SOU-President Schott-higher education consortium

Southern Oregon’s four higher ed institutions announce consortium

/in ,

The presidents of four public colleges and universities in southern Oregon joined forces today to create the Southern Oregon Higher Education Consortium – an alliance aimed at streamlining students’ educational pathways and addressing the region’s specific workforce needs.

A memorandum of understanding signed by the presidents of Klamath Community College, Oregon Institute of Technology, Rogue Community College and Southern Oregon University calls upon the consortium members to “promote innovative outreach and educational activities.” It specifically directs the institutions to share information, collaborate on complementary programming and facilities, and work cooperatively on professional training, technology and programming.

“Enhancement of the student pipeline and improvement of degree-completion metrics will be areas of particular emphasis,” the memorandum said.

The new consortium – first envisioned a year ago by the four presidents during a lunch meeting halfway between the Rogue Valley and Klamath Basin – will be announced during signing events at 10 a.m. today at KCC’s Founders Hall in Klamath Falls, and at 2 p.m. at the RCC/SOU Higher Education Center in Medford.

The four presidents will discuss their interests in the collaboration during the Klamath Falls event, and will participate in a panel discussion at the Medford event. Randy Cox, executive director of the Klamath County Economic Development Agency, will speak at the Klamath Falls gathering. John Tapogna, president and partner of ECONorthwest, will discuss his organization’s recent report, “Oregon Talent Assessment,” as part of the Medford announcement.

The consortium is Oregon’s first regional coalition of colleges and universities. It is viewed as a pioneering step toward preparing southern Oregon’s students and workforce for a rapidly changing future.

“Statewide, we expect that most higher wage jobs openings in the next decade will require postsecondary education or training for job candidates to be competitive,” said Ben Cannon, executive director of Oregon’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission. “Innovative local partnerships are absolutely critical to fostering meaningful on-ramps to opportunity and economic mobility. We look forward to working with the coalition on our common goals.”

Cannon commended the four presidents for “strategically joining together as a coalition to advance the specific pathways necessary for their regional communities to thrive.”

The consortium is expected to prompt discussion about what kinds of economic growth are needed in southern Oregon, what industries the institutions should help support or attract, and how higher education can best align to meet those needs.

“Together, our united effort can create pipelines for highly skilled graduates to enter the workforce and will attract new businesses that pay living-wage salaries,” said KCC President Roberto Gutierrez. “Southern Oregon will be stronger than ever before.”

The consortium also provides a unified voice for southern Oregon, and will advocate for the region’s priorities in conversations with state and federal lawmakers. Regional grants and other combined resources are likely outcomes of the partnership.

“What excites me most about this consortium is the ability of all four institutions to work together to build a regional college-going culture that will transform our economy, strengthen families, and inspire others to pursue their dreams,” said RCC President Cathy Kemper-Pelle.

The new consortium will be an exercise in the power and flexibility of partnerships. The institutions – which already have shared academic strengths in areas including business, sustainability and healthcare – are open to exploring cooperative programs in various areas that will best serve their region and state.

“Our students, industry and business partners, and our communities all benefit through our collective voice for southern Oregon – a vibrant consortium of action focused on education, workforce and regional economy,” said Oregon Institute of Technology President Nagi Naganathan.

The four colleges and universities have a long history of working together to meet the needs of students and employers. Together, the institutions enrolled 26,600 students in 2017-18, and conferred a total of 3,370 college or university degrees.

“We have done a very good job of working collaboratively in the past,” said SOU President Linda Schott. “We are poised now to use our history of cooperation as the jumping-off point for a future of seamless pathways, interwoven academics and collective strength.”

SOU-Adams-IDW Publishing

SOU alumnus serious about his comics venture, IDW Publishing

/in

Perhaps it was his job in the SOU bookstore that led Ted Adams (’90) to the role of publisher and CEO of IDW Publishing and IDW Media Holdings.

“It was the best experience,” Adams said. “I got to interact with students and read books on break. Having access to all those books was fun for me.”

Today, Adams is surrounded by books – comic books – on the grandest of scales. IDW, which Adams cofounded in 1999, is one of the largest comic book publishers in the United States. The multiple award-winning company fills a unique niche in the publishing world.

“Instead of competing with the likes of Marvel comics in the superhero genre, we specialize in taking existing entertainment brands and turning them into comic books,” Adams said. “We’ve done this for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, My Little Pony and Transformers.”

Adams said he was always interested in entrepreneurship. His father, Brady Adams, was a prominent Grants Pass businessman and president of the Oregon Senate.

“I grew up in that environment, and knew from an early age that I wanted to be a business owner,” he said.

Adams said SOU’s small class sizes played a big part in helping him focus on his educational goals.

“Southern Oregon really worked for me. I had the chance to get to know my classmates, and the professors were accessible,” he said. “I feel like I got a lot out of it. I was always impressed with the faculty. They were high-caliber professionals who had also been CEOs or worked in business.”

Starting a business has its ups and downs, but Adams has found his stride. “It seems cliché, but hard work really pays off,” he said. “That is what I believe and what I tell my son. You get out of life what you put into it.

“When I was a student at Southern Oregon, I decided I was going to work hard. I got a good education because of it.”

In addition to comic book publishing, IDW works with writers and artists to publish original works. One such work, “30 Days of Night,” led to a film version in 2007. Since then, IDW has expanded into media holdings, games and merchandise, with over 200 regular employees and 250 freelancers.

There is also a three-year-old entertainment branch to fund, develop and produce television series based on IDW books. Its TV series, “Wynonna Earp,” currently airs on the SyFy channel.

Last year, IDW opened the San Diego Comic Art Gallery to showcase comic books and graphic arts. The gallery, which is designed to educate and engage the community, also offers studio space for artists in residence.

“It is the only such gallery on the West Coast, and it’s our company’s way of giving back to the community and sharing what we do,” Adams said.

SOU-OLLI-Campbell Center

OLLI facilities at SOU in line for makeover

/in

After 25 years, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) facilities at SOU are receiving new life.

OLLI’s program on the SOU campus operates from the Campbell Center – a pair of former World War II barracks with a courtyard between them, just west of the empty Cascade Complex. The old barracks have taken a beating, and for their 25th anniversary as OLLI’s home, the organization has launched a ReNEWall campaign to upgrade the facility with reconfigured classrooms and other refurbishing.

One classroom and the Campbell Center office were already renovated last year, making the classroom a preferred site for OLLI offerings. The addition of better lights, more comfortable chairs, and touchscreen technology helps make everything easier on OLLI’s older students.

Two more of the complex’s five classrooms are in line for remodeling next winter. But nearly $665,000 is needed for construction, technology and furnishings. More than $330,000 has been raised to date, and the balance is expected to be generated through grants and individual contributors. About a quarter of the cost, for infrastructure improvements, will be paid by SOU.

The OLLI facilities have a bit of a history. The barracks were originally part of Camp White, an Army training base and POW camp that transformed the Medford area during World War II. Hundreds of buildings were left behind after the war, and many were relocated all over southern Oregon.

The two that found their way to SOU were named for Phil Campbell, the university’s former facilities director, and have been used for a variety of purposes. The Campbell Center has been used at various times as dorms, married student housing, apartments, faculty housing, Elderhostel classrooms and SOU maintenance offices, and even now it is used during the summer by SOU Youth Programs.

OLLI member and wildlife artist Pam Haunschild is creating a black-and-white mural called the “Giving Garden” to measure fundraising for the Campbell Center’s renovation. The mural will be colored in as gifts are received. It will be hung in the new members’ lounge.

To learn more about the ReNEWall program or to make a contribution, call the OLLI office at (541) 552-6048 or email Lorraine Vail at lvail627@gmail.com.

Story by Bryn Mosier, SOU Marketing and Communications intern

SOU-childcare

Childcare returns to SOU’s former Schneider Children’s Center site

/in ,

(Ashland, Ore.) — Daycare will return to the Southern Oregon University Family Housing property at 1361 Quincy St., in Ashland, when Lil’ Rascals Preschool & Childcare Center opens at that location on Jan. 7.

SOU signed a lease agreement this week that will enable Lil’ Rascals – which operated in Ashland for 15 years until its building was sold in 2016 – to move into the space that was vacated this summer when the Schneider Children’s Center closed. Lil’ Rascals will also continue to operate at its current location at 839 E. Main St., in Medford.

“We feel that the Quincy Street location is a wonderful opportunity to fill the void for additional, quality childcare in the Ashland community,” Lil’ Rascals owner Angela Greene said. “We anticipate childcare spots to fill quickly. We encourage interested clients to call our Medford Center and get on the waiting list for Ashland, right away.”

Lil’ Rascals can be reached in Medford at (541) 773-1598. It also plans a sign-up day at the Quincy Street location in Ashland from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 15.

SOU sought to find a community partner to lease the property and resume childcare operations at the site after the Schneider Children’s Center closed Aug. 31. The university’s leadership endorsed a working group’s recommendation to end SOU’s affiliation with the children’s center ­– which operated at the location for many years – because its business model was not sustainable.

The center operated as an auxiliary program at SOU, and was ineligible to receive funding from the university. But it did receive support from student fees until the Associated Students of Southern Oregon University voted in 2014 to shift to a smaller subsidy that would directly benefit SOU students in need of childcare.

Students voted a year later to reinstate some general funding to the Schneider center, and the Wilsonville-based Oregon Child Development Coalition stepped in as an operational and financial partner. Changes in the state’s supervision requirements for day care centers later made that arrangement unworkable, and the OCDC was unable to take over the operation when SOU cut its ties this summer.

Greene said Lil’ Rascals will operate its new Ashland facility with at least eight employees, and encouraged SOU students and others to apply. She said the center will also offer a 10 percent childcare discount to SOU students and employees.

Lil’ Rascals will try to accommodate the needs of former Schneider Child Center clients and its own customers from its previous Ashland location, Greene said. The center accepts state subsidies for low-income clients.

-SOU-

SOU-scary story winners

Winners announced in SOU English Program’s scary story contest

/in

How many words does it take to send shivers down a reader’s spine? For SOU student Peter Doolin and other entrants in the English Program’s “13-Word Scary Story Contest,” a baker’s dozen was plenty.

“In the mirror, a set of eyes stare back that aren’t my own,” Doolin wrote in his winning entry.

His eerie and concise prose won him a $50 gift card to Barnes and Noble, while runner-up Emily Negus – also an SOU student – pocketed a $25 gift card for her 13-word, futuristic tome:

“Human beings evolved to the point where they no longer needed one another.”

All SOU students, faculty and staff were invited to enter the English Program’s trick-or-treat-themed “13-Word Scary Story Contest” last month. Professor Alma Rosa Alvarez, the program’s chair, said there were many entries and contestants enjoyed the assignment.

“One participant mentioned how she took our contest rules and shared them with family members,” she said. “All of her family members wrote 13-word scary stories – even the folks that had been less-connected in the family.”

All submissions were stripped of identifying features and given to the English faculty for blind judging. Doolin’s winning entry received votes from all faculty members, and Negus’ runner-up submission attracted votes from all but one.

“Our list of honorable mentions are folks that also received several votes,” Alvarez said. “We really liked the energy and positive response.”

The honorable mentions:

“Grey skies. Cool wind. Empty street. Door’s open. Odd. I didn’t do that.”
– Emily Perry, SOU student

“Porch lights gleam off her yellow snarl. She cackles, winks, handing me chocolate.”
– Reilly Nycum, SOU student 

“The water’s rising. I can’t dislodge my foot.  I tried to yell but….”
– Moneeka Settles, Innovation & Leadership Program coordinator

“Blood splattered on the cedar clock and the right hand never moved again.”
– Emily Negus, student

“Heavily-canopied, black-night country road. No moon. No flashlight.
“Mom, you scared?”
“No.”
“Liar.”
– Tatiana Bredikin, Office of Student Life

“It’s scary outside.
“It’s Halloween
“Bats hanging down from branches,
“Whispering your name.”
– Everly Carter, 4-year-old daughter of faculty member

The English Program has hosted literary contests since 2016, when one of its faculty members read an article about public literary displays. Another school, to get students excited about words, solicited six-word stories that were written in various locations with paint that is visible only after interacting with water. Students and townspeople were amazed by the magical display of words that emerged on the first rainy day.

SOU’s English Program tried its own contest of six-word stories about autumn, and now hosts a contest each fall. It also hosts a poetry contest each spring, with the writer of the winning entry invited to be a featured reader in the program’s annual poetry-reading event.

The English Program’s mission – which it promotes through its writing contests – is to encourage a love of words, language and literature (regardless of how many words it takes).

SOU-zebrafish-stednitz-alumna

SOU alumna to offer Friday Science Seminar on zebrafish study

/in ,

SOU alumna and doctoral candidate Sarah Stednitz will offer a lecture from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on Friday that examines the social interactions of zebrafish and their implications on autism research and other deficits in humans’ social behavior.

The Friday Science Seminar event will be in the Science Building Auditorium (Room 151). The lecture is free and refreshments will be provided by SOU’s STEM Division.

Originally from Morro Bay, California, Stednitz was the recipient of the Ruhl Learning Fellowship and graduated from SOU in 2011. She earned her master’s degree at Humboldt State University and is currently pursuing her doctorate at the University of Oregon.

Stednitz’s findings could be instrumental in furthering research on schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders. She has been studying how zebrafish behave in various social situations. The much-researched fish are genetically modifiable and show elaborate social patterns both in the laboratory and in the wild.

Zebrafish use each other to copy motions, and use other socially active fish to begin social orienting. Stednitz’s work shows that a non-engaged fish will not trigger social interactions with a normal fish. The mutated genes in the zebrafish may be similar to mutated genes in humans, which could mean the fish are essentially autistic.

Stednitz’s research is far from complete, however. Multiple questions still need to be answered about similarities and differences in the brains of zebrafish and humans.

“We leveraged modern neuroscience tools to address these questions, providing a foundation to understand how social cognition may be disrupted across species,” Stednitz said.

SOU’s Friday Science Seminar program offers presentations each week on topics ranging from biology to computer science to chemistry.

Story by Bryn Mosier, SOU Marketing and Communications intern

SOU-Taylor Mullaney-dentist

Taylor Mullaney: A dentist’s art and science

/in

The mouth is a window into the health of the body. According to the American Dental Association, it can foreshadow diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and immune disorders. When a dentist peers into the mouth, he or she can see signs of nutritional deficiencies or general infection, often the first symptoms of serious medical conditions.

Being a dentist is part science and part art. It combines a strong scientific background with creativity. At its core is the study, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the mouth, jaw and facial area.

But there is more. Dentists can improve a patient’s appearance, promote healthy living and serve their communities in important ways.

Dentistry is a calling for Taylor Mullaney (’17), and he believes his strong science education at SOU gave him the background he needs to be successful.

“The science program is not very big, but it is a really strong department, and it does a great job preparing students for whatever field they plan to go into,” said Mullaney, who is on track to graduate with a Doctor of Medicine in Dentistry (DMD) from Oregon Health & Science University in 2021.

Mullaney credits SOU with helping to guide his career path and nurture his sense of community.

“When I started at SOU, I didn’t understand what I was getting into,” he said. “From helping me select classes to the invaluable hands-on instruction and one-on-one time, the science department staff and faculty guided me from a confused freshman to a focused scientific mind. They influenced how I learn and how I will provide care throughout my career.”

Initially, Mullaney chose SOU for convenience.

“I grew up in Southern Oregon, and it was the best option financially,” he said. “But when I actually started at SOU, I realized it was the best choice for me and my interests.”

Mullaney was inspired to pursue a career in dentistry by experiences with his hometown dentist.

“When I was in high school, I built a relationship with my dentist, and later he became my mentor,” he said. “I fell in love with the work he did and the difference that he made in people’s lives. I decided I wanted to do the same work.”

While at SOU, Mullaney received the Rogue Valley Physician Service Scholarship and is now an OHSU scholarship recipient for the Healthy Oregon Initiative. Mullaney plans to focus on rural health, ensuring that all Oregonians have access to high quality dental care.

Although Mullaney thought he knew what to expect when he set foot on campus, SOU was full of surprises. “I didn’t realize how close-knit and small it was before I started, and it turned out to be one of my favorite things about the school,” he said.

At SOU, Mullaney found a strong culture of mentorship that helped him thrive.

“All my professors were pretty pivotal, but my biggest mentor was Greg Miller, who taught biochemistry,” he said. “From day one at my orientation, he sat me down and helped me figure out what classes I needed. We sparked a relationship that I would say will last my whole life.”

As he pursues his DMD degree and looks toward his future, Mullaney continues to draw upon the life lessons he gained at SOU.

“In my second year, I was really struggling and I failed an organic chemistry class, but I decided that I owed it to myself and my teachers to try it again,” he said. “The next year, I took it again and by the end of the class I was asked to be an organic chemistry mentor for the incoming students. It was a huge honor, and I was so proud to have gone from failing the class to doing well enough to teach it to incoming students.”

Reposted from the Spring 2018 issue of The Raider, the magazine of the SOU Alumni Association

SOU-Study Away Fair

SOU holds study away fair, celebrates International Education Week

/in

The Southern Oregon University Study Away Fair, a one-stop shop for those who want to learn more about study-away options, will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13, in the Stevenson Union Gallery (Room 323).

Students, faculty, staff and others are invited to the free event, which is part of SOU’s observation of International Education Week, Nov. 12 through 16.

The fair will feature information about study abroad programs and providers, peer advisors from SOU’s Office of International Programs, a financial aid counselor who can discuss options for meeting program costs, international students from the university’s partner programs and SOU students who have returned from various study-away experiences.

Representatives of three study abroad programs – Academic Programs International, IE3 Global and Global Education Oregon – will be available to answer questions.

Mary Gardiner, SOU’s associate director of study away and global engagement, will discuss direct exchanges, partner programs and the National Student Exchange. SOU business Professor Curt Bacon will field questions from students about direct exchange programs with the School of Business. And SOU financial aid counselor Debbie O’Dea will be available from noon to 2 p.m., to help explain options for covering study-away program costs.

A special guest from Universidad de Guanajuato, Kennia Carrillo, will also be present at the fair as UG and SOU prepare to celebrate the 50-year anniversary of their sister university relationship in 2019. Carrillo is coordinator for the Office of International Relations and Academic Collaboration at UG.

International Education Week is a joint initiative of the U.S. State Department and Department of Education to promote programs that “prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn and exchange experiences.”

SOU’s Office of International Programs is collecting non-perishable food and hygiene products throughout International Education Week, and will deliver donated items to the SOU Food Pantry at the end of the week. Donations may be brought to Room 322 of the Stevenson Union, or taken directly to the SOU Food Pantry in Room 312G.

The Office of International Programs – a U.S. Passport acceptance facility – held a “Family Passport Day” on Monday. A pair of international employment workshops – one for faculty and staff who may help or advise international students, and a second for international students with F/J visas – are scheduled for Wednesday at 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., respectively, in Room 319 of the Stevenson Union. International Culture Day on Thursday features a boba tea fundraiser by the Asian Student Union in the Stevenson Union Courtyard from noon to 1:30 p.m., and an International Student Union open house from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in Room 313 of the Stevenson Union. The Office of International Programs will hold a study away information session from 10 a.m. to noon on Friday in Room 319 of the Stevenson Union, and SOU’s French Club will hold a membership information event from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. in Room 318.

SOU-veterans day-flag

SOU Veterans’ Day event recognizes those who have served

/in

(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University will observe Veterans’ Day in a celebration on Monday, Nov. 12, of the men and women who have served and sacrificed in the interest of peace and justice.

The SOU’s event will be from 12:30 to 1:20 p.m. in the Rogue River Room of the Stevenson Union. Medford City Councilor Tim D’Alessandro and Klamath Community College writing instructor Jeanne LaHaie will speak. Several veterans’ resource advocates will be present and lunch will also be provided.

The event is an opportunity to thank those who have put themselves in harm’s way for their county in various ways – from being deployed overseas, to providing aid during natural disasters, to training on weekends when needed.

Those who have served or are currently serving are invited to participate and be recognized, and dependents of veterans are also encouraged to attend. A slideshow of SOU’s current and past service members is being created and will be played throughout the event. Those who wish to submit photos may do so at https://goo.gl/forms/tp2D57L5847ZmqD22

More than 200 SOU students each year are considered military-affiliated – most of them veterans or dependents who are eligible to receive veterans’ benefits. Many also serve as cadets in the Army ROTC program and are stationed in the Susanne Homes residence hall.

SOU also offers a Military Science Program that serves nearly 150 students per term, and various campus organizations are dedicated to helping veterans – including the Veteran’s Resource Office, the Student Veterans Association and the Veterans’ Student Union.

Story by Bryn Mosier, SOU Marketing and Communications intern

-SOU-

SOU-Theater JPR building

SOU unveils theater, JPR facilities with public celebration

/in ,

(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University will dedicate its expanded and renovated Theater Building, and new Jefferson Public Radio Broadcast Center, in a daylong celebration on Saturday. The public is encouraged to participate in the festivities.

The event will begin with a dedication ceremony at 11 a.m., followed by an open house, tours, complimentary entertainment and refreshments beginning at 11:30 a.m. A full day of theatre performances is also planned, with productions of “Small Mouth Sounds” in the Black Box Theater at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and “Into the Woods” in the Main Stage Theater at 8 p.m.

Tickets to the theater performances are limited, so those planning to attend any of the shows should call the SOU Box Office to purchase tickets 541-552-6348, or by email at boxoffice@sou.edu.

Planning for the expansion and renovation project – which added about 60,000 square feet to SOU’s Theater Building – began about 10 years ago, and construction wrapped up this week with the installation of public art in the facility’s outdoor courtyard.

The project added facilities for the university’s Theatre Department that include a new costume shop, control booths, acting studios, movement studio, theater design studio, lighting lab, administrative and theater offices, green room and backstage restrooms. The JPR studios and offices account for 7,000 square feet of the overall project.

The total cost was about $12.75 million, which includes $2.75 million for JPR annex. Construction bonds approved by the Oregon Legislature provided $11.5 million in funding, and JPR donors contributed another $1.25 million.

Entertainment during Saturday’s open house celebration will be provided by the Danielle Kelly Jazz Project, and refreshments will be available from the Peruvian Point Restaurant, Rogue Creamery, Ashland Food Co-op, Troon, Weisinger Winery, Kriselle Cellars and Simple Machine Winery.

-SOU-