Like many students, University President Dave Frohnmayer sped out of Eugene a scant 24 hours after graduation ceremonies ended.
Like many students, he has also spent time this summer on the Oregon coast, in California, New York and more exotic locations — this year, China and Japan — taking in the sights.
But unlike vacationing students, many of Frohnmayer’s stops along the way have been for alumni events or a chance to encourage prospective freshmen to become Ducks.
Although his summer has always been a time for administrative planning sessions and alumni functions, Frohnmayer said he packed this summer even tighter than usual with out-of-town excursions, taking his family along for part of the ride.
Just like another well-known vacationing president, Frohnmayer has spent a lot of time out of Johnson Hall.
1 Newport, Ore. — The day after graduation, Frohnmayer headed for the beach to attend two days of an Oregon deans conference. There, the administrators set goals for next year and broader goals for a five-year administrative plan.
2 Shang Hi, China — A day before the Newport conference ended, and a scant few days after commencement, Frohnmayer and his family headed to China for a total of 18 days. The first stop was Shang Hi, where he attended a meeting of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities. The five-year-old group comprises 24 of the leading research schools on the Pacific Rim, and the University is a charter member. Frohnmayer said the conference focused on environmental concerns and how the Internet can be a worldwide tool to link researchers working on the same projects.
Fudan University, Shang Hi, China — Frohnmayer stopped in on the sports marketing program at Fudan University, which is connected to the sports marketing program at the University of Oregon. Frohnmayer and his family also spent time in Shang Hi visiting the ancient parts of China. This was his wife, Lynn’s, first trip to the far East.
3 Beijing, China — Most of the Frohnmayers’ stop in Beijing was for sightseeing, including the obligatory stop at the Great Wall.
4 Hong Kong, China — Frohnmayer attended an event for the “Hong Kong Ducks,” a group of University alumni from Hong Kong and mainland China. About 50 people attended, and Frohnmayer was the first president in about 12 years to attend one of the group’s functions.
5 Tokyo, Japan — Keeping with the alumni theme, he stopped at the “Tokyo Ducks,” meeting, this time with about 130 people attending. The attendees ranged in graduation decade from the 1950s to the 1990s. The July 4 event was an Independence Day celebration, too. Frohnmayer showed a tape of the Duck football team’s Holiday Bowl win last winter to the “very avid Ducks fans” at the event.
6 Kyoto, Japan — Frohnmayer was invited to give a lecture on freedom of religion to students at Kyoto University. He argued an important case when he was Oregon’s attorney general regarding a person’s religious right to smoke peyote. The audience of 1,000 students far outdid the size of any of his previous lectures, and he said he was surprised by how much the Japanese students knew about the Oregon case and by their interest in America’s freedom of religion clauses in the Bill of Rights.
7 Lake Shasta, Calif. — After the 18-day trip, Frohnmayer and his family rested and overcame jet lag with some friends on a houseboat for a week.
8 New York City — After a few days at home, Frohnmayer headed for a scientists meeting on Fanconi anemia, the life-threatening genetic disease that has already claimed the lives of two of his daughters. Frohnmayer and his wife founded the local Fanconi Anemia Research Fund in 1989.
9 Indiana — Frohnmayer is the Pacific-10 Conference representative to the NCAA, and he stopped in for an annual meeting. The meeting broadly touched on the balance between promoting academics and college sports stars, which is becoming a hot topic with the Athletic Department’s push to make quarterback Joey Harrington an enticing candidate for the Heisman Trophy, including a massive billboard in Times Square.
10 Wisconsin — Frohnmayer attended an event for families with members suffering from Fanconi anemia.
11 Pendleton, Ore. — Frohnmayer’s pre-Labor Day travels came to an end with a weekend trip east to encourage incoming and prospective University students.