EDUCATION

UO Board highlights: Enrollment, degrees and presidential search

Miranda Cyr
Register-Guard
The University of Oregon Board of Trustees meet Dec. 5 at the UO campus in Eugene for its quarterly meeting.

The University of Oregon Board of Trustees received reports on student enrollment, new degree proposals and the presidential search during the latest quarterly meeting.

In two days of meetings, the board covered a variety of topics.

Freshmen enrollment numbers at an all-time high

UO total enrollment is up to 23,202 as of fall 2022, according to UO's Student Services and Enrollment Management.

There were 5,348 new enrolled freshmen at UO, a record for the university that is about 700 more than last year's record.

UO has also seen record-high numbers of student applications, with a big increase in applications from non-Oregon residents. Out of 37,095 applicants for the 2022 fall term, 29,131 were from out of state, and 1,157 were international students.

Thompson said the school is still looking to increase applications from Oregon residents, which has had slower growth.

Under construction:Big construction projects underway at University of Oregon's Eugene, Portland campuses

"High school graduates in Oregon are pretty static," Thompson said. "You can see this year we had slightly more than we have in the past, and we've grown basically about 1,800 since 2018. We're always trying to increase market share within the state."

Over that 2018 to 2022 period, Oregon resident applications had a rate of increase of 26% and non-residents had an increase of 39%.

Additionally, UO tied for the second year in a row with its highest percentage of minority incoming freshmen, at 36%. The largest minority group was Latino students.

New design degrees

The UO College of Design proposed a bachelor of arts and bachelor of science in environmental design, administered by the Department of Landscape Architecture and containing coursework from several departments within the College of Design.

College of Design dean Adrian Parr said the degree is intended to serve as a platform in the broader university community and engage with other disciplines, including environmental studies.

"We need to come up with more degrees like this," Parr said. "We need our students to be able to think critically across a variety of disciplines, to be flexible in their critical thinking skills, to really equip them with skills that will enable them to be able to be flexible out there on the work market."

The board unanimously approved the program. It will now be submitted to the Higher Education Coordinating Commission.

The new program would take effect in fall 2023.

Presidential search continues

In a relatively brief presentation, the board reviewed the progress of the international presidential search.

Former UO President Michael Schill resigned to work at Northwestern University in September. Former Provost Patrick Phillips has taken over as interim president while the board conducts this national search.

Since the last meeting in September, a 22-member search committee met with more than 40 constituent groups and received feedback on the attributes they would like to see in the next president. Feedback was given by faculty, staff, students, volunteers, donors, state and local elected officials, and other community members.

"We had major themes that really came out of all the sessions," Board of Trustees member Renée Evans Jackman said. "That was promising, that everyone was really thinking on the same thing."

The community wants to see include someone who shows:

  • Representation in the role.
  • Relatability.
  • A track record in recruiting and retaining students, staff and faculty of color.
  • Inclusivity and creates a sense of belonging of different perspectives, experiences and ways of being.
  • An understanding of the breadth of research and academic work done on the campus.
  • Ability to build on a common vision.
  • A belief in shared governance.
  • That this role is a destination and not a stepping stone.
  • A student lens that can recognize the needs of the whole student and values academic excellence across all disciplines.
  • Ability to communicate that vision, and excite the campus and the external community.

Miranda Cyr reports on education for The Register-Guard. You can contact her at mcyr@registerguard.com or find her on Twitter @mirandabcyr.