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E-clips, Sept. 27
Top stories for September 27, 2007: The Associated Press quotes UO constitutional law expert Garrett Epps in its reporting on a stern rebuke by a federal judge of parts of the Bush administration’s antiterror law; multiple business news outlets report on the UO’s new NSF grant to fund entrepreneurship collaboration; and the Register-Guard details UO aspirations to modernize most on-campus housing over the next 10 years.
Two Patriot Acts Provisions Ruled Unlawful (Associated Press, widespread pickup): A federal judge issued a stern rebuke of a key White House antiterror law, striking down as unconstitutional two pillars of the USA Patriot Act. U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken ruled Wednesday that using the act to authorize secret searches and wiretapping to gather criminal evidence — instead of intelligence gathering — violates the constitutional protection against unreasonable searches and seizures… The case shows that pushing the Patriot Act to the limit may backfire on the Bush administration, said Garrett Epps, a constitutional law expert at the University of Oregon. "They've been so aggressive in their assertions of statutory and constitutional authority that it has alienated courts," Epps said. "Judges just don't trust them. The Bush administration has shot itself in the foot."
UO Receives NSF Grant to Fund Entrepreneurship Collaboration (AmericanVentureMagazine.com, Bizjournals.com, and other media pick up of the story, which was based on a UO News Release): The University of Oregon has received a three-year, $435,000 grant from the National Science Foundation's Partnerships for Innovation Program to launch the Oregon Technology Entrepreneurship Consortium (OTEC). OTEC will form a network connecting Oregon’s research universities, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI) and private industry to infuse Oregon’s economy with cutting-edge technologies, start-up companies, and a pipeline of university-trained scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs. "OTEC is emerging as the university's flagship initiative for integrating graduate education in science, business and law,” said Rich Linton, vice president for research.
UO aspires to modernize most on-campus housing (Register-Guard): An ambitious student housing plan for the University of Oregon would replace two-thirds of the existing on-campus residence halls and renovate most of the rest in an effort to modernize an out-of-date housing stock and persuade more students to live on campus. The plan would be phased in over 10 years and would result in a net increase of more than 1,500 beds. Financing options still are under consideration, but much of the work probably would be funded with state bonds repaid from the rent charged to students; the first phase is expected to cost between $40 million and $60 million.