’re tired of the way the government has been working over and over and feeling like nothing is getting done.”

One experience Buch points to as a sign of her preparedness to serve the county is her work in the real-estate industry. Housing affordability, according to Buch, is the biggest issue the county faces and requires someone with a professional background in housing to make improvements.

“We are in the second-largest housing crunch in the nation,” Buch said. “People are really feeling it here all over the county.”

In response to the housing challenges in Lane County, Williams cites his experience on the board as a sign of his readiness to continue to take on the challenge. He said the county board  is working with partners to reshape land use and zoning laws to make building new homes easier.

One of Williams’ main messages has been surrounding the county’s timber industry which, he says, provided economic stability to the county and its residents until “the spotted owl and radical environmentalists killed that industry.”

According to Williams, the timber industry has supported western Oregon communities for 150 years, and he wants the county to take advantage of changing federal forest rules and increase timber harvests.

Buch, while recognizing timber’s significance to the region, encouraged ensuring sustainable management of the county’s timber resources. County officials and timber companies, she said, should come together on agreements for sustainable business.

The theme of coming together was prevalent for both candidates: while the two may differ in experience and priorities, both can agree on the importance of bridging divides and reaching beyond political affiliations while on the board. Buch and Williams both expressed their hopes that their service on the board would bring representation to all viewpoints in East Lane County.

The post County Board hangs in balance of East Lane seat appeared first on Emerald Media.

After the Board of Trustees awarded University of Oregon President Michael Schill a one-time performance bonus at last month’s board meeting, Schill announced that he intended to donate the $76,000 to create a new scholarship for first-generation students.

As part of the president’s contract extension and pay raise, the Board awarded Schill the bonus for the “outstanding work performed during his first three years as president,” according to a Board document.

According to the president’s comments, the scholarship will be reserved for “a deserving first-generation student.” Schill himself was a first-generation college student, meaning neither of his parents went to college before him.

The scholarship will be in memory of his mother, Ruth Schill, who died almost two years ago.

“I was fortunate to have my mother’s support, encouragement, confidence, and love which convinced me that I could go toe-to-toe with anyone at Princeton,” said Schill’s written comments about deciding to go to college. “I can think of no better way to honor her memory than to establish a need-based scholarship.”

About a quarter of UO’s 2017 freshman class was made up of first-generation college students, according to a report from Student Services and Enrollment Management.

PathwayOregon, a scholarship for in-state students that covers tuition and fees for academically strong students with low incomes, will oversee the scholarship.

56 percent of recipients who receive scholarships from PathwayOregon, which is celebrating its tenth and largest year this year, are first-generation college students, according to the program’s tenth year announcement.

While there’s no university department or individual in charge of supporting first-generation college students specifically, there are several programs that offer academic and personal support if these students face challenges.

TRiO Student Support Services is a college retention program that provides academic advising and support, financial assistance and dedicated study spaces for students who are first-generation students or come from low-income families.

The Intercultural Mentoring Program Advancing Community Ties (IMPACT) provides peer-to-peer mentoring by pairing first-year students with older students from similar backgrounds.

“IMPACT is a program designed to help first-generation college students and students from underrepresented communities succeed and graduate from the UO,” said DJ Kelly-Quattrocchi, the program’s supervisor, in an email.

President Schill’s new scholarship, which has yet to be formally named, will be awarded to one student annually beginning in fall of 2019, according to UO Spokesman Tobin Klinger.

The post Schill receives 76k bonus, commits to fund first-generation student scholarship appeared first on Emerald Media.

After 18 years at Washington University in St. Louis, Debra Beck will be joining the University Health Center here at the University of Oregon as its newest executive director.

“I really wasn’t looking to leave,” Beck said of Washington University and her decision to apply to the UO opening. “It was something that was an opportunity that came my way, and it’s a good time in my life.”

Beck enters the executive director position after LeAnn Gutierrez left UO for Florida Atlantic University in May. Since May, Michael Griffel, Assistant Vice President for Student Services and Enrollment Management, has served as the UHC’s interim director.

According to Julia Pomerenk, the UO registrar and the chair of the Health Center Executive Director search committee, the process for selecting a new executive director began right after Gutierrez’s departure.

During Beck’s time at Washington University, she oversaw a number of changes to the center, including several building renovations.

Beck hopes to use her experience leading renovations to guide the UHC through its own multi-million dollar renovation. She said she’d like the remodel to focus on the “ability for students to access” the health center, including the flow of the entryway and the comfort of students visiting.

The first step in the process was the creation of a search committee, made up of representatives from groups like the University Health and Counseling Centers, Student Services and Enrollment Management and the Dean of Students’ office. Two undergraduate student members also joined the committee, according to Pomerenk.

An executive search firm helped establish a pool of 40 applicants for the position, said Pomerenk, and then narrowed the group to 13 candidates for the committee to review.

After a round of interviews, the final four candidates were brought to campus for a two-day interview process, including roundtables with those who will interact with the new Executive Director. After the search committee’s review of the finalists, Roger Thompson, Vice President for Student Services and Enrollment Management, announced Beck’s selection for the position.

“I think we found a really accomplished, strong, strategic leader for our University Health Center,” Thompson said in an interview. “She’s a clinician, she’s a former ER nurse, she has been a student health center administrator for nearly two decades.”

The first weeks and months of Beck’s tenure will be focused on fact gathering and learning the culture of the university and the UHC. Maintaining UHC services during the renovation will also be a top priority.

“I think it will be a challenge the next year to have comfortable healthcare being provided in a building that has construction in it and all around it,” said Beck.

After learning the ropes, Beck said she hopes to “build a strategic direction for UHC” by reviewing the financials, accreditation reports and satisfaction scores of the center. In an emailed statement, Beck said she feels “a university health center should always be student centered and focused on enhancing student success.”

Outside of work, Beck and her husband, Lorren, are looking forward to exploring Eugene. Most exciting, Beck said, will be the outdoor activities in Oregon and the “excitement and vibrancy” of the university.

“I’m really excited to join the health center team,” said Beck. “They’re a great team of people, and they’ve been very welcoming.”

The post University Health Center appoints new executive director appeared first on Emerald Media.

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and Rep. Peter DeFazio  encouraged students to register to vote while on the University of Oregon campus Tuesday morning. The last day to register to vote in Oregon before the midterm election in November is Tuesday.

“You always hear from politicians, ‘this is the most important election in your lifetime,’” DeFazio said to Charlie Butler’s Media and Social Action ARC seminar in Allen Hall. “Well, this one actually is.”

Wyden and DeFazio, both UO alumni, spoke in front of two classes and encouraged students to register. In their comments, they focused on national issues that have gained public attention recently, as well as the impact of voting on college affordability.

“Students are really facing enormous economic pressures, and the challenges are really hard,” said Wyden in an interview. “There’s something students can do that’s easy to make sure their voice is heard and they can make a difference.”

Sen. Ron Wyden speaks to a political science class about the importance of registering to vote on Oct. 16 — the last day to register in Oregon in 2018. (Sarah Northrop/Emerald)

The pair was on campus supporting the efforts of VoteORVote, the Oregon Student Association’s campaign to get college students in Oregon registered to vote. The non-partisan group also informs them of the impact electing “pro-education” officials can have on student life, according to ASUO’s Internal Vice President Imani Dorsey.

“It’s really important that students vote just to make sure they’re keeping their elected officials accountable to them,” said Dorsey. “Here at the U of O, we can see [tuition] increases to like 10%, like we saw two years ago because the state didn’t fund us at a level that we wanted.”

The Congressmen stood in front of the opening slide of Gerry Berk’s Contemporary U.S. Politics lecture as they spoke to his class. The first point on the overview slide was “low turnout,” referring to the historic pattern of low voter turnout in midterm elections.

“We’re faced with the question of women’s privacy, Judge Kavanaugh going on the bench, we’ve heard what Donald Trump is talking about,” said Wyden. “Day after day, I watch the powerful come in and they get their goodies.”

DeFazio shared his personal experience taking out student loans.

”I wouldn’t be here today if I hadn’t gotten a little help, I took out in those days what were a lot of loans,” said DeFazio, “but my loans totaled about half of what most of you are going to graduate with.”

When the Congressmen asked students who was already registered to vote, the majority raised their hands. Students in each class asked questions ranging in topics from climate change, net neutrality and immigration, to the impact of Michael Cohen’s re-registration as a Democrat.

The pair remained on campus briefly after speaking to classes and tabled with student organizers at the corner of 13th avenue and University street, before they headed to Oregon State University in Corvallis for the afternoon.

“It is important,” DeFazio said in an interview, for students, in particular, to get out and vote. “I would say the most direct link that all students would agree on is the affordability of a college education.”

Political science students raise their hands in response to being asked if this is the first time they’ve registered to vote. (Sarah Northrop/Emerald)

The post Sen. Wyden, Rep. DeFazio register students to vote on campus appeared first on Emerald Media.

First-year students have a new, six-week series of classes available to them covering a number of topics that might be unfamiliar during their first time on campus. The “Welcome to the Flock” classes will cover nutrition, the Student Recreation Center, healthy sexual relationships, money management and more.

The classes will occur twice a week for the first six weeks of fall term. According to Julia Wysocka, the student director for transition programs who leads the series, “The first six weeks of any freshman experience are usually the most challenging. A lot of students face disclusion; they feel lost.”

Wysocka said the classes are meant to guide first-year students through these challenging topics and connect them with campus resources, as well as introduce them to new people at the University of Oregon.

The classes are organized by the first-year Welcome Team. This year, the group planned the Week of Welcome activities that took place the first several days of the term.

Reflecting on why she wanted to be a part of of the student orientation team, Wysocka recalled her own high school and first-year experiences.

“I personally didn’t have a great high school experience and transition to university was a little hard for me just because I was from out of state,” said Wysocka. She said this experience guided her choice to become a student orientation staffer and, new this year, a leader of the Welcome Team.

The first week of the program has already begun. On Thursday, the team sought to help students discover “What’s a Vegetable?” with their second class, which centered around campus dining options and meal point budgeting.

Following a presentation from the Welcome Team about the various venues and options across campus, an activity tasked participants with planning a week’s worth of meals while staying within their meal point budget — a challenge all students living in the residence halls must come to master.

Anna Mattson, a journalism and international studies major from Tillamook, Oregon, attended the class to “find better options for food on campus.” Mattson has some goals she wanted to work toward by attending the class, specifically to “eat less starches and less sugar, and eat more protein.”

Mattson said the information from the class was useful for introducing her to resources where she can get the food she needs. Given what she learned at one class, Mattson said she might attend some of the upcoming sessions as well.

Wysocka, a senior, said she is most excited for the budgeting class scheduled for Oct. 29.

“No one’s ever really sat down with me and talked about saving money, or what loans really are,” said Wysocka. “No one ever really told me when I need to start making payments or what type of loans I have.”

According to the program’s website, upcoming sessions include “Welcome to Eugene,” with tips for navigating the city and a trip to dinner downtown; “Getting Swole,” with a guided tour of the Rec and “What Exactly is an Orgasm?,” focusing on healthy sexual relationships.

The post New classes fill in the gaps for first-year students appeared first on Emerald Media.

The University of Oregon Board of Trustees approved a new contract for President Michael Schill, increasing his annual salary by up to $78,000 and solidifying his position at the university through 2023.

In early September, the Board approved a revised contract for President Schill. The contract increases Schill’s base salary from $660,000 annually to $720,000 annually. After June 2020, his base salary is set to increase to $738,000 annually.

Schill’s first contract was set to expire in June 2020, but the Board unanimously extended his term.

Since his hiring in 2015, President Schill has been the highest paid university president in the state, and the raise makes him the second-highest paid president of a Pac-12 public university, according to base salary data from The Chronicle of Higher Education.

The same data show that the raise makes Schill the eighth-highest paid president of the 34 public universities in the Association of American Universities, a collection of universities in North America distinguished by their high research activity.

The contract also includes new incentives for retirement contributions and annual bonuses. The bonus structure allows the Board to award the president a bonus of up to $200,000 each year for meeting or exceeding certain goals to be set by the Board. In addition, if Schill remains at the UO through September 30, 2021, he is guaranteed an automatic $200,000 retention bonus.

Schill was appointed president in 2015 by the then-newly formed Board of Trustees. In comments at the meeting this September, Board Chair Chuck Lillis lamented on the state of the university at the time of Schill’s hiring, saying that UO “had serious issues in previous presidents’ relationships with the faculty” and that “there was quite a bit of student mistrust in how open the university was being.”

The Board expressed their approval of Schill’s work on these challenges over his first three years. Trustee Ann Curry expressed her approval of Schill’s efforts.

“I think Mike has had an impact that can be lasting long after you continue at the university,” Curry said, addressing Schill prior to the Board’s vote on the contract.

Similarly, Lillis justified the contract extension and pay raise in his comments at the meeting.

“Mike exemplifies some of the values that are very near and dear to the Trustees: commitment to access and affordability and involvement of everyone in every activity and opportunity,” Lillis said.

Following the Board’s unanimous approval of his contract, President Schill thanked the Trustees for their support, saying: “This is a difficult time in universities. One thing I have known that is important is that I have your support. I am surrounded by a wonderful team… inside Johnson Hall and outside Johnson Hall.”

The post Schill to receive $60k raise, remain at UO through 2023 appeared first on Emerald Media.

On Monday, Jayanth Banavar, University of Oregon Provost and Senior Vice President, announced his appointment of Bruce Blonigen as interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS).

In August, the college’s current dean, W. Andrew Marcus, announced his intention to step down at the end of the calendar year.  Bruce Blonigen, who currently serves as the CAS dean of faculty and operations, will take over the role as interim dean at the start of the new year.

In his announcement, Banavar also shared his intention to “analyze the current structure of the college,” signaling potential changes to come in the structure of the university’s largest academic unit.  

The College of Arts and Sciences, made up of three divisions and over 40 departments, has about 11,000 enrolled students and 800 faculty, or about half the university, according to 2017 data from the UO Office of Institutional Research.

The analysis of the college’s structure will be completed by a task force to be appointed in the coming weeks by Banavar and President Michael Schill.  According to the announcement, the administrators have “no preordained outcome in mind” for the college.

According to his CV, the Interim Dean appointee, Bruce Blonigen, has been at the UO since 1995. He has taught in the International Studies and Economics departments, both within CAS.  

Blonigen has served as the Economics Department head and associate dean for social sciences in CAS. In 2016, he was selected as the interim dean for the Lundquist College of Business, until his most recent appointment as the CAS dean of faculty and operations.

Karen Ford will take over Blonigen’s current responsibilities as a senior divisional dean until a permanent dean is appointed.  Ford currently serves as the Divisional Dean for Humanities in CAS and was the Interim Dean of the Clark Honors College in 2017.

The search for a long-term Dean for CAS will not begin until after the analysis of the college’s structure.  According to Around the O, the interim dean appointment is for two years, indicating a potential timeline for the CAS analysis process and the hiring of a new dean.

The post Provost appoints Interim Dean for College of Arts and Sciences appeared first on Emerald Media.