Dr. Mary Cullinan

I spent much of last week (March 8-10) again in rainy Salem, meeting with legislators as they work their way through difficult budgets and challenging statewide issues.

Thursday was Medford Chamber Day in the Capitol. A busload of Chamber members came to Salem to hear from our Southern Oregon delegation members as well as key legislators such as Senate President Peter Courtney. Even Governor Kitzhaber paid us a visit. Liz Shelby and I also met individually with a number of legislators, including Senators Jason Atkinson and Alan Bates and Representatives Sal Esquivel and Peter Buckley.

On Wednesday, Liz and I also met with Greg Wolf, Governor Kitzhaber’s Intergovernmental and Regional Solutions Director. Under the governor’s direction, Greg is establishing Regional Solutions Centers in targeted parts of the state to deliver community-based projects that address regional priorities.

I am delighted that one of the Centers will be located at SOU. We are planning for seven regional directors to be housed on the Ashland campus. Jeff Griffin, Regional Coordinator for the Southwest Oregon Economic Revitalization Team, has already moved into Churchill Hall. This partnership, I’m sure, will provide exciting opportunities that engage SOU students, faculty, and staff in projects that benefit southern Oregon.

The sky was grey and the weather wet through our visit to the state capital. However, I am hopeful that work being done on a number of fronts will bring sunshine to SOU over the short and long term.

I spent much of Monday and Tuesday (February 21 and 22) in Salem. On Tuesday afternoon, I was scheduled to testify before the House Higher Education Subcommittee, along with President Minahan from Western Oregon University, so it made sense to visit with as many legislators as I could while up there.

We had a packed day-and-a-half of meetings. Liz Shelby and I checked in with a number of our southern Oregon legislators, including Representatives Buckley and Richardson, and newly elected Representative McLane, as well as Senators Bates, Atkinson, and Whitsett. And I also visited with Representative Brian Clem and Senator Chris Edwards, with whom I traveled to China last September.

The legislators I spoke with seemed very supportive of the OUS initiative to be a state university system but not a state agency. However, legislation is still being amended and discussed in the Senate, so we have no real news as yet.

Also, budget discussions are still preliminary. At this point, projections are not dire for OUS: many legislators understand the pain we’ve experienced and are supportive of the universities. However, it is all very early in the process—they haven’t yet made the difficult decisions.

The hearing before the Subcommittee went smoothly. I was delighted to provide lots of good news about SOU and our recent accomplishments in a range of areas—from new academic programs to student successes and regional partnerships.

I’ll be back in Salem early in March and may have more to report after that visit!

NOTE: We’re working on an informational campus forum scheduled for March 7 to focus on the OUS legislation. I’ll send out more information when I know more.