University of Oregon

University of Oregon

School Info:

The University of Oregon, founded in 1876, is the state’s flagship institution. Located in Eugene, an energetic college town, the university offers academic excellence and hands-on learning opportunities in a welcoming atmosphere. Towering trees shade the 295-acre campus, where students, faculty members, and employees from a wide variety of backgrounds share a commitment to preserving the environment and pursuing innovation in more than 260 academic programs that range from Eugene to Portland and from the coast to the mountains.

The University of Oregon is a world-class teaching and research university with nearly 300 comprehensive academic programs and 32 research centers and institutes, offering both breadth and depth in the liberal arts and sciences as well as professional programs (http://www.uoregon.edu/academics-and-research).

How University of Oregon Ranks:

According to U.S. News & World Report’s annual survey of top graduate schools, the University of Oregon College of Education faculty again leads the nation’s education researchers in productivity as measured by research award expenditures per tenured faculty member, topping all 50 ranked graduate schools of education in the country with $804,300 earned per faculty member.

The college also boasts a number three ranking among public graduate programs of education for 2011–12 and is ranked eighth among all schools of education based at either public or private universities. This is the fourth year running for the college in the top ten premiere graduate schools of education

(http://education.uoregon.edu/feature.htm?id=709).

The History of the Oregon Ducks:

The Evolution of a Mascot

Even though the uniforms have changed, no longer bearing his fighting countenance bursting through the block “O” logo, Donald Duck remains as one of the most recognizable and lovable mascots on the collegiate sports land scene.

Before Donald came to Eugene, thanks to the benevolence of Walt Disney, no duck seemed destined to represent the school as its mascot. In fact, during the University’s early days, Oregon’s pride was tied to a patriotic band of New England anglers with soggy soles. University students re-ferred to themselves as Webfooters.

Then through the intervening decades, once the duck nickname had found its rightful home, the downy mascot faced challenges from the Humane Society, the student newspaper, a football coach who preferred that his Donald bare his teeth, and a basketball coach who refused to even utter his name.

Originally, the prevailing campus sentiment was that the University shouldn’t degrade itself by dabbling in such nonsense as nicknames and water fowl. The nickname game began early this century when Oregon was originally known as “The Webfoot State.” Students took a shine to the slogan and referred to themselves as Webfoots and their yearbook as “The Webfoot.” (When the new motto became “The Beaver State” in 1909, Oregon students changed the yearbook name to “The Beaver” before switching back.)

The Webfoots reference can be traced to a hearty band of Massachusetts fishermen, who in 1776 helped save General George Washington and some 10,000 of his troops from imminent defeat at the hands of the British. When many of the Webfoots’ ancestors migrated west of the Cascades and settled in the Willamette Valley in the 1840s, the name stuck to their muddy shoes and came with them.

Ducks Football Homepage:  http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&SPID=233&SPSID=3383&KEY=&DB_OEM_ID=500&DB_LANG=C&IN_SUBSCRIBER_CONTENT=

2011 Ducks Football Schedule:  http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&KEY=&SPID=233&SPSID=3377