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Thursday, February 12, 2004
Since 1900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon
Volume 105, Issue 98
University postpones arena plans indefinitely
The expected cost of the project
recently rose to $180 million,
creating financial difficulty
By Jesse Thomas
Sports Reporter
University President Dave Frohnmayer
announced Monday that he has placed the
new basketball arena project on indefintffc
hold as University officials face financial
complications.
The new cost estimate of $ 180 million,
announced last month, was too high for
the University to break ground by this
summer. An initial study conducted for
the University estimated costs at $90 to
$130 million.
"Review of the project — its scope, its
complexity, its financing — make it clear
that we cannot move forward at this
point," Frohnmayer said. "We thought it
would be more important to postpone it
until we could make sure all the right ele
ments come together at the same time. We
will need to develop an alternative in the
near future."
Frohnmayer said private donors for the
arena, including major donor Phil Knight,
^greed with the University's decision to
postpone construction. Frohnmayer could
not speculate on whether donor money
would still be available when the project is
revisited, and he said he would never ask
a donor to keep money on hold.
The new arena, originally intended to
be funded entirely by private donors,
would have contained 15,000 seats along
with a separate building to house additional
training and academic facilities. The Universi
ty raised $100 million in philanthropy
funds btit would have needed to finance
the rest on its own.
The Athletics Department, which is self
sufficient, was prepared to finance $30
million with the extra $50 million coming
from bond sales.
"All told, we would've needed $ 130 mil
lion (from donors), and a lot of people
would think that that could build a very
nice arena," Athletics Director Bill Moos
said. "Indeed it has on some campuses. To
get where we wanted to be and everything
we wanted to include in this, the price tag
got lofty."
Frohnmayer, Moos and Vice President of
Administration Dan Williams have been
Turn to ARENA, page 4
Lauren Wimer Photographer
University President Dave Frohnmayer speaks to the media Wednesday
about the basketball arena's postponement due to a lack of funds. Vice
President for Administration Dan Williams sits to his left.
Planning brings success
A recent study shows that the Planning, Public Policy and Managementfaculty are afew of thefield’s best
Planning, Public
Policy and
Management
Assistant Professor
Rich Margerum talks
with a group of
students in his
Practice of
Leadership and
Change class.
Adam Amato
Senior Photographer
By Chelsea Duncan
News Reporter
he University Planning, Public Policy and
Management department and its faculty
JL earned nationwide recognition, thanks to a
recent study analyzing publication impact.
The department ranks fourth, along with Co
lumbia University, out of 84 universities nation
wide in terms of how many publications the de
partment's faculty have produced. The
department ranks third in how many times those
publications are cited by others, according to a
University press release.
PPPM Department Head Michael Hibbard
said cited publications are a measurement of the
impact the department is having.
"As a department, we want to have an influ
ence on the field," he said.
A Florida State University professor conducted
the study, which examined publications between
1998 and 2002. The information will be published
this spring in the Journal of Planning Education
and Research, according to the press release.
I libbard said the study is the first of its kind in
the field.
"We had no basis for how well we were doing
until this study was done," he said.
In the department, which serves about 120
graduate students and 50 undergraduates, stu
dents learn how public policy works and how
they can make a difference, Hibbard said. He
added that students often end up working for
government agencies, nonprofit organizations
and advocacy groups.
"Our graduates are in real key positions to try
and shape the future," he said.
Graduate student Lorelei Juntunen said she is re
ceiving a well-rounded education in the department.
"The quality of education in this department, 1
think, is pretty high," she said, adding that the
field of study encompasses social, environmen
tal and physical aspects. "One of the good things
about planning is that it's so broad-based."
Department faculty were also highly rated in
the study, with Professor Judith Hibbard ranking
first in the number of publications and third in
terms of impact.
"It's very gratifying, because 1 work in an area
of health care policy so I'm very aware of the im
pact of my work," she said. "But I don't really see
(the impact) outside my field or outside my lit
tle world."
Turn to PPPM, page 4
DPS considers removable parking permits
Parking-permit holders may see a
different kind of vehicle sticker this fall
By Lisa Catto
News Reporter
University students and faculty members may
soon be able to use a single parking permit and
transfer it between multiple cars.
The Department of Public Safety is looking into
replacing permanent adhesive parking stickers
with a static-ding or removable adhesive permit
that would be placed in the bottom left comer of
the rear window.
According to DPS Parking and Transportation
PART 2 OF 2
Wednesday: Parking at
hooded meters on campus
Today: Parking stickers
versus hanging permits
Manager Rand
Stamm, new technol
ogy and permit de
signs have enabled
the department to ex
amine options out
side of the current
permanent parking
sticker.
Turn to PARKING, page 3
Adam Amato Senior Photographer
DPS is looking into doing away with permanent
stickers in favor of issuing removable permits.
Senate
to enter
athletics
coalition
The Coalition On Intercollegiate
Athletics aims to give faculty
a say about athletics reform
By Chuck Slothower
News Reporter
The University Senate approved a reso
lution at its Wednesday meeting to join
the Coalition On Intercollegiate Athletics,
a national organization seeking to give
college faculty a greater voice in the na
tional debate on athletics reform. The Sen
ate also endorsed COLA's "Framework for
Comprehensive Athletic Reform."
"There is a national consensus that
something has gone wrong in intercolle
giate athletics in the past decade," English
Professor lames Earl said. "We're launch
ing a national dialogue."
The resolution does nothing to change
the practices of the University's athletics
department, which is self-sufficient, but it
voices faculty support for athletic reform.
Faculty of athletics powerhouses such as
the University of Michigan and Duke Uni
versity have already joined COIA.
Earl said the resolution was not an at
tempt to limit college athletics, but rather
an expression of "continuing support for
the healthy reform of intercollegiate ath
letics."
The COIA framework urges a stronger
focus on academics, limits on athletics
budgets and shorter athletics seasons. It
also urges colleges to ease off-campus re
cruiting and to better integrate athletes
into campus life.
Turn to COALITION, page 4
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Campus buzz.4
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Travis Willse
spouts more
rivalless wit