Housing: Officials dispute fairness and relevance of University policies
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housing money and have been
managed by the housing depart
ment for decades.
Rich Linton, group chair and Uni
versity vice president for research and
graduate studies, said the group has
many tasks, most of which center
around issues pertaining to financial
management and obeying planning
guidelines set out in the east campus
development plan, a collaborative plan
on which the University and the area’s
Administration Dan Williams said con
tributes to his view that some of the re
port’s characterizations were “tremen
dously unfair and quite biased.”
“The implication is that somehow
we put the housing department in
an (unfair) financial situation by do
ing things that were irresponsible,
and I don’t believe that,” Williams
said. “Painting the picture somehow
that the housing department has
been victimized over the years by
University policy is simply not fair
—
Danifi le Hickey | Photo editor
Carson Hall was hailed as an innovative approach to student housing when constructed in
1949. University officials have put renovating the residence halls on its fundraising list.
neighborhood association agreed.
Linton said after the east campus
plan was drafted, it became appar
ent the properties in the neighbor
hood would be used for purposes
other than just student housing.
“A logical next step, at least one
component of it, is to work on the
particular issues with regard to prop
erties in that east campus neighbor
hood environment and to work to
ward some recommended policies
with the governance and mainte
nance and so on of the properties in
that neighborhood,” Linton said.
University Housing Director and
Assistant Vice President for Student
Affairs Mike Eyster serves on
the group and said the spirit of col
laboration that’s evident in the
group’s work is a sign they
will reach polices that are fair to
everyone involved.
Eyster said his biggest concern
hinges on modernizing the residence
halls. He said such projects may re
quire financial compensation for prop
erties purchased with student housing
money because of a need for fairness
when funding projects and because of
land acquisitions meant to benefit the
entire University.
Vice President for Student Affairs
Anne Leavitt oversees the housing
department and said the past and
present financial problems are not
totally relevant to the issue of mod
ernizing the residence halls.
“Housing is trying to get the insti
tution’s attention about a real im
perative — the need to improve our
housing stock,” Leavitt said.
Professional suggestions
The financial problems and admin
istrative policies that past and present
University Housing officials say have
plagued housing and hindered the res
idence halls’ improvement were dis
cussed extensively in an assessment
from a private firm in 2000.
Greg Strickler and Linda Ander
son, financial consultants from
Maryland, produced a “Vision As
sessment for Student Housing,” a
detailed report on the current state
of University Housing and its out
look for the future.
The report admonished the Univer
sity for using housing as its
“real-estate acquisition arm,” some
thing University Vice President for
Oregon Daily Emerald. A campus tradition - over 100 years of publication,
or accurate.”
The report detailed the array of
non-housing related projects stu
dent housing money has been used
for over the years, such as the
construction of tennis courts and
the purchase of land that the
Riverfront Research Park now occu
pies. It stressed the need for mone
tary compensation if the land pur
chased with housing funds is used
for other purposes.
“There is little dispute that the
OUS can, at the request of the Uni
versity of Oregon, rededicate land to
another use,” the report reads. “The
more important issue is that this
rededication has been done without
reimbursement to Housing for the
purchase price plus a reasonable
rate of return.”
Leavitt and Williams said the as
sessment seemed to base its observa
tions on erroneous assumptions in
volving land repayment requirements
within the Oregon University System.
Williams said he does not want to
Danielle Hickey | Photo editor
Construction of the Living Learning Center, on property not purchased by University Housing, began in August 2004. The center is
expected to open in fall 2006.
dismiss the report off-hand but
stressed that one must keep in mind
that University Housing hired Strickler
and Anderson to write the assessment.
“I can understand why they
would write a report like that; some
Leavitt said.
Leavitt and Linton both pointed
out that the new Living Learning
Center is being constructed on
property that University Housing
did not purchase.
financial problems with University
Housing are a question of resources
that involves the University helping
housing improve the conditions of
residence halls.
“The question is, ‘How can the
of it is very valuable,” Williams
said. “On the other hand, the hous
ing department is their client; they
were trying to make the best case
for their client, and there’s nothing
wrong with that. But... I don’t sub
scribe to everything that’s in that re
port from my point of view. ”
Former University Housing Direc
tor Marge Ramey defended the re
port, as did Eyster, who said he has
worked as a consultant before and
knows it’s difficult to report thai
something exists if it in fact does not
“If somebody wants me to write
something that doesn’t seem right
to me, I don’t do it,” Eyster said
“And I don’t think these people dc
it. Their reputation is too importani
to them.”
Calls to Strickler and Andersor
were not returned.
Working for fairness
The University’s legal counsel has
since ruled that the monetary compen
sation suggested in the report is not c
legal obligation, and the East Campu:
Task Group is looking at the best wa\
to determine if compensation is neces
sary for certain properties.
The group is comprised of nin<
University officials charged with tht
task of smoothing the transition o
property management in the eas
campus neighborhood from Univer
sity Housing to a to-be-determined
area of the University.
Linton said the committee com
prises representatives from differen
areas on campus because the dutie
with which they are charged involv<
a plethora of things to consider.
“No particular vice president’:
role encompasses all of thos<
things, so we’re just trying to pu
together a group that reflects th«
diversity of operations and, if yoi
will, University stake-holders,
Linton said.
Leavitt, who serves on the tasl
group, said issues regarding thi
need to update the residence hall
are more a question of resource:
than of fairness. She said adminis
trative policies toward the housinj
department are not something tha
should be scrutinized when lookinj
at ways to fund renovations.
“(University Housing) needfs
help from the University in financia
management of (renovations), jus
like the University needs help fron
housing when they need property,’
Eyster said resources are a major
part of the questions surrounding
policies but said fairness and priori
ties also play a big part. He said he
considers himself a steward of stu
dent housing money and said he
feels it’s part of his job to point to
incidents in which the money could
be put to better use.
“(Students living in the residence
halls) think they’re paying for room
and board, but really, they’re paying
for something that doesn’t have
anything to do with their housing,”
Eyster said.
Eyster said the collaborative
effort evident in the task group’s
work is a signal that fair agreements
will be reached, adding that
updating the residence halls was
recently placed on the projects list
for Campaign Oregon, the
University of Oregon’s $600 million
fundraising campaign,
i Eyster said the administration
seems very attuned to the need for
i updated residence halls and is tak
! ing the preliminary steps to ensure
enterprise help housing with what
needs to happen?’” Leavitt said.
“That’s much more important than
what dollar paid for what land pur
chased 20 years ago.”
Linton said the group is faced
with a big task in determining the
future of property in the east cam
pus neighborhood because it is im
possible to determine the Universi
ty’s exact needs.
“It’s very much a guessing game
in some respects,” Linton said. The
group is “just trying to be as careful
as we can about good stewardship
for the neighborhood and building
on housing’s commitments to that
over the years and in this transition
al time trying to make sure we move
ahead appropriately.”
He expects the group to have a
series of recommendations to give
to University President Dave Frohn
mayer by the end of the term.
Leavitt said worrying about
monetary compensation for proper
ties purchased with student housing
fees is not something the group is
- I
Danielle Hickey | Photo editor
The University Housing office is located in the Walton complex on 15th Avenue. University
" officials disagree over the fairness of policy toward the housing department.
such updates are prioritized; he said
he just wants to make sure the
spirit of fairness and good steward
ship of student housing money
is preserved.
Eyster said the financial problems
plaguing both the housing depart
ment and the University may mean
compensation for past land pur
chases is necessary.
Leavitt reiterated that the
overly concerned with because the
University’s legal counsel has al
ready established criteria for when
compensation is needed. She said
talk of policies’ fairness and the
2000 financial assessment spawned
from misconceptions surrounding
the legality of land rededication and
repayment plans.
“Housing is not some private
business located in the Eugene
Springfield area doing business with
the University — housing is the Uni
versity,” Leavitt said.
Former University Housing Direc
tor H.P. Barnhart, who worked in
housing from 1949-1979, said the
internal workings of the University
have changed drastically since he
left. He said compensation for land
purchased with student housing
money then converted to other uses
seems fair, but it all depends on
what the University’s hierarchy of
power feels the need do.
“If the hierarchy in the University
decided they’re going to do some
thing else, then (housing will) be
stuck,” Barnhart said.
University Planning Director and
Architect Chris Ramey serves on the
East Campus Task Group and
said his job is to make sure the
plans for management in the east
campus neighborhood coincide
with the University’s east campus
development plan. He said
“whether or not housing is getting
screwed financially” is really not
any of the planning department’s
business, but he added that his
mother, the former housing director,
would probably be “the cheerleader
for that group.”
meghanncaniff@dailyemerald.com