UO President Michael Schill is now settled into his office in Johnson Hall, but he still doesn’t feel completely at home.
He’s missing something he considers essential to his happiness and wellbeing: books. Don’t get him wrong, he has stacks and stacks of books at his new home at McMorran House. In fact, he’s an avid collector, a bibliophile since he was a child.
What he is missing are books written by University of Oregon faculty members. To remedy the situation, the president is holding open drop-in time on his calendar in August and September. He is inviting faculty members to stop in, say hello and bring him a book they have authored for his bookcase.
“This combines two of my great loves,” Schill said. “I really enjoy discovering new books and am extremely excited to get to know our faculty members personally. I want to understand their expertise, hear about what they’ve written and learn about their research.”
Given his very busy schedule learning about and leading the UO, Schill said he can’t guarantee he’ll be able to read everything he receives, but he does want to be able to have them at his fingertips.
“I want to know that at any time ― while talking to another faculty member, a staff member, an elected leader, a donor ― I can pick up a book and reference the great work we are doing on this campus,” he said.
All of the drop-in opportunities will be held in the president’s office and are scheduled for:
- Wednesday, Aug. 19, 8:30-9:30 a.m.
- Thursday, Aug. 27, 9-10 a.m.
- Tuesday, Sept. 1, 4-5 p.m.
- Tuesday, Sept. 8, 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Faculty are also welcome to drop books by the president’s office during other regular hours, but the president strongly encourages people to drop by during the scheduled drop-in hours so he can thank them personally.
Additional time may be scheduled in fall. The new schedule will be updated on the president’s public schedule, which can be found of the website of the Office of the President.
—By Jennifer Winters, Public Affairs Communications