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Nominations now open for worst (and best) of the University of Oregon’s 2014 annus horribilis

Last updated on 01/02/2015

It’s time to start collecting nominations. I’ll get things started, please add yours in the comments. (Very helpful if you include the link.) Voting for the worst of the worst and the best of the best will start eventually.

Google reports that UO Matters had 868K pageviews for the year:

Screen Shot 2015-01-02 at 1.32.12 PM

The Daily Emerald’s take on the year is here.

Best:

April 15: VP for Research Kimberly Andrews Espy to leave UO for Arizona

August 7: UO Pres Mike Gottfredson resigns for $940K cash, Scott Coltrane is appointed Interim President

Worst:

Nov. 25: Paul Weinhold was secretly planning to mortgage UO for Track-Town’s losing IAAF bid

22 Comments

    • uomatters Post author | 12/16/2014

      Excellent choice. Thanks for reminding us that this year wasn’t all bad.

      • Nomination 12/18/2014

        For comment of the year from “Concerned STEM junior faculty”

        Wow! we are out of touch. Dog speaks the truth now, as he has in the past, yet we do not listen and we fail to act responsibly. We are first in line to be cut from the AAU and our last best hope for survival recently left for a BIG promotion to a top 15 university on the same list. It seems she cast her ballot of no confidence in us and we deserve it.

        UO has lived off its laurels far too long. The world is much more practical and “applied” than it was in the 60’s This blog is nothing more than a peculiar exercise in rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, or more accurately,

        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RcVzevWX4U

        Get a grip folks, we are an academic anachronism that became an ochlocracy in 2012, whose primary function is to chew up administrators as though they were members of the Nixon administration, in favor of Union thugs. Shame on us.

    • Conflict of Interest 12/17/2014

      Whole-heartedly agree on how wonderful it was to see Kimberly Espy kicked out of Oregon. But it is a bit sad that the most obvious “great” thing that happened in a year was the elimination of a ham-fisted self-interested failure of an administrator.

      Then, unfortunately, when the university had a chance to clean up the crater that Espy left behind, they instead continue to prop up the Prevention of Science Institute she created in the image of her own work and the current director of that institute who was Associate Vice President for Research at the time of its creation. This blatant disregard of the obvious conflict of interest is a sad reminder that Espy’s departure is only the first step in cleaning up a culture of self-interest and self-promotion in JH.

  1. Ducks Bowl Game 12/16/2014

    Weinergate.

  2. anonymous 12/16/2014

    Worst: GTFs being forced to strike for a week to obtain a very very reasonable not to say cheap settlement. Not cheap for them though, they are out a week’s pay at the holidays. Way to go, UO. Happy New Year…..or not…..

    • anon and on and on 12/18/2014

      Didn’t the announcement of the settlement mention the stipulation that there would be no docking of pay? That seemed like a pretty smart show of good faith by Johnson Hall when I read it.

  3. uomatters Post author | 12/16/2014

    On my list for sure.

    But actually the GTF’s didn’t lose any pay from the strike – in fact the lowest paid got a retroactive raise:

    As part of the settlement to end the strike, the Administration will not cut the wages or benefits of GTFs who were on strike.

    The agreement includes 5% increases to pay minima for this year—retroactive to September 15—and next year.

    http://gtff3544.net/

    • popcorn muncher 12/16/2014

      So the only ones who actually got hurt by this strike were the undergrads?

      Nice all around.

    • anonymous 12/17/2014

      Oh good, I didn’t know that and stand corrected.

      • uomatters Post author | 12/17/2014

        Please use a screen name

  4. Integrity 12/16/2014

    UO and Board of Trustees secrecy! Secret policies, secret implementation, secret schemes. (1) Board plan to bypass faculty governance, (2) Administration scheming to set up that Board plan, (3) public records denials, (4) Duck Athletics hiding of rape allegations to facilitate NCAA tournament play, (5) add to the list. It’s lengthy.

  5. Hippo 12/16/2014

    Head basketball coach, when asked how he felt about three of his players allegedly raping a woman, can only muster the reply “disappointed”.

    • nom 12/16/2014

      Yes … this is the worst of the worst. Can’t stomach his smarmy, down low voice comments now.

  6. Dog 12/16/2014

    the admins revelation in a public forum that our TTF to student ratio is the worst that can be found (~35:1) has to be the worst aspect of the UO in 2014; other than letting easily duped dogs post on this forum.

  7. Anonymous 12/16/2014

    the rape coverup, and subsequent demonizing of our resident expert on the subject.

    • uomatters Post author | 12/17/2014

      please use a screen name

  8. Thom Aquinas 12/17/2014

    Best: Espy => Arizona
    Worst: Bowl of Ducks

  9. Old Grey Mare 12/17/2014

    The administration taking over the assignment of grades during the strike.

  10. Locutus 01/24/2015

    Best (or, at least funniest)
    1) The art department getting national ridicule on Jimmy Kimmel Live for canceling a 40 year nude modeling class open to the community. The worst was the reason: UO’s fear of people having “wrong thoughts.”

    Worst is tied: Rape scandal. Administrative takeover of classes during the strike. Total breach of trust.

    Best:

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