SOU’s Slattery receives community service award

Ashland Mayor Tonya Graham presented the city’s highest community service honor to Southern Oregon University professor Dennis Slattery during a town hall and state-of-the-city address late last month at Ashland High School’s Mountain Avenue Theatre.

Slattery, an associate professor of business at SOU, a former member of the university’s Board of Trustees and a former Ashland city councilor, received the Alan C. Bates Public Service Award. About 100 people attended the address.

In her remarks, Graham praised Slattery’s long record of civic involvement, noting his work with the Ashland Chamber of Commerce, his four years of service on the SOU Board of Trustees, and his current role as Faculty Senate chair. She also highlighted his involvement in Ashland’s annual Festival of Lights.

“Dennis has a real heart for young people,” Graham said.

Slattery said he was overwhelmed by the recognition, particularly because of his friendship with the late state Sen. Alan Bates, for whom the award is named. He said he first came to Ashland after serving in the Navy, planning to stay for six months, but remained as his involvement in the community grew.

He also recalled childhood hunting trips in Alaska with his father and Indigenous elders, who taught him the importance of stewardship.

“My father and the elders told us the most important job is to leave the campground better than you find it,” Slattery said. “I left my campground — my community — a little better than I found it.”