SOU Digital Cinema makes MovieMaker list of top film schools

SOU Digital Cinema named to national Top 30

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(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University’s Digital Cinema program has been ranked among the nation’s Top 30 film schools by MovieMaker Magazine for the second consecutive year – a recognition of SOU’s role in preparing Oregon’s next generation of creative professionals.

MovieMaker cited SOU Digital Cinema’s distinctive blend of hands-on training, industry partnerships and cross-disciplinary collaboration. The program emphasizes practical skill areas such as directing, cinematography, editing, sound and production design. Students gain real-world experience on live-streamed events, commercial shoots and independent feature films, with strong ties to the region’s production community. The program’s innovative, 12-credit “Crew Experience” course serves as an intensive, term-long production boot camp in which students create a short film from concept to completion.

The Digital Cinema program is the only film program on MovieMaker’s list in the Pacific Northwest region (Oregon, Washington, Idaho). The honor comes shortly after the Oregon Legislature approved $40 million in capital construction bonds for SOU to develop a new Creative Industries complex, focused on workforce development in media and entertainment. Planned upgrades include a sound stage, screening room and multimedia production labs. The cross-disciplinary project will help secure Oregon’s position as a national leader in the creative sector.

“We are incredibly proud of our SOU Digital Cinema program, and grateful to MovieMaker Magazine for acknowledging our outstanding team for the second year in a row,” said SOU President Rick Bailey. “This important recognition is a testament to our brilliant students, faculty and staff, and their commitment to opening doors of opportunities throughout the creative industries.”

Housed in SOU’s College of Arts and Humanities, Digital Cinema students also collaborate with Theater, Creative Writing, Emerging Media & Design, Music Industry & Production and other programs. This interdisciplinary approach positions SOU graduates to thrive in today’s interconnected creative industries. Oregon’s creative sector generates about $9.3 billion annually and supports more than 62,000 jobs.

“For many years now, Oregon’s film and media industry has relied on the training and experience that is provided by SOU’s Digital Cinema program,” said Tim Williams, executive director of Oregon Film. “Many of their graduates are now at the heart of our working crews and fueling the growth of our creative economy.”

Sustainability is another cornerstone of SOU’s vision that MovieMaker highlighted in its story. The university is a member of the Green Film School Alliance, and has already reduced energy use in its existing Digital Media Center by 75% with a new LED lighting grid and plans to integrate LEED enhancements and solar power. SOU’s goal is to produce 100% of its electricity by 2035.

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Grant for SOU Ashland to develop accessible tourism for state of Oregon.

SOU receives grant to develop accessible tourism

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(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University has received an $89,745 grant from Travel Oregon to develop an accessibility training program for tourism business leaders, with the goal of ensuring that all visitors to the state – including those with disabilities – feel valued and welcome. The initiative is further supported by a $5,000 grant from the SOU Institute for Applied Sustainability Innovation Fund.

The work planned under the new grants will build upon a smaller Travel Oregon-funded project last year that evaluated the accessibility of tourism in Oregon. This year’s project – which will include hosting 12 training workshops across the state of Oregon – aims to create a statewide network of “Accessible Tourism Ambassadors” made up of visitor industry professionals.

“This work is intended to address the lack of training, which is one of the main barriers identified during last year’s accessible tourism research,” said SOU associate professor of business Pavlina McGrady, who is leading the project along with assistant professor of business Rebecca Williams.

“Our goal is to share tools and best practices so that tourism professionals feel empowered to create welcoming, inclusive and accessible experiences where every guest – visitor or community member – feels included and appreciated,” McGrady said.

Last year’s project, which was funded by a $44,270 Travel Oregon grant and another match of $5,000 from the SOU Institute for Applied Sustainability, found funding challenges, a lack of accessibility information and training, gaps in access to products and services, and uneven hospitality for those with disabilities. It determined that existing training often focused too narrowly on specific disabilities, leaving broader needs unmet – but also that many in the tourism industry were eager to learn, and recognized the need for comprehensive training.

That work included audits and surveys of 30 tourism businesses, seven focus groups, and stakeholder meetings in the five counties of the southern Oregon region. The 75-plus tourism professionals who provided input formed the basis for an “Accessible Tourism Network,” and for the accessibility training program that will be the focus of this year’s project.

The training modules that will be developed are expected to include universal design principles, inclusive strategies for customer service and communication, tools such as web accessibility and sensory-friendly experiences, strategic marketing, practical steps and best practices. The focus will be on flexibility, inclusion rather than segregation, and providing information across various formats.

The SOU grant is for one of 65 projects funded throughout the state this year with $6.2 million in Travel Oregon’s Competitive Grants Program, which is intended to increase access and inclusion for historically – and currently – underserved or under-resourced communities. Grant recipients include local governments, port districts, federally recognized Tribes and non-profit entities, and funded projects range from adaptive trails and inclusive outdoor activities to cultural heritage programming and experiences.

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Creative Industries will be consolidated at SOU Ashland

Creative Industries project gains legislative funding

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Southern Oregon University is celebrating a piece of its future by acknowledging the Oregon Legislature’s recent approval of $40 million in capital construction bonds to update and consolidate SOU’s facilities for creative industries – music, media and film. The cross-disciplinary project will transform the university’s programs and help secure Oregon’s future as a national leader in creative industries.

The legislative funding is a milestone in what is expected to be a lengthy process that includes the sale of bonds that were approved by the legislature, completion of architectural drawings, evaluation of bids for construction contracts and city building permits. It is likely to be at least a year before any construction activity begins.

Eventually, the project is expected to drive innovation at SOU and beyond, and serve as a regional and statewide economic boon. Renovations to the Music Building will increase accessibility and community enjoyment, and will serve students better by relocating complementary programs to take better advantage of opportunities for collaboration. SOU’s Digital Media Center, for instance, is currently located on the opposite side of campus and is a key component of the creative industries partnership.

The project will include the addition or renovation of a sound stage, screening room, computer labs for music production and spaces for teaching the business of music. It will fund the preservation and upgrading of the Recital Hall and adjacent practice rooms and classrooms; state-of-the-art electronics, acoustics and HVAC equipment; and expansion and support of a cinema and media program that is ranked among the best in the country.

Infrastructure improvements that are part of the project include LEED enhancements, HVAC efficiencies, and solar integration.

Creative industries in Oregon generated about $9.3 billion annually and support more than 62,000 jobs in the state. The renovated and expanded facilities at SOU will enhance what is already a vital arts hub that serves at least 30 organizations and hosts more than 200 events per year.

SOU Ashland will rebuild itself, President Rick Bailey announced

SOU announces plan to rebuild itself in response to fiscal crises

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(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University President Rick Bailey announced today that the university will rebuild itself as an institution with a target of a $60 million annual budget – 15% lower than its current total – in response to devastating funding trends at both the state and federal levels. The university will rely, in part, on a rarely used contractual mechanism called financial exigency to respond to its fiscal crises and quickly transform itself into a smaller but much more resilient institution.

The decision to enable the exigency process was formalized through a joint declaration between President Bailey and the Associated Professors of Southern Oregon University (APSOU), the faculty union. Exigency can only be triggered by otherwise unsolvable financial challenges like those facing SOU, and enables the university to take the steps necessary to reduce expenses including personnel costs, regardless of protections that may otherwise be afforded under the terms of collective bargaining agreements. It allows for expeditious and decisive actions.

“Details of the provisional plan that we have put forward are extremely and deeply personal, as they will affect not only several SOU programs and services that we all respect, but cherished members of our campus family,” President Bailey said. “Even though the path we are taking will put the university on much better long-term fiscal footing, these changes will result in heartbreaking outcomes for people who we love and respect.”

The provisional plan – which will be finalized in late August, following potential input from SOU’s faculty union – was outlined for the university’s employees and students during a “Campus Conversation” this morning at the Music Recital Hall.

SOU has been confronted this year with funding inadequacy at the state level, unprecedented uncertainty in its federal partnerships and lagging enrollment and retention. The Oregon Legislature’s appropriation for the 2025-27 biennium does not keep pace with basic cost increases such as retirement and medical benefits that are outside of the university’s control. The federal government has signaled its intent to dismantle or reduce support systems for low-income students, such as Pell grants and the Title IV TRIO-Success at Southern Program. And SOU’s enrollment has declined steadily over the past decade, due to demographics, changing attitudes toward higher education, financial issues and other factors.

The SOU Board of Trustees directed university leaders last month to identify $5 million in budget reductions to be achieved before the end of the 2025-26 fiscal year. It was as President Bailey and his leadership team confronted that challenge when the need for even more monumental change became apparent.

“We recognize that the fiscal exigency process will be deeply challenging for many in the SOU community,” said Ben Cannon, Executive Director of Oregon’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission. “However, today’s unfortunate news – and the difficult financial reality driving it – is a critical step in positioning SOU for long-term stability.

“SOU’s plan aims to ensure students can continue to access high-quality courses and programs, while orienting SOU’s future towards a focused set of offerings that are aligned with regional and statewide needs,” Cannon said.

Despite instituting the SOU Forward initiative just two years ago – a plan to reduce reliance on state funding and tuition revenue by cutting costs (by eliminating 13% of the university’s work force), leveraging grants and philanthropy, and cultivating new revenue sources – the university found itself in a new crisis caused by external forces outside the scope of its immediate control.

Members of the SOU campus community submitted more than 70 pages of ideas and proposals as President Bailey and his cabinet members sought to decrease costs or rethink business processes. There have been budget-related updates to campus each week, consultations with academic deans and program chairs, and multiple meetings with shared governance partners – representatives from the unions for both faculty and classified staff, the organization that represents unclassified staff and the Associated Students of Southern Oregon University.

Ultimately, the president and his leadership team determined that SOU has an infrastructure of faculty and staff members that could support student enrollment as high as 7,500 – but the university’s full-time equivalent enrollment has been closer to 3,500 for several years.

The plan outlined today is based on the fundamental questions of what a $60 million university should look like, what the scope of its academic portfolio should be, and what SOU programs and services are mission-critical rather than mission-enhancing.

The model that is emerging will be built on responsiveness, focus, and resiliency, with academic programs strategically identified to match the academic preferences and professional needs of the region and state. Today’s Campus Conversation shed some light on where the reductions are likely to occur, but specific positions will only be finalized after a formal process between the university and the faculty union.

“This transformation will ensure that we focus our energy and resources toward programs that help the university to become an even more responsive economic prosperity engine for our region and for the benefit of all Oregonians,” President Bailey said.

Reducing expenses will remain just one part of SOU’s fiscal strategy, as the university will continue its efforts with philanthropy and grants, and to diversify revenue streams. The successes of the SOU Forward plan and earlier efforts include $22 million in grant support and $50 million in philanthropic gifts since 2021, $5.8 million in funding for solar projects and the ongoing identification and evaluation of private development partners for an older adult living complex on campus.

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Town hall at SOU Ashland with Attorney General Dan Rayfield

SOU to facilitate AG’s town hall

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(Ashland, Ore.) — Oregon Attorney Dan Rayfield will hold a town hall event from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday in the Rogue River Room of Southern Oregon University’s Stevenson Union. The event – part of the Rayfield’s ongoing series of “Safeguarding Oregon: Federal Oversight” meetings – will feature a panel with the attorney general, State Sen. Jeff Golden and State Rep. Pam Marsh, with moderator Jeremiah Rigsby of CareOregon.

The town hall will center on decisions and actions by the federal administration and their impacts on Oregon and Oregonians. It will include an opportunity for attendees to give public testimony and share their perspectives, and also to ask questions of the elected officials. American Sign Language interpretation will be provided.

Those who are interested in attending, signing up to give public comment or submitting questions in advance can RSVP here.

The statewide “Safeguarding Oregon: Federal Oversight” series began with an April town hall on the Portland State University campus, where Rayfield was joined by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes. Rayfield’s focus for the meetings is to hear testimony from across Oregon as he shapes legal strategies to protect the state’s interest.

On his “Federal Oversight” website, the attorney general invites southern Oregon residents to “Share your experience of how you’ve been impacted by federal actions – whether around healthcare, support for veterans, schools, libraries, or federal workers or something else.”

SOU is serving as the town hall’s host and facilitator, and encourages residents to attend and learn more about issues and potential issues. The university does not endorse viewpoints that may be expressed during the event.

Rayfield has appointed a 14-member “Federal Oversight and Accountability Cabinet” that includes four union officials, two law professors and representatives from various other Oregon organizations. The cabinet is intended as “an innovative partnership between the Oregon Department of Justice and key communities in Oregon’s work to defend against potential federal impacts on the state and its people,” according to the website.

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