The Office of the President: University of Oregon

Reform Initiatives

Read about Oregon higher education reform initiatives

Keep focus on higher education reform

By Don Tykeson, The Oregonian, December 9, 2011 PDF of article Online version  

The New Partnership

The New Partnership was a proposal launched in May 2010 by the University of Oregon’s 16th President, Richard Lariviere, to address ongoing issues of governance, accountability, and funding. With a goal of replacing a state system that no longer serves Oregon’s needs with one that would renew the state’s abilities to achieve its education goals and reestablish its tradition of policy innovation, the initiative focused on three areas of reform:

Governance: A public governing board that focuses on UO’s mission and public responsibility

Accountability: A set of standards that hold the UO accountable in relation to accessibility, affordability, diversity, economic development, and service impact

Funding: Assurance of a stable state funding model through state bonding and a public endowment

This website chronicles the details of this initiative from May 2010 to December 2011.

President Lariviere’s November 28, 2011 Statement to OUS Board

On November 28, 2011, President Richard Lariviere provide remarks to the OUS Board about his vision of the future of higher ed governance before the board voted to terminate his employment effective December 28, 2011.

Kitzhaber signs higher education restructuring bill

by Portland Business Alliance, Oregon Business Report, July 22, 2011 PDF of article Online version

Reimagining Higher Education

Historic session passes critical higher education reforms When House and Senate leaders ended the 2011 Oregon Legislature, they closed the books on a legislative session that made history. For the first time since the Great Depression, the Oregon legislature passed historic higher education reform legislation – SB 909 and SB 242. “Our state’s lawmakers took ...

University of Oregon’s Lariviere, Kitzhaber strike a deal

By Andy Giegerich, Portland Business Journal, March 30, 2011 PDF of article Online Version

UO President Richard Lariviere’s letter to Gov. John Kitzhaber

On March 29, 2011,  UO President Richard Lariviere responded to a letter from Gov. John Kitzhaber, stating that he was pleased that the UO is aligned with the governor’s education policy agenda, and thanking the governor for his commitment to pursuing comprehensive higher education reform. Read President Lariviere’s letter

Gov. John Kitzhaber’s letter to Richard Lariviere

March 29, 2011 Gov. John Kitzhaber wrote to UO President Richard Lariviere, expressing his commitment to take action on local governing boards, and to full consideration in 2012 of public endowment partnerships and other ideas for stabilizing tuition and higher education funding. Read Gov. Kitzhaber’s letter

Download New Partnership documents

For your convenience, you can download a pdf of the white paper.

The White Paper: Preserving Our Public Mission through a New Partnership with the State

NOTE TO READERS FROM PRESIDENT RICHARD LARIVIERE Many states across America, including Oregon, are struggling with the current higher education paradox—a broad consensus, fueled by the lessons of our own history, that postsecondary opportunity is critical to our collective prosperity, but challenged to sustain the investments needed in public higher education to support such prosperity. ...