Shawn Rubino

Shawn Rubino, Club Sports, has made a big move--from working for a Minnesota woman's hockey team, to coaching women's volleyball at Yale, to working in Club Sports at the University of Oregon.

Winner of a 2004 Classified Staff Recognition Award, Rubino started at the UO working as an administrative assistant for ASUO. When a position at Club Sports opened up, she jumped at the chance to work in a more familiar atmosphere--one full of sports talk, sports equipment and sports-related paperwork.

"I love working with the students," Rubino says. "The award was for going the extra mile. I remember what it was like to be a student with questions, and I do my best to make sure I can give them an answer without giving them the runaround."

Rubino, with a degree in physical education, originally planned to teach, but was asked to start coaching and never looked back. Last summer, she married a man who is equally fond of sports, and they both plan to make Eugene their permanent home.

"My family is very important to me," Rubino says. "They always come first, and working for Club Sports, I have more time off in the summer to spend with my family."

In her free time, Rubino not only watches sports, she also scrapbooks, reads, loves to garden and hikes at the local parks, with Mt. Pisgah as her favorite.

"UO is a great place," Rubino says. "I like how the campus is set up, how centralized it is and how helpful everyone here has been, and yes, I like the Eugene weather!"

--Kaya Hardin, student reporter

This work by artist Paula MacCullen is one of the images to be displayed at the Labyrinth exhibit.

Thanks to the concerns of a mother, emerging artists in Eugene now have a University of Oregon program to help them bridge the gap between talent and professional success.

Kay King, '84, a local artist and educator, was sympathetic to her son's concerns when he attempted to transform his artistic skills into a livelihood, and she knew he was only one of many talented artists facing the same challenge. As a result, last year she founded the Labyrinth Project for Emerging Artists, supported by her donation of $10,000 through the University of Oregon Foundation. Inspired by a program in New York, King's program is run by long time friend, Marjorie DeBuse, director of the Youth Enrichment and TAG (Talented and Gifted) Programs at the College of Education.

Twelve artists were chosen for this year's inaugural program, but one had to drop out, leaving 11 participants. They've gone through a series of seminars featuring UO presenters--including David Turner, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art director; Doug Blandy, Arts and Administration professor; and Sandy Tillcock, Knight Library Press director--to learn career management skills and how to work with tax consultants, lawyers, collectors, critics and curators.

Now, the program culminates in a group exhibition July 17 through Sept. 11 at DIVA (Downtown Initiative for the Visual Arts), 110 W. Broadway, Eugene. The opening reception will be from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday, July 17. The exhibit is titled "11 Emerging Artists, 1 Common Passion." Both the exhibit and the reception are free and open to the public at the DIVA gallery. The show also will be part of the First Friday Art Walks in August and September.

"In developing this project, we discovered a strong group of local community members who are actively engaged in promoting the visual arts as a major feature of Eugene's cultural and economic life," says DeBuse, who joined the College of Education in 1980. "They'd like to see the visual arts play an increasingly important role, similar to that of the performing arts. I'm convinced that by helping talented local artists gain the skills needed to participate in the marketplace, the UO Labyrinth Project is engaged in a lively partnership with the community that promises to reap multiple benefits far into the future. We hope to continue on an annual basis."

Claire Flint, one of Labyrinth's participants, couldn't agree more.

"I've wrestled with the 'starving artist' myth for as long as I can remember," she says. "Labyrinth helped me to break the stigma that the artist's way is that of suffering, where success is saved only for those who sacrifice their lives and/or sanity to leave a legacy. The program exemplifies that art is a labor of love, and that good business doesn't always mean surrendering what you hold most sacred."

Dust continues to fly on campus this summer but it's a small price to pay for capital improvements that will result. Here's an update on major construction projects.

Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art

North face of new Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art wing

Major additions and renovation will make this distinctive facility nearly twice its previous size, offering dramatically expanded and redesigned spaces. In addition to new galleries, the museum will house a gift shop and café, expanded storage and work areas, study and learning areas and new offices for museum staff.

Estimated re-opening: January 2005

Living Learning Center

This $27 million project includes roughly 400 beds of student residence hall housing, instructional space, associated lounges and support space, and a dining facility. It will be located north of East 15th Avenue between Earl Hall and the Walton Hall Complex on the site of the outdoor tennis courts, which will be relocated. Construction is just getting underway.

Estimated opening: Fall 2006

Heart of Campus

Heart of Campus construction at East 13th and University

This long-planned project will result in a European-style plaza and a much needed face lift for the area surrounding the intersection of East 13th Avenue and University Street. The intersection will get new paving bricks, a garden area next to Friendly Hall and planters, similar to those on East 13th Avenue in front of the new Lillis Business Complex. The old wooden kiosk that stood just north of the intersection is already gone, to be replaced by a new steel-and-brick version designed by students.

"This will dramatically improve the aesthetics of our campus," says Planning Director Chris Ramey. "It will really enhance our grounds as a pedestrian-friendly campus."

The project is occurring in two parts. A landscape architecture class taught by Stan Jones is taking on part of the landscaping, including the Friendly Hall garden and kiosk. The turnaround and street improvements will be handled by university and commercial crews under the direction of the Eugene landscape architecture firm of Cameron McCarthy Gilbert & Scheibe.

Jones, head of the landscape architecture department, adds that UO is one of only a few universities to give students a chance to take on such a significant project through a design/build studio.

Completion: September 2004

Museum of Natural and Cultural History

Workers construct one of the new exhibits at the Museum of Natural and Cultural History

The main exhibit hall is being completely revamped to dramatically showcase a new permanent exhibit that celebrates the past 15,000 years of Oregon's cultural history. The new exhibit, "Oregon--Where Past is Present," has been nearly a year in the making and offers a fascinating walk through space and time, telling Oregon's dynamic story. The new display showcases the state's four geographical regions--the Great Basin, the Columbia Plateau, the Coast and the Interior Valleys. Visitors will learn about each region through re-created environments, artifacts, interactive exhibits, photographs, graphics and text. In the center of the exhibition hall is a re-created "laboratory" with a variety of interactive opportunities to help individuals explore the science behind the stories. There will also be space in the museum to showcase temporary exhibits from its own collections as well as traveling national and international exhibits.

"Oregon--Where Past is Present," opens early next year, but the rest of the museum re-opens October 8.

Hand-in-hand with the construction of a new main exhibit is a name change for the museum to include its cultural history component.

"From its beginnings, the museum has maintained a strong emphasis on human cultural history along with zoology, paleontology, botany and related fields," says Mel Aikens, museum director. "So it's quite appropriate for us to make this important change."

Estimated opening: February 2005

Many Nations Longhouse

Several of the 20 giant cedar and Douglas fir trees donated by the Coquille Tribe rise in place at the new Many Nations Longhouse

The new Many Nations Longhouse is rising fast on the southeast side of campus, adjacent to the Museum of Natural and Cultural History. The structure, built on the site of the previous longhouse, is a remarkable example of the university's partnership with the nine federally recognized tribes of Oregon. It was designed by UO architecture graduate Johnpaul Jones '67 and modeled after a traditional longhouse of the Kalapuya Indians, the first people known to have lived at the junction of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers.

For Jones, the project is a labor of love.

"The University of Oregon is where I found my way," says Jones, internationally renowned for incorporating Native American concepts into his work. Previous Jones projects include the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.; the Makah Tribal Center in Neah Bay, Wash.; the Longhouse Education and Cultural Center at Evergreen State College in Washington; and the Institute of American Indian Art in New Mexico.

Estimated opening: December 2004

On the horizon

This $10-million project consists of renovation of almost all of the existing Health and Counseling Center and the creation of approximately 10,000 square feet of new space. The completed project will result in a renewed center providing health, counseling and testing services for the students of the university.

Construction to begin Spring 2005

Hayward Field Plaza

Hayward Field Plaza

This planned new entrance to Hayward Field that will replace the current parking lot on the corner of East 15th Avenue and Agate Street. A key feature of the structure is to showcase many of the university's sports accomplishments. About 30 parking spaces will be added at a small, unused gravel area at the southern end of Hayward Field. The design will include extensive landscaping, brickwork and a columned entrance.

Construction to begin Spring 2005

Coming events of interest to the University of Oregon community include an art exhibit by UO's Labyrinth Project participants July 17 through Sept. 11 at DIVA's downtown Eugene gallery. See details in this issue's community feature. For additional information call (541) 346-1402.

A benefit concert is planned for Womenspace, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., Aug. 15 at Secret House Winery. The not-for-profit Eugene community organization offers a variety of services for adults and children experiencing domestic violence. Many UO staff, faculty and students participate as volunteers and interns. The concert features members of the Eugene Opera and guitarist and recording artist Craig Einhorn. Tickets are $20, children under 12 free. For ticket information, call (541) 485-8232.