UO E-clips, Dec. 8-10
Top stories for December 8-10, 2007: KTVZ reported on the results of a November 2007 survey on faculty productivity, focusing on Oregon State's high ranking, including eight disciplines being ranked in the top eight (What the report didn't say was that the UO did well, too, ranking first for school psychology and in the top 10 for four other areas); the Atlanta Journal-Constitution focuses on the estimated $142 million bite being taken by the troubled Atlanta Falcons Michael Vick as a result of his legal problems -- an estimate drawn up the UO's Warsaw Sports Marketing Center; Ducks football team is part of $10 million Sun Bowl payoff (ticket sales updated noted in story)
Oregon State faculty rank high in national survey (KTVZ.com): Good news for the faculty from Oregon State University in Corvallis. A national study by the Chronicle of Higher Education ranked eight disciplines at OSU in the top ten nationally for faculty productivity. That's the most for any Oregon institution. The University of Oregon had four top-10 rankings, Oregon Health and Sciences University had three, and Portland State University had one. The ranking measures the number of professors in a program, the books and articles they've written, the number of times scholars have cited them, and the awards and grant funding they've received. Oregon State was rated number one in the country in wildlife science, and second in fisheries science. The school's faculty were also rated fourth in zoology; fifth in forest resources and forestry; fifth in plant pathology; seventh in pharmacy; seventh in agricultural economics; and ninth in science education.
UO/PMR note: The UO finished with the nation's top-rank in school psychology, 3rd in counseling psychology, 8th in special education, and 9th in marketing.
Vick's money losses: $142 million and counting (Atlanta Journal-Constitution): A look at the staggering financial losses -- totaling an estimated $142 million -- incurred by Falcons quarterback Michael Vick:
-- $71 million: Salary in the final seven seasons of his Falcons contract, which the team is expected to terminate when salary-cap ramifications are resolved. The bre
-- $50 million: Endorsement income lost over the next decade, according to an estimate by the University of Oregon's Warsaw Sports Marketing Center.
-- $19.97 million: Previously paid bonuses that an arbitrator has ruled the Falcons can recoup from Vick (a ruling currently being reviewed by U. S. District Judge David Doty in Minneapolis).
--$928,073: Funds Vick put into an escrow account, as part of his plea agreement, to fund the care of about 54 pit bulls found on his property.
--Total: $141,898,073
And, the newspaper notes, Vick has been sued by three banks for alleged defaults on a total of $5.8 million in loans.
Holiday Diplomacy (Register-Guard):It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at some local workplaces. And not at all at others. December can be a tricky time for employers, who face the perennial question of whether to recognize the winter holidays and, if so, which ones, with Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and others to choose from. … For the first time, the UO is sending out a memo campuswide with informal guidelines for holiday celebrations, said Linda King, the university’s associate vice president for human resources.
Sun Bowl's $10 million payoff (El Paso, Texas, Times): $10.56 million. That's the estimated economic impact of last year's Brut Sun Bowl on El Paso, according to a yet-to-be-released study done of the game. That number is below the $12 million to $15 million economic-impact estimate that Sun Bowl officials have been using. … The University of Oregon, in Eugene, had sold an estimated 1,000 tickets by the end of last week, and it is expecting to sell a total of 2,500 to 3,000 tickets for the game, reported Garrett Klassy, director of ticket sales for the school's athletic department. That number doesn't include 1,000 to 1,500 tickets that the school will give to members of the athletic department, including tickets for football players to give to family members and others, he said.