Pouring rain and cooler temperatures didn’t stop volunteers from participating Thursday in University Day, the campus-wide beautification project that occurs each year. Started in 1905 to improve the grounds before commencement, the day has evolved to celebrate and preserve the natural beauty of the campus. More than 2,000 UO students, staff and faculty volunteered to weed, rake and mulch on Thursday. Among them were UO Baseball Club members Sam Gutman, a junior, Michael Finneran, a sophomore, and Fraser Shindruk, a freshman, who worked together near Dad’s Gate.

Environmental, health and engineering experts from across Oregon will discuss the impacts of fuels and cooking throughout the world at the inaugural Spark Initiative showcase, to be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. today (Friday, May 17) at the University of Oregon's Erb Memorial Union.

Just as undergraduate students complete a week of events celebrating their research efforts, younger budding scientists from grades 1-8 in the Eugene 4J School District will invade the University of Oregon on Saturday. They'll be showing off their experiments and inventions. The second UO Science and Invention Fair will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the atrium of Willamette Hall, 1371 E. 13th Ave. The public may attend free of charge and view some 60 entries, which will be judged by a panel of UO scientists and graduate students.

Three of the UO’s premier large musical ensembles are featured in the May 19 annual spring concert: the University Symphony, University Singers, and Oregon Wind Ensemble. University Singers, under the direction of Sharon Paul, will sing a set entitled, "Songs Sung Skyward," which will feature three composers' musical considerations of the heavens: Johannes Brahms' "Warum," Josephine Poelinitz' setting of the gospel song, "City Called Heaven," and Eric Whitacre's "Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine."

A bill recently passed by the Oregon Legislature and awaiting the signature of Gov. John Kitzhaber will make money available to the University of Oregon and Oregon State University that was originally set aside for the two institutions more than 150 years ago.Under House Bill 2033, the State Treasury will turn over to the Oregon University System $109,877 from funding earmarked for UO purposes in 1859, and another $326,543 from a fund designated for OSU in 1862.

If approved as proposed, a public institutional board for the University of Oregon would provide a springboard for “astonishing” successes, university President Michael Gottfredson said May 14, at a campus gathering with faculty and staff. During an informal meeting in Gerlinger Alumni Lounge, the president provided an update and answered questions regarding two bills in the Oregon Legislature that would reorganize higher education governance and create boards for the UO and other public universities in Oregon that request them.

Until recently, perhaps the most noticeable tribute on campus to computer genius Alan Turing was the gargoyle high on one side of Deschutes Hall. That’s changing.

Oregon Law graduate Darrell Doss has found his center in a world of constant flux: Capitol Hill. Doss works as Economic Policy Counsel for Texas Congresswoman Sheila Lee Jackson, writing legislation, interpreting court rulings and advising her on legal matters affecting the economy, housing and taxation. Under one of the “toughest bosses on capitol hill,” Doss enjoys navigating the complex challenges and unpredictability his job brings him. “You don’t grasp it until you talk with people,” said Doss. “It dawns on you that, “Hey, this is a really neat career.” 

The University of Oregon’s Community Service Center will receive the 2013 Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association’s Special Achievement in Planning Award at the OAPA conference in Portland on May 30.

An exhibit titled “Russia Inside Out: Voices and Faces” is on display in front of the Knight Library Browsing Room. The exhibit features books about the Russian language, as well as a cookbook “accordion” with various ethnic dishes that were popularized and discovered via the Russian language in the former Soviet Union. A map illustrates the diversity of ethnicities in 21st-century Russia, where many ethnic peoples had settled long before the Slavs. Images of national costumes are featured for some of the representatives from 185 ethnic groups living in Russia.