E-Clips, Sept. 20

Brand-new design program on UO’s drawing board (The Oregonian): Tim Boyle, visiting retailers in Spain, made one of his bold predictions Wednesday via cell phone, this one about his alma mater's leap into grooming product designers. "If we can get the U of O cranked up," Columbia Sportswear Co.'s chief executive said, "we can outdesign Barcelona." Boyle was talking about the University of Oregon's plans, announced formally this week, to offer the state's first bachelor's and advanced degrees in product design starting in fall 2008. … (The story goes on, quoting Alison Snyder, director of the UO’s Interior Architecture Program: "We'll compete well with long-established schools like Rhode Island School of Design. We think we're poised to do that, especially since Portland is such a progressive place for young creatives to come to.")  PMR NOTE: News Release about the new UO program.


Expect congestion, delays as UO students move in (Associated Press as reported on ktvz.com): Traffic delays are expected today as UO students move in. Officials warn motorists to expect congestion and delays at Franklin Boulevard and the university area. At the start of each new school year, thousands of students flock back to the University of Oregon, with those who spent the summers elsewhere trickling into Eugene over the course of the month. But those students planning to live in the on-campus dormitories, come in droves on a single day known as move-in day. And this year, that means today. This year, a record number of dorm-bound students is about 3,600. So the traffic impact may be even greater. Today, the right-hand lane of eastbound Franklin will be dedicated to dorm move-in traffic up to Agate Street.