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Philanthropy might present funding problems
the good nature oj donors to the
University is helpful in the short run,
but the University needs to find a more
permanent solution to funding needs
AN EMERALD EDITORIAL
Calling the University a prostitute is not quite fair.
Disregard for now the big departments with
money-induced titles such as the Charles H.
Lundquist School of Business. For the sake of ar
gument, push aside the idea of dirty money and ignore the
documented labor violations of Phil Knight’s mega-compa
ny, Nike.
The fact is, the overwhelming majority of people who
contribute money to the Oregon Campaign, a multi-mil
lion dollar fund-raising drive by the University, do not get
to see their names on the front of any buildings.
The absurdly wealthy Knight family is a definite excep
tion to the rule, and so is the current law school building,
Grayson Hall, which was named after University alumni
Jeffrey and Susan Grayson last June in exchange for a Si.5
million donation.
The donors are typically University alumni who give
because they feel indebted to the University. There is
nothing inherently unethical about this kind of philan
thropy, but it indicates a disturbing economic undercur
rent.
More and more, schools around the country are turning
to their wealthy alumni and friends to pay for important
campus construction and common college growth. At the
University of Oregon, Knight donated several million dol
lars for the new law building on 15th Avenue and Agate
Street. Construction of this new building will loosen up
campus by moving the law school to the University’s pe
riphery and will allow the law school to loosen by pro
viding more space for students, staff, faculty and even the
library.
Other campus projects paid for in part or in full by
donors include: Allen Hall’s phase-one renovation, the
McArthur Court improvements, the 1997 Museum of
Natural History addition, the Vivian Olum Child De
velopment Center phase-one construction, the Grayson
Hall renovation, the future $7-million Gilbert Hall ad
dition and remodel, the Esslinger addition, the Oregon
Institute of Marine Biology library project, and the 513
million intercollegiate athletic facility improvements.
This information comes from the University Planning
Office.
It's true that the University campus is looking as green
and fresh as ever. But what does it say about the state of
higher education in Oregon and the country when the
school buildings are tagged with the names of big-busi
ness CEOs?
This trend may be indicating an increasing lack of
focus on education by governmental bodies. More
likely, it is an indication of the increasing costs of
education because of the exponential growth in
technology, and students’ demands to be trained on
the technology.
There is little universities can do to curb the
trend, and they instead decide to ride it. Why
would they ignore an offer by Adobe for sev
eral free copies of its latest software?
The intimate ties of public universities
to corporations are dangerous because the
funding is unreliable. The philanthropy is
used for long-term financial aid investments
and one-shot construction projects, but if the
University continues to rely on these donations,
the government could decide the funding prob
lem is solved.
Ultimately, a slowdown in the amount of mon
ey flowing into the University could be harmful
to the school’s growth and upkeep, and any call on
the Oregon Legislature for help could fall on deaf ears.
Students and the University must be vocal about finding
a better way for the school to grow and improve before
something drastic happens.
This editorial represents the opinion of the Emerald editorial
board. Responses may be sent to ode@oregon .uoregon .edu
1
LETTERS POLICY
/aX />X
The Oregon Daily Emerald
will attempt to print all letters
containing comments on
topics of interest to the Uni
versity community.
Letters must be limited to
250 words or less. The Emer
ald reserves the right to edit
any letter for length, clarity,
grammar and style.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Article missed point
I’m writing in response to the Aug. 11
Emerald article regarding the Designat
ed Driver Shuttle. Although we appreci
ate the Emerald’s coverage and support
of DDS, the article is misleading and
should be clarified.
First off, the title “ASUO Senate gets
DDS rolling again” implies that had it
not been for the actions of the student
senate, DDS would not be operational.
In actuality, this is the farthest from the
truth. Had the student senate not post
poned the DDS budget for the past three
weeks, DDS would have been operating
sooner.
Additionally, even under severe re
strictions imposed by the ASUO Execu
tive and the student senate, DDS was
scheduled to run this coming weekend
regardless of whether the student senate
acted. So, for the Emerald to imply that
DDS owes the student senate thanks is
gravely mistaken.
Furthermore, due to space restraints,
the article failed to portray the meeting
adequately. The biggest issue between
the staff of DDS and the student senate
is the rate of pay for the four executive
staff members of DDS.
Over the past several years, the rate of
pay for DDS staff has slowly decreased.
Meanwhile, the workload has increased.
Last year, the average rate of pay for the
executive staff of DDS was approximate
ly S3.33 per hour (eg. $200 per month
director's stipend for approx. 60 hours
of work). Under the senate-approved
budget, the rate of pay has been de
creased an additional 12.5 percent, al
though DDS will now be operating an
additional 3 days with 10 new staff.
It has been calculated that the execu
tive staff of DDS will now be making
approximately S2.50 per hour (eg. S175
per month director’s stipend for ap
prox. 70 hours of work). The entire
time, the requests of DDS have been
simple: let us run DDS the way it was
meant to operate for a fair and reason
able rate of pay.
Unfortunately, the ASUO Executive
and the student senate fail to see it that
way and over the past month have wast
ed nearly $3,000 in student fees by pre
venting DDS from operating.
Brandon Lee Smith
DDS Executive Director
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CORRECTION
The Aug. 11 story “ASUO Senate gets DOS
rolling again — for now" should have said that
the ASUO Student Senate granted a $3,250
special request to the Spencer View Co-op
Family Center.
The Emerald regrets the error.
Emerald
The Oregon Daily Emerald s puphshed daily Monday
mrough rnday dunng me school year and Tuesday and
Thursday durmg me summer Sy me Oreoon Oady Emer
ald PuOtrsrtng Co. lx. a me Umversdy of Oreoon. Eu
gene. Oregon A memDer of me Assocated Press, me
Emerald operates ndependertty of me University *im
rrthces n Suite 300 of me Em Memorial Union. The
Emerald is pnvale property. The untawM removal or use
o* papers s prosacutata by law.
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