Cell phone tower put on hold
The construction of a cell phone communications tower at 15th Avenue and Villard Street has been temporarily halted by the city of Eugene.
The application Sprint PCS submitted to construct a tower a block away from campus is incomplete, said city planner Kent Kullby. While the project itself has not been denied, Sprint will need to finish the application process before the company can proceed, he said.
Sprint has been trying to get a tower constructed in the campus area for the past several months. There are currently no locations available for siting on campus, University Planner David Barta said. Barta has been working closely with the company to find a site on campus to give students better cell phone reception.
Barta said the ideal spot would have been atop Prince Lucien Campbell Hall, but there is already too much communications equipment there.
The University is drawing up guidelines for any future siting projects, but the guidelines won’t be done for at least six months, Barta said. If the application for the 15th Avenue and Villard Street location is approved, students and local residents will have 30 days to offer feedback on the project.

— Brook Reinhard

Architecture school

announces endowments
In an attempt to lure top interior design and architecture professionals to the University, the School of Architecture and Allied Arts announced a new endowed professorship and a visiting lectureship. The endowed professorship, named after University graduate Margo Grant Walsh, will initially establish a visiting professorship with plans to eventually become a resident position within the department. The Finrow Distinguished lectureship will support an annual lecture by the Walsh professor. The lecture is a gift from Gunilla Finrow, director of the University Interior Architecture program from 1988-95, and her husband, Jerry, the former dean of the School of Architecture and Allied Arts.
“Our program in interior architecture is recognized nationally for its superb program,” said architecture dean Robert Melnick. “The Grant Walsh Professorship and Finrow Lecture will enable us to advance the program’s quality and long-term impact on the practice, theory and teaching of interior architecture.”

— John Liebhardt

University alumna discusses liberal education
According to Gail Fullerton, a liberal arts education isn’t that different from the Hopi Indian rain dance. Fullerton, who was the first woman ever to receive a doctorate in sociology at the University, said both have a manifest and latent purpose.
During a discussion on the leadership value of a liberal arts education in the EMU Boardroom on Friday, Fullerton said the manifest purpose of the rain dance is to bring rain; the latent purpose is to bring solidarity to the group. A liberal arts education’s manifest purpose is to get a degree, she explained; the latent purpose is to gain a better understanding of how to interact with people.
“Communication skills are better with a liberal arts education,” she said.
Fullerton, the former president of San Jose State University, further explained that classes in the humanities and social sciences give students the ability to understand group behavior.
“People behave differently in small groups. If you understand that, you can mold their opinion,” she said.
Bill Bankhead, the career liaison of social sciences for the Career Center, elaborated on the concept of understanding group behavior.
“To be able to find the strengths of others in group interaction is
an important leadership skill,” Bankhead said.
Fullerton also discussed the importance of oral communication skills and the ability to speak in front of groups.

— Helen Schumacher