UO Board of Trustees to discuss new residence hall name

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The Board of Trustees of the University of Oregon will discuss several areas of the university’s finances, as well as the university’s ongoing and evolving response to the COVID-19 pandemic, when it meets for its regular quarterly meeting May 19 and 20.

The meeting agenda and materials, as well as a live webcast link, are available on the board’s website.

The board will consider a name for the new residence hall on the corner of Agate Street and East 15th Avenue, which is nearing completion and will open this fall. The proposal is to name the building for DeNorval Unthank Jr., the first African American to graduate from the UO’s School of Architecture and Allied Arts, now known as the College of Design, and an associate professor at the university from 1965 to 1980.

In 2017, the board named a wing of the Hamilton Complex after Unthank, following a robust committee recommendation process. With Hamilton set to be decommissioned in a couple of years, President Michael H. Schill recommends transferring this name to the new building to continue honoring Unthank and his legacy.

Trustees also will review proposals for a new undergraduate degree in Native American and Indigenous studies and a doctoral program in Spanish, discuss the UO’s online education initiative, and receive an update about strategies and plans for UO Portland.

In other work, the board will:

  • Be asked to approve a fiscal year 2022 expenditure authorization, as well as to authorize the issuance of bonds worth $120 million, primarily for the UO’s Housing Transformation Project.
  • Consider authorizing agreements with Oregon22 for the use of facilities and the provision of certain services 2022 World Athletics Championships, so as to ensure that the institution is appropriately compensated for the costs of providing facilities and services for the event.
  • Approval an external auditor and review the quarterly internal audit report.
  • Receive an update about the Office of Investigations and Civil Rights Compliance from Nicole Commissiong, who became associate vice president and director of the office last fall.
  • Consider updates to the UO Student Conduct Code.

The board will meet virtually starting at 8:30 a.m. on both Wednesday, May 19, and Thursday, May 20. Information about how to submit public comment and observe the proceedings is available on the board’s meetings page.