Selected Remarks

• President Michael Schill’s remarks from the Board of Trustees December meeting on Friday, December 8, 2017.
• Today, I had planned to share with the campus community some wonderful news about investments in three new academic programs, support for student success programming at the soon-to-be-built Black Cultural Center and nine new endowed faculty chair positions for our schools and colleges. We are able to make these investments thanks to an incredibly generous $50 million dollar gift. Unfortunately, I was not able to tell you my good news in person, because my speech was disrupted by a small group of protesters. Instead, I am linking to a video in which I have delivered the speech for you to hear.
• As I drove onto campus this week, I got a familiar feeling of excitement. New students were settling into their residence halls and beginning to navigate the campus. Returning students were greeting each other and catching up on what they did during the summer. In other words, the campus was coming alive. It reminded me how fortunate we are to live and learn in such a wonderful community.
• The U.S. Department of Education on Friday provided new interim guidance on Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex- and gender-based discrimination in education, which includes sexual harassment and violence. As was clearly stated in a recent reaffirmation of the University of Oregon’s strong commitment to Title IX, the new federal guidelines in no way erode our resolve to provide services to survivors, encourage those who experience sexual violence to seek help, and to be fair and equitable to all, including those accused.
• I am thrilled to be entering my third year. With your support and encouragement, the hard work of our administrators and faculty, and the financial support from many of our alumni friends, we have made excellent progress toward our objective of making Oregon the best research university we possibly can be.
• On behalf of the leadership of the University of Oregon, I unequivocally condemn the hatred, ignorance, and violence expressed by these white supremacist and white nationalist groups. Our university community rejects any ideologies or groups that embrace racist, homophobic, misogynistic, or anti-Semitic views.
• As national a leader in sustainability and environmental research and innovation, the University of Oregon recognizes that climate change is real and one of the defining scientific and social challenges of our times. The UO remains committed to leading and pioneering research and academic initiatives focused on finding creative solutions to the world’s environmental challenges.
• President Schill addressed students and community members on Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Day.
• December 1, 2016 President Michael H. Schill delivered the following president's report to the University of Oregon Board of Trustees during the December meeting. These are remarks as drafted and may not be verbatim. We will be discussing in great depth tomorrow two matters that occupy a great deal of my time and energy—the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact and the governor’s recommended budget that was released today and its impact on our own operating budget. Thus, I will keep my remarks on those very short.
• We have heard from numerous students, faculty, and staff that they are concerned about potential changes to immigration laws, especially as relates to undocumented students and those covered under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. We want to be very clear that we support all UO students, regardless of their immigration status.