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E-clips, Sept. 22-24

Top stories for Saturday-Monday, Sept. 22-24: Housing in UO dormitories are the fullest they've ever been, reports the Daily Emerald; entering students attending Convocation 2007 were challenged to test what they already believe by listing controversial subjects and pondering them, then review them at graduation in four years (Register-Guard); More than 81,000 students are pouring into the state's seven university campuses amid a state budget reversal after a decade of troubles (Register-Guard); and the state's universities, including the UO, are seeking to retain their new students (Associated Press, Oregonian).

Full halls turn students away (The Oregon Daily Emerald):  Along with newfound independence, finance management and a college-level workload, some incoming freshmen may have to worry about finding a bed to sleep in. University residence halls are the fullest they've ever been, and if the housing department doesn't see a decline in residents this week, some freshmen may have to forgo the traditional first year experience and find an off-campus residence. Despite the Living Learning Center's grand opening last year, which provided living space for an additional 387 students, University Housing is currently accommodating approximately 3,600 residents - 100 more than it can comfortably manage, Associate Director of Housing Allen Gidley said.

Freshmen get new challenge (The Register-Guard): It's a plain and simple truth: People, by their nature, just don't like talking to people with whom they disagree, public policy expert and author Kathleen Hall Jamieson told several hundred incoming University of Oregon freshmen Sunday. Instead, they look for information that already confirms what they believe. They marry, befriend and associate with those who hold similar values, scrutinizing and dismissing opposing viewpoints as loony or extreme. And that, Jamieson said, is a big problem. "If you're all hunkered down in your like-minded community, reinforced by the media, are you more likely to think the (opposing) person over there is kind of nutty?" she asked. "Does it create an environment where we can come to a common good?" Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania and author of "Unspun: Finding Facts in a World of Disinformation," challenged the new college students to make a list of where they stand on controversial topics such as Iraq, abortion and gun control. Their four years of education will have been successful, she told them, if they can look at that list at graduation, and at least have challenged some of those positions.

State Universities start academic year on budgeted boost (The Register-Guard):  More than 81,000 students are expected to pour into the state's seven university campuses for the start of classes today, beginning a school year in which the university system for the first time in almost a decade isn't fighting against a fiscal tide. They are joined by more than 350,000 full- and part-time community college students, who also are benefiting from some of the first statewide budget increases for higher education since the 2000 recession kicked in. ...The state budget allowed universities and community colleges to hold tuition to modest increases, about 3 percent for the seven OUS campuses. Statewide figures aren't yet available for community colleges, but Lane Community College increased tuition 5 percent, to $73 per credit from $69.50. At the University of Oregon, resident undergraduate tuition and fees are $6,186 per year, a 3.4 percent increase.

Oregon universities seek ways to prevent drop outs (Associated Press, Oregonian): As classes begin at Oregon public universities, higher education officials hope to reduce a dropout rate that likely will result in the loss of 2,200 of 10,400 incoming freshmen before their sophomore year. The percentage of freshmen who quit between fall 2005 and fall 2006 ranged from 31percent at Eastern Oregon University to 15 percent at the University of Oregon. After getting $142 million in new money from the Legislature, Oregon campus leaders say they are responding with initiatives to slow the steady drain of new students from state universities. Some of these efforts include boosting student support services such as tutoring and advising, giving students more opportunities to interact with faculty and intervening earlier when students are in trouble.

PMR Affiliations

PMR is located within the UO Division of Advancement and part of the Office of Public and Government Affairs.

Other affiliated offices are:

Development

Trademark Management

Creative Publishing

Government and Community Relations

19th Century structure unearthed at Oregon Institute of Marine Biology

Craig YoungA small probe into the parking lot at UO's Institute of Marine Biology turned up more than expected -- a 19th Century structure that may have been a dock or a boardwalk. KCBY-Channel 11 reported the discovery on Aug. 15, interviewing a contractor and institute director Craig Young, a UO biologist. (Story & Video)

Why, oh why, do people live in the danger zones?

paul-slovic05.jpg

A writer for the National Science Foundation went "behind the scenes" to ask why anyone would live in terrain vulnerable to natural disasters, such as the California wildfires in 2007. The resulting, colorful story about the choices people make to do so focuses on the research of the UO's Paul Slovic. (Read Story)

Media Links

Oregon Quarterly Magazine

Newspapers:
Daily Emerald (UO students)
Register-Guard
Eugene Weekly
The Oregonian

Campus Radio:
a) Eugene's Classical
KWAX (99.1 FM)
b) Student Run
KWVA (88.1 FM)

TV Stations:
KEZI, Channel 9 (ABC)
KVAL, Channel 13 (CBS)
KMTR, Channel 16 (NBC)
KPTV (FOX-12, Portland)
 
Public TV, Radio:
Oregon Public Broadcasting
NPR (LCC, 89.7 FM)
KOPB (1600 AM)

News/Talks Radio:
KUGN (590 AM): UO Sports
KPNW (1120 AM)

UO Alumni News

1) Keep up on alumni news with the official e-newsletter of the UO Alumni Association.

2) Alumni in Portland have their own newsletter: See PDX Ducks.

 
UO ranks high in two national college guides

Princeton Review logoThe University of Oregon is one of 11 colleges that received a Green Rating of 99 (the highest score) in The Princeton Review’s “Green Honor Roll.” The news received national attention from the CBS Early Show, ABC World News with Charles Gibson, and other national and local media.

Fiske Guide 2009 The UO is also included in the 2009 edition of the Fiske Guide to Colleges as a Best Buy school. From the guide: "UO may be the best deal in public higher education on the West Coast."

Jim Hutchison featured on ScienCentral piece about green nanotechnology

Face shot of Jim HutchisonSome are calling it a revolution in manufacturing technology. But, will nanotechnology be a "green" industry? It’s a question that some scientists are saying needs to be answered now, before nano-tech goes big-time. ScienCentral News has produced a video with the UO's Jim Hutchison, who is noted as one who is spinning gold -- gold and copper nanoparticles so small, billions would fit on the head of a pin. (Check it out)

Jenkins' discovery prompts U.S. News to ask: How Did People Reach the Americas?

Dennis Jenkins faceshotA science article posted online July 24 by U.S. News & World Report looks at the early peopling of the Americas, and how new techniques, such as DNA, are shedding new light on the issue. Cited prominently is work by UO archaeologist Dennis Jenkins. (Read story)

PMR Contact Info

Phone: (541) 346-3134
Email: pmr@uoregon.edu


Staff Members (Position Details)
Phil Weiler: 541-346-3873; pweiler@uoregon.edu
Pauline Austin: 541-346-3129; paustin@uoregon.edu
Julie Brown: 541-346-3185; julbrown@uoregon.edu
Jim Barlow: 541-346-3481; jebarlow@uoregon.edu
Zack Barnett: 541-346-3145; zbarnett@uoregon.edu
Shannon Rose: 541-346-3314; roses@uoregon.edu

About the Office

Public event, Sept. 12: Cracking Open the Universe, the LHC and future physics

On Sept. 10, the first beam ever will be sent through and around the Large Hadron Collider, a brand new particle accelerator, in Geneva, Switzerland.

University of Oregon physicists have key roles in this international endeavor. Come to campus for a free evening event to learn more about the "first beam" and how the LHC will advance the quest of physics to learn about the fundamental nature of the universe.

Speakers: Jim Brau, Graham Kribs and Eric Torrence … Friday, Sept. 12, 7 p.m., Columbia Hall, Room 150MORE DETAILS.

(Anyone with an interest in science will get a bang out of this event!)

Kyr's piece debuts with new hospital

The University of Oregon Trumpet Ensemble performed a new fanfare by UO music professor Robert Kyr at the RiverBend Hospital earlier this summer. PeaceHealth commissioned the piece for the opening of the RiverBend facility. Click HERE to watch a brief video clip of the performance.

 


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