UO E-clips, Oct. 4-6

Controversial art exhibit now open at Azusa Pacific (Pasadena Star News): Jackson Pollock or just pretend? In a case more befitting a major metropolitan museum, Azusa Pacific University has found itself at the center of an unraveling art mystery surrounding 17 works attributed to preeminent American artist Jackson Pollock. ... On one wall near the entryway hangs a framed letter from a University of Oregon physics professor, Richard Taylor, who for more than a decade has studied the complex fractal patterns unique to Pollock's paintings.

Face to face with a sense of purpose (guest-opinion piece by Tom Bivins, UO professor of journalism and communications): A few weeks ago, I found myself sitting in a crowded cafeteria full of bustling twentysomethings -- not an unusual state of affairs for a college professor. As I nursed an absolutely awful cup of coffee, I focused on a young couple seated at the table next to mine. … There was something very different about this young couple. They weren't dressed in the usual "Oregon chic" I was used to … Instead, their uniform of the day was the desert camouflage of the U.S. Army. … Some, especially in education, have remarked on this generation's seeming sense of entitlement -- to an education, a well-paying job, a preordained place in the social hierarchy. Truth be told, I sometimes see that attitude play out in classes and on the walkways and street corners on and around my university. It doesn't infect all students, but it's hard to ignore. I'm no sociologist, so I can't tell you where it came from. What I can tell you is that I didn't see it at all in the faces of the young people I saw at Fort Sam Houston.

Study examines motives behind charitable acts (Daily Gleaner, Canada): For those who work with computers, you know the challenge of getting new technology. A laptop computer is virtually never more than a foot away from my hands - a funny visual if you think about it - but nonetheless true. .... In a report dryly entitled Neural Responses to Taxation and Voluntary Giving Reveal Motives for Charitable Donations (Science, v 316, no 5831) by William T. Harbaugh, Ulrich Mayr and Daniel R. Burghart, the University of Oregon researchers wanted to scientifically study whether there was measurable brain activity when people paid their taxes or provided donations to charity.

Lokey boosts gift to Stanford to build stem cell facility (San Francisco Chronicle): Lorry I. Lokey, a generous donor to the University of Oregon, is donating $75 million to Stanford University's School of Medicine to build, possibly, the nation's largest center for stem cell research. He previously had pledged $33 million but has chosen to more than double his promise. School officials say he is the lead contributor for a $200 million stem cell research building that will break ground Oct. 27 and be finished in the summer of 2010.

Subprime mortgage defaults rise in Salem (Statesman Journal): The consequences of the housing boom and subprime mortgage meltdown in the past several years is having substantial effects on Oregon's economy. Although Oregon and Salem did not have the hyper-appreciation of home prices like in hot markets in California, exotic subprime loans were made here. And housing prices were driven up with some speculation. ... An August report that tracks economic indicators such as building permits and unemployment claims said their sustained weakness is "consistent with ongoing recession in Oregon," according to the University of Oregon Index of Economic Indicators.

Eugene planners OK arena (Associated Press, appearing in the Corvallis Gazette Times): The proposed $227 million University of Oregon basketball arena is already getting a green light from city planners, if the school meets a list of conditions. A report issued a week before an October 7 public hearing sets out 18 conditions the city wants the university to meet to win approval. University officials say an initial review of the report indicates no problems on the list. The 40-page report includes conditions such as setting up a special event parking district to help keep basketball fans from clogging neighborhood streets. The 12,500-seat arena is to replace the aging McArthur Court by fall of 2010.

How sweet can an economic bailout fix get? (Guest Opinion by Merle H. Weiner, the Philip H. Knight Professor at the University of Oregon School of Law, appearing in the Oregonian): I, like most Americans, sit stunned by the handling of our financial crisis. If nothing else, it shows me that we are addicted to credit and that our federal government is the biggest doper of all. Easy credit was the culprit that started this current crisis, and now credit is the justification for the fix. Sub-prime loans got us into this mess. Now the whole economy is at risk because credit markets might freeze up. The fix is to infuse money into the system. Since our Treasury doesn't really have the funds for the solution, we add the cost to our "tab," otherwise known as the federal budget deficit. That tab has gotten enormous. It now stands at more than $9 trillion, more than doubling during the Bush administration.

Summon your courage and buy stocks (Wall Street Journal): During the Great Depression, an entire generation became convinced that owning stocks was dangerous. But if you were among the courageous few who bought and held stocks during and after the Depression, you earned spectacular returns. Depression-level stock phobia might be making a comeback. Will you suffer from it or conquer it? ... Psychologist Paul Slovic of the University of Oregon, who led the study, had investors estimate the performance of their stocks and stock funds over the next 12 months and the decade to come.

Frohnmayer family, scientists fight for Fanconi Anemia cure (KEZI News 9): The 20th annual Fanconi Anemia Convention kicked off this weekend. Over one hundred scientists from around the world are meeting in Eugene to try to save lives. Arguably, one of the more public families to be effected by this genetic disease is the Frohnmayers. The University of Oregon President and his family say they will not give up fighting for a cure. (Watch video)

Bloggers might be excluded from Oregon's executive sessions (The Oregonian): Mark Bunster started an unexpected controversy three months ago that now has legal and media experts across the state scrambling. As the author of political blog Loaded Orygun, Bunster insisted at a Lake Oswego City Council meeting that he was a member of the news media and therefore, under Oregon statute, allowed to sit in on executive session meetings. ... The wording of Lake Oswego's draft policy focuses mostly on traditional media organizations and ignores the growing value of bloggers, said Kyu Ho Youm, a journalism professor and First Amendment expert at the University of Oregon.