SOU Campus News

Brain Bowl participants during recent tournament at SOU Ashland

SOU offers 48th “Brain Bowl” for local students

Middle and high school students from throughout the Rogue Valley came together recently to participate in the 48th annual Southern Oregon Brain Bowl, a quizbowl tournament organized by the Youth Programs Office at Southern Oregon University. The annual Brain Bowl tournament is a fast-paced quiz competition in which teams from local schools compete to answer questions […]

Bill Thorndike passes away unexpectedly

SOU to host official memorial service for William Thorndike, Jr.

(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University will host a public gathering and celebration of the life of William Downie (Bill) Thorndike, Jr. – a prominent statewide civic servant, the university’s first board chair and recipient of SOU’s highest honor – on Sunday, April 27. Those who attend the event, at 1:30 p.m. in the SOU […]

SOU shows up at sustainability conference

SOU participants make a splash at regional sustainability conference

(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University students, staff and faculty made their presence felt at last week’s Washington Oregon Cascadia Higher Education Sustainability Conference (WOHESC) in Portland, where SOU participants shared the university’s stories of success in sustainability with peer institutions. The conference was hosted this year by Portland Community College and was attended by […]

new Inside SOU website

Look and feel of Inside SOU website to change

SOU students and employees will have a new user experience as they access features on the Inside SOU website beginning next week, when the university migrates from one platform to another. The new Inside SOU will have a more compact and easier-to-navigate layout, but will still offer secure access to most of the web-based information […]

Behavioral Health Initiative dialogue session

SOU embraces Behavioral Health Initiative

(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University took a step toward “Creating a Culture of Care” through a well-attended dialogue session with that title earlier this month. The wide-ranging discussion – with more to come – is one of the projects currently included in the university’s Southern Oregon Behavioral Health Initiative, funded last spring with a […]

Bill Thorndike passes away unexpectedly

SOU loses friend and mentor with passing of Bill Thorndike

Bill Thorndike – a member of the SOU Board of Trustees since its inception in 2015 and the board’s first chair – passed away unexpectedly while vacationing with his wife Angela last weekend at their family cottage on Whidbey Island, Washington. “Bill was to SOU what each of us cherishes in our closest of friends […]

Drs. Roy and Barbara Saigo

SOU’s Saigo Multicultural Alcove rededicated

Southern Oregon University recognized the importance of providing a diverse perspective with its recent rededication of the Drs. Roy and Barbara Saigo Multicultural Alcove in SOU’s Hannon Library. The collection, near the library’s third-floor lobby, was originally established during Roy Saigo’s tenure as SOU’s interim president and then president, from 2014 through August of 2016. […]

Snow storm causes postponements and cancelations

SOU campus weathers snow storm

This week’s snow and freezing temperatures have resulted in all SOU classes, events and activities being canceled for two consecutive days, and also for a variety of events later in the week being postponed or canceled. Affected events include the women’s and men’s basketball double-header that has been moved from tonight to Wednesday night; the […]

Senior living proposals sought by SOU Ashland

SOU seeks development proposals for senior living

(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University has begun the process of identifying a private-sector partner for the construction and operation of a senior living center on a 4.3-acre parcel where a defunct dormitory complex is currently being demolished. A “request for qualifications” – an invitation for developers and operators of retirement facilities to submit proposals […]

Cascade Complex demolition underway

Demolition underway at SOU’s Cascade Complex

(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University’s Cascade Complex, an obsolete cluster of nine residence halls and a cafeteria that have been largely unused since 2013, is being demolished over the next three months to make room for the anticipated development of a senior living center on the five-acre site at the southwest corner of campus. […]