University of Oregon students gain critical thinking skills in a stimulating environment during their years in school, and they typically maintain the impetus to educate themselves after they graduate.

To address that lifelong learning desire, the UO Alumni Association has started a series of academic lectures to engage and inspire those who’ve shed their caps and gowns and settled in Portland.

More of the Portland metro area’s top “Academic Achievers” will flock to the UO than to any other university in the world come fall.

Portland-area high schools suggested more than 500 students for inclusion on The Oregonian’s elite list of top scholars. The students’ GPA average is 4.05 and they have many options for university study.

A year-end report from University of Oregon's Office of Public Records indicates a larger volume than ever of requests for information about various UO operations but a steadily decreasing amount of time required to fulfill the requests.

The UO received 292 public records requests through the first 11 months (through May) of the current fiscal year – four more than in the entire 2012 fiscal year and 92 more than in the 2011 fiscal year. Over that same three-year period, the average amount of time it has taken to fulfill requests has decreased by about five days.

Aila Hoss is off to Atlanta to help the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and “Winnable Battles.”

That’s the name of the program that will be assisted by Hoss ’12, a student in the University of Oregon School of Law who was selected as an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education Public Health Law Fellow.

Among the many dedicated UO employees to be honored at the UO recognition/retirement reception on Thursday, June 13 at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, Information Services Site License Manager Mary Hite is most notable for her longevity. She is wrapping up an impressive 39-year run as the Computing Center’s go-to person for help.

Jim Rawlins, a nationally recognized leader in admissions, has been hired as the new director of Admissions at the University of Oregon.

Rawlins, who has served for the past five years as director of admissions at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colo., was hired for the UO position following a nationwide search.