SOU Bee Campus pollinator habitat

SOU earns renewal as Bee Campus USA

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(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University – which became the original Bee Campus USA three years ago – has been notified that its certification has been renewed for 2019 following a rigorous application process.

Colleges and universities are certified based on various criteria as “bee campuses” by the Bee City USA organization, an initiative of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. SOU collaborated with Bee City USA to develop guidelines for the Bee Campus certification in 2015, after being inspired by two early adopters of the Bee City designation – Ashland and neighboring Talent.

There are now 70 colleges and universities nationwide that have earned Bee Campus USA certification, including four others in Oregon: Lane Community College, Portland Community College, Portland State University and University of Oregon.

Phyllis Stiles, the founder and “pollinator champion” of Bee City USA, congratulated SOU on its successful renewal and thanked the university for its leadership role in the effort to preserve bees and other beneficial insects.

“Most importantly, you continue to inspire your campus and community to take care of the pollinators that play a vital role in sustaining our planet,” Stiles said.

SOU was also named the nation’s top pollinator-friendly college last summer by the Sierra Club, as part of its annual “Cool Schools” rankings.

Measures taken at the university to help bees survive and thrive include a student-maintained pollinator-friendly garden, two other native pollinator-friendly beds, herbicide-free wildlife areas and creation of a Bee Campus USA subcommittee of SOU’s Sustainability Council.

Colleges and universities may apply to become certified Bee Campuses after first forming leadership committees made up of faculty, staff and students. Those selected as Bee Campuses must commit to development of habitat plans, hosting of awareness events, development of courses or workshops that support pollinators, sponsorship and tracking of service-learning projects for students, posting of educational signs and maintaining a pollinator-related web presence.

They must also apply each year for renewal of their certification.

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SOU's Carlos-Zenen Trujillo (left front) at Kennedy Center festival

SOU theatre student honored at Kennedy Center event

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(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University student Carlos-Zenen Trujillo was among the award-winners recognized at last month’s 2019 Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF ) in Washington, D.C., and announced last week by the Kennedy Center.

Trujillo – a senior majoring in theatre at SOU – was one of two students from throughout the U.S. to be presented the John Cauble Awards for Arts Leadership, which were accompanied by $5,000 cash prizes. Cauble is a professor emeritus and founding director of UCLA’s Graduate Program in Arts Management.

The KCACTF is a national program that involves about 20,000 college and university theatre students each year in its state, regional and national festivals. Participants are encouraged to celebrate the creative process and share their experiences with other budding theatre artists.

Many students were honored with scholarships, fellowships and cash awards at the Kennedy Center’s national event after their work stood out during the program’s eight regional festivals earlier this year. Trujillo was among more than 120 students who were selected to receive all-expenses-paid trips to Washington, D.C., for the national festival.

He attended the Kennedy Center festival as one of nine regional ASPIRE Arts Leadership Fellows. The weeklong fellowship – which focuses on equity, diversity and inclusion – is intended to cultivate future theatre leaders from the ranks of promising women students and students of color.

The nine ASPIRE fellows met with Deborah Rutter, president of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and other leading theatre professionals. The program also included leadership skill-building, exploration of challenges facing America’s theaters and professional networking opportunities.

The KCACTF organization is intended to help improve the quality of college theatre in the U.S., and has participants from more than 700 academic institutions nationwide.

This year’s 50th anniversary festival included a concert that featured Tony Award-winners Jason Robert Brown and Lindsay Mendez; Helen Hayes Award-winner Tracy Lynn Olivera; and the Kennedy Center Musical Theatre Fellows. There were also roundtable discussions with a group of prominent playwrights, readings of short plays, auditions for acting scholarships and opportunities for master classes.

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JPR broadcast booth, Murrow Awards

JPR wins regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for news reporting

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The Jefferson Public Radio newsroom at SOU is among the winners of the 2019 regional Edward R. Murrow Awards. The “Murrows” are presented by the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) to recognize outstanding broadcast and online journalism.

JPR won in the Hard News and Continuing Coverage categories in RTDNA’s Northwest small market division, made up of public and commercial radio stations in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Alaska. This is the second year running JPR has won in those categories.

“I’m thrilled to see JPR news recognized once again for its outstanding work during the past year, creating high-impact journalism and telling compelling stories about our region,” JPR Executive Director Paul Westhelle said. “The work recognized by the RTDNA is the result of a team effort by our entire newsroom – work which is made possible by the generous support of our listeners.”

JPR’s winning entry in the Hard News category examined the West Coast tourism industry’s responses to a recent string of smoky summers:

“West Coast businesses that depend on the summertime tourist dollar took a big hit from this years’ wildfires and smoke.

“The same thing happened last year. And two years before that. Now, the idea that smoky summers may become the norm is beginning to take hold, and tourist operators — and the towns that rely on them — are looking for ways to adapt.”

Listen to the full story: The West Coast Tourism Industry Starts To Adapt To A Smoky Future

The station’s winning entry in the Continuing Coverage category looked at how deeply the Redding area was affected by the nearby Carr fire, and challenges to the area’s recovery:

“In late July, the Carr fire burned through Shasta and Trinity Counties in far-northern California. Driven by dry fuels, hot temperatures and high winds, it became a ‘fire tornado,’ jumping the Sacramento River and sweeping through neighborhoods in Redding, the region’s largest city. Nearly half of Redding’s population had to evacuate and more than 1,000 homes were destroyed. Eight people, including three fire fighters, died.

“These are stories of how the Carr fire affected the Redding area and some of the challenges facing the recovery effort.”

Listen to the full story: The Carr Fire: Aftermath And Challenges To Recovery

Regional winners of Murrow awards are automatically entered in the national Edward R. Murrow competition. National winners will be announced in June.

This story is reposted from Jefferson Public Radio

SOU's Brook Colley finalist for Oregon Book Awards

SOU faculty member a finalist for Oregon Book Awards

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SOU faculty member and alumna Brook Colley has been named a finalist for this year’s Oregon Book Awards in the category of general nonfiction for her book, “Power in the Telling: Grand Ronde, Warm Springs and Intertribal Relations in the Casino Era.”

Colley, an assistant professor for SOU’s Native American Studies program, is one of five finalists for the Frances Fuller Victor Award for General Nonfiction.

Her book examines – in historical, social and political terms – a conflict between the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and the Confederated Tribes of Grande Ronde over the Warm Springs tribe’s unsuccessful 15-year effort to develop a casino in Cascade locks. The book was published last April by the University of Washington Press.

“Ultimately, Colley’s engaging examination explores strategies for reconciliation and cooperation, emphasizing narratives of resilience and tribal sovereignty,” a description on Google Books said.

The Oregon Book Awards will be announced at an April 22 ceremony in Portland, hosted by Cheryl Strayed – author of the bestseller-turned-movie “Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail.”

The annual awards are presented by the nonprofit organization Literary Arts, Inc., to recognize the best work of Oregon writers in the areas of fiction, poetry, literary nonfiction, drama, graphic literature and literature for young readers. The nonfiction category includes two awards: the Frances Fuller Victor Award for general nonfiction and the Sarah Winnemucca Award for creative nonfiction.

Out-of-state judges are assigned to name award recipients in each category, based on literary merit.

Finalists for the Frances Fuller Victor Award are:

  • .Katrine Barber of Portland, “In Defense of Wyam: Native-White Alliances and the Struggle for Celilo Village,”University of Washington Press
  • Kenneth R. Coleman of Portland, “Dangerous Subjects: James D. Saules and the Rise of Black Exclusion in Oregon,”OSU Press
  • Brook Colley of Phoenix, “Power in the Telling: Grand Ronde, Warm Springs and Intertribal Relations in the Casino Era,” University of Washington Press
  • Mary DeMocker of Eugene, “The Parents’ Guide to Climate Revolution: 100 Ways to Build a Fossil-Free Future, Raise Empowered Kids and Still Get a Good Night’s Sleep,”New World Library
  • Noah Strycker of Creswell, “Birding Without Borders: An Obsession, a Quest and the Biggest Year in the World,” Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Frances Fuller Victor, who died in 1902, spent 35 years traveling throughout Oregon to interview pioneers and write the region’s history.

Colley was a member of the Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program at SOU, which prepares non-traditional students for post-graduate education. She received bachelor’s degrees in sociology and political science at SOU in 2007, then earned her doctorate in Native American Studies at the University of California-Davis before returning to SOU as a faculty member in 2015.

Mackenzie-thanks-donors-SOU

SOU donors just might turn students into doctors

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Mackenzie Murphy, an SOU Honors College senior and hopeful physician-to-be, has reached out through the SOU Foundation to thank donors who have contributed to the university and made her honors scholarship possible.

“A lot of the students in the Honors College come from low-income backgrounds and most of us honestly would not be able to afford to go to a four-year college,” Murphy said.

She is a biology major with minors in chemistry and mathematics, and plans to attend medical school and then work as an emergency room physician. She is from New York, and fell in love with the university and Ashland community when she came to SOU for a visit.

“Everybody here is so nice and supportive,” Murphy said. “My ideal goal is to go to OHSU and to practice in the Oregon area.”

Acceptance into the SOU Honors College can be life-changing for students. All students in the program receive scholarships.

“I am deeply appreciative of each and every donor,” Murphy said. “Their donations have helped so many students like me, and they have impacted the way we see our education and how well we are going to do in the future.”

Private gifts from donors and other philanthropic partners make up an important revenue source for the university. Funding through the SOU Foundation helps to attract and retain the best and brightest faculty, provide scholarships, build first-class facilities and maintain the quality of SOU’s education and research programs.

Reposted from the SOU Foundation website

Chad Hamill-ACE fellowship-SOU

Prospective higher ed leader to serve prestigious ACE fellowship at SOU

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(Ashland, Ore.) — Chad Hamill, the vice president for Native American initiatives at Northern Arizona University, has chosen to serve a prestigious ACE fellowship (from the American Council on Education) at Southern Oregon University during this year’s winter and spring terms.

The ACE fellowship program is highly competitive, and considered a pipeline for those aspiring to presidencies and other senior administrative positions in higher education.

Hamill will work closely with President Linda Schott while serving his fellowship, applying his expertise to existing SOU programs and acquiring knowledge that he will take back to NAU.

“We are thrilled to serve as Dr. Hamill’s host institution during his ACE fellowship,” President Schott said. “We expect that this relationship will help SOU to improve its outreach, and already strong connections, with Oregon’s nine recognized Native American tribes.

“It is especially gratifying to us that SOU was Dr. Hamill’s first choice for a host institution, and that he is truly excited about contributing to our mission.”

Hamill said that he visited a larger university first and had more or less decided to serve his fellowship there, but quickly changed his mind after a visit to SOU last spring.

“Ten minutes into my first meeting with President Schott and her team, it was clear that they are united by a shared vision for SOU,” he said. “I look forward to contributing to that vision over the next five months while learning the ins and outs of university leadership, in particular through the guidance and mentorship of Dr. Schott.”

The ACE fellowship program, established in 1965, is intended to identify and prepare future higher education leaders. Almost 2,000 people have received ACE fellowships, and more than 80 percent of them have gone on to serve as senior leaders at U.S. colleges and universities.

A total of 43 fellows were chosen for the 2018-19 academic year, following nomination by their home institutions and a rigorous application and selection process. ACE represents more than 1,600 college and university presidents, providing leadership and advocacy on key higher education issues.

Hamill, an associate professor and former chair of NAU’s Department of Applied Indigenous Studies, has taught at the Flagstaff university since 2007. His specialties include music and sovereignty, music and spirituality and Indigenous ecological knowledge. His book, “Songs of Power and Prayer in the Columbia Plateau,” explores song as a vehicle for spiritual power among tribes of the interior Northwest – including his own, the Spokane.

He has served previously as an instructor at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and at the California Institute of the Arts.

Hamill received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the California Institute of the Arts, and his doctorate in ethnomusicology from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

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SOU-Kathy Park-service excellence coin

Coin of the realm: SOU recognizes service excellence

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SOU has borrowed from the somewhat mischievous military tradition of the “challenge coin” to recognize service excellence on campus and support the university’s Strategic Direction II: to become an employer of choice and create a culture of service excellence to all constituents.

“Service Excellence coins” have been presented to a total of 11 SOU employees over the past couple months – most recently and visibly, to Churchill Hall administrative assistant Kathy Park during last week’s meeting of the SOU Board of Trustees.

SOU-service coin“She’s a classic unsung hero – one of those many employees working hard, mostly behind the scenes – and she does a great job,” says Vice President for Finance and Administration Greg Perkinson, who joined President Linda Schott and Board of Trustees Chair Lyn Hennion in surprising Kathy with the award.

“Giving her that round metal object – also known as a coin – is just a way of saying thanks.”

The origin of military challenge coins is a little hazy, but the Wikipedia version involves an American pilot who was shot down behind enemy lines in World War I, made his way to a French outpost and narrowly avoided execution as a spy by showing his unit’s medallion.

The military tradition of carrying specific unit medallions or coins grew. It started as a way to reinforce pride in the military unit, then morphed into a way for military commanders to recognize excellence. One member of a unit can also challenge another member to show his or her coin at any time.

Perkinson says the coins are being used by senior leaders at SOU to reward outstanding achievement, attitude or behavior, and to help build a culture of service excellence across campus. They are sometimes awarded privately, with a handshake and a thank-you, and sometimes more formally or publicly – as was the case at last week’s board meeting.

The face of the coins bear an SOU emblem and the back is inscribed with four of the elements that have been identified as critical in promoting service excellence at SOU: knowledge, teamwork, accountability and quality service.

Pollinator Friendly

Cool School: SOU named nation’s top pollinator-friendly campus

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NEWS RELEASE

(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University – which became the original Bee Campus USA three years ago – has been named the nation’s top pollinator-friendly college by the Sierra Club, as part of its annual “Cool Schools” rankings.

“Besides the fact that the campus boasts more than a dozen pollinator gardens, professors have taken students out to create bee habitats for the campus farm and to collect native flower seeds to sow the in arboretum,” the Sierra Club wrote of SOU.

The environmental group picked what it considered to be the top 14 schools out of 50 campuses across the country that have been certified for the Bee Campus USA list, administered by the Bee City USA organization. SOU topped a Sierra Club list that included both small and large institutions – including Georgia Tech (No. 2), University of Missouri, Columbia (No. 10), Auburn University (No. 11) and University of Central Florida (No. 14).

“Student engagement between the environmental science students and the Landscape Department at SOU has made it possible for us to change the culture surrounding the urban campus environment,” said Mike Oxendine, SOU’s landscaping superintendent.

“Where we once tended manicured lawns, we now tend pollinator gardens and wildlife habitat,” he said. “We are adapting to the changing climate by making the SOU campus landscape a resilient and safe place for pollinators and other forms of wildlife.”

SOU is now one of four Bee Campus USA schools in Oregon, but is the only one to make the Sierra Club list. The University of Oregon, Portland State University and Portland Community College are the state’s other Bee Campus USA institutions.

Colleges and universities may apply to become certified Bee Campuses after first forming leadership committees made up of faculty, staff and students. Those selected as Bee Campuses must commit to development of habitat plans, hosting of awareness events, development of courses or workshops that support pollinators, sponsorship and tracking of service-learning projects for students, posting of educational signs and maintaining a pollinator-related web presence. They must also apply each year for renewal of their certification.

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SOU Trustees

New slate of officers named for SOU board

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NEWS BRIEF

(Ashland, Ore.) – Lyn Hennion, an original member of Southern Oregon University’s Board of Trustees, has been elected to serve as the board’s second-ever chair. Her term as chair began July 1 and will continue for a year.

Paul Nicholson, another trustee who has served since the board was empowered by the Oregon Legislature three years ago, will serve as vice chair for the coming year. Nicholson previously served as chair of the board’s Finance and Administration Committee for three years.

Trustee Bill Thorndike served as board chair since the board’s 2015 inception, and Hennion was the 2017-18 vice chair. Thorndike did not seek a fourth year in the lead position, but remains a member of the 15-person board.

The board chair and vice chair are elected by their fellow trustees. Hennion will appoint chairs to lead the board’s Finance and Administration Committee and Academic and Student Affairs Committee. As board chair, she also will lead the Executive and Audit Committee.

Five of the SOU trustees – Hennion, Nicholson and Thorndike, along with Les AuCoin and Steve Vincent – began their second full terms as members of the board on July 1. Sheila Clough was appointed to fill a board vacancy last year, and the Oregon Senate recently confirmed Gov. Kate Brown’s appointment of new board members Deborah Rosenberg, Jonathon Bullock, Megan Davis Lightman, Shaun Franks and Barry Thalden.

Other continuing trustees are Daniel Santos, Joanna Steinman and student Shanztyn Nihipali. President Linda Schott serves in a non-voting, ex officio capacity on the board.

For more information on trustees, visit governance.sou.edu/board-members.

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SOU Trustees Thorndike Slattery

Eleven trustees appointed to SOU Board

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NEWS RELEASE
(Ashland, Ore.) – Five new and six continuing members have been appointed by Gov. Kate Brown and confirmed Wednesday by the Oregon Senate to serve on the Southern Oregon University Board of Trustees.

The new trustees are SOU faculty member Deborah Rosenberg; Jonathon Bullock, executive director of the Redmond Proficiency Academy; organizational development consultant Megan Davis Lightman; SOU alumnus Shaun Franks, who works in the solar energy industry; and Barry Thalden, a retired architect and local philanthropist.

“The Board of Trustees is excited to welcome these fine Oregonians to SOU,” said Bill Thorndike, the board’s chairman. “The individual expertise of each will enhance and complement our board’s composition.

“We appreciate Gov. Brown’s appointment and legislators’ confirmation of these community leaders to our board,” Thorndike said. “Trustee service allows SOU to continue nimbly preparing for and responding to the changing landscape of higher education and the unique needs of our students.”

Returning to serve second terms as trustees are Thorndike, who has served as the board’s chair since its inception; fellow original board members Lyn Hennion, Les AuCoin, Paul Nicholson and Steve Vincent; and Sheila Clough, who was appointed last year to fill a board vacancy.

The terms of all new and reappointed trustees begin July 1 and run through June 30, 2022, except for that of the faculty member, Deborah Rosenberg, whose term is two years.

Outgoing SOU faculty member Dennis Slattery and community members April Sevcik, Teresa Sayre and Shea Washington are completing their service June 30 as members of the SOU Board of Trustees.

“I thank those trustees who are retiring from our board for their dedication and contributions to the good of the university,” Thorndike said. “SOU is stronger today because of their service.”

Continuing trustees are student Shanztyn Nihipali, SOU alumnus Daniel Santos of Salem and SOU staff member Joanna Steinman.

“On behalf of the university, I would like to thank all of our trustees – whether new, continuing or retiring – for their commitments to serving SOU,” President Linda Schott said. “As we continue our journey of advancement at SOU, we recognize the essential role of our trustees in helping advance our higher education goals in the region and state.”

SOU was granted authority by the state to form its own independent Board of Trustees beginning July 1, 2015, following the legislature’s dissolution of the Oregon University System and State Board of Higher Education. SOU’s board is responsible for governance and oversight of the university.

Trustees are gubernatorial appointees, subject to confirmation by the Oregon Senate. As many as 11 at-large trustees serve four-year terms and one position each is reserved for an SOU student, a faculty member and a non-faculty staff member, each of whom serve two-year terms.

Trustees are limited to serving two consecutive full terms. The university president serves in a non-voting, ex officio capacity on the board, bringing total membership to 15.

New trustees

Deborah Rosenberg
Rosenberg is a professor who teaches costume design, costume construction, stage makeup and costume history in the SOU Theatre Department. She is the outgoing chair of the university’s Faculty Senate. Rosenberg served previously as costume designer and costume shop supervisor at Ithaca College in New York, and has designed costumes for the State University of New York at Brockport and at New York’s Niagara University. Her professional credits include costume designs for the Alley Theatre in Houston; the Berkshire Theatre Festival in Stockbridge, Mass.; and Shakespeare and Company in Lenox, Mass. Rosenberg holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Trent University in Ontario and a master of fine arts degree in costume design from North Carolina School of the Arts.

Jonathon Bullock
Bullock is executive director and co-founder of the Redmond Proficiency Academy, a Central Oregon charter school that emphasizes proficiency-based learning in a personalized environment. He served the Oregon Association of Student Councils as a counselor and motivational speaker, and is a past executive council member for the National Association of Student Councils. Bullock has also taught administrative and teacher preparation courses at Portland’s Lewis & Clark College and Concordia University. He received his bachelor’s degree in liberal arts and sciences from Oregon State University, his master’s degree in secondary education from Willamette University and his doctorate in learning assessment and system performance from the University of Oregon.

 

Megan Davis Lightman
Davis Lightman is the CEO and founder of The Davis Consulting Group, Inc., a Medford organizational development consulting firm for boards of directors and leadership teams nationwide. She has led the strategic transformations of various companies and non-profit organizations. She serves on the boards of directors of the Rogue Community College Foundation and the Chicago-based SmithBucklin management company, and serves on the Southern Oregon Leadership Council for the Oregon Community Foundation. She received her bachelor’s degree in political science from Tulane University and her master’s degree in organizational development from the Quinlan School of Business at Loyola University Chicago.

 

Shaun Franks
Franks is a 2014 SOU alumnus who studied business, environmental studies and corporate sustainability. He studied renewable energy in Germany in 2011 through the SOU School of Business. As director of sustainability for student government a year later, he helped establish the SOU Green Fund, which invests student fees in local energy, water and campus sustainability projects – including three solar installations at SOU, the purchase of water offsets and creation of The Farm at SOU. Franks works in sales and marketing for True South Solar, an SOU alumni-owned local business in Ashland. He serves on the policy committee of the Oregon Solar Energy Industry Association; is a founder and board treasurer of Rogue Climate, a local environmental nonprofit; and is chair of the McKenzie River Gathering Foundation’s grant-making committee.

Barry Thalden
Thalden and his wife, Kathryn, retired to Ashland in 2012, after he founded and guided the Las Vegas architectural firm Thalden Boyd Emery Architects for 43 years. The firm – which also had offices in St. Louis, Tulsa and Phoenix – specialized in designing resorts, casinos and other large-scale projects. Thalden is a retired member of the American Institute of Architects and was elected as a fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects after serving as its national vice president. Since moving to Ashland six years ago, the Thaldens’ generosity has led to the flower basket program in downtown Ashland; murals outside the Ashland Emergency Food Bank and on Calle Guanajuato on the Ashland Plaza; and an Ashland-themed mural in Ashland’s Mexican sister city of Guanajuato. Their philanthropy is responsible for the new Thalden Pavilion at The Farm at SOU. Thalden received a double degree in architecture and engineering at the University of Illinois and a master’s degree in planning at the University of Michigan.

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