SEIU, OUS reach tentative contract agreement

The Oregon University System and the Service Employees International Union 503 reached tentative agreement on contract negotiations for OUS classified staff early Thursday morning.

The settlement, which covers a total of 4,300 employees on all seven OUS campuses and one branch campus, will now be taken by SEIU to its membership for a mail ratification vote. The union's notice of intent to strike on September 30 – the first day of the fall term for students – has been rescinded.

OVPEI open house draws crowd

About 75 people showed up on Wednesday for an open house in the newly redesigned space on the west side of Johnson Hall's "garden level" for the Office of the Vice President for Equity and Inclusion.

Guests toured the offices, greeted new hires in the division and wished Vice President Yvette Alex-Assensoh and her staff well for the upcoming academic year.

- from the Office of the Vice President for Equity and Inclusion

UO alum receives Teach For America award

University of Oregon alumnus Hoang Pham recently received the prestigious Sue Lehmann Excellence in Teaching Award from the nonprofit organization Teach for America.

Pham earned his master’s degree in education at Loyola Marymount University. While studying, he participated in LMU’s Teach for America Partnership program and in his second year was one of only four teachers in the nation chosen for the Sue Lehmann Award.

Nationally known LGBT activist speaks at UO events in Eugene and Portland

In the wake of Supreme Court victories striking down the federal Defense of Marriage Act and restoring marriage equality to California, the LGBT rights movement faces the challenge of how to achieve marriage equality nationwide while also addressing the many other issues facing LGBT people, such as widespread homelessness among LGBT youth, astronomically high rates of violence and discrimination against transgender people, and the absence of legal protections for same-sex parents in most states. 

Freshmen Profiles: Look who's coming to the UO

The University of Oregon's Celebrating Champions website is profiling one new UO freshman each day – exploring everything from hometowns to academic interests to the things people might be surprised to know. And even the one personal item each student must bring with then to college.

Here's a week's worth of the profiles:

Abby Gray

High school and home townLake Oswego High School, Lake Oswego, Ore.