Emergency Board releases allocation to SOU Ashland

Legislative Emergency Board approves SOU allocation

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(Ashland, Ore.) — The Oregon Legislature’s Joint Emergency Board voted Thursday to release the second half of a $15 million allocation to Southern Oregon University, signaling lawmakers’ satisfaction that the university is on track to meet agreed-upon milestones for implementation of its Vitality Plan for long-term financial stability and operational innovation.

The 20-member E-Board approved the allocation “without objections” – the equivalent of a unanimous vote – and after a robust and thoughtful discussion. The $7.5 million is the second installment of a $15 million emergency funding package approved by the legislature this spring to maintain SOU’s financial viability through June 2027 and beyond. The funding was contingent on SOU’s development and successful implementation of a plan for long-term fiscal sustainability.

“This is the turning of a corner for Southern Oregon University,” President Rick Bailey said following the vote. “Our short-term financial security is assured, and we are proceeding full-speed ahead with our plan to transform SOU’s academic and operational model for the long term. There is a bright future for SOU and its students, as we shift toward multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary learning, streamlined pathways to completion, experiential learning opportunities and a continued commitment to student success.

“We owe a debt of gratitude to legislators from both political parties for keeping faith with SOU over the past several months as the university has acted with alacrity to resolve its financial issues and build a sustainable model for the future.”

The SOU Board of Trustees approved the final version of the Vitality Plan in July, satisfying one of the conditions set by the legislature. Many legislators offered specific praise today for SOU’s efforts in rethinking its academic and operations models. In particular, Rep. Mark Owens – who voted against the release of the first $7.5 million in June – voted “yes” this morning, citing the university’s financial reporting and stronger forecasting of future conditions in developing the plan and ensuring fiscal stability through June 2029.

Moving forward, Oregon’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission will track SOU’s adherence to specific benchmarks in executing the Vitality Plan. SOU is submitting monthly reports on its progress, adhering to measurable implementation yardsticks and offering clear communication with the campus community, state officials and the public.

The Vitality Plan reduces SOU’s $100 million budget by more than $20 million while avoiding impacts on students wherever possible. It preserves pathways to degree completion and leverages resources throughout the Rogue Valley for relevant capstones, internships, mentorships and research projects that combine academic theory with hands-on experience.

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Karen Lopez Villanueva appointed to SOU Ashland board

Graduate student appointed, current members reappointed to SOU Board

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(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University student Karen Lucia López Villanueva, a Master of Business Administration candidate from Guanajuato, Mexico, has been appointed by Gov. Tina Kotek and confirmed Thursday by the Oregon Senate to serve on the university’s Board of Trustees. Current board members Brent Barry and Iris Maria Chavez were each appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate to serve second terms on the SOU Board.

López Villanueva will finish the unexpired term of Rose Harwood as the board’s graduate student member. That term expires June 30, 2027, and Villanueva was also appointed to her own two-year term on the board, beginning next July 1.

Barry and Chavez were reappointed to their second four-year terms that will begin next July 1 and run through June 20, 2030. Barry was appointed to his initial term in June 2022, and Chavez was first appointed in September 2022 to complete an unexpired four-year term on the board.

“I am delighted to welcome Karen Lucía López Villanueva – an accomplished graduate student, violinist and financial professional – to the board, as Brent Barry and Iris Maria Chavez continue their invaluable leadership on the SOU board,” Chair Sheila Clough said. “I am deeply grateful for their service and shared commitment to bringing lasting vitality to SOU’s future and to ensure that our students thrive.”

López Villanueva is pursuing dual MBA concentrations in business analytics and accounting at SOU. She earned her bachelor’s degree in public accounting from SOU’s sister university, the Universidad de Guanajuato, and has professional experience in public and corporate accounting, and in fiscal compliance.

She is also an accomplished violinist who earned a second-place medal at the 16th Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Festival in 2024, performing with Siskiyou Violins at Vienna, Austria’s renowned Musikverein concert hall.

López Villanueva is an active member of her communities in both Ashland and Guanajuato. She served previously in Guanajuato as secretary of the board for the student branch of the Mexican Institute of Public Accountants, representing the nine-state, central-western region of Mexico. She currently serves as a board member for the Ashland Amigo Club, supporting initiatives that strengthen cultural connections and community engagement in southern Oregon. She is also a graduate assistant to the dean of SOU’s College of Natural and Social Sciences, where she supports the administration and leads critical research on sustainable investment strategies that help to inform institutional endowment practices.

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Digital Cinema at SOU Ashland

SOU Digital Cinema on prestigious list for third consecutive year

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(Ashland, Ore.) —Southern Oregon University’s Digital Cinema program has been included on MovieMaker Magazine’s annual list of the “30 Best Film Schools in the U.S. and Canada” for the third consecutive year.

SOU Digital Cinema is the only program from Oregon, Washington or Idaho to be included in MovieMaker’s review. The Digital Cinema major – part of SOU’s Communication, Media & Cinema Department – was launched in 2019 and has enjoyed steady growth and increasing regional attention ever since. The department offers majors in Communication Studies and Media Innovation in addition to Digital Cinema.

Digital Cinema at SOU AshlandStudents in the program learn visual storytelling, creative problem-solving and professional collaboration using industry-standard production technologies, while developing essential skills in leadership, communication, adaptability, critical thinking, equitable and sustainable practices, teamwork and conflict management. In addition to bachelor of arts, bachelor of science and bachelor of fine arts degrees, the program offers regular student showcases and connections with local film professionals, and hosts an annual student film festival that is popular with the community.

The centerpiece of the Digital Cinema program is its 10-week production immersion course, The Crew Experience, in which students are assigned professional crew roles and produce a short film guided by the faculty and industry mentors.

“This third annual recognition is a real testament to the creative passion and energy of our faculty and students,” said Christopher Lucas, Ph.D., an associate professor and program lead. “I’m proud of the film and production culture we’ve been able to build here in Ashland.”

SOU President Rick Bailey praised the teamwork that has made the program a success.

“All of us at Southern Oregon University are thrilled to be named on the best film schools list for the third year in a row, and are grateful to everyone at MovieMaker for this prestigious distinction,” President Bailey said. “We also want to recognize the outstanding students, faculty and staff who make our Digital Cinema program such a standout academic and career-building pathway.”

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SOU Ashland Vitality Plan addresses long-term sustainability

SOU finalizes Vitality Plan for institutional transformation

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(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University has released the final version of its Vitality Plan, a strategic outline that addresses financial challenges and prepares the university for long-term sustainability and student opportunities.

The final version includes a variety of modifications based on suggestions from faculty, staff and students that were submitted after a provisional version of the Vitality Plan was announced June 15.

The new version holds firm to the university’s objective of at least $20 million in overall budget savings – through combined SOU Resiliency and SOU Vitality Plan efforts – in the fiscal year that ends next June 30, but does so while maintaining all but one of its current academic offerings. The plan calls for a sunset of the Music Industry and Production degree but will maintain the overall Music program, which is possible by committing the institution to a revolutionary change in course delivery and design.

“The Vitality Plan was constructed in such a way as to keep as many pathways as possible open to students,” SOU President Rick Bailey said in a message to campus Tuesday night. “We’ve done just that. But we still need a robust student body to thrive, and we’ll need all of us working together to keep students on the path toward the graduation stage and the fulfillment of their educational goals.”

The final version of the plan was released at the conclusion of a deliberation period that was required by the university’s contract with its faculty union, the Associated Professors of Southern Oregon University, and consultation with the Service Employees International Union. It is a revision of the initial plan that was drafted following months of analysis, discussion and engagement with students, faculty, staff, alumni and community stakeholders. Those interactions led to important improvements that will serve the institution and the community during the implementation process and beyond.

The plan prioritizes reducing impacts on students wherever possible, preserving pathways to degree completion and strengthening SOU’s long-term financial and operational foundation.

“Our new proposed mission centers on educating students for resilient, meaningful lives by making the Rogue Valley our classroom, mentorship our method and practical, experiential work our curriculum,” an introduction to the plan says. “Moving away from the outdated model of a generic regional institution, the Vitality Plan adopts a ‘Living Laboratory’ operating system that unifies the university’s academic offerings and prioritizes the cultivation of essential human capacities that no machine can replicate.”

The Vitality Plan is intended to connect SOU to the communities it serves through a bioregional approach; provide streamlined pathways to degree completion in every academic discipline; offer flexible options for students through innovative, interdisciplinary academic design models; and incorporate a human-connected approach to education that is cognizant of the rapid pace of emerging technologies.

The final version of the Vitality Plan will result in the elimination of a total of 60.6 faculty and staff positions over the coming year. That is about five fewer than those identified in the provisional version of the plan, but the overall expected savings for the year of $20,028,030 remains above the $20 million threshold set by the university’s Board of Trustees.

President Bailey acknowledged in Tuesday night’s campus message that all reductions in the plan will be difficult and come at a human price.

“Our goal during this process is to respect the dignity of all our employees and their contributions to our students and our university,” he said.

You can review the full Vitality Plan, revisions and more here.

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Economic impact of SOU Ashland

Economic impact report sees SOU as key resource

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(Ashland, Ore.) — A new economic impact study that measures the financial reach of Oregon’s three regional public universities shows that Southern Oregon University has a prominent and growing influence on the prosperity of Jackson County and the Rogue Valley.

SOU’s total annual economic impact is $730 million statewide, $532.5 million in southern Oregon and $440.1 million in Jackson County alone, according to the study. The most recent previous economic study of SOU, in 2019, found a total impact of $282.5 million in Jackson County but did not measure regional or statewide impact.

The new study shows that the state of Oregon receives a 24X return on its investment in SOU – the university’s economic impact of $730 million is more than 24 times the $30.4 million that is appropriated to SOU for operational expenses by the Oregon Legislature.

“It’s no surprise to us that SOU is a critically important economic prosperity engine for southern Oregon,” SOU President Rick Bailey said. “This study backs up what we already knew and provides a lot of important detail about the scope of that influence and why it is essential that we protect the university’s ability to stimulate economic growth on the local, regional and statewide levels.”

The study, “The Economic Impact of the Regional Public Universities of Oregon,” was conducted this spring by Econsult Solutions, Inc. – a Philadelphia consultancy that specializes in economic, planning and public policy research. It measures and quantifies the economic impacts of SOU, Eastern Oregon University and Western Oregon University – which jointly commissioned the study and together have a total statewide impact of $1.9 billion.

The regional universities support about 10,900 jobs in Oregon, have a combined 78,038 alumni living and working in the state and produce much of the workforce for the largely rural areas they serve – from teachers and healthcare professionals to business leaders, law enforcement officers, counselors, tourism employees and creative industries workers.

“Oregon’s regional public universities drive the economies of our communities, and much more,” SOU’s President Bailey said. “We are sources of knowledge, launching points for innovation, and centers for cultural exploration and expression. We provide leadership and creativity, enabling our regions to be productive and competitive in a quickly evolving and highly dynamic environment.”

SOU by itself supports a total of 4,060 direct, indirect and induced jobs statewide, for a total of $202.4 million in annual earnings. Direct jobs are those of the university’s employees and vendors, while indirect jobs are those related to subsequent business-to-business transactions. Induced jobs are those supported by the ripple effect of spending by direct and indirect employees.

The economic impact study found that SOU:

  • Serves a total of 7,212 students annually, including full-time, part-time, dual-credit and lifelong learners;
  • Has a total of more than 675 employees, including student workers;
  • Has 26,165 alumni living in Oregon, including 18,473 in the workforce who earn an aggregate annual wage premium of $362.6 million – the amount in additional wages they earn due to their university degrees;
  • Has an average of 24,042 campus visitors each year, with student and visitor spending accounting for $108.5 million in annual spending in Jackson County and $157.9 million in southern Oregon;
  • Produces capital construction projects that account for about $17.1 million per year in total economic impact and support about 80 full-time jobs;
  • Supports local, regional and statewide employers with bachelor’s degree earners, about 68% of whom remain to work in Oregon for at least a year after graduation.

Overall, the study found that 74% of freshman students at the three regional public universities come from within Oregon and that 65% of graduates are still working in Oregon a decade after graduation.

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SOU Ashland wildlife photo

Funding for I-5 wildlife crossing gets green light

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(Ashland, Ore.) — Good news arrived recently for Southern Oregon University researchers and others who have done preliminary work in the development of a wildlife crossing over Interstate 5 south of Ashland, when the Federal Highway Administration released key funding for the overpass.

Oregon was awarded a federal Wildlife Crossing Pilot Program (WCPP) grant of $33.2 million for the project in December 2024, but ODOT’s use of the  funding was only recently finalized after many months of negotiation. Oregon senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden pressed to fulfill the grant, which will be matched with $3.8 million from the Oregon Department of Transportation for a total project cost of $37 million.

SOU Ashland wildlife photo“This is a win not only for wildlife and driver safety, but also for the educational opportunities it will provide to Southern Oregon University students,” said Karen Mager, an associate professor in SOU’s Environmental Science and Policy program.

“SOU has been studying wildlife along I-5 for four years now to assist in planning this overpass,” Mager said. “We thank Senator Merkley and Senator Wyden for their work to secure this funding. We at SOU look forward to continuing our research to document the animals that use this wildlife overpass and share that information with the public.”

The Mariposa Wildlife Crossing – the first wildlife overpass anywhere on I-5, from Mexico to Canada – will span the freeway’s northbound and southbound lanes 1.7 miles north of the Oregon-California state line. Planning and construction of the overpass, directional fencing to funnel wildlife to the overpass and associated habitat improvements are expected to be completed no later than spring of 2029.

“This project will be instrumental in safeguarding all the special species that call the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument home and protecting drivers from dangerous wildlife collisions,” said Senator Merkley, a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, where the budget request was recent reviewed.

“I’ll continue to champion smart federal investments that protect families, our natural treasures and the diverse wildlife that call them home,” Merkley said.

The Oregon Department of Transportation has been collaborating on the project with the Southern Oregon Wildlife Crossing Coalition. A vision for the wildlife crossing grew out of a February 2021 meeting of representatives from 17 organizations and agencies, including SOU, that are part of the coalition.

Mager and students in her SOU classes and paid research internships have used camera traps to study wildlife use of I-5, to better understand regional needs for wildlife crossings. Those camera traps have taken more than a million photos and videos – most triggered by wind – and SOU Computer Science and Environmental Science and Policy students have used AI to sift through the data, identifying and capturing more than 20,000 unique animal images.

The SOU-generated data was a key component in the feasibility study that identified the priority site for an overpass. The university’s monitoring efforts – and opportunities for research funding – are expected to continue for at least the next six to seven years, Mager said.

About 6,000 vehicle-wildlife collisions are reported each year throughout Oregon, according to state agencies. Data from six wildlife underpasses in Oregon – five under Highway 97 and one under Highway 20 – show that their construction led to an 86% decrease in wildlife-vehicle collisions in the areas near those underpasses.

The site of the I-5 overpass is considered to be the highest-priority location along I-5, due to its biodiversity and sensitive wildlife populations. The region is home to rare mammals such as the Pacific fisher, along with deer, bear, elk, cougars and other large-bodied animals – all of which have been observed at the site of the future overpass. Many rare and unique butterflies and other species are also found in the area.

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A cybersecurity camp for teens will be held at SOU Ashland

SOU hosts cybersecurity camp for high school students

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Oregon teens who are interested in technology have a first-time opportunity this summer to explore cybersecurity careers at a free weeklong camp hosted at Southern Oregon University. The camp is taught by David Pouliot, an associate professor in the SOU Computer Science program, with current Computer Science students at SOU serving as assistants and mentors.

The NW Cyber Camp will take place Monday through Friday, August 10-14, on SOU’s campus in Ashland. The camp is open to students currently in grades eight through 11. It’s designed to give participants a hands-on experience with cybersecurity tools and explore potential career paths.

Students in the course will take on the roles of cybersecurity professionals working at a fictional software company. They will be acting as interns investigating an anomaly in network logs, learning new technical skills and following clues to solve a cyber crime.

No prior experience in cybersecurity is required. The camp is designed for students who enjoy technology, problem solving and learning how to “defend the network” in a collaborative environment.

The no-cost program includes hands-on learning with professional cybersecurity tools and guest speakers from the industry. Students will participate in team-based activities connected to cybersecurity concepts and learn about career paths in one of Oregon’s fastest growing, high-wage fields. Lunch will be provided each day.

NW Cyber Camp is a program of the Oregon Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (OCCoE) – an entity created by the 2023 Legislature with Portland State University, Oregon State University and the University of Oregon designated as founding members. The center is authorized to assist the state’s chief information security officer and “provide ​awareness, education, services and training about cybersecurity and cybersecurity-related issues for public, private and non-profit sectors in Oregon.”

The NW Cyber Camp program – which began in 2016 to introduce cybersecurity skills and careers to high school students in Portland – was made a part of the OCCoE following the 2023 legislation. Day camps are now available through the founding member institutions, along with Clackamas Community College, the Sylvania Campus of Portland Community College and Oregon Institute of Technology. The Cyber Camp is being offered at SOU this year for the first time.

A total of 25 spaces are available for campers at the SOU location. Students can learn more and apply at nwcybercamp.org.

Story by Felicity Johnson
SOU Computer Science major

SOU Ashland alumni Tiffany Burns and Erika Bare have new book

Two SOU alumni author second book for educators

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(Ashland, Ore.) — Two alumni of the SOU School of Education’s administrative licensure program and longtime education leaders in southern Oregon have published their second book together – “A School Leader’s Playbook for Tough Conversations.”

Tiffany Burns – a full-time instructor in the School of Education who previously served 12 years as a principal in the Ashland School District – teamed with South Umpqua School District Superintendent Erika Bare on the new book, which was published this month by ConnectEDD Publishing and is available on Amazon.com.

The book offers tools and strategies for “the hardest adult conversations – especially those tense moments with staff, caregivers and colleagues that feel heavy, live rent-free in our heads and keep us up at night,” according to a summary on Amazon.

“You’ll learn how to address poor performance, de-escalate conflict, stay grounded when emotions rise, prepare for high-stakes conversations and coach adults in ways that strengthen both performance and culture,” the description says.

The book includes resources such as frameworks, scenarios, planning tools and “sentence stems” that can be adapted for use in difficult situations.

The new book follows the first by Burns and Bare, “Connecting Through Conversation: A Playbook for Talking with Students,” which was published by ConnectEDD in March 2023. That book offers approaches that can be used to create “connected relationships” with students, avoid power struggles and use communication as an effective tool.

Burns earned her bachelor’s degree in Theatre, master of arts in Teaching, and master’s of education in Administration and English for Speakers of Other Languages – all at SOU. She also received her administrative licensure certification at SOU. Burns has taught elementary, middle, high school and university students in public, private, bilingual and homeschool settings in Oregon, Alaska and Mexico.

Bare received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Elementary Education & Teaching at the University of Oregon, and her administrative licensure credential at SOU. She has served as a special education teacher at every grade level in both the West Linn School District and the Medford School District. She has served in various administrative roles with the Ashland and Medford School Districts and is currently the South Umpqua superintendent.

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Papers on computational thinking presented by SOU-led team

SOU-led “computational thinking” team presents papers

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(Ashland, Ore.) — An eight-member team – including two faculty members from the Southern Oregon University Computer Science program – presented five papers at this month’s annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, related to an SOU-led project to teach computational thinking skills to elementary school students.

Computational thinking refers to a set of thought processes traditionally used in computer science to identify and define problems and their solutions. Elementary teachers are finding it valuable for much more, including as a tool to teach core content.

The AERA conference drew more than 13,000 scholars and education researchers from throughout the world for five days of presentations, lectures and networking. AERA is a national research society founded in 1916 to advance knowledge about education and promote research to improve educational practices. Its annual conference is the largest gathering of education researchers in the world.

“It is a HUGE accomplishment that our local teachers presented at this conference,” said SOU Computer Science professor Maggie Vanderberg, who is leading the computational thinking project. “They are experts in the field!”

The presentation team included SOU Computer Science instructor Eping Hung and Vanderberg, chair of the  department, along with three teachers from the Ashland School District and one from the Phoenix-Talent School District. One collaborator each from Oregon State University-Cascades and the College of William & Mary in Virginia also participated.

The five presentations all are related to SOU’s ongoing project, funded by the National Science Foundation, to integrate unplugged computational thinking in elementary education. The papers highlight classroom-based work in which computational thinking is used as a tool for inquiry, creativity and justice-oriented learning in various subject areas.

Vanderberg and Ashland School District teacher Dylana Garfas-Knowles presented “Decomposition Demystified: An Exploratory Learning Progression for Integrating Decomposition in Elementary School Lessons.” Hung presented “Hidden Frameworks: What Summaries of Goldilocks Reveal About the Process of Abstraction.” Ashland teacher Kelly Martin worked with Gladys Krouse of William & Mary to present “Once Upon an Algorithm: Computational Thinking Through the Stories We Tell.” Ashland teacher Trish Dorr presented “Where is Everybody in the Everybody Books? Representation in K-5 Picture Books.” And Garfas-Knowles was joined by Phoenix Elementary School teacher Jennifer Mohatt to present “Lessons Learned: Integrating Computational Thinking in Multilingual Classrooms Across Contexts.” Jill Hubbard from OSU-Cascades led a discussion highlighting how computational thinking is used as a framework for teaching core content.

The SOU-led team also shared resources that its teachers have created, including almost 200 computational thinking lessons that are available on its website. More lessons are expected to be added soon.

SOU was awarded a grant totaling nearly $1 million from the National Science Foundation in 2022, to help K-5 teachers develop computational thinking skills in the Ashland and Phoenix-Talent school districts. The work has built upon a $299,000 grant that SOU was awarded in September 2019 to launch the collaborative research project.

Both grants are part of the NSF’s former Computer Science for All program, which was intended to extend computer science and computational thinking opportunities to K-12 students nationwide. The CT curriculum developed by local teachers, in partnership with university researchers, addresses barriers associated with implementing computing curriculum in early grades – where it is incorporated into core subjects and introduced in an “unplugged” manner, without computers or technology.

The project has included about 25 elementary teachers from the Phoenix-Talent School District (Orchard Hill, Phoenix and Talent elementary schools), the Ashland School District (Bellview, Helman, Walker and Willow Wind elementary schools) and the Lincoln County School District (Yaquina View Elementary School). The teachers engaged in professional development and peer-to-peer coaching to integrate computational thinking processes into existing curriculum. They worked together to deliver and refine those lessons before making them publicly available. The goal is to empower students with skills necessary for success in middle and high school computing curriculum and university studies, and eventually in technologically-rich careers. Elementary teachers have also seen benefits for learning the core content.

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Moriah Doepken returns to SOU to direct "Crew Experience" course

SOU Digital Cinema alum directs “Crew Experience”

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(Ashland, Ore.) — Los Angeles-based filmmaker Moriah Doepken, a 2020 graduate of Southern Oregon University’s Digital Cinema program, has returned to Ashland this spring to be guest director for the Digital Cinema program’s innovative “Crew Experience” course.

“I’m super excited to return to SOU and help make a film back in Ashland,” Doepken said. “Having been in the first graduating class of the Digital Cinema major and missing the first iteration of Crew Experience, which was canceled because of COVID, it’s a very full-circle moment for me.”

Doepken received a master of fine arts degree in Film Production in 2024 from Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University in Orange, California. For this year’s Crew Experience, she will direct a script written by Charlie McCabe, a junior screenwriting student at SOU.

SOU Ashland's Crew Experience in 2025The production-intensive Crew Experience course is taught by Nora Zubizarreta, an assistant professor in SOU’s Digital Cinema program, a filmmaker with professional experience in Los Angeles and New York City, and producer of the film “Umama,” which won gold at the Student Academy Awards.

“I’m delighted to collaborate with Moriah and the Crew Experience students to make this film,” Zubizarreta said. “This kind of project and collaboration adds so much to the learning process. It’s wonderful to see our students really get rolling on Charlie’s script.”

The “Crew Experience” course, launched in 2022, gives SOU’s Digital Cinema students a chance to work on and complete a full-fledged short film project. Students assume professional film crew positions under the guidance of professional mentors.

The Digital Cinema program was recognized by MovieMaker Magazine in 2024 and 2025 as a “Top 30 Film Program in North America,” in large part due to innovative course offerings such as “The Crew Experience.”

The SOU Digital Cinema program sets itself apart as a hub for creative innovation and experiential learning. With the guidance of industry professionals, students hone their craft and make meaningful contributions to the world of cinema.

Moriah Doepken
Doepken is  an Alaska native, who made the trek down the West Coast to attend SOU, where she earned a dual bachelor’s degree. She later attended graduate school at Chapman University. As a filmmaker, she is dedicated to creative collaboration and diving into the depths of the human condition.

Nora Zubizarreta
Zubizarreta is an assistant professor in SOU’s Digital Cinema program. She received her master of fine arts degree in Experimental and Documentary Arts at Duke University and her bachelor of fine arts degree from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. She produced “Umama” while at Tisch, and has since worked professionally in film and television production management in New York and Los Angeles.

About Southern Oregon University
Southern Oregon University is a medium-sized campus that provides comprehensive educational opportunities with a strong focus on student success and intellectual creativity. Located in vibrant Ashland, Oregon, SOU remains committed to diversity and inclusion for all students on its environmentally sustainable campus. Connected learning programs taught by a host of exceptional faculty provide quality, innovative experiences for students. Visit sou.edu.

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