launch of new platform underway

SOU’s launch of new operating platform underway

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(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University has begun a phased launch of a new operational software platform that is expected to eventually save the university more than $750,000 in recurring costs each year. It will improve user experiences and modernize processes for both students and employees.

SOU’s shift to the Workday platform – which will take three years to fully accomplish – will bring students streamlined registration options, an adaptable academic planner, and an integrated and effective mobile app, while employees will juggle fewer systems and see modernized and automated workflows, improved analytics and better security.

The university is seeking funding from the state to help cover $7 million of the $10 million pricetag to implement its new core information system, and plans to leverage its experience in implementing Workday to serve as a model – and potentially as a mentor – for other universities that shift to the platform. State funding of the move to Workday will save $2.5 million that SOU would otherwise have to pay in interest charges.

“This is an opportunity for us to improve many day-to-day experiences for our campus community, save a significant amount of money each year and potentially generate revenue in the future as we pave the way for other universities to make this important transition,” said SOU President Rick Bailey. “It is a terrific investment for SOU, and for the state of Oregon.”

SOU’s shift to Workday – from the outdated core information system it and most other universities currently use – began in early August with the planning and “discovery” phases of the new platform’s Business Administrative element, which includes human resources, finance and payroll. All employees – including faculty and student employees – will be moved to electronic time entry, leave requests and reimbursement procedures, and many other processes will be modernized and streamlined.

Implementation of the Business Administrative functions will be a gradual process, with a “go-live” date for the full component scheduled for next July 1.

The shift to Workday’s student module will then begin, and full implementation is expected to last another two years. The new platform will affect how students view and register for courses, and will provide tools for them to create academic plans, manage financial aid and complete other functions throughout their academic careers. Most functions will be accessible on Workday’s mobile app.

Workday also will become the primary portal through which the registrar will schedule and manage courses, and where faculty members and advisers will view and edit students’ transcripts and course progress.

SOU has hired a vendor – Alchemy – which specializes in helping colleges and universities implement the various functions of the Workday system. The university will take on a similar mentorship role after completing its own implementation process, as several other institutions in Oregon and elsewhere have indicated they plan eventual transitions to Workday and are closely monitoring SOU’s progress. Leaders of Oregon’s seven public universities have agreed that the transition is necessary and inevitable.

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EcoAdventure students and faculty in Ecuador

SOU students enjoying EcoAdventure in Ecuador

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Students and faculty from SOU’s Environmental Science and Policy program are currently in Ecuador, wrapping up the field course “EcoAdventure: Andes to Amazon,” which focuses on tourism’s impact on the culture, environment and biodiversity of that South American country and the region surrounding it.

EcoAdventure student with butterflyThe trip is led by Vincent Smith, director of the university’s Division of Business, Communication and the Environment. Past versions of the annual EcoAdventure excursion have taken students to northern California’s Lassen and Yosemite national parks, Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, Costa Rica and, last year, to the Bear Creek Greenway to help with restoration efforts from the 2020 Almeda Fire.

Each year’s EcoAdventure courses are intended to connect students with real-world environmental issues and create an atmosphere of investigation and problem-solving. The focus this year is on sustainable development and balancing the benefits of tourism with the cultural values of the Amazon region.

“A large part of our goal is to change the script on how tourism takes place in places like the Amazon,” Smith said. “Rather than passing through a place, our goal is to be in the place with the people there.”

For example, students in this year’s course joined a group in an indigenous Kichwa village, combatting patriarchy and promoting women’s rights. The group has also enjoyed more tourist-related pursuits, including up-close experiences with monkeys, parrots and a boa constrictor.

EcoAdventure with boaParticipants in the SOU course toured the Mindo Wildlife Canopy and Ecuador’s capital Quito, visited the Butterfly and Hummingbird Gardens, rafted in the Napo River, took a Pacmanca cooking class and visited the Papallacta Hot Springs.

The total cost of the course was about $4,000, including six credits of tuition and a trip fee that included airfare, lodging, food and ground transportation. The EcoAdventure courses are open to all SOU students, regardless of their major – and this year’s students come from SOU’s communication, psychology and art programs, along with Environmental Science and Policy.

 

EcoAdventure with monkey dog EcoAdventure with Ecuadorian music EcoAdventure Ecuador cohort

New director for Division of Education, Health and Leadership

North Carolina educator accepts SOU director position

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(Ashland, Ore.) — Vance Durrington, currently a program coordinator at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, has accepted an offer to become director of Southern Oregon University’s Division of Education, Health and Leadership. He will begin work at SOU on Sept. 12.

“We had an excellent group of finalists for this key position, and I am thrilled to have Dr. Durrington join SOU,” said Susan Walsh, the university’s provost and vice president for academic affairs. “It will be exciting to work with him as he implements his vision for the Division of Education, Health and Leadership, which has a rich tradition at SOU.”

Durrington has been with UNC-Wilmington for 15 years, serving as an associate professor and chair, and as coordinator of the Workforce Learning and Development program in the Department of Instructional Technology. He was previously coordinator of the Master of Science in Instructional Technology program in Mississippi State University’s College of Education.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Harding University in Arkansas, his master’s degree in educational supervision from Abilene Christian University and his Ed.D. from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. His research interests include distance education, diffusion of innovations, computer mediated communication, social network analysis and digital literacy.

Durrington started his career as a middle and high school teacher of math and computer science for four years, before returning to college for his graduate studies.

As director of SOU’s Division of Education, Health and Leadership, he will provide leadership for the university’s undergraduate programs in American Sign Language, education, English, health and exercise science, military science, outdoor adventure leadership, philosophy and Spanish. He will also oversee the division’s graduate programs in education, outdoor adventure and expedition leadership and teaching.

Durrington will succeed John King as the division’s director. King joined SOU’s education faculty in 2006, served as program chair for three years and then was division director for seven years before leaving in July to become director of ORS Impact, a social impact consulting firm in Seattle.

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All Native American students to receive in-state tuition

SOU offers in-state tuition to all Native American students

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(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University will extend in-state tuition benefits to members of all federally recognized Native American tribes beginning this fall, regardless of where they live. Annual savings under the policy change for Native American students from outside Oregon will range from nearly $5,000 to more than $18,000, depending on where they live.

“SOU has deep respect for the cultural heritage that our Native American students embody,” SOU President Rick Bailey said. “The university is also committed to providing opportunities for all first-generation and other non-traditional students to pursue their academic dreams. We believe that our entire university community will benefit from encouraging the enrolled members of tribes across the country to join us at SOU and enrich our campus.”

SOU joins Portland State University and Oregon State University in creating new opportunities this summer for Native American students nationwide to receive in-state tuition. Those changes follow Oregon’s recent investment in college access for in-state Native students through the Oregon Tribal Student Grant Program, which covers the average cost of attendance after all other federal and state grants or scholarships are applied.

A simplified process at SOU will allow Native American students from outside Oregon to apply for in-state tuition during the admission application process by submitting documentation of their membership in any of the 574 federally recognized tribes in the U.S. Those students will still be considered out-of-state students, but will be assessed in-state tuition rates. Current students who may qualify for the discounted rates may submit tribal documentation to the registrar’s office, and any student with questions about the new policy should contact the admissions office.

SOU offers a variety of opportunities for Native American students and is involved in ongoing efforts to strengthen its ties with Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes and those of northern California, developing memoranda of understanding with some that recognize mutual educational interests and spell out benefits ranging from financial aid opportunities to mentorship programs.

The Native American Studies program at SOU has added both faculty and course offerings in recent years, and was instrumental last year in initiating an Indigenous Gardens Network to restore areas where “first foods” and other culturally significant items can be cultivated, harvested and made accessible to Indigenous people. SOU’s Konaway Nika Tillicum residential summer program for Native American Youth has grown to include an online program for families, and the Native American Student Union has remained active throughout the pandemic.

The university also adopted a “land acknowledgement” last year, recognizing that the SOU campus lies on the ancestral homelands of the area’s Native American tribes; the full acknowledgement may be read at meetings or gatherings on the SOU campus.

The number of existing SOU students who may be affected by the changed policy on in-state tuition is unclear. A total of 251 SOU students identified as being American Indian or Alaskan Native when they enrolled last fall, and 167 of those were from Oregon. However, the “ethnicity tags” on enrollment documents are self-reported and non-exclusive – students can choose multiple, single or no ethnicities. Of those who identified as being American Indian or Alaskan Native, just 11 chose the additional option of identifying themselves as being affiliated with any of Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes.

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SOU McNair program receives grant

SOU McNair Scholars program awarded nearly $1.4 million from U.S. Education Department

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(Ashland, Ore.) — The U.S. Department of Education has awarded Southern Oregon University its fifth Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement grant. The award of $274,983 annually will total $1,374,915 over the five-year grant cycle, from 2022 through 2027.

The grant helps underrepresented and first-generation undergraduate students from low-income backgrounds to prepare for research-intensive doctoral programs.

The program is named for Dr. Ronald E. McNair, who was a member of the Challenger space shuttle’s seven-person crew that met a tragic end in a 1986 explosion. As a tribute to his achievements, Congress and the McNair family formed the Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement Program to assist young people in both following McNair’s path and taking the initiative to chart their own courses.

Since its inception in 2003, SOU’s McNair Scholars program has provided an intensive research experience and graduate school preparation to more than 160 students. Under the new grant, 28 students each year will share the prestige of being McNair Scholars.

The SOU McNair Scholars program serves students who have the desire to continue their education beyond the undergraduate level from all academic disciplines. Scholars complete an eight-week research internship in the summer, attend weekly seminars to help prepare them for testing and graduate school applications, and travel to national McNair conferences and graduate program visitations.

The track record of those who have completed SOU’s McNair program is far above the national average for education continuation among undergraduate students. The SOU program has a 95 percent undergraduate graduation rate, and 98 percent of participants who have completed the McNair program, earned a bachelor’s degree and submitted graduate school applications have ultimately received admission to at least one graduate-level program. Of those who have been admitted to graduate programs, 97 percent have chosen to attend.

Alumni of SOU’s McNair program have received more than $7 million in grants, scholarships and fellowships to support their graduate educations. More than 70 graduate degrees – including 15 doctorates – have been earned by SOU McNair alumni.

The SOU McNair program is directed on an interim basis by Associate Provost Dan DeNeui, and the program coordinator is Naomi McCreary.

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Margaret Perrow honored with teaching award

SOU News Podcast: Faculty spotlight on Margaret Perrow

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NSF grant for computational thinking research

SOU team gets NSF grant to work on “computational thinking” curriculum

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(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University has been awarded a three-year grant totaling nearly $1 million from the National Science Foundation to help K-5 teachers develop  “computational thinking” skills in the Ashland and Phoenix-Talent school districts. The work will build upon a $299,000 grant SOU was awarded in September 2019 to launch the collaborative research project – which was a success despite the abrupt shift to an online format during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Both grants are part of the NSF’s Computer Science for All program, which is intended to extend computer science and computational thinking (CT) opportunities to all K-12 students in the U.S. Computational thinking refers to a set of thought processes traditionally used in computer science to identify and define problems and their solutions. The CT curriculum developed by local teachers, in partnership with SOU researchers, will address barriers associated with implementing computing curriculum in early grades because it will be incorporated into core subjects and introduced in an “unplugged” manner – without computers or technology.

Maggie Vanderberg, an associate professor of computer science at SOU and the leader of the research team for the NSF project, said the grant is dream come true.

“We need to find equitable ways to broaden participation in computer science to increase diversity in the traditionally white male-dominated field,” she said. “And this idea of integrating computational thinking into core subjects will ensure all students have the opportunity to build CT skills during their regular school day – which will also serve them in many other aspects of their lives.

“By building off of what we learned in the previous project, and creating new partnerships across Oregon, we have the ability to make a significant impact across the state.”

The project will include 20 local elementary teachers from the Phoenix-Talent School District’s Orchard Hill, Phoenix and Talent elementary schools, and the Ashland School District’s Bellview, John Muir, Helman, Walker and Willow Wind elementary schools. As co-researchers, the teachers will construct a computational thinking curriculum by embedding the thought processes into existing lessons and then test and refine the effectiveness of those lessons. The goal is to empower all students with the skills necessary for success in middle and high school computing curriculum, and eventually in technologically-rich careers .

“We are excited to continue our partnerships with the Ashland and Phoenix-Talent School Districts,“ said project team researcher Eva Skuratowicz, director of the Southern Oregon University Research Center (SOURCE). “This is a unique opportunity for K-5 and higher education in the Rogue Valley to work together and create a curriculum that can be used nationwide.

Ashland Superintendent Samuel Bogdanove explained the benefits for his district.

“The NSF grant has provided a great opportunity for teachers to delve into strategies that support early computational thinking skills development,” he said. “The project supports the work of the regular classroom teacher in an accessible way by offering tools and strategies that fold easily into classroom learning.

“I look forward to the expansion of the work provided by the grant, and the passion it will spark in the minds of students.”

Phoenix-Talent Superintendent Brent Barry shares in the excitement of continuing work on the project. “Our teachers benefit from top-notch professional development and training, which in turn will benefit all of our students as they continue their education,” he said. “This grant provides the opportunity to expand what we have learned to more teachers and students. Phoenix-Talent is grateful for the partnership with SOU and Ashland School District.”

The program will grow over the next three years to include collaborations with researchers at the College of William & Mary in Virginia and Oregon State University’s Cascades Campus in Bend, and teachers in Lincoln County School District and Redmond School District, The ultimate goal is to develop the beginning of a K-12 computing curriculum pipeline in the state of Oregon. The three-year NSF grant totals $999,806 and will fund the team’s work beginning in October and running through September of 2025.

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SOU ceremony in Guanajuato to honor Faffie Siekman and Juan Carlos Romero Hicks

SOU leaders to honor alumnus and friends of the university in Guanajuato ceremony

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(Ashland, Ore.) — A contingent from Southern Oregon University will visit sister institution Universidad de Guanajuato in the coming days to present SOU’s highest service award to prominent Mexican politician and SOU alumnus Juan Carlos Romero Hicks and his wife, Frances “Faffie” Siekman Romero.

“Juan Carlos and Faffie are true and longstanding friends of SOU and our entire community,” said SOU President Rick Bailey, who will present the couple with the SOU President’s Medal in a ceremony on Monday, Aug. 8. “They have honored their ties to SOU and the city of Ashland throughout their remarkable careers, and have gone to great lengths to strengthen the social and academic cross-cultural partnerships that we all enjoy.”

The two have tirelessly supported connections between the two universities – and the communities of Ashland and Guanajuato – since Romero Hicks enrolled at SOU for the first time in 1978. He earned master’s degrees from SOU in business administration and social sciences and has since served as rector (president) of the Universidad de Guanajuato, governor of the state of Guanajuato, a federal senator and currently as minority leader for the National Action Party (PAN) in the lower chamber of Mexico’s legislative branch. He has announced his 2024 presidential candidacy.

Faffie Siekman has focused on humanitarianism and philanthropy, supporting causes such as adequate eye care for the people of Mexico, building materials for families in need and animal welfare – including a burro rescue program near Guanajuato. She has matched donations to the Ashland Amigo Club’s Endowed Scholarship Fund – managed by the SOU Foundation – since the fund was established in 2017; it has resulted in 10 scholarships to date for students to study in either Ashland or Guanajuato.

The couple’s first child was born in Ashland, the day before Romero Hicks began classes at SOU. He has often said that his life was changed by the Amistad Program, which enables student exchanges between SOU and UG.

“When I became president of the University of Guanajuato, I said none of that would have happened if it weren’t for my experiences with the exchange program,” Romero Hicks said. “It gave me the education and the global perspective that shaped who I am.”

The SOU President’s Medal, established in 1984, is the university’s highest tribute and is awarded as often as once per year to a community member who is distinguished by her or his actions and contributions. It has previously been presented to 57 individuals and organizations, most recently in August 2019 to Confederated Tribes of the Siletz elder Agnes “Grandma Aggie” Pilgrim.

Recipients of the medal are recognized for their exemplary service to the university and community, and for demonstrating compassion, integrity, generosity, leadership and courage. The SOU president determines when and to whom the award is presented.

President Bailey, SOU Board of Trustees Chair Daniel Santos and Janet Fratella, SOU’s vice president for university advancement and executive director of the SOU Foundation, will represent the university in Guanajuato.

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