The University saw many controversies and events over the 2009-10 academic year, with the biggest headlines including swine flu hitting the University and the nation, the opening of the John E. Jaqua Academic Center for Student Athletes, the construction of the Matthew Knight Arena, former Athletic Director Mike Bellotti’s buyout, the controversies surrounding the Pacifica Forum and students fighting University administrators to keep political science instructor Ken DeBevoise at the University.

• Swine flu: The H1N1 virus hit the University as students returned from summer vacation, and the virus was considered a health threat in schools nationwide. University Housing and University Health Center officials took extra precautions to help curb the impact of the virus, including keeping sick residence hall students away from food centers and asking professors to relax their attendance policies. Health officials advised students to refrain from drinking alcohol, smoking and sharing food and drinks, and to get plenty of rest to stay healthy.
• Student-athletes: The Jaqua Center opened at the beginning of winter term. The cost of the center was never released to the public, and funds to construct the glass building mostly came from the University alumnus for whom the building was named and Nike co-founder Phil Knight. Two of the three stories are open only to the University’s 515 student-athletes, coaches and staff members of Services for Student Athletes.
• Facilities: The Matthew Knight Arena, which will replace McArthur Court as the University’s volleyball and basketball venue next year, is near completion. The $200-million facility drew criticism from state legislators for what Sen. Rick Metsger, D-Welches, called “lax oversight” because the University was slow to release records, changed original design and bid costs and did not account for all its state bonds.

• Athletic department: On March 19, Mike Bellotti announced he was leaving the University to become an ESPN college football analyst. Media coverage exploded when it was discovered that Bellotti never had a written contract and was bought out for $2.3 million. Lariviere subsequently removed University Counsel Melinda Grier from her position and has since then sworn to keep all University dealings transparent.

• Pacifica Forum: The Forum became a hot issue at the University when students who called the group racist and anti-Semitic began to protest its weekly meeting in the EMU. As student demonstrations increased, the University moved the meetings to Agate Hall, but the demonstrations persisted until the University decided to move the Forum to the Baker Center on East 10th Avenue and High Street. But scheduling conflicts in the Baker Center allowed the Pacifica Forum to return to the main campus. Protesters demonstrating against the Forum in May weeks set off stink bombs, leading to several citations and an arrest.
• Faculty: In January, political science students and alumni discovered that the
department was not renewing senior instructor Ken DeBevoise’s contract for the next academic year. They decided to fight for DeBevoise’s job by creating the Keep Ken Coalition. Showing that organized students can make their voices heard, the students created enough controversy and finally were obliged by Vice Provost of Academic Affairs Russ Tomlin, who announced at a campus forum that the political science department is currently reviewing the decision to terminate DeBevoise’s contract.
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