UO to push 2010 commencement forward to accomodate track & field finals
The UO administration is going to push 2010 graduations forward a week, meaning during finals week, so as not to conflict with the NCAA Track and Field Finals. From an email sent out to the deans and directors listserv on behalf of Senior Vice President and Provost Jim Bean:
We are planning ahead to accommodate a scheduling issue for June 2010. UO has been awarded the NCAA Track & Field Finals June 9-12, 2010. This coincides with UO commencement ceremonies currently scheduled for June 10-12, 2010. After careful consultation with many groups, we are moving commencement back to June 3, 4, 5, 2010 (not this year) but not changing any class or exam schedules. This means that commencement ceremonies will be held June 3, 4, 5, 2010 and final exams will take place June 7 -11, 2010. Thus, seniors graduating spring term 2010 will march in commencement before they take their final exams. This is not ideal, but the preponderance of feeling was that it was the better solution.
It’s completely asinine to make seniors complete their finals and deal with graduation all in the same week. I usually have trouble taking the “athletics have completely supplanted education in American universities” argument too seriously, but this is just ridiculous. The email, by the way, was sent our way by everyone’s favorite gadfly Professor Bill Harbaugh, who had this to say:
I suppose the next step is to appoint our Athletic Director – a booster who doesn’t have a college degree and got the job after donating $2 million to buy out his predecessor – UO’s next President.
I’m guessing this is somehow related to the hundreds of thousands Phil Knight has given to UO to supplement Frohnmayer’s salary, and to the millions he (with some from AD Kilkenny as well) has given to the Frohnmayer’s Fanconi Foundation.
