FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

April 16, 2014                                   

For further information contact: 

Liz Shelby

Chief of Staff, Southern Oregon University

shelby@sou.edu

541-552-6111

Senator Bates and Representative Buckley will be recognized at an awards ceremony at Southern Oregon University on April 30

(Ashland, OR.) – Senator Alan C. Bates and Representative Peter J. Buckley have been selected to receive the 2014 Southern Oregon University President’s Medal.

“It is truly an honor to receive the President’s Medal,” said Senator Alan Bates. “Southern Oregon University is an important entity in the complex and delicate fabric that represents both the past and future of southern Oregon. I am humbled to be recognized in this manner.  It’s a pleasure to work alongside those who strive for a bright and successful future for SOU.”

The Southern Oregon University President’s Medal is awarded each year to a member of the community. “This is the highest service award presented by SOU,” said SOU President Dr. Mary Cullinan. “The President’s Medal recognizes individuals who have served the University, the region, and the greater community in an exemplary manner. It represents qualities such as compassion, integrity, and service. Receiving the medal is a true honor.”

“While I appreciate the acknowledgement of our work, Senator Bates and I both know there is still a long way to go to turn around Oregon’s investment in higher education,” said Representative Peter Buckley. “We’re committed to doing everything we can to help SOU thrive.”

Senator Bates and Representative Buckley will be recognized at an awards ceremony at Southern Oregon University on April 30.

–SOU–

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 14, 2014

For more information contact:

D. Roxane Beigel-Coryell, Sustainability & Recycling Coordinator

beigelcod@sou.edu

541-552-8139

“SOU is pleased to receive LEED Gold Certification for the new Raider Village,” says Drew Gilliland, SOU Director of Facilities Management & Planning. “This is the campus’ largest project to date. We are proud to have surpassed our goal of LEED Silver Certification for all new construction and look forward to continuing to meet and exceed this goal with future projects.”

The Raider Village is the newest development in sustainable campus living and a unique experience that has no equal in the Oregon University System. The Village includes 195,000 sf of new student housing, 24,000 sf of dining opportunities and over 6.8 acres of renovated landscaping, parking and pedestrian paths. Raider Village is an interactive learning community of environmental stewardship and inspiration.

SOU achieved LEED certification for implementing practical and measurable strategies and solutions aimed at achieving high performance in: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. “SOU’s Raider Village LEED certification demonstrates tremendous green building leadership,” said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair, USGBC. “The urgency of USGBC’s mission has challenged the industry to move faster and reach further than ever before, and SOU serves as a prime example with just how much we can accomplish.”

Sustainable building practices were employed throughout the design and construction of the Raider Village residence and dining complex. The project sourced 26% of materials within 500 miles and diverted a staggering 86% of construction waste from the landfill. Students enjoy daylit common spaces, thermostat controls for each unit, and bicycle storage in each room. The site also features six electric vehicle charging stations, improved pedestrian crossings to enhance walkability, and 160 covered bicycle stalls throughout Raider Village.

Additional sustainable building strategies featured in Raider Village include:

• 11.2% on-site renewable energy generation for all new buildings including solar water heating and photovoltaic electricity generation;
• 45% water reduction beyond building code with water conserving plumbing fixtures;
• Lighting sensors and advanced controls to reduce energy use in vacant spaces;
• Non-potable water used for landscaping;
• Reduced on-site parking;
• LoVOC or NoVOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) materials and furnishings used inside buildings and during construction.

About US Green Building Council

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to a prosperous and sustainable future for our nation through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings. http://www.usgbc.org/

About Southern Oregon University

Southern Oregon University provides outstanding student experiences, valued degrees, and successful graduates. SOU is known for excellence in faculty, intellectual creativity and rigor, quality and innovation in connected learning programs, and the educational benefits of its unique geographic location. SOU was the first university in Oregon—and one of the first in the nation—to offset 100 percent of its energy use with clean, renewable power, and it is the first university in the nation to balance 100% of its water consumption. Visit sou.edu.

########## SOU ##########

MEDIA ALERT

April 8, 2014

For more information contact:

Michael Oxendine, SOU Facilities Management and Planning

oxendinem@sou.edu

541-552-6117

SOU Students, staff, and faculty will be joined by Ashland High School, Ashland Middle School, and the community to accomplish something great together!

(Ashland, OR) — On Wednesday April 9, 2014, SOU Landscape Services along with Facilities Management & Planning, ECOS, SOU Dining, SOU Green House, and SOU Civic Engagement Program will host our first annual Arbor Day Celebration sponsored by Plant Oregon.

We will host several environmental organizations that will be in the Stevenson Union Courtyard all day to answer questions and provide current environmental information.

From 10:00am to 11:45am we are going to have free Arboriculture, Environmental Awareness, and Arbor-focused research presentations in the Diversions Room of the Stevenson Union.

At 12:00pm, we would like everyone on campus to join us at the Stevenson Union Courtyard to help us plant thousands of perennial flowers; one for every student enrolled this year.

Afterwards we invite everyone to attend our Arbor Day Block Party at the HAWK.  SOU Dining will be offering great discounts on lunch and also free samples.

SOU Students, Staff, and Faculty will show the world what they can accomplish when they pull together and work as a team to make SOU a better, more sustainable place.

About Arbor Day:

The Arbor Day Foundation with a mission “to inspire people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees” was founded in 1972 by John Rosenow. The foundation is supported by donations, selling trees and merchandise, and by corporate sponsors. https://www.arborday.org/

About Plant Oregon

From large, specimen trees and native plants to small, ready-to-plant restoration species, Plant Oregon’s nursery is filled to the brim with thousands of happy, healthy trees and shrubs. Plant Oregon also provides a wide array of landscaping services, from full landscape consulting, design, and installation to hydroseeding, irrigation, and restoration projects. We make and sell high quality compost and wood chips, and we are also the one and only distributer of the well-known and loved HOLMAC tree digging machine in North America. http://www.plantoregon.com/pilot.asp

About Southern Oregon University

Southern Oregon University provides outstanding student experiences, valued degrees, and successful graduates. SOU is known for excellence in faculty, intellectual creativity and rigor, quality and innovation in connected learning programs, and the educational benefits of its unique geographic location. SOU was the first university in Oregon—and one of the first in the nation—to offset 100 percent of its energy use with clean, renewable power, and it is the first university in the nation to balance 100% of its water consumption. Visit sou.edu.

########## SOU ##########

For further information contact:

The scholarships will support students pursuing business degrees with a focus on accounting.

Medford and Ashland, OR – March 18, 2014: The Medford office of Moss Adams and the Moss Adams Foundation generously made a $50,000 scholarship gift to support Southern Oregon University Honors College students. The scholarships will support students pursuing business degrees with a focus on accounting.

The SOU Honors College offers talented students the opportunity to work closely with faculty in small classes and to build dynamic relationships with employers and community leaders through a personalized mentoring program.

“We are proud to support Southern Oregon University and the Honors College. It is important to our region and the business community that SOU continues to be competitive and attract the best and the brightest students. SOU helps build a talented pool of educated employees that Moss Adams, our clients, and the entire community benefit from,” says Jason Lukaszewicz, Partner in Charge of the Moss Adams Medford office.

About Moss Adams

Focusing on assurance, tax, consulting, risk management, transaction, and wealth services, Moss Adams has a staff of over 2,000 that includes more than 260 partners. The firm serves public, private, and not-for-profit enterprises across the nation through specialized industry and service teams. Moss Adams has 22 offices in Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Kansas. The Moss Adams Foundation, funded by the firm, its partners, and employees, is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that supports accounting and business related study and students at colleges and universities throughout the West and worldwide disaster relief.

About Southern Oregon University

Southern Oregon University provides outstanding student experiences, valued degrees, and successful graduates. SOU is known for excellence in faculty, intellectual creativity and rigor, quality and innovation in connected learning programs, and the educational benefits of its unique geographic location. SOU was the first university in Oregon—and one of the first in the nation—to offset 100 percent of its energy use with clean, renewable power, and it is the first university in the nation to balance 100% of its water consumption. Visit sou.edu.

About the SOU Honors College

Combing real world projects with intellectual rigor, The Honors College at Southern Oregon University aims to provide a challenging learning environment. Our creative curricula take advantage of the university’s unique location by drawing on the rich natural, cultural, and artistic resources that are Southern Oregon. Southern Oregon University seeks to create a community of learners prepared for a lifetime of intellectual curiosity, inquiry, scholarship, and service.

########## SOU ##########

For further information contact:

2014 Legislature Approves Important Measures for SOU Capital, Operations, and Governance

March 12, 2014

With the help of our southern Oregon delegation, Southern Oregon University achieved our legislative objectives during the 2014 legislative session that started in early February and ended on March 7, 2014.  SOU had visible advocacy throughout the session, including Salem visits from President Mary Cullinan, VP Craig Morris, Government Relations Director Liz Shelby, and SOU students who were in the Capitol every day of the session.

Outcomes for SOU from the 2014  Legislative Session include approval of the following measures:

Capital Budget

Senate Bill 5702 and Senate Bill 5703 amend the limits established during the 2013 legislative session on the maximum amount of bonds and/or third party agreements that state agencies may issue.

In connection with this budget action, SOU received $21.3M in XI-Q Bonds for the McNeal Hall Seismic/Deferred Maintenance Upgrade.  Our project was among those on the OUS top three life-safety priority list for this session.  The total approved for OUS capital projects was $29,351,100.

Operating Budget

HB 5201 is a budget reconciliation bill that modifies the state budget for the 2013-15 biennium. The measure adds $2 million General Fund to OUS for SEIU compensation agreements ($850K for PSU and $1.15M for the four technical and regional universities).

The bill also redirects $3.5 million of the Chancellor’s Office General Fund operating budget, into a special purpose appropriation that a subsequent Emergency Board will allocate for higher education governance cost changes. Of this budget, $500,000 is re-directed to EOU and another $500,000 to SOU as one-time financial assistance to be used for strategic reinvestment in student success during a period of budget cutting actions.

University Governance

HB 4018, which changes the date by which Eastern Oregon University, Oregon Institute of Technology, Southern Oregon University or Western Oregon University may request institutional governing board to May 15, 2014, and changes process of board formation, passed unanimously in both the House and the Senate on March 7, 2014.

Essentially the bill provides the State Board of Higher Education (SBHE) with more options when deciding whether to endorse or not endorse a university’s request to have a governing board. With HB4018, the SBHE can now endorse a university to have a governing board, with some conditions, which will be mutually agreed upon, in addition to the two previous options of not endorsing a request for a board or endorsing a request for a board unconditionally.

Representative Peter Buckley, Senator Alan Bates, and Senator Michael Dembrow had significant roles as negotiators of eight rounds of amendments that helped produce a consensus bill.

NEWS RELEASE

For further information contact:

Liz Shelby shelby@sou.edu 541.552.6111

Faculty, campus community will review plan during a 20 University-day comment period

Ashland, OR – February 6, 2014: Southern Oregon University has released a provisional (draft) plan that would eliminate a number of low-enrolled academic programs in order to cut costs. The provisional plan was preceded by three years of campus-wide work to keep costs as low as possible for students in the face of significant disinvestment by the state of Oregon.

Late last year the campus announced plans for “retrenchment,” a word used in the SOU faculty union contract when academic programs are eliminated or restructured.

The plan lays out three scenarios, from best to worst case, with a reduction range from between $3.3 million and $5 million depending on variables such as level of state funding and enrollment that are unknown at this time. The plan also includes a fourth scenario with programs that could be considered for elimination only if a very worst situation emerged, requiring $7 million in reductions. The State Board of Higher Education required that such an extreme scenario be included in the plan. “However, if the very worst scenario occurred,” says SOU President Mary Cullinan, “we would not compromise the mission of SOU with such draconian cuts only in academic areas. We would have broad conversations across campus before we would cut that deeply into academics.”

Funding for Oregon’s public universities remains far behind the levels seen in the past. In 1999, for example, SOU received a state allocation $13 million higher than in 2013 despite an increase of nearly a thousand students since then. Extensive planning initiatives used to determine cost reductions have included sophisticated data gathering, analysis of national models, implementation of best practices in the curriculum, data-driven decision-making, and reorganization of key areas and offices. Faculty, staff, students, and members of the external community have provided feedback on these initiatives.

In order to have the least impact on students as possible, proposed cuts focus on programs with low enrollment and low numbers of graduates.

Cullinan stressed that “All students who are in declared majors by March 15, 2014, will be able to complete their SOU degrees.”

From the day the provisional retrenchment plan is released, according to the faculty union contract, the campus has a 20 University-day period in which to comment on the cuts. The provisional plan will be discussed widely by constituencies on and off campus. Then the final plan will be published. Implementation will occur over three years.

“Just as we’ve seen with many organizations, long-term successful enterprises recalibrate when they need to,” said Cullinan. “We have a great institution here that means a lot to our region and to the state. We’re meeting our challenges head on, for our students now and in the future.”

“I’m grateful for the collaborative campus process that enabled us to develop a strong financial plan for SOU,” said Cullinan. “While this is a necessary action, it is not an easy one. We will lose some of our valued faculty colleagues, each of whom has been an important part of SOU.”

To read SOU’s provisional plan, go to http://stateoftheuniversity.sou.edu/

 About Southern Oregon University

Southern Oregon University provides outstanding student experiences, valued degrees, and successful graduates. SOU is known for excellence in faculty, intellectual creativity and rigor, quality and innovation in connected learning programs, and the educational benefits of its unique geographic location. SOU was the first university in Oregon—and one of the first in the nation—to offset 100 percent of its energy use with clean, renewable power. Visit sou.edu.