SOU-Rotaract fundraising for ShelterBox

SOU’s Rotaract service club quadruples fundraising goal

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(Ashland, Ore.) — Overachievement is becoming a thing for Southern Oregon University’s fledgling Rotaract Club. Most recently, the club’s student members set a fund-raising target of $1,000 for the ShelterBox disaster relief organization – and quickly quadrupled their goal.

“The Rotaract Club made over 300 origami 16-point stars to raise money for ShelterBox,” said club secretary Hannah Howard, explaining that members asked potential donors to pay what they could afford as a holiday-season contribution.

“We canvassed in front of Safeway, Market of Choice and at several Rotary Club meetings, making over $4,000 for ShelterBox,” Howard said. “To put this in perspective, it could fund four shelter boxes. We were so thrilled with the amount, and beyond grateful to all the club members who made it happen.”

Here’s another bit of perspective: Previous attempts have been made at SOU to organize a campus chapter of Rotaract – an entry-level version of Rotary International, geared toward young adults. Those efforts largely involved students in their final year at SOU and ultimately fizzled when the seniors graduated, but Howard and a handful of other current students have established a robust club in just over a year. It now has 15 to 20 active members, freshman through senior, and more than 60 who have shown interest in specific club projects.

The club’s other student officers are Lizzy Blackwell, president; Jackie Blanchette, vice president; Max Ostendorf, treasurer; and Christina Richardson and Sarah Grulikowski, immediate past co-presidents.

“I have been the Rotaract Club of SOU faculty advisor for a little over a year, and feel very lucky to work with such wonderful students,” said Melissa Anderson, campus engagement librarian at SOU’s Hannon Library.

Rotaract chapters must take on one local project and one “world service” project each year. The SOU club orchestrated a successful “Caroling for Cans” food drive for this year’s local project, then crushed its fundraising goal for ShelterBox – an official partner organization of Rotary International that takes relief efforts to people whose lives have been upended by natural disasters or conflict. They presented their ShelterBox pitch at five Rotary meetings in Ashland and Medford.

“The students are overwhelmed by the generosity they have witnessed, and empowered by the skills and confidence they have gained through this endeavor,” said former SOU President Elisabeth Zinser, the Rotaract club’s liaison to its sponsor, the Rotary Club of Ashland. “It is truly their project – they chose it, designed it, studied it and executed it.”

ShelterBox provides relief to people displaced by disasters throughout the world, delivering shelter boxes that each contain a large tent “house,” water purification kit, blankets and other equipment that will enable a family to survive. The charity was founded in 2000 in the United Kingdom, and has responded to events including the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, the 2010 Haiti earthquake and the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Anderson, the Rotaract club’s faculty advisor, said support and guidance from the Rotary Club of Ashland and its sister organization, the Lithia Springs Rotary Club, have been critical to the student club’s success. But she credits the resourcefulness and enthusiasm of Rotaract members for accomplishing the club’s goals.

“The amazing job our SOU students did raising money for this very worthwhile organization – during finals, no less – is really going to make a difference in the world,” Anderson said. “The students have put the Rotary motto, ‘Service Above Self,’ into action – which is very fitting, since the Rotaract name itself stands for ‘Rotary in Action.’”

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Enrollment office exterior-Woolf

SOU hires vice president for enrollment management and student affairs

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(Ashland, Ore.) —Neil Woolf – who has led enrollment efforts at higher education institutions in Wisconsin, Washington and Nevada – has been hired as Southern Oregon University’s new vice president for enrollment management and student affairs.

He will start work at SOU on Jan. 9.

Neil Woolf“I am very excited to join the team at Southern Oregon University,” Woolf said. “Under the direction of the Board of Trustees and President (Linda) Schott, I look forward to advancing the mission of the university and assisting students in achieving their success.”

In overseeing both the enrollment and student affairs functions of SOU, Woolf will seek to maintain a steady growth in enrollment through both recruitment efforts and retention of existing students. Programs under his watch include enrollment services, financial aid, the registrar’s office, student life, the university’s student resource centers and organizations, and the Stevenson Union.

Woolf is currently the chief enrollment officer and interim assistant vice chancellor for enrollment management for the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh. He previously served for five years as associate vice president for enrollment management at Eastern Washington University, and for 12 years in various enrollment management and student affairs positions at Nevada State College, the Nevada System of Higher Education, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the University of Utah.

“I was drawn to SOU because of its exceptional academic and student support programs, its commitment to inclusion and equity, and the beautiful surroundings,” he said. “My family and I can’t wait to start making SOU our home.”

In his current position, Woolf has led implementation of UWO’s strategic enrollment plan, improving recruitment by focusing on approaches including search engine optimization (SEO), communicating with prospective students by text and improved collaboration with other key offices. He was one of three finalists brought to SOU for interviews in late November and early December, and was offered the job after demonstrating his understanding of the university’s challenges and opportunities in maintaining enrollment growth.

“His expertise and successful track records in both enrollment management and student affairs make him the ideal person for our position,” SOU President Linda Schott said. “I look forward to working with him to further the goals of our strategic plan.”

Woolf received his bachelor’s degree in government from Eastern Washington University, his master’s degree in public administration from the University of Utah and his Ph.D. in higher education administration from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

He will succeed Blaine Steensland, who filled the position at SOU in an interim capacity last January through June, and has continued to work remotely and in a part-time role with the university since late summer. He retired in 2014 after 28 years in senior enrollment management and student affairs positions with the Penn State University system.

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Dan Bulkley runs 100 meters at age 100

SOU Hall of Fame coach Dan Bulkley passes away at 101

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Former SOU track and cross country coach Dan Bulkley, an Athletics Hall of Fame member who ran a ceremonial 100-meter dash at Raider Stadium a week after his 100th birthday, died Sunday night at Anna Maria Creekside assisted living in Medford. He was 101.

Bulkley coached track and cross country at SOU from 1950 until his retirement in 1979, with his teams winning several NAIA championships. He also coached tennis and skiing during his career at SOU, and was inducted into the university’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 1989. He became a member of the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1977.

He later became involved in masters track competitions and collected almost 500 medals for his accomplishments over a 30-year period.

Bulkley was also instrumental in the development of skiing at Mt. Ashland, and remained active in the local cross-country skiing community until a few years ago.

He was born in Thailand, where his father was a medical missionary and his mother was a teacher, and he went to school in India. He earned his bachelor’s and masters degrees at a college in Southern California, then taught and coached at the high school level before and after World War II – during which he served in the Office of Strategic Services intelligence agency.

Bulkley is survived by his wife, Marjorie. A memorial service will be planned for next spring, when more family members will be available to attend.

SOU-ECOS-student positions

ECOS offers student positions for Winter Term

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SOU’s Ecology and Sustainability Resource Center (ECOS) has openings for a variety of volunteer, intern and work-study student positions for Winter Term.

Students applying for any of the positions are asked to commit to between five and 10 hours per week of work.

Options for Winter Term include an Earth Week planning member, a Dish Loan Program member, a Transportation Options Bike coordinator, Real Food Challenge Calculator and ECOS Community Garden apprentice.

Some of the ECOS internships can be for credit and others are paid opportunities for students eligible for Federal Work Study funding.

A short application must be filled out by Dec. 5 to be considered for the Winter Term positions. Questions can be emailed to ecos@sou.edu.

The ECOS mission is to inspire students and help them to become environmentally, socially and economically responsible. ECOS accomplishes this through collaborative partnerships, innovative initiatives and educational programming.

The goals of some ECOS members are to focus on educating for sustainability and social justice, while others want to inspire active citizenship. ECOS also seeks to develop student leadership potential and advocate for the adoption of sustainable institutional and individual practices.

Some of the organization’s student-led initiatives include the ECOS Resource Center, the Real Food Challenge and the ECOS Community Garden. Events such as Zero Waste Week are also sponsored or organized by ECOS.

Story by Bryn Mosier, SOU Marketing and Communications intern