APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The meeting of June 10, 1996 was called to order at 3:11 p.m., in room 150
Columbia with President David Frohnmayer presiding. The minutes of the
January 10, 1996 meeting of the University Assembly were approved as distributed.
MEMORIALS
Ms. Janet Moursund, Counseling Psychology, was recognized to present a memorial
for Mr. Ronald J. Rousseve, Professor Emeritus of Counseling Psychology.
Mr. Rousseve joined the University of Oregon faculty in 1968 and served
until his retirement in 1995. Mr. Rousseve died, in Eugene, on November
21, 1995. His memorial may be found on pages 15-16 of these minutes.
Mr. John Hulteng, Professor Emeritus of Journalism, passed away in Spokane,
Washington at the age of 74. Mr. Hulteng was a member of the faculty of
the School of Journalism from 1955 to 1977. During this twenty-two year
period he served twice as Dean of the School. Mr. Charles Duncan, Professor
Emeritus of Journalism and now a resident of Vancouver, Washington prepared
and read the memorial that will be found on pages 17-18 of these minutes.
Professor Emeritus of History Gustave Alef passed away in Eugene on January
3, 1996. Mr. Alan Kimball, History, presented the memorial that will be
found on pages 18-20 of these minutes. Mr. Alef came to the University
of Oregon in 1956. He retired in 1987.
In 1919 UO President Prince Lucien Campbell hired Mr. George Hopkins to
teach in the UO's School of Music. Mr. Hopkins was the last living faculty
member hired by President Campbell. From 1919 to his retirement in 1967
Mr. Hopkins served the University and the School of Music. On January 27,
1996, at the age of 98, Mr. Hopkins passed away in Eugene, Oregon. The
memorial prepared by Mr. Victor Steinhardt, School of Music, may be found
on pages 20-21 of these minutes.
Mr. George Belknap passed away on May 31, 1996. He had joined the UO faculty
as University Editor in 1932 and in addition taught in the Department of
Philosophy for a few short years. In addition to his duties as editor Mr.
Belknap was Secretary of the Faculty from 1948 until his retirement in 1972.
Mr. Keith Richard, Secretary of the Faculty, prepared the memorial that
will be found on pages 21-23 of these minutes.
On December 10, 1995 Professor Emeritus of Education Hugh B. Wood passed
away in Portland. Mr. Wood had been on the faculty of the College of Education
from 1939 to his retirement in 1974. A Memorial for Mr. Wood can be found
on pages 23-24 of these minutes.
APPROVAL OF DEGREES
In the absence of Mr. Jack Watson, Chair of the Academic Requirements Committee,
University Registrar Mr. Herb Chereck presented the following motion for
the Committee:
That the faculty of the University of Oregon recommends that the Oregon State Board of Higher Education confer upon the persons whose names are included in the Official Degree List, as compiled and certified by the University Registrar for the academic year 1995-96 and Summer Session 1996, the degree for which they have completed all requirements.
Oregon is poised to command its place on the world stage, as global trade expands throughout the Northwest. It is critical that the state's major school systems are equipped to prepare the next generation's leaders, and I'm honored to be able to contribute.
The University Senate moves that the University Assembly extend to Mr. Philip Knight a resolution of a deep and sincere thanks for his transforming and visionary personal gift to the University of Oregon.
Strategic Objective: Build a strong and diverse economy for the state
in a globally competitive environment.
1. Make appropriate programs available regionally, statewide with short
turnaround.
2. Technical assistance to help regional communities achieve their goals.
3. Provide educated persons for employers statewide, self-employed and entrepreneurs.
4. Technical assistance in the 21st century model of the land grant university.
5. Needs for workforce development (bridging as industries die and grow).
6. Select emerging industries that need rapid support.
7. Foster centers of excellence: Wealth creation, Innovation, Knowledge
transfer
8. Provide the tools for people to support economic development (local capacity)
and assist in creation of local strategies and staff.
9. Contribute the tools and resources, and build the capacity, to strengthen
and enrich Oregon's social infrastructure.
10. Create new incentives, vehicles and structures to deliver higher education
services and to meet the state's evolving needs.
Mr. Charles R. B. Wright, Mathematics, stated that the UO's productive plan
should pre-empt this assessment proposal as our plan allows for the development
of a sensible way of doing this. Another concern voiced centered on how
the "testing for assessment" would take place when you have such
a diverse curriculum. Someone asked how the assessment would take place
since no method exists at present.
The recent visit to campus by Governor Kitzhaber highlights the commitment
that he is willing to make to improve higher education funding in the very
near future. The governor is cognizant of the problems that tuition hikes
have created since the passage of Measure 5 and that the difficulty of getting
funds to offset future hikes and to improve faculty salaries is one that
will have to be seriously addressed in the next session of the State Legislature.
The President sees the governors interest as a hopeful sign for the future.
The policy on Consensual Sexual relations continues under review. Sometime
soon a public hearing will be held--the time and place will be announced
well in advance--and if any member of the faculty, staff, or student body
wishes to make comment through writing the Office of the President that
is acceptable. Another hearing in front of the University Senate will be
held in October, prior to the posting of the policy.
ADJOURNMENT
The business of the meeting having concluded the meeting adjourned at 4:05
p.m.
Keith Richard
University Archivist
The FAC met on Monday mornings throughout the year in its capacity as
advisory to President Frohnmayer. A number of issues were engaged and several
of these became recurring topics throughout the course of the year. The
Council began the year with the happy news that Dave Frohnmayer's status
as President had been converted by the State Board of Higher Education from
"interim" to "permanent".
This list was presented in June of 1995 and consisted of the following items which were expected to be of special significance for the university during the coming year: Governance; Salaries; Goal Setting; Relationship With OSSHE; Portland Presence; Morale and Campus Communication; "Oregon Model"; Oregon Campaign; ROTC, Policy and Process; Affirmative Action, US Supreme Court; Ethnic Studies as Major.
This issue remained an agenda item throughout the year, initially brought to the FAC in October. Prof. Rice has been involved with this matter for over two years and developed revisions to the proposed policy over the course of the year to be able to bring it before the "new" Senate. The proposals to strengthen the evaluation of teaching grew out of the work of the previous Teaching Workgroup of 1993 and the Commission on Faculty Rewards and Development and input from such groups as the Faculty Personnel Committee. Eventually this proposal was broken down into two separate measures for legislation: one entitled "Student Evaluation of Teaching and Learning" and the other entitled "Peer Evaluation of Teaching and Learning".
Some of the discussion in the FAC centered on how many courses were to be evaluated and on the distinctions in the policies as related to tenured or untenured faculty. Eventually there was consensus on the evaluation of all courses taught by tenured and untenured faculty with enrollments greater than 10. The disposition of signed written student evaluations (which has been inconsistent on campus) was also clarified and a section on "procedure" was added to the policy regarding peer review.
Toward year end the policies were sent to the Senate and some adjustments have been made including reference to z-scores as requested by the Senate. The FAC still feels that some method of comparison is helpful and recommends that perhaps a Task Group be formed next year to seek a common and more valid comparison technique. It was also felt that a teaching evaluation process for Instructors and GTFs needs to be developed.
It was suggested that a similar evaluation process should be established for Department Heads, Deans, and Provosts. It was noted that there are policies covering such reviews, but they occur at longer intervals. This was regarded as a good issue to bring to the Senate with the thought that administrators seek an informal annual review from peers as helpful to improving performance in these roles.
This was another issue which consumed several meetings of the FAC. Chancellor Joe Cox with the State Board had initiated a study of the Structure of the State System at the end of September calling for a major look at "restructuring" opportunities to meet the needs of higher education for the 21st Century. Prof. Paul Simonds, President of the Senate joined us for our initial discussion on this topic. President Frohnmayer articulated the principle that "restructuring must be accompanied by re-investment." This whole effort is being largely driven by the Portland business community which is calling for statewide improvement in the system. Much concern was expressed about early models of two primary campuses - the UofO and OSU and the fallout from that consideration. There was also concern that our true goals as a system be looked at before jumping to restructuring proposals.
Soon this process involved Governor Kitzhaber, who in October issued a significant letter calling for a comprehensive examination of all facets of education in Oregon from K-12 to the Community Colleges and Higher Education. For this "educational continuum" concept he outlined four principles as : Quality; Responsibility; Access; and Cost Effectiveness.
The subsequent development of this process led to the formation of four Task Groups with statewide membership from various constituencies to look at Undergraduate Education; Economic Development; Lifelong Education and Professional Development; and Graduate Education and Research.
The FAC has been involved with reviewing outcomes of this process and advising the university administration. Among concerns are those that a rationalization of the funding stream across the continuum is necessary, that the process is overly driven by a corporate model which treats knowledge as a commodity, that there may be too much emphasis on technology and professional programs and not enough stress on the liberal arts mission, a concern about public understanding of the meaning of a research institution, and questions about where the process was leading in regard to a model of centralized or decentralized decision making within the system.
The initial aspect of the process is expected to be completed in June with the identification of overall strategic objectives.
The FAC devoted 8 meetings to this topic. It was introduced through a memorandum in February from President Frohnmayer which included the administration's initial response to a set of requests coming from the ASUO regarding the Restructuring of UO Affirmative Action and Discrimination Resolution Policies.
This followed the administration's clarification within existing policy guidelines that henceforth all written reprimands regarding sexual harassment issues were relevant and would be included in faculty files (for promotion & tenure).
It was apparent that the grievance procedures on campus were not perceived to be working well and there existed a high level of tension between the Office of Affirmative Action and the Office of Student Advocacy. The FAC held separate meetings of just the elected members first with Marlene Drescher, Director of the Office of Student Advocacy, Jennifer Williamson, President of the ASUO, and Bill Washburn, ASUO External Affairs and Affirmative Action Officer, and second with Kenneth Lehrman, Director of the Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity. We learned a great deal from each of these meetings and affirmed that a clear problem existed, but that their were common goals in reducing incidents of inappropriate behavior.
These sessions resulted in the development of a 4 page report from the FAC to the President entitled "Issues of Restructuring of UO Affirmative Action and Discrimination Resolution Policies" (13 May, 1996 and available through the President's office). Without going into detail, the report included the following headings: 1. General Comments and Observations; 2. Issue of an Independent Off-campus Office of Discrimination Complaint Resolution; 3. Membership and Role of the Affirmative Action Advisory Council (AAAC); 4. Open Up the Conclusion of the Complaint Process; 5. Evaluation of These Complaints in Tenure and Promotion Decisions (Issue of Faculty Personnel File); 6. Rule on Student-Faculty Sexual Relations. (See new draft of Conflict of Interest Policy); 7. Informal/Formal Complaint Process; 8. Conclusion.
Part of the conclusion states that "We believe the time is ripe for taking those actions which will further serve this process by clarifying expected standards of behavior, communicating clearly the avenues open in the redress of grievances, exercising sanctions which will further establish the seriousness of these matters, and further educating members of the campus community in regard to the avoidance of unwelcome behaviors."
In November the FAC met with Prof. Caroline Forrell of the Law School and Kenneth Lehrman, Director of the Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity to review a draft of what was then called "University of Oregon Statement on Consensual Relationships" which they as part of a small committee had been developing since this group had met 2 years before with President Brand. The FAC generally endorsed the thrust of this policy, but identified some controversial items including those related to the reporting process which might compromise student rights of privacy.
Later in the year the FAC received a revised and much improved draft of this policy which was now titled "University of Oregon Policy on Sexual Relationships Which Create Conflicts of Interest and Abuses of Power." Several recommendations were made by the FAC and included within the FAC's report to the President under Issues of Restructuring of UO Affirmative Action Office and Discrimination Resolution Policies. In particular, the FAC chose to recommend the retention of language referring to "substantial mitigation" (of potential conflicts of interest), but to clarify how this might be accomplished. The policy has come before the Senate, which has recommended adjustments, and the FAC at its final meeting urged that the President hold a hearing on the matter before the year was concluded and seek implementation of the policy by the Fall of 1996.
This issue concerned the degree to which the current composition of the FAC and that of the Senate might be merged in some fruitful way. President Frohnmayer had pointed out that at the University of Minnesota the equivalent of our FAC consists of the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate. Prof. Rice also introduced a memo drawing on experience with the Committee on Governance Reform of 1994-95 and urged consideration of much closer ties between the two bodies. The FAC debated this issue recognizing the virtue in overlap, but also recognizing some issues of time commitment and confidentiality. The FAC also thought that there was great value in having an advisory group that did not have legislative responsibility. Later in the year the FAC fully endorsed the Senate proposal that the Senate President, or designee, be a member of the FAC with full privileges.
Recognizing the campus wide concern of faculty over the University Library Serials Cancellation Project, the FAC met with Mr. George Shipman, Ms. Deborah Carver, Assistant University Librarian for Public Service and Collections Development, and Mr. Peter Gilkey who chairs the University Library Committee.
It is clear that this is an increasing problem internationally and that the severity of inflationary costs of journals has reached crisis proportions. The need was identified to cut $500,000 from the serials budget over a 3 year period and this is what the Library Committee has undertaken to advise on. Serials budgets at the University have normally increased in the 3-4% range, but now annual inflation cost are in the 10-12% range. The ratio of serials budget to monographs budget used to be 60/40 and now is 70/30. The Library Committee broke the analysis into three groups: Humanities, Social Sciences, and Sciences, with each assigned a different rate of reduction.
The FAC was very concerned about the impact of such cuts in a research institution. There was special concern about the opportunity to continue to acquire new journals which are often of considerable importance, as well as to maintain serial collections unbroken in significant areas. The FAC, having received considerable data, was particularly aware of huge differences in the serials budgets of different disciplines on campus. The FAC recommended a longer and more careful look at this with an overview toward an appropriate and balanced allocation not based alone on historical circumstances. Provost Moseley indicated the need for universities collectively to take a strong stand against publishers who are inflating prices at an unreasonable rate. It was also urged that the Capital Campaign include strong support for endowments for library collections and Mr. George Shipman goals in this regard.
The FAC was asked to review a draft of the University of Oregon's Mission Statement. Such a mission statement had also been worked on by last year's FAC, but the current effort was to draw up a more concise statement for the general public. There are are about 9 brief statements in this new outline and an attempt was made to keep then comprehensive and informative. Prof. Posner suggested that they might be called a "Statement of Purpose" rather than a "Mission Statement".
In a meeting of only the elected members of the FAC, the main topic of discussion was the University's "Productivity Plan," which was felt to be a difficult issue to discuss openly on campus. The faculty in general are apprehensive about a plan which appears to adopt a strategy of planning the university on the basis of student credit hour production. This model has exacerbated conflict and competition among schools and colleges as funding appears to be tied to a rate of increase above target figures. There is pressure to teach very large courses and a shift of teaching resources away from the support of graduate programs. This was seen to be especially ironic in a research university. It also appears to contradict what we are trying to do with regard to improving undergraduate instruction.
The FAC felt strongly that the plan needed to be monitored to bring a balance of qualitative issues relative to those of quantity. We also identified the need to reflect on the wisdom of putting too much faith in technology and distance learning. Other topics which the FAC reviewed subsequently with President Frohnmayer included monitoring of GTF contracts, harassment issues, the importance of developing the Portland plan, and questions of training and fostering leadership within the university.
We were reminded of the sobering reality that 2000 more students are expected by the year 2000 without obvious new resources. Regarding the Productivity Plan, Provost Moseley made a detailed presentation at a mid-April Senate meeting.
Both Keith Richard, Secretary of the Faculty, and Prof. Judith Eisen, Chair of the Committee on Committees brought this issue to the FAC. There is an increasingly acute problem with the dearth of nominations for filling both elected and appointed university committees. Furthermore, the current nomination and election process consumes huge amounts of paper each year. Prof. Eisen and Prof. Hubin attended an FAC meeting to discuss this problem. The COC is at a loss and does not plan to do recruiting. Instead it would like to examine the current structure of committees. The FAC urged that this happen and that several committees might be eliminated. It was recognized that participation in governance was a problem especially with the work loads and expectations for research on the part of junior faculty. A particular problem seems to be the unwilling participation of senior faculty. This whole issue has been brought before the Senate by the COC. The FAC also urged that from now on the nomination process be handled electronically instead of through the paper process.
The FAC reviewed and supported changes in the wording of policies created through the Provost's office and related to the provision of salary and OPE augmentation for faculty on non-sabbatical leave who have received a major fellowship such as a Fulbright or a Guggenheim. The policy change clarified that in such cases the university would provide up to 30% of the faculty member's designated salary for the period of the fellowship (not a longer period) to cover the difference between the salary support awarded by the fellowship and the regular salary (and 100% of OPE for this same period).
Ballot Measure 8 and the PERS Pickup
President Frohnmayer clarified at various times for the FAC the status of Ballot Measure 8 which would eliminate the state contribution to the employee's portion of the PERS retirement fund. It was explained that the measure was being appealed to the higher courts in the state and that it was the Governor's and the Legislature's intent to continue to pay the 6% contribution to PERS on behalf of employees while the cases were pending.
Early Retirement Incentive Plan
Vice Provost Davis brought this item for review by the FAC. The FAC supported this one-time opportunity which would provide for 7 years of health insurance subsidy for eligible persons who agreed to retire not later than June 30, 1997. For tenured faculty, the 6% salary increase would not be granted, but they would be eligible for up to 3 consecutive 599-hour appointments. (Approximately 30 people have availed themselves of this process).
Undergraduate Advising at the University of Oregon
A Charge to the Undergraduate Advising Task Force, prepared by the Provost's Advising Task Force was brought to the FAC for review. The FAC recognized and supported its key argument that "advising is integral to the teaching responsibility of faculty...".
Appointments to Other Committees
Following a request from the UofO Foundation, the FAC recommended Professor Charles Frazer, from the School of Journalism and Communications to serve a three year term as one of the three faculty appointees to the University of Oregon Foundation Board of Trustees.
Following a request from the President's office, Paul Goldman was named to serve as the FAC ex-officio member of the Johnson Memorial Award Committee.
In addition, Bill Gilland served as the FAC member representative on the University Distinguished Service Award Committee.
Naming of Facilities
The FAC endorsed the naming of the "Vivian Olum Child Development Center".
The FAC endorsed the naming of the "Romm Room" in Walton Hall.
The FAC supported the request from MEChA to name the addition of two modular classrooms in honor of Cesar Chavez.
The FAC endorsed a naming committee for the naming of the New Housing Complex to replace Amazon.
Campaign for Oregon
At one of its meetings the subject of faculty participation in the Campaign for Oregon was brought up. The actual item was a question on the part of the UofO Foundation about how to go about soliciting campaign contributions from faculty. The FAC had expected the issue to be more about how faculty could assist in other ways with the campaign, through articulating the values represented in the university, illustrating excellence in teaching and research and helping to define where new resources were most needed.
Concealed Weapons Policy
The FAC briefly reviewed and unanimously endorsed new legislation affecting the Student Conduct Code which was necessary to clarify that the possession of a gun permit does not allow one to bring a concealed weapon onto university facilities.
Law School Facility and University Space Resources
The President and the Provost, close to the end of the academic year announced that a decision had been made to build an entirely new Law School facility (through private funding) since this would only require $5 million more than remodeling the existing facility. This would benefit the whole campus through the release of 82,000 sq. ft. of prime space for other campus instructional and research uses. (This was followed on May 21 by the stunning announcement of Phil Knight's $25 million gift to the university, $10 million of which will go toward the new Law School, and $15 million of which will go toward endowed professorships throughout the campus).
Respectfully submitted,
Terms expiring June, 1997 Terms continuing to June 1996
Françoise Calin Carl Bybee
Wilmot Gilland, Chair Paul Goldman
Kenneth Helphand Elaine Green
Jack Rice, Vice Chair Linda Kintz
Diana Sheridan Michael Posner
Ronald Rousseve died on November 21, 1995, in Eugene, at the age of 63.
He is survived by his wife Barbara, and their three sons, Gary, Rory, and
Brian.
Ron was born on August 31, 1932, in New Orleans, Louisiana. He earned a
B.A. in science education and an M.A. in guidance and counseling at Xavier
University, New Orleans, and his Ph.D. in educational psychology at the
University of Notre Dame. His first teaching position was at Prairie View
College (later Prairie View A & M) in Texas, where he received the Outstanding
Faculty Member of the Year award in 1963. After five years at Prairie View,
he moved on to Seattle University and the University of Washington. He
came to the University of Oregon in 1968 as an associate professor of education,
and was promoted to full professor in the Division of Counseling Psychology
in 1971. He has been listed in the National Distinguished Service Registry,
as well as in a number of editions of Who's Who (in American Education,
Among Human Service Professionals, and Among Black Americans). His many
publications represent his commitment to humanism and pluralism, his interest
in values and their relationship to human development, and his concern with
identity development among non-white Americans.
Ron was a teacher par excellence--a professor's professor. He hated mediocrity,
hypocrisy, and intellectual dishonesty. As a counselor, he was committed
to helping clients to grow and develop to their fullest potential. As a
teacher, he had the same commitment to his students. No detail was small
enough to overlook, no point so unimportant as to let it slide. and, most
of all, no student was ever neglected, forgotten, or put off by Ron. He
wanted to open the minds of his students, to bring them to new insights
and new awareness, to make them think. And he did just that.
In his more than a quarter of a century here at the University, Ron came
to be known and respected for his dedication, his sincerity, his thoroughness,
his basic honesty. I think the word that best describes Ron Rousseve is
integrity. When he believed that something was right, he said so and stuck
with it. When he took a stand on a controversial issue, he did so openly,
explicitly, and without regard to politics or popularity. He was a man
who became involved in issues, and he made his views known--in the classroom,
in letters to the Register-Guard, in conversations and in meetings. He
listened, considered, decided, and spoke out. He cared.
Ron was a quiet man, with a quiet sense of humor. He was familiar as he
walked across campus, always with his umbrella, always with a smile and
a greeting for friends and acquaintances. He enjoyed the College holiday
parties, and often urged everyone to join in singing holiday songs--always
with a sparkle of amusement in his eyes.
In many ways, Ron Rousseve represented a generation of teachers that is
disappearing from academia. He didn't write grants, or do research. He
was not interested in campus politics, and took on administrative duties
only as a way of doing his share, taking his turn. His ambition was the
scholarly life: working with students, reading, thinking, discussing and
disputing. all of us--students, colleagues, friends and family--will be
the poorer for his passing.
Janet Moursund
Associate Professor
Counseling Psychology
In his 22 years with the School of Journalism (1955 to 1977) Professor
John L. Hulteng achieved a reputation as a superb teacher, a nationally
known author, an able administrator--he was twice dean--and a devoted citizen
of the University. It is a record unsurpassed, I am confident, in the 84-year
history of the school.
His death on March 9 in Spokane at age 74 ended a long battle with lymphoma
and related complications, endured with great valor, grace and absence of
complaint. Throughout his years of ill health he remained professionally
active with his writings while keeping in touch with friends through letters
that were a model of the all-but-lost art of personal correspondence.
A native of Grand Forks, North Dakota, Hulteng received his bachelor's degree
from the state university and his master's degree from Columbia University's
Graduate School of Journalism. In later years both institutions honored
him with distinguished alumnus awards.
He won a Pulitzer Traveling Fellowship to Europe in 1947-48. In the following
year he received a much-coveted Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University.
He joined our faculty in 1955, from the Providence, Rhode Island, Journal
& Bulletin, after eight years as its editorial page editor.
Coming directly from the professional field with no previous teaching experience,
John adapted his talent and skills as a working journalist to the classroom
with remarkable ease and sureness. He soon became known as a master teacher,
respected and admired in equal measure by students and colleagues. In 1961
he was one of the first recipients of the Ersted Awards. In 1966 Esquire
magazine portrayed him as one of some 30 "Super Profs" in the
United States, and in 1970 he received the Sigma Delta Chi national Award
for Distinguished Teaching.
Hulteng was the author or co-author of seven well-received books on journalism
and journalistic ethics, among them a handbook on ethics commissioned by
the American Society of Newspaper Editors, found in newspaper offices throughout
the country and eventually published in seven foreign languages.
His record of service to the University included chairmanship of the Faculty
Advisory Council and of the Assembly and Lectures Committee and membership
on dean search committee for three professional schools, plus numerous campus
committee assignments.
In 1977 Hulteng accepted appointment to an endowed chair in journalism at
Stanford University, where he taught for nine years before illness forced
his retirement.
Among the many tributes from colleagues, professional journalists and former
students was a joint letter to Dean McDonald from four 1958 graduates, all
now successful in their careers in Washington, D. C., the San Francisco
Bay Area and Paris, France.
"John Hulteng was for us not only the best teacher of journalism anybody
ever had," they wrote, "but a lifelong advisor, correspondent
and friend--always a source of inspiration and good cheer despite his own
serious health problems.... We honor his achievements...but most of all
we honor the memory of a man who showed us through his example that journalism
is a profession to be practiced with skill, intelligence, devotion and--good
humor."
A former graduate student wrote: "Dean Hulteng was a gentle and compassionate
man, but almost steely in his zest for maintaining the highest possible
level of journalistic ethics.... He could forgive an error of punctuation
or grammar. He could forgive an error in fact. But he tolerated no deviation
from the basic principles of honesty, fair play and journalistic integrity."
A colleague once write this of John, "A man so universally admired
and respected by so many diverse publics...seems almost too good to be true.
I'm happy to report, however, that John Hulteng does have one rather serious
flaw. He can't carry a tune. He's the world's worst singer. '
What's worse, his wife consistently beat him at golf. "So do my kids,"
he glumly confessed.
John had a love of and respect for the English language that was witnessed
by his mastery of it, written and spoken. In either form it was generously
leavened with deft flashes of subtle humor.
He served in the Army Air Force in World War II. He is survived by his
wife, Elizabeth Jean, better known as BJ, three children, Robert of San
Francisco, Karen Enich of Minnetonka, Minnesota, and Richard of Tualatin,
Oregon.
Charles Duncan
Professor Emeritus
School of Journalism & Communication
Gustave Alef died in Eugene January 3, 1996, of lung disease. He was
73. Alef was born on Independence Day 1922 in The Bronx, New York. He
fought in Europe for the U. S. Army during World War Two. He married Joan
Lerner in The Bronx on June 1, 1947. Their three sons, Allan, Peter and
Eric, grew up in Eugene, and Joan resides now at 4095 Ferry St.
Alef's wartime experience inspired him to take up the serious study of European
history. He completed his BA and MA degrees at Rutgers (where he worked
wit the noted Byzantinist Peter Charanis). He received his PhD from Princeton
University (where he worked with Cyril Bladk and Joseph Strayer). He joined
the History Department at the University of Oregon in 1956 and taught here
until his retirement in 1987.
Before Alef came to Oregon, Russian studies were pursued by no more than
two or three professors across campus. Alef worked to change that. Gus
played a key role in bringing a whole generation of Russianists to Oregon,
and helped create the Russian and East European Studies Committee which
was eventually granted "Center" status in the Oregon State System
of Higher Education. REESC will this fall have as members twenty-three
UO professors in more than a dozen departments and professional schools.
With Acquisitions Librarian Gene Barnes, Gus created a nearly unique exchange
agreement with Soviet libraries. One of his most enduring legacies is a
Russian-language collection which ranks among the nation's leading resources
on Russian history and culture.
Alef quickly established himself as a specialist on early Russian history.
Alef at Oregon, Oswald Backus at Kansas, and Michael Cherniavsky at Rochester,
then Albany, were sometimes designated by a group acronym "the ABCs".
These three young specialists on early Russia, along with Marc Szeftel
(at Cornell, then Washington)were thought of as successors to the nearly
singular father figure in American medieval Russian scholarship: George
Vernadsky at Yale. Gus organized a seminar on medieval Russian history
and made presentations at six of is meetings held in Europe, England, and
the United States between 1968 and 1992. Gus' monograph, The Origins of
Muscovite Autocracy: The Age of Ivan III (Berlin: 1986), and his collection
of articles, Rulers in Fifteenth-century Muscovy (London: 1983) find their
place on every serious bibliography of Russian history. Gus received fellowships
and grants from the American Council of Learned Societies, Ford Foundation,
and Carnegie Corporation. He was a Guggenheim Fellow.
Gus liked to talk, and he wrote good letters. These letters revealed a Gus
we all knew, but they also revealed a Gus none of us saw very often. He
wrote from Moscow in December, 1968, when he was on the IREX research exchange
program and was accompanied by family. "We have seen some superb performances
of the Kirov ballet group from Leningrad and unforgettable Evgenii Onegin.
The voices were matches, the direction was polished and the orchestra in
the Bolshoi never performed as brilliantly as it did under the baton of
Rostropovich. The Aida was better than good; but somehow the Bolshoi company
excels in Russian opera.... We wrangled tickets for Plisetdkaia's triumphal
evening...." The next year, on March 26, he wrote, "Dog tired.
Just returned from Pereiaslavl and Zagorsk; planing to leave again on Friday
with Bob Crummey for Iaroslavl and Rostov. Spring, at last...." This
was a familiar Gus, but his letters also sounded another note. "I
have pretty much reached the end of energy's road...." [1968 December
17]. "This was dog's work and I am far from finished" [1969 March
17]. "Ozzie Backus's sudden death shook us up a bit [...] My work
went well until mid-summer, when I became a bit stale" [1972 September
15]. "My own work has been painfully slowed..." [1972 November
18]. His work was painstaking; his work could also cause him pain.
Gus was the scholar who had been electrician. Gus came from people who
knew how to work with their hands. Gus had a recognizable sense of what--in
the workshop--is called "where the bones are buried." There aren't
many like this among the professorate. His electrician's hand gave many
of us brighter homes. His and Joan's generous hospitality gave many of
us brighter lives. Gus retired as Mikhail Gorbachev's Perestroika began
to take hold in the Soviet Union. To many Russianists, perestroika was
a stunning and total discombobulation. To Gus, it was pure delight. It
would have been a pleasure to hear his reaction to the Russian election
that looms this spring.
Alan Kimball
Professor
Department of History
George P. Hopkins, Professor Emeritus of the University of Oregon School
of Music, passed away on January 27, 1996 in Eugene at the age of 98. Hopkins
was a member of the U. O. faculty from 1919 until his retirement forty-eight
years later in 1967.
Hopkins was born of musical parents (both singers) on February 14, 197 in
Salem, Indiana. In 1901 his family moved to Claremont, California, where
he received his early musical and pianistic training. Right before World
War I he went to Paris, France to study with pianist-composer Moritz Moskowsky,
but this was interrupted soon by the outbreak of war, necessitating his
return home. As a scholarship student he attended the Peabody Conservatory
of Music in Baltimore for one year, after which his playing impressed John
Landsbury, then Dean of the University of Oregon School of Music. Shortly
afterward he was invited to join the U. O. faculty.
At Dean Landsbury's urging, Hopkins finished his Bachelor of Music degree
here concurrently with his teaching responsibilities. In 1921 he took a
leave of absence from the university to continue his studies for two years
at the Juilliard School in New York, where he studied piano with Ernest
Hutchinson and composition with Rubin Goldmark and Sigismond Stowjowski.
In 1925 he returned to resume his position at the University of Oregon where
he taught piano, counterpoint, composition, and for two years conducted
the Girls Glee Club. During his long career here he was continually active
as a concert pianist, arranging tours and presenting solo recitals throughout
Oregon, Washington and California. He was very much interested in contemporary
music. His performances featured such important and difficult works as
Aaron Copland's Sonata, a complete program of the piano works of Alberto
Ginastera, various works of Ernest Bloch, and George Gershwin's Rhapsody
in Blue (which he performed dozens of times during the thirties with the
WPA Orchestra.) He also performed concertos of Mozart and MacDowell.
In 1945 Hopkins wrote a series of four books, for the teaching of piano
to beginning adults, titled Piano Playing for Fun, published by the University
of Oregon Press. He used these as a text for teaching piano classes for
local businessmen at the Wilson Music House in Eugene and also in a store
in Portland. His books were a remarkable success, selling 5000 copies.
George Hopkins' compositional activities also flourished during his years
here. His works were published by G. Schirmer, one of the most prestigious
and well-known publishers of classical music. Two piano composition that
were especially popular are Moon Dawn and Valse Burlesque. The internationally
acclaimed piano virtuoso, Mischa Levitsky, played Valse Burlesque in a recital
at New York's Carnegie Hall.
George is remembered as a kind, generous-hearted person who carried himself
with great dignity. He was renowned for his elaborate model train layout
in his attic, which he shared with local children. For seventy years he
was an active member of the Eugene Kiwanis Club, for whom he often played
the piano right up to his last days. The Eugene Kiwanis Foundation has
established the George P. Hopkins Scholarship Fund, in his memory, to support
promising piano students at the University of Oregon.
Hopkins is survived by his wife Edyth, daughter Beverly, and son Richard.
Victor Steinhardt
Professor
School of Music
He came to the University of Oregon in 1922 when he enrolled as a student
with the intention of majoring in journalism. The taste of journalism was
planted in George Belknap in his hometown of Moro, Oregon where he worked
on the Moro weekly newspaper. As a freshman at the University of Oregon
he worked on the Oregon Daily Emerald, and by the Spring quarter he was
the night editor of the Sunday Emerald. His boss was the student editor
of the Sunday Emerald Ernest Haycox who later became a very successful author
of popular western fiction. As though George did not have enough to do
he took a job as a part-time reporter for the Eugene Morning Register, where
his assignment was to cover Springfield for news.
But with this almost complete immersion into printers ink he was not sufficiently
saturated; and his interest in journalism commenced to flag when, to meet
a general education requirement, he enrolled in his first philosophy classes.
He was captivated. Greek, Latin and Philosophy was the mixture that he
found fulfilling and satisfying. He had found his true interest--his major.
In 1926 he graduated valedictorian of his class and was elected to Phi Beta
Kappa. His senior honor thesis, titled "Immediate experience in the
philosophy of F. H. Bradley and a criticism of the realistic polemic against
the absolute" earned him a Sage Fellowship in Philosophy at Cornell.
This award was unusual as it was normally given only to a selected few
after a full year of graduate work at Cornell. Belknap spent the year 1928-29
at Cornell, but returned to the UO to finish his interdisciplinary master
of arts in Philosophy and Greek.
During this period of study his major professor became seriously ill and
George was hired as an interim instructor in Greek. His assignment was to
teach only upper division and graduate courses. He and his major professor--Clara
Smertenko--completed three research articles that were published in 1935
soon after the death of Dr. Smertenko. These studies were titled: "The
Social Value of Dionysiac Ritual," "Religion in Plato's States,"
and "The Date of Dicaeoplis' Rural Dionysia." The second study
caused a hornets nest of scholarship and apologetics prior to its publications
after it was read, in part, at the 1932 meeting of the Pacific Division
of the American Philosophical Association. Prior to the publication of
these studies, and the completion of his M.A. (1935), Belknap produced two
philosophical pieces "The Commensurability of Values," Journal
of Philosophy (1933) and A guide to Reading in Aesthetics and Theory of
Poetry (1934).
Parallel to all of this he had been hired in 1931 as University Editor,
(in 1932 this position was given faculty rank) a position he would hold
until his retirement in 1972. During a part of his years as editor he also
served as the Director of University of Oregon Books, an academic book publishing
venture of the University that was a victim of severe budget cuts in 1971-72.
In addition, he served as Secretary of the University Faculty from 1948
until his retirement.
Belknap continued his own research which interestingly became a blending
of the earlier interest in journalism and the detail of research required
in academic writing that had surfaced in his earlier publications. The
areas of his publications included philosophy, ancient Greek culture and
literature, annotated bibliography of books, pamphlets, and broadsides printed
in Oregon 1845-1870, limerick verse form, and bits and pieces of the history
of the University of Oregon. From 1932 through 1984 he was the author of
and had published over 50 articles and books. His 1968 publication of Oregon
Imprints is the definitive work on all printed material in Oregon, regardless
of source, from 1845 to 1870, the time period when mechanical printing was
not commonplace in Oregon.
His gifts of early printed items to the University of Oregon Library Special
Collections Division is a valuable research holding for the Knight Library.
At the end of his research career, 1987, he had a second edition of his
Oregon Imprints ready for the press, but this manuscript has apparently
been lost. Although he tried several times to place his The Limerick: A
Critical Study for publication he was not successful. This marvelous manuscript
resides in the personal papers of George Belknap in the University of Oregon
Archives.
Mr. Belknap was born in Allen, Nebraska on October 27, 1905. His parents
moved to Addy, Washington when George was 6 months of age. In 1917 the family
moved to Portland and the residence in Moro commenced in 1920. During the
last few years George suffered a consistent and persistent reduction in
mental capacity. After his wife Elsie, nee Brooks, (UO 1929) passed away
in December 1994, George was moved to a nursing home. He died of pneumonia
on May 31, 1996 in Eugene. He and Elsie had no immediate survivors.
Keith Richard
Secretary of the Faculty
Professor Emeritus Hugh B. Wood retired from the College of Education
in 1974 after serving the University of Oregon for 35 years. Mr. Wood was
instrumental in the development of the public school system in Nepal, Vietnam,
Malawi and other foreign nations. His contribution to international goodwill
through education was recognized by many countries and organizations, but
the recognition that was most meaningful was that given by the students
that benefitted from Wood's efforts to develop educational systems in third
world countries.
In 1955 Wood and his late wife Helen established the American Nepal Education
Foundation. It was shortly after this that the King of Nepal visited the
University of Oregon campus to thank the University and many of its faculty
for its and their effort in helping Nepal modernize. Mr. Wood was the key
to this total effort on the part of the University and the faculty that
took part in this project.
The foundation established by Professor Wood and his wife has helped nearly
400 Nepalese students gain master's and doctoral degrees in various American
universities. He and his wife lived in Katmandu for seven years while working
to develop 5,000 new primary schools and 500 high schools in Nepal, and
helping over 4,000 students to come to the United States to attend school.
After his retirement in 1974 the Wood's moved to Oceanside, Oregon. Here
they continued to work with the Nepalese and through the years 20 Nepal
teenagers were brought to Oceanside and attended high school in Tillamook.
In 1988 the government of Nepal recognized Wood's long service to Nepal
when it awarded him the Birendra Prajnalankar award. This is the highest
honor that Nepal gives to a foreigner.
Professor Hugh B. Wood died on December 10, 1995 in Portland. At the memorial
sponsored by the UO International Students Association one of those who
benefitted directly from the involvement of Mr. Wood through high school
education and now university education stated: "He was very kind
and caring. He was like a godsend to Nepalese students. He'll always be
supporting me and guiding me.... Words are never going to be enough to
describe him."
Keith Richard
Secretary of the Faculty