Latest news with #UniversityOfOregon
New York Times
6 days ago
- Science
- New York Times
Franklin W. Stahl, 95, Dies; Helped Create a ‘Beautiful' DNA Experiment
Franklin W. Stahl, a molecular biologist who helped create a methodology to confirm how DNA replicates that was so elegant it has been remembered for more than five decades as 'the most beautiful experiment in biology,' died on April 2 at his home in Eugene, Ore. He was 95. The cause was congestive heart failure, his son Andy Stahl said. His death was not widely reported at the time, and there was no announcement about it from the University of Oregon in Eugene, where he was a professor and researcher. At his death, Dr. Stahl was an emeritus professor of molecular biology and genetics at the university's Institute of Molecular Biology. He had been at the university since 1959. Dr. Stahl's name and that of his collaborator, Matthew Meselson, were immortalized by the Meselson-Stahl Experiment, which is referenced in biology textbooks and taught in molecular genetics courses worldwide. In 2015, 'Helix Spirals,' a musical tribute to the experiment, was composed by Augusta Read Thomas and performed by a string quartet in Boston. The two biologists proved a theory advanced by the Nobel Prize winners James Watson and Francis Crick, who discovered DNA's helical structure in 1953. Watson and Crick posited in the journal Nature that DNA replicates in a so-called semi-conservative fashion. In 1958, Dr. Meselson and Dr. Stahl, postdoctoral fellows in Linus Pauling's laboratory at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., proved that Watson and Crick were correct, by using an experiment that was celebrated for its design, execution and results. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
University of Oregon extends athletic director Rob Mullens until 2033
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The University of Oregon announced on Monday that they have decided to keep athletic director Rob Mullens on through the 2032-33 year following one of the most successful eras in UO history, both athletically and academically. After Mullens arrived in 2010, Oregon has seen one of the most dominant periods winning a total of 18 NCAA championships. Advertisement University of Oregon President Karl Schol noted that Mullins' leadership has been a game-changer. 'His commitment to competitive excellence, academic achievement, and providing the best possible student-athlete experience embodies the very best of what it means to be a Duck,' Schol said. Mullens also had to oversee Oregon's transition from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten Conference. In their first year in the league, the Ducks took home a league-high of eight conference championships, a record for the most in a single academic year in school history. During his tenure, Oregon has produced over half of the Academic All-American honorees in all of UO history. Mullens is the fourth-longest tenured athletic director among Power Four institutions. Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to
BBC News
7 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Sportsworld The Warm Up Track 2025: How Cole Hocker won Olympic 1500m gold
Cole Hocker won Olympic 1500m gold in Paris. He describes in depth how the last lap of the race unfolded and how he claimed the greatest victory of his career. Cole discusses the era he's running in and how this period compares to what's gone before. He explains the impact that Steve Prefontaine had on him growing up, from watching videos of his races to drawing inspiration from his quotes. Bearing all of that in mind, Cole gives us a real insight into his decision to attend the University of Oregon in Eugene – meaning he'd be joining the same college track team which produced Prefontaine and so many others. What was it like to embrace that opportunity and the inevitable pressure that came with it? Paris was Cole's second Olympic Games. Had Tokyo gone ahead as planned in 2020, he's doubtful he would have made the team. As it turned out, the delay caused by the pandemic meant that he was ready by the time the Games were staged in 2021. How was the journey through that year's US Trials all the way to the final in Tokyo, and how valuable were all of the lessons he learned? Cole is a real student of the sport and takes us inside why the running community in the United States has always prized The Mile, and it's metric equivalent, so highly. He also discusses why he accepted the invitation to join the inaugural season of Grand Slam Track and, more generally, what he would like to see happen to grow the sport of Track and Field in the US ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Photo: Silver medalist Josh Kerr of Team Great Britain, gold medalist Cole Hocker of Team United States and Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Team Norway cross the finish line during the Men's 1500m Final on day eleven of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on August 06, 2024 in Paris, France (Credit: Corbis via Getty Images)
Daily Mail
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Free speech fury after woke university censors professor for quoting a line every American learns in school
A free speech row has erupted in Oregon after a woke university blocked a professor online for quoting the Declaration of Independence. Dr Bruce Gilley, a political scientist and climate change researcher, was 'blocked' on X by the University of Oregon after he posted 'all men are created equal.' Dr Gilley — who is employed by Portland State University — was responding to a post by the college which encouraged people to 'interrupt racism.' In response, he filed a lawsuit claiming the University of Oregon had violated his First Amendment Rights. The university un-blocked him after 60 days, but federal judges allowed the case to proceed — saying the professor raised legitimate claims that the university had violated his free speech rights, given it is a state-funded, public institution. The two parties have now reached an out-of-court settlement, revealed this month, that sees the University of Oregon pay out more than $730,000 and update its social media policy. Under the agreement, the University of Oregon will pay $191,000 to Dr Gilley to cover his legal costs and another $533,000 to cover its own legal costs. Its social media policy will now also include guidelines for staff to avoid 'viewpoint-based censorship' and create and appeals process for those who believe they have been blocked by the university unfairly. Institute for Free Speech Senior Attorney Del Kolde, who worked on the case, heralded the fee award as a 'vindication' of fundamental constitutional rights. 'The university made a costly decision to prioritize DEI principles over constitutional principles,' he said. '[They] aggressively litigated this case for nearly three years rather than acknowledging the obvious — that blocking someone for quoting the Declaration of Independence violates the First Amendment.' As part of the deal, the University of Oregon has said it 'does not admit liability and believes it would have prevailed if the parties litigated to conclusion'. The dispute broke out in June 2022 after the University's Equity and Inclusion account — @UOEquity — posted a 'racism interrupter' tool designed to help people respond to remarks that they consider to be racist or offensive. It suggested that to 'interrupt racism' someone should say: 'It sounded like you just said____. Is that really what you meant?' Dr Gilley quote-tweeted their post, and added the response: 'My entry: ...you just said "all men are created equal".' He was shortly afterward blocked by the university staffer who ran the account, Tova Stabin — who identifies online as a 'Ashkenazi lesbian feminist'. In August, Dr Gilley filed a lawsuit against the university — seeking a temporary restraining order and $17.91 in nominal damages. Individuals generally cannot be sued for blocking people on X because this is seen as a private action, but public institutions can be. The university tried to have the case dismissed, but a federal judge rejected its claim in February 2023, saying the professor raised legitimate claims that the 60-day blocking violated his free speech rights. An appeals court allowed his preliminary injunction request in March 2024, saying the university had not shown that the conduct cannot reasonably be expected to occur again. The case was later dismissed after the two parties agreed to reach a negotiated settlement. Stabin resigned from the university shortly before the lawsuit was filed, with internal records released in the case showing that other staff members urged her to unblock Dr Gilley as soon as they were aware of the situation. The University's general counsel immediately emailed her requesting that Dr Gilley be unblocked unless he engaged in speech 'not protected by the United States and Oregon Constitutions'. The University's communications department also sent an email to staff reinforcing that '"viewpoint discrimination" isn't permitted when managing social media accounts.' Its equity and inclusion account has 823 followers online, and last posted in August 2022 shortly after the lawsuit was filed. According to court documents, Dr Gilley is a critic of diversity, equity and inclusion principles because he 'believes that DEI calls for discrimination against university faculty, students, and applicants who are not members of groups favored'. At his university, he also 'resists attempts' to impose DEI on campus and previously declined to sign a 'Black Lives Matter' statement because it was an 'ideological principle'.
