The room erupted in boos as Chancellor George Pernsteiner recommended that UO President Richard Lariviere’s contract should be terminated. Despite the efforts of the student body, University staff and the Eugene community, Lariviere was fired.
While on stage, Lariviere was popular — constantly strolling through campus, teaching classes and conversing with students, but the problems backstage didn’t overcome the popularity.
“There have been a number of well-publicized incidents involving Dr. Lariviere that have eroded trust and confidence with the Board of Higher Education,” Gov. John Kitzhaber told The New York Times in 2011. “His decision to bypass the board and lobby for increased independence for the University of Oregon was a clear violation of policy and made our larger, collective efforts to advance systemwide reform much more difficult.”
In the two short years since Lariviere’s departure, who now sits as the President of the Field Columbian Museum in Chicago, the UO sits closer than ever to achieving an independent governing board that would allow the institution to hire and fire the University president, regulate tuition and sell bonds to take on new debt to back projects.
Ironically, one of the bills biggest backers during the tumultuous ending of Lariviere’s contract was Interim President Robert Berdahl, who told the Emerald that an independent board “is essential to the hiring of a quality president.”
On July 3, Senate Bill 270, the bill that would create independent boards for UO, Portland State University and Oregon State University if desired, and create the future option for other public institutions in Oregon passed through the Senate 23-7. The House approved the bill 44-15 after much debate and it goes back to the Senate for confirmation. It’s expected that Kitzhaber will sign it into law once the Senate confirms the amendments made by the House.
“SB 270 is crucial because the climate of higher education in Oregon is so unstable and unpredictable, and we need that local autonomy and flexibility to continue to advance excellence,” ASUO President Sam Dotters-Katz said. “More than any other reason, SB 270 passed because of the unity and determination of our community, which we owe to one of our greatest champions, President Richard Lariviere.”
But the bill does come with a spate of problems. Recent numbers emerged showing that UO would need roughly $1.7 million to employ the 11-person board. Chief Financial Officer Jamie Moffitt told The Register-Guard that the additional funds could be covered by savings or new revenue, but inevitably, the money has to come from somewhere.
In for formation of the original bill, some skepticism surrounded the inclusion of students, faculty and staff. As passed, the Senate requires that one currently enrolled UO student sit on the board and have voting privileges, while one faculty and one non faculty staff member will sit on the board, their voting privileges will be appointed by the Governor as a voting or nonvoting member.
The 23-7 vote in the Senate left both of Eugene’s Senators split, with Chris Edwards voting “yes,” and Floyd Prozanski voting “no.”