UO E-clips, Nov. 9

Oregon universities post enrollment increase (Register-Guard): Enrollment at Oregon’s seven public universities grew a modest 1.5 percent this year, an improvement over last year’s flat numbers but short of a full recovery from previous tuition hikes and budget cuts. Enrollment at the University of Oregon was essentially flat with a dozen fewer students signing up for fall term classes compared with a year ago. The campus did see a small increase in the number of in-state freshmen, but that 0.2 percent rise was overshadowed by a much larger increase in out-of-state freshmen and declines in graduate and transfer students. Universities saw their budgets rise significantly in the 2007 Legislature, but little of that money has worked its way down to the campuses yet. Given that, university officials were pleased by the enrollment numbers.

With bad weather coming, searchers desperate to find missing professor (Salem-News.com): The air and ground search for a University of Oregon professor missing since Sunday will get back underway this morning with a sense of urgency with bad weather expected for the area over the next few days. Even some of Daming Xu's colleagues joined the search effort yesterday. Searchers on the ground and in the air have searched miles and miles of wilderness in the Cascade Mountain foothills east of Eugene for the 63-year-old, who went missing after telling friends he was going on a day hike. He is believed to be without warm clothing, food, water or a cell phone. An overnight search by a National Guard Helicopter equipped with infrared technology found no signs of Xu.

Sheriff's office seals off wilderness where professor went missing (Register-Guard): Searchers closed a 100-square-mile area on Thursday as they continued the search for Daming Xu, the University of Oregon mathematics professor who went missing Sunday on a solo hike near Olallie Mountain. The Lane County Sheriff’s Office closed the area to reduce the number of vehicles and individuals that are not part of the search from entering the area and possibly confusing the search effort. Many friends and co-workers of Xu want to help in the search, said UO Professor Brad Shelton, who heads the mathematics department where Xu has taught since 1990.

Students push for smoke-free campus (Daily Emerald): Peer health educators want to let people in on a little secret: 62.6 percent of University students have never smoked cigarettes, but they think that only 8.8 percent of their peers have never tried them, according to the 2007 National College Health Assessment Survey distributed to University students last spring. Students, faculty and staff are invited to participate in a cigarette butt pick-up in preparation for "Kick Butts," a week-long event that coincides with The American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout, a national event created to help smokers kick their habit. The University Health Center will provide gloves and trash bags to volunteers who will collect discarded cigarette butts today at 1 p.m., in front of the Knight Library.

UO reports economy slips down (Portland Business Journal): The University of Oregon Index of Economic Indicators dropped 0.5 percent in September to 102.5, extending the August drop. The index is based on a 1997 benchmark of 100. Just two of the indicators that comprise the index -- Oregon help-wanted advertising and new orders for core manufactured goods -- improved in September. One indicator, national consumer confidence, remained unchanged from the previous month. The remaining five indicators -- Oregon initial unemployment claims, Oregon nonfarm payrolls, Oregon weight-distance tax, Oregon residential building permits and the interest rate spread -- all deteriorated during September.