Misinformation about SOU's fiscal realignment cleared up by President Bailey

President corrects misperceptions on fiscal realignment

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SOU President Rick Bailey reached out to students and employees this week to correct various misinformation and misperceptions that have circulated among the campus community regarding the cost-management portion of the university’s four-pronged fiscal realignment plan.

The bottom line is that students and others should expect “a robust mix of academic programs and student experiences” at SOU for the foreseeable future, President Bailey said.

He specifically pointed out that the only academic program proposed for elimination at SOU is the master’s degree in Environmental Education, and all current students in that program will be able to complete their degree requirements.

“No other programs are being proposed for elimination,” he said. “Rather, our intent in identifying budget reductions was to more tightly focus some academic programs to better align with the needs of students as they graduate and begin or resume their careers.”

For example, the Theatre Program – where several inaccuracies have circulated among concerned students, staff and patrons – will continue to be a key piece of the SOU identity and an important element of the university’s overall offerings in the creative industries. The program is not one of SOU’s largest but its students, staff and patrons are vocal in their support.

“Discussions have been underway with the (theatre) department for the past several years about how we may be able to better integrate and create synergy among programs related to theater, film, video, gaming, concerts and special events – boosting the career opportunities for graduates who want to work in the creative industries,” President Bailey said in this week’s campus message. “The current fiscal realignment process accelerated those discussions.”

He also made clear that the university’s cost-cutting proposals do not include widespread layoffs. Almost 82 full-time equivalent positions have been identified for elimination by summer 2024, but 59 of those reductions will be accomplished through a combination of recurring job vacancies, retirements, voluntary departures and non-renewable contracts.

“The balance will come from current employees whose positions are proposed to be eliminated, and we are acting with openness, kindness, compassion, and support as we move through this process,” the president said.

He added that the current employees whose positions are proposed for elimination will not be identified by name, out of respect for their privacy, but those impacted positions will soon be made public. The positions are spread across faculty, classified and unclassified employee groups, with care taken to avoid or keep to a minimum any impacts to student experiences or academic opportunities.

President Bailey said he expects additional feedback and potential adjustments as he and other campus leaders continue to address the university’s structural deficit. The cost management plan will be presented on March 17 to the SOU Board of Trustees, and the board will take action on the plan at its meeting on April 21.

Cost management is one of four “planks” that make up SOU’s overall fiscal realignment strategy. The other planks, or elements, of the plan are to build a system of support for research and other projects to be funded by external granting agencies and organizations, leverage the ongoing surge in philanthropic giving to SOU, and diversify revenue by pursuing entrepreneurial opportunities such as solar power production and an on-campus senior living facility.

“Our ultimate goals are to repair the structural flaws in SOU’s financial model that have resulted in recurring budget crises over the past 25 years, and ensure continued access and academic success for our students,” President Bailey said. “We will achieve both by reducing SOU’s reliance on tuition and state appropriations.”

Sustainability Collective at SOU

New Sustainability Collective serves fun, sustainability and SOUPS

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A new group of passionate activists is meeting weekly at SOU to create sustainability initiatives, write magazines, bond over shared interests, listen to music, and make friends over soup and banter. The Sustainability Collective gets together at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesdays in the Stevenson Union’s Social Justice & Equity Center.

The Sustainability Collective’s aims are to create a culture of empowerment and start projects on campus with the help of the SOU Green Fund. The collective may be a good fit for students who have an interest in connecting with campus resources, and would like to seek internship or volunteer opportunities.

The group encourages interested students to participate in its workshops – including but not limited to radical sexual liberation, foraging and disaster preparedness.

The collective will be publishing a magazine titled SOUPS (Southern Oregon University Peoples’ Sustainability). It will have a monthly edition, featuring art, poetry, essays and testimonials from Sustainability Collective attendees. SOUPS will include a list of contacts for local organizations that students may want to get in touch with, relevant upcoming events, and both local and international projects.

Finally, SOUPS magazine will include recipes for soup! The magazine will be featured at the Oregon Fringe Festival on April 26. Those interested in submitting material to the magazine should contact Liz Adkisson (adkissone@sou.edu), who started the group in September.

Adkisson is a sustainability major and serves as Events and Student Outreach Coordinator for the SOU Sustainability Office. She felt there was a space for students of different skills and passions to get together to discuss sustainability and create projects, and she wanted to find a way to meet people and have fun while discussing sustainability in a relaxed environment. Her vision was to create tangible change and a better quality of life for future generations.

Adkisson’s main focus is activism. She intermixed concepts of mindfulness and self-care, and has worked to encourage Sustainability Collective participants to connect with their community.

The collective encourages students to tell their friends and bring their most “grounded” selves!

Story by Angelina Caldera, SOU Marketing and Communications student writer

SOU recycling myths debunked

Debunked: Tackling five myths about recycling at SOU

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It’s not always easy to understand what can and can’t be recycled. It differs from area to area depending on the capabilities of the sorting facility in the closest proximity to where we live. It is also so important to get clean waste streams to help secure end markets for the resource. Sarah Ross, SOU’s Student PEAK Zero Waste Coordinator, sat down with Jamie Rosenthal, Recology’s Waste Education Officer, to go over some recycling myths and how we can understand them better.

Here are some myths, debunked to help with the confusion:

Jamie: There’s a lot to feel good about, and a lot more work to be done. I’m proud of Recology’s long- standing relationship with SOU, and I feel especially grateful for the positive impact the students have made on the overall success of our city’s recycling program. We’ve actually received feedback from our sort facility in Northern California that Ashland has the cleanest recycling stream of all the locations they accept material from, which is certainly celebration-worthy. I think what sets Ashland apart from other locations is the overall desire to expand our understanding of recycling, and to do better when we learn what that is.

Sarah: I started out by asking Jamie one of the most common recycling myths; if an item has the chasing arrows symbol on it, it’s recyclable?

Jamie: No. That symbol isn’t trademarked, so any manufacturer can slap it on any product. All too often, sadly, this maneuver is to manipulate you, the consumer, into feeling good about your purchase. The chasing arrow symbol and numbers (1-7) were created in the late ‘80s to refer to the general category of plastic resin the item is made from, not its recyclability. Another little known fact: there are over 40,000 types of plastic resin, not seven. This is why we aren’t able to recycle “by the numbers.”

On SOU’s campus, we can recycle #1 and #2 plastic bottles, plastic jugs and plastic tubs that are clean and dry. You can recycle soft plastic bags at your local grocery store, or at the Ashland Recycle Center, or drop them off at the Student Sustainability Office in Stevenson Room 310 to be used for the Student Food Pantry – not in the recycling bin.

Sarah: Drawing from the first question, I then asked Jamie, our second myth; it’s harder to recycle now than it was years ago?

Jamie: The items allowed in mixed recycling bins at SOU are the same currently as in the past. What has changed is the impetus to reduce non-recyclable items in the bins and do a better job of recycling correctly. If you check the SOU recyclable materials page of what is allowed in your bin, to avoid the urge to ‘wishfully’ recycle items you think should go in, you are doing fantastic work!

Sarah: In terms of compostables, which we have on SOU’s campus, it’s often confused that can compostable products like cups, plates and cutlery be recycled or composted?

Jamie: Ack! Oh no. Composting and recycling happen in wildly different ways. When “compostables” end up in recycling bins, they can mix with the high value, desired plastic and compromise its quality. Additionally, compostables are problematic at industrial composting facilities because they don’t actually break down at the rate needed for those facilities to churn out their product in a timely manner. Imagine opening up a brand new bag of compost, only to find large hunks of artificial material in the mix. If you’re a serious gardener, this just isn’t OK.

Sarah: Let’s get into myth No. 4, that always stumps recyclers – that lids are recyclable.

Jamie: When a metal lid is no longer attached to the can it originated from, it will find its way into problematic places, such as the folds of cardboard, thus contaminating that specific stream of material. Plastic lids are always a recycling ‘no’, but if you’re able to contain the metal lid within the metal can it came from, say by stomping on the edge of the can once the metal lid is inside, you’re good to recycle that. Just make sure to check your work, by turning the can upside down and shaking it vigorously, to make sure your lid doesn’t fall out.

Sarah: Finally, the predicament that most people ask about; of the three R’s (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle), if I’m recycling, am I doing my very best for the planet?

Jamie: Unfortunately, no. Reducing and reusing are far more important than recycling. If you’d like to go the extra green mile, consider buying used instead of new. Did you know that buying a refurbished computer instead of a new one saves 139 pounds of waste, 7,300 gallons of water, and 2,300 kilowatt hours of energy required to manufacture a new one?

Here’s the GOOD news: SOU’s Recycling Center has student workers who hand sort the university’s recycling and are careful and conscious about recycling correctly. Please help them out by washing out all recyclable containers as this can contaminate a whole bag of recycling. According to Recology’s sorting facility where we send our material, we get it right 95 to 96% of the time, whereas the rest of the country is hovering around getting it right only 70% of the time. Thank you for being part of the solution, and keep up the great work – we know it’s not easy and your efforts are SO appreciated! And let’s also not forget – reducing and reusing (and repairing) is always far more important than recycling.”

Story by Jamie Rosenthal, Recology waste education officer, and Sarah Ross, SOU’s PEAK Zero Waste Coordinator

Food pantry inventory is low, with food drive underway

February Food Drive addresses demands on SOU Food Pantry

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(Ashland, Ore.) — The timing of this month’s February Food Drive couldn’t be better for Southern Oregon University’s Student Food Pantry, which directly benefits from all food and monetary donations generated by the food drive. The on-campus Food Pantry has nearly been emptied by a combination of unprecedented use and high student need.

A total of 943 student visits to the Food Pantry in SOU’s Stevenson Union have been logged, to date, through this academic year’s summer, fall and winter terms. That’s almost double the 479 total visits to the Food Pantry during the previous, full academic year.

“Frankly, without the Food Pantry, I would have to drop out of college,” one student said in a recent, anonymous user survey. “My roommate and I depend on the food pantry to get necessary food, like canned fruits and veggies, that we just wouldn’t be able to afford. We likely would only be able to eat macaroni and ramen without the food pantry – which isn’t enough to truly support the level of work I do, or the studying I need to do for my degree.”

“During the school year, I can’t work enough to pay rent, bills, books, parking, etc., and cover all food costs,” another student said in the Food Pantry’s user survey.

SOU’s February Food Drive – part of the Governor’s State Employee Food Drive – began Feb. 1, continues through the end of the month and will support the Student Food Pantry’s operations throughout the year. ACCESS, the Community Action Agency for Jackson County, brings supplies to the SOU pantry each week, but those donated items are often gone within a day or two.

Anyone can make a one-time monetary donation online, and employees have the additional option of signing up for a monthly payroll deduction. Visit giving.sou.edu/food-pantry and donate by Feb. 28 to participate in the February Food Drive.

The popular “Fill the Bin” building competition is also back for the 2023 food drive, with the building that collects the largest volume of non-perishable food items by weight receiving bragging rights for the year. Collection bins have been placed on the main floor of all SOU buildings – including community drop-off stations in the box office for the Oregon Center for the Arts at SOU, the Stevenson Union foyer and in Lithia Motors Pavilion – and will be collected and weighed on Friday, March 3.

The goals of this year’s food drive are to generate monetary donations of $6,000 and at least 3,000 pounds of food – the combined equivalent of about 20,000 meals.

Items in highest demand at the Student Food Pantry include hearty soups, instant oatmeal, microwaveable/instant meals, nut butters, pasta, pasta sauce, canned beans, cereal, non-dairy milk and snack bars.

Questions about the food drive or the Student Food Pantry can be directed to foodpantry@sou.edu or visit the February Food Drive website at www.sou.edu/fooddrive for more information.

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Yale University has a new partnership with SOU's Schneider Museum of Art

SOU to begin relationship with Yale School of Art

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(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University’s Creative Arts program and Schneider Museum of Art have entered into a new partnership with the prestigious Yale University School of Art. The agreement marks the first time the Yale School of Art has entered into a partnership with a public institution.

Yale alumni and graduating master of fine arts students will be able to apply for season-long residencies with teaching opportunities at the Schneider Museum of Art. The museum will provide housing and two $2,000 honorariums, one for a workshop and the second for a lecture. Yale will cover travel and a travel stipend for the alumni in residence.

The success of SOU’s Visiting Artist & Scholar in Teaching (VAST) residency program, which began in 2019, caught the attention of Yale University after previous VAST resident Maria de Los Angeles was hired by the university this year.

Scott Malbaurn, the Schneider Museum’s executive director, said the new partnership is a major opportunity for SOU’s Creative Arts program and its students, providing both educational opportunities and valuable personal and professional connections in the art world.

“Yale has been ranked the No. 1 graduate program in art for decades, and the partnership will give SOU students and faculty the chance to form meaningful relationships with the university,” Malbaurn said.

Under the new arrangement, residencies under SOU’s VAST program will be marketed by Yale to its alumni.

“Southern Oregon may not be the epicenter of the art world, but now that it has been vetted by Yale faculty, it’s seen as a great place to go and make work without the distraction of the city,” Malbaurn said.

Yale University art professor Sophie Naess will visit SOU this spring for an artist residency through the VAST program. She will not be teaching, but will conduct a workshop and lecture. Her visit will provide an opportunity for SOU to further showcase its programs and facilities to Yale.

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SOU grad recognized for higher education research

SOU grad recognized for higher education research

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Sabrina Klein, a 2013 SOU graduate with a bachelor’s degree in communication, has earned recognition for her exceptional work in higher education research.

Klein received her Ph.D. from UCLA in 2022, and has been named the second-place winner in this year’s American Educational Research Association’s (AERA) Rural Education Special Interest Group (SIG) awards for her dissertation titled, “There’s More to the Story: An Organizational Analysis of Rurality and Higher Education.”

In her dedication, Klein expressed her gratitude toward her undergraduate advisor, Alena Ruggerio, and the communication department at SOU, citing them as the sources of inspiration and education that have helped shape her success as a researcher. She wrote that “I cherish every heartbeat I spent learning” from Ruggerio.

“The experiences and growth I had in the communication department at Southern Oregon University gave me the confidence and knowledge to articulate my thoughts and turn them into actionable narratives,” Klein said in the dedication. “Thank you to the entire communication department for the exceptional education I received, which has given me so many essential skills that have aided in every aspect of my life.”

She will be honored at the AERA Rural SIG awards ceremony in Chicago in April. The AERA, founded in 1916, is a national research society that aims to promote knowledge about education and use research to improve education and serve the public good. The Rural Education SIG, in particular, provides a forum for scholarly conversation about the lives of rural people, places and their schools through research.

After receiving her bachelor’s degree from SOU in communication and media studies, Klein earned master’s and doctorate degrees from UCLA in higher education and organizational change. She served two years as an academic mentor and three years as a graduate teaching fellow while at UCLA.

Her skills in higher education, qualitative research, nonprofit organizations, youth programs, fundraising, networking, and training make her a valuable asset to the education community.

Klein is described in her LinkedIn profile as an advocate and educator with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry, with skills including qualitative research, nonprofit organizations, youth programs, fundraising, networking and training.

SOU will reduce greenhouse gas emissions as a participant in the Better Climate Challenge

SOU joins DOE program, commits to greenhouse gas reductions

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(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University has taken a bold step toward sustainability by joining the Better Climate Challenge – a public-private partnership, led by the U.S. Department of Energy, to encourage organizations to decarbonize and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The university has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% within the next 10 years and decreasing its energy intensity by 25%. The reductions will be measured from a 2018 baseline.

“This commitment is consistent with our university’s goal to produce 100% of its own electricity within 12 years through an aggressive build-out of solar arrays throughout campus,” said Becs Walker, SOU’s sustainability director. “By making conscious efforts to operate sustainably, we can also achieve fiscal responsibility and efficiency.

“We can – and will – serve as a leader in conservation and environmental stewardship while at the same time expanding students’ access to our programs by carefully managing our costs.”

SOU is already known for its commitment to sustainability, with initiatives including solar power generation; reduce, reuse and recycling programs; energy efficiency; water conservation; Bee Campus and Tree Campus certifications; and sustainable food production at The Farm at SOU. The university is also a GOLD-rated institution in the Sustainability Tracking Assessment & Rating System (STARS) from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.

SOU is one of at least nine colleges or universities across the country that have committed to the DOE’s Better Climate Challenge, which was launched last March and now has a total of more than 120 partner organizations. Other Oregon entities that have signed on to the challenge include the city of Hillsboro and Bend’s Deschutes Brewery.

Participants in the challenge will help lead the way to a clean energy economy and a better future, according to the program’s website.

As a partner in the challenge, SOU will share its progress and strategies with others to help promote sustainability. The university will work with the DOE and its peer organizations to turn the threat of climate change into an opportunity to innovate and create a better planet.

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