UO E-clips, Nov. 28

UO settles lawsuit tied to Korean scholars (Oregonian): The University of Oregon will pay $500,000 to settle a suit by a professor who says she was pushed into early retirement for reporting possible financial improprieties in a university program for visiting Korean scholars. Jean Stockard said in a lawsuit filed in Lane County Circuit Court that retaliation made her working conditions intolerable, forcing her to step down as head of the planning, public policy and management department and then retire last year. The university did not admit any wrongdoing or unlawful conduct when it settled the case last week, said Pete Shepherd, deputy state attorney general.

U. of Oregon settles whistle-blower suit over foreign-student program (Chronicle of Higher Education, similar story in Inside Higher Ed): The University of Oregon has settled a lawsuit filed by a former professor who accused administrators and faculty members of retaliating against her after she blew the whistle on a problematic graduate program for foreign students. The university agreed to pay $500,000 to Jean Stockard, formerly the chairwoman of its department of planning, public policy, and management. Ms. Stockard's lawsuit sought a million dollars in damages. According to settlement documents released last week, the university denies any wrongdoing in Ms. Stockard's case.

Oregon swaps suites for feeling (Oregonian): The seating design of the University of Oregon's new basketball arena will not take its final shape for about a month, but one thing is clear: It won't have luxury suites. That plan diverges from nearly all other college arena designs in recent years, and could mean Oregon is giving up a large potential revenue source for the $200 million arena. But project leaders want to recapture the tightly packed, vertical feeling at McArthur Court and believe they can make more money on club and loge seating than they could on suites, said Jim Bartko, an Oregon senior associate athletic director.

The end of an (ice) age (Daily Emerald): For the record, they're not crazy. But they do admit their theory is out there. University researchers Douglas Kennett and Jon Erlandson are part of a group of scientists proposing that a comet or asteroid hit North America about 13,000 years ago - near the end of the last ice age - and contributed to major events in the continent's history, including the die-off of horses, mammoths and other large mammals around the same time. The theory is turning decades of research on its head. The die-off of animals is usually explained by humans over-hunting the animals or an abrupt climate change.

Ducks win the Civil War blood drive (Gazette-Times): Oregon patients who will need blood for a medical emergency or surgery during the holiday season came out the real winners of the sixth annual Civil War Blood Drive. That’s because a record 7,230 volunteers rolled up their sleeves to take part. And the winner of the two-week statewide blood drive, held from Nov. 1 to 17 was ... the University of Oregon Ducks. By a “score” of 3,709 Ducks to 3,521 Beavers, the fans, students, alumni and faculty from the U of O will be presented with the Civil War Blood Drive title trophy Saturday during the 111th football match-up between the Beavers and Ducks. Kickoff is about 1:30 p.m. at Autzen Stadium in Eugene. The annual event is organized by the American Red Cross, OSU and UO alumni associations and the Lane Memorial Blood Bank as part of the events leading up to this much-anticipated annual gridiron showdown between these two long-time rivals. But although most such events are light-hearted, this one has an important purpose. Donated blood cannot be kept “on ice” indefinitely. It has a shelf life of only about 42 days. Because donations drop off dramatically during the holidays -- although demand often rises -- the blood banks have a chronic shortage. The blood donated during the Civil War Blood Drive will help see the state through the holidays.