CAS Alumni & Development Technically Trained/Liberally Educated: CAS Embraces Programs with a Techno Flavor An Interview with Dean Stone Tea Merchant in the Silicon Forest 1999 Alumni Fellows 1999-2000 Distinguished Professors Outstanding Achievers: 1999 Scholarship Recipients The University Club Does It Again Geology in the Field: Trading in Bookbags for Backpacks The Patent Scientist: John Keana Leads the Way in Oregon Blazing New Trails: Bill Harbaugh Takes a New Approach to Studying Economic Behavior The Community Literacy Project A Missing Link Discovered: Daniel Falk Finds Life in Dead Sea Scrolls Gift Rap: Gifts of Stock Boon to Charities and Donors http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911issue.html (1 of 2)6/18/2007 4:35:16 AM CAS Alumni & Development 1245 University of Oregon ? Eugene, OR ? 97403-1245 (541) 346.3950 ? FAX (541) 346.3282 ? alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu Copyright ? 1999 University of Oregon Updated March 27, 2001 UO HOME ADMISSIONS FINANCIAL AID CAS HOME SEARCH http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911issue.html (2 of 2)6/18/2007 4:35:16 AM CAS Alumni & Development Technically Trained, Liberally Educated The College of Arts and Sciences Embraces Programs with a Techno Flavor "That great, growling engine of change -- technology," wrote Alvin Toffler in Future Shock, nearly thirty years ago. And whether you work in high-tech industry or at the local utility, technology is an integral part of the workplace these days. But rapid changes in technology make it difficult to prepare today's students for the workplace of tomorrow, says Joe Stone, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. "It's important that we give students the broad training they need so they have a foundation and can adapt to changes in the marketplace throughout their careers." The key is in teaching basic problem-solving skills that students can apply to the realities of the twenty-first century workplace. Several programs from diverse departments within the College help students gain those skills and enable them to get -- and keep -- jobs in the modern workplace. NICHE PROGRAMS WITH ROOM TO GROW Not long ago, math professor Richard Koch took a sabbatical and worked in the color printing division of Tektronix as a programmer. As it happened, Koch was on the interview team for new job candidates and discovered that they required new hires to have a strong background in both computer science and mathematics. So when computer science professor Gene Luks proposed that the http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911techno.html (1 of 5)6/18/2007 4:35:23 AM CAS Alumni & Development departments join forces to create a new joint math and computer science major, it made perfect sense. "We were smart enough to say yes," says Koch. The new major, affectionately called "MACS," gives students a broad foundation that those in either field don't have. Michelle Hart graduated from the program in '97 and is now finishing her master's in computer science. She signed up for the major because she wanted more breadth in her education. "I felt that a mathematics degree in itself was not enough to get the kind of job I wanted, unless I wanted to teach math." An enlightened employer, says Luks, sees the benefit of a joint major because it produces a student with superior problem-solving skills. Employees who can tackle new problems in the workplace will naturally outlast those who can't. A program created through the Materials Science Institute at the UO is also developing superior problem solvers by teaching students how to apply what they've learned directly to the workplace. The Industrial Internship Master's Program launched last summer allows students to gain valuable experience on the job while earning their master's degrees in physics or chemistry. Students can focus their studies on polymer science or semiconductor processing. They earn 30 credits and $2,000 to $3,000 a month during the internship portion of the program. Jennifer Petersen graduated from the program this summer with a master's degree in chemistry, job experience, and a new job in a competitive industry that pays over $40,000 a year. "I'm 22 and I make more than my parents," she noted. "Our focus is not teaching them exactly what they need to know; our focus is teaching them to apply the fundamentals they've been taught as undergraduates to solve problems in industry," says Dave Johnson, a UO chemistry professor. A similar approach is being taken in the new Oregon Master's in Software Engineering Program (OMSE), which began last spring. The program, which is a collaboration between four area universities including the UO, provides working professionals with training in management, communication, and a global approach to problem solving in software development. "The idea is to accelerate the learning curve of those already in industry," says Michal Young, a UO computer science professor who teaches for OMSE. OMSE teaches core knowledge that applies to all software -- practical problem- solving skills that engineers can apply to multiple software environments on the job. The program, now offered only in Portland, will add a distance learning option this fall. "It will allow us to offer courses from specialists in multiple locations," says Young, who hopes the added convenience will encourage UO students to sign up. NEW WAYS TO USE COMPUTERS http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911techno.html (2 of 5)6/18/2007 4:35:23 AM CAS Alumni & Development IN THE CLASSROOM Geography instructor Jim Meacham has discovered an innovative way to teach his advanced cartography class. Students learn more than mapmaking. Meacham introduces his students to computer tools and skills that will give them valuable experience when they're out in the real world looking for work. Over two terms, the class has worked on a web-based atlas of Lane County in collaboration with the Lane Council of Governments. Students compiled data and designed a thematic map and text to be put on the web. By working on the atlas, students learn to use computer programs for map design, web publishing, and analyzing data. "It allows students to have a publication coming out of this class. They can put it on a resume and show it to potential employers," says Meacham. "These are the kind of skills employers are looking for." Innovative computer use is also helping bring students in the social sciences up to speed. Created to offer computer support to students and faculty, the Social Science Instructional Lab (SSIL) has become as oasis of knowledge in an area traditionally void of technology. The lab serves 750 students each term in regularly scheduled classes and provides technical support on a free, drop-in basis. In addition, SSIL's Academic Web Publishing Service not only gives students the opportunity to hone their web skills, but it also teaches them how to meet with clients, work collaboratively, negotiate a work contract, keep deadlines and deliver a finished product. The lab has become an impressive resume builder for the fifteen to twenty student lab consultants employed there to assist users. SSIL Director Cathleen Leue and Assistant Director Cerise Roth-Vinson have a decidedly different approach to hiring. They don't look for people with good computer skills; they look for good people -- who want to learn about computers. All employees of SSIL learn on the job at weekly training sessions. "My philosophy is that anyone can learn computer skills. It's far more difficult to teach people skills," says Roth-Vinson. Many a student has graduated with SSIL on their resume and discovered job options they didn't know they had. Students with a solid background in the social sciences combined with good computer skills are far more marketable than those who just have social science degrees. "You have a skill no one else in your area has," says Leue. Bree Medley is one example. Medley spent five years working in the lab and after graduating was hired by a Santa Barbara architecture firm. Her computer skills gave her the edge over other applicants. "That's the story we hear over and over again," says Leue. Sandy Naranjo, a senior in psychology and women's studies, came to the lab when she realized it would be hard to get a job without computer skills. "I didn't even see a computer until I was 23," says Naranjo, now 27. "Now I feel like I couldn't have paid for what I've learned." Naranjo's computer talents now http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911techno.html (3 of 5)6/18/2007 4:35:23 AM CAS Alumni & Development allow her to help others in the lab and should assist her in getting a job later. Microsoft Corporation Executive Michael Edwards on a visit to campus last year said he especially liked how the Academic Web Publishing Service "builds web development skills in students with a wide array of backgrounds. I think that is so powerful to enable these students to be technologically effective even though their degree area is not necessarily computer science." Edwards was so impressed that he recommended that Microsoft invest $5000 in the service and offered summer internships to students employed by the service. In the English department, Anne Laskaya believes computers can be a means to an end. As director of both the composition program and the Center for the Teaching of Writing, Laskaya oversees the Computers and Writing Classroom, which was created to encourage the writing process with computers. "The technology is simply there to assist in the writing process," she says. The classroom is used for English composition classes and serves about fourteen classes each term. Students who arrive for class without basic computer skills can attend free workshops to brush up on their computer skills. "Many students still come into the class without computer skills," says Laskaya. Fortunately, that number falls each year. The computers in the classroom are networked, allowing on-line discussions. A projection system allows the instructor to engage the entire class in writing revisions, or sharing a classmate's work. Several students can also work on one revision as a class and watch a piece of writing evolve as a group. While the focus of the class is on writing, students have to learn computer fundamentals to survive the term. And that may be all they need to edge out the competition for a job after graduation. As Sandy Naranjo notes, "Nobody wants to teach you the basics when you're just starting work. Photo: "Graduate of the 21st Century" by Jack Liu 1245 University of Oregon ? Eugene, OR ? 97403-1245 (541) 346.3950 ? FAX (541) 346.3282 ? alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu Copyright ? 1999 University of Oregon http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911techno.html (4 of 5)6/18/2007 4:35:23 AM CAS Alumni & Development An Interview with Dean Joe Stone The following is an excerpt with Joe Stone that appeared on UO Today, which is hosted by Oregon Humanities Center Director Steve Shankman. UO Today is a thirty-minute weekly television show that takes viewers inside the university. This interview was broadcast during the week of May 3, 1999. Joe Stone and Steve Shankman Joe Stone and Steve Shankman on the set of UO Today Steve: Hello and welcome to UO Today. Our first guest is Joe Stone, the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and the W. E. Miner Professor of Economics. Dean Stone did his undergraduate work at the University of Texas at El Paso and earned his master's and doctorate in economics at Michigan State University. He came to the University of Oregon in 1979. In 1984, Professor Stone left the university for a year when he was asked to become the senior economist for international trade policy on President Reagan's Council of Economic Advisors. After serving as the interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences for a year, Joe Stone was appointed dean in 1998. http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911dean.html (1 of 5)6/18/2007 4:35:29 AM CAS Alumni & Development Joe is the author of two books, Wage and Employment Adjustment in Local Labor Markets (1992) and Unions and Public Schools: the Effects of Collective Bargaining on American Education (1984). He is the author of numerous articles published in economic journals. His research has focused on comparisons between public and private schools, analysis of the trucking industry, and a study of labor trends. Steve: Speaking of economics, in general, what do you think are some of the most pressing issues today? Joe: Well, I think within the U.S., the most important issue is why it is that as our economy continues to grow -- certainly the last fifteen years, if not more like twenty years -- the gap between the bottom quarter of the workforce and the top quarter has grown so that those of us who are earning more than the average worker in the economy have done well over that period, more or less. Whereas, people who are toward the bottom end in terms of wages -- the lower 10 or 20 percent of workers -- their wages have actually gone down in purchasing power. And understanding all of the factors that are involved can be quite complicated. Many people have one or two easy answers -- that it's international trade, foreign competition, technology, or this or that factor. But as you get into it, it is very hard to find a silver bullet, single explanation that really carries enough weight to explain why that has been occurring. Steve: Do you have any special insight or things you would like to investigate in this regard -- the reasons for this distressing reality? Joe: I have my own personal opinion. I think it is a complicated issue, there are multiple explanations that tend to reinforce each other. Within that though, I would probably pick out one thing and that is technology. The premium on education, on skills, on training, and expertise is much higher than it used to be and those skills carry a greater premium than they once did. Jobs that don't require very many skills or much education or expertise are not nearly as well paid as they once were. Steve: Well, talking about the value of education -- certainly the economic value of education -- I want to move from there to an article in the Register-Guard a few weeks ago which noted, if I am accurately paraphrasing it, that the UO graduates are ranked last in the state in terms of starting salaries for new jobs. I guess this is in relationship to the other institutions. Tell me the ways you would respond to this kind of statistic. http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911dean.html (2 of 5)6/18/2007 4:35:29 AM CAS Alumni & Development Joe: Well, I think there are two responses. One is why it is misleading. Second is why we ought to be concerned about it. There are many reasons why it is misleading. First of all, are the earnings that graduates have on their very first job, the very first year after their degree. The proportion of the people at the UO who go on to graduate school, is the highest in the state, and certainly, graduate school is not noted for its high wages. At least it wasn't my experience; maybe it was yours. Steve: No, not at all. The low $2000 as I remember that first year. Joe: So, that's one factor. The second factor is that the UO is very much the dominant liberal arts university in the state. The typical career path for liberal arts graduates is to take two, three or four years finding their niche, finding the things they are good at, finding the ways to apply the deeper, broader skills that a liberal arts degree brings them. But then, past that, their earnings often outpace those who receive more vocationally oriented degrees. So the very short time horizon, I think, is particularly misleading for liberal arts graduates. Steve: So, what do you think was behind the article -- was it malice or ignorance that someone would publish an article to just grab people's attention? To sell papers by making startling claims? Joe: It is always tempting for anyone, including myself, to look for simple answers to complex problems. How good is a college degree? How well are the universities doing? First year out, how well did the graduates do? It's not that the information is irrelevant, it's just that it can be misleading. Steve: Well, I am glad people have heard your response to that. I think the air needs to be cleared on this issue. Tell me your objectives as dean. What do you hope to have accomplished in your tenure? Joe: I'd identify three broad academic objectives. One is to help build programs of distinctive excellence within arts and sciences. We're not a mega-university on the scale of UCLA, Berkeley, or Michigan, and so the things we do in particular programs will necessarily need to be more focused. The kinds of decisions we make from how to invest our resources to the faculty we hire are even more important for us in order to try to be distinctive and excellent in what we do. A second objective is to sustain and build the strength of the http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911dean.html (3 of 5)6/18/2007 4:35:29 AM CAS Alumni & Development liberal arts. I am a strong believer in the power of the liberal arts in building a prosperous and happy society. I think there are lots of things on the positive side both in terms of increasing the visibility of what we do and the strength of the liberal arts. On perhaps a more negative side, we have been complacent about some things in the liberal arts that we can pay more attention to. Steve: For example? Joe: Oh, take the period when the liberal arts graduate receives a degree, and unlike an accountant or someone who has a very vocationally oriented degree, the graduate is not trained for a very specific job -- for a job of today. Our hope is that we are training for the jobs of tomorrow. That they will have the kinds of deep skills and abilities that will put them in a position to be ready for the really productive jobs that will come into the economy five, ten or fifteen years down the road. But having said that, I know it is still true that in the first two to four years, liberal arts graduates do often struggle finding their niche, what is it they are good at, where their luck is. I think there are things we can do as a liberal arts college to make that transition easier. Such as helping people find a first run somewhere as they get their degree. Not to change the nature of the liberal arts degree but to complement it in small ways. Steve: ?to be concerned about what actually happens to these students at their next stage. And your third objective? Joe: Well, I believe that the system of higher education in general in Oregon, and particularly at the UO, should play a greater role in trying to set a higher standard of achievement for Oregon in terms of helping with the K-12 system and also setting high standards of achievements for ourselves. I think an excellent step this year for the UO was moving to a very broad- based generous system of merit-based scholarships for both resident and nonresident students to make it clear that we'd like to reward the efforts of students who have tried to reach some level of distinctive achievement. And also, that we want to make a place for them at the UO. Steve: So when you say raise the level, you're talking about undergraduates not faculty members, is that right? Joe: That, too! http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911dean.html (4 of 5)6/18/2007 4:35:29 AM CAS Alumni & Development 1245 University of Oregon ? Eugene, OR ? 97403-1245 (541) 346.3950 ? FAX (541) 346.3282 ? alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu Copyright ? 1999 University of Oregon Updated March 27, 2001 UO HOME ADMISSIONS FINANCIAL AID CAS HOME SEARCH http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911dean.html (5 of 5)6/18/2007 4:35:29 AM CAS Alumni & Development Tea Merchant in the Silicon Forest By Tom Mesher Chairman, CAS Advisory Council Since leaving campus, I have marveled at the stunning transformation of our state's economy. Once wholly based on natural resources -- high-tech, bio-tech, and value- added enterprises now predominate. The rapid and pervasive growth of technology has created an obvious need for a workforce with technical skills. So, it does not surprise me to hear people question the value of a traditional liberal arts education. Like you, I am the product of a unique set of experiences that includes having helped found, nurture, and sell two very successful tea companies (Stash and TAZO). Buying and selling tea has its own set of complex variables. Nevertheless, succeeding in any business requires the abilities to analyze and think through problems logically, to keep your mind open to new ideas, and to communicate effectively with a wide range of people. These, too, remain the essential objectives of a liberal arts education. My education at Oregon helped me prepare for the bigger world off campus by giving me the basic tools to learn how to adapt to new experiences and conditions. It started me on a track that, by necessity, would change over time, and it gave me some insight into how to manage the change. I am confident that http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911mesher.html (1 of 3)6/18/2007 4:35:36 AM CAS Alumni & Development current and future students will find similar, indeed even better, opportunities to ready themselves for their future endeavors. I value the UO highly, and not just for what I got from it. I value resources that help others explore their potential. I believe our institution is such a resource, and worthy of the financial support we can give. So, when you hear from one of the students at the Telefund, or if you get a letter in the mail, I hope you will respond generously and with the knowledge that your gifts make a difference. Sincerely, Tom Mesher '67 Chairman College of Arts and Sciences Advisory Council Meet the members of the CAS Advisory Council. 1245 University of Oregon ? Eugene, OR ? 97403-1245 (541) 346.3950 ? FAX (541) 346.3282 ? alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu Copyright ? 1999 University of Oregon Updated March 27, 2001 UO HOME ADMISSIONS FINANCIAL AID CAS HOME SEARCH http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911mesher.html (2 of 3)6/18/2007 4:35:36 AM CAS Alumni & Development 1999 Alumni Fellows CAS Honors Three Alumni for Distinguished Achievements 1999-2000: Ollie Chambers, Frederick Fraunfelder, Nora Terwilliger Latest Alumni Fellows Each fall, the UO College of Arts and Sciences honors three outstanding alumni who have distinguished themselves in their respective careers. This year's Alumni Fellows Awards will be presented at a special Profiles in Achievement Banquet in November. The program provides today's students with an opportunity to learn from people outside the academy who have taken active roles in shaping our society. Award recipients will hold informal seminars, discussing their career paths, learning opportunities and types of skills most relevant to the emerging educated citizen. This year's Alumni Fellows: 1999-2000 CAS Alumni Fellows Ollie Chambers BA '69 (Economics) is the vice president of Finance Administration and Information Technology for Pharmacia & Upjohn. Chambers came to Eugene from Tennessee in 1964 to attend the UO. He worked night shifts in the Southern Pacific Railroad's accounting department in order to attend the university during the day. After graduating with an economics degree in 1969, Chambers received a fellowship to attend Indiana University School of Business, where he obtained his MBA and then was hired as an accounting and finance trainee for the Upjohn Company in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Chambers quickly worked his way into the management ranks. In 1982, he attended the post-MBA Executive Program at the University of Michigan with primary focus on multi-national competition and international finance/marketing. He put what he learned to immediate use: in 1983, he was given complete responsibility for International Financial http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/alumni/1999autumn/199911fellows.html (1 of 3)6/18/2007 4:35:42 AM CAS Alumni & Development Analysis and Planning for the Upjohn Corporation. Chambers married his high school girlfriend, Jo Ann Thompson, in Eugene in 1968. Their son, Michael, works for a pharmaceutical company as a chemical operator, and their daughter, Patricia, is a marketing associate for the International Division of Nestles Corporation. Dr. Frederick Fraunfelder BS '56 (General Science) is a professor of ophthalmology at the Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland. Fraunfelder became the youngest chairman in academic ophthalmology in U.S. history when he became chairman at the University of Arkansas School of Medicine in 1968. He then accepted chairmanship at Oregon Health Sciences University in 1978 until his resignation in 1998. On his shoulders, the Casey Eye Institute was constructed on OHSU's campus, and Fraunfelder became its director when it opened in 1991. The Casey Eye Institute is an academic regional eye center dedicated to preventing blindness through research and to bringing advanced technology to the Pacific Northwest through continuing education of physicians. Fraunfelder, who has specialized in ocular oncology, cornea and external disease, is the author of three texts, two of which are in their fifth edition, Drug- Induced Ocular Side Effects and Drug Interactions and Current Ocular Therapy. He is the author of almost 200 peer review scientific papers, president of numerous academic and scientific national societies, and he has served as associate editor or on the editorial board of most major scientific eye journals. He also is consultant to the FDA, World Health Organization, United States Pharmacopeial (USP), and most major pharmaceutical companies. Nora Terwilliger Nora Terwilliger Ph.D. '81 (Biology) is an associate professor in the University of Oregon Department of Biology and the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology. She joined the UO faculty after obtaining her doctorate in biology from the UO in 1981. Terwilliger studies respiratory proteins and their role in oxygen transport in marine invertebrates. She is interested in the relationship between the structure, respiratory properties and physiological functions of these hemoglobins, hemocyanins and hemerythrins. Her research interests include how expression of these oxygen transport proteins during development is influenced by internal physiological factors including hormones and external environmental factors such as temperature, http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/alumni/1999autumn/199911fellows.html (2 of 3)6/18/2007 4:35:42 AM CAS Alumni & Development food and salinity, and the molecular phylogeny of crustacean hemocyanin and several related members of the hemocyanin gene family. Terwilliger has given lectures and seminars about her work in many countries. In addition, she has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Experimental Zoology, Cahiers de Biologie Marine and Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology and as a reviewer for numerous journals including American Zoologist, Marine Biology and Biochemistry. Know an outstanding alum? Use our online form to nominate an Alumni Fellow! For a comprehensive list of university honors, visit the UO Awards Database. 1245 University of Oregon ? Eugene, OR ? 97403-1245 (541) 346.3950 ? FAX (541) 346.3282 ? alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu Copyright ? 1999 University of Oregon Updated October 13, 2001 UO HOME ADMISSIONS FINANCIAL AID CAS HOME SEARCH http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/alumni/1999autumn/199911fellows.html (3 of 3)6/18/2007 4:35:42 AM CAS Alumni & Development Distinguished Professors CAS Names 1999-2000 Recipients Also online: 1998-1999 Distinguished Professors The College of Arts & Sciences is pleased to announce the recipients of the 1999-2000 Distinguished Professorships: Mark Johnson, Mary Rothbart and Gary Seitz. The awards, which were established in 1996, recognize senior faculty members in the College of Arts and Sciences for their scholarly achievements. A committee of emeriti faculty and current endowed chair holders select the candidates from departmental nominations. As part of the award appointment, each professor will present a lecture on campus during the 1999-2000 academic year. The lectures, which are held in Gerlinger Lounge, are free and open to the public. Mark Johnson, professor of philosophy and department head, is highly regarded for his scholarly contributions which have been influential, not just among philosophers, but among a wide array of scholars in linguistics, artificial intelligence, and the cognitive sciences in general. His scholarship has ranged across central problems in understanding the human mind, especially how the workings of the mind are related to the kind of physical beings we are and the experience we have in this concrete and material world. Johnson's books include The Body in the Mind, Moral Imagination, and Philosophy in the Flesh: The Embodied Mind and Its Challenge to Western Thought. Johnson's lecture, which will be co-hosted by the Institute for Cognitive and Decision Sciences, will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911distprof.html (1 of 3)6/18/2007 4:35:49 AM CAS Alumni & Development 15. Mary Rothbart, psychology professor, has made major contributions in the field of developmental psychology. Her work on individual differences in temperament and the development of attention in infancy and childhood has dramatically altered the understanding of development in early childhood. Her work integrates research and theory from psychophysiology, personality and social development, clinical psychology and neuroscience. Rothbart has received numerous honors for her work, including a 1997-2002 Senior Scientist Award from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). She is also a senior fellow at the Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology. Rothbart's lecture, which will be co-hosted by the Institute for Cognitive and Decision Sciences, will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 21, 2000. Gary Seitz, head of the mathematics department, is widely recognized as a leading mathematician in the study of algebraic and finite groups. He received his Ph.D. in mathematics from the UO, and after two years as an assistant professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago, he joined the UO faculty in 1970. Over a period of thirty years, Seitz has produced a continuous string of path- breaking papers that have established the direction of research in his area. His early work encompasses contributions to the classification of finite simple groups. Seitz was first to realize that the relationship of finite groups to algebraic groups was fundamental to a complete understanding of the structure of finite simple groups. His work in this direction has achieved breathtaking success. Seitz has been continuously supported by the NSF for over thirty years. Seitz will present his lecture at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 18, 2000. http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911distprof.html (2 of 3)6/18/2007 4:35:49 AM CAS Alumni & Development 1245 University of Oregon ? Eugene, OR ? 97403-1245 (541) 346.3950 ? FAX (541) 346.3282 ? alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu Copyright ? 1999 University of Oregon Updated March 27, 2001 UO HOME ADMISSIONS FINANCIAL AID CAS HOME SEARCH http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911distprof.html (3 of 3)6/18/2007 4:35:49 AM CAS Alumni & Development Outstanding Achievers Donors' Gifts Recognize Academic Excellence Also online: 1998 scholarship recipients Andrew Jost Penelope Heinigk Joshua O'Donnell Anna Rose Shope Each year, the dean of the UO College of Arts and Sciences awards scholarships to outstanding undergraduate and graduate students. The generous contributions of alumni and friends make these scholarships possible. Students are especially appreciative of these awards, which often enable them to work fewer hours and focus more of their time on the research projects that are meaningful to them. In 1998-99, eighteen students received awards in recognition of their academic excellence. Kyen Waldron, an undergraduate mathematics major, received the Mildred Braaten Archibald Scholarship in Science and Math. Waldron, who recently completed an internship in topology and differential geometry, hopes to become a math professor. The Arts and Sciences Scholarships were awarded to Andrew Jost and Anna Rose Shope. Jost, a chemistry major, plans to continue his education through the doctoral level. Last year, he worked in Dr. Tom Steven's lab researching cell functioning. Shope, a Robert D. Honors College student, is majoring in philosophy with a pre-medical emphasis, which support her career plans as a primary care physician. "In order to be an effective primary care giver, I want to know about medicine, and I also want to know about human http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911scholarships.html (1 of 4)6/18/2007 4:35:55 AM CAS Alumni & Development thought and knowledge," she says. Carla McNelly, Bonni Cermack and Christopher Hundhausen were honored with the Mary Chambers Brockelbank Scholarship. McNelly, a post-baccalaureate student studying romance languages, received her first bachelor's degree in computer science in 1985. After working as a manager for ten years, she returned to the UO to study her true passion -- languages. Her goal is to fluently learn one language every ten years. Cermak, a graduate teaching fellow and doctoral student in history, is researching legislation of sexual assault in the U.S. during the twentieth century. Hundhausen, a former Fulbright Scholar, received his Ph.D. last spring and now holds a position at the University of Hawaii. He is interested in how humans and computers communicate in order to build user-friendly computer software. Three undergraduates, Nancy Hart, Adam Woodworth and Jeremiah Heller, and two doctoral students, David Sandner and Robyn Carpenter, were recipients of the Everett Del Monte Scholarship. Hart, a religious and medieval studies major, would like to obtain a Ph.D. in comparative literature and teach at the university level. Woodworth is a general science major with three minors: chemistry, biology and psychology. Not only has he maintained over a 4.00 GPA, but also last year he received the UO Outstanding Achievement in General Chemistry Award. Heller, a mathematics major, is a teaching assistant for a freshmen-level math course and also uses his fluency in Spanish to help local high school math students. After graduation, Heller plans to obtain his Ph.D. and eventually hopes to teach and do research at the university level. Sandner, a graduate teaching fellow pursuing his Ph.D. in English, is researching the development of imaginary or fantastic literature during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, otherwise known as the "fairy way of writing." He is the author of one book, and many published articles, stories and poems. Carpenter, a first-year doctoral student in political science, is specializing in international relations and is especially interested in finding out how people come to identify with particular groups, how these patterns of identification are changing, and what this implies for conflicts or cooperation. Shimon Tanaka and Penelope Heinigk received the Risa Palm Graduate Fellowship, which supports outstanding graduate CAS scholars. After completing a master's degree in English and teaching a year of high school English in California, Tanaka came to the UO to obtain his M.F.A. in creative writing. Many of his stories involve characters of Japanese descent, which he feels to be very important to his own life and exploration of identity. Upon finishing his masters, he hopes to write, possibly in Japan, and complete a collection of stories. Heinigk, a Ph.D. candidate in Germanic languages, is examining literary and cinematic texts from the 1880s to the 1920s for her dissertation on industrial influence on German culture. Recently, she discovered an archive of railroad literature at the University of Dortmund in Germany of which her scholarship will help fund her on-site research. http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911scholarships.html (2 of 4)6/18/2007 4:35:55 AM CAS Alumni & Development Susan Vincent and Joshua O'Donnell received the Dorothy Jane and William Joseph Green Foreign Languages Scholarship. Vincent recently graduated with an undergraduate degree in Germanic languages with a Scandinavian focus. O'Donnell is a romance languages major with a focus on Italian studies. Traveling is an integral part of his education, and he has worked and studied in many different places throughout the world including Alaska, Mexico, Ecuador, Ireland, Spain and Italy. Michael Pebworth, a graduate student in history, and Florence Jurney, a doctoral student in romance languages, had their work acknowledged with the John and Naomi Luvaas Graduate Award. Pebworth, a graduate teaching fellow, is specializing in U.S. environmental history. Jurney, who is working toward a doctoral degree in French literature, received her bachelor's degree in English and American literature from the Sorbonne University in Paris. She hopes to eventually teach French at the university level. The Susan Winn Memorial Scholarship went to Katherine Hulpke, a post- baccalaureate student. Katherine began her college career at the UO in 1988 graduating with a degree in English. She taught special education for three years, before returning to the UO, where she is now majoring in physics and linguistics with an anthropology minor. She hopes to obtain her Ph.D. 1245 University of Oregon ? Eugene, OR ? 97403-1245 (541) 346.3950 ? FAX (541) 346.3282 ? alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu Copyright ? 1999 University of Oregon Updated October 13, 2001 UO HOME ADMISSIONS FINANCIAL AID CAS HOME SEARCH http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911scholarships.html (3 of 4)6/18/2007 4:35:55 AM CAS Alumni & Development The University Club Does It Again Each year, the University Club Foundation in Portland honors four graduate students with $5000 fellowships that recognize and encourage scholarship, leadership and potential societal contributions. The foundation awards these fellowships to one student from each of Oregon's four major public graduate facilities: Oregon Health Sciences University, Oregon State University, Portland State University, and the University of Oregon. Receiving the 1999 fellowship for the UO is Michael Pebworth, a doctoral student in history. Pebworth's research focuses on U.S. environmental history and how different people think about the natural environment, how they work and play in it, and how they shape the laws that guide it. His dissertation examines debates over wilderness areas in Washington state from the 1950s to 1980s in order to contribute to a greater understanding of the forces that created the Northwest?s unique environmental and political landscape. Pebworth says he is pursuing a doctorate in history because he wants to educate students as well as challenge himself through a career teaching American history at the college level. David McNutt, a selection committee member, said of Pebworth's award, "While all of the candidates were first-rate, our committee was struck by Michael's confidence and enthusiasm. He exemplifies the kind of person we expect to see teaching at our best universities." http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911uclub.html (1 of 2)6/18/2007 4:36:05 AM CAS Alumni & Development 1245 University of Oregon ? Eugene, OR ? 97403-1245 (541) 346.3950 ? FAX (541) 346.3282 ? alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu Copyright ? 1999 University of Oregon Updated March 27, 2001 UO HOME ADMISSIONS FINANCIAL AID CAS HOME SEARCH http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911uclub.html (2 of 2)6/18/2007 4:36:05 AM CAS Alumni & Development Geology in the Field Trading in Bookbags for Backpacks Most students who attend the UO don't anticipate having a tent, a backpack and a canteen as part of their required class supplies. But in the UO's Geological Sciences Field Camp, these items are a necessity. Having suncreen, insect repellent and moleskin doesn't hurt either. Each summer, this six-week field camp gives geology majors from the UO and other universities opportunities to apply their knowledge to actual work in the field. Students produce geologic maps, sections, and columns, and get an introduction to high-tech surveying techniques using total station and Global Positioning System technology. Most participants are between their junior and senior year, and some have completed their senior year. "Field camp for geology students is like residency for medical students -- a grueling experience that takes place at the end of their [college] career," says Ray J. Weldon, associate professor of geology and the head of this year's field camp. "It tends to be a bonding together and a culminating experience in their geological career. It's kind of a boot camp for geology students." This was Weldon's third summer with the field camp. His current research includes earthquake prediction and structure of continental boundaries. Besides heading up plans for the camp this summer -- a task formerly performed by now retired Geology Professor Allan Kays who single-handedly kept the camp going for the last twenty years -- Weldon also taught the first half of the camp. During this part, which was held in the central Oregon desert, students put topographic and geologic lines and attitudes onto maps to interpret active surficial geologic processes. They also studied active faults, active http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911geology.html (1 of 3)6/18/2007 4:36:14 AM CAS Alumni & Development volcanoes including the Sisters and Newberry centers, and the late Pleistocene and Holocene stratigraphic history of the region, which includes large, dry, closed basins that were intermittently filled with deep lakes during the Pleistocene era. During those first three weeks of field camp, students made a 1:500 scale topographic and geologic map of a portion of the "Crack-in-the-Ground" fault. They then mapped Table Mountain, a late Pleistocene basaltic tuff ring filled with basalt. Weldon was pleased with his half of camp this year. "When you're living isolated with a group of students sometimes there are cliques that develop or some people who don't get along well with other people, or people's styles of personalities don't mesh sometimes, but this group meshed very well and worked very well," he says. After Weldon returned home, the students traveled to the Block Mountain area near Dillon in southwest Montana for a ten-day session with Research Associate Martin Miller and then to Mitchell, Oregon, to study with Becky Dorsey, an assistant professor of geology. "Doing geological mapping in the field on structures that are actively being investigated was a very valuable experience," said Henry L. Turner, a UO geology major. "It allowed students to get a glimpse of what field research is like. Working in groups during the field camp improved my interpersonal communication skills in a way that no classroom work has." Kevin Weberling, a senior geology major at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, also completed this summer's field camp; traditionally three to five people from schools other than the UO attend. He says the first half of the camp, with its focus on active faulting and the recently active volcanism associated with the Newberry Volcanic field was a "great project because geologic structures which are active today are directly pertinent to our lives. Understanding these active processes is crucial to such things as building, engineering, and civic planning." The other sections were also rewarding. "The Dillon project gave a great change of scenery, and we got to stay in dorms, which was nice after three weeks of camping," says Weberling. In this section of camp, students focused on mapping the geology in the Rocky Mountain fold and thrust belt. The final section of camp in Mitchell, "dealt with completely different geologic processes than the other two projects," he says. The UO's Field Camp has been quite successful and Weldon, Miller, and Dorsey have rock-solid hopes for the future. "We're in the process of trying to evolve it from what is a very traditional geology field camp -- which is basically where http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911geology.html (2 of 3)6/18/2007 4:36:14 AM CAS Alumni & Development students go out in the field to get an opportunity to practice some of the skills that they've learned in terms of identifying rocks and making maps, things like that -- to focus a little bit more on active processes, environmental processes, surficial processes," says Weldon. "The emphasis in the past was on what we call 'hard rock' -- sort of classical -- geology. We're trying to move the focus more on earthquakes, volcanoes, hazards, and surficial processes." 1245 University of Oregon ? Eugene, OR ? 97403-1245 (541) 346.3950 ? FAX (541) 346.3282 ? alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu Copyright ? 1999 University of Oregon Updated March 27, 2001 UO HOME ADMISSIONS FINANCIAL AID CAS HOME SEARCH http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911geology.html (3 of 3)6/18/2007 4:36:14 AM CAS Alumni & Development The Patent Scientist John Keana Leads the Way in Oregon Back in the 1950s, John Keana and his buddies invented a marble launcher by combining the explosive properties of calcium carbide and water with a metal pipe and would watch the round orbs fly over the fields of rural southwestern Michigan. Keana never patented that invention and probably missed the opportunity to make millions. Fortunately, the UO chemistry professor has had numerous opportunities since then to invent and patent his work. With over forty patents in hand and more than ten pending, Keana now holds more patents than any other professor in Oregon. Keana's patents include neuroprotective drugs used to minimize brain damage caused by stroke, head injury or heart attack; processes that may lead to the development of microbiosensors to monitor plasma levels of drugs and drug metabolites in the blood; and novel amplifier molecules that can be used in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Getting his inventions and ideas patented wasn't always easy. In the late 60s, Keana and Hayes Griffith, also a UO chemistry professor, published a paper on a paramagnetic polymer paint that could potentially make planes invisible to radar. They tried to patent their idea, but no one in the university knew anything about applying for patents, so the busy young academics let the idea die. Years later, Keana became involved in therapeutic drug discovery by combining forces with Professor Eckard Weber, a pharmacologist who, at that time, was at the Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland. After identifying a novel molecule that offered a potential new treatment for schizophrenia, they teamed up with Cambridge NeuroScience, http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911patent.html (1 of 3)6/18/2007 4:36:25 AM CAS Alumni & Development a company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with an eye toward optimization of the drug. With the potential of a major drug discovery came the urgent need for a patent. "Without protection, no company would invest the hundreds of millions of dollars necessary to see a drug to market," says Keana. While the university still didn't have many resources devoted to patents and marketing, Cambridge NeuroScience was willing to pay for the expensive worldwide patents, in exchange for an exclusive license for the discoveries. The project eventually led to Cerestat, a stroke drug currently in the final phase of clinical trials. Subsequently, Keana and fellow researchers started two companies to develop and promote their ideas: Acea (bought out by CoCensys) and Advanced Microbotics (now, Ikonos). Today, universities and researchers recognize that patents can be a big source of revenue. Companies are willing to buy the right to use the technology researchers develop, and the university and its inventors stand to gain royalties if those inventions help the company turn a profit. This promise of profits, along with passage of the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, which allows universities title to inventions funded with federal dollars, prompted the UO in 1992 to open its Technology Transfer Office. The office is responsible for finding a market for the inventions of UO faculty and students. Income from licensing agreements is divided between the inventor, the department, and the university. In the last five years, income from licensing agreements at the UO has grown from $50,000 to $300,000. "Industry has certain objectives for their company. If that need is close to the research that a faculty member is doing in the lab, it can be a wonderful partnership for both of them," says Keana. Though modest, income from the licensing of patents Keana holds has helped fund further research in his lab and the chemistry department. While Keana and others file many patent applications for technology that may never get licensed nor make money, one successful patent can mean millions of dollars for the university. Before their patents expired in 1998, Stanford enjoyed $30 million in revenue from patents on recombinant DNA technology alone. "Unless you have a crystal ball, you don't know which ones will work and which won't," says Transfer Technology Office Director Todd Sherer. Meanwhile, Keana is busy thinking up more inventions. http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911patent.html (2 of 3)6/18/2007 4:36:25 AM CAS Alumni & Development 1245 University of Oregon ? Eugene, OR ? 97403-1245 (541) 346.3950 ? FAX (541) 346.3282 ? alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu Copyright ? 1999 University of Oregon Updated March 27, 2001 UO HOME ADMISSIONS FINANCIAL AID CAS HOME SEARCH http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911patent.html (3 of 3)6/18/2007 4:36:25 AM CAS Alumni & Development Blazing New Trails Bill Harbaugh Takes a New Approach to Studying Economic Behavior Bill Harbaugh Bill Harbaugh and daughter, Annie, choose reward incentives. Bill Harbaugh remembers a time back in graduate school when he and friend Kate Krause -- the only students in their graduate classes who had young children -- would jokingly tell their friends that they were working on a paper called "Economic Experiments that You Can Perform at Home on Your Children." But, after they graduated, the economists they met at conferences kept telling them it was a good idea, and so they decided to take it seriously. Today, with the help of grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the MacArthur Foundation, Harbaugh, a UO assistant professor of economics, and Krause, who teaches at the University of New Mexico, are breaking new ground with their studies on the economic behavior of children. Parents who pay their children an allowance or who worry about whether their children are learning to save money or just spend it, might think that studying children's economic behavior is an obvious idea. But Harbaugh says he and Krause are the first http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911harbaugh.html (1 of 4)6/18/2007 4:36:35 AM CAS Alumni & Development economists to try to systematically study children. "One reason we're interested in children is because economists often don't really know why adults act the way they do," Harbaugh says. "Economists believe that adults act rationally, in ways that they hope will satisfy their desires, but we really have very little idea how they got those particular tastes and preferences. We think that by studying children, we can help fill in part of that gap." Already Harbaugh and Krause's studies have yielded some interesting results. Their studies show that children, when faced with economic choices, generally behave like adults. This became evident during some of their first experiments, which were tried on their children and their children's friends. One experiment started as a game. Instead of playing "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" at birthday parties, kids would play the "Sharing Game." Krause would put the children in groups, then each child would receive tokens that he or she could either keep for themselves or give to the group. Every token donated to the group would result in every person in the group getting one-third of a token. So, sharing a token would mean less for them personally, but more for the group. Harbaugh says the results from the birthday parties (replicated later in the lab!) showed that by age six, in terms of altruism, kids are already behaving like adults. Adults are surprisingly generous in these sorts of experiments -- they usually share about one-third of their tokens with the group. "It's fascinating. Adults have a pretty sophisticated taste for altruism. For example, when it becomes cheaper to give, they will give more. We found six-year-old kids doing exactly the same thing." In another set of experiments, Harbaugh and Krause study children's risk behavior. Others have found that adult women are less willing to take risks than men are. This leads to male/ female differences in economic outcomes. Harbaugh and Krause are interested in what causes this difference and are currently running experiments on entire families to see at what age it develops and whether it runs in families. "We bring them [families] into the lab, split them up, and then give each family member a set of possible financial risks to consider. When they've made their choices, we spin a wheel, and pay the parents in cash and the children in toys." While children exhibit similar preferences to adults in many of their economic behaviors, one area that changes dramatically as children grow older is their saving behavior. While adults are usually willing to save money for the future at a 10 percent rate of return, Harbaugh and Krause's studies show that for kids the return has to be astronomically bigger -- well over 1000 percent. So, somewhere between the age of six and the age of twenty- http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911harbaugh.html (2 of 4)6/18/2007 4:36:35 AM CAS Alumni & Development six, the willingness to save changes dramatically. This is important because the more willing we are to save, the more capital we will have and the richer a society we will be. Even just a slight increase in the willingness to save more can produce a lot more capital, and eventually a much richer society, Harbaugh says. Yet economists have absolutely no idea what determines this willingness to save -- and he thinks the answer is probably going to be found by studying children. Harbaugh says he and Krause learned early on that you can't conduct experiments on children in the same way that you do with adults. "If you read instructions to kids, like you do to adults, they quickly lose interest," he says. So to encourage kids to participate, they first show them a big box filled with stuff that kids like; incentives to be offered as rewards depending on how well kids "play the game" and give them their undivided attention. Harbaugh says kids love the experiments. "They are totally into it because they are used to playing games and the rewards are appealing." Tim Berry, an undergraduate economics major who assists Harbaugh with his research, has observed that children are much more willing subjects than adults. "Adults are usually more reluctant subjects given the time involved and require payment for their participation," he says. "Children are excited to be involved in the experiment. They also seem to be very interested in the results of the experiment and the implications of these results." Berry's paid position as one of Harbaugh's assistants is the result of the NSF grant Harbaugh received last year, which includes funds to provide research experiences for undergraduates. Each year, Harbaugh is able to hire three to four undergraduates to help conduct experiments in area schools. Students study the concepts that interest them the most, and work with Harbaugh to design an experiment focused on their interest. This hands-on participation gives students unique opportunities to contribute to the field of economics. Berry says his interest was in observing how socialization affects behavior and comparing the analytical and decision- making skills of children and adults. "The highlight of my research was observing a correlation between math ability and decision-making ability in sixth graders." "My students can pick a topic, study it in children, and it's new knowledge. This is very rare for economics because so many topics have already been very thoroughly explored," Harbaugh says. "With this project, I find myself learning new and interesting things from a 21-year-old undergraduate." This same opportunity to contribute to this new, unexplored area definitely http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911harbaugh.html (3 of 4)6/18/2007 4:36:35 AM CAS Alumni & Development appeals to Harbaugh, too. 1245 University of Oregon ? Eugene, OR ? 97403-1245 (541) 346.3950 ? FAX (541) 346.3282 ? alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu Copyright ? 1999 University of Oregon Updated March 27, 2001 UO HOME ADMISSIONS FINANCIAL AID CAS HOME SEARCH http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911harbaugh.html (4 of 4)6/18/2007 4:36:35 AM CAS Alumni & Development The Community Literacy Project Linking Together Practice and Theory Suzanne Clark teaches a class on "Community Literacy" "How can your university knowledge be put to service in the community?" asks the flier to English Professor Suzanne Clark's community literacy class. Apparently by the response received, UO students are interested in finding out the answer. Clark's class is one of four English courses that feeds into the UO English Department's Community Literacy Project. The project not only teaches advanced students about culture and literacy, but also it gives them opportunities to apply their skills in the community as literacy volunteers. "To date, over 100 students have participated in this program, and they say they have gained a great deal -- new insights, new confidence and most of all the positively addictive feeling of having accomplished something real," says Clark. She emphasizes that many of the volunteer experiences frequently require students to take a lot of initiative and responsibility. "They often must take charge of a situation and develop the best methods to work out the literacy issues involved, from choosing books to developing assignments to schlepping http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911literacy.html (1 of 4)6/18/2007 4:36:44 AM CAS Alumni & Development computer equipment or directing dramas or video production." Clark says the students' practicums are combined with classes -- unlike most internship programs -- in order to take advantage of the interaction between theory and practice. The classes present the theory and history of cultural, critical and community literacies, youth literature, and ways of assisting others in writing and reading projects. The service learning component places students in schools, government agencies and community nonprofits. Each year, a number of UO students volunteer at Skipworth, a juvenile detention center in Eugene. Martha Evans, the volunteer coordinator and training manager for the Lane County Department of Youth Services, says academic failure is one of the known risk factors for chronic juvenile offenders. Many of the youth at Skipworth have not attended school regularly and frequently come from homes where education and reading are not valued. Evans says they need individual attention to make the gains necessary to return to and be successful in public schools. UO students help by tutoring the youths individually, and working with them on vocabulary, phonics and comprehension skills. Keren Levine, who took English Professor Betsy Wheeler's class on "Youth Literature and Service Learning," volunteered at Roosevelt Middle School. She says the experience gave her the opportunity to "try on the teacher's role." Levine set the children to work on their tasks, worked one-on-one with them, informally assessed their progress, and led small discussion groups. Levine and her university classmates shared their volunteer experiences in a roundtable format during class. "This peer support and trouble-shooting was extremely useful to all of us," says Levine. In addition to enabling students to gain experience in the off- campus world and the satisfaction of putting knowledge to work, the Community Literacy Project has other important benefits, notes Clark, such as helping build a bridge between the university and the community. "We do hope our students approach literacy broadly, with the idea that "literacy" implies the capacity of a person to fully participate as a citizen and member of the community, and not just the ability to decode words. We encourage them to volunteer at sites that will enable them to do that." The project also brings community members and teachers to campus where they participate in literacy and youth literature courses as speakers, panel members and students. http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911literacy.html (2 of 4)6/18/2007 4:36:44 AM CAS Alumni & Development Levine thinks university students should be a visible volunteer force in the community. "Giving back to the community something of what we've been given is an ethic that has been with us for centuries and needs to be reinvented in every generation in response to changing needs." Levine would like to see a community service graduation requirement at the UO. Because of the Community Literacy Project's success as a pilot program for the past two years, this fall -- pending funding -- the English department plans to formalize the writing project by bringing it under the supervision of the Center for the Teaching of Writing. The department also hopes to provide fellowships that will encourage the participation of more community members in the courses. 1245 University of Oregon ? Eugene, OR ? 97403-1245 (541) 346.3950 ? FAX (541) 346.3282 ? alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu Copyright ? 1999 University of Oregon Updated March 27, 2001 UO HOME ADMISSIONS FINANCIAL AID CAS HOME SEARCH http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911literacy.html (3 of 4)6/18/2007 4:36:44 AM CAS Alumni & Development A Missing Link Discovered Daniel Falk Finds Life in Dead Sea Scrolls Daniel Falk, a recent arrival in the Department of Religious Studies, has spent a lot of time poring over photographs of old manuscript fragments. But as Oregon's resident expert on the Dead Sea Scrolls, he is piecing together more than two-thousand-year-old texts. By studying the liturgical writings of an ancient Essene settlement, Falk has gained insight into Jewish practices and prayers during a period scholars know little about. The Dead Sea Scrolls are ancient writings discovered, in 1947, in caves on the Dead Sea's western shore. The most famous of these, found near the ruins of a settlement by Wadi Qumran, date from the third century B.C. to the middle of the first century A.D., and apparently served as a kind of library for an isolated Jewish community. The manuscripts consist of biblical texts (along with what is known as the Apocrypha), hymns, prayers, and rules for community living. The biblical writings predate other extant manuscripts of the Bible by a thousand years. This has provided scholars with startling evidence that ancient scribes were exceedingly accurate in copying biblical manuscripts yet tolerated diverse textual traditions of the same writings in a single community. Falk says the scrolls "give witness to a very rich culture of writing and intellectual development that we otherwise don't have good access to." Falk has been primarily interested in the prayer texts that are part of the scrolls. On the basis of his Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge, Falk published Daily, Sabbath, & Festival Prayers in the Dead Sea Scrolls (Brill, 1998), in which he argues that ordinary Jewish people prayed at specific times and in specific http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911falk.html (1 of 3)6/18/2007 4:36:55 AM CAS Alumni & Development ways even during the Second Temple period. Scholars typically have held that liturgical and obligatory prayers developed in Judaism only after the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70 -- as a replacement for it. While the Hebrew Bible contains no laws on prayer, the practice was highly regulated and ritualized by the second century A.D. When and how did liturgical and obligatory prayer develop in Judaism? Falk says with the Dead Sea Scrolls "we find the missing link." After completing his Ph.D. at Cambridge, Falk did post- doctorate research at the University of Oxford and the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies before joining the UO's religious studies faculty. As a member of the editorial team publishing a thirty-seven volume edition and translation of the scrolls, he was involved with reconstructing segments of the Dead Sea Scrolls, piecing together fragments based on damage patterns and other clues. Falk also has had articles in the Journal of Jewish Studies and the Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls. His current research looks into how the Essenes and other communities organized themselves, and how group identity related to biblical interpretations. Falk says he became interested in the Dead Sea Scrolls through his studies of biblical Hebrew and early Judaism. Specifically, he wanted to learn about the link between the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible. "There is quite a considerable gap between the Old Testament and the New Testament," Falk says. "If you don't have the stuff that fits in between, it's a bit jarring." 1245 University of Oregon ? Eugene, OR ? 97403-1245 (541) 346.3950 ? FAX (541) 346.3282 ? alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu Copyright ? 1999 University of Oregon Updated March 27, 2001 http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/cascade/1999autumn/199911falk.html (2 of 3)6/18/2007 4:36:55 AM CAS Alumni & Development Gift Rap? Questions and Answers about Charitable Giving Welcome to Gift Rap, the CAS column about gifts and ways to give them. Gift Rap is for people who wish to make charitable contributions, but need some ideas about the mechanics about giving. If you have a special question or idea for converting an asset to a gift, please send it to alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu. Please remember: CAS development staff members are officers of the University of Oregon. We can offer answers to your questions, but we cannot serve as your personal consultants or advisors. If you are thinking about making a charitable gift, please be sure to obtain independent, professional assistance from an accountant or attorney before making any agreements or signing contracts regarding the transfer of your assets, whether they be in the form of cash, stocks, bonds, real estate, or other property. Contents The Best Laid Plans? (Autumn 2003) The Importance of Annual Gifts (Autumn 2002) Appreciated Stocks (Spring 2002) Estate Tax Phase Out (Fall 2001) Got IRAs? (Fall 2000) http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/giving/giftrap.html (1 of 10)6/18/2007 4:37:03 AM CAS Alumni & Development The Best Laid Plans? ("Gift Rap," Cascade, Autumn 2003) Typically, the phrase ?best laid plans? is followed by tales of mishap or woe. Often, however, the best plans produce the best results. That?s particularly the case when people make plans to make charitable gifts. According to Webster?s, a plan is ?an orderly arrangement of parts of an overall design or objective.? For an increasing number of UO alumni, philanthropy planning has become an important part of either managing an asset base or arranging for future giving?for many, it?s a combination of the two. Here are a couple of examples of vehicles for making ?planned gifts.? WILLS Everyone knows about Wills. In your ?Last Will and Testament,? you record what assets or amounts you intend others to have after you die. In your Will you state your intention to transfer something from your estate to someone else or to charity. Benefits: Wills can be written fairly easily and can be changed with a good degree of ease. The documentation can be as simple as filling out a form obtained online, at a library, or from the local stationer. When you notify a charity of your bequest intentions, you may be eligible for various donor benefits related to publications, event invitations, seminars, etc. And, of course, the charity will gratefully acknowledge your intended generosity. Considerations: Wills may contain a variety of complex provisions for which you might seek the professional help of an attorney. Wills should be completed within the state and/or county of residence, and signed and witnessed in the presence of a notary. Writing and filing a Will won?t give you any tax benefits related to charitable giving. CHARITABLE TRUSTS A charitable trust is a vehicle used to orchestrate your gift of assets to a charity or charities. In creating a Trust, you transfer assets you own to an entity charged with management of those assets during your lifetime or beyond with distribution of the assets at your death or at the end of the term of the Trust. Benefits: Creating a charitable trust carries a tax benefit for you in the year you fund it. The amount of the benefit depends upon such factors as what types of assets you use to fund the Trust, the amount you put into it, your age, what you get in return (in the form of life income or interest), and the length of the term of the Trust. You may instruct the Trust to pay benefits to your survivors for a specified term as well. You may still control these assets if you?re the Trustee, although the Trust will own them. A properly prepared Trust, along with your Will, provides documentation for the final distribution of your assets after you die. Additionally, you become a recognized donor to http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/giving/giftrap.html (2 of 10)6/18/2007 4:37:03 AM CAS Alumni & Development the charities named as beneficiaries. Considerations: You may change your mind about which charities get how much, but, once you establish the Trust, you create an irrevocable commitment to give away your money. It?s important to inform the charities of their future benefit, and what you have in mind for the terms of the gift. You?ll want to be sure your desires are compatible with the mission of the institution you hope to benefit. ?DB Wise But Not Wealthy The Importance of Annual Gifts ("Gift Rap," Cascade, Autumn 2002) Dear Gift Rap: Every time I read your column, you talk about gifts of stock or real estate?big gifts that, frankly, I?m in no position to make. Nevertheless, I?m a loyal alum who?d like to give something back to my alma mater. How can my gifts of $250, or even $500, have the greatest impact? Interested but Not Wealthy Dear Interested: You?ve made my day! Your intentions are both generous and extremely valued. Let me explain. Every year through our Annual Giving Program, alumni like you give something on the order of $300,000 to the various departments, programs, and special projects under the CAS umbrella. In academic year 2001-02, over 3,200 contributed. Annual gift donors play an important role in providing our forty-four departments and programs with directed or discretionary dollars to help support teaching and research in focused ways. As direct funding from the state continues to decrease, your gifts assist our students and faculty in carrying out the important business of higher education. For example, the Economics department uses annual gifts to bring visiting professors to campus; Romance Languages augment several smaller scholarship funds with gift dollars; Chemistry helps support peer tutors and undergraduate poster sessions at which students present their research. Our academic community is sustained in myriad ways through your generosity. In addition to department and program giving, many of our CAS alumni designate their gifts for the highest priorities of the liberal arts and sciences. The dean of the college uses these contributions to underpin the broader instructional and research agenda and also to help promote additional http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/giving/giftrap.html (3 of 10)6/18/2007 4:37:03 AM CAS Alumni & Development participation by alumni. For the past several years, unrestricted gifts have been used to launch innovative curriculum across the college, such as the Professional Distinctions Program that began just last year. Aggregate annual support of CAS is an essential component in building a funding package for all the parts of our academic unit. You can?t have the aggregate without the individuals who make up the whole. Please know that we?re very grateful for the assistance. For more ideas about making annual gifts, please see 10 Ways to Make a Difference. Appreciated Stocks How Can I Be So Rich and Feel So Poor? ("Gift Rap," Cascade, Spring 2002) Dear Gift Rap: In calendar 2000, I made charitable gifts using some highly appreciated tech stocks. Since then, many of those stocks have tanked! While I have maintained a relatively diversified portfolio, the overall loss of value to it has been significant. I still want to make charitable contributions to the UO, but don?t know if stock is still the gift vehicle of choice anymore. What are you hearing from other people? Depreciated in Drain Dear Drain: First, thank you for your prior giving and for your intention to continue as a donor. You represent that solid gold cohort of alumni and friends whose annual gifts help us to maintain the quality of teaching and research we have come to expect at the UO. Second, let?s address your concern about using stocks to make gifts. One of the folks on campus who keeps track of stock gift transactions has confirmed that such gifts in aggregate were down for the busy season between September and the end of December. This has clearly been the case across the charitable giving sector. However, there are still many people taking advantage of this very efficient way to make charitable gifts. Indeed, among the stock brokers with whom we typically do business, most made their charitable gifts using appreciated stock again in 2001. And they encourage their clients who have gift intentions to do the same. Although the markets are down, many people purchased stock several years ago and have seen significant appreciation in individual stocks from the time they bought them. Many stocks soared during the boom years, and http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/giving/giftrap.html (4 of 10)6/18/2007 4:37:03 AM CAS Alumni & Development subsequently fell back from their high points. Nevertheless, a lot of these same stocks have a far greater value than their original purchase price. Here?s an illustration: you bought ZipCo stock for $10 a share in 1985. By 2000, it had split twice and was selling at $85. But, its value dropped precipitously during 2001; it?s now selling at $50. But look: you now have perhaps 4 times the number of shares that you started with, and each one is worth $40 more than what you paid for it! You have been thinking of starting a scholarship fund or a faculty retention fund at the UO, and were going to do so with a gift of $25,000. If you sold your ZipCo stock to create the cash for such a gift, you?d have to pay tax on the difference between what you paid for the stock and it?s current sale price (500 shares x $40 per share x 20% long term capital gain = $4,000). By transferring the shares to the UO Foundation, you would get a tax deduction for the fair market value of the stock and you pay no capital gain tax on the transaction. It?s not too early to begin planning your charitable gifts for 2002, and to consider what kind of assets you will use to make your gifts. For many people, a direct transfer of appreciated stock or mutual fund shares is still a very efficient way to make charitable gifts. But the key word here is planning. You may want to evaluate your portfolio and discuss your intentions with your broker, financial advisor, or accountant. Dear Gift Rap: The formerly amazing stock markets of not long ago gave me a great tool for making gifts to my favorite charities, the UO being top of my list. I had created a special portfolio of stocks to give me some extra income and to build a nice equipment fund for the UO?s biology department. Ultimately, the UO will get the remainder of the portfolio when I die. At present, it?s worth about $250,000. Since the markets have stopped soaring, I?m wondering if you have some ideas about how I can use my ?UO Stock Fund? over time to make my gifts, get some income, and perhaps keep the principal from eroding too much. Pondering in Pendleton Dear Pondering: The preceding illustration offered a great opportunity to suggest planning an annual strategy for making charitable gifts. You have taken this notion several steps further by developing a long term gift plan. In executing the plan you have already benefited the UO, and for this we are very grateful. However, it sounds like you?re wondering what you can do to continue the plan given a downturn in the market that might have an adverse impact on your ultimate gift to the UO. A charitable trust, established with the University of Oregon Foundation (UOF), could be the way to continue with your plan in full measure. The UOF will convert your stock to a fund that will pay you income for the rest of your http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/giving/giftrap.html (5 of 10)6/18/2007 4:37:03 AM CAS Alumni & Development life. By giving the stock to the UOF, you will avoid paying the gains taxes you would have incurred had you sold the stocks yourself. While you will have to pay regular income tax on the distributions you get from the trust, you may well mitigate these by making your annual gifts to the biology department. There are additional benefits as well ? you will get a tax deduction in the year you establish the charitable trust ? you can choose fixed amount trust payments, or variable payments that will be tied to the performance of the trust investments ? the final distribution to benefit the biology department may well exceed your original intentions It?s important to note that the formula for figuring income and tax deduction is dependent upon your age and a few other criteria. As with any such vehicle, it?s always important to consult with your own financial advisors before signing away your assets. Estate Tax Phase Out By Terri Krumm, Director, UO Office of Gift Planning ("Gift Rap," Cascade, Fall 2001) Dear Gift Rap: I?m 58 and my wife is 56. Over the past several years, we have enjoyed sharing our good fortune with our alma mater, the UO, and would like to continue doing so. Our goal is to make a lasting difference for the Department of Geography. We were planning to do this via our wills. Does that still make sense with the estate tax phase out and repeal? Is estate planning a thing of the past? What should we be concerned with now? Planning in Portland Dear Planning: You raise some good questions. Even with a repeal of the estate tax, estate planning will still be necessary because, under the new law, the tax burden will be shifted from the estate to the heirs. Congress has legislated for the repeal of the estate tax three times in the past, yet those laws were defeated before they could be enacted. The estate tax repeal provision calls for a phase-out of the estate tax during the years 2002 to 2010. In 2010, Congress must re- enact the law for it to continue to be effective. Here is a chart of the phase-out schedule: http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/giving/giftrap.html (6 of 10)6/18/2007 4:37:03 AM CAS Alumni & Development ESTATE TAX PHASE-OUT SCHEDULE Year Exempt Amount Maximum Rate 2002 $1,000,000 50% 2003 1,000,000 49% 2004 1,500,000 48% 2005 1,500,000 47% 2006 2,000,000 46% 2007 2,000,000 45% 2008 2,000,000 45% 2009 3,500,000 45% 2010 Tax Repealed 0% The effect of the repeal of the estate tax: In the year 2010, property inherited by heirs in excess of the exemption amounts will be subject to capital gains tax when it is sold. Under the previous law, the heirs received the assets on a "stepped-up" basis, and the estate paid taxes on the appreciation of the property. With the repeal of the estate tax, the estate will no longer pay tax; however, the heirs will. Under this scenario, the heirs will not receive a "stepped-up" basis on the assets. Instead, they will receive the assets at "carryover" basis, which is the value of the original basis. The effect of this will be that if the heirs liquidate the asset, they will have to pay capital gains tax, currently at a rate of 20%, on all appreciation of the asset from the original date of acquisition. But remember, the repeal is slated for 2010. A lot could happen between now and then. Also even under the new law, retirement plan assets (and IRAs) will still be subject to income tax of up to 35%-38.6% by the recipient. So, these are good assets to give to the College of Arts and Sciences, because the University of Oregon Foundation is a nonprofit corporation, and will not have http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/giving/giftrap.html (7 of 10)6/18/2007 4:37:03 AM CAS Alumni & Development to pay income taxes on these tax-deferred assets, like an heir would. In fact, IRAs are still one of the best assets to give to charities, because the taxes incurred on them before they reach the heirs would amount to the heirs receiving twenty-five cents on the dollar, until 2010, at least. Planning your estate is a journey that involves a look into your future and what you would like to accomplish in your life. First, consider your needs. What portion of your wealth are you going to need now and in retirement to assure financial independence? Second, after providing for your financial independence, what do you want to provide for your family? What values could you pass on to them? Third, what legacy do you want to leave that reaches beyond your family, to your community? This legacy can also communicate your values and create a legacy for future generations. One way you could establish an enduring legacy is by supporting the College of Arts and Sciences through a gift to the University of Oregon Foundation. Many people think that estate planning involves attorneys, accountants, and other advisers. Actually, the process begins with you. So, take an active role in planning your future and deciding what kind of difference you would like to make in your lives, the lives of family members, and your community. The College of Arts and Sciences development staff will be happy to discuss your estate plans with you and give you ideas. Got IRAs? ("Gift Rap," Cascade, Fall 2000) Dear Gift Rap: I?ll be 68 next year, and my husband turns 70 in December. We?re both working, although I plan to retire soon. Our long-term financial picture looks good: we have pensions, a solid stock portfolio and significant assets in IRAs. We started opening IRAs twenty years ago, so the funds have accumulated quite a bit. We want to share our good fortune with the UO and would like to establish a fund for faculty in the Department of Philosophy. Originally we were going to transfer some of our IRA assets to the UO, thinking they worked like stock. However, I was told that we cannot simply transfer the IRAs to the UO Foundation?that first we must take distributions as regular income, pay the tax, and then give away cash. Is this correct? We were thinking of using the IRAs for charities and passing some along to our kids. What are our options? Lottsa IRAs in Bend http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/giving/giftrap.html (8 of 10)6/18/2007 4:37:03 AM CAS Alumni & Development Dear Bend: Thanks for your question. Your desire to increase your charitable giving is admirable. Making such an investment at the UO will have an important impact. Any of our staff would be pleased to discuss gift options with you. Regarding your Individual Retirement Annuity (IRA) dilemma, many folks find themselves in a similar situation. You are correct about how you may use your IRA to make a charitable gift: at present, you cannot simply transfer IRA assets to a charity, but first must take the distribution and then make a cash gift. Also, beginning at age 701/2, you must take minimum IRA distributions, and these are treated as regular income with concomitant income tax liabilities. Additionally, IRAs are opened with after-tax dollars, and the tax on the growth is deferred until you start taking distributions. The hitch is that whatever you do not use during your lifetime is subject to significant taxation upon your death. Under the current rules, if you leave a large portfolio of IRAs, there?s a very high probability that a huge percentage of your remaining IRA assets will go to pay the taxes on the accumulated growth. It?s not uncommon to have as much as 80 percent of the remainder go to taxes, leaving little of the IRAs for either a bequest or inheritance. In most cases, you do have some recourse. Depending on the limitations of the individual account, you can make a charitable organization, like the UO Foundation, beneficiary of your IRAs. This may reduce your estate?s tax liability relative to the IRAs. Second, and in the near term, you can use the IRA distribution to make a cash gift. Because it?s cash, you can claim a charitable deduction of up to 50 percent of your adjusted gross income (AGI) in the year you make the gift. If you can?t use the entire deduction that year, you can carry it forward for five more years. The deduction for appreciated property (stock, real estate) is 30 percent (and you avoid the capital gain tax). Many people find that they can make a pretty substantial gift using IRA funds and limit?if not mitigate entirely?the tax on the IRA distribution. Here?s an example: Your AGI of $150,000 includes an IRA distribution of $50,000. You give $50,000 in cash to the UO Foundation to establish a faculty fund in philosophy. You can deduct the entire $50,000, thereby reducing your taxable income to $100,000. But please consider consulting with your accountant or tax advisor if you have not already done so. It is very important to review IRAs and the contracts that stipulate the terms of distributions. It also will be useful to get a head start on your tax planning for this year, especially if you?re contemplating a pretty big change in your income picture. You?ll want to give yourselves plenty of time for filing the necessary paperwork for IRA distributions. It can sometimes be a lengthy process. Don?t wait until November to start the process. http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/giving/giftrap.html (9 of 10)6/18/2007 4:37:03 AM CAS Alumni & Development I referred earlier to the rules about IRAs as they apply today. Several pieces of legislation currently are pending that may well change how, when and to whom you can give your IRA assets. The changes may occur soon, or could take years. In the meantime, it is possible to formulate strategies for using your IRA assets to best suit your living expense and charitable contribution plans. 1245 University of Oregon ? Eugene, OR ? 97403-1245 (541) 346.3950 ? FAX (541) 346.3282 ? alumnidev@cas.uoregon.edu Copyright ? 2003 University of Oregon Updated October 3, 2003 UO HOME ADMISSIONS FINANCIAL AID CAS HOME SEARCH http://cas.uoregon.edu/alumnidev/giving/giftrap.html (10 of 10)6/18/2007 4:37:03 AM