• Provost Phillips and I are writing to provide the latest update on the University of Oregon’s response to the coronavirus. Gov. Kate Brown today issued new orders for individuals, businesses, and agencies throughout the state as part of the continued effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.
• President Michael Schill talks about the University of Oregon's commitment to protect and support students, and how the campus community is preparing to deliver remote education for spring term so students can continue their education and stay on track to graduation.
• I want to share the latest information about the University of Oregon’s response to the coronavirus outbreak that is accelerating in Oregon and nationally.
• For some time now, the UO has been monitoring the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and preparing contingency plans as the virus spreads across the state of Oregon, our nation and the world. At this time, there are still no known cases of COVID-19 in Lane County, but with spring break quickly approaching, we believe it is time to enact active measures to increase social distancing to limit the spread of COVID-19 on campus and protect students, faculty, staff and the broader community.
• I am writing today to inform you of the recommendation I intend to make to the UO Board of Trustees regarding tuition rates and mandatory student fees for the upcoming academic year. Since my last message on the topic, I have had the chance to hear directly from students at an open forum, read all 108 messages submitted via the online feedback form, and talked with representatives from a variety of campus stakeholder groups.
• In the month or so since we last communicated with campus about the university’s response to the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19, we have seen the outbreak spread beyond China’s Hubei Province, where it was first detected. The situation is changing day-by-day, but as of this writing, COVID-19 has now been discovered in at least 50 countries, including the United States. This may sound like a scary set of facts, but I want to assure you that the UO is doing everything we can to be prepared.
• I have received recommendations from the students, faculty, and staff who comprise the Tuition and Fee Advisory Board (TFAB) and am now ready to receive campus input on an innovative guaranteed tuition model for undergraduates that deserves serious consideration. This tuition plan is a change from past practices, and I encourage the campus community to look closely at the new tuition model proposed by TFAB. I am strongly inclined to support the guaranteed tuition concept because it addresses a persistent challenge within higher education and provides real benefits to both current and future University of Oregon students.
• Conversations I regularly have with students, faculty, staff, donors, and community members often go one of two very different ways. The vast majority of conversations are incredibly positive and optimistic. They are about the excitement of opening the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact, hiring new faculty and academic advisors, opening new buildings and residence halls, celebrating the football team’s Rose Bowl win, or making programmatic investments in prevention science, environmental humanities, data analytics, and more. They focus on this transformational time for the university and its bright future.
• Next week the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments about whether to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. This is important to the University of Oregon because for students on our campus, and at other universities across the country, DACA helps provide a path to higher education and a better life.
• A few weeks ago, UO’s new Provost Patrick Phillips and I took a walk around campus and talked about some of the things we are both looking forward to at the start of a new academic year.
