(Ashland, Ore.) — Earth Day 2015 will be marked around the world with events, activities, and other forms of recognition next Wednesday, April 22. At Southern Oregon University, though, just one day of recognition won’t do: SOU has planned an entire week of activities, beginning with a rideshare meet and greet Monday, April 20, and culminating with a volunteer day at the SOU Campus Arboretum.
The main Earth Day celebration will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 22 in the Stevenson Union Courtyard. This celebration will include a compost demonstration, information on how your diet impacts the planet’s food resources, a booth with activities from campus groups and community non-profits, and much more.
Activities throughout the week will include a workshop on natural skin care, a group hike, bike ride, lectures, a musical performance and a pollinator walk and talk that will provide information on the University’s pollinator gardens and landscaping, beehives, and sustainable farm.
SOU will also leverage its new status as the nation’s first Bee Campus USA to offer a number of informational activities related to bees and other pollinators, including Family Day with the Birds, Bees, Bats, and Butterflies on Sunday, April 19 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the University’s family housing complex; an opportunity to build a “Wild Bee Hotel” on April 20; and much more.
All activities are free and open to the public, and a full schedule of events plus more information is available online at www.sou.edu/sustainable.
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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.

(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University is one of the 353 most environmentally responsible colleges according to The Princeton Review (www.PrincetonReview.com). The education services company known for its test prep and tutoring services, books, and college rankings features SOU in the 2015 edition of its free book, The Princeton Review Guide to 353 Green Colleges.
Published April 16, a few days before the April 22, 2015 celebration of Earth Day, the free, 218-page guide can be downloaded at www.princetonreview.com/green-guide.
The Princeton Review chose the schools for this sixth annual edition of its “green guide” based on data from the company’s 2014 survey of hundreds of four-year colleges concerning the schools’ commitments to the environment and sustainability. (Notes follow on how schools were chosen.)
“We are very pleased with our inclusion on this list, which clearly illustrates Southern Oregon University’s commitment to sustainability,” said SOU President Dr. Roy Saigo. “This announcement, closely following our designation as Tree Campus USA and the nation’s first Bee Campus USA, is very welcome news. We are always on the lookout for ways by which we can make improvements and become even better stewards of the land and environment while engaging and empowering our students to become involved as well.”
“We strongly recommend SOU and the other fine colleges in this guide to the many environmentally-minded students who seek to study and live at green colleges,” said The Princeton Review’s Robert Franek, Senior VP-Publisher.
Franek noted the growing interest the company has seen among college-bound students in green colleges. “Among nearly 10,000 teens who participated in our 2015 College Hopes & Worries Survey, 61% told us that having information about a school’s commitment to the environment would influence their decision to apply to or attend the college.” (A complete report on that survey is at www.princetonreview.com/college-hopes-worries.)

The profiles in The Princeton Review’s Guide to 353 Green Colleges provide information about each school’s admission requirements, cost and financial aid, and student body stats. They also include “Green Facts” about the schools with details on the availability of transportation alternatives at the schools and the percentage of the school food budgets spent on local/organic food.
In the “Green Facts” section on SOU, The Princeton Review cites the availability of alternative transportation for SOU students, the percent of local/organic food available, recent LEED-certified construction projects, and the availability of a sustainability-focused degree option, among other highlights. The Princeton Review also notes that SOU is the first public university in the United States to offset 100 percent of its water use.
The Princeton Review first published this guide in 2010. It remains the only free, annually updated downloadable guide to green colleges. The company is also known for its dozens of categories of college rankings in its annual books, The Best 379 Colleges and Colleges That Pay You Back.

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How Schools Were Chosen for the Guide
The Princeton Review chose the colleges based on “Green Rating” scores (from 60 to 99) that the company tallied in summer 2014 for 861 colleges using data from its 2013-14 survey of school administrators. The survey asked them to report on their school’s sustainability-related policies, practices, and programs. More than 25 data points were weighted in the assessment. Schools with Green Rating scores of 83 or higher made it into this guide. Most of the schools (347) in this edition are in the U.S. Five are in Canada. One is in Egypt. Information about Princeton Review’s Green Rating and its Green Honor Roll saluting schools that received the highest possible rating score, 99, is at www.princetonreview.com/green-guide. Note: The Princeton Review does not publish the schools’ Green Rating scores in this guide. The scores can be found in the profiles of the schools on www.princetonreview.com and in the 2015 edition of The Princeton Review books, The Best 379 Colleges and The Complete Book of Colleges, published in August 2014.
How the Top 50 Green Colleges List Was Done
The Princeton Review developed the ranking list using data from its institutional survey for its Green Rating and its surveys of students attending the colleges. Ten data points from the institutional survey were factored into the assessment. Data from the student survey included student ratings of how sustainability issues influenced their education and life on campus; adminis­tration and student support for environmental awareness and conservation efforts; and the visibility and impact of student environmental groups.
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 Princeton Review
The Princeton Review is a leading test preparation, tutoring, and college admission services company. Every year, it helps millions of college- and graduate school-bound students achieve their education and career goals through online and in person courses delivered by a network of more than 4,000 teachers and tutors and its more than 150 print and digital books published by Penguin Random House. The Princeton Review is headquartered in Natick, MA, and is an operating business of IAC (NASDAQ: IACI). For more information, visit The Princeton Review on its web site and on its Facebook page. Follow the company’s Twitter feed @ThePrincetonRev.

(Ashland, Ore.) —Cascades Hub, a startup space for non-profit innovation based at Southern Oregon University, will host Presentations Night, a showcase of 10 community projects emerging from a nine-week training program underway this Spring.
“Presentations Night provides the community with an opportunity to get a first look at some of the exciting non-profit projects that entrepreneurs and innovators in our community have been working on at Cascades Hub this Spring,” according to Dr. Donnie Maclurcan, director of the Cascades Hub and affiliate professor of social science at SOU. “There are a wide range of projects and ideas that will be presented, including a pit bull rescue service, a living Christmas tree delivery and pickup business, and a tutoring program for low-income families” said Maclurcan.
Cascades Hub offers space for those spearheading non-profit organizations to share resources and ideas in a co-working environment that is conducive to creativity and innovation.
Presentations Night will give attendees the opportunity to vote for projects that they would like to see garner additional support. It will also feature live music and refreshments, and provide an opportunity for members of the community to offer additional support, matched to the needs of the projects being launched.
“We are really excited to share these ideas with the public for the first time,” Maclurcan said. “The entrepreneurs behind these projects are passionate and it’s only a matter of time before these ideas have a profound, positive impact on our local communities and beyond.”
Presentations Night will take place from 6-8:30 p.m., Friday, May 1, in the Meese Auditorium on SOU’s main campus in Ashland. A suggested $20 donation by attendees will be divided among the projects participating in the event. For more information, log onto www.cascadeshub.org or email info@cascadeshub.org.
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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.

(Ashland, Ore.) – The Music program of the Oregon Center for the Arts at Southern Oregon University presents the fourth concert of the 2014-2015 SOU Tutunov Piano Series, featuring piano virtuoso Antonio Di Cristofano on Friday, May 1 at 7:30 p.m. in the SOU Music Recital Hall.
Di Cristofano will perform works by Chopin, Liszt, Berg and Scriabin. “Maestro Di Cristofano is the foremost Italian expert in music by a Russian composer  ̶  Alexander Scriabin  ̶  who will leave everyone breathless with his grand interpretations of a great blend of familiar and rarely performed music,” said series namesake Dr. Alexander Tutunov.
Di Cristofano made his U.S. debut in 2006 in Weill Hall in New York and has performed in Carnegie Hall with the New England Symphony. He has performed as a soloist and with symphony orchestras in the United States, Italy, Russia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, England, France, Greece, Israel, Mexico, South Korea, and Spain.
He has led master classes for the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, for the Academy of Dubrovnik, for the SMC Academy of Seoul, the Valletta International Piano Festival and the Conservatory of Thessaloniki. He has recorded for Velut Luna, with flutist Enzo Caroli, a monographic CD of Schubert and released a solo CD with music by Berg, Brahms and Scriabin. He is regularly invited to jury international piano competitions in locales like Madrid, Paris and Moscow.
Tutunov is Professor of Piano and Artist in Residence at Southern Oregon University. “Over the past few years, I felt there were enough people in the Rogue Valley who are as passionate about the things I do and love doing as I am,” said Tutunov. “We have a fortunate combination of a great venue, terrific supportive audience, and my personal connections in the classical piano music world with the result that we can bring high quality music-making to the Rogue Valley.” Tutunov describes each featured artist’s uncompromising quest for finding “the deepest meaning and perfection in the music they perform” as the common thread through the series.
Tutunov also is the Artistic Director of the SOU International Piano Institute and Artist in Residence at the University of Alaska Southeast. He just finished a five-year tenure as a voting member of the Grammy Academy. Tutunov was named the Nationally Certified Teacher of Music and the Official Soloist with the Port Angeles Symphony orchestra last year. He maintains a busy performing schedule in Europe, China, Mexico and the United States as a recitalist, soloist with orchestra, and on radio and television. He is also in demand as an adjudicator for piano competitions.
Reserved tickets are $20 general and free to full-time students. The Performing Arts Box Office is located in the Music Recital Hall lobby. Box office hours are noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and two hours prior to each performance. Tickets can be purchased with a credit card over the phone by calling 541-552-6348 or online at oca.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, and it is the first university in the nation to balance 100 percent of its water consumption. Visit sou.edu.
Photo: Pianist Antonio Di Cristofano

(Ashland, Ore.) —The Southern Oregon University Department of Foreign Languages has announced that its inaugural Foreign Language Film Festival will take place May 1-3 on campus at SOU. The festival will feature eight films in five different languages and is designed to get students and the community excited about and interested in foreign languages.
“Though the festival is open to all, the films we’ve selected are really targeted toward teens and young adults,” according to Christiane Pyle, SOU German instructor and organizer of the Foreign Language Film Festival.
High schools and community colleges from throughout the Rogue Valley and as far away as Roseburg and Klamath Falls have been invited and are planning to attend the event, which will feature student-led panel discussions after each film.

The film festival aims to renew interest and excitement in foreign languages in general, and in foreign language programs offered at SOU. “This is a very exciting and interesting field of study,” said Professor Ariel Zatarain Tumbaga, another of the festival’s organizers. “We hope that this event will help bring some attention to the wonderful programs at SOU.”
This year’s lineup includes films in American Sign Language, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish, all of which will be subtitled. The showings are free and open to the public, but seating is limited and available on a first come, first serve basis.
More information, including a full schedule of screenings, can be found online at www.tinyurl.com/SOUFLFF. Those interested in attending can contact Kyla Boswell by phone at 541-552-6436 or via email at boswellk@sou.edu.
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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.