May 2012 Government & Community Relations Update

State Board of Higher Education, new Higher Education Coordinating Commission members appointed


Governor John Kitzhaber recently announced the names of seventy-six nominees for service on state boards and commissions including thirteen for the Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) and two for the State Board of Higher Education.
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UO interim president Bob Berdahl testifies before Special Legislative Committee on University Governance


On May 10, UO interim president Bob Berdahl offered testimony to the Oregon Legislature’s Special Legislative Committee on University Governance on the value of institutional boards to higher education in Oregon.
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UO alums fare well in May primary election


On May 15, Oregon held its 2012 pri­mary election. The balloting featured UO graduates competing for seats in races at the local, state, and federal level.
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UO students, faculty, and staff participate in Day of Service


On April 21, more than fifty UO students, staff members and university neighbors participated in “Takin’ It to the Streets: UO Student Day of Service in Campus Neighborhoods.” This annual effort is a collaboration of the Holden Leadership Center’s Service Learning Program, the UO Student Alumni Association, the Office of the Dean of Students, UO Government and Community Relations, and neighborh
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Wyden lectures on Internet policy at law school


Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon visited the UO campus on April 11 to attend a meet­ing of the board of directors of the univer­sity’s Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics. While on campus, Wyden, who is a 1974 graduate of the UO law school and a member of the Morse Center’s board, of­fered a lecture to law students on technol­ogy and Internet policy.
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UO joins others institutions in commenting on proposed indirect cost rule


The University of Oregon joined other higher education institutions, the Asso­ciation of American Universities (AAU), and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) in submitting a response to a proposed rule that governs the use of federal grant money to cover indirect costs.
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Fix for Stafford student loan interest rate debated in Washington, D.C.


With the Stafford student loan interest rate set to double on July 1, the admin­istration and U.S. Congress continue to debate how to pay the estimated $6 billion annual cost of postponement to avoid the increase.
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Congressional committees consider funding bills


The U.S. House and Senate Appropriations Committees have begun the task of considering FY2013 funding bills. The House and Senate panels are using spending caps that fall below FY2012 discretionary spending levels and that are more than $19 billion apart.
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Sustainable Cities Initiative leaders meet with Oregon delegation


During a recent trip to Washington, D.C., UO professors and Sustainable Cities Ini­tiative faculty members Marc Schlossberg and Nico Larco met with U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) and top staff mem­bers to Congressmen Peter DeFazio and Earl Blumenauer.
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Oregon governor’s green chemistry initiative draws praise from UO leadership


University of Oregon leadership praised the launch of Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber’s Green Chemistry Innovation Initiative on April 27 at an event held at the university’s White Stag Block in Port­land.
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Berdahl, Espy meet with Oregon delegation in D.C.


University of Oregon interim presi­dent Robert M. Berdahl and Kimberly Andrews Espy, UO vice president for research and innovation and dean of the graduate school, traveled to Washington, D.C., the week of April 16 to discuss UO priorities with members of the Oregon delegation and agency officials and to ad­ vocate for research and student aid.
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UO senior wins first Officer Chris Kilcullen Memorial Scholarship


On April 21, University of Oregon senior Anne Mansfield was named as one of two recipients of the first Officer Chris Kilcullen Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship is named for Eugene Police department officer and UO alumnus Chris Kilcullen, who was shot and killed during a traffic stop on Highway 126 last year.
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