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There is a situation at the University of Oregon that would make a very great addition to a story about educational quality at our nation's (and our state's) universities.  Ken DeBevoise is a senior instructor in the political science department at the University of Oregon.  Professor De Bevoise has been at UO for about 15 years, as a GTF, visiting professor, adjunct professor and most recently senior instructor. Year after year he has been one of the highest rated professors on campus according to student assessments.  In a time where universities are becoming like degree factories, and students often skate through their undergraduate coursework without even having stepped foot in the library, DeBevoise's courses are a breath of fresh air.  Though the work is grueling, it results in some of the most intelligent dialogue on a diverse range of topics (from the Middle East to urban politics to criminal justice, and much more) that you'll find in the entire state of Oregon, if not in the country.  He is also one of very few professors teaching courses that provide a comprehensive study on the Middle East, a region that is clearly of great import to our current and future political discourse.  Additionally, Professor De Bevoise, or Ken as his students know him, knows each of his students by name, and he genuinely cares about them, long after they have left his class and the university.

We have recently learned that the university is planning to eliminate his position because the political science department wants to shift funds to strengthen its research capacity.  More than 300 current and former UO students and parents around the world have gotten together via facebook and email, trying to stop this terrible move by the U of O.

Andrew Bransford

andrew.bransford@gmail.com

posted 3 years, 2 months ago
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