SOU President Names Paul Westhelle as Interim JPR Director

Associate Director Westhelle appointed to lead JPR through transition

June 26, 2012: (Ashland, Ore) — Southern Oregon University (SOU) president Mary Cullinan has appointed Jefferson Public Radio (JPR) associate director Paul Westhelle as JPR’s interim director. Westhelle, 51, who has been at JPR since 1990, replaces current executive director Ronald Kramer, whose employment contract expires at the end of June. Westhelle’s appointment begins immediately.
Read more

SOU Archeologists Return to Fort Lane

Public Archeology Day is July 7 at Site (and there’s now a video from the dig)

(Ashland, Ore) The Southern Oregon University Laboratory of Anthropology (SOULA), in collaboration with the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD), continues archaeological investigations at Fort Lane this summer, and is inviting the public to see the site. The archaeological excavation will be open to the public Saturday, July 7, from 10:00 am through 2:00 pm.
Read more

SOU’s Top Grads Completed College in Three Years

(Ashland, Ore.) Southern Oregon University (SOU) has named Melody Condon and Michael Culp the Dankook Outstanding Undergraduate Woman and Man of the Year for 2012. The pair will be recognized at SOU’s commencement Saturday, June 16, 2012.
Read more

SOU to Hold End of School Year Recycling Event

(Ashland, Ore.) The end of the school year is approaching when, in the past, SOU had to order several large dumpsters to handled what students threw away as they moved out of their residence hall. Much of what has been tossed in the trash is perfectly useful – in some cases unused – clothes, books, non-perishable food, office supplies, linens, furniture and more.
This year, SOU’s new Full Circle Recycling Program and Southern Oregon Goodwill hope to divert the flow from dumpsters to recycling bins.
SOU Recycling and Southern Oregon Goodwill are partnering to host the first annual Raider Reclamation event. The event will run throughout Finals Week, June 11-15, when students will donate usable items to collection sites at the residence halls. All deposited items will be donated to Goodwill to be resold or recycled.
“Goodwill is extremely grateful to SOU students participating in the Raider Reclamation move out event. Their donations are truly providing a gift of hope to the most needy in our communities,” said Gayle Byrne, CEO/President of Southern Oregon Goodwill Industries.
“Donations become valuable merchandise in local Goodwill retail stores where $.84 of every $1 funds our Mission to offer career services to over 1,500 people with disabilities and other barriers to employment,” Byrne said adding, “Donations are earth-friendly as well. We can recycle items, both to help others and keep the environment clean for future generations.”
Raider Reclamation is one component of the waste reduction initiatives currently being implemented at SOU.