UO E-clips, Feb. 19

UO arena could deplete Legacy Fund (Associated Press): A state budget analyst said the University of Oregon athletic department can afford to build and operate a new arena without resorting to subsidies from the school's general fund, even if a pessimistic revenue forecast proves accurate. But Steve Bender said the gloomier projection would force the university to dip heavily into its new Legacy Fund, which started with a $100 million gift from Nike co-founder Phil Knight. In an e-mail to reporters, Bender said he will continue to recommend that the Legislature approve $200 million in state-backed bonds for the arena project. If approved, the arena -- the most expensive in the nation on a college campus -- is expected to open in 2010.

Legacy Fund could face depletion (Oregonian): An official in the Legislative Fiscal Office said Monday that the University of Oregon's arena financing plan could deplete more than half of the $100 million Legacy Fund designed to give long-term stability to the athletic department, but that the office still recommends approving the project. The arena project's viability hinges on the $67 million marketing-rights agreement with an outside firm that Oregon announced last Tuesday, said Steve Bender, a principal legislative analyst for the state. Bender conducted the fiscal office's initial analysis of Oregon's plan to use $200 million in state-backed bonds to build a replacement for McArthur Court.

Analyst sees mixed outlook for arena (Register-Guard): The University of Oregon’s athletic department would remain in the black even if a new basketball arena only brings in the sharply lower revenue suggested in a controversial 2004 report, a state budget analyst said Monday. But the university would have to cut deeply into the principal of its new Legacy Fund, launched with a $100 million gift from Phil and Penny Knight, if the pessimistic revenue forecast in the ECONorthwest report turns out to be correct, the analyst said. And without the long-term $67 million advertising and media rights deal recently announced by the university, the fund would be drained before the bonds are paid off, the analyst said.

UO-Portland a study in growth (Oregonian): The University of Oregon's new home in Portland will be more than 50 percent bigger than initially planned when it opens next month in Old Town, with room for a larger library and more law and architecture courses. The university, a catalyst in the city's effort to rebuild the old Skid Road neighborhood, eventually may end up filling all three of the interconnected historic buildings that will serve as its new headquarters here. "I think most of us believe that in 10 years, we will be occupying the whole thing," said Terri Warpinski, the vice provost overseeing the new site.

Researchers develop tools to better study worms (Daily Emerald): University researchers Shawn Lockery and Kristy Lawton stared in awe at a computer screen showing a movie clip of a slithering worm Monday afternoon. These worms could eventually provide a better understanding of the human brain and other organisms. Lockery, a biology professor, and Lawton, a research associate, recently helped create new tools to better study these worms, also called nematodes. The new devices could also appeal to pharmaceutical companies to test drugs, but this has yet to be determined. Researchers refer to the new tools as an "artificial soil" device and a "worm guide." Both are thin and transparent. Previously, scientists studied the animals in agar petri dishes, but the dishes didn't mimic the worm's natural environment - soil.

Legislature considers safety for colleges (Daily Emerald): Recent university shootings have thrust campus safety to the forefront the nation's mind, and Oregonians are no exception. Douglas Park, assistant general counsel to University President Dave Frohnmayer, and Frances Dyke, vice president of finance and administration at the University, last week finished and presented the final draft of a proposal to reform the Oregon University System's campus safety model. The proposal, outlined at last week's University Senate meeting, would allow Oregon universities to choose their own model, one of which involves establishing an armed police force on campus.