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Governor’s budget plans hit UO in significantly different ways
On Nov. 28, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown released her recommended budget for the 2019-21 biennium, including two options with significant implications for higher education funding. The first version, which state law requires the governor to craft, is a balanced base budget that allocates funds based on current revenue projections. The second version is an investment budget that assumes the passage of cost containment and revenue reform in the next legislative session. The two budget options would have very different outcomes for the UO’s operating budget, student aid, and academic and research funding. On the operations side, the base budget allocates no additional investment for the Public University Support Fund over the last biennium, keeping total operating funds for all Oregon public universities at $736.9 million. Because of increased operating costs that occur over a two-year period, flat funding represents a decrease in investment for the UO. JOINT UNIVERSITY STATEMENT “The Governor’s budget provides a stark choice for the legislature and the people of Oregon: either force universities to make cuts to academic and student support programs while also raising tuition by double-digits or make college more affordable and accessible through balanced revenue reform and meaningful cost control in areas like retirement and health care. “Even as campuses continue to find cost efficiencies wherever possible, without additional resources for public universities, the budget proposed by the Governor means students will face onerous double-digit tuition hikes and cuts to the types of services and aid they need to reduce debt, graduate, and find a job. This is not an acceptable outcome for Oregon. Public universities are committed to working with the Governor and the Legislature to find solutions that expand opportunities for students instead of limiting them. “It is time to stop relying on students and their families to shoulder our economic challenges. It is time to invest in Oregon.” —Signed by the presidents of all seven public universities in Oregon Under this budget option the UO would likely be forced to consider double-digit tuition increases for resident undergraduates and potential cuts to services, programs and workforce in order to balance its budget. The investment budget increases the Public University Support Fund by $120 million for a total of $856.9 million. This level of funding would keep tuition increases for resident undergraduate students at the UO at or below 5 percent for the next two years. It would also preserve most recent investments in financial aid and student support programs, such as academic advising and PathwayOregon. State programs, which include institutions, centers and programs operated by public universities, are another area of concern. As opposed to providing instructional support, these programs address economic development, natural resources and other public policy issues. Many of these programs have an industry-specific focus, matching state support with funds from the private sector and other sources. At the UO, they include the Labor Education Research Center, clinical legal education and the Oregon Office for Community Dispute Resolution in the School of Law. The governor’s base budget keeps funding for all state programs flat from the last biennium, with the exception of the engineering and technology sustaining fund, which is eliminated entirely. The $25 million fund is used to invest in public research universities that respond to urgent engineering education needs of Oregon’s fast-growing high tech industry. In contrast, the governor’s proposed investment budget increases funding for all state programs to meet inflationary costs. It not only maintains the fund’s level, it increases it by $35 million to a total of $60 million. The UO would benefit from this increase in relation to the expansion of its research portfolio and establishment of the Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact. In capital construction, the UO’s top request to the state is the renovation of Huestis Hall, a STEM and life sciences hub for 3,000 students and faculty members each year. While the governor did not include funding specifically for this or any other capital construction projects requested by universities in either of her budget scenarios, both budget options set aside $225 million in state-backed bonds for university projects. The university and UO advocates will request $54 million for the renovation of Huestis Hall to make seismic upgrades and renovate teaching and research spaces. Student aid in the base budget would see flat funding for the Oregon Opportunity Grant, the state’s only need-based aid program, at $152 million. In the governor’s investment budget, the grant is nearly doubled, reaching $273 million. A provision of state law also allocates 1 percent of net lottery proceeds to public universities for the former sports lottery program. The UO receives approximately $1 million each biennium from general lottery dollars to replace what universities used to receive from the now-defunct Sports Action Lottery. The revenue provides intercollegiate athletics scholarships as well as academic scholarships for graduate students. The governor’s base budget eliminates sports lottery funding entirely. The investment budget restores that funding at the full 1 percent. Another area where universities are affected is academic, research and economic development funding. In the base and investment budget options, the governor allocates $12 million to fully build out the multi-hazard sensor network for the ShakeAlert earthquake early warning system wildfire prevention, monitoring and mitigation by 2023. The UO works with other West Coast states and universities to bring this technology to the public through the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, and UO faculty members and technicians operate the network in coordination with the U.S. Geological Survey and other federal agencies. The only previous direct state investment in this work was in 2015 when the Legislature allocated $670,000 for the purchase of more seismic sensors. In the governor’s investment budget, additional academic, research and economic development funding that benefits the UO includes: $15 million in campus public safety improvements through the creation of a statewide shared services training program for higher education institutions focusing on prevention, preparedness, incident response, continuity and recovery. $10 million to establish a public university innovation fund at the Oregon Business Development Department, the state agency that oversees economic development activity, to support economic development partnerships between businesses and public universities. The innovation fund provides matching funds for university grant requests for applied research. $5 million in funding for the International Association of Athletics Federations World Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which will take place in 2021 in Eugene. This will be the first time the event has been held in the United States. The Oregon Legislature will consider the governor’s recommended budget during the 2019 legislative session that starts Jan. 14.
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Science museum’s new exhibit explores the art of resilience
First published in Around the O on November 29th. Science, technology and art converge in the Museum of Natural and Cultural History’s newest exhibit, “Survival Architecture and the Art of Resilience.” The exhibit, which opened Dec. 1, explores innovative housing, shelter and other designs that may help communities survive and thrive in a changing climate. Produced by the Oakland, California-based Art Works for Change, the traveling exhibit showcases designs from around the world. From mushroom-based building blocks to coats that transform into sleeping bags, the designs emphasize portable, sustainable and small-footprint products that can be adapted for a variety of needs while minimizing environmental impacts. At one station, visitors can check out a new, instant-shelter technology from the California nonprofit Cardborigami. Constructed of naturally insulating, water- and flame-resistant cardboard, the structures store flat and can be unfolded in seconds, offering an emergency shelter solution for people facing homelessness or natural disaster scenarios. Visitors to the exhibit can examine a sample structure in its folded form, climb inside a fully expanded version and create their own origami pieces. The museum has added a UO dimension to the exhibit, highlighting eco-conscious designs by students and faculty members in the School of Architecture & Environment. At a video station, visitors can learn about the award-winning “Outside House” developed by Erin Moore, head of the School of Architecture & Environment. The house, located in Maui, Hawaii, incorporates two tiny, low-impact structures with an expansive natural landscape to create a sense of spaciousness with a small footprint. In another section, visitors can explore architecture students’ projects aimed at rebuilding the infrastructure and social and housing fabric of a Puerto Rican community devastated by hurricanes Irma and Maria. “Survival Architecture invites us to consider new ways that design and engineering can lead us toward a resilient future,” said Ann Craig, exhibitions director at the museum. “We’re looking forward to the conversations it will inspire on campus and in the wider community.” —By Kristin Strommer, Museum of Natural and Cultural History
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Gifts to new scholarship fund put Dreamers on path to graduation
First published in Around the O on November 21st, 2018. For the cost of five lattes, anyone can help build a scholarship fund for Dreamers, UO students with Deferred Action Childhood Arrival status and those whose presence in the U.S. is undocumented. All it takes is a quick visit to DuckFunder for Dreamers. What’s more, all gifts also count toward matching a $75,000 challenge grant. The need is urgent, said Rosa Chavez, associate director of the Center for Multicultural Academic Excellence. “One student who would be eligible for this new scholarship was working nearly full time as a freshman,” she said. “By sophomore year, the stress of trying to keep up with classes while working swing shift became too much. They haven’t been back this fall.” Keith Swayne, a 1962 economics graduate, made the gift to launch the Dreamers Scholarships. “These young Dreamers deserve access to an education so they can reach their potential as contributors to our great country, as have those who have come before them,” said the 1962 economics graduate. “We are a country of immigrants. That is at the core of who we are.” It’s common for Dreamers with work permits to hold down as many as three jobs during summers to pay for their next year’s tuition, but that doesn’t cover other expenses, said Justine Carpenter, director of multicultural and identity-based support services. “I know a student who can afford to take only one course each term,” Carpenter said. “It will be a very long road at that rate, but she is determined to succeed.” People from as far away as Indiana, Ohio and Massachusetts already have given more than $4,500 in the online drive, which aims to raise $10,000 by 10:59 p.m. Dec. 24. Many contributors note that their gift honors a friend or family member. The DuckFunder campaign kicks off the larger effort to complete the $75,000 match by June 30, 2019. To pitch in, contact Sally Dougherty, College of Arts and Sciences development director, at 541-346-3903 or [email protected] The Dreamers Scholarships are part of a university investment to ensure that all students have access to support and programming to help them be successful at the UO. This academic year President Michael H. Schill dedicated funding for staff and faculty support for the Dreamers Working Group to provide training for Dreamer allies. The UO has nearly 200 Dreamer allies who have taken daylong trainings to better understand Dreamer student needs and experiences. Those wishing to become an ally or who would like to get in touch with an ally or the Dreamers Working Group, send a message to [email protected] Additional resources for Dreamers and their families are available at https://www.uoregon.edu/dreamers —By Melody Ward Leslie, University Communications
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UO chemist serves another term on the National Science Board
First published in Around the O on November 19th, 2018. University of Oregon chemist Geri Richmond will spend another six years as a member of the National Science Board. Her renewal on the 24-member governing board of the National Science Foundation was part of a White House announcement in which President Trump intends to name five new appointees. Maria Zuber, vice president for research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, also is being reappointed. "I’m thrilled to be able to continue to serve the scientific community in this capacity in the coming six years,” said Richmond, a UO Presidential Chair and winner of a National Medal of Science. “It will allow me to continue my work on a number of important National Science Board projects on the scientific workforce, new basic research initiatives and issues around science outreach and policy.” Richmond and Zuber, whose two-year term as board chairman ended this year, were initially appointed in 2012. Their terms had expired in May, but they remained consultants to the board pending new presidential selections. The National Science Board is responsible for shaping the agency’s strategic direction and approving its annual budget submission to the White House. The board establishes the policies of the National Science Foundation, approves new programs and awards, and serves as an independent body of advisers to the president and Congress on policy and education matters related to science and engineering. “I am so excited that professor Richmond will serve again on the board of the National Science Foundation,” said UO Provost and Senior Vice President Jayanth Banavar. “Her leadership, her scholarly work and her efforts to bring more women and people of color into the sciences are very admirable. She is a tremendous representative and will do great things on the board.” Richmond, who joined the UO in 1985, is widely recognized for her research in chemistry and materials science. The many discoveries that have emerged from her lab, she always has noted, reflect the hard work and dedication of her students. She also co-founded COACh in 1997 as a grassroots organization to promote careers in science, technology, engineering and math for women and minorities. The organization now is governed by an international advisory board of leading women scientists and engineers. Richmond, who earned a doctorate in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley in 1980, has held a variety of leadership positions in the scientific community. She served as chair of the Department of Energy’s Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee from 1998 to 2003 and was the president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2015. She has been the U.S. Department of State’s science envoy for the lower Mekong River countries in Southeast Asia since 2015. She was inducted into the National Academy of Sciences and elected as a fellow of the American Chemical Society in 2011. Earlier this year, Richmond received the 2018 Priestley Medal, the highest honor of the American Chemical Society, in recognition of her research and global outreach, and she was elected to a three-year leadership role in Sigma Xi, the world’s largest multidisciplinary honor society for scientists and engineers. On Nov. 17, Richmond was in Seattle to accept the Linus Pauling Medal Award from the Portland, Puget Sound and Oregon sections of the American Chemical Society. The award recognizes her fundamental discoveries related to the interactions that occur at the surfaces of oil, water and air. That work that has helped understand how environmentally and biologically important molecules adsorb and orient at liquid surfaces. The five new members to be appointed to the National Science Board are: Maureen Condic of the University of Utah; Suresh Garimella of Purdue University; Auburn University President Steven Leath; Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute; and Stephen Willard, chief executive officer of Cellphire Inc., a Maryland-based biotechnology company. —By Jim Barlow, University Communications
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Oregon Senate Democrats will split top budget job
Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward (from left) and Sen. Betsy Johnson will be the Oregon Senate's joint co-chairs on the Ways and Means committee during the 2019 session. Rep. Dan Rayfield will be the panel's co-chair from the House. (The Associated Press) By Hillary Borrud | The Oregonian/OregonLive The Oregonian/OregonLive A triumvirate of Democrats will lead Oregon’s budget-writing Ways and Means committee next year, under a unique arrangement that involves the Senate’s appointment of joint co-chairs: Sen. Betsy Johnson of Scappoose and Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, who represents Beaverton and northwest Portland. Rep. Dan Rayfield of Corvallis is the co-chair from the House. Both Johnson and Steiner Hayward were vying for the job, presenting Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, with a tough decision that he apparently resolved by choosing both. “Senator Johnson and Senator Steiner Hayward are two of the most experienced budgeteers in the Legislature,” Courtney said in a news release. “They are accomplished individuals. One is a doctor. The other is pilot with a law degree.” There are usually two Ways and Means committee co-chairs, one from the majority caucus in each chamber, and two vice chairs representing the minority caucuses. There were two joint co-chairs from the House in 2011 but that was because the chamber was split evenly between Democrats and Republicans that session. Then-Rep. Dennis Richardson, a Republican who is now secretary of state, and then-Rep. Peter Buckley, a Democrat, shared the job. It’s unclear whether there is any precedent for legislative leaders voluntarily splitting the job between two people for other reasons.
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UO postdoc solves mystery of isolated Atlantic island birds
First published in Around the O on November 16th, 2018. A little bird led Swedish-born Martin Stervander to the University of Oregon, but his journey wasn’t a direct flight. As a doctoral student at Lund University he studied the genetics of a bird species that only lives on Inaccessible Island, a tiny patch of volcano-produced land in the Atlantic Ocean between South America and Africa. While pursuing that research, he met UO biologist Bill Cresko and learned about a genomic analysis technology invented at the UO. “I met Bill a few times, beginning at a workshop on the RAD-sequencing technology that he helped developed for his work in stickleback (fish),” Stervander said. “We immediately realized the potential of the technique and adopted it in several of our studies.” RAD stands for restriction-site associated DNA. The methodology, which emerged from a collaboration between biology professor Eric Johnson’s lab and the Cresko lab, creates a detailed library of genetic code. It led to a new generation of sequencing technologies. The first major application helped identify genetic differences in stickleback, an ocean fish that has repeatedly adapted to freshwater. When first unveiled in 2007, the technology led to the UO spinoff company Floragenex. Last month, Stervander’s research took flight. He was lead author on a paper in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution that identified the origin of Inaccessible Island’s bird, a rail. His team called for a reclassification of the flightless bird’s place in the avian tree of life. The bird, according to its genetics, descends from a South American ancestor that also gave rise to the continental dot-winged crake. These sister species are related to black rails in the Americas and, probably, the Galapagos crake. Stervander recommends that the rail should be in the genus Laterallus to match its relatives. The island’s bird was labeled Atlantisia rogersi in 1923, when British surgeon Percy Lowe, then head of the ornithology collections at the British Museum, first described it. He created the new genus, Atlantisia, in honor of mythical Atlantis. He also suggested that the rail may have walked to the island along a since sunken land bridge from either Africa or South America. Plate tectonics later ruled out a land bridge, Stervander said. “They flew or were assisted by floating debris,” he said. “Whether they flew all the way or were swept off by a storm and then landed on debris, we can’t say. In any case, they managed to make it from the mainland of South America to Inaccessible Island.” More on Stervander’s discovery and the bird’s history is detailed in a news release “Researchers find the origin of an isolated bird species on South Atlantic island.” Cresko met Stervander after traveling to Lund in 2012 to speak at a workshop arranged by the university’s research school in genomic ecology to discuss the RAD technology that had emerged from his and Johnson’s UO labs. “This started a series of connections with the faculty at Lund University, as well as other places throughout Europe,” Cresko said. “I visited Lund several times subsequently and met with Martin to develop project ideas. I was impressed by his research and the questions he was asking.” They jointly submitted postdoctoral proposals. The Swedish Research Council agreed to fund a three-year fellowship for Stervander at the UO. “He’s here extending his research and getting experience working with fish models,” Cresko said. “He brings a depth of understanding of ecology and evolution but also a novel perspective from having asked research questions in birds. He also adds a fun international component to how our group thinks about science.” Stervander’s interest in birds began as a child. Before entering Lund University, he worked in various research projects and as a bander in several bird observatories. For two years, he headed Sweden’s Ottenby Bird Observatory. “I knew that I wanted to focus on the speciation of birds,” Stervander said. “I thematically asked, 'How does it work when a species evolves into two?' What are the mechanisms involved in that process? And can it happen even if the diverging lineages are not physically isolated from each other, like if they’re stuck on an island?” In addition to traveling to Inaccessible Island, he spent time on islands in the Gulf of Guinea off West Africa. He has a keen interest, he said, in finches that have colonized and evolved to survive on isolated islands. In Cresko’s lab, Stervander is working with a family of fish that includes pipefish, seahorses and seadragons. All use their long snouts to suction their food. What he learns from the fish, he said, may help him understand how finches living in isolated locations have reshaped their bills to allow them to eat. “I’d like to get closer to understanding the genetic underpinnings for the adaptation of their bills — their foraging apparatus — which happens in early embryonic development in preserved pathways,” he said. “How did this evolve, from finches to seahorse snouts? I want to find out how genes are turned on and off in the earliest developmental pathways in both the bird and these fish.” —By Jim Barlow, University Communications
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UO scientists discover new anti-inflammatory bacterial protein
First published in Around the O on November 13th, 2018. Inflammation is one the ways the body protects itself against outside invaders. And since the digestive system contains a dense array of bacteria, you might expect the body’s immune response to be in constant overdrive as it confronts a mass of gut microbes. But that’s not the case, says UO biologist Karen Guillemin. “One of the major questions about how we coexist with our microbial inhabitants is why we don’t have a massive inflammatory response to the trillions of bacteria inhabiting our guts,” Guillemin said. “How is it that things aren’t going crazy?” The answer is partially revealed in a new study by Guillemin and a team of researchers that appeared in the online journal eLife. It details the discovery of an anti-inflammatory bacterial protein and helps explain the functioning of one mechanism of the human body’s moderated response to gut bacteria. The research could someday help inform treatments for a range of human disease associated with excessive inflammation, including inflammatory bowel disease and other intestinal inflammation, and help prevent chronic inflammation throughout the body. “We’ve been really interested in understanding how animals and their resident microbes negotiate this level of inflammatory response,” Guillemin said. “We set out to test whether gut bacteria actively secrete factors that prevent an excessive inflammatory response.” In the course of exploring that question, Guillemin and her team discovered the protein Aeromonas immune modulator, also called AimA, which they showed was capable of helping to alleviate intestinal inflammation and the inflammatory response known as septic shock. Through their investigations, researchers found that the protein mutually benefitted the bacteria itself and the animal hosting it by reducing inflammation in both. Annah Rolig, a former UO postdoctoral fellow and now a research scientist at the Cancer Immunobiology Laboratory at Providence Portland Medical Center, served as the lead author on the paper. Emily Goers Sweeney, a UO research associate, was a co-author. The research was conducted in zebrafish, which allowed investigators to zero in on the AimA protein and perform numerous tests designed to answer questions such as why bacteria produced such a protein. In examining the structure of the protein, they found similarities to a class of proteins called lipocalins, which include members that modulate inflammation in humans. To test their theory that the protein was not specifically counteracting inflammation caused by one kind of bacteria but rather acting more generally to temper the immune response, researchers induced inflammation in zebrafish and found that the AimA protein could reduce inflammation. The study, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health, suggests that other bacteria that live inside humans could be a potentially rich source of novel anti-inflammatory molecules. “These resident gut microbes are motivated to inhibit inflammation,” Guillemin said, “and they probably have lots of creative ways of dampening down our immune system. We can learn a lot from them about how to design novel anti-inflammatory therapies.” Co-authors on the paper with Rolig, Guillemin and Sweeney were undergraduate student Lila Kaye, doctoral student Michael DeSantis, postdoctoral researcher Arden Perkins and Allison Banse, a former postdoctoral researcher — all affiliated with the UO’s Institute of Molecular Biology — and M. Kristina Hamilton, a postdoctoral researcher affiliated with the Institute of Neuroscience. —By Lewis Taylor, University Communications
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2019 State Legislative Agenda
During the 2019 legislative session, the University, in partnership with students, faculty and staff, will pursue a legislative agenda that aims to ensure affordability, access, and success for students; deliver an excellent educational experience in an inclusive and diverse environment; and invest in faculty members to improve quality and promote academic research and innovation. Access, affordability, and completion for Oregon students Increase operating funding for Oregon public universities by at least $120 million for the 2019-21 biennium to keep tuition increases for resident, undergraduate students at UO at or below 5% for the next two years. Increase funding for state programs, which include UO’s Engineering & Technology Sustaining Funds, Labor Education Research Center, TallWood Design Institute, dispute resolution programs, Clinical Legal Education, and other signature research centers. Increase investment in the Oregon Opportunity Grant, the state’s only need-based aid program. Protect and expand funding for Sports Equity Scholarships through the Oregon Lottery, which helps UO meet Title IX requirements to equitably fund women’s athletics and provide graduate scholarships. Invest in facilities that produce high-demand degrees and discovery All seven public universities request the allocation of $65 million for capital improvement and renewal for maintenance of existing buildings and ensuring that students have safe and appropriate environments in which to learn and live. $54 million in state-backed bonds for the renovation of Huestis Hall, a 45-year old structure that is the teaching and research hub for biological sciences at the UO. It serves 3,000 students each year. It has urgent seismic vulnerabilities and accessibility and safety deficiencies. The project will eliminate nearly $19 million of deferred maintenance and protect many of the UO’s K-12 pipeline and summer STEM programs for girls and low-income students. Academic excellence and ingenuity Create a state matching fund for the Sustainable City Year Program (SCYP), which embeds UO students and faculty members within an Oregon city, county, special district, or tribe for an entire academic year. Students work on partner-identified projects to provide ideas for real solutions to community challenges. Many communities—especially those in more rural areas—want to participate but cannot afford it. A matching fund would allow more Oregonians to be served. Through a one-time investment purchase a new ship for the UO’s Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, which will add teaching and research capacity on Oregon’s Coast. The UO will match the state’s investment through philanthropic gifts. Investment in the UO’s prison education programming, Inside Out, which operates in conjunction with the Oregon Department of Corrections to bring credit-bearing courses to approximately 300 inmates each year. Programs like these help reduce recidivism rates in Oregon and broaden the student experience. Support Governor Brown’s ‘Resilience 2025’ proposal that will fund the full build out of ShakeAlert by 2023. ShakeAlert is the earthquake early warning and wildfire monitoring seismic sensor network operated through the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, of which UO is an active member with other West Coast universities. Partnerships for Economic Transformation Support investments in research and discovery, including grant funding and other innovative policies or funding initiatives that leverage Oregon’s industry strengths and workforce needs with the UO’s academic portfolio.
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Supreme Court lifts stay on climate suit, but hurdles remain
First published in Around the O on November 6th, 2018. A landmark federal lawsuit filed by a group of young people seeking action on climate change cleared another hurdle Friday when the U.S. Supreme Court lifted an earlier stay. The move allows attorneys for the plaintiffs to seek a new trial date. The trial was originally scheduled to begin Oct. 29 but was put in limbo when the delay stretched two weeks. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 21 young people who assert that government threatens their constitutional rights by promoting the production of fossil fuels that are destabilizing the climate system necessary to their survival and well-being. A new trial date is expected to be set soon, though the Justice Department on Monday evening made another attempt to stop the trial. A petition filed with the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is the latest in an array of motions spanning all three levels of the court system simultaneously. All have been rejected so far, but some are still pending. UO law professor Mary Wood will discuss the suit in a public talk Wednesday, Nov. 7, from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Wildish Community Theater in downtown Springfield. She will be joined by local youth plaintiffs and staff members from Our Children’s Trust, the nonprofit representing the plaintiffs. More information will be posted as it becomes available.
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