New SOU Ashland program in Ghana funded by Matt and Ella Essieh.

Gift from SOU alumni leads to partnerships in Ghana

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(Ashland, Ore.) — A couple who gained a global perspective and the academic foundation for success from their education at Southern Oregon University are funding a pilot project to provide similar opportunities for others, through a partnership between SOU and a pair of universities in the African country of Ghana.

The program begins this academic year with Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) partnerships between SOU and PALM University College in Kordiabe, Ghana, and Catholic University of Ghana, in Sunyani. Recently signed memoranda of understanding for those partnerships are preliminary steps toward a shared business course between SOU and one of the Ghanian universities that will include a two-week, reciprocal exchange program during the 2026-27 academic year.

The project is being funded by a grant from the Essieh Family Foundation, a philanthropic entity established by alumni Matt and Emmanuella Essieh, who met as international students at SOU. The Essiehs’ five-year commitment will enable SOU to develop its relationships with the Ghanian universities and complete planning for the pilot project.

“Thanks to my education at SOU, my worldview was greatly expanded,” Matt Essieh said. “With the success I’ve been blessed with, the time has come for me to pay it forward.”

Matt Essieh, who is from Ghana, earned his bachelor’s degree in business in 1982 and his master of business administration degree in 1983, and is the founder and CEO of Beaverton-based EAI Information Systems – a computer software company that helps banks, brokers and insurance companies track and manage their investments. Emmanuella Essieh, who is from Nigeria, earned her bachelor’s degree in business at SOU in 1982, and is the cofounder and president of KMJ Asset Management – a residential property investment and management firm in Portland.

Matt Essieh still has family in Ghana, and his software company has an office in the Ghanian capital of Accra.

The online and in-person exchange program is the first of its kind for students in Ghana; SOU students can participate in a similar hybrid exchange program in business with the Universidad de Guanajuato – the Global Innovation Scholars Program – in Mexico.

“Our partnership with Ghana reflects what’s possible when education transcends borders,” said Dee Fretwell Carreon, the director for SOU’s Center for Continuing and Professional Education, and is also director of the new Ghanian program.

“It’s a powerful reminder that peace and progress begin with collaboration, and that the next generation is ready to lead us there,” she said.

The Essiehs’ project is intended to foster cultural exchange by providing students opportunities to collaborate with peers from around the world, embracing differences while working together to solve hands-on business problems. The interactions between students from SOU and the Ghanian universities could result in changed perspectives and transformative life experiences – particularly for students from rural areas.

“My hope is to give students the experience of collaborating with each other across the world,” Matt Essieh said. “It will give them the opportunity to learn, appreciate and respect each other’s’ cultures.”

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SOU Ashland steps up for special education teacher training

SOU expands special education to meet regional needs

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Southern Oregon University’s School of Education is stepping up at a pivotal time for Oregon’s public schools, as the state faces a critical shortage of licensed special education teachers. Across southern Oregon, districts continue to post unfilled positions, rely on emergency or restricted licenses, and struggle to meet the needs of students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs). According to the Oregon Department of Education, hundreds of special education positions remain vacant each year, revealing a pressing demand for fully prepared educators.

SOU is answering that call, as interest in its special education programs has surged. Undergraduate enrollment in the licensure pathway has doubled this year, while the Master of Arts in Teaching in special education continues to grow. That momentum is an indication that students across the region recognize both the urgency and the stability of the special ed career path. Many see it as more than a profession; they see it as a commitment to human connection.

New leadership and deeper expertise
The School of Education this year welcomed Somer Matthews, Ph.D., whose expertise in inclusive instruction and teacher preparation for diverse learners strengthens SOU’s capacity for hands-on, evidence-based training. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, and focuses on leadership in inclusive education and severe disabilities. Her addition expands mentorship and course development, ensuring that candidates learn disability as a natural part of human diversity and that every child deserves an inclusive classroom where they are supported and seen.

School districts throughout southern Oregon are actively recruiting for special education-endorsed teachers, without whom the region’s schools struggle to staff resource rooms, co-teaching models and IEP services. SOU’s expanded preparation pipeline helps to close that gap. Graduates of the SOU program are entering classrooms in Ashland, Medford, Grants Pass and Klamath Falls, where every new teacher means that student are receiving the support they need, sooner rather than later.

What graduates gain
SOU’s special education program prepares educators to deliver differentiated instruction for a wide range of learning needs; collaborate with general education teachers to design inclusive environments; apply Universal Design for Learning and evidence-based interventions; serve students with learning disabilities, autism, behavioral challenges and other exceptionalities with empathy and skill; and graduate fully credentialed and job-ready, entering a field where demand is consistently high.

Nearly all graduates secure full-time teaching positions within months, and the SOU program includes many instructional assistants and teachers with emergency licenses completing their credentials while continuing to serve in schools – a model that sustains classrooms while building long-term capacity.

For SOU graduates, a special education endorsement brings immediate job security, competitive pay and lasting relevance. For Oregon communities, it means students with disabilities are supported by teachers trained to meet them where they are. And for the university, it reflects leadership, responsiveness and commitment at a moment when public education urgently needs all three.

SOU is expanding special education teacher preparation with purpose and urgency, as enrollment is growing, faculty expertise is deepening and partnerships with regional districts are strengthening. The School of Education is not simply growing a program; it is preparing the educators who can see and understand every child, not their label.

Sheila Clough and husband Chris at Ashland Chamber of Commerce awards dinner

SOU board chair receives highest Chamber honor

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SOU Board of Trustees Chair Sheila Clough was honored for her volunteerism and community service in a surprise presentation of the Honorary Life Member Award at last week’s 115th annual dinner of the Ashland Chamber of Commerce. The award is the highest honor that the Ashland Chamber bestows on individuals.

“Through her vision, her dedication and her unwavering commitment, Sheila has helped shape numerous important programs within the Chamber,” said Sandra Slattery, the organization’s executive director, as she presented the award. “Her legacy is one of leadership, collaboration and inspiration. She is a force.

“Since first moving to Ashland to serve as CEO of Asante Ashland Community Hospital, Sheila Clough, current CEO of Mercy Flights, has been a cornerstone of the Chamber,” Slattery said. “She has dedicated countless hours to strengthening our community and our economy, serving six years on the Chamber board in multiple leadership roles.”

In addition to executive-level positions throughout her career, Clough has taken on a variety of roles for civic and professional organizations including the Ashland Chamber, Rotary, the Oregon State Ambulance Association and the SOU Board of Trustees. She was appointed by the governor in 2017 to the SOU Board, and was unanimously elected by fellow board members in June 2024 to serve as chair.

The Ashland Chamber’s Honorary Life Member Award is intended as a tribute to recipients whose dedication, leadership and vision have left a lasting mark on the Chamber and the Ashland community. It honors past achievements and an ongoing commitment to service.

Clough and her husband Chris attended last week’s Chamber dinner to represent SOU among the Ashland business community and support other friends and awardees, unaware that she would be receiving an award. She received a standing ovation from a capacity crowd more than 230 business owners, government and non-profit leaders, donors and others as the award was announced.

“I volunteer lot, and I do it because I love the communities that I live in and I work in and I play in,” Clough said in accepting the award. “But I only get to do that because I work with organizations who support me through that.

“I tell the story often that when we were looking for a new opportunity to move our family, we had this opportunity with the (Ashland Community) hospital,” she said. “And the first thing I did was I looked at the Chamber website, and you had me at ‘hello.’ It was literally the Chamber who brought us into this community, and it was the Chamber who embraced us, welcomed our family, welcomed me as a new executive into a community that was miles and miles away from our family and our friends.”

Clough held various management and leadership positions in health care organizations in Minnesota and Wisconsin before moving with her family in 2013 to lead Asante Ashland Community Hospital. She was president and chief operating officer for Howard Young Health Care in Woodruff, Wisconsin before accepting the position in Ashland.

Clough earned a Master of Business Administration degree for healthcare executives from Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and a bachelor’s degree in medical technology from the University of Minnesota.

SOU Trustee Barry Thalden and his wife Kathryn received the Ashland Chamber’s Citizen of the Year award in 2024 – a similar honor that recognizes a person’s impact on the Ashland community.

Three new members appointed to SOU Ashland Board of Trustees

Three new members appointed to SOU board

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(Ashland, Ore.) — A local credit union president and CEO with extensive public service experience, a Southern Oregon University alumna and administrator, and a student in the SOU Master’s in Business Administration program have been appointed by Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and confirmed today by the Oregon Senate to serve on the Southern Oregon University Board of Trustees.

Matthew Stephenson will be one of 11 at-large members on the board, and his term will end in June 2027. Ashley King, a nonfaculty staff member of the board, was appointed to serve an unexpired 2-year term that ends in June 2026, plus a full two-year term that ends in June 2028. Rose Harwood, the board’s graduate program representative, will serve a partial two-year term that expires in June 2027. All are full voting members of the board.

“I am very pleased to welcome this group of devoted public servants to our organization,” said SOU Board Chair Sheila Clough. “These new board members have common ground in their love for the university and their appreciation of the value that SOU brings to our region and the state. Their individual strengths and experiences will enrich our board and the university.”

Matt Stephenson is the president and CEO of Rogue Credit Union, where he began in 2004 as manager of the Information Services Department. He served in a progression of leadership roles before reaching his current position in 2022. Before joining RCU, he worked at Clark County Credit Union in Las Vegas. Stephenson has served in a variety of community service roles, including as a member of the Central Point City Council, the Jackson County Budget Committee, the Chamber of Medford/Jackson County Board of Directors, the Medford School District’s Facilities Optimization Committee, Rogue Community College Budget Committee and the board of Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development Incorporated (SOREDI). He earned a bachelor’s degree in information systems management and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He graduated with highest honors from Western CUNA Management School and received the prestigious Charlie Clark Memorial Award. He also holds the Certified Chief Executive designation from the Credit Union Executives Society CEO Institute.

Ashley King is the compliance coordinator for SOU, developing and implementing policies and procedures to ensure university compliance with various state and federal laws. She has expertise in public procurement, contract administration and policy development, and supports university compliance for contracting and risk management. She has worked at SOU for more than 10 years, with previous roles including service center manager and senior purchasing and contracting specialist. King served as the inaugural chair of the SOU Staff Assembly, which represents the interests of the university’s non-faculty employees, and has also been a member of the SOU Budget Committee, SOU Planning Committee and SOU Policy Council. Her professional honors include the 2023 SOU Outstanding Staff Award and the 2021 SOU Service Excellence Award. King earned her bachelor’s degree in communication at SOU, graduating summa cum laude, and had dual minors in psychology and women’s studies. She was named the top graduating senior in human communication at SOU and the top graduating senior in women’s studies, awarded by the SOU chapter of the American Association of University Women.

Rose Harwood is currently completing master of business administration degree with a focus on arts management at SOU, and earned a bachelor of fine arts degree in acting from the University of Southern California. They are a freelance writer and actor who has appeared on television and in films, and have been heard on national commercials. Harwood has produced, managed financials and run logistics for several independent films, and is the founding executive director of Unseen Films Oregon – a nonprofit that provides opportunities and mentorship for diverse populations working in the various aspects of media production. Harwood also works as a freelance grant writer and project manager for the Friends of the Oregon Caves and Chateau, and coaches at CrossFit Iron Haven in Ashland.

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