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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 16, 2001)
Proposed Budget Increases Group Name Proposed 2001-02 M u Iticu Itu ra I Center $91,349 Designated Driver Shuttle $119,000 Oregon Future Lawyers Association $5,357 Numbers are approximate Current 2000-01 % Change $70,349 30 $105,000 13 $300 1686 SOURCE: ASUO Program Finance Committee Big budget decisions loom ■ In the coming weeks, the PFC will hear from groups asking for sizable increases By Emily Gust Oregon Daily Emerald After a week of budget hearings for the more than 100 programs on campus, some of the largest pro posed increases have yet to come before the ASUO Programs Finance Committee. Many increases so far have been a result of the new stipend model ap proved by the Student Senate last year. Stipends are the monthly pay some students receive for their work in ASUO programs, and in past years, amounts have varied from group to group. Under the new model, how ever, the stipends will be standard ized for all ASUO groups. Last week, the new model in creased the ASUO Constitution Court’s budget more than 140 percent when stipends for its justices jumped from $30 a month to $75 a month. Both the PFC and the senate will propose larger budgets because of the stipend model, PFC Chairwoman Mary Elizabeth Madden said. But student government groups are not the only ones that might re ceive increases in payroll. Some of the Multicultural Cen ter’s increase will be for payroll ex penses, but the amount is still sub stantially less than the $31,000 it received last year to bring MCC Di rector Erica Fuller to the group. A larger increase this year ap pears to be the $12,500 the MCC is asking for in its programs funds. In recent years, the MCC has not received large boosts to its program accounts. But if the PFC grants the group its budget in full, it will have more than double what it has re ceived in the past. Members of the MCC declined to discuss the specifics of the increases in their proposed budget. “We currently, at this time, have no comment,” said Brandy Alexan der, public relations coordinator for the MCC. The PFC will also consider a large increase for the Designated Driver Shuttle, which received $63,157 last year. In addition, DDS went to the ballot and asked students for an additional $31,843 to cover mainte nance and operating costs. Added together, DDS had a total budget of $105,000 last year. For next year, DDS is asking for about an additional $14,000. much of which is for payroll. “Payroll is our biggest budget, and we’re still going to be really close to being in the hole at the end of the year,” said Jeff Salchenberg, co-director of DDS. In contrast, the Executive will ac tually spend less on stipends than it has in previous years. ASUO Finance Coordinator Jonathan Gray said that funds for Executive stipends will de crease from $35,000 to $31,000. Aside from that decrease, the Ex ecutive is still hoping for a 3 percent increase of about $7,500. “We tried to keep everything down because we knew a lot of oth er groups need increases,” Gray said, but added that $4,500 of the in crease would be impossible to avoid because of higher dues for the Ore gon Student Association. Some substantial percentage in creases for next year result from ASUO rules that limit first-year funded groups to $300. The Oregon Future Lawyers As sociation will be asking the PFC to grant it $5,357, nearly a 1,700 per cent increase from its first-year $300 budget. Jennifer Greenough, the OFLA’s executive vice president, said that much of the increase will be to help publish the group’s undergraduate journal, the Oregon Advocate. Each issue costs about $500 to publish, and the OFLA wants student fees to cover half the cost while the group raises money for the rest. The PFC will treat groups that are asking for large increases the same as others, Madden said, taking into account how much they spent last year, how well the groups used their funds and how the additional funds will be spent. “There is no set formula,” Mad den said. “Some may get all of their asked increases, [and] some may only get a portion. We won’t know until the hearings. ” Inventions yield rewards for UO ■ The Office of Technology Transfer moves University inventions into the market By Brooke Ross Oregon Daily Emerald Since 1992, the University’s Of fice of Technology Transfer has earned $1.2 million from new in ventions and discoveries made by University faculty and staff, illus trating that higher education can impact today’s economy. The technology office, estab lished in 1992, assists outside in dustries with developing Universi ty inventions by helping to secure patents and licensing agreements and to facilitate the development of startup companies based on the University’s inventions. Licensing income has increased from $50,000 in 1992 to more than $300,000 to day, and that income, along with patent costs, has launched the office past the $1 million mark. “As inventions and discoveries are made at the University, we don’t want them to stay within the walls,” said Don Gerhart, the director of the Office of Technology Transfer. “We want them to move forward in ap plication and benefit others.” The office has worked with in ventions that include new designs for loft beds and optical networking devices, and discoveries involving developments in stroke treatment technology, he said. Gerhart said everyone involved in the invention process benefits from the money earned by the new products and research discoveries. "It’s almost like recycling,” he said. “The inventions are created here, go into application, and the University gets money back. ” Laura Smit Emerald Don Gerhart, director of the Office of Technology Transfer, spends most of his time behind a computer administering patents and licensing agreements for inventions. Gerhart said when an outside man ufacturer buys the license agreement to an invention, the earned money is split among the inventor, the inven tor’s department and the University. He said the Office of Technology Transfer depends on the University for financial support because it usu ally takes five to 10 years for a man ufacturer to develop a product for the open market, so money is not made right away. The Office of Technology Transfer didn’t experience a large jump in in come until recently, when several products finally reached the market. “I think we’ll see the growth we’ve seen in recent years contin ue,” said Richard Linton, vice provost for research and dean of the graduate school. Companies interested in Univer sity-developed products must also promise to pay a license agreement. Over the years the number of agree ments has grown, so the return po tential for the University has grown too, Gerhart said. Linton said the ultimate goal for the office and for University re search in general is to develop more entrepreneurial opportunities for the faculty. The funds to support this come from two sources. He said licensing agreements from the Office of Technology Transfer contribute $250,000 to $300,000 annually for additional re search opportunities, and competi tive grants and external agencies such as the National Institute of Health provide $60 million annual ly for sponsored programs. “It is my goal to invest the money back into further development for faculty research,” Linton said. Gerhart said he is not worried about a possible economic down turn because it will have little effect on future research opportunities. “Invention and discovery happens Turn to Inventions, page 5 UNIVERSITYo/ OREGON BOOKSTORE Author Events Willie Weir January 17th at 7:30 p.m. Willamette Hall • Room 100 Willie Weir appears as a guest of the University Outdoor Program and the UO Bookstore this Wednesday. Willie has hiked his way around the entire globe and now comes to Eugene to regale us with his adventures in India. His presentation will be high-lighted by a slide show and a booksigning for his book, "Spokesongs." William Kittredge January 24th at 7:30 p.m. William Knight Law Center • Room 175 William Kittredge will read from his new memoir, "The Nature of Generosity." This powerful new book, a further ing of his earlier "Hole In The Sky," looks at the complexi ties of life in the modern West amid myths that do not easily relent. A booksigning will follow. Admission to Author Events is free and open to the general public. ?aisler ^Cow * ofor more information or to have our brochure mailed to you call, 3^6-^361 010859 Take This Job and Love It! 2001 Student Orientation Staff Are you dedicated, enthusiastic and interested in helping new students and their families during UO summer and fall orientation programs? ■ Apply for 2001 Student Orientation Staff! Applications are available in 372 Oregon Hall and are due Wednesday, January 24th. For more information, come to one of our interest meetings on January 16 at 4p.m. in Rogue Room, EMU and January 17 at 5:30p.m. in the Metolious Room, EMU or call us at 346-1159. The University of Oregon Office of Student Orientation Programs is an EOE/AA Employer
