The OC Blog Back Issues Our Mission Contact Us Masthead
Sudsy Wants You to Join the Oregon Commentator
 

More on Lariviere

If you want to read more about soon-to-be president of the UO Richard Lariviere, check out this profile of him, written by the University Daily Kansan in March, 2008:

[Lariviere] has a soft voice and strong ideas. He can speak three languages fluently, four with some difficulty. He has written three books in Sanskrit and has just returned from his annual trip to India.

He’s always been interested in how law and religion work together to shape society. Fluent in French and Hindi, if there’s one person that is aware, it’s Lariviere.

[…]

Lariviere is able to read half a dozen different languages and write published works in the Indian language Sanscrit, which can be found in the Watson Library. He can’t recite all the places he’s been without stopping for air.

“I’ve been to all the countries of Europe, most countries of Asia and South America, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Northern Africa and Texas,” Lariviere said.

With such worldly experience he is able to see the University through a unique perspective.

Which is pretty much the exact opposite of Frohnmayer. The Frohn is Oregon-born and raised, and he’s spent pretty much his whole life here – not much of a world-traveler, at least compared to Lariviere. Also, whereas Lariviere is a career academic, Frohnmayer worked in law and politics before becoming involved with the UO. (He served three terms in the Oregon House and three terms as the Oregon attorney general.)

It’s an interesting question: Which is better for leadership – intimate knowledge of an area or wide-ranging experience? What do you guys think?

P.S. I also submit a request to readers for a good sobriquet or nickname for our upcoming president, although I don’t think it will be able to match “Das Frohn.”

  1. JayHawk says:

    He is known as “River-Dick”….Good-Luck

  2. Vincent says:

    That’s setting a pretty high bar.

  3. Danimal says:

    Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it, and woken up by the river with your head on a vomit pillow, and found in your hands a bowie knife with

    -Your’s forever-
    ‘Truck’

    inscribed on the handle. Then knock it.

  4. Vincent says:

    While I salute you for putting your body on the line in the name of journalism… fucking NIGHT TRAIN?!

  5. Danimal says:

    Dude it was research.

  6. Thor'sMightyHammerMj says:

    Didn’t some one already come up with “Dick larvae” ? A bit harsh I guess but, we need to add that to the list of awesome yet terrible band names.

  7. Danimal says:

    Also, hey! That’s my picture of my Night Train bottle on the cover there.

    Aw, memories, or lack thereof….

  8. Danimal says:

    Enough about your Lariviere! What about Ol’ Dirty pulling a iHuelga!?

  9. C.T. Behemoth says:

    I’m going to go Cockney here and take Betz’s suggestion a li’l step furver.

    If his name means “The River” then, naturally, his nickname should be:

    “The Shake and Shiver”

  10. Betz says:

    I vote for “The River” … Speak American, Frenchie!

  11. C.T. Behemoth says:

    I think that one of the crucial issues facing the U of O is that it has been stocked with an older generation of people who have been very resistant to and/or ignorant of change and/or advancement in terms of things like:

    – university infrastructure, especially with technology in the classroom
    – course offerings, especially in the realm of languages and areas beyond E. Asia
    – retention, especially when it comes to keeping amazing faculty here
    – campus auxillaries, especially when it comes to the rec center and EMU
    – prestige, especially when it comes to being in the AAU & a Tier-I Research Univ.

    This isn’t to condemn them, and it is obvious that some movement in the direction of progress has been made in each of the above areas. However, when you look at universities that are “peer” institutions to the U of O, this university pales in comparison in almost every category. There are more reasons for that than what I’ve listed above, but the priorities for progress and the actions that have been taken at the U of O have been relatively anemic and currently have the U of O behind-the-times and desperately trying to catch up. It is kind of sad.

    I should add that I really like this university, and I’ve worked here for almost a decade in every capacity except as an administrator. I think that progress is being made, but it is still not enough. Of course, the lack of funding from the state and the economic downturn haven’t helped any.

    Anyway, one thing that I like about this guy who is coming in is that he is the apex administrator and will have more control than anyone to really take the university forward. That he is coming from VERY good institutions like UT-Austin is very encouraging; however, I think it is worth noting that the U of O has had people come from institutions like that before in lower-ranking positions and, in the end, the university killed their spirit and absorbed them into the status quo.

    There has been a lot of turn-over in the university administration lately, and I think that it has almost universally been for the better. There are still plenty of problems and important issues that aren’t getting enough attention, but more work is being done toward what we need than I remember ever seeing in my time here. Given that this old guard has been in control for a long time, I imagine that it is the most work that has been done in this regard in a couple of decades…or longer.

    A long answer to say that I’m cautiously optimistic. He has a pretty big task at hand, and if it doesn’t make him recoil in shock and pessimism, I think that he could really bring (drag?) the U of O into the 21st century and have us hold our AAU membership and Tier-I title with a little more pride, legitimacy and respect from our “peers”.

  12. Goward says:

    La La?

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.