Harrington billboard shows backward priorities
If the University’s Athletic Department can raise $250,000 in private money from “six or eight key guys” to buy a huge billboard in New York City for three months touting Joey Harrington for the Heisman Trophy, then they clearly don’t need a $2 million annual subsidy from the University’s general fund. (The Register-Guard, May 31 and June 4.)
To heck with phasing out this subsidy across four years, as the department reluctantly agreed to do recently. Cut them off right now! Then spend that $2 million on faculty salaries, which are among the lowest among universities of comparable size and stature.
Don’t get me wrong. I attend Duck sporting events and want to see our teams do well, but the University should be investing its limited revenues in its core mission, not athletics. If the Athletic Department wants to buy frivolous billboards in New York City with donated money, that’s fine, but then it shouldn’t expect any University money for its programs.
Mike Bellotti may be a great football coach, but he’s got it all backward when it comes to University priorities. In describing the importance of the 100-foot-tall billboard, he said, “We want to make a statement that if you come to Oregon and are an outstanding player for four years, we’ll promote you equally or better than what anybody else would do.”
Excuse me. Shouldn’t the University be striving to make this kind of statement about its teachers, staff and students, not its “players”?

Kurt Willcox

Eugene