SOU Alumni Spotlight

Javier del Rio

SOU to present Distinguished Alumni Awards

(Ashland, Ore.) — An arts graduate with a 30-year career as a museum curator and a regional education leader who has championed the underrepresented will be honored Friday when Southern Oregon University presents its annual Distinguished Alumni Awards during a luncheon on campus. Bruce Guenther, who earned a bachelor’s degree in applied design from SOU […]

Van Delden holding baby

Van Delden: Returning kindness with compassion

Service has been a way of life for Dr. James Van Delden (’70). He has delivered babies in war-torn nations, cared for children on Native American reservations of the Great Plains and served on medical missions in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. “I was a family doctor; I wanted to help wherever families and kids […]

Abbigail Rosewood to discuss her novel at SOU

SOU alumna Rosewood returns to read from her novel

SOU alumna and current best-selling author Abbigail Rosewood will return to her alma mater on Friday (May 24) as part of a cross-country book tour for her novel, “If I Had Two Lives.” She will discuss and read from her book at 5 p.m. in the SOU Art Building’s Meese Auditorium. The event is free […]

Molly Troupe and Jill Kuehler from Travel Oregon story on distilling

SOU alumna helping to reinvent the distilling world

SOU chemistry graduate Molly Troupe (2012) and her business partner are being portrayed by Oregon’s tourism marketing agency as “the women changing the distilling world” at their craft distillery in Portland. Troupe and Jill Kuehler opened Freeland Spirits in northwest Portland two years ago. Kuehler serves as the CEO and Troupe is the master distiller – […]

The Amistad exchange program between SOU and Universidad de Guanajuato is going strong after 50 years

Bridging cultures, changing lives: International exchange and lasting friendships

Angelica Ruppe, (masters ’86) did not speak English when she arrived at Southern Oregon University from Mexico in 1984 to participate in the Amistad student exchange program. Ruppe had earned a degree in accounting at Universidad de Guanajuato and was taking part in the exchange program to earn a graduate degree from SOU. “I took […]

SOU alumnus Daniel Breaux

Alumnus Daniel Breaux: Love at first sight

SOU graduate Daniel Breaux (‘14) says the school’s character-driven athletics philosophy stays with him every day, and he applies those values in his career as a police officer in Berkeley, California, as well as in his personal life. Breaux came to SOU for football and its well-regarded criminal justice program. “I wanted a school and […]

Zappos-Fred Mossler-SOU alum

SOU and Zappos alumnus Fred Mossler: Big shoes to fill

The first sentence in a Wikipedia entry for Fred Mossler includes the terms “business executive,” “fashion guru” and “philanthropist.” He has also been called a customer experience expert, digital visionary and serial entrepreneur. But it is Mossler’s humble roots in rural California that keep this wildly successful “original shoe guy” of Zappos.com grounded. Mossler was by […]

SOU-football-character

At SOU, athletic success is driven by character

The old adage that sports build character isn’t necessarily true, according to SOU Athletic Director Matt Sayre. “There are studies that show the longer someone is involved in organized sports, the lower they score on ethical tests, unless you purposely teach character values,” Sayre said. Since becoming athletic director in 2010, Sayre and his coaches […]

commencement-professional-development-SOU

SOU’s 2018 grads still have professional development offer on the table

The 1,100 SOU graduates who received degrees last June still have more than a year and a half to take the university up on its offer of a free professional development course to help establish or advance their careers. A handful of last year’s degree recipients have enrolled in or registered for the non-credit courses […]

SOU-Adams-IDW Publishing

SOU alumnus serious about his comics venture, IDW Publishing

Perhaps it was his job in the SOU bookstore that led Ted Adams (’90) to the role of publisher and CEO of IDW Publishing and IDW Media Holdings. “It was the best experience,” Adams said. “I got to interact with students and read books on break. Having access to all those books was fun for […]