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The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a
public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kn ...
in
Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, ...
. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm
Nike, Inc Nike, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational corporation that is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services. The company is headquartered ne ...
, and its co-founder, billionaire Phil Knight. UO is also known for serving as the filming location for the 1978 cult classic '' National Lampoon's Animal House''. UO's 295-acre campus is situated along the
Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward b ...
. The school also has a satellite campus in Portland; a marine station, called the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, in Charleston; and an observatory, called Pine Mountain Observatory, in Central Oregon. UO's colors are green and yellow. The University of Oregon is organized into nine colleges and schools: the College of Arts and Sciences, Charles H. Lundquist College of Business, College of Design, College of Education, Robert D. Clark Honors College, School of Journalism and Communication; School of Law; School of Music and Dance; and the Graduate School. Furthermore, UO offers 316 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Most academic programs follow the 10 week Quarter System. The university is
classified Classified may refer to: General *Classified information, material that a government body deems to be sensitive *Classified advertising or "classifieds" Music *Classified (rapper) (born 1977), Canadian rapper * The Classified, a 1980s American ro ...
among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and is a member of the Association of American Universities. Since July 2014, UO has been governed by its own
board of trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit org ...
. UO student athletes compete as the
Ducks Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...
and are part of the
Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Divisi ...
in the
National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
(NCAA). With eighteen varsity teams, the Oregon Ducks are best known for their football team and track and field program. These two teams are even incorporated into the design of the school's "O" logo. In the summer of 2022, UO hosted the
2022 World Athletics Championships The 2022 World Athletics Championships was the eighteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships. It was held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, United States, from July 15–24, 2022, with the country hosting that competition for the fi ...
. It was the first time the event was held in the United States. UO has a long and complex relationship with Nike, Inc., and the firm's co-founder Phil Knight. Knight, an alumnus, has donated over $1 billion to UO since the late-1980s. The school's "O" logo was designed by Nike in 1998 and sports facility projects on campus typically involve both Knight and Nike.


History


The land

The University of Oregon is located on Kalapuya ilihi, the traditional indigenous homeland of the Kalapuya people. Following treaties between 1851 and 1855, Kalapuya people were dispossessed of their indigenous homeland by the United States government and forcibly removed to the Coast Reservation in Western Oregon. Today, Kalapuya descendants are primarily citizens of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians.


Motto

The university's motto, ''mens agitat molem'' translates from Latin as "mind moves mass", or poetically as "minds move mountains." The line comes from the
Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of ...
by
Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...
, Book VI, line 727. The motto ''mens agitat molem'' is now shared with the Eindhoven University of Technology (''Technische Universiteit Eindhoven)'' founded in 1956, the Military Academy of the German Armed Forces (''Führungsakademie der Bundeswehr'') founded in 1957, the
University of Warwick , mottoeng = Mind moves matter , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £7.0 million (2021) , budget = £698.2 million (2020 ...
founded in 1965.


Early years

Despite state funding woes, the
Oregon State Legislature The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the H ...
established the university on October 12, 1872, and named it Oregon State University. The residents of Eugene struggled to help finance the institution, holding numerous
fundraising Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...
events such as strawberry festivals, church socials, and produce sales. They raised $27,500, enough to buy eighteen acres of land at a cost of $2,500. The doors opened in 1876 with the name of "Oregon State University" and University Hall as its sole building. The first year of enrollment contained 155 students taught by five faculty members. The first graduating class was in 1878, graduating five students. In 1881, the university was nearly closed; it was $8,000 in debt before
Henry Villard Henry Villard (April 10, 1835 – November 12, 1900) was an American journalist and financier who was an early president of the Northern Pacific Railway. Born and raised by Ferdinand Heinrich Gustav Hilgard in the Rhenish Palatinate of the Kin ...
donated $7,000 to help pay it. In 1913 and 1932, there were proposals to merge the university with what is now
Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering ...
. Both proposals were defeated.


Maturity as a university

During Prince Lucien Campbell's tenure as president from 1902 to 1925, the university experienced tremendous growth. The budget, enrollment, facilities, and faculty members all grew several times its amount prior to his presidency. Numerous schools were also established during his tenure, including the School of Music in 1902, the School of Education in 1910, the
School of Architecture This is a list of architecture schools at colleges and universities around the world. An architecture school (also known as a school of architecture or college of architecture), is an institution specializing in architectural education. Africa ...
, the College of Business in 1914, the School of Law in 1915, the School of Journalism in 1916, and the School of Health and Physical Education in 1920. However, the University of Oregon lost its School of Engineering to Oregon Agricultural College, now known as
Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering ...
. In 1917, a "three term" (quarter system) calendar was adopted by the university faculty as a war-time measure. This academic calendar has remained ever since then. However, it is now referred to as the Quarter System. The Zorn-MacPherson Bill in 1932 proposed the University of Oregon and
Oregon State College Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering ...
(now "University") merge. The bill lost in a landslide vote of over 6 to 1. The University of Oregon Medical School was founded in 1887 in Portland and merged with Willamette University's program in 1913. However, in 1974 it became an independent institution known as Oregon Health Sciences University. In 1969, the UO was admitted into the Association of American Universities. UO served as the filming location for the 1978 cult classic '' National Lampoon's Animal House''.


Recent history

The university occupies over 80 buildings. In recent years there have been numerous construction projects on campus. These projects were commissioned in part to support current student enrollment as well as possible future increases. In 2016, the university removed the name of Frederic Stanley Dunn, head of the Classics department in the 1920s and 30s, from a dormitory named after him, "Dunn Hall", because of his leading role in the
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Cat ...
. UO hosted the 2022 World Championships in Athletics.


Declining state support

Measure 5 established limits on property taxes in Oregon. This impacted the state budget, and lead to budget and programmatic cuts at UO starting the 1990s. UO has initiated three capital campaigns in the last 30 years. The first campaign of this era was launched with a goal of $150 million. It ended up raising a total of $255.3 million between 1992 and 1998. With financial support from the state dwindling from 40% to 13% of the university budget, in January 2001, University President Dave Frohnmayer began Campaign Oregon with the goal of raising $600 million by December 2008, the most ambitious philanthropic fundraising campaign in the state's history at the time. With contributions exceeding $100 million from benefactors such as Phil Knight and Lorry I. Lokey, the campaign goal was exceeded by over $253 million. In the fall of 2014 the institution announced that it would attempt to raise $2 billion from donors. This campaign's quiet-phase began in 2010, and $700 million was raised before the campaign was announced to the public. This number was revised to $3 billion in the fall of 2018. In October 2016, it was announced Phil Knight and his wife Penny will contribute $500 million to establish the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact. The donation will be dispersed over a ten-year period. At the time it was the largest donation to a public research university. Knight gave an additional $500 million to the Knight Campus in 2021. In 2022,
Steve Ballmer Steven Anthony Ballmer (; March 24, 1956) is an American business magnate and investor who served as the chief executive officer of Microsoft from 2000 to 2014. He is the current owner of the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball As ...
made a large gift of $425 million to fund a new institute for children's behavioral health. According to the publication
The Chronicle of Higher Education ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals (staff members and administrators). A subscription is required to re ...
, as of 2022, UO has received three of the twenty largest gifts in higher education history. The Chronicle's list includes prominent global initiatives such as the Gates Millennium Scholars Program, and the George Soros funded Open Society University Network. All gifts were received during Schill's tenure as president.


Support from Nike and Phil Knight

The school's "O" logo was officially adopted by the university as a whole in 2002. Designed by Nike, it was first adopted by the athletic program in late-1998. The inside of the logo is said to depict
Hayward Field Hayward Field is a track and field stadium in the northwest United States, located on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. It has been the home of the university's track and field teams since 1921, and was the on-campus ho ...
, the institution's track and field venue. The outside of the logo is said to represent
Autzen Stadium Autzen Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in the northwest United States, in Eugene, Oregon. Located north of the University of Oregon campus, it is the home field of the Oregon Ducks of the Pac-12 Conference. Opened in 1967, the stadium h ...
, which is UO's football stadium. Phil Knight has financed hundreds of millions of dollars worth of construction projects on UO's campus going back to the late-1980s. Knight contributed to the renovation and expansion of the Main Library, now called the
Knight Library Knight Library is the main facility of the University of Oregon's (UO) library system. It is located on the university's campus in Eugene, Oregon, United States. The library design is emblematic of the architecture of the university's older buildin ...
, and the construction of the William W. Knight Law Center. Knight did not make a major contribution to academics between 1996 and 2016. Knight is widely known in the sports world as a prominent athletic booster. Knight also has contributed to, and managed, the construction of various athletic department facilities. Knight's involvement in said projects usually does not involve any university oversight, making them controversial. Knight also financed the majority of the Hayward Field renovation project, which cost over $270 million according to the UO Athletic Department.


Push for independence

In 2010, the newly installed UO president, Richard Lariviere, proposed establishing a new governance and funding model for UO. The New Partnership, as it became known, sought to establish an independent board and large endowment to fund the university into the future. Funding had become too low and unpredictable for UO officials, and the new model would provide the university with a consistent stream of funding and the legal freedom to borrow money for large capital projects. Lariviere's proposal called for $800 million in state bonds and "an equal amount" of private gifts. The new funds would provide a large boost to UO's then modest endowment. In a 2010 interview, UO booster Phil Knight discussed the New Partnership. Knight explained that Lariviere's plan would allow UO greater control and possibly allow it to set its own tuition for in-state students. Ultimately, the New Partnership failed. Lariviere was fired in late-2011. Neither the governance proposal or funding model was established during his presidency. On March 31, 2012, a Political Action Committee called Oregonians For Higher Education Excellence was formed by Columbia Sportswear CEO Tim Boyle. As of May 23, 2012, the organization has raised over $320,000. Notable contributors to the PAC include, Phil Knight, Patrick Kilkenny, and Tim Boyle. According to Boyle, the PAC's stated goal was to help facilitate an increase in autonomy at the University of Oregon. In reaction to a growing movement to establish an independent university board, the Oregon Legislature in 2013 passed SB 270, requiring local governing boards for the state's three largest institutions. Effective July 1, 2014, the University of Oregon became an independent public body governed by the Board of Trustees of the University of Oregon. Proponents of local governing boards believe an independent board will give the university more autonomy, and free it from relying on inadequate state funding. On August 6, 2014, Michael R. Gottfredson resigned as president. In the summer of 2014, former UO president
Robert Berdahl Robert Max Berdahl (born March 15, 1937) is a retired American college and university administrator. Biography Born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Berdahl received a Bachelor of Arts from Augustana College in 1959. Additionally, he obtained a Ma ...
told the president of the university's board of trustees he believes UO risks losing its membership in the Association of American Universities. To address this growing concern, UO began preparing several initiatives which include a cluster-hire and a capital campaign. On April 14, 2015, it was announced that Michael H. Schill would become the next president of the university. This was the board's first major move since the previous president resigned. Michael H. Schill became the university's president in the summer of 2015. In June 2015, UO's endowment surpassed the $700 million mark.


Academics

As of Fall 2014, UO offered 272 degree programs. The UO student body is composed of students from all 50 of the United States, the
District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle (Washington, D.C.), Logan Circle, Jefferson Memoria ...
, two U.S. territories, and 89 countries around the world. As of Fall 2015, Pre-Business Administration was the most popular undergraduate major at UO (12.3% of all majors), followed by Psychology (6.4%), Human Physiology (5.3%), Economics (4.8%) and Business Administration (4.4%). The University of Oregon is organized into nine colleges and schools. UO's College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) covers a large array of departments in the arts and sciences. The School of Global Studies and Languages is embedded within CAS. The Charles H. Lundquist College of Business (LCB) was founded in 1884 and offers courses in fields such as accounting, decision sciences, entrepreneurship, finance, management, and marketing. The School of Accounting was established in 2017 to oversee the accounting program. The College of Design (COD) was founded by Ellis F. Lawrence in 1914. The college offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in design and policy related fields. The college was known as the School of Allied Arts and Architecture and was renamed in 2017. The college is divided into three schools: School of Architecture & Environment, School of Art + Design, and the School of Planning, Public Policy and Management. The College of Education (COE) was established in 1910 as the School of Education. The Robert D. Clark Honors College (CHC) is a small honors college intended to complement the majors in place at the university by joining select students and faculty for a low student to teacher ratio (25:1 maximum). The School of Journalism and Communication (SOJC) is one of the oldest journalism schools in the United States. The first journalism class was offered in 1901, and it began as a department in 1912, and became a professional school in 1916. The SOJC is located in Allen Hall on the University of Oregon's Eugene campus, and is named for the school's founder, newspaperman Eric Allen. The School of Law was formed in 1884 in Portland and moved to Eugene in early 1915. The School of Music and Dance (SOMD) was initially just the Department of Music in 1886, and developed into the School of Music in 1900. The university previously had a medical school. The University of Oregon Medical School was founded in 1887 in Portland and merged with Willamette University's program in 1913. However, in 1974 it became an independent institution. It is now known as
Oregon Health & Science University Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) is a public research university focusing primarily on health sciences with a main campus, including two hospitals, in Portland, Oregon. The institution was founded in 1887 as the University of Oregon ...
. The university operates on the Quarter system with the exception of the law school, which operates on the Semester System. An academic quarter involves 10 weeks of classes and one week of exams. Minimum full-time study is 12 credits, which translates to 3 courses. Most full-time students will take four academic courses per quarter, or 15-17 credits. With advisor approval students may take up to 24 credits, which translates to approximately a maximum of 6 classes. If students successfully submit a petition to the Academic Requirements Committee they may take more than 24 credits.


Admissions

The University of Oregon's admissions process is "selective" according to '' U.S. News & World Report''. For students entering Fall 2019, 22,329 freshmen were accepted out of 27,358 applicants, an 81.6% acceptance rate, and 4,525 enrolled for a yield of 20.3%. Among freshman students who enrolled in fall 2019, SAT scores for the middle 50% ranged from 560 to 660 for evidence based reading and writing, and 540–650 for math. ACT composite scores for the middle 50% ranged from 22 to 28. The average high school GPA for incoming freshmen was 3.65. Of the 10% of entering freshmen who submitted high school class rank, 26% were in the top tenth of their graduating class, 57% in the top quarter, and 86% in the top half.


Faculty

As of May 2022, at least 19 UO faculty (living or deceased) have been elected to the
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nat ...
. As of the fall of 2017, the university has 2,041 faculty members. Among this group there are 782 tenure and tenure-track (ladder) faculty members. Among US doctoral universities UO is ranked 80th when it come to full professor salaries. However, when other compensation measures are factored in, UO ranks 58th.


Research

The university is a member of the Association of American Universities, a group of leading research universities in the United States. It is also classified as a "Very High Research Activity" university, according to the
Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, or simply the Carnegie Classification, is a framework for classifying colleges and universities in the United States. It was created in 1970 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Adv ...
. UO has comparatively small research spending totals for an AAU level university. According to the
National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National ...
, Oregon spent $111 million on research and development in 2018, ranking it 151st in the nation. The university has 19 research centers and institutes. The university also maintains nine "research core facilities". The Institute of Molecular Biology was established at the university in 1959. Prominent current and former researchers include: Michael Posner, Frank Stahl, George Streisinger and Aaron Novick.


Administration


Accreditation

The university is accredited by the
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) is an independent, non-profit membership organization recognized by the United States Department of Education since 1952 as an institutional accreditor for colleges and universities. ...
, which is recognized by the
United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Departmen ...
.


University governance

The university's internal governance is conducted in accordance with ''The Constitution of the University of Oregon''. The UO Constitution provides a collaborative process that ensures a strong voice for the faculty, acting through the University Senate. The representation of students, civil servants, and administrative employees in the senate ensures this predominantly faculty body operates in the best interests of the entire university community. UO Board of Trustees assumed control in 2014. The trustees have the broad authority to supervise and manage the university and may exercise all the powers, rights, duties and privileges expressly granted by law or that are implied by law or are incident to the board's powers, rights, duties and privileges. Former provost Scott Coltrane served as interim president, from August 6, 2014, through June 30, 2015, following the resignation of Michael Gottfredson. This resignation occurred with less than 24 hours notice amidst a number of controversies, including allegations of mishandling of sexual violence, a decline of $100 million in university donations, and the alienation of faculty members around unionization and academic freedom. Including one interim president, Gottfredson was the university's fourth president in six years, a situation that led
Chronicle of Higher Education ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals (staff members and administrators). A subscription is required to r ...
to label the position a "revolving door." On April 14, 2015 Michael H. Schill was named president, with a start date of July 1, 2015. Campus security is enforced by the University of Oregon Police Department. The department was known as the Department of Public Safety. Formerly a campus security force, the department transitioned to its new role in 2012.


Budget

UO's FY14 operating revenue total $905 million. , the estimated economic impact of the University of Oregon is $2.6 billion annually. Despite a large increase in undergraduate enrollment, state appropriations are less than what they were 10 years prior. The university also receives less state support than many of its peers. According to FY13-14 data from the AAU, UO ranks last in state funding and receives approximately $47.8 million from the state.


Campus

The campus is spread over and includes eighty buildings. Additionally, the campus is an arboretum consisting of 500 species of trees. In total there are over 3,000 trees on campus. It is adjacent to the West University neighborhood and Pioneer Cemetery. Eugene is near many prominent geographic features such as the
Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward b ...
,
Cascade Mountains The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, a ...
and the Pacific Ocean. Also within a two-hour drive is the Portland metropolitan area. The campus is occupied by approximately 80 buildings. However, there are several ongoing construction projects, as well as plans to build new facilities. The campus is the home of the Oregon Bach Festival. Based on Ellis F. Lawrence's vision, many of the university's buildings are planned around several major quadrangles, many of which abut the 13th Avenue pedestrian mall. The university is known for being the site of a pioneering participatory planning experiment known as the Oregon Experiment, which is also the subject of a book of the same name that evolved into the well known book '' A Pattern Language'' by
Christopher Alexander Christopher Wolfgang John Alexander (4 October 1936 – 17 March 2022) was an Austrian-born British-American architect and design theorist. He was an emeritus professor at the University of California, Berkeley. His theories about the nature ...
. The project's two major principles are buildings should be designed, in part, by the people who will use them with the help of an "architect facilitator", and construction should occur over many small projects as opposed to a few large ones. Although academic buildings are spread throughout the campus, most are along East 13th Avenue, with heavy pedestrian traffic at the intersection with Kincaid Street. Student recreation and union centers are toward the center of the campus, with residence halls on the east side. Sports facilities are grouped in the southern-central part of campus with the
Autzen Stadium Autzen Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in the northwest United States, in Eugene, Oregon. Located north of the University of Oregon campus, it is the home field of the Oregon Ducks of the Pac-12 Conference. Opened in 1967, the stadium h ...
and PK Park complexes across the Willamette River. The university also owns and operates several satellite facilities, including a large facility in the White Stag Block of downtown Portland and the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology in Charleston, Oregon. The campus has been smoke and tobacco free since 2012.


Old campus and memorial quad

The oldest section of campus is in the northwest area of the current campus. The university's first building, University Hall, opened on October 16, 1876, when the university had an enrollment of 177 students. It was known as "the building" before being named after Judge Matthew Deady in 1893. The second building on campus is known as Villard Hall and is home to the Theater Arts and Comparative Literature Departments. Completed in 1886, the hall was named after railroad magnate
Henry Villard Henry Villard (April 10, 1835 – November 12, 1900) was an American journalist and financier who was an early president of the Northern Pacific Railway. Born and raised by Ferdinand Heinrich Gustav Hilgard in the Rhenish Palatinate of the Kin ...
, who provided financial aid to the university in 1881. Before its naming, it was known as "the new building." Both University and Villard Halls were designated
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places liste ...
s in 1977. Just south of Old Campus is the Memorial Quad, which runs north and south along Kincaid Street, capped at both ends by the main campus library,
Knight Library Knight Library is the main facility of the University of Oregon's (UO) library system. It is located on the university's campus in Eugene, Oregon, United States. The library design is emblematic of the architecture of the university's older buildin ...
, on the south side, and the Lillis Business Complex on the north. It is flanked on the west by the tallest building on campus, Prince Lucien Campbell Hall, also known as "PLC", Condon Hall on the west, housing the Geography department, and the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art on the east, which was remodeled and reopened on January 23, 2005. Also adjacent to Memorial Quad is Chapman Hall, which houses the Robert D. Clark Honors College.


Central campus

The center of campus houses a mixture of academic buildings, an administration building, and student recreation buildings. Just to the east of Memorial Quad, facing 13th Avenue is Johnson Hall where offices for higher administration and trustee offices are found, including the offices of the university president. Directly across 13th Avenue, facing Johnson Hall is " The Pioneer" a statue of a bearded, buckskin-clad pioneer cast in bronze by sculptor Alexander Phimister Proctor in 1919. In 1932, Proctor's " Pioneer Mother" statue was dedicated in the Women's Memorial Quadrangle on the other side of Johnson Hall; the two statues are aligned so they can "see" one another through the large windows of the hall's main floor. Lawrence Hall is at the end of hardscape walkway, directly north of the intersection of 13th Avenue and University Street. It houses the School of Architecture and Allied Arts and is named after its first dean, Ellis F. Lawrence, in 1957. Allen Hall, opened in 1954, is adjacent to Lawrence Hall and houses the School of Journalism and Communication. Additionally, Erb Memorial Union and the recreation center are in this part of campus.


Lorry I. Lokey Science Complex and east campus

The Lorry I. Lokey Science Complex comprises multiple science buildings to the east of Lawrence Hall, on the north side of 13th Avenue. Willamette Hall's Paul Olum Atrium is the center of the university's hard sciences complex. The construction of the $45.6 million additions of Willamette Hall, home of the physics department; Cascade Hall, home of the geology department; Deschutes Hall, home of the Computer and Information Science Department; and Streisinger Hall to the complex were completed in 1989. Within the Lokey Science Complex are two facilities focused on integrative science. One is the Lokey Laboratories, which is a shared-use facility with state-of-the-art characterization instrumentation. Lokey Laboratories is associated with the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI) and was dedicated to Lorry I. Lokey on February 19, 2008, for his $25 million donation toward the project. It is underground, beneath the quad between Heustis and Deschutes Halls, to minimize vibrations. The newest building, the Lewis Integrative Science Building, sits at the north end of this quad and opened in the fall of 2012. Immediately to the east of the Lokey Science Complex is Oregon Hall, which houses administrative offices including the Office of the Registrar and Office of Admissions. The Allan Price Science Commons and Research Library is also within the Lokey Science Complex. It underwent a major renovation and expansion with the new building reopening in 2016. The northeast corner of campus is home to the Ford Alumni Center and Matthew Knight Arena. Most of the rest of the eastern part of campus is dedicated to residence halls. Carson Hall, near the Erb Memorial Union, provides dining services along with dormitories. Just south is the Living-Learning Center, opened in 2006. It is a collection of functions including dormitories, classrooms, study areas, dining rooms, and recreational rooms to provide a single location for many student activities. The newest residence hall, the Global Scholars Hall, opened in the fall of 2012. It primarily houses returning students and students enrolled in the Robert D. Clark Honors College, College Scholars, and the global scholars language programs.


South campus

The center of south campus is where much of the on-campus athletic facilities reside.
Hayward Field Hayward Field is a track and field stadium in the northwest United States, located on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. It has been the home of the university's track and field teams since 1921, and was the on-campus ho ...
, home to the Ducks track and field program, sits in the eastern area of the athletic facilities. It has hosted a number of prominent track and field events such as the US Track and Field Olympic Trials, the NCAA Track and Field Championships, and
USATF USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 an ...
Championships. To the west of the athletic facilities lies Pioneer Cemetery and further west is where the current facilities for the College of Education exists, in the southwest corner of campus. The HEDCO Education building and the Frohnmayer Music Center are in the vicinity. The Knight Law Center is just opposite of Hayward Field in the southeast corner of campus. The Many Nations Longhouse and the Museum of Natural and Cultural History are East of Knight Law.


Knight Campus

The Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact is a future billion dollar applied science campus. The campus will consist of three state-of-the-art research facilities. The campus will be on the north side of Franklin Boulevard. UO supporters Phil and Penny Knight will donate $500 million towards the endeavor over ten years. The rest of the funding is expected to come from state bonds and private support.


Other areas and satellites

The controversial Riverfront Research Park is a small facility maintained by the university, across Franklin Boulevard from the main campus, next to the Willamette River. The park is used for creating new technologies, such as research about artificial intelligence at the Computational Intelligence Research Lab, and it is the home of the Zebrafish Information Network (ZFIN), the
zebrafish The zebrafish (''Danio rerio'') is a freshwater fish belonging to the minnow family (Cyprinidae) of the order Cypriniformes. Native to South Asia, it is a popular aquarium fish, frequently sold under the trade name zebra danio (and thus often ca ...
model organism A model organism (often shortened to model) is a non-human species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the model organism will provide insight into the workin ...
database. Local controversy has existed since before the development and approval of the site master plan by the City of Eugene in 1989. Controversy stems from the lack of citizen involvement in the planning process for the use of public lands, and the potential for multi-story office buildings and parking lots to replace open space, civic space, and wildlife habitat along the Willamette River. The university and student senates have each passed resolutions against construction on the banks of the Willamette River under the current development plan, yet plans for development persist. In March 2010, the issue of a conditional use permit extension for the Research Park was appealed to the Land Use Board of Appeals by a group of citizens, students, and faculty. The complex for the Ducks football and baseball team is north across the Willamette River. It includes the football stadium (
Autzen Stadium Autzen Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in the northwest United States, in Eugene, Oregon. Located north of the University of Oregon campus, it is the home field of the Oregon Ducks of the Pac-12 Conference. Opened in 1967, the stadium h ...
), the baseball park ( PK Park), an indoor practice football field (Moshofsky Center), a soccer field (Pape Field), an outdoor practice field (Kilkenny Field), and the Casanova Center which includes offices, the athletics Hall of Fame, locker rooms, weight rooms, a film review theater, and a treatment center.


UO Portland

The university also leases space in Old Town Portland in the White Stag Block. UO-Portland provides an urban study environment for the School of Architecture and Allied Arts, the School of Journalism and Communication, the School of Law, and the Lundquist College of Business. Additionally, the Division of Continuing Education, the Labor Education Resource Center, and the Department of Athletics have active offices there. The Duck Store has a shop in the building. In 2022, UO purchased the campus of the now closed
Concordia University Concordia University (French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...
. In 2023, most of UO's academic programs located in Portland will be relocated to this campus.


Sustainability

The undergraduate architecture program is consistently ranked among the highest in the country, and is currently ranked as the #1 public program for "Sustainable Design Practice and Principles" by DesignIntelligence magazine. The University of Oregon received a grade of "B+" from the Sustainable Endowments Institute on its last published College Sustainability Report Card in 2011. There has also been a push for sustainable buildings on campus with a development plan that requires any new building or renovation to incorporate sustainable design. The Lillis Business Complex was the catalyst for the policy. The building, completed in 2003 has earned a LEED Silver rating, the highest rating of any college business building in the United States. , there were 15 different buildings on campus that have been awarded LEED Silver or above ratings. The Green Product Design Network was created by a group of leaders from the UO with expertise in green chemistry, product design, business, communications, and journalism.


Libraries and museums

The multi-branch University of Oregon Libraries serves the campus with library collections, instruction and reference, and a wide variety of educational technology and media services. The UO is Oregon's only member of the Association of Research Libraries. The main branch, the
Knight Library Knight Library is the main facility of the University of Oregon's (UO) library system. It is located on the university's campus in Eugene, Oregon, United States. The library design is emblematic of the architecture of the university's older buildin ...
, houses humanities and social sciences, Learning Commons, Music Services, Government Publications, Maps and Aerial Photos, Special Collections & University Archives, Media Services, the Center for Educational Technologies, and a Cinema Studies lab to be available in Winter 2010. Other branch locations are: * The Design Library in Lawrence Hall (renamed "Design" from the "Architecture & Allied Arts Library" when the school changed its name to the College of Design in summer of 2017) * The John E. Jaqua Law Library in the Knight Law Center * The Loyd & Dorothy Rippey Library at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology in Charleston, Oregon. * The Mathematics Library in Fenton Hall * The Portland Library & Learning Commons in the White Stag Block in Portland, Oregon * The Science Library in the Price Science Commons The UO Libraries hosts Scholars' Bank, an
open access Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which research outputs are distributed online, free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 definition), or libre op ...
(OA) digital repository created to capture, distribute and preserve the intellectual output of the University of Oregon. Scholars' Bank uses open-source
DSpace DSpace is an open source repository software package typically used for creating open access repositories for scholarly and/or published digital content. While DSpace shares some feature overlap with content management systems and document manag ...
software developed by
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of th ...
and
Hewlett-Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...
. The Libraries' Educational Video Group maintains th
UO Channel
which uses streaming media to provide access to campus lectures, interviews, performances, symposia, and documentary productions. The UO is the founding member and host of the Orbis-Cascade Alliance, a consortium of academic and research libraries in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. The combined collections of the Alliance exceed 20 million volumes and can be searched via the Summit union catalog. The Orbis Cascade Alliance serves faculty and the equivalent of more than 258,000 full-time students. In addition to its members, the Alliance extends selected services to more than 280 libraries, museums, archives, and historical societies in seven western states. The Special Collections & University Archives house a collection of Gardner Fox's literary manuscripts, comic books, and other materials, including over 200 letters from fans. It is also the home to a rare collection of thousands of Japanese senjafuda (votive slips), part of the Gertrude Bass Warner Collection. The University of Oregon is home to the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art and the Museum of Natural and Cultural History. There are multiple galleries around the main campus, including (but not limited to): * The LaVerne Krause Gallery in Lawrence Hall * The Adell McMillan Gallery in the Erb Memorial Union * The Aperture Gallery in the Erb Memorial Union * The art gallery on the second floor of the Knight Law Center * The Washburn Gallery in the FAS Ceramics building.


Campus life and events


Special events

UO is home to various special events. One of the most popular and well-known events held on campus is the Oregon Bach Festival. The festival is a donor-sponsored program of the university and the only major music festival affiliated with an American university. Founded in 1970 by German conductor Helmuth Rilling and UO professor (and past president of the American Choral Directors Association) Royce Saltzman, the festival has grown into an international program that draws hundreds of musicians and over 40,000 attendees annually. The festival's focus is choral and orchestral music, and it hosts a professional choir and orchestra each year to perform major works by
Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...
and other composers; it also sponsors a master class in conducting that draws participants from around the world. The festival has presented such artists as Frederica von Stade,
Bobby McFerrin Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. (born March 11, 1950) is an American folk and jazz singer. He is known for his vocal techniques, such as singing fluidly but with quick and considerable jumps in pitch—for example, sustaining a melody while also rap ...
,
Garrison Keillor Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (; born August 7, 1942) is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show ''A Prairie Home Companion'' (called ''Garrison Keillor's Radi ...
, and
Thomas Quasthoff Thomas Quasthoff (born 9 November 1959) is a German bass-baritone. Quasthoff has a range of musical interest from Bach cantatas, to lieder, and solo jazz improvisations. Born with severe birth defects caused by thalidomide, Quasthoff is , and has ...
, who made his American debut in Eugene in 1995. The festival actively commissions and premieres new choral-orchestra works, including pieces by
Arvo Pärt Arvo Pärt (; born 11 September 1935) is an Estonian composer of contemporary classical music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs tintinnabuli, a compositional technique he invented. Pärt's music is in pa ...
, Osvaldo Golijov, and
Tan Dun Tan Dun (, ; born 18 August 1957) is a Chinese-born American composer and conductor. A leading figure of contemporary classical music, he draws from a variety of Western and Chinese influences, a dichotomy which has shaped much of his life and ...
. A Bach Festival recording of the world-premiere performance of Krzyztof Penderecki's ''Credo'' won the 2001
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
for best choral performance. Another popular event held on campus is the men's and women's track and field Olympics Trials. This event has been held on campus for the last three qualifying years (2008, 2012, 2016). Additionally, they have been held five times in all on campus. Furthermore, the campus is hosting the 2021 World Championships in Athletics.


Clubs and groups

There are more than 250 student groups at the University of Oregon, most of which are headquartered in the Erb Memorial Union. In addition to its athletic teams, the university has a competitive intercollegiate
Speech Speech is a human vocal communication using language. Each language uses phonetic combinations of vowel and consonant sounds that form the sound of its words (that is, all English words sound different from all French words, even if they are th ...
and
Debate Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...
team. The University of Oregon Forensics program was founded in 1876, at the same time as the university. Initially the program consisted of two student-formed forensic societies, which developed into "doughnut league" inter-dorm competitions in the 1890s. In 1891, the UO began intercollegiate competition. Forensics continued to grow as a staple of the university's community and by 1911, the team was so successful that it began charging admission to debates. Money raised during these events was often donated to the fledgling University of Oregon football program. Parliamentary debate was integrated into UO Forensics in 1998–99 and the team has been competitive since. In 2001, the UO's Alan Tauber and Heidi Ford claimed a national title, winning the first ever National Parliamentary Tournament of Excellence (NPTE). In 2011, the team of Matt Gander and Hank Fields claimed both national titles, winning the NPTE and the National Parliamentary Debate Association Championship, coached by Thomas Schally, Benjamin Dodds, Sarah Hamid, and Will Chamberlain. The University of Oregon is home to three student-run a cappella groups: Divisi, a treble ensemble; On the Rocks, a TTBB ensemble; and Mind the Gap, a mixed ensemble. All three groups have competed numerous times in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA). On the Rocks placed 3rd at ICCA finals in 2002 and 2nd in 2003. Divisi has competed at ICCA finals three times – the only treble ensemble in the world to do so – in 2005, where they placed 2nd, as well as 2010 and 2016. In 2020, The A Cappella Archive ranked Divisi at #14 all-time among ICCA-competing groups, as well as the highest-ranked treble ensemble.


Media

The University of Oregon has a diverse array of student-run and student-created media, including the ''
Daily Emerald The ''Daily Emerald'' is the independent, student-run weekly newspaper produced at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Its predecessor, the ''Oregon Daily Emerald'' newspaper, founded in 1899, trained many prominent writ ...
'', the '' Oregon Commentator'', and '' Ethos Magazine'', among others. The university is also home of two radio stations: KWAX (classical music) and KWVA (
campus radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...
). For a more exhaustive list of campus media organizations, please see the above linked article.


Government

The Associated Students of the University of Oregon (ASUO) is the
student government A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to so ...
at the University of Oregon. It is a non-profit organization funded by the University of Oregon. Its purpose is to provide for the social, cultural, educational and physical development of its members, and for the advancement of their individual and collective interests both within and without the university. Membership consists of all students at the University of Oregon, who have paid the current term or semester student incidental fee.ASUO About Page
, Associated Students of the University of Oregon website, University of Oregon.
Student participation in governance of the university extends to membership in the University Senate, which has five student members with full voting rights plus the ASUO president as a nonvoting member. Students are also represented on the university's board of trustees by a voting member appointed by the
Governor of Oregon The governor of Oregon is the head of government of Oregon and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. ter ...
. The total FY2014-15 ASUO budget was $15.24 million.


Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation

The University of Oregon Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation (GTFF) was established in 1976 to represent graduate student workers and it is one of the oldest graduate student unions in the U.S. The UO administration objected to the establishment of the union, citing that graduate workers were "students, not employees." The Oregon Employment Relations Board (ERB) ruled in favor of the graduate students and supported their right to organize. The GTFF began organizing its first contract in April 1977 and reached a negotiation with the university administration after two strike votes. In 1993, the GTFF successfully bargained for employer-paid health insurance. In 2014, the GTFF went on strike for the first time. In October, GTFF members voted to authorize a strike over two issues not yet included in the GTF contract: a pay raise to the minimum GTF salary and a form of paid sick leave. The strike lasted a week and overlapped with the university's administration of final examinations. Although the union members accused the university administration of strike breaking activities, intimidation of international students, and unlawful demands, a compromise was reach on December 10 and the strike ended.


Facilities and housing

The Erb Memorial Union (EMU) is the student union, which functions as a center for student life. It sits on the southeast corner of 13th and University St. The EMU underwent a $95 million renovation and expansion project from 2013 to 2016. The wing, built in 1973 was demolished in 2014 to make way for a new wing. Opened in the fall of 2016, the new facility includes improved dining options, faculty and group offices, and meeting spaces. It also features a campus pub operated by local brewery Falling Sky. There is also a bike-share program, multi-purpose auditorium, and craft center. South of the Erb Memorial Union across a small quad is the Student Recreational Center (SRC) which is an exercise and recreation facility. It includes fitness equipment, rock climbing walls, a swimming pool, racquetball courts, an indoor elevated running track and basketball courts. Tennis courts, turf fields, and a running track are outdoors next to the Rec Center. The facility reopened in early 2015 after a major renovation and expansion. The Lyllye Reynolds-Parker Black Cultural Center, named in honor of alumna, civil rights activist, and counselor Lyllye-Reynolds Parker, opened in October 2019. The current Residence Halls are: Barnhart, Bean, Carson, Earl, the Global Scholars Hall, Hamilton, Kalapuya Ilihi, the Living-Learning Center, Riley, and Walton. The newest residence hall, Kalapuya Ilihi, opened in the Fall of 2017 and is named in honor of the indigenous Kalapuya tribe who lived in the Eugene area. Kalapuya Ilihi opened next to Global Scholars Hall, and hosts 531 students, as well as includes an open-space for students and faculty on the ground floor. Additionally, several residence halls are expected to undergo major renovations in the near future.


Traditions

* A cappella groups perform at the venue in front of the EMU on Friday afternoons. * "It never rains at Autzen stadium." – It is a tradition for the announcer to call this out sometime during each football game. * Street Fair – Twice a year, a street fair lines the entire stretch of the University of Oregon campus on 13th Street. It features exceptional food and plenty of arts and crafts. * Each year in May there is University Day, a campus-wide effort by students and faculty/staff to beautify the grounds. It is a single day filled with planting trees, flowers, cleaning up landscapes and making the campus more presentable for the upcoming graduation ceremonies. In 1905 this event replaced the rowdy, destructive and sometimes violent class-on-class Flag Rush days. * Each year, the university community hikes up
Skinner Butte Skinner Butte (often mistakenly called Skinner's Butte) is a prominent hill on the north edge of downtown Eugene, Oregon, near the Willamette River. A local landmark, it honors city founder Eugene Skinner and is the site of the municipal ...
to paint the
Big "O" The Big "O" is a hillside letter representing the University of Oregon, located at Skinner Butte in Eugene, Oregon. Built in 1958, the sign was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 23, 2010. Every year, members of the u ...
overlooking Eugene. * Many people make "O" gestures with their hands to show support for the university. * The Canoe Fete, one of the most beloved past traditions of the university, took place on the Eugene millrace.


Athletics

The University of Oregon is a member of the
Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Divisi ...
and the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision of the
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
. The athletic programs have garnered 28 NCAA team championships, as well as 60 NCAA individual champions in various track and field events. The strength of the track program, as well as its connection to Nike, has made Eugene known as "Track Town, USA". The two primary rivals of the
Oregon Ducks football The Oregon Ducks football program is a college football team for the University of Oregon, located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The team competes at the NCAA Division I level in the FBS and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12). Although ...
team are the
Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac ...
and the
Oregon State Beavers The Oregon State Beavers are the athletic teams that represent Oregon State University, located in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I ( Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for ...
, though they also have a strong rivalry with the
Washington State Cougars The Washington State Cougars (known informally as the Cougs) are the athletic teams that represent Washington State University. Located in Pullman, Washington, WSU is a member of the Pac-12 Conference in NCAA Division I. The athletic program co ...
. The football rivalry with
Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering ...
is one of the nation's oldest. Every year, the two teams face off in the last game of the regular season. The two teams have faced each other nearly every year since 1894 except for five years. Games were not held in 1900, 1901, 1911, 1943, and 1944. The university competes in 14 sports: football, men's and women's basketball, cross country, track and field, baseball, softball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's golf, women's soccer, women's lacrosse, women's volleyball, and acrobatics & tumbling. This does not include club sports which competes at the Division I level in Rugby, Soccer, Rowing, and Waterpolo. As well as women's Division I club athletics in Rowing, Rugby, and Waterpolo. With 20 NCAA championships between them, cross country and track and field are the two programs at the university that have enjoyed the most success. The programs have produced many world-class athletes including Steve Prefontaine and Alberto Salazar, the latter of whom was also a coach until he was banned for life. Nike had been formed by the former track and field head coach
Bill Bowerman William Jay Bowerman (February 19, 1911 – December 24, 1999) was an American track and field coach and co-founder of Nike, Inc. Over his career, he trained 31 Olympic athletes, 51 All-Americans, 12 American record-holders, 22 NCAA champio ...
and former University of Oregon track runner Phil Knight. The successes of the programs have given the name of Track Town, USA to Eugene. Created in 1893, the football team played its first game in 1894 and won its first Rose Bowl in 1917 against the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...
. The 1938–39 men's basketball team, nicknamed the "Tall Firs," won the first-ever NCAA basketball tournament by defeating
Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...
in the March 28, 1939 championship game. Originally recognized as an official sport at the university in 1908, baseball was disbanded in 1981 due to concerns with
Title IX Title IX is the most commonly used name for the federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other educat ...
. In 2007, the athletic director Patrick Kilkenny announced plans to reinstate baseball and to drop wrestling while adding women's acrobatics & tumbling.


Relationship with Nike

The Athletic Department (AD) and university (UO) have a long and complex relationship with Nike Inc. The corporation has significant historical ties to UO. It was founded by two UO alumni. Nike founder Phil Knight is also one of the largest benefactors in the history of UO. In recent years he has invested heavily in developing and maintaining the athletic apparatus.


Mascot

The mascot of the University of Oregon is the fighting duck. The popular
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
character
Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...
has been the mascot for decades, thanks to a handshake agreement between then-Athletic Director Leo Harris and
Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
in 1947. The mascot has been challenged more than a few times in its lifetime. The first came in 1966 when Walt Disney died and the company realized there was no formal contract written for the use of Donald's image. A formal contract was written up in 1973. Potential heirs "Mallard Drake" and "Mandrake" challenged Donald's position in 1978 and 2003 respectively, but both were unpopular and discontinued.


Song

The
fight song A fight song is a rousing short song associated with a sports team. The term is most common in the United States and Canada. In Australia, Mexico, and New Zealand these songs are called the team anthem, team song, or games song. First associated ...
is " Mighty Oregon", written by professor Albert Perfect and student John DeWitt Gilbert in 1916. It has undergone several changes since its original performance.


In fiction and popular culture


Onscreen

The film '' National Lampoon's Animal House'' (1978) was filmed on the university campus and the surrounding area. The building used as the exterior of the Delta House (which belonged to the University of Oregon
Pi Kappa Alpha Pi Kappa Alpha (), commonly known as PIKE, is a college fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1868. The fraternity has over 225 chapters and colonies across the United States and abroad with over 15,500 undergraduate members over 3 ...
chapter) was demolished in 1986, but the interior scenes were shot in the
Sigma Nu Sigma Nu () is an undergraduate college fraternity founded at the Virginia Military Institute on January 1, 1869. The fraternity was founded by James Frank Hopkins, Greenfield Quarles and James McIlvaine Riley shortly after Hopkins witnessed w ...
house, which still stands. The Omega house belongs to the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity and still stands. The sorority house where Bluto climbs the ladder to peek in on the female students was actually the exterior of the Sigma Nu fraternity. Other buildings used during filming include Johnson Hall, Gerlinger Hall, Fenton Hall, Carson Hall, and the Erb Memorial Union (EMU). The EMU dining facility known as "The Fishbowl" was the site of the famous food-fight scene. The Knight Library and the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art can also be seen in the movie. Other films shot at the university include * '' Abe Lincoln in Illinois'' (1940) * '' Five Easy Pieces'' (1970) * '' Drive, He Said'' (1970) * '' How to Beat the High Cost of Living'' (1980) * '' Personal Best'' (1982) * '' Stand By Me'' (1986) (shot primarily in nearby Brownsville) * ''
Without Limits ''Without Limits'' is a 1998 American biographical sports film. It is written and directed by Robert Towne and follows the relationship between record-breaking distance runner Steve Prefontaine and his coach Bill Bowerman, who later co-founded ...
'' (1998) * '' Zerophilia'' (2005) The University of Oregon also appeared in the documentary '' The Hunting Ground'' after allowing three basketball players accused of sexual assault to play in an
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
Tournament. The documentary focuses on campus rape in higher education institutions in the United States.


People


Alumni

File:Sam Adams Nov 2012 (cropped).jpg,
Sam Adams Samuel Adams ( – October 2, 1803) was an American statesman, political philosopher, and a Founding Father of the United States. He was a politician in colonial Massachusetts, a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, and ...
, first openly gay Mayor of Portland File:Suzanne_Bonamici.jpg,
Suzanne Bonamici Suzanne Marie Bonamici ( ; born October 14, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Oregon's 1st congressional district, a seat she was first elected to in a 2012 special election. The district includes m ...
, U.S. Representative from Oregon's 1st district File:Mark-few-USD-vs-Gonzaga-feb-18-08.jpg, Mark Few, current head coach of the
Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball The Gonzaga Bulldogs are an intercollegiate men's basketball program representing Gonzaga University. The school competes in the West Coast Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Gonzaga Bulldogs ...
team File:Neil Goldschmidt.jpg, Neil Goldschmidt, 33rd
Governor of Oregon The governor of Oregon is the head of government of Oregon and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. ter ...
and 6th
United States Secretary of Transportation The United States secretary of transportation is the head of the United States Department of Transportation. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to transportation. The secre ...
File:Justin_Herbert_2021.jpg,
Justin Herbert Justin Patrick Herbert (born March 10, 1998) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oregon, where he won the 2019 Pac-12 Championship and was named ...
, current NFL Quarterback of the
Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...
File:Sabrina Ionescu 2019 Pac 12 Tourney 2019-03-08 (cropped).jpg, Sabrina Ionescu,
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
all-time leader in triple-doubles File:Philknightfootball.jpg, Phil Knight, co-founder of Nike, Inc. File:Marcus Mariota 2018.jpg,
Marcus Mariota Marcus Ardel Taulauniu Mariota (born October 30, 1993) is an American football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted second overall by the Tennessee Titans in the 2015 NFL Draft. Mariota p ...
, 2014
Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and har ...
winner File:Kaitlin Olson by Gage Skidmore 3.jpg,
Kaitlin Olson Kaitlin Willow Olson (born August 18, 1975) is an American actress. She began her career in The Sunday Company at the Groundlings, an improvisational theatre and school in Los Angeles, California. She had minor roles in several television series ...
, actress File:Chuck Palahniuk (21955) (cropped).jpg,
Chuck Palahniuk Charles Michael "Chuck" Palahniuk (; born February 21, 1962) is an American freelance journalist and novelist who describes his work as transgressional fiction. He has published 19 novels, three nonfiction books, two graphic novels, and two adu ...
, journalist and author of '' Fight Club'' File:Senator William V Roth.jpg,
William V. Roth William Victor Roth Jr. (July 22, 1921 – December 13, 2003) was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, Delaware. He was a veteran of World War II and a member of the Republican Party. He served from 1967 to 1970 as the lone U ...
, former U.S. senator from
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...
File:Paul_Simon_(US_Senator_from_Illinois).jpg,
Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...
, former U.S. senator from
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...
File:Norv Turner.JPG, Norv Turner, former head coach of the
San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
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Ron Wyden Ronald Lee Wyden (; born May 3, 1949) is an American politician and retired educator serving as the senior United States senator from Oregon, a seat he has held since 1996. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the United States Hou ...
, U.S. senator from Oregon File:Ryan Zinke official portrait.jpg, Ryan Zinke, 52nd
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Alumni include at least two
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Laureates, five members of the National
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nat ...
, 16
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...
winners, who have won a combined 20 awards, 19
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and 5
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. There are more than 195,000 University of Oregon alumni around the world. The Ford Alumni Center, adjacent to Matthew Knight Arena, houses an interactive exhibit. The UO Alumni Association is also based out of this facility. Prominent alumni include: academic leaders
Lee Bollinger Lee Carroll Bollinger (born April 30, 1946) is an American lawyer and educator who is serving as the 19th and current president of Columbia University, where he is also the Seth Low Professor of the University and a faculty member of Columbia La ...
(president of
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and former president of the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
), Gene Block (chancellor of
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), and Asher Cohen (president of the
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), TV host Ann Curry, author and counter-culture figure
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( ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest''), businessman Phil Knight (founded Nike, Inc. in Eugene), NFL
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s
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(2014
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winner) and
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( 2019 William V. Campbell Trophy recipient and 2020 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year), screenwriter
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, author
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( ''Fight Club''), cognitive scientist and author
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(''
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''),
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Ron Wyden Ronald Lee Wyden (; born May 3, 1949) is an American politician and retired educator serving as the senior United States senator from Oregon, a seat he has held since 1996. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the United States Hou ...
, American sportscaster and former professional
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player
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, professional basketball players Luke Ridnour, Luke Jackson and Sabrina Ionescu, former American football quarterback and current sportscaster Dan Fouts, actress
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, Circuit Court Judge Hollie Pihl,
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vocalist and
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Peter Hollens, trumpeter and musician Tony Glausi, Hilda Heine (president of the
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), and Coach Mark Few (coach of Men's Basketball
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.)


Faculty and staff

Current University of Oregon faculty and researchers include 1
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
laureate, and 11 members of the
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nat ...
Furthermore, two Oregon based researchers have been awarded the President's National Medal of Science. Notable current and former faculty and staff include: renowned Canadian architect Arthur Erikson, biochemist and biophysicist Brian Matthews (also known for Matthews correlation coefficient), neuroscientist Michael Posner, behavioural psychologist and risk researcher Paul Slovic, molecular biologist and geneticist Franklin Stahl (noted for Meselson–Stahl experiment) which he performed at Caltech, molecular biologist George Streisinger (pioneered the use of
Zebrafish The zebrafish (''Danio rerio'') is a freshwater fish belonging to the minnow family (Cyprinidae) of the order Cypriniformes. Native to South Asia, it is a popular aquarium fish, frequently sold under the trade name zebra danio (and thus often ca ...
in biological research), and 2012
Nobel Prize in Physics ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...
winner Knight Research Professor David Wineland, formerly of
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and the
University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sy ...
. Notable current and former athletic department staff include: track coach
Bill Bowerman William Jay Bowerman (February 19, 1911 – December 24, 1999) was an American track and field coach and co-founder of Nike, Inc. Over his career, he trained 31 Olympic athletes, 51 All-Americans, 12 American record-holders, 22 NCAA champio ...
(known for co-founding Nike, Inc.) and football coach Chip Kelly (also known for coaching
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
and
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...
).


See also

* Oregon Student Association *'' Oregon Exchanges'', a newspaper covering the news industry in Oregon, published in the early 20th century.


Notes


References


Further reading

*
''Annual Catalogue of the State University of Oregon, 1886–1887.''
Portland, OR: George H. Himes, 1887. —Includes several annual catalogs listing professors, alumni, students, and college rules.


External links

* * *
Oregon Athletics website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oregon, University Of 1876 establishments in Oregon Flagship universities in the United States Eugene, Oregon Educational institutions established in 1876 University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon Universities and colleges accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities Tourist attractions in Eugene, Oregon National Register of Historic Places in Eugene, Oregon
University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc Nike, Inc. ( or ) is a ...