Solar projects underway at SOU Ashland

Construction underway on SOU’s latest solar projects

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(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University is making headway in its march toward becoming the first public university in the U.S. to produce all of the daytime electricity used on its campus, with more than $5 million in recent state, federal and student funding and multiple solar projects underway.

SOU completed a rooftop solar  installation on Lithia Motors Pavilion in July, with the project adding a 241 kilowatt solar array to the 63 kilowatt array already located on the athletic pavilion’s roof – making it the largest rooftop solar array in Ashland. SOU’s next project – a solar array and battery storage bank – will begin this month at The Hawk Dining Commons. That project will enable SOU to support community resilience by providing 24/7 power at The Hawk, if needed, in the event of an emergency.

Other upcoming solar projects include installation of four more rooftop arrays on the SOU Art Building, Theatre Building, Marion Ady Building and Central Hall. Also in the works are projects in parking lots adjacent to Lithia Motors Pavilion and the Computer Science Building, in which solar arrays will be installed on raised “canopies” above parking spaces. The second of those projects will include another battery storage bank in the Computer Science Building.

“We are looking ahead to our next phases of funding and excited about this journey for revenue diversification, low-carbon energy production and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions,” said Becs Walker, the university’s director of sustainability. “At the same time, we recognize the importance of energy efficiency and are monitoring all buildings to identify potential improvements. A recent renovation project on Britt Hall improved our energy efficiency across campus.”

The recent and upcoming projects have been funded so far by a total of $3 million from the Oregon Department of Energy’s Community Renewable Energy Grant Program, $800,000 through a legislative allocation for Sustainability Funding for Oregon’s Technical and Regional Universities, and $51,000 from the Associated Students of Southern Oregon University’s Green Fund. Another $2 million that was appropriated by Congress as part of a December 2022 spending bill is also earmarked for the current projects.

SOU is continuing to work through details of the federal appropriation’s funding mechanism, and is using the state grants to maintain the pace of its solar build-out.

Construction on the current round of projects began last spring with the installation of inverters and electronics at Lithia Motors Pavilion, and the installation of solar panels in the summer under a contract with Ashland’s True South Solar and its subcontractor, Welburn Electric of Phoenix.

The university anticipates generating 100% of its own electricity by 2035. SOU is focused on being entrepreneurial in its approaches to revenue generation, and on energy independence and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Its eventual energy independence will save the university at least $750,000 per year in utility costs, and each solar array that comes on-line results in an incremental reduction of the overall energy bill for campus.

SOU has 10 existing solar arrays, plus one at the Higher Education Center in Medford and a pole-mounted array installed in 2022 by a nonprofit on land leased from the university.

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At wildlife crossing site, SOU students Shawn Johnson, Emily Heller

Funding in place for wildlife crossing with key SOU role

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(Ashland, Ore.) — A total of $37 million in federal and state funding has been secured to build a wildlife crossing over Interstate 5 south of Ashland, in a project that Southern Oregon University faculty and students have supported by monitoring wildlife patterns in the area.

Oregon recently was awarded a federal grant of $33.2 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation for the project – the first wildlife overcrossing in Oregon or anywhere on I-5, from Mexico to Canada. The Oregon Department of Transportation will match the federal funding with $3.8 million, for a total project cost of $37 million.

The overpass – whose construction is expected to begin in early 2028 – will span the freeway’s northbound and southbound lanes 1.7 miles north of the Oregon-California state line to help reduce vehicle-wildlife collisions. Its site is within the Mariposa Preserve of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument.

Coyote at wildlife crossing site south of SOU AshlandSOU associate professor Karen Mager and her students have used camera traps to study wildlife use of I-5 for the past three years to better understand regional needs for wildlife crossings. Their data was a key component of the feasibility study that identified Mariposa Preserve as the priority site for an overpass. They provided species use data for the state and federal funding applications. and their monitoring efforts are expected to continue during and after construction of the crossing.

“My SOU students have captured over 12,000 unique observations of the wildlife inhabiting this highway corridor,” said Mager, who serves in SOU’s Environmental Science, Policy & Sustainability and Biology departments, and is a fellow in the university’s Institute for Applied Sustainability.

“Our research confirms the extraordinary animal biodiversity at the site where this wildlife crossing will be built,” she said.

Thirteen SOU undergraduate research assistants and four undergraduate capstone projects have contributed much of the data for the project.

Karen Mager, who is leading SOU's efforts at the wildlife crossing

Karen Mager, who is leading SOU’s efforts at the wildlife crossing

“Students do fieldwork and then go through the images to identify species,” Mager said. “Incredibly, it took over 1 million photos and videos – mostly triggered by wind – to capture 12,000 animal images. SOU assistant professor of Computer Science, Bernie Boscoe, and her students worked with us to use AI to detect animals in all those images.”

The crossing will benefit the many SOU students who will continue to gain hands-on research experience by studying its impacts, Mager said. The monitoring efforts will help to document the crossing’s effects on animals and motorists.

About 6,000 vehicle-wildlife collisions are reported each year throughout Oregon, according to state agencies. The average cost of damages in a deer collision is $9,000, and it’s $24,000 for each collision with an elk, according to ODOT. Data from six wildlife underpasses in Oregon – five under Highway 97 and one under Highway 20 – show that their construction led to an 86% decrease in wildlife-vehicle collisions in those areas.

The site of the I-5 overpass is considered to be the highest-priority location along I-5, due to its biodiversity and sensitive wildlife populations, and its promise for improving animal movement through one of the only mountain corridors that connects the coast ranges to the interior Cascades.  The Cascade–Siskiyou National Monument is home to rare mammals such as the Pacific fisher, along with deer, bear, elk, cougars and other large-bodied animals – all of which have been observed by Mager at the site of the future overpass. Many rare and unique butterflies and other species are also found in the area.

ODOT is working on the project in collaboration with the Southern Oregon Wildlife Crossing Coalition. A vision for the wildlife crossing grew out of a February 2021 meeting of representatives from 17 organizations and agencies that are part of the coalition.

“This is the Christmas present that wildlife in southern Oregon were hoping for,” said Jack Williams, an emeritus senior scientist for Trout Unlimited and co-coordinator of the Southern Oregon Wildlife Crossing Coalition.

“The Mariposa Wildlife Overcrossing is exactly what wildlife need – it helps to heal and restore critical east-west habitat connections that were lost when Interstate 5 was built more than 50 years ago,” Williams said.

The state and federal funding will pay for directional fencing to funnel wildlife to the overpass and associated habitat improvements, along with construction costs of the overpass itself. Some lane closures are expected along I-5 during the construction.

“While I-5 is a vital transportation corridor for our region and state, it divides the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, obligating wildlife to make death-defying treks across high-speed traffic,” said Oregon State Rep. Pam Marsh, whose district in the House of Representatives covers southern Jackson County. “This location will reconnect habitat and support biodiversity, while reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions. I can hardly wait for the time that bears, mountain lions and deer are safely traversing well above the freeway.”

The federal portion of the construction funding is through the Department of Transportation’s Federal Highways Administration Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program, which in turn is funded by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Oregon’s U.S. senators, Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, pushed for that piece of the funding, along with an earlier $400,000 appropriation that helped pay for the design and engineering phases of the project.

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Klamath dam removal workshop at SOU

Klamath dam removal workshop at SOU fosters collaboration

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(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University recently hosted the Klamath Dam Removal Research Collaboration Workshop, a follow-up seminar for the numerous groups and agencies working together on the world’s largest-ever dam removal and river restoration project.

The November workshop brought together nearly 150 researchers, Tribal leaders and agency representatives to share information about ecological and social changes in the Klamath River basin that have resulted from the removal of its four dams.

Removal of the Iron Gate (45 minutes southeast of Ashland), J.C. Boyle, Copco No. 1 and Copco No. 2 dams was completed ahead of schedule on Aug. 28, but work will continue for several years to restore about 2,200 acres of land that had been submerged for decades. The dams were built between 1918 and 1962 to provide electricity, but had severe effects on salmon populations and Tribal communities. The river now flows freely from Lake Ewauna near Klamath Falls to the Pacific Ocean.

Salmon return after dam removalThe three-day event at SOU, held jointly with the Klamath Basin Monitoring Program meeting, was intended to build interdisciplinary connections among those working on the renewal project. The workshop was supported by SOU’s Institute for Applied Sustainability; Department of Environmental Science, Policy & Sustainability; and Native Nations Office.

“Our goal was to foster connections across disciplines and entities, through important keynote talks, focused discussion and field trips to dam removal and restoration sites,” said conference organizer Chhaya Werner, an SOU assistant professor of Environmental Science, Policy & Sustainability.

Werner’s lab researches the regeneration of plant communities in the de-watered reservoirs.

She said many who attended the workshop agreed that its “absolute highlight” was a field trip to the dam removal sites and key spawning tributaries, where dozens of fall-run Chinook salmon could be seen returning to their traditional spawning habitat.

Participants at the event included representatives from 11 tribal agencies or entities, including the Yurok, Hoopa Valley, Klamath, Modoc, Karuk, and lower Elwha Klallam Tribes, and the Pulikla Tribe of Yurok People and Quartz Valley Indian Reservation; seven federal and state agencies; eight universities; and non-profits including the Klamath Bird Observatory, Scott River Watershed Council, Trout Unlimited and Save California Salmon. Many SOU faculty and more than 30 SOU students were actively involved, along with alumni now working in restoration fields.

“SOU’s involvement in hosting the meeting is a showing of (the university’s) commitment to supporting science and communities of the Klamath-Siskiyou bioregion,” said Laurel Genzoli, an SOU alumna and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Nevada, Reno. “Returning to SOU to connect with researchers working together to support the restoration of the Klamath River reminded me of the impact that is made through connecting academic institutions with local communities and real world experiences.”

A focus of the workshop was to acknowledge Tribal research and activism for their roles in dam removal and restoration. Keynote speaker Leaf Hillman, former director of the Karuk Department of Natural Resources, opened the workshop with stories of how the work of dam removal began more than two decades ago. Invited speakers on an Indigenous sovereignty panel addressed questions on inter-entity collaboration and partnership. Ridges to Riffles founder Amy Bowers Cordalis closed the workshop with a powerful reminder to listen and learn from the river and its fish.

The workshop also highlighted ongoing research into sediment transport, fish habitat restoration and social impacts. Participants shared findings, including preliminary data on water quality and juvenile salmon survival, and discussed future collaboration opportunities.

Removal of the four dams was completed on-budget, with the smallest dam taken down in 2023 and the three others dismantled beginning in January 2024. Ongoing restoration work includes reshaping tributary channels, replanting native vegetation and improving habitat for salmon and other species. Progress will be monitored with sonar imaging, netting, radio telemetry and other means of tracking the fish that return to spawn in the Klamath River.

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SOU computer scientist Bernadette Boscoe receives Sloan grant

SOU computer scientist receives Sloan grant for “tacit knowledge” research

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(Ashland, Ore.) — Bernadette Boscoe, an assistant professor in the Computer Science Department at Southern Oregon University, recognizes a shared need in fields as dissimilar as astronomy, environmental science and violin acoustics, and a new grant will pay for research that may benefit those and other academic disciplines.

Boscoe has received a $250,000 grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation that will fund her study of tacit knowledge in research settings – gathering, storing and retrieving the unspoken practices of academic teams that sometimes are lost when a project is disrupted or ends. She will use a Large Language Model (LLM) of artificial intelligence to archive the protocols of scientific groups researching environmental science at SOU, astronomy at UCLA and violin acoustics at Cornell University.

“When students, postdocs, researchers or even professors leave a project or lab, much of the tacit, hands-on training practices are lost, because they are not documented,” Boscoe said. “With the rapid advances of LLMs in AI, we now have more computational capabilities to keep track of tacit knowledge, as well as query it in a natural language form.”

She said that mentorships are the main training method to transfer knowledge within most academic research groups – professors and researchers onboard new members to their groups, and train them to do research.

“AI can be used to have researchers rethink how they onboard newcomers, and consider how important tacit knowledge is in continuing collaborations and research over time,” Boscoe said.

She is using Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), an AI framework that pairs an LLM with an information retrieval system to improve accuracy and relevance of resulting data. She is working with SOU computer science graduate Chandler Campbell to build the project’s RAG-LLM tool, called AquiLLM – named after the constellation Aquila.

Boscoe is a computer and information scientist who builds and researches infrastructures and tools to help domain scientists do their work. She earned a bachelor of fine arts degree in painting from the Pratt Institute in New York, an associate degree in computer science from Northampton Community College in Pennsylvania, a master’s degree in mathematics from California State University-Northridge, and a Ph.D. in information science from UCLA.

The research that will be funded over the next year by the Sloan Foundation grant is an extension of her previous work, with the addition of artificial intelligence frameworks.

The grant will fund the development of AquiLLM tools to be used at SOU, UCLA and Cornell, so that each research team can store and query its own tacit knowledge over time. It will also provide funding to students who are participating in the research projects at the three universities.

This material is based upon work supported by Alfred P. Sloan Foundation under Grant No.(APSF grant number G-2024-22720).

The Sloan Foundation is a not-for-profit, mission-driven, grant-making institution dedicated to improving the welfare of all through the advancement of scientific knowledge. It was established in 1934 by Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr., then-president and chief executive officer of the General Motors Corporation. It provides grants in four broad areas: direct support of research in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and economics; initiatives to increase the quality, equity, diversity and inclusiveness of scientific institutions and the science workforce; projects to develop or leverage technology to empower research; and efforts to enhance and deepen public engagement with science and scientists.

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IAS sustainability conference SOU Ashland

Sustainability conference at SOU builds regional collaboration

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(Ashland, Ore.) — The initial conference of Southern Oregon University’s Institute for Applied Sustainability attracted about 85 sustainability professionals from southern Oregon and northern California this month for two days of hands-on learning, actionable insights and connection-building in Ashland and nearby venues.

The invitation-only conference on Oct. 3 and 4 was open to those in agencies and organizations from the Pacific Coast to Klamath Falls, and from Roseburg to Redding, who are spearheading sustainability efforts in their areas. The event was intended to pull together those leaders to create a dynamic network of individuals and inspired organizations to advance sustainability initiatives throughout the region.

“This conference was valuable to those in attendance, and to those who live in southern Oregon and northern California,” said Vincent Smith, executive director of SOU’s Institute for Applied Sustainability and dean of the School of Science and Business. “A lot of ground-breaking knowledge was shared, and just as important, bonds and connections were created that will benefit us all as we work to promote sustainability efforts and mitigate the effects of a changing climate.”

Programs at the conference were meant to promote regional collaboration and support around existing and future sustainability projects. Participants gained practical knowledge, had opportunities to highlight success stories and promote innovation, and strengthened regionally-focused partnerships.

The first day centered on keynote speeches, workshops and networking opportunities, with topics ranging from funding to using artificial intelligence in climate-action planning, and from the effects of change management on the electrical grid to leveraging diversity to support sustainability. The keynote speaker was Auden Schendler, the senior vice president for sustainability at Aspen One in Colorado, who champions solutions to the climate crisis through activism, movement building and replicable projects. Another 14 presenters served as guest speakers on a variety of topics. Most of the day-one events were held on the SOU campus, other than an evening reception at the Ashland Hills Hotel.

Community outings and connection-building were the second-day focus, with opportunities for outdoor adventures, art and dining. Options included mountain biking with Ashland Mountain Adventures, rafting with Indigo Creek Outfitters, a food and wine tour with Rogue Trotter, and a tour and matinee with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. All of the day-two activities were organized and sponsored by Travel Southern Oregon, a local tourism marketing nonprofit.

The conference was hosted by SOU’s Institute for Applied Sustainability and a committee that included faculty members Dee Fretwell and Pavlina McGrady, IAS coordinator Kira Welch and student Jenny Chynoweth. Sponsors included Travel Southern Oregon, Motif Event Rentals, Shooting Star Nursery and BBG Creations.

The SOU Institute for Applied Sustainability was created in fall 2022 as part of an historic, $12 million gift to SOU from Lithia Motors and its GreenCars division. The two largest elements of the gift are a $5 million scholarship fund and $4 million that established the IAS – which collaborates with Lithia on projects including the sustainability conference, an academic credential in corporate sustainability and a national sustainability demonstration site.

The institute celebrated the start of its second year in January with the official launch of its IAS Innovation Fund, which provides micro-grants for forward-thinking projects by SOU faculty and staff. Those projects have included sustainable landscape upgrades on campus, regional partnerships, a global exchange program, faculty research and student internships.

Learn more about the Institute for Applied Sustainability and its Innovation Fund.

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candidates forum SOU

SOU class to host candidate forum for local political races

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(Ashland, Ore.) — Political Science students in Southern Oregon University’s upper division course on political campaigns will partner with SOU’s Office of Government Affairs to host a forum for candidates in all contested races for the Ashland City Council and the Jackson County Board of Commissioners.

The forum, which is free and open to the public, will be from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 16, in the Rogue River Room of SOU’s Stevenson Union. Light refreshments will be served.

Questions for the candidates have been generated by students in the political science class, through research on key issues in the community. The goal of the event is to help educate members of the southern Oregon community about issues and areas of civic life that may impact the region in general or local residents individually.

Students in the class hope to give the candidates in local races an opportunity to discuss their positions and explain how they intend to support a good quality of life in Ashland and Jackson County.

“Political Campaigns” (Political Science 324) is a four-credit course that introduces students to modern American elections and the complex processes that influence them. The hybrid in-person and online course, taught by SOU General Counsel Rob Patridge, examines the basic techniques of organizing and implementing a political campaign. It explores the relationships between candidates and the media, the psychology of political oratory, campaign finance, grassroots organizing and use of the Internet.

For more information on the course or on the Oct. 16 candidates forum, contact Patridge at patridger@sou.edu

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SOU Indigenous Peoples Day

Indigenous Peoples Day to be celebrated over two days at SOU

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(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University’s annual Indigenous Peoples Day celebration will return to campus for a weekend full of activities on Oct. 19 and 20, from Native dancers to guest speakers to lunches of salmon on Saturday and Indian tacos on Sunday.

Indigenous Peoples Day celebrates the historic, cultural and present-day influence of Native Americans. The theme of this year’s celebration is “Honor the past, empower the present, inspire the future.”

SOU has formally observed Indigenous Peoples Day since 2017, after a student and the university’s Diversity and Inclusion Oversight Committee petitioned for the change a year earlier. The state of Oregon began recognizing the holiday in 2021.

This year’s celebration – the seventh at SOU – will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19, with a “grand entry” procession of Native American dancers at the university’s Stevenson Union. A period of “welcoming” will begin at 11 a.m., followed by a $10 salmon bake lunch (cash only) at noon. Guest speakers and open sharing of songs, dances and stories will be from 1 to 4 p.m.

The celebration will continue on Sunday, Oct. 20, with guest speakers and open sharing throughout the day, from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Indian tacos and frybread offered by SOU’s Native American Student Union (cash only).

An Indigenous artisans market and a variety of other activities will be held during both days of the celebration.

Dancers are invited to join Saturday’s grand entry procession, and Native American regalia is encouraged. More information about the celebration is available from Kenwani Kravitz, SOU’s Native Nations Liaison, at kravitzk@sou.edu or (541) 552-6937.

Hosts of SOU’s Indigenous Peoples Day celebration include the university, its Office of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, the Native Raiders office and the Native American Student Union.

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virtual reality biology SOU Ashland

Seminar to show benefits of a virtual reality and real-world teaching combination

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(Ashland, Ore.) — Two biologists and academic administrators from Arizona State University will present a new method of teaching biology that combines immersive virtual reality with highly structured classroom activities when the Southern Oregon University Biology Department hosts this year’s inaugural Friday Science Seminar on Oct. 11.

The presentation, from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in Room 151 of the SOU Science Building, is free and open to the public. The Friday Science Seminars program is a feature of the SOU School of Science and Business that offers community events on topics ranging from astronomy to computer science to biochemistry.

Michael Angilletta and John VandenBrooks, who both work in ASU’s innovative EdPlus program, will demonstrate in Friday’s presentation how virtual reality can be used to teach about biological concepts and skills, and will show how students taught with the new curriculum have excelled when compared to peers in conventional classrooms. The biology teaching model is called Dreamscape Learn.

“This new curriculum enables students to enter a fictional world, where an artificial intelligence has created an intergalactic wildlife sanctuary to preserve endangered ecosystems from across the galaxy,” promotional material for the Friday Science Seminar says. “In each learning module, students become the heroes of a story – discovering, investigating and solving novel yet realistic problems.”

The storyline continues as students apply their virtual reality experiences to their work in the classroom.

Students who are taught biology concepts at ASU in the Dreamscape Learn format have been almost twice as likely to earn “A” grades on their assignments – scores of 90 to 100 percent – than were other students who were taught the same concepts with traditional teaching methods, according to Angilletta and VandenBrooks. They say their research shows potential benefits of using emerging technologies and a compelling narrative structure to enrich science education.

Angilletta, an associate dean of Learning Innovation in ASU’s EdPlus program, earned his Ph.D. in Ecology & Evolution from the University of Pennsylvania. VandenBrooks, an associate dean of Immersive Learning in the EdPlus program, received his Ph.D. in geology and geophysics from Yale University.

The EdPlus program focuses on the design and delivery of digital teaching and learning models to remove obstacles and improve the likelihood of student success.

SOU assistant professor Jacob Youngblood, Ph.D., is hosting this week’s Friday Science Seminar.

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Alumni Awards SOU Ashland

SOU alumni receive awards for their work and service

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(Ashland, Ore.) — A Colorado State University professor who is helping develop the Periodic Table of Food; the founder and executive director of a nonprofit that protects Siskiyou backcountry trails; a former La Clinica CFO and current equity policy strategist with the Oregon Health Authority; and the CEO of a Beaverton-based computer software company and his wife, the president of a property investment and management firm, have been recognized as this year’s Southern Oregon University alumni award winners.

The award recipients who were chosen by the SOU Alumni Association Board of Directors are Matt and Ella Essieh for the Distinguished Alumni Award; Jessica Prenni, Ph.D., for the Alumni Excellence in Education Award; Angelica Ruppe for the Stan Smith Alumni Service Award; and Gabe Howe for the Outstanding Young Alumni Award.

The five SOU alumni will be presented their awards at an 11:30 a.m. luncheon on Thursday, Oct. 10, in the Stevenson Union’s Rogue River Room. The event is part of this year’s homecoming celebration.

Essieh
The Distinguished Alumni Award is presented annually by the university and the SOU Alumni Association to recognize someone whose personal and professional achievements have significantly benefited humankind and brought distinction to the university. This year’s honorees are Emmanuella Essieh, who earned her bachelor’s degree at SOU in 1982, and her husband Matt Essieh, who earned his bachelor’s degree in 1982 and his Master’s in Business Administration in 1983. Emmanuella is cofounder and president of KMJ Asset Management in Portland, a residential property investment and management firm. Matt is the CEO of Beaverton’s EAI Information Systems, a financial services company that helps banks, brokers and insurance companies track and manage their investments. The couple’s professional success is balanced by their personal commitment to support youth from Sampa, Ghana, through their nonprofit foundation. They also work to assist students in Ghana and Nigeria to obtain a university education in Africa or the U.S.

Prenni
The Alumni Excellence in Education Award recognizes career achievement in education, service to community and commitment to SOU. This year’s winner of the award, Jessica Prenni, received her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from SOU in 1998 and her Ph.D. in analytical chemistry in 2002 from the University of Colorado-Boulder. She is a professor in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at Colorado State University, where her research focuses on using mass spectrometry to address issues in food and crop safety, and to answer questions about the environmental factors that impact food composition. She is part of a global initiative to develop the Periodic Table of Food, a reference database on the composition and function of the most important foods worldwide.

Ruppe
The Stan Smith Alumni Service Award recognizes alumni who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to the community and service to people. The award this year goes to Angelica Ruppe, who received her master’s degree at SOU in 1986. Angelica attended SOU in the 1980s as part of the Amistad student exchange program after earned her bachelor’s degree at the Universidad de Guanajuato in Mexico. She landed a position after graduating from SOU as the chief financial officer of La Clinica, a nonprofit health care provider in southern Oregon. She left the organization in 2017 and spent two years in Tanzania, working with women and children who were at-risk or living with disabilities. She is currently an equity policy strategist with the Oregon Health Authority, assuring healthcare access to those in need.

Howe
The Distinguished Young Alumni Award is presented to a recent university graduate who has demonstrated distinction in career, civic involvement or both. This year’s recipient of the award is Gabriel Howe, who received his bachelor’s degree in English at SOU in 2012. Gabe is founder and executive director of Siskiyou Mountain Club, a nonprofit organization that grew out of his capstone project at SOU. The organization seeks to restore, maintain and promote primitive trails in the Siskiyou backcountry. Gabe and the organization’s volunteers have restored 250 miles of trails and managed another 400 miles since 2010. He is committed to keeping trails from disappearing from the remote corners of southwest Oregon and northwest California.

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shanell sanchez SOU Ashland

SOU faculty member publishes book on consequences of discrimination

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(Ashland, Ore.) — Shanell Sanchez, an associate professor in the Criminology and Criminal Justice Department at Southern Oregon University, is co-editor of a new book on the causes and consequences of discrimination against vulnerable populations.

“Exploitation and Criminalization at the Margins: The Hidden Toll on Unvalued Lives” was published by Rowman & Littlefield, a well- respected independent publisher of U.S. academic titles.

The book is co-edited by Sanchez and Taryn VanderPyl, an associate professor of Criminal Justice Sciences at Western Oregon University, with chapters contributed by each of the editors and 18 others. It is divided into four parts – Value and Risk, Lived Experience, Immigration, and Power and Oppression – and a total of 15 chapters.

It examines discrimination against children, women, people of color, immigrants and others who are systemically devalued. The book’s contributors explore bias from institutions and those in positions of authority, in the context of policing and criminal justice, sex trafficking, intimate partner violence, immigration, disability, politics, substance abuse and food insecurity.

Chapter topics range from food apartheid and the criminalization of food insecurity, to stigmatizing and labeling Mexican immigrants, to the normalization of hate.

“VanderPyl and Sanchez’s edited volume brings to the forefront the complex realities for people entangled in the criminal legal system and other systems of injustice,” Kimberly Kras, an associate professor in the School of Public Affairs at San Diego State University, said in a review of the book. “Looking behind the scenes on topics including policing and prisons, education, media, immigration, and political power and oppression, the authors illuminate the subtexts of structural oppression.

“By uplifting voices of those with lived experience, this collection reveals the undervalued humanity of people who cause harm and yet are also harmed,” Kras said. “These stories-as-scholarship evoke the empathy and empowerment needed to change our notions about whose life is most valued – and encourages actions to transform the system.”

Sanchez joined the SOU Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice faculty in 2016, and served previously as an assistant professor of criminal justice at Colorado Mesa University, from 2013 to 2016. She received both her Ph.D. and master’s degree in sociology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Northern Colorado.

Her teaching and research areas of interest include crime and deviance, social change, comparative crime, social inequality, qualitative methods, latino/a immigration, education and society, mass media, criminology, juvenile justice and delinquency, and minority health and illness.

VanderPyl has served on the faculty at WOU since 2019. She received her Ph.D. in special education and juvenile justice from Claremont Graduate University, her master’s degree in special education from Arizona State University and her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Northern Arizona University. Her research interests include interventions and legislation that pertain to juvenile and adult corrections, and that affect reentry and recidivism.

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