SOU Ashland in wellbeing collaborative

SOU to participate in exclusive wellbeing collaborative

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Southern Oregon University will be one of just four campuses in the U.S. to participate over the next year in the 2026-27 NIRSA Wellbeing Collaborative, a high-impact initiative that helps campus recreation departments to move past siloed programs and embed proactive, systemic wellbeing into their culture and operations.

The NIRSA Wellbeing Collaborative was launched in October 2025 by NIRSA: Leaders in Collegiate Recreation in partnership with Wellfleet, (formerly Consolidated Health Plans) an accident and health insurance provider. NIRSA was founded in 1950 at Dillard University as the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association as a professional organization for recreation, fitness and wellness in higher education. It is currently headquartered in Corvallis.

The Wellbeing Collaborative’s first cohort, for the 2025-26 academic year, consisted of the University of Utah, Towson University, Radford University and Western Michigan University. The three other universities that will join SOU Campus Recreation in this year’s cohort have not yet been announced.

Participating campuses in the collaborative use NIRSA’s Recreation for Wellbeing online course as a foundation, receiving individualized coaching from members of the NIRSA Health & Wellbeing Advisory Group. That guidance is intended to help teams navigate the complexities of translating theory into campus-specific action. Real-time progress and strategies are shared through the NIRSA Promising Practices model.

While NIRSA’s online course provides the foundation for understanding systems-level change, the collaborative also creates a structured environment for applied learning. Campus teams can become active practitioners by immediately put concepts into action test new ideas, and learn from one another in real time. Participants are equipped to design, implement and refine strategies to embed wellbeing practices throughout their operations.

One of the collaborative’s central elements is a learning community – a focused, four-campus cohort that learns together and promotes shared accountability and collective problem-solving. Participants will have opportunities to reflect, share insights, and adapt strategies as they test new approaches.

The NIRSA program is based on beliefs that exercise and recreation are powerful tools to improve health and wellbeing, and that affecting student outcomes requires campuses to go beyond programs or facilities to address the overall student experience. The program is intended to enable recreation leaders to act as catalysts for change, aligning recreation with student success, belonging and health.

First Citizen Dee Anne Everson of SOU Board of Trustees

SOU Board member Everson named First Citizen

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Dee Anne Everson, an SOU Board of Trustees member and the CEO and executive director of United Way of Jackson County, received the prestigious First Citizen Award at last week’s Excellence in Business Awards ceremony by the Chamber of Medford and Jackson County.

Everson was recognized for her long-standing work in support of local families, nonprofits and community development. Eli Matthews, the Chamber’s CEO and president, described Everson as “a leader amongst leaders” in the local business community.

“Everybody respects her, everybody listens to her,” Matthews said.

The First Citizen Award award honors community members who show exceptional service, leadership and dedication to Jackson County. Last year’s First Citizen was Al Densmore, a former Oregon state legislator, Medford mayor and Medford city councilor. Bill Thorndike and Lyn Hennion, both late members of the SOU Board of Trustees, are among previous winners of the award.

Everson, who has led the United Way of Jackson County since 1997, has announced that she will retire from that role next March. The organization has launched programs including Day of Caring, Women Living Leadership, the Meth Task Force and the suicide prevention effort In This Together under her leadership. She previously spent 13 years in the corporate financial sector, then transitioned to nonprofits as economist and research manager for the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce.

Prior honors for Everson including the Chamber’s Nonprofit Outstanding Corporate Citizen Award. She has also been named one of Oregon’s 50 great leaders by Oregon Business Magazine and received the Social Empowerment Award from the Black Alliance for Social Empowerment (BASE).

Everson joined the SOU Board of Trustees in November 2025.

The Chamber’s Excellence in Business Awards ceremony is an annual opportunity to recognize standout businesses and individuals, honoring innovators, community advocates and outstanding leaders. Honorees share the value of social responsibility and a passion for economic growth.

Emergency Board releases allocation to SOU Ashland

Legislative Emergency Board approves SOU allocation

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(Ashland, Ore.) — The Oregon Legislature’s Joint Emergency Board voted Thursday to release the second half of a $15 million allocation to Southern Oregon University, signaling lawmakers’ satisfaction that the university is on track to meet agreed-upon milestones for implementation of its Vitality Plan for long-term financial stability and operational innovation.

The 20-member E-Board approved the allocation “without objections” – the equivalent of a unanimous vote – and after a robust and thoughtful discussion. The $7.5 million is the second installment of a $15 million emergency funding package approved by the legislature this spring to maintain SOU’s financial viability through June 2027 and beyond. The funding was contingent on SOU’s development and successful implementation of a plan for long-term fiscal sustainability.

“This is the turning of a corner for Southern Oregon University,” President Rick Bailey said following the vote. “Our short-term financial security is assured, and we are proceeding full-speed ahead with our plan to transform SOU’s academic and operational model for the long term. There is a bright future for SOU and its students, as we shift toward multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary learning, streamlined pathways to completion, experiential learning opportunities and a continued commitment to student success.

“We owe a debt of gratitude to legislators from both political parties for keeping faith with SOU over the past several months as the university has acted with alacrity to resolve its financial issues and build a sustainable model for the future.”

The SOU Board of Trustees approved the final version of the Vitality Plan in July, satisfying one of the conditions set by the legislature. Many legislators offered specific praise today for SOU’s efforts in rethinking its academic and operations models. In particular, Rep. Mark Owens – who voted against the release of the first $7.5 million in June – voted “yes” this morning, citing the university’s financial reporting and stronger forecasting of future conditions in developing the plan and ensuring fiscal stability through June 2029.

Moving forward, Oregon’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission will track SOU’s adherence to specific benchmarks in executing the Vitality Plan. SOU is submitting monthly reports on its progress, adhering to measurable implementation yardsticks and offering clear communication with the campus community, state officials and the public.

The Vitality Plan reduces SOU’s $100 million budget by more than $20 million while avoiding impacts on students wherever possible. It preserves pathways to degree completion and leverages resources throughout the Rogue Valley for relevant capstones, internships, mentorships and research projects that combine academic theory with hands-on experience.

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Karen Lopez Villanueva appointed to SOU Ashland board

Graduate student appointed, current members reappointed to SOU Board

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(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University student Karen Lucia López Villanueva, a Master of Business Administration candidate from Guanajuato, Mexico, has been appointed by Gov. Tina Kotek and confirmed Thursday by the Oregon Senate to serve on the university’s Board of Trustees. Current board members Brent Barry and Iris Maria Chavez were each appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate to serve second terms on the SOU Board.

López Villanueva will finish the unexpired term of Rose Harwood as the board’s graduate student member. That term expires June 30, 2027, and Villanueva was also appointed to her own two-year term on the board, beginning next July 1.

Barry and Chavez were reappointed to their second four-year terms that will begin next July 1 and run through June 20, 2030. Barry was appointed to his initial term in June 2022, and Chavez was first appointed in September 2022 to complete an unexpired four-year term on the board.

“I am delighted to welcome Karen Lucía López Villanueva – an accomplished graduate student, violinist and financial professional – to the board, as Brent Barry and Iris Maria Chavez continue their invaluable leadership on the SOU board,” Chair Sheila Clough said. “I am deeply grateful for their service and shared commitment to bringing lasting vitality to SOU’s future and to ensure that our students thrive.”

López Villanueva is pursuing dual MBA concentrations in business analytics and accounting at SOU. She earned her bachelor’s degree in public accounting from SOU’s sister university, the Universidad de Guanajuato, and has professional experience in public and corporate accounting, and in fiscal compliance.

She is also an accomplished violinist who earned a second-place medal at the 16th Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Festival in 2024, performing with Siskiyou Violins at Vienna, Austria’s renowned Musikverein concert hall.

López Villanueva is an active member of her communities in both Ashland and Guanajuato. She served previously in Guanajuato as secretary of the board for the student branch of the Mexican Institute of Public Accountants, representing the nine-state, central-western region of Mexico. She currently serves as a board member for the Ashland Amigo Club, supporting initiatives that strengthen cultural connections and community engagement in southern Oregon. She is also a graduate assistant to the dean of SOU’s College of Natural and Social Sciences, where she supports the administration and leads critical research on sustainable investment strategies that help to inform institutional endowment practices.

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Oregon House Speaker Julie Fahey and SOU Ashland President Rick Bailey

Oregon House Speaker tours SOU campus

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Southern Oregon University welcomed Oregon House Speaker Julie Fahey to campus on August 25 for a tour highlighting the SOU Vitality Plan and the university’s work to transform the institution, recent physical improvements, student life and the SOU’s role in serving the region.

Speaker Fahey was joined by SOU President Rick Bailey and student guide Regan Mitchell, who led her through several areas of campus and provided an up-close look at university facilities and programs. The visit offered an opportunity to showcase both the student experience and investments that have helped strengthen SOU’s infrastructure – and to talk about the work underway with the implementation of the Vitality Plan and the university’s goals for the future.

Among the stops on the tour were SOU’s athletic facilities and stadium, where university leaders highlighted the importance of athletics in student engagement and campus life. Fahey also visited student housing, gaining a firsthand look at residential spaces designed to support student success and create a vibrant campus community.

The tour included a walk past Central Hall, which was recently renovated with the help of legislative-directed bonding. University officials pointed to those projects as examples of state investments that have enhanced learning environments, modernized facilities and improved the overall experience for students, faculty and staff.

Fahey’s visit concluded with a tour of Jefferson Public Radio’s studios, where she learned more about the public radio network’s service to southern Oregon and northern California. University leaders said the visit provided an important opportunity to highlight SOU’s educational mission, recent accomplishments and the value of continued partnerships between the university and state lawmakers.

“It’s always great when legislators can see and experience SOU in person, instead of just reading news reports or legislative briefs,” said Marc Overbeck, SOU’s Director of Government Relations. “It’s even more important when it’s a House Speaker. We appreciate Speaker Fahey’s interest in and attention to SOU – which is the only public university along the I-5 corridor between Eugene and Chico, California.

“Speaker Fahey understands the important role SOU plays for southern Oregon and we are grateful for her commitment to our students and the region.”