SOU Academic Stories
Search SOU News
Latest Stories
SOU OK’d to use federal money advancing energy resilienceMarch 31, 2026 - 2:46 pm
SOU AI work presented to exclusive organizationMarch 30, 2026 - 11:01 am
SOU School of Business faculty engage students at DECA ConferenceMarch 5, 2026 - 10:36 am
Earl Hills, a map forward and the hammerMarch 3, 2026 - 12:11 pm
“Lollipop Moments” celebrate faculty & staffFebruary 27, 2026 - 1:24 pm
Six trustees appointed and confirmed to SOU BoardFebruary 17, 2026 - 3:09 pm
Winter workshops: student-led learning at The FarmFebruary 17, 2026 - 11:52 am
SOU civics course included on select national listFebruary 10, 2026 - 2:01 pm
SOU’s Slattery receives community service awardFebruary 4, 2026 - 12:05 pm
SOU enacts spending restrictions amid cash-flow concernsFebruary 3, 2026 - 3:03 pm
Lyn Hennion, SOU friend and former trustee, passes awayJanuary 27, 2026 - 11:56 am
SOU seeking student fellows for new Community Resilience and Leadership programJanuary 22, 2026 - 9:30 am

The convivial artist: engaged teaching & art with Michael Parker
/in AcademicsMichael Parker is no ordinary teacher and no ordinary artist. In fact, his enthusiasm for teaching socially engaged art is exhilarating. His teaching philosophy resonates with students as it’s situated in the relational and the inspired, which is what many young artists are looking for when entering the arts discipline in college. Since his arrival […]
Digital Cinema at SOU offers options for all
/in AcademicsSouthern Oregon University’s hands-on Digital Cinema program now offers aspiring filmmakers three bachelor’s degree options and nine stand-alone certificates that prepare graduates for careers in film and entertainment. Students can choose to pursue a bachelor of fine arts degree in Digital Cinema Production Arts or a bachelor of arts or bachelor of science degree in […]
SOU streamlines and refocuses general education requirements
/in Academics(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University will join a groundbreaking trend among universities across the country when fall term begins in September – the core, “general education” courses that students of all majors must take to earn their undergraduate degrees will be pared down and focused on six skills or “capacities” that students need and […]
SOU Laboratory of Anthropology receives grant for Britt analysis
/in Academics, Press Releases(Ashland, Ore.) — The Southern Oregon University Laboratory of Anthropology has received a grant of about $16,000 from a division of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department to complete a “faunal analysis” of artifacts unearthed during 2010-11 digs at Jacksonville’s Peter Britt Gardens. The excavations by SOULA were conducted as the city of Jacksonville prepared for a restoration […]
SOU shifts to four academic “schools”
/in Academics, Press Releases(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University’s 46 undergraduate and 10 graduate-level academic programs will be distributed among four “schools” rather than the university’s seven current “divisions” when the 2023-24 academic year begins in September. The organizational shift will eventually eliminate the cost of three director-level positions and will build greater efficiency into SOU’s administrative structure. […]
SOU and early learning consortium awarded $1.75 million grant
/in Academics, Press Releases(Ashland, Ore.) — The Early Childhood Development program at Southern Oregon University will receive a $1.75 million grant from the Oregon Department of Education’s Early Learning Division to lead and expand a collaborative effort to provide education and support for early-learning professionals in the region. SOU will become the fiscal agent and lead institution for […]
SOU’s 97th Commencement Ceremony
/in Academics, Press Releases(Ashland, Ore.) — More than 1,300 degrees were conferred when Southern Oregon University celebrated its 97th Commencement Ceremony at Raider Stadium on Saturday, June 17. The ceremony was also livestreamed on Rogue Valley Community Television. This year’s SOU Commencement featured three student speakers – graduating seniors Morgan Ulu of American Samoa, Aiki Deguchi of Japan […]
Faculty Spotlight Podcast: SOU’s Erica Knotts
/in AcademicsFrom SOU’s HON 319: The Reality of Strawberries from Mexico
/in AcademicsImagine: Late last night you and your son arrived in Los Reyes, Michoacán, Mexico – Mexico’s top strawberry producer. You stayed with your cousin who lives in Los Reyes. He let you sleep in the living room, tomorrow you’ll have to find somewhere else to stay. You pretended to sleep so your son could do […]
SOU programs collaborate to create fellowship opportunity
/in Academics(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University’s Native American Studies (NAS) program and the SOU Laboratory of Anthropology (SOULA) have created a competitive fellowship that promotes collaboration between the two programs and recognizes the research and learning that spans both. This year’s inaugural fellowship – which is funded by SOULA – was awarded to SOU undergraduates […]