UO E-clips, Nov. 12

Director for UO fund drive moves on (Register-Guard): Allan Price says he loves asking people for money. And from all appearances, the people he asks seem to love saying yes. It was Price, after all, who directed the largest philanthropic drive in state history, one that has raised almost $830 million for the University of Oregon. But after more than seven years helping to raise the UO’s national profile and its endowment, Price is leaving the university. After the books close in December on Campaign Oregon, as the UO fund drive is known, Price will leave for a new job in Portland as president of the Oregon Health & Science University Foundation and vice president in charge of OHSU’s advancement arm.

Enviro health scientists, chemists join forces to promote safe chemical (Environmental Health News): In an effort to match problems with solutions, environmental health scientists and chemists convened this week to chart a path to promoting development of safe, sustainable chemicals. Leaders in environmental health and green chemistry are meeting at University of California, Irvine to draft a consensus statement designed to offer advice and overcome obstacles to creating new industrial compounds that won’t endanger public health or the environment. ...“The current regulatory strategy of testing chemicals one by one cannot possibly identify all of the substances that threaten health,” said Joe Thornton, an associate professor in the Center for Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Oregon.

Getting into Autzen? Tough. Getting out: Less so (Associated Press, in the San Diego Union Tribune): Credit the rain if you want, but University of Oregon officials say that's what helped keep down the number of fans kicked out of last weekend's Oregon-Stanford football game at Autzen Stadium. “I think that was clearly the main factor,” said Doug Tripp, associate director of the UOs Department of Public Safety. On Saturday 68 people were booted for bad behavior, down from 96 removed by Eugene Police and UO security officers on a perfect football Saturday under clear skies during the Ducks' Sept. 20 game against Boise State.

Rain dampens alcohol-related rowdiness (Register-Guard): Credit the rain. Wet weather, University of Oregon officials say, is what helped keep down the number of spectators ejected from last Saturday’s Ducks-Stanford football game at Autzen Stadium. “I think that was clearly the main factor,” said Doug Tripp, associate director of the UO’s Department of Public Safety. A total of 68 people were booted for bad behavior Saturday. That’s a significant drop from the previous two home games -- both of which were played under clear skies.

Getting a grip on Fan behavior in college sports (Huffington Post): There is something very wrong taking place in sports, including college sports. It isn't universal. It doesn't happen all the time. But it happens often enough to suggest that we -- the fans -- are losing our way. ... These are the facts in two instances that made headlines across the country last spring when Indiana University's Eric Gordon played on the road at the University of Illinois and UCLA's Kevin Love played in a conference match-up at the University of Oregon.

Ducks big man holds premie baby in palm of his hand at neo-natal ICU (KVAL News 13): Brushing off the good-natured teasing by his teammates, Michael Dunigan took the premature baby in his hands and the room fell silent. At 6-foot-10-inches and 255 pounds, Dunigan's hands are more accustomed to holding a basketball than a baby. "I've held a baby before, but not one that actually fit into the palm of my hand," said Dunigan, a University of Oregon freshman center out of Farragut High School in Chicago, Ill. "Just to see big Mike with a baby that small -- you can tell these guys have great hearts, great compassion," said Ducks coach Ernie Kent. (Kent took members of the Ducks basketball team to the neonatal intensive care unit at Sacred Heart Hospital at RiverBend. The team sponsors an auction and golf tournament to raise money for the Children's Miracle Network, which helps children at Sacred Heart. Kent says experiences like this help the team put faces to the cause.) WATCH VIDEO